Notes: late. not only weeks and weeks late... but also late for my normal saturday release.

Been busy, really busy, but also had to reevaluate where the trajectory of the story was going for a bit. funny thing is going back to reread my story... i'm honestly not a fan of a lot of the first third or so. the first 30-40 chapters could've been trimmed and had more changes. kind of frustrated honestly as to where the story is now, but... oh well.

I'm here now and can't wait to see your thoughts!

Exiting the train, both Katara and Shoto looked at each other before continuing on, walking through the station until they reached the street. Katara looked up to the setting sun, exhaling and pulling her jacket tighter over her shoulder to shield from the cold. "Let's get going." she said, carrying her suitcase along.

"Yeah…" Shoto quietly said, following along the road. Katara glanced over at him, noticing the awkward feeling coming from him. Even though they were given permission to leave, Shoto couldn't help but feel on edge. He continued to glance around every so often, looking back behind them as if they were being followed.

Frowning, Katara stopped walking and grabbed his shoulder as he passed by. "Hey, you alright?" she asked him, receiving a small grunt from him.

"It's just a little uncomforting with you being out here," he said, "Even if Aizawa sensei said they won't try anything, I don't trust the hero commision. If they think they can try anything when our guard is lowered, they will have someone to go through first."

While Katara did appreciate his statement, she shook her head and rubbed his arm. "That sounds nice, and I feel great for your concern. But I know you well enough to tell that isn't what's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me," Shoto gripped her hand and lowered it down. "I'm fine."

"And that is what I don't like about you," Katara said, her words making his eyes widen while her gaze unmoved. "You always hold back something that bothers you until it festers at you and makes you break. You still haven't broken that habit of yours."

Furrowing his brow, Shoto walked ahead of her. "It's nothing I can't take care of, Katara. I don't need to trouble you about it."

"And who said it was troubling me?" She grunted in annoyance. "Once again you are holding in something and won't tell me. Look," Katara walked to his side. "If this is about where we are going now, we can stop."

"What?" Shoto asked, "What are you saying?"

"I know you had said the only reason we decided to come back to your father is because of everything that has happened. And the fact he is the strongest hero in the country. But there are other ways to train-

"No, it's not that." Shoto sighed and turned away. "Just… I said I'll be fine."

"If it isn't your father then just talk to me." Katara grunted as he continued on ahead, staying silent as she was forced to chase after him across the overpass. "I agreed to come here as well because I want to fight by your side, but if you can't talk to me, or won't, this is going to be difficult for us to work like this." She stopped as he did as well, noticing his hands clench at his side. "Shoto, I need you to just talk. It's not just today. Ever since we started training again, you've become even quieter than normal. It's like focusing on training is all that you care about."

"It's because I need to train harder!"

Katara was caught off by his shout, stepping back as he suddenly turned and walked towards the handrail overlooking the road below. Clenching it, he took several deep breaths as he glared at the cars rushing by, his free hand reaching up and running through his hair. The air was quiet for a few minutes before it was broken by footsteps, the waterbender approaching from behind. He clicked his tongue and kept his gaze away, frustration that he tried keeping away now bubbling once again to his surface. Something he tried pushing through, but it still ate at him this entire time.

"Of course I'm frustrated going to work with my father. After everything that has happened, after everything he put us through, I would actually be happier going to another hero to train under for this. But if anyone can teach us how to be stronger, it is him. I'm not upset with that, however. In fact it's not even him that has been bothering me." Shoto released his grip and turned back to look at her, his gaze softened but still filled with frustration. "I'm angry at myself lately."

"Why though?" she asked him.

"It's just everything. It's the fact I have done nothing but sit on the sidelines for so long because of my stupid self. The last few months I just feel I was completely useless, stuck doing studying because I just couldn't grow into someone that could've helped you this whole time." He paused and clenched his fist, exhaling some frost in frustration. "Maybe nothing would've changed if I hadn't failed that test. Maybe It all would've been the exact same even if I had gone to that mountain with you. But the fact I will never know has been eating at me after we started our training again. No matter how much I try, it's just a feeling of having been on the sidelines finishing up testing for a license that I never should've failed in the first place while you and everyone else went and actually did something."

