~AMP~...

(Next Day: HPSC Tokyo Headquarters: Committee Boardroom)

"The captured Nomu have no noticeable difference to the others from both the USJ and Hosu," One member explained as he walked around the massive U-shaped desk that housed the other members. "The warehouse was completely destroyed, so our investigations into their creation are coming up short."

"That's not where they were being made," Another older member gruffly cut in, not even turned forward with the rest of his fellow members. He was slouched in his seat, swiveled around to the television on the far wall, All Might's official retirement taking place before them. "That place wasn't fit for experiments like that, not to mention accessible. It was probably just a storage unit for the complete ones."

"He's right," a woman nodded along, looking back to the standing employee. "Did the Bar Hideout give us any leads?"

"Not in the slightest," The man sighed as he finally took his seat at the end, "The bar and the building next door were completely empty. All except for a colorful 'Fuck You' carved into the wall."

The older man turned away from the television, a dry chuckle escaping his lips, "At least they're interesting."

A slim, younger man flipped through his notes as he addressed the board, "While the underlings got away, we got the ringleader. I'd call this a draw."

"A draw?" The older, gruff man scowled at him, sharply pointing back at the television, "Billions in damages, over five-hundred casualties, and even more injured. Not to mention we're quite literally losing the Symbol of Peace as we speak. And, you call that a draw? All Might was the foundation of this entire business. A hundred Pros could barely make up for half of him, and I'd like to see a raise of hands as to how many of us believe Endeavor is going to fill those shoes. Anyone at all?"

When nobody raised their hands, a portly gentleman mindlessly swirled the coffee in his mug, "It's what we get for relying on one man for all these years."

"And, let's not forget, Shigaraki isn't an underling. From what we're led to believe, he's the real showrunner. Initially, we believed him to be nothing. Just another run-of-the-mill villain who was way in over their heads. Now? Every plan becomes more intricate, and mysterious. We still don't even know why he took that kid. He left him behind with barely a scratch on him. Our thermal readings showed he left the bar hours before the raid, and never returned. We've also got reports of a break-in at a middle school, with locks, doors, and cabinets being decayed into dust, along with all security footage wiped clean. Public interest in him and his gang are at an all-time high, meaning he has more of a voice than ever, and he doesn't even have to say a God-damn word. We're not playing the same game, and our trump card just retired. His threat level is increasing at an alarming rate, and he needs to be taken care of."

"Well done, Aiwa…" All eyes turned to the front of the room as Madam President walked through the door, secretary at her side. "You've summarized what we all know. Would you like to add anything new?"

"Ahem…No, ma'am."

Yokumiru walked around the committee, stopping at the glass wall overlooking Tokyo. "We have everyone we can spare hunting him down. Hawks will remain on standby until we have something solid for him to work with. He's Number Two now, so appearances must be kept. But, there isn't much we can do for the time-being. The League will go into hiding, and we can't snap our fingers and find them. We need to wait for an opportunity to strike."

"And if opportunity strikes us first?"

"Then we'll handle it, per usual. Anything of note for day-to-day?"

Madam President's secretary hummed as she scanned her clipboard, only finding one highlighted bullet point, "Our Ambassador and Head of Foreign Operations in the US took an emergency Family-Care Leave, but his position has already been assigned a temporary replacement in his absence."

"Mm. Who was that again?"

"Hisashi Midoriya, ma'am."

~AMP~...

(Kyouka's Room)

"Your dad?" Kyouka asked incredulously as she stepped out of her closet, leaning against the doorframe. She crossed her arms, kind of at a loss for words. "I mean…Holy shit. Sorry, but this is like a myth coming to life for me."

Izuku chuckled dryly, leaning back on his hands as he sat on Kyouka's bed. A sight that Kyouka was all too happy to see with his All Might-Brand compression shirt. "That makes two of us."

"Right. Sorry," Kyouka sighed as she moved back into her closet, taking off her shorts and grabbing her black joggers. Izuku had come by to pick her up for their training with All Might and Aizawa.

