The city was alive, its bright lights and cacophony of noise setting the stage for another night of patrol for the vigilante hero known as Mayhem. Tonight, she brought with her a sleek, updated costume that incorporated newly tested technology. Inspired by the recent successful application of her long-fall boots, she had integrated the design directly into her suit, granting her the ability to survive falls of up to 75 ft! Provided she landed on her feet, of course. Some people might argue the new feature made her too reckless. One of those people happened to be her best friend Izuku, who was now privy to her escapades.

A concerned voice buzzed through Mayhem's headset, belonging to the green-haired support student. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Mayhem waved away the concern in her usual carefree manner. "Hey, don't worry about it! It'll be just fine. I'll make sure to catch up on sleep before the sports festival, no sweat."

"I meant sitting on the edge of a 30-story skyscraper," Izuku persisted. True enough, Mayhem was currently perched on the lookout-point guard railing at Musutafu Television Centre, surveying the city from on high. "What if someone sneaks up on you and you slip?"

"No one's going to sneak up on me, you worrywart! Nobody will even know I'm up here." Mayhem confidently dismissed his concerns. Drawing inspiration from their recent encounter with the assassin at UA, she'd developed a short-range video disruptor embedded within her suit's lining – a device that froze any security camera she passed. "Besides, even if I fall, what's really the worst that could happen?"

Izuku shook his head in disbelief, even though Mayhem couldn't see it. "Did you ever hear about that French inventor who built a parachute? The one who jumped off the Eiffel Tower?"

"Cool! Did it work?"

"No! It didn't!"

"He should have tested it better, then."

With those audacious words hanging in the air, Mayhem seized the moment and leaped off the edge of the towering rooftop. The rush of wind thundered in her ears, merging with Izuku's muffled cries of terror – his helpless voice echoing through the crackling headset. As she hurtled through the air, the lights from the building streaked past her, transforming into a kaleidoscope of vibrant colours.

Then she unleashed her newest baby. Mayhem extended her arms wide like a majestic bird poised to soar, and from her wrists to her waist materialised a magnificent wingsuit. It billowed and flexed, embracing the surrounding air. The surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins, igniting her senses as she deftly manoeuvred through the sky, skillfully dodging buildings that threatened to obstruct her path.

"WOOOOHOOOOO!" She shrieked with unabashed delight, her helmet shielding her from the full force of the wind. "I was born to flyyyyyy!"

"God damn it Mei!" Izuku's panicked voice finally broke through the commotion. He'd ended up pacing his bedroom away from the laptop, afraid he was about to see his friend get smushed. "You didn't tell me you had a wingsuit!"

"Didn't I? Oops." Her response was far from what Izuku had hoped to hear. "Well, now you know!"

Izuku's heart raced as he desperately shouted into the headset, "Did you even plan how to stop?! Did you consider that part at all?!"

She let out a small nervous laugh, her excitement mixing with just the slightest tinge of crushing realisation. "Uh, well, I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead. But no worries, I'll figure something out!" She dived then pulled up to gain altitude, continuing her flight over the city. It felt exhilarating, but as thrilling as it was, she knew she had to find a way back down to earth eventually.

Meanwhile, Izuku was frantically brainstorming solutions from the safety of his bedroom. "Okay, okay, okay... Mei! Listen carefully! Do you have any emergency parachutes or something to slow down and land SAFELY?!"

"I'm working on it!" Mayhem activated her quirk, scanning the city rooftops, searching for something specific. Finally, her sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure with dark hair and a distinctive capture weapon. "There he is! Eraserhead!" Mayhem exclaimed with relief. Guiding herself towards him, she adjusted her trajectory to the lower rooftops and said "Izuku, I'm switching to loudspeaker!"

"Yo! Eraserhead!" Mayhem's voice echoed through the desolate rooftop, instantly grabbing Eraserhead's attention. The moment her words reached his ears, he turned, his quirk involuntarily activating and abruptly shutting off Mayhem's Zoom. Her vision was obscured, just in time to make it harder to detect the capture scarf hurtling toward her. A split second later, the weapon sliced through the air, securely wrapping itself around her and abruptly halting her forward momentum.

Eraserhead, ever vigilant and quick to react, sprang into action. In one fluid motion, he leaped from the rooftop, his arms encircling the cocooned vigilante. Together, they landed and rolled across the opposite rooftop, Eraser skilfully manipulating their motion to ensure a safe and controlled landing.

After they came to a stop, he stared her down, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and concern, his breath labored from the adrenaline rush.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Eraserhead's voice boomed, his frustration clear and pronounced. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You could have killed someone!"