Leaning forward, Shoto walked back over to Katara, shaking his head. "I know it's stupid. But even seeing you and Midoriya battle in the test made me realize I should be stronger by now. I should be the one ready to stand ready and fight by your side whenever we need to, and I…" He grunted before sighing out. "I am just tired… tired of waiting for this chance to actually be there for you when it is needed. And I want you to know I won't be held back any longer. I won't be stuck waiting to see what happens if you go to fight, because I'm going to be there with you."

The pair of them stared at one another for a moment after his small tangent, the only sound the cars running by underneath them one after another. Shoto took several breaths as he calmed himself, feeling somewhat better saying what had been bothering him. His body tensed as Katara slowly approached him, reaching her hand up towards his face making him freeze. Exhaling, he shut his eyes and leaned towards her palm, ready to feel her soft hand.

Only to yelp out in shock as she flicked his forehead.

"Ow!" stumbling back, he glared and rubbed the sore spot from her nail, looking over to see her frowning and pulling her hand back. "What?"

"All that pouting for that?" Katara grumbled and shook her head. "And I thought Tokoyami was moody."

"What? I was being honest like you asked for me to be."

"And you're still beating yourself up over something you can't change." She sighed and scratched the side of her head. "I get it though… the frustration of something from the past. But I know that sometimes you can't just hold onto your problems to deal with yourself." Katara chuckled and gave a small smile his way. "All that matters is moving forward from where we are now. We are both alright and will continue to get stronger together. Letting this eat at you thinking that you fell behind is pointless."

"I know, and I agree it's stupid." Shoto huffed out and grabbed her hand. "It's just twice now I haven't been there to stop something before it happened to you. And I won't be letting a third time happen when I'm not there. I am here to support you no matter what comes from now on."

"I know, and I really do appreciate that." She happily said and pulled him along the road. "I know you mean that, and that's what matters to me." Not resisting, Shoto moved down the street hand in hand with Katara, not saying anything as they continued. After a few minutes the light tension he felt was slowly melting away, shifting his hands so his and her fingers threaded together. Smiling, Katara looked around to the nearby buildings, just enjoying the chilly air. "It feels nice being able to just leave school again like this. Maybe some nights we are out, we can have our own dinner somewhere."

Shoto glanced over at the girl beside him, unable to avoid being surprised. Here he did have concern about her safety after what they were told by their teachers, and already she's planning date night ideas for when they are doing their training. Now he felt like a fool, always beating himself down for things he should be growing from. He now remembered another reason he couldn't help but be attracted to Katara for; she was just so damn positive and always found ways to find positives out of a situation he felt stuck in. No wonder he felt so good around her, and here he was being his old self again being the one she had to straighten out.

Now he almost wanted to smack himself, chuckling inside and squeezing her hand tighter. He was done. Done being the one needing to be pulled up. He was going to be there to help push her forward now.

As the pair of them walked together, they reached his fathers agency. Looking at each other, they gave a small nod as he moved forward and opened the door for her, walking into the familiar space for both of them. The entrance inside was quite empty to their surprise, not just by the lack of people other than the receptionist in front, but it seemed more plain than before. Katara noticed the change in lighter paint on the walls, but more prominently was the lack of the large portrait of Endeavor that once sat overhead. Shoto noticed that as well as he always hated that picture. The fact that it was gone made even him question if they had come to the right place for a moment, just before an arm came and wrapped around both of their shoulders.

"And here we have both of you troublemakers here again." Burnin chuckled and pulled them against her. "Welcome back."

"Hey Burnin," Katara smiled and gave a friendly pat back. "It's been some time since we saw each other."

"I know. I've felt sooo lonely without my Ryujin here." Burnin fake whined and rubbed her cheek against the waterbenders head making her laugh. "Shoto, you've been selfish having this little water dragon all to yourself. I need some love too."

Grunting, Shoto pushed her arm off himself. "I'm not sure she's into that kind of love with you."

"Eh, who knows. I'm pretty convincing." Burnin grinned and snuggled Katara closer. "Give me a bottle of sake and oil, and I think we can be giving back massages in an hour."

Katara blushed and pushed the laughing woman off her. "Ugh… you're gross."

Cackling, Burnin crossed her arms at the two flustered teens. "Anywho, it's good to get you two back here. We have a lot to catch up on."

Shaking his head, Shoto glanced around the place once more, confused at the change. "What's going on? In all these years he's never changed this before."

