A/N: Happy New Year, everyone!

Shorter chapter this time around.

A few reasons for that.

For starters, if you follow my Twitter or Patreon, you know about my computer problems. Hopefully, all of the parts for my PC will come in tomorrow. But, for a little while, I only had my phone to write on. So, I was screwed.

Secondly, I've made it very apparent that I don't really find the License Exams all that interesting. So, you're going to see some stuff was moved around and/or skipped, rather taking that time to focus on other aspects of the overall plot and characters.

This arc is just a Quirk Showcase. You don't need me to see that.

Outside of Shoto and Inasa, which...I'm sorry, but Inasa is fucking awful. What a waste of fucking time that whole thing is. But, instead of skipping him entirely, I actually changed his story a bit. Hopefully you guys like what I did.

Despite my waning interest in the License Exams, I didn't want to blow through it all in one chapter. So, I'm gonna split it into 2, which is the biggest reason for this chapter's shorter length.

...And I might've accidentally started a CP77 side project that exploded way beyond what I expected. As in, it legitimately might be 100+ pages. It's already at 71, and it's not even close to being done. That was in the span of only a week or so. It was my Steven King moment of blacking out, waking up, and suddenly I had a story in front of me.

However, this will all be made up to you fine folks. Because, I've got A LOT of stuff to cover after the exams. Stuff I'm very excited to do. This chapter has set-up for it, but you guys basically already know.

"The Lovely Lady Nagant Arc" is coming in full swing, baby!

And, we all know what fight takes place once 1A returns to the dorms. But, you'll have to see how that plays out this time.

This is another moment where the story is reaching stuff I've had planned for a full year at minimum. Some of it for multiple years. I hope my reader audience is excited.

Anyway, that's all I got. Once I build this PC, artwork will come back as promised. This year, I truly am looking into improving my work. I wanna reach Claus levels, man.

Ok, see you!

...Please be merciful, 2025

...~AMP~...

(National Takoba Arena)

Izuku and Kyouka led the charge of the 1A students that stayed with them. He kept his speed low, making sure everyone could keep up. They ran across the rocky plains, weaving through the trenches and plateaus to find other students.

Or, that's how it was supposed to be.

However, it seemed the other students weren't exactly running.

Kyouka's own heart dropped as she heard at least fifty separate heartbeats scattered across the area ahead of them. Dozens of students, all from different schools, weren't fighting each other. They all had their sights set directly on their class. "Uh...I think we have a problem. Or, like, fifty of 'em."

Tenya's eyes widened, skidding to a stop. "I knew I was forgetting something my brother told me about."

Everyone in 1A grouped up, looking around and realizing they were completely circled in. Groups from every Hero Course enclosed them in, each student smiling menacingly as they got their rubber balls ready.

Sato quickly pulled out some sugar cubes, stuffing them into his mouth, "Care to elaborate, bro..."

...~AMP~...

"The UA Crush! Hahaha!" Emi laughed out, turning to an extremely unamused Aizawa. They sat in the upper stands, watching the chaos from above with other HPSC observants scattered around. "I can't believe you didn't tell them about it. You must really like this class."

Aizawa glanced over at her, "How so?"

"Well, for starters, you haven't failed a single one of them, which I don't think I've ever seen before. You also always told them about the Crush. Why would you put these kids at such a disadvantage?"

Well, it might've not been in the way she wanted to do it, but Emi finally made Eraserhead smile.

He turned to her, a smirk on his lips, "Disadvantage? I was trying to give all the other kids at least a little bit of a chance."

Emi was taken aback, legitimately shocked that he actually smiled at her, "I...I don't think I've ever seen you make a joke before."

"That wasn't a joke. This whole test is to make sure these kids are ready for the future, to face sudden threats while at a disadvantage. They've been televised to the entire world, so everyone already knows their quirks. My students will have to overcome surprising and rising odds in their careers, but many of them have already done so in the short time that I've known them. I didn't tell them because they don't need the help. Your kids do."

Emi crossed her arms, frowning at her friend(?), "Pretty smug coming from you. Not to mention actually kinda sweet. I've never seen you attached to...anything. But, you know one of the oldest jokes is the guy who talks the biggest is the one who gets the harshest comeuppance. You're really so confident that you have the best of the bunch?"

Aizawa looked back down at the arena, watching his students take action against the oncoming assault, "...I am."

...~AMP~...

"Everyone cover your ears!" Kyouka slotted her jacks into her hand speakers, detaching them from the gauntlets under her sleeves. Sound blasted from her speakers as her jacks extended and circled around her classmates, with soundwaves acting as a shield around them. Dozens of rubber balls slowed, stopped, and were deflected away before coming close to them.

Izuku chuckled to himself, "...Sound Barrier."

His body glowed bright, energy sparking off of him as the first wave of rubber balls were deflected, leaving just a moment before the second wave came in. Kyouka stopped her barrier, letting Izuku do his thing.

The next wave of projectiles came flying their way. Izuku jumped up to fifteen-percent, his training with Aizawa coming back to him. It seemed his teacher's source was right, and his practice with the pitch machines made him more than ready.

