My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage

Chapter 51: Facing One's Self

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.

Author's Note: I've been working on other things, so updates on my stories won't be as quick as they used to.

"So I understand you know Aquarius?" Skyburst asked Takeo as they made their way to the Water Body Hero's agency which was several blocks away from the train station. "Is it true that he used to work with your father, the Pro Hero: Paladin?"

"Yes, he did," Takeo responded as he followed Skyburst.

The sidekick felt sympathy towards the Inventory wielder, knowing of his father's demise. If he were still alive today, he probably would've made it to the Top Ten Pro Heroes by now; a truly tragic ending for such a brave and strong Pro Hero who sought only to protect the innocent from those who would harm them.

Skyburst had never met Takeo before until now, leaving her to wonder why Aquarius reached out to him for an internship considering the Water Body Hero had never extended internships before. Was he perhaps using this as a means to reconnect with his dead friend's son while also teaching him how to work and behave as a Pro Hero? Was there something she simply wasn't seeing, considering she was still new to the agency?

"So as you must know, the Aquarius Agency specializes in detective work," Skyburst brought up. "We do the normal patrols, of course, but we primarily work to resolve mystery cases unless we're requested for assistance in other matters."

"That's almost always been Aquarius's specialty," Takeo stated. "He's always preferred detective work over being a field fighter like my father and Inoshishi."

Inoshishi, who Takeo called Uncle Yas in his youth because he had trouble pronouncing his first name. To this day, Takeo knew that the Iron Boar Hero who was one of his father's closest friends had died in his father's last mission nearly seven years ago when Takeo was nine years old. But how he died or if he was still alive, the Inventory wielder couldn't possibly know since only Aquarius and his father knew the truth, the former having left and the latter no longer being present.

"For what it's worth, Lion Knight, you have my condolences for your loss," Skyburst spoke. "From what Aquarius says, your father was a great hero and a good man."

"He...he was," Takeo replied reluctantly.

It wasn't much longer before Skyburst and Takeo arrived at the entrance to Aquarius's agency. It was a three story red brick and cement building, not uncommon for most hero agencies, with the words in Japanese kanjis 'Water Body Hero Agency' engraved above the door and beneath the first floor window. It seemed like quite a downgrade from the agency he used to run alongside Paladin and Inoshishi back in the old days, but it seemed to have a satisfactory setting.

Unbeknown to Takeo, from the 3rd floor window, Aquarius could see Skyburst having arrived with his intern. By now, the Water Body Hero's heart felt like it could burst out of his chest as he knew within this week, he would reveal to Takeo the truth behind his father's demise and the creation of Fukushu, the Blade of Terror.

For the past seven years, Aquarius hadn't contacted Lioness or Takeo after he had lost both of his best friends due to Stargazer's crimes. The mere mention of that deceased hero's name made Aquarius's blood boil, always making him think of the atrocities he and his sidekicks committed on that mission out in the country. If he had been quicker in getting witnesses, if he had been here when Fukushu slaughtered Stargazer's agency...

"Aquarius, sir," Invulnerastone addressed his boss. He was about to state that Skyburst had arrived with Lion Knight, but he could tell Aquarius could see them.

"You nervous?" Invulnerastone asked.

"I don't have a choice," Aquarius replied. "I can't exactly turn him away now, can I? But...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous."

"Well, at least you're actually dressed," Invulnerastone commented, much to Aquarius's annoyance.

"Just send Raionhato up to my office," Aquarius ordered. Invulnerastone nodded his head and went down to the ground floor to address Skyburst and Takeo, who had just walked through the doors of the agency and into the reception area.

"You must be Raionhato, also known as Lion Knight," Invulnerastone addressed. "I'm Invulnerastone, Aquarius's top sidekick. You've already met Skyburst, a newer addition to the agency. Aquarius is waiting for you; if you'll follow me."

Takeo followed Invulnerastone as instructed, who led him to the elevator down the hall that would take them to the 3rd floor of Aquarius's agency building. The Stone Armor Hero opened the elevator, walking in first and followed by Raionhato. After the doors closed, the two waited in silence as the elevator ascended to the top floor of the agency building.