Sighing, Burnin motioned them to follow as she walked into the hall. Waiting until they were away from the front desk, she finally answered. "Well, since that family… sitdown we had, the vibe has certainly changed around here."

Both Katara and Shoto glanced at one another, with Shoto's hand clenching thinking of his brother. "You haven't… explained this to anyone else here yet?"

"No… and it's best to keep it that way." Burnin said, "It's less to keep the others distracted, and he's the one to tell them when the time is right. He's been solely focused on doing more hero work to make up for his absence for that time. And it seemed he got tired of seeing himself every time he came through the door."

That comment itself was a far cry from the man Shoto called father, knowing his pride was always the first thing he cared about. "And he isn't here now?"

"He and the others got held up dealing with another gang in Shibuya. He said he'll be here pretty soon." Burnin motioned to the right with a nod. "If you want a bite to eat, I'm heading to the kitchen right now."

Figuring they were going to wait anyway, the pair both figured a quick meal sounded good, following the sidekick through the building. As she walked, Katara began thinking of the others, hoping everyone was having work studies with less hidden turmoil than she had.

UA training Grounds

"DIE!"

Bakugo's explosion ripped through the training facility, gritting his teeth as he saw the blur of a target speeding across the building tops. "Hold still, damn it!"

Flipping over a railing, Mirko laughed as she slipped by another pair of blasts he shot from above. "You got to do better than that!" She shouted and launched off the roof at the teen, spinning and whipping her leg right at him. To her surprise, he actually was already redirecting himself out of the way with a smaller blast, her foot barely missing him as she rushed by.

'I'm not going all out… but the little bastard is certainly getting quicker,' She said inside her head, landing back on another roof as Bakugo chased her down. She backflipped out of the way as another AP shot blast cut through the building, jumping off and laughing more. 'Cutting off my footing trying to throw me off.'

"You aren't going anywhere!" Bakugo roared out and careened down at the rabbit woman, spinning through the air as his explosions grew. "Howitzer impact!"

Corkscrewing through the air, Mirko's hair whipped to the side from the rush of air from his blast as she evaded the attack. The moment she landed on the ground, she kicked off and blitzed him through the smoke, ready to clothesline him to the ground. Her ears however flicked at the last second, catching the sparking sounds and making her dip to the side evading the burning flash coming at her face. "You little shit!" she hissed.

"I got you now!" Bakugo blasted himself forward and thrust his left hand forward, ready to create a blinding flash to distract her once more. But the rabbit woman clenched her eyes and rushed him again as if she knew what was coming, making him grin and switch his flash attack to an explosion. The moment the sparks lit in his hand, however, her ears twitched one more making her smile fade, the woman spinning and whipping her leg up and kicking the incoming blast up and above her head.

"Gah!" Bakugo gasped as another kick swung through and landed to his gut, flattening him onto his back and clenching his stomach. "Damn it…damn it!" he growled out between coughs.

Strutting over to the teen, Mirko chuckled and knelt by his side. "My bad, sparky. Trying not to break your ribs so early."

"This isn't breaking anything… I-" he coughed out from the pain, struggling to get his breath back.

"Yeah, I bet those abs of yours are handling it so well. Try some more sit ups, you little marshmallow." she teased and patted her rock hard core. "Try and get on my level and you can probably tank them sometime." Ignoring his attempted growl, she laughed and leaped off the rooftop, quickly glancing back over her shoulder.

'He's growing faster and faster every day. Much faster than I honestly thought he would ever get to.' She said to herself, much to her amusement and amazement as she landed on the ground, glancing to the next one on the agenda. 'And it seems he's even more determined now, especially since this kid is here now.'

Stretching his arms, Izuku turned to see the white haired woman staring at him, taking a breath knowing he was next. After introductions the first night, the woman had been busMirko's y in the field, and before she took them she had been wanting to test them today and see what they were made of… again.

"One on one against her…" he whispered. "Not a full fight for the test, but still…"

"Suck it up, buttercup," Mirko responded, making him blush realizing she could hear his faint words. "No it's not a full fight, but I want a better look at what I'm going to be working with… especially with the next All Might in front of me."

Izuku felt himself tighten up at the statement. Part of it was from the sarcasm in Mirko's voice, almost like she couldn't believe he had the power of the greatest hero. She hadn't asked about One for All yet, but he could tell this is why she even accepted him as an intern alongside Bakugo. She needed to see his power up close once more, so if she wanted another demonstration, he was going to give it to her.

