Written by Aduubo, Buckichamp, and PikachuSpartan.

I OWN NOTHING. KILL LA KILL IS OWNED BY STUDIO TRIGGER AND KAZUKI NAKASHIMA. MHA IS OWNED BY TOHO ANIMATION AND KOHEI HORIKOSHI.

—

Back at Honnōji academy, there was a lingering problem that plagued the entire campus. The ambience had become boring when the student with the spotlight, Ryuko Matoi, was off at a different school. Clubs didn't have any big shots to challenge, and even Mako shared the same vibe. Thanks to Ryuko, she could proceed with her scholarship safely. But even she missed the excitement that having her around would bring.

The Elite Four were going about their business as usual, albeit without the presence of Sanageyama. Satsuki soon made her entrance.

"Status report."

"Everything is operating as usual. Nothing to report here," Inamuta spoke up.

"Honnōji is running efficiently. I have no concerns to report, Lady Satsuki."

"Yeah, same here. Even without the monkey, the clubs are doing just fine. BORING! I do have to agree with him. I would have loved to get a crack at crushing the new girl," Jakuzure expressed.

"I imagine that Matoi will be making her return soon. She seemed very intent on getting answers from you, Lady Satsuki," Gamagori said.

"Speaking of Matoi, I believe you'd be interested to know that she intends to stay at UA."

"WHAT?" The three present Elite Four members collectively shot up from their chairs from the shock.

"It took me by surprise as well. Either way, it's only for a year."

"Yes, but we'll be gone by then. So, I don't see why you're so calm?" Inumuta questioned.

"That's not our main concern right now. What IS our concern is that since she's fully under UA High School's umbrella, our absentee member could get us into a lot of trouble if he fights Matoi."

"Sanageyama! He had to be all impatient and go after her!" Jakuzure huffed.

"That's why I need you to go retrieve him before this ends up getting out of hand. Can you do that, Jakuzure?"

"Yes, Lady Satsuki! I'll go get him," The pink-haired girl straightened up, giving a brief salute to her leader.

With that, the non-athletic club chairwoman ran out of the room to achieve her new objective.

"When I find that monkey, he's toast!"

…

-Danchi-

"I remember this apartment from way back then!" Ryuko exclaimed when she and Izuku finally got off the train and arrived.

"Yep. It hasn't really changed much since you left. Mom and I haven't gone anywhere else."

"How's your mom by the way?"

"She's doing good! I'm surprised that you remember her so much."

"Are you kidding? I still remember the bruises from the times she'd hug me… Oh geez, I'm going to be seeing her again after all these years."

Ryuko began to shudder, thinking about the mushiness she was about to face. If Mako was affectionate, Inko was the same, but cranked up to 11. The girl then smiled.

"Can't wait."

Ryuko laughed while Izuku sported a grin as they walked up the stairs to her new apartment.

"Hey, thanks for helping me settle in, Izuku. It means a lot."

"No problem, Ryuko! I'm always happy to help!"

It was the late afternoon and classes at UA just wrapped up. Ryuko had agreed to stay at UA for the student transfer program. Once the paperwork was done, she was finally free to step off campus and actually live in Musutafu, rather than be cramped in the teacher's lounge.

Nezu completed the necessary paperwork to get Ryuko checked into the empty apartment that Izuku had mentioned. Expenses would also be put to pay for her food and rent. Thankfully, she didn't have too much to drag to the apartment and unpack. She just had her scissor blade along with her pajamas, backpack and street jacket.

Being very much similar to Izuku's apartment, it turned out to be quite spacious and nice for Ryuko. It was a lot less cramped than sharing a small shack with the four other Mankanshokus, but she enjoyed her stay with them.

"Lookin' good! Gotta say, I'm really going to enjoy having this place all to myself. But don't worry, you can visit too."

"O-oh, me? Gee! Uhh... sure! If that's okay with you!"

'Oh my gosh! Going into a girl's home to hang out? I-I never would have thought!'

With Ryuko's invitation, Izuku's brain began to surge with continuous thoughts and what-not. The dark-haired girl began to chuckle as she watched his awkward antics.

Ryuko's stomach began to rumble, which made quite an audible sound that even halted Izuku's mumbling.

"Man, I'm starving. Say, do you wanna grab a bite to eat? I want to see what Musutafu's got."

'H-huh? Wait, is she asking me out? No, this is just hanging out! But wait, isn't that what a date is?!'