…And, apparently, Inko and her parents.

Yeah, as it turns out, all three adults were just too morbidly curious to miss out on this. Inko, understandably, wanted to see her son's powers in person for the first time. She had watched the Sports Festival, but on TV. Not to mention Izuku was far more powerful than he was back then. Your quirkless son suddenly having this immense power was something she just had to see for herself.

The Jirous wanted to come along for more or less the same reason, except they definitely had far less time to grasp the fact that their daughter had signed her name on the lease of the same power wielded by All Might.

"Sorry I didn't tell you last night. I was just…processing. We had all been through enough, I figured I should give you some time before throwing more at you."

"At me? Izuku, the only person that we should be worried about is you. We both know you're not exactly prepared for this."

"Tell me about it…"

"Why is he suddenly coming home now?"

"What do you think? Camp and Kamino. Mom said he was already planning to come home after Stain, but she told him everything was fine. For my sake, I think. But, apparently after hearing I was in critical condition, he booked the first plane he could. But, Kamino was considered a possible nationwide threat, so all flights in and out of Japan were delayed until things were clear. He should be in tonight."

"You want me to be there?"

"Yes, please."

Kyouka nodded as she turned back into the closet, rummaging through one of her drawers, "What was it he did again? Foreign Operations?"

Izuku had gotten up, and was now leaning against the closet door frame, "HPSC Ambassador and Director of Foreign Operations. He mainly deals with America and Japan's problems, but he's traveled all over. He moves Japanese Pros to America, vice versa, oversees investigations in foreign affairs, builds new agencies, assigns Pros…"

"Holy-! No wonder he's so busy. I mean, what the Hell? I guess that explains why you and Inko have never seemed too bothered by money."

"Says the woman with a room filled with almost one-hundred-million yen's worth of music equipment."

"Hey, never said I wasn't privileged." Kyouka pulled a blue sports bra out from her drawer, nodding back towards her room, "Uh-uh, back in the room."

Izuku smiled sheepishly, a shrug of his shoulders, "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Kyouka merely continued to side-eye him until Izuku raised his hands up defensively and retreated back to sit on her bed. "I'd say play your cards right, but I have a strong feeling you won't particularly be in the mood today."

"You're…" Izuku sighed, running a hand down his face, "...absolutely right. What am I even supposed to say? Last time he saw me, I was twelve, and he had to leave early because of a work emergency. Before that, I was ten. Before that, I was seven. He wasn't a person. He was an event; a special occasion. Why should I even tell him about any of this? Or One For All?"

"To start building that bridge again," Kyouka's voice came from inside her closet.

"It's not that simple, and you know it."

"I know, but you've gotta start somewhere."

"I…I guess. But, I…I don't even know if I have any space left for him."

Kyouka stepped out of her closet, donned in black joggers, sneakers, and a checkered tank-top. "Are you finally going to say it out loud?"

Izuku quirked his brow, "Say what?"

"What All Might is to you."

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek, unsure of why it was so difficult to say. Part of it was probably because he simply couldn't believe it. Most days he still couldn't fathom that he knew Toshinori at all, much less was so close to him. Giving that relationship the new definition of "Mentor & Student" was already strange enough. But, to go further beyond that?

Deep down, he was still just a fanboy. Sometimes he still would catch himself awestruck at his mentor, not that he shouldn't be. It just felt like he should have outgrown that.

Thinking about it, admitting it was probably the step he still needed to take to actually do so.

"I…I guess I owe All Might more than anybody. He saved my life."

"Well, I mean yeah. He's saved all of our lives multiple tim-"

Izuku shook his head, "No, no that's not what I mean. I-I mean...He gave me One For All. If he didn't...If he didn't come find me after the Sludge Monster attack...I don't know where I would be right now, but all I know is it wouldn't be good. I mean, he was the inspiration that kept me going as a kid, he gave me a quirk, a shot at my dream, which led me to you, the greatest thing in my life. He's been there for me! And I know I have you, and you're the first person I turn to, but as a…"

Kyouka knew what he was going to say, but wanted Izuku to say it out loud for himself, "As a what?"

