A Hero's Legacy

by OmegusXIII

"In order to save strangers they don't even know, heroes hurt those who love them." That was what Tenko Shimura's father told him. But what if someone came along and told him something else? What if he was given a new life? A new chance? A new family? This is the story of how Tenko Shimura became the greatest hero. (Hero!Tenko fanfic)

2. What It Takes to be A Hero

A/N: And here is the next chapter. :) Now, this will make clear to you all why Tenko still had to go to Junior High despite his being older than Izuku. Consequences exist for a reason, and with how he lashed out, that's to be expected for Tenko. But the question remains: Who is to get One For All?

Also, I am honored that many of you would ask to commission me for my cover arts and/or scene recreations of my stories, including this one, and I'm happy they inspired you, but unfortunately, I can't be able to do that as I am currently going through a financial struggle: I am looking for a job that's closer to home and pays well. Until then, I can't be able to make such requests, so please, put them on hold. But if you still seek further inspiration, please leave a positive review, favorite, and follow my stories. :)

Chapter 2: What It Takes To Be A Hero

At the shopping district, people were just minding their own business, browsing for items at the stands. The civilians were free to mind their own business because of the heroes that protect them. But little did they realize that someone dastardly was lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. It could come after anyone at any moment… All it needed to do… was escape a closed soda bottle.

It was a makeshift prison All Might had trapped him in, and he was intended to be brought to the police. However, Izuku's desperate act to ask All Might his burning questions had brought him down to the shopping district alley. He was helpless, left alone without any means of escape. And it irked him when he woke up to realize it.

"Where am I? What happened?" The slime villain asked himself. It took some time for him to remember what happened. He was in the sewers trying to hide inside Hana's body. But then someone actually went and turned his arm to stone and ripped it off her. And he decided to take his body instead to use that destructive power. If only All Might hadn't shown up…

"Oh, yeah. That bastard. If it wasn't for him, I'd be out of town already." The slime villain cursed. He tried to force himself to expand and break out of the liter bottle, but to no avail. At that very moment, however, Bakugou was walking down the alley with his two cronies.

"That was rough." One of them said. "Weren't you and Midoriya good friends when you were kids?"

"Yeah, in hindsight, you kinda had that coming." The other admitted. "You were a little rough with him today." They weren't wrong. It was natural for Tenko to be defensive of Izuku. That's why he had to get held back for two years so far. He could've been in UA by now if he hadn't lashed out. But Izuku was another story entirely. Of all the things to say, he had to say that to him.

"It was his own fault for getting in my way." Bakugou grumbled, kicking the bottle into a faraway lamppost and popping the lid open, the beginning of a fatal mistake.

"You shouldn't waste your time on the guy. He already knows it's impossible without a quirk. Wasn't that enough?" He asked. But Bakugou knew better. That wasn't enough.

"If you still want to go to UA, that's fine. I'm not against you being a hero at all. If anything, I'd be proud of you. But it wouldn't matter if you don't act like one. So until you do, just leave me alone."

Bakugou growled from what Izuku had told him. He never expected that damned nerd, of all people, to grow a spine. And he hated that…

"Someone's gotta teach that worthless nerd how the world really works." Bakugou grunted. Without giving it a thought, he crushed the soda can in his palm and exploded it with his quirk. It was now charred and bent. "I hate it when he talks heroes!" He tossed the can aside, only for it to be crushed underfoot by a feminine figure.

"Of course you would. Because a hero is the one thing you'll never be." she boldly said.

"Huh?! And who's talking?!" Bakugou shouted. He turned to see Keemia, staring at him with a fierce glare.

"Someone who's going to wreck your shit." Keemia threatened, her right hand turned into a sand like fist. Bakugou's cronies were not expecting to see that face.

"No way…" one of them said with wide eyes.

"It's that transfer from America!" The other said with aghast interest. "I didn't know Midoriya was friends with her!" But Bakugou knew otherwise. She didn't believe he'd ever be a hero, which was strangely not the case with Izuku no matter how he'd been bullied.

"He's not." Bakugou said with a glare of his own towards her. "And you're dreaming if you think you can take me—!" Suddenly, Keemia threw a hard punch at one of the cronies, knocking him to the wall before she quickly took out the other one.

"Wanna keep talking?" Keemia glared. As Keemia and Bakugou confronted each other, the slime villain was met with an embarrassment of riches. Not only did he just break free, but he found two candidates to take advantage of! But which one to take? He couldn't rush ahead like before. That got him in trouble with All Might the last time. He had to be selective.

"No way. I've got two powerful skin suits to choose from now! But which one…?" He asked himself. "If I see that kid with those damned hands again, he'd kill me for sure. And then there's All Might. He already blew me away with one blow. I can't let that happen again…" Meanwhile, the confrontation quickly got intense.

"You know, I was far from being in a good mood today. I've actually been wanting to let off some steam on someone!" Bakugou threatened with a smirk, his right hand exploding in bursts.

"As if I'd let you!" Keemia shouted, throwing a huge fist right at Bakugou, who likewise countered with his exploding palm. The resulting collision made bursts of sand that shot out glass in all directions. The shards of superheated glass shot out near the slime villain, too, forcing him to dodge.

"Hey! That nearly killed me—!" The slime villain shouted in alarm. But after seeing that, it quickly came to a realization. "Hold on… why take just one when I can nail 'em both? This is perfect." Meanwhile, Keemia was cradling her sand fist which had turned into glass, much of it broken off into shards that scattered everywhere in the alley.

"Dammit…!" Keemia growled to herself. Maybe he wasn't so boastful after all.

"See what I mean?" Bakugou mocked. "That's why I'm the best. And don't you forget it."

"Screw you!" Keemia roared, aiming her glass sand fist right at Bakugou. "We'll see how good you are when I chip off all your teeth!" However, at that moment, both sides realized something was off. A large shadow came over both of them. Their eyes grew big with fear as the slime villain looked upon them.

"Perfect. I like my skin suits with some fire. But should I pick one? Or the other? How about both?" the slime villain mused as Bakugou and Keemia quivered with fear. For all their powers— no. Because of them, they were about to become his prisoners.

---

Back at the building, Tenko, Izuku, and Hana screamed in unified horror. Their idol that was a giant among men was now shriveled to a walking corpse! Izuku and Hana stammered in shock as Tenko just… stared in disbelief.

"Wha—? He's—! But how—?! Wh-who?!" Hana stammered, completely shocked by All Might's deflated appearance.

"I—! Wait, who—?! What happened?! He deflated! How did he deflate?!" Izuku asked.

"I don't know!" Hana shouted.

"Wait… you…! You're not him! You're a fake! An imposter!" Izuku shouted as he pointed at the now skinny Number One Hero. He sighed with a frown, his eyes on his thin skeletal-like frame blackened save for his blue pupils.

"I assure you that I am All M—" Suddenly, he spurted out blood from his mouth, making Izuku and Hana scream once more.

"Impossible!" They shouted in unison.

"…You sure you're not dying?" Tenko finally said.

"No, it's normal, young man." The person formerly known as All Might said. "You know how guys at the pool are always trying to suck it in and flex and try to look buff? I'm like that."

"That's how you're the Number One Hero?!" Tenko asked in surprise.

"This can't be real!" Izuku shouted with alarm.

"I can't believe it…! I finally got to meet All Might, and he's a faker…!" Hana said, as if her whole world view is destroyed.

"No…! I'm dreaming…!" Izuku said with equal distraught. "All Might's a giant of a man who saves everyone. He defeats all obstacles and wins the day with a fearless smile..!" But Tenko had a theory.

"Oh, I think I get it. Is that your quirk or something?" Tenko guessed. "I remember watching some of your interviews, and when it came to what your quirk was, you seemed like you dodged the question every time. Is that why?"

All Might sighed. Though impressed that he remembered that, it wasn't the true reason at all.

"Sound theory, young man, but no." He bluntly answered, in a way that was the polar opposite of his boisterous, triumphant tone. "It's a hell of a lot more complex than that. And for that reason, I can't tell you."

"What? But why?" Tenko asked.

"Because believe it or not, there's plenty of fear behind that smile." He answered. "And I can't afford anyone else to see that fear." He sat down on his bottom and let his legs rest on the ground. "I'm counting on you to keep your mouths shut. Don't go talking about this online or telling your friends."

The trio was completely puzzled by his request. But when he lifted up his shirt, they realized why. They gasped in shock when they saw a huge gaping crater on All Might where his stomach was supposed to be. There was a massive bruise near the hole and several stitches, looking as though they were all that held him together.

Play Yuki Hayashi Music: "The Demon Lord"

"Pretty gross, right?" He said. "I got this in a big fight five years back. My respiratory system's basically destroyed. I lost my whole stomach. All the surgeries have pretty much worn me out. And it can't be fixed. Right now, I can only do hero work for about three hours a day. The rest of the time, this is what I look like."

Lasting damage. That was the one thing Tenko thought All Might could never have. And he'd kept that a secret for five years? How long has he been pushing himself? More importantly, what villain was it who hurt him that badly?

"No way…!" Izuku gasped.

"But who could hurt you that badly?" Hana asked in disbelief.

"Was it Toxic Chainsaw?" Tenko guessed. "Izuku practically beat everything All Might into my head whether I liked it or not." Izuku laughed anxiously despite Tenko's smile and delivery.

"Wow, you know your stuff." All Might said, sounding impressed. "But no. The punk may have landed some hits, but he couldn't bring me down. Most of the world has never heard of this fight. I did everything I could to keep it under wraps. I'm supposed to be the guy who's smiling, right? I'm the symbol of peace. People everywhere have to think that I'm never afraid. But honestly, I smile to hide the fear inside…"

Pause Yuki Hayashi Music: "The Demon Lord"

Tenko sighed softly, glancing at his hands.

