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by bibidibabidiboom

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14. unom

The Prestige (My Hero Academia SI)

By: TheInnerHollow

You want to know what magic is?

True magic?

It isn't easy to explain.

Not with words.

But if you look close enough…

If you really pay attention…

Sometimes you can see it.

Me, though?

I'm impatient. I can't stand waiting.

That's why I make the magic happen myself.

Status: ongoing

Published: 2020-05-19

Updated: 2022-12-31

Words: 103494

Chapters: 13

Original source: https/forums./threads/66871

Exported with the assistance of

The Prestige (My Hero Academia SI)

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 5.M

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 1

---

[img: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7]

Chapter 1

A slight buzzing sound reached my ears, disrupting what had been probably my first night of good sleep in at least five days.

Or maybe six days.

What day was it again?

I groaned, swearing silently beneath my breath as I reached blindly in the dark, trying in vain to find the infernal contraption that had roused me from my slumber.

After several fruitless attempts, my hand latched around the noise making object and I dragged it before me, swiping my phone across the answer button.

"You better be dead or dying." I mumbled into the phone, sleep still refusing to release me from it's grasp.

There was silence on the other end.

Then a deep inhalation.

"GOOD MOOOOOOORNING SUNSHIIIIIIIIIIIINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A boisterous voice blasted from the phone like a physical force.

I found myself no longer asleep in the slightest. I also found myself out of bed as the wave of sound that had blasted me off of it.

I staggered to my feet from the wall that I had been thrown into, ears ringing, feeling like I had just been dropped into a mosh pit at a Metal Concert halfway through their main set.

With a brief bit of concentration I felt my ears pop as sound equalized again, and the sound of my door opening heralded the lights illuminating the room.

My bed was in shambles, my outfit having been removed haphazardly after returning from my emergency call out.

My desk and my bookshelves were mercifully still intact, the heavy texts having not been disturbed by my literal wake up call, or my semi-conscious staggering.

That being said, there was no way I was going to be able to wear it today.

The stains on the clothes were long since soaked in, and knowing my luck it was far too long for me to have done anything to it except send it off to be professionally cleaned.

"Yo Yo Kaito!" Yamada Hizashi half shouted as he walked into the room, a broad grin on his face and finger guns at the ready. "Are you ready for the big day?"

I stared incomprehensibly at the loud blond peacock for a moment, once more swearing my eternal and undying enmity with the eldritch abominations known as morning people, as the hamster wheel slowly began picking up momentum in my head.

That and the context clues given by Mic were a pretty big hint.

"That's today?" I groaned, turning my head to the calendar I'd had pinned to the wall only to find it no longer there, but collapsed on the floor with my signature white hat having obscured it.

I picked it up and found that reality had once again sided against me by revealing that today was indeed the day.

Worse, the clock informed me that I should have been ready to leave at this point, not just stumbling out of bed.

I rushed into my bathroom as Hizashi laughed at my no doubt panic stricken face, splashing water onto my face in lieu of a shower and sliding to a stop in front of my wardrobe, and attempting to pull on a suit that hadn't left it in well over a year at this point.

"Kaito, my man, how is it that you manage to be late to literally everything?" Hizashi drawled behind me, and even though I couldn't see it I could certainly hear the smug grin on his face. "I thought magicians were supposed to be good with timing?"

I stormed past him, repressing my urge to strangle the mouthy prick by instead nearly strangling myself as I pulled my tie too tight, opening the door.

"First of all, that joke wasn't funny the first time you said it to me, it certainly hasn't got any better now." I replied doing up my belt as I made my way down the stairs as fast as I could in suit pants with ripping them and having to stop halfway because I hadn't pulled a boot on firmly enough. "And secondly, a wizard…"

"Is never early or late, but arrives precisely when intended, blah blah blah." Hizashi droned back at me, having passed my stumbling form to take a seat on his…

"Hizashi."

"Yes Kaito?" The man in question responded chirpily, looking for all the world as innocent as a babe to those who didn't know better.

"What the hell is that?"

"That is your chariot to destiny!" Hizashi replied without flinching, hand gestures galore as always.

It looked a lot like a side car attached to a motorbike to me.

It would have been a tight fit for a regular sized person.

To fit my lanky form inside of it was going to be many things.

Pretty was none of them.

"When I asked if you could give me a lift while my car gets repaired, I was imagining, you know, an actual car." I said wearily accepting my fate as I began the awkward process of trying to fit my six foot four frame into this parody of a seat.

"And now you know differently." The Radio Hero said brightly having somehow smoothed his monstrosity of a hair cut into his canary yellow helmet. He went to start the bike before he snapped his fingers and pulled out a helmet from where it had no doubt been hidden on the side of the car, before throwing it towards me.

I stared down at the bright pink abomination in front of me, complete with cat ears and sparkly glitter plastered liberally across it and turned mechanically back to face my only possible means of making it to UA on time.

I found a smile entirely devoid of any form of mercy waiting for me. "Safety First!" He quoted, making a unfortunately familiar pose that no doubt had my cheeks burning a bright red until they were hidden beneath the blasted helmet.

So this is how my story at UA begins then, huh?

Alright then world what next?

I heard a loud rumble that was sadly not the sound of the bike starting up as the overcast clouds decided that now was the perfect time to start raining.

I sat there, in my best (only)suit watching the rain poured down and smiled.

Jokes on you world.

Now I don't need to have a shower.

By the time I'd stumbled UA I found myself nearly stumbling over a green haired little sprout of a kid when I rounded a corner too fast but managed to bring myself to a stop with time to spare.

Okay I may have cheated slightly but I hadn't knocked the kid over and that was all that mattered.

"You all right there kid?" I asked, drawing a blank on the kids name.

I mean I hadn't had him for any of my classes so I didn't feel too bad about it.

"I'm so sorry sir!" The kid replied, practically leaping into the air as he frantically gave his apologies, seeming to be unable to make up his mind about whether to turn away and run or to continue bowing as frequently as possible. "I was just sent to give a message to the teacher in room 6D but he wasn't there, and so I was going to go to the front desk to see if they kn…"

I held up a hand to get the kid to stop vomiting words for me, I mean I could understand him but he hadn't stopped to breathe in a while and I was pretty sure that he was going to collapse.

"Deep breath." I pantomimed, the stammering kid following my lead but seeming to calm down dramatically in the process. "Now what's your name kid?"

"Sorry sir, Midoriya Izuku sir." The newly named Izuku answered, no longer seeming quite as nervous.

Midoriya Izuku…

That sounds familiar…

Okay let's think.

First year.

Green hair…

Only thing I could have remembered him from is the Entrance exam and that means…

Oh right, the incredible bone breaking boy.

Chiyo had not been pleased when he'd shown up after the exam.

I wasn't there at the time, having been dragged away to that thing in Chifuda, but the medic had let me know at length of how this half-pint in front of me was apparently willing to shatter his own limbs to pass.

"I'm heading that way now, I'll take it for you if you want." I offered, still feeling at least somewhat bad for nearly bowling the kid over in my moment of inattention.

"Thank you so much senpai!" Midoriya replied, his face suddenly breaking out into an honest smile that had me suddenly thinking of my neighbour's Shiba looking up at me with a grin. "Do you have any classes with…"He stopped and looked down at the name scribbled down on the piece of paper before looking back at me. "Kanetsuki-sensei?"

I twitched.

Calm.

Calm.

Remain calm.

Deep breaths.

I did my best approximation of a smile and turned to look at the innocent first year in front of me.

"I have indeed, yes." I responded, feeling a part of my soul attempt to leave my body as I said it.

Why did this always happen?

Was it my face?

Is there something about it that just screams that I'm not an adult?

Is that it?

WHY HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME FACE!?

"I'll be sure to take it right to him." I continued mechanically pulling the note from the confused looking boy's hand and pushing past him. "You should get back to class."

I continued walking down the corridor, keeping my smile forcibly upon my face until I opened the door leading to my office and slid it shut behind me.

I let out a sigh and sank down against the door.

Damn it.

Alright then, let's see what they want.

I looked down at the folded note and opened it to stand at the needlessly fancy cursive that only the head honcho used.

'Kanetsuki-Kun,

I apologize to ask this of you, but it seems that one of your compatriots is unable to the excursion to the USJ due to poor time management on their part.

As such I would ask you to accompany Aizawa-kun and his class and provide your own considerable expertise and experience when it comes to rescue operations.

Many thanks,

Nezu'

I looked down at the message for a moment before a grin spread across my face.

Awesome.

A perfectly legitimate excuse to get out of lunch with you know who.

And they can't even get mad at me because it wasn't my fault!

How good is that!

I fired off a quick message to the contact labeled 'KFC' on my phone and then left it on my desk, deliberately ignoring it as the sound of a dozen replies met my ears as I locked the door behind me.

It was just going to be an excursion with a couple of fresh faced kids, with Aizawa riding herd on the whole thing.

This was going to be a walk in the park.

I stared blankly at the horde of people making their way out of the swirling black-purple void all doing their best to look intimidating and did the math.

Twenty kids.

Aizawa.

Thirteen.

Me.

On the other end of the spectrum.

Several dozen villains of unknown strength who all seem to have a point to make.

As well as what has to be someone with the strongest teleportation quirk I've ever seen.

Some guy standing at the back with what I most certainly hope are just replica hands clutched to his body as a poor excuse for a costume.

Oh yeah, and what looks to be a poor man's excuse for Gang Orca, just with only the brain showing and looking like it could bench press an aircraft carrier.

As Aizawa barked out a series of commands to Thirteen to take care of the kids, I stepped forward alongside him, pulling on my spare pair of white gloves as I did so.

"Well then," I said simply, slapping my palms together and feeling my power work through them.

"Let's make some magic happen."

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Two hours prior to where we left off

Aizawa grumbled internally as he waited by the side of the bus for the substitute teacher for Toshinori to show up.

Honestly, how the hell had he run out of time with his Quirk this early in the day.

It wasn't even midday yet?

He understood that he was supposed to be the Symbol of Peace but he's supposed to be able to show these kids how to be heroes too.

He'll talk to him about it when he gets back.

The sound of rapid footsteps approaches him and Kanetsuki Kaito slides to a stop in front of him, clearly having sprinted to get here as fast as he could.

And was still somehow five minutes late.

"I'm so sorry Aizawa!" The new teacher blurted, doing his best to return his outfit to some semblance of respectability again.

Not that Aizawa really cared much. He slept in a sleeping bag in his own classroom whenever he could to make up for lost sleep.

This wasn't the first time that Aizawa had worked with the younger hero, although it was the first time that they'd worked together as teacher's at the very least.

And even knowing who he was, it was hard to associate the stumbling substitute teacher who occasionally functioned as Recovery Girl's back up as the man who'd held back the entirety of Kurobe Dam alone when it broke apart during a villain attack.

That was no small feat.

Aizawa rolled his eyes and jerked a thumb at the bus. "We're burning daylight Kanestsuki. Get on."

The new addition to UA nodded sheepishly and stepped onto the bus, taking one of the only remaining seats at the very front.

Aizawa followed him on, and with a nod to the bus driver took a seat next to his fellow teacher.

"What on earth are you wearing?" Aizawa asked dryly, taking note of his colleague's less then stellar appearance.

Kanetsuki sighed, one hand trying in vain to adjust his tie, while the other tried to arrange his brown hair into something resembling a decent haircut. "My Hero Outfit is at the dry cleaners." He mumbled, his eyes flicking to look away from the Underground Hero.

Aizawa didn't say a word, just stared at him with the same dry look on his face.

The younger man collapsed like wet cardboard. "Alright it's on the floor of my apartment but it really needs to be at the dry cleaners. And I slept through my alarm this morning." He grumbled rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Again."

Aizawa stared at him for a moment, his mind running through the news reports for the day when he thought of the most likely reason. "That accident at Kyoto?"

"Yeah." Kanetsuki nodded with a small smile before it faltered again. "And I need to get a new car. Again."

Aizawa fought back a grin at that one.

One that Kanetsuki clearly saw if his reaction was any response. "Oh you think that's funny don't you Eraser?"

Aizawa let a small smirk appear on his face. "Well if you ever get sick of the hero business, I'm sure you could be a fantastic magician. You can make cars disappear faster than anyone I know." He remarked under his breath, the loud conversation of the students preventing his words from being overheard by them.

The look of barely repressed murder on the young hero's face had Aizawa fighting down laughter for the rest of the trip.

---

Midoriya Izuku stared in absolute mortification at the teacher sitting at the front of the bus that he'd mistaken for another student.

How could he have been so stupid?

He's so tall!

Of course he was a teacher.

Well not necessarily.

He could have been a student with a mutation quirk that caused him to grow taller.

Or a Gigantification quirk.

Or a…

"Deku-kun?" Uraraka Ochako's question interrupted Izuku's stream of thought, causing him to nearly leap out of his seat at her sudden closeness.

"Y-Yes?" he stammered out, trying his best not to flush red with embarrassment.

Ochako blinked at him for a second before shrugging and repeating her question, "Do you know who that person up the front of the bus is?" She asked drawing his attention back to the most recent cause of embarrassment at UA. "You've been looking at him the whole bus ride."

Izuku felt part of himself want to float away and die at that realization but fought through it. "His name is Kanetsuki-sensei." Izuku replied, now actively trying to not seem to be staring at the young teacher. "I think he's supposed to be a hero that specializes in rescues, so that's why he's coming to the USJ."

A hand suddenly chopped down into Izuku's view and he turned to see Tenya Iida gesticulating towards him. "That name is vaguely familiar to me, Midoriya-kun." Iida interrupted, continuing to gesture robotically as he did so. "I believe that he may have worked with my brother on one occasion, but I cannot recall it at this time. Although I do not approve of his appalling appearance. Why is he not wearing his hero costume?"

"Maybe it got destroyed in a fight with a villain and he still came to work without it?" Mina Ashido suggested, the conversation suddenly having spread to the rest of the bus.

"That would be super manly if that was true." Eijiro Kirishima enthused clearly imaging the dramatic fight in his head already.

"Maybe he's supposed to be playing the part of an off-duty hero, kero?" Asui Tsuyu hypothesized, trying to think of a reason that he would be dressed like that.

Yaoyorozu Momo's eyes sparkled at that. "Of course! Just as we can't predict where a disaster will take place, we also can't predict when a disaster will take place, so as heroes we should be able to leap into action even without our costumes or equipment." She deduced, nodding along as she said it.

Kaminari Denki shrugged his shoulders, seemingly not interested in the conversation. "I dunno, maybe he just forgot to do his laundry?" he suggested, scratching his head as he did so.

"Come on man he's a professional hero." Sero Hanta countered, lightly punching Kaminari on the arm. "He's gotta be an organized guy. I mean look at him."

The students stopped and looked forward at the new addition, a look of deep contemplation on his face.

"I wonder what he's thinking about?" Toru wondered aloud, the seemingly empty gloves twiddling their fingers.

Fumikage Tokoyami let out a low hum at that. "Perhaps he is thinking back on his past mistakes as a hero, and how he could improve upon them."

Did I leave the stove on again?

No, wait I didn't have breakfast, so I couldn't have left the stove on.

Unless I left it on last night and forgot about it?

Did I use the stove last night?

Gah, this is going to bother me all day isn't it.

Unless I get home and find my apartment complex on fire again.

Then it's going to bother me for even longer.

I stumbled off of the bus, doing on the best to make it look like I hadn't just almost fallen out of the exit.

God damn small stairs.

They are not made for people with feet as big as mine.

Not as bad as any of the old buildings the Association used to drag me around to but still, not great.

"Kanetsuki-kun!" a familiar voice called out to me, the slight distortion to it a dead give away. "This is certainly a surprise."

I let out a chuckle at that, bowing my head slightly as the spacesuit clad hero approached me, her yellow sneakers just as distracting as always compared to the rest of her outfit. "Just filling in the numbers until All Might can get here."

Thirteen seemed to pause at that. "He's not on the bus?" She questioned, confused as to why the Symbol of Peace would be missing.

Aizawa let out a yawn as he stepped off the bus, having slept the last half of the trip and rolled his shoulders letting out a series of bone breaking cracks. "He probably lost track of time doing an interview or something." He suggested dryly, turning to watch the rest of the students make their way off the bus being led by a…

"Oh my God it's a mini Tensei." I muttered under my breath, holding back a grin.

Aizawa chuckled quietly at that. "They might look the same but he's somehow even more socially awkward." He confided before walking up to confront the students.

As Aizawa began talking to the students I turned to Thirteen again, directing my attention back to our conversation. "Anyway, how have you been? The facility is looking a lot better than last time. Granted it couldn't really look any worse."

Thirteen laughed sheepishly at that. "Yeah." She admitted, seemingly embarrassed. "Turns out trying to increase the magnitude in the earthquake zone without ramping it up is a really quick way to get Cemenentoss to be upset with you for a few weeks."

I nodded at that, the image of half the facility having collapsed in on itself fresh in my mind.

I hadn't been much help that day, having still been on standby for overdrawing my Quirk earlier that week after the Blade Dogz had tried something especially stupid by holding a bus full of elementary school students hostage.

"But how are you doing, Kanetsuki-Kun? Getting enough sleep?" My colleague asked, her helmeted visage clearly examining my… less than stellar appearance.

"Could I lie and say yes?" I said sarcastically, stretching again as I did so.

God I miss my car.

My back is still killing me from fitting into Mic's bloody side car.

Not doing that again any time soon.

Thirteen laughed at that and moved forward to greet the students of class 1-A.

And hey look at that she's got a few fans among the group as well.

Oh I am going to have to tease her about that later.

The group started making their way up the stairs towards the massive enclosed stadium that was the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, making their way through doors so large that they could even fit people with Gigantification quirks that couldn't be turned off, like Godzillo.

God been a long time since I heard that name.

How many years has it been since he moved to the USA anyway?

"A shipwreck!" Thirteen began with a dramatic gesture pointing to the massive pool off on one side of the arena. "A landslide!" She continued pointing to the simulated catastrophe behind her.

Oh boy, she's really getting into this.

Don't laugh.

Control yourself Kaito.

Or she'll use her quirk to eat your fridge and say that a cat ate it.

Again.

I bit back a wince at remembering some of the more memorable excuses I'd heard from the Space Hero over the years on the job.

How could anybody be that bad at lying?

I have met literal five-year olds that were more convincing than her.

Granted some of them were using their quirks to help them along but that is besides the point!

But what can you expect from someone who called this place the USJ on purpose?

And looks like the students have the same reaction as literally anyone else that she's made that stupid joke to.

Chin up Thirteen.

One of these days, someone will actually laugh at your shitty, shitty pun.

"Before we begin, let me say one thing." Thirteen's said, drawing everyone's attention back towards her, myself included. "er, or two, or three, or four… five… six… seven."

I could literally see the enthusiasm start to drain out of the kids with each word that she said, so I subtle made a 'stay on target' gesture with my hands before she started rambling again.

"Everyone, I am sure you are aware of my Quirk, Black Hole." The Space Hero started, raising a gloved hand as she did so, the latches restraining the terrible might of her quirk. "I can suck up anything and turn it to dust."

Remarkably simple words that don't really do justice to just how terrifying that quirk could have been if Thirteen had been a villain, something I remain infinitely grateful has never come to pass.

"You've been able to use that Quirk to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" The same green sprout that I'd nearly bowled over this morning was clearly a fan of Thirteen's work if his comments was any indicator.

And he wasn't wrong.

Thirteen was one of the premier rescue heroes for a reason, and her quirk allowed her to dispose of materials that would otherwise be a serious risk to heroes and civilians with ease, reducing them into harmless dust.

"Yes, but it is a power that can kill easily." Thirteen interrupted changing the mood of the class in front of her entirely. "Some of you also have quirks like that, right?"

She wasn't wrong.

Then again, these days it was hard to find a quirk that couldn't hurt someone if you tried hard enough, or used it improperly.

Even mine.

And I was a medic nine times out of ten.

"In a superhuman society, personal Quirks have been certified and stringently regulated, so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please do not forget that there are many quirks that can kill easily with one wrong step." Thirteen continued to lecture, the students now utterly captivated by

"With Aizawa's physical fitness test, you found out about the possibility of your own hidden powers, and with All Might's person-to-person combat training, I think you experienced the danger of using those powers against others. This class is a fresh start. You shall learn how to use your Quirk's to save people's lives."

"You do not have powers so that you can harm others. I hope that you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others."

Now that's certainly something I could get behind.

Hell it was the reason I was a hero to begin with, and not following the one I was otherwise destined for.

And after that first rescue?

I haven't regretted that choice since.

The students broke out in applause and cheers as Thirteen gave a bow at the end of her speech.

"All right then, first-" Aizawa began before pausing as a the floodlights illuminating the arena suddenly turned off with a crackle of electricity.

A power outage?

On all three generators and the backups?

At the same time?

Aizawa's eyes widened slightly as he came to the same conclusion I did, spinning to scan the arena for anything out of place.

And sure enough the swirling purple mist was a very bad sign.

The sign of people coming through it was a worse one.

"Trouble." I called out to Thirteen, as I pushed my way past the students, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt as I did so.

"Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa, no Eraser Head barked at the students who were still looking around in confusion. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

Looks like they came to party.

The purple mist expanded even further into a massive wall and then they started walking through it.

"Don't move!" Aizawa ordered one of the students who had taken a step forward as if to see what was going on. "Those are villains." He informed them, grabbing his signature goggles and raising them up to cover his eyes.

I pulled my spare pair of gloves from my back pocket and put them on, the white cloth pulling tightly as I made a fist with my hands to ensure the fit was right.

Okay there's a lot of them but other than the handy individual at the back nobody that seems to be…

I felt my train of though derail and crash through the meager hopes I had amounted as a massive figure with black skin occasionally marked by rents that seemed to reveal the muscles bulging underneath stepped through.

The figure had a strange beaked mouth, and its brain was exposed to the open air, with it's eyes literally part of its own brain. The eyes moved strangely, almost jittering in place as they swung in one direction then the next in as way that the medic in me said should have been impossible.

Well looks like somebody didn't skip leg day.

Or arms day.

Or any day really.

At that moment the swirling purple void compressed suddenly, leaving a figure in a well kept suit, complete with tie but sans the blazer, with the addition of a metallic looking brace protecting the collarbone with the mist taking the place of his hands and face, but not his feet oddly enough. Two jagged yellow voids in the mist seemed to serve as the being's eyes.

Alright, make that three people in the not cannon fodder category.

"Thirteen and Eraser Head, huh? The teleporter spoke up clearly deferring to the blue haired individual with the hands all over him, "The teacher's schedule we received the other day said that All Might was supposed to be here, not some senior student."

Twitch.

You know what buddy?

Just for that, I'm going to punch you in the face.

I don't know how that works when you have fog as your main facial feature but consider me a bold innovator in that regard!

But the words that they said are troubling for all sorts of reasons.

They thought that the number one hero was going to be here, and the came anyway.

That speaks of either confidence or stupidity.

Possibly both.

Either is bad for almost exactly the same reason.

"The trespassing the other day was the work of these scumbags after all, huh?" Eraser Head growled, his hands flexing unconsciously as he did so.

"Where is he? I went through all the trouble of bringing this whole crowd, too…"

"All Might…" the apparent leader of this little group drawled on. "The Symbol of Peace… I can't believe he's not here."

Is he… complaining?

Seriously?

Who does this guy think he is?

"I wonder if he'll come if we kill some kids?" He asked hypothetically, and I could see the cracked grin that formed beneath the severed hand that served as his mask.

Well.

There goes any plans of going easy on these fools.

Aizawa tugged on his scarf, transforming it into the capture weapon that he had perfected the use of over a long and arduous career as a hero.

I sadly didn't have any of my gear with me.

God damn dry cleaning.

Guess I'll have to make do.

I heard the kids starting to talk amongst themselves and Thirteen as the crowd of villains approached, and I started scanning the crowd, looking to see if there was anyone that stood out to me amongst them.

A few were familiar, bottom of the barrel types that I didn't doubt that most of the students here could take on, but there was no one I could see that displayed an obvious Quirk that could have disabled the alarms.

Then again they have a teleporter.

If they had a lick of sense they wouldn't have kept their means of cutting us off from the outside world within our sights.

"Thirteen, start the evacuation. Try calling the school." Aizawa took command swiftly, not taking his eyes off the approaching threat. "These villains even had something to counter the sensors. It's possible someone with radio-wave-type powers is interfering."

I felt the need to add my own thoughts then, "They've probably got them hidden somewhere in the Arena, they wouldn't want to risk you cancelling their quirk and having the alarms go off."

Aizawa nodded at that, and directed one of his students to attempt to make contact with the school via their Quirk in an attempt to circumvent the enemies preparation.

"What about you sir, will you and Kanetsuki-sensei be fighting them alone." Midoriya spoke up, clearly concerned about what we were about to do.

Ah Kid, your concern feels nice.

But I think you should be focusing on yourself at the moment.

"You can't be a hero with just one trick." Aizawa said simply over his shoulder, before looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Stay with Thirteen. Keep the kids safe." He murmured quietly.

I patted him on the shoulder, an aura of white covering the Erasure for a moment before fading away. "If it gets too crazy down there, then I'm coming after you." I whispered out of the side of my mouth

Eraser Head glared at me for a movement before he vanished in a blur of movement, flying through the air towards the villains to deliver a good old fashioned beat down.

I forced my attention away from the struggle, the sounds of combat and grunts of pain from people who hopefully weren't Aizawa filling the air.

I grabbed Midoriya and forced him towards the exit that the others were already jogging towards. "We can look at the relay later kid, now it's time for you to get going." I said remaining in place at the top of the stairs.

I need to stay here in case any of the villains attacking Eraser Head try to get smart and run around him to go after the students while he's occupied.

I turned my attention from the people attacking Aizawa to the ringleader standing at the back and swore, suddenly not finding the teleporter at his place beside the leader.

Son of a…

I spun on my heel and sprinted after Thirteen and the students, trying to get there in time. An explosion rang out obscuring the front of the students for a moment before the black mist surged forward to engulf the students.

Oh no you don't!

I reached forward with my Quirk and tried to counter the enemy's movement and swore when it failed to take effect.

Goddamn space manipulation quirks!

Screw it.

Instead of focusing my Quirk outward I turned it inward and one moment I was agonizingly short of the students.

The next I was among them, reaching out with my arms to grab a hold of as many as I could in the moment of time I had to spare.

There was a moment of blackness and a vague recollection of movement.

Then I was surrounded by buildings consumed with flame, a student in a martial arts outfit with a tail sticking out of his pants by my side and a whole host of villainous looking types making their way towards us.

Alright then, we're in the Inferno Scenario room.

Could be worse, thank god we didn't have that girl with the Frog Quirk in here.

Looks like spiky head has something to say.

I moved forward and crashed my clenched fist into the side of his face, the intruder pirouetting once before he bounced off the pavement.

The other villains stopped and stared at me in shock at that.

Alrighty then.

Time to draw their attention off the kid and towards me the only way I know how.

"So when you all pay someone to have sex with you, and let's be honest, you're going to be paying a large amount, do they give you discounts based on how much of a failure you are? Honestly curious here." I asked with a smirk, extending a palm towards them and gesturing them to come at me. "Or is it more of a group discount kind of thing?"

There was a blur of movement from the side and I moved my hand to the side before holding it in place and watched as the speedster who'd tried to sneak up on me proceeded to knock himself out on my fist.

"I'm thinking 80/20 towards the failure scenario if I'm being honest." I continued conversationally even as I surged forward towards the group, lashing out with a serious of jabs that blurred into place, moving my other hand minutely to block an incoming sword with the palm of my glove that shattered into pieces after hitting it.

I made use of the stunned incomprehension upon the man's face as he stared at the jagged hilt that used to be his weapon when I rammed my forehead into him, his nose breaking audibly before he crumpled like a sack of potatoes.

Someone let out a grunt and was sent tumbling backwards and I turned to see my charge proving that he certainly knew what he was doing with that tail of his proceeding to dismantle the amateurs around him with a series of practiced movements that told me he'd been doing martial arts for quite some time now.

I flickered away from a series of projectiles that smashed into the building behind me and proceeded to step through the barrage of what seemed to be scales of some sort that a woman with a reptilian quirk of some kind was directing at me, before I swept one of her legs out from under her and slammed her into the ground so hard that her eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets.

She'll live.

"Magical…"I roared out, drawing back my fist as the masked foe before me recoiled, rising his hands to cover his face. "Punch!" I roared as my boot slammed upwards in between his legs.

The villain let out a wheeze like a collapsing balloon and slowly collapsed in between his legs.

Oh it's been an age since that one actually worked on someone.

My god these people suck at being villains.

I moved to catch sight of the haymaker that the last villain, one with some type of Strength enhancement threw at me, one of those over the top things that could have been telegraphed from the other side of the country and belonged only in movies and especially dumb fighters.

Three guesses which this one is and the first two don't count.

I could have dodged it with ease.

I caught it instead.

The man let out a scream as his hand met mine with a meaty crunch, his hand clearly broken badly as it met the immovable force that was me and failed to leave a dent.

Then I proceeded to clench my hand around said broken fist and squeezed, the villain's cries becoming decidedly more high pitched as he dropped to his knees and tried to tug his fist out of my grasp.

Now then what was this one's name again?

Mashashiro?

Wait no there was an another A in there somewhere!

"Mashirao! Are you injured?" I called out, drawing the students attention away from the unconscious or groaning rabble around us and towards myself.

"No sensei!" The martial artist replied quickly, his eyes still darting about to see if another ambush would spring upon us at any second.

"There's an exit to this zone three blocks to the left. Head that way and make your way back to the entrance." I directed him, my eyes scanning the area as well, coming to a stop briefly as I saw something glint at the top of the building next to me.

"What about you, sensei?" Mashirao asked, clearly torn between not wanting to abandon me and rejoining his classmates.

"I'll just finish up here and be right behind you." I promised, dragging the now unconscious villain out of the way and into the foyer of the building beside me. "Now get moving."

Thankfully he did just that, sprinting off towards the exit at his best speed.

As soon as he was out of sight I dropped the idiot I'd been dragging who let out a groan.

Now then.

I scanned the floor plan that was stuck on the side of the wall and took note of the best way to make my way to my destination.

Time for me to go have a conversation.

I quietly made my way through the doorway that led to the roof of the building,

There on the side of the building was a figure in what could barely be called an outfit, probably some discount Lycra that he'd painted to try and look cool, trying and failing to pull the draw of his crossbow into position, swearing colorfully as he did so.

"… se damn heroes! Thinking they're so much better then them, better then me." The man muttered darkly, trying in vain to fix the bolt in place. "Next time, I'm going to get them and they'll be sorry."

Well with an invitation like that, how can I refuse.

"Why wait?" I asked, walking casually out towards him, not trying to hide my approach in the slightest. "I'm right here."

The man in front of me swore and spun, the crossbow bolt now loaded into place.

"I wouldn't." I suggested politely, still slowly making my way forward.

"Screw you hero!" The man howled at me, firing the bolt at centre mass, I watched the bolt approach and pulled on my Quirk gently, feeling a touch of Haste flow through me as I seemingly spun in place around the bolt, leaving it to clatter uselessly behind me as I continued to make my way forward.

There's a time and a place for such things, but sometimes dramatics, can have their use.

I mean look at this guy.

He's practically pissing himself after that one.

He hurriedly loaded another bolt into his crossbow, clearly trying to shoot me again.

"Why are you villains here?" I asked simply, still walking forward without a care in the world.

"Go to hell!" The man screamed, his voice cracking as he said it, his eyes wide as he fired another shot at me.

I pulled on my Quirk again, spinning to the left this time, before taking my same path and walking inexorably forward.

"Who are you working for?" I asked, trying a different path even as the fool before me continued to swear as he stumbled backwards, crossbow bolts clattering to the ground as his shaking grip struggled to reload his weapon.

At this point I was so close that it actually might be a struggle to dodge it.

Not without using more of my Quirk then I probably should.

The man in front of me seemed to have come to the same conclusion and his eyes shone with desperation as he clutched at his last shot at victory, firing the shot at near point blank range.

Like I said, it would be pretty hard to dodge this.

So I didn't bother dodging.

The bolt struck my shirt and snapped like a twig, bouncing to the floor with it's pointed arrowhead now a much flatter affair.

The crossbow dropped from the masked man's shaking hands at this point and he took a subconscious step back to get away from me.

Sending him tumbling over the edge of the building with a scream as he stepped into open air.

Before he vanished to his untimely demise I lashed out with a hand, grabbing him around the ankle with a grunt.

"Who needs arm day with a workout like this?" I muttered quietly as I hoisted the villain up, who was frantically scrabbling in the air for purchase.

"That could have been painful." I commented casually, as if I was merely talking about the weather and not literally holding this man's life in the palm of my hand. "Then again my hand is getting really tired trying to hold you up, so I might just let you go again."

"You can't do this!" The villain pleaded with me, his hands reaching desperately out for something to grab onto to pull himself to safety. "You're supposed to be a hero!"

I found myself nodding at that. "And you're the guy who came to this place with the intention of attacking children apparently." I said conversationally. "Who isn't answering my questions."

I pulled my hand away from the screaming excuse for a man in front of me.

He let out a scream, closing his eyes and throwing his hands in front of his face in a vain attempt to protect himself from the conflagration below.

What a punk.

I crouched down and poked him in the face with my ungloved hand, continuing to do so until the shaking criminal opened his eyes again.

I smiled at him, now face to face with the man still held by his ankle off the side of a building. "Now I am going to ask you. One. Last. Time." I said slowly, the bright sunny smile on my face slowly vanishing as I watched the blood that was rushing to this man's face strive to flee back down his body if how white he was getting was any indication.

"Talk."

Last edited: May 21, 2020

Chapter 3

Scientists have calculated that the chances of something so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.

TERRY PRATCHETT, Mort

Chapter 3

I pulled on my glove to make sure it was on firmly as I started making my way towards the exit to the Inferno zone, a pulse from my quirk turning a light jog into something a lot closer to superhuman levels as I went over what little facts I'd been able to drag from the crossbow wielder.

First of all, the one with the hands all over him that is apparently the one behind this little invasion, goes by the name of Shigaraki. No clue as to the exact mechanics of how his quirk works but he apparently killed someone who was getting uppity with him by grabbing him somehow. So avoid being grabbed by the walking hand sanitizer commercial, check.

Secondly, the teleporter is called Kurogiri, which has to be one of the most uninspired names I've ever heard of.

Black Mist?

Really?

Only way it could have been worse is if his last name was 'teleporter' or something equally stupid.

My observation of his subservience to the newly named Shigaraki were spot on apparently.

No hints on how to fulfill my goal of punching him in the face sadly.

But the real issue that I have so far is the third figure.

My talkative friend said that it was Nomu, and that the ringleader for these shenanigans called him the Anti-Symbol of Peace.

Apparently the plan was to have this Nomu guy take on All Might.

Alone.

Which is giving me decidedly less than good feelings about confronting it in one on one combat.

My quirk is useful in many ways.

Letting me hit someone like I'm freaking All Might is not one of them.

I rounded the final corner and picked up speed, drawing closer to the door that would lead out of the Inferno Zone.

Come on Aizawa.

Please be okay.

"… SMASH!" I heard a familiar voice cry out before a sound like a hurricane going off met my ears, the cries of people being blasted off their feet from the force of the wind and the sound of some of the massive bulbs in the floodlights surrounding the arena shattering as a result.

There's only one person I know of among this group that can cause destruction like that.

Hang on little Green, I'm Coming!

I barged through the exit which would lead me back to the middle of the USJ again and felt myself freeze as I took in what I saw in front of me.

Or rather the world froze around me.

Midoriya standing stock still with his arm extended, clearly having launched one of the overly destructive strikes he was known for against Nomu.

Who appeared to have not moved so much as an inch as a result of it.

The teleporter Kurogiri standing in the background seemingly happy to watch events unfold.

Before him was the battered and broken form of Eraser Head.

I couldn't see if he was breathing.

And finally the ringleader Shigaraki was on the edge of the water, reaching out with his hand towards someone who was presumably a student.

Not enough time.

I'll have to get rid of him first.

Try and get the kids safe.

Then see what I can do about Aizawa.

I grit my teeth and pulled hard on my Quirk forcing it through my body, as I dropped low into a runner's stance.

This is going to hurt in the morning.

Superior Haste.

The world flashed white.

And I moved.

It's hard to explain precisely what it feels like when I invoke my Quirk to this extent but the thing that I always notice is the sound.

Notably the lack of it.

The only sound I hear is the sound of my heartbeat blasting away at my ears, steadily getting faster at each new step that I take.

I witness one of the eyes of the massive creature, Nomu, twitch my direction, its muscular form turning glacially towards me, lifting its hand away from Midoriya as it moves to swing a fist at me with enough force that it could probably level a building if it connected.

By the time that it had drawn that arm halfway backwards to throw said punch, my boots had already solidly crashed into the center of Shigaraki's chest, his body beginning to ponderously skid sideways away from the two students that he had been reaching for.

I landed on the stone floor and rolled with my momentum, my heartbeat currently doing a drum solo at this point as I felt myself begin to approach the ragged edge of my limits for this move, blackspots beginning to appear in the corner of my vision, I brought myself to my feet, one foot standing solidly on Nomu's right foot as I stepped into his swing to avoid the incoming blow that had steadily been gaining speed despite my own momentum.

With the last moment of movement I had left I tossed Midoriya back into the water that the other two students were still frozen in before I felt my Quirk give way.

I threw myself forward, tucking into a ball both to reduce my profile and to allow myself to roll towards my fallen ally by making use of my considerable momentum.

The thundering sound of my heart beating like a drummer halfway through a solo was joined by the sound of Shigaraki letting out a yelp of pain, Kurogiri letting out a cry and moving towards his fallen master.

And Nomu.

Nomu just stood there unmoving.

It was eerie.

I have quite literally seen statues that have displayed more signs of life then whatever this thing is.

I don't think I can even see it breathe.

Not the time.

I forced myself to stop rolling, made a series of elaborate hand gestures that ultimately served no purpose and then grabbed my broken comrade with my brightly glowing right glove. "Cure!" I invoked, and forced my quirk downward into Aizawa.

It had taken a lot of concentration for me to learn how to do this, and even now I could only really do it on very recent injuries.

Usually I was forced to do nothing more than enhance the patient's own innate regeneration, but that was pointless when the person was missing a limb, or had ruptured an organ.

If the organ couldn't regenerate normally, all my Quirk would do was make them die faster.

But despite all my efforts, I'd only been able to extend my use of this technique by a matter of seconds over the years, nothing further.

78 seconds.

If I could find you within 78 seconds I could help you.

But if the injury took place after that?

Then we had to go to plan B.

Aizawa's eyes flashed open and he looked around wildly before he caught sight of me.

"Party's not over yet Eraser Head." I cautioned, fighting through the upswell of exhaustion that would have had me staggering to the side if I wasn't already on one knee. "Ready for Round 2?"

Despite my efforts Aizawa still looked like he was ready to be thrown in an Emergency Ward as soon as possible given the blood was covering him, and his right arm looked like it was entirely limp, a large patch of the skin on the elbow entirely gone and revealing muscles that seemed to have undergone severe atrophy somehow.

Granted that was a lot better than the twisted noodle that both his arms had been before I'd used my quirk to fix them as best I could.

He stood, rotating his one good arm and wiped away the blood dripping from the wound on his forehead out of his eyes.

"I'm going to have to be." He replied but even as he said it I watched his legs shake from the struggle of that single movement.

I grimaced.

When I use my Quirk like that, it draws heavily from the reserves of the person that I'm healing as well as my own.

It had to, otherwise I wouldn't be able to manage it on my own.

Aizawa was lucky to still be conscious at this point, given the extent of his injuries that had been healed and the non-stop fights he'd been a part of since this attack had started.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing on my Quirk again as a flash of white covered him for a moment. "I'm tagging in. You take the kids to the entrance and cover me from up there."

Aizawa seemed to be in half a mind to argue with me but decided otherwise, aware that his own condition in addition to the nearby students would render and fight with the Nomu a daunting prospect.

More so than it was already.

"Nomu!" I heard a voice cry out even as a coughing wheeze interrupt the shout.

I turned to see Shigaraki having staggered back upright, having pulled himself up from the trench that marked his passage from where I had kicked him moments ago.

Through the gaps of the hand clutched to his face, and the stringy white hair draping over his eyes I saw a single red eye ablaze with outrage, even as his other hand clutched at where my boot prints were showing up on his side.

"Kill the healer!" He screamed and I felt a cold chill run through me as Nomu's body went taut like a string at the villain's words.

Crap.

Please work, please work, please work!

The Nomu turned and threw itself forward at me, intent on following its master's orders to render me into meaty chunks.

The monstrous villain let out an animalistic sound of surprise as it rebounded backwards, one of its legs having remained behind on the ground and dragging it backwards.

Lucky shoe, you've done it again!

I let out a breath of relief at that even as I hustled Aizawa over to where Midoriya was….running towards me.

Seriously does this Kid not have any sense of self-preservation?

"Sir!" Midoriya slid to a stop before me. "Thank yo…" He began to talk but I didn't have much time for any pleasantries at the moment.

I shoved Aizawa into his hands and pointed up to the Entrance. "Get going. Now." I said shortly, doing my best to force my heartbeat to approach something similar to a human heart rate again instead of a racehorse.

Take a breath.

Midoriya thankfully didn't drop the injured teacher I had just flung at him, but it was near thing, only saved by the helping hands of the female student with the Frog Quirk, Asui.

"You're not coming with us, Kero?" She asked turning her eyes back towards the roaring giant that had been ordered to kill me.

Kurogiri hadn't made a move, thankfully, seemingly only concerned with taking care of the idiot I'd dropped kicked away from the students.

I wanted to shout at them, to scream at them to move, to get away, to know why the hell they weren't running already.

But I also knew showing just how nervous I was, just how close I was to the edge of my ability was the worst possible thing I could do at this point.

If Aizawa knew how little I had left in the tank at this point then he wouldn't leave.

The students might feel that they had to stay and help.

So, with an ease that only experience brought I up my shoulders and shrugged. "It seems my audience still requires some entertainment before they're satisfied." I sighed melodramatically going to grab my hat before remembering halfway through the motion that I wasn't wearing it. "So, I'm going to need to make this performance something special."

"But Sir!" Midoriya intervened, seemingly desperate to stop me. "They said that Nomu was made to kill All Might!"

I felt a shiver run down my spine at that.

Made?

Oh that is a very bad sign.

Despite my new feelings on the matter I rolled my eyes theatrically at him. "Well It's a good thing I'm not All Might then isn't it?"

I spotted movement in the corner of my eye and fought back a grimace.

The Nomu had forced itself forward, tearing part of its own leg off in the process like a rabbit caught by a snare.

Unlike a rabbit however it was quickly pulling itself upright as a new foot regrew itself from the bloody wound in the space of a few breaths.

It regenerates.

Of course it regenerates.

Why is it that everything can heal better than I can!

Am I joke to you, Quirk Jesus?

"Now clear the stage students," I continued on dramatically, as if I wasn't a few minutes away from passing out if I had to keep drawing on my quirk like this.

That and it feels so stupid only wearing one shoe.

I know I'm not off balance because of all the practice I've done in similar attire in anticipation of situations just like this one but I still feel like an idiot.

I turned fully to face the Nomu, soft white energy flowing through me as I felt the Haste take hold once more.

I the muscles throughout my body shriek their torment as I felt the tears I'd accumulated from speeding around all over the place making themselves known to me.

At one time, it would have almost been overwhelming to me.

But pain is practically and old friend at this point.

His visits are rarely welcome, but he's never one to let me fall asleep on the job.

"Time for the Grand Finalé." I muttered as I brought my arms up, hands open wide as I readied myself.

Fists weren't going to help me here.

Given how he was able to react to me during a Superior Haste something tells me I wasn't going to be able to be outrun him at my current level.

So that left this option.

The being known as Nomu let out a bellowing roar and leapt at me, one of it's arms seeming to swell in size as it bought a fist down like a sledgehammer trying to knock in a nail.

My god, he is a fast one for something that big!

If I hadn't had my quirk running through me something told me that I would have been chunky salsa at this point.

Instead I managed to interdict my left palm with the blow and watched as the blow ricocheted off it, the force behind the blow sending my hair waving and causing my eyes to squint reflexively from the wind and dust that came in its wake.

Normally this would be where my opponent would clutch at themselves in agony, consumed by both pain and confusion as they tried to figure out "What the Hell just happened!?"

Nomu in direct contravention of all this proceeded to throw another punch at me.

And another.

And another.

Ever played that old game Tetris?

Imagine playing that game and going for the best score that you can.

Seems simple at first.

But as time goes on, and the music ramps up, the pieces start coming faster and faster and your struggling to see the piece, judge where it should go and placing it, spinning and moving the piece accordingly.

Move to fast and you'll place the piece wrong and ruin your chance at that perfect score.

Take too long and it won't matter, the choice will be taken from you.

The world's most dangerous game of Patty Cake that I was currently taking a part of was a lot like that, with my hands barely moving into position to stop in place to prevent the freight train that was Nomu from punching straight through me, before having to move again to block the next attack that seemed to be materializing an instant later.

And he was getting faster with each blow he threw at me.

My arms shook.

My lungs heaved.

I fought against the sweat that was dripping into my eyes, refusing to blink because the moment I did was going to be the moment that Nomu's fist was going to plow through one side of my rib cage and out the other one.

The sound of the Anti-Symbol of Peace's fists crashing off of my hands was like the sound of a heavy caliber sniper rifle being fired again and again, the slight trickle I felt running down one of my ears a sign that the high pitched ringing noise filling my thoughts was not something I'd been imagining.

Focus!

Don't flinch.

Wait for the right moment, and then act.

If I have faith, it'll appear.

If I lose hope, I'll die.

No pressure Kaito.

I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye, and felt despair grasp at me.

There were still more of those thugs hanging around.

They might have been nothing to a professional hero, but I'm fairly certain Aizawa was unconscious at this point, and the kids were weighed down by his immobile form.

Not good.

Then to make matters worse, a few of them had the bright idea of moving towards me, readying projectile quirks to shoot me in the back.

As much as I'd love to say I could dodge that, my hands were quite literally full with trying to keep Nomu from tearing my head off at the moment

What do I do?

What can I do?

A sound like a cannon going off behind me echoed throughout the USJ, followed by the audible clang of the heavy outer doors of the USJ falling to the ground.

I felt the stirrings of something other then despair, spark into existence.

Nomu paused in his assault of me and backed up, taking up a protective position around Shigaraki.

That's a relief at least.

Few more seconds and that would have gone very bad, very quickly.

"It's fine now!" I heard the familiar voice declare to the world as I watched the number one hero in Japan and arguably the world come to a stop at the top of the stairs and tear off his tie with a single movement. "I am here!"

Despite myself, I almost started relaxing at those words.

But that was one of the reason's he's been number one for this long.

That merely by entering a fight and making that declaration, he can bring hope and the near certainty of victory to what had previously been a life or death struggle.

I'll say one thing though.

I would not want to be the guy that All Might was directing that expression towards.

"I've been waiting Hero." Shigaraki responded, seemingly pleased at this latest interruption "You trash of society."

All Might took off his suit jacket and threw it to the side.

Then between the time it took for it to land he was beside me, the villains that had been surrounding me previously collapsed around me.

I hadn't even seen him move.

"Kanetsuki-san are you alright?" He asked, his soft voice in conflict with his thunderous expression.

God, I was tired.

I could feel that sweet Siren call beckon me, the backlash of my Quirk readily making itself apparent with every passing second.

But the curtain hasn't fallen yet.

The show must go on.

I bit back a groan as I waved a hand back and forth, not willing to let the pain roiling through me be display in any fashion. "I've had worse days." I remarked truthfully, making the most of the time that our opponents seemed to be freely giving us. "But I've got to say, I just don't feel right without my hat."

That was one other thing.

I couldn't use my Quirk to assist All Might in this fight.

Maybe if he needed some urgent healing or something, but with his condition it was doubtful.

We'd learnt about poor interaction between out powers the hard way.

When I Haste someone they move faster.

Sounds like a good thing right?

Well if that person's Quirk has a time limit, it goes by faster too.

Think of it like bumping up the quality of a video or game your playing on your phone.

Sure it looks better, probably even plays better too.

But unless your plugged into an outlet your going to run out of battery a lot faster than if you just went with regular quality.

It had been a hell of an introduction to see the Symbol of Peace go from blurring around the training field to skidding across the floor as an emaciated skeleton coughing up blood.

It's honestly best if I avoid fighting next to him all together.

Speaking of whom.

"Carolina…" All Might blurred forward, both arms crossed in front of him to unleash a devastating cross attack on the leader of this little outing.

With a word from Shigaraki, Nomu interposed itself between the oncoming hero and the villain, its arms outstretched as if it was going to try and catch the blow.

"Smash!" All Might roared, the blow coming down like a falling meteor, the force of it sending the pool behind Nomu into a frenzy of activity.

But the Nomu hadn't moved an inch.

Gulp.

The muscular being seemed to smile at All Might before both its arms came together to try and bear hug him, but the Symbol of Peace smoothly dodged out of the way retaliating with a haymaker to its exposed brain that almost had me wincing in sympathy at the sight of it.

Again, no effect.

All Might dodged out of the way of Nomu's blow again, the fight now moving away from me as the two titans of Strength battled it out, All Might landing strikes to seemingly no effect and Nomu unflinching but at the same time unable to land a hit.

While all this was happening I was doing my best to force my heart rate back down, doing the breathing exercises I was since long accustomed to as subtly as I could.

Every second counts.

So let's go through my options for opponents.

Option one: Nomu.

I'd spent what felt like an hour but probably only amounted to about a minute doing my best to not be reduced into a fine red mist by the Anti-Symbol of Peace and was perfectly secure in saying that there was no way in hell that I was going to be able to go one on one with him and expect to win.

I think I'll leave that one to All Might.

Option two: Kurogiri.

Ah yes, the teleporter. The one whose Quirk causes mine to be about as useful as a plasma tv to an Amish village.

Despite my desire to punch said punk in the face for what he said earlier, as tired as I was and dressed as I was, that wasn't likely to happen any time in the near future.

Hard pass.

"It doesn't work because of shock absorption." Shigaraki said gleefully, the anticipation coming off of him something that was clear to see. "In order to d…"

He was cut short as the playing card I had thrown sliced a thin line across his cheek.

"Talking isn't a free action asshole." I said arm still extended from the throw. "Why don't you lend a hand somewhere else?"

Gotta admit, the fact that it actually connected was mostly luck at this point.

Sadly didn't have the rest of my deck with me.

Because it's in my outfit.

Which I'm not wearing.

God damn dry cleaning.

Lucky I always keep one up my sleeve.

Hey, you never know when you'll need to pull an ace.

Which leaves me with contestant number three.

Who seems to have decided that I'm actually worthy of his notice now and has come after me himself.

That or he's still mad about the fact I dropkicked him so hard he made his own trench.

I'd say fifty-fifty odds on either side taking precedence.

"Take out the healer, and the tank is useless." Shigaraki declared as he moved towards me, his hands flexing menacingly as he closed the distance between us. "Strong defense and Utility, but healing doesn't matter if I my DPS is high enough."

Jokes on you kid, I couldn't pull off another heal right now if my life depended on it.

Not that I'm going to let him know that.

I moved forward, bouncing forward on my toes, dancing to that inaudible rhythm that played in the background.

"A volunteer from the audience! What's your name little boy?" I asked mockingly as I danced around him, throwing out quick jabs with my left to keep him on his toes, taking note of whenever he reached for my hand and using a quick pull of my quirk to pull it back faster then he could grab it.

I was running on fumes at this point.

I'd used a lot of energy last night ensuring I could get there in time to be of any use, and even more doing emergency triage before I'd collapsed into bed in the early hours of the morning.

At least I'd been able to catch a bit of a nap on the car ride back to my apartment.

But even if I couldn't rely on my quirk to bail me entirely out of this one, I've still got a few things going for me.

I stepped back out of the range of another grasping hand thrust out towards me before my own fist zipped forward, the left jab sending his head rocking backwards as it cracked into the disarmed hand that served as his mask.

For one I'm real lanky.

Long legs.

Long arms.

Handyman here can't be more then 5'9" on his best day.

I'm a lot taller then that.

And secondly, I learnt a long time ago how to take care of myself without my quirk.

The Association had included such training for all their little pet projects due the existence of quirks like Aizawa's being out there.

Some learned how to use guns.

Others learned how to use swords or gadgets.

Me?

I danced out of the way of another lunging attempt by the close range quirk user and landed another jab, sending my gloved left hand to crack cleanly into his chin, sending his head rocking back with the recoil.

I had my ass kicked on a regular basis by a grumpy old fart who dragged me to his gym after he found me picking the wallets out of the pockets of the punks who'd tried to mug me because they didn't like the way I looked.