The Inventory wielder thought of what questions he'd ask of Aquarius, some of the most immediate that came to mind where 'Why did you cut contact with us?', 'What have you been doing all these years?', and 'What do you know about how I lost my dad when I was nine?' Many more questions flocked to Takeo's mind like moths to a flame, some of great importance while others were discarded quickly.

Once the doors opened, Takeo walked out and Invulnerastone followed him, the two swapped places as the Stone Armor Hero led Takeo down the hall to Aquarius's office. Each step felt heavy for Takeo as he approached the door to the main office where his father's friend waited for him, causing his speed to falter. As Invulnerastone went to open the door, he noticed Takeo lagging behind him.

"You okay, kid?" he questioned.

"Y-yeah..." Takeo replied before picking up the pace and walking into the office. He felt his heart pounding crazily as he came closer and closer to the door; his mind wanted to stop, but his feet kept going. He didn't expect to be so nervous seeing Aquarius again, but now that he was here, he felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest and his mind overflowed with questions that needed answers.

"Long time no see," the voice of Aquarius greeted Raionhato after he entered the office.

Lion Knight was broken out of his thoughts when he heard Aquarius's voice. Once his head was cleared, Takeo took note of the room they were in. It was rather spacious with a sofa against the wall, several file cabinets close to Aquarius's desk, a table surrounded by four chairs and, of course, Aquarius's desk near the window.

"It's been a long time," Aquarius spoke as he approached Lion Knight. "Man, you've really grown."

"Well, it has been around six years," Takeo brought up.

The Water Body Hero saw many emotions on Takeo's face: confusion, anger, sadness. No doubt he had many questions running through his mind, questions that only Aquarius could answer after so long. Now that Lion Knight was here, Aquarius began to question if this was indeed the best idea, but there was no use complaining now: they were both here and they both a role to fulfill.

"Why don't you come sit?" Aquarius suggested, leading Takeo to the table. Aquarius sat down in one chair while Takeo sat across from him.

"First things first, I saw you during the Sports Festival," Aquarius brought up. "And I have to say, I was mostly impressed. You proved yourself a cooperative team player as well as a creative and skilled fighter. Your matches against Ashido and Tokoyami proved your handling of your Quirk, your skills with the weapons you have and your battle prowess. I'd say Lioness trained you well, but I'm curious: who made that sword and shield for you?"

"His name was Forge," Takeo solemnly informed. "Mom found him after we lost Dad. He trained me for years, but he died a while back. Before...before he did, he forged me my sword, my shield and my bow."

Aquarius had never met Forge before he cut contact with Takeo and Nakano, but judging by the endurance and strength they showed, they were undoubtedly pieces of masterful craftsmanship. In those fights, Sen'in almost thought he was watching Takeshi again from their U.A. years. But as much Raionhato showed skills in most of the Sports Festival, it also showed a glaring weakness.

"But during your fight with Bakugo, you threw it all away," Sen'in brought up, much to Takeo's remorse. "Before I go into detail, I want to know: why did you act the way you did towards Bakugo in that match?"

Takeo was reluctant at first, knowing the humiliation he had brought on himself in the aftermath of his fight with Bakugo. As proven in his rematch during the day his class had chosen Hero Names, he could've potentially won the match and gone up against Furaya in the finals. But in his anger and rage, he had mishandled the fight and endured scorn ever since.

"Bakugo is an insult to everything I was taught," Takeo started. "He looks down on all of us and yet claims we're the ones looking down on him simply because we don't massage his worthless ego. All he cares about is himself and-"

"Okay, you hate Bakugo, but that's not answering my question," Sen'in interrupted. "What happened that made you act on pure rage during your match with him?"

"He insulted Rebound," Takeo answered. "Called him a 'trashy extra' when he had done far more for Japan than that egomaniac has or ever will do. Then he had the sheer gall to blame it all on me as if he did nothing wrong by badmouthing Rebound!"

Even now, Bakugo had continued to neglect the fact that his insults towards Rebound, a man who had done so much yet lost everything, were uncalled for. He wasn't a 'trashy extra', but a broken-hearted man who was grieving for the loss of his wife and daughter. But even after their rematch, Bakugo believed he had done nothing wrong and pinned the whole blame on Takeo for what happened, accusing him of being a coward.