"To hide the fear inside, huh?" Tenko thought aloud. All Might took interest in his words, glancing at the young man. "That's been a lot more difficult for me lately… The worst part is, it's not just fear that I have. There's anger in it, too."

Hana, Tenko, and Mon were in front of a grand house beside his original family. He had two grandparents, a mother, and his father, who never once smiled.

"Izuku wasn't always my brother. I grew up in a different place." Tenko continued. "One that hated heroes. My family didn't hate them like he did, but my fa– I mean, Kotaro, had only one rule: never talk about heroes. Me and Hana tended to break it on occasion. And it didn't help that we found out our grandmother was a hero herself. He was ready to destroy me for that."

Tenko was now being grasped by his collar, Kotaro raising his hand to the air.

"He told me that in order to save strangers you don't even know, heroes hurt those who love you." Tenko said.

"He really said that to you?" All Might said in disbelief.

"Yeah. And he made sure I never forgot that. Every day I disobeyed him."

Suddenly, his father was struck by his own hand moments before Kashi, Inko, and Izuku huddled near him and Hana, who hugged Tenko close with tears and shame in her eyes.

"Then, that day, when I could've gotten the worst, Izuku, my mother, and my father saved me." Tenko continued. "They stood up for me when I could've gotten another strike. Next thing I knew, he was thrown to rot in jail, and I found myself with another family. Hana was with me that day, and we've lived with Izuku Midoriya ever since."

"Midoriya…?" All Might said. He was in disbelief. A boy without a quirk saved him? Such a thing was almost unbelievable.

"But despite that, people picked on him because he was quirkless." Tenko continued. "I couldn't accept that. And even worse, people either avoided me or made fun of me for my quirk, telling me I was destined to be a danger to everyone."

In Elementary school, Tenko was pushed around and teased as Mikkun and Tomo were held at bay. His hands were bound, and he had a mask over his face, like he was being put away as a villain. Bakugou was doing it as a stunt to try to be more "heroic".

"If you thought we'd trust you without a mask and cuffs, you're even dumber than you look!" The bully said to him. But for all his crying, Tenko was aggravated. His itching was so agonizing, so painful, something had to give just to scratch it. Before he knew it, he roared as he used the decay quirk on a nearby wall, causing several lockers to burst out before fading away to dust as several students, including the ones who bullied him.

"It got so bad that I nearly killed Bakugou and so many others." Tenko said. "That was when I was held back. It was a lighter sentence compared to expulsion. Somehow, mom and dad talked the principal out of expelling me once they heard my story. If it hadn't been for that, I'd be in UA or any hero academy by now. But that was my choice to make. And I'm trying really hard not to let it happen again. So please, tell me. What should I do to be a hero like you?"

For a moment, All Might said nothing, for he realized how blind he was. Hearing about the trials and tribulations that he went through, he was starting to feel like he didn't deserve to be number one. But here the boy was, asking for his guidance. How could his father attack him for knowing about his grandmother? That's when it hit him. Her smile… Something about it was familiar. Could it be…?

"Tell me, first." All Might requested. "What was your original family name?"

"Well… if you really want to know, it's Tenko Shimura." He answered. The answer made All Might's blackened eyes widen in shock.

"Shimura…?! But… that means…!" All Might thought to himself. "That smile… they're my master's… grandchildren…?! My god, what would she say if she knew how they turned out, what they've been through…?!"

Tenko grew restless, worried about what he said to All Might to make him freeze.

"Are you alright?" Tenko asked. All Might shook off the surprise and looked upon him.

"Tell me. Have you heard of Nana Shimura?" All Might asked.

"Nana Shimura?" Tenko, Izuku, and Hana asked simultaneously.

"Oh, yeah! You mean our grandma, right?" Hana asked.

"Yes. That's her." All Might said. "I had no idea she had any family to begin with. But it's an honor for me to meet you, truly."

"Uh… thanks?" Was all Tenko could think to say. Was their grandmother that legendary to them? "But, you still didn't answer."

All Might sat up and realized he left out the answers to their questions in his realization about his lineage. "Oh, right." He apologized. "Well… the rule about refusing a quirkless person is done away with, but… even so, Pro Heroes are always risking their lives. Some villains just can't be beaten without powers. And odds are, you won't always have your family or friends by your side. Knowing that… Do you still want to be a hero, young Midoriya?" All Might asked him sincerely. Izuku was stunned. He hadn't thought of that possibility. They've been with him for so long, that thought never crossed his mind. He wouldn't have been able to answer if he hadn't reflected on how he stood up to Bakugou.

He'd hurt his brother with his explosion quirk, and he could've done serious damage to him. Whenever he was picked on, Tenko, Mikkun, and Tomo always stood up for him, but when he hurt Tenko, Izuku had to stand up for him. It was his dream, too, as much as his.

"All Might..." Izuku spoke. "I know there's a high risk for Pro Heroes every day. And I also know… that there's some things even heroes wouldn't notice until it's too late. My brother and sister wouldn't be here if I didn't stand up for them all those years ago. And I didn't need a quirk back then to do it. We got to smile together because I was here for them. That's the kind of hero I'll never stop trying to be." Izuku said with a bold determination in his voice. All Might was touched by this young lad's resolve. If it had just been himself, he might not have found such courage. And he might not even be speaking to the remnants of his mentor's bloodline in front of him, either…

"Alright, then, Young Midoriya. You, too, can be a hero." All Might said with a soft grin, much to the gratitude of Izuku. "And you. Young Shimura."

"Yeah?" Tenko asked.

"A strong sense of justice is a good thing to have." All Might said. "But your temper is something that needs to be adjusted, channeled in a way that can protect the people you're trying to save. So until you can figure out how to do that, I honestly don't think you'll have much chance of becoming a hero. Not that you had a good start to begin with, either."

Izuku and Hana gasped when All Might voiced his advice to Tenko. But Tenko knew he was right about his outbursts. The trouble was figuring out how to reign the temper in enough to make his quirk efficient.

"I understand." Tenko said. "But how?"

"You said you were held back a couple of years, right? Honestly, it's a rare case for someone of 18 to start out at a Hero Academy, let alone an agency." All Might admitted. "In the likely scenario that you do end up being rejected, you can become a police officer. They get crap because the heroes capture most of the villains, but it's a fine profession."

"Hold on. You're saying that door's closed on me for good?" Tenko asked with worry.

"I'm saying it's a possibility, Young Shimura." All Might said, no more proud of it than he was. "With your track record after what you've been through, it'd be a miracle to even get accepted in any one of them. One that I'm personally hoping for, to be frank."

"Really?" Hana asked. "But you're the Number One Hero. Can't you pull some strings at least?"

"I'm afraid it's not the way it works." All Might said. "Even my own sidekick doesn't always go along with everything I ask. It's not bad to have a sense of justice, young man. Just make sure it doesn't cloud your judgment. For now, the best way to do it is to focus on keeping your cool, Young Tenko. Understand?"

Tenko gave this some food for thought. He stared at his hands, which more often than not were used to attack the people who bullied Izuku or to protect him and his sister. He did plan ahead against the slime villain, but what if something happened that kept him from thinking? He'd just be putting himself and his loved ones at risk, just like back at Elementary School. Tenko reverently nodded to All Might.

"Yeah. But answer me one more thing…" Tenko requested. "How do you know our grandma?" That topic made All Might hesitant to answer. It was his first day meeting the young children, and he was already faced with a tough question he's not sure he should answer… "That's a story for another time, young man. For now…" All Might paused to cough for a moment before he dug into his pocket. "...let's get this guy to the station." But when All Might looked in his pocket, he was alarmed to find nothing there. He dug into both pockets and realized they were both empty!

"What's wrong?" Tenko asked. All Might frantically looked in the pockets for the slime villain he caught, but there was nothing to be found.

"Where is he…?!" All Might panicked. As if to answer, to their horror, a large explosion occurred far away. And even worse, there was a swirl of a sandstorm around it! The sandstorm itself didn't last long. It looked more like a blast in the air than a lasting tornado. Tenko, All Might, Izuku, and Hana widened their eyes with dread when they saw it.

"Not good…" All Might said to himself. For a brief moment, Izuku, Tenko, and Hana were utterly speechless over what was going down. A villain was on the loose. And even All Might was powerless to stand against it.

"A villain…!" Izuku spoke with a gasp.

"This is bad…" Tenko said to himself.

---

Meanwhile, at the shopping district, the crowd was running from the square. Buildings were razed, glass was breaking, and signs were falling apart. But the most notable among the chaos were large piles of sand that trapped those unfortunate inside them. People were choking for air as the sand made it hard for them to breathe, their arms reaching out for people to grab them. Just outside the district, Death Arms , one of the pro heroes of Japan was at the scene. And he wasn't the only one. Accompanying him was another hero, Blizzard .

Death Arms was a very tall, muscular man of a wide build with slightly-tanned skin, a square jaw which jutted out a notable amount, small eyes and short white hair, spiked out behind his head. In his hero costume, he wore a large headband with a yellow and black-striped caution pattern, matching his thick wrist-guards and the belt around his waist, a square buckle with a triangular decoration sat in its center. He also wore a cyan-colored cardigan, which exposed his lower torso and the center of his pectorals, held onto his chest on each side by small metal nuts. His pants were dark blue, a white stripe down each side, and are slightly baggy on him, and his shoes are plain black with a simple design.

