A/N: On the chance that you have found yourself intrigued by this story without having read the previous portion, I have compiled a summary of events for the Evolution portion of Your Hero Academia. Whether you are a new or familiar reader, I bid you welcome, and hope that you will enjoy my spin on the wonderful series created by Kohei Horikoshi!
Your Hero Academia: Evolution
As a precaution concerning his imminent demise, a student in UA's hero course from Class 1-A by the name of Kurai Hikari prepares to make known the story of how he came to be in the given situation. He explains that he has compiled a list of data entries that are to be recovered by an Akarui Hikari, and are to be viewed by Detective Tsukauchi of the Japanese Police Force in the wake of his death.
His retelling of events begins at the practical entrance exam for the hero course of UA High, where Kurai meets Mina Ashido, who quickly takes a liking to him. During the test, Kurai showcases a quirk called 'Energon' that allows him to enhance his physique and conjure lasers to attack his opponents at will. After setting a new record for the test (in which he manages to take down the challenging zero-point robot), Kurai and his childhood friend, Tenya Iida, celebrate getting in to the hero course together. Their families are delighted to also learn that the newest hero course professor will be none other than All Might, the world's greatest hero.
During the first day of class, the two boys are quickly introduced to their classmates, and somewhat to Kurai's dismay, he has already acquired something of a reputation due to his scoring on the practical exam. However, he is also made to be curious about Izuku Midoriya, another boy who also reportedly destroyed a zero-pointer. Before things get too far along in the way of proper introductions, the class' homeroom teacher, Aizawa (also known by the codename Eraserhead) shows up and tells the entire class to go outside. Once there, he forces all twenty students to undergo a quirk assessment test with a point system that will determine who is worthy of staying in his class. Throughout the test, Kurai notices Izuku's reluctance to use his quirk, and comes to learn that the other boy has great difficulty in controlling his powers. Remembering his own struggles to master his rather powerful quirk, Kurai offers Izuku some advice on limiting the output of his quirk, after which the other boy's performance improves drastically. At the end of the test, it is revealed by Aizawa that the threat of being dropped from the program was a ruse designed to force the students to give it their all in the competition. This greatly angers Kurai, who soon collapses with blood coming from his nose.
Following a healing session with the school nurse, Recovery Girl, it is revealed that Kurai's power is incredibly taxing on his frontal cortex, which can result in severe mood swings, and if pushed too far, internal cerebral hemorrhaging. He reveals that the overuse of his power in the past nearly killed him, and as such has striven to maintain better control of his emotions, and quirk by proxy. Following his discharge from the nurse's office, Kurai is invited to a group outing (karaoke) with most of his classmates, which he reluctantly accepts, though Iida declines to join. During said outing, Kurai makes a point of trying to interact with several students he is fully unfamiliar with, as he understands that these will be the people that he will be studying alongside for the next three years. The event is concluded after Mina ropes Kurai into doing a duet with her, during which she shows further signs of infatuation, which leaves him feeling confused about the girl in the following days.
The next day shows Kurai and his younger brother, Akarui, discussing his hero costume and potential improvements that could be implemented, depending on how hero basic training goes. Hero basic training (being taught by All Might) pits students against one another in a series of two-on-two battles. Kurai finds himself working alongside Momo Yaoyorozu, and the pair are able to work together quite competently to claim victory. During this event, Kurai reveals that although his father is the Police Commissioner, which would have allowed him to attempt entry via recommendations like Yaoyorozu and Shoto Todoroki, he chose not to, and instead applied for the standard test.
The following days see UA swarmed by the media, who are looking to get a scoop on All Might as a teacher, much to Kurai's ire. Later that day, following Izuku and Yaoyorozu's elections as class representatives, the media breaks onto the campus, causing a temporary panic that Iida is eventually able to calm. Seeing his handling of the situation, Izuku abdicates his position as leading class rep, and appoints Iida as his replacement, much to Kurai's delight. The day is finished with Mina asking Kurai to hang out with her over the weekend, though she insists that he does not have to consider it a date, which he accepts.