'One for All, Full Cowling…' The energy around Izuku sparked out as he focused his power, starting out strong. 'Twenty five percent!'

Mirko's neck hair's stood up on end from the power she sensed, grinning as she licked her lips. "Let's go, Broccoli head. I want to see why All Might thought a squirt like you has your power now!"

On cue, both rushed at one another, clashing their shins in powerful kicks. Both of their heads of hair blasted back from the impacts of their attacks, one grinning and the other gritting their teeth as they began their battle.

"Texas Smash!" Izuku yelled out and threw out a straight right punch at her gut. Mirko quickly leaped back avoiding his strike, spinning her body and throwing a back kick at the teen. Even he was able to avoid her strike as well, both sprinting through the street before launching at the other again.

BOOSH!

The clashing of their knees rocked the area, cracking a few of the nearby windows simply from the impact of their hit. While Mirko felt her leg shake, it held strong as Izuku winced as he was pushed back. Yelling out, he twisted his momentum and flipped over the top of Mirko, bringing his leg down and axe kicking into her own foot kicking upward. Fighting through the impact, Mirko spun on her other leg and pushed him aside, flipping forward in a cartwheel kick bringing down into his shoulder. Even as she landed her strike, she grew amused for in that single moment he caught her foot.

"Oklahoma Smash!"

The teen began rapidly spinning through the air, taking Mirko along for a ride. The rabbit woman only laughed and flexed her own legs. "Luna ring!"

The sudden opposing force completely stifled Izuku's momentum, gasping as she jumped up and kicked him off through the air. Before he could slam into the building, he reactively shot out his blackwhip, snagging onto the street and stopping him. Mirko only laughed harder as he landed on the ground, popping her neck seeing this strange power once again. "Still need answers to what the hell that is… but for now, let's see what you can do with it, kid!"

Yelling out, Izuku thrust his arms forward launching multiple black tentacles at the hero. Mirko sprinted forward, dodging and weaving her way through the shifting technique. Jumping back, Izuku continued trying to land one of them on her much to his dismay, still not fully mastering his ability while targeting something so fast and agile as her. Glancing to the side, he shot some of the tendrils to the nearby wall and ripped off large portions, launching them at the rabbit. Mirko grinned and flipped onto her hands, spinning like a top and kicking at the incoming debris. Before the blackwhip behind them could ensnare her, she pushed off and kicked down at them, using the momentum to pinwheel towards Izuku.

"Luna fall!"

"Thirty percent!"

The sudden increase from Izuku sent out a small pulse of air, the teen throwing a punch and slamming it into the incoming strike from Mirko. Both users clashed at one another, Mirko gritting her teeth as she felt him actually pushing her back, while still not enough to max her power out. On the other side, Izuku could feel his body straining once more at this level, focusing everything he could into his active muscles. "Come on… hold through it!"

The pair broke apart and skidded across the road in opposite directions before rushing forward once more, exchanging and countering each strike with one another with both of them near a stalemate. Asphalt cracked beneath both as they blocked the others attacks, Izuku kicking away a fellow kick from the hero and prepared to punch, but gasped as he felt his body spasm. He dropped to a knee from the pain, his eyes wide as an incoming kick rushed at his face… stopping inches from breaking his nose to smithereens.

Mirko grunted and lowered her leg, kneeling down to his level. "This looks to me the strongest you can be without her healing you."

Izuku panted several times as he deactivated full cowling, clenching his hand and stretching his joints. "Yeah. I can be stronger in bursts, but holding it consistently is too strenuous."

"And that's why I wanted to test you before I actually committed to taking you." Mirko turned as Bakugo landed on the street beside them. "When you said your buddy needed a place to go, I wanted to first see your limit without your water friend giving you a boost. Now… I'm glad I did."

"That's why I wanted to come to you…" Izuku answered, forcing himself back to his feet. "I'm limited to consistent use of my power to twenty five percent without injury. I need someone who's an expert of physical control of their body…. Someone else who can go one hundred at all times."

Mirko didn't want to admit it, but knowing this kid was only at twenty five percent and still pushed her made her a bit jealous. But the fact knowing where the power came from made her believe it. She glanced over to Bakugo, seeing the frustrated look on his face as well. While not as crazy as his classmate, Mirko could see he was also needing to have his body pushed to withstand his quirks maximum potential. What they needed was true physical training, something she had done non stop since the moment she found what her quirk was. She couldn't help but click her tongue in amusement and give a small nod.

