Hello again, everybody, and welcome to the new Endeavor Agency Arc chapter! I always really enjoy making these chapters that help to lay the groundwork for the major events in the near and distant future to come, so hopefully you'll enjoy this one, for what little or much it changes in order to set things in motion elsewhere.

Also, I hope you're all just as excited as I am for the recently announced fourth MHA movie, especially since I'll of course have to adapt it to this continuity...however, considering its proposed place in the story timeline, it may or may not mean I have to consider taking a short hiatus on this story when the time comes, so that the movie itself can come out, I can see it, and therefore make the necessary changes. However, with this new two-week upload schedule I've been working with, it may end up buying me enough time to write what needs to be written before I even get to that point in the timeline, so maybe a break won't be necessary. As time goes along and the chapters keep getting uploaded, I'll be able to give you all a more clear idea of that possibility.

I would once more like to sincerely thank you all for your continued support through your readership over all this time; just as I would like to thank my two beta readers and consultants, Jonny and Carlos. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude once more to the current roster of artists on DA helping to bring this story to visual life: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Venera-Taro, Shallisey-N, and Yumake.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 134

Land and Sea

(Суша и Море)

Tokyo, January 1st

The first day of internships under the Number One Hero, Endeavor, was certainly proving to just as busy as Nikolay, Izuku, Shoto and Bakugo would have expected. Ever since he'd given them the goal of defeating a Villain even faster than he could before the winter was over, the four boys had been pushing themselves as hard as possible just to be able to keep up with the Flame Hero.

With his Quirk giving him the ability to move even faster than the speed of sound, it fell to the four students to get creative and much faster with how they utilized their own abilities in terms of mobility. Nikolay and Bakugo had a natural advantage, as they used their Kinetics and Explosions respectively to stay airborne, whereas Izuku and Shoto had to use his Full Cowling and Ice in order to leap from rooftop to rooftop, and race across the ground in order to keep up.

Thankfully, the four of them had actual work to help motivate them to push past their personal speed limits continuously. It was simply to be expected that the territory of the Number One Hero would have a consistent number of incidents for him and his sidekicks to deal with. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised any of them if Endeavor had personally chosen to establish his Agency in Japan's capital for that specific reason.

But right now, speculating didn't matter; because at this moment, Nikolay and the others had an actual incident to resolve: a purse-snatcher had recently committed a series of high-speed thefts and hit-and-runs from his motorcycle, and with the fortunate timing of his last one being within range of the currently patrolling Hero and his interns; the chase was immediately on to stop him from getting away.

Endeavor had instructed the four of them to head in one direction to try and stop the thief while he took another. With there being no time for questions as to just what he was planning; the four young Heroes raced after their target with gusto; Nikolay and Bakugo's Quirks thundering through the air as they tried to catch up to the speeding bike first; not having buildings to get in the way of their momentum.

But even their airborne vantage point wouldn't make things too easy for Nikolay and Bakugo, as the culprit was clever enough to start driving his bike through the narrow alleyways and side streets, in a desperate attempt to shake his young pursuers. Such a gutsy move only made Nikolay's determination grow stronger, just as much as it made the sadistic grin on Bakugo's face widen. "He's gonna have to try a lot harder than that to lose me, dammit!"

Even with the alleyways severely limiting their maneuverability; the control and timing Nikolay and Bakugo were exercising in order to not lose sight of their target would have made Izuku and any other Pro Hero mentor immensely proud. Bakugo's restraint of his Explosions managed to help him maneuver even the sharpest turns without accidentally damaging the surrounding buildings, while Nikolay was managing to direct and time his Kinetic Blasts from the hands and feet he needed to in order to ricochet himself off the sides of the buildings in rapid succession, in order to keep his eyes on the fleeing criminal; practically racing neck-and-neck with Bakugo in the process, much to his building aggravation.

Finally, as the bike-driver turned onto an extended straight secondary road, Nikolay channeled a stronger amount of his continuously building Kinetic energy through his legs; boosting himself that much further forward and at greater speed, so he could just get enough of a lead in front of the man; drawing one of his smaller tuning forks from his belt around his waist along the way. 'I just gotta throw it just enough so that he doesn't drive past by the time it reaches the ground. Take out the front tire and…'

BWOOM!

With a swift and precise, Kinetic-aided flick of his wrist, Nikolay threw the smaller tuning fork straight down to the sidewalk, feeling a growing certainty that it would be able to hit the front tire of the bke hard enough to make the criminal lose control and go tumbling down. From there, either Izuku or Shoto would be able to apprehend him with no trouble.

FWOOOSH!

But from seemingly out of nowhere, just before contact could be made, an eruption of furious fire emerged from out the mouth of the alleyway the bike was about to pass; forcing the driver to make a sharp turn and ultimately go rolling to a stop as a result, leaving Nikolay's tool to stab into the sidewalk and subsequently get melted down by Endeavor's flames.

Nikolay came touching back down to solid ground with his eyes wide with surprise and his heart heavy with disappointment; Bakugo soon landing nearby while Izuku and Shoto arrived a split second later; the four of them watching with varied expressions of the same; while Endeavor towered over them, watching on as a handful of his sidekicks followed on his trail, taking the stunned criminal into custody themselves.

Endeavor kept his back to his four students when he finally broke the heavy silence: "You boys were all one step too slow."

Naturally, Bakugo couldn't help but spit back in argument: "Only cause the damn winter cold makes it take longer for my Explosions to ignite!"

But where Bakugo couldn't keep quiet for his own good; Nikolay couldn't think of anything to say in his own defense by comparison. If he was going to learn under the Number One Hero, then what right did he have to act like the man didn't know exactly what he was talking about? 'I thought I was doing really well with how I was directing and timing my Quirk to keep my direction and speed when he tried to lose us through those alleys…but I still had to put a lot of conscious focus into it in order to do so. Maybe if I were able to do it more instinctively, I could've taken that shot with my tuning forks much sooner, and we could've caught him ourselves then. But how am I supposed to practice that to find out?'

But while Nikolay was thinking this to himself, Shoto likewise couldn't help but respond to Bakugo's complaints and excuses: "Did you manage to notice earlier, Bakugo?"

Of course, his self-appointed rival asking such an easily condescending question of him got Bakugo's teeth grinding as his body started trembling in barely restrained anger: "AS IF YOU'D EVER NOTICE SOMETHING I COULDN'T! GO AHEAD, HALF-N-HALF; WHAT'RE YOU SO ANXIOUS TO POINT OUT?!"

But Bakugo's demeanor once again went completely unnoticed by Shoto as he answered: "Every time Endeavor dashes forward, he shoots his Fire out his feet. I don't know if you saw it, but it's much like that Jetburn move he used back in Kyushu. It was probably a condensed version that helped move him forward."

While Bakugo looked inherently annoyed at the idea of even a Pro using his Quirk in a way at all similar to his; Nikolay looked simply surprised…before being hit with a sense of knowing when he saw the smirk beginning to form on Shoto's face. "Is that observation supposed to mean you're getting an idea for yourself, Todoroki-san?"

Finally, Shoto's smirk took full form. "Yep, it took me a while. In fact, it only finally clicked for me, because I have the same powers. For him to boost his heat that high and at that speed must take incredibly delicate control on his part. In fact, it actually reminds me a lot of how you and Bakugo use your Quirks to maneuver at the speeds you go…so I need to start following all your examples if I want to be able to harness that same kind of strength one day."

Like all the times before; being complimented in any way by a classmate and friend with such inherent prestige was enough to leave Nikolay feeling instinctively embarrassed in an undeserving sense. But he didn't even have time to let himself feel grateful for Shoto's recognition of his power and example in relation to everyone else; before Endeavor suddenly took off into the air again; prompting his mummy-faced sidekick to address the four boys: "We've got things covered over here. You all better get going. It's super-rare for the boss to willingly teach anyone but Shoto-kun, after all. We'll catch up"

In a rush not to be left behind, the four of them took off like a salvo of rockets and a torrent of ice all around, hurrying after their mentor, while the Flame Hero, able to naturally sense his students were keeping up with him more or less, proceeded to speak: "Keep this in mind, boys: Hawks may have picked up some of my slack back in Kyushu, but generally, a Hero has to be someone who can handle any job on their own. And in case any of you are wondering: I did notice that Glass Villain earlier today had flunkies of his own."

While Bakugo instinctively spat back at how petty the Flame Hero apparently was, Nikolay was once again finding himself sinking deeper into his own thoughts. Endeavor was right, he knew this. The possibility of fighting alone and being able to handle that was the whole reason he'd taken to accepting this internship to begin with.

'Since the beginning, Mina has been there, and I for her, in almost every battle we've been in. That's why we agreed to at least take our internships separately. But even excluding that, I've always had at least one of my classmates fighting to help me out, otherwise. I know that's not any different even now, but I gotta be able to learn from a Hero that embodies that solo energy, that they can handle anything on their own. It's the only way I can grow as much as I need to…it's gotta be.'

While Nikolay was continuing to ruminate on the developmental handicap he'd until-now-unknowingly set himself up in; Endeavor was still addressing his most hot-headed intern as they continued to practically fly: "Bakugo: you said you wanna know what you can't do. I have to say, you move at a decent speed…for a rookie. But even you must realize you can't surpass me right now. You say that it'd harder for your Explosions to ignite to full power in the winter?! Well that's too bad, because excuses don't matter when you show up to a crisis late!"

FWOOOSH!

Without warning, Endeavor's fire bloomed just before he took off in another flaming sonic boom of a mid-air boost, leaving his four students in his proverbial dust, and thus forcing them to push their Quirks even harder to catch up. Within less than a couple seconds, they found his flame burning before them in the middle of a large intersection, prompting them to touch down before finally seeing just what it was that had prompted their mentor to hurry so far ahead of them.

A couple of people had been caught in the middle of the crosswalk, just as a large truck had come barreling down the road without any hope of the driver stopping in time to avoid hitting them; thus causing them to freeze up in panic. Somehow, Endeavor had noticed this from as far away as the Heroes had been, and had come flying in like a flaming asteroid to stop the vehicle in its tracks, thus saving everyone on the crosswalk.

Endeavor could see the realization spark in his students' faces, and knew that he had made the ultimate point of his current lecture, finally finishing it up: "This isn't school, boys! There are far more than just grades at stake here! We're talking about saving innocent human lives now!"

As soon as the civilians were finally able to get back on their feet and confirm they were all right, Endeavor finally stepped away and turned back to his students; two specifically: "Shoto, Bakugo: I'm giving you two the same assignment!"

"Why am I always being paired up with him, dammit?!" Bakugo immediately argued, while Shoto was far more calm and straightforward: "Is this to do with mastering Flashfire?"

"YES!" Endeavor answered before suddenly launching into the air in a large flurry of flames once again; prompting the four boys to hurry after him. "Build up and release! Condense your power! Unleash maximum output for just one second, or focus your power! First, pick one or the other, and drill over and over until you can do it without even thinking about it!"

As they continued to either fly or leap from building to building while listening to their teacher's words; Izuku's face brightened up with recognition: "Hey, that's like the same general concept as your AP Shot, isn't it, Kacchan? Or your whole Quirk in general, Kolya-san?!"

"Yeah…yeah, I guess it kind of is. Though I wish I could use it as effectively as Endeavor-sensei can." Nikolay admitted in similarly stunned realization; while Bakugo was far less accepting of the comparison: "Our Quirks are nothing alike, Russkie! And as for you, Deku, how the hell do you know what he's talking about is like my AP Shot?! Do I have to get a restraining order against you, ya damn nerd?!"

From there, things fortunately didn't seem to pick up much further, and it wasn't much later at all before Endeavor suddenly decided it was the right time for a break so they could eat and regain their full energy.

As the group of five currently stood atop a roof before one of countless billboards in order to eat their lunches in peace, Endeavor was still utilizing that time as a chance to further educate the four students: "In regards to your choice of assignments; you're already a good portion of the way with both tasks, Shoto. First, work on focusing your Fire, since you can already control the shape of your Ice. It's the same idea."

Shoto naturally bowed his head in consideration of his father's instructions, while Bakugo simply sat stewing in the idea that he was actually behind his rival in this sudden development in their assignment.

Leaving the two boys to think on it, Endeavor suddenly continued: "Deku, you can maximize your Quirk's output for a second, right?"

"Right." Izuku answered; his face showing pure curiosity as to where the Flame Hero was going with this.

"How about doing it subconsciously?" Endeavor suddenly asked, which made Izuku noticeably fidget, having to think about exactly how to answer that.