Suddenly a very visible gust of smoke emerged from Izuku's head as his brain broke. Ryuko's eyes widened from what she witnessed in front of her.

"Whoa! Izuku! Calm down! Are you okay?!" Ryuko took hold of Izuku's shoulders in order to straighten him out. He soon set his loose screws back into place.

"S-sorry! I didn't really mean for that to happen. Um, let's see. My mom will probably be home late. So I don't mind going out to get a bite."

"Sweet. Though I'd like to get out of these school clothes. I'll meet you in the lot."

...

Ryuko stepped into her new closet and took out her bomber jacket, just to slip it on over Senketsu. She paced around her apartment a few times to see if she wanted to bring anything else with her before heading out. Quick and easy.

Izuku, however, dug through his closet like a mad gopher. He had several outfits to choose from and he wasn't sure which one to pick. He began yanking out clothes without a second thought, only to evaluate them soon after.

Black polo shirt? Too plain.

Dress shirt? Too fancy.

Revocs jacket? Nope.

All Might Onesie? Hell no!

The stress definitely left an irritating itch on him. He stood himself up straight and clapped his face with his palms. Why was he acting so nervous? He was only having dinner with Ryuko to pass the time and nothing more.

Thanks to the years of being isolated from having any social status in middle school, Izuku definitely did not have a grasp on how to act socially.

Sure, he knew Ryuko back when they were kids, but she definitely had changed since then. What if he screwed up? She was one of his only friends back then, and he worried about driving her away.

The green haired boy shook his head once more and just grabbed his "hoodie" hoodie, which looked nice but also casual enough. He was tired of being scared and just wanted to enjoy himself. He had already made significant progress when he stood up to Kacchan and ignored the urge of having to explain himself to him. He definitely wanted to keep that momentum going.

Izuku grabbed some shorts and his red shoes before he made his way out. Ryuko didn't have to wait too long before Izuku emerged from his apartment and walked down the stairs to meet her.

"Ready to get going?"

"Y-yeah! Um... Nice jacket. It looks nice on you."

"Thanks. I like your pfft- "hoodie" hoodie," Ryuko tried to stifle a laugh.

"I... thanks. I thought this one would be funny to wear."

"Well you definitely sold me on it. You should tell me where you get the brand sometime. It'd be nice to wear different clothes every now and then," Ryuko laughed lightly, which garnered Izuku's attention to Senketsu, who was just barely hidden under her jacket.

"S-Senketsu goes with you everywhere, huh?"

"Yep. He'd get real lonely if I left him alone."

"Do you wash him?"

"Oh, of course! With him, it's basically like washing a cat. He's quite a screamer."

"I-I am not!" Senketsu interjected defensively, which was evident with how his eye showed off an irritated expression.

Ryuko laughed, "You can't hear it, but he's screaming at me."

"RYUKO!"

Izuku took a peek at Senketsu, seeing his anger seeth through his expression.

"I think I get the idea."

The two chuckled before Ryuko set her mind back on the subject at hand.

"So, where should we go?"

Izuku paused for a moment. He never thought of where he and Ryuko would actually go. Where would they go? There weren't many places that he considered for "hanging out." Mostly because he mainly spent his time in his room alone.

"O-oh, uhh, I never really put much thought into that. Maybe we can wander around the city until we find something?"

"Works for me. I don't mind a little travel," Ryuko reassured him, which put Midoriya at ease from feeling like a bad escort.

The two then took off into the city in an effort to search for a dining spot. Which then turned into a tour guide as the two had gone off track and wandered around Musutafu while engaged in small talk.

"So Izuku, any improvements on your quirk at all? Beyond power moves that break your arms?"

"Not really. I haven't had much time to think about it, thanks to being passed out the majority of the time after using it at full power."

"I can relate. I have a similar problem with my stamina when I'm synced up with Senketsu. If I'm wearing him for too long, I'll either pass out from blood loss or just get too tired. I really pushed myself to the limit yesterday when I won the two matches I volunteered for."

"Whoa! You won both matches?!" Izuku exclaimed, bringing his fists up to his chest excitedly.

"Yeah, but just barely. Todoroki and that Yaoyorozu chick really gave me a hard time. I had to rely on my teammates to bail me out. It didn't help that All Might would also lecture me about being too reckless," Ryuko rubbed at the back of her neck, still feeling the sores from the beatdowns she endured.

"I know how that feels. I completely broke myself and wasn't able to leave a single scratch on Kacchan. It left me knocked out for the rest of the day! I wish I was still there to see everyone's matches. You went up against the two top performing students in the quirk assessment test!"