In a blitz of speed, Izuku circled around his class, catching almost every ball out of the air and tossing them down at his classmates' feet. In one last burst of speed, he flung two projectiles straight back at another examinee who seemingly had springs for joints.

They slammed directly into his targets at high velocity, sending him backwards.

One down. Three to go.

Momo took the opportunity to create an air cannon and a compacted net. "Sero! Your tape! Ochako, use your quirk on the net. Izuku, get ready to follow it. Everyone else, keep us covered once Kyouka's barrier gives us the opening."

Taking the end of Sero's given tape, Momo attached it to the net once Ochako used her quirk on it, loading it into the air canon. She took aim up above the other examinees, the crack of the canon firing as her net launched into the air.

Dozens of rubber balls collided with the net as it stayed floating up in the air, acting as almost another shield.

Kyouka's jacks retracted, perking up as it picked up vibrations from the ground coming from multiple different directions. "We got underground projectiles!"

Her jacks placed her speakers on the ground, pulsing soundwaves out towards their attackers. The surface around them shattered, with rocks and dirt being ripped from the earth, revealing solidified balls careening right towards them.

Kyouka took hold of the Equalizer, slamming one of the balls into dust, "Incoming!"

"I got it!" Mina rushed forward, a big smile on her face. She dived down, acid produced from the soles of her boots as she began to twirl her body around on her hands, "Acid Hand Glide!"

She danced like a pro, dissolving any of the rubber balls that came her way. Tokoyami took the other side of the group, with Dark Shadow blocking any projectiles. The moment the net up in the air began to reach its capacity, Izuku launched himself up into the air.

"Rai-jin Stance: Galvanic Strike!" His fist began to glow a piercingly bright cyan, his arm pulled back. Izuku punched the net, exploding his power out of his hand. The net broke, all of the captured rubber balls free from their constraints, a storm of them raining down on the other students. Most ran to duck and cover, but it was too late for some.

The students who were out of the projectile's range saw Izuku as a sitting duck. Another wave of rubber balls came his way, but Izuku was ready.

He crossed her arms over his chest like an 'x', curling his body up as his entire body glowed bright. 'One For All: Maximum Overcharge!'

Energy exploded from Izuku's body, pulsing through the air and repelling any rubber balls thrown at him back towards the ground. As he fell, he grabbed a few balls from out of the air, throwing them down. "Kyouka! Ammo!"

Kyouka looked up, seeing said ammo Izuku threw her way.

Aizawa's training kicked in, her focus locking directly onto the targets on someone up on one of the cliffs. Her jacks shot out, piercing two rubber balls in the air. Cracking like whips, she fired her projectiles. They slammed directly into him, right on target. He fell backwards, the same beep from before signaling that she had taken one down.

Two down, two to go.

Kyouka's world slowed down, her jacks picking up the vibrations in the ground. She followed the pattern, pinpointing them to further down the rocky area. Crouched down, hands on the ground, was the guy from out front: Shindo.

...And she just laughed at him.

"You can make earthquakes? Buddy..." Kyouka's jacks locked into her hand speakers as Izuku landed back down next to her, a wide smile on her face. "You're a bit late to the party."

She heard the vibrations, calibrating her speakers to match his frequency. Kyouka slammed her fist down on the ground, massive pulses of soundwaves blasting into the earth below, firing off across the battlefield towards the other classes. Her vibrations and Shindo's clashed underground, stopping his destruction outright.

Shindo tumbled back, admittedly a little impressed, 'She canceled out my vibrations...How'd she react so fast?'

"My turn," Kyouka smirked, plugging her jacks into the Equalizer. She slammed her sword into the ground at an angle, vibrating the prongs at destructive levels.

The ground split open in front of her, cracks like shattered glass forming across the rocky area under the other examinees. The cliffs began to fall and collapse, splitting open trenches, sinking platforms, and causing everyone to split off from one another. With the landscape now completely changed, and the UA Crush now officially a failure, Kyouka took the Equalizer out of the ground. The area settled, finally leaving 1A with some breathing room.

Kyouka wiped sweat from her brow, turning back to see Izuku smiling at her. She smirked with a sigh, "You can say it."

"I cannot reiterate enough that you are so incredibly cool."

"There it is."

Everyone gathered around, with Tenya addressing his classmates, "We've scattered them, broken up their groups. Now their offense isn't as strong, so we can afford to split up. Shoto was right that many of us can't go all out when we're grouped together so tightly."

Izuku nodded, agreeing with Tenya, "Stick to groups of at least two, watch each other's backs."

"Agreed." Everyone paired up, splitting off and heading into the trenches. Tenya then turned to his friends, "Momo, Ochako, as we talk about?"

Momo nodded as she opened up her costume, with all of the other girls surrounding her to give her cover. When the girls moved away, they revealed a sidecar; one that would go on a motorcycle. She took her own rubber balls, along with a few of the ones that were thrown at them, and loaded her air cannon. She created a second cannon for Ochako as well. She hooked up the side car with attachments designed specifically for Tenya's costume.