"Well, with Full Cowling, I can. But with Air Force, I still need to focus" As he admitted this; Endeavor turned his back to his students, now standing observantly on the edge of the roof; watching the streets below like a half-fiery gargoyle. "Then work on your Air Force or whatever until it becomes second nature. Forget about the secondary ability for now."

"But what about the parallel processes you talked about at the gym earlier?" Izuku asked in confusion, while Nikolay, Shoto and Bakugo all looked similarly curious as to why Endeavor was suddenly backtracking on his previous advice.

Endeavor then motioned for the boys to join him at the edge, and once they did so, he pointed down to one specific car on the road below. "Everyone out there does it every day. Even subconsciously. For example, you see the man driving that car down there? The one yawning? You think he woke up one day just knowing everything there is to know about driving? There's the steering wheel, the accelerator, the brakes, checking behind and ahead and so on. He practiced all of those things, one at a time, until he didn't have to think about it anymore."

As such a perfect analogy for his instructions firmly took root in all four boys' heads, Endeavor finally glanced to meet Izuku's gaze. "First, figure out how to handle two processes at once subconsciously. Once you've got that down, throw in another thing. Some of you have already been taking to that process without even realizing it, which just proves my point."

Nikolay initially was at a loss as to just who Endeavor was talking about; but when he could feel that instinctive chill rush up his spine, it became all too clear that he was who the Flame Hero had in mind, as the man was looking at him intently from over his broad shoulder.

But after that initial shock came the confusion. "Me? Really?"

Bakugo looked no less confused, if not even more incensed, that Endeavor would consider Nikolay deserving of such a sentiment; but the Pro Hero left no room for doubt: "Yes, you, Solovei. Much like Deku, you pushed Shoto to exceed his own self-imposed limitation back at the Sports Festival. That was no small feat. I made a point of watching both your respective fights against him several times since then. You specifically showed such rigid movement and lack of fluidity over your Quirk back then; as though every single action you took required every ounce of focus you had in you. The fact you lasted as long as you did with that in mind, either stands as a testament to your inherent ability to persevere…or just how much training Shoto actually needed."

Nikolay instinctively cringed at the possibility of Shoto taking offense at such a suggestion; but he didn't notice that his classmate and friend thankfully didn't look perturbed at all; simply choosing to let Nikolay have this moment before his father as he continued: "Comparing that display to what you've already shown of your ability to redirect, move and ultimately act with much more fluidity today, shows that you've likewise been practicing one facet of your Quirk to the point it now comes to you by nature. Tell me, Solovei; is there anything specific that you've recently been working on in regards to your Quirk?"

Nikolay honestly hadn't expected Endeavor of all people to ask him anything after their introductions in the gym, so momentarily struggled to find the answer: "Well, I'm mainly debating on two things: I want to try and better harness a new technique I've been calling Kinetic Gatling, where I can fire my Kinetic energy stores through my hands in concentrated rapid-fire shots…and I really want to try and practice this Refraction ability Mido—I mean, Deku-san theorized I could do, where I could use my Quirk's natural ability to absorb and channel the kinetic force from physical impacts, and redirect the majority of that force back at whoever my opponent is. I'd like to see if I could be able to strengthen it to the point where I could reflect 100-percent of that energy, instead of just what I can only guess is 75-percent."

While it felt self-affirming to actually put his two specific goals into words for the first time, Nikolay could see an air of thoughtful consideration momentarily register in Endeavor's eyes before he spoke up in response: "This Refraction you're talking about: have you ever considered using it to redirect that absorbed force in a direction other than the opponent who specifically hit you with that force to begin with? You're all more often than not going to find yourselves up against more than a single opponent, and you need to utilize your Quirks in a way to protect you from all elements of your environment; not just who or what's in front of you."

Just like that, Endeavor had given Nikolay something huge to reconsider about what had felt like his most promising new move to practice, while even Deku looked pleasantly surprised, having never even stopped to consider Nikolay's potential to use that property in such a way, himself.

Seeing his question take firm hold in his foreign student's mind, Endeavor continued: "Both abilities you described sound like they clearly require you to put a majority of your present focus towards using them properly, Solovei… so, much like Shoto and Bakugo, you and Deku both have a similar assignment of your own to work towards while you're here: practicing the new ability of your choice until it comes as naturally to you as your original abilities, so you can then focus on training the next ability until it comes to you as naturally, and so on and so on."

With all four boys watching him intently, Endeavor summarized: "Let this be a lesson for all of you: no matter how strong your power is, the foundation's gotta be built on steady diligence. There're exceptions to that rule, but for everyone else, we gotta build up to it, slowly. At least, that's the only way I know how. Practicing over and over out here in the field is gonna give you a totally different experience from what you get in school. You boys have all learned a lot in the classroom. But here, at my side, in the ultimate training environment, is where those lessons will truly sink in.

"But keep this in mind as well: Allow yourselves to relax, and know that it's okay for you to mess up. Whether you succeed or fail, it's not like any of you four will have even the slightest affect on my work."

With that, Endeavor's Fire proceeded to encapsulate his face like it did the rest of his body as usual; prompting his four students to hurriedly get back into readiness, just as he took off into the air in a glorious blaze once again. Once more, teacher and students were racing through the air and the streets in the continuation of their first official patrol together through the heart of Tokyo.

Nikolay was keeping himself airborne as high as he could keep himself; scanning the rooftops and streets for the first sign of what he could interpret as trouble. Listening for a disturbance was considerably more difficult for him, as the sound of that intense air friction between the bursts of his Quirk from his hands and feet took up much of his hearing.

But that wasn't enough to keep him from hearing loud and clear when Endeavor's voice suddenly spoke up from right beside him; that natural intensity in his voice nearly throwing Nikolay off balance enough to start plummeting; save for a last-second blast from his left hand and foot to keep himself on balance.

"Solovei, answer me this!" Endeavor spoke up without warning, naturally voicing a command rather than a request. "I meant what I said back there, about how you've clearly grown in how smoothly you use your Quirk. However, it's even harder to believe, considering that you'll ultimately never have even half the overall experience in training it as Shoto and everyone else has. You can't expect me to believe you improved that much entirely on your own. Something had to have motivated and pushed you to get this far with so little practice through your entire life. Do you know what that was?"

Nikolay, while greatly surprised that the Flame Hero was finally addressing him one-on-one, as opposed to roping him into the conversation like earlier, never suspected that Endeavor already had a very strong theory in his own mind as to just what that motivation had to be. He simply needed to see for himself if the boy was on the same page or not.

After thinking about the answer that felt the most accurate to himself, Nikolay finally answered: "Honestly, I just looked back on how angry and resentful I'd been for the majority of my life, and I realized that I didn't want to feel that way anymore. I wanted to put it all behind me so I could focus on the present, if not tomorrow…you know, in the broad sense of the word. Yuuei and just the all-around Quirk-friendly society in this country made me actually feel like I wanted to try and become a Hero again, like I'd wanted to when I was really little before everything happened back home…and it just naturally came to me that I couldn't become that kind of Hero if I didn't try to make up for all those years worth of lost time. All my friends, classmates and teachers really helped with that, too. In fact, I feel they inspired me to work towards becoming a Hero more than anything else."

Nikolay felt like that explanation would have perfectly sufficed. However, as he continued to focus on keeping himself leaping and gliding forward and not risking smacking into any buildings; Endeavor didn't look any less intense than before, as he was clearly not satisfied with that explanation.

"At this point, everyone knows what Tunguska caused back in his home country. As his son and the inheritor of his legacy; to have lost your entire world as you knew it, on top of so many Heroes to learn from having been taken from you before you could even begin to hope to become a Hero; you would have every right to hang onto that resentment you felt towards him for all that time. Are you really saying that simply moving locations and being around Quirk-users your own age was all it took?"

Endeavor's tone naturally made it clear he was not so naïve as to think it was that simple for Nikolay to make such a complete change in perspective. Nikolay still couldn't take the risk of moving his eyes anywhere but ahead, but he could still feel a palpable tension within as he answered: "It was honestly the fact that I lost my mother before I ever truly got to know her that was more painful than anything else…and no, that wasn't all it took, not by a long shot.

"For the longest time, I'd convinced myself that my Dad never really took responsibility or acknowledged the consequences of what he'd done back home…and as such, I thought that he was treating our coming to Japan as an excuse to just start over and act like nothing had ever happened. After I had a really nasty blow-up at him and…and everyone else, shortly after the school year had started…I finally really saw for the first time, that my Dad always really understood just what he had done back then…and most of all, just how much it constantly tormented him inside, just like it did for me. And on top of that, I was seeing how much he was genuinely trying to make up for it through how he was teaching us, and carrying himself around all the other Pro Hero teachers at school and out on the field.

"He wasn't trying to embody the same kind of Hero he had been before; he was trying to be something else, something better than that…and I couldn't bring myself to feel angry towards him like I had before, after all of that. I mean, if he was working that hard to be a genuinely better man, then what right did I have to not do the same? I just wanted to let the past go entirely so we could be a family for the first time; a real family. His new attitude; the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that was the kind of Hero I always thought of him to be a long time ago, the kind of Hero I could look up to, the kind of Hero I want to be one day. Just having that example naturally made me want to work as hard as I could to improving with my Quirk enough so that I could get close to that. That's all I really have to say about that. I'm sorry if that's not the answer you were looking for, Endeavor-sensei."

Endeavor had no response to give, which left Nikolay feeling a relief that he'd actually managed to answer his mentor's extremely vague question.

But inside Endeavor's own head, he was anything but silent: 'I see…so I misunderstood Tunguska's advice this whole time. It wasn't simply because he tried to embody a different and superior Hero, that his son finally opened up in full. The boy had to make that conscious decision of his own accord as well. Then it truly doesn't matter how hard I try to make myself more approachable and pleasant as a Hero; Shoto could easily choose to hang onto his feelings of anger towards me for the rest of my life if he wanted to. But surely he wouldn't be so stubborn as to do that at the expense of getting the fullest Hero education he could get, just so he could still feel vindication in his emotions! He still made the conscious decision to learn under me when he literally could have chosen anyone else. That has to mean something beyond just his desire to become the best Hero he can! It must!'

And as Nikolay and Endeavor continued to soar through the air above the city; neither of them took notice of how Shoto had been using his Ice to send himself flying from rooftop to rooftop with a series of ramps; not only so he could stay at a similar elevation as the rest of his group, but because he had likewise noticed his father approaching Nikolay specifically, and had been unable to resist his curiosity as to just what the Number One Hero could have possibly had to say.

And after having listened to their whole conversation, he completely understood just what it was Endeavor had been doing. It made sense with how the man had tried to make himself more approachable as a teacher and a father in the past few months, even during the Remedial Training. He'd been trying so hard to try and brute force his way into Shoto's heart, past the countless horrible memories of his early childhood, to try and get his son to open up to him.

But Shoto had been raised to be made of stronger stuff than that, and had made his point that he had no intention of completely letting go of the past; despite how much he wanted to get the most out of his education before becoming a Pro, and had long since been convinced by Nikolay's example that letting go of his burdensome past was the best way to do that. He simply knew he wasn't ready to just let go of the pain he still felt from back then, and honestly wasn't sure if he ever truly would be willing to meet his father halfway in bridging the familial relationship they should've had.

From there, Endeavor had nothing outstanding to say to any specific one of his students for the remainder of their patrol. As the four students continued to closely follow his lead; exhibiting their respective skills in maneuverability in such a dense environment; much like Nikolay before; Izuku likewise found himself momentarily wondering how the rest of their classmates were holding up for their first days, either returning to old teachers or meeting new ones for the first time ever.

Kouchi City, Kouchi Prefecture, Shikoku Island

"WELCOME BACK ABOARD, FROPPY-CHAN! AND WELCOME TO THE OKI MARINER HERO AGENCY, NEWCOMER URAVITY-CHAN! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH ON OBTAINING YOUR PROVISIONAL HERO LICENSES! ARE YOU TWO READY TO EXPAND YOUR SKILL SETS, AND BUILD YOUR SEA LEGS FOR YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOMING PRO HEROES OF BOTH LAND AND SEA!?"

Ochako honestly hadn't expected to find herself in this more temperate oceanic part of Japan so soon after Nabu Island, even after having accepted the offer to intern alongside Tsuyu with her former instructor from Field Training, the Sea Rescue Hero, Selkie. Given his reputation and area of expertise, she naturally assumed his jurisdiction automatically fell under all the immediate waters surrounding the country.

And thus she was very surprised to find that the humanoid grey-bearded seal-looking Pro Hero's Agency wasn't even a stationary building, but rather a large version of a patrol ship with a large harpoon cannon mounted at the bow; docked at the local harbor of Kouchi City, where he stood towering and at the ready to greet his old and new interns alike, joined at his sides by three normal muscular men in matching sailor uniforms, and a much smaller female sidekick in a similar uniform, with short light blue hair and what looked like webbed fins protruding from the sides of her head.