And maybe because some other thing I said about their mother.

It was a long time ago, and probably their fault.

I tsk'd as I withdrew my hand.

That stupid hand mask of his isn't letting me get a good enough connection.

And the fact that I can't use my Quirk on it in these brief moments of contact tells me way more then I ever wanted to know about the authenticity of the hands attached to his body.

Normally I'd be willing to go for the body or the arms but given what a brief touch did to Aizawa something tells me that I don't want to risk him touching me with his hands.

The pale skinned villain in front of me seemed stunned for a moment, one hand going up to touch his mask and readjust it, mumbling something under his breath too quietly for me to hear it.

Then he lunged forward without warning, what had once been erratic movements now swiftly becoming those of a berserker.

Another jab was snapped out and he seemed to step forward eagerly into it, uncaring of the possibility of me hitting him provided he could get his hands on me.

It was a bold move.

And it was probably going to work.

I heard Kurogiri give out a shout in the background as something exploded and the sound of the conflict behind me intensify as a result.

I backpedaled, weaving out of the way of his grasping lunges as I took stock of my options.

No backup.

No gear.

No outfit.

Missing one shoe.

How long has it been since I used my Quirk?

I danced around the fallen form of one of the villain's that All Might had defeated in the blink of an eye, taking care to ensure that I didn't get twisted up and risk tripping in front of the guy who could probably kill me if he got his hands on me.

At that thought, a plan formed in my head.

Now there's an idea.

Had enough time passed for to pull off one last trick for the day?

Take a breath.

I inhaled sharply.

Let's find out.

Instead of retreating I stepped forward this time, lancing forward with a left jab towards the approaching villain.

The blast of air pressure that sent me sliding certainly helped sell the illusion, although it was a very close call between me pretending to fumble and actually fumbling at this point.

As I went to pull it back, I faltered not having to fake the feeling of the pain rushing down my arm from a torn ligament.

It's easy to pretend your in pain if you're not pretending.

Shigaraki mouth opened into a wide, cruel grin at my blunder. His right hand leapt up at my lagging left and his hand snapped shut like a vice around my hand, his fingers interlocked with my own.

"You lose!" He crowed victoriously before he froze, staring at the gloved hand still holding his in place.

"Ta-da." I said with a deadpan voice, smirking at the sudden look of realization that sunk into man's face. "And for my next trick…"

I pulled my left hand out of the glove currently pinning Shigaraki in place and stepped in to the left, ensuring that I had Shigaraki's own body between me and his still dangerous left hand.

As tempting as it was to try and go for the knockout blow to the face, I couldn't disregard the risk that his free hand posed to me.

Instead I stepped forward, I let out a roar as I slammed my right hook as hard as I could into the villain's side, using my whole body to power the punch.

I felt something break beneath my hand as the body blow landed and was mostly certain it hadn't been my hand.

Or at least it hadn't only been my hand.

There is a very good reason that boxing matches take place with people wearing gloves instead of just wailing on each other with your bare fists.

If you don't protect your hands properly your just as likely to break your own bones instead of your opponents.

As I pulled back from the collapsing Shigaraki I stumbled backwards as the floor shook like an earthquake was going off, a plume of smoke extending up from where last I saw All Might and Nomu.

Normally I'd have more to say about that.

But I was a little more concerned with Shigaraki at the moment as he swung towards me with the hand that had been held in place by my glove moments ago.

That was close.

If I hadn't stumbled…

A quick glance caught sight of a pile of dust where he'd been standing.

I felt myself grimace.

Two options are before me to explain how that happened.

Option one: I'm completely tapped when it comes to my Quirk right now, and the man child in front of me got a lucky break.

That's bad.

Option two: whatever Quirk that Handsy over here has that lets him disintegrate things with a touch operates at a higher level then mine, and can destroy things that by all reasoning should not be possible to destroy.

That's far worse.

Shigaraki staggered for a second, one hand coming up to clutch his side and what was hopefully a broken rib or two before he steadied himself and moved towards me again.

Oh for God's sake just fall over already!

What is up with this guy's pain tolerance?

It's insane.

Can't pull off a trick like that any time soon without some time to recover.

Same story with the Haste.

And if I can't pull those off, there's no way I can use any of my other techniques in my current state.

Come on Kaito, think!

" PLUS ULTRA!" The bellowing roar of All Might filled the air.

And then?

Chaos.

A shockwave of pressure exceeding all the ones I'd been fighting through to date crashed into me from the side, sending me sprawling to my side as the whole of the USJ seemed set to shake itself into pieces at this latest outrage.

Thankfully Shigaraki had been caught just as off guard and was struggling to pull himself back to his feet.

A quick glance up revealed the hole that had been blasted into the roof of the USJ.

As well as the spinning black form rapidly growing literally hitting the clouds as it careened into the distance.

Holy Shit.

Well.

That's Nomu dealt with at least.

Now for the other two.

I turned back towards Shigaraki only to see him booking it back towards the center of the arena, where All Might and his own teleporting means of escape was waiting.

Oh no you don't.

I bit back a curse as I started doing my best imitation of a run after him, although it would admittedly be better described as a hobble at this point.

As I came back to the scene I had to bite back a much fouler curse.

All Might had beaten Nomu alright.

But given the look of him right now, he's going to revert back to his other form if a stiff wind looks the wrong way at him.

Shigaraki was standing by Kurogiri, but was looking decidedly unsettled compared to the confidence he'd been displaying up to this moment, one of his hands scratching almost manically at his neck.

"What's wrong?" All Might asked loudly, not moving from his position half obscured by the smoke. "You said you'd 'clear' this or something right? Come and get me if you can." He challenged the hand wearing villain, his focus entirely upon him.

He's got one hell of a poker face I'll say that much.

At least when he's being a hero.

Surprisingly when it comes to poker itself he's not as good.

Not Mic bad per say, just no where near as good as the bluff he's pulling off right now.

Shigaraki seemed to recoil back at that, almost overcome with terror.

But right when he was about to fold, the unimaginatively named Kurogiri leaned down to whisper something.

Right then.

Entrance stage right.

"You know running away before the act is over kind of takes away from the whole experience you know?" I remarked causally, as I strolled forward towards All Might talking care to step on the back of one thugs head who looked like he might have been having the idea to join in and slammed it solidly into the pavement. "It's okay if your scared, Rhapdophobia is a lot more common then people think it is."

I continued my languid looking stroll, which in reality was about as fast as I could manage without risking falling over at this point, walking past Midoriya, Explosion boy, Spiky red head and… oddly familiar ice boy.

How do I…

Not the time.

"For my final act, I'm going to make you disappear." I muttered groggily, staggering to one side before I found my feet again.

Time for good old fall back plan number 12.

Baffle them with bullshit.

Time to draw on one of the most important parts of being a magician.

And a Hero for that matter.

Let's see if I can still bluff like I used to.

I started chanting nonsensically, experience long having taught me that as long as the sounds were done in a clear rhythm, it didn't really matter what I said.

My hands moved through the air, flickering through hand signs as the white light that signified my Quirk use took effect, starting dim but slowly getting brighter as my chanting continued.

Alright then, insert appropriately cliché line…

"This is the dawn of the end of days…"I started dragging my hand in a circle before me, the path they left illuminated by a brightly glowing circle.

Insert spooky circle now…

Thankfully the intensity of said brightness managed to disguise just how terribly drawn said circle was.

Ominous phrase there probably invoking some kind of higher power…

Let's go with a Goddess this time.

Demons are so overdone.

"May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." I intoned dramatically, creating the best approximation of runes I could manage with my hands shaking this badly.

That actually looks better than I normally manage.

Not sure that's a reflection of how bad my eyes are at the moment or how shocking my handwriting is usually.

Food for thought.

Shigaraki having clearly seen me at this point was no longer trying to get back out of Kurogiri to fight me if the expression of terror on his face was any indication.

Well look at that, looks like somebody remembered my Hero name.

Only took me literally shoving this down his throat for him to realize it.

And judging by his reaction, he's at least somewhat aware of what that means in gaming terminology.

Alright then.

Let's finish them off.

I slammed my hands together with a loud clap as if I was praying, the white field of flickering energy intensifying as I drew on the last of my power. "Holy!" I declared with my best approximation of a booming voice as I… did my best impersonation of an overcharged night light.

Yeah, what do you think this is a video game?

Of course I can't use Holy!

But they don't know that.

When the light faded both Kurogiri and Shigaraki were standing before me with their arms upraised, as if to block the no doubt deadly spell that I had thrown at them.

Shigaraki lowered his arms away from his head his expression swiftly transitioning from confusion to understanding.

Well that's me fresh out of ideas.

The villain blurred forward with a leap that I had no way of dodging.

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the USJ like distant thunder and Shigaraki pirouetted backwards, a gout of blood flying up as what was presumably a bullet slammed into the villain's shoulder.

I felt a smile spring into existence across my face.

"Are they here?" All Might asked behind me even as I turned towards the entrance proper.

The sound of the gun firing twice more filled the air, the smoking revolver held firmly in the sure hands of Snipe.

"Sorry, everyone! Sorry we're late!" The unmistakable high-pitched voice of Nezu filling the Arena despite his tiny form. "I gathered all who were immediately available."

Hooray for backup.

That means I won't have to do any more work.

That is sounding real appealing at this point in time.

"I, Tenya Iida, Class 1-A representative, have now returned!" the self named Tenya bellowed out flanked by the Nezu and at least 10 other teachers.

I had to bite back a laugh at that.

Yup.

That's definitely your brother Tensei.

There was a loud "YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" that heralded Mic's appearance among the reinforcements the power of his quirk sending the thugs who had been thinking of rushing towards them tumbling to the ground, crying out in pain as they clutched at their ears in a vain hope to block out the incredible amount of noise.

A series of explosions began to steadily make their way towards us as the united force of UA Academy began making short work of the assorted villainous individuals between us and them.

"Aw man, they're here." Shigaraki complained, in the same kind of tone a child might complain when being told it's time to pack away their toys. "It's game over now. Shall we go home and try again Kur…"

Whatever he was saying was cut short by another bullet slamming into the same arm only lower down on the limb itself rather than the shoulder. He staggered to the floor as two more bullets slammed into his knees, hopefully blowing out the kneecap if there was any justice in this world, before the black mist that was Kurogiri's quirk interposed itself between the remaining rounds seeking to strike him.

Snipe my friend I owe you a drink for that one.

I felt more than saw the pull of Thirteen's Quirk directed towards the hidden foes but by the time it had actually reached them all that was left behind was a few stray stands of black fog, the teleporter and his apparent leader having made their escape.

Well.

We didn't die.

Yay.

I turned slightly and caught sight of the four students still standing there, seemingly unsure of what to do.

With All Might right in front of them, a thin cloud of smoke the only thing obscuring the secret of the Symbol of Peace from discovery.

Come on Kaito, what are you going to do to stop that?

Right, I'm a teacher, time to go act like it.

"You four!" I called out directing their attention towards me, some of them jumping in surprise at being addressed. "Are any of you injured?"

I heard a variety of sounds with a negative connotation.

That's nice.

"Good. Make your way back to the entrance to meet up with your class mates. Your bus will be waiting to take you back for your final class for the day." I said matter-of-factly, delivering the line as if I was commentating on the weather.

Never let them see you sweat.

Even if you are.

Especially if you are.

"But Sir!" The Spiky Redhead protested, making his way towards me. "You need a…"

"The only thing I need, is for you four to get to the entrance, right now." I cut the young man off, not having any of this. Granted normally I would be all about the fine and noble art of shoving work I don't feel like doing onto juniors and then taking all the credit for it.

But given the fact that only half of All Might is inflated at this point I really need them to get going.

"I'm perfectly fine." I blatantly lied to said student taking several causal steps away from them and towards my destination.

I was saved from having to continue any further deceit towards the children as the floor between us rose up seamlessly to create a wall with the students on one side and myself and the now completely deflated All Might on the other, the smoke that was obscuring his form finally dissipating.

"We want to make sure that all the students are safe, so please gather in front of the gate." The gravelly tone of Ishiyama echoed over the wall, explaining just how that had happened. "We will deal with the injured here."

Oh you champion.

Problem solved.

I ignored the rest of the conversation as I slumped forward, staggering towards All Might with what little movement I could manage.

"You all right?" I slurred out, my vision going black for a moment before I found myself almost on the floor if not for a great deal of painful pinwheeling on my behalf.

Toshinori was down on one knee, sitting in one of the many craters that now pockmarked the floor of the USJ. "As you say, Kanetsuki-Kun, I've been worse." He said with a broad smile before he inclined his head in my direction. "Thank you for taking care of them all before I arrived."

I flailed one arm in the limp approximation of a wave towards him. "Don't mention it. Part of the job." I replied raising one hand to wipe the soot and sweat out of my eyes. "Thank you for getting here. Things were looking a bit tight there for a second." I admitted continuing to stumble forward and past the number one hero.

He chuckled at that, coughing up a bit of blood as he did so but I continued forward.

Couldn't do anything to heal him anyway until I had a chance to sleep.

"Kanetsuki-Kun?" All Might inquired behind me, clearly wondering just what I was doing.

"One sec, got to get something." I replied lazily over my shoulder approaching my original destination.

I stumbled over to where the pile of blood and flesh that had once been one of Nomu's legs remained and reached down to push the bloody mess aside with a groan as I felt my aching muscles express their displeasure with that last move.

But I didn't care.

I reached down, brushing aside the discarded meat and pulled out my right boot, absently flicking a particularly clingy piece of flesh off with a shake.

Good old lucky shoe.

All these years, and still going strong.

Granted he's got a few cousins to replace the other shoe which never seems to last as long, but old Lucky?

He's going to outlive us all.

I fell onto my ass next to the pile of flesh and after several failed attempts managed to pull on my boot.

There.

That's better.

Now then.

Time for a nap.

And with that I stopped fighting against the exhaustion that was consuming me and it all went black.

Chapter 4

If you choose magic you will never be able to return to the life you once lived. Your world may be more… exciting… but it will also be more dangerous. Less reliable. And once you begin to walk the path of magic, you can never step off of it.

NEIL GAIMAN, The Books of Magic: The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 4

Nezu sighed as he looked out at the devastated landscape of the USJ, taking particular note of the massive hole that had been blasted in the roof, and the doors that had been knocked off their hinges.

Thank heavens he had Cementoss on staff.

The repair bill was going to be a nightmare.

And yet somehow, still not as bad as last years attempt at rescue training.

Food for thought.

"We need to make some drastic improvements to school security, don't we?"

"Yes." Snipe said matter-of-factly, already recreating the conflicts that must have taken place in the Unforeseen Simulation Joint in his head, making use of his knowledge of his colleagues' abilities.

He still found himself whistling when he found himself staring at the point that Kaito had been blocking the blows of the enhanced titan that was apparently called Nomu, before All Might had proceeded to uppercut it into the cloud belt.

He'd been the first to admit he hadn't really known what to think of the younger man, or why he had decided to become a teacher at UA.

Then one day out of the blue Kaito had asked if he'd been willing to spar with him, so he could practice his defense against an opponent who specialized in oblique attack angles like him.

Snipe had agreed, and after a quick demonstration that yes, he was able to block bullets, and that he also had the capability to heal himself if he didn't manage to block them and they'd both gotten started.

With rubber bullets of course.

Just because he can heal doesn't mean that Snipe should be stupid.

And it had been great, being able to spar against someone who didn't know his tells as well as the other teachers and similarly, having to work to try and figure out Kaito's tells in turn.

"A warp quirk is already very rare, but for a villain to have one, of all things…." Nemuri Kayama, otherwise known as the R-Rated Hero, Midnight pondered before turning towards the Principal of UA, wanting to hear his analysis on the situation.

"How are our wayward teachers doing?" Nezu asked instead, seemingly unaware of his colleague's unasked question.

Midnight frowned slightly at the deflection but continued on regardless. "All Might's in the medbay but he should be out by the end of the day, Recovery Girl's going to address his wound as best as she can." She reported, briefly addressing the memo that the school's primary means of healing had sent to her. "Aizawa's got some damage done to his arm, some kind of localized decay from one of the villains quirks. Judging by the state of his clothes he should be in a far worse state but I'm guessing that Kanetsuki got a hold of him before it was too late."

"And how is our local magician doing?" Snipe asked with a tilt of his masked face. "I need to drop off his phone, someone's been buzzing it with messages every five minutes."

As if on command, the sound of music could be heard as something began vibrating in one of Snipe's pockets.

Midnight sighed at that. "Well he's asleep. Like usual. Principal how is it you managed to hire someone who manages to sleep just as much as Aizawa does?"

"He had excellent references." The small animal said in a deadpan voice. "I'll have to inform the Association that he'll be unavailable for a few days. If last time was any indication he probably won't wake up until tomorrow at least, perhaps even the day after that."

They wouldn't like that, but they would have to accept it.

"Thank you for taking him down to the nurse's office, Nemuri-san." Snipe said with a brief nod.

The woman in question blinked at that. "I didn't take him, I've been here with Nezu. I thought you took him?"

"No, I took Aizawa, and Cementoss took All Might." The gun wielding hero said with an almost audible frown. "Then where is he?"

There was the sound of a high-pitched chuckle and the two teachers looked down to see Nezu indicating towards the exit.

"I believe I may see our wayward comrade in the distance." The principal of UA said politely.

They turned and followed Nezu's pointing finger and caught sight of Kaito.

Both teachers, seasoned heroes and professional teachers, struggled not to burst out laughing.

---

Standing outside with his other classmates as the police did their duty, searching the area and talking to the teachers Eijiro Kirishima was amazed that he wasn't shaking.

They'd just had villains, real villains, attack them while they were on a school trip.

He'd even fought some of them!

For a moment there he thought in some small way that he'd made a small step from the person who'd stood back and watched frozen in fear when it was time to man up.

He'd been in awe of Bakugou, a guy who by no means had the friendliest personality, but the way he just committed to an action and didn't seem to feel anything so much as resembling fear in the process was incredible.

As soon as they'd been teleported to that building, he hadn't stopped to question people, or hesitate with indecision, he just threw himself at the enemies in front of him.

He'd wished he could be that decisive.

And then he'd seen something even more incredible.

He'd watched that new guy, Kane-something standing toe to toe with that massive villain, stopping him in his tracks time and again.

Kirishima knew that if he'd been the one trying to tank those hits he would have been lucky to have survived even one of them.

He'd lost count of the number of punches that he'd blocked with nothing more than his hands, not losing his cool the whole time.

That was the most incredible manly spirit that he'd ever seen.

He'd lost track of him for a bit while All Might had brawled with the big guy, with debris and shockwaves blasting off every few seconds.

But after All Might had sent the villain rocketing out of the USJ, teach had strolled out of the forest like it was a day in the park and started taunting the guy who had run away from him.

And then he started doing that awesome stuff in the air with his Quirk, and the villains had stopped in place!

So manly!

It was like having Crimson Riot as one of his teachers!

He was definitely not regretting coming to UA.

"Let's have the students return to their classroom for now." The police detective in the trench coat addressed the policeman that was standing guard, making his way towards Kirishima and his fellow students. "We won't be questioning them right away, anyway, right?"

Tsuyu hopped over, much like a frog and stopped before the newcomer. "Detective what about Aizawa-sensei and Kanetsuki-sensei?" She asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"And Thirteen?" Mina interjected, clearly worried about the rescue hero.

Kirishima felt a grimace form on his face at that. He hadn't seen Aizawa sensei up close but the state of his clothes and the blood stains seemed to show that he'd gotten the crap beaten out of him by that Nomu guy.

And then there was Thirteen. Their hero suit looked even worse than Aizawa if that was even possible.

"Eraser Head will be just fine, Shirou Madoushi already treated the worst of his injuries." The detective replied with a polite smile, addressing all the students as he did so. "Thirteen has also been treated. The lacerations they received were bad, but she'll be just fine in time."

Oh that's good.

Wait as second…

"Shirou Madoushi!?" Midoriya piped up, shock clear in his voice. "The Magical Healing Hero?"

"The Number Twelve on the Hero Billboard Chart?" Tooru piped up, her gloves waving in the air excitedly.

Kirishima perked up at that.

The Hero of Kurobe Dam.

That was what everyone first thought of when they heard about Shriou Madoushi.

Then there was the fact that he was one of the most prolific Rescue Heroes in Japan, seemingly constantly on the move and teaming up with different heroes as he went to save people and sometimes to fight Villains if they were threatening them.

He didn't do many interviews.

He didn't have any merchandise.

He just… did what he did.

He was one of the biggest up and comers in the Hero scene, and his ranking reflected that.

And he was here?

Kirishima wondered where the number twelve was now?

Maybe healing Thirteen?

Wherever he was, he was certain that it would be manly as anything.

Sprawled halfway up the stairs that led to the USJ's entrance, Kanetsuki Kaito snored like a broken chainsaw, in a position that any all of his colleagues' present had no idea how it was possible to physically fall asleep in.

They'd witnessed him wake up sporadically, stumble his way forward a little bit more, before apparently giving up and going back to sleep again wherever he was at the time.

Eventually, after Nemuri had taken out her phone and gotten more than enough material recorded of her little junior, both her and Snipe picked him up and started making their way back outside.

"She's going to rip him a new one, you do realize that right?" Snipe asked, feeling the slightest bit of pity for what was certainly going to happen to the sleeping man

Midnight giggled at that. "I know. I just wish I could be there to see it." She sighed with a gleam in her eyes.

Snipe could only sigh resignedly at that.

I came to groggily, blinking my eyes as I stared up blearily at the familiar white painted tiles that served as the ceiling.

I frowned.

Wait a minute.

That's not my ceiling.

Then that means…

A dry cough drew my attention to the left, revealing an elderly woman wearing a doctor's coat and using a large syringe as a way to tie her hair back looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

Blast.

"Well, it looks like somebody decided to stop sleeping around on the job." Recovery Girl remarked, her tone an utter deadpan. "Say young man, would you happen to know where my assistant is? Last I checked he looked a lot like you, only not as foolish."

I groaned, bringing a hand up to cover my eyes only to abort the attempt mid-motion as a flare up of pain rocketed down my arm.

Ow.

Bad strain.

Really bad strain.

And apparently not just there if the way my body is protesting is any indication.

Really regretting using Haste so much without giving myself a chance to recover first.

Then again, I wasn't really given much of an opportunity to…

My train of thought was interrupted by a small hand yanking on my earlobe, nearly pulling me out of the bed as I flailed around in a blind panic.

"Pay attention to me when I'm lecturing you Kaito." My superior said in a deceivingly polite tone, still holding my ear in a vice grip.

"Yes ma'am." I grunted out, turning the entirety of my attention towards her. "Did everyone make it out okay? How's Aizawa and Thirteen?"

She looked at me for a long moment, long enough for me to start worrying before she sighed and let go of my ear.

"Thirteen had some lacerations across her back and arms, but I've already seen to her, she'll be up and running in no time." Recovery Girl began, indicating to one of the curtained off beds that Thirteen was probably occupying and if the sound of faint snores are any indication, sleeping in. "Eraser Head's elbow seems to be decayed by something, and he's suffering from acute exhaustion, I've given him a saline drip and some more standard treatments until he's recovered enough stamina for me to treat directly."

I let out a sigh of relief at that.

They're okay.

Thank God.

"Barring some minor bumps and bruises, the students are all fine, with the exception of Midoriya." I watched her face flicker into something very close to annoyance at the mention of little Green. "Again. Broke two fingers so badly they were practically sausages by the time I got a look at them."

I thought back to when I had last seen Midoriya and vaguely recalled seeing some discoloration on one of his hands.

To be fair I was more occupied with healing Aizawa, and then having to deal with the Nomu and Shigaraki.

"He needs to learn how to control his quirk or he's going to start damaging himself beyond the capability of my quirk to fix him. And don't you dare say anything about doing it in my place. One day that boy is going to get into trouble, and if you or I aren't there to heal him if he keeps injuring himself like this, he's not going to be able to save anyone, not even himself."

I frowned but nodded my head.

She wasn't wrong.

He couldn't come to expect that he would always have a healer waiting to fix the damage done to him at the end of the day.

That's just not feasible.

Hell, I am a healer, and my innate regeneration is many times greater than that of an ordinary person but I've still been injured to such an extent that I've been bedridden at times, either through pushing too far past my limits or my own stupidity.

Usually some combination of the two.

Might need to have a word with Little Green about how he's using his quirk, and what it's going to lead to.

Otherwise he's just going to keep getting further up on Recovery Girl's shit list.

"I take it you want to go sleep in your bed instead of staying here in the medbay like a reasonable person?" the Youthful Heroine asked, one eyebrow raised in expectation of my response.

I smiled tiredly at that. "You know me so well, Chiyo-sensei." I replied respectfully, much as I had years ago when I first started interning under her.

Chiyo sighed, seemingly in disgust, but the way her lips were moving upwards suggested otherwise. "I figured as much. Luckily someone volunteered to give you a lift home."

---

That's nice.

Sure didn't want to try and make my way home on public transport like this.

Or fall asleep in a cab on the way.

My mood fell sharply when I turned and watched the person who would be driving me home.

Hizashi stood in the doorway, signature wide grin in full force, clearly holding back his shouted greetings through sheer force of will.

That and the avalanche that would have fallen on him if he'd disturbed the quiet of Recovery Girl's medbay.

Again.

Held in his hands, was the same pink abomination from this morning, cat ears and glitter still sparkling away.

Great.

That's just…

Great.

I found myself roused from what was starting to be a truly blissful amount of sleep by the sound of my phone buzzing away at full volume, blasting away any home of falling back to sleep in the process.

I drunkenly reached for the blasted device and squinted at the screen in the dark lair that was my room and swore.

On the plus side, according to the time on my phone and the fact that didn't hurt, told me that I'd gotten enough sleep to recover.

And apparently according to the messages my car was fixed.

Sweet.

Have to pick that up before work.

I'll need it for tonight.

On the downside, it was still way too early.

Who on earth would be calling this early?

As if summoned by my complaint the phone started ringing again, as the sound of the Chicken Dance indicated that 'KFC' would like to talk to me.

Son of a…

With a grumble, I picked up the phone and braced myself for what was sure to come.

"So…" A familiar voice drawled, dragging the word out far too long. "How's that whole keeping a low-profile thing going for you?"

I let out a groan. "Oh here we go…" I muttered rolling my eyes as I did so.

"I mean I get it." The asshole on the other end of the phone continued talking, not acknowledging my complaint in the slightest. "You youngsters don't want to hang out with your old friend Keigo anymore. Now that I'm too old for a child like you to have lunch with."

I felt my eyebrow twitch at that. "I'm only ten days younger then you, shorty."

"Such insolence!" Keigo replied with a gasp, laughing all the while. "You know back in my day I…"

"Hawks, I swear to God," I interrupted the ceaseless pratter of my oldest friend. "Another word out of you and you'll be sorry."

I heard the number three hero in Japan give off a barking laugh at that. "Consider me appropriately scared then." Hawks responded with a teasing voice. "Now are you coming out to train or am I going to have to break out the boombox again?"

I barely held back a snarl at that.

It would be funny if it was only a joke.

Having one of the most popular hero's in Japan, floating outside your balcony with a boombox blasting 'Rock you like a Hurricane' in the middle of the day, complete with air guitar solo, when some reasonable people (i.e. me) are trying to catch up on sleep, the general public tend to have certain thoughts when you walk out and yell at the bastard in question.

Questions which Hawks plays along with for the sole purpose of driving me insane.

Never have I been so grateful of the fact that I'm apparently unrecognizable out of my Hero outfit.

Hawks laughed again.

Apparently didn't managed to hold back that snarl as well as I thought.

"See you on the roof in five."

Asshole.

I hung up the phone and was surprised to find that my hero outfit was hanging up in front of me, freshly cleaned.

The post it note stuck on the front told me who I had to thank, and I resolved to buy Hizashi, a beer next time he dragged Aizawa and me out and not lace it with laxatives like I'd been planning to originally.

I swiftly changed into my uniform, clipping the belt around my coat shut and ensuring my side bag and hidden pockets were already packed.

I quickly stuffed my work clothes into a gym bag with one hand as I wrestled my boots, both lucky and his more mundane brother on and made my way to the door.

Then I grabbed my hat, placed it firmly upon my head and made my way to the roof to meet with my oldest friend.

I pulled open the door leading to the inside of our little training ground, retrieving the key from the lock without a second thought and placing it on the hook on the inside of the door, massaging my shoulders as I did so.

I might have been more than used to having Hawks serve as an impromptu taxi service over the years, but it didn't change the fact that being hoisted up like that was by no means a natural feeling experience.

Hawks casually walked past me down the stairs, one of his feathers streaking off into the darkness, a loud click signaling the flicker of lights illuminating our path downstairs.

"And I promise, I'll drop you off at the mechanics when we're done. Then you can pick up your car and not have to rely on your big brother to give you lifts everywhere."

I scoffed at that. "I'm certainly glad it isn't a tall order for you. I'm sure you'll grow to surpass it if it is."

Ah, good old short jokes.

Truly the height of comedy.

Hawks flipped me the bird before he vanished off the stairs and into the studio below.

This right here was our own little home away from home.

While we were still bunking with the Association we had both gotten frustrated to the point of tears by the fact that the training rooms that were needed to really let loose with our powers and fight without needing to worry about bystanders were always seemingly in use by someone, and even when we did get out turn with them, we never seemed to have enough time, or we weren't able to schedule training together.

When the old man passed away, I'd been surprised to find that he'd left me his boxing studio in his will.

For a while I thought about living here, and at times when I couldn't make it to wherever I was supposed to be resting my head I did crash here on occasion.

But whenever I thought about changing it into someplace to live, I felt something twist inside of me.

The old man wouldn't have wanted that.

So Hawks and I, mostly Hawks to be perfectly honest, came up with a better idea.

With the help of all the petty cash that we could spare, we did a different kind of renovation.

We closed off entry from the ground level entirely, and turned what used to be a dilapidated boxing gym, into the no holds bar sparring room that we'd always wanted.

Padded floor, wall and ceiling.

Weapon Racks.

Sparring Dummies.

Granted it was a bit of a pain for me to get in here without Hawks, but I had my own means of getting in.

By the time I'd made my way down the stairs Keigo had already thrown the gym bag he'd been carrying into the corner and was preforming some light stretches, bouncing from one leg to the other as he loosened himself up. "Took you long enough. Did you get lost?" He asked mockingly, a smirk on his face as continued stretching.

I started doing the same, making my way through my basic routine before I deigned to reply to my opponent's unremarkable words.

"What are we training with today then, you great feathery chicken?" I challenged, stretching out my arms as I did so.

There was a flash of something metallic to the right and with a brief pull of my quirk I managed to snatch it out the air before it collided with my face.

That's one good thing about being able to accelerate your reflexes whenever you feel like it.

You tend to react really quickly to sudden surprises.

"Swords." I muttered in slight disgust, looking down at the katana in my hands with distaste. "Really man?"

Hawks rolled his eyes at that. "Yes, really Kaito. I don't know why you're complaining, it's obvious to anyone with a functioning set of eyes that you've got one hell of a talent when it comes to them."

I pulled a face. "I just don't like them Keigo." I replied mulishly, refusing to speak of the real reason.

It didn't really matter anyway.

The hero in front of me was one of the few people that actually knew why I loathed the weapon in my hands.

Unfortunately, he also didn't happen to give a shit.

The feathers that made up Hawks' wings shifted before forming a facsimile of a blade in his hand, which he twirled with a lackadaisical smile.

The feather sword before me might look stupid, but I'd witnessed Hawks use those feathers to slice through solid stone.

"Whatever. Well I need to practice against someone that actually knows what to do with the pointy end of a sword, so that leaves the most talented swordsman I know."

I paused at that, thinking over his words before a grin spread across my face.

"Yoroi Musha found out you've been slacking with your sword practice?" I said knowingly, and my grin spread further as I watched my oldest friend twitch violently in response to that name.

Knew it.

Yoroi Musha, one of the most experienced Heroes in the Japanese circuit, had once taken on Hawks as his sidekick when we were both much younger at the request of the Association.

Hawks was, and still is to some extent, a naturally lazy individual whose greatest desire is to laze about without a care in the world to worry about.

His mentor on the other hand, is someone who has been one of the premier vanguards against villainy since he was our age, and is essentially the closest thing the modern world has to a forever vigilant samurai eternally sworn to the code of justice.

Hawks found out the hard way, that one of the main reasons that this is the case even now, is that every waking moment that the old man can spare is dedicated to training. And he does not expect perfection from himself or his underlings.

He demands it.

That being said, the fact that a man old enough to be my grandfather can still even now preform the entirety of his grueling workouts without the benefit of a healing factor like mine still astounds me.

The sheer force of will that drives the old master is something to behold.

Hawks learned much during his time, and it was there that he first started to become truly formidable with his feather sword.

The one downside Hawks learnt was that even though the internship may have ended, Yoroi Musha didn't seem to care. And whenever Hawks' started to forget to practice with his 'weapon' sooner rather than later the Equipped Hero would show up out of nowhere and proceed to brutalizetrain him until he was back at as he would grump and growl as "acceptable."

Despite the fact that Hawks could probably beat the old man handily in a fight these days, I think he's still traumatized from the time he spent interning for him.

"Guess I could use the practice." I admitted, drawing the blade out of its scabbard to examine it briefly. "How long do we have?" I asked, thinking back to our last little spar.

Hawks had needed to abandon our match at the climax as his patrol was about to start.

That and the fact that I was running late for my next appointment at that point.

But the first reason makes it sound more like its Hawks' fault so I rely on that one more.

"Long enough." He promised, flourishing his blade, even as I watched another blade form out of his wings in his free hand, a sure sign that he wasn't going to be starting slowly and ramping up this time.

We didn't bother with not using our quirks in spars like this.

The point was to go at each other with everything we had, no holding back, to push each other further along in the process.

It was my frustration in getting my ass kicked by Keigo that had let to me further refining Haste until I could use its upgraded version.

Likewise, when the ratio flipped towards my direction Hawks learnt how to react even faster with his feathers and how to eschew controlling them with gestures in an effort to counter it.

I felt a fierce grin form at that, even as I changed my stance, sliding the blade back home into the scabbard held in my left hand.

With my free hand I grabbed my hat and tossed it lightly forward between us, having it freeze in the air at about eye level.

I bent my knees, sliding one foot forward slightly as the white glow of my quirk started flowing out of me, my right hand firmly grasping the hilt of the sword.

Hawks own grin turned feral as he watched me, a few stray feathers floating above him now, poised as floating daggers ready to be launched at a moment's notice.

The brief Stop I'd used on my hat ended.

The world went white.

It hit the ground.

I moved.

Hawks dashed forward, his feather daggers hurtling through the air beside him even as he started swinging his own blade.

And then?

Chaos.

I staggered into the Principal's office the following morning with a yawn, absently rubbing at the cut on my cheek that hadn't finished healing yet.

Damn it Keigo, just because I've got a slight healing factor doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt when you cut me, you great feathery pr…

"Kaito-Kun." The principal's words interrupted my thoughts of vengeance, drawing my attention back to the here and now.

"Yes, sir?" I responded automatically, not having a clue if he'd said anything important earlier.

I was back in the suit that served as my teaching attire, my hero outfit locked in the back of my car.

While my outfit is great for many things, teaching in a class room is not one of them.

Nezu gestured to his left and I suddenly became aware of all the other people that were present in the room, seated around a U-shaped desk that I was fairly certain had not been there last time I'd been in here. "We were just about to get started. Please take a seat."

I sat down in the empty seat next to Kan, nodding a greeting as I did so and started flicking through the papers that had been placed there, with a summary of the information the police had managed to discover printed upon it.

Absentmindedly, I pulled a coin out of a pocket, and started fiddling with it in my left hand, flipping it for a moment before deciding on having it dance across the back of my hand.

As I started scanning the detective, Naomasa continued speaking from where I had apparently interrupted him.

Whoops.

"The police have investigated the group calling themselves the league of villains, and there does not appear to be anyone registered with the name Shigaraki in his twenties or thirties with a Quirk that lets him disintegrate anyone he touches." Naomasa reported, briefly checking his own notes before continuing. "It's the same with the villain called Kurogiri with the Warp Gate. They are probably not citizens and are using false names. In other words, they are people with unregistered quirks, who are part of societies underbelly."

Hmm.

Well that sounds about right.

Of course things couldn't be that simple.

Kan Sekijiro, otherwise known as the Blood Hero: Vlad King frowned at that. "You mean we don't know anything." He said, looking over some of the notes that the police had provided us.

He was teaching the other first year hero class, right?

It could have just as easily been him in this situation so I understand his concerns.

"We must hurry. Once their ringleader Shigaraki's gun wounds heal, they'll definitely try again. It'll be a pain." Snipe said decisively, addressing the table.

"Their ringleader, huh?" All Might murmured to himself, a distant look on his face.

"What is it all Might?" Nezu spoke up, asking for the number one Hero to share his opinion on the matter.

"It was a bold attack that normal people wouldn't carry out even if they thought of it. To suddenly go on an on with his wild statements like that, although he didn't talk about his own Quirk, he was bragging about that Nomu's quirk to anyone who would listen." All Might began, and even in this smaller form his words held a weight to them that made it seemingly impossible to interrupt him. "And when things didn't go the way he wanted, he was visibly upset. Well the incident with the quirk was also to force my hand, but…" All Might trailed off, his brow furrowing.

"Even so, it was foolish to throw away the advantage of having unknown Quirks when fighting against Heroes." Nezu remarked, adding his own opinion to the discussion.

"An amateur." I agreed with All Might, still dancing the coin across my knuckles as an afterthought as I reexamined my own experiences with the leader of 'the League of Villains.' When I fought him he used terminology more akin to video games then real life, and seemed to believe that the knowledge that he had derived from it was equivalent to the real world. "He doesn't seem to be fully in touch with reality. He seems to think it's a game of sorts."

"He made immature, wild statements with a straight face. He bragged about his possessions. He thought everything would simply go his way. Adding that to what I saw of him when he carried out the attack, the picture U got of Shigaraki is someone who hasn't gotten rid of his childish sense of omnipotence." All Might listed out before coming to the obvious conclusion. "A man-child."

Someone devoid of the common sense and morality instilled by standard society.

It sure fit the bill I'll say that much.

"A child with that amount of power?" Vlad King responded in a loud voice, seemingly perturbed by the picture that had been painted.

"Could it be that he never received the Quirk Counselling every child gets in elementary school?" - Midnight hypothesized, trying to think of a reason that a person like Shigaraki could exist in today's society.

"That's presuming he even went to elementary school." I said darkly, my thoughts flashing back to memories that were best off forgotten. "You'd be surprised how often people fall through the cracks in society."

There was a moment of silence after my statement, no one seemingly willing to comment on my statement.

"Well," Snipe interjected, drawing the conversation back to the topic at hand. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"There were 72 villains arrested the other day at the USJ. They were all small timers that lurked in back alleys. But the problem is how they all agreed with that man child and followed him. In the current environment saturated with heroes, villainous people who have been oppressed may be drawn to that kind of simple minded evil."

"That's true." Sekijiro agreed, one of his hands tightening into a fist for a moment before relaxing.

"I agree, but not with the idea that Shigaraki knows anything about charisma." I interjected, drawing the attention of the room back to me. "I had a little talk with one of the villains during the assault. Shigaraki killed one of the small timers in front of them. Fear can be one hell of a motivator."

There are plenty of people who don't know what to do with their quirks."- Snipe

"This is alarming, though…"- Midnight

"Well it's thanks to you heroes that we are able to devote ourselves to our investigation. We'll expand our search network and continue to assist in arresting the perpetrators."

"A man-child." Nezu remarked, clearly thinking aloud as he examined the situation. "In a sense, he's like our students. He still has room to grow. If there were someone capable of backing him, trying to cultivate his malice…" he trailed off.

That was the scary thing about Nezu, for all of his small stature he was still the person I'd want to fight the least in this whole room.

At his core, he's a schemer.

And he's very good at what he does.

Which reminds me of something else.

"There's one more thing we need to worry about." I spoke up, drawing the attention back towards me. "When Shigaraki was talking about that Nomu, he said that it was made to kill All Might. Key word there being made."

"Which implied the existence of another member of the League." Nezu spoke up, clearly grasping my train of thought. "One that is capable of creating beings tailor made to fight other heroes."

"Perhaps this villain mentor you were worried about?" Sekijiro suggested, even as he started to get up from the table, his home room about to begin in a few minutes.

"Best case scenario, yes." Snipe gave his own thoughts on the matter. "Worse case, there's even more members of the league that haven't revealed themselves yet."

Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of the bell signaling the start of the school day buzzing over the school's intercom and we all began packing up and making our way out of Nezu's office, with Yagi transforming out of his emaciated state into the familiar form of the Symbol of Peace and escorting the detective out.

"Kaito-Kun, a moment of your time before you leave." Nezu requested, causing me to halt in my advance towards the door and spin on my heel to face my boss.

"Something I can do?" I asked, my mind still half concerned with the debriefing that had just taken place and the classes that I still had to teach today.

"I'd like you to start teaching the first years in the heroic department your class." Nezu said in way of an introduction, cutting short any other thoughts in an instant.

"When?" I replied after a moment's hesitation, already running the calculations in my head.

"Not immediately, we don't want to distract them from the Sports Festival. I was thinking sometime soon after that." He suggested politely.

This early?

My class kind of relies upon the fact they've already been taught a few things first.

I'm going to need to restructure the whole thing, aren't I?

Is it going to make sense if I don't?

I sighed.

No, it won't.

Well there go my plans for the weekend.

"Any particular reason for the sudden change up?" I asked my boss, honestly curious as to the logic that could have led one of the smartest people on the planet let alone Japan to have come to this decision.

"A hunch." Nezu said proudly, pointing a hand up towards the ceiling as he did so.

"A hunch." I parroted back, suddenly far less confident in the supposed intelligence of my immediate superior.

Nezu smiled widely at me. "Would have you preferred I said animal instinct?"

I sighed at that.

Well regardless of my own thoughts on the matter, boss man wants this to happen.

"Additionally, that request I made of you a few weeks ago, do you think that you and Snipe will be ready in time?" Nezu asked popping his chin up on one of his tiny little arms.

I grinned at that.

"We've been ready for weeks sir." I responded confidently, flicking my coin up into the air as I did so. "And I promise you this much."

I clapped my hands together over the falling coin before pulling them away, revealing the coin to be nowhere in sight. "It'll be a show to remember."

I paced at the front of the room, one hand on the remote as I signaled the next slide to show up on the board.

"Now tell me. Looking at these images, which one do you think is the villain, and which one do you think is the hero?" I asked, gazing around the room for someone to answer my question.

Most of the third years seemed to be doing their best to avoid my gaze, clearly exhausted and counting down the minutes until the day was over and they could stumble home into bed.

Granted so was I.

But as I was being paid to teach and not sleep, if I had to suffer, then they had to as well.

The first picture was of a figure in a skin tight costume with vibrant colors, swinging through the air with acrobatic grace on a bright and sunny day.

The second was entirely different, a figure in an armored suit in dark colors, clearly intended to blend into shadows and darkness, three shuriken held firmly in one hand, half concealed in an alley as rain poured down from the night sky."

I received a host of answers from my students, with the grand majority of the room deciding that the figure in the armored suit was the villain, with a small minority seeming to think that the figure in the spandex suit could be the villain instead.

I shook my head and sighed dramatically, clicking the next slide forward as I did so.

"You are all, in fact, both wrong." I revealed gesturing back to the board, the pictures now replaced with the old comic books that the two heroes were drawn from. "None of them are the villain."

There was the sound of groans and complaints of unfairness from my students but like any good adult, I ignored them entirely and got on with my job.

"Both of them are heroes, but they both take very different approaches to how they be a hero such as it were." I continued the slide show continuing even as the fictional heroes were now replaced with more modern ones, of differing styles of heroism. "This is something that's still valid in today's society. Some heroes like Eraser Head make use of stealth and ambush tactics to confront villains, techniques that some would argue are villainous compared to the straight forward and honest battles of heroes like Endeavour or Miruko."

"Now building upon that, All Might is regarded by many to be the ultimate example of heroism of the modern era, the ideal for all other heroes to strive after." I paused and took the time to meet the eyes of each of my students as I continued on. "I want you to all to think on just why that is. What makes this one man, stand above all the others as the number one. Is it one thing, or a series of things?"

"I want you to imagine that you, as you are right now, are the number one hero in Japan. My question for you is this. Do you think that they you would be worthy of that title? If you don't think you are, then tell me why. And don't just say because I don't have experience that's a cheap answer."

There were a few chuckles, but most of the students had contemplative, clearly contemplating the question I had posed to them.

"I want you to examine yourself, put yourself in the same situations that the heroes who have come before you have faced and triumphed over and ask, just how would I have faced such a scenario." I continued on, wanting to keep striking at this while the iron was hot.

Almost as if summoned by my words the sound of the ringing bell signifying the end of classes for the day had my students scrambling to pack up their things.

Well.

That's that then.

"I'll expect to hear some of your answers in our next class. And remember your essay on whether Kant's Categorical Imperative is a valid moral theory in today's society is due in two weeks. And I want your answer to the question, not someone else's. If I find out that someone's answer isn't theirs then you'll be spending as many detentions as it takes with me after school until you've given me your own answer, is that clear?"

There was a chorus of replies of varying from groans of dismay to cheery affirmations depending on the student as the room quickly emptied itself out.

As my students vacated the room, I quickly began packing my own gear into my bag, before swiftly making my way towards the underground staff car park.

Lord above, I was so grateful for the fact I didn't have to sit in Mic's clown sidecar seat again.

And the less said about public transport, the better.

It's gotten better over the years but the fact of the matter is that some things haven't quite been updated for the taller members of our society yet.

I turned the corner and went to make my way down the corridor leading to the staircase that would grant me access to my chariot and swore internally as I beheld the throng of people blocking my way.

You know for once, I'd like to actually be something that actually resembles being on time, you know?

Is that so much to ask?

Alright let's see what the hold up is.

"You students are blocking the hallway." I drawled out as I approached, ensuring that my boots were clicking loudly against the floor as I did so. "I do hope you have a good reason for doing so?"

Loud footsteps, an authority figure looking down at you with disapproval, and a demand for explanation.

The perfect trifecta.

I received a cacophony of excuses and reasons being thrown at me, even as I took in just which class room they were standing in front of, as well as the make up of the students who were even now crowding the damn corridor.

I see.

I swear it's the same nonsense every year.

"You came here to challenge those in the Hero class, stating that your coming for their seats in the sports festival." I summarized blandly, making full use of my height to stare down at the students that were beginning to now edge away from the tall teacher that was approaching them. "I applaud your spirit if nothing else, but if you truly are aiming for one of their spots, then why are you wasting your valuable time not training?"

Several of them started at that, their expressions changing to a whole host of different expressions ranging from shame to anger before the group that was blocking my way dispersed all making their way towards the stairs that led to the exits.

I may have made use of Ominous Glare No. 2, complete with white light bleeding out of my eyes at the more stubborn ones until they decided that they had somewhere better else to be.

Kids these days.

I heard the students of class 1-A start talking again, an explosion of different conversations and questions that I honestly didn't have time for now.

I was running late enough as it is.

But I suppose I can clarify one more thing before I go.

"That wasn't just directed at them." I said finally, turning back to the frozen members of Class 1-A. "All of you are good. The USJ proved that much. But there's a lot of people who are 'good' out there. I expect more from you. For those who much is given, much is expected. Prove to them that you deserve your place in this class."

I watched as they seemed to stand up straighter at the challenge I had laid out, seemingly focused on the task at hand.

Well, my job here is done.

I went to leave but remembered my earlier promise to talk to little Green about his quirk usage before he managed to break something he couldn't have fixed later on.

May as well.

"Midoriya, a word if you please." I spoke, before I made my way down the mostly empty corridor.

"C-Coming sir!" The hero in training said with a stammer, quickly following after me.

"Do you know why I'm talking to you now Midoriya?" I asked, buying myself time to properly word what I wanted to ask in my head.

Look I wasn't expecting to do this right now alright?

Thought I'd have a bit longer.

"Did you want to ask me about the villain attack sir?" Midoriya responded hesitantly, clearly not showing much confidence in his answer.

"Not quite. The reason I wanted to talk to you was about your Quirk."

I watched as Midoriya tensed at that remark.

Odd.

Perhaps he feels sensitive about the fact that he's so new to having a Quirk.

His paperwork indicated that up until recently that he was entirely Quirkless.

A rarity for sure, but not an impossibility.

"My Quirk, sir?" Midoriya parroted, his brows furrowed together.

Actually, that may explain a lot of things.

Given how recently he got the Quirk, then perhaps he hasn't had any time to perform any proper analysis on his own Quirk.

"Your Quirk is a super strength type, correct?" I asked rhetorically, waiting for Midoriya to respond in the affirmative before I continued. "What do you know about how it works."

Midoriya blinked at my command, but I watched as his mind started to work, and if his written test scores are any indication, he's got quite the talent when it comes to reasoning.

"My Quirk lets me make use of a large amount of… energy to greatly enhance my attacks or movement by concentrating it and releasing it. I've been able to concentrate it even further so I only damage a finger instead of a limb, but I still can't control it very well."

Aha.

And there is our problem.

But I can't just feed it to him.

Knowledge alone won't help him here.

He's got to realize the issue himself, or it'll just make things worse.

"Sounds like your coming at it from the wrong angle then." I remarked, hiding a grin at the startled look that appeared on Midoriya's face at that. "When I was first learning how to use my quirk on myself, I made a similar blunder. You're not seeing the forest for the trees."

I wasn't lying there either.

The less said about my first few attempts at using Haste on myself, with the aim of only enhancing my hand to try and punch faster the better.

I still shuddered thinking about it.

Looks like I've lost Little Green if the incomprehension on his face is any hint.

But I'm already running late as it is.

Screw it.

One last metaphor for the road.

"Midoriya I want you to imagine a river. Now imagine using a china tea cup to try and move the water from the river to refill a bucket." I began, repeating words that had once been said to me, many years ago. "It will take twenty perfect trips between the river and the bucket to fill it with the tea cup, and the cup will break if too much pressure is placed on it."

Midoriya had started writing down what I was saying at some point, frantically scribbling away in one of the notebooks that he always seemed to have on him.

That's one way to ensure you don't forget it I suppose.

"Each trip will take forty seconds. What is the fastest time you can fill the bucket without breaking the tea cup?" I watched Midoriya stop, doing the calculation in his head and jumping to give me the answer before I held up a hand to stop him. "Think on it over the weekend. The fastest way to fill the bucket."

And with that I left, making my way towards the stairs that led to the staff car park at a fast walk but not breaking into anything faster than that.

For better or worse, those kids have already come face to face with a little bit of what heroes can come up against out there in the big wide world.

Next time they might not be lucky enough to come up against small fry.

Much as I'd love for people like Little Green to have the time to be able to make the same mistakes I had when I was first learning, something tells me he won't have the time.

Call it a hunch.

I walked into the store with a practiced smile, walking up to the counter with an ease that came from plenty of familiarity at this point.

Thank God they stay open this late.

Literally every other florist on this side of town is closed by this time.

"Well if it isn't the most magical bachelor I've ever met." The brightly smiling florist behind the counter called out, giving a wave as I got closer. "Here to pick up the usual?"

"Ah, dear Ruka, the fact that an effervescent angel like yourself can deign to speak to a lowly mortal like me always gives me hope that this time will be the one!" I replied in a similarly over the top fashion, dramatic flourish and all.

Ruka bought a hand to her face in in mock mortification. "Oh my, such honeyed words! What will my husband think, with such a ravenous beast before me?"

I heard a laugh emanate from the door leading to the back of the shop, the heavy vibrations signifying the approach of the other owner of the Flowering Stone.

"Probably a prayer for that poor unsuspecting beast." Ishi replied with another laugh that sounded like a landslide, the thick stone arms of the florist clutching the bouquet I'd ordered with surprising delicacy.

Ruka pouted at that, sniffing and turning her head away from her husband.

At least she hadn't tried to punch him like last time.

As it turns out, when your arms are made of stone, when someone tries to punch them, they tend to get hurt in the process.

"Seriously though, again?" Ishi asked with an eye roll at his wife's antics, handing over my purchase as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Much as I appreciate the business perhaps you should purchase a different type of flowers? Change things up a bit? You're never going to settle down at this rate."

Ruka chimed in at that, seemingly having forgiven Ishi for now. "I'm sure I find someone who'd be more than happy to go out with you if you keep having trouble like this."

I laughed at that, even as I nodded in thanks to the pair. "I just want to be sure I find the right one, that's all." I replied, turning and walking back to my car, waving a goodbye as I did so. "See you in two weeks!"