"As...a father figure, he's the one who's been there for me. Even if only for a year and a half, he's the one I had. As someone who has allowed and wanted me to confide in him, supported me in every way he knows how, wanted nothing but the best for me. Even if he wasn't perfect at it all, All Might was there. Still is. And Kyoutoku and Mika have been there for me, too. They even accept me like family. Told me I was family. And now...Now I'm expected to just let this man I barely know waltz back into my life? Accept him as my dad?"

Kyouka sat down next to him, taking his hand in her, "It's okay to feel this way. It'd honestly be kind of weird if you didn't. When your dad was in town, was he a bad father?"

"No! No, not at all! But, I guess there was always just something missing. We just never had the time to actually find a connection. So, as time went on, things just dwindled. And, yes, I'm fully aware I'm partially to blame. Everything I did to my mom, I did to him too. I shut everybody out, but he stopped communicating too. He stopped video calling a long time ago. You should've seen his letters, they were practically copy/paste."

Kyouka sighed, resting her head against Izuku's and rubbing his back, "There had to be something that brought you two together. Like I said, we just need a jumping off point."

"...I guess," Izuku spoke softly, his mind flashing back to dust off lost and forgotten memories. "He was the reason I got into heroes."

"Wait, really?"

"I mean, let's be honest, I would've been interested irregardless. But, he was the one who showed me the All Might video. It's one of my first memories, I think. He was talking about his job, how he helped heroes. Helping people, saving the world, it was all in a day's work for him. Then he told me his favorite hero was All Might. His dream was to work with All Might on an investigation someday. He pulled up that video, and the rest is history."

"That's…actually really sweet."

"Well, that was when I was four, and it's the only legitimate memory I can think of off the top of my head."

"Yeah, that's still a problem. Although, if it makes you feel any better, he's probably just as aware of this as you are. So, hopefully he's self-aware enough to not just expect things to be normal." Kyouka's phone chimed, already knowing what the alarm was for. "We've gotta go now if we're going to be on time. I don't think Aizawa's going to be any more lenient here than in actual class."

Izuku nodded, rolling his shoulders back as he stood up, "Yeah…"

"Hey," Kyouka turned him by the cheek to look down at her, cupping both sides of his face. "Just another hurdle, okay? Out of like, a million, but still. It'll take time. Talk to your mom about it. It's gotta be complicated for her, too."

"You're right. But, maybe Mr. Aizawa is merciful and will just kill me in training before any of this happens."

~AMP~...

(Half-An-Hour Later: UA - Ground Beta: Top of Skyscraper)

"Dorms?" Kyoutoku peered over the faux cityscape of Ground Beta, seeing the distant buildings being constructed on the opposite side of campus. "That might be a hard sell."

Aizawa groaned as he rolled another tarp-covered cart over to the other side of the wide rooftop, "I know. We have to start going around to different families tomorrow to get signatures. Trust in UA isn't exactly great right now, so that's gonna be fun. Speaking of which…"

"She's going," Mika confirmed, taking a sip from her husband's coffee thermos, huddling close to him in the cold morning air. Despite it being the middle of summer, the strong winds from the height they were at said otherwise. "Even if we didn't want Kyouka going back, it's not like we have much choice at this point."

"Nope!" Kyouka exclaimed proudly as she stretched.

"Same for Izuku," Inko nodded, standing next to the other parents. "Even after all this, I don't think I would've had the heart to take him out. Living away from home though? So young…"

"It's technically optional," Aizawa informed them, walking back to the group. "Students can live at home whenever they want, but Nezu figured staying on campus would be the safest option for the students. Especially for the Hero Course. Unfortunately, that sentiment most importantly applies to those two. Not to mention training them will be far more convenient this way."

"House to ourselves? No lovey-dovey teenagers twenty-four/seven?" Kyoutoku smiled to himself while fantasizing about the peace and quiet.

