A/N So it's been a while. I am sorry for. How long this has taken. Over the last year, I have gone through a series of medical issue all eye based, that has affected my ability to write. I have had a series of surgeries that has ultimately left me blind in my left eye.

Still, I will try to be better for myself, and for all of you I will try to increase my turnaround time with this story and with the others that will be coming.

one last not in the prior chapter someone complained about taking to long to get to start of canon. i write slow burns and this is my compromise to you. Next chapter will bring the story up to the start of canon

Musutafu, Japan, March 16, 2211, 09:30 Musutafu General Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Sakura Uzuki sat back in an unoccupied chair and watched the young girl she and a team of doctors and nurses had spent most of the last 18 hours treating. They had even called in Recovery Girl from U.A. Still. Between the sheer number of injuries, the girl's exhausted state, and the limitations of the few staff members with stamina-sharing quirks, it had been extremely slow going. A blood draw taken earlier had been tested against the National Database and had revealed that the child's name was Himiko Toga, the five-year-old daughter of Akari and Satoshi Toga. At that thought, Sakura felt a fresh wave of raw anger. Where the hell were they? The hospital had called them nearly 12 hours ago. Based on their address, they lived 5 miles away, Not on the other side of the damn Island!

Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down, Sakura started trying to figure out how a girl of Himiko's age made it as far as she did without anyone noticing. This would be a mistake as the conclusions she came to did nothing to calm her temper. Assuming she had walked from her listed address, many people had to have seen her. Even if she had arrived from someplace much closer, many people had to have seen her. Had to have seen the marks, Had to have seen the bruises on her face, arms, and legs. "Damn complacent dumbasses," she muttered, anger clear in every syllable. Unless she missed her mark, every single person who had seen her had likely thought that a hero would step in to help her. It hadn't even occurred to them that maybe they should call for a hero or, god forbid, actual emergency services!

"Calm down, Uzuki," she muttered as her temper flared. She could vent her anger at the state of the world later at home, Not here in front of the unconscious young girl. Not knowing what else to do, she did something she hadn't done since she was a child and prayed. She didn't know who she was praying to or if anybody was listening, but she did it anyway.

Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2211, 11:00 Hero Public Safety Commission Headquarters, President's Office

Ayumi Maehara stood with her wife Rumiko in her ultimate boss's office. Sitting in front of her was a man she had only seen once or twice in the five years she had worked for the commission: Keigo Urashima. He was a thin spectacled man with short white hair, wearing a black suit. Seated next to him was his second-in-command, whose name she couldn't recall at that moment. She was a severe-looking woman who looked around the same age as her boss, if a little younger due to her slicked-back ash-blonde hair.

As she wondered why they had been asked here, the president started speaking, "Good morning, Ayumi and Mrs. Maehara. I have called you here today because of recent events. You have heard the news regarding the Toga family?" He continued at both women's nods and said, "yes sir," " The parents were found yesterday attempting to board a ferry to the mainland. They are being encouraged to confess and terminate their parental rights." Both women were stunned; both knew that things never happened that quickly, leaving aside the fact that Japan had an abysmal record when acting on child abuse cases. When they did work, it usually took months. To fast-track something like this meant something was going on. Neither of them missed the meaning behind the president's use of the word encouraged.

"Now, I'm guessing you are both wondering why I have asked you here today and why I am telling you about the Togas being detained." at their nods, he said," well, put simply, I would like to ask you a very serious favor. I would like the two of you to foster and consider adopting Himiko Toga," Before either woman could respond, the president put his hands up and said, "I know that asking this is inappropriate. I would never dream of asking if I didn't think the situation was so dire." The two women looked at each other in silent communication before nodding. They would at least hear the man out.

As neither woman had risen to leave or told him to go to hell, Urishima continued. "As you know, since the Diet opened those quirk training centers, they have started to pull away from the commission. It has been small things so far, like not allowing us to run those centers and small but noticeable reductions in the budget. They have also been trying to get somebody in here to act as an oversight. However, they call it a liaison. The general belief is that they are planning to gradually take over more and more responsibilities from us before eventually shutting us down."

Ayumi had a look of horror on her face. While the commission could have been a better organization, what it did was very important. While they had their bureaucracy, it was nowhere near as inefficient as the rest of the government. While not as concerned with the commission's fate, Rumiko worried about what would happen to her spouse if such a thing were to happen. Both women allowed Urashima to continue.

"I won't sugarcoat it for you. This is a PR move. I want to show Japan that the commission is still vital and relevant to help our citizens, and I need your help."

Once again, the two women looked at each other as if in conversation before Rumiko spoke for them both. "Why us? Surely some people are better off financially and socially than we are."

Urashima looked at them for a moment as if figuring out how to respond. He couldn't tell them they had been picked because they hit several sociological checkmarks that would help the commission's reputation.

After a few more seconds, he responded truthfully; I believe you two are the proof that the commission cares about the safety and wellbeing of our youth. It also helps that the office gossip says that you, too, are looking to adopt." as he said this, he put a grin on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. Not that the couple noticed. They were too distracted by the fact that such information was well-known. They had wanted to have kids, but a series of examinations showed that due to some abnormalities, neither of them could carry a child to term, making IVF impossible.

Pushing the initiative, the president continued, " Of course, if you say yes, the commission will take care of all the costs and fees related to the process, and we would, of course, offer you a very generous stipend in addition to your salary."

At their eyes going wide, Urashima knew he had them. Still, he expected what Ayumi would say next. "That is very kind of you, sir, but can we take a few days to think about it?"

Urashima grinned, " Certainly, this isn't the type of thing you rush into."

Musutafu, Japan, July 19th, 2212,12:30 Konoh Scrap Yard

Standing ramrod straight in the middle of several large scrap piles, Izuku had an internal conversation.

"Can you remind me how to do this again, Great Sage?"

"AFFIRMATIVE, FOR WHAT YOU WISH TO DO, YOU MUST FIRST VISUALIZE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU WISH TO DO."

Izuku quickly concentrated on the scene from a pre-quirk-era anime his dad had shown him the other day. It looked so cool! Outside of his mind, Inko observed Izuku putting on a look of concentration, And he made his right hand into a fake gun with his index and middle fingers.

"NEXT, DRAW ON THE RESOURCE YOU WISH TO USE."

Izuku focused on the vast amounts of water he had absorbed over the last two years, focused on bending it to his will. Outside, Inko watched as it looked like Izuku's wrist started to leak as more and more water traveled from his wrist to his fingertips.

"NOW CALL FORTH YOUR ENERGY AND COMBINE IT WITH YOUR WILL."

Izuku focused on the flame that represented his power. Where two years ago, it had been a tiny ember. It was now roaring fire. Sticking his left hand into it, he felt it course through him as he directed the energy towards his right. Outside, Inko watched as the water started to form into a spinning ball slightly larger than an American softball.

"NOW, PICK A TARGET AND LAUNCH YOUR ATTACK."

Opening his eyes, Izuku looked around the area for something to fire at. After a few moments, he found a car door hanging open, waiting for him to fire at it. Pointing his finger gun at it, he roared as much as his 6-year-old lungs could muster, "WATER GUN!"

In an instant, the water blasted forth, forming two streams, one that traveled in a straight line and one that spiraled around the first fused at the head. After a moment, it hit the door with significant force. This continued for several moments as Izuku kept feeding water into the attack until he heard the door creak. When he cut off the technique, he was rewarded with seeing the door with a two-inch dent in the panel. Izuku was about to cheer when he was suddenly interrupted.

"SKILL: 'WATER GUN' ACQUIRED"

"THE SKILLS 'WATER GUN' 'HYDRAULIC PROPULSION' AND 'WATER CURRENT CONTROL' HAVE COMBINED, THEY HAVE EVOLVED INTO AN EXTRA SKILL: 'WATER MANIPULATION'

Izuku was so excited by the thought of a new ability that he broke out of his mental plain without asking for an explanation.

"Mommy, Mommy, I got a new skill!" he shouted excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Inko looked at Izuku. "That's great, honey. What is it?"

Izuku quickly responded, "It's called 'Water Manipulation'!"

Smiling at her son's evident excitement, she said, "Fantastic! What does it do?" At this, Izuku's smile faltered. He realized he had forgotten to ask. Inko quickly noticed this and said, "No worries, can we call Great Sage out?" Happy to have an out, Izuku nodded and closed his eyes. When they opened they bore the red glow of Great Sage's presence, and an affectless tone came out of his mouth.

"Greetings, Inko Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya has asked me to explain the extra skill 'Water Manipulation' to you both."

At Inkos's nod, it continued.

..."Water Manipulation' is an ability that allows Izuku Midoriya to manipulate the water in and around him to various effects. These manipulations can be caused by willing or by purposeful movement. As Izuku Midoriya grows in power and skill, he may be able to pull water from plant life or even from the moisture in the air. Presently his skill level is such that he can manipulate small bodies of water."

Inko was thoughtful for a second before she said, "Thank you, Great Sage. One last thing, could you please limit the output of the skill 'Water Gun' to that of a toy water gun?"

Great Sage stood silent for a moment before it responded.

"Affirmative. 'Water Gun' will be limited to sixty PSI until Izuku Midoriya has been judged to have sufficient maturity to handle it. Will there be anything else, Inko Midoriya?"

Inko thought about it for a few moments before she said, "No, that will be all, Great Sage, thank you..." Once more, Izuku's eyes closed, and when they opened again, it was clear he was in control. He had a bit of a petulant look at having his new skill weakened as it had been, but he knew the rule that any attack skills were blocked or weakened until he was older. Still, Inko decided to throw Izuku a bone and said, "There is a park nearby with a fountain. Do you want to go there and give 'Water Manipulation' a try?" Izuku responded with a quick nod and a very enthusiastic "YES!"

Twenty minutes later, Inko and Izuku arrived at Obiwa Municipal Park and found an out-of-the-way fountain. When she had made sure that there was no one around to overhear, she said to Izuku, "So, do you know how to use 'Water Manipulation'?"

Izuku went still for a few moments before he said, "Great Sage says that it works like 'Water Gun'. I need to focus on the skill and what I want to happen, and then channel my energy into the skill. It says that for a small body of water like this, not much energy is needed, but larger bodies will need more power."

Inko nodded. That sounded logical. "Okay, honey, why don't you give it a try."

Nodding, Izuku put a look of concentration on his face as he focused on the water. At first, it didn't look like anything was happening, but Inko noticed that the water that was mostly still started to move. It was almost unnoticeable if you were not looking for it, but the water slowly began to spin clockwise. Inko was about to congratulate Izuku when she saw that he was still concentrating, so she turned back to the water and watched as the spin speed increased, causing bits of water to splash up above the top of the fountain. Finally, after what felt like forever, Izuku dropped the look of concentration, and the water started to slow down before once again becoming calm.

Turning to Inko, he proudly said, "I did it!"

Inko, just as proud of her son's success, replied, "Congratulations, sweetie, I'm so proud of you! Wait till your Dad hears about this!"

Izuku was ecstatic to hear this. "When he gets back from Hokkaido, can I show him?"

Inko nodded, "I'm sure he will be happy to see what you have learned.