"Do you just have a list of bad things to say about yourself? C'mon, Izuku. Where's the list that says all the good things about you? Like... You're nice to everyone, you're smart, you're not an annoying jackass like Baku-HOE? I'd be surprised if he even had a list of virtues."

Midoriya couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname that Ryuko came up with for Kacchan. A few stifles of laughter made its way out of his palms that covered his mouth.

Ryuko then trailed off for a moment, now remembering that confrontation she had with Izuku when she stopped him from supposedly apologizing to Katsuki.

"Speaking of Katsuki, what was it you wanted to tell him?"

Izuku stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't thought Ryuko would remember that part of their conversation.

"Well, I-I…" Izuku stuttered, twiddling his fingers.

"C'mon Izuku, why the cold feet?" She asked before seeing a look of concern come over the boy.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

He wasn't going to get out of this, he knew that. He couldn't endanger Ryuko by revealing One For All to her, but he had to say something. He said he would tell her.

Izuku took a deep breath, trying to compose himself as much as possible.

"I honestly shouldn't be telling you anything. If I did, it could put us both in danger. So I need you to not tell anyone else," Izuku stressed.

"Well, sure. That's ea-"

"Not even my mom!" he interjected, "...She can't know either."

"I-Izuku… What's going on?" Ryuko's concern level shot up from a three to a ten, her heart starting to race a little.

"My quirk, I borrowed it from someone else. Or rather, they chose to lend it to me," Izuku revealed. "I can't say much more than that."

Ryuko was stunned. A borrowed quirk? Was that even possible?

"Hold on, what are you saying? Were you quirkless before getting into UA?" She asked.

Izuku could only nod in response.

"Yeah. I wasn't hiding anything. I just can't control this power yet. That's what I was going to tell Kacchan," He paused for a moment before continuing on.

"You said you wouldn't tell anyone, right, Ryuko?"

"Of course I'm not telling anyone!" Ryuko expressed. "It's just… Wow! That's a lot to process."

Izuku smiled as she looked over to him. A massive weight was just lifted off his shoulders. He appeared far more at ease than a few minutes ago.

Ryuko remained silent for the time being, reflecting on what she was just told.

So he really was quirkless, huh? When she found out about Izuku being diagnosed as that, he was absolutely devastated. But they refused to believe it.

Their childlike optimism tried to hold onto hope that he was just a late bloomer and would receive his quirk later. Turns out that just was not the case.

Ryuko felt bad that she made him essentially reopen that wound, just after he gained the ability to chase his dream.

"Listen, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm forcing this on you. I just... I thought that the way he acted back then would be the last time. Then I see him almost kill you during the Battle Trial, and for what?"

Ryuko wound up looking down, feeling dejected. Her front bangs along with her red highlight hid her expression of shame.

The young green haired boy didn't say anything, unsure of what words to find. But he didn't want his friend to feel sad on his behalf.

"Don't feel sorry, Ryuko. You're right. It's been 10 years and he hasn't changed one bit. Anything I said would have fallen on deaf ears. The only way he'll listen is if I keep beating him," Izuku's hand formed into a fist, his spirit lifting itself back up.

The girl perked up, meeting his gaze as Izuku continued on.

"I'll get stronger, so that I'll make this borrowed power my own. And save people with a smile. Just like All Might."

Optimism returned to Ryuko's face. She was getting amped up, thanks to Izuku's enthusiasm.

"Me too, Izuku."

Ryuko then raised a fist out to him, to which Izuku returned the gesture and bumped her back.

"Together then."

*groooooowwwwwl*

The two heroes halted their tender moment and felt their stomachs speak as it broke up the silence. Ryuko turned her gaze out towards the sky, seeing that the sun was setting.

"Geez, we really got off track Huh? I forgot that we came out here to get dinner. Maybe I should make a list of bad things about me."

Izuku began to laugh a bit. A feeling of comfort began to douse him as he relaxed more. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed genuinely. He'd smile, which was part of his charm at this point, but he had not done much more than that.

Ryuko may appear to be brash and outright violent, but she was easygoing as he remembered when they were kids. Thanks to that, Izuku was going to have an easier time, now that he didn't have to worry so much for the rest of this nightly adventure.

"Well, well, well, look's who's out past curfew. Isn't this a school night, kids?" A voice called out.

"Ryuko! We've got trouble!" Senketsu alerted her with the pair of UA students spinning around to see who was there.