The next day has Akarui informing his brother that there was an upgrade for his hero costume that was just approved, which excites the pair. Shortly after, Kurai begins his 'not-date' with Mina, during which they start getting to know one another much better- a process that begins to incline Kurai toward seeing Mina as something more than an overly friendly classmate, though he holds off on making any snap decisions concerning what their relationship might turn out to be.
The next school day has class 1-A going to a training facility for rescue practice. During the bus ride, a student remarks on the similarity between Izuku and All Might's powers, which is largely written off by Kurai and the others as a coincidence. After arriving and meeting with another teacher (a pro called Thirteen), the training facility is promptly attacked by a group calling itself the League of Villains, which appears to be led by a man called Shigaraki, who is noted to be wearing what looks like severed hands all over his body. The students are quickly separated from one another and scattered across the facility by a warping villain called Kurogiri. Some end up working together to escape the immediate danger, such as Kurai and Todoroki, who also manage to interrogate their would-be attackers for details concerning their plans for their class. It is revealed then that the villains planned to attack and kill All Might, who was supposed to be supervising their training that day.
Todoroki and Kurai split up, with the latter going to assist Eraserhead, who they know to be fighting the largest group of villains, and his classmate going to find other reinforcements. Kurai arrives just in time to see his homeroom teacher being brutalized by a monstrous villain called Nomu, forcing him to act and get Eraserhead away from the villains. Using his costume's new upgrade (a lightsaber powered by his quirk), he is able to hold off the villains long enough for Asui and Izuku to come and carry Aizawa to safety, leaving Kurai alone to face their attackers. It is at this point that he discards his limiters and unleashes his full power, allowing him to seriously injure Shigaraki and Kurogiri, as well as temporarily drive off Nomu. Before Kurai can claim outright victory, however, his quirk's drawback catches up with him, causing him to be stricken with an aneurysm that takes him out of the fight entirely.
He later awakes to the news that following his seizing fit, All Might and the rest of the UA faculty showed up to lay waste to the League of Villains, though Shigaraki and Kurogiri were able to escape via portal. Kurai is set to spend some time in the hospital to recover from his cranial trauma, during which he is visited by family and friends. After spending some time with his parents and brother, followed by Izuku, Uraraka, Kirishima, and (very briefly) Todoroki, Kurai is visited by Mina, alone. Their conversation is a far more in-depth one, covering a few topics of a more perdonal nature to him, including the death of his uncle (who had been a detective alongside Kurai's father) at the hands of an organized crime syndicate, and his resulting hatred of the yakuza and Endeavor (who had a chance to save his uncle, but failed to do so due to the pro's overconfidence). The possibility of a romantic relationship between Kurai and Mina is once again broached, though he holds off once more on giving her a definitive answer, asking to wait at least until he has recovered from the backlash of his quirk.
During the rest of his hospital stay, Kurai is visited by the majority of his classmates, though he notes that Yaoyorozu seems to have no inclination to see him, which he finds strange, given that they worked well together during their combat practice. He is visited, however, by All Might, who praises his efforts and heroism during the attack on the USJ facility. A follow-up visit from Izuku and Uraraka sees to the girl giving him some encouragement regarding how he wants to approach Mina going forward, and the two boys promising to train together to better master their powers. This is followed by a conversation between Mina and Kurai, who finally decide to pursue a mutual romantic interest together.
Soon after, Kurai is released from the hospital, so he and Izuku begin training together in earnest for the upcoming UA Sport's Festival- an annual competition that will give everyone in the school (mostly the hero course students) a chance to showcase their abilities to any pro hero agencies who might be intetested in their talents, as well as a general show of entertainment for the general populace. Izuku in particular begins to make rapid progress in controlling his powers so that he will not endanger himself (or others) while making use of his quirk.
At the beginning of the Sport's Festival, Todoroki surprises his classmates by declaring that he is making it his sole mission throughout the upcoming competition to take down Izuku and Kurai, though he refuses to give a clear answer on why. During the first event, a four-kilometer obstacle course around the arena, the three boys are each hard-pressed to take the lead, but Izuku manages to come in first, followed closely by Kurai. Bakugo rages at the fact that the trio seem to be ignoring him as a potential threat to their standing in the class' hierarchy, and vows to crush all three of them in the next event.