A sudden rumble in her stomach and a glance at her cell phone informed Inko that it was almost 13:30 and that it was past lunchtime. Looking at Izuku, she said, "Izuku, let's head home. It's time for lunch." Any protest Izuku might have made died when she said, "and I'm making Katsudon!" The mention of his favorite meal had Izuku pulling her toward the bus stop that would take them home.

Tokyo, Japan, August 26, 2212, 16:45 Hero Public Safety Commission Headquarters, President's Office

"Thank you both for coming in today," greeted Keigo Urashima with a subtle bow. "I apologize for how late in the day this meeting is, but such are the duties of this office."

Speaking for herself and Rumiko, Ayumi replied, "It is no problem, sir. We were happy to see you today." Inwardly Rumiko thought that having to travel to her spouse's office near the end of the day was annoying as all hell, but she kept her mouth shut as she and Ayumi offered a much deeper bow.

"So," started Urashima, smiling, "Let's get this done quickly so we can all go home. How is young Himiko?"

As she was Himiko's primary caregiver, Rumiko was the one to respond. "She is adjusting well to her classes in the private school you recommended. The teachers say she is getting along well with her classmates, and the school's rules against asking about one's quirks make sure that nobody asks any questions that might cause problems. Currently, the school nurse has several pints of pig's blood if she needs some during the day, but we ensure she gets her daily dose with her breakfast, so it has yet to come up. Medically, she is doing well. The Commission doctor says that most of the adverse side effects from her parents have healed and that she should be done with the supplements by next year."

Urashima smiled, "That's fantastic! I am glad to hear it. How is her quirk training coming along?"

This time Ayumi was the one to speak, "As well as can be expected, we have been training her using blood provided by the commission, and when the source is from a child or someone who is roughly her size, the transformations are near identical, they are hampered by the fact that her transformations all still use her facial expressions. However, when we use blood from a source substantially larger than her, such as a teenager or an adult, the resulting forms are at best only slightly taller than she is." At the look of surprise from Urashima, Ayumi continued, "The quirk specialist thinks that as she grows and develops her quirk that she should be able to overcome that limitation."

Keigo grinned. It looked like his long-term plans were starting to come together. Still, it would be a good few years before his plans could move ahead, and it would still depend on how Himiko developed. Still, it was time to start laying the groundwork. "Okay, so I want you two to start sounding her out about taking singing or dancing lessons. I realize she is still young, but it never hurts for a young girl to have an interest." Inwardly Urashima smirked. His wording made it sound like it would be the girl's choice. But the psych profile he had done on her indicated that she would leap upon the opportunity with both feet.

The meeting would go on for several more minutes, but in the end, all was going according to plan.

Musutafu, Japan, September 25, 2213, 14:00 Musutafu General Hospital, Quirk Counseling Center, Dr. Sakura Uzuki's Office,

Sakura sat in the office she used for her younger patients. It was bright, colorful, and filled with life-affirming posters and pictures of heroes, real like All Might, Lady Nagant, and Endeavour, and fictional like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Sakura found it a bit too bright, but many kids loved it up to a certain age. Sitting before her on a bright orange couch was Izuku Midoriya. She had seen him professionally at least once a quarter for the last couple of years. Most of it was helping him figure out how to develop his quirk. If the reports she was receiving from his parents were any indication, it was coming along very well.

"Not that I have to do much. Great Sage takes care of 90 percent of what I would do."

It also helped that Izuku, when allowed, wasn't above experimenting. The water gun technique he had created was almost directly pulled from an old anime. The biggest issue he seemed to have was his worry about absorbing any living creature more complex than an insect. She had hoped that she might be able to break him out of his fears. She had a theory based on what he had told her about what he had seen, and if she were right, it would break him out of the years-long block he had put on himself. Focusing on the boy in front of her, Sakura greeted him warmly, "Good afternoon Izuku. How are you today?"

Smiling widely, Izuku chirped, "Good afternoon Doctor Uzuki! I'm doing good."

Not hearing or seeing anything that would tell her otherwise, Sakura continued. "I've heard good things from your parents about your improvement since you last were here. They tell me that your water manipulation has improved to the point where you can make shapes out of your internal water."

Izuku, happy to show off his skill, put his palm out facing upwards and summoned a tiny bit of water the size of a baseball into his hands. At first, it was unshapen primarily before he turned it into a perfect sphere, followed by a cube, followed by a pyramid before recalling the water back into himself.

Smiling at the boy, Sakura cheered, "Very good, Izuku, the work you have been putting in is showing!" Izuku practically glowed at the praise. "Now, why don't you tell me how your other skills are developing?" For the next 20 minutes, she was treated to an (surprisingly detailed for his age) analysis of his improvements since they had last met. Most impressive was that while some of the wording came from Great Sage, the thoughts behind them were all Izuku. She made a note to continue encouraging him to use his brain. Far too many of his cohorts were developing into battle maniacs.

After a few more minutes of back and forth, Sakura decided it was time to get to the main point of the day's meeting. "Izuku, if it would be all right with you, I would like to run a few tests as to how much material is needed when absorbing biological material and how fresh it needs to be."

She couldn't help but notice that Izuku flinched for a moment when she said it before he responded with a fair bit less enthusiasm than he had been displaying so far. "Okay…"

Determined to help him through his issue, Sakura pressed forward.

Leaving the room for a minute, Sakura returned with three covered trays on a small cart. Pulling the top of the first tray revealed a white feather and what looked to Izuku like part of a nail. Taking the nail from the tray and placing it on the ground, Sakura said, "To start with, I would like you to try absorbing this and tell me if it has any effect."

Izuku nodded before turning into slime and rolling toward the nail. When he had moved over it and absorbed it into himself, he waited for a few moments before transitioning back to human. "Nothing, Doctor Uzu-"

Anything Izuku was going to say was interrupted by Great Sage.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE, SNOWY OWL FEATHER HAS BEEN ADDED TO TEMPLATE DATABASE."

Izuku, to his surprise, could only ask the very profound question, "Wha?"

Great Sage, understanding what he was trying to ask, responded,

THE FEATHER IZUKU MIDORIYA CONSUMED, WHILE NOT ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR ANY ABILITIES TO BE GAINED, WAS ENOUGH TO ALLOW WINGS TO BE ADDED TO THE TEMPLATE DATABASE.

Once again, Izuku responded with a very profound "Wha."

"AS YOU KNOW, YOUR HUMAN FORM IS BASED ON A TEMPLATE CREATED FROM YOUR HUMAN BODY AS IT WAS 3 YEARS AGO, AND IS UPDATED BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF YOUR GENETICS AND YOUR STATED GOAL OF BEING A HERO. WHEN YOU HAVE CONSUMED BIOLOGICAL MATTER THAT FITS CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS, HAS BEEN ANALYZED, AND IS FOUND TO HAVE POTENTIAL USE, IT IS ADDED TO THE DATABASE."

Getting excited, Izuku asked, "Would I be able to fly ?"

"NEGATIVE. WHILE GLIDING MAY BE POSSIBLE AT THE CURRENT MOMENT, TRUE FLIGHT IS NOT POSSIBLE WHILE IN HUMAN FORM. HOWEVER, IF IZUKU MIDORIYA ABSORBS A FLYING ANIMAL, IZUKU MIDORIYA WOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE MIMIC SKILL TO TAKE ON THAT ANIMALS FORM."

Izuku thought about that for a moment before nodding to himself. "Okay, that makes sense. Thank you, Great Sage."

When Izukus's focus returned, He heard Dr. Uzuki say, " You were saying something, Izuku; you started, but you just stopped."

Looking sheepish, Izuku did his best to repeat his conversation with Great Sage as Doctor Uzuki took notes. When she had finished, she looked at Izuku. "Are you ready to continue?" At Izukus's nod, she pulled the cover of the second tray. On it was a small, leathery-winged creature.

"This, Izuku, is a Japanese House Bat. This unfortunate creature died recently when it collided with a tree outside this office. If you are willing, I would like you to absorb it."

Izuku looked at the bat with apprehension before nodding. Transforming into a slime, he waited for Doctor Uzuki to place the bat on the ground before he rolled over it. After a few moments, Great Sage started speaking, indicating that he had succeeded.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE, SKILL: 'ECHOLOCATION' ACQUIRED.

SKILL: 'MIMIC BAT' ACQUIRED.

Izuku waited for the memories and emotions like those he had felt from the cat years earlier. But after nearly thirty seconds, he felt nothing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dr. Uzuki looking back at him. "How did it go?" She asked soothingly.

Izuku thought about it for a moment before he responded. "It went okay. Dr. Uzuki, Great Sage says I got 'Echolocation' and 'Mimic Bat'." For a second, it looked like Izuku was listening to a voice only he could hear. "It says that I can emit a series of sound waves that will bounce off of things and allow me to sense things around me."

Taking a few more notes, Doctor Uzuki smiled, "That's very good, Izuku. Would you like to continue?"

Izuku thought about it for a moment. A part of him knew what was coming next, but he had known Dr. Uzuki since he had gotten his quirk, and she had never done anything to hurt him. He took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, I'm ready."

Smiling, Dr. Uzuki grabbed the third tray and put it on the ground before pulling the top off, revealing an aging reptile. "Izuku, this is a Veiled Chameleon. I am sure you know what they can do, right?" At Izukus's nod, she continued. Unfortunately, this one is at the end of his life and is quite sick. I would like you to absorb it.``

Izuku froze. While he had expected this on some level, seeing it in front of him was entirely different.

"Come on, Izuku Midoriya. You can do this. You can do this. YOU CAN DO THIS. YOU CAN DO THIS!" Almost quicker than thought, Izuku transformed into his slime form and covered the chameleon before it knew what was happening. As Izuku felt the chameleon be absorbed, he was hit by the creature's memories. But unlike the cat, he felt contentment instead of being hit with memories of anger, sorrow, and loss. He saw visions of himself from the reptile's perspective, just sunning himself. When the vision ended, he heard Great Sage's announcement.

ANALYSIS COMPLETE, SKILL:'360° VISION' ACQUIRED, SKILL:'360° VISION' WILL BE ADDED TO EXTRA SKILL: 'ENHANCED VISION.'

SKILL: 'CHAMELEON CAMOUFLAGE' ACQUIRED

SKILL: 'MIMIC CHAMELEON' ACQUIRED

When he returned his focus to the outside world, he felt tears on his face, and Doctor Uzuki said, "Izuku, Izuku, are you okay? What happened?"

Izuku took a few moments to gather himself before he said wistfully, "When I absorbed it, I saw its memories of… just sunning itself, and how content it felt."

As Izuku started to tear up again, Doctor Uzuki handed him a tissue. After he had calmed down, she spoke up, "I have some thoughts on that, but before I say it, can you tell me what, if any, abilities you got from it?" Izuku thought about it for a moment before he described what he had gotten from the encounter.