Tenya pressed a button on his gauntlet, with two steel bars extending out of his arms. They unfolded and connected into a structure similar to that of a cowcatcher from old steam engines.

He held them out in front of him as he took a runner's position, with Ochako and Momo hopping into the sidecar. They took off, with Tenya ramming through any broken rocks in his way.

Izuku took a deep breath as he turned back to Kyouka, "Alright, this shouldn't take too long."

"Hm, is that confidence I hear?"

He chuckled as they took off to enter the fray, "Got a good feeling about today."

...~AMP~...

(Up in the Stands)

"Mr. Aizawa! Good to see you again!"

Shouta turned around in his seat, brows rising as he found Hisashi Midoriya walking down the steps. He nodded to greet him, "Mr. Midoriya. Came to watch your son?"

"Of course. I didn't tell him I was coming though. Figured that would just add more pressure," he smiled as he took his seat next to him. Hisashi waved as he bowed his head at Emi. "Ms. Joke, a pleasure. You probably don't remember me, but we actually met back when you were first starting out. The gala for new pros."

"Ah, right!" Emi extended her hand directly over Shouta, "Well, pleasure's all mine!"

"Don't," Shouta stopped Hisashi from shaking her hand, pushing Emi's hand away. "She has a hand buzzer."

"Aw! Eraser! Way to spoil the joke!" Shouta reached between his seat, taking out a paper desk blinder and put it in between his and Emi's seats. "Wh-? Hey!"

"Anyway," Shouta turned back to Hisashi. "No need to worry. He's doing just fine. He and Jirou already took down a student each."

"Ah, right. Duos need four in total," Hisashi nodded, looking down at the battlefield. "What the hell happened? It looks like a bomb went off underground."

"That would be Problem Child 2."

"Holy..." Hisashi stared slack-jawed and the wide-reaching trenches formed from the ripped apart earth. It was like a dozen little canyons had formed. "I've only seen Jirou fight in the Sports Festival. I didn't know she was this powerful."

"You have no idea..." Aizawa sighed, pushing away the stress the super-powered teens gave him by merely existing. "They've both vastly improved since then."

Hisashi hummed, watching his son vanish into the trenches, energy sparking off of his body. He and his son had texted a handful of times since he had moved to the dorms. He found what really got his son talking was asking about his classmates' quirks. Walls of text just about one quirk and all of its possibilities. It was actually incredibly fascinating hearing him talk about it.

But, the one quirk he didn't really talk about was his own.

He just couldn't believe it.

He had seen Izuku's medical documents, his X-Rays, with his own eyes. Getting a quirk at fifteen wasn't just unheard of. It was almost impossible. He knew that it was apparently something to do with the fact that he wasn't physically capable of handling until he got older, but wouldn't Izuku's tests still show signs of a quirk? No Quirk Factor, no gene, the joints in his pinky toe.

Not to mention the fact that his quirk wasn't related to his or Inko's. Not even a little bit.

Now, that certainly wasn't impossible. While uncommon, he did know quirks could simply be random. They didn't have to come from your parents.

But, that meant Izuku's quirk was an uncommon outcome derived from an impossible outcome.

He knew he should probably just take this as a miracle and move on, but...

"That guy from camp; Muscular. I read up on his file..." Hisashi interlocked his fingers as he sat back, the villain's long record in his mind. "He really beat him? I mean, stupid question, I know. But, I just mean-"

"I get it," Shouta nodded. "Yes, he did. It took everything he had, but he won. As much as I wish I had been there, I wasn't. To make up for that, I'm going to make sure that Muscular will be nothing compared to your son."

"I don't doubt that. I heard his quirk has a pretty bad backlash to it. I thought he went to the hospital due to injuries the villain gave him, but Inko told me it was self-inflicted."

"Mm, yeah. The higher his output of power, the more damage it does to his body. But, don't worry too much. Over time, his body has seemingly adapted to it. He's gained a grasp on more and more of his strength as the year has gone on. Eventually he'll be able to handle his full power without injury. Or, at least, I hope so."

Hisashi nodded, looking back down at the testing grounds. He knew there were plenty of quirks that had pretty bad side effects, but breaking bones? Ripping through skin? That was pretty damn brutal.

...What the hell was this quirk?

Shouta glanced back over to him, seeing the father in deep thought. "I know it sounds bad at first, and it obviously is to some extent. But, I will say, as reckless as he can be, he saved dozens of lives at camp. While I think he would've been taken down eventually, Muscular would've killed many students before that. That's not even including the young boy that was there with them. Just think about the good, I'll handle the rest. Your son is more of a hero than some Pros are. Focus on that."

"I...You're right. Thank you." Hisashi nodded, smiling to himself just a little bit. He was always proud of his son, but this was a different beast entirely.

This quirk was an enigma, sure.

But, a miracle too. No doubt.

...~AMP~...

(Musutafu: Unknown Apartment)

Tomura leaned back against the wall next to Kaina's door with Kurogiri next to him, watching her pace back and forth as she scrolled through her laptop.

That morning, at Kaina's request, he had one of Giran's men get into the HPSC email system. It was the system all employees were in, so there was no way there would be anything incriminating in it. The HPSC certainly wasn't dumb enough to just be sending emails around about all of their criminal activity.