As for Blizzard, she was a middle-aged woman with an average height and build. She had straight shoulder-length white hair with rather long bangs over her face. Her face had round features, having mellow expressions in casual situations. Her eyes were bright silver with reasonably long eyelashes. Her hero costume consisted of a bright blue jacket with wrist-length sleeves, its collar high, with a cooling/heating device within it and joined in the center by a gray neckpiece. Her skintight pants were the same color as her jacket, a metal-plated tactical vest and white boots with straps, with the soles equipped with spikes along the soles, and a thin line running down the center of each of them a pale gray. She also sports a blue utility belt around her waist, which can hold four little metal capsules containing medical supplies hanging off the front. And to top it off, the hood of her jacket had white fluff like an arctic jacket.

The heroes, among two others behind them, were aghast to see the slime villain at the square. The police were at the forefront, trying to contain the damage and keep it from spreading. On closer inspection, Blizzard noticed two people attached to the slime villain: Bakugou and Keemia. Bakugou, even in his situation, was trying to break free from the villain, but to no avail. Keemia was stuck more forcibly, her arms and legs completely bound while her mouth was swallowed up in the mass, moaning as she tried to scream for help. But she was wasting her breath, and she was losing consciousness, her moan becoming quieter.

"It's taken the children hostage!" Blizzard shouted. Death Arms bashed his two fists together and was the first to charge into the fray. "HOW DARE YOU PREY ON CHILDREN?!" He shouted, much to Blizzard's dismay.

"No, Death Arms, wait!" she shouted. But he didn't listen. He punched right into the slime villain's mass, but he took his arm in like quicksand. The hero was disgusted by the villain's absorption.

"What the hell is this?!" He shouted, trying to pull it out with his other hand as leverage, only for it to slip. "Some kind of goo?" The slime villain attempted to retaliate with a swing, only for Blizzard to catch the arm and freeze it. It flinched for a moment as she broke off the arm and swung it back at his head, knocking him out of sorts for a moment. The resulting impact shook him off of Keemia's mouth, making her gasp for air and cough out his remains onto the floor. Blizzard looked at the girl with worry. What had the villain done to her before they came here?

"You two! Check on Death Arms!" Blizzard shouted.

"Got it, Blizzard!" the sidekicks answered. But the slime villain anticipated it. It swung Keemia's hand towards them and blasted them with a funnel of sand, forcing Blizzard to leap away from them. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky. They got caught in the sand in such an excess amount they were stuck in it. Blizzard glared at the slime villain with gritted teeth.

"Stay back, or I'll snap their necks!" the slime villain mocked. But it wasn't so simple. Bakugou's struggling seemed to be paying off. Blizzard took notice of it, as well as the recovering Keemia. With a shout, his head managed to snap off the goo as he tried to break the rest of himself out.

"You picked the wrong guy to mess with!" Bakugou shouted. "I'm gonna send you back to whatever sewer you crawled out of!" Bakugou tried to use his quirk to pop the slime villain off of him, but it had no effect. It exploded outside of its mass. Keemia noticed this and became worried, as did Blizzard. She knew what was going to happen.

"Hold on! Don't use your–!" Blizzard shouted, but Bakugou wasn't one to listen.

"LET ME GOOOOOO!" He roared, using his quirk in a desperate attempt to blow up the slime villain off of him. Forced to use it, Blizzard created a wall of ice in front of herself and Death Arms to block the whiplash of dust and fire that came their way. When the smoke cleared… nothing happened to it. Its grip was ever tighter on Bakugou and Keemia. The latter of the hostages was stupefied as Bakugou continued to struggle.

"You kids have so much power! I really hit the jackpot. With quirks like yours under my control, I can take All Might down with one punch!" the slime villain boasted. It shifted its whole mass altogether, swallowing Bakugou and Keemia even further as Blizzard and Death Arms watched in horror. When it was done reforming, its giant shadow towered over them and their sidekicks both. Meanwhile, the crowd behind them was taking note of how the slime villain was quickly turning the tables on them.

"Whoa, is that some kind of special move?" One bystander asked. "This dude is a legit supervillain." Just then, one of the crowd noticed someone else approaching.

"It's her!" she shouted. "That new hero, Mt. Lady, will stop him!" However, when she got close enough to the scene, they realized how wrong they were. Mt. Lady suddenly froze before she took another step.

"My only weakness!" Mt. Lady said. "I need at least a two-leg road if I'm gonna make my way through here!"

In the chaos, Blizzard heard her voice far away. It would be hard not to hear her with how giant she was. "Mt. Lady?" Blizzard asked. If she came here… did that mean help was coming? Just then, Blizzard heard someone else in front of her. It was Kamui Woods, carrying four people with his arms and running out of the smoke.

"Fire and wood don't exactly make a good combination!" Kamui shouted. "I'll let someone else stop this guy!" Blizzard looked at the fires. And then, she looked at the sand. Speaking of combinations…

"Fire… and sand…" Blizzard said to herself. Glancing at the two of them, Blizzard started to realize why the villain took those children. He wasn't trying to escape: he was trying to find more power. But for who…? For now, assisting the heroes took priority. Blizzard went close to Death Arms and lifted him up. "Death Arms, you alright?" she asked.

"I'll live. But I can't get a grip on his weird body. Plus, that kid's quirk is causing explosions left and right! And we're also dealing with a sand user!" He said. "This is a shutout. We gotta rally and knock him out of the park somehow."

"My ice could break them free." Blizzard suggested. "You do what you can for those people, okay?"

The slime villain laughed as both Keemia and Bakugou's faces were being suffocated, their eyes only visible as it held both hands out. It recalled how their bitter fight resulted in creating glass. Make it sharp enough, and it can cut through anything. Or so he believed. With their power, that glass may be sharp enough to cut down even All Might. But there was only one way to be sure.

I saw what your quirks can do separately. But I'm more curious about what happens if they work in tandem. Let's test that power, shall we?

Blizzard gasped when she saw its hands together. Suddenly, it launched something unexpected. With the explosion quirk and the blast of sand, it's quickly turned into a glass bullet!

"Look out!" she shouted. She used another ice wall to block the attack, but she wasn't quick enough. Though she did succeed in saving Death Arms from what could've been a decapitation, it lodged itself in her shoulder, nearly cutting it off altogether! She grunted from the pain, holding onto her other arm to keep it from falling off.

"Blizzard!" Death Arms shouted.

"I-I'm fine…! It's these kids I'm worried about…!" Blizzard said with gritted teeth. She pulled out the glass bullet and used her quirk to cauterize the wound. But it wasn't without cost. It froze the rest of her arm, too to keep the damage from being too serious. "Damn it…! That villain knew what he was doing!"

"We'll have to do damage control until someone else with the right powers shows up!" The sidekick suggested.

"But what about the civilians that are trapped?" Blizzard asked with concern. "There's still plenty of people to save here!"

"Don't worry!" Kamui shouted. He'd heard Blizzard's plight and lended her a hand, using his wood arms to pull people from the sand piles out of them. "I bet every hero in the city's coming!" That gave her some relief, of course.

"Thanks, Kamui." Blizzard said. "I wish I could help with the fires, but we're target practice out here. And while I'm like this…!" As if that wasn't enough, Blizzard still dwelled on the children who were being used as weapons for mass destruction.

"Damn it…! If only I wasn't so useless…!" Blizzard cursed herself.

"No, Blizzard. You did your best." Death Arms comforted. Then, he glared back at the slime villain. "If anyone's useless, it's me! If I just had more power, I could blow this guy away!" Blizzard looked back at the villain, eyeing the children trapped inside him with determination.

"I'm sorry. Please just hang on until I'm recovered…" Blizzard thought to herself.

---

Back at the city, while the heroes tried in vain to stop the villain, Tenko, All Might, Izuku, and Hana joined up with the crowd, where they saw the chaos and destruction for themselves. When they saw the villain, they all became concerned.

"That slime villain?" Tenko asked with alarm.

"That's the guy who attacked us!" Izuku shouted.

"And tried to get in my body…!" Hana added with disgust, her body tingling.

"But that can't be right. You captured him, didn't you?" Tenko asked with concern, hoping he was right.

"Must've dropped it in the air." All Might replied. "I was distracted worrying about my time limit. I can't believe I made such a rookie mistake…! I'm pathetic…!"

Izuku heard those words and became disheartened.

"But the bottle… if you dropped it… That means… it's my fault…" Izuku said to himself. "I'm the one to blame… You wasted your energy on me…"

Tenko overheard him and put his hand, pinky out, on Izuku's shoulder to snap him out of it.

"Don't think like that. That's not going to help anyone." Tenko said.

"But what can we do?" Hana said. "We can't use quirks without a license."

"That wasn't a problem with you before." Tenko retorted.

"Yeah, but not with the police around." Hana said. "We could use our quirks to help out, but… the way we are now? What if that makes us worse than the villains?" Tenko grumbled as he looked at the scene. "Damn it, you're right… This whole thing is stupid, but you're right… I have to think carefully about this, or we won't help anyone. But how…?" And as if the tension wasn't high enough…

"Why aren't the heroes doing anything?" Someone asked.

"It looks like they've met their match. Plus, the villain captured two kids. Things aren't looking good for them." another person answered in the crowd. Tenko, Izuku, and Hana overheard this and looked closer at the slime villain.

"He caught two people?" Izuku asked.

"I wonder how long they've been in there…" Hana asked dreadfully. "I thought I was gonna die in a few seconds of struggling… It's so gross…!"

"Hey, hold on. I'm confused. Isn't that the villain All Might was chasing earlier today?" one pedestrian asked.

"What? All Might? No way he lost! Where is he?" another asked, feeling very concerned with how the situation was going down. And the girl beside him was just as concerned.

"Well, can someone call him or something?" she asked.