When Izuku finished, Dr. Uzuki wrote down some notes before she spoke, "Thank you, Izuku. I am happy you shared all that with me. Now I have some thoughts on how you described what happened when you absorbed the cat three years ago and the chameleon earlier. When you absorb a creature, a part of it sticks around at the very least as its memories. I think this happens so that you know how to use its body if you use one of your mimic skills. However, if it is alive and of sufficient intelligence, at least some of those memories bleed into your mind. With the cat, it was an extremely traumatic event. With the Chameleon, it was a memory of contentment."

Taking a drink from a bottle of water, she continued, "Now, how do you deal with this? There isn't much I can say. But I do have a suggestion. Many hunter-gatherer cultures worldwide and throughout history have had the tradition of giving thanks and honor for the kills they made during the hunt, be it to the animal itself or to whatever deity they worshiped. Some of them also made sure to use the animal for things like food, shelter, and clothing. My advice to you would be to try doing the same. When you absorb an animal, take the time to thank it for its sacrifice and promise to use the abilities it grants you. So, what do you think?"

Izuku looked introspective for a moment before he replied, "I'll do it" Sakura was surprised when he closed his eyes, put his hands together, and said out loud, "Thank you for your sacrifice. I promise to use what you have given me to the best of my abilities." When he opened his eyes again, he had a smile on his face. "Thank you, Doctor Uzuki."

Sakura looked back at Izuku and smiled before she said, "You are very welcome, Izuku. We are almost up for today, so I have two things I would like you to work on between now and the next time we meet. I will be right back." She stood up and walked out of the room. Nearly a minute later, she returned with two books.

When she handed them to Izuku, they were a blank notebook and a book on meditation for children. "The first thing I want you to work on is your analytical skills. I was impressed by your self-analysis today, and I was hoping you could expand on that. A Chinese philosopher named Sun Tzu once said that if you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. It would be… unwise to have you go out and observe villains, so I want you to try analyzing the heroes you watch in those online videos your parents let you watch. See what you can figure out based on what you know about them and what you observe.

Also, as with your self-analysis, I want you to do this without Great Sage's help beyond helping with word choice and readability." Taking another sip of her water, she continued, "The second thing I want you to do is to read that book on meditation and give it a try. I think it could help you with your focus, and it may help with the visions you get from the animals you absorb."

At this, Izuku perked up a bit. While he was glad to have felt the contentedness of the chameleon, he would like to avoid experiencing things as he had with the cat. Nodding enthusiastically, he chirped happily, "Yes, Doctor!"

An alarm went off that moment, causing Dr. Uzuki to tap on her watch before she said. "That seems to be all the time we have for today. Why don't we see if your father is ready to go." Standing up, they both made their way toward the lobby.

Yav Forest, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, July 31, 18:45, 2213

"Shit, Shit! SHIT! Where the hell is he?!"

Katsuki Bakugou was panicking. Izuku was using that damn chameleon ability of his to hide by blending in with the trees and using a water bullet to keep sniping him. Every time Katsuki thought he had a read on Izuku's location, he got hit in the face with a blast of water, and by the time he got his bearings back, the other boy had moved, and the whole thing began again.

"Think, Katsuki, think! What the hell was it he told you about invisibility quirks? It had something to do with a weakness…. That's it! Invisible doesn't mean they can't be touched, kick up enough dirt, and they will stand right out."

With the beginnings of a plan in his head, Katsuki looked for a way to make his plan a reality. The dirt at his current location was too tightly packed to use. The soil that wasn't was soaked from the fight and was just as useless to him. Enduring shot after shot of water, Katsuki looked for what he needed to make his plan work. Finally, he saw it. Across the clearing, they were fighting in was a pile of upturned earth. It looked like somebody had been digging long enough ago that the soil had lost its moisture but not so long that it had completely hardened. Moving as fast as his legs let him, Katsuki dodged and weaved toward the soil, trying to build up some sweat.

When Katsuki arrived, his back was completely soaked. Izuku had been ruthless about pressing his attack, and even now, he periodically felt a water bullet hit his back. With as mighty a roar as an 8-year-old could muster, Katsuki slammed his hands into the soil and let off the biggest explosion he could. In an instant, the clearing was filled with a brown cloud of dirt and debris. Covering his mouth to keep his lungs clear, Katsuki looked around for Izuku, hoping for any telltale signs of the boy's presence around him. But he couldn't see anything.

Finally, he heard the sound of something hitting the ground and the only slightly muffled sounds of a hacking cough. "There he is!" It was coming from behind him! Spinning around, he saw the silhouette of his friend. Running as fast as he could, Katsuki tackled his friend.

Inko and Hisashi Midoriya and Masaru and Mitsuki Bakugo could only watch as their son's play fight went from as tactical as two 8-year-olds could be to a wrestling match. Masaru, Inko, and Hisashi watched with amusement, enjoying the boy's antics. Mitsuki, on the other hand…

"WOO! KICK HIS BUTT, KATSUKI!" Hisashi and Inko side-eyed the woman while Masaru could only facepalm at his wife's… exuberance. For as long as they had known her, Mitsuki had been somewhat excitable and more competitive. Traits that Katsuki had seemed to inherit. Still, they were content to let her be as long as she didn't go too far in her exuberance.

Any other thoughts they might have had on the subject were interrupted by Katsuki angrily punching Izuku, who had him pinned on his back across the face, forcing him to let go. Izuku responded in kind, catching the still-rising Katsuki with a kick to the stomach. Like a shot, Hisashi and Masaru were out of their seats, with Mitsuki and Inko only a step behind. After a fair bit of effort, both groups of parents were able to pull their boys off of each other. When they had separated the boys a bit, Masaru was the first to speak up with an uncharacteristic tone of anger.

"Do you boys want to tell me what happened?" The two boys glared at each other but remained tight-lipped. After a few moments, Masaru took a calming breath and said, "Okay, so nobody was at fault? Fine."

Glancing at Hisashi, Inko, and his wife as if to clear it with them, he continued, "There will be no more play fights until further notice." Masaru took a moment to take in the shocked looks on the boy's face before he continued, "You both knew the rules, and you both violated them. What's more, neither of you has accepted responsibility for it."

Immediately cries of "Uncle Masaru" and "Dad" came out as both boys rushed to claim responsibility. Masaru only nodded when he responded. "I figured it was a mutual thing. Nevertheless, you did violate the rules, so your punishment will stand. However, if you can show us that you have learned from this, we may rescind the punishment at some point." Showing their united front on the matter, the other three adults nodded. With no way of fighting against it, boy boys defeatedly replied, "Yes, Uncle," "Yes, Dad."

Nodding at their response, Masaru looked at the other adults. "It is getting late, and we have a bit of a drive, so I think it's time for us to go." As the adults said their goodbyes, Katsuki and Izuku stood there petulantly, both of them still a bit pissed at the other for the current state of affairs. After a moment, both boys said a very quick "bye" before standing beside their parents as the Bakugous took their leave.

As they made their way to their car, Mitsuki could be heard saying. "If you are going to break the rules like that, you could have at least won," causing everyone involved to flinch.

Tokyo, Japan, August 15, 2214, 16:00 Hero Public Safety Commission Headquarters, President's Office.

Keigo sat at his desk. Sitting in front of him was Ayumi. As he understood it, Rumiko was attending to some matters with her family. Not that he particularly cared. "As long as one of them can give me a report, it doesn't matter who tells me what I need to know."

Putting a smile on his face and giving the appearance of a good boss, he said, "Thank you for joining me today, Maehara. It is a pity your lovely wife couldn't join us today."

Ayumi smiled a little. "Thank you, sir; unfortunately, Rumiko had a family engagement that she couldn't avoid," confirming what Keigo's sources had told him.

Keigo waved his hands slightly, waving off the issue as he said, "No matter, now tell me how young Himiko is doing?"

Ayumi, who was always happy to talk about the girl she was coming to think of as her daughter, responded with a smile. "She is looking forward to school starting up again. She has made many new friends this year, both in normal school and in those dancing and singing classes you suggested."

Keigo clapped his hands together. "That is fantastic. How are those classes going, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ayumi thought about her response for a moment before responding to her boss. "They are going very well, sir. Her teachers tell me that she is excelling and that there are a pair of recitals in which she plans to use her skills for her performances."

Keigo, delighted that his plan was starting to come to fruition, clapped his hands. "That's wonderful!" He tried to look a bit bashful before he continued, "Would you be willing to indulge an old man and give me a recording of her performance after the recital?"

Ayumi, buying his act, smiled. "Of course, sir. If you are free next month, you can attend the recitals as our guest."

Keigo had the grace to look legitimately grateful. This gave him a perfect chance to see how the girl who was the critical part of his plan was growing. With a few more years and the proper encouragement to the girl and her "parents," he would have the tool he needed to return the commission to prominence.

Nagano Prefecture, August 1, 2215, 09:45, Seirei Forest

Izuku sat cross-legged on the ground. His eyes were closed, and he was listening to the sounds of nature around him. As a reward for doing well in school this year, His Dad and Uncle Masaru, along with Tsubasa's dad, had brought the three of them to the forest for a week-long camping trip. They had arrived yesterday, and honestly, Izuku was having the time of his life. The forest gave Izuku plenty of places to practice the skills he had gotten from the animals he had absorbed over the years. And the quiet gave him a chance to focus on his meditations. Currently, he was focusing on the cat inside of him. Over the last year, he had learned that if he focused adequately, he could use those animals' senses. Sitting there, he could feel the light wind against the hairs on his arms and legs. He could hear the sounds of the insects flying through the air. The cat within him was content, and he was glad.

All of a sudden, he felt something on his arm. At first, he thought it was just the wind again. But then it started moving. This caused Izuku to open his eyes. When he looked down at his arm, he found a spider on his arm. Trying not to panic, he wanted to study it. At a glance, it looked about an inch in length and very hairy, black with yellow stripes. Taking a slow but deep breath, Izuku thought about what to do. Part of him wanted to shake the arachnid off of him. But he ruthlessly slapped that part of him down. Dr. Uzuki had talked to him a while back about opportunities like this. Here was a chance to gain some new abilities, and all he had to do was not give in to the desire to shake the spider off him.

Making sure not to move a single inch, Izuku prepared himself, and then just as the spider started to move again, he transformed into a slime, instantly surrounding it with himself. As it was absorbed into him, he heard Great Sage speak.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE,

SKILL: 'MIMIC DARWIN BARK SPIDER' ACQUIRED,

SKILL: 'STICKY WEB' ACQUIRED,

SKILL: 'WALL STICK' ACQUIRED,

Izuku smiled to himself. Two new abilities and a transformation, a good haul. Transforming back into a human, Izuku sat down as he felt the memories of the spider invade his mind. The spider was brought from very far away and brought here as a pet by some tourists. It had not enjoyed the journey, and Izuku could feel its agitation during the trip. As soon as it was able, it freed itself and managed to make its way to this forest where it had been for some time. It had been as content with its life here as a spider was capable of being.

When the vision of the spiders' memories faded, Izuku briefly wondered why he got the skills before the memories this time but wrote it off as unimportant. Izuku smiled. While he felt sorry that someone had lost their pet, they hadn't been a good owner, so he was glad the spider had managed to get free… even if it did end up as a part of him. Izuku wanted to show off to his friends and their dads, but he needed to figure out how to use his new powers. Moving back into a cross-legged sitting stance, Izuku again closed his eyes and focused only this time. Instead of focusing on the cat, he focused on the spider he had just consumed. It took a while, but he was able to find it. He wasn't sure how much of what happened next was because of the place they were in or if the spider was just that smart, but when he knelt to it and said, "Thank you for your sacrifice," it stared at him as if it understood.