I opened the door, gently placed the bouquet on the passenger seat and sighed before gazing at the clock on the dash of my car.

Damn that's late.

And it's a long drive too.

Let's get started.

I looked at the reflection of myself in my car's window and vainly tried to make myself look at least somewhat presentable.

I know she never says anything about the way I look, but I always feel like I've insulted her if I don't put the effort in.

With my last minute grooming somewhat accomplished I picked up the flowers from where I'd placed them on the roof of the car and started striding down the cobblestone path.

I've walked down this path so much that I can do it blindfolded at this point, but instead I simply breathed in the crisp night air and sighed.

I did love nights like these.

And so did she.

I reached the end of the path and took a left, walking up the stairs onto the upraised area next to the path and came to a stop before a very familiar name.

"Hey there squirt." I said quietly, a soft smile on my face. I went to the vase and removed the flowers I had left there from my last visit and placed the new ones back in. "Bought your favorite."

I stood there and listened for her reply, the wind whistling around me.

"Sorry I was late. Yeah, I know I really should work on that one of these days, but this time I had a good reason." I promised, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly as I did so.

And so, I stated regaling her with stories about what had happened since I last saw her, about teaching at UA and the worries I had about whether I was good enough, about the encounter with the villains at the USJ, training with Hawks again, even about the ongoing antics of Ruka and Ishi.

By the time I was finished it was well and truly late, and I knew by the time I got home I was going to be lucky to have more than a few hours sleep before I would have to face the world once more.

"Well, time for me to get going then." I said apologetically, stretching and letting out a series of wince inducing cracks and pops from my back as I did so. "I'll see you next week."

I waited for her reply before I turned and made my way back to my car, treading the familiar path back to the car park and the long drive back that awaited me.

I silently got into my car, started it, and made my way out of the cemetery.

I sometimes questioned why I went.

Why I did this week after week.

Was it some form of morbid penance?

A way of punishing myself for not being there for her?

I don't know.

I don't think so at least.

Despite all my supposed power, all my 'magic', I couldn't use it to save the people that mattered most to me.

I knew a part of me broke when she died.

It wasn't fixed yet.

I wasn't sure I wanted it to be fixed.

But I think it was more than that.

I think that every time that I went to see her, that I told her about my week, and about how the world was changing, It was like she was still with me.

That I was keeping her memory alive, so I'd never forget just how special she was.

If she was alive now, she'd have been in elementary school.

A part of me knew that fact was one of the reasons that I'd accepted Nezu's offer in the first place.

But even ignoring all that, I enjoyed working as a teacher.

I enjoyed watching the kids grow and adapt into their own kind of heroism, and helping them along the way.

So even if I couldn't save her.

I could be someone that she would be proud of.

AN:

Well, there we are!

Sorry for the delay, my issue with my back exacerbated until I was bedridden for the better part of two weeks and I was in no state to keep writing this.

I should be posting some pictures of what Kaito's Hero Outfit looks like, and we finally got his Hero name as well!

I contemplated just having it be in English, but I think it sounds better in Japanese.

As always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you thought in the comments!

Chapter 5

Albert Einstein wrote, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Chapter 5

I pulled back my hand, the white glow fading as I did so and examined the patient in front of me. "Alright, how do you feel now?"

Takeyama Yu got up from the bed I had her laying on and started stretching, testing her limits and doing a number of interesting things to the skin tight bodysuit that I had long since grown immune to when I was acting in this role.

Compared to that one-time Nemuri walked in wearing her old outfit to get a reaction out of me this is nothing.

When I was acting as a healer, that's all I was strictly professional.

When you could be holding someone's life in your hands, you can't afford to be distracted.

So, I don't allow myself to be distracted.

"I feel… better." She said slowly, sounding surprised at just how much improvement had taken place in the short amount of time. "And… tired."

Severe muscle strain from having to catch and then hold a collapsing bridge until other heroes could evacuate all the civilians that were still stuck on it.

Turns out it's rather hard to practice holding a deadlift when you're the size of a building.

I nodded at that unsurprised. "Like I told you, I just enhanced your body's rate of healing momentarily. That means your body uses the same amount of energy it would have used to heal you over a long time, into a very short time." I said with practiced ease, taking the bottle of what I charmingly called "Mana" and I-Island called Solution X-R-1886-CC, and handing it to my client.

I like my name better.

She all but snatched the bottle in my hands in her haste to drink it and after the first swallow she stopped retching at the delightful taste.

Yeah.

That's the reaction everyone has to it the first time.

And the second time.

And pretty much every other time as well.

I myself am very familiar with the taste, as Mana is exceedingly helpful in dealing with the unruly horse that is my metabolism, providing me with enough energy and sustenance to experiment with my Quirk for longer periods when I first got started really trying to experiment with it.

It grows on you.

Like mold.

Or some kind of sentient fungus who hates the concept of good taste and wants it to die.

Apparently, Tachyon infused liquids do not taste do good.

No matter what time it is.

Rimshot!

Mount Lady thanked me for the healing and probably said some other things as well, but I've got to be honest after a full day of healing I find it really hard to listen to small talk.

I gave my standard farewell of, "try to take better care of yourself" in the vain hope that this time, somebody, would actually listen to me and I wouldn't be seeing them again within a month's time.

"Alright, anyone else left on this list?" I asked tiredly, pushing my hair out of my eyes as I did so.

God damn hair.

It's grown too long again.

Yet another downside about a Quirk which makes everything go faster.

Going to need to get that cut.

And get another bottle of hair dye, had to use the last of the old bottle after the USJ debacle.

Here's hoping it's on sale.

That stuff is ludicrously expensive.

It's what I get for choosing brown over black apparently.

"Only one more, looks like Endeavour managed to overdo it." My assistant Yomi said, taking care to take a step away from me at the look that appeared on my face. "Again."

I let out a groan, putting my head into my hands as I fought the urge to scream in frustration.

God damn it Endeavour.

Ever since the Association had started marketing my services as a way of ensuring that Heroes could stay on the top of their game and get back into the field by shortening recovery time, Todoroki Enji had been making full use of that fact.

He's my most regular client, bar none.

Every time I see him, it's always because he's pushed his body too far again, having strained or torn something by pulling off some crazy maneuver or refusing to give his body enough time to rest between patrols.

He's an abrasive asshole, at the best of times.

Similarly, Enji isn't exactly my biggest fan either, both for my personality and more recently the fact that I stepped back from my duties here to take up teaching at UA, which further extended the time between these visits.

Despite that, even with my own private thoughts that the man is a walking dumpster fire given human form at times, I do respect him for the work he does as a hero.

The man's been giving a hundred percent of himself into the job, without seeming to stop for well over twenty years at this point.

What I had learned from him still served me today, and much of my battle strategy of ending fights as quickly and decisively as possible was derived from his example.

Enji seems to be driven by a constant state of dissatisfaction in everything around him, but even more than that, his dissatisfaction with himself.

Even with his status as the Number Two, he's unsatisfied, and his ongoing struggle to reach the top of the list is one of his defining features.

On the other hand, it's also one of his greatest flaws.

When Enji focuses on something, he does so to the detriment of all other things.

"Alright let's get this over with." I said with a sigh, slapping my hands together to wake myself up.

I approached the door where Endeavour was waiting and pulled it open, sorting out my notes as I did so.

I had a few essays that I hadn't managed to finish reviewing yet in my bag. I'd have to get around to reading through them.

God, I hope it was better than the last few I had to suffer through.

The next time someone tries to compare Destro to Nietzsche I'm going to hurt somebody.

Most likely me.

"Okay, what's the iss-WHAT THE!?"

Enji glowered at me from his place on the bed, both arms immobilized in casts that were strapped to his chest.

That was an issue.

I was far more concerned with the fact that both of his legs were equally strapped.

He looked more like a mummy than anything else.

"Shiro Madoushi." He grunted in greeting, acting just like he always did.

I took in his condition for a few moments longer before sighing, shaking my head as I started drawing on my quirk.

"Do I want to know how you managed this?" I asked rhetorically beginning the process of enhancing his natural healing process.

Enji grunted monosyllabically at that, not responding in the slightest, his gaze focused on the ceiling.

I just focused on my work, focusing on the problem areas and

Drawing an answer out of Enji was always like pulling blood out of a stone.

This was how our sessions always went.

I had finished one leg and moved my way to the next before Enji broke the silence.

"How's my son doing with his classes?" He asked bluntly, utterly ignoring my earlier question. "Still refusing his potential?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I started accelerating through the phases of healing, reducing the inflammation and revitalizing the tissue as best as I could. "I wouldn't be the one to ask. I don't have him for any of my classes yet." I said freely, my attention still on the job at hand. "From all reports he acquitted himself just fine during the villain attack at USJ."

Endeavour grunted at that, and if I could see his face it would no doubt be scowling right now.

Easy money there, the man's always scowling.

He just seems to vary when it comes to the degree of scowling.

The session continued on, with Enji and I discussing attempts to further improve our quirks and new techniques we'd attempted.

I drew on Enji's greater experience and his own encounters with other villains and heroes similar to my own to grant my further insight into new possible avenues for my Quirk.

Likewise, Enji made use of my own knowledge drawn upon from old superhuman pop culture, in its wide variety of forms as ways to further his own quirk and training.

Enji hadn't had much faith in the possible applications of what he deemed to be ancient history but he'd since… well not retracted or apologized, I don't think that the man even knows how to do that, but he had acknowledged the use of my quote unquote frivolous knowledge of meaningless garbage.

"When are we going to have our next match?" He spoke, interrupting my thought process with a demand very badly disguised as a question.

I blinked wearily as my tired brain struggled to comprehend the question before I started the mental arithmetic of calculating when my next free day was.

I didn't have many of them these days, most of them already occupied with my work at UA, call outs for the Hero Association, sparring with Hawks and the usual nonsense that I got dragged into.

Not to mention the Sports Festival that's coming up.

And all the work that Snipe and I have put into that.

"About a month from now?" I guessed, rolling my eyes as Enji's expression soured even further. "Lighten up Endeavour, I want a rematch just as bad as you do, It's just a matter of having the time to do it."

Enji let out a grunt at that, before with a burst of his quirk his eyebrows and beard caught fire, forming what is admittedly one of the coolest looking masks in the business. He walked towards the exit before pausing turning back to face me. "You'll be at the festival?" He asked, again sounding more like a command then a question.

I nodded tiredly, swallowing down a delightful swig of Mana before I replied. "Yeah I'll be there. The principal asked me to do on an exhibition match with Snipe."

Enji let out another grunt at that before he turned and stormed his way out the door with the same urgency that seemed to drive all of his actions.

I looked down at the empty bottle of Mana I was holding and did some quick calculation of both how long it would take for more to get to Japan and how much it would cost to ship it here.

The price of shipping is always a changing thing when your supplier lives on an Island that is constantly moving.

With the freedom granted to me with my responsibilities to the association fulfilled for now, I turned towards the bag containing the essays still awaiting marks and sighed deeply.

Let's get that over with.

I walked out of my classroom, suppressing a yawn as I struggled to maintain the dignified air of a teacher than I had been trying to maintain at UA.

My stupid looks do me no favors in getting these kids to treat me with respect so I always make an effort to never give them any reason to add to that misunderstanding.

I slung my gym bag over my shoulder, in an attempt to not brain any of the many smaller people scrambling around me as I tried to cut through one of the main thoroughfares of the school.

"Sir! Kanetsuki- sensei!" A familiar voice called out from behind me.

I felt a smile tug at my lips, but I schooled it into a neutral expression and turned around to fact little Midoriya jogging towards me.

Took him long enough.

"Can I help you?" I asked, schooling my face into that of a concerned teacher.

Midoriya slid to a stop. "I've got it! I've got the answer!"

"Oh?" I replied non-committedly. "Right, the question I gave you back then. Well?"

The first year student straightened up in front of me. "When I first though about the question I thought that it was a matter of calculating the proper time, taking into account factors like my lack of ability to achieve a perfect movement consistently, the time it would take to build confidence and so on." He started, his speech rapidly gaining pace as the sound of his excitement became more and more apparent.

Ok. Not looking good so far, but there's still potential for a turn around.

"But then I realized something else." He continued, his face growing more confident despite my projected indifference. "What you asked was how fast I could fill the bucket without breaking the tea cup. Not that I needed to use the tea cup at all."

I suppressed a grin at that.

There we go.

Knew he had it in him.

"So, the fastest way to fill the bucket would be to take the bucket over to the river and fill it directly." Little Green concluded finally, looking up at me awaiting my response.

I made a show of clapping lightly, letting the smile I'd been suppressing appear on my face. "Very good." I replied honestly as the student before me started beaming at my praise. "Now do you know how that metaphor applies to you?"

Midoriya seemed thrown by that one.

"Kanestsuki-sensei?" He asked, the confusion evident from his tone.

I sighed at that.

Spoke too soon.

Then again this is one of his first few weeks.

The beep of my watch informed me that if I didn't start moving again I was going to be running late for one of my other appointments.

A thought struck me then.

It's not exactly the same, but he did have problems with his Quirk when he first started out as well, and look how he's turning out now.

Perhaps he can serve as a final lesson, and even a bit of motivation as well.

"If you're not busy right now Midoriya I'd like you to come watch a little sparring match I'm going to be having with some of your upper classmen." I stated walking off towards one of the sparring halls that littered the campus.

One of the benefits of working at UA.

No shortage of arenas to make use of quirks in sparring matches.

"Upper classmen?" Midoriya questioned even as I heard the sound of him jogging to catch up with my long strides.

I nodded. "It's part of an incentive system I put in for my students when I first started here. The top three students in my class get the chance to have a sparring match against me during lunch, with the winner getting an automatic A in my class."

Initially I'd thought about buying lunch or dinner for them but with Lunch Rush running the cafeteria there wasn't really much incentive for people to try now is there?

And with how much of an asshole I can be about marking, the chance at an automatic A for the semester really got the kids going for it.

Midoriya let out a sound of understanding at that. "But will you really have time to have three matches before class resumes?" He asked concerningly.

I laughed at that. "Three matches?" I repeated back, pushing the door to the arena open with one hand even as I lowered the brim of my hat down with the other. "We're only going to be having the one."

Before me stood three students all dressed in their Hero Outfits, quite the contrast to my suit and wizard hat.

None of the three had placed well in any of the previous UA sports festivals, none of them really standing out at all, except for perhaps one of them having a wardrobe malfunction on National television.

But something told me told me that they were the ones that were going to sweep the field this year.

Amajiki Tamaki stood with his hands in his pockets of his black bodysuit, eyes obscured by the white cape and hood that obscured most of his form, with the purple mask completing the job. He was chewing on something that he'd pulled from one of the pockets of the carrier vest he had strapped to his form that gave him more options to make use of his quirk.

He'd certainly had quite the transformation from the shy, awkward kid who'd seemingly been afraid of his own Quirk the first time I'd seen him.

Then again Taishiro tends to have that effect on anyone that he spends a long enough time around.

It certainly happened to me.

God I was such a shit when I was his age.

Hado Nejire was almost the complete opposite of the first student. Bright, bubbly and unreserved compared to the almost criminally shy Tamaki, her vibrant personality certainly made her more attention grabbing.

She wore a dark blue bodysuit, which she informed me during one of her many sessions of oversharing during class was called 'Royal Blue', knee high boots in the same mint green as her torso protector, with a harder cloth spiraling around her legs and forearms. The two small satchels attached to the top of her legs were new and I quickly made a note of them in my head. They could be relevant later.

The two spiraling horns she'd made out of her hair were still present, a staple in her here outfit that not only referenced her quirk but also at least somewhat alleviated a slight complex she had with regards to the height.

Then again when your sparring against someone like me, pretty much everyone seems short in comparison.

And finally, the student that I wanted Midoriya to meet the most.

The tallest of the three Togata Mirio was laughing loudly at something that Tamaki must have said given the way that Nejire was pouting and stamping one foot and Tamaki was even now attempting to hide within his hood again.

As always, I marveled at just how muscular that Mirio was for his age, his signature '1,000,000' white skin tight shirt betraying none of the faded scars that stood as testament to the effort that this young man had put into his hero education. His baggy blue pants went down to whit knee high boots that I can personally attest really hurt when they hit you. His eyes remained protected behind the yellow shield that served as his mask, while still displaying his vibrant and honest face to all that looked at him. He topped off the ensemble with a vibrant red cape and a pair of matching gloves.

That bit there I might be able to claim some level of influence.

Once one of the worst students of his year, Mirio had made tremendous strides forwards since I had first met him, since mastering the use of his quirk he had moved from strength to strength and the experience he had gained from his internship under Nighteye had only served to further hone the hero he was becoming.

I knew of supposedly seasoned heroes that didn't train half as hard as the three kids in front of me did.

But that's why they were the Big Three.

Mirio noticed me enter first.

His work with Nighteye had done wonders for his passive perception, I'll say that much.

To say nothing of his ability in combat itself.

"Kanetsuki-sensei!" The blond greeted cheerfully, jogging over even as he waved hello. "We were getting worried there for a second. And who's this?"

"Midoriya I'd like to introduce you to Lemillion, Suneater and…" I bit back a sigh. "… Nejire Chan, three of the best students still in UA."

God damn it Nejire.

Why is that your Hero name?

Nejire bounded over, spirals trailing from beneath her feet to accelerate her forward even faster and quickly seized the unsuspecting form of little green swinging him around and bombarding him with question in typical Nejire fashion.

Tamaki made his way over as well, in a more sedate fashion, his bare feet barely making a sound as he approached, swallowing down whatever it was he was eating as he came to a stop before me. "Will he be joining in?" He asked quietly, seemingly able to function despite the new addition due to Nejire's intervention.

I shook my head definitively at that. "Most certainly not. Just a student who's having some trouble getting a hand on his quirk." I looked towards the students in front of me and raised an eyebrow knowingly. "I thought you'd all be able to provide an example of people that had managed to deal with such issues."

I reached into my gym bag and pulled the bokken from within it, still contained in an identically wooden sheathe.

Tamaki let out a low groan seeing the weapon I was now brandishing even as Mirio's eyes seemed to sparkle in anticipation.

I couldn't afford to take it easy on the three before me.

Even ignoring their stellar team work, and masterful use of their quirks, Lemillion served as one of the most spectacularly poor match ups I could ever come across.

The majority of my fighting style as a hero specialized in making use of my Quirk to immobilize people with indestructible immoveable objects by freezing them in time.

Something that is entirely useless against someone whose Quirk allows him to pass through solid objects as if they aren't even there.

I've said it once and I'll say it again.

Goddamn space manipulation quirks.

At the same time that was why I loved sparring against these kids. It forced me to rely on more than just my usual one and done techniques to fight.

And hey, looks like hurricane Nejire has finally decided to release the unsuspecting firstie.

"Midoriya!" I called out before I tossed my gym bag at him with an underhand throw.

While still dizzy little Green still clearly had enough sense about him to catch what I'd tossed at him as he stared quizzically back at me.

"Go take a spot by the door, your less likely to get hit from there." I ordered, ignoring the stammered response from Midoriya questioning just what I meant by that.

I stalked forward, my boots clicking against the concrete floor of the auditorium as I gazed at my three opponents with all the wariness that they deserved.

"All right you three, you know the rules." I began my right hand casually reaching up towards the hilt of the training blade as I came to a stop in the center of the circle which served as my arena. "Make me leave the circle before time runs out to succeed. Don't hold back. Because I won't be."

Mirio's grin seemed to extend even further at my response, winding up one of his arms in excitement. "Aye sir!" He cheerily exclaimed before he partially sank into the floor and shot backwards as if he'd been launched from a cannon taking up a stance near the rear of the room like a sprinter awaiting the starter's gun.

The fingers on Tamaki's right hand distorted and morphed, the once normal digits now replaced with long octopus tentacles that were ready to lash through the air and seize with their tremendous grip. His legs similarly grew and changed until what was once two legs became four and I was staring up at a suddenly much taller centaur version of Suneater.

Gotta admit.

That's a new one.

But when you've got a gourmet like Fat Gum as your mentor, you experience all kinds of different tastes.

I should know.

No clam shell yet.

Maybe he's got another surprise waiting for me with that left hand.

"This is going to be great! Really Really great!" Nejire enthusiastically declared, even as she leapt into the air and promptly stayed there with a brief output from her quirk. "Even though Tamaki-san always gets nervous before these matches, hey did I tell you that Kanetsuki-sensei?"

I bit back a grin at the verbal barrage that was Nejire Hado and bent slightly at the knees, taking my stance, keeping an eye on all three of them even as I flicked a glance at the clock on the wall.

Three.

Two.

One.

Mirio vanished beneath the floor in a blur of movement.

Tamaki reared up and sprinted forward with the thundering hooves of a calvary charge.

Nejire's hands glowed with the bright yellow energy that signified the use of her quirk as a spiraling surge of energy surged forth to meet me.

And I got started.

AN:

So, long time no see!

Yeah this one took a bit longer then originally expected guys, sorry.

Turns out working seven days a week and only getting paid for three of them while having to take care of sick family members and having to work with all my colleagues dropping from their own problems and illness has left me with little energy to write this out sadly.

But after I got told to self isolate after a place I had to go for one of my jobs turned out to be a COVID hot spot, I had a day or two to myself for once, and after spending the first one to get some much needed rest, I used this one to power through writing this.

Admittedly it was intended to be much longer but you win some you lose some. Our next chapter will be an interlude from Little Green's point of view, and then we'll be getting right in to the UA Sports Festival!

Yay!

Admittedly, There's a part of the story I've long since had planned as the climax of this tale, but we've still got a long way to go before we reach that point.

One step at a time.

As always, feel free to leave a comment and say what you think!

Cheers!

And stay safe folks. The world is a very weird place right now.

Last edited: Sep 10, 2020

Chapter 5.M

Midoriya stood in awe at the aftermath of the fight that had taken place in front of him. The floor was torn up and rent in different places, either from the heavy charge of the transforming student Tamaki's charges or his various attacks, or blasted apart by the spiralling blasts let loose by the flying girl Hadou.

Kanetsuki threw down the towel he'd been using to wipe down his face and turned to face the three students he'd been sparring with, bringing one hand up to press an ice compress against the bruised cheek that even now his quirk was rapidly healing. One of the sleeves of his shirt had bene ripped away entirely, after the Pro Hero had made use of it to pin one of his opponents in place and of the fight. The boots he was wearing were literally smoking at the moment, and as Midoriya looked at the arena once more he could make out shoeprints that had literally been burnt into the floor, almost like the after effects of Endeavour's Flashfire Dash.

The Big Three were on the floor before me in similar states of disarray, Tamaki having pressed himself up against a wall as an impromptu support to keep himself upright with his face covered by an ice pack, Mirio down on one knee breathing heavily as he slowly forced his body to take in air at a normal rate, and finally Nejire splayed out on the floor like a dog that had exhausted itself running about at the park and promptly collapsed as soon as it got home.

He was still in shock at the fight itself.

He'd thought that after what he'd seen at the USJ he'd understood what it meant to watch people with expertise in their quirks fighting looked like.

But this?

The three students clearly had experience working together, if the way they seamlessly worked together was any indication. If it weren't for Kanetsuki-sensei saying otherwise then he would have believed that they were already pro heroes instead of just students.

They'd even managed to land hits on a Pro Hero a few times, someone in the Top 20!

But at the same time, watching the Pro Hero Shiro Madoushi in action was even more incredible.

The only times Kanestuki had been caught on camera using his Quirk was the photo of him holding back Kurobe Dam that everyone instantly thought of when someone thought of Shiro Madoushi, and a few clips of him helping out disaster zones and after accidents, assisting in the recovery and healing of civilians.

But even with all his practice researching heroes, when Midoriya had tried to search for information about the Number 12 fighting, all the news clips and videos were of the aftermath to the fight, or were so blurry that they were practically unwatchable.

After watching what had taken place, Midoriya understood why.

Kanetsuki coughed lightly, the sound drawing Midoriya out of his own thoughts. "Okay then kids let's get started with the review." Kanetsuki spoke up, one hand going up to brush his hair out of his face.

Review?

"Oh you must be wondering what he means by that don't you Midoriya!?" The female upperclassmen said brightly, turning to face towards him from her position on the floor. "Whenever we have a spar like this, even when he's not involved, Kanetsuki-sensei makes us do an analysis of what took place, both of our own performance and our teammates as well as his own! He says that we should do it while it's still fresh so we don't for…"

"Nejire, let's start with you." Kanetsuki sensei interrupted with a wry grin as his student tiredly pushed herself up to sit cross legged on the floor. "I'm glad you listened to my advice from last time. While your more powerful attacks can certainly change the battlefield, your last attempt had me telling you that most opponents are not going to give you time to charge up your attacks. You, are going to have to force me give you time. And I have to say that increasing your flight time is certainly a way to do it."

Despite her clear fatigue from the combat that had just taken place Midoriya was still shocked at just how energetic the more experienced student was. "Awesome! Did you see how much better I am at flying this time? I learnt how to use my hands to help stabilize my flight, because I kept trying to fly without it, but I kept just flying all over the place and wasting my energy, so I asked Ryukyu and she…"

Kanetsuski-sensei stood there and waited for Nejire to finish talking, with an expression that seemed to be equal parts amused and annoyed.

The blonde student, Mirio laughed and spoke up, interrupting the verbal assault. "I think Kanetsuki-sensei has something to say, Nejire."

Nejire stopped and turned towards Mirio at that, blinking owlishly. "Then why didn't he say anything?"

Midoriya heard the teacher let out a sigh at that before he spoke up again. "Alright, yes I see that you've made great improvements to your flight since last time Nejire." The sound of his voice neither approving or disapproving. If Midoriya had to describe it, he would have called it clinical, like a doctor examining a patient.

"Nejire-chan!" Nejire interrupted her cheeks puffing out at how he addressed her.

Kanetsuki-sensei continued on, ignoring her outburst as if it had never happened.

"Now your use of the flashbang, normally great idea, but if you have allies fighting alongside you who aren't expecting it, it can be more harmful then helpful." He finished with a wave of his arm indicating the dented wall where a blinded Tamaki had crashed head long into it, leaving him stunned for an easy attack by the Pro Hero.

Nejire winced at that, turning towards her fellow student, clapping her hands together and bowing her head in apology. "Sorry Tamaki! I won't do it again."

Izuku couldn't make out the muffled reply through the ice pack that the student with the transformation quirk said, but given the way that Nejire perked up it seemed likely that he had forgiven her.

"And while flight is a wonderful way of ensuring that you keep distance with your opponent, don't forget that just because your opponent can't fly doesn't mean that he can't reach you." Kanestsuki continued on, bopping Nejire on the head with the bokken, now cracked and splintered compared to the immaculate finish it had had possessed at the start. "Repeat after me. Never assume that you're out of reach."

"Never assume you're out of reach." Nejire dutifully responded, one hand coming up to rub at the spot where the bokken had bounced off the top of her head.

"Other than that? Well done over all. I like how your able to control your flight on your own purely via your quirk instead of having to rely on hero tools instead. Given how your Quirk drains your stamina, my advice is simple, do what you can to increase it even further." He said, an approving tone to his voice.

Nejire snapped a hand to her forehead to give a sharp salute at that. "Yes sensei!" She replied happily, smiling broadly in response.

Kanetsuki nodded before turning towards Tamaki who was still propped up against the wall, but Izuku could see that he was clearly playing close attention to the teacher's words.

"Okay first off, that new technique Centaur? I love it. The sheer shock factor of something like that is going to throw most people for a loop the first time they see it." Kanetsuki-sensei said approvingly, applauding briefly as he did so.

Izuku agreed with him. The sight of Tamaki stampeding forwards during the spar, the floor shaking from the force of his passage was enough to cause his heart to race at the mere sight of it. He couldn't imagine what it was like to actually come up against it.

"That being said," The teacher continued, wincing as he presses a particularly tender part of his face, "It's pretty clear that you're not used to moving around in that form yet. Understandable given just how much of a difference it is to your normal movements, but at the moment it's a glaring weakness to the new technique."

Again, another fair criticism. After the flashbang had gone off, blinding not only the students but also Izuku himself when he was able to see properly again, Suneater was still trying to stand up again on all four legs before he eventually decided to abandon the technique, transforming his legs into something more reminiscent of a raptor then a horse.

But by that point Nejire had already been struck from the sky by Kanetsuki.

"When you fell you had no idea how you were supposed to get yourself back up. That's just a matter of getting more practice in with your form I suppose, but great initiative throughout the fight on your part." Kanetsuki finished, praising the teen's performance.

Tamaki only pulled his hood down further at the teacher's words, seemingly trying to hide within it, mumbling a response so quietly that Izuku couldn't make it out.

His two teammates could however if they're laughter was any response.

"Still can't take a compliment though." Kanetsuki said with a sigh, pulling the ice compact away from his face to reveal the bruise on his cheek had vanished, his face just as immaculate as it had been when he had first entered. "And finally, we turn to you boy wonder."

Mirio leapt to his feet in defiance of the exhaustion that clearly gripped him, smiling broadly. "How'd I go teach?"

"Well your battlefield awareness has gotten even sharper so I applaud you for that, but you've still got to remember to be aware of where your allies are when using your quirk." He began, cautioning the senior student.

Izuku winced as he remembered the kick that had scythed through Mirio's head as if it wasn't even there to crash into an unsuspecting Tamaki's chest, blasting him off of his feet, and causing yet another dent to be formed in the wall.

If the sparring match he had just watched has taught Izuku anything, it was that Kanetsuki did not hold back when it came to sparring.

"You might have avoided my blow entirely, but because your form was obscuring my attack Tamaki had no hope of seeing that kick in time, which was exactly why I did it." The teacher admonished lightly before his face seemed to take on a peculiar expression.

"That being said, the way you dove through Tamaki to punch me in the face was inspired, very well done, if not for the fact that you left yourself in the air afterwards."

Mirio's broadening grin seemed to fracture at that as the other two students let out low hissing sounds in sympathy.

"What's the first rule of aerial combat if you can't control your movement freely in the air?" Kanetsuki asked dryly, even as Mirio hung his head with a sigh.

"Don't do it." The three exhausted students droned in a way that said this was not the first time that their teacher had tried to teach them this lesson.

"Why?" He continued, half a grin on the hero's face as he awaited their response.

"Because it's a dumb idea and you'll make us all do laps until it sinks in."

Kanetsuki nodded seriously at that. "That's right. Speaking of which, you'd best get started if you want to be finished before classes resume.

A new chorus of groans rang out at that, but the three upperclassmen pulled themselves up and started jogging around the outside of the training hall, taking care not to trip over any of the new dents and craters that had been left in the aftermath.

"Midoriya!" Kanetsuki-sensei's called out loudly waving him over to where he was standing. "What were your thoughts on the match?"

"Sir?" Midoriya responded questioningly, not knowing quite what he was expected to say here.

The teacher looked at Midoriya's clear expression of confusion and rolled his eyes, the wry grin he always seemed to have spreading across his face. "I won't bite." He said teasingly. "I read your responses to the problem question for the entrance exam. Your level of analytical analysis of Quirk is astounding at someone your age. I know I wasn't half as good as you are know when I was that young." He said, praising Midoriya directly.

Midoriya had to fight back a blush at that. He was still getting used to teacher's treating him with more than thinly veiled mockery like they had back at Aldera Junior High.

It was a nice feeling.

"So in your opinion, what would you think is the most powerful aspect of my Quirk that you saw on display out there?" The teacher prompted, his expression controlled as he stared down at the much shorted student. "My durability? My mobility? He suggested.

Midoriya thought over the fight again, of the way that he'd been able to block blows of incredible strength, of the way he'd been able to pursue and even outpace the speed of his opponents.

It was certainly powerful.

But that wasn't it.

Through the whole fight, Kanetsuki had only thrown a few actual 'attacks' at his opponents, but when he had done so it had been to devastating effect, during brief moments of vulnerability or in a way that turned his enemies strengths into their own downfall.

It was almost like watching Nighteye, All Might's final sidekick in action weaving around attacks as if he had already seen them coming.

Midoriya gave his answer and Kanetsuki blinked at him for a moment before roaring with laughter, a broad grin on his face. "Well in a way I guess your right, but not exactly." He said chuckling before pulling a playing card forth with a flourish with one of his hands. "As far as I understand it, Nighteye's quirk lets him see the actions that another is going to take in the future for a certain length of time, allowing him to make actions that would in turn counter or avoid those actions entirely." He threw the card with a flick of his wrist sending it spinning across the room before it reversed course and slapped back into his hand.

"I on the other hand see the action when it happens." At his words he threw the card again and closed his eyes, only this time instead of the card reversing it's path it continued forward, arcing through the air like a boomerang as it looped around towards the Midoriya. "I just make myself fast enough to react to it before they can finish it." the pro hero continued, eyes still closed, before his hand flashed up on a blur of movement and caught the card just before it would have bounced of Midoriya's forehead.

Midoriya found himself gaping at that.

That was…

How were you supposed to counter that!?

It was like trying to outpace someone in a footrace when they were in a sports car!

"I think you've got the potential to be able to do it yourself, when you've got your Quirk more under control." The teacher said earnestly, the reassuring words having the opposite effect.

The power he'd inherited from All Might, One For All, was ludicrously powerful. The first time he'd used it, he'd shattered every bone in his arm and both of his legs, and that was after spending months training under All Might to make himself strong enough to survive using it.

How was he supposed to learn how to control that?

"Togata! Get over here!" Kanetsuki called out, signalling for the other two to continue their laps, the words distracting Midoriya from his self-deprecating thoughts.

Mirio jogged over, running on the spot when he stopped approaching. "Something I can help you with teach?"

Kanetsuki clapped Izuku on the shoulder. "Bucket the younger, meet Bucket the elder." He said broadly, gesturing first to Izuku and then to Mirio.

Mirio blinked at that before his grin spread. "Does this mean I'm no longer bucket the younger?"

Kanetsuki laughed at that. "You'll always be bucket the younger to me kid." The teacher disagreed with a smirk. "Time to teach the next generation the way of the bucket."

The teacher went to say more before a chime went off and Kanestsuki lifted his phone up out of his pocket and cursed. "Blast it, I should have been back at the classroom by now." The teacher griped, hurriedly pulling his jacket on and smoothing out his outfit as he made his way towards the doors, "I look forward to seeing everyone's performance at the Sports Festival!" He called out over his shoulder hurriedly, and then he was gone, dashing out of the door.

Midoriya stood there, shocked at the teacher's sudden departure only to feel a hand ruffle his hair as Nejire strode by him, her sunny smile lighting up the room as she did so. "He's always running late." She said in a loud whisper, giggling as she did so. "Ryuko says the reason why he'll never be in the top Ten is because he'll never manage to make it to the ceremony on time."

"Probably because of his car breaking again." Tamaki's voice emerged from beneath the hood, his response slightly distorted by whatever it was that he was chewing on.

As Nejire and Tamaki continued chatting away, making their way out of the training room, Mirio turned towards his underclassmen and gave a bright beaming smile.

"Alright Bucket the younger! I am Bucket the elder, your new mentor on the path of the bucket to help you achieve greater control and understanding of your quirk!" The blonde said cheerfully, gesturing dramatically all over the place as he did so.

And as he stood there, watching his upperclassmen pose all over the place, he felt the lightbulb click on as realisation stuck him over the back of the head like a Detroit Smash.

"I'm the bucket!" He almost shouted staring down at his hands as the realization of what he had just learned started to sink in.

Mirio's grin spread even further, clapping both of his hands on the boy's shoulders. "You're the bucket." He agreed, nodding as he did so.

As Mirio started talking again about his own experience as 'the bucket' and how he'd learnt how to use his quirk, one thought dominated all others.

This…

This changed everything.

Last edited: Nov 2, 2020

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Expert Magician seeks to deceive the mind, rather than the eye. - Sol Stein

I shuffled the deck of cards in my hand absentmindedly, running through techniques as I did so.

When I first started training I was often punished for how clumsy my fingers were. Given how important being dexterous was, and how bad I was at it, I was punished more often than not.

My mother was the one who started teaching me card tricks as a way of improving my own hand dexterity, her own interest in stage magic quickly sparking my own.

When she got ill, I dedicated every spare moment I had to learning and perfecting new card tricks, trying to entertain her as best as I could and take her mind off her prognosis.

She always looked so happy when I had another trick to show her.

Shame I can't show her any of the ones I learned… after.

I started with a simple Riffle shuffle, transition to a Butterfly cut then to a Faro shuffle to a Sybil Cut before staring a Card Spring only to freeze the cards mid movement with a pulse of my Quirk.

"Must you do that?" Aizawa's voice drawled out, the Underground hero glaring at me as he tried and failed to gain a few more moments of sleep despite the raucous sounds of the crowds filling the UA arena to capacity just outside the room.

I turned to my left and gave a small grin, catching the cards with my left hand as they returned to normal time, shuffling them with one hand as I did so. "I've got to keep practicing if I want to keep my skills up Aizawa." I said lightly, holding back a chuckle.

I ducked out of the way of the empty coffee can that he lobbed at me, and with a well practiced flourished had the cards swivel out in a Riffle fan before I froze them in place, placing my own half-full can of lemonade on the makeshift coaster floating beside me.

Turns out Eraser Head, in a stunning turn of events, remains to not be a morning person.

Aizawa winced as the roaring of the crowd outside intensified, the crowd's excitement now palpable.

I flicked an eye down to my watch and whistled.

Time for the first years already.

Even as it happened I leaned away slightly from my other comrade in the commentator's booth, readying myself for the explosion of noise that was sure to come.

"Pay attention, audience! The UA Sports festival, is about to begin, everybody! Are you ready!?" Hizashi's voice boomed over the arena from a sea of hidden and not so hidden speakers, emphasizing his speech appropriately as he did so.

Gotta say, having a profession radio host to fob off all the work o… I mean demonstrate his clear expertise in the area is real useful.

The aborted laughter from the person sitting next to me, as well as the sound of chuckles from the crowd itself informed me that I wasn't quite as successful at hiding my true intentions as I might have hoped.

Whoops.

Hizashi gave me a look out of the corner of his eyes that informed me that I was going to regret that later before he continued on, making his introductions for the first year classes that were starting to enter the arena, fireworks exploding in the clear skies above the arena and dramatic music swelling to a crescendo as they did so.

It's one hell of a spectacle I'll say that much.

There have been some people who compare it to the Olympics, when they were still a thing way back when, if not in substance then in spectacle.

They weren't wrong.

The crowd roared and surged like a living wave, all of them shouting their excitement as the Hero classes 1-A and 1-B, the general education classes 1-C to 1-E, the support classes 1-F to 1-H and even the business classes 1-I to 1-K all made their way to line up in front of Nemuri, who was once again wearing an outfit that stood atop the vary edge of the decency laws that had been implemented specifically to prevent her from wearing her last outfit.

Although after that one time she showed up in my clinic wearing the old one I can see why.

Throughout it all, Hizashi was keeping up his hype man routine, keeping the crowd positively abuzz with excitement for whatever exciting events were sure to come.

"Representing the students," The Pro Hero Midnight spoke up, flourishing her whip as she did so. "is Bakugo Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

As I watched a spiky blonde-haired student, I presumed to be Katsuki I casually removed the lemonade from my impromptu coaster and caught the cards as they reverted, sliding them back of my sleeve in a practiced motion.

I'd seen some of his handiwork taking on Villains in the USJ from the tapes after we'd started our analysis of the Villain Invasion as the press had begun taking to call it.

Possesses a strong quirk, no hesitation in rushing into combat, incredible battle instincts for one so young.

Got first place in the entrance exams for the non-recommended students, with excellent marks in both the written and the practical.

He almost reminds me of someone I thought taking a sip of lemonade as I did so.

"I pledge," the first year began, leaning forward to speak into the microphone hands stuck in his pockets as if he didn't care about anyone around him. "That I'll be number one."

The majority of the crowd of students behind erupted into boos, insults and a number of not so polite gestures even as I fought down the urge to laugh and not shoot my drink out of my nose as the mental image finally solidified in my head.

"At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump to victory." He finished giving the rioting students behind him a disdainful thumbs down as he casually made his way back down the stairs, returning his hands into his pockets.

He's like Enji.

A shorter, more impolite version of Enji.

I bid the others goodbye with a wave as I fought to contain my laughter at the mental image of a tiny Enji trying to glare down his nose at me, making my way to the staff seating.

If I stayed in the commentator's box then Hizashi was going to try and find a way to force me onto the air again.

I shuddered briefly as the memory of that debacle briefly resurfaced before I suppressed to through sheer force of will.

I learned my lesson after last time.

I'm not doing that any more than I physically have to.

I was interested to know who would come out on top of the pack during the obstacle race. It was always something of a challenge among the teachers to try and pick the winner of an event before it took place.

And since Midnight is referee this year, she can't sweep us all under the table like she usually does, the lucky so-and-so.

That being said, since I showed up last, that means I have to pick last.

Just need to hope that there's a half decent pick left by the end of all this.

I slid into the only free seat left in the staff seating area, giving the customary greetings to everyone there.

"So! Who have we picked as winners for the first event so far?" I asked flicking a thumb towards the students crowding towards the doorway that served as the entrance to the race, as well as the first obstacle.

"Ah! Well I picked Tenya-kun!" Thirteen piped up, causing most of us to groan in response.

The speedy scion of the Ida family was an easy pick for the first encounter, an obstacle race.

Damn.

"Well in that case I'll pick Todoroki." Snipe drawled, chuckling slightly as another chorus of curses rang out.

"Hmm," Ken pondered, placing his solid fingers together into a steeple as he thought. "Sero Hanta."

Kan let out a growl at that. "You're all only picking 1-A students." He noted, and the rest of did our best not to roll our eyes as Ken tried another one of his tried and true tactics to get someone to pick someone from his class.

That's not to say that the kids in his class wouldn't make it through.

They just didn't have any that would particularly excel in a four-kilometer race to the finish line.

True to form Ryo, who should really know better at this point, fell for his best friends' tactic and chose Shishida Jūrōta, who for the life of me, I could not put a face to if you paid me.

Kan then chose one of his own students, one Shiozaki Ibara, one of the recommended students whose prehensile vines quirk could prove useful in circumnavigating a number of obstacles in the race.

We continued down the line, with a few more students being chosen from the hero classes, as well as two from the Support classes before we came to a stop at the emaciated form of Yagi Toshinori, better know to the greater public as the Symbol of Peace when he was more… inflated.

Okay let's see my options.

No Todoroki.

No Tenya.

Ectoplasm picked Bakugo.

If not for the fact Todoroki was in this race, I'd be tempted to pick the frog girl, Asui from 1-A.

But I guess if all else fails I can just pick…

"Midoriya." Toshinori said simply, leaving some to chuckle at his choice while I was left scrambling for a new name now that my last one was literally picked out from under me.

Okay, do you know any more of the first years that haven't been picked?

Already said not frog girl.

Mashirao?

I hesitated for a moment before moving past him. I didn't think so.

The short one with the sticky hair isn't going to be getting first place.

So that leaves…

I sighed heavily.

"Kirishima." I said resignedly, secure in the fact that I wasn't going to be winning this year.

Hey if all the good picks are already gone, there's nothing you can do.

The lights atop the starting arch flashed green and the students charged forward into the small tunnel with a cheer, the path quickly becoming clogged as the students looked more like sardines in a can then anything else.

Alright then.

Who's going to come out first?

An eruption of Ice swept out of the tunnel leading to the first obstacle, covering not only the ground but also the sides and the roof of the tunnel before extending out even further to the track itself, as Todoroki Shoto charged ahead of any of his competitors, running as if the icy impediment wasn't even there while his fellow students slipped and struggled to keep their footing behind him, a large majority of them being frozen in place.

Looks like Snipe made a hell of a pick.

"Starting early this year aren't they?" I deadpanned, watching as some students struggled in the face of this unforeseen obstacle while others found ways to overcome it, either through their quirks or their own ingenuity.

Bakugou was flying forward, propelled by the force of the explosions he was detonating from his palms.

The red head with the hardening quirk that I'd met at the USJ, Kirishima had ripped his way through the ice, making use of his enhanced durability.

They were quickly followed by one girl pole vaulting herself free with a pole she formed out of her hand, while a blonde boy soared over head propelled by a sparkling beam coming from a belt centered over his belly.

Quirks.

You never really know what can happen.

Most of class 1-A was quick to follow after them, the students who worked alongside Todoroki the quickest to adapt to his attack, with the exception of some, among them Little Green.

If things keep up I don't see All Might winning the bet any time soon.

I know that Mirio has been doing his best to teach the new bucket the same ropes I showed him, but only time will tell if it's made enough of a difference for today.

I watched closely as the students came to a stop as they came upon the second obstacle.

The last time most of these students encountered this foe during their entrance exams they had to run away from one of them.

Let's see how they do with half a dozen.

"Looks like Todoroki is going to be the first to make a move." Ectoplasm noted drawing most of our attention towards Enji's son.

I watched as the dirt beneath the boy's feet froze solid in a rapidly expanding circle, one that grew even wider and seemingly more intense as he knelt down to place his right hand on the frozen earth.

One of the zero pointers surged towards the young student like an unstoppable avalanche and then Todoroki swung his right hand up at the robot.

And I'm pretty sure most people in the arena felt their jaws drop in shock as he froze the whole damn thing in place in the blink of an eye.

Goddamn that is one hell of a quirk.

Shoto charged forward under the robot's legs, the titanic machine tilting forward as he passed it, the robots momentum carrying it down to crash before the students, blocking off the route that he'd used to move forward.

Back into first place.

He's definitely Enji's kid alright.

Accomplishing multiple goals with a single action is practically a Todoroki trade mark at this point.

The gap between Todoroki and the other students grew further as the remaining robots closed in on the students.

The new obstacle of the collapsed robot crumpled slightly as I watched two students punch their way out from underneath it, both clearly having tried to follow Todoroki and failed to make it time, but managing to remain in the race through the use of their quirks.

Their… remarkably similar quirks.

Oh I want them to fight each other to see who's stronger so badly.

Hopefully we'll get lucky.

The students started to break apart, with some managing to make their way around the robotic obstacles without needing to engage them, while others fought their way through at a slower pace.

I caught sight of Little Green carrying a piece of armor plating that he must have scavenged from one of the robots for some reason before using it to cut a one pointer trying to attack him in half with it.

I let out a whistle at that.

Well would you look at that.

The boy can fight without breaking something.

Chiyo will be pleased.

Wonder how much of that I need to attribute to Mirio.

The next obstacle to come up was the unimaginatively named "The Fall", a host of tall stone pillars made through a combination of Ken's Quirk and Power Loader's fine tuning with cables connecting them.

Some of the others started talking among themselves but I was focused wholly on the race, so I did my best to ignore them unless they addressed me directly.

Students had to make their way across them to the other side to continue on with the race without falling and being eliminated.

While some of the students hesitated on the best path to surpass this latest surprise I watched as the pink haired support course student that had been Higari's pick managed to essentially breeze through the whole obstacle with the help of her support gear, some combination of hover boots and grappling pistons from the look of it.

At the front of the pack, Shoto slid down one of the cables, freezing it as he did so, having already completed the Fall well before many of the students had even reached it.

But as I watched him, I noticed something.

Compared to his pace at the beginning, did Shoto seem… slower?

Perhaps a side effect of his quirk?

He came to a stop before the final obstacle blocking the way to the sprint to the finish, a series of low-grade land mines buried all over the path, barely visible if one was taking the time to look for them.

You could try and rush through them, but that was risking stepping on one and having yourself sent flying.

The rest of the students began catching up with him and I felt myself leaning forward in my seat despite myself as I stared up at the screens, trying to keep track of the action.

I saw Thirteen bow her head when the Ida boy tried and failed to outrun the exploding land mines, although granted he made it far further then I would have ever thought possible before he was sent tumbling to the side.

Todoroki found himself waylaid as Bakugo joined him in the lead, but instead of simply overtaking him, the spiky haired blonde seemed content to have a mid-face brawl with his fellow opponent, the two throwing quick blows at each other while still taking care not to step on the land mines dotting their path.

My own prospect, Kirishima was firmly near the front of the pack, his hardening quirk allowing him to make his way through the minefield with much less concern then any of his opponents, save the steel skinned boy who was neck and neck with him.

There was a loud boom that echoed in my ears, and I felt the shockwave of it rush down the tunnel leading back into the stadium and I felt my eyebrows widen as I saw the massive debris cloud forming at the back, the other students coming to a stop as the blast threatened to send them all tumbling onto the active mines around them.

What the heck?

The mines were supposed to be able to explode like that.

Then, soaring out of the smoke in the sky, clutching onto his impromptu body board for dear life, Little Green shot through the air as if he'd been shot out of a cannon, rocketing towards the front of the pack.

Toshinori leapt out of his seat with a loud cheer of "Yes!", as what many had taken to be the longest odd in the race avoided the majority of the landmines in an instant overtaking the stunned Shoto and Bakugo with his impromptu method.

Oh, there had better have been a replay of that!

Hizashi don't you dare leave me hanging!

True to form, one half of the screen lit up with an image of Little Green digging the landmines out of the ground near the beginning of the course where no one had stepped on them into one giant pile, before he used the piece of armor he'd acquired at the start of the race to harness the resulting explosion to catapult himself into the lead.

Little Green you absolute madman!

The moment the students had stood their dumbstruck quickly passed, with Bakugo throwing himself forward after Midoriya with a roar, no longer touching the ground as he once more propelled himself forward with the force of his explosions.

Shoto now falling behind the two, stamped down with his right foot and formed a path of ice over the landmines, eliminating the chance of stepping on them but at the same time providing a clear route for everyone behind him to follow.

The two were quickly coming level with him once more, but as I watched Midoriya there was a surge of… something over his form for the blink of an eye and he managed to pull the armor piece back up and close to his chest before he slammed into the floor of the arena once more, armor first.

The landmines beneath the metal detonated, sending Little Green up and his preexisting momentum sending him spinning forward to land clumsily on his feet before sprinting forward, both of his closet competition momentarily blinded by the mines going off so close to them.

The two quickly recovered, racing after Midoriya as they pushed their Quirks to the limit in an attempt to seize first place.

To no avail.

Midoriya Izuku crossed the finish line in first place to the uproarious cheers of the crowd,

I started clapping alongside the others, at the victor of one hell of a race.

They aren't always this close. Last year one of the first years could fly and they essentially breezed over most of the course.

But this year it had been a real nail biter.

Shoto just barely managed to beat out Bakugo for third place with the rest of the students trailing in after with little in the way of gaps between them.

And hey Krishima got ninth!

Top ten baby!

Snipe stood up from his seat with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, I don't think any of us saw that coming." He drawled, and I found myself nodding alongside him as I watched the gunslinger make his way towards the stairs.

Sorry Little Green.

You're great and all, but not the guy I would have picked for a four-kilometer race.

Congrats on proving me wrong and claiming first place.

Although you may not find that to be as comforting a prize as you think it is given your next match.

Now as much fun as it would be to watch that happen.

It's time for me to go get ready for mine.

Best of luck to you Little Green.

You're going to need it to survive what comes next.

Well.

Sounds like Little Green managed to survive to the next round.

Barely.

Going to need to watch that tape later.

But now is not the time.

I've got something more immediate to worry about.

"AND NOW! FOR THE FIRST TIME! WE HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT FOR YOU TODAY LISTENERS!" Mic's voice boomed throughout the arena, his naturally boisterous voice further increased by the speakers projecting the commentator's voice.

I ignored it all, dancing a coin across my knuckles, using my own skill rather than supplementing it with my quirk.

I was going to need every scrap of it for what came next.

"WHILE THIS IS A DAY TO WITNESS THE POTENTIAL AND GROWTH OF THE NEXT GENERATION, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THEY SHOULD STRIVE FOR AS PROFESSIONAL HEROES!" Mic continued to narrate over the buzz of the crowd, the excitement now palpable at this new addition to the festival.

"INTRODUCING! THE MARKSMAN WHO CAN CLIP THE WINGS OFF A FLY FROM A MILE AWAY! YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HIM AT THE SKY EGG ATTACK, THWARTING THE VILLANOUS BOMBERS! THE GUNSLINGING HERO, SNIPE!"

The crowd roared as I watched Snipe walk up onto the stage from his tunnel on the other side of the arena flourishing his handgun with a twirl worthy of an old west gunslinger before sliding it back into the holster on his right leg, face hidden beneath his cowboy hat emblazoned with an S and long faced gas mask.

Some of the crowd started chanting his name, the cowboy attired hero having quite the following for his actions at the Sky Egg and in plenty of other provinces of Japan.

"AND HIS OPPONENT! ONE OF THE NEWER ADDITIONS TO OUR TEACHING ROSTER! THE SAVIOUR OF KUROBE DAM!"

The crowd led out a roar at that even as I winced.

Goddamn I hate that photo.