"I'm glad to be learning with you all again, Selkie-sensei, Sirius-sensei, everyone. I know Uravity and I will learn a lot from you all, and we'll do our best with whatever tasks you give us, no matter what-kero." Tsuyu immediately greeted her former mentors with a deep bow, which Ochako quickly echoed once she realized she'd been staring at the whole setup. "T-thank you very much for accepting me alongside Froppy, Sensei! I promise I won't let you down!"

But despite how much Selkie towered over the two students, the latter's tense display couldn't help but make him laugh heartily. "There's no need for such formalities right off the bat, Uravity-chan! The key to a well-run crew is a sense of familiarity, like that of a family! If Froppy-chan speaks as highly of you as she has in her recent correspondence, then I have no reason to think you won't excel in an environment of water as much as you do on dry land! Now come aboard so we can get you familiarized with your new work environment for the next week, for then, we set sail! ALL HANDS ON DECK! MAN YOUR STATIONS!"

At Selkie's command, his whole team ran like an incredibly well-oiled machine in terms of maintaining formation and synch with each other in getting the preparations made for setting their ship off to sea. While Selkie himself showed his two students around for Ochako's sake; the blue-haired sidekick, Sirius, was fairly straightforward, borderline no nonsense when speaking with Ochako: "I'm going to be completely honest with you, Uravity-san; Froppy-san is an excellent student, and her Quirk makes her a natural for working in the aquatic environment that the Oki Mariner Agency specializes in. However, having been told about your Zero Gravity Quirk from her, I have to say I don't fully understand why you would want to intern with us. It seems to me like dry land would be an environment your Quirk is naturally better suited for. Did you come simply out of wanting to stick with your partner after having trained under Ryukyu-san together to the end?"

Naturally, the mention of the late Dragoon Hero brought Selkie to an immediate stop as he swiftly turned to address his two interns; emotion clearly building in his normally serious sharp eyes. "Oh my goodness, how could I have forgotten?! Please forgive me, you two! I wish to extend my sincerest condolences for your loss last year! Ryukyu-san was a truly great Hero, and I've no doubt an even greater teacher, to have taken you both in together for as long as she had!"

But as Selkie bowed deeply in both repentance for his delay, and respect for the fallen; Tsuyu tried to reassure him of no offense having been taken, while Ochako likewise answered reassuringly: "I understand why you'd be confused why I'd come here with my Quirk being what it is, Sirius-sensei…honestly, I would've been asking myself the same thing if the circumstances were any different. I just… I made a promise to myself after what happened to Ryukyu-sensei, that I wanted to become a Hero who can help everyone; civilian and Hero alike, no matter where I am or what the situation is; and I just thought that learning how to do my best with my skills, even in an environment with practically no land, would be a great starting point for me. Plus, Froppy and I just work really well together naturally, so it didn't seem like a good idea to split up after our last internship had been cut so short."

Despite trying to put on a steadfast face when reciting the promise she kept mentally repeating to herself before; Ochako wasn't entirely certain that answer would be enough for a seasoned Pro, even if it was more than enough for herself. But the sound of Selkie giving a hearty laugh helped her to ease her nerves.

"That's the kind of can-do attitude I like to see in you up-and-coming Heroes, Uravity-chan! Working to sharpen your areas of weakness in order to make yourself as effective as possible in every situation is as admirable a trait to see in regular civilians as it is to see in Heroes! Never give up in the face of adversity and inner pain; that's the first and foremost lesson we all must learn in order to grow! You'll fit in just fine here with us, I can already tell!"

With Ochako smiling in relief and further motivation; Selkie turned back to head the rest of the way onto the deck of the ship, beckoning his sidekick and two interns to join him. As he showed them around and introduced all the tools of their trade on deck; for Tsuyu it was all very familiar; but for Ochako, it was like stepping into an entirely new world as she took it all in while the ship was starting to finally head out from the harbor.

"As sea-based Heroes, our repertoire may not be as varied as Heroes on land, but it is no less serious or dangerous. When civilians are in danger of a sinking ship, being carried out by currents, being shipwrecked or lost in a hurricane, we're the front line forces of rescue that they have to count on. We even work extensively with the national coast guard in order to help fight potential off-shore Villain attacks or other criminal activities."

In the face of Selkie's unmistakable enthusiasm, Ochako excitedly spoke up: "Do you also work with fishermen or deep sea salvagers, too? Some of our classmates did that kind of work when we did some Hero class work on Nabu Island and told us all about how it worked."

Chuckling, Selkie replied: "Well, today we're scheduled to patrol the waters around Kouchi City here. Every couple of days we reassign our ship to the waters of another city around Japan, but we'll be here for a couple days; so this will be a good chance for you to experience firsthand what our kind of work can entail. Now why don't you two get changed into your Hero costumes, and we can begin your on-hand field training?"

With a spring in Ochako's step and eagerness in both their hearts; she and Tsuyu hurried back into the ship and quickly changed back into their Hero costumes. However, when they emerged, Tsuyu was surprised to see some extensive changes to Ochako's costume: primarily in that her previous headgear had now been replaced by a similar gear adorned with a pink visor that rested over the top of her head and face. Had it been completely sealed around the collar, she would have looked either like an astronaut or a deep-sea diver. Furthermore, her wrists were now adorned with sizable oval-shaped wrist guards with what looked like four little slots upon each cuff, as though something were supposed to come out of them.

She could easily see why Ochako had looked as excited as she had been, holding her costume suitcase the entire train and ferry rides here, and it was certainly an impressive-looking upgrade. "I didn't expect you would make such a sudden change to your look, Ochako. The helmet doesn't really look like it'll help you if you have to go underwater though-kero."

Happy that her froggy best friend was asking, Ochako gladly answered: "Oh, I know; I actually hadn't thought of that, since I'd commissioned these changes before I'd decided to come learn under Selkie-sensei with you. This is mainly just to help protect me from the wind friction if I ever have to go gliding quickly through the air. I'm no good in an emergency if I'm being forced to keep my eyes closed from it, after all. Maybe I could see if Hatsume-san would be able to make me a fully sealed helmet version for if I have to go under after our week here is done."

But from there, Ochako was smiling brightly as she motioned to her large wrist guards. "But these are what I'm really excited to give a try. I had these made with the idea of having some retractable grapple lines stored inside that I could shoot out these holes when I need to, complete with a little motor that can either pull whatever I'm aiming at toward me, or visa versa! It should make rescuing people or fighting from the air a lot easier, right?"

Looking her up and down one last time with that same pensive finger to her chin, Tsuyu nodded. "Yeah. I'm just surprised you didn't think of something like this a while ago. What brought this on-kero?"

Ochako momentarily froze; her brown eyes sinking in thought as she began awkwardly rubbing the tips of her index fingers together. "Well, ever since the Joint Training Exercise, I've been thinking back to what happened with Deku-kun. He seemed to be in so much trouble, and I was barely able to help him at all on my own. I know there's probably a lot of different tools and skills I could work on to make me better at helping people that are out of my reach, but this isn't bad as far as first steps go. I don't ever want to feel as useless as I did back then or during the fight with Chisaki Kai again; so I'll learn whatever I have to, or add as many Support tools as I have to until I know I can help anyone and everyone without any difficulty."

Once more, by the end, Ochako sounded more like she was saying this as an affirming promise to herself, rather than an explanation to Tsuyu. Regardless, the frog-like girl gave an understanding nod for her best friend's reasoning, and thus the two young Hero students finally made their way back on deck, where Selkie and Sirius looked over their setups approvingly, while their three crewmates handled manning the bridge.

"A good aeronautic design, you two, good for maneuvering in water and the air alike. In fact, Uravity-chan, have you perhaps ever heard of winged fish that could actually jump and glide across the air just above the water in certain oceans? Perhaps you could see about implementing a retractable wingsuit variation to your costume to help add to your maneuverability and speed in the air when in an environment without land to regain your bearings."

Selkie's suggestion made a lot of sense the more Ochako thought about it; the rosy-cheeked girl unknowingly donning the same intense thinking expression as Izuku often did, from what Tsuyu was currently seeing.

With all preparations being made, and their ship now sailing out into the coastal waters, Selkie stepped to the bow; prompting his sidekick and students to join his side as he began his instructions. "Keep this in mind, Uravity-chan: no matter how many Support items you take on to help make yourself more useful; out here, aquatic-based Heroes like myself, Sirius-chan and Froppy-chan have a natural advantage in the water, but in your particular case, adapting will be much more challenging, but you clearly strike me as a Hero who readily accepts such challenges! And you'll find that sea-based Hero work truly never ends, compared to the workloads of many land-based Heroes. But do not fret, you two: for as long as you take mine and Sirius-chan's instructions to heart and see how we work, you'll be able to do your duties just as effectively in this, one of the most unpredictable, unforgiving environments, as you will in any city."

Selkie couldn't have give his two interns a better warning in preparation for just a day in the Oki Mariner Hero Agency entailed, as there was far from a lack of incidents for them all to answer to. Tsuyu naturally showed what a natural she was after having trained under the Sea Rescue Hero before, as together with him; using their Frog and Seal Quirks respectively, they were able to both save a large group of swimmers from getting sucked under a rip tide, as well as helping save an underwater research vessel that had gotten disconnected from its leading ship on the surface; the latter thankfully being reported to the Oki Mariner ship by the harbor patrol.

Every step of the way, Sirius was similarly just as helpful in showing Ochako just how they maintained communication with Selkie and Tsuyu, since they were the ones much more accustomed to working under the water; while also giving some demonstrations of how they were expected to provide aid from the surface in certain scenarios.

And fortunately for Ochako, she would likewise be given the chance to show what a quick learner she was; for well into the afternoon, they had received another distress call from the local lighthouse, which had reported seeing a large windsurfing race turn into a massive collision that threatened to have the nearly two dozen participants drown as a result of their injuries, being as far out in open water as they were.

With perfectly synchronized communication and carefully practiced timing of the user of her Zero Gravity in conjunction with Tsuyu and Selkie and the rest of the Oki Mariner crew, they were able to come to the scene just in time to save every one of the civilians involved and get them either onto the safety of their ship or back to the safety of dry land, where thankfully the authorities and first responders had already been contacted to meet with them.

From there, they had come to learn from the least injured of the civilians, that the reason for the boat pileup had been because of the leading boat getting gouged out from beneath the surface by some unseen underwater wreck. Upon Tsuyu and Selkie's confirmation of such a thing being there when they had arrived on the scene, it quickly turned into an extensive salvage mission for the harbor patrol and many of the locals to come and assist the Heroes in; thanks in no small part to Ochako utilizing her Zero Gravity to help lift the long-sunken ship piece by piece, until it was officially cleared away and no longer a threat to any seafarers that would come through this particular area anymore.

By then, night had effectively fallen, and to say that Selkie and Sirius were both pleased with how affective a team Ochako and Tsuyu had proven themselves was a pure understatement; as well as just how much Ochako had proven herself to be just as useful out on the open water as her best friend.

"I can definitely see why you wanted Uravity-chan to come with you to learn from us, Froppy-chan! I had confidence you would be a fast learner, but even I'm impressed with how quickly you've picked up on our tips already! I can tell this is going to be a splendid week for us to all work together!"

Taking her boss' cue, Sirius likewise dropped her serious attitude and was considerably more sociable as she followed: "After we dock for the evening, what do you say we treat you both to a celebratory dinner tonight; for both Froppy-chan's return, and your induction into our ranks as an effective crewmember, Uravity-chan?"

Naturally, a day full of hard work like this had left Ochako and Tsuyu with a considerable appetite, so neither of them was about to turn down such a generous offer. Thankfully, Selkie and his crew quickly proved to have good taste, as they all soon found themselves enjoying some of the most delicious local sushi that either of the young girls had ever tasted in their lives.

As the small TV above the sushi bar counter continued to play in the background, Ochako was practically beaming as she finally took a break from eating to smile gratefully to Tsuyu. "I'm so glad you invited me along to learn here, Tsu! I admit I was really nervous, but everything Selkie-sensei and Sirius-sensei have been sharing for how to work has been so easy for me to take in, more than I ever expected! I'm feeling like I could actually take on anything right now!"

Tsuyu's natural expression remained, but there was an unmistakable happiness in her black eyes as she nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm really glad to hear you say so, Ochako. I just had a feeling in my gut that this would be a good place for you just like it is for me-kero. After Ryukyu-sensei, it just didn't feel right for us to part ways like Kolya-san and Mina had to for their internships. Having to separate from Nejire-senpai was painful enough."

