6:30 p.m., Izuku stood in front of the dormitory, waiting for someone. He was wearing a black hoodie along with black jeans and a pair of shoes. He was already cleaner compared to his previous state, which was covered with dust and sweat and his torn shirt.

Not long after, he feel that someone was approaching him. He turned his head and saw Touya and Kiyoko coming approaching him. Kiyoko waved her hand as soon as she saw Izuku.

" hey Izuku!..., did you wait too long "

" not really, I just arrived "

" Well then, shall we go "

Kiyoko took Izuku's hand and dragged him all the way. They headed to the restaurant they had booked beforehand.

Their other teammates were already waiting for them there. The first to say hello was Daichi, followed by Ichirou, while Katsuhito just nodded his head. The food was served on the table as soon as all the members arrived. They all sat down and then started the party.

They all gathered here to celebrate Ichirou's rank advisement. A few days ago Ichirou did a test for S-rank promotion and he passed, and to celebrate it, Kiyoko had the idea of holding a small celebration party.

" so, how about a little speech from our new S-rank-San" (Kiyoko)

" is that really necessary? " (Ichirou)

" of course, let's give your best speech captain " (Daichi)

Kiyoko and Daichi as usual tease Ichirou since they are the same graduates, while the others are just staring at them.

" Alright,

ahem..., first of all, I want to thank you all, if it weren't for you I wouldn't have come this far, and thanks to Kiyoko for throwing this party... " (Ichirou)

" you're welcome... " (Kiyoko)

" ... I know it's been tough lately for us since the incident that happened recently. Each of us is busy with our respective raid schedules making it difficult to get together like this. Especially Izuku and Todoroki who have reached the A-rank Hunter license... "

Izuku smiled and Touya just nodded in response as Ichirou continued his speech.

" ... let's raise our glass and toast for our hard work during this time,

for our hard work "

"" for our hard work ""

clink~

The party officially begins, Kiyoko takes out flowers and gives them to Ichirou, which he receives while scratching his cheek awkwardly. His cheeks flushed as he accepted it, too obvious for others to know.

They continued to party, chat, and laugh together. They discussed many topics, ranging from Hunter's problems, bureau problems, and gates, to Hero and Villain issues, as well as their daily life problems. Except for Izuku and Todoroki, they still don't want to share their private lives with others.

It didn't feel like it was 10 p.m., they were planning to party all night but since they had a kid between them, they couldn't do that. Besides Kiyoko and Katsuhito were already drunk enough.

Although Kiyoko is a Healer, she doesn't seem to be able to handle alcohol well. As for Katsihito, he was forced to drink by Kiyoko. And as a result, they both fell first.

They all decided to finish the party and then go home. Daichi and Ichirou are responsible for bringing the rest of the team home. Daichi escorts Katsuhito and Kiyoko, while Ichirou escorts Izuku and Touya since he still has something to take care of in the bureau.

After driving for 10 minutes, Izuku and others arrived in front of the dormitory. Ichirou then dropped off Izuku and Todoroki in front of the dormitory and headed to the bureau office.

Although it was almost midnight, there were still people working there. Most of them are from the Observation Division which is in charge of finding dungeon locations throughout Japan.

Ichirou greeted them for a while before heading to the meeting room. Arriving in front of the room, Ichirou knocked on the door before finally hearing a voice inviting him in.

Inside the Chairman of the Hunter Bureau, Matsumoto Shigeo along with other officials from the Hunter Bureau were already waiting for him along with other Japanese S-rank Hunters, even Sugimoto was there. Ichirou then sat down beside Sugimoto. The meeting then begins as soon as Ichirou sits down.

This meeting was led by Matsumoto as the bureau chairman. This meeting was not only attended by high-ranking officials of the bureau and S ranks but as well as the Prime Minister of Japan.

In front of him is a screen showing a graph of the number of dungeons and awakenings that have been recorded over the past 2 years, which is a drastic increase from previous years.

" As you all can see, the number of dungeon upgrades has reached an amount that we can't control anymore. Gates started appearing in the city center recently, and the number of awakened people was also steadily increasing. Several Heroes, civilians, and even Villains were noted to have received awakening.

For example, the case involving our agent a few months ago... "

The slide turns into a report from the police station regarding the case, along with the villain's profile being the main character of the case.

" ...Based on the police reports we have received, the Villain received awakening and has committed crimes and murders, and there have been several victims of his actions. He hides inside the gate to avoid the police and Hero, but unfortunately, he is found dead in the dungeon land by our agents.

This case is just one of them, there are also some traces of gates and monsters scattered on the internet that escaped the supervision of the bureau.

If this continues to grow to the point where we can no longer handle it, we are concerned that the fact of the gate's existence will have to be revealed to the public sooner or later. "

Matsumoto went on to explain the state of Japan regarding the recent incidents. There is some debate on this topic. Many oppose this statement given how the public reacts if this fact is revealed, some agree and say they have to wait for the right time to reveal it.

There was a riot due to dissent which caused the meeting to be postponed until further notice. The meeting participants began to leave the room, and Ichirou and Sugimoto were the last to leave.

Since the bureau office was close to the dormitory, Ichirou headed to the dormitory garden to cool his head. As he walked he saw Izuku sitting on a park bench. He didn't expect to see Izuku here at this hour but then decided to approach him.

" Izuku... "

" Ichirou-San?..., what are you doing here?"

