There was just too much to learn. To many quirks to master. Too little time before that great fight between All Might and your father happened!

     If you wanted to join the number one hero in battle to help take down your monster of a dad, then you needed to be prepared by then.

     This was why you ended up making two rough calls.

1: You agreed to work closer under Kai Chisaki in an attempt to gleam from him whatever wisdom and skill he had.

2: Though you never read that spin off series, you heard, that at some point.. there was an underground masked fighting ring which allowed the usage of quirks however you wanted.

     The rest was up to a little research.

----------

     "Uuuum. You confident you're old enough to attend one of these?" The guy with a shark head sitting at the front desk asked while looking up from the single sheet of an application form you just sent in. You glared through the mask up at the guy, who chuckled and waved his hands stiffly in front of him. "Alright, listen. If you're confident your quirk and will are strong enough, be my guest. But there's no one to sue here if you wind up dead or injured!" You nodded, silently stepping forward and holding out your wrist. The man groaned but pulled out the stamp anyway. He stamped your wrist with invisible ink and turned you away. "Now don't tell anyone it was me who let you through, little miss!" There were a couple other guys checking people in, so guess he was hoping you would blame one of them instead.

     You had no plans to fight the first couple weeks anyways. You merely came to observe. You needed to see how people really fought. How they reacted to hits and misses, how they shifted their weight before an attack, and most importantly.. how they used their quirks.

     You reframed from stealing anyone's quirks just yet. Unlike last time, you decided your game plan was going to be a simple one.

     First, you would practice with what few quirks you had: Decay and Blueflame. You still had Cat, but that one would be useless in combat. From there, you would pick out quirks that worked best with the ones you already had. That way, they would compliment one another instead of get in each other's way. You used this time at the fighting ring, or the "Underground Masquerade" as an excellent time to plan and prepare such powers. While nothing all too interesting happened, watching the fights gave you a few ideas.

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     "So, what do you want to start being called around here?" You strolled casually beside Kai in the back alleys of the city. You both had your hands tucked into your pockets. The man had been talking a lot about a competing Yakuza lately. It was getting to the point where almost everyone under him was certain there would be a clash soon. You opted out of such violence. Though, thinking about it now.. those ring fights often got pretty brutal. So, maybe a gang fight wouldn't be so different. Whatever the case, Kai respected your request. You were, after all, only a child. "You alright?" The second in command's chin dipped, gold eyes landing on you.

     You flinched and glanced back up at the man swiftly. "Yeah, sorry. Deep in thought. What was your question?"

     "Your code name. Have any ideas?"

     "I...never really thought about it before..."

     "Of course..." Silence followed. You turned a corner together and continued again in the dark. The smell back here was atrocious!

     "Do you have any tips for coming up with a good name? Something meaningful?"

     "Yes, actually. I do..." The man suddenly stopped, his shoe scraping as his masked face aimed upward to the dark sky above. "I think a good name is one that encapsulates both your most positive and most negative traits all in one. That way, the name represents you wholely. Not just one small part of you."

     "Huh?"

     "Take mine for example. Overhaul. It's the name of my quirk; my curse; a part of everything I hate about our modern society and its hero worshiping world... But, at the same time, it is this very thing that gives me the power to change all that." He reached a gloved hand up for the dark sky, then clenched all five fingers into a fist. "To overhaul everything I hate into something worthy of praise. That is what I mean when I say your name should be about both the good and the bad."

     "Oh..." The subtle twinkle of determination in that man's eyes was encapsulating. Something about him wanting to change the world for what he believed to be a better future was, put simply, a nice change of pace from all the demonizing you placed upon him in secrecy.

     You both continued walking again, this time as you thought. After a while, you mumbled, "...Death Angel."

     "Hm?" Kai stopped and turned back to you.

     "My new name!" You smiled slightly. "Because I hate death, but loved it when my mommy and daddy used to call me an Angel!" It was a little more complex than that, but this was the only explanation for someone your age to really need to give.

     "Huh... It suits you." His eyes stared down at you, studious eyes catching you by surprise. You didn't even know why until suddenly you realized.

     This was the first time he ever saw you smile.

     Your smile grew just a tad more. "And, it sounds cool too!"

----------

     It was almost your turn to fight. Once this battle was done, you were next! You trained with a few different Yakuza members on classic fighting styles and learned a thing or two from nice thugs willing to give you a few boxing tips at the ring. One of whom was fighting currently. His quirk was pretty cool! Spinning saw blades could stick out of him at any point, making him a formidable opponent. You were cheering for the guy on the sidelines. He was tall and burley, long black hair tied up into a ponytail.

     He had the other guy cornered, slamming him with punch after punch. It looked like this was going to be an easy victory! ...Until the other guy getting pummeled really panicked. You would never forget that look in his eyes. He really thought he was going to die...

