A/N: Thank you for your continued reading!

"You're trying for UA?"

"Yeah, I did the application last night," Kazuya said as he idly stirred the vegetables in his tonjiru, "I'm gonna go with the trends like how everyone else is. No losses on my part, and I'll just keep working when I don't get in."

"... when? You seem certain you won't get in," his mother chuckled lightly.

"The rate's 1%, mom. I doubt even All Might could get in if he retook it."

"So then you're approaching this like a lottery," she summarized, though there was no disappointment from implying the idea of her son gambling. Or maybe there was? It was hard for him to tell from her usually calm persona. "If that's the case, then I'm not against it either way. You do what feels right to you, Kazuya, and I'll support you along the way."

Kazuya smiled at his mother. "Thanks mom."

They resumed a peacefully quiet family dinner, until his mother thought of something from her son's news. "Though… what will you say to Toda-kun? Don't you think he'd consider you a liar?"

"...I mean, I would have texted him already, but since my phone's destroyed, I don't have contact with him for now."

"Don't you have his phone number?"

"I don't even know it."

"...?"

An Incandescent Warrior

Chapter 2: I Guess I'll Give It A Shot Part II

Months later…

It was coming close to the entrance exam day for UA. Since then, not much has changed in Kazuya's daily routine. Wake up, light workout, breakfast, school, dojo classes (which normally is just more training), home, dinner, and sleep. Only recently was school removed from his schedule, giving him more time to train. Like he was doing right now, on the beach with his dojo sensei.

"Hahaha! Not many men can pull three tires with little effort," Sensei laughed boisterously, commemorating Kazuya as the boy was, in fact, pulling three stacked tires through the sand, tied by a rope which was also tied onto him. The exercise was a great hurdle that only a few knew of how truly difficult it was, yet Kazuya was pulling through without much trouble.

With a light coat of sweat forming on his brows, Kazuya glanced over at his teacher with an exasperated look. "How come…huff… we're only doing this sort of training… huff… after my graduation?"

"Tch, whoever said graduating from my dojo is the end of your training," Sensei scoffed at the very idea, as if the very words were insultive, "no, that formal nonsense was just official recognition that the kid gloves are off. The rest will be hard, gritty, tear-streaming, and blood-pouring exertion, so you better get used to it starting now."

"Ok…" Kazuya let out a short sigh as he took another step forward. Despite the novelty of today's training, it wasn't like he was against it. He felt every muscle in his body working more than what they usually did… and for some reason, it felt fulfilling. And oddly addicting. "Where'd you get this sort of training, Sensei? You used to do it yourself?"

"Hm? Ah, no," Sensei pulled out his old flip phone and showed his screen after a few taps on his part, "there was a recent blog post online about this other kid your age with a skeletal man cleaning up Takoba beach. An impressive strategy, if you ask me, so I wanted to recreate it. Good and bad news, though, Tajirihama Beach is cleaner than those city dumps, so we have to make due with our own equipment."

"...so you just had these three truck tires laying around nearby?"

"More dragging, less talking."

Hinagashi Public Park, 1 month before the exam…

Time was flying by faster than Kazuya had initially anticipated. For something as big as the UA entrance exam, those who are anxiously waiting to participate would feel time flying like a sloth with wings. But for him… it was like watching a bullet zoom by. He just couldn't feel stressed out about this upcoming exam, and thus he wasn't feeling the pressure of time. He was completely level-headed and calm, which allowed him to solely focus on his training more efficiently.

Today was an especially important day, as he was dedicating some time in mastering the special part of his quirk that he's never able to use much often. More specifically, he was focusing on the emitter part of his quirk. Some many years ago, he and his mother revisited the doctor for a reevaluation on his quirk after the television incident. It turns out that he had a dual-natured quirk, being both an emitter and mutant. At first, it was total excitement for his younger self (and it still is to this day), but after having to replace their TV from his little mishap, there were strict regulations placed upon him. Essentially, he could never use his emitter quirk indoors for any reason whatsoever, nor could he direct his quirk towards any person. It was pretty much just him following the quirk laws for emitter-types in addition to his mutant part, and he honestly never complained about it.