"Alright. You both want to push your bodies to handle more? I'll show you how to do that. But I'll get one thing straight, and this goes for you too, Sparky…" she pointed a finger at her first intern, grinning at the glare she received. "I was going easy on you the first time you worked under me. It was nothing compared to what I have planned for you."

"If you think I'm going to be one to quit on you, you've got another thing coming." bakugo growled, "If anything, you can try and push me as hard as you want, because I'm gonna surpass both you and Deku one of these days."

"Hmmm…" Mirko smirked at his response, turning to the new teen wishing to work with her. "And you? I don't know what kind of regiment you had before, but simply looking at the body you got, you're gonna have a hell of a workload ahead that I'm going to put you through." she warned him. "Obviously there's something special about yours, but quirks that deal with physical strength need bodies that are far stronger than normal."

Izuku looked glanced down at that comment, seeing exactly what she meant. Every muscle on her body looked as if it were made of carbon fiber steel. Whether it was the abs that seemed to burst through her body suit, the thighs that looked like a greek god's, or even her arms that showed the very pinnacle of definition. That was more than gifted because of her quirk. He even heard how she took down that villain Muscular that he faced before along with several other villains. The fact she could physically overpower someone like him meant he needed her to show him the next level of control. To be able to not only use a higher percentage of One for All, but continuously without strain.

"I'm ready for anything you can throw my way."

Loving the answer she heard, Mirko cracked her knuckles and laughed. "Good. Now… let's see how far you bastards will go."

Edgeshot's Agency

Walking through the doors of the familiar Dojo, Momo gave a smile as she slipped off the overcoat she wore. Underneath it revealed her costume, the teen reaching into the pouch she had on her back. She didn't need the book she had before, pulling out and slipping on the gift Izuku had given her on christmas. Now that she was back here, she was ready for whatever came her way… and whenever it was coming.

'Keep your eyes open for anything…' she whispered internally, glancing back and forth between the left and right. A quick check to the ceiling and it was clear, to suddenly hearing the slightest noise from behind coming her way. The glow in her hand suddenly sprouted out a katana as she spun around, clashing against the weapon swinging her way.

"Impressive…" Edgeshot said as they pushed against one another, "I didn't expect you'd hear anything there."

"I remembered to expect anything from you." Momo grinned as she jumped back and threw out multiple shuriken, watching as Edgeshot blocked all of them and rushed her once more. The pair of them clashed swords several times, the teen parrying his blocks surprisingly well.

'She's faster than she was before. Her reaction time is much better.' Edgeshot said to himself, watching her evade a few of his strikes and counter with a slash of her own. 'I wonder who she's been training with…' jumping up, the ninja hero flattening himself, avoiding a net she created and threw his way. Diving down, he missed as she spun out of the way and shot a chain out from her hand, wrapping his sword around it and yanking it from her grasp. His eyes widened however when he saw the open bottle of some liquid tied to the end, rushing his way and splashing out.

"Interesting…" He shouted and jumped out of the way, not wanting to get hit by whatever that… water? "Very interesting… throwing me off knowing I would assume it was something dangerous." instead of an answer, he noticed the light flicker across the bottom of her visor, raising his brow in curiosity. "Your new toy?"

Without answering, Momo's hand came together as both formed a large rifle, flicking it on and firing off a barrage of darts. Edgeshot grunted as he ducked and weaved through them, slashing at the many cartridges behind the needles. As he did however, his eyes immediately felt irritated, followed with a burning sensation in his nose making him wince. "The hell?" he coughed and thinned his body evading the others, shaking his head from the sudden sensation. "Chlorine?"

"Sulfuryl Chloride…" Momo answered as her hands glowed once more. "Not enough to be deadly, but certainly makes one uncomfortable!"

Edgeshot blinked through the irritation as several nets shot his way, quickly stretching his body like ribbon and flowing through the small opening between them. He had to say he was actually trying harder than he did with her even just the few months since they last met, spinning and throwing multiple kunai at the teen. Momo quickly formed a barrier in front of herself stopping them, her visor activating as her next idea came through. The moment her eye shifted to see it, however, she yelped as he rushed her once more, her hand forming a gauntlet to stifle his sword.