Spent my whole hero career being perfectly happy that I wasn't part of the public's awareness and then in a single day, the work of a lifetime gone in an instant.

And because I was stuck holding the dam up the asshole I was chasing managed to get away!

I started walking forward, flicking the coin up into the air before vanishing it into a pocket.

I took my wizard hat off my head, grabbing the edge as I stuck something on. I pulled my arm back and readied for what came next.

Let's hope all that practice me and Snipe have been doing pays off.

"THE HEALING HERO!" Mic continued, his booming voice still managing to overcome the roar of the crowd.

Here we go.

With a grunt I channeled all the practice I'd been pouring into this one trick and my Hat spun forward as I tossed it like a frisbee, sending it soaring towards Snipe.

With a quick draw that could barely be seen Snipe raised his revolver from the holster and fired on my hat, with the hat freezing in place just before the bullet would have struck it.

The trick round hit the shaped charge that had been hidden on the outside of the hat itself, going up in a conflagration of flame and smoke that drew shouts from the crowd.

More importantly, it also drew all their attention.

With a flash of Haste I blinked forward in a rush of movement through the quickly dissipating smoke.

As I came to a stop I raised my hand and focused my Quirk on my Hat, watching as it reversed it's motion back towards me casually catching it as I released the hold of my Quirk.

I absentmindedly brushed the excess debris from the explosion that was still clinging to my hat before pulling it firmly over my head.

"SHIRO MADOUSHI!"

I turned and waved as the crowd cheered, chants of my own Hero name now thundering around the arena.

"AND SERVING AS OUR REFEREE! A MAN NEEDING NO INTRODUCTION!" Hizashi began again, the crowd surging forward in expectant anticipation at this latest build up by the Voice Hero.

With a majestic leap, his cape fluttering in the air, the Symbol of Peace resplendent in his silver age attire, landed with a perfect three point landing in the center of the arena and the crowd went ballistic.

It made the cheers that Snipe and I had received early seem paltry in comparison.

If I was a pettier man I might be jealous but the man standing before me deserves all this and then some.

This is the man who quite literally dragged Japan out of the darkness and back into modern society with nothing but his own two fists and determination, inspiring countless others to follow in his footsteps.

A modern day Superman.

"Say it with me! Plus!" All Might cried out to the crowd, pumping a fist up into the air.

"ULTRA!" The audience roared back, with a wave of sound worthy of Hizashi's quirk blasting back from them.

"The game is King of the Hill!" All Might boomed out, the massive screens through the arena flickering to life as he spoke, with the title of the game emblazoned across them. "The rules are simple! As the match begins the King's Crown will enter the Arena. Our volunteers must find and wear the crown to gain points while preventing their opponent from taking it for themselves."

As this explanation was made the screen changed to display stick figures taking part in the game, with one stick figure wearing the crown on his head and fighting off the other

"Contestants must not touch the ground outside of the Arena or they will not be allowed to re-enter the ring! First person to hold the crown for a cumulative sixty seconds will win the match! If two contestants leave the arena, then the winner will be the contestant who wore the crown the longest." All Might concluded, his broad smile glinting as he did so. "But there's been one more change to today's event! One even our two contestants are unaware of!"

Wait.

What?

What do you mean change?

What the hell do you mean change, All Might?

We've been working on this thing for literally months, what on Earth would lead to you saying that there's going to be a cha…

"It appears we have a surprise guest for today's match!" All Might said brightly, the announcement throwing my thought process through a loop.

Surprise guest?

Me and Snipe have been training for this thing for weeks, to make this as cinematic as possible.

Who on earth would be arrogant enough to force their way out here?

I caught sight of one of the previously darkened corridors leading to the arena flickering to light.

Not because of the lights turning on.

Oh no, not that.

It was because of the roiling flames that rolled off the newcomer's form, and the smoldering footsteps that he left in his wake.

Todoroki Enji, that unrepentant asshole, walked out towards center stage as the coliseum erupted into cheers at the sight of the Number 2 Hero on the Billboard charts made his way with slow, deliberate steps.

"Let's have a big cheer for Endeavour!" All Might called to the crowd, chants of Enji's hero name now echoing around the arena.

His eyes were locked onto mine and I could see the smirk that was almost hidden beneath that blazing beard of his.

"Told you we'd be having that rematch." His eyes seemed to say at me, and I swear to God I could almost feel the weight of his smugness as he approached me.

Why that miserable, arrogant, impenitent piece o…

Calm.

Calm.

Deep breaths.

He wants to have a rematch?

Oho, I am going to give him a bloody rematch.

"The match begins when the crown touches the floor of the arena!" All Might continued on blatantly ignoring the glare I was giving to the back of his head.

The bastard.

All Might leapt back to the upraised platform where Bakugo had given his pledge at the start of the festival.

I flicked my eyes towards Snipe, standing ready with his hand hovering over his holster, ready to make use of his quickdraw the moment the match started.

Endeavour's flames flared brighter for a moment before he took his own stance, both of his hands clenching into fists, with the line of flames trailing down of his arms transitioning to a white flame.

Looks like he's not interested in holding back.

You know, except for the fact that he can't use most of his arsenal carelessly unless he wants to send the watching crowds into a burn ward.

Small mercies for me.

With a flick of my wrist, my right hand held my cards and I made a show of a Card Spring before splitting the cards in each hand.

Good.

The crowd let out a roar All Might reared back and threw the glittering piece of metal that would serve as the crown for our match.

I pulled on my Quirk and the world slowed before my eyes.

The crowd now unmoving statues.

The noise of the arena fading away to nothing.

The crown tumbled through the air.

Once.

Twice.

Then it struck the floor.

Snipe drew his revolver and fanned the hammer, letting loose every bullet in the chamber before his Quirk took a hold of the projectiles, half of them sent spiraling towards Endeavour, the other half towards me.

I started moving forward, sending three cards spinning forward like shuriken before with a flicker of my Quirk they froze in place the instant before the bullets would have pierced them, leaving them to crumple against them.

I continued my approach towards the Crown still glinting in the center of the arena only to catch sight of the wall of fire that was swiftly approaching me, the number two having not only dealt with the attack from Snipe but also cutting me off with the same action.

Typical Endeavour.

Why do one thing, when you can do two at the same time?

The normal approach would be to step back away from the flame, or try and outrun it before it reached me.

But if I did that, I'd be running right into the follow up that he was already in the process of launching.

Thank you Jumbotron.

Who needs eyes in the back of my head when I have you?

I could stay back, but standing still in a fight with Snipe is a good way to get shot somewhere painful.

I mean they were rubber bullets but still!

Those things hurt.

So, I can't outrun it. And I can't wait for it to subside.

Enji's loud proclamation of "Jet Burn!" told me I was out of time.

Time to do something bold.

I stepped into the path of the oncoming wave of fire facing away from it, one hand drawing my hat further down my head over my eyes while the other adjusted my cloak to ensure my collar was as high as possible.

Then the instant before my transition from man to living barbeque, I pulsed my quirk through my clothes and stopped.

I watched through my hat, once again thankful that I could see through the material as the world vanished in the inferno that struck against my cloak and flowed around it like water striking a boulder.

When the smoke cleared, I saw that Endeavour had claimed the crown and was in the process of putting it on a smirk directed towards me.

I smiled back.

That's when one bullet blasted the crown out of his hand, another one crashed into his ankle tripping him up and the other four crashed into his chest with less than an inch between them, sending him spinning away from the crown as it tumbled through the air.

Right into my hands.

Sure sucks to suck Enji.

Don't mind if I do.

I slammed the crown over my hat, the weight of the metal telling me that this made out of something a lot heavier than steel, charging forward towards Snipe with a burst of Haste.

Enji out of action for the moment, and Snipe momentarily out of ammo after expending the six-shooter dealing with Enji.

Hmm let me think.

Stay at a distance and let him reload, or go close combat against someone who excels in exploiting range?

Not even a question.

Which was why I need to get close to him before he finished reloading the revolver in his right hand.

I caught sight of the familiar glint of a concussion mine in the path between myself and him, Snipe having made use of the technique in the past to try and force me to keep my distance.

I could try and Stop them, but unlike my clothes and my tools they hadn't been with my blood infused into them, which made using my Quirk significantly easier than ordinary items.

Made it easy to find a way to make a costume for Mirio that wouldn't be left a crumpled mess on the floor when he used his quirk.

So, can't Stop.

Why would I want to?

Making use of the momentum carrying me forward from the Haste I leapt, soaring over the concussion mines

You're not getting away this time Snipe! You're not reloading that gun in time!

Which of course was when I caught sight of his left hand coming up, wielding an identical gun to the one in his right.

Motherf…

Before the gun had even been fully raised it started firing, the bullets twisting through the air as he made use of his Quirk to have them alter their trajectory to approach me from multiple angles.

I wasn't in a good spot.

I was in mid-air, with no cover against one of the greatest marksmen in recent history, with a series of projectiles converging towards my position that were most certainly going to strike me down before I was able to try and make a run for it or dodge on the ground.

If I tried to Stop, then he would have free reign to take the crown for himself.

There was no way I could dodge this without solid ground to leap off of.

Snipe had me dead to rights.

I grinned.

Then I pulled on my Quirk, sent it surging down my legs into my lucky boots and used one of the more useful techniques I've managed to come up with for my quirk.

My knees bent from the shock as my boots froze in place, as I stopped them before I stepped upwards, making use of the platform that was my own shoe before the moment ran out.

Snipe's bullets tried to compensate but even his Homing Quirk can't make them completely ignore the laws of physics like mine can and the force of their own momentum sent them whistling by me to send them thundering into the ground.

I'd actually come up with this technique watching an old clip of Endeavour, watching him create footholds on the side of a building with his fiery steps to seemingly defy gravity.

I thought mine was slightly better, even if it didn't have the admittedly cool looking visual effect of burning footsteps being left in my wake.

Gotta say, the look of shock on someone's face when you pull off a real life version of a double jump never seems to get old.

That and walking on air is one of the oldest stage magic tricks in the book.

Only fitting that I figured out how to pull it off.

I dropped down stopping just in front of Snipe, taking care to Stop my boots before they hit the ground, wary of any other surprises that he might have hidden there waiting for me to step on them.

I couldn't see his eyes through his gas mask but I was pretty sure they were bulging in shock, as he staggered backwards.

Whether that was from the shock of my trick or my fists thudding a staccato beat on his chest was up for debate.

Not going to lie, I'm feeling pretty damn good right now.

What's next?

I felt my head twist as Endeavour's right cross cracked me across the face and sent me careening towards the ground as gravity once more took hold of me as my Stop failed with my lack of focus.

I crashed down to the arena floor, skidding across the tiles towards the edge that would lead me to being knocked out of this match.

With a Stop I came to a halt before I was prematurely ejected from the match and a whoosh of air left me as I slammed into my coat like it was a brick wall.

Ow.

Why hello there hubris.

Didn't see you there.

Some people think that because Endeavour is an expert at using his Hellfire Quirk, that he doesn't have much in the way of close combat.

Most people are dead wrong, because the man could probably knock out a bear with a single punch, and that's without adding his Quirk on top of that.

"AND WITH THAT IT LOOKS LIKE ENDEAVOUR HAS TAKEN THE CROWN ONCE AGAIN! IT LOOKS LIKE THE NUMBER TWO IS INTENT ON PROVING JUST WHY HE'S ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S VERY BEST!" Mic's voice boomed, even as the sound of the crowd roaring in approval met my ears once more.

Not going to lie.

That one may have hurt.

My tongue traced around the inside of my mouth as I felt for any wiggly teeth, spitting out a mouthful of blood as I did so.

It's moments like these that really make me wish I could use my Quirk to invert the flow of time on myself.

Guess I'll have to just manage with accelerated regeneration instead.

Poor me.

I picked myself up slowly, making use of the Jumbotron and my own perspective to examine the conflict going on.

Snipe was currently in a running gun battle with Endeavour, one revolver up and blasting, a bubbling pile of slag on the ground giving me an idea of what had happened to the second revolver.

Shame.

I wanted to see how the hell he was going to manage to reload two revolvers one handed.

Probably some support gear acting as a speed loader or something like that.

Enji on the other hand was making the most of his own Quirk, blasts of fire forcing the gunman to direct his attention towards avoiding the crimson flames seeking to consume him, some of his shots being fired in wild directions as he tumbled to avoid one blaze that got especially close, part of his red cloak already smoldering at the edges after that near miss.

I caught sight of something moving through the air at the edge of my vison, and I turned my attention towards it.

How long has he had the crown for?

I'm running out of time.

But how am I going to deal with him?

Above the arena, rotating slowly to my accelerated vision was a number of bright red balls, slowly starting to spill from the bag that Higari had left stuck above the arena.

Power Loader's Extinguisher grenades.

The Fire Stoppers.

With Pyrokinesis in one sense of another being readily prevalent among the Quirk population, it was standard practice to have some way of combating flames during every sports festival.

Snipe.

He hadn't missed at all.

He was just setting this up.

Clever.

But no reason for me not to take advantage of a new resource.

A plan quickly took shape in my head, and I smiled as I realized I had everything I needed.

I opened my clenched hand, revealing the smoke bomb I'd palmed off of Snipe while I was punching him and pulled the pin and tossing it forward as the lever sprung away, thick smoke quickly obscuring me from sight.

Step one, break line of sight complete.

I opened my cloak and set my arms before I froze it in place with a Stop removing my hat and Stopping it in place as well.

Now then need to sell that I'm still here.

I twisted, making use of my momentum to put some extra spin on the projectiles I was throwing letting some of them to spin forward with Haste before I Stopped the rest at random intervals.

Step two complete.

With that step accomplished I stepped back as if I was backing up a staircase, Stopping my boots in place with the ease only practice can accomplish as I stepped up into the air, making use of my gloves to create handholds if I started to lose my balance.

As I made my way higher and higher, more of my time delayed attacks shot out of the smoke towards Enji and Snipe, leading Enki to retaliate with another Flashfire Fist to where 'I' was standing in the smoke, while Snipe rolled out of the way, blasting any card that got too close with his gun.

I came to a stop in mid-air, my time stopped boots providing all the platform I needed, as I snatched out with a hand and grabbed a slowly tumbling Fire Stopper out of the air.

Now let's see if all those spars against Hawks still hold up.

One Fastball Special coming right up.

I released the hold of my quirk on one boot, raising the leg high before bringing it down as I launched the Fire Stopper forward like a major league pitcher, dumping as much Haste into it as I could to send it careening down like a meteor to crash into Enji's left shoulder with a loud crack.

---

That sounded painful.

Probably going to have to heal that later.

The flame hero let out a roar, one hand going up to clutch at his injured shoulder, even as the crowd went ballistic at this latest turn around play.

Endeavour looked up and snarled, an upraised palm pointing towards me, the flames leading to that palm transitioning to white and from that to blue.

That's one downside of being up in the air.

Endeavour doesn't have to worry about his attacks having to subside before he hits the crowd where I am now if he hits me.

If.

You're forgetting something Enji.

"Was that your card?" I quipped as the Fire Stopper exploded in a cloud of fire suppressing gas, Endeavour sent stumbling away as the flames surrounding him subsided, his blazing beard reduced to mere cinders by this latest surprise.

I'm just glad he didn't spot me when I was climbing and throw out a Hell Spider while I was still making way up there.

That was when Snipe struck, both clips striking in concert to lift Endeavour off of his feet, sending him tumbling backwards to land with a stop just past the painted line that served as the edge of the arena, the crown tumbling free of his grasp to plink and tumble its way back into the arena.

The crowd roared its approval but I had no time to rest as Snipe turned his attention fully towards me, fanning the hammer of his revolver as his bullets unerringly sought me out to rip me from the sky.

The sun may be shining, but I'm no Icarus buddy.

I moved, 'running' across the air out of the way of his attacks, having some of the bullets crumple off the bottom of my immoveable heels, and when that failed, 'catching' them with my gloved hands.

I sent back my own projectiles, throwing the last of the cards I had in my hand down at Snipe, with a touch of Haste accelerating their descent.

Not one of them reached him, the seasoned sniper having blown each one out of the sky long before it reached him.

Just as planned.

That was when the second item I'd stolen from Snipe rolled to a stop by his feet, pin long since pulled.

You didn't really thing I only stole a smoke grenade when I was punching you, did you Snipe?

The concussion grenade that I'd thrown before I'd started my climb and Stopped in mid-flight, caught Snipe entirely by surprise, blasting him off of his feet and his remaining pistol out of his hands.

First rule of magic.

Good old misdirection.

If I'm going out of my way to make you look one way, I'm probably doing something important the other way.

I hopped downwards, closing the distance between me and the ground before Stopping my boots before I hit the ground, making a show of walking down my invisible staircase to where my coat and hat awaited me.

If this was an actual fight I would never give my opponent this much time to recover, but this isn't meant to be a fight.

It's meant to be a spectacle.

And I think we're doing pretty well in that regard.

I slid one arm into a sleeve as I withdrew my Quirk from my clothes, making it easy to slide the other in as well and secure it in place with the belt and 'daggers.'

My hat fell from its frozen position to land on my head and I heard the crowd cheer, even as I made my way towards my remaining foe.

I approached Snipe casually, hands in my pockets, outwardly secure in the knowledge that his guns were no longer in his hands.

But inwardly?

There is no way in hell that I'm letting my guard down around Snipe.

We've been through enough sparring matches to know that the supposedly ranged hero is one hell of a scrappy fighter if you make the mistake of letting him get within hands reach of you.

I still had my Quirk running through me, enhancing my senses as much as I could to try and pick up any hints

As Snipe seemed to struggle to push himself up with his left hand, my view of his face obscured by his low-slung hat, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise up as I felt the distinctly familiar sensation of walking into a trap as his empty right hand stretched out towards me.

And the slightest of bulges on the strap of his glove began to shift towards me.

Realization struck me and I threw myself backwards, Hasting myself as much as I dared, using my arms to force myself back even faster as I pulled my best impression of the protagonist from that old film the Matrix.

The sound of a gun going off met my ears, albeit one that was far quieter than the leg shaking booms of Snipe's weapon of choice.

Although to be fair, the spring-loaded derringer that Snipe had fired at me would have taken my head off, figuratively speaking, if I was even an instant slower.

Even then I wasn't able to dodge it completely as the bullet altered its trajectory to follow me down towards the arena floor, even with my acrobatics.

Homing Quirk.

Ain't that a bitch.

Which meant I had to get a bit creative.

With a practiced twitch of my power one of the outermost layers of my coat froze in place, tearing away easily just like it had been designed to do.

My hero outfit had been made with my quirk in mind, with the ability to turn small inconsequential objects into unyielding immovable shields it didn't make sense for me to wear solid pieces of armor like some other heroes did.

I could probably do something like it on my shoes as well, but for all my attempts at making use of the prototypes over the years they'd never been able to come up with one that was durable enough to function as a shoe for a professional hero while at the same time not utterly ruining the traction.

Last one was like trying to walk on ice.

The bullet collided with the paper-thin piece of fabric and crumpled like a paper plane against a brick wall.

My back bounced off the ground and my head pulsed, the combination of my Quirk and the impact sending my head spinning, the pain I'd been ignoring throughout the match steadily growing more and more pronounced even as I rolled my way back up to my feet.

Oh right.

I did just essentially throw myself at the ground at accelerated speed.

That hurt.

I Hear You

But I wasn't finished.

I felt my Quirk subside briefly before I forced it open once more, the white light of my quirk beginning to trail off of me, as I felt the world start to slow to a crawl.

I'm not done yet!

Use Me

I need more!

I pulled on it further, what was once a crawl now slowing further until I was moving in a world of statues, moving forward in a silent world over concussion mines that would explode long after I'd left them.

USE ME

I reached out to my side, my hand beginning to clench as I…

I froze.

And that was when Snipe's next barrage caught me unprepared, sending me stumbling back and off of the stage.

"AND WITH THAT THE MATCH IS OVER!" Mic announced as the stadium erupted into an uproar of cheers and applause as I slowly sat myself up, forcing a smile onto my face as I pushed myself up from the floor. "ALL MIGHT, DECLARE THE WINNER IF YOU PLEASE!"

"The winner, having held the crown for the longest amount of time before being eliminated is…" The Jumbotron flickered before Enji's form filled the screen. "Endeavour!" All Might declared, the crowd roaring in applause.

What!?

But he got knocked out first?

I paused playing through the events of the match in my head and swore internally as the realization hit me.

The rules weren't that the winner had to be the last one standing in the ring.

It was that you were the one who wore the crown for the longest time.

Enji had probably realized that and let himself be knocked out of the ring so I'd focus on trying to get Snipe out of the ring rather than going for the crown.

That rules lawyering little shit.

Now I'm mad.

That I didn't think of it first.

But despite everything that was going on, that wasn't what was really holding my thoughts, no matter how badly I was trying to move away from them.

Whatever it was that Hizashi and Aizawa were blathering on about faded away, my mind quickly losing focus as I stood and gave a gallant bow to the triumphant Enji, even as my right hand, hidden within my sleeve was clenched so tightly I wouldn't be surprised if I started bleeding.

Had that seriously just happened?

I thought I had this dealt with.

"Are you all right?"

I started as I looked up to see Snipe suddenly in front of me, apparently having approached me unnoticed while I was caught up in my own thoughts.

I pulled a smile onto my face with practiced ease and rubbed the back of my head with a chuckle. "Think I might have pulled something when I landed, that's all." I lied, brushing myself off as I did so, my own words barely audible to me. "Think I might go stretch it out before I have to go join the principal in the commentator's box for the third years."

I think Snipe might have said something, but the only sound I could hear was my own heartbeat thundering like a drum in my ears, so with a repeated congratulations on a match well done I made my way back down the tunnel I had originally approached from.

I made my way to one of the change rooms that I knew would be empty at this point, casually walked inside and locked the door behind me, placing a Stop against the door for good measure with a use of my Quirk that I was certainly going to regret later.

I slumped against the door, looking down to my right hand as it shook like a leaf in a hurricane, my chest heaving as the pain rocked through my body.

That was close.

I'd almost slipped.

I'd almost forgotten how easily it could sneak up on me.

It's been ages since that's happened.

I'll have to check the bindings next time I'm at the Gym.

Another thought struck me and I grimaced.

I'm going to need to check that too aren't I?

I staggered over to one of the mirrors on the opposite wall, reached up to my hat with an arm that was still shaking slightly, but thankfully subsiding, and pulled it from my head, running a hand through my hair.

Yep.

That's going to be a problem.

Guess I'm going to have to wear the hat for the rest of the Festival.

Good thing it's comfy.

AN:

Why hello there!

So glad to be back!

The year is nearly over!

I've graduated from University!

Finished the College of Law!

Done all my PLT!

I've been accepted by the Courts!

I… still haven't found a paying job that isn't retail…

BUT ANYWAY be sure to tell me what you think of this latest addition!

We're starting to see little bits of our stalwart heroes past.

We may even have a little snippet from his childhood in the next chapter or two.

And what is hidden in the Gym I wonder?

Maybe we'll find out next time?

Who knows?

Last edited: Nov 8, 2020

Chapter 7

Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend - Theophrastus

Chapter 7

"So, did you have a good lesson young master?" Well now.

I nodded rapidly, one of my hands going up to clutch at the wooden practice sword that I had slung over my back. "Yep! I can't wait to show father how much I've improved!" Look who's here?

The older man seemed to hesitate at that, seeming to struggle to what to say. "I'm… afraid to say that regrettably…" Of course, now you begin down the path once more.

I felt my expression fall off my face. "He's not coming, is he?" I said sadly, resigned to the fact. Duh.

The old man sighed. "His other responsibilities demanded his attention. Your father is a very busy man young master." The man explained quietly, kneeling down so he could put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. A comforting truth.

It was all he could do really. But a truth nonetheless.

Father didn't want me to give any impression of being weak to anyone who might be watching, so I learnt quickly not to go for hugs anymore. But the question remains the same as before.

One beating was more than enough. Is it finally time?

He'd gotten worse since Mom couldn't come home anymore. Have you begun to listen?

"But!" The man said in a brighter tone, "I have a surprise for you!" Apparently not.

I felt myself perk up at that. "A surprise?" You don't make this easy for me, you know.

He nodded sagely at that. "Do you remember the promise I made with you? About when I thought you'd be ready?" But this…

I nodded excitedly in response. "Does that mean!?" This should never be forgotten.

He nodded with a quiet laugh, "Next lesson, you and I are going to work together to make something very special." This was the day.

I leapt up off the ground and threw my arms into the air as I shouted my victory, wanting to do nothing more than run around in circles with joy. This was when he decided you were ready.

I turned back to my latest mentor, feeling happier than I had in a very long time. For me.

"Thanks Rama-Ji!" Father…

Rama-Ji rolled his eyes at that. "That's not my name." He said in a deadpan, the same way he always did when I called him that. I haven't given up on him. On you.

I wish I still could. I still have hope…

I'm sorry. You need to remember…

I did my best to disguise the fact that I had nearly stumbled coming down the stairs by faking a yawn, stretching out my arms with a series of loud cracks before all but throwing myself into the only empty chair left in the staff seating box.

"You took your time. Did you get lost in there?" Snipe said sarcastically, but beneath the seemingly harsh words I could hear the concern in his voice.

I waved off his concern tiredly, pushing my hair out of my eyes, taking care not to wince as my fingers briefly brushed some particularly tender areas.

"Just making sure I'm looking my best for my adoring fans!" I said with a grin I barely felt. "That and crying myself to sleep after losing to Endeavour. Again. On national television."

Damn now I do feel like crying.

He's going to hold that over me for months.

"Explains why you look so well rested!" Thirteen teased, voice echoing through her helmet as one of her gloved hands waved at me.

The others all chuckled at that and I took it with a shrug.

"So…" I drawled, peering down at the stage. "Looks like I missed a few matches. Who made it through?"

"Midoriya, Todoroki, Shiozaki, Ida, Ashido and Tokoyami all made it past the first round." Ectoplasm informed me, even as the rest of us drew out attention down to the upcoming fight between my own pick, Kirishima who was coming up against…

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu.

I bit back a laugh.

Wow.

Really?

That is…

That is something right there.

"So I'm guessing his quirk has something to do with Steel." I said dryly, causing Kan to let out an annoyed grump that set the rest of the group chuckling.

Ryo piped up with his own response, but was apparently to excited as the series of snarls that came out wasn't really intelligible to me.

"It's okay Hound Dog, we know you said it first." Toshinori said with an upraised hand, trying to calm down the animalistic hero.

"The seventh match is a match-up between redundant quirks!" Mic's voice blasted out of the speakers around the arena, sending the murmuring crowd into a roar of excitement once more.

"Manly and passionate steel! From the Hero course, it's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!" The crowd gave off a cheer at that, and I could see the boy's classmates from 1-B giving it their all in supporting their colleague.

The aforementioned Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu called upon his quirk and suddenly his whole body seemed to be made of gleaming steel, the lights pointed towards the arena causing his metallic form to gleam.

"Manly and passionate hardening! From the Hero course, It's Kirishima Eijiro!" The crowd burst into cheers again but I had to fight from rolling my eyes at the identical introductions that Hizashi had given them.

Kirishima called upon his own quirk, and the kid's skin suddenly hardened, his whole body suddenly seeming to have sharper more angular lines throughout as his quirk took hold.

Guess who's trying to rise tempers so that we get a great spectacle?

Hizashi you punk.

Now as teachers we should always remain fair and impartial in events like this.

But considering my pick has made it all the way to the finals to hell with that nonsense!

Kick his ass Kirishima!

"Let's start this passionate seventh match!" Hizashi's voice boomed around the arena. "START!"

At that both fighters let out a roar to psych themselves up, charging forward to meet themselves in the centre of the arena and…

Punched each other without any attempt to dodge, both fists clashing against the other and bouncing off without any visible victor.

They then drew back their fists and…

Punched each other in the face.

As the crowd roared in response to the slug fest taking place in front of them like a heavyweight boxing match, I found myself turning slowly towards Kan, a smirk growing ever wider on my face as the fight drew on.

As someone who actually does box, I was well aware of what a travesty was taking place before me, complete with declarations of how little they felt the other's attacks, regardless of how excited it was making the crowd.

Kan already had his head in one of his hands and was trying to do his level best to ignore the look that I was giving him.

"So I'm guessing that you haven't had much time to addresses his fighting style." I said airily, the shit-eating grin spreading over my face making Kan grimace in response.

"Your pick isn't doing any better." He said sullenly, wincing as both students' heads rocked backwards as they both hit each other with a right hook at the same time.

"Very true." I conceded, nodding as I did so. "That being said, I didn't have a hand in training him or fixing any problems in his fighting style. Unlike some people."

I knew that Aizawa tended to use the Sports Festival for the first years as a bit of a wake-up call for some of them, by forcing them to slam into the wall that was their current level and quite often come up short.

Having come face to face with their current limits, the students were then usually very receptive to the idea that maybe that they aren't already perfect hero fighting machines, and that just maybe that there is a reason that we have them train for another two years before we let them out in the wide blue yonder.

Which was why he didn't start with personalised training until after the Festival.

Kan on the other hand?

No such excuse.

And speak of the devil looks like the match is concluding!

And with one more mighty roar they both clashed, their blows slamming into each other and sending them both to slam backwards into the floor of the arena.

"The two guys with the same Quirks Tetsutetsu versus Kirishima!" Hizashi narrated through the speakers as Nemuri made her way forward to determine just who had won the match. "A head-to-head fistfight! The winner is…"

Nemuri looked from one fallen form to the other before she raised her left hand skyward. "Both contestants down! It's a draw!" She declared drawing a barrage of cheers from the crowd.

I let out a whistle at that.

A draw, huh?

Haven't seen one of those in the tournament since I first started working here.

Always a surprise when it happens.

"In the case of a draw, after they recover, the winner will be determined by a simple contest, like arm wrestling." Nemuri continued on, explaining what would happen next to the crowd which exploded into cheers at the chance to see yet another display from the straight punching students from the hero course.

"While we wait for Kirishima and Tetstutetsu to recover, we'll start the next match."

I looked up at the screen to see who was next up to fight and let out a wince as I saw the glaring visage of Bakugo Katsuki opposing the determined looking form of Uraraka Ochaco.

Oh that right there is an exceptionally poor match up for the poor girl.

One of the few people in her year that can use their Quirk to manoeuvre while in the air, has no hesitation when it comes to acting and has reflexes that are phenomenal for a kid his age against someone's who's primary means of attack in an arena with no tools to utilise, is trying to physically touch him.

If she pulls this off it'll be the upset of the day.

I don't see it happening.

But stranger things have happened.

"The eight and last match of the round!"

"He was kind of famous in middle school! This isn't the face of a regular person! From the Hero course it's Bakugo Katsuki!

The hell kind of introduction was that Hizashi?

"Versus! She's the one I'm rooting for!" he faux whispered into the mic, leaving a few of us in the staff box to either laugh or pull a face at the Voice hero's choice of introduction. Suddenly the way Bakugo's intro was lacking made sense from my point of view. "From the hero course it's Uraraka Ochaco!"

The two students from class 1-A were staring at each other, from across their starting place in the arena, both looking equally determined to win this match.

I could see them talking but from this distance I couldn't make out what they were saying, but given the way Bakugou was standing with his hands tucked in his pockets he was wasn't doing the trash talk that I'd seen in earlier tournaments.

"Eight match, start!"

And like that they were off.

Uraraka charged forward, low to the ground, her hands open and ready to use her quirk, trying to end this match as soon as possible.

Against some of the other possible match ups it might have worked.

Bakugo started by winding his right arm back for a big obvious swing, a haymaker that could have knocked a full-grown adult into the next week.

Uraraka chose to dive forward even faster, the look on her face telling me that she expected this.

I vaguely recalled seeing the replay of Little Green's fight with the explosive teen in his first week, and his explanation that the blond usually started fights with that attack.

Which was why Uraraka was probably so surprised when Bakugo reversed the movement of his arm, and she dodged directly into the path of the explosion he launched at her, sending her stumbling backwards in a cloud of smoke.

Like I said.

The kid's got ridiculous instincts and fighting prowess.

Came first place in the general entrance exam without taking a single Hero point.

Not one.

Someone with that much combat acumen isn't going to make the same error twice.

I lost sight of the girl in the smoke cloud, the one visible student standing with hands at the ready to launch another attack.

Suddenly he lashed out with a roar, slamming an explosion down on something emerging from the smoke cloud.

When the derbis from this latest explosion cleared, I found myself grinning as I looked down and saw that instead of Uraraka on the ground, the only thing there was one UA sports jacket.

And there she comes bursting out of the smoke behind him.

It may be the magician part of me, but I always do love a nice bit of misdirection.

Hizashi's voice boomed over the speakers, explaining how she had made use of her Quirk to sell the illusion.

She dived forward but Bakugo's reflexes proved to be too great this time, sending her bouncing backwards with a line of explosions from his instinctive counter, before she flipped and landed on her feet, still facing her opponent with determination.

A good trick.

But I can attest, that if you can move fast enough to counter your opponent's moves before they finish making them, then surprise doesn't really matter.

Bakugo batted the smoke cloud away, not giving his opponent an opportunity to make use of it as cover again before launching another explosive attack that probably shook the seats closer to the arena from the force of it.

Still Uraraka moved forward, trying to protect herself as best as she could, letting loose her own war cry as she tried to charge forward once more.

To seemingly no effect.

Each time she tried to close the distance, her opponent would make use of his own Quirk to counter, blasting her backwards time and time again.

The arena was getting torn to shreds by the constant barrage unleashed by Bakugo, and it was staring to look like Uraraka was as well.

"Uraraka keeps attacking without rest, but…" Hizashi trailed off, the radio jock for once at a loss at how to put a positive spin on the one sided slaughter that was taking place before the crowd. "This is…" he tried again, only to fail in the face of yet another bright detonation that sent her stumbling backwards.

Some of the crowd was turning against Bakugo now, boos beginning to ring out at the way he was seemingly playing with his opponent.

Idiots, the lot of them.

When I said that Bakugo reminded me of a young Enji, I was more correct then I realised.

Just like the more experienced Flame Hero, Bakugo was fighting his foe with everything he had.

It didn't matter if it was a famous villain or a purse snatcher.

Enji was going to put them on their ass with the exact same mindset.

"Was that a pro saying he's playing around?" Aizawa's voice demanded from the speakers, the change in commentator silencing the detractors from the cloud. "How many years have you been a pro?"

The crowd stood in silence now, only the sound of the intermittent eruptions of Bakugo's quirk filling the air. "If you're saying that with a straight face, there's no point in you watching anymore, so go home! Go home, and look into changing careers!" He continued on, his words swift and biting with all the experience of someone who could shut down a room full of superpowered teenagers with nothing but a look.

And that was before he used his Quirk.

Ooft.

Not pulling any punches today are you Aizawa?

Granted you're not wrong.

And that's not even taking into account the real issue here.

"Bakugo is being careful because he's acknowledged the strength of his opponent who has made it this far. It's because he's doing everything he can to win that he can't go easy on her or let his guard down." Aizawa's word echoed out like the voice of a god, hurling down unsaid condemnation to those that had disparaged one of his students.

I flicked my eyes upwards and felt the grin tugging at my lips once more.

She couldn't bring any weapons into the arena, and beyond her use of her jacket, there was nothing for her to use her quirk on at the start if the match/.

Key word there.

Start.

But now?

The debris that she had been sending skyward throught this whole match, during the brief intervals where she was out if sight from the smoke left after one of Bakugo's attacks suddenly felt the grip of gravity upon them once more and plummeted to the ground with terrifying speed, blocks and chunks of cement in every shape and size, the irregular shapes only making them more intimidating.

A literal hail of concrete.

"A meteor shower!?" Hizashi cried out in shock, clearly surprised by this latest development.

Ha.

Going to hold that one over him.

Tricked by a first year student.

That one is going in the vault.

You know.

She could have made a great stage magician.

She's got a great mindset for it.

Then she charged forward, a reckless tactic to be sure, the impromptu concrete storm just as much a risk to her as it was to her opponent, but it was also the best opportunity that she'd had all match to lay a hand on her opponent.

Then Bakugo raised his left hand skyward, bracing it with his right, seemingly uncaring of his opponent's approach.

He hasn't braced himself once this whole match.

That's ominous.

I saw something at that moment.

His stance, his surety in what was about to happen.

Well, well.

Looks like Uraraka's not the only one with a Super move up their sleeve.

She'd lost.

A rapid-fire trail of small sparks ran up Bakugo's arm before a detonation that put all the earlier ones to shame erupted from his hand, the shockwave from the attack I could feel it all the way up here.

The descending debris had been rendered into nothing more than a fine dust, and it looked like and artillery round had blown it out of the sky.

I could even here pieces of it bouncing off the roof of the arena!

Damn.

The arena itself was in even worse shape than it had been before, and it hadn't even been the target.

Uraraka had been sent skidding backwards from the shockwave of the attack going off in front of her, and she was struggling to get to her feet.

"B-Bakugo delivers a satisfying explosion! He blasts boldly through Uraraka's secret plan!" Hizashi managed to stammer out, clearly still in shock at just how big that counter had been.

Not that I could blame him,

I knew Pro's that couldn't dream of letting loose that much firepower on their own.

But given the way he had to brace that arm before the attack and the familiar way with how stiffly he was holding it, told me that using his Quirk like that probably had quite a lot of recoil he had to suffer through as well.

Even then she managed to push herself to her feet, slumped over for certain but standing.

Bakugo charged forward at that, hands at the ready to let fly with his Quirk again as his opponent clenched her fist, turned to face him and…

Stumbled.

"Uraraka's down!" Hizashi's voice boomed out, filling the silence that was

The explosion slinging student slid to a stop, still not risking any chances of a comeback by her playing possum.

Nemuri advanced towards the fallen competitor, holding up a hand to tell her opponent to stay put as she examined her condition. "Uraraka's out of commission." She declared, her voice magnified by the hidden speakers throughout the arena to everyone in the stands. "Bakugo advances to the second round!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, and even in the Staff box we all clapped loudly for the excellent display that had taken place before us, both students truly having given their opponent their all.

Plus Ultra.

An excellent match.

Even though she lost, the determination and intelligence she displayed throughout will surely ensure she gets an offer for an internship.

Uraraka was swiftly wheeled off in a stretcher by the assistant robots that Power Loader was usually fiddling with when he wasn't chewing out one of the Support students for somehow damaging or destroying one of the workshops.

Again.

"Oh yeah, Bakugo advances to the second round." Hizashi said despondently, the loss of his pick for a winner of the tournament clearly evident in his dejected tone.

"If you're gonna do it, do it properly." Aizawa voice chided, his words still audible as they were picked up by the microphone in the commentor's booth.

I turned to the others, most of whom were either having their own discussions about the match that had taken place, as well as the ones before it, or were going to make use of the bathroom during the short interval between the first and second set of matches for the finals.

But I'm not leaving yet.

After all, I still have to watch my pick make his way to the next stage!

Ishiyama and Nemuri were making their way down to the center of the arena, with Kirishima and Tetsutetsu emerging from the tunnels as well, the crowd letting out a loud cheer at the sight of some of their favourites coming back to the stage.

Ishiyama gestured with his hand and a solid cube of cement formed between the two at waist height.

Oho?

So they decided on arm-wrestling then?

Exciting!

Both boys activated their quirks, their forms altering as it took hold of them, extended their right hands out to meet in the centre, while they braced themselves with their left for extra leverage.

Even their form was identical.

It was almost comical in a way.

Maybe they both went to the same school before UA?

Nemuri raised her whip high and then flung it down to signify the start of the match,

From the moment it started both of the final possibilities for the next round flexed their arms with all their might, the crowd cheering from the spectacle as the cement block beneath their arms started to fracture in places from the pressure their elbows were placing on it.

Their left hands weren't any better given the way they were literally digging into the cube with the force of their grip.

Their clenched grip struggled minutely this way and that, both boys letting out battle cries and roars to either focus themselves or throw off their opponent, I couldn't quite be sure.

"The draw from the seventh match of the first round, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu! The winner of their arm wrestling match to decide who advances to the second round is…"

Suddenly Tetsutetsu faltered, his form flagging for a moment and Kirishima slammed the metal skinned student's hand into the impromptu table.

Nemuri raised her hand, indicating towards the triumphant 1-A student. "Winner, Kirishima! He advances to the second round!" She announced, the crowd letting out fresh cheers at her words.

Kirishima let out a victorious bellow, thrusting his fist into the air as he claimed his victory.

Woo!

Not last!

Oh, it feels so good.

The victorious red head made his way over to his fallen opponent and extended a hand to help him up, which Tetsutetsu accepted, the crowd sounding their appreciation at this display of sportsmanship.

While Nemuri did her best impression of a middle-schooler, hands on cheeks and standing on one leg.

I glanced at out the corner of my eye and caught sight of Thirteen looking at me the same way.

I let out a sigh at the same time as she did.

Damn it Midnight.

Not while you're on TV.

Now we've got everyone who's advancing to the second round!" Hizashi's voice interjected over the crowd, causing some to lose excitement at this latest interruption. "So, let's get started!"

Well that's only reasonable.

The time we would have had for a brief intermission was taken up entirely by the arm-wrestling match.

But now it's time for one of the bigger matches of the day.

Little Green vs Enji's Kid.

Both powerhouses in their own very different ways.

Given his lack of experience, the odds are against Midoriya.

But I wouldn't count him out just yet.

The corners of the arena flickered and suddenly their was roaring pillars of flames being projected from them, drawing everyone's attention back to centre stage.

Thanks for waiting, everybody! The first match of the second round is a big match!" Hizashi started up, his hype-man routine now fully in effect as the two next fighters made their way forward to the stage.

"The man who won a huge victory in the first round and literally left the audience frozen-- From the hero course, it's Todoroki Shoto!" The crowd let out a cheer at that, and now I suddenly had an idea why the arena had felt like it had been struck with an earthquake while I was cleaning myself up after the exhibition match.

"On the other hand, the dark horse winner of the first event! Will he be able to cause an upset once again? From the hero course, it's Midoriya Izuku!" The crowd gave out a cheer to equal Shoto's

Okay let's analyse.

Shoto obviously has the edge when it comes to territory manipulation, and the speed in which he can use his quirk is a frightful thing to come up against.

That being said the latest in the long line of Buckets has his own frightful abilities, among them the ability to out punch robots the size of buildings.

But before I left him in the tender care of Bucket the Elder, he was still struggling to keep a hold of his power.

I suppose this match will truly be a crucible to see just how far he's progressed with it then.

"Any takers on who you think will win?" I asked, turning towards Thirteen to ask for her opinion for the matter.

The space hero let out a contemplative sound, her helmet raising skyward before tilting back down towards the stage. "I want to say that it's going to be the Todoroki boy, but that tone of your voice tells me that your hiding something from me." She accused, pointing a finger at me as she did so.

"Me? Hide something from you?" I replied in mock affront, throwing a hand up to rest against my brow as I mocked a faint. "How could one of my dear friends make such a bas…"

I cut myself off as an instantly familiar tone met my ears and my attention was immediately directed to my phone as I pulled it from my pocket, the bright red symbols flashing across the screen a sign that my time at the Sports Festival was about to be cut short.

CODE 8 - UTH

Shit.

I leapt up out of my chair, ignoring the questions of my colleagues, Haste taking hold as I sped down the shortest route to my destination, white light illuminating my path even as my mind ran through the new problem I was facing.

The patient was in Tokyo, apparently so heavily injured that being transported any further wasn't an option.

I was in Shizuoka, a journey that was closer to two hundred kilometres away then one hundred and would normally take about two and a half to three hours.

The alert on my phone made it quite clear that the patient wasn't going to survive another three hours.

Which was why I was going to have to drive there, really, really fast.

There's a very good reason that my car is constantly being either fixed or replaced.

With the help of a certain mad scientist on I-Island, the same one who had helped make the very first batch of Mana, we'd found a way to suffuse it throughout an engine to make it more resilient to the rigours of my quirk.

I shoulder charged my way through the door leading to the underground car park, moving with the excess momentum to ensure I didn't lose my footing and blurred forwards towards my car parking spot, the only one with a straight path to the exit for precisely this reason.

That being said more resilient didn't mean indestructible, it just meant, less likely to develop a catastrophic failure as a result of my Quirk being involved.

I didn't bother wasting time slowing down to open the door and enter the car, instead leaping in through the driver side window, which I left wound down in case of emergency.

One hand thumbed down on the ignition button while the other pulled the lever which caused the tachyon laced fuel to be released, sending the glowing blue liquid rocketing around the car.

I'd been informed that the liquid didn't actually glow according to everyone else. That it simply looked like a mostly clear, partly viscous liquid.

But to me, it shone like blue starlight, with such strength that I could actually see it as it surged through my car.

I pushed my quirk further, the Haste extending beyond my body to resonate with the car around me even as the car's HUD informed me that the Tachyon infusion was successful.

My hand blurred as I put the car into gear and it roared forward, shooting up the ramp to land with a bounce that I had long since grown used to at this point.

I through the car into a lateral drift around the corner leading onto the road the school, sending the car sliding around cars moving at a glacial pace on the road with a squeal of tires before pouring on as much speed as I dared before I got onto the E1A highway.

Here's hoping that the Hero Association managed to get the highway clear this time.

It's hard enough getting my quirk working on this car even with all the added help.

Having to force the car to cut through traffic the whole time makes the thing far more stressful than it otherwise would be.

As my car cleared the ramp to the E1A I felt myself loosen up slightly as I saw the emergency lane was already up and active, giving me a straight shot there.

I took a deep breath, one hand taking a tight hold of the steering wheel, my head pressing up against the head rest as much as I could, and grabbed the gear stick with my other.

With a flick of my thumb the hidden cover on the gear stick popped open, revealing the bright blue button with a symbol with a circle containing two triangles that met at the points.

This is going to suck. Time is an illusion.

Supreme Haste. You have yet to discover its true shape.

I was thrown back even deeper into the seat, the sound of the car now more akin to a jet engine than a regular car as I soared down the road, the wheels fighting to grip to the road as I moved faster.

My surroundings blurred as the car sped ever faster, the speedometer quickly reaching it's maximum but the HUD in the dashboard informing me that I was still making good speed.

The bullet trains that Japan was once and still to this day are famous typically max out at around three hundred and twenty kilometres an hour.

The typical speed of an incoming brain impulse is four hundred kilometres an hour.

If not for the fact that I can accelerate my own body, including my own speed of thought, it wouldn't be possible for me to drive in any fashion as fast as I am right now.

Because I'm going to be in Tokyo in about fifteen minutes according to the car's ETA.

Hold on.

I'm on my way.

I swore as I had to force the car to straighten up around the latest turn, having to rip the wheel the other way after I clipped the back end of the car trying to avoid some moron who was driving in the emergency only lane, a high pitch shrieking sound signifying what was hopefully only some paint being left being.

Oh if I had time to spare I was going to find that asshole then give them a piece of my mind and my boot up their arse.

I grit my teeth as I felt my body protest from this latest abuse and the car let out a series of ominous groans.

I checked the HUD and bit back a snarl as I saw the flashing red lights steadily spreading over the holographic representation of the car in the corner of the glass.

Okay.

Maybe more than a little paint.

"Come on baby," I grunted out, switching gears with a rapid clutch press as I neared the final few blocks before the University of Tokyo Hospital. "Hold it together."

Words cannot express how glad I am that they updated the facility a few years back.

If I didn't have a supply of Mana awaiting me when I got there, I was going to be no help to anyone, even if I did get there in time.

I pulled back on my quirk, the car dropping out of Haste as I rounded the last bend, soaring up the ramp at quite frankly dangerous speeds before slamming the brakes and pulling the e-brake to drift the car to a stop in a cloud of steam before the door that had been left open for me.

I opened the door to my car, taking care not to step into the bubbling puddle of rubber that used to be one of the wheels.

By the time I had stepped out of the car I already had a bottle of glowing blue Mana being thrust into my face by Negi, the Trauma Surgeon all but dragging me forward into the hospital. "Diagnosis?" I asked as started downing the disgusting concoction down my throat, fighting back the urge to stumble as the aftershocks of my Quirk fought to take hold of me.

"Severe blood loss, heavy lacerations to the spine and lower legs, concussion, we don't know how long he was unconscious before he was found, still hasn't regained consciousness." The career trauma specialist stated clinically, other members of the hospital all but leaping out of the way of the short but intensely focused woman. "He needs surgery as fast as we can or he's not going to make it through the night."

I'd once seen an intern burst into tears at the sight of her.

But the red headed woman striding before me has arguably saved as many if not more lives than any of the top rated heroes in Tokyo.

I drained the last of the bottle and dropped it without a care, not having any time to worry about disposing it in a trash can.

The way my limbs were still shaking told me that I was going to need another before I got started.

"But he can't get his body to accept the blood back into his body fast enough before we can risk doing any form of surgery without risking killing the patient." Negi continued, leading me into the operating theatre where a team was waiting with tools at the ready to begin their life saving work.

The patient on the table had been cut clear of their hero outfit, the savaged pieces laying crumpled in a pile out of the way of everyone else, the material permanently stained from the amount of blood that had splashed over it.

His wounds were bound as tightly as they could, his body a mess of bandages and his head shaved in places to help properly prepare it for reaching the still bleeding wounds that covered his body.

But even with all that, I still recognised the man beneath the life-threatening wounds

I still recognised the Turbo Hero Ingenium.

I still recognised Ida Tensei.

I felt many things in that moment of realisation.

Fear.

Despair.

And rage.

A whole truck load of rage that wanted to lash out at whoever had done this to my friend.

But the coldly rational part of my ruthlessly crushed them so I could focus on the matter at hand.

I held out a hand and snatched the bottle of Mana that had been waiting for me, forcing the wretched fluid down my throat, and I felt the burning pain that had been suffusing my being subside until it was merely painful instead of the agonising it had been for the past few moments.

I reached out with both hands, one resting above Tensei's heart and another over his head.

Altering someone's cardiovascular system was always a delicate thing, I couldn't just brute force this or I risked causing even more damage then when I started.

Sometime it takes me a bit longer to adjust to an individual's own… I don't really know if there is a term for it.

Their personal flow of time? That is not the Truth.

That doesn't sound quite right. Deaf as you are you still realise this.

Regardless, it doesn't matter in this instance.

I've worked on Tensei before.

This shouldn't be an issue.

I invoked my quirk and felt it surge forth, the white glow now spreading from my hands in a visible aura as it converged upon the injured hero.

I watched as Negi took a hold of the team around me like a seasoned conductor at an orchestra, bags of blood hanging above rapidly being introduced into Tensei's system at speeds that without my intervention would have proven to be fatal.

I don't know how long I stood there, arms shaking from the strain as I tried to hold my friend together long enough for his body to survive the surgery he was going to need if he had any hope of coming out the other side of this.

While I promoted the propagation of new blood cells in Tensei's body, making use of the newly introduced plasma and blood to help fuel the process, I also did what I could to help alleviate the swelling as best as I could, knowing that the more I could reduce it, the easier it would be for any x-rays to properly determine what would be required beyond the immediately obvious.

I felt a tab at my shoulder and blinked blearily as my quirk spluttered and died from my lack of concentration.

I went to rip the moron who had interrupted me a new asshole when I felt the world darken and turn sideways as the room decided to start doing spirals while somebody dragged me back out of the OR to sit on one of the couches they had in the staff room.

No.

Not yet.

I can still do more.

Tensei still needs…

I went to stand up again only for a familiar hand to push me back down on to the couch, even as a finger that glowed green when I blearily saw it poked me directly in the forehead.

Suddenly the energy that I had been struggling to hold onto became water that flowed out of my grip as the serotonin levels in my body spiked, and I found myself letting out a yawn unconsciously as the form of my assistant Yomi briefly registered to my eyes even as I found myself slumping over.

"That's… cheating…" I slurred, the words mostly unintelligible as my eyes continued to close regardless of my demands to stay open.

Kayama Yomi smiled softly at my complaint, and before I knew it, I found a blanket being drawn up over my form.

"Get some rest Kaito." I heard her voice. "I'll be here waiting for you when you wake up."

Darkness.

I know this room. But do you really?

No. Yes.

No, no, no. You're almost there.

Stop moving forward! Think.

Stop moving forward damn you! Stop hiding from it.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH OF A STUPID IDEA THAT WAS BOY!" You know this.

"FIVE OF MY BEST MEN, DEAD! BECAUSE OF YOUR WEAKNESS!" I was there too.

"WELL!? ANYTHING TO SAY IN YOUR DEFENCE BOY? ANYTHING TO EXPLAIN THIS LATEST FAILURE!?" He was angrier than I'd ever heard him. We both play starring roles in what comes next, after all.

"It was my fault lord." You could not have saved Father.

No. You could not have saved them.

That's a lie. Or her.

Say it's a lie. You know this.

Speak up damn you! But still you deny it.