"Seriously! Why hasn't he shown up to help the heroes?!" he continued. Only three children knew the truth, and they were all watching the disaster happen before their eyes. All Might began to fall into a deep malaise.

"I'm worthless… So pathetic…! A disgrace…! I'm not a real hero!" All Might cursed himself in his thoughts. Meanwhile, Izuku was thinking about something else.

"He can't power up yet, and none of the other heroes have the quirks to stop this monster…! It's my fault… I'm sorry… so sorry…! Help will show up and save the day, I'm sure…! Someone, a real hero, will come soon…!" Izuku thought to himself. But when he looked more closely at the scene, he saw someone else there. Her arm was coated in ice to recover from the laceration that nearly cost her whole arm with makeshift chemotherapy. And he recognized her face.

"Wait… Tenko, is that who I think it is?" Izuku asked.

"Huh?" Tenko looked up ahead to see Blizzard, steeling herself to face the villain again.

"You bastard!" Blizzard shouted. "You only think you're powerful because of the children you're using! If you had any real power, you'd face us yourself!" Tenko's eyes widened when he saw her face. He'd seen her before…

---

At the apartment, Hana and Tenko were sitting at the couch, watching the news as their legs dangled from the cushion. Mon was sitting on Tenko's lap, his back being scratched by his four little fingers, the thumb purposely sticking out to avoid inadvertently using it. They were watching in anticipation, watching the news about All Might and how he recently prevented another disaster. A giant villain was bound in equally-large cuffs for his wrists to bind him as All Might oversaw the arrest.

"After a brief touch-and-go with the villain, All Might was able to apprehend this fiend and prevent many casualties that would've occurred today, as is the custom of a Number One hero." The reporter announced. Inko was making dinner at the moment, and she had a little bun in her oven. It was put in her a few months ago since Tenko was officially brought into Inko's family. Kashi and Inko made love with each other since then, consummating in more ways than one whenever they were alone. And the result was their growing little baby girl inside Inko's belly. The subject made Hana curious. She turned her head from the TV to ask her.

"So, when's Aiko gonna come out, mom?" Hana asked. Inko froze for a brief moment. The subject of pregnancy would be very difficult for a young girl to know about. She's just not ready for that…

"She'll come out when she's ready, Hana." Inko answered. "Just be patient." That's when the door opened, and who should come inside except Kashi.

"Hey, Inko." Kashi said. Tenko and Hana smiled when he came inside.

"Hi, papa!" Hana and Tenko spoke simultaneously with big smiles on their faces.

"Hey, kiddos." Kashi grinned, softly rubbing the children's heads with his hands. He went towards Inko to rub her bulge gently. "And how's our little bun in the oven doing?"

Inko giggled affectionately with how Kashi was rubbing her.

"Aiko's doing just fine, Kashi." Inko replied. "She hasn't made a fuss all day."

"That's good to hear." Kashi beamed with pride. It seemed like they were going to be alright. However, that's when another piece of news came on television. It wasn't exactly the good kind.

"In other breaking news, there was a deadly forest fire that took place in Sekoto Peak." The reporter continued. The camera showed a brief imagery of a large fire in a forest-like area with snow. "What we are about to show you may be too intense for young children." The moment Inko heard that, her mom sense had turned on. With how scary the news often is, she'd steer them clear of anything not related to All Might if she could help it. But as for Kashi, he had a different approach. He walked towards Tenko and Hana, sitting down beside them and held his arms out.

"Get close, you two. It's best if you don't see it." Kashi insisted. He had a concerned look on his face, something Tenko and Hana couldn't ignore. Hana put her head on Kashi's shirt while Tenko held his hand on Kashi's shirt, sticking his pinky out to keep from using his quirk. And for a time, he did bury his head against his father. But he turned his head in a small angle with one eye open to see the chaos his father tried to prevent him from seeing. In a word… it was horrible.

"This as-of-yet unexplained forest fire has killed two people, and injured many more in its wake." the reporter announced. Behind him were two body bags, one big and the other small. Kashi gritted his teeth and started to clench his fist with anger. Tenko saw his fist becoming angry. And it made him scared. That is, until he heard something in his voice.

"How could this happen…?! I should've been there…!" he cursed to himself. Tenko looked up at his father's face and saw a small tear coming down his cheek. He was sad. But the news wasn't all gloomy.

"But the most notable damage was to a young boy named Touya Todoroki." the reporter continued. The camera zoomed in on him as he rested on an ambulance gurney. He looked like he had burns all over his body, under his eyes, on his neck, and on his arms and legs with ice all over them. A woman with long silver hair and silver eyes was watching over him, and a young girl with raven hair and a charred pink jacket and white shirt on another gurney. "He was found in a lake at the center of the fire, along with a young girl who, miraculously, didn't have any burns to speak of on her own body."

Kashi gasped in awe when he saw this. He looked at the woman's face, covered in dirt and smoke from the fire. He knew exactly who she was. "Rei…?"

---

Rei Todoroki was a family friend of his father's, and since that day, she had tended to visit him and the family on weekends. Outside that, she'd spend her time saving as many lives as she could, inspired by the father who saved him. "Rei…" Tenko breathed out. "What's she doing here…?" Rei stared down the villain, unwavering from her position. But the slime villain chuckled and laughed it off.

"You really think that bluff's gonna work on me?! You really are desperate, hero!" the slime villain mocked. It held its two palms together once again, ready to fire another one right at her heart! But the instant he did, Izuku, Hana, and Tenko saw the faces of his hostages right away. Bakugou strained, still trying in vain to break free, and his eyes looked like he was about to cry. But Keemia… was unmoving. She gave up too much of her energy trying to fight, and it left her vulnerable. Her eyes were low, and she looked like she was going to die.

A sudden surge of memories struck through the trio's heads. They'd seen her earlier after Izuku stood up to Bakugou. She was the one who'd given him his notes. And now, she was going to die as a lifeless husk along with Bakugou…

"NOW DIE!" the slime villain prepared to fire. And time itself slowed to a crawl as the villain got ready to kill her. Her time was up… but a loud thud of the notebook against asphalt brought Tenko to his senses. And before he knew it… he and Izuku were charging right at him.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Tenko shouted at the top of his lungs. Hana and All Might gasped with shock, as did the other heroes in the fray, Death Arms in particular.

"No, you idiots! Stop! You're gonna get yourselves killed!" Death Arms shouted. Those words reminded Tenko of All Might's earlier advice.

It's not bad to have a sense of justice, young man. Just make sure it doesn't cloud your judgment. For now, the best way to do it is to focus on keeping your cool, Young Tenko. Understand?

"He's right. We may have charged in here together, and maybe it is reckless. But we can't just lose our heads and let them die, either…!" Tenko thought to himself. "I dealt with this guy before. And if I'm right, his attention should be… on me!" Tenko went ahead of Izuku, speeding up ahead of him. As a result, the villain noticed Tenko and became very afraid.

"Not those brats again!" the slime villain snarled.

"Deku?" Bakugou said, surprised that he'd see them and Tenko running by each other to save them.

"Those kids…?" Keemia weakly asked. "What are they doing here…?"

"What am I doing? Why am I running?!" Izuku thought to himself. "Why can't I stop?!"

"I won't let you use your death quirk on me again, kid!" The villain shifted its hands toward Tenko instead of Rei. He fired a glass bullet right at Tenko, only for him to push Izuku to the side and bob away from it. He'd been training himself with Mikkun and Tomo when they were growing up, especially with dodging projectiles. This was a more deadly version, but it served to remind him of the stakes. He grabbed a nearby trash lid and held it up as a shield to block it. Rei saw Tenko standing up for her, her eyes widening with awe. Thank goodness he hadn't been using too much power behind these shards, or he would've been dead.

"Tenko…?!" Rei breathed out in shock and surprise. The slime villain growled and snarled with fury.

"I'LL PUT SO MANY HOLES IN YOU, YOUR INSIDES WILL SPEW OUT, BRAT!" The villain fired a barrage of glass bullets much smaller than the one he shot at Rei and Tenko initially, intending to live up to his word. Unfortunately, Rei summoned an ice wall to block the bullets for her and Tenko. At the same time, Izuku ran past the ice wall, trying to figure out how to dislodge them and free Bakugou and Keemia.

"What do I do…? What would a hero do right now?" Izuku thought to himself. That was when he got a brief flash of his notes. It was to make his opponent flinch and use that opening to get to them.

"Page 25. Got it!" Izuku thought to himself. He grabbed his backpack and flung it right at the villain. "TAKE THIS!" The backpack hit him dead in the face, along with his All Might comic book hitting him right in the eye and making him wince and shift his body. That put Bakugou and Keemia in the position to be wrestled free. But there was one problem: he was still made of fluid. Tenko knew it wouldn't work without Rei. Looking past the corner, Tenko saw the chance.

"Good. He took the bait and fell for it. Now's our chance…!" Tenko thought to himself. "We have to move, now!" He grabbed Rei's unfrozen hand, leaving his pinky out, and ushered her to the villain to help Izuku. He was desperately trying to peel off the fluid-like skin from Keemia and Bakugou.

"Kid? What are you doing here…?" Keemia asked weakly.

"I don't know! My legs just started moving!" Izuku answered, much to Bakugou's annoyance.

"What the hell?!" Bakugou shouted. "Why are you here?!"

"Shut up, you idiot! Do you want us to save you or not!?" Tenko snapped back at Bakugou. He grabbed hard on the slime, using Decay to weaken it, making the Slime villain writhe as it screamed. He was about to retaliate and slap Tenko off, only for Rei to pitch in, too, using her ice to freeze the mass that formed its hand. That gave Tenko the opening to rip off the decayed mass forcefully before it could get to Bakugou or Keemia. Izuku grabbed Keemia while Tenko held his arm around Bakugou, a safety measure to hold him without using decay on him. With the duo freed, Rei glared at Tenko and Izuku with a mother's anxiety.