'Just for a second…' she hissed internally, her eyes trying to both read the breakdown of a new mixture while also blocking his attacks. Gritting her teeth, she formed another chain to wrap his sword momentarily, quickly taking in the new gas make up and went to expel it.. Only for Edgeshot to sweep her leg out. Flopping onto her back, his foot came down to pin her to the ground, his sword held above her face making her gasp. Dispelling her quirk, she swallowed as the metal tip came down and brushed against her cheek, rising up and touching her visor.

"You got distracted in the very end from this. What is this?" he asked.

Taking a breath, Momo reached up and pushed the blade away. "It's a new item to help me in the field." she paused as she pulled it off. "It can pull up whatever's molecular structure. Problem is it's not as easy as I thought to use it in the field."

"Then you have two choices," Edgeshot spun the sword and brought it behind himself. "Either remove it and not let it distract you. Even the slightest hesitation in the field can be the difference between survival and not. Or… you discover how to utilize it to the best advantage for yourself while in battle."

Grunting, Momo stretched her neck as she stood up straight once more, adjusting the visor on her face. It was certainly useful, but getting the hang of both reading and battling at the same time would be something she would need to get used to. Taking a breath, she created a pair of kunai and faced the hero once more, shifting her arms before raising them up and smiling. "One more time."

Chuckling, Edgeshot took a few steps back. "I will say I am impressed. Your reaction speed is nothing like it was before. You have some talented friends you were sparring with, don't you?" He paused and whipped the sword forward in front of his face, readying himself again. "Let's see how much better you'll become."

UA Staff dorms

Opening the door to his room, Tensei grunted as he walked inside. Taking a breath, he shuffled step by step across the carpet… avoiding the use of his cane. He couldn't help but keep the smile from spreading across his face, turning around and sitting down on his bed. Huffing out, he slipped his shoes off and looked down to his exposed feet. He gritted his teeth as he shifted his feet around, the pain still there but now far less than before.

"I have to say, them offering me a room here certainly has its benefits." he said to himself. Not only did he not need to worry about having to get a ride or drive here, there was the fact he could see Tenya and Katara more often. It was always fun to see them every so often whether it was for some food or to just catch up on everything going on. But where he came from just now just made everything that much better.

With Recovery Girl on site, Tensei had been able to convince her to attempt her quirk on him now. While at first she considered not pushing it, the fact there was actual progress in his body was enough to make her say yes. In just the last two weeks, the few sessions he had with her had gone even better than he imagined since there was a connection in his back unlike before. He wasn't trying to get his hopes up, but in time… he was giving into the idea that he may not be the helpless teacher stuck in the chair.

Knock Knock.

"Hmm?" he turned to the knock at his door. "Who is it?"

"Tensei, it's me!"

Hearing his brothers voice made him smile, shifting on his bed to face the door. "Come on in." he answered, watching as Tenya entered the room with a smile of his own. "How are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that. Your smile is brimming from ear to ear." Tenya joked. "You seem to be in a positive mood today."

"It's hard not to be," Tensei laughed, showing off the movement of his feet. "Every day there's more and more movement."

Tenya beamed with excitement at the news. "I am truly happy for you, Tensei. To see your progression is amazing nonetheless to see."

"Hopefully it gets better even faster as we go along." Reaching over, Tensei grabbed a water he had on the desk nearby. "So, I heard Katara has gone off to her work studies. Did you get in contact with Manual again for yours? Or did you want to go somewhere else?"

Now Tenya's smile faltered slightly, taking his glasses off and rubbing his brow before slipping them back on. "Actually, that is why I came to speak with you, Tensei. I was hoping you could be my mentor instead."

Tensei lowered the water from his mouth in surprise, sighing at the request. "Tenya, the point of the work studies is to gain field experience, and I am certainly not doing that. I'm a teacher now."

"And you are far more experienced with our type of quirks than I am." Tenya said, "I need someone who can take me further, and honestly… Manual is not one to help me with that. I need an expert with the knowledge to guide me further. I want to be stronger… no, I need to be stronger to protect everyone."

The simple statement gave Tensei the truth, knowing he was speaking about someone specifically. Setting the water down, he stood up and slowly walked over to his brother. "I respect you wanting to do this, but you need to go out to others to experience true field work."