     The opponent opened his mouth, his tongue morphing into the shape of a gun.

BANG!

     Blood splattered out the nice mentor guy's head. Everyone held their breaths. You thought your heart stopped there for a moment.

     ...His body thudded against the ground, head spilling bodily fluids all over. Everyone cringed, but...

     Most hauntingly of all was how quickly they recovered from it. Less than five seconds of silence were given to the dead guy. A hauntingly hollow praise was given to the victor, who too was wide eyed and unable to process much of what was going on. Your eyes never left the dead man as he was unanimously hauled off, his blood cleaned away.

     Everything continued on as before.. as though none of that had just happened!

     "You're up, pipsqueak!" The man behind you laughed, nudging you forward. A simple white plastic mask from the crafts store covered the top half of your face, a white, thin coat with puffy fur around the hoodie and your hair temporarily dyed a dirty blond were your defining features here, you decided. Those and some light gray pants.

     Now, however, you realized how stupid this color pallet was.

Three, two, one, FIGHT!

     It was all a blur from there. Your opponent was much smaller to better match you, but he was STILL terrifying! And your mind just...wasn't in the fight either. It couldn't be.

     It was here that you realized something crucial. A battle is just as much in the mind as it is on the outside. You lost the second you stepped into the ring with the wrong attitude.

     That, and your eyes were constantly being distracted by the stains of blood.

----------

     You later arrived with your brand new coat dirtied in filthy blood, much of it your own. And though you had since healed, it was still an embarrassment.. having all this crimson caking your skin.

     "Ugh... What happened??" Kai took special interest in your arrival, specifically the disgusted kind. You could muster nothing but a tired glare.

     "Fighting..."

     "Did you win?" The masked man asked while raising a brow. Your shoulders and chin drooped.

     "...No..."

     "Then what was the point in fighting at all?" The golden eyes man strode your way while removing the glove from his hand. You flinched. "Easy.. I'm just removing the blood." Hesitantly, you allowed him to inch closer. He placed his hand on your coat and you watched amused as the dried blood dropped to the ground in little flakes. He held out his hand and you handed him the bloodied mask, which he too cleaned up for you. "The trick is to never enter a fight you don't intend to win... Hhh, blood can be such a messy thing, can't it?" After the blood dropped from your mask, Kai handed it back to you. "In my eyes, a good fight is one you can win without being dirtied by a single drop of blood..." He slid back on his glove. You glanced up and down between the man's face and your now clean mask.

     "Thank you, sir."

     "Promise you won't come back messy like that again and I'll call it even."

     You nodded, smiling so faintly one could hardly notice. "I will."

     Now this was tragically ironic. If not for the monster he was... Overhaul would make a surprisingly good mentor..

----------

     A lot of the same stuff happened over and over again. Your life fell into a bit of a pattern between doing backstage work for the Yakuza and fighting in that Underground Masquerade.

     You crafted two different personas in the ring, which you used to practice with two different quirks. One being Decay and the other Blueflame.

     Decay got you into a lot of trouble more than anything. Thank the lord god almighty you had your regeneration quirks! Because Decay was pretty useless unless you could actually touch your opponent! It was hard to control, also. Without proper build up, the most damage it did was tear away some skin at best! Maybe dig a little deeper into their bone if you were lucky! A lot of intense emotions were required to use such a quirk to its fullest extent, emotions which were all pretty hard to access while running away from a chainsaw maniac! Your mind drew a blank every time you entered the ring. Upon entry, everything was a blur, your survival left to instinct! Instincts which preferred running away than fighting.

     Using Blueflame was much the same. Couldn't even get it to turn BLUE half the time! At least you had a little more luck with this one, since fire was a natural predator to anything living. That, and long range attacks were a thing with this quirk. Your biggest problems came about when your opponent either wore fire protection or had a fire quirk of their own. You were pretty much screwed after that!

     A month of fighting in the rings as these personas left you with only two victories, both of which going to Blueflame. But you were able to learn some valuable intel at least.

     It would be just as essential to learn to control the soul and mind as much, if not even moreso than the body. So, you started meditating, living a stricter routine, taking better care of your daily thoughts, and so forth. It took a little while, but you began to see some nice improvement after only a couple weeks.

     Kai began to mentor you personally on occasion. Mostly, this had to do with gun practice and workshopping the finer details of your base quirk -- AFO's -- functionality. He definitely took the functionality of quirks to their extreme, viewing them as tools while in use. Unfortunately, this mindset made it a little harder to follow with specifically the two quirks you were working on. The two required that they be seen as more than tools in order to function properly. Rather, they demanded being seen as an extension of your very soul. This was your very desires, hatred, and passion made a tangible force. One could simply not view that as a tool. But, more often than not, Kai had some actually handy tips.