"What were you two thinking, coming here, Tenko?!" Rei shouted. "What would your parents say if they knew you were here?!"

"They can say what they want about me." Tenko said. "It's my decision, my choice. And whatever happens, I'll live with that. But what I can't live with… is watching you die!" Rei gasped softly from his answer. "Pro heroes always risk their lives every day to save people. But for everything they've done… when do heroes ever get someone to help them?!"

In order to save strangers they don't even know, heroes hurt those who love them!

"That's why I want to be a hero!" Tenko continued. "Because I want to save everyone, including the people who matter to me! And I'll never stop until I do!" Rei found herself touched by Tenko's words. She could feel every resolve behind his convictions. And she wasn't the only one. All Might's eyes widened from Tenko's answer to Rei. Hana smiled at her brother beside All Might with a teary smile.

"You tell him, bro." Hana said with a soft smile. But the slime villain wasn't done yet. It glared at Tenko with a hungry look in his eyes. Hana knew that look too well. "TENKO, LOOK OUT!" The villain was recoiling itself from Rei's ice techniques, reforming to how he was before.

"You know what? This is perfect." The slime villain said. "I've been wondering what damage I could do with your quirk. And you're gonna help me find out!" Suddenly, the villain grasped Tenko's arms and legs, binding him to keep him from using decay too soon.

"Tenko!" Rei and Izuku shouted. In an act of desperation, she put her hand on the ground, attempting to summon a pillar of ice to break off the tentacles, but the villain had expected that.

"Don't think I forgot about you, hero." Rei was suddenly pulled off from under her feet and pulled to the villain alongside Tenko, leaving poor Izuku by himself! Izuku stared in horror as the villain began to pull them inside his fluid-like body. All Might, in the meantime, stood by, his hand clenching on the lamppost as he stared at the villain with anger.

"No…! I can't let this happen…! Not again…!" All Might flashed back to that dreadful day of the unknown battle. The battle when he lost their grandmother.

---

Her gloved hand was stretched out to him, pushing him away as he was being pushed from the battle with someone else propelling All Might to go farther away from her.

"No, he's going to kill you…!" All Might shouted.

"I'll leave the rest up to you… Sorahiko, help him make his hero dream come true…" Nana spoke softly.

"Master! You can't do this…!" All Might begged. But Nana pointed her finger to him with her yellow-gloved hand. She was dressed in a white cape over her dark, sleeveless bodysuit with white knee-high boots. Around her waist was a belt with an angular golden buckle, a small cape attached around the back which hung down to her knees, and over her shoulders was a longer cape, buttoned to the shoulders of her bodysuit.

"Become a symbol. All Might, it's your turn." Nana said with a smile.

"PLEASE, MASTEEEEEERRRRR!" All Might shouted, the last words he'd ever said to his departed master.

"I can't let it happen again…! Not again!" All Might growled, clenching harder on the lamppost to where it was being crushed. "NEVER AGAIN!" No sooner had he made up his mind that All Might dashed right into the field, his body restoring the size that everybody knew him for, and with that, All Might grasped Tenko and Rei's hands. For Tenko's case, he held onto his wrist to keep him from being absorbed fully. Izuku stood with awe, relieved to see him again as he held tightly onto Tenko especially.

"I really am pathetic." All Might admitted. "I told you the traits to make a great champion… But I see now I wasn't living up to my own ideals!" All Might forced Tenko and Rei away from the villain with a mighty pull as Tenko, Rei, Izuku, Keemia, and Bakugou watched with awe.

"You said it yourself, Tenko!" All Might said. "Pro heroes are always risking their lives! So everyone, even the heroes, can cherish the ones who matter to them!" The villain was becoming furious. Not only did it lose two of his best assets, he was once again stopped from taking the most dangerous one. If only he hadn't been there…!

"DAMN YOU, ALL MIGHT!" the villain raised one his arms to strike him down, but it was a losing battle. His anger was clouding his earlier judgment for the worst. And that was why he was going to lose.

"DETROIT… SMAAAAAAAAAASH!" All Might shouted, throwing a massive punch that blew the villain into pieces all over again, sending a large gust of wind that blew out all the fires that couldn't be dealt with in abundance. Mt. Lady shielded the onlookers with her arms. Her position reduced her to an onlooker earlier on. Death Arms and his sidekicks were forced to huddle to shield themselves from the massive wind. In turn, it created a massive tornado that spiraled from his one punch. After a moment, the tornado dissipated and vanished altogether.

All Might stood alone, panting for air after throwing a punch of such a massive force, his arm steaming as a result. Before everyone knew it, the sky had grown dark, and rain fell down upon them. It didn't take long for the crowd to see it.

"Hey, it's raining." a bystander said.

"Don't tell me all that wind just now was…" a woman began to theorize.

"Look at the clouds. They're moving." the third said. While the rain poured down on them, Bakugou, Keemia, Izuku, and Tenko were staring up into the sky, completely astonished by All Might's sheer power. Rei stared right at All Might, catching a lump in her throat.

"That's the power of… the number one hero?" Rei asked herself in disbelief.

"Holy crap. He changed the weather." Death Arms added. All Might smiled and brushed off the blood from his mouth. He stood triumphantly as the crowd murmured in awe.

"That really just happened?" someone spoke aloud.

"He changed the weather with a single punch like it was nothing!" another person said with excitement. "All Might saved the day again, he's amazing!" All Might took a step back and raised his hand with a smile as the crowd cheered. But for the first time in a long time, he had a reason to smile. He glanced at Tenko and Izuku, who both laid down on the ground to stare at the sky. After a silent moment, Tenko started to laugh softly. And before long, Izuku joined in with him. All Might smiled at the tender moment between them.

"Tenko Shimura…" All Might said to himself. "I can't believe how you've grown up. And you still have your grandmother's will. That drive to save people, even the heroes who protect you. You're a true hero. Both you… and your brother."

---

After that, the heroes had collected all the scattered mounds of sludge, and the villain was in police custody where he belonged. The sand was also washed away from the crime scene due to the ensuing rain All Might caused. For the sand that was in their britches prior, they'll have to deal with that on their own. Rei was not really one for the cameras like Mt. Lady or Kamui. Despite her injury, which was being treated with an ice-cold cast (no pun intended by any means), he stayed with Izuku, Tenko, and Hana, who was checking up on her siblings.

"Are you two okay?" Hana asked.

"Yeah." Tenko assured.

"Nothing broken?" Hana continued.

"No. I think we're okay." Izuku said.

"Good…" Hana sighed, only to make a mad face and bop them both rapidly. "THEN WHAT WERE YOU TWO KNUCKLEHEADS THINKING?!"

"I have to agree with your sister!" Kamui spoke up, catching the attention of the trio and Rei. He was accompanied by Death Arms, who didn't take kindly to risking their lives in what likely would've been the end of them both. "Do you have a death wish?"

"There was absolutely no reason for you to put yourself in danger like that!" Death Arms shouted. But Rei had enough. He stood up in between the boys and the heroes.

"That's enough!" Rei shouted. "Those boys saved those children, me, you, and quite possibly the world! You should be thanking them!" Kamui and Death Arms were caught frozen stiff. They had no idea how to act with her when she's this serious.

"Huh?" they both asked simultaneously.

"I acknowledge that it was dangerous for them to do such a thing, but let their parents chew them out for it. It's not your responsibility to crush their dreams." Rei said with a strict tone. "Honestly. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

"We're sorry, ma'am!" Kamui and Death Arms apologized simultaneously as they bowed to her.

"Wow, Rei. Thanks for sticking up for us." Tenko thanked.

"Don't get too comfortable with that, Tenko." Rei warned. "As much as I appreciate your convictions, you still became reckless. If I were in charge, I'd give you a pat on the back…" Suddenly, she slapped Tenko and Izuku's wrists swiftly with her other hand, making them yell in pain. "...and a slap on the wrist." Afraid of her swift wrath, Hana ended up laughing nervously. As for Keemia and Bakugou, she was being "cheered up" while Bakugou held his head down.

"Man, you're tough, guys!" One of the sidekicks said. "And those quirks of yours are something else! When you wanna go Pro, head over to my agency first. I'd like you guys to be my sidekicks while we're training."

"No, thanks." Keemia bluntly refused. "It doesn't feel right. We're the ones who caused all the damage. Him, mostly." Bakugou's left eye twitched when she said that.

"WHAT?! You wanna say that again?!" Bakugou shouted.

"I'm more than happy to beat the truth into that thick skull of yours, hothead." Keemia teased, making Bakugou seethe with rage. "Besides, those kids over there? They're the real heroes." Bakugou gritted his teeth from her words. "Shut up…" He said. And yet… she wasn't wrong, ironically. He was thinking more and more about what she and Tenko told him.

The only thing you're gonna be known for is being a villain.

Of course you would. Because a hero is the one thing you'll never be.

With the destruction he caused to the district under a villain's grasp, he realized that he was right all along. What if he actually hurt someone at that moment? Or worse…? It didn't matter what those wannabes had to say to him. Out of any of them, not one of them could match his potential. And yet, he was saved by a quirkless loser and his brother. How could he live that down?

---

Meanwhile, Keemia was walking by herself on the streets. The TVs were on all at once spreading word of the incident. The news about the attack at the shopping district was all over Japan. Then again, what news involving All Might wouldn't be? It definitely caught the world's attention when they mentioned how he changed the weather with one punch. There were plenty of people talking about All Might. But Keemia wasn't interested in him. She'd heard every word Tenko said to Blizzard that day.