When he asked, "Will you let me learn how to use your abilities?" the spider didn't respond. Still, Izuku suddenly found himself filled with instinctual knowledge of the abilities of a spider, how they climbed surfaces, how they hunted their prey, and most importantly, how they produced their silk. This presented a problem. After taking another moment to thank the spider, Izuku exited his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku said, "Great Sage, can I speak to you for a moment?"

After a moment, Great Sage responded, "HOW CAN I HELP YOU TODAY, IZUKU MIDORIYA?"

Izuku thought about his response for a few moments before he said, "I just learned that a spider needs material to make webs. What do I have that can be used as material?"

Great Sage thought about it for a moment before it responded. "AT PRESENT, YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU. THE FIRST IS TO CONSUME LARGE AMOUNTS OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL TO USE AS MATERIAL FOR YOUR WEBS THE WAY THAT THE SPIDER DOES. YOUR INTAKE WOULD NEED TO BE EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF WEB YOU INTEND TO USE FOR THIS TO BE VIABLE. THE SECOND OPTION WOULD BE TO USE 'DEGENERATE' TO FUSE THE 'STICKY WEB' SKILL WITH MATERIAL PRESENT IN YOUR INTERNAL STORAGE."

Izuku thought about that. What did he have inside of him that would work as material? Of course, he had vast amounts of water, but water wouldn't work as a physical object. There were also things like wood, glass, plastic, steel, and various other materials, but he wasn't sure of the amounts. Suddenly Izuku had an idea. "Great Sage, what materials do I have inside of me, and in what capacity?"

Great Sage thought about the request for several seconds before it responded, "AT PRESENT, MATERIALS PRESENT IN IZUKU MIDORIYA ARE AS FOLLOWS.

STEEL: 22000 POUNDS

GLASS: 1100 POUNDS

PLASTIC: 500 POUNDS

WOOD: 451 POUNDS

GOLD: 5 POUNDS

BASED UPON IZUKU MIDORIYA'S PRESENT OBJECTIVE, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU CONNECT STEEL TO 'STICKY WEB'

Izuku thought about what had been said for a moment before he said, "Okay, Great Sage, make the steel into the source material for 'Sticky Web.'"

"AFFIRMATIVE. MATERIAL: STEEL WILL BE ADDED TO SKILL: 'STICKY WEB, '

SKILL: 'STICKY WEB' HAS EVOLVED INTO SKILL; 'STEEL WEB, '

Izuku looked at his hands as he thought about his new ability. He thought about what he could do with this kind of power. Balling his hands into a fist, he pointed it at a nearby rock. Lowering his fists at the wrists, he watched as twin strands of metallic web launched toward the rock striking it. When it made contact, the webs expanded, covering the part of the rock closest to him—twisting his wrist around to grab the strands on his end and releasing strands from the back of his hands. Taking a few experimental tugs, he found that the web was quite strong. Giving the strands a much harder tug, the rock came loose from the soil around it.

Izuku smiled. This was awesome. He couldn't wait to show Kacchan, Tsubasa, and their dads what he could do now. Launching a few more strands just to ensure he had the mechanic down, Izuku ran toward the clearing where his dad and the other adults were.

Hisashi Midoriya, Masaru Bakugou, and Akechi Tsubasa sat around the campfire they had set up. They were just enjoying each other's company. Akechi, who was an older version of his son, was telling them about the latest family news. "I tell you guys, my father is great! He is opening up a practice in Fujisawa, and he wants Me. Hanabi and Ken are to move out there with him. He promised to set Ken up in the best private school in the area and take care of all the moving costs!"

Hisashi grinned at his friend. "That's great, man. Did he say why he was doing all of this?"

Akechi thought about it for a moment before he responded, "He said that as he is getting older, he is finding that he wants to spend more and more time around family."

Masaru looked thoughtful as he said, "What does Hanabi say about all of this? How does she feel about moving so far away?"

Akechi took a sip of his drink before he replied, "She was a bit apprehensive at first, but she managed to get an interview with a division of Yaocorp that has an office in the area. The first interview went well, and we hope the follow-up interview is just as good."

Hisashi took a sip of his drink before asking, "How is Ken responding to the idea?"

Akechi had a wistful look on his face, "Honestly, he is not happy about it. He doesn't want to leave his friends. At the same time, he loves his Grandpa and wants to stay close to him. So he has accepted that it is going to happen. He said he plans to tell Katsuki and Izuku on this trip and the rest of his friends after that."

The two other men nodded in commiseration. They both had had something similar happen to them during their childhood and knew that leaving your friends because of something your parents decided was never easy. The shouts of Izuku broke the solemn moment as he ran towards "DAD, UNCLE MASARU, MR. TSUBASA, LOOK AT WHAT I CAN DO!"

The three men watched as Izuku holding a fist in the air launched a strand of metallic substance that soared through the air before it made contact with a nearby tree. As Hisashi was about to say something, Izuku was pulled forward, the metallic strand retracting into his hand as he moved. The strand cut off when he was close to the tree, leaving Izuku flying toward the tree. Hisashi and the other men were getting ready to move to help Izuku with the injury he was about to get. They halted in their tracks when mid-air Izuku righted himself, and suddenly he was standing on the tree…sideways.

Hisashi was the first to reach Izuku and speak, "Izuku, what happened? How did you do that?" The two other men who had just caught up had the same questions.

Izuku, with a big smile on his face, walked down the tree before he replied happily, "While I was meditating, a spider landed on me. I absorbed it!" Even in his good mood, Izuku did not mention one word of Great Sage to anybody but his parents and Dr. Uzuki.

Ever the proud papa, Hisashi exclaimed loudly, "That's terrific, buddy. Can you tell us a bit more about your new abilities?"

Izuku was always eager to please, launching into a recital of the info he had on his new powers as it had been explained to him. He included that he had figured out the pull trick on his way to them. When he was done, Akechi was the first to speak up. "Holy crap, Izuku, those new powers of yours make you almost like that American Manga character, Spider-man!" Izuku, who had seen the 20th and 21st-century movies a few times, beamed at the comparison.

A sudden massive gust of wind would break the moment, and Ken, sweat falling down his face, gasping for breath, flew into the clearing. When he crashed to the ground, Izuku and the others were immediately by his side. Between gasps of breath, Ken only said four words. "KATSUKI, WOLF, WIND, QUIRK!" Before anybody could do or say anything, Izuku was off like a shot, moving far faster than anybody had ever seen him move.

Five minutes earlier

Ken and Katsuki were having a rousing game of tag. To make it a form of training, Ken worked on his stamina while Katsuki worked on consciously making his explosions as small as possible. They had been at it for 30 minutes, and Ken was getting tired. Katsuki was good at using the environment to his advantage, while Ken had maneuverability issue due to his heft. Currently, Ken was trying to bob and weave through the trees with Katsuki hot on his heels. When they reached a small clearing, Ken was cornered near a tree. Bakugo had a wicked grin and a series of tiny explosions in his hand. As He rushed forward, ready to tag Ken out, something horrible happened.

Unbeknownst to anybody, a wolf had recently traveled to the area, in search of prey. Local conservationists had noticed a decline in the local population of prey animals and other predators. At the same time, weather experts saw a sharp increase in wind activity in the same area. Plans had been put in place to have heroes with forestry experience, such as the Wild Pussycats and Water Hose, to figure out what was happening, but thus far, scheduling had been an issue for both groups. As such, both Ken and Katsuki were surprised when Ken dodged, and Ktasuki made contact with a furry rear end.

The first indication for either boy that something had gone wrong was when they heard a loud "grrrrrrrrrrrrrr," and the rear end that Katsuki had touched started to move, and though they didn't realize it the wind in the area began to pick up. When they realized they were dealing with a wolf, both boys started to back away slowly, doing their best not to agitate the wolf any more than they already had.

Both boys froze with fear when the wolf let out a piercing roar, and the wind suddenly became gust strength. Katsuki recovered his wits and shouted, "KEN, RUN!" Ken started flying like a bat out of hell without needing to be told twice. When the wolf tried to give chase, Katsuki charged forward and gave it an explosive slap across the snout. When it stepped back with a pained yelp, Katsuki, with as much confidence as he could muster, shouted, "COME ON THEN, WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF!"

Back to the present

As Ken said his last word, time almost literally came to a stop for Izuku, "Great Sage!" He called out.

"HOW CAN I HELP YOU, IZUKU MIDORIYA?"

"Can we save him? Can we save Kaachan?"

"AT PRESENT, THE LIKELIHOOD OF SAVING KATSUKI BAKUGO FROM A FULL-GROWN ADULT WOLF WITH A WIND QUIRK WITH MINIMAL INJURIES IS 65%. HOWEVER, IF YOUR LOCKED AND RESTRICTED SKILLS WERE TO BE RELEASED, THAT PERCENTAGE WOULD RISE TO 95%.

DO YOU WISH FOR ME TO RELEASE YOUR SKILLS AND ABILITIES TEMPORARILY?"

Izuku only thought about it for a moment before, with more force than anybody had ever heard him before, "YES!"

"ACKNOWLEDGED.

'ENHANCED JUMP' RELEASED

'PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT' RELEASED

'ENHANCED VISION' RELEASED

'WATER MANIPULATION' LIMITS RELEASED

'DIRE STRIKE' RELEASED"

Izuku slowly but surely felt power course through him. Every inch of his being felt like it was bursting with electricity. It was almost overwhelming! Then all of a sudden, the feeling disappeared. Izuku could still feel the power, but it was more constrained and controlled. Before he had the time to articulate the thought, Great Sage responded.

"UNTIL SUCH TIME AS YOU CAN DO SO, I WILL REGULATE YOUR ENERGY OUTPUT WHEN YOU USE YOUR ABILITIES."

Thankful that there would be one less thing for him to worry about, Izuku rose, and before anybody could stop him, he ran in the direction that Ken had come from. Izuku could hear his dad and the other grown up's call out to him, but he ignored them. Letting loose what should have been a throat-rending shriek, Izuku used his echolocation. The image he received back showed something going on in the right direction. It was at the edge of his range, so he couldn't be sure, but it was all he had to go on. Raising a fist high into the air, he released a steel web strand that hit one of the higher branches of a tall tree before willing himself to be pulled up. When he hit the branch, he used it as a springboard, jumping as high up and as far forward as possible. He released another soundwave when he reached as far up as he could. This time he was closer, and the image showed something that looked like it walked on two feet and one that walked on four. Releasing another strand that struck a tree as he felt himself pulled down and forward, Izuku thought, "I'm coming, Kacchan!"