"And that's your glaring weakness," Aquarius brought up. "You normally keep yourself under control in a fight, but when things get personal for you, you let your emotions run rampant. You let your anger and hatred for Bakugo control you in that fight and you lost because of it. That told a lot of Pro Heroes that you struggle with keeping your anger under control, which I imagine cost you quite a good number of internship offers."

"Why?" Takeo suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?" Aquarius replied.

"I already know I messed up during the Sports Festival," Takeo informed. "My mother, my friends, my teacher have all reminded me of how stupid I looked, of how I messed up. Why did you cut contact with us after we lost Dad?"

The Water Body Hero found himself questioning what he could tell Raionhato about having not spoken to him and his mother ever since they lost Takeshi to Fukushu. He didn't know anything about how Inoshishi died, about what happened on his father's last mission, about the reasoning behind the slaughter of Stargazer's agency and above all, why he had lost the father he had idolized so much in his youth.

"There's no easy answers to any of your questions, Lion Knight," Aquarius stated. "But I promise that throughout the week, I will give whatever answers you need. But you're also here to gain field experience, to see firsthand how we Pros operate. I'll have Invulnerastone escort you to your room to let you get settled in. We move out on patrol in one hour."

"I...I understand," Takeo answered.

As instructed, Takeo left the office and went with Invulnerastone to his room where he'd be staying for the week. The dormitories were on the 2nd floor, each one belonging to a different sidekick with their names on the doors: first Invulnerastone, then Skyburst, and finally one known as Scoria. At the far end was the one that had been reserved for Raionhato.

"It's not fancy or anything, but I hope it'll do," Invulnerastone stated. "We normally don't have interns, but Aquarius made an exception in your case." Takeo walked in and, as Invulnerastone said, it wasn't fancy though comfortable enough with a bed in the corner near the window, a nightstand next to the bed, a clothes drawer for Takeo's clothes, and a desk that was presumably used for paperwork.

"Thanks," Takeo responded as he walked inside and put his suitcase down on the desk.

"Remember, we leave in one hour for patrol," the Stone Armor Hero informed. "Make sure you're ready." He then closed the door, leaving Takeo by himself as he opened his suitcase to see his hero costume.

Upon opening the case, he noticed two things he didn't expect to see. The first was on the gambeson, where the collar had been outlined with thick brown fur to give it the appearance of a lion's mane. It appeared most likely added for a cosmetic appearance rather than a practical purpose, but Takeo wasn't about to complain: it did look cool after all. The second addition was his bo staff that had been damaged by Ashido during the Sports Festival and had now been repaired. To his surprise, it was collapsed into three separate pieces connected by chains, something that it didn't have before. The Inventory wielder saw a note under the staff and pulled it out to read it.

"Made some upgrades to the bo-staff while I was repairing it. Press the buttons on the center. Hope you enjoy."

"Thanks, Satoshi," Takeo spoke as he pulled out the bo-staff and inspected it.

"Himari...Tsukikara..."

Sunstorm once again looked at the picture of him, his wife and his daughter when she was five years old with flowers in her hair. They were once so happy together, Haruki and Tsukikara raising their beloved beautiful daughter. He wished desperately that he could go back to those days of when he was with his wonderful wife raising Himari.

"Your wife is dead and you neglected your daughter in the wake of her death. Now she wants nothing to do with you."

Those words from Endeavor stung the Sun Hero bitterly as though he were attacked by wasps. After Sunstorm lost in his fight against Endeavor, Tsukikara believed that her husband had been having an affair with Rei Todoroki. In response, she ended up having an affair of her own behind her husband's back and planned to leave him, taking Himari with her...which led to a very tragic night.

Haruki was asleep in his bed when he heard his phone going off. As he slowly woke up, much to his surprise, his wife, Tsukikara, was gone. When he was fully awake, he grabbed his phone and looked at the screen, reading 'Wanigame'. He answered it and put the phone up to his ear.