During the following part of the sport's festival (a game of cavalry battle), students are made to form teams of up to four members. Mina and Kurai immediately prepare to work together, having spent some time training with one another leading up to the contest. Kurai tries to convince Tenya to work with them, but his friend declines on the ground that he wishes to make his own mark on the competition, without being in Kurai's shadow. Disappointed but determined to put a solid team together, Kurai and Mina then approach Izuku and Ochaco, who are eager to work with their friends. Due to the point system assigned to each team based on their individual performances in the race, their team is at the top of everyone's priority list, forcing them to play the part of defense throughout the match. Despite making it through most of the match unscathed, their team is eventually accosted by Todoroki's team, which Tenya is a part of. In the course of their skirmish, Todoroki manages to score their points for his own group, followed by a swift retreat on their part. Despite this setback, Kurai's team manages to rally enough points to make it to the next (and final) round of the festival, a tournament-style series of battles that will leave only one student at the top. Bakugo and Todoroki's teams also advanced to the final part of the festival.
With the announcement of the brackets, Kurai's group is startled to realize that the first round will pit Kurai and Mina against one another in open combat, while Ochaco will be forced to take on Bakugo. Kurai and Mina spend some time with Kurai's family, who came to watch the event in person, with Akarui providing interesting insights on events to come with his intelligence quirk. Having discussed the possibility of being made to go against one another in such a manner for the festival, the couple are able to give their all in battle, with Kurai having a surprisingly difficult time in winning against his girlfriend, though he does manage to secure victory via a forced surrender from Mina. Izuku also triumphs in his first match against Shoji, Tenya advances past an opponent named Hatsume from the support course, and Ochaco loses to Bakugo.
Following Kurai's victory against Mina, Tenya catches the two of them sharing a moment, and expresses his disapproval of dating a classmate. He and Kurai argue, but at the urging of Mina, they agree to put the debate temporarily on hold. The quarter-finals see Izuku and Todoroki advancing to the semi's, followed by Kurai's match against his oldest friend. Their argument resumes, and Kurai decides to bet Tenya that he can win against him, despite the other boy believing that his relationship is nothing but a distraction from their studies. After agreeing to the condition that if he loses, he will say nothing further on class relationships, Tenya and Kurai face off. Although Tenya trained for a new move with his elder brother's guidance in order to try and catch Kurai by surprise, his opponent had help of his own in his training with Izuku and Akarui each doing what they could to help him unlock more of his power without succumbing to another seizing fit. Following the match, Tenya holds to his promise and says nothing further about Kurai and Mina dating, leaving the pair more comfortable in acting like a couple around others.
During Izuku's prep time to face off against Todoroki, Kurai is startled to encounter Endeavor, a man for whom he holds an immense dislike, bordering on hatred. This dislike only increases when he confronts the pro hero about the death of his uncle, which Endeavor turns out to have almost no recollection of. In spite of the man's insistence on seeing Izuku before the match begins, Kurai wards him off, warning that any move made against him as the son of the Police Superintendent would be a very poor one for any hero, even one ranked as high as Endeavor. Following this confrontation, Kurai is reassured by Iida that because he kept his composure, and did not seek some form of revenge against Endeavor for his actions against his family, that he has maintained the conduct and heart of a hero.
Todoroki and Izuku face off in a battle of both power and convictions, with the latter trying to convince his opponent to give everything he has to the fight, including the use of his fire, which he has refused to do thus far. Despite Todoroki remaining adamant that he will not use the power given to him by his abusive father, Izuku manages to remind the other boy that the quirk belongs to him alone, and not Endeavor. Spurred on by his rival's exhortations, Todoroki unleashes both fire and ice to ultimately defeat Izuku.
During the aftermath, Tenya receives news that his brother, Tensei (pro hero: Ingenium) has been wounded- possibly fatally- by a villain called Stain, the Hero-Killer. As such, he departs the stadium after passing on the relevant details to Kurai, who is also dismayed to hear the news. Despite this, he goes on to prepare for his match with Bakugo, determined to get his own in for how the other boy has treated Izuku in the past. With help from his brother, Kurai formulates a strategy to handle his new opponent, and the two meet in open combat.