"What are you looking for exactly?"

"A guest list," Kaina responded noncommittally, her focus still mainly on her computer.

"...Can I ask what the guest list is for?"

"Charity event."

Tomura sighed, realizing this conversation was gonna go. "Look, do you mind actually answering properly? For instance, how exactly did you know this was gonna happen?"

"They hold multiple charity events per year. But, they always throw one whenever their image comes into question. That was the whole point of my message. Any sort of scrutiny that might come their way is easily waved away with enough money, a few smiles, and shaking hands with your favorite heroes for the camera."

"Hm. Got a target in mind?"

Kaina suddenly stopped scrolling. Her eyes locked onto a section of the list, a smirk growing on her lips. "Sure do..."

Special Guests: All Might

Kaina shut her laptop, tossing it onto her bed grabbing her blue peacoat, "Gotta go."

"Wh-? Where to?"

"Recon."

"That didn't answer my questi-"

Kaina cut him off, walking up to Kurogiri as she buttoned-up her coat, "Just send me to the same alley as last time. I can go the rest on foot. I'll send you a location in an hour, keep that location in mind. Portal me back from there."

"Mm..." Kurogiri nodded, a dark swirl opening up next to him.

"Well, do you need anything else from me, at least?" Tomura asked, exasperated.

"Yeah. Get out of my apartment." Kaina went through the portal, disappearing without another word.

Tomura sighed, getting up from the wall and turning to Kurogiri, "Maybe someday she'll speak to us normally. C'mon, let's get back to base."

"Do you not wish to see who she was looking for?"

"Not unless you know how to hack open a computer. Besides, this is her mission. We're just here to reap the benefits of having a vengeful assassin on our side. Despite how adamant she is about not being on our side."

Kurogiri hummed in response, opening another portal so they could take their leave, "Oh, speaking of vengeful assassins, I should mention that Toga has taken the day off."

Tomura stopped just as he was about to walk through the portal, turning around to stare quizzically at Kurogiri, "...She what?"

...~AMP~...

(National Takoba Arena)

...There they were.

Camie sat atop a boulder, her eyes unblinking and utterly focused on her targets as they fought their way through the rocky trenches that Kyou-kun had made. Two unconscious and bruised students laid next to her rocky perch, their targets flashing as red as the scratches she had left across their bodies.

The UA Crush had ruined her original plan. She wanted to go up to them, speak to them, and learn more. But, she'd have another opportunity. Besides, she was taught how to analyze from afar.

They had smiles on their faces as they fought. It was...odd.

It wasn't a smile like hers, born from adrenaline and a lust for more blood. Their smiles were from pride, confidence, both in themselves and for their partner. They trusted each other unconditionally, having no doubt in the other's capabilities.

Their smiles told their opponents that they didn't fear them.

Again, odd. But...she liked it.

She would have her chance to learn more. Tomura knew more, at least about Izu-kun. But, he was holding out on her, keeping his information very close to the chest. Him and his little files on people were easy for her to sneak a peek at, but he kept almost nothing on them. It was like he knew she wouldn't be able to resist taking a look.

It was like he was trying not to betray their trust or something.

Whatever, that was fine. The boss man could keep his weird stalker files.

She'd do her own research...

...~AMP~...

(Ten Minutes Later: National Takoba Arena: Examinee Break Room)

It didn't take long for the couple to get their last students taken care of.

They sat in the gray room, with some long gray table to match, chairs, a few sofas in the corners of the room, and plenty of water coolers at the end of the room.

While Kyouka went to grab water, Izuku sat down at one of the long tables, readjusting the plating on his shoes to make them more comfortable.

Mr. Aizawa's training really paid off. Admittedly, Izuku couldn't help but feel they were cheating just a little. Not technically, but still. Mr. Aizawa had given them accuracy and reaction training specifically for an event like this, all thanks to an insider tip. True, they hadn't actually known any specifics, but they still clearly had the edge.

However, Kyouka had reassured him that it didn't actually matter. They would have passed regardless.

Which, yes, was probably true.

Izuku's speed had increased dramatically since the start of the school year. His senses and thought-process increased alongside One For All, so a bunch of rubber balls weren't exactly much to him. Some students had ways of manipulating the balls to go faster, curve around, things like that. But, it wasn't enough.

There was also Kyouka to factor in. Not just her own power boost, but her effect on One For All. The quirk now pulled from two sources, meaning that his current fifteen-percent was stronger than his fifteen-percent from back at camp. Also, the physical backlash from the power increase had a second body to use as a sponge. Meaning, Izuku could use just a little bit higher percentages with far less pain. In very quick bursts, at least.

Maybe only another three to four-percent or so. But, that could still make a big difference.

He kept it reigned in though. Ten-percent was where he was most comfortable, but he could go to fifteen for a while. A lot longer than he could at camp, at the bare minimum.

Kyouka also had cheat codes, in a way.