As always, just mentioning their dearly departed former teacher had Ochako and Tsuyu feeling the beginnings of a stinging tingle in their eyes, which they had to try and fight back in order to not to risk spoiling the otherwise festive mood. From there, the mention of their senior schoolmate had Ochako's curiosity running at full speed afterward: "I wonder how Hadou-senpai's been doing lately with the Kamuron Heroes since they took her on. It sounded like she was doing well the last time she mentioned it, but it's been such a while since then, you know?"

Before Tsuyu could either proffer a guess or suggest they simply text Nejire to find out and fill her in all at once; the TV suddenly began playing the usual musical sting that the major news networks in Japan did when reporting a breaking story. This immediately snapped the two girls and their teachers to full attention. Such instinct had basically become an unspoken and unwritten rule among Heroes, was to listen for such a tune whenever they were out among the public. If one was without immediate access to the Hero Network, it made for a good alternative to know what was going on, and if they were anywhere nearby in order to step in and assist.

With the notification having played out, the screen now showed news helicopter footage of what looked like a moderately-sized forest fire in a mountainous region of the country, while the news anchor on the scene urgently described everything that was going on: "Breaking news from out of the Kafurin region of Nagano Prefecture! A recent organized raid by several of the local Heroes in towns around the immediate area, resulted in the surprise explosion of a single factory within the mountains, resulting in this wildfire that Heroes and emergency services alike are currently occupied with taming!

"Information is currently scarce, but from what little the Heroes and police on the scene have been able to tell us, this raid was born from several weeks' worth of suspicion that this once abandoned factory was being used by a criminal organization to try and manufacture the illegal Quirk-enhancing drug informally known on the streets as Trigger; which was previously confirmed to have been manufactured by the now-defunct Shie Hassaikai Villain organization. As of yet, no suspects have been recovered from the immediate scene or the surrounding area.

"It's too early to come to any conclusions as a result, but authorities are advising citizens in all neighboring towns to keep an eye open for any suspicious activity, as it may have a possibility of connection to this incident! Authorities are distributing composite sketches from the Heroes' investigation as to what the missing suspects may look like!"

But as the news anchor proceeded to run the police's composite sketches across the screen, Ochako had turned her attention to her fellow Heroes. "Kafurin…that's actually not that far from Erubi City, if I'm remembering right! That could mean Hadou-senpai and the Kamuron Heroes were part of that raid! I hope they're all okay."

Tsuyu once more brought that thoughtful finger to her chin. "I know her Quirk can be pretty powerful, but I can't imagine Nejire-senpai would be careless enough with it to cause that explosion. And the way you, Kolya-san and Mina talked about those Heroes, I can't see them doing something that careless either-kero."

All the while, Selkie and Sirius were watching the TV intently; the sidekick noting: "Chances are, if they were conducting an investigation on that factory for as long as they said; one of the criminals might have caught wind of the raid, and they decided to blow the place in order to cover their tracks."

Selkie nodded in firm agreement. "Yes, but these organizations value profit over everything else, so they're sure to have fled with at least some of their merchandise in order to try and salvage the loss of their means of development. Unfortunately for them, Trigger has become such a closely pursued substance on the streets, that they'll never be able to manage selling it here in Japan…which only leaves them one real option.

"Harbor patrol is very heavy in Japan, China and Korea, so their only realistic options of where to go in order to unload and sell their drugs would be the black market in either Australia or the Philippines. If they're leaving from Nagano Prefecture, then they would be taking too much of a risk of getting caught by trying to get all the way to the southernmost part of Kyushu Prefecture before setting sail, and cutting directly south through Shizuoka Prefecture, with its thick concentration of Hero Agencies, would likewise be foolish…which means Shikoku would be their best bet of where to cast off from. Let's make sure we're energized and well-rested, everyone. I have a feeling we could potentially find these fugitives treading our waters quite soon."

January 2nd

Selkie's rigorous schedule of having Sirius, Tsuyu and Ochako take shifts in keeping watch with him on night patrol while the Oki Mariner continued to patrol the waters, managed to help make it easier for the two interns to still be well rested and plenty energized for the next day's worth of work once dawn had come.

Once they were both up, the first thing they were greeted with was their own respective walls of text messages from nearly all of their classmates, all asking how their first days had gone, while likewise describing their own in so many words or photos; since attempted video calls ended up going unanswered after several attempts.

Thankfully, it seemed like everybody from Classes A and B were already getting along fantastic with their old and new Pro Hero mentors. The most standout examples were that Mina was easily the most verbal in expressing how excited she was at having been accepted as Mirko's first full-time intern; and Eijirou and Maja expressing near identical relief that not only were he and Tetsutetsu already working fantastically with Tamaki under Tunguska and Fatgum, but that Fatgum himself already seemed to like Maja for her attitude as well, and that so far no situations had arisen that forced her to overstep her role as an unlicensed observer. Although hers and Tetsutetsu's added presence seemed to make Tamaki completely shut down from the very beginning throughout the whole first day. Then there were the borderline broken messages from Denki and Minoru; who were barely able to string words together into intelligible sentences to describe their internships under Mt. Lady.

Most surprising, though, was just how minimal Izuku, Nikolay, Bakugo and Shoto were in explaining just what their current situations with the Endeavor Agency were; which was especially disappointing, since their training under the Number One Hero was easily the one thing every one of their classmates wanted to know about more than anything.

Either way, everyone seemed to be adjusting to their internships very well, and that helped to make Ochako and Tsuyu's spirits soar when they stepped out onto deck in costume to greet the morning sun and a brand new day on the field of Heroism.

Selkie and Sirius could likewise sense this positive aura radiating off their two interns, much to their approval. "I'm glad to see you both look so rested. You adjusted to the sleeping shift transition much better than I expected. We're about to begin morning patrol, so go ahead and get yourselves some breakfast from the galley."

At their teacher's instruction, the two girls made their way down into the small dining room of the Oki Mariner, where one of the three muscular crew members was already working hard in the minuscule kitchen, with a decent variety of simple foods for them to choose from.

But as the two girls began to hurriedly eat through their chosen small portions to get themselves energized for the rest of the day, their phones both began to vibrate at once with a coming call. And once they both pulled the devices out, they were visibly surprised to find that it was none other than Nejire Hadou calling on the other end.

The moment the two girls answered, their senior's voice was already immediately rattling off: "Uravity, Froppy? Are you there? I didn't get the wrong numbers, did I?"

"Hadou-senpai, we can hear you!" "We're right here, Nejire-senpai. How have you been doing-kero?" Ochako and Tsuyu simultaneously answered before Nejire could go off any further, as she was wont to do when left to her own devices for too long.

"Yeah, we'd both wanted to call and make sure you and the rest of the Heroes from Erubi City were okay after we'd heard last night's news." Ochako quickly explained.

To both their relief, Nejire didn't sound like she was in any pain, or particularly distraught, but she did sound comparatively more serious or straightforward than usual. "Oh yeah, we're totally fine, you all don't have to worry. It sounds like you're both doing pretty okay learning under Selkie so far, too. I'm glad, because everyone from the Agency should be calling him right now while I'm talking to both of you. That whole thing on the news is actually what it's all about."

This got Ochako and Tsuyu both surprised but even more concentrated on just what their senior wanted with them, as Nejire continued: "Reflector-sensei had the police put together the composite sketches to spread through the news for people to look out for the criminals that ran away from the explosion, but we actually just got word back through the Hero Network about one of them being identified.

"Apparently, he's some big time overseas smuggler for a bunch of different black markets west and south of Japan, and considering what he and his gang are carrying with them, we've decided to split up so me and some of the others can come down to team up with you all and the coast guard to see about stopping them before they flee the country. We'd heard through the Network that Selkie was currently stationed at Shikoku, so it seemed like a perfect idea…plus it means we finally get to work as a team again! I know Willow Light-sensei's totally excited to see you again, Uravity, but I'm, like, a hundred times even more!"

But while Nejire was clearly letting her serious side slip to her more bubbly side, Ochako and Tsuyu were both still very surprised at this upcoming and unexpected reunion, as Tsuyu answered: "I don't want you to think we aren't excited to see you again, Senpai, but do you all really think it's a good idea to split up all of a sudden?"

But Nejire, being nothing but herself, didn't sound the least bit bothered about it: "Oh, I've got no reason to be worried. Big Trouble-sensei and Ninja of Valor-sensei have everything under control back in Erubi City, and me, Willow Light-sensei and Reflector-sensei wanna help however we can. We're already well on our way to Shikoku. We should be there in a little more than an hour by now. I can't wait to see you both again! Looking forward to it!"

With that, Nejire hung up, leaving Ochako and Tsuyu to process the pleasant surprise of getting to see her on the field again. But now knowing just what they would be looking forward to working on today, they hurriedly downed their respective breakfast before making their way back onto deck, where they could tell that Selkie had indeed been contacted by the Kamuron Heroes, judging by the seriously focused look on his seal face.

"I understand that your senior from learning under Ryukyu-san has reached out to you about our new plans today as well. It looks like we're going to have our hands full today. However, considering the potential threat being carried by the fugitives; if they should be bold enough to show themselves out here today; we would do well to have all the professional help we can get."

Instinctively knowing they were all on the same page of understanding, the Sea Rescue Hero gave his interns their instructions: "Sirius-chan, give our students their ear pieces. In order to prevent the criminals from slipping away through a potential blind spot in our patrol, we'll need eyes on the general area from all angles. With our ship's radar, Sirius-chan manning binoculars from the deck, Froppy-chan keeping an eye on things from underwater, and Uravity-chan keeping watch from the air, we should have all our bases covered, while also still being able to respond to any and all incidents that could occur out here until then. Does everyone understand what we're doing right now?'

As Sirius handed Ochako and Tsuyu two tiny ear pieces with which to stay in contact with each other; subsequently nodding in confirmation of what was being asked of them; the Oki Mariner Crew was able to officially start their second officialy day working together, as Tsuyu expertly dove into the water, while Ochako used her Zero Gravity to help herself float up into the air, while Sirius kept watch on the bow with her binoculars; Selkie providing watch from the other side of the ship while another of the crew members manned the helm.

Initially, today started off rather slow. With the exception of Tsuyu and Selkie once more saving some swimmers from drowning, nothing else seemed to be amiss as far as Ochako could tell from her high-up vantage point. With so many people on the beaches, playing out in the shallows, and as many leisure and fishing boats out on the open waters as there had been yesterday, everything seemed perfectly normal.

Which was why it surprised her so much when, from out of nowhere after nearly an hour of patrol, her earpiece was ringing with the sound of Selkie's serious voice: "Everyone man your stations and get ready! We've got a medium-sized ship with no official license markings heading out to open water from the east at full speed! Uravity-chan, Froppy-chan, get on board at once!"

As soon as the two girls returned to the Oki Mariner, the ship took off at full speed through the water in pursuit of the currently microscopic boat ahead, that was indeed moving as fast as it visibly could. The Sea rescue Hero stood steadfast at the bow, while Sirius was continuing to keep watch on their target with her binoculars; all while Ochako and Tsuyu could only stand by and try to keep from getting rocked about by the increasingly choppy waters.

"Any idea how many people are on board that boat, Sensei?" Ochako finally was able to ask; to which Sirius immediately answered: "I've only seen three on deck so far, but with that news report having more than three composite sketches, chances are very good the rest are just waiting inside for the first unwelcome Hero to get on deck."

However, Selkie was completely unperturbed. "Smugglers like these; it's not like we've never dealt with them before. Froppy-chan and I can close distance from under the water with the help of my Sonar ability, while the criminals focus only on the Oki Mariner. At our current speed, we could be able to close the majority of the distance between us in no time."

That was pretty much how he gave his order for Tsuyu and himself to do so, as without any further hesitation, the frog and seal Heroes expertly dove from the side of the ship into the water; having no problems whatsoever matching its speed from underwater on impact, before actually managing to outpace it; all while Sirius kept watch on the boat ahead, and the rest of the crew kept the ship running as fast as it was currently going.

"Uravity-chan, I suggest you get yourself ready. If my hunch is right, they could be risking running into a potential ambush. If they have backup from up above, that could make for a good distraction while we get the ship in place to immobilize their boat for good."

As Ochako nodded and prepared to use her Zero Gravity on herself again; on the criminal's boat, one of the men that had consistently remained visible on deck, had likewise been aware of the one ship pursuing them, and how it was decidedly gaining on them. He had likewise seen how two of the people on board had dived off into the water several seconds ago, undoubtedly to try and get the drop on them from below.

Fortunately for he and his gang, they had been well-prepared for a situation like this, as he hurriedly produced a small syringe from out his jacket pocket, wasting no time before he injected it into himself; his whole body momentarily going into violent spasms as the substance inside quickly took its effect on him.