As Katsuki Bakugo was slammed against yet another tree by the quirked wolf, he, not for the first time in the last couple of minutes, wished he had run with Ken. He had managed to avoid its teeth so far, but he had more scratches than he could count and had been thrown against more than a few trees. On the other hand, he had hit the wolf several times. The angry red welts on its snout, one of its ears, and hind legs were a testament to that. Unfortunately, all that seemed to have done was give it a little bit of a limp and piss it off. Katsuki released a few explosions in its direction, but after the fight he had put up, he didn't have much sweat left in reserve. The explosions he did create were weak and didn't bother the wolf in the slightest. When it stopped mere inches from his face, Katsuki said a silent "goodbye, Mom, Dad" before he heard something that distracted the wolf and gave him some hope.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku cried out as he finally reached the clearing where Katsuki and the wolf were located. High in the air Izuku fired a strand from each fist that impacted the ground when the wolf jumped to the side. When he landed, he immediately looked at his friend while the wolf paused to try and understand this new, strange smelling creature.

"Kacchan, are you all right!?" Izuku exclaimed loudly.

"Fucking peachy," replied Katsuki through labored breaths.

Mentally acknowledging that it had been a stupid question, Izuku turned to look at the wolf and the clearing as he took in the sight before him. Great Sage spoke up, "CAUTION, EVIDENCE ON THE BATTLEFIELD INDICATES THAT KEN TSUBASA'S ASSESSMENT OF THE WOLF HAVING A WIND MANIPULATION QUIRK WAS IN ERROR." Izuku was about to ask what Great Sage meant when it beat him to the punch. "GOUGES IN THE GROUND, DAMAGE TO THE TREES, AND KATSUKI BAKUGOU'S INJURIES INDICATE THE USE OF DIRECTED AIR, AS OPPOSED TO MANIPULATED WIND WHICH TENDS TOWARDS CIRCULAR MOTION. THE METHOD OF CONTROL IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN. A SHIFTING OF DENSITY TO A HEAVIER STATE AND USE OF A 'STEEL WEB' IS ADVISED. USE OF 'WATER GUN' AND 'WATER BULLET' IS RECOMMENDED DURING ANY OPENINGS THAT MAY APPEAR."

Izuku thought about what had been said for a moment before he said, "Do it."

Outwardly nothing appeared to have changed, but anyone paying close enough attention would have noticed that Izuku sank into the ground just a bit. Izuku and the wolf stared at each other for several moments, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Suddenly Izuku attacked. Putting his hands in front of him, palms open, he let loose a barrage of high-pressure 'Water Bullets.' A quick leap to the side caused all but a few of the bullets to miss. Spurred on by this partial success, Izuku recentered himself and continued to fire at the wolf. Spurred on by anger, the wolf managed to bob and weave its way through the attack until it was in biting range. Izuku managed to avoid the teeth but found himself pushed back when it released a blast of air that nearly knocked him off his feet. Launching a web strand that hit one of its forepaws with a mighty pull, Izuku made it tumble to the ground as it lost its balance. Izuku fired a second strand at its other paw and started to spin. He managed to drag it a few feet before it got back to its feet and held fast.

Seeing his attempt fail, Izuku lept back, trying to put distance between himself and the now very pissed-off wolf. Izuku dodged to the right, just barely avoiding being hit by a blast of air that hit a tree behind him, stripping the bark on that side of the tree clean off. Izuku, taking advantage of the opening created by the wolf's attack, fired off a small barrage of 'Water Bullets.' Most were off the mark, but one hit it hard on its side, which left it open for the next two, which caught it in the face, stunning it.

Seeing the wolf disoriented by his bullets, Izuku squared his footing and adjusted his index and middle fingers to mimic a gun. The air became drier, the plants around him started to wilt, and the ground beneath him hardened as Izuku called on not only the water inside him but the water all around him to condense into a small ball floating in front of the two fingers. As the wolf started to recover its wits, Izuku pointed at it and, with a roar of pure determination, shouted, "MAX POWER:' WATER GUN'!"

Years later and only under the influence of Satan's Taint Whisky, Katsuki would say that at this moment, all sound in the forest ceased. The silence was broken as the twin streams erupted from the water ball, pushing Izuku back several feet. The roar of the large amount of water being released was near deafening. When the attack made contact, it caught the wolf in the front—lifting it off its feet and slamming it through a tree. The last thing Katsuki saw before he passed out from his injuries was Izuku walking out of sight toward the wolf. The last thing he heard was his dad call out to him.

Izuku carefully made his way toward the wolf taking note of the carnage he had caused in his last attack. After a moment, he found the wolf. It had slammed against a second tree. It looked pretty beat up, but as Izuku approached. It took notice of him and growled. Izuku took a step back and then addressed Great Sage. "It's beaten. What should I do now?"

Great Sage remained silent for several moments before it responded, "PRESENTLY, THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO IZUKU MIDORIYA. tHE FIRST WOULD BE TO LEAVE IT HERE. BASED ON ITS INJURIES, THERE IS A SEVENTY PERCENT CHANCE THAT IT WILL PERISH BEFORE ANY MEANINGFUL MEDICAL HELP COULD BE ADMINISTERED.

ALTERNATIVELY, IZUKU MIDORIYA COULD ABSORB THE WOLF INTO YOURSELF. THE WOLF'S AIR MANIPULATION QUIRK WOULD BE A BENEFICIAL ADDITION TO YOUR SKILL SET. POSSIBLE NEGATIVES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO MENTAL STRAIN FROM THE MEMOIRS OF THE WOLF, AS WELL AS DEALING WITH THE REMNANTS OF AN APEX PREDATOR."

Izuku thought about that for a moment. He could hear Katsuki's dad calling out for his friend, followed shortly after that by his dad's voice calling out to him. Knowing that his time was short, Izuku turned into his slime form for a second before he exploded forward, covering the wolf entirely. By the time Hisashi made his way to where Izuku was, he had already reformed into a human but was standing still dead to the world around him.

As Izuku descended into his mind, he heard GreatSage announce the abilities he had gained from the wolf.

"ANALYSIS COMPLETE

SKILL: MIMIC WOLF ACQUIRED

ENHANCED HEARING: CANINE ACQUIRED

ENHANCED SMELLING: CANINE ACQUIRED

UNIQUE SKILL: 'AIR MANIPULATION'"

Izuku thought about what had been said before he asked, "Great Sage, could you give me an overview of 'Air Manipulation'?"

Great Sage was silent for a moment before it said, "AFFIRMATIVE," Izuku's vision was filled with scenes from an anime Izuku had never seen before. Some of the locations featured a bald boy that didn't look much older than him fighting armored foes. Some featured a dark-skinned girl that was older. She was riding on a ball of air with three much younger children doing the same. The last scene he saw before Great Sage spoke again was two much older bald men fighting each other in some temple.

"AIR MANIPULATION, AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, IS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL AND MANIPULATE THE AIR PRESENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND YOU TO VARIOUS EFFECTS, AS WITH 'WATER MANIPULATION AND AS DEMONSTRATED, WHILE MOVEMENTS AND GESTURES ARE UNNECESSARY, THEY CAN BE USED AS A METHOD OF FOCUS. "

Izuku listened to Great Sage's explanation as he watched the scenes with awe. However, he soon had a question. "Why didn't you show me something like this when I was working on 'Water Manipulation'?"

Great Sage was silent for a moment, but when it started to speak, Izuku swore he almost heard a bit of embarrassment in its voice. "AT THE TIME THAT IZUKU MIDORIYA DEVELOPED 'WATER MANIPULATION,' ASSIMILATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR WORLD WAS STILL ONGOING. "

Izuku thought about that for a few moments before he nodded his acceptance of Great Sage's words. He was about to say something when he felt the wolf's memories press against his mind. Having little other choice, he let the memories come.

The wolf had been born with its quirk. Its pack had abandoned it after its quirk had manifested many moons after its birth. After that, it learned how to hunt on its own. It had learned how to use its power to get what it wanted, even taking on larger predators. Over the years, many other wolves had tried to join it, but it had turned them away, sometimes violently. Its pack had turned away from it when it had been weak. It didn't need a pack now that it was strong. Then the strange-smelling humans came. They smelled of the dead and had unusual abilities as it did. They had captured it and brought it to another human.

At this point, Izuku couldn't help but notice that the man the wolf had been brought to felt familiar, like he had seen him before, but he couldn't place him."I know I had seen him before…" The memories soon restarted, and Izuku could only watch helplessly as the man experimented on the wolf. The wolf had tried to fight back, but some sort of collar they had put on it had blocked its powers. Every day they would stick it with needles and withdraw blood. They occasionally injected it with a black substance and removed the collar that blocked its powers. During those times, the wolf would try to fight back, and it noticed that it was far more potent than usual during those instances. But eventually, that increased power would fail it, and those strange-smelling humans again captured it. Izuku watched as the wolf suffered in this manner for a long time before one day, one of the humans responsible for putting it back in its cage didn't apply its collar as tightly as usual. The wolf had been quick to notice that fact and, after a bit of work, had been able to remove its collar. Suddenly it had complete control of its powers again and used them to escape, tearing anything and anybody who got in its way apart. Shortly afterward, it had found its way to the forest where Izuku and his friends had set up camp. The wolf's experience with humans had led it to hide from all who attempted to hunt for it. That had been till the human with the loud hands had struck it.

Izuku pulled himself out of the wolf's memories. What he had seen had been horrible. It had been worse than the cat's memories—no wonder the wolf had been so hostile. Fighting back tears and despite the seriousness of the situation, Izuku couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible to cry in one's mindscape. Putting that thought aside for later, Izuku lowered himself even deeper into his mind to where he could sense that the wolf was located. Unlike the other living creatures he had absorbed over the years, the wolf was far deeper in his mind. When Izuku arrived, the wolf was pacing, growling with every step. Izuku absentmindedly wondered what it was stepping on in the void that represented this part of his mind. Still, any further thoughts on that subject had to be tabled as the wolf took notice of him and started barking and growling at him, clearly enraged by its captivity. Knowing that he could not be physically harmed in his mind, Izuku moved towards the wolf. Speaking softly, "I know you are ang-" Anything else Izuku had been about to say was interrupted as the wolf attempted to bite his hand , and despite himself, Izuku pulled his hand back.

More than a little annoyed, Izuku recalled something he had seen on the T.V. once and projected his will into this place. With a shout that would have made Present Mic wince at its volume, shouted anger and frustration palpable in every syllable and word. "THAT'S ENOUGH! I AM SORRY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU. BUT I AM NOT SORRY FOR SAVING MY FRIEND FROM YOU!" Lowering the volume of his voice but keeping the tone, Izuku continued. "I know you want to be free, and I would love to be able to free you, but my powers are a one-way process right now!" Taking a few calming breaths (something he would question in later years), Izuku changed his tone. "I don't know if you can understand my Japanese or if you can understand what I am saying if you can, but I promise you that when I become a hero, I will do my best to find out who hurt you and bring them to justice."

The wolf, who by this point had fallen into a heel position and was whimpering, suddenly stood up again and walked over to Izuku. After several moments it raised its head and looked him straight in the eyes. Both no time at all and an eternity seemed to pass before it nodded its head and gave a quick bark. That Izuku interpreted to be an agreement.