Pro heroes always risk their lives every day to save people. But for everything they've done, when do heroes ever get someone to help them?! That's why I want to be a hero! Because I want to save everyone, including the people who matter to me! And I'll never stop until I do!

It was clear to her at that moment that Tenko was dead serious about being a hero. She meant every word herself. Tenko was more deserving of being a hero than Bakugou was, especially that quirkless kid. Then it crossed her mind. She never got the chance to thank them for saving her. But should she? She'd just end up hurting them. Like she did before…

"Why would they save me…?" She asked herself. "My quirk was what hurt those people…"

"I'm not about to let you use your death quirk on me again!"

Those words rang in her head when she thought about it. The villain seemed to be afraid of that young man. Did he encounter him before? And what kind of quirk was it that peeled off the fluid and made him so scared? There was really only one way to find out. She had to find them. But how?

"Keemia!" Someone shouted behind her. Keemia turned her head around to see a friend of hers. She was a tall teenage girl with a mature physique. She had long black hair, generally tied into a spiky ponytail with a large strand hanging on the right side of her face. Her eyes were big yet sharp, dark onyx in color, and paired with short eyebrows set in a determined expression. She was wearing the same school uniform Keemia was.

"Thank goodness I've found you. Are you okay?" she asked.

"All things considered, it could've been worse, Momo." Keemia said in an attempt to make a joke. But she was far from being in the mood to laugh. And so was Momo. But she recognized the look of pain on her face. She paused and sighed.

"Well? Aren't you gonna say it?" Keemia asked bitterly. Then, she started to act like her. "'I tried to warn you not to go off by yourself, but you never listen!'" Momo suddenly wrapped her arms around Keemia, stopping her from speaking anymore out of confused silence. "I'm just glad you're okay…" Keemia was baffled. Why would Momo be saying that to her if she caused the trouble to begin with.

"But Momo… I hurt those people. What if I'd killed them? Would you still hug me then?" Keemia said, completely angry with herself. They never would've been hurt so badly if she hadn't gone after Bakugou. Truth was, her encounter with Bakugou wasn't as random as one would think.

---

Keemia was walking out of the school building with no trace of the boy anywhere. She'd been meaning to apologize to the boy for how she came off. She had to admit, she was a little hot-headed in how she came off. She looked everywhere around the school block, but after ten minutes of looking, it was likely that he'd gone home already. And if she'd found Momo by then, she probably would have herself. But she heard someone spreading rumors. Unfortunately, they traveled fast through the school's walls.

"Are you sure you heard right? He really told Midoriya to jump off the roof of the building? That quirkless kid with the notebook?" a student said nearby. That news caught Keemia's attention. She turned her head to the crowd spreading such rumors. Was that the same notebook that landed on her head? Was it that same kid?

"Yeah. And he burned that notebook for good measure." The other student said. "Probably fish food by now. The notebook I mean."

"That settles it. That guy is no hero. I don't see how he's getting into UA now. He's nothing but a villain." The third student said, more angry and irate about it.

"Yeah, but his big bro's with him. It's not like he'd really throw his life away, right?" The fourth asked, trying to look on the bright side.

"But that still won't give him his quirk." The fourth said. "You need a quirk to be a hero. Without it, you've got no chance." Those words didn't make Keemia feel any better. What if it turned out to be the last time she ever spoke to that boy? And he ended up killing himself because she didn't know what was going on with him? Her hand trembled, clutching onto her shirt. She stomped to the group telling rumors with a dead serious look on her face.

"Where is that hothead?" Keemia demanded. "The one who burned that kid's notebook. Tell me where he is. Now."

---

"It was reckless of you, Keemia." Momo honestly said. "But you did it because you were trying to do what was right."

"No, I didn't." Keemia said. "I just wanted to bash that punk's head in. And instead, I ended up hurting everyone around me… I'm no hero, not like them…" Momo was sad to hear that Keemia truly believed that. But it made sense to her why she'd stick up for Midoriya once she understood what he was going through. She knew how cold the world was just as she did. It was thanks to Keemia she was even aware of it in the first place. While she hugged her, Momo saw Tenko, Izuku, and Hana walking down the street a few feet from her. She looked at the TV to see the footage of the two boys in particular. Momo tapped her friend's shoulder, making her face turn to her. Keemia was confused, but Momo gently smiled.

"If you really feel that way, why don't you ask them?" Momo said, pointing her finger to the two boys. Keemia turned her head, and her eyes lit up when she saw them. This was her chance. She owed it to them for saving her hide… and to a lesser extent, Bakugou's. Tenko didn't sound like he wanted to, but he had to, not that he blamed him. Regardless, She couldn't ignore him when he was right in front of her, not like before. Not again. Not ever.

---

At that time, Izuku, Tenko, and Hana were walking back home. Izuku wanted to apologize to All Might personally, but he was swarmed by interviewers, so he couldn't interrupt. As for Rei, Tenko wanted to help her out, too. But after the wound she took, it was safe to say that she'd be out of work for a while, at least until her wound is taken care of. And it was no small boo-boo, either. That villain was actually going to kill Rei. And he might have if he wasn't around. But despite it, Tenko still had to wonder: what would've happened if that villain got a hold of his quirk? Thankfully, it's a question he'll never have to answer.

"I can't believe we actually did that, Izuku. That was nuts." Tenko said, still feeling the adrenaline rush from saving Rei, Keemia, and Bakugou. It was a better feeling than having to scratch yourself with someone annoying you, that was for certain.

"Yeah. It was. But I'm not too sure that we actually helped. We just got in the way." Izuku said, looking down with a soft smile.

"You really think that after getting Bakugou and Keemia out?" Hana asked, puzzled by his doubts.

"No, Rei did that with her quirk. We didn't do anything." Izuku reminded her.

"At least you did something. Everyone else was just standing around like idiots. Like me…" Hana said, her head hanging down. "You guys did something I didn't do. And you know what? I'm proud of you guys for it."

"Weren't you beating our heads up for it a moment ago?" Tenko reminded her.

"Hey, can't I worry about my family?!" Hana shouted, making Tenko laugh at her reaction as Izuku smiled at them. Just then, they heard someone shout towards them.

"Hey!" Keemia shouted. Izuku, Tenko, and Hana turned around to see the girl running toward them before losing her breath. Momo was keeping an even pace with Keemia to be by her side. The trio was curious.

"Keemia?" Tenko said.

"What are you doing here?" Izuku asked next.

"Hold on. You guys know her?" Hana asked with curiosity.

"Not officially. We only just met in the alley between the school buildings." Izuku answered. "She gave my notebook back and made sure it wasn't fish food when Kacchan tossed it out."

"And you're back to calling him that name again…" Hana sighed. Speaking of the devil…

"Deku!" Bakugou shouted. Most of the group all furrowed their glances towards his direction behind Keemia and Momo. Tenko's glare was the worst. He hadn't forgotten who told his brother to kill himself, who burned his wrists just to make a point.

"What do you want, Bakugou?" Tenko asked, dead serious. Bakugou was catching his breath before he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Listen. I would never ask for a weakling like you to help me, or anyone. Don't think you can look down on me! Huh?! Got that?! I was fine by myself! You're just a quirkless failure who couldn't even cut it as a rent-a-cop! You didn't help me!" While Bakugou was speaking Keemia growled and was about to pound him into next week, but Momo held her hand over her chest to stop her and shook her head. At the same time, she was reaching into her chest to pull something out. The item she pulled out had red and blue light in a multispectrum glow coming out of her. It was all happening right in front of Bakugou, but he was too focused on Midoriya and Shimura to give it a thought.

"You did nothing, don't forget it." Bakugou continued. He turned around and walked away as angry and bitter as he was after class. "I don't owe you anything!" Suddenly, Bakugou tripped over backwards and fell on his back! Tenko, Izuku, Hana, and even Keemia were caught off-guard by the sudden move. Bakugou was now met with a silver metal pole to his nose, making him freeze with surprise.

"If I could knock you down that easily, what makes you think you even deserve to go to UA?" Momo asked with an authoritative tone. Bakugou grunted, staring daggers into Momo, only to be met with a cold-dagger-like stare. Bakugou stood up, moving his face away from her staff to do so. He was unable to say a word.

"This disaster of yours happened today because you thought you were arrogant, believing that you are 'the next big thing'." Momo said. "In your complete disregard for your classmates' mental and physical wellbeing, not to mention that of your surroundings, you ended up as a villain's puppet and put everyone in danger. And you could've gotten those same heroes that tried to help you killed with that quirk. Without those three, you either would've died under his control, or be forced to live with that guilt for the rest of your life, and yet you can't even muster a proper apology on their behalf. You should be grateful that you're even spared at all. Understood?" Bakugou got chills when he saw her. He ended up nodding anxiously to her. "Good. Now, go. Remember what happened here, Bakugou, and don't you ever forget who's really at fault." With that, Bakugou was defeated once again, turning away and walking forward. As everyone stared at her in awe, Tenko started to get a big blush, just like Mikkun.

"Damn. She's so badass…" Tenko thought.

Momo turned back to Tenko with an anxious smile. "Sorry you had to see that." Momo said with a bashful smile.

"Never apologize for trashing Bakugou." Hana insisted with pumped fists. "You were awesome. Right, Tenko?"

Tenko stared at Momo, completely enraptured by her beauty. Suddenly, he ended up speaking aloud.

"You look so much like my grandma." Tenko said aloud. Momo blushed insanely from his comment, not sure how she should react. Hana was afraid she'd get the wrong idea and spoke up.