"Good luck chasing us through this!" he declared in mockery of their pursuers, before he extended his hands in the direction of the Oki Mariner, and suddenly produced a gigantic thick cloud of smoke from out his palms that spread out almost like an explosion of nothing but the stuff, instantly cutting off Sirius' line of sight on their ship, and thus forcing the Oki Mariner's crew to bring their ship to a stop. As Ochako immediately took action to set off into the air to try and regain their line of sight, it quickly became apparent just how large this sudden blast of smoke really was, as after ascending over thirty feet, she still couldn't see anything more than an inch in front of her. It was like being in a giant mushroom cloud of smoke.

Unfortunately for the Heroes, Selkie and Tsuyu didn't find themselves with any better luck down under the surface. Selkie's trusty Sonar ability had made it very easy for them to keep track of the criminals' ship. But once they had been within fifty or so feet of it, something suddenly became apparent: there was an unusual protrusion stuck to the very bottom that no other boat the Sea Rescue Hero knew of possessed. Instinct would have made him assume it was just a mass of barnacles adhered to the hull…but upon getting just a bit closer, he and Tsuyu could then recognize that it was actually a person, somehow managing to maintain an inhuman grip on the bottom of the ship, despite the powerful current pushing against him, and he was likewise keeping a watchful eye on the two approaching Heroes.

Before either of them eve knew what to expect, the watchful criminal suddenly opened his mouth and produced a piercing high-pitched whine that resonated through all the water at such a volume that exceeded any kind of regular noise. It was like the penetrating power of a whale's song amplified a hundredfold, to the point that it brought Selkie and Tsuyu both to an immediate stop, as they desperately tried to cover their ears in the hopes of making that torturous ringing in their heads stop.

The noise persisted and refused to lower for a considerable while, and by the time it had finally gotten to a point that it didn't feel like Selkie or Tsuyu's heads would crack from the pain; they immediately realized it was too late. Without the sound of the Oki Mariner rushing after the fleeing smuggler boat overhead, and especially the dimmed sunlight coming through the surface as they looked up, it all became clear: those criminals had been more than ready for a pursuit, and had effectively cut the Heroes off from every conceivable angle the Heroes could have gone after them.

This was all painfully confirmed between the two groups once they reunited on board, and the smoke had at last cleared. Just as they had dreaded, by then, there was no sign of the smugglers at all, and the Oki Mariner was left with no choice but to try and regain their bearings and see if there was anything they could salvage from this unforeseen mishap.

Thankfully, the Oki Mariner crew was nothing if not resourceful and quick to get back on their feet, as Sirius proved once she had quickly returned to the bridge with a bundle of maritime maps of the general area.

"That boat of theirs wasn't going at full speed until we'd chased them for a good way, which means they didn't know we'd been following them from the start. With that in mind, they were always intending to head south as they were, so we have an idea of the two destinations they would have to offload their cargo."

Looking over the map, Tsuyu asked: "But it's still a very long voyage from here to either the Philippines or Australia, and that boat didn't look like it had a nearly big enough gas capacity to make that trip."

As Selkie and Sirius both nodded in agreement, Ochako followed up: "Well, Kolya-san, Todoroki-san and Kouda-san had the fishermen at Nabu Island compile all their gas into one boat so they could make enough of the trip to call for help before. Do you think it's possible those smugglers might have had some extra cans stored inside, or even siphoned some from other local ships before heading out?"

Selkie still didn't take his piercing eyes off the maps, even as he answered: "That's a good guess, Uravity-chan, but with how active and essential the fishing and shipping businesses are in this part of the county, no one would have been able to pull off such a crime without us and the police being notified about it all but instantly. No…there's really only one option that boat would have if it wanted any hope of completing its voyage. Look here."

The Sea Rescue Hero directed his two students' attention to one of the smaller maps of the waters just a little ways south of Shochiku Island, wherein a microscopic chain of islands could finally be seen.

"These are the Verize Islands. We've had a couple of instances where other smugglers or small time Villains tried to hide out here for either business or safety concerns. They're the only real stopping off place for those types before they make the long jump to either the Philippines or Australia. The islands are densely forested, so it could be possible they would either have caves to serve as hideouts, or as hidden refueling spots to make the long jump. Whether we'd tried to intercept that boat or not, this would be the one place they would have to go to either top off on fuel or hide out, now that we've effectively spooked them."

Sirius nodded in agreement while Ochako and Tsuyu were visibly absorbing everything they were being informed of with absolute focus. "Their only real remaining bet to try and slip away would be to ride their boat out the other side of the island chain under the cover of the night. They're not about to risk their necks riding out in broad daylight after we made them see they didn't slip away unnoticed. The bad news is that with the islands being as numerous as they are, we simply have no idea which one they could be hiding in, and the forestation is so dense, that it would be difficult for us to navigate once inside, even if you were to be providing us a birds' eye view, Uravity-san."

However, Selkie's already powerful frame seemed to swell with an inhale of anticipation as he continued: "The good news, however, is that this show of caution of theirs gives us plenty of time to get more help out here, so we can get the drop on them from every direction. With the Kamuron Heroes already on their way, that already will give us a distinct advantage in terms of numbers and abilities if the criminals should try to fight back. We only need to call the coast guard, and then we'll have everything we could possibly need to pull this off."

Similarly inspired by just how confident their teachers sounded in this strategy of theirs; Tsuyu quickly grabbed her phone from out her costume's inside pocket. "I'll call Nejire-senpai and tell her and the Kamuron Heroes to come meet us out here. If we alert the coast guard right now, they could help get them to us that much sooner."

Fortunately, none of the Oki Mariner crew had to wait too much longer from there. Within the next hour, not only had a small fleet of visibly well-armed and fully manned coast guard ships come sailing onto the scene, but with them had also come Nejire, Willow Light and Reflector of the Kamuron Hero Agency; all three practically hopping from their own ship to the Oki Mariner.

"Uravity, Froppy! Oh Em Gosh, I'm so happy to see you two again, it's been way too long!" Nejire squealed excitedly as she practically scooped her two juniors into her arms in an ecstatic hug. "Have you two been keeping up on your training? Ooh, is that a new suit, Uravity? It looks so cool; are you going for an astronaut look? Why would you intern under an aquatic Hero in that case? What's the highest up you've ever tried to make yourself float so far? Are you actually able to breathe underwater, Froppy? What's the deepest you've ever tried to dive, or the longest you've ever tried to hold your breath?"

Neither Ochako nor Tsuyu could begin to deny that there was something about Nejire's boundless curiosity and endless questions they'd actually come to dearly miss with having her around, even if she was so fast with them that they never even got a chance to answer one, let alone all.

And Willow Light was hardly any different when it came to pure energy, as she almost literally bounced right in the moment Nejire had to stop to take a breath; the Irish-Japanese Pro Hero giving off an enthusiastic peppiness that almost would've made the two of them look like siblings, rather than mentor and student. "It's so good to finally see you again after all this time, Uraraka-chan! And this must be Asui Tsuyu-chan, here! Oh, Nejire-chan has told me so much about you from your time interning together, and you're even cuter than I thought you'd be! Your costumes look so good! I hope you've both been giving your all out here with Selkie-san so far; if Ashido-chan and Bezpalov-kun are out there busting their backsides under Mirko and Endeavor of all people, then you and your whole class have a lot of heavy lifting to do, yourselves, if you wanna keep up!"

Tsuyu was naturally taken aback that the Pro Hero Ochako, Mina and Nikolay had all talked about so much was this peppy; Ochako was thankfully much more used to it, and was thus able to answer confidently: "We've been doing great out here so far, Hadou-senpai, Willow Light-sensei…but this will honestly go a lot smoother now that you're all here with us."

Finally having the chance to speak with the seriousness necessary to get everyone back on track, the mirror-masked Reflector finally answered: "Well, we're happy to give a helping hand. After what those criminals were pulling so close to our home turf, it wouldn't be right for us to sit this out. Perhaps it would be best if we go over everything we know on both ends so we can formulate a plan."

Selkie and Sirius both were in full agreement from the beginning, and thus both Hero groups and the leading officers of the coast guard made their way back into the Oki Mariner. From there, Selkie proceeded to go over everything they had previously discussed in terms of where the criminals were undoubtedly headed, and what their best time to launch an attack would be.

"I caught a glimpse of the criminal that was on deck injecting himself with something just before he launched that massive smoke screen at us. That just about confirms our suspicions that they're trying to smuggle a shipment of that drug, Trigger, out of the country, and that that was what they were manufacturing in the factory that blew up when you all tried to raid it." Sirius sounded absolutely certain of this assessment, as did Selkie and Ochako.

However, a look of nervous uncertainty on Willow Light and Nejire's faces gave them all pause, before the former finally answered; her tone now purely serious this time as well: "Actually, we were just given confirmation from the police investigating the remains of the scene after the fire had been put out. They were able to recover only minuscule traces of whatever those smugglers were making in that factory…and a compound identification trace confirmed that it's not actually Trigger."

This left the Oki Mariner crew visibly shocked, as Ochako couldn't help but exclaim: "But the news said that it was, that it was the whole reason you and the other Heroes conducted the raid in the first place! And it looked like that syringe had made that smokescreen criminal's Quirk that much stronger, just like Trigger is confirmed to. What else could they have been making if it wasn't that?"

Reflector let out a heavy sigh from under his mask. "Yes, unfortunately, the news networks that had been covering the event were very premature in reporting that detail to the public. To be honest, we were only operating on an assumption that we were dealing with Trigger manufacturers, because there simply haven't been any other Quirk-affecting drugs on the Japanese black market recently, let alone the rest of Asia."

"We know that their merchandise was important enough that the criminals would actually take the chance of blowing up the one place they were making it, just so they could get away with even one sample of it." Nejire concluded, ultimately confirming Selkie and Sirius' previous suspicions as to why the explosion had occurred at all.

But Tsuyu once more couldn't help but think and ask: "Remember the reports after the Hassaikai raid, about how members of the League of Villains attacked the police convoy, and all their lieutenants and the Trigger samples disappeared with them? Do you think it's possible they might have had some associates they would give those samples to in order to try and replicate it, and they just haven't done it in large quantities yet? Like, the samples they're trying to run away with were a lucky accident?"

Alas, Willow Light and Reflector were both shaking their heads in negation; the female Pro explaining: "We were only able to get a confirmed identity of one of the smugglers from the Hero Network and the police alike. He's a well-established black market dealer in a lot of continental Asia and Australia; that was how we were able to deduce he would try to take his cargo down south. However, as far back as we've looked into his criminal record, he's never had any confirmed connections or even any interactions with any known members of the League. That just makes this scheme of theirs that much more unsettling, since there's no telling who they're making this stuff for."

"Do we at least have any idea what it actually is they're making?" Sirius asked, and the grim air that settled over the Kamuron Heroes could physically be felt by all, as Reflector answered:

"As a matter of fact, we do, miraculously. The results of the compound trace test of the samples that were recovered were put out into the police and Hero networks for anyone to identify if they could. It wasn't long after that an answer was given by the police up in Hokkaido. It was identified as being identical to the mysterious compound that originated from the incident in Gagaringrad a few months back, based on the testimonies from the cleared suspects of that whole incident, and some of the very few recovered pieces of physical recorded documentation picturing and it from that entire scene. It matches…if it's not, in fact, even somehow stronger than the recorded compound from back then. Unfortunately, those testimonies and those scant pieces of documented evidence are all we have to go on, since no physical samples of the compound itself from back then were ever recovered. However, just because we know what it is, doesn't mean we still have any idea of exactly what it does."

The moment the mention of the whole Gagaringrad incident and its apparent connection to this current incident was made clear; neither Ochako nor Tsuyu could hide the shaken look of potential realization in their eyes as they looked to each other for confirmation. "Tsu…you don't think this could have anything to do with Maja-san's missing friend, do you?"

"I couldn't think of any other alternative if they've got their hands on what those Villains up there were making, Ochako. He was the only one they never found, as well as that weird serum stuff. It only makes sense."

As soon as the two girls spoke up, Selkie interjected: "My crew and I may have been involved in the investigation of that incident after all was said and done, but please feel free to let everyone in on whatever it is you're thinking, if it can shed some light on this incident."

With all eyes in the bridge now on them, the two girls stood steady, as Ochako answered: "One of the suspects from that incident in Hokkaido, Maja Kieslowska-san, recently joined Yuuei Academy as a student. Ever since that whole thing happened, our classmates who had been up there, as well as her, have told us pretty much everything there was to know about it and the people involved, willingly and not…and one of the latter was a personal friend of hers, the one person who was never found."