She had a second quirk that nobody knew about, and it was passively enhancing her speed and senses too. Kyouka was doing a fantastic job at controlling One For All, holding back to keep her boost in power to believable levels, and only showing off her power while using her gear. With how she had described her new level of hearing, Izuku wouldn't be surprised if Kyouka could sense the vibrations of every rubber ball on the field, knowing any time something was coming her way.

In spite of all this, Izuku did understand that their situation was a very special one. Mr. Aizawa and All Might were adamant that they get their licences. The last thing they needed while going up against the League was to also be fighting the legal system if they had to rush in to stop them.

Kyouka came back, sitting down next to him. They watched as other students began to come into the room, having passed the exams themselves. The only person that was in the room before them was the Inasa guy, who was just kinda...standing there, smiling at nothing.

Kyouka passed Izuku his water, setting down more water for when their friends arrived. "Any idea what the next test is gonna be?"

Izuku took a swig of his bottle of water before answering, "Probably something rescue-focused. If this is all about proving we can handle having a license to rescue people, then I would hope that's a priority."

"True, but if our own school is anything to go by, we should be prepared for the craziest, most over-the-top option," Kyouka replied, reaching for Izuku's water.

Izuku chuckled as Kyouka took the bottle from him, "You didn't grab water for yourself?"

"Don't wanna be greedy for people like Tenya and Momo who need it more. Besides, we swap spit on a daily basis."

"Fair point."

"Hmhmhm. You know, I think th-...Uh..." Kyouka turned around, brow raised. "Can we help you?"

Izuku furrowed his brow, turning back to see the girl from out front standing at the other side of the table, completely silent.

Camie giggled, circling around them like a jungle cat ready to pounce. "I'm surprised. I've been told I'm very quiet. Hardly anyone ever catches me."

"I've got good ears," Kyouka deadpanned. "Heard you walk in and just stop."

Camie took one of the chairs, dragging it around the table and placing it in front of the couple. She sat down, sitting silently as she smiled at them both.

Izuku and Kyouka glanced at each other, with the former finally saying something. "Uh...Hi."

"Hi!" Camie giggled, leaning forward with her hands gripping the front of her seat. "I love you guys!"

The couple glanced at one another, neither having a proper response to the sudden outburst by the mystery girl. Kyouka raised a brow, wondering if this was some sort of prank or ploy by the other school, "...Thanks?"

"I just mean I remember you guys from the Sports Festival!" Camie quickly recovered. "You guys were like, totally awesome! The way you two worked together was like, really amazing...You have something special."

"U-Uh, thank you," Izuku smiled back. He wasn't used to being around a true social butterfly, or even a fan. He didn't even think he had those yet. But, she seemed like she meant well. "I'm Izuk-"

"Izuku Midoriya and Kyouka Jirou. I know."

"R-Right. Sports Festival and all."

"Yep! Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I meant what I said about wanting to get to know you and all, but I could " She smiled, rocking side-to-side in her chair as she continued to stare at them. This couldn't be normal. Her gaze was one-hundred percent locked-on to them, that smile never leaving her lips. Her look was almost...sultry? "You know...you're really beautiful."

Kyouka perked up, her cheeks thoroughly dusted red. First her compliment out front and now this? This girl was strange. "Oh, uh...Thank you. Really. You're beautiful too."

"Hehehe, thanks! I love your jacket, red looks amazing on you." Camie swerved her gaze to Izuku so fast it almost gave him whiplash, "And you're so handsome! So...captivating."

...Izuku was completely terrified.

Both because this girl was kinda freaking him out, and because Kyouka might tear her face off.

"I-Is...Is there anything you wanted to talk about or...?"

"Oh! Guess I didn't think this all the way through. Not sure. Um...Why do you guys want to be heroes?"

Kyouka raised a brow, leaning back in her chair, "This just like a friendly conversation?"

"Of course! Do I not look friendly?"

The couple blinked, not quite sure how to answer that question. Or, if they should answer it at all. Izuku decided to just roll with it. Sure, she was acting kind of weird, but he had been called worse throughout a majority of his life.

"Well, for me, I want to be a hero whose smile brings hope to the world. I want everyone to know that even when they're at their lowest point, there's somebody out there for them that will lift them out of that dark place."

Kyouka smiled to herself after hearing that. Izuku usually answered that question with just the first part. The second sentence was new. It was her turn, following up with her own reasoning. "For me, I want to make people smile, spread hope that way. I want to inspire people, give them the strength and confidence in themselves they think they don't have."

Camie watched as they smiled at one another, trapped in their own little world. She wanted nothing more than to pierce that bubble, enter it with them. "I don't think I've ever heard people talk like that. Not so personally, at least."

"Well, what about you?" Izuku asked. "Why do you want to be a hero?"

Camie opened her mouth, her first thought was to just say 'I don't know'. But, she was portraying a hero student. She had to have a reason, right?

Fame? Money? Glory?

Or...