"Keep talking and I won't move out," Kyouka deadpanned at him. "Talk even more and I'll move Izuku in."

Izuku froze mid-stretch, "That's the same thing as just killing me."

The roof access door suddenly opened up, with Toshinori walking through, a duffel bag hanging from his grip. His tie was undone and suit jacket hanging from his shoulders to avoid his casted-up arm. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. Had to make sure I lost the press."

Izuku smiled at the sight of his mentor approaching, "How's it feel to be officially retired?"

"Half-Retired. I'm still a teacher, no matter what the media keeps saying. Drop a couple pounds and suddenly your abilities come into question," Toshinori chuckled.

Kyouka groaned, looking over to Aizawa, "I'm starting to think you had the right idea of being an underground hero."

"Already signed the contract," Izuku quickly countered. "AMP is aiming for Number One. Can't back out."

"Okay," Shouta cut them off. "As much as we would all love to hear the romantic banter, we're on a schedule. I also just don't want to."

"He's right," Toshinori nodded, standing in front of his students. "Alright, first step: Making sure Young Kyouka can properly regulate One For All throughout her body without blowing her limbs off or just flat-out exploding. I'm assuming you've tried using One For All already?"

"Eh, sort of."

"Hm? When you first tried to use One For All, what was it like?"

"Nothing, really. Izuku was using everything he had against Muscular. There wasn't much for me to pull from. But, we did run through the forest afterwards, but I was barely using One For All. We did fight the nomu that was taking Ragdoll."

"Ah, perfect. What was that like?"

"...I blew its arm off."

If not for the wind, the rooftop would have been shrouded in a deafening silence. Both teachers glanced at one another, with Toshinori turning back to Kyouka, "...Pardon?"

"I was trying to vibrate its arm so it would let her go, but my jack just stabbed through it, and my vibrations were a lot stronger than I'm used to. So, the arm just kind of…exploded."

"...Yeah, okay. We're definitely going to have to teach you proper control before school starts."

"There's actually another thing," Izuku said, motioning towards Kyouka's jacks. "One For All is boosting her quirk passively. Her hearing is off the charts now. It's actually been hurting her."

"It was," Kyouka confirmed, her jacks clinking together. "I've mostly managed to readjust my 'default settings', as I like to call it. But, I haven't touched it since we were back at Aldera. I don't want to risk throwing myself out of whack again, especially with all that construction going on."

Aizawa furrowed his brow, looking back over the cityscape and towards the construction. UA's grounds were pretty damn big. The main school building was already fairly small in the distance from their view, but the unfinished dorms were even further away. "How much can you hear now, exactly?"

"Like I said, I don't want to ruin the peace and quiet I've finally managed to get. But, it's…it's pretty intense," Kyouka sighed, almost in awe as she pondered over the insane boost her quirk had undergone. "I mean, back at the hospital I could hear every rain drop outside. Cars going by, the radios in the cars, hundreds of heart monitors, the nurses gossiping in the lobby, the front automatic doors sliding open and closed. It was awful. Back at camp, it was almost like I could hear every leaf brush against each other, the crackle of the fire like a whip in my ear."

"Hold on. The front doors at the hospital? But, weren't you…?"

"On the tenth floor? Yeah. Yeah, I was."

Toshinori could just barely hear Kyoutoku mumble a 'Holy shit' under his breath, and he couldn't help but agree. He had only ever seen Nana (and technically him now) with both One For All and another quirk combined together, but One For All was much weaker back then. Nana could float pretty fast, but he himself was far faster against All For One.

However, this wasn't just going faster. One of Kyouka's main senses had been boosted beyond compare, a passive aspect of her life.

Toshinori took a deep breath, "Thankfully, all this leads into the main lesson of today; teaching you control. You seemingly already have some idea of it, if you've managed to put your hearing back to a somewhat normal level. But, you're essentially a Double A battery trying to use the energy output of a hundred power plants. One For All can have a pretty sensitive dial with how strong it's gotten, and it's only gonna get stronger. So, before we do anything crazy, we need to make sure you've got a proper handle of that dial. Kind of like pedal sensitivity in a car. Some cars you barely tap the gas pedal, and the car goes full speed ahead. We'll work on your One For All sensitivity, so to speak."