"It's the middle of the night, Wanigame. What-"

"Haruki, you need to come to Isogashi Street, quickly," Razor Shell interrupted. "Tsukikara...you need to come see this. Quick!"

Sunstorm stood frozen for several moments. What had happened to Tsukikara, his beloved wife? Was she in danger? Had she been harmed by a villain? When he started moving, he quickly got into his hero costume and hurried outside. As soon as he ran out the door, he activated his Quirk to coat himself in solar energy and flew off, though his flight was unfortunately slower due to it being nighttime.

When he got there, it was something out of a nightmare: Tsukikara's body lay in an alleyway, her throat slain and her body drenched in blood that had seeped from it with her eyes widen open. As for Himari, she was crying uncontrollably in Razor Shell's arms, who held her tenderly to comfort her.

"What...what happened?" Sunstorm gasped, barely getting the words out as he gazed upon his wife's corpse.

"They were ambushed," a police officer informed, gesturing to two criminals who had been put in a police cruiser.

"A-ambushed?" Sunstorm stammered, his mind still unable to truly process that he was looking at his wife's corpse. "W-what...what do you mean?"

"The victim, Tsukikara Kataiya, was heading somewhere with her daughter, Himari," the officer informed, who didn't realize he was speaking to the woman's husband and girl's father. "They decided to cut through the alleyway, but these two thugs cornered them. They tried to run, but those two caught them...and killed the victim."

Sunstorm was still trying to process his wife's bloodied corpse, realizing to his horror that not all the blood came from her slit throat. There were several stab wounds in her torso, very deep wounds that would've undoubtedly caused her to bleed to death. It made Sunstorm's stomach churn with immense disgust and filled his mind with horror as he began to truly understand the gruesome way his wife had died tonight.

"Razor Shell was here on the scene, reporting that the two men had made that poor girl watched as they killed her mother," the police officer continued. "He stopped them before they could kill her too."

In the months that followed, Sunstorm fell into alcoholism to cope with the tragedy of his wife's gruesome demise. Sadly, this led to him neglecting Himari, leaving her alone to cope with the trauma of what those two monsters had done to her mother that terrible night. When it became clear to Razor Shell what was happening, he took Himari away, which the Sun Hero didn't respond well to at the time.

"You can't just take her away from me!" Sunstorm barked at Razor Shell as he put Himari in a car.

"LOOK AT HER!" Razor Shell roared, gesturing to the then seven-year-old Himari Kataiya. Her hair looked disheveled and frayed like a worn broom, her clothes dirty and falling apart and her body smelling like food that been left in the sun.

"You've been neglecting her ever since Tsukikara died!" Razor Shell stated angrily. "You were letting her starve while you were drinking yourself into stupors!"

"She's the only family I have left!" Sunstorm growled, tempted to activate his Quirk. "You have no right-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Himari barked, drawing the attention of both men.

Himari glared at her father with an expression of many words: disappointment, fear, anger, betrayal, confusion, sorrow. She had endured all these months since her mother's death alone while her father was wasting their money on alcohol and getting drunk to cope with what happened that terrible night. She couldn't be here any longer; Sunstorm couldn't be trusted to look after anymore.

For the next eight years, Sunstorm visited rehabilitation to get over his drinking and began to feel the weight of what he had done. He had failed to save the Todorokis from Endeavor's cruel abuse, let his wife die at the hands of criminals, neglected his daughter and now, he was all alone. All he had left was Himari, who now disdained him and wanted nothing to do with him.

"Sunstorm," the high voice of Principal Nezu addressed. "May I speak to you?"

"Oh, hello Principal Nezu," Sunstorm greeted. "I thought you were doing an internship with Kato."

"I am, but I'm letting him have lunch right now," Nezu informed as he walked over to the desk and climbed onto a chair across from it.

"What can I do for you?" Sunstorm asked before noticing the somber look on the principal's face.

"Recovery Girl told me about you harassing Sunhealer earlier before the internships," Nezu brought up.

"Harassment?" Sunstorm questioned. "I only wanted to talk to her, sir-"

"Even though Sunhealer has made it clear she doesn't wish to interact with you unless it's necessary," Nezu interrupted. "Sunstorm, I am here to tell you that from now on, you must maintain your distance from Sunhealer unless it is an emergency. If you have no emergency or hero-based reason to approach her, you shall not do so."