Izuku suddenly found himself being launched from his mindscape to the real world. When he opened his eyes, he saw his dad standing over him, arms on his shoulders, saying, "Izuku, Izuku, speak to me, buddy!"

Izuku took several moments to gather himself before he said, "DAD, Dad, I'm fine."

Despite his son's attempt to assure him, Hisashi took his son into a deep hug before he said, "I'm glad you were able to save Katsuki, but please, don't run off like that. I know you want to be a hero, but even heroes like All Might and Endeavor have backup." Releasing Izuku, Hisashi put a serious look on his face as he said, "Now tell me what happened after you ran off."

Izuku started to explain what had happened from his perspective. During the explanation, Izuku noted the emotions that crossed his dad's face. Sometimes pride, other times fear, others it was excitement. Toward the end, he was looking thoughtful. When Izuku finished talking, Hisashi said: "As I said, I am glad you were able to save Katsuki, but please be careful."

Anything else to be said was interrupted by Akechi Tsubasa bursting through the wood with Ken and four women dressed in different colored variants of the same idol-like costume. Izuku instantly recognized three of the women as the Wild Wild Pussycats: Mandalay, Pixie Bob, and Ragdoll. It took him a moment to realize that the fourth woman was the female half of Water Hose. When they had made their introduction, she had referred to herself as Aqua Cat. Izuku made sure to file that information away for later when he could add it to the Pussycats and Water hose entries in his analysis books.

The next hour was filled with Katsuki being woken up and, together with Ken and Izuku, giving the story from their perspectives to the Pussycats followed by Hisashi, Masaru, and Akechi giving theirs. Izuku could tell that the pussycats had first doubted his story, but after Katsuki and Ken had given their sides of the story and the adults had given theirs, they had started to believe. Even with the state of the clearing being what it was, it had taken a brief display of his new powers before the ladies had seemed satisfied with the story.

After writing down her report, Mandalay knelt to Izuku and, with a warm but firm voice, said. "You did well today, kid, but you also got lucky. From the sounds of it, you still need to get a better understanding of your abilities, and what you are capable of. New tricks developed in the middle of a fight can turn the tide, but if what you are trying is beyond what you are capable of, it can just put you and whoever you are trying to protect in more danger…. However," She said as she widened her smile, which took a bit off the edge of her words, "That's what hero schools are supposed to teach you. You did very well for a boy your age." she punctuated her words with a thumbs-up and a wink.

Izuku, sensing that the more important things had been dealt with, asked the two questions he had been waiting to ask since the four women had shown up. "Can I get your autographs?" This brought a smile to the assembled lady's faces, smiles that faltered just a little bit when Izuku asked, "Where's Tiger? Isn't she usually part of your group?"

Mandalay floundered for a second, and Hisashi was about to admonish Izuku lightly for asking personal questions when Pixie Bob raised a hand to stop him and knelt at Izuku's eye level and said with a grin, "Tiger is currently out of the country for some health issues. But if you want, we will tell them you wish them well the next time we talk to them."

At Izuku's excited nod, Pixie Bob continued, "As far as these autographs are concerned, we would be happy to sign some for you and your friends. And if your dads will give us your addresses, I will ensure that when Tiger returns, they send you theirs as well."

At this news, Izuku, Katsuki, and Ken cheered enthusiastically. An hour later, the Pussycats and "Aqua Cat" took their leave, "Aqua Cat" had left Izuku with an email address he could use if he ever wanted to ask her or her husband about water techniques. Hisashi promised to ensure Izuku didn't abuse the privilege too much. A few hours later, after much discussion among the adults, it was decided to cut the camping trip short. The unknown danger had passed, but it had been decided that it would be best for the boys to recover in the safety of their own homes. The boys had the good grace not to argue.

Mustafaru,Japan, August 2, Midoriya Residence 17:11, 2215

For the third time in as many days, Izuku found himself buried in Mitsuki Bakugou's ample bosom. If he still needed to breathe, Izuku would currently be fighting to take a breath. As it was a part of him that he wouldn't understand for several years was coming to enjoy the experience. Around the apartment were the Bakugous, the Midoriyas, and the Tsubasas. They were celebrating Izuku's heroism and everybody's survival. The parents grinned at the always-exuberant woman's antics while the kids planned to rib Izuku about it later. When Mitsuki finally released Izuku, the party began in earnest. The boys played some party games while the parents visited each other and enjoyed some imported meats and cheeses from a recent work trip Hisashi had made to Kyiv. He also got to show off some fancy candles he had purchased during the same trip. As the party went on, Mitsuki kept asking Izuku to show off some of his skills and the animals he could transform into. Every time Izuku noticed, Katsuki cringed just a little. Finally, Mitsuki said, "Come on, Show us the big bad wolf," As the assembled adults and children looked at her for a moment, Mitsuki paid them no mind and continued, "What? If Katsuki wants to be any sort of hero, he can't be scared of some little wo-"

Mitsuki was interrupted by two things happening at once. The first was Izuku shifting into his wolf form, The suddenness knocked Mitsuki to her backside, and she soon found herself face-to-face with a furious full-grown wolf. The second thing was the sound of the explosion as Masaru slammed his hands against the table, anger apparent on his face. Hisashi, closest to Masaru and knowing just how far past his typical breaking point he was, did what he could to de-escalate the situation. "Akechi, Hanabi, could you take the boys to get some ice cream.?

The adult Tsubasas, seeing what was about to happen and wanting no part in the drama, just nodded and started shepherding the boys out of the apartment. As Izuku moved away, he shifted back to human. As he left the room, he also leveled a look at Mitsuki so that none of the adults could tell if it was pity or disgust. All they knew was that they didn't want to see that look on his face again.

The four adults waited until the children were out of earshot before Inko started speaking. "Mitsuki? What the hell was that?" When Mitsuki looked at her with confusion, Inko continued, "The boys, all of them, have just gone through something traumatic. Something I wish they had never had to go through"."

"But the boys are fine," Mitsuki started. "And Izuku got two new powers out of the de-" Anything Mitsuki was going to say was interrupted by the sound of flesh against the wood. This time it came from Hisashi.

"HE SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO!" Hisashi roared. Before he lowered his voice, "There were seven adults in that forest that day! Four were Pro Heroes, and all of us failed him and the boys."

Masaru spoke up for the first time since the conversation and stated in a gentle tone of voice, "Honey, nobody here is more grateful to Izuku for saving Katsuki than I am, but Hisashi is right. Izuku should not have had to be the one to save our boy."

As Mitsuki started to crack a little, Masaru continued. "This may be a bit of a segue, but I want to address it since it is related." Helping his wife off the floor and into a chair, he continued with a far more gentle tone than he had used earlier. "Honey, I want to talk to you about how you have been pushing Katsuki for the last couple of years." At this, Mitsuki looked visibly confused. Taking note of this, Masaru elaborated, "Well, there have been a number of them. But I will start with the most recent one that I know of. Do you remember when we got Katsuki's trimester report?" At Mitsuki's confused nod, he continued, "according to the report, he had pulled straight A's not only for the semester but for the entire year!" Masaru smiled at the memory for a moment before he continued, "he was so proud of himself, and I was proud of him. The only one who had done better was the Yoshida girl, and even then, it was only a matter of a few S's in classes that Katsuki had an issue with."

Masaru's tone took a distinctly annoyed tone as he continued. "And then you took a look at his grades. He was, if anything, more excited to show you his grades than he was when he showed them to me" Masaru's tone changed again, angry this time. "Do you remember what you said to him?" Masaru didn't wait for her to respond before he answered his question. "Your exact words were 'Not bad, but if you want to get into U.A. and be like All Might, you need to do a lot better than this'." Masaru took several deep breaths to calm himself down before he continued, his voice calmer but no less angry. "I had to watch as the joy on his face died, and later that evening, I found his report card destroyed."

Inko put a hand on Masaru's shoulder before she spoke up. "Hisashi and I haven't seen all these moments Masaru talked about, but we have started to see their effect on Katsuki. I have seen him become angrier and much more competitive in the last couple of years. I've watched as it drove friends away from him. I mean, God, Mitsuki, his friend group has been chopped in half in the last few years, and not all of that can be from friendships just fading. Most of the friends that he has left are just too stubborn to let go, and I include Izuku in that. With Ken moving soon, I'm afraid his friend group will get even smaller. I'm sure they will try to keep in contact, but we all know how things go, particularly at that age."

As Inko spoke, Mitsuki digested what her husband and Inko had said. When Inko finished talking about Ken moving away, Mitsuki formed her rebuttal. Standing up with a defiant look, she said, "Am I pushing Katsuki? Yes! He says he wants to be a hero, and he says that he wants to go to U.A. He says he wants to be the next All Might, and for any of that to happen, he needs to be the best. If that means pushing him a bit, I will push him!"

As Mitsuki spoke, Inko had a sudden realization on her face. "Holy Shit, I know exactly where I've heard this before!" The examples and the justifications were almost entirely the same. As she looked over at Masaru and Hisashi, she noted the same look of realization form on Masaru's and then much slower on Hisashi's faces as they, too, realized what was going on.

Moving in front of Mitsuki, Inko looked down at her friend and, with her calm voice, said, "You don't even realize what you are doing, do you?" At Mitsuki's confused and insulted look, Inko elaborated, "You may have forgotten or blocked it out, but I remember Mitsuki Yamamoto spending days at my house crying her eyes out because Akira and Ami Yamamoto constantly threw wave after wave of pressure and criticism at her— About how did she expect to become a great doctor or dentist with such poor grades. Even though you were tied for number two in our class with me."

Catching her breath for a moment, Inko continued, "I remember that the only reason your parents allowed us to be friends was that they thought I would be a good influence on you. I remember my parents constantly lying to yours about what we were doing when you would stay over. I remember that things continued until university when you discovered you liked cosplay and moved from pre-med to fashion design in our second year. I remember how your parents blew up at that news and cut you off. I remember you spent the rest of university supporting yourself with freelance costume making. I know the last time you talked to your parents was when Katsuki was born. Regardless, you are acting very much like they did. Oh, you're not as bad as they were by a long shot, but the attitude is there."

Mitsuki was silent. As much as she tried to resist, she couldn't hold back the memories of when she had been Katsuki's age, and Inko hadn't been around to shield her from the worst of her parent's words and actions…

"MITSUKI YAMAMOTO!" bellowed Akira Yamamoto as he looked down at his sobbing 13-year-old daughter. "Your mother tells me that you are ranked 5th in your class this trimester. Would you care to explain why you did so poorly?" As Mitsuki tried to open her mouth to speak, Akira interrupted her. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Here's what's going to happen until we see some significant improvement. For the next trimester, you are barred from all non-required extracurricular activities and from "hanging out" with your friends." As Mitsuki continued to sob, Akira softened his voice, speaking with an almost gentle tone. "Honey, I know I'm being harsh, but your mother and I just want what's best for you, and for that, you need to be the best." Akira looked thoughtful for a moment before he said. "I will tell you what, if your mother and I see some big improvement by the midterm, we will end your restrictions early. How does that sound?" Drying up her tears, Mitsuki nodded eagerly, desperate for any lifeline she could get.