Mayhem's face flushed under the helmet, but she couldn't resist a hint of defiance. "Sorry, Eraser, I was just testing out the new wingsuit... Pretty cool, right?"

Eraserhead ran both hands through his hair, exasperated by her recklessness. He began to pace the rooftop, his frustration palpable. "Cool? No! It's not cool, you child. It was reckless and irresponsible. You're lucky I was here to catch you; otherwise, you would have been a stain on the pavement! That's it. I'm taking you in. No more games."

Mayhem huffed, her eyes narrowing. "You don't have to be so mean about it! Taking risks is necessary in this line of work!"

Eraserhead halted his pacing, his eyes piercing into hers. "You think I'm being mean?! Are you serious?! You can't just go around causing... causing MAYHEM for the sake of it!"

Struggling against the confines of the scarf, Mayhem retorted stubbornly. "I'm not causing trouble for the sake of it, Eraser! I'm trying to make a difference, to protect the innocent! Just like you!"

Taking a deep breath, Eraserhead crouched down in front of the wrapped-up vigilante, his eyes filled with intensity. "Listen up, kid. Being a hero isn't some game you play for fun. It demands discipline, strategy, and above all, a strong sense of responsibility. You can't just throw caution to the wind and hope for the best. People's lives are at stake here," he declared firmly, his voice echoing with years of experience.

Mayhem, stubbornly, tried to defend herself. "Nobody got hurt! Cut me some slack, I've only been at this for two months-"

Eraserhead cut her off sharply, his words slicing through her defence. "No, don't give me that. Frankly, if you were actually good at this, I wouldn't even think twice about you being out here. But the moment something goes wrong, the moment you hurt yourself or someone else, it becomes my problem. And trust me, I don't like having problems. Do you understand?"

Feeling a pang of remorse, Mayhem lowered her gaze inside her helmet. "I... I know, Eraser. I guess I got carried away with the thrill of it all. But I genuinely want to make a difference! You have to trust me, I'm on your side!"

Eraserhead maintained his stern gaze, contemplating her words. He let out a sigh, the frustration and understanding mingling in his voice. After a brief moment of hesitation, he loosened the capture weapon and extended a hand to help Mayhem up. Still, he kept a firm grip on her hand as he spoke.

"I'm giving you one more chance. BUT, only if you're willing to learn from me. I can teach you how to make calculated decisions, how to fight smart, and most importantly, how to prioritise safety."

Mayhem looked at him confused, and tilted her head at him. "But why bother? You could just leave me to my own devices, literally."

Eraserhead's response was swift and resolute. "Because being a hero means protecting people, including you. This is the most logical way to keep you safe and minimise collateral damage. However, if I sense that you're not taking this seriously or your recklessness is going to get you killed, we're done. Understood?"

Mayhem nodded, "Understood." With that, he finally released her hand.

"Meet me here, same time tomorrow. If you're late, don't ever show up in my city again." he said curtly before swinging away from the rooftop, leaving Mayhem standing there alone.

She slowly clicked back to the communicator with Izuku, bewildered. "Uh... What just happened?"

A frown formed on Izuku's face as he replied, "I think you just got scouted."

In two days, the sports festival was kicking off. The sports festival that was supposed to be happening today, had Nezu not gone all pyrotechnic and blown up a part of the stadium on Izuku's behalf. Sure, it was a kind gesture in a twisted way, but was it really necessary? It seemed like Nezu had a knack for causing chaos, or maybe he just needed an excuse to let loose.

Earlier today, Izuku finally got his wrist braces taken off. However, Recovery Girl insisted that he hold off on using his quirk until her final healing session, scheduled for the morning of the festival. To Izuku's surprise, he found himself missing his transformation powers a lot more than he expected. When he first discovered his quirk, he spent so much energy hiding it and relied almost exclusively on regular tools. But after sharing his secret with his mom, he started transforming into the exact thing he needed every time, making his toolbox gather dust. It was so useful, having everything he needed literally in the palm of his hand.

But now, he was back to square one, feeling essentially quirkless. Not useless, of course, because he had proven time and time again that he could achieve greatness with his inventions and blueprints. But there was something different about experiencing the power of a quirk and then being forbidden from using it. It was a confusing situation, to say the least. For ten years, he had shown everyone that he could follow his dreams without a quirk, earning the respect of numerous pro-heroes, including All Might himself! Then, out of nowhere, the rug was pulled out from under him. Surprise, asshole! You have an insanely powerful quirk!

God, maybe he should consider talking to the school counsellor about this. What harm would it do to have one more teacher know about his... what did Maijima call it again? Upper Limb Transformation? He definitely needed to come up with a better name for it. Something cooler and more memorable. Maybe something with a Z in it, Z is a cool letter.