Sunstorm's widened in shock. Had he truly lost his chance to reconcile with his daughter and win back the only family he had left? Had his time spent in U.A. all been for nothing? And to say that he had been harassing her felt like his heart been stabbed with a knife.

"Does anything ever get through that head of yours? I tell you that you forcing reconciliation with Himari is only upsetting her, but you keep approaching her anyways. When are you going to stop being so selfish!? If you keep this up, you will lose your daughter forever!"

Those words came to mind, which Recovery Girl had told him after he had tried to talk to Himari. He personally never considered what he did trying to force reconciliation with his daughter, only trying to reach out to her and let her know that he was not the same man who neglected her. But his attempts had fallen flat and now his daughter reported it as harassment.

"Do you understand, Sunstorm?" Nezu questioned. "If you keep doing this, I will have to terminate your employment here...though to be honest, I am considering that."

"What...?" Sunstorm questioned.

"I'm going to be frank, Sunstorm: I hired you because Razor Shell insisted I do, to help you get back on your feet," Nezu explained. "I acted out of sympathy when I gave you the job, but now, I'm starting to believe that sympathy was misplaced. You don't address students' conflicts, you are quick to suggest expulsion for problematic students rather than give them a chance, and above all, you prioritize your own problems over teaching these students. Several of the students have complained about you not being a good teacher to them."

Nezu was sympathetic to Sunstorm's situation and wanted to believe Razor Shell when he said his friend working at U.A. would help him get back on his feet. But as he said, he felt that sympathy was misplaced; Sunstorm was being more of a hindrance than an aide to the school and his only concern was talking to his estranged daughter. This was becoming a problem Nezu couldn't ignore anymore.

"I'm putting you on leave," Nezu declared.

"Wait, on leave!?" Sunstorm gasped. "B-but...Principal Nezu-"

"I've given you more chances than you probably deserve," Nezu interrupted. "My sympathy for you has run out; you have been more of a burden to this school than an aide and, despite Recovery Girl's warnings, you have continued to harass Sunhealer. You have done terribly in your duties as a teacher because you're more focused on wanting to force reconciliation with your daughter. You are on administrative leave, effective immediately, and I will speak to the other teachers about your future here. If need be...your employment here will be terminated."

"But sir-"

"Pack up your belongings and leave," Nezu demanded. "You have until 4:00 to be off campus. I will also need you to turn your U.A. ID before you leave. I'm sorry, Sunstorm, but I cannot keep you if you are a burden to this school." With that, Nezu got out of his seat and left the room, leaving Sunstorm by himself.

"What...?" Sunstorm questioned, trying to wrap his head around what happened. Was he truly in danger of losing his job as a U.A. Teacher, which he had taken to help reconcile with his daughter? Razor Shell had helped him get the job over a year ago so he could get back on his feet and potentially rebuild his relationship with Himari, but now, that was potentially about to all be for nothing.

"I just...I just want..."

"Don't you see? You're only focusing on what YOU want; you don't stop to think about what others want. You were supposed to be a father and a teacher and you are failing at both because you can't stop thinking about YOU want!"

Once again, Recovery Girl's words stung as hard as Endeavor's. All Sunstorm could do was bury his head in his hands and let out a loud sigh.

Kaze Yonaka got off the train once he had arrived at the city of Kyoto in the prefecture of the same name. This is where he had been directed to for his meetup with the Ninja Hero: Edgeshot. Even now, Kaze couldn't believe that he was working with the #5 Hero as well as the fact that his father had sometimes worked with Edgeshot before his retirement. It was a great honor to work alongside a Pro Hero of such skill and ranking.

The new Shadowfox took out his phone and read the email that Edgeshot had sent him to inform him where to go. After reading them, it appeared as though Kaze would make his way to a teahouse and meet the Ninja Hero there. Kaze put his phone back in his pocket after memorizing the directions and started on his way to the teahouse.