"You!?" The first foe.

"Yes lord. I felt it would be a useful outing to further hone him. It was my idea entirely lord." Typical.

"I ordered you to stay away from there *ne. Not a suggestion, an order!" Both greatest and least.

"I know lord. But I deemed it necessary regardless." Took the blame without hesitation.

"Kneel." Even knowing what would have followed.

"Where do you think you're going boy! Look at him. The First of your two great shames .

"It's time for you to learn that actions have consequences." But do you truly remember it?

"It's alright young master." You remember parts.

"Be good, master *." But what of the whole?

"Clean that mess up." I may have done my job too well.

"Why couldn't you have died instead of her?" For it to have remained buried all this time.

Then there was a familiar image, of a room that only I and Hawks knew of. I'm here.

A room that bore the remnants of nearly twenty conflicts. Remember your oath.

One space lay empty. Before it's too late.

Then it blurred and was a gravestone. She wouldn't want this.

Then I was there again. Enough of this

Kneeling before a burnt-out shell of a home. You're clearly not ready yet.

And a large white sheet draped over a smaller form. WAKE UP.

AN:

Another step closer.

But closer to what?

Had a wonderful streak of writing several thousand words worth of fight scene only to pause pull back and look at the timeline and realise that there was at least another arc or two before I could even use that scene.

ARGH!

Damn you brain!

Anywho, enjoy the early Christmas present from me to all of my wonderful readers.

As always your responses are appreciated.

Merry Christmas!

Last edited: Jan 22, 2021

Chapter 8

Hit the eye symbol to see invistext.

Yes there is invistext.

Time waits for no one - Folklore

Chapter 8

I sat up with a half-strangled cry, hands reaching out for something that even now faded from sight.

Damn it.

Haven't had that one in a long time.

Thought I'd finally escaped it.

I found myself letting out a yawn as I stretched out my arms, a series of loud cracks ringing out as I did so.

Ah.

So satisfying.

My nostrils flared as something steaming was thrust under my nose and I blearily took in a disposable coffee cup held by a familiar hand.

"It's no artisanal blend, but it should help with waking up." Kayama Yomi said kindly, apparently having made the fresh cup of coffee in the time it took me to become aware of my surroundings.

Man, I really was out of it.

Was not expecting to have to do all that after my exhibition fight.

How's the old saying go again.

Man plans.

God laughs.

"Thanks Yomi." I muttered, taking a swig of the offered coffee.

And then immediately started retching.

Oh God.

That's not coffee.

The abominable taste of steaming hot Mana clung to my tastebuds as I coughed and spluttered, my assistant laughing loudly in a way that reminded me so very much of her cousin.

"Oh, the look on your face!" She laughed, tears running down her face. "Priceless!"

As much as I wanted to be angry at her, I could feel the good that the mana was doing me right now, the ache that had been pulling on me fading away as it fed into my quirk.

I had needed that.

I rubbed at my chin, feeling the stubble that had grown there with a scowl.

Going to need to shave that later.

I pushed myself from my impromptu bed, walking over to the mirror that had been stuck onto one of the walls and examined my face.

Hair is a mess.

My clothes need a clean.

At least there was no acne anymore.

That was always a pain.

And…

I raised my hand up to my forehead and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no blood there.

Thank god.

"You were bleeding." Yomi confessed, and I could make out the guilty look on her face in the mirror. "I cleaned it up while you slept."

"Thank you." I said simply, glad I didn't have that to deal with at least.

Now I need to get going.

Need to make my little stop over.

And then get some sleep right after.

A lot of sleep.

And I've got the first classes for the first years to plan out too, don't I?

Crap.

"Any other emergencies while I was out?" I asked Yomi, reaching into a pocket to make sure the keys to my apartment were still there.

They were.

Small mercies.

"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow." Yomi replied, handing over my phone as she did so.

Yomi was usually the one who dealt with my phone whenever I was in the middle of a consultation or in situations like this one where I was mostly dead to the world.

Then I asked the question that had been waiting to be answered ever since I woke up. "How's Tensei?"

The grimace Yomi failed to supress said a lot. "He's alive, thanks to you." She started slowly. "But he's still unconscious. Until he wakes up we can't be certain about his condition."

Buggar.

We made our way back out to the front of the hospital, Yomi filling me in on what had happened to Tensei.

The Hero Killer, Stain.

Apparently Tensei had caught sight of him during one of his patrols, called it in, and then gone after him with the aim to either bring him to justice or failing that, hold him up long enough for reinforcements to help.

Only by the time said back up arrived Stain was gone.

And the Pro Hero Ingenium was in the process of bleeding out onto the concrete.

Got to be honest.

I hadn't really put much thought into Stain until this point.

Just another idiot with a half-baked philosophy that thinks violence is going to solve everything wrong with society.

I had far more interest in tracking down my own targets.

But it looks like this idiot really wants some attention.

I'll have to give Enji a call later.

He usually keeps an ear out to active villain activity.

Hell he's got a whole floor of his agency dedicated solely to that.

A hell of a lot more than my grand total of zero floors in my non-existent agency.

"Thanks again Yomi." I said with a wave walking through the final doors to the outside and my… car.

I stood before the empty space where my car used to be, bar the melted slag and rubber that likely had been my wheels.

Great.

Thought the car was in better nick than that.

"Mac has already received it in his garage." Yomi's voice piped up from behind me, reaching into her bag and pulling up a folded piece of paper. "He also sent this for you to read, and several very long, very expletive filled voicemails that I've since deleted."

I unfolded the piece of paper and found a large emoji of the middle finger waiting for me.

I chuckled at that.

Yeah, Mac's going to be pissed for a bit.

Just like every other time I write off the car.

But that does mean I'm obviously not going to be able to drive home.

"Any chance you could give me a lift home?" I said with a smile as I turned to my assistant, hands together in prayer.

Yomi was unimpressed. "You are not getting on my bike. Not after last time." She said shortly, the smile on her face becoming decidedly sharper at that.

I winced.

Right.

Thought she'd forgiven me for that.

"I bought you a new one!" I said defensively, hands up to protect myself from any oncoming attacks as I did so.

The crossed arms and gleam in her eyes suggested that my tactic was not successful. "And bumped up my insurance premium." She said dryly. "But don't worry, I arranged for someone to give you a lift."

And that's when I heard it.

The music.

The goddamn Scorpions.

And there descending from the heavens, complete with air guitar solo was my best friend.

That dick.

"What's that make it?" Hawks asked rhetorically, maintaining his position hovering above me so I wasn't able to look down at him. "Three cars in as many months?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling the barbed words forming to be flung in our usual back in forth but I swallowed them.

I was still tired.

And I needed to get this done before I turned in.

"Thanks for the lift." I said simply, feeling the tension fade out of me. "Mind if we stop in at the gym before you drop me off? Need to check something's been put away."

I saw the realisation flicker across Hawks' face, far too quickly for anyone else to have taken note of it.

He shrugged dramatically at my request even as he reached out to the boombox that had been held aloft by some of his feathers and turned the music off. "Can it wait?" He asked casually but the look in his eyes was growing sharper by the minute.

"Afraid not." I replied, with my best attempt at casual which was in all likelihood an utter failure given my newly awake status.

Hawks nodded at that. "Well, that's that then."

A flurry of red feathers surged forwards towards me and I found myself being lifted up into the air, my boots lifting off the ground even as I felt the tug of gravity seek to reclaim me.

This always feels so bizarre.

When I'm doing my air walk it's still like my feet are on the ground.

Being lifted by Hawks was a very different kettle of fish.

"Thanks again Yomi!" I called out before we gained too much momentum. "Don't know what I'd do without you!"

Yomi just laughed, waving briefly before she turned on her heel and made her way towards where the car was undoubtably parked.

"So…" Keigo drawled out, a smirk growing across his face.

"Oh here we go." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Now that you're my captive audience, I've just got to know." He said mock earnestly. "Losing on national television… wait no it was international wasn't it? How did that feel?"

"Only slightly better than your last attempt at okonomiyaki." I deadpanned, earning a chocked guffaw from my means of transportation.

Hawks cooking was… well to call it bad seems like a grave insult.

To anything that identifies as being bad that is.

"I am wounded by your spurious words!" Hawks responded dramatically, mock fainting in mid-air even as his feathers pulled both of us towards our destination.

I shook my head at that, smiling despite myself.

"Never should have got you that word a day calendar, you freaking Enji fanboy." I declared even as we both started laughing at each other as we fell into the same routine we always did after one of my spars with Enji.

I felt a weight lift of my shoulders, as we bantered back and forth, moving closer to our destination.

I placed the key on the hook on the inside of the store and stumbled down the stairs.

Well, I say stumble but it would be more accurate to say slip, almost fall and crack my head open, if not for Keigo's feathers catching me before the end.

"Woah there!" Hawks called out, his feathers tugging me back upright even as another one soared off into the darkness to hit the light switch. "Careful now."

"I'm fine." I grunted out, managing to stand on my own feet now that the stairs were out of the way.

"Hold up." I felt my friend's hand on my shoulder, holding me in place as he moved forward to face me. "We can do this later Kaito, you're clearly not fully recovered yet."

I paused for a moment before raising a hand to brush his off of my shoulder.

"I just need to get this done, then I can rest." I promised, although I was unsure just who I was making the promise to.

Was it to Hawks?

Or to me?

Hawks stood there for a moment before he threw up his hands with an exhalation. "You never listen to me like this, so fine. We do this, then I'm taking you straight back to your apartment. No more detours." He said seriously, no trace of joviality in his voice this time.

I moved forward towards a dusty old framed photo of one of the Old Man's favourite boxers from back when he was my age, Takamura something or other, and shifted it to the side to reveal the palm scanner hidden behind it.

Blocking off ground entry and reinforcing the building for full Quirk sparring wasn't the only renovations we had done to the old gym.

Granted what I was using it for now was decidedly not it's original purpose but I'd repurposed it well enough.

The high tech scanner, direct from I-Islands private security division read my palm, taking note of not just my hand and finger prints, but also my pulse and even my DNA with a light incision.

Once all the security protocols, some of which even I purposefully was unaware of, were satisfied with my identity, the scanner pulsed a soft green and a loud click filled the air.

I moved towards the storage closet that remained empty at all times, and stepped through it, the back wall having retracted into the ceiling above to allow entry to the hidden room.

Within there were a series of weapon racks all holding bladed weapons of various types, from small weapons like a set of punch daggers and a stiletto knife to utterly monstrously huge weapons like a cruel double-bladed axe that would have been twice my height if it had been standing upright.

The nineteen weapons, despite the differences in design and in some cases in metal all had two things in common.

One, that they had all been made by the same man.

And two, that they had all been destroyed.

Some were in two pieces.

Most were in more than that, little more than shattered pieces of metal remaining.

But I had still gathered all the pieces together to contain them all here.

All but one.

The empty space silently challenged me each time I looked upon it when I entered this room, filling me with fury and regret in equal measures.

The other wall of the room was a very different affair.

Compared to the wall occupied with the broken remains of the weapons, this wall bore only one thing.

A single box of silvery-gold material, which to be perfectly honest was the most expensive thing I had ever bought, even with the discount I'd gotten on it. Finally.

Getting something this large made out of a platinum-gold alloy was by no means cheap.

Platinum by itself usually costs in excess of a thousand dollars a gram.

The case propped up along the wall was almost as tall as I was. What took you so long?

But it's the most wear-resistant material ever made by man.

And I needed it to contain what was inside. Should I take that as a compliment?

I looked down at the base of the box to find a piece of crumbling chain, which even now was corroding at a rapid pace, crumbling away into nothing. Hello?

Even with the case containing it, one of the chains that had once been pinning this box to the wall had faded away to nothing, as if it had been centuries since I'd last returned to this place instead of a mere three years. You're kidding me?

The other wasn't looking to crash hot either, looking like it was going to fall apart if I so much as looked at it the wrong way. Listen to me goddamn you!

I sighed and turned to walk towards the box of chains that I had stacked at the end of the room.

I'd tried with rope before but it didn't last anywhere near as long. Alright screw this.

There was a loud ringing sound and I turned to see the final chain snap as the box fell towards me.

And before I could stop myself my hands leapt up to stop it from falling, almost of their own accord.

My hands touched the box. We need to talk.

And it all went white. Face to face.

One moment I was in the store room.

The next?

I was there.

Standing before the barred door, locks and chains attached liberally all over it.

But despite the many shackles and deadbolts on this door, I could still see through to the darkened cell and the single occupant within.

The music drifted towards me, echoing through this strange space, seeming to be far too loud to have come from an ordinary piano.

I know this piece.

Once upon a time I could play it.

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings.

I hated that piece of music.

I hadn't played piano in a very long time.

It only bought back bad memories.

"So." The prisoner spoke up, still facing away from me, seemingly focused on playing the piano more than his only visitor. "Took you long enough."

I felt something rise up at his words but I forced them back down.

No.

That's not him.

I stood there in silence glaring at the shadowed figure as they continued to play the sombre piece before with a sigh, they abandoned the attempt and stood up from their seat.

They walked towards me slowly, the click of their footsteps against the floor near deafening in the silence of this place, before they came to a stop before the bars.

Even this close, I couldn't make out any of the details of the sole prisoner.

It was like trying to make out a shadow on a cloudy night.

Like that one villain, Kurogiri I think it was, but without the cloths or the glowing eyes in the void.

Nothing.

Except for the two horns, curling up from their forehead and above their head, pulsing a faint white as they stood there as if replicating the beat of a heart.

"Really?" They asked dryly, their shadowed form looking decidedly… disappointed? "You don't call, you don't write. I was starting to worry."

Fury surged through me at the painfully familiar tone.

I hated this person.

More than anyone.

Well.

Almost anyone.

"What do you want?" I snarled through gritted teeth.

"My god, he speaks! Alert the media." The prisoner said sardonically. "For a while there I was worried that you'd forgotten how to. You know, given the amount of stuff you've chosen to forget already."

Calm.

They're just trying to rile you up.

You know that.

With that knowledge, I was able to force out the question once more, eager to get this over and done with so I could move on with my life.

"Oh you know, the usual." The prisoner drawled. "World Peace, healthy food that doesn't taste like garbage or cost a small fortune and, oh yes that's right, for you to let me out of this cage."

Another tumult of emotions threatened to rise up at that but I ruthlessly pushed them back down.

"You know why that's not going to happen." I said softly, clenching my fists tightly as I did so.

The prisoner scoffed at that. "Really?" They said derisively. "Still? After all this time? It's been years since that night Yo-"

"My name," I interrupted him loudly, slashing an arm down for emphasis as I did so, "is Kanetsuki Kaito. And don't you dare talk about that night."

I couldn't see them, but I could almost guarantee that the prisoner was rolling his eyes at my words.

"Sure it is." They said conversationally. "Sure would like it if you said my name once in a while. It's not like it would kill you." Their form shifted slightly as if awaiting my reply.

I remained silent at that.

The figure waited as well and the silence dragged on between us.

"You've got to be kidding me." The prisoner spoke up after what felt like an age had passed. "You don't remember my name do you!?" They finished with an outraged voice.

I went to deny the accusation that was there but as I reached for the words they failed to appear.

They weren't wrong.

"Oh this is just great!" They muttered derisively, now pacing angrily back and forth in the shadowed cell that was their only home. "First time you actually bother to open your stupid mouth only to reveal you don't even remember my freaking name! That is just…"

Underneath the rage, the pain, the sadness and the melancholy that the prisoner's voice elicited in me, there was one that rose to the top, one that I didn't want to acknowledge.

Guilt.

Because I knew that it was my fault.

But I was just too stubborn to admit it to the prisoner.

The prisoner stopped, strangling the air for a moment in a bout of sheer frustration before stopping. "Fine." They spat out. "Down to brass tacks. Next time he pops up, you're taking me with you."

"I don't need your help." My response came automatically, the same stubbornness that had gotten me this far in life fuelling it.

The prisoner scoffed at that. "Because it went so well last time." The prisoner said sarcastically, drawing out the 'so' as they gestured with their arms. "Oh hero of Kurobe Dam."

I grimaced at that.

They weren't wrong.

Last time had gone… poorly.

To put it lightly.

I'd been able to stop the dam from breaking and having Lake Kurobe flood the resulting area but that was the only good piece of news I could say about that attempt.

That bastard broke the dam so he could get away from me and it worked.

I wasn't enough.

If I took the sword with me, I'd probably be able to finish it.

It was how I'd been able to dispatch the other wielders so easily after all.

The clang of something hitting the bars drew my attention back to the prisoner.

"You're not the only one who made that promise, Kaito." The prisoner said firmly. "I intent to keep it."

I stood there for a moment longer before with great hesitation, I nodded.

I wanted that final weapon collected more than I cared about that promise I'd made to myself.

Guess I did care about the older promise more than the more recent one.

Guess a few years can bring change in a person.

"Wait you said yes?" The prisoner seemed surprise at my answer. "Well… shit. I thought I was going to have to try and bribe you into it, but I guess I'll just tell you as a sign of good faith."

I perked up at that.

What could the prisoner possibly hope to bribe me with?

Not trying to get me to use the blade?

Fat chance of that.

"I'll give you a hint. That new technique you've been working on, the one you've been trying to recreate after that one time." He spoke up drawing a straight line in the air.

I started at that.

How the hell did the prisoner know about that?

"Just because you don't hear me anymore, doesn't mean I'm not there Kaito." The prisoner said bluntly. "Time is not a straight line."

What?

That doesn't make any sense.

The prisoner leaned forward as if to say something but what I heard wasn't words.

What I heard was more like static, the electronic crackle of dead air drowning out whatever else they had to say.

I strained my eyes, trying to make out their mouth so I could try to read their lips in a final attempt.

The room went white.

I blinked.

My eyes opened and I was back in the hidden room, the sealed case still being held upright by me.

I pushed it up and propped it up against the wall absently brushing my hands off on my coat as I stood before the case.

I knew I should have had a lot of questions after what had just taken place.

I knew I should have felt something after what had just taken place.

But the only thing I felt was tired.

Bone deep tired.

"You done in here?" Keigo's voice called out from the gym proper, his head poking out through the hidden door. "Not trying to rush you but I do have other things I've got to get done today Kaito."

I turned towards the box of chains in the corner, as well as the hammer and heavy nails that would have been used to bolt them into the wall.

Then I turned back towards the door and nodded. "Time to go home."

Keigo scoffed at that. "Time for you maybe, I've still got a full day of work ahead of me. You know being number three and all that."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Hey we both agreed that the Hero Billboards are bullsh-" I stopped midsentence as I felt my legs buckle beneath me, the floor rushing up to meet me.

Guess that conversation might have strained something.

I stopped just before I hit the ground the bright red feathers of my best friend once again saving me from an unwanted reunion with the padded floor.

"Have you gained weight Kaito?" Keigo said slyly, even as his feathers started to float me back up the stairs towards the only exit of the gym, the hidden door having slid closed as soon as I had passed through it. "Quickly, give me a sign of life.

I slowly raised one hand to give him the finger.

Keigo grinned at that. "Close enough." The door swung open to reveal the blinding light of the sun as I floated out into the busy sounds of morning traffic. "Let's get to bed Sleeping Beauty."

Goddamn it.

Never should have introduced Disney to that birdbrain.

---

I closed the door to the staff room behind me and walked over towards my desk and sat down with a loud sigh.

Well.

That went well.

I think they're starting to pick it up.

Glad I don't have any sparring matches planned for today.

Would not have been at my best.

Probably need another day or two of bedrest before I can start breaking out the big stuff again.

In al honesty I'm just mad that I wasn't able to talk to little Green before he got shipped off to his internship.

I opened up a blank document entitled 'Lesson plan for the first years' and… stared at it blankly.

Damn it.

Still can't think of the proper way to start them off.

I'd do the normal way but that relies on a year's worth of schooling that hasn't happened yet.

---

Uh.

I shrugged and spun in my chair once, taking in the form of some of the other teachers completing some of their own work with some exceptions.

Including Aizawa.

What black magic is this?

Aizawa not cocooned in the staff room at the first opportunity?

What the hell happened?

Not wanting to disturb anyone from their own work through my inability to do my own I turned back to my computer and tried to focus.

No dice.

Well in that case.

I activated the UA's internal server and bought up the class lists for the first years, eager to see just who had taken an internship with who.

Ken always posted a combined list of all the students out on internships so any teacher would be able to know where the student in question would be.

Most of those who'd not appeared in the finals were likely to take up a spot at one of the forty Hero Agencies that had already agreed to offer internships

Let's see then.

Looks like Kirishima got an internship with the Chivalrous Hero; Fourth Kind.

Nice!

Should hopefully help him out with his lack of close-range combat training.

Oh wait Fourth Kind took another intern?

Who…

I looked at the face to Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and supressed a chuckle.

Oh, I wish I was there.

I grabbed a protein bar and started chewing as I moved down the list spotting that Uraraka had accepted a placement with Gunhead, an excellent choice in my opinion, before I nearly choked on my next bite as one placement in particular stood out.

Jet-Black Hero: Tsukiyomi

Interning under the Wing Hero: Hawks

That son of a bitch.

He didn't say a damn thing about that!

Oho, that is so going on the list!

I moved down the list stopping as one name came up.

Tenya

Interning under the Normal Hero: Manual

Who?

After a quick search of my own I looked up the hero in question to discover that he was a relatively low ranked hero, No. 222 at last check, with a Water based Quirk.

Nothing amazing, just a very well-rounded hero with no outstanding abilities or accomplishments as far as I was aware.

Did the job and did it well by all accounts.

Based in Hosu.

On a hunch I bought up Tenya's other offers and saw many that were either higher ranked, better suited or a combination of the two.

I pursed my lips.

Not a good sign.

I might have to follow up on that later.

I saw Enji had made an offer to his son that had been accepted.

Of course.

I had a double take at the next hero name.

"King Explosion Murder?" I said bemusedly. "Really?"

A quick check on the owner of said ridiculous name revealed it to be Bakugo.

Yeesh.

Midnight is going to need to do workshopping of that Hero Name.

Then I saw who he was interning with and through otherwise.

Oh, Hakamada has a lot of work ahead of him.

A lot of work.

But if anyone could pull it off, it'd be Best Jeanist.

Finally I spotted the name that I'd been most curious about.

Deku

Interning under Gran Torino

Once again, I found myself drawing a blank.

Gran Torino?

Who's that?

Some new kid on the block?

A quick search for the hero in question proved me to be entirely wrong.

Gran Torino wasn't new.

Grant Torino was old.

A seasoned veteran who was an active Pro Hero during the Dark Age of Heroics in Japan.

Where the death rate for heroes was at the highest point it had been in recorded history.

And he'd been an active hero for the entire time.

One seemingly uninterested at gaining any popularity by his actions, but if the arrest record attached to his name is even half right then one, he defiantly knows his way around a fight.

No noted team ups.

No sidekicks.

No team to speak of.

Purely a solo act.

The only time he'd ever stepped back from hero work was when he decided to work as a homeroom teacher hero of all places.

Feeling curious I pulled up a class photo of the hero in question, wanting to get a look at him.

As I pulled up the photo, it wasn't the picture of the tall hero in question I found my eyes being drawn too.

The first thing my eyes were locked onto was the much younger face of one Toshinori Yagi.

Well.

That's someone I can ask about him at least.

The sound of the door being pulled open met my ears and the much shorter form of the Hero of Peace walked into the staff room, practically swimming in his oversized clothes as he made his way towards his desk, before he spotted me and made his way towards me.

Speak of the devil.

"Young Kaito! Good to see you up and at'em." Toshinori said loudly before shrinking down as a barrage of shushes came form the other desks. "Feeling alright?"

I smiled at the earnest of his inquiry and waved lightly. "Good to see you too. Just need a bit more bed rest and I'll be back too normal before you know it." I said, waving my protein bar for effect before I realised what I was doing and put it down on my desk beside me.

"Say I was looking into the internships the first years have gone off to and I saw one that I couldn't recognise." I started before flicking back to my computer and bring up the class photo once more. "Is this Gran Torino teaching Midoriya the same one that used to work at UA way back when?"

I sat there waiting for Toshinori's reply but didn't hear anything.

"Toshinori?" I asked again spinning my chair to face him once more and caught a very rare sight.

The hero of Peace was shaking like a leaf from head to toe as if an arctic chill hand entered the room, with the normally broad smile on Toshinori's face was now a far more fragile looking thing.

But it despite everything, I felt a dull sense of familiarity as I looked at him.

"O-Oh that's right." Toshinori said dully, his eyes almost turning glassy eyed as he spoke. "He taught me a great deal about combat training. He's very… thorough."

Well.

Someone's looking traumatised.

That was when it hit me.

Why the look on the number one hero's face was so familiar.

It was the same look that Keigo made whenever I brought up Yoroi Musha.

The realisation sunk in slowly.

Gran Torino is a hero that can make the greatest hero in Japan break out into a cold sweat at the mere mention of his name.

I said a silent prayer for little Green.

He's either going to come out of this as a one of the best in his year.

Or he's going to be coming out of this in the hospital.

I'll give it 50/50 odds.

After All Might managed to stop doing his best impersonation of a panic attack, which was only missing him breathing into a paper bag at this point he began to update me on what I had missed yesterday, the latest password that Snipe had installed in some of the restricted areas, things like that.

We'd just about got through it all and I was about to try to quiz him more about this mysterious Gran Torino guy when my phone decided it would be a good time to interrupt me.

I didn't recognise the number, but few people have my number anyway.

With an apologetic smile to my fellow teacher who nodded understandingly I stood up from my chair and answered the phone, going to step away from the staff room so as to not distract anyone with the phone call. "Kanetsuki Kaito speaking." I answered professionally.

"Relax Kaito it's me."

I felt my eyebrow shoot up at the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Tensei! I didn't know you were up." I said feeling a smile start to tug at my lips. "Good to here from you. How're you feeling?"

"Ah. Well…" There was hesitation in Tensei's voice.

I'd never heard him hesitate before.

I felt a ball of ice slowly form in my stomach before it started working it's way up.

"It's my legs." He admitted. "I can still feel them… I just can't seem to… move them."

Shit.

"What did Negi say?" I asked, knowing that the last thing that Tensei wanted to here from me right now was pity, or a reminder of his current status.

"She says there's still hope." He said quietly. "Thanks to you letting them start the surgery instead of waiting, there's a chance I'll be able to use them again. It's… just going to take some time."

I let out a breath at that piece of news.

Well.

It's not perfect.

There's not going to be an Ingenium for the foreseeable future.

But it's hope.

There was silence from the other line for a moment before Tensei spoke up again. "I need a favour." He said seriously.

I nodded, staring out the window to Mustafu, my eyes absently looking at the horizon. "Alright shoot. What do you need?" I asked simply.

"You're not going to like it." He warned me.

"Tensei." I tried to interrupt.

"It'll just be for a few days I swear." He continued, raising a lot of alarm bells which I was choosing to ignore.

"Tensei." I said in a much louder voice, forcing my way back into the conversation. "I do kinda owe you one for last time so just ask?"

"It's a big ask." Tensei admitted, still seeming to hesitate with actually telling me what the favour was.

"How bad can it be?"

I stood before the gathered group of sidekicks and other assorted support staff in my hero outfit outwardly smiling and inwardly cursing myself for ever agreeing to do this.

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Shiro Madoushi, the Magical Healing Hero but you can feel free to call me Kaito." I said casually, taking off my hat and giving a little bow as I did so.

I didn't recognise most of the people looking back at me, with the exception of a few of the more consistent members of Tensei's patrol group like Bigshot, Onemu Shinya and the newest addition to the team Enigma.

"While Tensei's out of action he's asked me to step in for a few days until you think you're ready to take over by yourself." I continued on, while at the same time frantically scraping together what few pieces of knowledge, I had on running a hero agency together in my mind.

"I look forward to working with you." I finished finally to the sound of muted applause, some of the people in the crowd looking decidedly unhappy at my presence here.

Hey I wasn't exactly jumping for joy over here either buddy.

The group dispersed into the Team Idaten building, everyone splitting off to their own stations, with the exception of a few others who approached me with small mountain of paperwork.

Great.

It's just a few days Kaito.

Just a few days of shadowing patrols and they'll be ready to take over without me.

Everything is going to be just fine.

I'll make sure of it.

Chapter 9

Time brings all things to pass

- Aeschylus

Chapter 9

The first time I ever met Tensei we almost got into a fist fight.

Granted that was more to do with the fact that I was acting as a stand in for a doctor and trying to get him not to tear open the injuries that I had just finished healing, whereas Tensei was convinced that he was fine, based on the solid empirical evidence of "Of course I know my body better than you do, it's my body!"

That was when I, already at my wits end from a long day of dealing with similar bravado from other heroes and heroines only to have them slink back in later after ruining all my hard work in the space of a few hours, leapt at him and gave my best attempt at strangling him to death.

Idiot.

After having someone from the hero commission come down and yell at us for making a nuisance of ourselves, and with both of us having calmed down the Turbo Hero had invited me out for a drink with some of his sidekicks as thanks for my help healing him.

I promptly said no.

Tensei did not care.

And so, several drinks and some cringe worthy karaoke later, I somehow found myself starting to enjoy the insufferable optimist's company.

The two of us couldn't have been more unalike if we tried.

Him, the son to a long and proud line of heroes, fighting on the front lines with an agency full of heroes that had followed him through the sheer charismatic appeal of his earnestness and honesty.

A hero straight out of the comic books who shone all the brighter in the light of the sun.

And then there was me.

Someone who did not have any previous connections to a heroic lifestyle by any possible definition, who more or less fell into it through a combination of accident and pure unbridled spite with varying degrees of success, and had to actively force myself to be social in the vain attempt of achieving at least a small group of friends, crippled at the time by my admittedly limited social experiences.

The Hero Association's training had helped immensely with getting my Quirk in a manageable state. But they weren't really concerned with my ability to interact socially compared to the use my Quirk had in ensuring that the pillars of our heroic society had quick and speedy recoveries, ready to return to the eyes of the public as the quote unquote untouched heroes in the face of this latest generation of…

I've got to be honest I've forgotten whatever the PR people were saying at that point but it was pretty convincing.

When said by someone who's not me.

Someone perfectly at ease with the fact that I wasn't going to be a household name.

Until I was.

Goddamn Kurobe Dam.

Tensei had helped me through a very dark time in my life.

The lowest point I'd ever been, to be perfectly honest.

I'd been a mess in the aftermath.

He arranged everything for the funerals and to this day refused to even speak of taking any payment from me for it.

Anyway, I've gotten distracted…

Where was I…

That's right.

Tensei.

He once told me that there was only one thing that an innocent person was thinking when they were caught up in misfortune, whether that be a villainous action or something more natural like a landslide or a house fire.

"Save me, hurry!"

That in that instant of chaos, that the common citizen has had no training how to deal with or handle, they'll be overcome with their emotions and that the sooner that a hero can make it to their side, the better.

I agreed with him.

And upon my examination of the Idaten Hero Agency, it was made fairly clear to me that he'd taken this philosophy of heroism and applied it wholesale to the agency as well.

Making my way past the front desk, which had a large copy of the sprinting stick figure that served as Team Idaten's logo, I saw brief glimpses of the many unseen branches of Tensei's team.

From the fully stocked workshop that their support gear crafters worked out of, fixing costumes and weapons that had been damaged during their patrols or training, to the beating heart of their Intelligence department with the constantly updated map of the surrounding area updated by the ever-moving team within.

The extensive vehicle bay capable of deploying squads in rapid succession spoke to team Idaten's philosophy of solving the issue, whether that be rescuing someone from danger or subduing a dangerous threat as fast as possible.

But if you wanted to see the greatest refection of team Idaten's philosophy in action?

You'd find it right here in the people in this room.

I sat around the table with what I'd taken to calling Ingenium's back up crew when I first met them.

To my left was Bigshot, Takeda Tanaka. He'd gone to UA the year under Tensei and had been his very first sidekick when he'd decided to open up his own branch of the agency.

One of the odder quirks out there, when he used it whatever Takeda punch received the full force of his body weight no matter how light or glancing the blow should have been, which was part of the reason that his physique didn't immediately call to mind the classic image of a superhero.

But with his added weight, alongside the noticeable increase in strength in his quirk ensured that he was and still is one of the staples of the Idaten agency. It also let him leap to surprising heights, provided he could get enough momentum first.

As an added note, the man could drink like a fish and couldn't carry a tune with a bucket.

Next to him was Onemu Shinya in her ever-present Cheongsam mini dress, her perpetually drowsy gaze looking directly at me with a sharpness that belied her supposedly laid-back appearance. A fighter specializing in disabling blows striking nerve clusters, her quirk and training combined to someone who could leave full grown thugs crying for their mothers after a few swift strikes.

That being said, her karaoke performances tended to me a lot more lifelike even if they were always death metal.

Next to her was Overwatch, one hand drumming on the video camera that served as an integral part of her hero outfit.

She didn't actually play much of a direct role in arrests compared to some of the other side kicks of the agency, but in my opinion she was once of the most important members of the whole team.

Even if she'd tried to hack the karaoke machine to give herself autotune in an attempt to win.

A technical genius, she'd developed most of the tech that Team Idaten used, including the ear pieces with lojacked GPS that were the only reason that Tensei's body had been found before anything worse could have happened.

She was the one that had first discovered Ingenium after Stain had finished with him.

Omoikane sat in place her seat at the table, quietly talking through a wireless earpiece while also making use of his ambidextrous abilities to write in two different notepads at once.

Possessing a quirk which in the woman's own words allowed her to split her thoughts, the woman was quite literally capable of focusing on a dozen different tasks at the same time, with the same intensity as someone who was only focusing on one of them.

If Tensei was the heart and soul of team Idaten and the other people at the tables were the limbs, then Omoikane was easily the brains of the operation, an expert in villainous pattern recognition that even Enji had tried to hire away from Tensei in light of her accomplishments.

She'd been key in preventing the Sky Egg incident from becoming a disaster, using the constant Comm Link that all members of Team Idaten wear to help coordinate the response against the Bombers, directing the various sidekicks to direct the heroes who had been left, quite literally in the dark by the communications black out that had taken place before the attack.

I had one of the aforementioned Comm Links sitting in front of me and would be wearing it throughout my time as a temporary member of team Idaten.

Also, somehow the best singer on the whole team.

Enigma was one of the newer additions to the team compared to others sitting at the table but by no means was undeserving of her place here.

One of the few force multipliers here at team Idaten, encapsulating many interpretations of that definition through her truly incredible Quirk, the woman who had once been seen as nothing more than a country bumpkin to some had certainly proven to be an incredible pick up by Tensei for his team.

Her ability to be in many places at once allowed her to perform rescues en masse, with each drone sharing information with Enigma in real time was a force to be reckoned with.

And had a karaoke performance that could best be described as 'enthusiastic' or 'earnest' and little else positive.

"Okay, then." I began, drawing everyone's attention towards me and away from the small conversations that they were having amongst themselves. "You've all seen Tensei already and while he may be out of action for now it's by no means the end of the Hero Ingenium. He's just going to need a bit of time to recover." I said confidently, doing my best to try and put the room at ease.

I watched the tension flood out of Overwatch's face as I said it, with similar if subdued reactions taking place from the others around the table.

One of the benefits of having spent a career as a Hero that specialized in healing others with expertise in emergency trauma, was cultivating a habit of being as blunt and simple as possible when it came to explaining people's injuries.

People who had careers in the hero sector were always aware of the danger that they faced in this job but having someone like me, who could be trusted to be entirely honest about their condition no matter how disheartening it can be, is something of a comfort to heroes.

It was one of the most important lessons I ever learned under Chiyo.

Never lie about their prospects.

The second was a bit more macabre.

Never promise that you can save them.

All you can do is your best.

And sometimes that isn't enough.

We're not gods.

We're human.

It's best never to forget that.

Thankfully I didn't need to involve lesson number two today.

"I'd love to give a full rundown of the situation, but sadly I have another engagement shortly so we'll have to make today's meeting brief." I continued on, bowing my head slightly in apology.

The room seemed understanding, for the most part.

Bigshot never really did understand why I'd chosen to go into teaching instead of continuing on as a full time Pro Hero.

At times I couldn't blame him.

"We're still mostly focused in Hosu." Omoikane began directing her attention towards me, even as her hands continued to write with enviable speed, seemingly without her direction. "Ingenium had come to Hosu in an attempt to try and prevent one of the consequences of the Hero Killer's appearance in the city."

I frowned at that.

He hadn't been there for Stain?

"Consequence?" I asked, looking for clarification as to what she had meant by that.

Omoikane gestured towards Overwatch who nodded placed a hand on her camera and gestured towards the projector on the back wall which flickered to life.

A recording started playing, clearly a store's security footage in black and white. An older man wearing an apron emblazoned with the emblem of one of the many convenience store chains spread out all across Japan stood behind a counter with his hands raised above his head.

On the other side of the counter stood a group of people in what was clearly a villainous outfit, some of which were more professional looking than others with a hodgepodge of different sizes and materials between the four but they all had at least one thing in common.

A bright red scarf around their forehead and a bandana over their eyes.

That was certainly distinctive.

"Say hello to one of the unmentioned accompaniments to Stain moving into a new district." Omoikane said with a grand gesture towards the screen.

"Copycats?" I asked, flicking my eyes back to the screen to see the outcome of the store's footage.

Instead of the visceral attack I was expecting instead I watched as the masked criminals proceeded to rampage through the store, stealing some items and destroying others seemingly at random.

Bigshot let out a scoff as he watched the footage again. "No, they're just assholes taking advantage of the situation." He grumped and I watched as one of his hands clenched into a fist before he released it again.

The screen split, showing a diagram with Stain's trail of violence on one map and on the other side a graph illustrating of the increase in violent robberies that took place at the same time Stain was reported to be in the area.

"They seem to have a new name for themselves each time they show up. The Hero Killer Thieves. The Sons of Stendhal. The latest one that they call themselves is the 'Stained' but we don't think they're actually affiliated with the hero killer. Rather they're just piggybacking his reputation to make themselves seem more intimidating to the common citizenry."

"Any response from Stain?" I asked as a thought passed by me. "Given how much he's been ranting about fake heroes I thought he'd be up in arms about this group using his name."

"None at all." Onemu Shinya spoke replied, shaking her head. "Stain doesn't seem to care about them, seems only concerned with engaging the heroes."

Seems a bit hypocritical of him.

That being said, Stain was certainly five cans short of a six pack.

Can't go expecting to get logic out of him.

"The reason they've been able to get away with it is because of the ringleader." Omoikane continued, nodding to Overwatch who gestured at the screen revealing a mug shot of a blonde woman with a unathletic build who looked vaguely familiar to one of the thieves on the CCTV footage.

"Say hello to Yoko Tawaru, a serial con artist who just finished a three-year stint for unlicensed Quirk usage, forgery and using counterfeit notes about three months back." Omoikane introduced, the screen splitting again to have a comparative analysis between the mugshot and zooming in on one of the masked thieves.

I brought a hand under my chin and let out a contemplative hum as my eyes briefly scanned over the abbreviated criminal record showing on the screen.

Been picked up a few times in the past for suspected criminal activity but only one conviction leading to imprisonment, in general lock up no less.

Not exactly Moonfish we're dealing with here, but certainly someone who's been on the wrong side of the law for a long time.

Clearly, it seems that she hasn't learned her lesson in the slightest during her time inside.

"Her quirk which we've taken to calling 'Bluff' allows her to sound far more believable than what would normally be possible. From what we've been able to gleam from previous case files the more unbelievable the lie, the less likely it is for it to take effect."

A quirk that can alter a person's gullibility?

Huh.

Didn't see that one coming.

"Which is how she got caught the last time." Bigshot chuckled. "Tried to pass herself off as the biological daughter of a bank manager. A manager who was, among other things, about three years younger than her, in a committed relationship with his husband and whose family consisted of one miniature poodle."

I felt myself beginning to smirk at that but managed to prevent myself from laughing aloud.

Focus Kaito!

You are a serious hero right now, doing serious things.

You can laugh at the idiot later.

"Which is why she's been dressing up to look like Stain." Onemu Shinya added, "And why the rest of her crew all wield bladed weapons."

Because Stain is known to leave his opponents with lacerations, some even fatally.

Alright I can see how this could convince a civilian without any knowledge that they're life could be in danger.

"We've discovered a pattern in the break ins." The strategist of team Idaten revealed. "The robberies take place when two conditions have been fulfilled. One, Stain must have been reported to have been seen in the district by the media within the last seven days. And two, there must be an event that is taking a great deal of attention usually on the opposite side of the district."

"Why are we so certain that Stain is still in Hose and hasn't diverted to somewhere else?" I asked, curious about the reasoning.

"Because of the pattern." Onemu Shinya spoke up, the intensity in her eyes at odds with the rest of her appearance. "In every other district that Stain has shown up in, he's attacked at least four heroes at a minimum before he moves on to a new hunting ground."

Well.

That explains that.

"Are there any events coming up in the next few days in Hosu?" I asked earnestly but only found a sea of shaking heads looking back at me.

Well.

Buggar.

Then how the hell are we supposed to catch these guys in the act?

"What if we make an event on the other side of town?" Enigma's unmistakable voice suggested, interrupting my thought process.

I stopped and pondered at that.

The others all started talking at Enigma's words, with one half of the table seemingly in favor of the idea, while the other half was unsure about this new approach.

Make our own event?

Well, it would certainly solve the issue.

Hell, it could even help us narrow down the area they'd be likely to strike if we could plan the area this event was to take place.

But who did I know that would be crazy enough to draw attention to themselves in a town where the Hero Killer had nearly lived up to his reputation again?

I don't know anyone that's both such an obvious attention grabber and crazy enough to do that.

I paused.

Well.

That's not entirely true.

Oh, I just know I'm going to regret this.

"I may have an idea of how we can get that to work." I said haltingly, interrupting the ongoing debate in front of me. "But no guarantees. So, until I can get a definitive answer tomorrow regarding that I want you to start examining other options."

The team nodded and that and started rising up from the table heading back to their other duties.

Overwatch approached me and pointed to the Comm Link sitting before me. "I can link that up to your phone if you could let me have it for a few moments." She said brightly, hefting her ever present camera up to her shoulder with ease.

I reached into the inside pocket of the robe that served as a major part of my hero outfit and withdrew the mobile phone I usually kept stashed in there and went to hand it over before I stopped myself with a sigh.

"One second, I just need to make a call first." I apologized before I dialed in one of the few numbers that I could recall of the top of my head.

The phone dialed for a few moments before a monosyllabic grunt came from the other end of the line.

"Any chance you could spare a few minutes for me tomorrow? I might need to ask a favor." I began, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

There was a pause for a moment and then an affirmative grunt and a question came back.

"Yeah, I should be able to make some time for it. Perfect. I'll see you then." I replied before handing over the phone to Overwatch, already knowing that the phone call had been ended without even having to look at the thing.

Benefit of experience.

Here's hoping he's receptive to being a distraction.

I briefly flicked my eyes up to the stylized flaming 'E' decorating the front of the entrance as I walked through the sliding doors of the skyscraper that served as Enji's agency.

I always had a bit of a laugh at that.

Not that Enji had a freaking skyscraper as his home base.

That was to be expected given that All Might had Might Tower.

No way in hell that Endeavour could let that go 'unchallenged' by him.

More how the 'E' out the front could mean either Enji or Endeavour.

Granted most of the time it was impossible to tell the difference between the two.

But with the level of expertise that could only be gained through several years working alongside the man I can now confidently say that I can kinda/sorta/sometimes tell the difference between the them.

If it was a good day.

One of the benefits of the aforementioned many years of experience is the ability to simply walk into a building full of people trained to hand villain's their own ass in a variety of colorful and extremely painful ways with them smiling and waving back at you instead of getting denied at the door.

I walked forward, taking a sip of my cold coffee as I did so and willing the caffeine to take hold faster so I wouldn't feel quite as tired as I no doubt felt.

And because hot drinks should only exist when it's snowing and you are freezing.

Unless it's tea.

I allow a small exception for the existence of tea.

One of the downsides of taking on the Idaten Agency was the fact that my other responsibilities didn't just cease to exist.

I managed to get the next few days of classes all sorted with some of the other Staff willing to cover for me for a few days, but that still meant I had to have the coursework prepared for them, as well as my responsibilities as a healer.

I caught sight of Burnin leading an expedition of some of the Flaming Sidekickers out on a patrol of the district and gave her a brief nod as she passed to which she gave a cheery wave in return.

I briefly stopped to ask Kidō where his boss was before I found myself knocking on the door leading to the man's office.

"Enter." Enji's brisk voice called out on the other side of the door.

I walked in to find the Flame Hero hard at work examining something within a folder, rapidly flicking between files.

I took a seat in front of him and waited for him to finish, knowing just how frustrating it could be to be interrupted in the middle of trying to read something.

Less than two minutes later Enki was done, and had placed the folder upon his desk to direct his attention entirely towards me.

"The Hero Association has assigned the matter concerning Stain to me." Enji started simply, gesturing to the piles of paperwork piled neatly across his desk. "Yet I'm still having to fill out this paperwork to authorize the deployment of my Agency in Hosu. Bureaucratic nonsense." The flames of his beard flared for a moment before subsiding, the fact that the paperwork hadn't exploded into cinders indicating that was probably not paper that he was writing on.

Looks like the Hero Association is breaking out the big guns.

A day late and a buck short, but that was typical of them.

I guess after seventeen reported murders and twenty-two heroes left permanently crippled with Ingenium nearly joining their number even the great bureaucratic machine that they were couldn't just sweep it under the carpet any more.

But this might make things easier for me.

"Good timing! I'm handling the Idaten Agency for a few days and have a case that's running adjacent to yours." I said brightly, handing over the file containing the particulars of the plan that Omoikane and I had puzzled out last night.

Enji wasn't really one for rough drafts or vague plans.

He wanted to know every aspect of what he was potentially committing himself and his agency to before he agreed to anything.

It was one of the things I admired the most about him as a hero.

I filled Endeavour in regarding the existence of the Stained, the Sting operation we were trying to set up and the role that Endeavour's Agency could play to allow us to catch the thieves in the act.

Enji looked at me for a few moments longer, letting the silence drag out before he responded. "I'm sure I can arrange that. But I want something in return."

Of course, he does.

He wouldn't be Enji if he didn't take the opportunity of me owing him a favor.

Sigh.

It's for a good cause.

Suck it up Kaito.

"Alright, what do you want in return?" I prompted, already predicting the response as I took a sip of my cold coffee.

I could already see it coming.

Enji wanted to try out some new ridiculous application of his Quirk with a high chance of backlash that he hasn't perfected yet and wants me to heal him whenever it goes wrong.

"I want you to help me prepare for a fight against Stain by wielding a sword in our spars."

I damn near spat out my coffee all over Enji's hafnium carbonitride desk.

Scratch that.

I retract that sentiment.

All of those aforementioned sentiments.

Who the hell told Enji that I could use a sword?

An answer immediately came to mind and the mocking laughter of my best friend echoed in my ears.

Oh, that prick.

That one is going on the list.

Vengeance will be mine, so sayeth me.

Enji was continuing on, giving no regard to my internal oaths of bloody vengeance upon the asshole formerly known as Hawks.

"Interviews with survivors of encounters with Stain all describe his fighting style as one that makes use of a long blade, held one handed and attacks with great speed and accuracy." Enji continued clinically, sounding much like a doctor describing an injury or illness. "All state that the paralysis only took place after he injured them with his blade."

Alright then.

That explains how he might have been able to overcome Tensei.

If he's able to paralyze his opponents somehow then there's nothing that they can really do to defend themselves when they're at his mercy.

So, Enji's training to fight a sword user without letting them injure him.

Understandable.

But there must be someone else.

"What about Yoroi Musha? Wouldn't he be able to assist with the training?" I suggested, trying not to sound as desperate as I felt as I threw up this desperate block to Enji's request.

"I originally asked Yoroi Musha to assist me with my training but he stated that his style would be ill suited to mimic Stain's own." He countered cutting the legs out from under my alternative with no remorse.

Damn it.

Again, perfectly understandable.

And infuriating.

But at least there's still…

"Then he suggested Hawks but the Hero Association currently has him assigned on a mission in Kyushu."

Oh God damn it.

Hawks is down there?

That's news to me.

"But he did state that Hawks regularly spars with you with blades." Enji paused for a moment giving me an odd look. "And that you are the more skilled of the two in that regard."

Damn it.

Of course, he was never going to let it go.

Not when he thought that I might have been holding back on him.

Damned by Hawks' deep-set terror of his old mentor.

Never saw that coming.

Note to self; instill even deeper fear of myself into Hawks so as to prevent this from happening again.

I thought back to Tensei's broken form on that hospital gurney and grimaced.

A sword.

If it was to help a friend and I wasn't using it in an actual fight…

Damn it.

"Fine. I'll help you prepare for Stain." I agreed grudgingly. "But I don't have a sword on me right now."

Enji grinned broadly at me. "Not a problem. I have plenty." He said standing up from behind his desk and striding towards the door at a brisk pace. "I had mock ups made from the interviews and what little information we were able to gather from the previous investigations in preparation."

I narrowed my eyes.

Someone's been planning this for a while.

I followed after Enji's wake, making my way towards the sparring hall we typically used for our spars and was surprised to find someone else already inside there when we arrived.

Normally Enji doesn't let anyone inside this one without him being present.

But I suppose even the big lug can make exceptions for family.

"Shoto, take a seat and watch closely. You're about to see how you can use your Quirk against more formidable opponents." Enji boomed loudly to his son who stopped what he was doing, the bright flickers of flame subsiding from his left side.

I felt a brow raise at that.

Shoto using his fire?

That's new.

What the hell did I miss while I was unconscious?

I'm really going to need to track down a recording of the rest of the Sports Festival matches, aren't I?

I waved absently with one hand as I made my way towards the table set up against one of the walls which had a number of weapons laid out upon it.

The largest was a katana with a ruined edge rather than the typically clean style you'd see on a standard blade as well as a matching sheathe.

The jagged edge would make it harder to land a clean cut, but perhaps that the point.

Deliberately causing an irregular cut to produce worse wounds.

In addition to the sword there were a number of daggers, some that were meant to be thrown while others were meant to be used as melee weapons if the balance on the was any indication.

It even came with a harness for the daggers to be strapped to one's chest.

In my size.

Yeah, he'd definitely been planning ahead for me.

I unclasped my cloak with the hidden zipper and the two 'daggers' holding it place, stripped off my cloak and placed it on the table and placed my had atop it.

Something tells me that Stain isn't the wizard hat wearing type.

I slipped the harness on and sheathed the daggers into their various sheaths noting that they were, thankfully blunt.

Just because I can heal someone doesn't mean we should waste extra effort on recovering from unnecessary injuries.

I picked up the sword with one hand judged its weight and balance moving it briefly to test how it felt as I swing it.

I can handle that.

I stalked over to my usual starting position and took my place, bending my knees slightly as I readied myself.

I flicked my eyes over to where Todoroki Shoto was standing against one of the far walls and felt a brow raise. "You sure you want him in here watching instead of up on the observation deck?" I asked, flicking my head up to the protected viewing box on the next floor.

"No." Enji responded as he cracked his knuckles. "If he tries to view it from up there then he won't be able to understand. If you land a blow, we'll reset and start again."

I nodded at the rule as he readied himself.

It made sense given what little we knew about Stain's quirk.

If we knew that causing injury was a factor of its activation then we needed to prevent that from happening until we learned more about it.

"Should I start at double or triple time?" I questioned wanting to know just how fast I should be going for our first few attempts.

Enji looked contemplative for a moment before shaking his head.

"Start with double." He decided on. "Shoto won't be able to catch it if we start at triple, and we need to get it perfected at double first."

Fair enough.

Haste.

And then I ran forward without warning, throwing two daggers as I drew closer with one hand before I danced out of the way of a pillar of fire to close to close quarters.

Let's get this over with.

"What was that sorry I can't hear you." Keigo's voice called back cheerfully from the other end of the phone.

I growled darkly and I started to make strangling gestures with my hand, before wincing as I felt one of my fingers express that it hadn't finished healing from my latest Stain impersonation session with Enji.

Granted I'd given as much as I'd taken, even managing to land a few hits on him as we started increasing my speed further.

But there was a reason that Enji was number two.

And that was the fact that the man was a machine when it came to things like this.

Each time I succeeded he didn't get angry or disappointed.

He simply brushed himself off, got back into position and then tried a different approach then last time.

The only reason we'd stopped was because we'd finally ran out of replicas for me to use after they broke under the strain of my quirk or were reduced to slag under the assault of Endeavor's Hellflame.

By the end of it we hadn't really been holding back at all.

Which let to many, many bruises from Enji's more successful approaches.

Most of which had finished healing at this point.

Most.

And all of which I could lay solely at the feet of the asshole on the other end of the line.