     And it was nice to see you were steadily gaining his trust. Made it a lot easier to trust him in return.

----------

     "(Y/n)!!" The leader of the Shie Hassaikai panted as he found and stopped near you. It was an exceptionally chilly day. Not only did you wear the wraps and frilly white coat that became the normal for you, but also thicker pants and another coat underneath as well. You spun quickly, since the old man was a rare sight around here. The silver haired old man stared ahead with a smile, his hands presently bracing atop his knees. "...You were right..." Large breaths visible as mist in the air. "Her name...is Eri. And..she has the faintest bump on her forehead too! ... Just like you said." Your eyes widend a little.

     So Eri was born...already?

     You sat on the old man's couch with a steaming cup of tea in hand, coats now hanging by the door. It was far warmer here than in the maids' joint sleeping quarters, which was really just one big room full of rows of futons as night came around. In here, the heart of the palace, it actually felt more like a house.

     The Boss and Kai Chisaki stood around in the same living space, mumbling back and forth. You probably could have tuned in to their conversation if you cared enough. Right now, you were appreciating how much this simple cup of tea brought your small hands so much warmth. You gently blew the steam off the top of the liquid. Suddenly, both men turned to you with rather stern expressions.

     "(Y/n)." Your head jumped by the suddenness, quick to respond.

     "Y-yes sir?"

     "You will be moving in with us. I just so happen to have a spare room here, which is currently being used for storage. It won't take long to clean the space out."

     You set the tea cup on the short table, stood stiffly, and bowed lowly. "That is very kind of you, sir! But I am afraid I must decline!"

     "How come?" Baws.

     Still bowing, your eyes shot open wide. "I... don't know, exactly. It just isn't my place to intrude."

     "Nonsense!" The old man laughed. "Those prophecies of yours are coming true, which only proves you have had nothing but pure intentions for my family all along. The fact that you care so much for a family you don't even know makes me respect you all the more... You are truly honorable, (Y/n)." You stood taller as he finished and smiled faintly across the room at this kind old man.

     "I thank you, sir!"

     The old man chuckled and dismissively waved you off. "Oh please.. Just call me 'Pops' from now on."

     :O

     The super rare title only Kai was known to call him?! This truly was an honor!

     You bowed swiftly this time. "Thank you, Pops!"

     Concerning... Those warm fuzzies bubbled up inside you again. A warm feeling you had started to fear, and would likely continue to do so. Sad as it was...this was now the closest thing you had to a family.

----------

     It was safe to say violence was no longer such a stranger to you anymore.

Pap-pap-pow!

     "HELL STRI-KER! HELL STRI-KER! HELL STRI-KER!"

     They cheered your name now, specifically the persona that used Decay. It had taken you a while, but after months of practice, you could successfully channel that pent-up rage into each and every attack! Now came the challenge of holding back! You resorted to disintegrating their weapons, then clothes -- not underwear or mask -- in an attempt to humiliate them into giving up. Unfortunately, you didn't have brute strength on your side, so you always had to think creatively when it came to defeating physically stronger opponents. Luckily, you were shooting up in height as well. Now that you were eating more, your body shot up by several inches in only a few months. The growing pains were intense! But it made watching your peers' reactions all the funnier.

     As time progressed and you improved, you in-turn secured more and more victories. Now, you were at the point where you were starting to win more than you lost. The Blueflame persona -- Hell Fire -- was overall more popular than Decay's -- Hell Striker -- but that didn't really matter to you now did it?

     And of course rising in the ranks meant you were pitted against tougher opponents, which could be worth much larger cash prizes. Heck! One day you might even end up in the tournament!

     Heh, it would be really funny if your two personas here were pitted against each other by accident. Have to just say one of them gave up I guess.

     It was strange, but, you had formed somewhat of a community here. There were faces you recognized, people you spoke to almost daily, and even a few you would consider friends. Yes, this place was not a safe haven by any means! But once you get past the initial shock and understand that sometimes death is just part of the game, it gets a lot easier to swallow all the brutality going on.

     Now that you at last felt as though you had mastered these two quirks, you finally sensed it was time to move on to another one. Yes, it was time to obtain a new quirk.

     This time, you actually put a lot of thought into it.

     Decay was your go-to close-range attacks, and Blueflame was a great mid-range ability...but so far you had nothing for long range attacks. Nothing for speed, maneuverability, and striking power!

     It didn't take you long to long to pick out a quirk perfect for all the needs you had.

----------

     Dang, this kid was hard to find. Didn't help that he lived in what could be reasonably compared to a high security prison.

     The HPSC was particularly secretive about their precious little darlings, one of which was already locked away in Tartarus. Wow, you wondered why -- sarcasm.