"No, no, no! He doesn't mean anything weird with that!" Hana shouted. She took a good look at the girl herself and recalled the similarities. "Looking at you, you do fit the bill, though. Just like the one in our picture. And you look almost as young, too." Momo began to blush madly from Hana's description and grew just as flustered.

"Actually, I'm here for Keemia's sake." Momo explained quickly to keep the situation from getting any weirder. She cleared her throat and passed the baton to Keemia. "She has something she's been meaning to say to you two specifically." She pointed to the two brothers, confusing them. Then, it clicked. Keemia was the one who was trapped by the slime villain alongside Bakugou. Izuku caught on to that and tried to wave her off.

"Oh, no, that's alright!" Izuku said. "We were just trying to do the right thing, even though I didn't have a quirk myself. And besides, I was really just putting myself in harm's way and making things more complicated for everyone–!"

"Settle down, bro." Hana said, putting her hand softly on top of Izuku's head to hit the snooze button on his rant. "I think we should let the lady speak, okay?"

"Okay…" Izuku said weakly. With that, Keemia walked up to them with a penitent look on her face. She looked at the two boys and took a deep breath.

"I… I had no idea you were having that kind of trouble with Bakugou. If I knew that, I wouldn't have come off as so insensitive about your notes. On top of that, I put everyone in danger just as much as Bakugou did. I'm so sorry…"

"Oh, no, it's fine." Izuku urged.

"No, it's not." Keemia insisted, looking extremely upset that Izuku would try to write off what she'd done. "I put everyone in danger because I tried to start a fight with him, and it nearly got everyone killed! How can any of this be fine?!" Izuku was taken aback by her shouting, but he saw the tears on her face. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who felt responsible for the events this morning. Tenko walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, pinky stretched out.

"You're right, it's not." Tenko said. "And yeah, people got hurt because of what happened. But trust me: I know what you're going through. My quirk is… really dangerous. Probably more than anyone else's."

"But how?" Keemia asked. "How can your quirk be any worse than what happened? It's the one that saved us to begin with." She was full of doubts after what happened. It was hard for Tenko to prove it. Or it would be if Momo didn't have something with her.

"Momo. Can I borrow that for a moment?" Tenko asked.

"Sure, but why?" Momo asked. Izuku and Hana were concerned. They knew what Tenko was trying to do. And it scared them. They're worried about how they'd react.

"Keemia… I hope this doesn't scare you, but…" Tenko said before clenching his fingers on the pole. A harsh click came on contact. Before they knew it, the pole rusted and crumbled into dust. Momo and Keemia's eyes widened in horror when they saw what happened to it.

"That was my quirk: Decay." Tenko said. "It destroys whatever I touch with all five of my fingers. That's why I always stick my pinky out. I didn't use it too much because I was worried about what everyone would think of me, especially the police. If All Might hadn't shown up, the damage would've been a lot worse."

That made Keemia gasp with horror. The slime villain was going to take Tenko and use his quirk to destroy everything! And even beforehand, he was even scared of it when he saw those kids again.

"So I feel the same way, Keemia. Yet I choose to move forward, but it's not because I don't care. It's because I do. Because I need to improve myself every day. To get better at my quirk without hurting people." Tenko explained. "Because I'm no hero. Not yet. And I'm not going to stop until I become one. And then, I'll go beyond even that." Keemia widened her eyes when she saw his fierce look of determination once again. He looked like someone who could destroy the whole world if he wanted. But he chose not to. Because he had to carve a path for himself to be a hero, just like his quirkless brother dreamed to be. Keemia gasped softly before she started to smile.

"Damn… he's so badass." Momo thought, a big blush appearing on her face when she saw his figure with the sunlight behind him.

"I… I understand." Keemia said. "If someone with a quirk like yours is trying this hard to be a hero… why can't I?" Izuku and Hana were happy to hear her say it.

"But I thought you didn't plan on being a hero." Izuku asked in spite of being happy for her himself.

"Yeah, I didn't. For a long time, I didn't think it was possible for me to become one." Keemia admitted. "But those guys were right. I've got potential. Still, I know I have a long way to go. So I won't stop being better until I become a hero, too." Keemia held her sandy fist out to Tenko with a vigorous smile. Tenko was confused for a moment before he smiled back at her and made a fist himself. They did a fist bump with each other smiling as Momo, Izuku, and Hana looked on. After a moment, Momo put her hand on Keemia's shoulder and smiled.

"Glad you're feeling better, Keemia. Let's get back, okay?" Momo suggested, to which Keemia nodded. They were about to walk away, but Momo had one last thing to say. She glanced over to Tenko, smiling at him.

"Thanks so much for this, both of you." She said with a gratuitous smile. "After what you've done for us, I'm sure you and your brother can become great heroes." With that, Momo walked away, leaving Hana grinning while Izuku's smile was wide open, and Tenko was blushing hard again. Hana noticed his brother's blush and smirked.

"Uh-oh~ Looks like someone's got a crush~" Hana teased. Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice speaking behind them.

"She does have a point, young man." All Might said, appearing just around the corner they would've passed. Izuku, Tenko, and Hana all screamed in surprise, especially Tenko since he was thinking about Momo.

"All Might?! How did you find us?!" Tenko shouted. All Might responded with his signature laugh.

"I stand for Justice, not sound-bytes!" All Might declared. "Because I, I am All M–!" Suddenly, All Might shrunk to his weakened state, making the trio shriek again. After they calmed down, Tenko sighed. "We're never gonna get used to seeing that, are we?" Tenko asked with worry. All Might coughed for a brief while before he got his composure back.

"Listen, I wanted to thank you." All Might said. "And also to discuss your question from earlier."

"Huh? About my grandmother?" Tenko guessed.

"Not that. At least, not entirely." All Might said. "If you hadn't told me about your lives, if you hadn't run into that fight, I would've been a worthless bystander watching from the crowd. So, thanks." But Izuku wasn't looking for praise.

"Oh, no! It was my fault he was there to begin with." Izuku said. "I got in the way of your hard work. I wasted your energy, and not to mention your time."

"I'm not done." All Might said. "Tenko, you told me you had a power that was a danger to people. So when I saw that boy with decay charging alongside his quirkless brother to save a life, it inspired me to act, too."

Izuku and Tenko looked at All Might with curiosity while Hana was plain puzzled.

"They did? " Hana asked. Usually, it was All Might that inspired people themselves, not the other way around.

"There are stories about every hero, how they became great. Most have one thing in common: their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, almost on their own. And today, that's what happened to you both. And for you, Tenko, it had a greater effect. Almost on instinct, you planned out how to save Blizzard and those hostages taking everyone into account." All Might explained. Hana, Izuku, and Tenko gasped as that realization set in their minds. "And so, with that in mind, I deem you worthy of my power. My quirk is yours to inherit, Tenko Shimura."

That made Izuku and Tenko rather confused. Worthy of… his power? The trio were completely dumbfounded to even think of that being possible. Suddenly, All Might burst into laughter, breaking their stupor altogether.

"You should see your faces right now!" All Might laughed, making Hana pout. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna force this thing on you." He took a couple steps closer to the young man and raised his hand. "Listen well, young man. This is your choice. Do you wanna accept my awesome power or not?!" He shouted, spewing blood from his mouth.

"Inherit… your power?" Tenko asked. "What are you talking about?"

"There are a couple of things you should know about my abilities." All Might said. "Journalists always guessed my quirk is super strength, or some kind of invulnerability. When people ask in interviews, I always made a joke and dodged the question, like you pointed out earlier, Tenko. It's because the world needs to believe that their symbol of peace is just a natural-born hero, like any of them. But I'm not. There's nothing natural about my ability." All Might raised his hands to the air and brought them down with his head held high. "I wasn't born with this power. It's a sacred torch that was passed down to me from my master. Your grandmother, Nana Shimura!"

Tenko, Hana, and Izuku's eyes immediately went buggy-eyed with shock.

"What?! Our grandmother… was your master?!" Tenko shouted.

"No way…! She created All Might?!" Hana likewise added with equal awe.

"Their grandmother gave you this quirk? No way." Izuku said with disbelief.

"Yes, way." All Might said. "And you're next. I can give you my abilities."

"But hold on!" Tenko said. "If that's true, why couldn't you pick Izuku?" Tenko asked. "People picked on him because he was quirkless, right? And he always cared about others before himself. Why give it to me?"

"There's no question that Young Midoriya is just as worthy of it as you, yes." All Might explained. "He proved that by trying to save a life in spite of his quirklessness. But between you and him, one thing stood out."

I know there's a high risk for Pro Heroes every day. And I also know… that there's some things even heroes wouldn't notice until it's too late. My brother and sister wouldn't be here if I didn't stand up for them all those years ago. And I didn't need a quirk back then to do it. We got to smile together because I was here for them. That's the kind of hero I'll never stop trying to be.

"Thanks to you and your sister, young Midoriya's dead set on becoming a hero without a quirk." All Might said. "I couldn't take that away from him in good conscience."

"Really?" Izuku asked, somewhat honored that All Might would respect his wishes this way. "T-Thank you so much." All Might smiled and nodded to the young boy.

"And then there's you." All Might said.

"What about me?" Tenko asked, still lost on how he could inherit the quirk.

"You told that girl that you're trying to control your quirk without hurting people. And considering she and that boy didn't turn to dust, it seems like you're having a good start." He said. "So, whether you believe me or not, you are the most likely to inherit and control this new power."

"But how's that even possible?" Hana asked.