Soon.

Soon.

The next spar with Keigo was so soon.

I can almost feel it.

Oh, it's going to be glorious.

"So…" Keigo's voice spoke up again, drawing the word out as he did so. "I'm not going to be able to make it back in time for our next spar."

Why?

Why are you so cruel to me world?

I exhaled loudly, doing my best to purge the righteous anger from me before I responded. "You still stuck working that case down at Kyushu?"

"What? Oh please, I had that sorted in like an hour." Keigo's voice scoffed on the other line. "No, I'm on my way to follow a lead in Hokkaido."

I felt a brow raise at that.

Hokkaido?

That was literally on the opposite side of the map. And ignoring the towns that had grown around the hot springs or ski parks was for the most part still heavily forested and undeveloped.

What the hell was Hawks doing up there?

"Oops, entering a tunnel, gotta hang up now byeeeeeeeeeeeee." Keigo answered rapidly before the phone let out a click started beeping.

I lifted the phone away from my ear and looked at it for a moment before I sighed and slid it back into my interior coat pocket.

"Sorry about that." I apologized to my companion, before turning my attention back to the work at hand. "So, any further suggestions for the dummy store?"

Omoikane let out a hum before she re-examined the floor plan that had been pinned up against one of the white boards.

We'd spent most of this morning going over the last few details of the plan.

Thankfully, most of the assets had already been prepared over the past few days by team Idaten.

Now that we had Enji setting up shop on the other side of town we could actually pull this off.

Maybe?

That's the thing about Sting operations.

They're like fishing.

Just because you've got everything set up and ready to reel the fish in, it doesn't matter if the fish doesn't bite.

"It'd be best if we could get someone inside the store to take the place of whoever would be working there that night." Omoikane suggested, pointing at what had been deemed to be the most likely target to be struck. "It'd remove a possible hostage as well as a means of preventing the thieves from making their exit before the rest of the agency arrive, if they do show up there."

An exhibition on precious stones from around the world was set to be held out of a jewellery store on the western side of Hosu in the next few days.

There had been advertisements for the exhibit plastered all over Hosu.

Among the already valuable stones was one of significantly more value than the rest, the Olympic Australis, the largest natural opal to ever be found.

Worth in excess of 200 million yen.

Or at least…

That's what the Stained think is going to be held there.

In reality the whole exhibition was nothing more than a trap to draw them out and catch them red handed.

Funnily enough the Hero Association wasn't willing to shelve out that much money to get actual precious stones and gems for the sting, so we had to console ourselves with a number of lifelike replicas.

Granted we couldn't guarantee that the Stained were going to attack that location so the plan was to have the Idaten agency stake out multiple possible locations including this one.

"Certainly; who do you have in mind?" I agreed, flicking through the pages depicting the surrounding area.

Most of the area was other boutiques and businesses that would be closing at sun down, with the notable exception of an apartment complex on the other side of the street.

All very doable.

"Well, whoever it is, they'll need to be competent in close range combat while not being distinctive enough that they can be recognized at first glance.

Alright then.

Able to fight close combat and not be recognized straight up out of costume.

That ruled out…

Actually, it would probably be easier to think of who it didn't rule out.

But the best fit would definitely be…

Damn it.

I sighed and turned my attention towards Omoikane who, true to form, was holding up the uniform for the security guard that was going to be watching the building.

"I think I got your sizes right." She said brightly, waving the outfit about as she did so.

Look on the bright side Kaito.

At least you don't have to work in retail for the night.

Never again.

But at least this should be a fairly straight forward endeavor.

I took the outfit with a sigh, before nodding. "I'm sure you did. Now get everyone in position and let's get this show on the road!"

I leaned back and fought off the urge to yawn, stretching out my arms as I did so.

I'd been here for a few hours now.

And God, was it boring.

But this is part of the job.

And so here I was, in the 'Jewels of the World Exhibit'.

The room was fully furnished, with various podium's displaying very convincing but ultimately fake versions of all kinds of gems and rare metals.

I sat behind the desk assigned for security officers like the one that I was currently impersonating and flipped another page forward of the manga that I was pretending to read.

Okay so I might have been just reading it.

What?

It was surprisingly compelling!

It's been a while since I've actually had time to read something like this.

I'll have to find the rest of the series next time I've got a free day off.

But since I had a few free moments, there is something that I want to watch.

I pulled out my phone and opened the Herotube App, and started typing in UA First year's final matches.

Immediately the app displayed dozens upon dozens of reaction videos to the various fights but the most viewed ones seemed to be centered on…

Well, what do you know?

Midoriya Izuku vs Todoroki Shoto.

The replay from UA's official account had over a million views on it.

I started the video, sadly without any sound as I couldn't have it cover what I was listening out for.

And I found myself smiling wider and wider as the match continued.

Little Green had certainly grown by leaps and bounds ever since I threw him in Mirio's direction.

I watched as he moved with incredible speed, dodging out of the way of a spreading wave of ice that sought to engulf him, before sliding down the new ice sculpture before he threw himself forward.

His movements weren't exactly fluid yet, with little Green charging forward in straight lines seemingly without being able to turn.

He's going to need to work on that.

He failed to dodge out of the way of Todoroki's latest attack and was frozen in place, leading Midnight to get up from her platform to decide the match.

But then Little Green ripped himself free of the ice, looking like he might have left a bit of himself behind if the spray of blood was any indicator.

And nearly knocked Enji's son out of the arena if not for the ice wall that Shoto threw up behind himself.

And then little Green started… talking?

A lot of talking by the looks of it.

I'm sure this would have made a lot more sense if I could hear anything.

Speaking of hearing…

I felt my attention be drawn towards the sound of something sliding loudly into the locked door out the front and jiggle a few times, the sound almost deafening in the silence of the mock show room.

I'll get back to watching you later.

The door jiggled.

And jiggled.

And…

I rolled my eyes.

Were they seriously taking this long to pick a freaking lock?

I thought these guys were supposed to be professionals and here they are, struggling at quite literally the first obstacle.

Which we had specifically bought to be as easy to unlock as possible.

Amateurs.

Gotta love 'em.

While I was waiting for my impromptu guests to get their shit together, I casually slid a hand over to the Comm Link that I had hiding behind the desk and pressed the signal button twice.

There.

That should alert the others.

Now let's get this show on the road already!

The door swung open and four figures stormed in quickly before slamming the door shot behind them hastily and locking the door.

As the four approached I quickly took stock of the four, just to make sure that I didn't have some other thieves aiming to try their luck tonight.

Wouldn't be the first time it had happened, pursuing one set of criminals just to barrel into another.

Let's have a look.

Contestant number one is swaggering forward with a pistol held in one hand in a downright comical grip, holding it sideways as he approached pointing it at me, his face partially disguised by the white mask over his eyes.

And I do mean literally over his eyes, it looks like the mask wasn't fitted properly for his face and seemed to be sliding haphazardly with each step.

This one was the newest addition to the crew, and was apparently supposed to be their lockpicker, having a quirk that allowed him to change his fingers into lockpicks.

A particularly fucking awful lockpick to be perfectly honest.

I'm going to call you masked fool.

Behind him was a larger figure, a man with a mutant quirk that granted him two additional arms, one of which held a knife while the others seemed more concerned with the heavy bag that they carried with them and were already doing their best to shovel the displayed pieces into.

I dub thee four arms.

Next to him was a familiar masked figure, wielding a box cutter as her knife, blonde hair tied back into a pony tail with the red bandana mimicking the hero killer's style and a confident smile on her face as she locked eyes on the helpless security guard.

Why hello there Yoko Tawaru.

Fancy seeing you here.

And finally, we have our fourth contestant, the only one that was wielding a sword out of the four.

If you could even call the piece of scrap metal that she was holding a sword.

This one had been part of the thieves for the longest, apparently having been a long-time underling to Yoko, even having served time with her during her incarceration.

Far as we can tell, her Quirk gave him a certain level of inability to feel fear.

Or it simply made her very reckless.

One or the other.

I'm just going to call you Sword amateur.

"Don't do anything stupid now." Yoko Tawaru spoke up, her words sounding honeyed as I listened to them. "Cause any trouble and we, the Disciples of Stain will have no choice but to harm you."

Oh boy, they've got themselves a new name, great.

There was something to the words, now that I was listening to them directly.

But with the knowledge of the truth behind the blatant lies she was saying they failed to do more than sound funny.

Four arms and sword amateur moved forward towards the other displays and masked fool goes to join them before being hauled back by Yoko.

"You are on guard duty brat." She growled, the previously sweet and melodic sounding voice nowhere to be heard, with what I was hearing now far more reminiscent of someone who's been smoking a pack of smokes a day for the better part of a decade.

"What?" The gun wielder whined. Honestly whined. Like a child complaining about having to eat their vegetables. "I always have to watch them."

Pathetic.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the moron in front of me.

God it'd been a while since I'd been exposed to this much concentrated stupid.

"Your job is to open the door and watch the workers." The ring leader explained slowly as if talking to a child, the tone of her voice very clearly conveying insults with every guttural syllable. "Two simple jobs, and you still nearly manage to mess them up each time."

The masked fool seemed to take offence at that. "Hey the door opened, didn't it?" He complained still holding the pistol as if he was some kind of wannabe yakuza.

Actually…

I peered closer at the gun.

No.

He can't have…

Wow.

I found myself letting loose a laugh despite myself and the two ceased their argument to turn their attention to me once more.

"What are you laughing at huh?" The masked foo sneered at me, waving the pistol about to emphasize his words. "What's so funny?"

Oh, I couldn't have asked for a better opening line if I tried.

"Well for one thing," I started dryly before started lowering my hands in preparation for what came next. "You left the safety on, idiot."

The masked fool, true to form, hesitated and lifted the gun up to his face to look at it.

My right hand flickered forward and I pistol whipped the first thief in the head with his own gun, sending him staggering back before I lashed out with my right foot to sweep his legs out from under him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

He hit the ground with a wheeze, both hands clutching at his nose as blood started flowing out of it, screaming like a child with a skinned knee.

Huh.

Might have broken that.

He really can't take a hit.

That's one.

I watched as the ring leader went to open her mouth, no doubt to make use of her Quirk to try and convince me how bad an action I was making.

It was unlikely to work.

But why take unnecessary risks?

Yoko Tawaru clutched at her throat and gagged after I finished the throat strike that cut off whatever it was that she was about to say before I ducked out of the way of a haphazard swipe by the sword wielding thief.

Who clearly didn't have a clue what he was doing with that katana if her grip was any indication.

Who the hell did he think she was, Kenshin?

I blankly watched the sword wielder do a few more of the most shocking flourishes I'd ever had the misfortune of witnessing with my own eyes before my right cross slammed solidly into her chin, sending her tumbling to the ground.

That was just…

Sad.

Okay that's three of them.

Where oh where is lucky number four?

There was the sound of a toilet flushing and I turned to see the final member of the stained walk out of the bathroom.

The bandana clad man wiped his hands down on his pants, before looking up at me and freezing, his eyes quickly flicking from his fellow thieves dispatched in various states on the ground and me standing above one of them with a fist extended.

"It's not what it looks like?" I quipped, readying myself for an attack from one of the knives he had strapped to his body.

The thief dropped the bag of loot that held in one hand and sprinted for the door.

I went to chase after him before I caught sight of something in the shadow of the doorway and stopped.

Oh, I think I might want to see how this one plays out.

The thief ran forward at the door and bounced off it, clearly forgetting that they'd locked it behind them when they came in.

I bit back a snort of laughter as I did so and continued watching the spectacle.

Almost there.

The frantic felon recovered himself and flipped the lock on the door before sprinting forward into the freedom of night.

And directly into the lariat that caught him square in the center of the chest.

The thief let out all the air in his lungs in a loud woosh as he legs rocketed upwards into the air even as the top half of his body was sent backwards from the force of the blow, finally coming to a stop as he slammed into the ground with a pitiful moan.

I lifted my hands to give a light golf clap as Bigshot strode through the door, clearly having been the first one to make it here after I flipped the silent alarm through the Comm Link, the bruiser of Team Idaten rolling his shoulder, before he reached down to grab the thief that had quite literally run into him and dragged him inside the store.

"Nine out of ten." I judged critically, nodding sagely as I did so.

"Nine?" Takeda sputtered at that. "Why wasn't it a ten?"

"He didn't bounce." I said apologetically, "Without a bounce being there it just can't be a ten."

He mock glared at me for a moment longer before he dropped the act and started laughing.

I grinned and started laughing myself.

God.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed being in the field like this.

"The cops are already on their way. Omoikane alerted them as soon as you sent the signal." Takeda's voice interrupted my internal monologue and I looked up at him blankly before I recognized just what It was that he said.

That was easy.

One of the benefits of having a whole agency behind you instead of having to do it yourself, I guess.

I heard the distinctive wail of the approaching police cars' sirens and could even see the flickering strobe of the red lights reflecting off the doors leading to the street.

Omoikane continues to live up to her reputation.

Now then.

Let's hand this sorry lot over, give our statements and then I can call it a night.

I watched as the last of the many monikered thieves, the idiot gunman who know had a rough bandage over his bloodied nose was hauled up off of the ground and escorted out of the building by the police.

Some of the other sidekicks of Idaten had showed up and were helping to secure the scene from the prying eyes of any curious citizens or the press, some having rode alongside the police who had arrived to the scene, while others had arrived in the bus that Overwatch and Omoikane had set up as an impromptu mobile command center.

The detective in front of me flipped her notepad closed having finished taking my statement and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for your cooperation. We're all glad to have these criminals off the streets." She said seriously, sliding her notepad into a pocket of her jacket.

I waved her off. "Was a team effort Detective, without the information your assistance allowing the advertisements and paperwork to be expedited through the official channels it never would have happened." I demurred.

It was always a good thing to take notice of the actions that other members of your team have made.

No matter how insignificant they themselves may view them to be.

I went to say more but was interrupted as the ground beneath my feet shuddered as if there was an earthquake and I could hear the distant sounds of alarms going off and screaming.

That doesn't sound good.

The detective and I met eyes briefly before we turned and sprinted out the door, looking for any sign of the disturbance.

I couldn't make out much, not with all the buildings in the way but I was beginning to see what appeared to be smoke drifting up from the east with the night sky being illuminated by something a lot brighter than streetlights.

"I'll take a closer look." Bigshot called out and he skipped forward, each skip doubling in height before he finally rocketed upwards towards the roof of the apartment complex across the street.

I on the other hand pulled my phone out from my coat and dialed Enji's number, judging that the incident was taking place right about where he was based.

He might have a better view of the situation.

The phone rang once before picking up and an about a dozen different sounds tried to escape the phone at once, sounds of people screaming, car alarms blaring and something roaring almost overpowering Endeavour's shout of "What!?"

"Endeavour! What the hell is going on?" I yelled into the phone, trying to make myself heard over the cacophony of noise around me.

"Looks like more of those things that attacked you a few weeks back. I'm going to engage the ones I can see, lo…" Whatever else he was going to tell me was cut off by the sound of a dial tone.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and caught sight of the no signal symbol at the top of my phone.

Shit.

Those things that attacked me a few weeks back?

There was the sound of exploding masonry and I spun with Quirk enhanced speed, just in time to see a Nomu explode out the side of a building, clutching Bigshot tightly with one of its arms around his torso.

Takeda in return was wrestling with the arm that wasn't being used to grab him which seemed to have a large organic looking axe at the end of it rather than a hand, while the other was landing blow after blow against the unnatural monster guts, striking where the kidney and floating ribs would normally sit, it's body distorting under the force of his blows. You know what will work.

They collided with one of the police cars, which flipped before skidding down the streets in a blaze of sparks, while the wrestling pair bounced when they hit the ground.

I was moving forward before they had risen more than a foot, as Haste took hold snatching out with one hand to grab hold of the sheathed katana waiting to be collected by the police. Yes!

It seemed to be resistant to bludgeoning force.

Let's see how it does with slashing.

Superior Haste.

I crouched low my stance making it seem like I was falling forward with how my head was positioned before I pulled hard on my quirk, the world flashing white and all sound fading away, except for my heart beat.

I exploded forward, unsheathing and striking with the blade as I angled it down at the shoulder of the arm holding Bigshot in place. You begin to remember!

And let my quirk go.

The blade passed through the arm with minimal resistant, and the Nomu let out a screech of pain as the limb flopped free of the Big Hit hero, recoiling away on instinct.

Takeda didn't hesitate from using the opportunity he'd been given as he raised both hands above his heads and brought them together before slamming them down on the fallen Nomu with a hammer blow.

Ever seen those old cartoons where someone gets hit so hard that all you can see is a pair of legs twitching in the air?

Takeda could give them a run for his money, if the barely moving remains of the Nomu that I can still see in the jagged pavement are any indication.

Takeda collapsed down to one knee and coughed, trying to get air back into his lungs.

Admittedly I was struggling not to do so myself.

Thankfully it was only a small burst of Superior Haste.

There was a tinkling sound reminiscent of a dropped glass and I watched as the sword held in my hand crumbled away, the replica deteriorating as my Quirk bit away at it. It cannot withstand you

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

"Okay." I wheezed, hands on my knees as I gathered myself. "That one, I'll give you a ten."

Takeda laughed at that before he stopped with a wince, one hand going down to clutch at his ribs.

"You alright?" I asked offering Takeda my hand as he gasped and heaved on one knee.

"I'm fine." He waved me off. "Bastard nearly had me there. Thanks for the assist."

I had a feeling that he was playing down the extent of his injuries, given that he'd just been tackled through a building, even if he didn't land head first, but he seemed to be moving okay for now.

Not the time to be distracted.

I tapped at the Comm Link, praying that it was still working. "Overwatch! Come in!"

"I'm here! What's going on down there, it looks like part of Hosu is on fire right now." Her response came back and I could make out her form beginning to rise from the pavement to get a better look.

"Phone lines are down and it looks like there's a major villain attack going down, subjects have exposed brains and are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous." I said quickly scanning over the policemen trying to take stock of the escalating situation while some of the other sidekicks of team Idaten continued to take the Stained into custody. "Overwatch I'm going to need you to take to the sky to provide intel, Omoikane…"

"Already on it." The strategist's voice interrupted on the Comm Link. "I'm sending out some of the other sidekicks to link up with the last know positions of other heroes in Hosu to better coordinate the response, I'm heading to the Police station to better direct them."

I nodded at that. "Good thinking, Bigshot you'll escort her. there we don't want anybody taking a swing at her and disrupting what little organization we can manage."

Takeda blew out a loud breath before bringing himself upright with a grunt. "You got it Kaito, she won't be touched." He promised before he bounded off in Omoikane's direction with that odd skipping hop that his Quirk allowed, moving far faster than it would seem to allow.

Okay then.

Intel sorted.

Communications sorted.

Co-ordination in progress.

What's next.

Crack.

I flicked my eyes towards something moving at the corner of my vision and caught sight of the building that the Nomu had barreled through shuddering, just as another ominous cracking sound met my ears.

Shit.

Must have hit a load bearing wall on its journey through.

My mind whirled and my eyes briefly scanned the building even as I recalled the information that the survey team had on put in the report.

Apartment complex.

Four floors.

Six apartments a floor.

I won't be able to get to everyone in the building before it crumbles.

So, I won't bother.

Instead, with one hand I drew one of the seemingly decorative knives around my outfit and opened a cut on my right palm before sheathing the dagger.

With one hand I started liberally smearing my bloody palm on the building, a quick burst of Superior Haste helping me to circle the building.

Most of my support equipment has been specially crafted to allow it to be easier for me to use my Quirk on it, by incorporating some of my blood into its construction.

Obviously, the building wasn't made with my Quirk in mind.

Which is why I'm adding a bit of myself to the building right now to try and make this easier for myself.

And hey look at the bright side.

At least it's not a freaking dam this time.

I felt the power of my Quirk flicker and then surge down my left hand to the bloody circle I'd left on the outer wall.

It encircled the building once before I felt it surge upwards to the building itself.

I grit my teeth as what felt like a truck dropped on my shoulders as I forcibly halted the flow of time for the apartment complex.

There was a reason I normally didn't use my Quirk on anything bigger than myself.

Trying to mess with this much time was a hell of a struggle.

Think of it as trying one of those old mechanical bull rides.

On the lower settings with a bit of practice you can ride it without even having to use your hands, your experience allowing you to develop further.

When I'm using my quirk on something this big, it's not a mechanical bull anymore.

It's a living angry thing, that wants you to get the hell off of it, and if you don't fight the whole time, you're going to be thrown off of it.

And then it might just kick you in the face just to rub it in.

So, I'm stuck here with my hand on this wall.

I brought my hand up to the earpiece I'd been given earlier to help coordinate the actions of team Idaten.

Let's hope someone's still listening.

"Team Idaten, this is Shiro Madoushi calling all hands, I have an emergency situation on my hands." I said into the team wide line, interrupting whoever had been talking before. "The red apartment complex opposite the site where the sting took place has taken critical damage and is at risk of collapsing. I am currently preventing the collapse from continuing any further but require assistance in rescuing those inside. All unassigned hands, please converge."

I heard a chorus of affirmations over the line as I watched half a dozen of the sidekicks that were still in the area sprinted into the building to preform the rescue and I returned my attention to halting the flow of time for the building before me.

Things would be so much easier if I could just reverse things so that the damage hadn't occurred in the first place but beggars can't be choosers now can they?

I felt a bead of sweat roll down my temple and resisted the urge to wipe at it.

Just need to hold the line until the building is empty and then I can let go.

I heard the scream over the cacophony of sound and twisted my head to scan the surroundings as best as I could, rooted in place as I was.

There.

Running down the street, with a child held tightly in her arms, in shoes that were very clearly not made for running was a woman screaming for help, covered in dust and bleeding slightly, but to be honest I wasn't really concerned about her injuries at the moment.

I wasn't even concerned about the blasted building that even now was fighting my attempts to prevent entropy from following its final path.

I felt the blood in my veins turn to ice as a figure bounded after the woman like a savage animal instead of a human being, it's movements all the result of unthinking action.

Blood red skin wrapped tightly around bulging muscles, the limbs far too long then they should have been, the being scrambling as if it was a wolf or a horse rather than a human being despite its ragged attire.

Its eyes swirled madly in their sockets which were sunken directly within its exposed brain.

A Nomu.

Not identical to the other one I fought at the USJ or the one that Bigshot had just power-bombed into the pavement, but I've got no idea if it has the same Quirks that the first one has.

Although given the large talons it has instead of the oversized hands the black skinned one had, it looks like this one might have had a few upgrades.

And given the blood that's dripping off of them and its jagged teeth, it's already used them on somebody tonight.

Probably fatally so given how much of it is staining the hand.

I accelerated my thoughts with an additional draw from my Quirk, thinking frantically about how to confront this latest problem that had confronted me.

On one hand the Nomu hunting down the woman and child within my line of sight, presumably knowing my luck to murder and eat said innocent civilians before bounding off to continue its bloody conquest.

On the other, I'm still stuck holding this god damn building up.

I briefly considered leaving the mother and child for someone else to deal with before squashing that thought.

That was a very slippery slope right there.

And I had enough nightmares as it was.

No need to add to them with my own poor choices.

I swore silently and pulled one of the knives from my outfit with my right hand, making sure to keep my left hand still pressed firmly against the side of the time-locked building.

I would have liked to have used one of my cards, but the distance was a bit much for something with so little mass.

That and to really get a good card throw I need to build up a bit of spin first that is frankly impossible in my current position.

I drew back the knife slowly, my accelerated perception distorting my sense of movement for a second as I calculated the speed of the oncoming Nomu, the heft of the knife in my hand and the ever-shrinking distance between the mindless monster and the helpless citizen trying to outrun her pursuer.

I was probably only going to get one shot at this.

Here's hoping that years of training doesn't decide to fail me now.

With a pulse of my Quirk that had my right arm briefly matching the speed of my accelerated thoughts I threw the dagger forward, the air hissing and snapping as it passed through the air to slam solidly into the Nomu's left shoulder.

My throw had caught it mid-leap and with no way of catching itself the mindless monster was sent careening into the brickwork of the building next to it with incredible force as the dagger struck the beast with the force of a shell fired from a tank.

There was a loud cracking sound and part of the building broke away to tumble atop the fallen villain, loosely burying it in cracked masonry.

I almost pumped a fist in victory before I remembered the building and placed my right hand back onto the building, my palm once more touching the bloody trail I'd made around the apartment complex.

The panic-stricken parent didn't turn around at the new cry the Nomu let out, if anything she seemed to run even faster, making her way down the block and soon out of my line of sight from my current position, no longer assailed by her pursuer.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, even as a painful pulse rocketing through my body informed me that the building about to crumble to pieces before me was still very much something that needed my utmost attention.

I forced myself to ignore the pain, and worked at calming the ebbs and flows of the "time" of the building which had started to surge in the brief moments I had drawn my attention away from it.

Not a good sign.

While the blasted Dam had certainly been larger, it wasn't a structure devoted to housing individuals who each had their own separate flow of time that in turn passively effected the building itself.

Not making it easy on me, by any means.

But as long as I've got my hands on the wall, I should be able to keep it locked in place long enough for the whole building to be evacuated in time. Above!

My right hand snapped up from where I had placed it back on the wall to slam into something that felt like a fleshy brick wall with bruising force, deflecting it enough that it slammed into the ground by my feet, almost sending me stumbling before I stopped my boots in place to keep my balance.

There was an angry snarl from behind me and I felt the sudden sense of danger strike at me. Follow my lead!

Instinct kicked in before I realized what I was doing.

It saved my life.

The Nomu that I had seen charging through the building I was currently trying to keep from falling was snarling down at me, ravenous jaws snapping and drooling as it fought at the death grip my frozen right glove had around it's throat, while my good old lucky boot pinned the jagged axe that I'd managed to deflect away from cutting me in half.

The building let out an ominous rumble and shuddered as my concentration split with my mind now divided between preventing this blue Nomu from with stabbing me with the organic axe that serves as its only remaining arm or eating me with its goddamn teeth, and the other with preventing said collapsing building from continuing its progress.

It flailed and snapped at me, it's smaller form unable to reach me thanks in part to the benefit of having my lanky ass arms keeping it as far away from me as possible.

The position was by no means a comfortable one, and if I managed to somehow live through this, I knew that there were going to be a number of uncomfortable stretches I was going to have to make for a while.

On the plus side?

I was never going to be able to pull off a JoJo pose half as ridiculous as the one I'm doing right now.

"KAITO!" I felt more than I heard Enigma's cry as I spotted her gigantified form, several civilians already scooped up in her embrace.

Even as I watched I saw flickering forms leaping from different levels of the building towards Enigma, other members of Team Idaten making the most expedient evacuation of the endangered residents by leaping up into the cradle made by her arms, while I saw some of the smaller drones that Enigma could control started ferrying the rescued down towards the safety of the pavement to make room for more rescues.

Damn.

They were a well-oiled machine at this.

Wish I'd thought of that earlier.

Knew I shouldn't have skipped that briefing Omoikane had set up for me.

"I'm fine!" I called back, hiding my grimace as I did so. "Focus on completing the evacuation, I can't hold this up much longer."

No-one in the current Idaten team had the firepower to mess with any of these Nomu and take them down before their regeneration kicked in.

Well, except Enigma and she was far to integral to the rescue efforts right now to distract her.

The sound of rubble shifting had my eyes snapping towards the building once more trying to spot whatever it was that had started crumbling while the blue Nomu continued to flail in my time locked grip.

The unfortunately familiar form of the red Nomu that I had sent careening into the wall with an accelerated dagger was pulling itself up from under said partially collapsed wall.

Oh come off it.

Really?

My hands are a bit full right now.

The red Nomu staggered up, scrabbling across the ground on all fours, hobbling on the limb that still had one of my daggers pierced so deeply inside it that it was a struggle to spot the knife around all the blood that was coming out of the wound.

Yet despite the seemingly fatal amount of blood coming out of the bastard, drew back it's lip to reveal its jagged teeth as it stared menacingly at me.

"ETA on the evacuation?" I asked quietly, praying that the microphone would be able to pick up my voice over the chaos going on around me.

"Just grabbing the last stragglers now, should be done within the next two minutes."

Two minutes.

Amazing how far away such a small amount of time can seem.

"Inform the other heroes that there is an additional Nomu nearing my location." I continued on calmly, my words not conveying the struggle I was currently undergoing to hold the building in place and prevent the blue Nomu from devouring me. "Is Bigshot available?"

"Negative Shiro, I'm three blocks away right now, been clearing a path for the civilians to exit the danger zone." Takeda's voice replied back through the comm link.

"I'm trying to rout someone towards you as fast as I can, just hold on for a little while longer." Omoikane's voice called out over the Comm Link before the constant stream of conversation continued past me.

Shit.

So I'm on my own for now.

And that was when I saw him.

What's-his-face, the idiot who'd tried been waving the gun about during the sting before I used it to break his nose.

He'd gotten loose somehow in the chaos.

And was clutching the same gun in his shaking hands, while he glared directly at me.

Oh god, don't tell me.

He's not going to…

And true to form the moron started monologuing at me.

Fucking monologuing!

In the middle of this fucking chaos, he thought that now would be a good time to give me his goddamn life story?

How many times did this kid have to fall down the stairs to ever consider this to be a good idea?

I tuned out the rambling and being perfectly honest here, utterly pathetic, excuses of the sack of uselessness in front of me about how society was hard, and why wasn't he born with money and honestly making me seriously contemplate either letting the blue Nomu eat me or telling him to shoot me already so I wouldn't have to listen to the garbage dribbling out of his mouth.

If I manage to get out of this mess alive, the first thing I'm going to do is kick this moron so hard between the legs that he'll be singing soprano for a week!

At that moment the red Nomu let out a warbling scream and started bounding towards me, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

What's-his-face didn't seem to realize what was approaching from behind him and seemed to be drawing to the end of his stupid little rant if the way he was raising the pistol was any indication.

Fuck.

Alright then I'm screwed.

Just need to hold on for a little bit longer for the rest of them to get out of the building.

#* #* *#M#

I closed my eyes. #*$%o)(*

Took one final breath. Move.

And I Held. Unsheathe/Intercept

My. Aim/Stop.

Ground. Release/Clench.

I didn't hear the sound of the gun go off over the sound of the two monsters' warbling screams.

Nor did I feel the impact of the bullet hitting me.

…

Or the Nomu.

I opened my eyes fractionally to find the Red Nomu slumped over on the ground face first, unmoving on the shattered pavement, having slid to a stop right next to the gun wielding thief, almost knocking him over.

The goon with the gun, what's-his-face was staring at me with a dumbstruck expression, his gaze constantly flicking between his gun, the slumped Nomu and me.

He missed!

How the hell did he miss!?

Granted I'm not complaining about it right now.

A massive black form came down from above and placed itself atop the still snarling blue Nomu, and I pulled back my arm and released my quirk just as Enigma's rubbery hand came down upon the creature much akin to a human holding a bug beneath their grip.

"ALL CLEAR SHIRO MADOUSHI, ALL RESIDENTS ARE ACCOUNTED FOR." Enigma's distorted voice sounded out above me, her other arm contorting like one of those ridiculous waving inflatable arm men you used to see at car yards gave me a thumbs up. "NICE WORK."

At her words I released the hold I had on the building stumbling backwards as a great weight was lifted off of my shoulders. As I did so the ominous cracking grew exponentially before I watched the building collapsed inwards in an eruption of falling masonry and rising dust.

I went to raise my coat to use it as an impromptu shield before I looked up to see that some of Enigma's drones had detached themselves from her extended arm and were forming a wall between myself and the now collapsed building.

Clever.

If I had to guess I'd say that the drones are dispatched all around the building now that they don't have to ferry people down from the main body.

My hands shook and I found myself unable to unclench my hands, so great was the tension that was running through them.

Okay.

It's okay.

Just…

Breathe.

Take a deep breath and…

I paused.

Hold that thought.

And turned my attention towards the rapidly paling form of the asshole who'd tried to shoot me.

Time to fulfill an earlier promise.

He turned to flee, a high-pitched scream starting to leave his mouth as I pulled on my Quirk the familiar feeling of Haste sweeping over me.

I may have been trained as a boxer by the old man, but I still managed to pick up a thing or two about using my legs when he saw fit to throw me at other trainers he knew, all of which seemed to be just as old and crotchety as he was.

None of them taught me anything about kicking someone between the legs so hard that their legs leave the ground.

But I feel they would have been proud of my choice regardless.

The haste ended and the high-pitched scream trailed off into an even higher pitched squeak before the bastard collapsed to the ground, apparently having trouble to breath after I'd done my best to lodge his testicles inside of his lungs.

Prick.

I watched as a one of the team Idaten sidekicks I hadn't caught the name of, wearing what looked to be a more armored version of motorcycle leathers and a helmet, collected the wayward member of the H.K.T and escorted him towards the police escort which once more seemed ready to take him into custody.

Glad that's sorted.

And the

I felt my left-hand release from the fist it had clenched itself into and started using it to start working at the still locked muscles in my right hand and arm.

Christ it was so goddamn tense.

Did I pull something?

With all the adrenaline running through me right now that would not surprise me in the slightest.

I spotted the news truck for Channel 31 round the corner at speed before coming to a stop before coming to a stop before the blockade the police had thankfully finished setting up.

I felt my good mood sour at its appearance.

Shoowaysha.

The publishing company that had been the ones to plaster that godforsaken image of me holding up Kurobe dam.

Thus shattering any hope I'd ever had of remaining in the background and trying to accomplish things unnoticed.

Needless to say, I wasn't their biggest fan.

I only wish the same could be said for them regarding me.

I do not want to have to spend another night trying to dodge Kidzuki Chitose.

That woman was ravenous when it came to wanting an interview.

Time to get going.

I went to make my way over to my car before I remembered I was missing something and swore before doubling back.

I stumbled over to the red Nomu to retrieve the dagger that I had thrown at it, the hilt the only part of it still visible sticking out of the bastard.

I rolled it up on its side with a grunt of effort, placing one foot against the beast's chest to brace myself before I grabbed the hilt of my dagger with my left hand as hard as I could to try and free the blade.

It didn't move a goddamn inch.

"First you try to kill me." I seethed at the lifeless form before me. "And now you try and steal my freaking dagger?"

The Nomu, that unrepentant bastard that he is, had nothing to say in response to my righteous tirade.

I looked down at the dagger, at the Nomu and at the blood that was most certainly staining my hero outfit and decided right then and there.

Fuck this.

I put both feet on the beast's side, reached down and started pulling on the hilt of the blade again, sawing it this way and that as I fought to free it.

"Give… me…" I grunted muscles straining and fighting as I pulled with all the might I had left in my flagging form, trying to free it from the death grip it had on the weapon.

Death grip.

Ha.

Man, I'm good.

"my… fucking… dagger… you… piece of…"

Without warning the dagger came free and the Nomu slumped over onto its back, sending me stumbling backwards to let out a whole new host of swears in response to this.

With more effort than I felt comfortable with I managed to keep myself upright, and with a victorious cry sheathed the dagger before I turned to face the one who had kept me from my prize.

"Take that y…" My words trailed off as I found myself staring at something that didn't make sense.

That couldn't make sense.

I looked down at my coat and sure enough, the second dagger that I normally used to fasten the coat shut was missing from its usual spot.

Well I suppose it was more accurate to say it was absent rather than missing.

I knew exactly where the dagger was.

The red Nomu had slumped lifelessly onto it's back, one eye staring lifelessly up at the night sky.

Only one eye.

The other's view was rather impeded by the golden dagger that had been thrust so deeply into the eye socket that I could see the tip of it peeking out of the top of the creature's fleshy brain.

The second dagger.

I blinked as I felt something wet staring to run into my eyes and rubbed at them with the back of my hand.

When I looked down at it what I saw was the familiar sight of my own blood, clearly distinct from any other type of blood by the dimming blue glow that clung to it and yet everyone else insisted could not be detected on any visible wavelength.

'Well, that could have ended badly.' An achingly familiar voice said, almost as if it had been whispered directly into my ears.

I spun wildly searching for the speaker only to find myself alone.

'Just as alone as you always are.' The voice seemed to agree with my conclusion. 'Now you're just listening. Hello old friend. Did you miss me?'

I felt my clenched fist open in shock.

My ears twitched as I heard a muffled ting reach my ears.

I looked down at my feet where something small and bronze colored was coming to a stop by my feet.

A familiar looking piece of crumpled metal.

A bullet.

One that had I had apparently caught.

But…

"That's impossible." I felt myself whispering under my breath as my mind struggled to understand how the inconsistency in events could be explained.

'Maybe to your current understanding of reality.' The voice said conciliatorily. 'But in reality, you've just started to scratch the surface. Remember Kaito.' Time is not a straight line .

AN:

Long time no see everyone!

Sorry for the long delay, the past few months were….not the best for me.

Or my mental health.

Especially my mental health.

As a result I found myself having little in the way of time to write the next chapter and when I did have time had even less in the way of motivation.

But I am thankfully passed that, have made several steps to resolve other issues in my life and with a bit of luck might even be getting a job in the profession I spent the better part of four years studying for!

TLDR? Everything appears to be coming up Milhouse.

As always I appreciate all your comments and theories about what's been happening with Kaito's tale and with this chapter another page unfurls.

What it revealed?

That my friends is something for you to find out.

Or for me to tell you later on, one or the other.

Cheers,

TheInnerHollow

Chapter 10

"Think of reality as a ship whose course is set, whose wheel is locked in place by universal constants. Our greatest achievement, and downfall, was to turn that wheel, just a fraction. The role of the observer was always important-we discovered that. If a tree falls in the wood and no one hears it, then it is both standing and not standing. The cat is both alive and dead."

"Who mentioned a fecking cat?"

- Mark Lawrence, King of Thorns

Chapter 10

My opponent stared down at me, keeping her face as impassive as she could while trying to hide the desperation in her face as she took stock of her arsenal, taking noted of the limited state of my own and trying to plan around it.

She knew I could recharge faster then she could, but at the same time with her next move she could finish this fight in her next turn.

Some people work hard to keep their face as emotionless as possible during moments like these, not wanting to give a way for their opponents to see through them.

And for some it was a very workable strategy.

Someone like Tensei's brother Or Enji's son I can see pulling it off quite easily.

But me?

I just smiled and grinned as I always did, taking three more coins from the pile in the centre. "That's three more coins with my Duke." I said my chin propped up on my left fist as my right hand arranged the coins into a single stack. "Bringing my total to seven."

A hush fell over the crowd as the realization sunk in.

If my opponent couldn't find a way to turn it around, I'd be able to win next round.

Again.

On the other side of table, Shinohara Natsuki's wings fluttered slightly behind her back, one of her few tells and one that I could only pick up after a lifetime of having a best friend with wings that could lie through his teeth.

Her blue eyes flickered to gold as she made her move. "I use my three coins to attack your last card with my Assassin." She said triumphantly.

The class around us erupted into cheers, as Natsuki stared down at me, her move a sure-fire victory against my Duke.

My grin spread even wider.

If I had a Duke.

"I block it with my Contessa." I countered nonchalantly, bringing the celebration to a sudden halt even as Natsuki flinched back at my response.

There we go.

You were expecting me to challenge your Assassin weren't you?

Thinking that was the only move I had left and feeling sure in your victory.

But you hadn't considered this option yet had you?

Now then.

What's your move?

Natsuki's eyes flicked from the face down card before me, to the face up cards in front of her fallen comrades and finally flicked her eyes towards the deck of facedown cards in the centre of the table.

That's right.

Take stock of the facts.

There are five cards that aren't face up yet.

My one card.

Her one card.

And the three remaining cards in the deck.

Do I have the Contessa and I lied about having a Duke this whole game?

Or do I instead have a Duke and this is simply a desperate last attempt to stave off my defeat until my unblockable victory next turn.

"Challenge!" She responds finally, making the only move she can in an attempt to prevent me from claiming victory, and all or nothing move that will either grant her victory or take her out of the game.

I sigh, moving my hand to the card before me and flipped it over.

Revealing the Contessa staring back at me.

The class let out a groan and Natsuki slumped over in defeat, flicking over her remaining card to reveal the Assassin card.

"Very close." I said, praising her efforts as I stood up from the table in the centre of the room and made my way back to the whiteboard at the front of the room. "An excellent game from all involved, a round of applause for Natsuki everyone."

The class erupted into thunderous applause, with Koiso Kenji, young Natsuki's partner being especially exuberant leading the winged girl to try to hide her blushing face beneath one of her wings.

"Now, this is an excellent example of one of the invisible uses of power that are granted to a hero that most people take for granted. One that has gotten me out of more binds than any clever use of my Quirk or training." I began writing something down on the board before turning back to face the class.

"Confidence." I said, tapping at the kanji I'd written on the board. "If you look like you know what you're doing and act like you know what you're doing, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, people will believe that you know what you are doing." I said with a smile, rubbing the back of my head as I did so. "How do think I managed to get a job here in the first place?"

The class laughed at that.

As one of the youngest teachers at UA I'd often had parents ask how I could be trusted to teach children given my age.

Despite the fact that I was trusted to save the lives of both them and their families in the event of an emergency as a Pro Hero.

People.

Gotta love 'em.

There was a reason I wore a smart business suit and tie while I was teaching here at UA instead of my Hero outfit most of the time.

As it turns out, if you look the part, people are less likely to question what you're doing there.

One of the more useful lessons that I was taught about undercover work back in the day.

You'd be amazed where you can get with a janitor's uniform, a mop and a bucket.

"Sometimes things aren't going to go your way. Sometimes you're going to be out of good options with nothing on hand but a bad idea. When that happens? I smile like I've won the lottery." I continued on, picking up the three-remaining face down cards, and sent them dancing about my palm with a flourish before snapping my gloves together with a loud clap, bringing them apart to reveal the cards nowhere to be found. "The trick, is to make it look like that was your plan the whole time."

I turned and walked towards my desk, leaving the three Duke cards floating in mid-air facing my students causing some of them to let out a groan as they realized that I really hadn't had a Duke the whole game.

I mean it wasn't quite the level of bluffing I've seen Keigo display for example, when he managed to convince a villain that he was about to summon a tornado to strike him from the air with his, and I wish I was kidding when I say this, 'Divine Phoenix Powers' if he didn't surrender.

The worst part was that it worked.

The man may have been on more than a few psychotropics but that didn't lower the sting of the fact that Keigo could honestly say that he threatened someone with divine power and they believed him.

I still couldn't believe it.

That he'd managed to pull it off before I had that is.

Had to cover the bastard's tab for a week!

I went to continue on further on with the impromptu lesson but caught sight of the time and cut off that lecture, saving it for next time.

"No homework this week, but you should be using this free time to ensure that you are fully prepared for your final exams for this semester. You're at the final hurdle, now is not the time to start slowing down." I advised my students, collecting the cards I'd left on the table as well as the three floating Dukes before I slid them into one of my pockets.

Never hurts to have a deck of cards on you.

No matter the type.

With that the bell rang for the end of second period and the class quickly gathered their things and made their way to their next class.

I went to the board and cleaned the text from it, turned to my desk and gathered my stack of textbooks, the essays that had been handed in from the class before this one as well as my latest attempt at trying to understand what I had done in Hosu.

This was a reproduction of a much older text and I was having to shake off a lot of rust from my foreign language skills.

But from what little I'd been able to gleam during the gap between classes. I think I might be onto something.

"No you're definitely onto something, and I already told you what the journal is going to tell you anyway."

I felt a frown form on my face before I smoothed it away.

Oh yes.

And then there was the voice in the back of my head that wouldn't go away.

"To be fair, I have been here the whole time, you just weren't listening earlier."

That does not make it better!

Ever since Hosu what was once nothing more than a slight buzz in the back of my head had transformed into the fully responsive voice of the prisoner, who was more than willing to give their own 100-yen opinions on what was going on around me.

I had kind of hoped that I'd just been imagining things at the end of that fight but when I woke up groggily in my bed the next morning, I heard his voice informing me how stupid my hair looked in the mirror.

"All things being equal, it did look godawful. Seriously man pick a color and stick with it."

You know that was your fault!

And I nearly punched a hole through my mirror when your stupid voice popped in out of nowhere.

"First of all, on it wasn't, second of all, that was hilarious and finally we both know this voice isn't stupid."

It does when it's coming out of your mouth!

"Forgetting something?"

Wha…

I returned my attention to the outside world just as I turned the corner to walk out the door just in time for someone to run into me.

I managed to keep my footing with a quick application of my Quirk.

The menagerie of things I was holding in my hands however were not so lucky, the impromptu tower of text tumbling to the floor.

"Oh I'm so sorry sir!" A familiar voice squeaked and I turned to see Midoriya already doing his best to pick up the scattered papers that were even now fluttering in the hallway.

I bent down to help, picking up my textbooks and once more piling them up. "Not your fault Midoriya, I wasn't paying attention."

"Gee if only someone taught a class on how to fix that problem."

Quiet you.

Anyway, this is the perfect opportunity to check up on the kid.

Enji's already filled me in on the fact that his son and two other students ran afoul of the Hero Killer.

Given the descriptions I can guess who the other two were.

And I'll be dealing with one of them later.

"Heard you had an interesting night in Hosu," I started lightly, flicking my eye towards the hero in training to see his reaction before I continued on. "You doing okay?"

Little Green flinched for a moment at my words, one of his hand moving almost unconsciously towards where one of the now healed wounds would have been before stopping.

Looks like they did take a few hits then.

To be expected I suppose.

The Hero Killer wouldn't have lasted as long as he did if he didn't know how to scrap.

"I'm actually doing alright. I'm just glad that everyone got out okay." Midoriya replied after a brief pause, his honesty ringing out with every syllable.

I had to hide a smile at that.

That was a very good way to think about it.

Some people get too caught up in how they could've done better, about the choices that they made or didn't make during that time.

Hindsight is always twenty twenty.

Be happy with what you managed, get better for next time and move on.

Or you'll never escape it.

"Glad to hear it." I replied, standing up straight once more, taking care not to send the precarious pile tumbling with a sudden movement. "Well then, I'll be off. Need to go grade these. Have a good day Midoriya."

I went to move past him when I realized that he was still holding some of the papers he'd collected and knelt down again so he could place them on top of the pile.

It would have been a bit of a jump for him to get that high.

"Thank you, Kaito-sensei! And you dropped your book!" Little Green said brightly, scooping the text in question off the floor briefly glancing down at the cover before his brow narrowed as he tried to make out the title. "Naturwee?" He started before becoming tongue tied.

Not that I couldn't blame him.

We don't exactly teach German here.

"Naturwissenschaften or 'The Science of Nature', it's a scientific journal." I replied, taking the book from his hand and placing it back in its precarious position atop my stack of textbooks and essays. "Doing some light reading while I think on something."

"Is it about Quirks?" Midoriya asked, his interest in the matter clear by the sparkle of his eyes.

I went to shake my head before I paused.

Well, technically…

"Maybe," I hedged shrugging my shoulders due to my hands otherwise being occupied. "I recently found out that something I previously thought was impossible wasn't. So, I'm re-examining the issue from a fresh start to see if I can get a different perspective with the new facts I know."

"Something that was impossible?" Little Green echoed back at me, his brow furrowing as he started muttering under his breath, presumably about his theories on what I was reading about.

"The little man really needs to learn to stop saying all that stuff out loud." The voice added in the back of my head. "If he keeps it up, he's going to announce that he's discovered a villain's weakness midway through a fight instead of just ending it."

I bit back a frown at that.

Not at the words that I heard, much to my chagrin.

But at the fact that I had thought much the same after hearing him let loose a similar explosion of words during the first time he witnessed a spar between me and the Big Three.

It still irked me how similar our thought patterns were at times.

"And seriously what kind of name is 'The Big Three' anyway? It should have been the Best Three or the Great Three instead. Or maybe…"

And then

I tuned him out, the words still there but subdued now that I wasn't giving them any attention.

I cleared my throat loudly, drawing Little Green's startled look as he broke free of his mumbling.

"I believe you have a foundational heroics class to get to?" I suggested lightly, gesturing to the clock on the wall with a nod. "Better hurry if you don't want to be late."

Midoriya looked at the wall and froze as he realized just how little time he had left.

I felt it before I saw any sign of it.

The crackle of static electricity causing the hairs on my arm to stand on end.

Little Green bent at the knees, his hair rising slightly in a way that had me thinking of Aizawa when he activated his quirk.

There was a brief flash of green lighting snapping around him.

And then he was gone in what to most people would have been the blink of an eye, blasting off with tremendous speed, moving with such force that a shockwave formed behind him sending a blast of wind that nearly had me stumbling backwards all over again.

Well.

I'll be damned.

Seems to me, that Little Green leveled up since the Sports Festival.

Looks like that Gran Torino guy is one hell of a teacher.

Though given how traumatized All Might looked when I brought him up, something tells me I might not want to experience his teaching method first hand.

Well then.

Time for me to be on my way.

The sooner I can get these things marked, the sooner I can get back to trying to recreate that move at the gym.

"Much as I'd like for you to get back to work on that. I do believe you're forgetting something?"

I frowned at that.

Forgetting something?

I'm not forgetting anything, I just need to take these pa…

Realization sunk in as I looked at the scattered pile of papers once more, sent spilling from my hands and onto the floor in the wake of Midoriya's exit.

Again.

"Son of a…"

"Young master, it's time to wake up." Rama-Ji's voice broke through the fog of my headache and the fatigue still clinging to me.

I grumbled something under my breath and turned the other way.

I didn't want to wake up.

I wanted to go back to sleep.

"Young master, now is not the time to be going back to sleep."

I grumbled harder in response, clutching the sheets and sinking even deeper into the futon in an attempt to escape back into the world of sleep.

"Well, since you are clearly so tired, I suppose I should return your present then."

Wait, what?

"I'm awake!" I protested, going to throw myself from the futon only to become tangled by the sheets I had wrapped around myself to collapse to the floor in an unseemly lump.

Ow.

I heard the soft chuffing laughter of Rama-Ji and I did my best to scramble to my feet an play off the fact that I'd just fallen out of bed.

I looked up to see Rama-Ji staring down at me with his golden-brown eyes, still taller than me standing even with him kneeling on the tatami flooring. His hair, long since white with age, was kept out of his eyes with the help of a red headband and he wore the same kind of outfits I always saw father wearing, albeit in much more subdued colors than him.

But my eyes were focused on only one thing.

In his hands was something smaller than both of his hands put together although to my hands it would have been the size of a ruler.

"It's… small." I said simply, staring down at the weapon that I'd helped him forge, the blade still hidden within the black scabbard, probably made of the lacquered wood that I'd helped him cart into the forge at the start of the day. "When will it speak to me?"

Rama-Ji only chuffed at that, one of his hands coming down to ruffle my hair like a catcher's mitt on a stray baseball. "It's a newborn, young master." He said admonishingly, "You need to give it time to grow and then it may start to talk to you."

I looked up in surprise at that. "It might not talk to me?" I complained, throwing my hands up into the air.

Well what was the point of all that then?

Rama-Ji shook his head.

"A conversation has two parts young master." Rama-Ji lectured me, looking as wise as he always did when it came time for these impromptu life lessons. "One must both be willing to talk and even more importantly, one must be willing to listen."

I blinked at that.

"I don't get it."

The old man only chuffed out his laughter again.

"You will." He promised me, ruffling my hair again with one of his massive hands. "In time, now come along. It's time for lessons."

"Bitch!" I swore as the tennis ball slammed into me before thudding to the ground once more.

I looked at the one I held within my left hand as I shook out my right hand in an attempt to alleviate the stinging pain.

I stared at scattered collection of balls around me, having either bounced off me and missed me entirely then turned my attention to the pitching machines set up on the other end of the room, noted their empty ball buckets and sighed.

Time to refill them.

Again.

This had been my routine ever since Hosu, and the past few days since then in an attempt to recreate… whatever the hell I'd done at Hosu.

With middling success.

Sometimes it worked!

"Sometimes, eh?"

I grimaced.

Okay so I managed to get it to work once and I haven't been able to recreate it since, alright?!

It didn't help that I had no idea how I'd managed it in the first place.

As far as I'd been aware, my Quirk simply had the power to alter the flow of time of myself and to a lesser extent other object.

I could easily accelerate the flow of time or temporarily halt it for a time.

But what I'd managed at Hosu against the Nomu?

That was something entirely different.

And it was doing my head in trying to figure it out.

By all accounts what I'd done was impossible

'The way you keep reverting to that type of thinking is exactly the reason that this isn't working you know.'

Not helping!

'Perhaps you should discuss your issue with someone, see if they can offer a different perspective?' The voice offered, giving me it's unwanted opinion.

Again.

Well I would have had Keigo here helping if he wasn't off doing… whatever the hell he's up to on the other side of the country.

Seriously it's been a week since I last heard from him.

A week!

Not even a meme!