     From some intensive research, you pinpointed their three main bases of operation and began crunching the numbers. Again, it helped that you kept in touch with a group of doxers who lived to spite the government. So there were already entire pre-existing spreadsheets tracking who worked what shifts, how many per shift, when they switched out, and so on. Even then, the whereabouts of the now teenager was so well hidden that the only way you could really track him was by studying abnormalities such as sudden influxes or decreases in guards, special guests for training, and the like. After an entire MONTH of intense research in your local library, you had a schedule and everything mapped out.

     Now it was just time for a gameplan.

     I mean, you didn't have the heart to just STEAL his quirk forever! Maybe...there was a way you could share it?

-------------

     Kidnapping the prince of heroes was fairly simple, actually... All it took was a little thinking outside the box.

     Thanks to your connection to the Yakuza, you were able to find and purchase a special device. Handy little things. "Sleep Bombs" which would release a sleeping gas at the press of a button. Thanks to a few adjustments you requested, this gas could be released slowly as to not make a huge scene.

    The grass was dewy this one particular morning. 6AM. You had very little time to have everything set up. The sun's golden light was creeping over the tree covered hills which this large building nestled against. It was tall, stunning, and modern, though there were no bold signs advertising the purpose of said structure. You knew what it was. The HPSC training center. Their little prince would be heading out of there in just a couple hours for his weekend outing, which was essentially the only time for him to get some fresh air. Dang, the more you thought about it, the more you could relate to this kid. You remembered when no more than a year ago you were cooped up in the home all the time for fear of being stolen or discovered.

     You took off jogging down the hill with a large cloth bag slung over your shoulder. So, you felt a little bad now for making things worse -- future tense.

     Before today, you searched blueprints for the type of car this company always used, and memorized where everything essential for your mission was. Entering the driveway, you crouched low so that no one could spot you as you crawled up to the row of vehicles. You had no idea which car was going to be used for this outing, so you had to sneak a Sleep Bomb into the front vents of each. These things were small, thankfully. Easy to slip between the grill of a car. It was kind of difficult, but you tried your best to squeeze those things as close to the air filter entry vent as possible.

     The next forty minutes consisted of the same repetitive act done again and again, driven by anxiety the whole time. Until finally all the cars in the parking lot had a small Sleep Bomb successfully implanted. And you still had a few remaining!

     You scurried back out of there and hid among the trees in waiting.

     At 8AM sharp, another teen was escorted out of the building. Your prying eyes watched the dot of a character. Couldn't make out any more than some gold and red between the bodyguards. Score! That was about right. So glad nothing you did on the past had affected this little guy at least.

     After he entered one of the vehicles you'd rigged, you began your slow sneaking around to where you had first arrived from: a bus stop that should follow behind the same road the teen and his henchmen were headed down. If everything went accordingly to plan, this would all go swiftly.

----------

     Excitement hammered away at his heart as the blond was escorted into the car. After a quick checkup at main headquarters, he would be allowed to disguise himself and enter the general public. His whole day was planned out already. First to go shopping, then a trip to the fair, and finally to the movie theater! It was rare for all the events he wanted to attend to be open in the same day, so he was excited with the prospect of being able to do them all today!

     Too bad he was.. really... sleepy.

     Even his driver was yawning about halfway to the main building. The kid bounced his legs to keep himself awake. He couldn't be tired now! That just wasn't fair. Not after he took extra care to make sure he had a good night's sleep now. He wasn't going to let a little drowsiness ruin his one day of fun. Though he had something like this every weekend, this was by far the most fun he planned to have in years!

     "Kid, we might have to turn back around.." The driver yawned. "I...haven't been this tired in ages."

     "Awh, but we're already halfway there.." The teen pouted. He stared out the window, recognizing every major landmark they passed. He could agree, though. His eyes were getting heavier by the second. The driver agreed to press forward, as there was no point in turning back now. But, by this point a sense of uneasiness had gripped the whole car. ...There was something strange in the air... "W.... wake me up when we get there..." The winged child laid down on his side over the other car seats and closed his eyes. Maybe..if he slept now, he wouldn't be so tired later. The driver wished he could do the same.

     As the minutes progressed, things only getting worse. The driver was starting to get a headache at this point. "Alright, this is a bit much.." He muttered, then eyed and pressed the car emergency button. He was actively drifting off to sleep, so before he did that he made sure to pull off onto the side of the highway, which landed the car against the bright green field. He pulled out his phone and turned it on. Such was a struggle. His arms were shaking like crazy! "Something's wrong..." He finally admitted as he hurried to his contact list. But, such an act was just so tiring.. He didn't even have the energy to press call. He couldn't fight it off any longer... The man passed out immediately after, just in time for a young, white haired hitch-hiker to stumble upon their path.

     Your plan was now half complete.