" That's my sentence, what are you doing here? aren't you supposed to sleep?"

" ah... about that, I couldn't sleep and went to get some air, what about Ichirou-san? "

" same here, can I sit here? "

" Sure, please "

Ichirou and Izuku sat next to each other. They looked at the night sky, that only has a few stars there. Ichirou then decides to strike up a conversation.

" hey Izuku..., what do you think of the gate recently?"

Izuku was silent for a moment after hearing Ichirou's sudden question. He did hear that Ichirou had a 'thing' to take care of in the bureau, but after hearing the question from him, he seemed to be able to guess the 'thing'.

" It's uncommon for you to ask such a thing, is it related to the recent dungeon increase? "

" you are as sharp as ever "

" Well, I'm not sure either. To me, it's just a place to get stronger, but to others, it might be a place to make money. The dungeon may be a dangerous place full of monsters, but we can't deny its economic value. I could tell that magic stone from dungeon has the potential to be a new energy source and I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of companies that will invest in it. "

Ichirou fell silent after hearing Izuku's answer. He didn't expect to hear such an answer from a child who hadn't even grown up. He knew that Izuku was a smart kid, but the ability to analyze to that point still surprised him.

" you know, sometimes the way you talk like that makes it hard for me to think that you are a kid, you should act like a kid at your age more often "

" Sorry, I'll try "

" It's okay, no need to force yourself "

Ichirou rethinks Izuku's potential. Being by his side and watching him grow made him think that sooner or later Izuku would catch up with him, even surpass him, standing among the strongest. But when he thought about Izuku's personality, he showed no interest in becoming a high ranker. This piqued his curiosity.

" hey Izuku, do you plan to become an S-rank? "

Izuku glanced at him, after closing his eyes for a moment, he then leaned back and turned his gaze back to the sky.

" I don't know... I did think about it but it wasn't like it was my goal at first. It may sound arrogant, but I just think it's part of my journey "

After listening to Izuku's answer, Ichirou smiled warmly.

" It's not arrogant, at least for me who knows your personality, it sounds more like you have higher ambitions, am I wrong? "

Hearing Ichirou's words make Izuku smile slightly.

" no, you're right about that "

They remained silent. He looked up at the sky that slowly turn bright. Without them noticing the time had fled and the sun slowly began to rise. The two of them sat quietly while watching the sunrise.

When the sun had risen high enough, Ichirou got up from his seat first and Izuku followed him.

" I'm leaving first, you should rest while you can "

" You too Ichirou-San "

Ichirou later separates from Izuku and returns to the apartment where he lives.

Izuku, who was left alone, was still looking up at the sky. Although he stayed up all night he didn't feel tired or sleepy at all, instead, he felt refreshed. He decided to take a walk in the fresh morning air while enjoying the peaceful morning sun.

*

*

*

After 20 minutes of walking, Izuku decided to do a daily quest at a nearby park that has training facilities. It was Saturday so there were a lot of people there.

Izuku was too focused on his quest, that he didn't notice that people were looking at him in amazement. Knowing that he was being watched, he turned his head away hiding his shyness.

He ignored the people's gazes and continued to run. He headed in a certain direction, a place he always went when he was looking for peace since he was a child.

It didn't take long for his current speed, Izuku had arrived at Dagoba beach. There's still a pile of garbage along the beach. Even after a year of trying to clean it, there is still a lot to clean up. Besides, he rarely comes here, at least once every two months.

While looking around he heard the sound of garbage piling up. He then approached where the sound came from and saw someone he knew.

" Hiroshi-San?... "

Hiroshi, the old man is the janitor who helps Izuku transport the garbage on this beach to the garbage processing site. Izuku had already met him several times when he finished cleaning up this beach area and Hiroshi would come and transport all the garbage Izuku had collected.

" oh!... Izuku has been a long time, how are you? "

" I'm fine, how about you? "

" same as usual "

Izuku look around him and noticed that there was a pile of garbage bags near Hiroshi.

" by the way Hiroshi-san, that... "

" oh this, I just thought about stopping by to clean up this beach "

" Really? but why? isn't it too much for you to do at your age? "

" There is no special reason, it's just that, seeing you clean up this beach alone makes me feel bad, so I thought about cleaning it up a little bit.

Today's heroes only care about flashy job, and rarely do volunteer work. Although not much, I hope it helps. "

Izuku smiled unconsciously, he knew that Hiroshi was a good man. Knowing he was willing to help because he saw what he did, made him happy. Although he is almost 70 years old, he still does his job earnestly. He didn't hesitate to help others if he could.

" let me help you with a big pile "

" of course, you should, the backbone of this old man can't last long if forced to carry big things "

" yes, yes... "

Izuku then began collecting large pieces of garbage such as refrigerators, washing machines, or cabinets left on the beach. Hiroshi was still shocked every time he saw Izuku's strength.

' Being young is a good thing, isn't it... '

He muttered to himself when he saw Izuku moving big trash without much effort.

Took 20 minutes for them to fill the truck with garbage. Izuku wiped the dust off his hand and then turned to Hiroshi who finished closing the truck door.

" I guess this is the last one for today "

" yes of course, by the way, kid, have you eaten? "

" no, not yet "

" want to have breakfast together I know where to buy a good bento "

" Sure, I'll pay "

" Sure, sure, I guess today's young people have a lot of money in their pockets "

" take it as my gratitude for helping me "

" sure, whatever... "

.