Tsuyu kept rhythmically nodding in confirmation before chiming in as well: "She said he's a Romanian guy named Marius Lazarescu, and if he and whatever that weird serum the Villain in charge was making were both never found, then it only makes sense that he has it with him wherever he went…and if these smugglers had a factory recreating that stuff, or an even stronger version of it; whatever it does; then he must be in direct involvement with whoever they're making it for, if not just him alone-kero."

Ochako looked downright beseeching at this point as she concluded: "We all promised Maja-san that we would do whatever we could to help get the last of her friends back so he could be helped, and this is the closest possible lead we've ever come across to finding out where he is or who he's with. We can't risk missing this chance!"

The heartfelt emotion in Ochako's words and Tsuyu's expression were unmistakable to all their fellow Heroes and the coast guard officers, as they all nodded in solemn understanding; Selkie reaffirming: "We're not going to let that happen, Uravity-chan, Froppy-chan. We have a general area where the culprits are hiding, and we now have enough forces on hand to completely encircle the whole chain, so we can wait to get them in a position where we can overwhelm them before they have a chance to fight back, even with their underwater lookout thrown in the mix. Once we have them in custody, you can finally start getting answers for your friend's sake. But first, let's go over exactly what we're going to do so we don't risk leaving any openings for them to slip through."

Nightfall

It took a great deal of time to make sure all parties understood every step of the plan, and even more time to make sure all boats were in position around and within every pinpointed nook and cranny of the Verize Islands by the time the sun had begun to set.

But when all was said and done, everyone understood, and in just enough time, everyone was exactly where they needed to be; with the coast guard ships forming a ring, standing guard over every potential exit out into open water, while the Oki Mariner stood ready at the mouth of the island chain that was ultimately nearest to Shochiku Island. It undoubtedly had to be where the criminals had initially entered, and thus would be a good place to begin their patrol; especially with the added benefits of one of the crew on radar, Sirius keeping watch with binoculars, Selkie and Tsuyu keeping quiet and near their ship from under the water, and Ochako, Nejire and Willow Light keeping an eye on things from up in the air; thanks to her improved weight tolerance with her Zero Gravity.

Once radio contact had been confirmed with all the coast guards ships that they were in position, it was time for Reflector to initiate his share of the plan; the one that would hopefully help everything else fall into place. Having taken the last few hours to memorize the layout of the Verize Islands, as well as Selkie's options for where the smugglers would most likely be hiding and therefore emerge from; he finally began putting his Quirk to the test; focusing with everything he had on the layout of the islands, while slowly extending his arms forward, as though he were trying to erect something.

While Sirius and the crew wouldn't be able to see it from here; the coast guard and the Heroes up above could see the effects taking place. Thanks to Reflector's intense concentration through the picture clearly in his mind; he was managing to create the illusory reflections at every potential escape route necessary, casting the reflections of the waiting coast guard ships at just the right spots in order to deceive the smugglers into thinking they were trapped; thereby leaving them vulnerable to an ambush. And thankfully, with all the other boats maintaining complete darkness with their lights switched off, the illusion would be maintained, and the smugglers would be none the wiser.

And they started to take action at just the right moment, as Willow Light soon alerted everyone on comms in a serious whisper: "We've got movement from within the northeastern quarter of the islands, on your nine o'clock, Oki Mariner. Please confirm."

Sirius immediately turned her binoculars to her left on the bridge, just as Selkie and Tsuyu completely submerged beneath the surface, listening for the distinct rumbling echo of an engine. It didn't take long for them to hear it, just as she was able to see the half-obscured form of the smuggler's boat moving through the myriad forested island maze. "I've got visual confirmation."

"And we've got the sound of their engine, too. They're finally making their move. As long as Reflector-san keeps his Reflective Walls in place, we'll be able to lead them right where we want them. Sirius-san, I'll give the our ship a push, and you maintain pursuit with the rudders. We need to go without the engine so they don't end up hearing us. That goes for everyone else, too. Maintain complete silence until Willow Light-san gives the signal."

Just as promised, Selkie proceeded to use his exemplary strength to push the Oki Mariner at a gentle glide across the water, leaving Sirius and the rest of the crew to start steering it through the twists and turns of the islands off of the water alone, without any aid from the engine. All the while; Ochako, Nejire and Willow Light kept watch from above, just waiting for when the smugglers would be in the ambush position; and Selkie and Tsuyu maintained a roundabout pursuit from under the water, not risking another direct approach like last time, simply listening to the echo of the engine to keep tabs on where the boat was.

On the smugglers' boat, all the men visible on deck were watching every inch of their surroundings with tense eyes. Their boss had made it very clear that they couldn't risk having their member with the Smokescreen Quirk use it the moment they stepped out, because for all intents and purposes, it looked like the coast guard hadn't figured out their position yet, and that was their best motivator as to stay completely quiet while coasting through and keeping their lights out completely. It was like a true naval game of cat and mouse as far as everyone involved was concerned.

Their boss had expressed a distinct familiarity with these islands, which left the whole crew more than confident that they could still find a way to slip out of here unnoticed. And it was because that confidence had been so strong…that they all nearly felt their hearts shatter when they'd prepared to make their first turn to freedom, only to find what was unmistakably a coast guard boat waiting just out of plain sight, like it was just waiting to ambush them.

As a result, they were forced to continue moving their boat down the same direct path, having had a number of backup escape routes long since mapped out in a situation like this. But with the next few that they prepared to take, they were once more met with the sight of yet another coast guard boat just lying in wait.

After a couple instances of their escape plans being botched; forcing them to keep taking the direct route; the smugglers perched underwater on the bottom of the hull; their underwater look-out so to speak, with a pair of gills lining his sides; finally couldn't take not knowing anymore, as he spoke into his own ear piece while continually scanning their immediate surroundings: "Hey, what the hell's going on up there, you guys? Why're we still going straight?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, one of the other smugglers on deck whispered in response: "We've got coast guard ships waiting at every one of our escape routes. It's like they knew where we'd been hiding all along. They're not giving us a choice."

Now alerted to this unexpected move on the authorities' part, the lookout hurriedly began looking all around to confirm. Fortunately for him, though, tonight was a full moon, so he had more light to work with. And it was because of that light, that when he looked in the direction of a few of the exit routes they had agreed upon; the same ones that his partners were now saying were blocked by coast guard ships; he quickly realized something: 'Wait a minute…if there's boats standing guard at the exits…then where are their shadows on the water? Holy shit, it's an illusion! The Heroes are trying to bottleneck us!'

THWIP!

But before he could try to radio his partners as to his discovery; he was suddenly getting wrangled by his head by Tsuyu's prehensile tongue, quickly yanking him right off the bottom of the boat, where as she reeled him in, she quickly kicked herself off a nearby rock like a springboard, allowing her to meet him with a powerful kick to knock him out cold. By following Selkie on their much longer detour around the perimeter of the islands, as well as applying her Camouflage ability near the end; they had ultimately been able to get in close on the criminal's blind spot, in accordance with how they believed the smugglers would react when the mirror illusions were put in place. So far, everything was going according to plan.

And just as soon as Tsuyu dispatched the lookout, Selkie communicated just as much to Sirius through their earpieces, after which she communicated the same via Morse Code with her flashlight to their three fellow Heroes in the sky above.

However, what they hadn't foreseen was that the smugglers were likewise maintaining constant radio contact with each other; and thus once Tsuyu had knocked out their lookout, they just as quickly realized what was really happening: a Hero ambush.

"SCREW IT, WE'LL TAKE OUR CHANCES!" This was what the helmsman among the smugglers ultimately decided, as the engine of their ship suddenly kicked into full gear; ready to practically ram through the first of the coast guard ships if it meant any chance at escape. The Smokescreen user was even getting ready, as he pulled another syringe from out his jacket, in preparation to try and cut off their enemies' lines of sight on their boat.

"WILL O' THE SHOOTING STAR!"

At Willow Light's battle cry, the Illuminating Hero suddenly became entirely encapsulated in a bright light; forming into a single large orb of it, before she went shooting down from up above at nearly the speed of sound, just like a shooting star; her trajectory arcing the closer she got to the islands, before she went from descending to practically gliding above the surface, and making a blinding beeline straight for the back of the smuggler's ship. The Smokescreen user didn't even have the chance to finish plunging the Quirk-enhancing syringe into himself before the growing light forced his gaze, just in time for that incoming orb to suddenly burst, allowing Willow Light in her actual form to come flying in and landing a perfect dive-kick straight across his head; her momentum behind that blow sending him spinning through the air listlessly over the rail of the boat, just in time for Tsuyu to poke her head out of the water and wrangle him in with her tongue like the lookout.

As soon as Willow Light was now on both feet on deck, Selkie and Tsuyu likewise followed suit; practically launching out of the water in preparation for the fight to come.

And the smugglers were more than ready, as the moment they could feel those two impacts of feet on deck, a good half dozen of them came bursting out from the door leading to the bridge and the cargo hold; all of them either wielding guns or having their Quirks at the ready to fight back against the three Heroes standing before them.

But this was just about the reaction they had all prepared for, as with a combination of Willow Light's physical light orbs from her fingertips flying around to knock them silly straight into the path of Nejire's energy blasts from her cylindrical hair locks; and Selkie and Tsuyu's perfectly practiced synchronized physical combat skills knocking the smugglers that remained into each other; thus knocking them out; the fight was over before it could even really start.

"Alright, that should just about cover all of them. Let's head inside and see what we can recover." Selkie declared victoriously as he and Tsuyu made their way inside, while Willow Light and the newly returned Nejire looked over the unconscious smugglers on deck, and Ochako descended back onto the deck of the newly arrived Oki Mariner, while Reflector likewise dissipated his reflections, signaling for the coast guard ships to start moving in.

But after a minute, Tsuyu suddenly emerged with a serious look of distress in her eyes. "There's nothing in here-kero."

At that same time, Willow Light likewise responded: "And this isn't all of the smugglers we were pursuing from the factory explosion, either. The leader we told you about isn't here!"

VRRRRRRM!

With a sudden and unexpected roar of a powerful engine; all eyes within the Verize Island chain were drawn, just in time to find a high-speed two-engine plane come bursting out from within the same island that boat had originally emerged from; already flying higher and higher into the air above the trees. Just like that, Selkie and Sirius' suspicions of these islands serving as fueling stations as well as hideouts for criminals had been confirmed. Nobody had simply expected this ragtag bunch of criminals to actually have such resources when in a situation as desperate as this.

The moment Tsuyu saw the plane taking off; any sense of strategy was quickly replaced with desperation to stop the smuggler leader from escaping, as she immediately crouched down as flat to the deck as she could, before forcing all of her physical strength into one massive hop; springing herself as high as she could physically go, before launching her tongue out towards the plane once she knew she'd reached the peak of her hop.

Alas, the plane was simply too far, as she couldn't extend her tongue any further, and was thereby left with no other option but to let gravity take her back down, where Nejire quickly came gliding up and catching her before she could risk hurting herself.

But just because Tsuyu and Selkie couldn't do anything to stop the plane, didn't mean the Heroes were entirely out of options. Namely, Ochako's natural sense of urgency to take action kicked in the same moment Tsuyu's had; as her eyes immediately fell to the large harpoon gun on the bow of the Oki Mariner. She made a run for it as she called back: "Sirius-sensei, aim for the plane! I can still go for it!"

Sirius knew they didn't have time to argue or debate. As Ochako quickly put her hands to herself in order to take away her own gravity, Sirius came running out, grabbed the handles to the gun and hurriedly turned it so it would fire in the forward trajectory of where the plane was heading, giving the rosy-cheeked intern a better chance at catching it.

As soon as Ochako grabbed onto the shaft of the harpoon, Sirius pulled the trigger, sending the pointed projectile and Ochako together soaring fast through the air; the young Hero keeping her eyes on the target while hoping with each passing second she would be able to cut it off.

Back on the Oki Mariner, Reflector was likewise keeping an eye on the plane and Ochako's respective trajectories. There was a chance she could make it, but even from here, he and the others could tell it would be very close. Too close for his liking. Fortunately, he knew there was something he could do to help increase her chances that much more.

Now that he no longer had to maintain his reflective illusions here in the islands themselves, he could focus his Quirk on one target. Keeping his eyes on the plane and mentally projecting where he wanted his Quirk to take effect, he threw his arms forward in growing concentration.

As for the smuggler leader piloting the plane, he had no idea of the two Heroes acting together to try and stop him. All he knew was that the rest of his crew had essentially been sent out to act as bait so he could escape with their merchandise, and he was going to capitalize on that chance, no matter what.

And it was that innate sense of panic that made him react as violently as he did, when he thought he was finally about to escape, that he saw the image of another plane suddenly come flying in from his upper right; completely unaware that it was just the reflection that Reflector had conjured up, capturing his own plane mid-flight.