Kurai takes full advantage of Bakugo's ego in order to goad him into overexerting his quirk during their fight, even managing to secure a win without relying on his new transformation.
The final round pitted Todoroki and Kurai against one another with the former seemingly reluctant to use his flames again. Endeavor begins to urge his son to use his fire, only for both boys to tell him to stay out of it. Thanks to the training he put in with Izuku, Kurai is then able to transform in a similar (though admittedly weaker) fashion that he used against Nomu during the villain attack, and face off against Todoroki on equal terms when he is convinced to make use of both of his elemental powers. After engaging in what appears to be a deadlock struggle, Todoroki pauses the fight to acknowledge Kurai's efforts, as well as Izuku's in getting him to realize the truth about the shackles that he had been placing on himself. Declaring that Kurai was the one who had overcome the most to stand where he was that day, he forfeits the match, both as a show of respect to his opponent's power and skill, as well as to throw off the burdens of his own expectations for himself in defying Endeavor.
As a result, Kurai is awarded first place for the freshman course's Sports Festival, with Todoroki claiming second place. Following this are Izuku and Bakugo, the latter of whom is furious, not only at having lost to Kurai, but at being forced to acknowledge an equal standing with Izuku. All Might presents each of them with their medals, and offers them advice regarding their placements and how they can use the day as a learning experience going forward.
Following the medal ceremony, Mina insists on planning a class party to celebrate their accomplishments, to which most of the other students eagerly agree, with a few notable exceptions, such as Tenya, who is out of town to visit his brother, who is in the hospital in critical condition. Bakugo refuses, continuing to sulk over his loss, as well as Yaoyorozu, who now seems to bear some sort of antagonism toward Kurai, though neither he nor even her friends are able to understand the sudden friction between them. As if to balance this, however, Todoroki (who up until this point had mostly kept to himself) tells Kurai that he will be in attendance, much to the other boy's surprise and delight.
During the beach party that weekend, it is revealed by Kurai to some of the others that while Tensei would survive his injuries, his days as Ingenium were over, something that both he and Tenya were taking fairly hard. Even so, the classmates that did show up manage to have a good day with one another, and even Todoroki makes it a point to try and be more relaxed around his peers. After the party is over, Kurai takes Mina home and invites her to accompany him and his brother to the I-island expo that would be taking place during their spring break, which she eagerly agrees to.
Upon going back to school, Kurai is quick to note that Tenya is not acting like himself, but chooses not to press the subject too firmly at the time, believing that his friend will not be open to discussing his mental state concerning his brother and the Hero-Killer at that time. These thoughts are temporarily put to the side by Aizawa's announcement that they will each be going to work at pro hero agencies as interns for one week- and as such, they will need to choose their hero names. After some trial and error, everyone except for Bakugo, Tenya, and Todoroki (who each decide to go by their actual names for the time being) manages to pick out a title for themselves. Mina struggled with her own pick after her initial idea is shot down, but eventually claims the title of the Melting Heroine, Ashid Queen, with Kurai's help. Having chosen his hero name for himself years ago, the Sport's Festival winner has no trouble in declaring himself as the Guardian Hero: Kai.
As the students part ways to take on their internships, Kurai takes a moment to remind Iida that if he needs help, he call on his friends. Due to the location of his friend's chosen agency, he suspects that Iida may be going on the hunt for the Hero-Killer to avenge his brother's injuries. While the class rep agrees to his friends' support vocally, Kurai and several of the others worry that he will not heed them.
At his internship with Gang Orca (Kurai's favorite hero of all time), the newly-minted Guardian Hero is quick to earn favor with his mentor, both in and out of the field. Much to his surprise, a team-up of three other agencies places him working alongside Mina, with both of them excited to have a chance to do field work together. The heroes assemble in order to take down one of the largest human traficking rings in their country, with Mina being on the rescue team taksed woth extracting the slaves, while Kurai works with Gang Orca to surpress the villains themselves.