Much to his relief, the beast Takeo Raionhato was nowhere to be seen, so at least he wouldn't have to look at him for a week. What right did he have to be at U.A.? If people knew who he was, the blood he had on his hands from getting Yoruge killed almost five years ago, they'd denounce him as a murderer. Then again, they were probably denouncing him as an incompetent idiot for his fight against Bakugo.

"Anzu should never have reached out to you! She died because you stood by and did nothing!"

"What the hell do you know, Takeo?" Kaze growled, clenching his fist. "At least...at least, I...I could've done something. I could've...I should've..." He shook his head.

"But what the hell, Takeo! Yoruge died because of you! He wasn't evil, he was desperate to help us after Dad had to retire! He didn't deserve to be butchered like a pig!"

It had been six months since Takeo came forward about the part he played in Yoruge's death and three months since his friendship with Kaze fell apart. The two had exchanged heated words in anger and distrust; now whenever Kaze looked at his former friend, he saw only a blood-stained murderer who had ensured his brother's gruesome demise.

Kaze was training in his family's dojo with his rope dart, hitting the bamboo chutes with his weapon and easily cutting through them. As of right now, the rope dart had become one of his favorite weapons, so he'd definitely be incorporating into his arsenal when he began hero school after graduating from junior high. However, he felt he'd need to add another weapon to add versatility to his skills.

As he considered what other weapon to use, he caught sight of one that had once held special meaning to him: a sheathed katana leaning against the wall with a black and amber colored hilt and a fox head-shaped tsuba. It was a gift Takeo had given Kaze for his last birthday over seven months ago, one that he had saved up much money to buy. Once it filled Kaze with happiness and loyalty, but now he felt only scorn and disdain.

Kaze picked it up, unsheathed the blade and contemplated: was this truly a gift Takeo had given him out of friendship? Or was it merely a means for the Inventory wielder to ease his conscience for his part in Yoruge's brutal murder at the hands of Fukushu? Nothing could forgive what Takeo had done nor wipe his hands clean of Yoruge's blood. This weapon no longer felt like a gift, it felt like an insult.

The Shadow Flash wielder went outside and dug the blade's tip into the ground as deeply as he could. Once he made sure it was securely dug in, he leaned it to the side as far as he could, channeling all his anger into the action. Only when he heard a 'ting' did he stop, knowing that he had broken the katana Takeo had given him. He then collected the broken pieces and threw them in the trash.

He would've taken the pieces to Takeo's front door and left them there for him to find, but his Shadow Flash wasn't strong enough for the gap between his home and Takeo's, so he had resolved simply to throw them in the trash. He couldn't keep it, not after the heated and angered words the two had traded with one another at the park months earlier.

But now, Tsukiba Okami, his wolf mutant classmate, had overheard their argument after the Sports Festival and now knew the true depth of how much they hated each other, how deeply their friendship had fallen. As much he'd love to expose Takeo Raionhato for the scumbag he was, that'd also mean exposing the truths of Anzu and Yoruge's deaths and he was not ready for that. Hopefully, with any luck, Takeo would be kicked out of U.A. soon enough and not be allowed to become a Pro Hero in Japan.

"Anzu should never have reached out to you! She died because you stood by and did nothing!"

Those words once again rung through Kaze's mind, this time feeling bitter regret over anger. He hated that he agreed with Takeo Raionhato: it was his fault that Anzu had died at the hands of Kyodai Tsuyo that day. He could've warned her, he could've taken the blow himself, he could've moved her out of the way, but he did nothing. Because of his own cowardice, his inability to act, Anzu's future was taken and Nobu Yamashita had lost the only family he had left.

Kaze only saw one way to atone for what he had allowed to happen: to become a Pro Hero Anzu would be proud of. Someone who protected others from harm, who showed great courage in the face of fear and danger, who stood up to those who harmed others...until he became that hero, he couldn't bring himself to visit Anzu's grave nor face the former Reflection Hero.

But what was he doing wrong? The only victory he had secured so far was winning 5th Place in the Entrance Exam with 31 Villain Points and 28 Rescue Points. He didn't make it to the Sports Festival Tournament and had been beaten by Hinote Onkyo twice, robbing him of his chance to learn from the legendary martial arts hero, Open Palm. He trained, he meditated, he made good use of his Quirk...what was holding him back?