"My quirk is a little...strange. When it appeared when I was a kid, it altered my behavior. It gave me compulsions to use it, but I needed..." Camie froze, not sure what her next move should be. She wanted to lie so badly, but she just had to know what they would say. She needed to understand them, to know if they were like the rest. Camie reached into her boot, pulling out a little metal flask. "...My quirk needs blood to work. I...found a dead bird, to get some blood. My parents didn't like that, and tried to stop me from consuming any more blood. I felt...I felt like a monster. I want to be a hero so people like me have a world easier to live in. I don't want people to feel like freaks, just for how they were born."

Camie looked back up, finding the couple completely engrossed in her story. They weren't saying anything, just processing. Maybe this was a mistake...

"That's amazing," Izuku finally said, a bright smile on his face.

Or, maybe not.

"I-I, um...Listen, I'm not going to go into it, but I understand how you feel. I was a late bloomer, to say the least." Izuku looked down at his lap, shrugging his shoulders. "People didn't...L-Let's just say it was rough, all for something about myself that I couldn't control. Nobody should be treated badly for the way they're born. I think you'll make a great hero."

"Ditto," Kyouka nodded, leaning forward in her seat. "As a heteromorph, I've been very lucky. I haven't had many bad experiences about my quirk. But, the operative word there is 'many'. The bad times I did have sure as hell stuck with me. I can only imagine what it must be like for the ones less fortunate than me. Trust me when I say you can't let it get into your head. It won't leave. It's great that you want to fight back against the ignorance in the world."

Camie breathed a sigh of relief, her worries eradicated.

...They were perfect.

"Thank you," Camie grinned, reaching forward to place her hands on each of theirs. "That helps me more than you could ever know."

The couple looked at each other, waiting for Camie to remove each hand from their own hands. As the seconds passed, it was beginning to become apparent she had no intention of doing so. Kyouka cleared her throat, patting Camie's hand as she slipped her own out from underneath, with her jack wrapping around Izuku's wrist to slide his hand out. "It's no problem."

"Sorry. Was that weird?"

"If you could see our friend group, you'd know that weird is good."

Once recovered from the socially awkward paralysis, Izuku asked, "If I may, what is your quirk?"

"Hmhmhm. Sorry, handsome. Don't wanna give you an edge against me." Camie rested her fists against her cheeks as she leaned forward, still grinning at them. "You know, I scoped the place out, found a little supply closet that's really out of the way from anyone. I thought, maybe after the test, the three of us could...you know. Get to know each other a little better."

Kyouka thought her eyes were about to pop out of her head. One look at Izuku was all she needed to see to know that the only thing going through his head was white noise.

"I'm...I'm sorry, we're both not exactly the most socially experienced, so forgive me if I'm wrong. But..." Kyouka leaned forward, making sure no one was nearby as she whispered, "...Are you-? Are you asking for a...the three of us to...?"

Camie leaned in too, smiling mere inches from Kyouka's face, "...Maaaybe~"

The couple sat there blankly, completely frozen as Camie continued to just smile at them. But, thankfully the couple was saved as more of 1A began to pile in, all cheering as they noticed everyone had passed the test.

And, much to Kyouka's disappointment, Katsuki also walked in the room. But, this was only the first half of the test. There was still time.

Camie hummed in disappointment, getting up from her chair, "Just think about it, 'kay? It'll be our little secret.~"

The blonde walked away, moving back towards some of the other Shiketsu students while taking a swig of her flask. Once she was out of earshot, Kyouka swiveled to her boyfriend, her eyes wide, "What the fuck was that?!"

"..." Kyouka watched as Izuku continued to stare into nothing, the only thing running through his head was white noise. She deadpanned, her jack jabbing into his side. "Wh-?! Ow! I-...I don't know. Sh-She seems...uh...nice."

"Yeah, too nice. Who the hell offers-? I-I mean, what the he-?"

"Hey, guys!" Ochako sat down next to them, pumping her fists, "You should've seen it! Momo created a giant smoke cloud from her skin, and I floated Tenya and the sidecar up into the air, and we shot down on them with the air cannons!"

The couple recovered from their initial shock, returning their focus back to their friends as they took their seats at the table. Momo sat down next to Ochkao, coughing a little, "One of you please remind me next time that I'm not immune to my own creations."

Tenya and Shoto sat down on the other side of the table. The latter was silent as he sat down, which wasn't out of the ordinary for him, but he seemed more distracted.

"Shoto?" Izuku tried to get his attention.

Shoto looked up, blinking a few times at the call of his name, "Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shoto shook his head, waving off the concern dismissively. He looked to his right, seeing Inasa at another table giving him a side glare every few seconds. "...I don't think he is though."

Everyone turned to look at Inasa. They all waited for some kind of reaction, but he stood his ground. Kyouka furrowed her brow, "...He knows we can see him, right?"

Apparently having enough, Shoto got up from the table, making his way over to Inasa. The Shiketsu student stood up, not breaking eye contact with Shoto.

Even while being towered over, Shoto was unshaken, "You got a problem with me or something?"

Inasa side-eyed Shoto, in what the others could only assume was disgust. He looked down on him, scoffing under his breath, "Of course you don't remember me. What else should I have expected?"

"I do remember you. You were at the testing for special recommendation students."

"No, you only remembered that once your teacher told you who I was. Otherwise? No."