For the time being, since Mei had gone home for the evening, Izuku found himself occupied with the TV. He stumbled upon an anime set in an insane alternate reality where nobody in the world had a quirk, and heroes simply didn't exist. It was a bizarre concept to him, imagining a world without people wearing tights and using codenames. Absolutely ridiculous. Yet, despite his initial scepticism, he became surprisingly invested in the storyline about five friends living in New York City. One of them had just placed a whole turkey on his head (which made Izuku wonder if it was a playful jab at Turkeyboy, the turkey hero) when his mom walked into the apartment.

"Oh, Izuku, you're still up? You didn't have to wait for me," she said.

Hey, Mom! It's alright, I got hooked on this show. How was your date?" Izuku replied, tearing his attention away from the screen.

"It was lovely," she replied, hanging her coat on the hook. "We had a nice dinner and talked a lot. You know, Higari reminds me a lot of you,"

"He does?"

"Definitely. He's a bit reserved at first, just like you, but once you get to know him, he's the most charming man alive. Well, second most charming," she said, affectionately ruffling Izuku's hair. "He's reserved until he's in his element, and when that happens, wow! I saw him take down some muggers, and oh my word," She pretended to swoon a little.

"Muggers?! Are you okay?!" Izuku exclaimed, concern washing over him.

"Izuku, Izuku, I'm perfectly fine," his mom reassured him, laughing. "Higari saw it happening outside the restaurant. He excused himself, and I watched through the window as he took down the three of them!" She placed a hand over her heart. "It was very heroic."

Izuku smiled, feeling a sense of relief that his mom was safe and glad that she had found someone who made her feel this way. It can't have been easy for her, raising him alone after his dad left for God knows where. She deserved this, she really did.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay and had a good time," Izuku responded.

Inko kicked off her shoes and snuggled into the couch next to her son, her gaze absentmindedly fixed on the muted television. "I did, It was a lovely evening. Work was quite hectic today, so I really needed that break."

"Oh? What happened at work?" Izuku inquired.

"Yuki is leaving, she told me earlier today," Inko replied sadly. "Her mother's sick, and she has to move back home to take care of her."

"Oh no, that's awful! Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"I thought about inviting her for one last dinner together, maybe going out somewhere special," Inko explained. "But she hasn't responded to any of my texts since we finished work. I'm a little worried, to be honest."

"Maybe she'll reply tomorrow. Hopefully, everything is alright," Izuku reassured his mom, hoping that Yuki would get in touch soon.

"I really hope so too."

Diner sat cross-legged on the floor of the empty living quarters at The Market. Museum and High Street had their own appointments, and Barbershop rarely ventured down this way, leaving her alone in the space. Her current objective was to mentally prepare herself for infiltrating the Yaoyorozu's estate, fully embodying the personality and mannerisms of her new identity. Playing the role of Yuki Haro had been relatively easy, without any espionage motives involved. She could simply be herself. However, this time it was different.

She was struggling. Her mind was preoccupied after bidding farewell to Inko. She could have left without saying a word, which was exactly what High Street had advised her to do. But for some unknown reason, she found it difficult to follow through. The heartfelt texts from Inko, expressing sympathy and extending invitations, only made matters worse. For the first time in her life, Diner actually felt bad about lying to somebody.

This wouldn't do. The mission had to take precedence. Even if Diner had no clue about High Street's ultimate goal, she knew that the mission always came first. She gripped her phone tightly with both hands, prepared to break it and move forward with her life. But instead, she simply held it. The phone remained intact, finding its place in her bag, concealed beneath the clothes she had chosen for her new life.

Taking a deep breath, Diner made a conscious effort to set aside her internal turmoil for the evening. She couldn't let personal emotions interfere with her mission. With renewed focus, she turned her attention back to her preparations, fully immersing herself in the task of studying and internalising every detail about her new identity: Aya Matsuri.

According to the fabricated information, Aya Matsuri possessed a quirk called Diligence: the ability to enhance their mental and physical abilities by focusing on a specific task or goal. It was utter nonsense, of course, but the mere mention of it on the application was enough to land her the role.

Aya Matsuri had two brothers and had spent most of her life living by the coast. She enjoyed tennis and crafts, loved sushi, enjoyed swimming, but had a dislike for birds. Diner meticulously rehearsed the mannerisms, speech patterns, and preferences of this character she was about to become. This wasn't just acting; it was complete embodiment. To succeed, everyone had to believe that she truly was Aya Matsuri, beyond any doubt. There could be no traces leading back to The Market.

…So why was she keeping the phone?