"Yeah! This is a lot to process!" Izuku said. "It's true that there's a lot of debate over what your quirk actually is. Nobody's ever figured it out. It's one of life's greatest mysteries. People are always constantly talking about it online. But, well, the idea of passing on a quirk, or inheriting it. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I've never heard anything like that before. Powers are supposed to be unique to each individual, and ever since the first superpowers, no one's ever been able to just give someone else their power like a present. That's crazy!" As Izuku ranted, All Might could tell he was racking his brain over it.

"It seems like you're overthinking this inheriting thing…" All Might said to himself. It didn't take long for him to speak up. "STOP NERDING OUT!" Izuku snapped out of his muttering and looked up to his idol. "You'll have to adjust your reality and accept this new truth. I can transfer my quirk to someone else. And that's just one facet of my secret abilities. The true name of my power… is One For All."

Izuku, Tenko, and Hana focused on All Might's palm as he held it out in front of Tenko. "One For All?" Tenko asked.

"Yes." He said. "One person improves the power and hands it off to another person. It continues to grow as it's passed along. It is this cultivated power that allows me to save those in need of a hero, the truth behind my strength."

"It is?" Tenko asked. "Then why give it away? What if I can't live up to that?" He was worried about how it would react in his hands, what could happen as a result. He had enough to worry about with Decay, but One For All being in the mix sounded like a major task he couldn't afford to fumble.

"I was on the hunt for a worthy successor. Even this morning." All Might answered. "And then, I watched you two jump into action while the rest of us stood idly by. You may be feared because of your quirk, but you tried to save those kids, and the thought of decaying them never crossed your mind even once. You acted like a true hero." Tenko's shocked look formed into a big smile. True, it was a big responsibility for him to take, but this way… he could help out many more people. Decay wouldn't be the only asset he'd have to be a hero. There were plenty of situations outside today's events that required more than that. With that power, he could save everyone and be a hero, just like his father saved him. That was all he wanted, since he was taken into this family.

"Alright. Let's do it!" Tenko valiantly spoke with the same grin All Might always gave.

"No reluctance. Exactly how I figured you'd respond." All Might said proudly. From that moment on, Izuku Midoriya and Tenko Shimura both began their journey to become the greatest heroes of all time. But it wasn't going to be that simple. Receiving All Might's power will be no easy task for Tenko. And being quirkless himself, Izuku will have just as hard a road as him, if not more so. But they didn't come this far just to turn their backs on their dreams. They will go beyond, Plus Ultra!

---

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Kashi was on the phone with Dave. Inko was sitting on the couch with Aiko to relax with a nap. Inko was out like a light, which wasn't too common for her. Kashi encouraged her to get some rest depsite her earlier protest to wait for the children to come home awake. And she took a hard nap after that, whether she wanted to or not. Her little girl was nestled closely to her body, like a little cub protected by the mother.

"So, how long do you think it's gonna be, Dave?" Kashi asked.

"It's gonna be a while. But a good blueprint description of how the suit should look might help speed things along." He answered on the phone.

"By how much?" He asked. "I just want to make sure it can still get there in time."

"For Izuku, it'll be ready in a few months tops." Dave replied.

"That's great! Seriously. I can't thank you enough for this." Kashi said.

"Just give my best to your boy, okay? He's earned this for a long time." Dave said with a smile. "Take care of Inko now. You hear? You must be pretty wiped." Kashi glanced over to Inko and Aiko, who both slept soundly beside each other on the couch. It was reassuring to see Inko get the rest she needed, not to mention she looked cute that way. Part of him wondered if that ran in the family…

"You have no idea. Thanks, again, Dave." Kashi said. "Oh. And give my best to Melissa, too." With that, Kashi finished the call and went to his wife and child. He sat down and stared at them with a silly grin. Inko had a bang going into her mouth as she slept and she didn't notice. But Aiko did, and she thought it cute to put it in her mouth.

"Come on, Aiko. Don't mess with your mom." Kashi suggested.

"Okay, papa…" Aiko moaned, letting go of her bang and setting it away from her mouth. Aiko looked at the suit her brother drew on her dad's phone. He was sending Dave a picture of it with her signature and smiley face on it.

"Hey, papa?" Aiko said.

"What's up?" Kashi asked.

"Is it really true that Izuku can be a hero if he wanted to be?" she asked. Kashi paused for a moment. He looked between Aiko and the drawing he was about to send. She had a big smile on the drawing, but here she was… worried. Kashi smiled at her and petted her on the head.

"Still worried about your big brother?" Kashi asked.

"Uh-huh." Aiko nodded.

"Well, that's gonna be up to him. If he wants to be a hero, and we all know he does, he'll have to do a lot of work to prove he's ready for it. That's why we've been training." Kashi explained.

"Oh. But how come he didn't join us?" Aiko asked.

"Homework. Among… other things." He explained. There were some things even Aiko wasn't ready to hear yet. It was between him and the boy. "Which is why when they get home tonight, your mother and I need to talk to your brother and see how hard he's willing to work for it. Okay?"

"Okay, papa." Aiko smiled at her father and nodded. Then, she started to yawn loudly and rested by her mom once more. "I hope he gets to be a hero soon…" With the little girl sleeping the day away with her mom, Kashi looked at the picture of his old hero suit and sighed softly. He hoped that Izuku's spirit wouldn't crumble enough to push him away from being a hero.

"Me, too." He simply said. Just then, his phone rang again. Rei's picture appeared on the lock screen. Kashi was curious. What could she be calling about at this time of day? He immediately answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Rei." Kashi said, good-naturedly.

"Hello, Kashi." Rei replied with a happy tone.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I'm calling about a change in schedule." Rei said. "I'm sorry. I know I usually stop by and visit every weekend, but I had a… difficult injury to deal with today."

"Oh. How bad is it?" Kashi asked quietly, making sure he didn't disturb Aiko or Inko.

"A glass bullet was lodged in my arm, and it nearly made my arm fall off." Rei admitted.

"Seriously? That bad?" Kashi asked.

"Yeah. But it's nothing my ice couldn't handle. I stopped it from getting worse, at least. But it's going to take a while for it to get better." Rei replied with a sheepish laugh.

"Ouch…" Kashi winced. "And what does Enj–" He stopped himself when he nearly said the name and revised himself. "I mean you-know-who think about it?" There was a long pause. He knew this person was a sensitive subject to her.

"I haven't bothered telling him. It's not like he'd actually care what happened to me. At least, not anymore…" Rei said with a cold edge in her voice.

"And Shoto?" Kashi asked gently.

"He was worried, of course. Very. He's been checking on me over and over again to see if there's any change at all." Rei said with a slight laugh.

"Sounds like you've got a great kid." Kashi said. Then he tried to clarify. "Eh, not that your other kids weren't great! I just mean that it's nice of him to care!" Rei laughed on the other end of the phone, hearing him become so flustered.

"It's okay. I know what you meant." Rei said. She was resting in a small quaint white room with a soft bed where she laid, along with a brown wooden dresser and a shutter that let the moonlight inside. Rei was only dressed in her bright blue underwear, but she rested underneath the blanket for Shoto's sake. Rei's smile faded softly as she spoke onwards.

"And… speaking of kids…" Rei began. "You've great children yourself. They'll go really far together in this world."

"Thanks, Rei." Kashi said with a soft smile. "It means a whole lot for you to say that."

"I know." Rei said. "But it's going to be a long and hard road for them both. Can you make sure they'll handle it?"

"Don't worry. I will." Kashi responded. "I won't let this world crush them."

"Just make sure you don't crush them yourself." Rei said. "We don't want a repeat of what happened at Sekoto Peak."

At his apartment, Kashi sighed heavily when it came to that topic. Most of them were injured, but very few actually died in the fire. Thankfully, it wasn't the case for Touya or the girl who was with him. Speaking of which…

"Right. Me and Inko will be sure of that, too. She said hi, by the way." Kashi said gently.

"That's really nice of her." Rei replied with a slightly happier tone.

"And what about Touya? I know it's a dumb question at this point, but... how's he doing?" Kashi asked with concern.

---

As Rei answered him, the girl who was with him was sleeping at a hospital next to him. She had to sit in a chair next to Touya and ended up dozing off. She held onto an Endeavor doll in her hands, because she knew he valued Endeavor and wanted to train under him so much. The girl had changed herself. She had longer black hair at shoulder length, she wore a black jacket with a white shirt underneath it, and her pants were dark gray jeans.

"Still no change." Rei answered glumly. "It's been years, and he still hasn't woken up. Akari's been waiting for so long. And so have Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Shoto. His own body is growing up without him. I'm worried about whether or not he'd actually wake up from this."

"I know." Kashi said with a heavy heart. "And I'm more worried about what happens if he does wake up. I just hope he's ready for the world that's in front of him." Little did Kashi know that his awakening was sooner than he'd think… And the first sign of a life that's come in a long time… was the twitch of his burnt fingers.

---

A/N: And that concludes Chapter 2 of A Hero's Legacy! :) This time Tenko will be given One For All. After reading the manga for My Hero Academia, it helped solve the problem of how I was going to go about it. With Tenko getting One For All, Izuku will have to pull his own weight to become the first quirkless hero on record in the Hero Society. For those who've read the final chapter (as currently the Final Chapter Volume 2 is expected to release in December), you'll know what I mean. ;) For now, I will shift my focus on Boruto for the time being to continue his story with Hikari Uchiha by his side. Perhaps even plan something spicy for the two of them. :)

And, of course, Rei's story is exponentially different in this story. A part of me was wanting to write a lemon with her to give her some well-deserved love. But I wanted to show how much impact Kashi had on Rei since he stood up against Kotaro and took Tenko in and how the Todorokis as a result, especially Touya. Like I said, my focus is on Boruto for now, but you can expect Touya to go through a lot of changes when he wakes up. That's all I'm willing to say. For now, Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!