Mitsuki Yamamoto, age 20, stood in her dorm room before her furious mother. After hearing what Mitsuki had said, her father had just left the room, and the fist-shaped hole in her wall was a testament to how he had felt about it. Standing off to the side was her friend Inko, offering silent support. Before either of the younger women could say a word, Ami Yamamoto, her voice quiet but clearly angry, hissed out, "How could you do this, Mitsuki?! How could you throw away all that hard work that I and your father put into you? How could you give up what could be a great career in medicine or dentistry for FASHION DESIGN? If you went into Hero Costume Design, that at least would have been SOMETHING! But you changed your major to FASHION DESIGN!" As she spoke, every time she said 'fashion design', she uttered the words like the most offensive swear words.

For a moment, Mitsuki felt like the scared girl she had been for most of her childhood. She prepared to make some stammering excuse as she had before kowtowing to her parent's demands. But in that instant, she looked at her friend Inko, the woman who had stuck by her since they were young girls and who had spent more than a few hours over the last year helping her to build up the courage to do what she wanted to do instead of what her parents wanted her to do.

With her courage renewed for the moment, Mitsuki replied, finding increasing strength and volume until it reverberated around the room. "Because, Mom, I never wanted to be a doctor. I never wanted to be a dentist. That was always what you and dad wanted for me. From the moment I learned fucking BLADDER CONTROL, you and dad tried to make me into what you wanted. I did as you guys wanted for most of my life and worked my fingers to the bone. The only damn thing that kept me fucking sane was Inko! I'm not sure what would have happened if not for her, but I know that neither of us would have enjoyed the outcome."

Ami looked at her daughter with shock, anger, and disgust. Drawing her feelings back inward, she sneered as she said, "If that's the way you feel, that's fine. Your father and I discussed this eventuality on the way here. As of right now, you are cut off— No groceries, no allowance and no support. It's too late to get a refund on this term, but you are on your own after that runs out."

As the two younger girls stood there, shocked at what had just been said, Ami turned to Inko, and with as much venom in her voice as possible, snarled, "I wish my daughter had never met you. Your influence has turned her from a future doctor to a complete disappointment." Not waiting for any response, Ami turned around and walked out of the dorm room but not before saying. "If you ever get tired of this foolishness, your father and I would be happy to take you back. If not, then fine—have a mediocre life." Slamming the door shut behind her, Ami left the two shell-shocked girls standing there silently.

Mitsuki Bakugou, age 23, watched as her newborn son slept. It had been a tough pregnancy followed by a difficult birth, but he was finally here. He was her perfect little boy, and she couldn't wait to see what kind of future he would have. Whatever it was, she would do her best to help him make it happen. As she continued to watch Katsuki, she felt a pang in her heart. It had been almost three years since she had talked with her parents and nearly two since she had sent them a wedding invitation that had been returned with a note that said only one thing "NO."

After her parents cut her off, she finished college by doing cosplay commissions for her classmates and others. It had been hard, but she had made it. Despite how things had ended with her parents that day she sometimes felt a pang in her heart when she thought about them. Picking up her phone, Mitsuki punched in a number she hadn't used in a long time. As the phone rang, she wondered what she was going to say. What could you say in a situation like this? Her musing was cut off by a warm female voice, "Hello. Yamamoto residence"

Mitsuki remained silent for a moment before she found her voice, "Mom."

The voice became decidedly colder at that moment when it responded. "Hello Mitsuki, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call? Are you ready to give up this fashion nonsense? Has that Bakugou boy finally gotten sick of you and left?

Mitsuki bristled for a moment before reining in her temper, leaving Katsuki's room and heading to the living room. She finally responded, her now much colder and very clipped. "No, Mother, My job at the firm is going very well, and Masaru and I are very happy. In fact, I called to tell you that I just had a son. Your Grandson."

The line remained silent for a moment before Ami responded. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order. I hope that he grows healthy. I also hope that he doesn't grow up to be as big a disappointment to you as you were to us. I will let your father know of the news when he gets home. If there is nothing else, I have to go."

As the line went dead, Mitsuki could only stare at her phone in shock. As the tears started to well up in her eyes, she felt her temper begin to get the best of her, and if she was being truthful with herself, she would admit that she was happy to let it.

With a roar of "FUCK YOU, MOM!" she threw her phone against the wall where the screen shattered. Before she had time to think about what she had just done, she heard Katsuki cry. She didn't know if it was her throwing the phone or her scream that had woken him up, but now she had a job to do.

As Mitsukis's mind returned to the present. She tried to come up with some rebuttal, some excuse that would allow her to deny what they had been saying. But no sound came out whenever she tried to open her mouth. "I—I—I—I," Mitsuki stammered as tears started to well up. But as hard as she tried, she couldn't find any way to deny what had been said. "I—I—I didn't mean to do that, I swear!" panic formed in her voice as she spoke.

Masaru looked at his wife gently, and with a calm voice, he replied, "I know, honey, I know.." He figured that now wasn't the time or place to say they would be having a very different conversation if she had done it on purpose.

As Masaru tried to comfort his crying wife, Inko spoke up again, her voice as gentle as she could. "Good. Now that you know what is wrong, we can fix it. If you want, I can talk to Dr. Uzuki and see if she can give us the number of a therapist who deals with this type of issue." As Mitsuki silently nodded.

Inko smiled, happy that her friend was willing to seek help. "Good, now pardon me if I am out of line, but I think you need to apologize to Katsuki." Inko left it unsaid that she also felt that Izuku deserved an apology. Mitsuki only nodded before she excused herself to the bathroom to clean herself up.

When the Tsubasas returned with Izuku, Katsuki, and the others nearly an hour later, Both boys found themselves caught up in a bear hug by a very contrite Mitsuki Bakugou. Through some of her rambling, they could make out "I'm so sorry" and "I'm going to get help to be a better mother and auntie!"

The two boys found themselves in the unusual position of comforting the crying woman even as she apologized to them. Izuku noted that Katsuki looked a bit happier than he had been in a while. As for Izuku himself, he cautiously accepted his Auntie's apology. But he would wait to see how things turned out.

Tokyo, Japan, October 28, 2215, 19:00 Hero Public Safety Commission Headquarters, President's Office

Kaina Tsutsumi steadied her breathing As she walked into the President's office. She had a mission to perform, and like every other mission she had ever completed, it required a calm mind and heart." Come on, Kaina, you can do this. This is like every other mission. Only if you do it right, nobody has to die." Walking with purpose, she took a moment to take in the office's decorations.

By and large, it was the same as the last time she had been here. All around the room were pictures of heroes that had worked for or closely with the Commission. In some, they were shaking the President's hand. In some, they were simply standing beside him. There was even one of her in happier times on her first day as a pro hero, "Before I became their killer." Some of the newer pictures were of a young blonde-haired girl with her hair in buns. Himiko Toga, as she recalled. "I damn well should remember her. I'm the one who killed her parents." If Kaina was honest with herself, the death of the Togas was one of the few extrajudicial killings that she felt no guilt about. What they had done to their daughter for the "crime" of having an "evil" quirk was monstrous.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she picked up the pass and was soon in front of Keigo Urashima. For his part, he looked unbothered. He looked at her from his chair and put on the genial smile that Kaina knew was meant to disarm her. "Good evening Tsutsumi, How was your patrol?"

Kaina was mildly taken aback. She had expected Urashima to ask what she wanted or why she had asked for this meeting. She calmed herself as she remembered that the older man was an old hand at appearing like a good boss. Reasserting herself, she replied, "it was a fairly standard patrol, three muggings, two robberies, and an attempted murder. All suspects have been handed over to local law enforcement." She said all this with the same matter-of-fact tone she always used with these types of reports.

Keigo clapped his hands together. He smiled as he replied, "Outstanding, Tsutsumi. Keep it up, and I'm sure you will make it into the top ten before too long." Kaina only gave a slight nod in acceptance of his words before he continued. "My assistant told me you wished to speak to me about something. How can I help you?"

Kaina steeled herself. This was it. This was her chance to get out from under the old bastard's thumb. To finally be free and maybe wash the blood off her hands. Releasing a breath she did not realize she had been holding, she began to speak. "I want out. I am done with the killing. I am done with helping to maintain this illusion of a society the Commission has built on All Might's back."

Keigo Urashima couldn't hide the surprise on his face. It was clear to Kaina that he had not expected her to say anything like that. Still, he recovered quickly, once again applying the mask of the good boss. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he replied, his every word calm and measured. "I am sorry to hear that you wish to leave us. Your work for the Commission has been invaluable over the years. Nevertheless, I am afraid I can't allow you to quit. As you put it, the illusion is far too crucial to Japanese society. The people's faith in their heroes and the Commission that oversees them must be maintained at any cost." Taking a drink of water from a nearby water bottle, he continued. This time his voice was far more threatening. "You, my dear, know entirely too much to be allowed to just leave. The knowledge in that pretty pink and blue head of yours could destabilize our country. You could, of course, walk out the door, but I'm sure you know exactly what would be coming for you."

Kaina resisted the urge to bring her rifle to bear. As satisfying as painting the office with his blood would be, it wouldn't get her what she wanted. Instead, she replied with a smile that didn't reach her eyes and a sweet tone with a hard edge, almost absolute zero. "I thought you might say that, and that is why I came prepared." Pulling a thumb drive out of a hidden pocket, she placed it on the desk. "I have a detailed record of all commissions dealing over the last 15 years. Everything you have ordered, everything your predecessor ordered, everything that I and others have been ordered to do in the name of your society. It also includes everything you have written about your plans for the Takami boy and the Toga girl. I'm sure you know that even a fraction of what is on that drive could land you in prison for life."

Keigo grabbed the drive and attached it to his computer. Kaina couldn't read his mind, but if she had to guess, he was horrified by the truth of her claims. She watched as a ghost of a smile appeared on his face and disappeared just as quickly. She watched as he made a few mouse clicks and hit a few buttons on his keyboard. With an almost tired sigh, Kaina said, "Should I assume that you have just deleted the contents of that drive?" The President's widening grin told her all she needed to know. Returning his grin, she said, "That's fine. That is just one of several copies that I have in my possession. They are ready to be released to every major news outlet on the planet after my death."

Keigo looked horrified. "If you do that, it will be the end of everything that we have built, all the gains that Japan—no, the world has made, will be lost!"

Kaina looked at the man with practiced disinterest. "That really sounds like a 'you' problem. As the head of the Commission, all the blame for everything will fall on you. You can try to tell people that I am the one who released the info. But we both know it will sound like blame-shifting, and even if they believe you, I will be dead and beyond caring. Of course, you could take me alive. But that will just lead to the same outcome."

Keigo's expression resembled that of a fish. Kaina internally grinned before she continued. "Now, if you let me leave the Commission and don't retaliate in any way, I see no reason to release that information. After all, with all the things I have done for you over the years, I would find myself in a jail cell right next to you. So here's the deal: I walk away from the Commission. I may continue as a hero, or I may not. In return, 5 days from now, I will transmit the location of every copy of the information on that drive I have in my possession. Further, I will never publicly speak ill of the Commission in any way."