Throughout the course of the fighting, Kurai is stunned to come across a villain named Needle Mouse- the man directly responsible for the death of his uncle. While tempted greatly to kill the man, he remembers Iida's words concerning heroes not being people who take revenge, and is then able to restrain himself enough to only take the villain into custody, with Gang Orca's help. Despite his choice to hold back, he feels plagued with uncertainty concerning his own resolve as hero who honors those who came before him, though Mina is more or less able to cheer him up after the raid is successfully completed.
During his recovery period from injuries sustained during the raid, Kurai is made privy to the news of the Hero-Killer's capture, though he suspects that Iida may have had a hand in the events that led to the villain's arrest.
For his last day with Gang Orca, the pro invites him to be a part of an interview on TV with one of his sidekicks, as a form of media training for his future as a pro, himself. Despite his reluctance to make an appearance due to bad history with news networks, Kurai agrees to go, and is pleasantly surprised to have a somewhat enjoyable interview alongside his mentor.
Upon returning to UA, Kurai's suspicions concerning Iida's conduct only intensify, leading to a sparring match between the pair in which Kurai forces his friend to reveal the truth about how he went after Stain, and unintentionally put Izuku and Todoroki in harm's way as a result. Kurai berates his friend harshly, telling him that he himself had a chance to enact vengeance on his own demon, but withheld himself from doing so because of what Iida had told him about being a hero. By the end of the fight, Kurai tells Iida that he has no right to call himself a hero, much less one worthy of following in his brother's footsteps, and seemingly marking the end of their friendship.
During the weeks that follow, the relationship between the two boys continues to sour, all while their semester exams approach. For the hero course, this turns out to be a mock 2v1 battle against their teachers, and in Kurai's case, pitting him and Yaoyorozu against Aizawa. Since his relationship with the class vice representative has also been out of sorts (for reasons he did not understand), Kurai tries to approach Yaoyorozu in order to try and reach an understanding with her. Despite being reluctant to talk at first, it doesn't take long for the girl to reveal that she was slighted by Kurai's dismissal of a chance to enter UA based on recommendations, having felt that it reflected arrogance on his part. Even so, she also admits to feeling inferior to him due to the fact that because he chose the road more difficult in nature in order to get where he was, his accomplishments can only be seen as all the more impressive, leading her to wonder if she should have also taken a different path. In response to this, Kurai apologizes for his unthinking conduct and how it affected her, followed by an expressed desire for renewed friendship with the girl, which she accepts. With their relationship repaired, the pair manage to claim victory in their test against Eraserhead.
Following exams, the class departs for summer vacation, with a good number of them heading to I-island for an expo that will feature the latest and greatest in hero support technologies. Kurai and Mina arrive with Akarui in tow, and the three quickly set about exploring the island's attractions. They run into Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Ochaco, Kaminari, Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, Iida, and Izuku, who made friends with a local girl named Melissa (the daughter of famed inventor, David Shield, who created all of All Might's hero costumes and equipment, as well as countless other contributions to hero society). The group all agree to attend a dinner function together that evening, which promises a chance to interact with top-ranking heroes from across the globe.
Just as the group finishes assembling in the lobby for the building where the event is being held, the tower comes under attack and is quickly controlled by a group of villains who manage to subdue the heroes by turning all of the civilians on the island into their unwitting hostages. Due to their absence from the party that All Might and other heroes are attending, the students are able to hide themselves and appraise the situation with the villains temporarily being none the wiser. The group is split between those who think it best to wait for the situation to blow over and the ones who want to intervene, with Kurai and Iida on opposite sides of the conflict. However, after harsh words are exchanged, the pair decide to set aside their differences for the time being and work together in order to restore the island's defense measures so that the villains can be subdued, hopefully without their open involvement. Kurai attempts to leave Akarui in hiding for his safety, but the younger boy refuses, even going so far as to artificially enhance his intelligence quirk as so that he will be a help instead of a hindrance to the fledgling heroes. Melissa also volunteers to help guide them to the top of the tower, where she will be able to restore the security grid and free the pro heroes.