The teahouse came into sight and Kaze walked up to the door, which was slightly ajar. Before he could even reach the door, he felt a sharp pain in his back and coming out of his lower torso as if he had been stabbed by long, razor sharp needles. He froze, unsure of what had just happened; where did this sudden pain come from? Was he being attacked by a Quirk?

"Disappointing," a low voice spoke. Kaze looked to the right and saw none other than the Ninja Hero: Edgeshot. He stood there with his arms crossed, his eyes closed and facing away from the teahouse.

"E-Edgeshot!" Kaze gasped. "I-"

"I was following you the whole time," Edgeshot revealed. "I gave you directions to this teahouse to see if you could pick up my presence on the way here. But you never did and you were left wide open; if this had been an actual attack, you would be dead. Thus you already reveal one challenge you face: learning to detect the presence of others."

Kaze was completely taken by surprise by this reveal, not realizing at all that Edgeshot was testing his ability to pick up on the Ninja Hero's presence. As he warned, if this had been a real attack, Kaze would've been left wide open and could've been killed. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts and doubts that he never once noticed that the Ninja Hero was shadowing him the entire time.

"Come inside," Edgeshot requested. "There's a room in the back. I wish you to change into your hero costume and then meet me in the main room."

"What will you be doing, sir?" Kaze asked.

"Making tea."

As Edgeshot had ordered, Kaze had changed into his hero costume and came out into the main area. His hero costume consisted of purple clothes with jet black armor that covered his upper chest, arms, feet, thighs and lower half of his face. A black hood had been pulled over his head, hiding the upper half of his face under it and leaving only his purple eyes visible. His sai knives were held on his belt while his rope dart wrapped around a hook on the back.

The Ninja Hero knelt on a tatami mat on the floor, a cup of green tea between him and another tatami mat. Edgeshot gestured for Kaze to kneel on the mat across from him; as instructed, the new Shadowfox knelt on the tatami mat.

"Remove your mask and drink the tea," Edgeshot instructed. Kaze removed his mask, gently placed it beside the mat he was kneeling on and picked up the tea to bring it to his lips. As soon as he sipped it, he could tell the tea had not been properly prepared, causing his face to scrunch up in distaste.

"Ugh, that's possibly the worst tea I've ever had," Kaze disgustingly expressed.

"Yet it has all the necessary ingredients," Edgeshot replied. "Though it tastes terrible because it lacks the most important: balance." The Ninja Hero took the cup from Kaze and placed it back on the ground, leaving Kaze confused by the Pro Hero's comment.

"You have great skills and talents, Shadowfox, but I can tell from the time I followed you that you are unbalanced. Because of your unbalance, you are unfocused, not playing to your strengths, held back by things that cannot be changed. I assume you took up the name Shadowfox to honor your father's legacy; do you intend to honor it by allowing yourself to remain without the balance needed to succeed?"

Unbalanced. Shadowfox had never considered himself that, but when he thought on it, perhaps Edgeshot was right. He was still weak, still not as strong as he should be, still not a hero Anzu would be proud of.

"Without balance, Shadowfox, you will never reach your true potential as a Pro Hero," Edgeshot continued. "That will not be achieved in one week, but I do want to help you begin on your journey to accomplish it."

"Yes, sir," Shadowfox replied. "I will take in whatever advice you impart and use it to hone myself."

Edgeshot's expression remained unchanged, especially due to the mask he was wearing. Was he impressed at all by Shadowfox? Did he feel only sympathy and pity for the son of a Pro Hero he had worked with many times? The Dark Hero didn't know what his current mentor was thinking, only knowing that he viewed him as unbalanced and unfocused.

"Let us go to my agency," Edgeshot stated. "You will be given proper lodgings once we arrive and we'll head out on patrol. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Shadowfox answered as he and Edgeshot left the teahouse.

Unbalanced, unfocused, held back, not utilizing his strengths...all that ran around in Kaze's head as he followed Edgeshot to his agency. As the Ninja Hero said, the true balance he sought wouldn't be achieved in the one week at the internship, but at least it'd help him get started on his way there.