Shoto stared back expressionless, shrugging his shoulders, "Was I supposed to?"

"Tch, guess not. You'd never care, even if you were. You and your old man are such a damn enigma. Just get your beady little eyes off me."

"Hey, brickhead," Kyouka interrupted them from her seat at the table. "How about you just tell us your problem with him so you can settle your differences now?"

Inasa raised his brow at Kyouka, unamused, "This your girlfriend or something?"

"Nah, I'm with the hot green one next to me," Kyouka pointed over her shoulder, with Izuku awkwardly waving from his seat.

"Mm. You've got that same dead glare, but yours seems less about hatred and more like you're judging me in a million different ways."

"Yep."

"Hm. I can respect that."

"Enough," Shoto cut back in, getting back to the issue at hand. "What's your deal with me?"

Inasa turned back to Shoto, leaning down and getting in his face, "...I hate you and your shitbag father."

Shoto did a double-take, this being the first time he had ever heard anything so personally negative about his father outside of his own family. "...What exactly do you know about my father?"

Inasa stood up straight, his scowl deepening, "My old man wanted to be a hero. He wanted it so damn badly, he studied, he trained everyday, all of it. His quirk was weaker than mine, but he had potential. Sounds great, right? Guess who was also in his testing ground for the practical at UA? My old man was struggling with the robots, and then your daddy dearest comes in and destroys every bot in his path. He looks my father in the eye and tells him to go home, that he wasn't strong enough for this life, and people like him would just get in the way. My dad didn't make it into UA. Guess who he took that out on?"

Shoto really didn't know what to say. Join the club? Nobody hated his father more than him. His brother was a very close second, but Natsuo at least managed to move on with certain aspects of his life. Admittedly, Shoto was still stuck in this limbo of contempt, and he had no intentions of leaving it.

To hear that his father caused a similar situation to his own home life to another family just made it so much worse. He had lived in his own bubble for so long that he never even considered the idea that his father could have had such influences outside of their home.

"I spent every day from the moment my quirk appeared training under his supervision. He barely even raised my sister, leaving her and my mom to themselves. He trained me to the damn bone, just so I wouldn't fail where he did. At the very least, at least his training worked. One day, I saw your father walking away from a big fight. I thought my old man just had to be wrong, heroes would never be like the way he described Endeavor. I ran up to him, and he shoved me out of the way. Just a damn kid. Then, after all that time, came the entrance exams. All I could see was hatred in both of your eyes. I had to see that same look everyday for fifteen years. You weren't determined to be heroes, to help people. You're just determined to satiate your own obsessions against the people you hate. You infected my father with the same poisonous outlook. But, I guess that just proved Endeavor was right. My father sure as hell ain't a hero, but neither is yours." Inasa turned around with a swish of his cape, walking away from the group, "Neither are you."

"...I'm not my father."

Insasa stopped, scoffing as he looked back at Shoto, "Yeah, I thought so too. I still had hope that you would be different. Tried to greet you, was polite as can be, and what do I get? The exact same treatment, shoved out of the way and treated like dirt."

"...I'm sorry." Inasa faltered as he tried to walk away again, looking over his shoulder at Shoto, waiting for him to continue. "My anger wasn't directed at you. My friends can attest to the fact that I was an asshole at the beginning of the year. But, I'm not my father, and I'm not responsible for his actions, or your own father's actions. I refuse to be held accountable for him being an asshole, and trust me when I say 'asshole' is an understatement. You can still hate me all you want, but you need to know that you're not seeing properly out of that glass house of yours."

"Wh-?! The hell's that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm saying I get it; more than you're ever gonna understand. You think you're going against your dad, or mine, or even me. Take a look in the mirror, and you're gonna see that same hate staring right back at you...That's all I've got. Good luck with the rest of the exam." Shoto turned around, with Inasa watching him walk back to his table and sit with his friends. The Shiketsu student took his leave, uncharacteristically silent.

"That was good of you to do," Tenya said as Shoto sat back down. "We know how difficult that topic is for you."

"His story just...I couldn't just say nothing. He doesn't need to know about my life, but I can't let my father ruin anyone else." Everyone was quiet, not out of awkwardness, but more of just understanding. Shoto hardly ever spoke as much as the just heard him speak. Hell, he barely emoted. So, it just spoke volumes how important it was to him to help Inasa.

They all knew Izuku would never give himself any credit, but they knew it was likely his previous influence from the Sports Festival that caused Shoto to do something like that.

Originally, it was just Izuku and Kyouka that knew about Shoto's past, but he had shared it with the rest of the group back during vacation. He said that he didn't want the others to feel like they didn't deserve to know and the other two did.

"There's not much more you could've done for him," Momo tried to reassure him. "It's up to him to make his own decision now."

Shoto hummed in agreement, shrugging his shoulders, "I needed a push. He probably did too. It's too easy to get trapped in your own head."

Nobody at the table responded to that statement, but they all understood that sentiment more than anybody.

...~AMP~...

(Bullet Train Private Compartment: On Route to Tokyo)

"We could probably get this resized, you know?"