While their presence remains undetected for a portion of the journey to the top, the group is eventually discovered by some of the villains, and a series of battles ensues in an attempt to keep them from reaching the control center. During the course of one of these fights, Kurai, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Bakugo are separated from the main group, which chooses to forge onward at their urging, with the promise to meet up again later. Unnoticed by the others, Akarui's motor functions begin to rapidly degenerate as a result of overpowering his quirk.
After making their way past some of the island's hijacked defensive measures, the other group is split up again in sending Izuku, Melissa, and Akarui ahead so that they can make a beeline for the control center. Fortunately for the tiring amateur heroes, the rest of the crew manages to catch up and bail them out of what would have been a successful ambush so that Izuku's team can make the final push without worry.
Before reaching the control room, however, the trio discover David Shield and his assistant breaking into the vault where the most advanced prototypes for support gear on I-island are stored. After being confronted by his daughter, Shield reveals that All Might has been growing substantially weaker over the last few years, and as such, he created a device to restore his friend's full power- one that was deemed too dangerous by investors and the safety commissions, and was thusly confiscated from the professor. David reveals that he orchestrated the villains' appearance in order to create a cover for his theft of the device so that he could get it to All Might before the Number One Hero lost his power entirely, though he was certain to hire faux villains, as to not put anyone in legitimate danger.
Just as Melissa confronts her father with the fact that the villains are not faking their measures for success, the leader of said villains appears and takes the device by force before shooting David and taking him prisoner with the intent of forcing him to create new support items for his own gain. Izuku provides a distraction that allows Akarui and Melissa time to reach the control room and override the villains' control of the system, which allows the pro heroes to break free without fear of harm coming to the civilians across the island.
With the last of his strength, Akarui makes use of the data at his fingertips to design a device of his own that will allow his brother to draw out his full power and force Energon to undergo a quirk awakening without putting Kurai's life at risk. After giving the plans to Melissa to pass on to his brother, the boy descends into a vegetative, comatose state. Meanwhile, Izuku gives chase after the villains, intent on rescuing David Shield, and is quickly joined by All Might.
After catching up to Melissa and Akarui, Kurai becomes distraught by his brother's current condition, having feared such an outcome, and begins to berate himself for allowing it to happen, though he is quickly stopped by Mina and his friends, who encourage him to make use of what Akarui risked so much to give him. Yaoyorozu creates the device, which Kurai immediately dons in preparation to join the final battle against the leader of the villains, who has made use of the device intended to aid All Might's failing power.
Izuku, making use of a gauntlet created by Melissa to unleash his own full power, manages to save All Might from certain defeat, also giving Kurai and the rest of their friends the chance to catch up to the fight. With the other students providing backup, All Might, Deku, and Kai launch an all-out assault on Wolfram, which culminates in a combined attack that not only defeats the villain, but also destroys Shield's quirk enhancement technology. Kurai's quirk successfully evolves thanks to Akarui's genius, and will no longer put his life in danger when it is used for longer periods of time.
In the aftermath of the battle, Akarui's condition is stabilized, though the doctors reveal that he has permanently lost most of his motor functions, including his ability to walk or speak. However, his mind remains intact, and he vows to find a way to now fix his own body, having fulfilled his promise to himself to fix Kurai's power before it killed him.
Kurai also discovers that not only is All Might's power depleting, but that his health is waning, which prompted his decision to pass on his quirk, a special power called 'One For All' on to Izuku, so that when the time comes for him to step down as a hero, he can do so without worrying about a world that has no champion to protect it. He is also informed about the villain known as 'All For One', who was responsible for All Might being injured nearly to the point of death several years ago, and the danger that he poses as the hidden benefactor for the League of Villains. All Might asks for Kurai to assist Izuku in the next fight against All For One and his apprentice, Shigaraki, that will no doubt come about in the future. While reluctant to accept such a burden, Kurai understands that his incredible power does make him an ideal asset to use against such powerful villains, and so agrees to train even harder to master his newly-awakened quirk so that he can stand by his friend when the time comes.