"You! You're one of the Elite Four dogs!" Ryuko growled, seeing Uzu Sanageyama standing in front of her and Izuku.

"That's right. Long time, no see, Matoi. I'm here to challenge you to a duel!"

"Wait, the Elite Four? You must be Uzu Sanageyama! The Student Council Athletic Committee Chair!"

"Oh, a sharp one, huh? 'Thought we did a good enough job to keep ourselves out of the public eye. I think Inamuta would like you. Also, green hair? I dig it."

It didn't surprise Ryuko that Izuku somehow happened to know about the Elite Four as well. His passion for knowledge always shined in his thorough research. It was something to be admired.

"You have a quirk that gives you special perception, letting you determine your opponent's moves before they make them!"

"Nope! Not a quirk! I'm a genuine quirkless wonder!"

Izuku's whole world stopped right there when he heard those words. He was quirkless? A prestigious member of a high-status school such as Honnōji Academy, was quirkless?

"You... you don't have a quirk? But, how-"

"All in hard work and training! No need for a quirk to get this kind of skill!"

Izuku clutched at his chest as it began to twist into a knot, clearly being impacted by Sanageyama's words. He felt a surge of happiness to know that even without a quirk, there was still so much that could be accomplished. A grin began making its way on Izuku's face as his confidence returned.

Ryuko began to notice this, which only raised questions for her.

"Not that I don't appreciate you giving the pep talk, but what the hell are you doing here? You trying to start another club?"

"Do I look like one that would tell a lie? I'm here to challenge you to a duel!"

"What?"

"It's gotten dull at Honnōji lately and I wanted to see how you measured up after your first couple days in UA!

"So, a member of the Elite Four came all this way to fight me, huh? Now that's an offer I can't run away from!" Ryuko smiled. Now she was getting fired up!

"I like your spirit, Matoi! C'mon now, I know a spot where we can settle this."

Before Ryuko walked along, she was stopped by Izuku, who grabbed at her free hand.

"Ryuko, wait. Are you sure this is a good idea? I don't know about this."

"Don't sweat it, Izuku. This has been a long time coming. The sooner I beat this chump and the rest of Satsuki's lap dogs, the sooner I get my answers," Ryuko assured her green haired friend with a smile. Izuku thought for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

Once in agreement, the two followed the wooden sword wielder until they made it into a large and spacious park. No one was around to disturb them, and they were far out of anyone's range of hearing their fight. The perfect battleground.

-WOOSH-

Ryuko soon yanked her jacket right off. A thunderous sound roared with her motion, its power echoing throughout the park.

"Stand back, Izuku. This guy is pretty strong. LIFE FIBER SYNCHRONIZE!"

A few moments later, the glaring light receded with Ryuko in Sync mode.

"Alright! Now let's get down to business!"

Sanageyama's three stars imprinted on his collar flashed as an even more blinding light consumed him. Bulky robotic arms and legs emerged as his suit's transformation sequence had finally been completed.

"THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM: BLADE REGALIA!"

"Holy whoa! He's huge!" Izuku exclaimed.

"Kamui aren't the only things that can transform."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Einstein! Now I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Izuku could only stand there and gawk as both Ryuko and Sanagayama engaged each other in epic combat, with Sanagayama unleashing a flurry of thrusts towards Ryuko. Ryuko dodges, but just barely due to the committee head's insane speed and accuracy. She is interrupted from her thoughts when a surprise attack hits her on her side, sending her skidding across the ground.

"I've heard stories about the Honnōji upperclassmen and their strength, but I didn't know it would be anything like this! His speed, his swordsmanship, and his accuracy are incredible. And he's doing all of this while...quirkless", Izuku's thoughts grind to a halt when that one revelation rears its head.

Uzu Sanagayama is Quirkless.

Ryuko is Quirkless.

And the both of them are doing more than he ever could. Even if you took away their uniforms, the two fighters would still tear the ground up with their tenacity alone.

And then there's him, Deku. Even after training for 10 months, getting One For All, getting into UA, he was continually reminded just how far behind he is.

Ryuko turned back to see Sanagayama get back up from her previous attack, and proceeded to lunge at her. Thinking fast, she pushes Izuku away from Sanagayama's range of attack and goes to strike him.

Matoi swung at the big mean and green machine, only for him to dodge at such a speed that made him look like he was casually hovering. Ryuko rechambered her fighting stance before lunging once again.