And I couldn't ask Taishiro about this kind of stuff.

While he is, and in his own opinion always would be, always willing to help out his grumpy little kohai, that does not mean that I held any faith in the man concerning his ability to explain Quantum Mechanics to me.

Not that he'd have had any faith in his own ability to explain it mind you.

I couldn't ask Enji, his duties as the number two and to his agency were far more important than my issues.

And I already knew how busy everyone else at UA, especially with the final exams for the semester fast approaching for multiple subjects.

Myself, included.

"You know you're going to burn out at this rate if you don't get any sleep, right?"

What is this sleep you speak of?

It sounds like wasted time.

God, I'd been bashing my head up against this metaphorical wall for so long I was willing to do damn near anything to overcome it.

"Anything?" The blasted voice said teasingly. once again making it clear that it still had a direct line to my thoughts.

"And no, I don't have a direct line to your thoughts, you're just that predictable." The voice countered again, chuckling as it did so.

Oh that mothe…

I took a deep breath in and held it.

Calm.

Remain calm.

…

Fuck it.

Bastard might actually know something.

"Why isn't this working?" I asked, turning my attention towards the figure leaning up against the wall that led to what Keigo had taken to calling the Blade Lock.

"It's not working because you're still working from the wrong foundation." The figure spoke up, shaking their head as they did so. "Your understanding of your Quirk is still flawed."

I slumped to the floor as I fought off a sudden wave of fatigue, the flickering white form pacing as it continued to speak.

"People speak of time as if it simply a means of following the position of something in space and tracking it's decay. But that is reductive. You know better than this."

I took a deep breath and fought my way to my feet again, sweating as I did so but refused to be kept down while they moved.

"Time is more than that. It is a force, a physical thing. You have felt it's weight press against you and fought against it."

"That's not true." I disputed, shaking my head at their statement. "That's just the mass of the object pressing up against my quirk…"

"Really? Are you certain?" The figure in white challenged me, pointing a finger in my direction. "How much does Kurobe Dam weigh again? If you'd been trying to lift that weight you would have been reduced to a bloody splatter in an instant.

I went to reply before I stopped, thinking on what I'd just been told.

That…

Made more sense than I wanted it to.

It was obvious now that I stopped to think about it that the weight I felt when I was stopping larger objects like the blasted dam, or more recently the apartment complex in place that I hadn't been experiencing the weight of the structure itself.

They'd been frozen in time, by it's very nature it should have been impossible for anything to exert any force on me.

But clearly, I'd felt something pressing back against me.

"You have learnt how to feel the weight of time, how to push it faster and how to temporarily dam it." The figure in white spoke, their horns still pulsing lightly with every new step that they took. "What you seek to do now is an entirely different beast."

I snorted at that. "So what, now I'm supposed to try and deadlift time?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Should I break out the weight bench?"

The figure on white paused for a moment at the mental image my words had created, before shaking their head and continuing on. "To use a more accurate but still fundamentally reductive metaphor, think of time as a river."

They raised their arms into the air, tracing a line of white light that remained after their arms passage. "What you are seeking to do is to divert the river into two different paths and then have them meet again afterwards." They traced a new line this time starting from one point at the line before rejoining at a later part of the line.

Oh I've bloody had it up to here with these goddamn metaphors.

"Well then why won't you tell me how then?!" I challenged, "How am I supposed to do this then?"

"I literally know everything you do, idiot. I've been there every step of the way since the day I was first forged." The voice stated factually, as if it was explaining the answer to a math equation. "So when I tell you, you haven't figured it out yet, I really mean it. Not like I have."

It already knew the answer?

Had I just been wasting my time these past few weeks?

I fought to keep my temper from surging forth and sucked in a breath through my teeth. "Again, why don't you just tell me then?" I spat through gritted teeth.

"Hmm. Maybe it might have something to do with the fact that just because I've got a back door into your grey matter doesn't mean I experience time the way you do?" The figure asked rhetorically/ "You're literally asking an inanimate object for advice about altering one's personal perception of time."

I grimaced at that.

Point.

Assuming that the way they interpreted time was identical to my own was a stupid mistake.

Even if it did explain how it interpreted time, my own research told me it was highly likely that it would be next to useless to me.

This was supposed to be my own understanding.

Not another's.

"Now close your eyes." The voice instructed. "And try it again."

I turned towards them at that, an incredulous expression on my face. "Are you kidding me?"

The figure in white just shooed me towards the pitching machines with one of their hands. "Humor me."

With nothing better to do than give this last attempt a shot before throwing in the towel for the night, I humored the horned figure.

I collected four balls from the floor, slotted them into the pitching machines, got back into the position and closed my eyes.

The balls were set to aim for four separate locations all firing at the same time.

One over my left shoulder.

One at my head.

One at my chest.

And one to my right.

The loud buzzing tone rang out, warning me that the balls were about to be launched.

Ka-thunk.

My hands moved to catch the balls heading for my head and chest. My hands moved to catch the ball over my left shoulder and to my right.

I already knew the timing for when the ball would come. I knew when to catch them.

Get hit with something long enough and your body learns to remember. Pain's lessons are rarely forgotten.

Here goes nothing. I'm ready.

I caught two balls. I caught two balls.

Just like I had every other time.

Only this time, I didn't hear the other balls thudding off the wall and bouncing onto the floor.

I opened my eyes.

And found that I was holding four balls, two in each hand.

Despite only remembering catching two.

I stood there staring at them for a moment as my brain tried to put two and two together but failed to make four. "How? Because I wasn't looking at it?"

" You misunderstand. The act of observing an event taking place has weight." The horned figure spoke, drawing my attention back towards them. "An act that goes unseen, unheard, unnoticed, is one that does not have the weight of time upon it. It can be questioned if the event even took place at all.

"If a tree falls in a forest with nobody around to witness it, does it make a sound?" I murmured quietly, the age-old philosophical conundrum coming to mind at the blade's words.

"Precisely." They agreed.

"And how exactly do you know this anyway? How can you prove it?"

"Simple. I can prove it via my own existence." The voice said confidently. " Who needs a cat when you have me?"

A cat?

The meaning hit me like another baseball, nearly rocking me off my feet. "Hold on your still inside that case! I know you are!"

"Ah, but do you?" The voice countered, questioning my conviction. "When's the last time you actually took a look inside the box itself? To the best of your knowledge, yes, I could be inside the box, but are you a hundred percent certain? Is there no shadow of doubt, however small, that I somehow escaped? After all, we're talking again, aren't we?"

I went to say more when a strange sound met my ears and I looked down, just in time to to see the shirt that I was wearing crumble and give way, breaking apart into dust before it even reached the floor.

What the hell was that?

"Like I mentioned earlier, time has a weight." The voice added, as I stared down at what had once been my workout shirt. "Not everything can stand in the face of such weight. In Hosu you held other aspects that helped you."

Helped me?

What am I missing? What element from the encounter at Hosu do I not have now?

My hero outfit?

No, not that. Something me that it was part of it, especially given it's construction with my Quirk in mind, but i

I hadn't held anything in my…

Wait.

That's a lie.

Even if I don't remember holding it I must have…

I walked over to where I had my hero outfit set aside and pulled the dagger that I had thrown into the Nomu's brain out of the sheathe.

I went to go back to my spot before the pitching machines again when I was interrupted by a light cough.

"You may want to have a look at that." My unwanted commentator suggested pointedly.

I paused and looked down at the dagger and felt my eyebrows rise in shock.

The dagger was clearly different from the last time I'd seen it, tarnished somehow as if parts of it had been exposed to the elements while the rest remained unharmed.

The pattern was instantly recognizable and I went to test my theory.

My hand wrapped around the hilt, perfectly matching the placement of the rust.

I furrowed my brow.

Clearly I was the cause of this effect.

But this was orders of magnitude more pronounced than, anything my Quirk had achieved before.

If I didn't know any better I'd say it almost resembled the beginnings of the decay effect that the incredible handyman's quirk had produced during the USJ attack.

"If it wasn't for the fact that the dagger had been made with your quirk in mind, it wouldn't have lasted this long." The voice commented knowingly, "But using your Quirk as you did drastically increase the 'weight' of time on an object. And objects that can't stand up to the weight of that start to crumble and collapse inward."

A thought stuck me. "What if I don't have something with the appropriate weight?"

There was a long pause at that.

" I would not recommend finding out." The figure said quietly. " For your sake."

Well.

That was… ominous.

I had a very certain feeling that using my Quirk without something appropriate to channel my Quirk.

"Well," The voice started dryly. "Perhaps something that was forged with the wielder's very flesh by an artisan without equal? One that grew and evolved alongside its donor?"

I paused.

Then I swore profusely.

Oh that slimey, no-good, two-faced…

"Let me guess." I said with a flat stare at the horned figure, their white teeth gleaming at me as they grinned and awaited my response. "Something like a blood-stained wicked blade?"

The asshole had the temerity to smile even wider at me at my answer. "Seems like a safe bet to me."

Oh that.

---

It.

The tennis balls fell free from my hand and I stormed over to the bastard in question, ready to give them a piece of my mind. "You know wh…"

I staggered as something slammed into my jaw, sending me staggering backwards, knees wobbling and nearly stumbling to the floor if it wasn't for a quick application of Stop.

The horned figure in white stood there with its fist extended for a long moment more before it brought it back towards it's chest and started massaging at it. "Why is your face so hard? You never seem to hurt that much when you do it." It complained forcing it's hand this way and that in an attempt to alleviate it.

I stood there, stunned into silence at the reality of what had just happened.

"You," I started, still trying to force my brain to get with the program that, yes, that really had just happened. "You hit me."

Even though I couldn't see them, something told me the horned figure was rolling its eyes . "The Hero of Time, everybody, behold his keen intellect and deductive skills." It said mockingly clapping its hands together once before wincing and working at the hand it had used to punch me once more.

Well, I've got that at least.

I threw myself at them and we were at it, wrestling across the ground in the ugliest and messiest kind of combat, all flailing elbows and close up strikes before we split apart again both of us breathing heavily.

Then they had ripped one of the wooden swords away from the wall and thrown it at me like a javelin before sprinting after it with another practice blade in hand.

We'd clashed a few more times at that, with both of us taking care to watch our footing with the many tennis balls still scattered across our impromptu battlefield.

Until finally I made a misstep, my right leg sliding out as I lost my footing on the treacherous terrain.

I saw them sheath their weapon and bend at the knees.

I didn't see them hit me, despite the fact I never blinked.

But I sure as hell felt it.

I bounced off the back wall with such force that I could feel my eyes rattling inside of my skull when I hit the ground.

I was slow to rise, picking myself up with the help of the wall as support, taking note of the fractured nub in my hand that was the only thing remaining of the practice sword I'd been holding.

Okay, let's take stock.

I had a split lip, a purpling bruise on my chest that was rapidly spreading into a rainbow of colors that probably would have been over my kidney if I hadn't twisted away in time and a tear in one of the legs of my shorts.

Where as they were… still a mostly blank figure in white, bar the horns and the teeth.

I couldn't even tell if I'd made a difference given how little was actually discernable about the horned figures form.

But I'll tell you one thing.

They did not look impressed.

"What did you think you'd be up to scratch using me after waving around that wooden stick for practice?" The horned shape scoffed derisively. "It's almost like you're trying to lose again. And who knows how long it'll be til next time you find them, if ever?"

I growled as I felt my hands clench into fists, my gloves tight as I stained against my own anger rising up within me at the thought of those bastards escaping me again.

I'd had them.

I'd had the chance to set the scales straight, to finally close the chapter on that page on my life forever.

To let her rest peacefully…

Almost without me realizing it, I found myself before the platinum-gold alloy case, the door to the Blade Lock already thrown open behind me.

"This is going to take time, and you know I have other commitments." I warned still not conceding entirely.

" Good thing you know how to move with Haste then isn't it?" The figure in white riposted, following me into the room with footsteps just as loud as mine.

I unwrapped the chain, holding it to the wall and brought it down off the wall, grunting as I took the weight before laying it down flat on the floor of the hidden room.

I slid my hand along the side and pressed a recessed button on the box, causing a panel to slide down revealing the locking mechanism.

There was an alphanumeric lock on the box.

Eleven characters.

One I'd never forged.

The reason I'd bought the box in the first place.

I flicked the eleven dials to their relevant positions and a loud click filled the room.

"Then let's get started." I said resolutely.

I reached inside the box.

And grasped what was inside.

As my hand closed around it, I could feel more than see the grin that horned bastard was giving me. "Looking forward to it, partner."

I curled into a ball in my room as I did my best to muffle my sobs, my body wracked in the face of my sorrow.

I clutched the single photo tightly to my chest, heaving in deep gasping breaths as I did so.

The blade was at my side, much bigger now than when had first made it.

Rama-Ji hadn't been lying, it had started growing in time, growing alongside me.

He'd told me that this was actually something new for him, making a blade for someone so young.

Normally when he had made blades in the past, they had all been for people who were fully grown, well past the reach of any changes that puberty could have inflicted upon them.

He had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next with the weapon that the two of us had made, but the wide grin on his face when he said it always got me smiling too.

"Young master?" Rama-Ji's voice called out from the doorway, my mentor and bodyguard stepping into my sanctuary and sliding the door shut behind him.

He went to go say something before he took in my appearance and appeared to think better of it, walking over to me and guiding me up off the floor to the bathroom to clean myself up before he took me to the training room where it would only be the two of us.

On the way there I briefly crossed paths with an older boy who stepped out of our way deferentially, but the way his small eyes seemed to stare through me had always scared me, so I did my best not to pay any attention to him.

Rama-Ji had all the patience of a rock and I knew that we'd both be sitting in that room all day until I confessed what had gotten me to start crying in my room.

And so, piece by piece, I retold my story.

"So, today is one year since your mother's passing." Rama-Ji recounted surmising my stumbling and nearly-nonsensical story with far more practicality. "And you wanted to go to her gravestone to pay your respects, and show her the new trick that you'd accomplished with the cards but your father told you no."

I nodded, fighting back the urge to sniffle, taking in the calming feeling I got whenever I put my hands on the hilt of my blade, the dual feelings of metal and the silk of what Rama-Ji had informed me was the tsukamaki always managing to calm me down.

Rama-Ji nodded his head solemnly at that. "I see. Well if those are the words of my lord, then you cannot go." He stated simply, in the same way one might comment on the color of grass or the time.

I hadn't been happy about that.

I'd told Rama-Ji about my plans for going to go see mother's grave all week, I'd even showed him the trick I'd done with the combination of my cards and my Quirk.

Father's made his reaction time much faster than a normal person according to Rama-Ji, while mine made me faster!

I was so excited to show mother my quirk!

And now I wasn't going to get the chance to.

Because father had said that it was "a waste of time."

I'd gotten angry about that.

Mother wasn't a waste of time.

I'd said that to him.

A mistake.

A sign of my weakness.

Father couldn't stand for that.

He'd said as much, in that frighteningly quiet tone of voice that let me know when he was angry.

Then he had hit me, and sent me to my room in disgrace.

"On an unrelated note, I have an errand to run outside the compound for a few hours, getting some materials ready for the next blade to be made." Rama-Ji had continued on, still talking idly even as his eyes sparkled with mischief. "Would you like to accompany me? Depending on how fast we get everything done, we may be able to take a slight detour to the cemetery."

I'd leapt to my feet at that. "You promise?" I'd asked, extending my hand out with my pinky extended like my mother had taught me that the most serious promises were sworn.

Rama-Ji had chuffed out a laugh at that but met my upraised pinky with his own, his hands dwarfing mine as we shook on it. "I promise, young master."

And Rama-Ji kept his promise.

We made it to the cemetery with time to spare.

I spent some time talking to mother before the headstone, and even preformed the trick for her before I put the cards back into the deck and left them as an offering for her.

As we sat in the car, on the way back to the compound, Rama-Ji had turned to me and started talking.

"Do you know your namesake had a sword as well young master?" He'd began, his voice taking on that wizened tone of his whenever a lecture was about to start.

I hadn't said anything aloud in response, but I had shaken my head to signal that no, I was not aware of that.

"It's true." Rama-Ji promised, "a long and mighty blade, that he used to bring life and protect the weak from dark forces."

I'd let out a sound at that, impressed at the idea of this magic sword that another me had used.

I wondered if my sword would become half as cool as that one.

No mine would probably become even cooler!

It'd shoot lightning!

And turn into a robot whenever I wanted to!

And it would clean my room for me!

Rama-Ji had sighed and chuckled at my suggestions, shaking his head. "Who knows young master, maybe it will." He teased, ruffling my hair again as I tried in vain to fight him off with a squawk of outrage.

"Now I…"

Whatever Rama-Ji was about to say was cut off as something slammed into the side of the car with tremendous force, lifting the vehicle form the ground and would have sent me slamming into the back of the seat in front of me, even with my seatbelt on had it not been for Rama-Ji's hand pinning me against the back of my seat, his body curling around me protectively.

I don't remember anything about the ambush.

All I know is what I was told later. The others that had been part of our convoy had fought valiantly against superior numbers but ultimately succumbed to their wounds.

Our attackers had thought themselves in the clear then, with nothing remaining between them and the ransom that I could have brought them but me.

But there was a reason that Rama-Ji had been by my side my whole life.

And it wasn't because he was just my instructor in the use of the sword.

In a single breath, Rama-Ji had taken my sword from my hands, unsheathed it and cut through three men in a single fluid movement.

Then he had pursued the others, the muffled sounds of gunfire and screams the only way I could tell of his passage, huddled as I was behind the reinforced windows of the car.

I remembered being happy when father's men had found us, and driven off the rest of the attackers.

We'd survived.

That was the important thing.

I'd soon regret that thought.

I waited for the students to settle entirely before I started talking, my own experiences as a teacher guiding my actions as I watched for each pair of eyes to meet mine before I started this lesson.

Twenty new students to my class stared back at me, waiting attentively.

Well.

Normally it takes the new blood a while to pay attention to old suit and tie wearing me.

Then again, I usually don't get the chance to have my first impression be made via combating a villain attack that was aimed at the Symbol of Peace either.

"Welcome everyone to your first class of logic and critical thinking." I began giving a brief wave to class 1-A from the front of the room. "Normally you'd be starting this class during your second year, but apparently you're such overachievers that you'll be starting this one early."

The class let out a variety of sounds at that from excitement at the new class, despair for much the same reason and curiosity on just what this class was meant to teach them. "Ano, Kanetsuki-sensei, what are we meant to be learning here?" A blond with a black lighting motif in his hair asked me, raising one hand to gesture as he did so.

Okay Kaito, let's see if you can remember the names on the assigned seating chart.

He's in the second row and the second column so that would make him…

"An excellent question Kaminari, I'll be sure to answer it later on." I promised the student before I clapped my hands together. "Now then, let's get things started with an exercise. On your desk is a face down card. The card will assign you one of three roles.

I went to the board and flicked on the screen revealing an enlarged image displaying three different card, one with a blue plus, another with a green circle and finally one with a red cross.

"You are not to show your card to anyone else. If you have a blue plus card, you are a hero, if you have the green circle, you are a civilian and finally if you have the red cross card you are a villain." I continued on, pointing to the relevant card on the screen as I did so.

"Sensei, if we are using this as a way of training for the real world, wouldn't we recognize our colleagues even without the cards assigning them roles?" The girl sitting next to Shoto asked, causing some in the class to pause at the sudden question.

I grinned at that. "In most cases that would be entirely true." I admitted freely, before turning my attention towards Little Green. "But not in all of them. Midoriya, I've heard you're quite the All Might fan?" I asked faux-rhetorically, as if the miniature All Might that I'd spotted hanging off of his backpack hadn't been my first hint.

"U-uh sir, yes, I mean yes sensei!" Midoriya answered standing bolt upright, apparently not having expected me to call upon him.

I nodded, even as a few of his classmates did their best to swallow their laughter, to varying degrees of success. "In that case have you ever heard of All Might's first time encountering the Villain Masquerade?"

Little Green's eyes seemed to shine like beacons as I gave him an opportunity to strut his stuff as he regaled the class with one of the more obscure encounters regarding All Might's vaunted battle history.

Masquerade had been a thief, a particularly successful bank robber at that, whose Quirk Prosopagnosia caused anyone within a certain area of the villain to be stuck with a severe if temporary case of face blindness, that made it impossible to recognize anyone's identity, not only their face but even the clothes that they were wearing.

It got a whole lot more disturbing when you took into account that the people affected couldn't even recognize themselves when they looked into mirrors, leading to quite a few, shall we say, tragic accidents.

The way I heard it described it apparently prevented the brains of anyone within a certain range of him from being able to make the connection between the data they were being provided to the stored information within the brain.

All Might had neatly solved the dilemma by striking the villain down from well outside of Masquerade's quirk's area of effect, and since it only worked while he was conscious. Unfortunately it was also true that the effect was always present when he was conscious.

When he woke up in the prison cell a few hours later, things had gotten very…

Complicated.

I raised a hand and cut Midoriya off as he started to go into the eventual escape of the thief from the police precinct. "In this scenario you have all been effected by a quirk that is functionally identical to Masquerade's, so anything that you can see with your eyes could be considered compromised."

"Why don't we just blast them all unconscious, then take the villain to jail when the Quirk fails?" The spiky haired blond in front of Little Green asked, raising a hand that let out a few crackling pops as he did so.

That's right, he was the one who won the Sports Festival wasn't he?

Though apparently, he wasn't pleased about the double knockout between Midoriya and Shoto.

"You're kidding, right?" The girl sitting next to him with the jacks extending from her earlobes, asked dryly even as Kaminari chuckled at her response.

Bakugou, that's was his name was, didn't seem to like that if the response he was about to give Jirou was any hint and I interrupted whatever his words would have been by continuing to explain the rules.

"Heroes can ask one question of anyone, except another hero. Civilians you must answer any question from a hero truthfully. If two or more civilians team up then they can ask a hero a question that they must answer honestly. The villain is permitted to lie to any question they deem necessary to maintain their cover."

The class broke into murmurs at that some already starting to write down the rules I told them in their notebooks

"If the villain is discovered from amongst the students, then I'll provide a suitable reward for the class as a whole. But if the villain manages to last until the time limit or until ten questions have been asked, I'll deem that they've escaped the grasp of justice and I'll have a special prize for them." I added, waggling my fingers in the air as I did so.

"Sensei, when may we begin?" Little Iida junior asked, gesturing with his left arm with some noticeable stiffness to my eyes.

Hmm.

I raised a brow at that. "You started the moment you entered the room." I answered, walking back to take a seat on my desk as I gazed at the students. "And adding that to the list, that's six questions gone and dusted."

The class froze at that looking at me first in shock, then in confusion followed by slowly dawning realization and the signs of panic beginning to spread among them.

Ah glorious.

I do so love the first time with a new class.

"Four questions left to ask before the class votes on who the villain is." I added in mock-helpfulness, taking out a deck of cards to start shuffling as I gestured at the clock on the wall. "Better hurry, you don't have much time left."

I could see Kirishima going to ask "How long?" or something to that effect only to have his words be muffled by the sentient shadow sent by the kid that had been interning with Hawks, Tokoyami.

Shame.

Looks like Keigo might have warned his intern about me ahead of time.

Normally managed to snatch another question out of their hands with that one.

I used a card spring to send the deck leaping from one of my hands to the other, even as my eyes watched my new students and I kept my ears open for any whispered questions.

No freebies here.

I clapped my hands together then opened them revealing no deck of cards in sight, seemingly vanishing after the clap. I thought of the card with the red cross face down on my desk, out of sight of the rest of the class as some of them began communicating via pieces of scrap paper, one of the less common approaches to the game, but by no means one I hadn't seen before.

Villains lie.

It's good that they learn this lesson now, here in the classroom, rather than out there where there are far more dire consequences than a bit of homework.

Let's see how they do.

I fought the urge to pull out a coin and have it run across my knuckles as I sat and listened to the discussion going on about the arrangements being made for Class 1-A's final exams for this semester.

As many of the teachers were still active heroes in addition to the responsibilities to the school even those teachers who weren't assigned to participate in the challenges would listen in on the discussion, in the event that one of the staff originally assigned to the task were to become tied up in one of their other heroic duties or they were recovering from their injuries taken in the line of duty.

Not that the latter happened often, given Recovery Girl's position here as primary healer, as well as myself to a lesser extent I suppose.

Some of the match ups had been suggested by Aizawa, with his own experience as the classes homeroom teacher granting much weight to any arguments that he'd put forward on the specific challenge that he believed that they needed to overcome.

But most of the others were put forward by Nezu, his High-Spec Quirk coming into play to devise devilish sink or swim scenarios for the heroes-in-training to come up against.

Nezu was rather fond of the crucible method, when it came to these tests, and often remarked on the resilience of the human body and spirit when he did so.

I'm sure the reasoning would have come across as a lot more heartfelt if it wasn't for the look in his eyes whenever he said it.

That being said, Nezu took a great deal of joy in making these plans and then seeing them come to fruition.

Which was why I was even now regretting the actions that I was about to do.

"Does anyone have anything to say before we finish this meeting?" Nezu asked brightly, one paw upraised and his white fur gleaming in a way that told me he'd just had it brushed.

Whelp.

No time like the present.

"If I might interject," I spoke up, interrupting Nezu before he could move on. "I'd like to make a suggestion for an alteration to the schedule."

To be honest I hadn't intended to be part of this year's batch of trainers for the first years.

Especially after I'd finally started to make some new ground with my Quirk after what seemed like literally years.

But a phone call I'd received earlier this morning had caused me to change my mind.

And hey, it's always good to have people owe you a favor in this business.

Even if they are a friend.

Nezu's piercing black eyes turned towards me at my interruption, taking a sip of coffee from his cup as he did so. "By all means, I would be happy to hear it."

I gesture towards the list that Nezu had provided to each of the teachers involved, and pointed down at one match in particular.

"I'd like to volunteer another candidate for this one."

Nezu raised a brow at that, even as some of the other teachers took to murmuring amongst themselves.

"Any particular reason? We do already have someone assigned to act as the obstacle to that team."

I nodded. "You do, but both members of that that team have specialties that are more closely aligned with my own then that of the original suggestion." I nodded towards the person in question. "No offence meant of course, but we can both agree that melee combat isn't one of your specialties."

I found no debate waiting for me from them, the original obstacle easily conceding the point as valid.

"Alright that deals with one half of the pair, but how are you going to deal with the other one?" Midnight asked, tapping a finger at the second name on the list.

Hound Dog growled something at me that caused the rest of the teachers to nod their head in response.

Seriously?

Am I the only one that can never understand a word he says?

I really need to spend some time working on that.

Kan must have seen the confusion on my face and stepped in as a translator. "Inui said; 'Especially considering it isn't his physical ability that we're concerned with at the moment.'"

Well.

That's hitting the nail on the head.

The debate was interrupted suddenly by the sound of a first a snort, then chuckling and finally high-pitched maniacal laughter.

I can safely assume that much like myself, every teacher present felt a chill run down their spine as they turned slowly towards the Principal of UA, with much the same expression one would make when you were walking across an active minefield and heard a loud click after your last step.

Looks like he just read my email detailing the proposal for my test.

Nezu managed to get himself back under control, taking a sip of his coffee to clear his throat before he began. "Oho, and your certain that you can have everything prepared in time for the exam? Both the communication issues and the attire."

I nodded easily at Nezu's understandable concerns. "Oh I've managed to get someone perfect for the communication issue and as for the attire? Well, it'll need a few alterations before the big day, but I don't see why it shouldn't work out." I promised flicking a card out of my wrist into my hand with a flourish before using my Quirk to send it zooming backwards once more.

Another high-pitched chuckle briefly escaped Nezu before he suppressed it, tapping at his tablet.

There was a loud chime from most of the other teachers.

As well as a familiar voice, slightly muffled from it's position inside his coat pocket proclaiming "An Email is here!"

I felt my head turn slowly towards the newest addition to UA's staff who seemed to be trying his best to be hiding within his oversized blazer.

I mean I can understand people rocking their own merch.

I mean not personally, now merchandise and all that but I was friends with people who were.

Tensei is always wearing his Turbo-Hero branded runners whenever he's off duty.

To be fair they are pretty good shoes.

Keigo's favorite clothes for training are the most egregious knock off of himself they can find.

His personal favorite is a t-shirt declaring him to be "The Ding Zero: Fawks" in a font that at best guess is probably comic sans.

I'm still half convinced he had it custom made, despite all his claims to the contrary.

But an alert ringtone with his own voice?

Really?

That's just tacky.

After I and the rest of my colleagues were done silently judging the symbol of peace for his choices, they looked down at the new message that had been forwarded to them from Nezu.

Three guesses what it was and the first two don't count.

"Kanetsuki-kun," Toshinori started, almost hesitant as he skimmed the first page of the proposal. "Are you certain that this is a good idea? It seems a bit…" he trailed off, seemingly unable to put a precise word to how to encapsulate it with a word.

"Much?" Thirteen suggested, leading to a laugh from Present Mic and a half-scowl from Aizawa.

A few murmurs from around the table told me she wasn't alone in thinking that.

"Now, now," Nezu admonished, drawing the attention of the table back towards him. "The motto of this academy is that we should always strive higher, move further, to go beyond."

"Plus Ultra." Midnight purred, doing her best to get a rise out of me if the look on her face was any indication.

God she is far too much like her sister.

That reminds me, I'm going to need to check on Yomi and see how she'd doing on the itinerary on my trip to I-Island.

With this new development with my Quirk, I really need to see the Doc and get their opinion on this.

"We're agreed then." Nezu continued, closing discussion on the topic when no-one else put forward any other issues with the suggestion. "And barring any further suggestions?"

He waited a few moments to see if anyone else as willing to say something but found no responses waiting for him.

"Well with that we are all sorted." The principal said happily, clapping his little paws together in a way that I would have called cute if I wasn't aware of just how much of a vindictive little sociopath Nezu could be if you rubbed him the wrong way. My connection to the Hero association had not exactly endeared me to him at first given his own personal history with the organization. "Let's put them through their paces shall we?"

With that we all started collecting our things and making our way out of the room, getting ready for our first classes of the morning.

I just barely managed to avoid letting out a sigh of relief.

Oh, that right there was frightening.

Being an obstacle to one of Nezu's prearranged plans?

Had a tendency to go badly.

But I'd gotten away with it this time.

I'd made it to the door before a squeaky voice stopped me in my tracks.

"And Kaito?" The voice of the most intelligent being I'd ever met floated over my shoulder. "I'll be watching your suggestion with keen interest. I do hope they're up to the test."

Translation: If you mess up, after altering my plan expect me to hold a grudge.

Don't show weakness.

Show no signs of fear.

Simply nod and walk out of the room.

I turned to look at him.

And regretted it immediately.

The feeling I felt looking into Nezu's eyes was comparable to how I felt when the Nomu bore down on me at USJ.

Only with less chance of success.

I don't recall leaving the room.

But suddenly I was in the hall, striding towards my classroom in what could probably be called hurried steps.

"That went well." The voice commented in the back of my head. "I thought he would have turned it down outright."

Well he didn't.

And if my suggestion didn't work, it was going to be ass on the line for this.

Yay.

That was that then.

Time to make a few phone calls.

And see if my ID card still works.

Plus Ultra, indeed.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH OF A STUPID IDEA THAT WAS BOY!" Father's voice boomed behind me as I knelt there on the floor, doing everything I could to hide how much at how much my body was quaking, both from the heavy footsteps of my father pacing like an angry rhino behind me and the fear that gripped me and refused to let go.

"FIVE OF MY BEST MEN, DEAD! BECAUSE OF YOUR WEAKNESS!" He threw something to the ground and I winced as I saw the deck of cards that I'd brought along with me to the grave site, intending to show mother the new trick I had learned for her.

Father had never approved of them, even when Rama-Ji had stepped in and said it would be useful in developing my dexterity with the blade.

"IF IT WASN'T FOR KAI, I'D HAVE NEVER EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU WERE BOY!"

The boy standing behind Rama-ji didn't react to my father's words but I saw something in his gold eyes when his gaze briefly glanced towards me.

I didn't like his eyes.

"WELL!? ANYTHING TO SAY IN YOUR DEFENCE BOY? ANYTHING TO EXPLAIN THIS LATEST FAILURE!?" Father's voice boomed again, sounding more like the command of an angry god than anything a human could have said.

I was finding it hard to breathe let alone speak.

My mind scrambled, desperate for something, anything I could have said to explain why I had disobeyed my father's direct command.

And I couldn't think of anything.

But someone else did.

"It was my fault lord." Rama-Ji's voice spoke up, drawing a gasp from me as I listened to the words again.

No.

That's was a lie.

I'd begged and pleaded with you to take me there.

It was all my fault, not yours!

"You!?" Father's voice boomed out over my shoulder, his fury pivoting from me and towards his most loyal retainer.

"Yes lord. I felt it would be a useful outing to further hone him." Rama-Ji lied without blinking an eye, not even glancing in my direction as he threw himself before my father's wrath to protect me. "It was my idea entirely lord."

The room seemed to grow dark in the shadow of my father's ferocity, the angry breaths rushing in and out of him sounding more like the bellows of some colossal machine than anything else.

"I ordered you to stay away from there Muramasa. Not a suggestion, an order!" Father's voice hissed from behind me, his rage still a palpable thing rooting me to the floor as easily as any Quirk could have.

"I know lord. But I deemed it necessary regardless." Rama-Ji continued on, unrepentant in the slightest in the face of my father's fury.

There was a silence then.

A long empty silence.

The kind that is only filled with dread of what is to come.

Until, finally, it broke.

"Kneel."

A one worded order.

With a dire consequence.

"Where do you think you're going boy! Look at him."

"It's time for you to learn that actions have consequences." Father's voice stated before a large hand shoved me forward and I felt something shoved into my hands.

I looked down at the kneeling form of Rama-Ji.

And the blade that we had forged together held in my white-knuckle grip.

"Kill him." Father ordered, the direction clear. "Or I will stretch out his end over months, until he begs for the end."

I knew better than to think he wouldn't do it.

I'd seen some of father's handiwork in the past.

What had happened to those that had failed the family.

Had failed father.

My hands shook, and my eyes misted over with tears as I fought to look at Rama-Ji who only looked at me with a look of understanding.

"It's alright young master." My mentor and oldest friend comforted me, seemingly at ease even as I stood before him, the naked blade wobbling under the weight of my distress. "Just like we practiced. In, twist and the out. Nice and simple."

No.

"I-I…" I stammered, trying to say something, anything to him but I couldn't get the words out.

"I am going to count to three." Father's voice growled out behind me, the fury in his words still present but his words now quiet as a whisper.

Please.

Please don't make me do this.

"One!"

I held the sword up, still shaking as I did so, the fear of my father driving my slow actions even as another part of me tried desperately to fight against it.

"It's okay." Rama-Ji said calmly, his calm words a dire contrast to the venom dripping from my father's every syllable.

"Two!"

And suddenly he was in front of me, the blade buried deep into his chest, the tip piercing out of the other side of him.

He'd thrown himself onto the blade I'd held so I would have to do the act.

Right through the heart.

A fatal blow.

He pulled himself off of our creation with a muffled groan, his blood staining my clothes, covering my hands and painting the blade crimson.

His hands came up then, slowly, so terribly slowly, and cupped my face,

And then he just looked at me.

And smiled just like he always did.

"Be good, young master." Rama-Ji whispered to me blood leaking behind his lips as he smiled.

Then he keeled over the side, eyes misting over, arms falling limp, his face going slack before he hit the floor, lifeless.

I just remembered standing there, the blood of my oldest companion on my hands, when I heard it.

The first time I'd ever heard the blade speak.

"It wasn't your fault." Rama-Ji's voice whispered to me, as I stood their shell-shocked by what I had just done. "You couldn't have done anything to save him."

That was the final straw.

I collapsed to my knees and threw up on the floor, messily vomiting and retching as my body tried to purge whatever was causing me such distress.

The boy standing beside me recoiled away from me in distress, fleeing from my mess in apparent horror, before he remembered just who he was standing in front of and forced himself to remain still.

Father let out a sound of disgust behind me, clearly displeased by this latest show of my weakness. "Clean that mess up." He ordered, the tone of his voice making it very clear that he was talking to me.

As he stormed out of the room, my vision was clouded over, whether it was by tears or my brain shutting down from the trauma I couldn't tell you.

But even though I never saw him say the words, I'll always remember hearing them, even in the near catatonic state I was in.

"Why couldn't you have died instead of her?"

The next thing I can remember was my sister coming in to see me a few days later, having snuck some food in her clothes to feed me.

We didn't have the best relationship between us, but I think we still loved each other as siblings, in a way.

She'd cleaned me up as best she could, but hadn't been able to do anything about the large stain where Rama-Ji had…

Apparently, father had ordered that it never be cleaned, to serve as a permanent reminder to me about the consequences of my actions.

She advised me to keep my head down, to do as I was told and wait for it to all blow over.

I nodded to her advice and thanked her for the food.

Another voice told me a different option.

I did wait, for a time, until I judged that they'd dropped their guard enough.

I ran away from home the next week with nothing but the clothes on my back and a sword that spoke to me with the voice of a dead man.

Chapter 11

"You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself."

- Galileo Galilei

Chapter 11

I inhaled sharply before exhaling, eyes firmly closed.

"You're not get any younger you know?" The voice asked rhetorically, almost breaking my concentration.

Again.

But not this time.

My hands gripped the hilt of my blade and pulled it free from its sheath in a single movement as I charged forward blindly, swinging it in the same moment.

I felt a hand smack me on the back of the head and my eyes flickered open with a growl.

Which quickly transitioned into a groan when I beheld what was in front of me.

The strange looking stand in front of me was known as a yoko-narabi, a training tool used in Tameshigiri, also known as test cutting.

Back when swords were being forged in the Edo period you didn't exactly have many high-tech ways to check if the sword had been forged properly other than the singular method of having it spectacularly fail mid-combat and leave you with half of a blade and in all likelihood you dead on the floor.

So that led to the development of the practice of Tameshigiri as a way to test the quality of a katana.

Granted I didn't have much to worry about in that regard, the blade in my hand was undoubtably a rival to any blade of legend in my opinion.

These days the practice has changed, rather than a test of the blade the practice now serves as a test of skill.

While the practice can be done with materials like rice straw or goza otherwise known as the top layer of a tatami mat, the newfound voice in the back of my head is something of a traditionalist and demanded a different material.

A set of five lengths of bamboo was held in place by the stand, each sliced through by my strike.

Admittedly not my cleanest strike of the day by the look of it.

However, the remaining three identical sets of bamboo sitting in the other yoko-narabi that were surrounding me were still in one piece.

"Goddamn it!" I swore, kicking at the one stand I had damaged in frustration before leaving the spot I had been training in for the last few hours to collect fresh pieces of bamboo to replace the damaged ones.

Side note; I am beginning to run out lengths of bamboo.

Again.

Glad I could get them cheap.

I was going to need more of the damn things.

I still couldn't get the hang of it.

The sound of footsteps met my ears followed by a low whistle.

"You're telling me." Rama-Ji's voice called out from behind me, the tone wry. "That cut was shocking. I've seen children that could have done that better."

I spun at that, stalking back to the center of the room, stepping over the scattered remains of many bamboo poles that littered the gym's floor.

Going to need to clean that up later or Hawks is going to be a dick about it.

There holding up the latest casualty of today's training was the figure in white, horns glowing blue and looking just as about done with today as I was.

"I mean look at this thing." He said, gesturing towards the admittedly shoddy looking cut I'd made on it. "I'd understand if you'd been hacking at it with a blunt axe but you weren't."

The blade in my hand seemed to sing in agreement with the bastard's words.

"The edge is razor sharp, the balance is quite literally perfect for you, and yet…" They threw the dummy forward roughly, letting it settle at my feet. "You still managed to find a way to do a better job crushing the damn thing then you did cut it!"

I scowled at that, wanting to defend myself.

But I couldn't when the evidence of my failings was, quite literally, dead at my feet.

The figure looked at me for a few moments more before sighing and shaking their head. "Look kid," he began before I cut him off.

"We both know that funny voice or not, of the two of us, I'm the older one." I said dryly, pushing my sweaty hair out of my face with a grimace. "I was literally there when you were born, remember?"

I was going to need to get another haircut soon.

It'd be over my eyes at this rate.

Been a while since I've used Haste this much.

I did not want to have Nezu give me another lecture about "maintaining the proper appearance at etiquette of a teacher."

Do not say that to me with a straight face with Aizawa walks around the school in a goddamn sleeping bag!

Not that I'd ever say that to his face mind you.

I don't want to die.

Although I was thankful that the fridge had been fully stocked up before I'd started all this.

Key word there; had.

Note to self; restock fridge before Keigo gets back from wherever the hell he's vanished off to for the past few weeks.

My monologue was interrupted by a finger flicking me solidly in the nose, sending me flinching me backwards.

"Pay attention then, old man." Rama-ji's voice replied back, loaded with sarcasm. "You are still rushing it. You fumbled the grip, it was loose where it should have been strong, strong where it should have been loose, the sword was grinding against the sheathe and your hip rotation was non-existent. Still too focused on doing the draw fast instead of doing it well."

"I thought speed was the whole point of this training." I countered, kicking the fallen faux figure to the side as I went push the figure in white aside with my right hand, trying in vain to keep the frustration I was feeling at my failure from fueling my response.

Which given the fact if anyone else had walked into the room would have seen my trying to fight an invisible man.

I staggered as I fell through the suddenly incorporeal form of my critic and winced as I felt their hand crack across the back of my head. "Do it again, but do it slowly." The figure instructed, their words mirroring the familiar instruction of Rama-Ji. "Slow is smooth…"

"… and smooth is fast." I finished the quote with a sigh, for a moment feeling as if I was that young kid learning how to use a sword in the first place all over again.

Rama-Ji had been very firm about the role of fundamentals when it came to his teaching style.

He'd refuse to let me progress any further, despite my pleas or attempts at convincing him that I was 'good enough' at whatever he'd been trying to teach me that day.

That normally resulted in him raising a brow at my supposed mastery before he proceeded to utterly dismantle me using nothing but whatever he'd been trying to teach me that day.

The day he'd been teaching me proper footwork, he'd proceeded to dodge every haphazard attack I'd thrown at him until I'd collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

The day he'd taught me a basic thrust I had been left a bruised mess by the multitude of swift stabs that the chopstick he'd wielded had left on me, having weaved around my guard as if it wasn't even there.

The less said about the blocking lesson, the better.

I still fought the urge to shudder every time I saw an open-ended wrench.

"What you are trying right now is nothing new. It's something that's been around since the Muromachi era." The figure in white continued, directly ad-libbing one of Rama-Ji's lectures. "It derives from the old proverb 'tsune ni ite, kyū ni awasu', to be constantly prepared to face one's opponent immediately. Thus, you must be prepared to strike with your sword in any circumstance in an instant."

I waved them off, not in the mood for another detour away from learning this new technique with my quirk. "Do you have a point you plan to get to some time this millennium?" I asked sarcastically, my own temper fraying after yet another frustrating day.

They gestured to the bamboo training sword they were holding in their hand and in a moment so swift I almost didn't see it I felt the tip of the blade prod lightly against my chest.

"Two times zero is still zero, Kaito."

The words were said softly.

Almost a whisper.

But it still stung as if Hizashi had screamed the words into my ears.

Damned by my own words it seems.

Always do hate it when that happens.

Sadly, been happening a lot more recently with this asshole remembering literally everything I've ever said.

There was a tense silence for a few moments more, with my horned counterpart seemingly unwilling to say anymore and with me staring down at the blade in my hands.

They weren't wrong.

I know that if some bystander on the street were to see me wielding this weapon, they'd say that I was an expert.

But I knew better.

I'd been better.

Which means that I'm going to have to keep up this hyperbolic time chamber nonsense for a while.

I just want to go collapse in an onsen and lie in it for a week.

Why can't I do that instead?

The buzzing tone of my phone broke my introspection and I staggered over to it to turn off the alarm.

Time for my next shift for the Hero Public Safety Commission.

I swear to god if I have to fix Endeavour up again…

I went to go close my phone again when it beeped and vibrated once more, the blasted thing nearly leaping out of my hand as it moved unexpectedly.

I managed to catch it before it gave its best attempt at trying to shatter the screen protector and checked to see what it was this time.

It was a text message.

One sentence.

Mac says Fixed it and added the new updates, go pick it up before they spam me with messages again - Yomi

My car's fixed?

Sweet!

But hold the phone for a minute.

Updates?

What updates?

I asked him to make the trunk bigger, that is one update, singular!

Really hoping it's not like the wasabi incident.

Couldn't look at the stuff for weeks.

"You have other duties to attend to it seems. Take the time to recenter and reduce your tension." Rama-Ji's voice spoke up, sounding glad to have the new topic to talk about to take us further away from his last words. "You've done well progressing as you have. You've been able to catch all the balls reliably far faster than I would have thought possible." The voice acknowledged, seemingly praising my effort. "But you still need more work on your quickdraw. Work on it more when you get back."

I grunted monosyllabically, shrugging off my clothes as I walked over to where a fresh set lay, uncaring of my nudity with the figure in white.

I wasn't like they gave a damn what I looked like anyway.

I considered going for a quick shower but just as quickly threw it aside, I instead picked up the antiperspirant and sprayed it on liberally in a poor man's shower.

It'd have to do.

No way I'm going to be able to get to the garage in time

"And enough of the half assing it!" The figure in white continued, waving in disgust at the bamboo stands. "If you really want to get better at this, you need to start using at least seven poles per frame. It is far more unforgiving when it comes to lapses in technique."

I nodded, half in agreement half in an attempt to get them to stop talking which the upraised middle finger they gave me before they vanished form sight may not have been as subtle as I'd previously thought.

Probably going to regret that later.

Now then.

Time to see a man about a car.

But first…

I need to go pick up a bribe for the door guard.

I walked in the front door, the bell mounted above the frame tinkling lightly to signify my entry, sounding again as the door swung shut behind me.

The reception area I was standing in looked like it belonged in a place from the last century or two, not the front desk of the most advanced automotive workshop in the Northern Hemisphere, when I-Island wasn't occupying it I guess.

Even from here I could hear the rock music blasting out from behind the doors blocking entry to the garage itself.

Behind the front desk a girl with blue skin and bright red eyes glanced up at me briefly before returning her attention to the manga that he'd been reading before I'd entered, clearly unbothered by what most would have deemed to be a ludicrous amount of sound blasting away behind her. "Hey Kaito." She greeted; her tone nonchalant.

But the brief dart of his eyes to the package under my arm gave her away.

"Hey there Hikari." I replied, smiling at the kid's attempt to hide her reaction. "Your old man out back?"

Hikari shrugged her shoulders, making a show of looking anywhere in the room but at me. "Dunno." She mumbled, "He might have gone to go get food, or more parts." And at the end I found her eyes dragging back to my side once more.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I pulled the book from the paper bag ensuring the ridiculous cover was faced towards her, the distinctive art style making it blatantly obvious what I had bought her.

I slid the Araki manga over to the now giggling teenager, before stopping it a fraction before she got her hand on it. "You sure you don't know where he is?"

Hikari snatched the manga out from under my hand and pressed a button under the desk, causing the deceptively strong doors separating the reception and her father's workshop to open.

"Last I saw he was up fiddling with the brake booster bellcrank pivot on the armored truck, should be up on the four-post lift, third bay from the right." She said distractedly, already lost in the world of Stands and Poses that I'd inflicted upon her.

"My thanks as always Hikari!" I called out over my shoulder, the teenager shutting the door behind me with an absent press of the same button.

God she is getting bigger every time I see her.

I swear she was half a head shorter last time.

Better not bring that up.

Mac never was one for accepting his little girl was growing up.

I stepped past one car that was half assembled upon a scissor lift, what appeared to be a car engine albeit one with more valves than I'd ever seen before and seemed to pulse purple as I stepped closer to it, and…

Is that Best Jeanist's car?

Huh.

Didn't know Mac made that one.

Bit of a departure from his usual style.

The heavy beat of the drums in the music dominated the room, drowning out almost all other sounds.

Almost.

As I approached the bay that Hikari had directed me towards I could make out the sound of somebody who couldn't carry a tone with a bucket singing along to the song.

"To the father and the son, came the beast of Gévaudan…" a voice that sounded like rocks in a blender murmured along absently.

I stepped forward toward the engine currently suspended in the center of the garage, the sound of someone working away at it with a wrench filling the room, a pair of feet poking out above me moving to the beat of the song the only part of the mechanic I could see.

That was typical of Mac.

Knew I was coming and got distracted by another job anyway.

One of two things that could always be said about him was never one to let a spare moment go to waste.

Right then.

No time like the present.

"Hey Mac!" I called up to the upraised machinery, near roaring to ensure I was heard over his playlist, the sound of the wrench working suddenly ceasing at my words. "I'm here to pick up my car."

The feet stopped moving.

The music suddenly cut off mid-verse.

The silence that filled the room stretched out for a few moments longer.

I rolled my eyes.

"Here we go." I muttered, hiding a small smile to myself as I did so.

I took precisely one step to the left to avoid the toolbox which came crashing down directly where I had been previously standing.

With a flash of Haste I moved my hand up and caught the spanner that had been half a revolution away from braining me.

With practiced ease I froze my boots in place with a quick application of Stop as the mechanic leapt down from his high perch, the whole room literally shaking from the force of his landing, the toolbox leaping a meter into the air before it came crashing back down again.

Or at least it would have crashed down again if I hadn't snatched it out of the air.

"You!" Mac Macao roared at me, the lilt of his Irish tones as always at odds with his gravelly voice. "What the hell are you doing in me dammed workshop!?" he demanded, pointing a single blue finger up at me accusingly.

Despite the angry tone being directed towards me I couldn't help the smile on my face spreading even further.

Mac "Don't call me little Mac" Macao.

A mechanical prodigy, he was one of the youngest people to ever receive a PHD for Mechanical Engineering, graduating summa cum laude at the age of 17 from I-Island's prestigious A.E.S Academy after receiving a full scholarship.

His whole family is in the support items industry, their quirk allowing each of them to synthesize or imbue materials with properties unlike any other process when building items.

Mac has distinguished himself as one of the most prominent experts when it comes to high-speed transportation.

His overriding goal for the past few years, other than keeping his wife happy and ensuring darling Hikari is always proud of him, is to make a vehicle that's even more renowned then the Allmobile, All Might's personal vehicle back during his Young to Silver Age that was made by David Shield.

This is somewhat hampered by Mac's refusal to make a car that flies.

"I don't make planes!" He growled at me once when I asked him about it. "I make cars. You want a plane you can go talk to those yahoos in I-Island. But if you want a real vehicle, then you stick with me you lanky shit."

That and he said it adds to the challenge.

"Like I said Mac, I'm here to pick up my car, got a message saying it was ready?" I said questioningly, pulling out my phone and waving it about as I did so, the text message open and displayed.

Mac glared up at me with all 135 centimeters of his height. "Ready!? Like hell it is!" He disputed immediately his blue skin turning a shade darker as his temper rose. "I only just managed to get her into a decent shape and get all the parts working, I've still got a dozen more tests I want to run befor…"

"Dad, the thing's been ready for two days already, and it's taking up valuable space in the shop." Hikari's voice called out over the intercom, cutting the legs out from under Mac's tirade before he could get any more steam going.

"Pumpkin!" Mac's voice changed in an instant, switching from fury to adoration as he directed his attention to the security camera that his daughter was no doubt observing us from. "I just need to do a few more little things and then…"

"I can call mother and ask if we can keep it here for a few days longer than if you like?" Hikari offered, the polite tone at odds with the no doubt evil expression on her face.

Mac paled dramatically at that, and I had to hide a wince at the thought. "No," he yelped frantically before he got his voice back down under control. "No, there's no need for that pumpkin, you're right of course. Papa's memory's just going funny on him in his old age."

Mac had met his darling wife Chika during his time at A.E.S Academy, a Norwegian-Japanese beauty who'd been enrolled in the economics course.

From what I'd been told they'd been assigned to work together to complete a major project together, with Mac providing a product to be sold, and with Chika providing the budgeting and the marketing for the project.

Mac and her argued back and forth for weeks about the thing, both having very different views about how the project should go.

Mac was always stubborn about his opinion, a metaphorical Hadrain's wall holding off the barbarian that were other's opinions.

But that wall failed compared to the absolute wrecking ball that was Chika.

The combination of the immoveable man and the unstoppable woman culminated in Mac's graduating top of his class, Chika receiving her masters with honors, the utter destruction of what was apparently regarded as the best watering hole in I-Island.

And what to this day, something that no one who seems to have witnessed will speak of, no matter how I've tried to bribe them with, that ended with Mac being knocked through a load bearing wall and destroying several billion-yen worth of equipment, being essentially exiled from I-Island in the aftermath.

Oh yes, and then nine months later Hikari showed up.