"Brother, please…" Tenya pleaded, clenching his fists. "Katara is always putting herself in the line of danger because she is ready to protect anyone. I want to be certain I am doing everything I can so whenever she needs someone to pull her to safety, I will be fast enough to do that. I want to be a hero like you were."

Gripping his brother's shoulder, Tensei rubbed it for a moment before sighing. "I'm not going to be a replacement for something real in the field, Tenya. You have to go out and do more than just run faster. Being a hero is about doing what's right, and you can be even better than I ever was."

Tenya frowned hearing his brother's answer, wanting more than the tips he received before with his quirk. Stepping back, he gave a bow to his older sibling. "Sorry for disturbing you, brother. I shall leave you for the night."

"Go and get some rest, Tenya. And I want to hear your answer to your work studies choice tomorrow morning at the training grounds."

"Yes, sir." Tenya quietly answered and walked towards the door. Before he opened it though, his brow raised at the statement. "The… training grounds?"

"I told you I am not going to be your replacement for work studies. You need that kind of experience." Tensei grinned and crossed his arms. "You'll have to get my training in before school starts. I have a class to teach by eight."

Tenya's eyes nearly burst through his glasses in excitement, beaming with excitement and dropping into a giant bow once more. "I shall not disappoint you, Tensei! I will be there at six o'clock sharp!"

In a quick flash, Tenya was out of the room and rushing down the hallway, his brother hearing his excited cheer slowly fade away. Laughing, Tensei stepped back and sat down on his bed once more, shifting around and pulling his legs up on the bed. "I guess I should get some sleep too. Maybe… I can try some jogging soon."

Exiting the car to his agency, Endeavor sighed from the day taking longer than he intended. After several groups of villains attempted robberies, he and the others out on patrol were swamped until clean up was finished. As Onima headed inside to complete paperwork, he pulled out his phone and saw the text he missed from over an hour ago, his eyes widening seeing it was from Burnin.

Your guests have arrived.

Knowing who it was, he quickly grabbed the other files he had and carried them inside, handing them to the secretary as he passed by. "Can you get these to level four when you can?" he asked her.

"Yes sir…" the woman nodded, still getting used to this calmer form of her boss. Over the years she was used to him just slapping them down on the counter and not even looking her way.

"Thank you." he said as he walked on, once again making the woman shake her head in surprise. Walking through his agency, he glanced into the kitchen and the rec room, not seeing them there. He was about to call them before he remembered where they would go to help the time go by, turning and heading towards the training facility they had. As he got closer, he could hear the sound of flames shooting out, the hiss of steam, and the familiar voice of his sidekick yelling out.

"Grr! Again!"

walking around the corner, Endeavor found the open doorway to the large room, where he saw Burnin standing there with her hands enflamed, glaring as she stood across the space from Katara. The waterbender guided the water stream around her body and began whipping pieces off of it, launching multiple water bullets at the sidekick. Hissing out, Burnin started shooting her flames out one at a time, striking each water piece before they could reach her. After about fifteen however, she began struggling to keep up before several here and there made it to her body, pelting her and making her yelp.

"Agh! Those hurt, damn it!" Burnin growled and shot the final one, shutting her fire off and rubbing the spot on her leg that stung. "Feels like I'm getting hit by a paintball gun."

"Hey, it makes you that much more determined to block each one." Katara answered.

"Yeah, I can see why…" Burnin pursed her lips and rubbed her side where she also got struck. "And what's the verdict?"

"I mean for your first time trying it you did pretty good." Katara said.

"Nineteen out of thirty five blocked," Shoto added, standing to the side observing them. "For a second time, that's okay."

Burnin's eye twitched hearing his comment, crossing her arms and frowning at the teen. "Oh, are you some expert at this and can do better?"

"Actually we've never tried this," Katara admitted, "I did this training with others. Shoto and I mostly focus on maxing out our limits."

"Ah, all brawn and no skill then. Got it." Burnin teased. "Why don't you give this a shot then?"

Katara admitted she was curious as well, wanting to see what he could do in a very finesse training style. "What do you say?" she asked him.

Shoto took a moment before nodding. "I'd say I will not let a single one land on me."

"Oh, such big words from you. Let's see you ace this or fall on your ass." Burnin teased as she moved out of the way as he approached.