Did that mean training his emitter quirk would be futile? In a sense, yes… but he still wanted to have a grasp on it when the time comes. It would explain why he was currently standing in the middle of some forestry at the local park in the first place. He was outdoors, away from people, and safe to experiment with himself as he pleased.

'I'm currently at 25%, going for 30% today… and 35% if possible…' Kazuya thought to himself while stretching his body. He learnt lots about his quirk over the years and he's continuing to learn every day. Arguably the best thing he's learnt is how his energy functions, and most of it was thanks to his teacher. Before, no one really knew what type of energy his body was emitting, and his doctor gave it a name that was too scientific for anyone to remember. But when he started taking classes under his current teacher, he was introduced to the old and traditional teachings of chi, a practice that has been forgotten by the general public. It was through this understanding that he got a better grasp of his quirk's emitter behavior.

In simple terms, his body was an entire conduit. Every fiber of him had a portion of his energy, and he could therefore amplify himself to greater strengths. At rest, his body naturally exerts between one to four percent of his "full power"—as he likes to call it—and it stayed like that before he learnt about chi. Through training under this new understanding of chi, however, he's managed to bump it up to 15% at rest, 25% max control. To make it clear, max control doesn't mean his full 100% of his power. It just meant he could use this certain percentage of his current full power without extreme exhaustion. And until he trains his endurance more, this percentage margin remains the same no matter how much stronger he gets.

After completing his pre-workout stretches, Kazuya closed his eyes and leveled his breathing. He calmed his body as much as he could, picturing his own visual interpretation of serenity. After a while, he felt the signs of his energy surging, and he grabbed on to that feeling. It expanded like goosebumps on the skin, but instead it was literal energy pouring out from his pores. Not a second later, his body was enveloped by a translucent aura. The grass flutters from the changed air, and a soft quiet blow-whistling sound could be heard.

This was his current max controlled output, 25%. He wanted to get used to 30% today, and so he had to push past this state of equilibrium. Instantly, as he did that, the smoothness of his aura began to turn rigid and static. The color became less opaque, and the noise and winds elevated just slightly. Most notably, however, he could feel drainage. Small, but present.

Kazuya smiled to himself. This was good… there was some burn, but that's natural. He was training a muscle he rarely used.

'Now… I'll go short bursts, just to get—'

"There's the fucker."

Kazuya flinched from the sudden voice that arose from behind him. He turned quickly towards the source and his eyes widened. Coming out of the bush were four men, all of whom should've been completely noticeable judging by their sizes. What? Who are these guys? Just how did they sneak up on him? '... what the…'

Three of the four men looked like elite wrestlers, with bulging muscles and a tall stature hidden poorly by black leather and spiked clothes. But what really caught his attention was the fourth man; a much smaller man who stood at the center like a mafia boss. Kazuya knew who it was… it was none other than the same crazy road-raged driver that tried to attack him many months ago. The only difference this time was that he was wearing a black and white jumpsuit. He must've escaped prison.

"Yep, that's the fucker," the crazy man shouted, pointing one of his hands at the boy. He was still cuffed… so he definitely must've escaped recently.

"You sure, boss? Seems like a regular school runt to me," one of the three large men said in a deep and heavily accented voice.

"Don't doubt me, you moron!" The crazy man seethed with palpable anger, his glare returning back to Kazuya. "You thought I'd forget, fucker? Think wrong, dumbass, I'm after your neck after that shit you put me through!"

"..." Kazuya said no words. In fact, he was baffled. Just how did he escape? No… not even that, who would go to such an extent to get revenge on a bystander like he's doing? Even if Kazuya did call the police all that time ago, it was this guy who did all the attacking. At most, he should be mad at himself for making things worse for himself… but there likely wouldn't be any reasoning anytime soon.