I directed a wink to the security camera and flashed a thumbs up quickly before returning to my hands to my sides as Mac whirled around towards me again, giving me the stink eye.

And that's why it always paid to bribe Hikari.

Like I said there's two things that can always be said about Mac.

Firstly, that he never lets a spare moment go to waste.

And secondly, that his family has him wrapped firmly around their fingers and Hikari is willing to assist you provided you can pay the price.

I kept my poker face going for a few moments longer while Mac glared at me before I seemed to pass his inspection test and he turned away from me with a grunt and started walking away, waving me to follow after him with a lazy wave of his arm.

"Alright, so after you managed to mangle the last car I gave you, again" The diminutive mechanic growled as he leveled another quick glare at me over his shoulder before turning back to face forward again. "I decided that the last attempt clearly wasn't good enough, and the incremental improvements weren't cutting it. So, I went for a complete redesign and rebuild, ground up."

I chocked on my own spit at that.

Oh shit.

Wait hold on it might not be as bad as I think.

"And by ground up, you mean?" I asked, part of me not wanting to know the answer.

Mac came to a stop at a large touch screen terminal at to the side of a fancy looking car carousel and, after briefly wiping his grimy palms clean with a cloth that seemed to have placed beside it for that specific purpose, started tapping away at it.

The carousel activated, the starting to spin around and revealing a series of different cars that had my heart leaping into my throat as I looked at them.

Damn it, Chika!

I thought you were keeping a better eye on him then letting him go crazy on a rebuild again.

The first and only time I let Mac design a vehicle for me without clear instructions, I'd ended up with something that was far more an M-1 Abrams Tank than it was a car.

Was it cool?

Of course it was, it was a goddamn tank.

But that doesn't mean it was of any use to me!

I hadn't been thrilled.

Chika had been furious.

She'd been keeping a closer eye on the planning phase ever since to make sure that there were no more miscommunications.

How the hell had he gotten away with it?

"Don't worry, I followed the design from that documentary you put on a while back during your last get together with the family." Mac said conversationally, looking up at me as if what he had said had made any bloody sense to me. "Gave me plenty of ideas for some new improvements to incorporate into the car, and also solve that traffic jam problem you told me about."

I stared blankly at Mac, waiting for the lightbulb of realization to illuminate me and not remembering a damn thing.

'You've never bought a documentary round to Mac's.' The voice in the back of my head assured me.

Mac finally seemed to clue into the fact that I didn't have a clue what he was talking about and sighed rolling his eyes. "Kids these days, in one ear and out the other with you." He groused, shaking his head in disgust before prompting me. "You know, back before you started the teaching gig? the car racing one?"

I had no idea what he was going on about.

'Oh my god.'

But it seems that somebody did.

Go on then fill me in why don't yo…

The thought came to a stop alongside the carousel, revealing a car with a very distinctive frame.

It was almost identical really.

Looks like he threw in a bit more yellow to match my aesthetic.

And the addition of my emblem, my pointy wizard hat, was a very nice touch.

"Couldn't find a Bernoulli Convergenator around, so I just looked up the schematics and made one myself. Took over a year to get the damn thing to work properly, whoever wrote those things ought to have been slapped, I mean they were missing half the details!" Mac complained, throwing a hand up in the air to illustrate his contempt.

I felt my eyes water as I took in what was in front of me, and rubbed at them quickly doing my best to disguise it with a cough. "Damn inconsiderate of them, that is." I choked out.

Mac paused mid-complaint to stare up at me, a puzzled expression on his face. "Are you crying lad?" He asked me, utterly befuddled.

"Allergies." I assured the little genius in front of me, lying through my teeth. "That time of year again."

"Riiight." He said dubiously, side eyeing me for a few moments more before shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever. Now then, onto the details."

"Made it into a two-seater compared to the original single cockpit configuration, but they had plenty of useless space in the thing anyway so it was no issue." Mac began gesturing at the seats. "The cockpit seals when you've entered the car, pretty much an aircraft canopy, designed to minimize any aerodynamic drag and maximize visibility for you. I also integrated the HUD into the canopy itself."

Alright that sounds awesome.

And useful.

Doesn't matter how fast I can get somewhere if I've got no idea where I'm going after all.

"All four tires are capable or rotating independently, allowing you to perform drifts and turns that would be impossible with a conventional wheelbase and axel." He continued on demonstrating the range of motion available to the tires with a tug on one of the wheels. "With your Quirk I reckon you can make the most out of that."

---

I don't know.

But boy am I excited to find out.

"Combination combustion/jet engine fusion for rapid acceleration and adjustments." Mac progressed to the back of the car, revealing the massive spoiler and below it the fuselage something that would have been perfectly at home attached to the wing of a fighter jet.

I could hear an older, much more reasonable voice worrying about how much time I was going to spend having to relearn how to drive this car.

But that voice was swiftly drowned out by the much higher pitched voice of my inner child that was reveling in the fact that I owned the next best thing to the goddamn Batmobile.

"The fun bit is I finally managed to get the all-terrain mode working on the tires."

I felt myself shake off my shock at that, spinning to face Mac directly. "Seriously!? You've been banging your head on that brick wall for over a decade now, how'd you do it?"

"Well…" Mac hedged, waving a hand back and forth. "It'd be more accurate to say that I think I've managed to get it working."

I felt my enthusiasm deflate at that.

I'd been on the wrong end of one of Mac's ' I think it's working' prototypes before.

I managed to get out of it alive, thanks to no small amount of luck.

If without any eyebrows.

Keigo had laughed so hard when he saw me, he almost passed out.

I had since grown to develop what I deemed to be a healthy amount of skepticism about Mac's prototypes.

"Okay, so what does it take?" I asked, taking a step back from the vehicle as I did so.

"Best guess? It needs to be going fast for it to be able to overcome the effect gravity would otherwise have on it." Mac suggested.

"How fast?"

Mac paused, pulled out a notepad and started to do some rough calculations before he tore it off and handed it to me.

I felt my eyes boggle as I looked down at the ludicrous number staring back at me.

"I can't get the car going that fast even with Supreme Haste Mac." I said, scrunching up the paper and tossing it towards an overflowing trash bin overflowing with identical scraps of paper.

Mac just grinned and started writing out something else on his notepad before tearing it free. "That right there is the top speed of the new model." He informed me, before slamming the sheet of paper into my palm. " Before any of your Quirk nonsense is added to it."

I looked down at the paper.

And then let if fall from my suddenly nerveless fingers.

Mac, the bastard, just grinned up at me. "It's like they say, 'if you want real kick,' well…" He left the quote unfinished and walked around to the back of the car. He dug a hand into one of his overall pockets and pulled out a key fob with his garage logo embossed on the back.

He pressed one of the buttons and the previously seamless portion of the car between the cockpit and the jet's exhaust folded upwards from the rear to reveal a boot that had been seamlessly integrated into the car's construction.

"Finally, time to get the boring stuff out of the way. Listened to your issues about transporting fragile materials during Quirk enhanced speed and came up with this." He lightly thudded a fist into the padded panels that were on every surface of the compartment, including on the underside of the hatch. "It's the stuff they use in the padded rooms for trigger overdoses in the Emergency wards. Had it attached to the crash test frame and threw one of the dummies inside. Made it out without a break. Maybe some bruises but nothing fatal."

Well then.

That should be perfect for protecting anything fragile.

I do not want a repeat of the super black out attempt from that asshole Dark Age, when he fled to Japan from America after his failed attempt to take over New York City.

Had to run the damn replacement part over to the power station myself while All Might kicked his ass all over the park and handed him back to Star and Stripe, The United States' No.1 Pro Hero.

Had to completely repair my lucky boots afterwards as I'd all but annihilated the tread on them through the combination of crashing my car and then having to run the other half of the trip with my hands full.

"It can be reached from the cockpit as well if you pull the seat forward, and…" Mac looked visibly pained at this as he continued on to recite the guideline by heart. "As per the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Section 12, subsection H it contains the necessary release mechanism to be opened from the inside."

I winced as I looked down at the pained grimace pretending to be a smile on the mechanic's face as I watched Mac reach forward to take a calming sip of a steaming hot cup of something that was hopefully coffee and not motor oil.

Then again, who knows with Mac's digestive system.

"The Hero Public Safety Commission still not giving you that permit?" I inquired lightly only to immediately regret my question as the metal mug crunched violently under Mac's suddenly tightening grip.

What followed was a barrage of indecipherable Gaelic that I was almost certain were a series of insults directed towards the asshole who stole one of his cars, the idiot hero who'd left said car unlocked on the side of the road, the idiots from the Commission who rather than blaming the person who had left said car unlocked, another one of the Commission's supposed darlings who managed to get himself killed three months later, had instead directed the blame towards Mac for not possessing the relevant paperwork.

It was complete horseshit.

A good sign that it was from the Hero Public Safety Commission if there ever was one.

A loud trill rang out and I looked down at my phone to see the ten-minute alarm going off informing me of my next appointment.

Speaking of the devil…

"Sorry Mac, looks like I'm going to have to cut this one short." I apologized, sliding the phone back into my pocket. "Any chance I can take her out? I'm going to be late otherwise." I asked, flicking a thumb towards the car.

Mac scoffed at that. "You. Late. That'd be a first." He jeered, tossing the crumpled remains of what had once been his mug into the trash bin, crushing the paper under the mangled metal. "Well, no time like the present."

I didn't move so much as blur forward, sliding into position in the seat and placed my hands onto the wheel.

Or unholy abomination disguised as a wheel.

Why in God's name is there so many buttons on this thing?

And knobs, and dials and switches?

I thought this was supposed to be a car not a spaceship!

There was a loud thump and I turned to see what appeared to be half a tree after it had been brutally murdered and then turned into a book after it slammed into the seat next to me.

"The manual." Mac explained simply filling me with more than a little existential dread at having to break out a dictionary to try and understand the technical jargon that no doubt pervaded the blasted thing. "Gearstick is on your right by the wheel, and also serves as the ignition. It's fingerprint encoded, just like the last one."

I gave Mac a nod for the basic information required to drive this machine and after a brief examination was able to make out the gearstick from the other series of knobs and dials that now seemed to be covering my car.

Mac tapped on his screen once more and, the car span as the floor beneath acted as if it was a railway turntable and the wall next to the carousel retracted to reveal an exit leading directly onto an on-ramp to the highway.

I placed my hands on the gearshift and felt goosebumps rise all across my neck as I felt the turbine spin up, the vibration far subtler than I imagined it would have been but still clearly noticeable.

---

Hell.

Yes.

Well then.

Let's see what you've made for me Mac.

I put my foot down on the accelerator.

And the world blurred.

I made it to my next appointment alright.

With time to spare even.

I might have even been able to have a quick shower.

But I didn't do that.

I was going to be spending every spare minute I had whenever I was taking a break from trying to perfect that blasted technique reading the manual occupying my passenger seat from top to bottom.

Because there is no way in hell that I am going to half-ass driving that.

"Alright class, time for a new exercise!" I said brightly to my latest set of victims who looked up at alarm at my words, some of them clearly remembering the chaos of the last one.

Aha, Gerki.

Never ceases to amaze.

Or infuriate.

I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the words that popped up in Fukidashi's speech bubble when I started the sixth round of gambling.

I hadn't even needed to cheat that time!

"As heroes you will often come into crisis situations that are currently ongoing, and whether you are the first hero on the scene or backup to an unfolding situation, your first task upon reaching the scene should be to either give or gain a clear understanding of the situation." I explained my reasoning and I could see most of the class nodding along with my lecture.

Good.

Lessons like these were pointless if they didn't understand the reason why we were doing them.

"But it is a rare occasion indeed where the situation is going to patiently wait for a detailed explanation to happen." I said with a half-smile, making the joke as clear possible, with some of the students laughing at the easy joke. "So, you need to be able to convey the situation clearly and concisely. This exercise is going to demonstrate just how difficult that can be."

"In in this exercise we will have two teams, so if your seat number is even you are blue team and if your seat number is odd you are on red team." I began, evenly splitting the class of twenty into two teams of ten.

"This is a task that relies upon your skill at communication, both in conveying a thought and far more importantly understanding that thought."

I snapped my fingers and the whiteboard lit up, suddenly illuminated with twenty-five rectangles each having a different thing written on it.

"Of these twenty-five cards, eight will be red and eight will be blue." I began, pacing slowly back and forth before the front four desks as I flicked my eyes from student to student as they started murmuring amongst themselves. "The only member of your team who will know which ones are which will be your team leader."

"Your team leader can give you a one-word hint as to their cards as well as a number concerning how many cards that clue relates to without saying any of the words on the card itself.

"For example, if the card you wanted your team to select was Mona Lisa, you could say artwork one, or Da Vinci but you couldn't say Mona or Lisa." I continued, gesturing at one of the cards displayed on the screen. "You should carefully examine all the options before you give a clue, because you don't want to give a clue that will lead your team stray."

I could hear murmuring among the students even as a few of the more enterprising individuals of the classroom were writing down the rules as I stated them, so as to ensure that there were no mistakes on their part later on.

Smart kids.

"As I said there are eight cards for each team, which leaves nine cards left." I snapped my fingers again and sixteen cards lit up in red and blue leaving nine cards untouched. "Eight of the of remaining cards are unassigned. If your team chooses one of them you don't gain any points and your turn ends. However, that is a better alternative compared to your team choosing one of your opponent's cards."

Honenuki raised his hand and I turned towards him, gesturing for him to ask his question.

The recommendation student nodded in thanks briefly before he started, "Sensei, How many clues is the leader allowed to give before it is the opposing teams turn?" He asked, his eyes watching me closely for any tells.

If my few weeks with class 1-B have taught me anything about these kids, it certainly that Honenuki had earned his recommendation spot, no questions asked. He possessed a level of awareness and caution leagues above that of most of his other classmates.

"Ah well that's where things get interesting. If your team manages to select only their own targets, then, provided they choose at least one card a turn, one team could theoretically finish the game without every letting the other team have an attempt." I answered, causing some of the students to begin talking excitedly between themselves before I raised a hand to draw attention back to myself. "However, if your team chooses one of the eight blank cards or worse one of your opponents assigned cards, then your turn immediately ends, and your opponent begins their turn."

Honenuki nodded again after receiving his answer and I could see that it looked like the students had all grasped the basics at least of how this exercise was going to play out.

"But what would a Hero course exercise be without the introduction of tension and consequences!" I exclaimed with a smile, clapping my hands together at the dead eyes of many of my students looking back at me. "I need to throw some stakes in this or it just looks like we're all playing games!"

Looks like some of them are remembering the aftereffects of losing their "double or nothing" bet with their punishments.

It was a system I installed fairly early on into my teaching career when I started at UA, back when I hadn't received much if any respect from the students I was teaching.

If they didn't like the penalty they had received from being on the losing side, team or person depending on the exercise I was running, I said they could challenge me to a simple game which I usually changed every few weeks and not have to do any of the penalty if they succeeded…

Things like rock, paper, scisssors.

Or drawing a high card from a deck.

Or a cup game.

At the risk of having to do twice as much if they lost.

My entire time here at UA, I have only been beaten precisely once.

And that was after he'd spent three months as a sidekick to Nighteye so I'm still half convinced he used his mentor's quirk to cheat me somehow.

I mean I couldn't really talk in that regard.

I'd been cheating the whole time.

Not my fault no one ever managed to catch me in the act.

Whenever it looked like they were starting to wise up, I moved onto a different scam.

And by scam, I of course mean totally even and fair challenge that literally anyone could win.

Trust me.

I'm a Pro Hero.

The class usually wised up and stopped challenging me within a few weeks when the weight of those defeats started crushing them.

But there were always the few stubborn holdouts every year.

In this class I had four.

Eijiro Kirishima's totally not a copy, the unimaginatively named Tetsutesu Tetsutesu.

The ever-fidgeting fighter Kaibara Sen.

The endlessly scheming Tokage Setsuna

And finally…

"Yes, such a challenge is one that we, as class B will be more than up for the challenge for, unlike those arrogant rookies in class A!" A blond with a look on his face that always seemed to be varying degrees of smug started, clearly having been riled up by Kan before I entered the room again. "In fact, I'd say that we'll be able to finish this exercise without a single mistake on our classes part, unlike the foolish class A, even though they're supposed to be way better than clas…"

As the rest of class B sighed and I could see the class representative torn between the urge to bury her head in her slowly growing hands or bury an oversized fist into her classmate's face, I gave an internal complaint of my own at the fact that there was actually a student who got wrapped up in Kan's blasted A vs. B rivalry nonsense.

Our fourth musketeer, the endlessly verbose Monoma Neito.

I was half convinced he had some kind of motor-mouth quirk when I'd first seen the kid instead of a copy quirk.

But I need to cut him off before he gets into too much of a manic panic again.

Easy fix.

"Thank you Monoma for volunteer to be our first team leader, your teammates thank you for your contribution." I said faux earnestly, causing the tirade coming out of the student's mouth to cease as he swallowed audibly.

I hid a grin.

Oho, somebody remembered that the leader takes double punishment.

"And as for the other team's leader…" I trailed off, letting my outreaching finger lazily trail back and forth in the air some students flinching away as it came in their direction.

Eenie.

Meeny.

Miny.

Perfect.

"Pony!" I decided on causing girl to let her head hit the desk with a loud thump, avoiding her horns from impaling Komori Kinoko in front of her due only to her classmate's small stature, leading to a frantic apology on her part, with some of her team members letting out a sigh of relief for not being selected… before they realized just who had been chosen instead.

The American transfer student, whose first language is not Japanese.

Uh-oh.

That could be an issue.

Hope that doesn't lead to any problems for their team,

And as close as a representation as I could get for having to respond to a crisis to people who aren't as familiar with your language as you are.

Tourists are a thing kids.

And they don't all speak fluent Japanese.

And don't even get me started on the International events, when you might be crossing into another country in pursuit of a criminal.

There is a very good reason English is a mandatory subject.

"Now I believe I was about to mention the stakes…" I mused, bringing a hand up to rub my chin as I thought on it. "Oh yes. For each error made by your team, you will run a lap of the campus. Whether that is choosing the wrong card, saying more than one word in your clue, saying a word that is on the board already, it doesn't matter. A lap."

I watched as most of the class recoiled in horror at my demand of them.

UA's campus was by no means a small thing.

"We'll switch our team leaders after each round, so everyone on the team gets to experience what it's like." I continued with a grin, wiping away the previously thankful expressions on the students who hadn't been picked. "If our first two leaders could make their way to the front, we'll get this show on the road!"

As the two students walked forward, Pony happily bouncing forward with a skip in her step while Monoma seemed to be undecided if he was doing a prideful slouch or a man walking up to the hangman's noose and seemed to be doing some odd amalgamation of the two.

"Oh yes, and one final note." I added, almost as an afterthought as I clicked my finger once more leading to the cards that were displayed on the board to all turn into an identical clear while the phrases written on them switched to new forms, causing some in the class to groan at the new challenge.

Before they'd all been random household objects.

Now they were a combination of high priority villainous targets, like 'hospital', 'bank', and 'school bus', famous super moves, as well as a number of different heroes and villains assigned via a random shuffle from the names I had fed it earlier.

I tried to feed in Quirk names as well but for some reason it kept trying to make up its own with weird amalgamations that didn't make any sense.

That and even I'm not cruel enough to see them try and describe a "Fierce-Flame-Rabbit" with one word.

Oh, hold the phone.

Almost forgot.

"Those of you who were paying attention may have noticed that there is still one card left that I haven't mentioned. This card is the mission failed card. If you're team selects this card then not only does your team instantly lose but I'll have the whole class do two laps of the whole campus as punishment as well on top of the regular one lap penalty for losing."

I reveled in the looks of sheer panic most of my class shot at me before I turned to the two team leaders standing at the front of the room and showed them the sheet depicting which of the cards were which during this round, but only after taking care to ensure that both of Tokage's eyes remained in her head this time.

Almost fooled me last time.

Not this time.

After a brief coin flip it was determined that Pony's team would be going first and after another brief consult with the game map she nodded decisively.

"Dallas Two!"

Makes perfect sense to me.

By the look of despair on the faces looking back at Pony, I don't think they might have got the memo.

This should prove entertaining to say the least.

Iida stood at attention, ensuring he didn't miss a thing that the Principal said in light of this unexpected change to the nature of the practical exam.

They weren't going to be facing the robots anymore?

A test focusing not only on hero work, but also teamwork and combat between actual people.

Then was the information given out earlier nothing more than a cunning ruse to lull them into a false sense of security?

Of course!

How on earth could he have let his guard down!?

"You students will be working together in pairs and your opponents will be one of our esteemed UA teachers." Nezu paused for a moment before letting out a small laugh that caused the entirety of class 1-A to recoil slightly at the sound of it. "Well, almost all of your opponents at any rate."

"Additionally, your partners and opponents have already been determined. They were selected at my discretion based on various factors including fighting style, grades and inter-personal relationships."

As Iida watched the first few fights inside the Monitor Room he thought on just who it was that he and his partner for this exam Mashirao were going to fight.

The first match with Kirishima and Sato failing to defeat their assigned opponent Cementoss illustrated not only to Iida but the rest of his classmates that despite the handicap that the teachers had imposed upon themselves they were by no means going to just give the students a pass.

The second with Asui and Tokoyami against Ectoplasm was still ongoing but from the look of things they seemed to be taking a far more intelligent approach to this exam compared to the brute force approach that had failed to work in the first exam.

And after that, not long from now, was going to be the third exam of the practical, his own.

And yet when he glanced up at the screen displaying all the other opponents his classmates and fellow heroes in training were scheduled to fight against when it came to his assigned foe to be conquered it instead only assigned a series of question marks instead of a hero name.

Unless that was in and of itself a hero name.

Iida made a quick note to ask Midoriya if there was a hero who went by that nom de guerre as soon as the current match was concluded.

But enough worrying about what he couldn't control.

What did he know about the coming trial?

To complete the exam, their team could achieve victory through achieving one of two conditions.

Option one; place the set of handcuffs that will be provided to them at the start of their match upon their designated for or option two, if any member of the team manages to escape the combat stage through the designated gate.

Aizawa had some rather pointed words directed towards Iida as well as Midoriya and Todoroki concerning knowing when it was wise to run away and find help instead of fighting, not so subtly alluding to the events that had taken place in Hosu.

Events Iida still felt no small amount of shame over, given that he had nearly gotten two of his fellow comrades, friends even killed over his foolish vendetta.

"I won't make that mistake again." Iida swore to himself once again. "I will pass this test and prove that I'm be a hero."

Iida received a tap on his shoulder, having shamefully lost sight of his surroundings for a moment during his monologue and turned to see Kanetsuki-sensei standing behind him, dressed in the unmistakable attire of the Magical Healing hero, Shiro Madoushi.

The teacher for logic and critical thinking turned without a word and gestured for Iida to follow him, his other teammate having already been collected and was waiting by his side.

As he strode after the teacher quickly falling into step alongside his partner for this exercise, Iida marveled at just how much Shiro Madoushi's hero uniform disguised and obscured their form. The only parts of him that could be made out was the lower half of his face, with the rest of him covered in the bright white fabric.

It was no wonder he couldn't recognize Kanetsuki-sensei when he'd seen him the first time.

His outfit did a marvelous job of separating his civilian and heroic personas, much like the traditional armor that he and the rest of his family wore achieved.

Mashirao turned towards Iida and spoke quietly under his breath. "Any plans for the test yet Class Rep?" The tail wielding boy asked, tightening the belt on his Gi firmly for what seemed to be the third time as the continued to follow the teacher towards their arena.

Iida felt his lips draw together beneath his mask as he thought on the matter, but felt compelled to answer honestly despite his dissatisfaction with his answer. "As of yet, no I'm afraid I don't." He admitted, shaking his head lightly. "At the moment we still lack too much information for me to make an effective strategy. We don't know what terrain we are to fight in, nor do we know just who we will be fighting anyway."

Thankfully they had at least made use of the time before their assigned match to come up with some ideas on how they might coordinate their Quirks together to provide additional strategies and options during the match, although some of that was dependent upon what terrain they were to fight in.

What if they were to fight in a purely aquatic stage?

Or worse, a stage with some kind of oil slick or ice that would reduce his ability to control his Quirk?

"Worry not dear students," A voice interjected and suddenly, popping up from the back of Kanetsuki-sensei's hood was none other than the principal himself, one paw raised high in the air as he spoke. "I am more than happy to answer your burning questions!"

Nezu climbed further out of the deceptively deep coat and stood upon Shiro Madoushi's shoulder as he addressed the students.

"Firstly, your exam will be taking place here at Ground Gamma, which I'm sure you are both aware of at this point."

Class 1-A had made use of this training ground previously during their Foundational Hero Studies with All Might to have a rescue training race throughout the densely packed labyrinth.

Neither Ojiro or Tenya had won that race.

"And as far as your opponent…" The principal began his voice trailing off for a moment before a positively diabolical grin lit up across his face. "Well, he's at the other side of this jungle of metal at the moment, but if you look at the monitor on your left I'm certain you can recognize him."

That was when the sound met Tenya's ears, echoing through the maze of metal pipes and towers.

A distant rolling thunder that started low but as it continued the pitch got higher and higher, what was once a rumble now an almost deafening scream of machinery.

A deeply familiar sound.

The rattle and roar of what sounded like a jet engine.

Tenya spun to face the screen and staggered as he gazed upon the figure gazing back at him, standing before the exit which served as one of the two possible means of passing this exam.

An exam that had just become a whole lot more difficult.

Heavily armored arms and chest.

Lightly protected lower legs, primarily through boots that both helped improved his running stride and helped protect them from attacks.

Unmistakable helmet.

And two engine exhausts sticking out the back of his elbows, ready to release propelling jets behind him at any moment if the sprinters pose he was taking up was any indication.

The Turbo Hero; Ingenium throttled his engines one more time, sending the sound echoing towards Tenya from somewhere within the complex.

"Hope you and your buddy have got your boots on tight little brother." The voice of Iida Tensei called out from the monitor, the supposedly crippled hero raising a finger to point at the camera, directly at Tenya and Ojirou, unwavering despite the ultra-compressed weights that were clinging to each of their limbs. "Because the moment this match starts…"

The sound that met Tenya's ears was almost too loud to be believed, some of the pipes visibly vibrating as the sheer force generated by his brother's quirk was made readily apparent.

"I'm coming in there to get you, as fast as I can." Ingenium promised, his pointing finger clenching into a fist as he finished his declaration.

AN:

Well Well.

Look who finally decided to show up for work.

Apologies over the wait everyone, this chapter fought me tooth and nail.

I hate how my brain works sometimes.

It's like I'm a kid building lego sets and I'll have a great idea and stop what I'm doing to work on that while it's still fresh and ready! And then I'll put it down and realise I've essentially wasted a week or even a month writing a scene that is at least a half dozen chapters away.

And has yet to provide any further detail on just how I'm supposed to bridge the gap between the two points.

But we got to meet one of the unsung heroes of The Prestige today, the ever suffering mechanic Mac, trying to make a vehicle that can manage to survive being in Kaito's hands for more than a month without suffering some kind of catastrophic failure.

A modern Sisyphus if there ever was one.

I always imagined him as a amalgamation of Edd China from Wheeler Dealers and Brok from God of War.

And we finally get to see class 1-B during one of their own logic and critical thinking lessons.

But hey, next chapter we get to see the two scions of the Iida family in a race to victory.

With special musical guest Tail Man.

And where oh where has Hawks vanished off to these past few weeks?

Eh.

Probably not important.

Next time the Exams conclude!

And then I-Island!

See you then!

Last edited: Oct 10, 2021

Chapter 12

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

-Benjamin Franklin

Chapter 12

Tenya stood there, still stunned by the revelation of his opponent as he stared up at the screen with incomprehension.

His brother.

His supposedly bedbound brother.

Whom Tenya had never beaten in a spar.

Ever.

"Now in case you weren't listening earlier, here are your two options for win conditions heroes!" Ingenium's voice boomed out from the speakers, the two heroes in training still very much thrown by the inclusion of a non-teacher.

"Option one: Use the handcuffs that were given to you and 'arrest' me, by placing them on my wrists. Not very likely in my opinion." He began, miming holding his hands up as if they already bore the cuffs.

The garishly yellow cuffs with auto-adjusting grips were in Mashirao's hands, the weight of them now beginning to increase dramatically as he took in the sheer scope of the challenge before them.

Ingenium.

The Turbo Hero.

A seasoned pro with a near flawless career.

Who specialized in high-speed hand to hand combat.

This was going to be tough.

"Or option two, one of you manage to escape through the gate that's standing behind me and thus achieve victory." The two students could almost hear the laughter in the man's voice as he made the second suggestion, gesturing at the garish gate not so subtly labelled "Escape Gate" in English with a caricature of the Principal on top, a speech bubble saying "Do your best!" upon it.

"Even less likely than the first option." Iida's brother confided in a mock whisper.

"You have 30 minutes to accomplish either objective. But honestly? I'm not going to wait that long. And neither should either of you." Ingenium ended ominously.

Both students felt themselves break into a cold sweat at that.

"I was struggling to think of something to motivate you to act quickly, oh brother dear." Iida Tensei's voce echoed around the two students, both of them looking around to try and locate the source of the sound. "And I drew a blank for a moment. Until I remembered a certain something I saved for a special occasion."

Tenya grew tense at that.

What was it?

The Christmas photo from when he was ten?

The photo collection that mother had put together?

The Grapefruit juice incident?

The sound of a page being turned filled the air and Tensei coughed as if to clear his throat.

And then said a phrase that turned the blood in Tenya's veins to ice.

"The adventures of Super Speed Man: Volume 6." His brother read loudly, the mirth blatant in his voice. "A novel by Iida Tenya age 12."

No.

No no no.

That cannot be possible.

He'd destroyed all those accursed texts when he realized just how embarrassing those things were.

Even he had some level of pride and self-esteem that he wanted to maintain.

And those vile containers of heresy were counter-intuitive to that goal.

But how could they have possibly survived their necessary destruction?

"I found them in your trash can a few years back and 'rescued' them." His brother explained, chuckling as he did so,

Iida quickly swore deep and unfaltering vengeance upon his brother for this clear betrayal of the contract of brotherhood between them.

Maybe he'd only make his coffee with one sugar instead of two next time.

How positively diabolical!

"As for you Mashirao I sadly didn't have anything embarrassing on hand."

Mashirao let out a sigh of relief at that.

"Your parents on the other hand did, and were more than happy to lend me this," And raised before the screen, a sight that struck true fear into the martial artists heart as it waved through the air.

It was closed.

For now.

Mashirao despaired internally at the sight of the dreaded photo album.

And inwardly cursed his mother love for seeing him in costumes.

So many costumes.

No one was to be allowed to witness the horror within.

No one.

Especially not Mina.

That girl was a fiend when it came to embarrassing photos if the shamefaced admissions of Kirishima were any indicator.

"And your time starts now!" The hero declared, the sound of a siren screaming loudly signaling the start if the exam.

Mashiarao turned towards his partner, taking a moment to shake him out of the stunned state that he still seemed to be in. "Tenya, you know our opponent better that anyone, what's his strategy?"

Tenya nodded in thanks to his classmate, the brief shake doing wonders to restore his focus. "This environment is one that my brother is very familiar with, in addition to the fact that he has far more experience with highspeed combat then I do." Tenya reasoned aloud, voice slightly distorted by his mask. "In order to best ensure the villain is captured as swiftly as possible it would be best to find a hero with a Quirk that would be advantageous against my brother and force him into an encounter outside of his specialty is the best choice we have."

Mashirao found himself nodding along with that. "In other words, we should run, right?" He asked, turning towards where the gate was hidden, past the web of metal and concrete which was Training Ground Gamma. "I'm pretty sure I recognize where the exit is from the last time we were here for the race. But it's not exactly a straight path. How do you think we should get there?"

Now that was a good question.

His armour was something which helped both streamline and protect Tenya during his quirk boosted speed but at the same time it was not something which allowed him to climb the sides of buildings, it's weight and restricted movements both proving to be more than detrimental.

Which meant that he'd be limited to the ground floor.

But if he made use of his speed to approach the gate as fast as possible then he'd be both abandoning his fellow hero in training and allowing his brother the opportunity to take the down one at a time, something that the seasoned pro would punish without flinching.

Think Tenya, think!

How could he overcome this dilemma?

What had he seen the other teams done that had led to them to be victorious over their opponents?

Well at the most basic level they'd worked together.

Tenya's eyes widened as an idea struck him.

They'd worked together!

"Ojiro-Kun!" The youngest scion of the Iida family spoke up, drawing his partner's attention away from the task before them and focusing on him. "Believe me I know the task before us may seem daunting. But as long as we work together…"

The newly self-styled Tail Man nodded, clenching a fist as he did so. "All right!" He cried out, pumping himself up. "What's the plan class president?" He asked, feeling confident in the plan.

Tenya's helmeted face stared firmly back at him. "Fusion!" He declared with full confidence.

The blond furrowed his brow. "Fusion?" He parroted back, hoping for a bit more clarification than that.

Tail Man was now having serious reservations about this plan.

They'd made their way closer towards the goal quietly at first, not wanting to risk the sound of Tenya's engines giving away their positions, making use of the large screens scattered throughout the training ground to ensure that Ingenium was still in the same position that he'd been at the start of the match.

Which was a bit odd now that Mashirao thought about it.

He'd seemed fairly clear that he'd be coming after them as soon as the match started.

Yet, the Turbo Hero remained there at the entrance, unmoving.

When he'd asked Tenya about it he'd frowned for a moment before stating it might have something to do with the fact that his brother was only recently recovered from the hospital and maybe reserving his strength due to his likely reduced stamina.

Which now that they had reached a distance that they had both deemed close enough led to this part of the plan.

He understood that the others had done well in their tests by working together but…

This wasn't quite what he'd had in mind when his partner for the test had suggested doing the same.

"This is… really embarrassing." Mashirao muttered quietly, doing his best to suppress his mortification as he did his best impersonation of a backpack.

But at the same time, he agreed with his classmate.

This was a challenge that would require both of them working together to surpass if the other tests were any indicators.

Iida knew that either option they had for victory was vanishingly unlikely if they remained where they were right now.

If they wanted any hope of putting the pressure onto his brother than they had to try and get as close to the entrance as possible.

"Here we go, Ojiro-Kun!" Tenya cried out, the engines on his legs roaring to life. "Reciprico Bu…" He began, ready to begin his approach.

"Going somewhere?" A familiar voice interrupted, the whine of jet engines roaring to life from an alley at their side.

A fist crashed into his Tenya's side sending him skidding into a wall and nearly off his feet entirely if not for the fact that his armor had protected him slightly and Mashirao acted as an impromptu counterweight throwing himself to the side to prevent Tenya from falling over.

But only slightly.

The attack had struck with precision, striking at a more flexible piece of his armor that did far less to protect him than the more front facing pieces.

The armored student's vision swam from the impact of their helmeted head striking the unforgiving steel of a pipe and his lungs struggled to inflate, somehow remaining on his feet with his classmates help.

But who…

As they recovered themselves Tenya gave a gasp of shock as he saw the armored form of his brother standing before him.

But how could that be?

He briefly turned his attention to one of the screens still in his line of sight and sure enough, his brother was still standing by the exit.

How could that be?

Some kind of illusion quirk?

A cloning quirk?

Tenya wasn't aware of anyone at the Idaten agency who had a quirk like that.

"Is now really the time to not be paying attention brother?" His brother's voice asked dryly, the sound of the engines in his arms screaming serving to reinforce the rhetorical question

There was a blur of moment and the sound of metal smacking into flesh.

Tenya heard Ojiro give out a grunt of pain as he warded off a flurry of blows from the Turbo hero that would have otherwise struck his distracted form.

The sound of his brother's engine roaring filled his ears and Tenya watched his teammate throw himself to the side as his brother's powerful haymaker slammed into the wall just behind where the martial artist had been, the gauntlet ripping into the steel as if it was nothing more than wet cardboard.

Tenya swallowed.

He'd sparred with his brother when he was younger, back before he'd started his own agency and just hadn't had the time any more.

But he'd never seen his brother actually try to fight like this, rather than the light-hearted sparring he'd experienced before.

The Turbo hero casually withdrew his arm from the hole he'd left in the wall. "My first little lesson for you younglings!" Ingenium called out brightly. "Unless you can see it with your own eyes in front of you, never assume that your opponent is elsewhere."

Tailman took up a position by his classmate, arms raised in a defensive stance. "You okay?" He asked out of the side of his mouth, not willing to risk turning his attention away from the threat before them.

Tenya shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs that had descended from his brother's attack and forced himself to bring his breathing to a more measured pace. "I'm fine. His likes to lead with the left, but his right hits much harder."

Ingenium paused at that before seeming to bow his head and sigh. "Brother, I love you I really do, but you really need to learn how to speak quietly if you don't want your opponents to immediately catch onto your plans."

Tenya felt his cheeks flush slightly at his brother's admonishment but readied himself regardless, the engines on his legs rumbling to life as he prepared himself for the next round of combat.

But it didn't come.

Instead, the hero seemed satisfied to keep their distance and began to slowly walk around the two students, forcing them to turn to keep him in their line of sight.

"Now a question for the two of you." Ingenium declared, circling the two students casually, the engines on his arms giving off loud rumbles with every step. "Why do you think that I was selected to be the challenge for the two of you to surmount today?"

The two students started at the sudden question, not expecting conversation after the sudden outburst of violence that had just occurred.

Tailman seized upon the opportunity of their opponent's lowered guard and launched himself forward with his tail, twirling in mid-air to slam his muscular tail down on his foe.

But when the tail came down, Ingenium was no longer there.

But the counter that slammed into Mashirao's hastily raised guard and sent him staggering backwards gave a fair indication of just where he was.

"I'm here for more than my brother you know." The hero admonished wagging a finger as he moved in a blur of motion that sent Ojirou spinning to the side as his attempt to attack during the monologue was swiftly countered. "Although admittedly he should know why I'm here. I did more than show him the ropes of how to be speedy you know."

Ojirou shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness and turned towards Tenya for an answer to this latest proclamation but Tenya wasn't about to make the same mistake twice when it came to paying attention to the enemy during a battle.

Besides, while he realized now why his brother had been selected, it didn't change the fact that he was the obstacle that they had to overcome.

"The reason I'm here, is that two of my specialties line up with the ones held by you two. Speed and Martial Art ability. With one major difference." The two students could almost hear the grin in the hero's voice as he continued. "Years of experience in the field."

Without warning Ingenium surged forward, the fist striking into Iida's guard with more in common with a lance then a charging knight then mere metal wrapped flesh.

Mashirao charge in after Ingenium, not willing to let the Turbo hero continue to pummel on his comrade, his own fist aiming to strike a blow against his opponent.

But in a blur or movement that seemed impossible to watch he found himself face to mask with the turbo hero shortly before the counter blow that accompanied him slammed solidly into the martial arts user, sending him staggering backwards as he felt not only the force of the blow but his own momentum reinforcing it, further increasing the damage.

Tenya lashed out with a kick of his own, his long leg scything out to knock his brother off his feet.

But with a familiar roar of his own engines his brother danced out of the way, the speed of his quirk allowing him to dodge the powerful blow.

"You may be faster than me in a straight-line little brother, but among the side streets and alleys of this arena you don't have enough distance to make use of your full speed." Tensei noted, taking a fighting stance as he did so. "But I excel in highspeed close quarters combat."

Tenya grit his teeth lightly at that, already cursing himself in his mind for not taking into account the clear advantage that their surroundings gave his brother.

The class president surged forward with a burst of his Quirk, aiming to land a telling blow on his brother.

His brother unfortunately was not one to let things like that happen.

Ingenium met Tenya mid-way, having sent himself forward to meet him with a burst of his own Quirk enhanced speed and before Tenya could react, found himself tripping over his brother and slamming into one of the many metal pipes littering the air.

He lay there, stunned for a moment from the sudden collision to see his brother rearing back his fist for a mighty blow that would have probably blown a hole through the pipe he was laid against and certainly render him out of contention for the rest of this test.

But he wasn't in this fight alone.

There was a meaty smack and a grunt as Ojirou managed to throw himself in the path of Tenya's attacker, sliding backwards slightly from the force of the blow even as he made use of his tail to anchor himself in place.

"And as for you Mashirao, you are indeed an accomplished martial artist, and your instincts do your training credit." The Pro Hero praised Tail Man earnestly, his armoured arms unbudging despite any efforts made by the student to force his way through his guard. "But I don't think I'm tooting my own horn when I say that I'm a fairly accomplished fighter myself. And of the two of us, I've got a lot more experience when it comes to full on Quirk-on-Quirk combat, with all the chaos that implies."

The martial arts based hero went to leap back as the hero advanced only to find himself whiplashed to a stop as he felt a sharp stab of both pain and horror as he noted the foot holding his tail firmly to the ground, not budging in the slightest even as he pulled with all his might.

Leaving him nowhere to go before the oncoming Ingenium and with no choice but to raise his guard and pray he could last long enough for Iida to recover.

"Reciprico…" The Hero began, one hand rearing back ready for a blow. Then it vanished from sight.

He didn't see the attack.

But the blond sure as hell felt the gauntleted fist slamming into his arm with bone jarring force, his arm shaking from the blow.

"Gatling!"

Three more blows, just as fast as the last, slammed into the same arm.

His guard collapsed, his torso now open for further punishment as his arm was blown aside in the face of the onslaught.

But even as the pain thundered through his arm and left him flinching backwards only to be forced into place by the armored boot holding his tail in place his mind realized that he had caught sight of something.

Something strangely familiar.

At first he'd thought that it was just the speed of the hero that was making him see it as his eyes tried and failed to keep up with him.

But he'd seen it again then, just before the Reciprico Gatling had broken through his guard.

And then he felt the last puzzle piece slot into place as he realized something else.

He knew these tactics

He recognized that last attack.

He'd seen it used before.

Just not on him.

And that gave him a new idea.

But he couldn't do it alone.

He took a deep breath and lunged forward, using his pinned tail as a spring to give himself even more momentum as he threw himself at his opponent. "Tenya, follow the plan!" He shouted, pulling out the handcuffs he had somehow held onto throughout the rumble.

And then he did something the armoured hero wasn't expecting.

He threw them like a baseball at his opponent's head.

On instinct, one of the armored hands came up to interpose itself between the incoming projectile and his face, and just before it impacted, Mashirao saw it and knew he'd been right.

A faint white glow, leaking out from under the armour.

This wasn't Ingenium.

Mashirao contorted, the twisting painful to his trapped tail until he had wrapped himself around the lower body of the imposter, making full use of the weight increasing anklets that were strapped to the outside of the armor.

His opponent seemed taken aback by this strategy, one foot staggering as they almost lost balance before suddenly halting.

"Choosing to trap my legs and not my arms?" They responded, sounding amused. "Not exactly a strategy I'd expect to take on the Turbo Hero."

Mashirao grinned at that, looking up at the masked face even as he took care to not release his grip in the slightest.

He'd had firsthand experience on how dangerous a thing it could be to lose focus with this foe.

"But it is one I'd choose to try and slow you down, Kanetsuki-sensei." Tail Man replied cheekily, the sound of the victory buzzer echoing across the training ground as Iida Tenya made his way through the gate and secured victory for his team.

There was a pause there for a moment, as the masked man inhaled.

And then a very different, much more familiar voice echoed out from the man he was holding, only slightly distorted by the helmet.

"Very well done today Tail Man." Shiro Madoushi praised, his hands going up towards the helmet and removing it, revealing the familiar if sweaty face of his Heroic Philosophy teacher. "Top Marks."

I made my way over to the victory gate, the still smiling Mashirao walking alongside me, doing my best to hide the fact that my left ass cheek was still itching like crazy and the sooner I could get out of the armor that was preventing me from scratching it, the better.

However it was apparently standard procedure to go congratulate or commiserate with both students before I was allowed to bugger off, so here I was, making my way downtown, walking fast, gotta itch my ass, then I'm homebound.

Que piano music.

But even in light of my deep and pervading desire to address said itch, the look of pure confusion as I watched mini-Tensei look at me with pure confusion, his head swapping back and forth between the me that was standing in his brother's armor and the 'Shiro Madoushi' that was standing by his side made it all worth it.

"But you're…" Iida Tenya began before trailing off, his head flicked back and forth again, his arms doing that robot chop that he seemed to default to when he wasn't focusing on them. "Your quirk lets you clone yourself?" He declared suddenly, his eyes going wide at the 'realization'.

I bit back a laugh at that.

Cloning myself?

What will these kids think of next.

"Right, only an idiot would try and do that?" Rama-ji's voice replied rhetorically and I swear I could feel the prick's smug grin from here.

---

Someone is certainly feeling very confident for being in ass-kicking distance.

"Please try. I've been wanting to have a good laugh today and watching your feeble attempts seems like it should be hilarious." My sword responded again, and I fought to keep myself from scowling as I remembered our latest sparring session.

Where was I?

I was meant to be doing something.

Right, teaching, Final Exams, really glad that Nezu wasn't around to see me go off on a tangent.

"Not quite, Tenya." I replied bouncing the signature of Ingenium from one hand to the other. "Although I love the outside the box thinking, sometimes the question can be much simpler."

I casually walked over to me and slung one arm over his shoulder. "What makes you think that this guy is me in the first place?" I asked, holding back a chuckle at the poleaxed expression that overtook him.

"Well…" Tenya hedged, looking between the two me's once more before deciding to focus on the one wearing his brothers armour again. "He's wearing your Hero outfit?"

I smirked at that. "Aha. That's something I suppose. But did you ever see him speak?" I asked, directing my question to both of the students. "During the introduction Nezu and I did all the talking whereas Shiro Madoushi over here was entirely non-verbal."

I could see both of the students thinking back to their earlier encounter with the Shirou Madoushi standing beside me and the realization sinking in that what I said was all true.

Another part of the test, and a chance for them to score some extra points such as they were.

"While both of you have certainly passed this test, you could have passed it far sooner if you had noticed the oddity standing next to you." I continued, wanting to make the most of this opportunity to deliver this lecture while it was still fresh. "Sometimes the problem that you're going to be facing isn't going to make itself known to you. You are going to have to find it yourself."

"But all in all," I digressed taking my signature hat off and placing it upon my head. "I think they did rather well, don't you?"

Iida Tensei was grinning broadly at his brother and Mashirao, his hair regrowing but still short from where it had been shaved for the surgery, shoving me off him with a laugh.

He reached up with one hand to turn off the special Idaten headset that he'd been using to speak out of the armor's speakers throughout during the fight still attached. "A speedy conclusion from the two of you! And as I always say, there's nothing more important than speed."

The two students seemed pleased at the words of the temporarily retired pro hero. He may be back on his feet, but it was going to be a while before he was able to do anything with his quirk.

Still it was good to see my friend back on his feet.

"Now then brother dearest, I do believe that you were going to announce your hero name after the test wasn't that right?" Tensei prompted, drawing a raised brow from me.

Still hadn't chosen a hero name?

Would have thought a stickler like mini-Tensei would have had that locked down by now.

Tenya coughed and slid his helm back onto his head, inhaling deeply. "The Unstoppable Hero; Inexorable!" He declared, striking a pose as he did so.

Well now.

How about that?

Now then.

Time to get this armor off me so I can finally address that itch!

I looked down at my suitcase with a frown, staring at the overstuffed piece of luggage and the excess items that I had yet to fit into it.

Okay, looks like it's time for attempt number three at repacking the suitcase.

Again.

Goddamn I-Island Security protocols.

Why the hell is there a one suitcase limit!?

That's just dumb.

"Don't go forgetting about the extra forms for me as well."

Aha, how could I forget.

The several dozen forms, all needing to be signed and witnessed in triplicate because I'd decided to take my sword with me.

This wasn't anything new, I typically did the same thing whenever I left the country for whatever reason.

Only I'd typically take it inside the platinum-gold case I had commissioned for it.

But because I was taking the backpack full of clothes and gear in it, I couldn't take the case.

Which meant I had to declare the damn thing.

I've got my I-Island visit to catch up with the mad one to see the latest and greatest version of Mana they've come up with, and get all my scans done again so they can keep it working, then as soon as I'm done with that I've got to head back to Japan and rendezvous with Vlad and Aizawa to act as a tag-along for the first years' training camp.

Having someone along that could allow the kids to heal faster would hopefully allow them to put them through even more strenuous training than usual.

No problem with that.

Already got Tensei to cover my classes for the other years while I'm away.

Because I wasn't going to subject those kids to Hawks.

If only because I couldn't get the bastard to pick up his goddamn phone.

The issue was that I had to pack for both trips at once, and the stupid size requirements for I-Island were proving to make that endeavor to be more frustrating then first thought.

My latest attempt to defy all forms of physics was interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing.

I didn't care really.

I could use the distraction.

Plus I was still waiting on a phone call back from Yomi informing me of what time my flight out of Tokyo was.

I picked up the phone and slid it into the crook of my shoulder as I started pulling everything out of my suitcase again. "Go for Kaito."

Here's hoping it's an early flight.

Can't stand waiting around all day at the airport.

"I found him." Hawks voice spoke up through the phone, and I found myself frozen in place as I took in those words.

He found him?

Now?

After all this time?

"Which one?" I asked softly, stepping away from the counter and stepping towards the impromptu Tokonama that was hidden in the corner, the shrine bare and empty except for a single photo frame placed face down.

I still couldn't bring myself to look at it.

But maybe, after this…

"They're both here. I've only seen one, but I've seen the aftermath of the other." Hawks replied, his voice having to be raised to have been heard over the sound of the wind rushing by coming from my phone.

Clearly, he was still in transit.

"They're in Hokkaido, in an abandoned motel. From what I've learnt they'll be leaving the country in three days."

I felt something hot and angry rise through me at that, at the thought that they would slip through my fingers, again.

No.

Not this time.

I'd already started drafting my email to Nezu, stating my need to take the next few days off due to a combination of a family emergency and obligations to the Hero Commission.

I'd be drafting a similar one to the Commission stating that I'd be out of contact due to UA and wouldn't be in reach.

One of the benefits of my position.

A small mountain's worth of emergency leave that I've never taken, just waiting to be used.

Hawks voice spoke up again, the concern evident in his voice. "I know you need to do this, and if I know you don't want me there. But be careful. He's already slipped you once."

I scowled at that, thinking back to the last encounter.

Kurobe Dam.

It still burned whenever I thought of it.

To have been that close only to fail at the final hurdle…

But not this time.

"Not this time." Rama-Ji's voice echoed my oath.

"I've got other duties that'll keep me out of the country for the next week, but I can find a way to fob them off if you want me to help out." Hawks continued on, the sound of wings beating still coming through the call.

I shook my head in the negative as I looked down at the sword in my hand, not sure as to when I had picked it up. "No. I need to do this myself." I said resolutely.

"Ourselves." Rama-Ji's voice chimed in and I found myself acknowledging the correction.

Together.

"You do realise that you're a hypocrite, right?" Keigo asked sarcastically, and I found myself smiling despite myself.

"Oh yeah, I do." I acknowledged, rubbing at my aching temples as I did so.

"As long as you realize it." Keigo replied brightly, before his voice dropped into something more serious. "If you need me, just call and I'll be there. I'll send you the coordinates for their location."

My phone let out a ping as the message arrived and I confirmed that I had received the coordinates.

Perfect.

I have you now.

"Thank you Keigo." I heard my voice and even though I wanted to express the gratitude I was feeling right now the tone I heard was something flat and lifeless, devoid of emotion. "I'll keep in touch."

Before he could reply I ended the call, immediately picking up the waiting call from my assistant even as I began searching through my apartment for a very different set of things to pack.

Might have to drop by the gym to pick some things up.

"Hey boss!" Yomi's voice spoke up brightly. "Sorry for the delay, airport was giving me the runaround. So your flight out is set for…"

"Change of plans Yomi." I interrupted her, my tone still not quite what it should be. "Family emergency."

Yomi seemed taken aback at that. "A family emergency?" She parroted back, sounding confused. "Is it serious?"

"Oh yes." I replied offhandedly, looking down at the coordinates displayed on my screen and committing them to memory.

I'd be leaving the phone here.

Wouldn't do to have anyone use it to follow me and interrupt me.

"A matter of life and death."

The scene was almost picturesque, like something out of a famous portrait or film.

The frozen landscape, dotted with trees, the only sign of civilization a collection of buildings that had been abandoned even before quirks entered the equation, almost all of the buildings having collapsed under the weight of time and the elements.

All but one.

In this one building, if you were standing outside it, and pressed your ear up against the broken and battered walls, you could faintly hear it.

The crackling of flames and the sound of something metal being sharpened repeatedly filling the air.

Suddenly the sharpening sound stops and there is silence. Then a sound, deep and guttural, echoing out across the silent expanse.

A single word.