Once again, Kaina found herself guessing at the President's thoughts while he was mulling it over. If he was as bright as he liked to think, he would have noticed the little hint in what she had said. If he wasn't… it didn't really matter. She had him bent over the metaphorical barrel. After nearly 90 seconds, he responded with a growl in his voice., "Fine, you're out, but I expect you to keep your part of the bargain. Now get the fuck out of my office!"

Grinning, Kaina turned on her heel and made her way out of the office. Now that she had what she wanted, it was time to disappear for a little bit. Maybe read a book or take up a hobby. It didn't matter. She had all the time in the world to figure it out.

Three days later, the Lady Nagant Official Fansite reported that Lady Nagant was taking an extended sabbatical to rest and recuperate but that she would return before too long.

Outside Musutafu, Japan, December 12, 2215,07:00, Jungle Karma Martial Arts.

Ixuku, Hisashi, and Inko stood in front of a huge warehouse. It had been a drive from their apartment to the supposed martial arts school Dr. Uzuki had recommended them to, and truthfully they were a bit irritable. The good doctor had directed them here because of an incident at Izuku's school recently.

"Did you hear that new girl Yoshida is quirkless!? What a freak!" In the hallway of his school, Izuku froze. If there was one thing he truly hated, it was the word freak when it referred to a person. If there was one person he hated, it was the person who had just uttered those words: Daisuke Saito. The years they had known each other had done nothing to calm the boy's bigotry, and he had only gotten worse. To make things worse, the wolf started to act up whenever Izuku found himself around Daisuke recently. More than once Izuku had needed to retreat into himself to keep from throttling the other boy. In the last hour, Izuku had spent countless hours inside himself trying to calm down. But no matter how deep he dived into himself, the wolf was there growling and angry.

Izuku tried to talk to the wolf, "Please calm down! I know you are angry, but I can't do anything about it if you won't calm down." The wolf let out a loud, sharp bark, and suddenly, Izuku found himself back in the real world. Instead of being seated as he had been before, he was on his feet standing in front of a scared-looking Daisuke, and Kacchan had his hand on one of Izuku's shoulders, telling him to calm down. The irony of that, more than anything else, was what brought Izuku back to himself. Letting out a sharp "Never say anything like that again, Saito!" Izuku returned to his seat.

A visit to the principal's office led to an emergency session with Dr. Uzuki.

As Izuku sat in Dr. Uzuki's office, he couldn't help but notice how little it had changed in the years he had been coming here. Some of the Hero posters had changed, of course. He was sure the All Might poster he saw was new, and the Endeavour plushie on the shelf was based on his most recent costume change. Shaking his head to refocus, Izuku looked at the woman who had been deep in thought since he had finished telling her of the event from his perspective. After a few moments, she spoke, her voice concerned but kind.

"I will be honest with you, Izuku. What you described is new to me. I have helped children with animalistic quirks who needed help controlling instincts forced on them by their quirks, but your quirk is not animal-based. On the other hand, you have recently absorbed an apex predator whose instincts are far different than the prey and lesser predator animals you have absorbed."

Izuku thought about what Dr. Uzuki had said. It more or less matched what Great Sage had said when Izuku asked about the situation. Letting out a breath, Izuku responded, "So, is there anything that can be done? I don't want to go nuts like that again..."

Dr. Uzuki smiled as she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a green pamphlet. On the front was what looked like a claw symbol. The words 'Jungle Karma Martial Arts' were in bold white letters above and below. "There is a woman I have worked with who runs a martial arts school outside town. They primarily specialize in People with animal quirks. They help their students to become masters of their instincts. Release the beast within, as it were." At that last part, Uzuki couldn't help but chuckle at her own wordplay. "With your permission, I would like to talk to her about your case. It sounds close enough to what they deal with that they may be able to help you."

Izuku thought about it for a minute before he nodded. Dr. Uzuki clapped her hands together before she said, "Wonderful! I will contact her today. And I will let you know how that turns out as soon as she answers. Now, besides what brought you here today, how are things going?"

A few days later, Dr. Uzuki had gotten back to Izuku, and the head of the school, Camille Skinner, had agreed to meet with him and his parents to see if he would be a good fit for the school. As the family walked through the entrance, all three Midoriyas were surprised by the stark difference between the bland outside and the ornate interior of the entrance hall. They were still in awe when a woman's voice called out behind them. "You must be the Midoriyas."

The family jumped in surprise, as they were sure nobody had been behind them when they entered the building. As they took a moment to take in the speaker, they found her to be a relatively young woman of western birth with brown hair in a tight bun and vibrant green eyes. She was wearing a green uniform with black piping that Izuku guessed denoted her as a teacher or maybe a master. He didn't have the time to think about it much more than that as she started speaking with a light smile again. "Sorry for spooking you." At the family's collective nod, she moved on, "I am Camille Skinner, Head teacher and current master of the Jungle Karma Martial Arts school here in Japan." When she finished, she gave a slight bow.

The Midoriyas returned the bow before Inko spoke, "Thank you for having us, Ms. Skinner. I hope you don't mind me asking, but to be in charge of a school like this—"

The other woman interrupted her with a light chuckle. "You are wondering about how I can run a school at my age?" At Inko's slow nod, Camille chuckled again. "Despite how I look, I am quite a bit older than my appearance would indicate. I have been running this school for over twenty years and have no plans of stopping anytime soon. Now if there are no more questions, shall we head inside."

Having pushed the bounds of politeness already, the Midoriyas could only nod. With a snap of her fingers, another set of doors opened for Camille leading further into the building. As the group made their way through, they entered a much larger area where several groups of people were. All of whom had some animal feature or, in a few cases, looked exactly like bipedal versions of certain animals went through what looked like morning drills. Izuku could only stop and stare as he watched a girl who didn't look much older than him run through her stances. He stopped staring when Inko gave him a light slap on the back of the head, while Hisashi looked on with pride; Camille just had a faint smile. With a slightly red face, Izuku mumbled a "sorry" before the group continued.

"As you have noticed," Camille continued, "All of our students have some animal aspect. For some, this includes instinct or drives from the animal they resemble. This can be a crippling weakness in modern society, so we work with them through meditation and physical training to contain and manage these instincts and drives. We have been doing this at this location for the last fifty years. Now before we continue, do you have any questions?"

Hisashi, who had largely been silent up to this point, spoke up first. "I was looking at your pamphlet, and according to it, the origins of your school date back over ten thousand years. How is that possible? According to the research I was able to do, Japanese martial arts date back to the start of the first millennium, and Chinese martial arts, at best, date back around five thousand. How can your school predate all of that?"

Camille looked at Hisashi for a second before she responded, "In truth, what you read was a bit of creative license. It is true that the formal version of our school's style only came to being around the fifth century. At that point, it was known as Pai Zhuq. And it was linked with Kung Fu and, through the centuries, several other martial arts styles. Before that, practitioners were men and women who studied the animals around them and tried to mimic their movements to create a method of fighting. Our school's legends say it was to fight against a great evil, but the actual details of that time have largely faded away." All three Midoriyas noted a bit of sadness in her voice but decided almost collectively not to press the issue. They didn't have much time to think about it as she started speaking again.

"Now, if there are no further questions, we can head to my office and discuss young Izuku's enrollment with us." Inko, Midoriya, and Hisashi looked at each other for a moment before they nodded, following Camille as she opened a door leading away from the dojo floor that led into a bare hallway. After a minute of walking in silence, the group came upon a door with the words 'Head teacher' written on it. When Camille opened the door, it revealed a simple office with a dark green paint job. As the group looked around the room, Hisashi noted that the fanciest things in the room were the large wooden desk and the chairs in front of and behind it. They were also by far the oldest looking, though still in fantastic shape. Inko took note of how much more relaxed Camille seemed to be in her office. She wasn't sure why, but it was a noticeable change. Izuku looked around the room and saw the pictures that were on the wall and on the desk. Those that didn't seem to be of her with her students seemed to be of a group of people who looked close to her age in bright colored gis of blue, yellow, and red. In some of them, she was standing with a man wearing a gi like the students he had seen earlier had worn. A few showed Camille and the man in green and black gis. The last picture he noticed before he turned his attention back to Camille was of her and the man from before standing together in wedding clothes. He noticed that that picture seemed much older than the others. Much more faded. His musings on the subject were cut short when Camille started speaking again.

Looking at all three Midoriyas, she said, "Now that we are in private, I can tell you that with Izuku's permission, Dr. Uzuki has told me about your quirk 'Adapational Slime' and how it relates to your current situation. I do believe that we can help you." Putting a hand out, she pointed her finger toward Izuku. Looking first at Izuku and then at Hisashi and Inko, Camille said, "There is something that I can do that should help me get a handle on just what we are dealing with in your situation." Looking at his parents, who looked concerned but nodded back, Izuku nodded at Camille.

The woman only uttered the word "good" before she put her hand on Izuku's forehead. Her eyes flashed a bright green, and suddenly Izuku found himself in his mindscape. Standing next to him were the living animals he had absorbed over the years. The cat was hissing, and The Wolf was growling. The chameleon looked agitated. He couldn't tell what the Mantis shrimp and spider were feeling, but he could venture a guess based on the others.

All sound ceased when the largest creature Izuku had ever seen appeared in a bright flash. Izuku couldn't be sure, but he would, in his later years, say that it dwarfed Might Tower. The animals that had been so loud and agitated went silent instantly. The Wolf and The Cat both started whimpering. In another flash of light, Izuku found himself in the real world. He was supported by his Mom and Dad, who kept him from falling forward.

Still slightly shaky, Izuku asked, "W-what was that?"

Camille looked at him softly but spoke with a voice that was all business. "That was an ability I have that lets me see what, if any, Animal Spirits a person has. It is something I have honed over the years. And it comes in handy with those students whose animal quirks leave them with high instinctual drives. I didn't tell you everything earlier. As I said, This school helps those with animal quirks contain and manage their instincts. But when they have the will, the talent, and the power, we can train them to harness their inner animal, and if they are really dedicated, they can do something like THIS!"

In a flash of green, Camille was now coated in armor. The chest, arm protectors, and boots were mainly green and yellow with a bit of red, while the limbs were purple, and on the helmet, what would have been the eyes were also purple. In another flash, the woman returned to normal. Behind him, Izuku could hear his father mutter that she looked like she was out of a super sentai while his mother seemed shocked into silence. For the moment. His thoughts were interrupted by Camille speaking again. "What you just saw was my power. The power of a chameleon. I will be honest with you, Izuku. I don't know if you will ever be able to reach this level, but if you are willing, I would be happy to help you try." She said with a genuine smile.

Izuku looked back at his parents. His mom looked concerned but favored him with a look that showed her support. When he looked at his father, he received a big smile and a thumbs up. Focusing inward, Izuku found Great Sage going nuts, trying to figure out what had happened during the last few minutes, feeling that what happened next was all up to him. Giving it a moment of thought, he replied, returning her smile. "YES!"

Camille stood up, offering him her hand as she said, "Well then, Izuku Midoriya, welcome to the Pai Zhuq."

A/N thanks to the forums and discords that helped me with this without them this story wouldn't be near as polished. links should be in profile