Seeing that Kazuya wouldn't respond, the crazed man grew impatient. "Kill him!"

The three large men moved in unison and without question. Two sprinted forward in an instance, moving in a pincer attack to block off any escape. Fortunately, Kazuya's body was already prepared after his stretches, so it was no issue for him to weave through their grapple attacks. The two men slammed into each other with the absence of the boy's form, leaving themselves momentarily stunned.

He wasn't safe just yet. The third man didn't let that distract him as he continued his pursuit for Kazuya. In preparation, Kazuya spread his feet apart in a low stance, his eyes tracing the man's every move as he quickly decided on whether to flee or take the attack head on. Unfortunately, not much time was given for him to think. He had to act on pure instinct.

"No hard feelings, kid," the third man grunted, his hand pulling out a switchblade from his breast pocket and swiping it at Kazuya's neck. The attack was fast and had weight, but Kazuya was just as fast, so he managed to dodge the lethal blow. However, he didn't see the hidden sweeping punch in time, and he just barely managed to block it with his right forearm as the man's attack sent him soaring into a tree.

"Guh!" Kazuya let out a groan as his back slammed against the hard trunk. It wasn't devastating, but it disoriented him, and that timeframe was enough for the other two to recover from their disorientation. By the time he managed to haphazardly slide down on his feet, his pursuers were back on the assault, coming at him from three directions. Things were moving too fast.

'S-Shit… do or die!' There was no time for him to get help, so he had to pull out all the stops if he wanted to get out of this sudden event unscathed. With a loud yell, Kazuya temporarily broke through his 25% output and went an uncertain 75%. His translucent aura suddenly expanded nearly twice its size and turned rigid like broken metal, with the pale blue color becoming more visible. The sudden burst of energy caused the assailants to stagger just slightly, and Kazuya took this opportunity to extend both his hands forward with open palms. "HAA!"

A large wall of energy exerted from his body, bursting through the air like a wave and slamming into all three men like a truck. The attack took them off their feet, causing them to soar backwards a few feet before tumbling into the dirt. Three unconscious skidding forms stopped just before their leader, who had been watching the entire scene unfold before him. His expression was that of shock, but it quickly turned into rage. "T-The fuck just happened?! Get up, dammit!"

"Ha… ha… shit…" Kazuya quickly dialed himself down back to 25% output, his form visibly more exhausted than before as sweat was beginning to form. It was haphazard and unwise for him to jump the gun like that so fast, but he was forced into a corner. This fatigue was better than what was coming for him… but he still had one more problem to deal with.

"Tch, doesn't matter who the fuck you think you are, kid," the man sneered at Kazuya, extending both his hands out in finger guns. Water began to form at either end, and judging by the small size… it was going to be a cutting attack. "Don't think this is over! Stand still, or else you'll cause yourself more pain than you'd want… which is honestly fine by me, so do whatever the hell you want. You're dead anyways! HAA!"

Once fully charged, two ultra-thin bullets of water blasted from the crazy man's fingers, zipping through the air with the speed of bullets. Despite his newfound fatigue, Kazuya did his best to dodge the attacks, but he was too slow, and one of them cut through his side.

"Gah!" Kazuya yelled in pain as he felt his entire left side suddenly flare in pain. He stumbled and barely managed to catch himself from hitting the ground, though his actions only served to amplify the pain even more. He could feel warmth drinking down his side, staining his clothes red. The cut was deep… had he been any slower, it would've been a puncture wound… and a lot worse.

Unfortunately, Kazuya was not given any time to recover. The crazy man was already charging up his next attack and with a crazed look to his face that would make anyone uncomfortable. He really was trying to kill him… Kazuya couldn't afford messing around like this anymore. It's either him or that man, and with no signs of heroes or cops arriving, he was forced to go down the gritty path.

In an attempt to regain his composure, Kazuya went back to a low stance, but stumbled once again from the sharp pains stabbing his side. He's never experienced a wound like this before… and it was affecting his performance. 'N-Not… not good…!'