Toshinori chuckled as Ryuko tried to smooth out his baggy costume. His one from the Kamino was still damaged, so he had to don his Silver Age outfit. He hadn't gotten it fixed because he had asked if it could be placed in the National HPSC Professional Heroes History Museum. He was still debating on sending it in. He was retired, sure. But, he did love that costume.

Maybe he'd give it to Young Izuku.

They were on a train to Tokyo, with Toshinori having two things to do while in the city. Both of which he was absolutely dreading.

The first being his meeting with All For One.

He had set it up himself, forgoing any sort of discussion with Gran Torino. He wasn't looking for a debate, not this time. He had to see him one more time before the bastard rotted away. After that, he would be counting the days until his quirks couldn't keep up with his deterioration. He'd come to the morgue and spit on All For One's corpse as one final goodbye.

After that, was the HPSC Charity Event.

...Toshinori honestly couldn't tell which task he was dreading more.

The entire UA school board was invited, but he went along early. Tartarus visitations were incredibly restrictive, especially for prisoners like All For One. So, this was the only time he was allowed. Technically he wasn't supposed to have visitation rights to begin with, but Tsukauchi had pulled some strings for him.

All For One was kept in the deepest, most high-security, ten-foot thick walled room they had. He was practically in a cell block all of his own. Which unfortunately meant that he had no chance of even catching a glimpse of Kaina.

He had just as many questions for her as he did All For One; probably more.

She was the other reason this charity even made him want to gouge his own eyes out. If she was truly an assassin of some kind, he had to walk around and shake hands to the bastards that put her in that situation. There were still plenty of board members still working from when Kaina was active, so the chances that they knew about it were high.

With Tsukauchi and Torino both working day and night on finding the League, he was left alone with Kaina's investigation. But, even before he retired, he didn't have the kind of jurisdiction or resources to handle this alone. Especially when it was against an entire branch of government.

He did, however, have one idea in mind for who could help him...

But, perhaps for another time. He had to focus.

"You sure you don't want me to come along?" Ryuko asked as she finally quit fussing over his outfit, settling back into her seat.

"Thank you, Ryuko, really. But, I'll be fine. He and I need to talk alone. Besides, it'll give you more time to get ready for the charity event tonight. Which, again, you really don't have to go to that either. I've been to dozens of these things, and they're boring as all hell."

"Then it's all the more reason not to leave you to face it alone," Ryuko patted his hand, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

Toshinori smiled, squeezing her hand back, "Thank you. Hopefully with you and the rest of the teachers, it won't be so bad. I just want something interesting to happen."

...~AMP~...

(Tokyo: Building Rooftop)

Kaina sat perched atop an apartment building, seated between the rooftop AC units to block the view of any onlookers from windows.

Her gun was out, her eye peering through her scope, aimed directly at the building the gala was taking place. Huge, oblong-shaped, dark gray, granite walls, bronze arches constructed to look like they were falling like dominos on either side of the building, rows of well-groom foliage lining the sidewalks leading to the entrance.

Parking lot was big, but it wouldn't do much good firing there. She needed this to be seen. What she needed was a look inside, get a good look at the name cards at the tables, and find out where everyone was seated. Then, she could settle on a proper angle.

The event was still hours from now, so security wasn't as tight. She just needed a way inside for a quick look.

Kaina looked up, scanning across the building until she saw something that made her smirk. The roof was mostly smooth, outside of a big, glass dome near the end of the building. How could she have forgotten?

She retracted her rifle, jumping up onto the AC unit. She extended her arm out and aimed her grappling hook at the corner of the rooftop she was on. She ran across the gravel rooftop, jumping off of the building and firing.

The hook attached to the building as she leaped off in the opposite direction, falling down and using the momentum to swing back towards the Gala Hall. She tapped a button on her gauntlet, collapsing the hook on the upswing. She flew across the streets below, firing off the hooks on both sides of her belt.

They rocketed into the side of the Gala Hall, retracting and pulling Kaina right to the edge of the roof.

She rolled, dusting herself off as she stood up. The roof was smooth, rounded, so she didn't have to worry about any roof access cameras. She strode across the roof, crossing the long distance to the glass dome. She crouched down, peeking through the glass.

Directly below her was the main ballroom. Maroon and gold walls, black ceramic floors, and crimson She could see a large group of workers setting up tables, decorations, unstacking chairs, etc.

The tables near the stage were already set up, name tags placed down in front of chairs. His seat had to be there. She was too open like this. If his seat wasn't ready, she would have to come back and check again. Kaina pulled out her rifle, skirting along the rim of the dome.

She looked through her scope, zooming in to read the gold italics across the different tags. The center table were some board members, a few names she remembered. She kept that in mind for setting up her perch later. Kaina moved onto the next table, reading through the names.

Nezu. Eraserhead. Ms. Midnight. Ectoplasm. Pixie-Bob. All Might...

"There you are, Toshi..."

Kaina stood back up, retracting her rifle. She moved away from the dome, looking around at the surrounding buildings, finding the right spot for the perfect angle. She smiled, pulling out her phone and texting Kurogiri.

She had everything she needed...

...~AMP~...