As a result, just as his heart jumped into his throat, he turned the wheel as hard as he possibly could to try and avoid the collision, nearly to the point of snapping it right off the console. As a result, this ended up slowing his plane's momentum to a near crawl, and also turn it so that the full length of its body was right in front of Ochako's incoming weightless flight; providing her much more room to grab onto.

Realizing that the harpoon was reaching the peak of its flight, and wouldn't be able to land onto the plane itself, Ochako knew it was time to put her last-second plan to the test. With all of that momentum on top of her Zero Gravity, she finally let go of the harpoon and let her body continue to fly; surely closing the distance…but just not enough for her to reach by hand.

And that was exactly what she'd had the wrist guards for her costume designed for. She still remembered far too clearly just how much of a risk to herself she had taken when flying in all headstrong to try and talk Izuku down from his rampage during the Joint Training, and so this had been designed to help alleviate that personal risk by even just the smallest bit.

Aiming her right arm forward, a single high-tensile rope with a small grappling hook attached to the end, suddenly fired from one of the four holes lining the cuff of her wrist guard, slamming dead-center into the side of the plane. The moment Ochako knew she'd made contact, the rope began to reel back in, subsequently pulling her in closer and closer as the plane tried to re-stabilize itself; and within seconds, she was flush against the side of the aircraft, having effectively caught up, and she was now ready to bring this whole thing to a swift end.

From here, she knew she would have to act very fast, and she couldn't afford to use her Quirk in any other ways than she was planning right now. And so, the moment she managed to get the door open and throw herself inside the fuselage, Ochako quickly brought her fingers together to restore her own gravity, just as the smuggler boss in the cockpit heard the sudden rush of heavy air current come rushing in to signal her intrusion. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

The moment he looked back and saw the Gravity Hero getting back on her feet, he immediately acted, turning on the auto-pilot before getting out of his seat and going for the gun strapped to his hip.

But he clearly underestimated the young girl's sense of planning, as she knew this was not the place for a prolonged fight, but rather an execution of a step-by-step plan, the likes of which she was confident either Izuku or Tunguska would be able to cook up if they were in her position.

She wasted no time breaking into a mad sprint down the passage of the plane towards the desperate criminal, and the moment she saw him start to draw his pistol, she quickly ducked down into a forward roll, planting her fingertips to the floor, and thus removing the gravity from the entire plane. With the intense wind currents already being an issue for the pilot to have contended with, this ended up throwing the plane into a mad lurch as it was practically carried along with the winds; causing the pilot to lose his footing, while Ochako just as quickly leapt up off her feet upon completing her roll, and bringing her fingers to herself to remove her own gravity once again. With her own weight and that of the plane added together, she wouldn't be able to maintain her Quirk's effect for more than a handful of seconds, as she could feel her nausea increasing exponentially already.

With the body of the plane now standing practically vertical in the air, the pilot came plummeting down towards the rising Ochako in mid-air. With her heart racing and her eyes set on the target, she launched her hands forward, planting her fingers to his chest and thus removing his gravity and leaving him suspended in mid-air. At the very next moment, she used the few empty seats lining the body to springboard herself up and over; twisting through the air until she was practically on top of his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his torso from under his arms, before then throwing her body weight forward, flipping him along with her, just as she brought her fingertips back together.

That instant return of all gravity sent the whole plane spinning back with its weight in such a terrible position, while Ochako's rolling full-body grapple sent them both slamming hard into the floor; the smuggler leader landing face-first, thus knocking him completely out.

However, Ochako couldn't allow herself the excitement of thinking how Izuku, Tunguska or any of her friends or classmates would've reacted to seeing her pull off such a maneuver; as the quickly escalating danger of the plane now being in an out of control free fall forced her to come rushing back to the cockpit; anxiously looking over the myriad controls on the console, which she didn't have the first clue of how to work.

However, she had at least seen enough action movies involving planes to know there was one thing she could try that had at least some chance of being effective. As such, she hurriedly threw herself into the pilot's seat, grabbed the steering wheel and pulled with it as hard as she physically could. It was just about the only thing she could think of that had a chance of working, as the plane was now in a near perfect nosedive to the waters below.

As she pulled, and her muscles burned and her teeth clenched, Ochako could barely hear everyones voices ringing out in her ear piece all at once: "URAVITY, TAKE THE PILOT AND GET OUT OF THERE! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS, YOU CAN'T STOP IT!"

With the previous nausea in her stomach still in the middle of settling down, Ochako was hanging tough, refusing to stop trying to pull the plane up. "I CAN'T! WHO KNOWS WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF THIS STUFF OF THEIRS WERE TO SPILL INTO THE OCEAN?! THE PLANE'S TOO HEAVY FOR ME TO MAINTAIN ZERO GRAVITY FOR TOO LONG, SO THIS IS THE ONLY OPTION I HAVE!"

TCHRR-KRR-KRR-KRRK-CHHT!

Suddenly, with an even more violent rocking, Ochako could hear the engine to her right start sputtering out before ultimately seizing. With that, the plane was now starting to list and ultimately go into a spin. Now it was taking everything she had to just keep her grip on the wheel and not pass out, let alone try to pull and level the vehicle out.

Watching this entire situation unfold, Willow Light and Nejire were both immediately on the move; the orange-green-haired Pro once more turning her body into the same high-speed ball of light taking off into the air, while Nejire likewise launched herself up with the twirling of her spiraling hair, before aiming another two of her locks and firing her spiraling energy blasts from them; using their concussive strength to try and force the plane back to a horizontal position, and out of its nosedive, while Willow Light's illuminated body continued to fly repeatedly around it, rhythmically slamming into the undercarriage of the plane to try and help even it out.

Inside, Ochako could actually feel the physical impacts of Nejire and Willow Light's respective actions, as she could see the approaching water start to flatten out beneath her, as the plane was finally starting to come down parallel to the surface.

Those several moments of freefall and trying to fight against it had sapped Ochako of much of her energy alongside her previous spell of nausea already, but now that she was as close to saving this situation as she could be, she decided now was the best chance she would have. So, finally releasing the throttle, she nearly collapsed out of the chair and planted her fingertips to the floor again, once more removing the plane's gravity and reducing its downward speed as a result.

Seeing this, while Nejire and Willow Light were both still too preoccupied with previously trying to level it out; Sirius and the coast guards were likewise ready to act, as they all proceeded to fire their own harpoon guns and tethers at the plane; each line latching on and going taut, finally forcing it to touch down into the water and at last come to a stop, as the last engine likewise puttered and ultimately seized.

With the sound of the last engine dying out, Ochako could just tell that they'd all managed to avert this unexpected disaster, and thus brought her fingertips back together, and restored the plane's gravity, before ultimately heaving from her complete nausea and blacking out from the overall exhaustion.

January 3rd

By sunrise, Ochako had thankfully recovered, and it was instantly clear to her, just how high spirits were among her fellow Heroes after the last several hours. As she, Tsuyu and Nejire were treated to breakfast in the Oki Mariner's mess hall; Selkie, Sirius, Willow Light and Reflector had come back with a considerable amount of info gained by the police from all the apprehended smugglers; firstly that the merchandise they had been trying to smuggle was indeed in the cargo hold of the plane, and that it matched the recorded data describing the compound from the incident in Gagaringrad.

Of course, there was only one thing the Class 1-A girls wanted to know before anything else, as Ochako asked the first chance she got: "Selkie-sensei, if you all helped with investigating that incident, then you must've been given some info, or at least pictures of everyone involved, including that missing guy, Marius. Did you or the police ask the smugglers about him? Is he the one they're working for, or have they at least seen his face at all recently?"

Unfortunately, such a question was the one thing to dim the otherwise celebratory mood, as the Pro Heroes all looked notably regretful before Selkie replied: "They did ask…but unfortunately, the smugglers had never seen him before. In fact, they didn't even actually know who they were working for in any personal capacity."

Seeing Ochako, Tsuyu and Nejire's confusion, Willow Light continued: "According to all of them, they were contacted remotely by a client operating under a fake name; the same fake name that apparently owned that blown up factory to begin with. We tried looking into that name for any kind of identification as to who it could really be, but so far we've come up completely short."

Reflector continued: "In fact, these smugglers were only hired to transport the cargo; they had nothing to do with actually making it. Apparently, their client's associates had been making the stuff in that factory for a long time already, but had left entirely by the time the smugglers had come to pick it up…the same time we'd come to conduct our raid. Whether that means they wished to avoid being identified by the smugglers in the event of their arrest, or they'd caught wind of our plans…I'm afraid we just don't know."

Finally, Sirius concluded: "It doesn't seem the smugglers themselves even knew just what it was they were transporting, only that it was something their client needed moved out of Japan. We found out from them that the only reason they had any syringes of Trigger on them, as we'd seen, was because they had actually done business, transporting it overseas for the Shie Hassaikai in the past, and had kept some of it on standby for just such an occasion as we had yesterday. So at least we know we got what little of that stuff was left out of circulation with this arrest."

However, the Pro Heroes could all see that neither Ochako nor Tsuyu reflected their optimism, as the frog-like girl answered: "Don't get us wrong, we're glad that we got them…it's just that we were hoping we'd finally gotten some kind of lead; anything at all to brighten up Maja's spirits even a little bit, regarding her friend. To get our hopes up, just for it to go nowhere…it hurts a lot-kero."

Suddenly, Nejire shot up onto her feet; her eyes still shimmering as bright as they always did, even if her face looked surprisingly serious for once outside the field of action: "Don't let yourselves get all discouraged so easily like that, Froppy, Uravity! Yeah, we may not have all the answers we wanted right off the bat, but we at least have something to work with that could still possibly lead us to your missing person at some point, and we've got that now because of what you both did today! That's something worth holding onto with everything you've got if nothing else, right? We all know that in these big team-up missions, everybody is an essential piece that makes it all work, and that goes for you just as much as the rest of us! So hold your heads up high and be happy! Because of you two, we've got some real dangerous stuff out of the hands of some really big potential bad guys that could've used it for who-knows-what!"

Selkie crossed his arms and gave a resolute nod of agreement before speaking: "That's right! Even when the criminals pulled a fast one on us, neither of you froze up or hesitated to act, and that's the main reason we've come out on top of this today! That's something more than worth celebrating…and I feel I know a perfect way to do so! Froppy-chan, Uravity-chan, Nejire-chan; you three are clearly quite close, and it's been quite a while since you'd had to part ways. What would you all say if I were to offer you the rest of the day off to enjoy yourselves together on the beach? With our Kamuron Agency friends still here with us, I feel we can manage a day's worth of patrols just fine."

The three students all looked especially surprised, but when Willow Light, Reflector and Sirius all likewise gave approving smiles and nods to the idea of giving the three of them the day off to have fun together; the three visibly lit up with excitement and grateful bows and declarations, before ultimately making their way off the Oki Mariner in order to get changed into something far more appropriate for the beautiful white sand beaches that Kouchi City had to offer.

However, once the three interns had left; the bright and cheerful mood among the Pros quickly dimmed, as they exchanged mutually concerned and pensive glances with one another.

"Do you really think it's right that we kept the rest of the details from them, Selkie-san?" Reflector finally asked; earning a regretful sigh from the Sea Rescue Hero.

"The lack of any answers regarding their missing person is bad news enough. I can't dim the pride of their accomplishment with yet more of it. Besides, it's not exactly like we're fresh out of options on how to act on what info we do have now."

Willow Light proceeded to chime in: "To think that those smugglers had been running this improved compound for as much longer than we'd suspected, as they have. You don't think it would all just be sitting amid the criminal underworlds of their typical drop-off points to this day, would you?"

Sirius answered with clear skepticism: "For something as potentially valuable or powerful as this compound of theirs to just sit and collect dust in the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, China and Korea? I don't think so. These black markets essentially thrive off of maintaining the spider web of business connections across the global underworld. There's no doubt they've been spreading that stuff to every black market out there upon collection, even if in just the tiniest doses. There's no doubt in my mind that their missing person has some kind of direct connection to whoever employed those smugglers to move this stuff, if they're having it be replicated and improved upon."

Selkie proceeded to pull up a global map as he answered: "So far, all we know from them is that this last shipment of theirs was to ultimately go to the European micro-nation of Otheon; which is odd, considering that country's relatively minuscule crime statistics. But, until we can learn more from them or find any further connections to help us identify their client, the most important thing we can take away from this is that we've disrupted a major part of the distribution of this compound from reaching any further criminal hands. For now, we just need to reach out to the Hero Networks of as many foreign nations as we can, and warn them to keep an eye out for any smuggling activity originating from here, so they can try and apprehend as much of the material that's already been distributed as possible."