Katara was a bit surprised as well, not expecting his confidence so high on his first attempt. It made her chuckle in amusement however, bringing the water up around herself once more. "Alright then, whenever you're ready."

Nodding, Shoto lowered his stance in the center of the area. "Whenever you are."

Smiling, Katara began doing the same thing she did for Burnin, launching the water attacks in the same pattern she did for her. Shoto stood still however, shifting his right foot and creating a wall of ice in front of him shielding himself from the water.

"What the?!" Burnin raised her hands in confusion at the technique. "The hell you doing?"

"Shoto!" Katara frowned in disappointment as the rest of her water struck his ice, lowering her water while he walked around into view. "I thought you were going to try and hit them all like she did."

Shoto simply gave a small shrug… with a look of amusement stuck to his face. "I just said a single one wouldn't land on me. I never said how I was going to block them."

Burnin's mouth fell open in annoyance before frowning. "Now that's some bullshit right there." she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Maybe I can give you lessons one of these days if you want."

"Oh you cocky little…"

Katara just sat with her mouth in surprise as she listened to what was going on. This wasn't Shoto being oblivious like he used to be; this was sarcasm, something he'd actually been doing more and more lately. She almost burst out laughing at what she was hearing, grinning as he watched Burnin pointing at him and calling him out for cheating. And she wasn't the only one seeing the change.

From his spot, Enji stared quietly as the trio talked and joked, something he couldn't recall seeing his son do. To see him smiling… simply having a fun time during a small training game. He looked over to the waterbender in the group, watching her crack another joke to his annoyed sidekick, taunting her before making some other comment about her looking sloppy. He didn't focus on what exactly was said, though, instead just taking in the looks of enjoyment they were having, something he never bothered with. He breathed in heavily and walked around the corner, frowning internally as their looks of fun ended when he came in sight.

"You've made it," he said to the two teens, "I'm glad to see you've… That you've still chosen to come here."

Katara gave a look over to Shoto, the pair nodding before she gave the hero a shrug, "I mean, I never got the chance to look at other offers. So I guess sticking with what I had before is the best option."

"As long as we don't encounter any bugs again, it should be a walk in the park this time." Burnin commented, earning looks from the other three. "What? I'm just saying."

Shoto sighed and stepped forward towards his father. "I'll just speak my mind and be done. I'm not here to try and make amends for everything. After all the things that have happened, I'm not sure we can ever find what we are looking for. But… At this point I realize blaming you for what happened to Katara last time… isn't all on you."

Enji's eyes widened hearing that, not thinking his son would ever stop blaming him from the last mission they went on. "Shoto…"

Rubbing his head, Shoto gave a nod of his own. "The fact of the matter is we need someone who can show us how to maximize our quirks to the potential we need when the time comes. What we need is a trainer in power. And that you are good at."

The room sat quiet for a minute before Enji gave a solemn nod, knowing he still had a long way to go before he could make up on just some of his mistakes. He looked over to his sidekick, taking a breath and giving her a notion to the back. "If you can, go help Kido and Onima with the stuff from today. I need to go over a few things with them."

"Fine. but if it's paperwork I'm not touching it." She grunted and left the others.

As soon as she was out of the room, Enji turned back to the two teens, not having spoken since the day they came to his home with the others. Even on new years, he gave his kids the space they deserved so they all could be together. Now, however, he did have some questions himself. "Alright, if that is what you need, I'll teach you everything I know and that can aid you both. But I'll need to know what I am working with you, and your powers."

Katara's mouth fell open as he stared at her, knowing what he meant. "You mean you…?"

"I've known something was different for sometime. But after the commission president came to me and asked for assistance, I was concerned other measures may be taken." Enji walked to the side and sat in one of the chairs, looking back to the waterbender and his son. They both looked at one another before turning back to him, Katara sighed out and walked to the chair opposite of his. As she sat down, Enji gave a small nod. "I just want to hear from you what your powers are. And perhaps I can think of ways to work with it."

Notes: A set up chapter? Yeah, I know. not what you all wanted after all this time.

But now we have progress for many of the characters and where they are going. and seeing what is in store for them.

Once again I apologize for these long breaks. Just my life is in a new phase and just hard to make time. But that's why for chapters like this. Once it gets going, the story will hit a running pace and not look back.

More big changes to come. please leave your thoughts and comments to what happened and what you think comes next.

Till next time!