"Die, fucker!" The crazy man shouted out with a feral tone as he sent his second pair of attacks, each zooming with the same lethal speed as before. Kazuya's body simply moved on its own, unceremoniously stumbling to the ground as the two bullets zoomed through where his head and shoulder once was, splintering the trees behind him. "Tch, missed…"

'Shit… think…' Kazuya winced as he grinded his teeth in an attempt to push through the pain. He needed to close the wound, and he needed to do it now. And so without any second thoughts he tore his damaged shirt completely and began to quickly wrap it around his chest. It was painful just trying to move his left side, but he gritted through it. The bandaged cloth succeeded… but he wasn't sure if it was easing the pain or if it was just adrenaline. It didn't matter, he was feeling less pain than before. He couldn't linger on small details right now, not when he was constantly risking himself the more he idled. 'Attack him now… he's cuffed… go for the legs…'

His mind was made. Before the crazy man could continue charging his third pair of water bullets, Kazuya extended his palm out and sent a burst of chi. "HAA!"

"Gah?!" The attack was quick, slamming into the crazed man's shin and causing him to flip in the air. He unceremoniously slammed into the ground face first, his water quirk dispatching into mere puddles. Pain was the only sounds that came from him thereafter. "Urk!"

Kazuya stood there in a moment of silence, his sense at high alert as he readied for any other cheap attacks that would come his way. Fortunately, after a few minutes, he neither heard nor saw any movements. It looked like he had succeeded in subduing these men…

"... hah…" Kazuya sighed heavily, his heart beating against his chest like a drum. Seeing his assailants subdued was a relief… he had survived. But he wasn't safe yet. 'I need to get out of here. Now.'

There was no way in hell he could've ever expected to be attacked like this… but there was no room for him to ask questions. He was assaulted and almost died in less than four minutes. He needed to get away from here and get himself treated before things got worse.

Hours later…

"... and you said they wore spiked clothing?"

"Yeah, like motorcycle gangsters or something," Kazuya nodded towards the police officer before him. He was currently laid on a hospital bed, with his entire torso wrapped in bandages. A few tubes had been connected for blood transfusion, but otherwise that was it. "But I know the leader. He's the same guy from the car accident on Shiokaze street some months ago who tried to attack me… he probably broke free recently."

"I have a feeling about who you're talking about… I'll look into it more," the officer nodded, writing down on his notepad. Once he was done, he gave Kazuya an apologetic look. "You did well braving through this experience, Nakamura-san. On behalf of the police department, I apologize that there was no help in time."

"...nah, you're good. You couldn't have known… I didn't even have a phone on me," Kazuya sighed, leaning back on his pillow. This whole ordeal was something else entirely… definitely not what he had been expecting to happen of all things. "I seriously need a new phone…"

The police officer gave a bow. "Well then, I'll return the report and have an extensive search be sent out for these men. I wish you the best."

Kazuya nodded slowly before his eyes widened in remembrance. "...Oh, uh, before that, could you probably have some officers patrol near my house? I… I want to be realistic here for a second. I don't want shit to get worse with my mom involved."

"Of course, I'll have that done as well, Nakamura-san. Rest assured."

"Cool… cya, then."

As the officer left the room, Kazuya sighed to himself, bringing his gaze up towards the hospital ceiling. With how persistent that crazy man was, he wouldn't be surprised if he also went for his mother or something along those lines. In the end, the cops never caught those four men, so they're still out there somewhere. And that was the last thing Kazuya wanted… his mother being hurt. Speaking of which… he was already lamenting on how to explain this news to her once she came back from work.

This whole thing put him in a shitty position. He couldn't train anymore because of his injury, which he's not even sure how long it'll heal, and now he's got unwanted enemies coming after his throat. He just hopes any of this won't affect his performance in the exam…

…

… at least this finally gives him the incentive to study for the written part.