Later that evening…

The whole day spent on the beach playing together was just as much fun as Ochako, Tsuyu and Nejire had hoped it would be; and having gotten to spend such a great time together after having been separated for as long as they had been, had ultimately made it that much sadder for them to ultimately have to part ways once the sun had begun to set once more. But there was still an unspoken confidence that the trio would be reunited again one day, and that was exactly what filled the two Class A girls' hearts when they'd finally had a chance to strike up a video call with as many of their classmates as they could that night.

Much like the first time, not everybody was able to answer, but there was still a decent number who did. Among them, Mina looked more frazzled than her friends had seen her yet; with her hair all messed up as she was visibly sweating and trying to catch her breath from what had to be yet another relentless run through of Mirko's aforementioned training regimen; while Denki and Minoru both looked more shaken up than anything; leaving everyone curious just what their internship under Mt. Lady was actually consisting of that could leave them looking so unnerved.

By contrast, Eijirou and Maja both looked just as optimistic and pumped as they had been the last time…and of course, seeing their Polish friend again filled Ochako and Tsuyu's stomachs with an undeniable dread that they would have to put her through the same disappointment that they had, as after the go-around of greetings, they all proceeded to once more fill each other in on what their days had consisted of under their mentors.

On one hand, Mina was utterly ecstatic to hear about how well Nejire and Willow Light were getting along, while everyone was simply excited to hear about the two girls working alongside their senior again in today's exciting incident.

On the other hand, Ochako and Tsuyu couldn't help but feel guilty when having to describe the lead they thought they' discovered, only to have it lead nowhere; seeing the eagerness in Maja's expression visibly fade by the end, much to all the other watching students' likewise visible concern.

Ochako simply couldn't help herself anymore after seeing that: "I'm so sorry, Maja-san. I really thought we'd finally had something regarding your friend we could all hold onto until we found him. We both did."

But, in a truly admirable show of emotional control and respectfulness, Maja was still smiling as she lightly shook her head and wiped the beginning of a disappointed tear from her eye. "Don't blame yourselves or apologize to me for any of that, Uraraka-san, Asui-san. I honestly would've thought it was too easy if it had turned out any other way. Besides, the fact is that you all barely know me from a hole in the ground when you get down to it, and yet you still cared enough to ask about Marius for me, and that's not nothing to me. I'm really grateful for that…for all of you, really."

With their Polish friend having expressed her heartfelt appreciation for their efforts thus far, Tsuyu answered with an unmistakable optimism through her usual monotone and nasally voice: "We're not going to stop searching just because this didn't work out this time, Maja. He's a friend of yours, and since you're our friend, we're going to keep doing whatever we can to find him and get him back-kero. We'll see if Selkie-sensei or any other Heroes can ask around about him to the Heroes abroad, and see if they have any luck finding him for us if we have to."

Naturally, all the other students on the call pretty much voiced the same declaration of support for Maja. But once she had once more expressed her thanks, and her desire for them to talk about anything else, lest she started actually crying, Ochako finally asked the one thing that had been on her mind since the call had even started, regarding the few absent classmates from this call: "Hey, has anyone had any luck getting in touch with Deku-kun, Kolya-san, Todoroki-san or Bakugo? Other than those brief texts yesterday morning, every time I've tried reaching out to any of them, I've gotten no answer."

In almost perfect unison, Mina and Eijirou both began nodding in eagerness before forwarding a pair of text messages from Nikolay and Bakugo respectively. "Yeah! I mean, it was just a text from earlier this morning, but Kolya-kun said that Endeavor's really putting them through the wringer with their training, so we shouldn't expect a lot of messages through the rest of the week." "Yeah, Bakugo pretty much said the same thing so I'd leave him alone, before telling me not to think I can start slacking off, and all the usual motivational threats!"

While Ochako was admittedly disappointed that Izuku wouldn't be able to chime in so she could fill him in on everything she had already done; she could at least appreciate the fact he and the others were all getting their time's worth of training under Endeavor, according to whatever messages they'd all been able to send out so far.

If anything, that kind of dedication was very inspiring in its own right. If she and Tsuyu were to get the most from the rest of their week's worth of training, then they couldn't afford to put any less sheer effort as he and his friends were right now. In fact, that was the same kind of inspiration as the rest of the class was feeling as a result as well. Now that four members of Class A were getting the privilege to learn under the Number One Hero; that only meant they had to put that much more work towards growing just the same amount.

As far as Ochako, Tsuyu, and nearly everyone else were concerned when it came to the subject of the still-missing Marius Lazarescu, for Maja, the people of Gagaringrad and the rest of her old friends' sakes; they had been given this slightest of hints as to just what he was up to or who he was associating with right now, and it was for a reason. That tiny sliver of hope was more than enough for all the young Heroes to hold onto, that it would eventually lead them or any Pro Heroes to finally find him and get him back where he belonged, if they all couldn't do so for their friend, themselves. They just needed to hope that another clue would drop before too much longer.

Elsewhere…

Within the overwhelming darkness of a large echoing chamber, a single man sat in silent contemplation as he watched the large TV screen before him play the pieces of news from the international media that his compatriots had deemed so important to share with him. He was a man nearing middle-age, with tightly tied back dark blue-nearly black hair, with similarly colored and razor sharp-looking eyebrows and a goatee sharp enough that it looked as though it could actually pierce flesh. But by far his most noticeable feature was the fact that his skin was an incandescent glowing blue color, to the point he could have served as his own source of illumination within these shadows.

"That factory was our one biggest means of replicating the improved formula within Japan, sir. With it being destroyed, we can no longer supply it to our brothers and sisters in the quantities we had hoped for."

Even if it was only one of his followers that was speaking with such urgency, this glowing man could feel a similar hesitance filling the air from the rest of his compatriots. They looked to him for leadership, and yet they were making it so abundantly clear, just how strongly they doubted in the success of the mission this effort had all been for.

And that was a weakness in their unity that he could not allow to go unchecked, as he slowly rose from his veritable throne, looking over his small handful of confidantes; the roots with which he was able to have amassed the congregation he truly had within his grasp. "Do not fret. I have no doubts in the capabilities of our fellows, even if the supply of hardware we promised them has been prematurely severed. We are all guided by glorious purpose, all the same, and that alongside our unifying will to fight for our future and our world will all together be enough to see our mission through."

While nobody deigned to speak out in disagreement once his voice had finished echoing through the shadows of this great hall, a distinctly accented voice spoke out from the small group before him: "Forgive me for asking now of all times, Father Flect Turn, but do you truly believe we have enough of what we need sent out to all our positioned troops out there in the world? The retribution from the Heroes once we make our first move will be greater than anything any of us has ever faced before. Can we truly say we're prepared for that?"

The glowing man known as Flect Turn looked to his foreign associate in the shadows; his piercing eyes reflecting no distinct change in emotion. "I'm surprised at you, Brother Marius. You're the one who provided us the godsend formula that we were able to improve into this divine agent of ours to begin with. I would have thought seeing such a leap towards our ultimate goal come so smoothly would have cemented your faith in our success."

With that, he proceeded to switch the channel on the TV monitor to yet another foreign news report; this one discussing an upcoming international conference and call for amnesty and homecoming; arranged by the president of Russia himself, Konstantin Khodamchuk; to his displaced Quirked countrymen, that was to take place in the considered-neutral ground of the micro-nation of Otheon.

"Those in power are continuing to make the mistakes that ultimately take the human race one step after another closer to its doom. Russia had the right idea previously, when they drove their Quirked citizens away for the sake of their own safety…and now the fool who places himself in charge invites that very doom right back into his home; hastening the wheels of an avoidable fate. You may have come to us seeking revenge against the Heroes for what they did to your father and his goal, Brother Marius, but the truth is that the goal of Humarise is far bigger than just that.

"We don't fight for revenge against Hero society! We fight for the eradication of Quirks altogether, so that humanity may be saved from extinction! With every passing generation, Quirks are only growing more and more powerful; far too much for the human body and spirit to control; we are all living proof of this grim reality! This is the only course of action we can take if we are to prevent the Quirk Singularity Theory from coming to fruition and destroying our world as we know it!

"The weight of that responsibility weighs heavily on all our hearts just the same, and we all know the prices that we will have to pay in order to secure the survival of our species in the long run, and that is why we will make do with what we have been able to secure in all our agreed positions across the world, and put our plan for salvation into effect only when the time is truly right. Where Quirks will fade out and die, humanity will rise again!"

Endeavor Hero Agency, January 8th

BRRRRING!

The sound of Endeavor's cellphone suddenly ringing while he sat bristling in silent frustration in his office after another afternoon's patrol, had left him feeling more than a little bit frustrated as he grabbed it. For the last five days he had tried his very best to impart all the knowledge and personal Hero experience he could to Shoto and the rest of his interns, in keeping with his responsibilities he had taken on as their teacher. But while it seemed that at least Izuku and Nikolay were taking his words and examples to heart; Bakugo was proving far more stubborn than even the worst of mules when it came to instructions…and worst of all, Shoto was proving to be just as adamant at keeping an emotional distance between them no matter what.

With Nikolay and Tunguska's contradicting pieces of advice refusing to stop bouncing about in his head over all of that time, all of that effort and all that lack of personal progress between himself and his son; Endeavor was in no mood for any paltry wastes of time. Luckily for him, he had at least the wherewithal to look at the caller ID on his phone before answering; thus he could see, to his surprise, that it was actually another of his children that was calling him right now: his eldest child and only daughter, Fuyumi Todoroki. Had he just impulsively just answered, he very easily could have ended up verbally lashing out at her without realizing, and thus leaving himself with even more regrets than he had already.

"Fuyumi." He answered bluntly once he hit the button to answer; and she couldn't have hidden the surprise in her voice on the other end if she'd tried: "Oh! Hello? Dad? Are you at work with Shoto?"

"You know the answer to that." He responded with the same bluntness, leaving his daughter stuttering in embarrassment for a moment. "Oh, right, o-of course you are! It's not like you'd made any secret of Shoto coming to learn under you again this year! I'm sorry, I-I just didn't expect you to actually answer so quickly. It's not just Shoto with you this time, though, is it? His little friends from school are learning from you with him too, aren't they? I only just recently found out! I couldn't believe that you'd actually taken anyone else in besides him! That's fantastic!"

Endeavor kept his eyes cast downward in the same pensive, furrowed look as he allowed his daughter to continue energetically rambling on. But after a whole minute of Fuyumi doing so, he couldn't stay silent any longer: "Fuyumi, I'm sorry, but work always keeps us very busy. You've never called without always having a good reason for it."

Fuyumi sounded even more embarrassed at just how thoroughly she'd forgotten herself in her excitement for her father's apparent growth as a mentor. "Oh, yes, of course! Well, I was calling because, since the next school year is about to start pretty soon, I won't have as much free time as I do now. Since you have Shoto and his friends working as your interns right now, I was hoping that perhaps you all could come home tonight so we could have dinner together... like a real family again. I've already reached out to Natsuo-kun, and he said he would come, as well! I'll whip up a big dinner for everyone! Please say you'll come and bring all of them with you, Dad!"

Endeavor was initially hesitant to say yes. With the whole week of initial internships proving to be a bust as far as Shoto seemed to be concerned; despite his personal hopes; he feared that it would risk souring his mood continuously, to the point it would end up ruining his daughter's plans for this apparent family reunion.

However, there was another thought that occurred to him that gave him considerable pause. Shoto was making it clear that his insistence on severing any emotional connection was based entirely on Endeavor and his past choices. But, perhaps, if he were to have some time like this with his siblings again, it would be enough to at least get him to lower his defenses just the tiniest bit, so that when he and his fellow interns would come back to the Agency again, perhaps he would be just a little more willing to open up and finally allow the real work between them to begin.

Such a possibility sounded downright far-fetched, even ludicrous; Endeavor recognized that far too well. But if the alternative was to simply allow his son to continue stagnating at this point in his emotional growth, and thus risk the progress he could make in his training towards ultimate Pro Hero status as a result, then the choice was becoming increasingly obvious.

And so, with his heart momentarily seizing with unease and anticipation, Endeavor finally gave his answer to his patiently waiting daughter; much to her skyrocketing delight: "Alright, Fuyumi. I promise, we'll all be there tonight."

And there you have it, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! I personally can't wait to put the plans I have for the third MHA movie into effect once this arc and the next two School Briefs spin-off stories are completed.

I hope you're all having a nice summer, and I'll see you all with the next chapter on 08/19, just before my next college semester starts! If that comes to further effect my writing output, I'll be sure to let you all know. But let's keep our fingers crossed that isn't the case, though.