"COME HERE!"

An onslaught of slashes were thrown towards Sanageyama, to no avail as his shinai extended from his forearm, slamming directly into Ryuko's back, followed up with another shooting right into her abdomen. The damage was severe, knocking the wind out of Ryuko as she practically choked on her painful outburst.

The girl attempted to regain her footing before it was cut short from shinai blades shooting directly at her. The force being powerful enough to send her flying away.

"Your moves are so predictable!" Sanageyama taunted.

"We're gonna go full speed on him, Senketsu!"

"Understood!"

Ryuko started to sprint in circles around Sanageyama, reaching such speeds that created afterimages of herself, serving as means to confuse the armored giant. He countered by running in rhythm with Ryuko, matching her speed with his own.

"What the?!"

-WHACK-

"OW!"

In a continuous motion, Sanageyama battered Ryuko over the head with the tip of his Shinai like a teacher hitting a student with a ruler. Izuku watched in shock as he saw what seemed to be multiple Ryuko's being beaten silly.

"You can't dodge my blade! No matter how fast you are! Wanna know why? I'LL SHOW YOU! HIGI TENGANTSU!"

And with that, Sanageyama's pupils shrunk before they began to sporadically bounce around within his sclera, faster than what the human eye can detect. Following suit with his real eyes were glowing pink spheres emanating from within the extra vents of the armor, which also darted around at lightning speeds.

"With these eyes, I can see any move you make! Before you make it!"

"Y-you can what?!" Ryuko exclaimed with worry and disbelief.

Izuku too was lost on what was happening in front of him, but after a bit of thinking, he was able to piece together what Tengantsu was.

"In any scenario, the human body makes subtle movements before performing any action. The twitch of the eye, or the tensing of muscles. I've watched and analyzed every hero's fight, which was how I could predict Kacchan's moves."

"What took me years to just get the hang of, Sanageyama could read these signs and anticipate movements right on the fly! And with his "Tengantsu," it just increases it to a greater degree!'

The sword wielder began to lay down a barrage of strikes with his Shinai, which forced Ryuko to remain in a defensive stance. There was not much room for her to counter, so it was just a matter of time before her block would be broken.

"Steady Ryuko... Steady! Senketsu pressed.

"I know! I know! I'm trying! But it's all I can do to block this guy!

"Not bad! But let's see... How you handle... THIS!"

Sanageyama reached over his head, connecting his fingers into two barrels that wielded him with multiple Shinai blades on each digit. His fingers locked up, parallel to each other to weld the blades together. They began revolving, matching the speed of the barrel of a minigun's spin cycle.

"SHINSOKU-SENBONZUKI!"

His swords began to assault Ryuko in a series of high-speed thrusts, jabbing her in all sorts of directions. It was too much, and too fast. Whatever block she had, he easily slipped right through and struck her hard with the blunt end of the weapon. With so much force and speed, it felt as if she was being brutalized by a firing squad of shotgun shells.

"RYUKO!" Midoriya cried out.

Ryuko was left broken on the ground, heavy labored breaths escaping her lips as she tried to keep herself composed. Not only was there evaporated smoke from the impact of Sanageyama's Shinsoku attack, but from Senketsu, who was even struggling to maintain synchronization with Ryuko.

"Oh come on, is that it? Man, that's so disappointing!"

"I'm not... Done yet...!" Ryuko just barely stood herself up, still having some fight in her.

"Now that's more like it!"

Before the fight would continue, Izuku caught something in the corner of his eye. Someone was nearby standing on top of a roof. Suddenly he saw small sparks which appeared to be... needles! And they were approaching fast! Izuku jumped to Ryuko, shoving her out of the way before Sanageyama was pelted with a storm of needles.

"Agh! What the hell?!"

His armor shielded him from the attack, needles were bouncing right off. But, a few managed to pierce the Goku Uniform. The sword wielder jumped out of the way before the spiked rain had finally stopped.

"Are you okay?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Ryuko responded as she looked to see the section of the park they were fighting on filled with needles, scattered across the fields of grass and pathway nearby.

"Guys! Up there!" Izuku called out.

"Who the hell is that?!"

Ryuko and Sanageyama's attention turned to the rooftop of the park restroom, as a shadowed figure emerged. A muscular, tanned man no older than his late 20s, sporting buzzed black hair with a red mohawk. Being strapped to the brim with military gear and shooter-type devices, he was a walking embodiment of tactical prowess.

"You. Take off your clothes."

To be continued…