Kyouka's brows rose, turning over to Izuku, "I see where you get your analogies from."

"Anyway," Toshinori grumbled, "You've gotten into very good physical shape over the last seven months, but not quite 'One For All Shape'. One For All will naturally settle into your body as time progresses anyway, so don't stress about getting as big as me…As I was. As long as you maintain a good, strong body, you'll be fine in time. But, right now? You'd absolutely blow your limbs off."

Kyouka sighed in relief, the fight with Muscular flashing in her mind, "Wow, I dodged a bullet."

'More like a tank shell," Toshinori chuckled. "Now, forgive me if I've misunderstood your situation, but Young Midoriya I need you to draw what feels like around five percent from One For All. Young Kyouka, whatever you feel him draw towards himself, I want you to match that amount of energy, okay? You should be able to handle five-percent."

Izuku nodded, going first to set the example. For him, it was quick, like flipping a lightswitch. One For All came to Izuku like breathing by this point. Kyouka readied herself, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. She recalled back to camp, remembering Izuku's description of his Full Cowl. She searched for that unfamiliar warmth in her body, pulling on it and spreading that feeling across her entire body. Her body had a faint glow, red cracks of energy racing across her skin before dissipating into violet crackles of lightning. It felt more or less like what she was picking up from Izuku.

"I think I got it…I hope."

"Perfect. Now, gradually turn it off and on. From five-percent, to zero, and back to five. Repeat it until you think you've gotten a grasp on that power. You don't just want control, but a proper gauge on just how much of One For All you're using. Thanks to Young Izuku, you won't have to gauge your strength based on how much it hurts, like he did for a while."

"While you work on that," Aizawa cut in, nodding over to the long row of covered objects lined up near the other side of the rooftop. "Midoriya, you'll be working on this."

Aizawa grabbed onto the black tarp, yanking it off to unveil a dozen automatic pitching machines, each filled to the brim with baseballs.

Izuku's eyes lit up, realizing what was happening, "Reflex training! Kyouka and I tried the method that professional race car drivers use, but it can only do so much for me when you have super speed. I can't believe I never thought of a pitching machine."

"Reflex and accuracy" Aizawa corrected him, nodding towards the metal baskets jury-rigged to the top of each pitching machine, leading into the loading containers. Each machine was also wired together. "I had Power Loader fix these up for me, no questions asked. All of these will throw at different frequencies, and I'll be gradually increasing and changing the settings as you go. We'll cut it down when it's Jirou's turn. Throw each ball back into the baskets. Every time you miss and the baseball plummets to the streets below, it's on you to go get them."

"Okay. Let me ju-"

"ThreeTwoOneGo," Aizawa practically mumbled before pulling out a remote and turning on the machines, walking back to the adults. Izuku panicked as baseballs instantly started flying across. He became what everyone else saw as a streak of cyan light blitzing horizontally across the roof, baseballs thrown back into the pitching machines just as fast as they were being launched at the teen. "You're also the only thing keeping those baseballs from hitting the rest of us, so keep that in mind."

Toshinori raised a brow when his co-teacher stopped next to him, "Accuracy training?"

"Got a tip-off from some old associates," He shrugged. "Couldn't get specific details, but this should help them during the Provisional License Exams."

"Whoa, seriously? Even for something so vague, that's a pretty substantial advantage to give over the other schools. Hell, even the rest of UA's Hero Course."

"Yeah, well, you've thrown what was essentially described as the best hope for our futures into my lap. I'll take being a hypocrite for accusing you of favoritism over having these two unprepared. They need their licenses ASAP. Especially if we want to avoid any more Hosu situations."

"You got me there," Toshinori chuckled, swerving around Aizawa to get closer to the parents. He smiled at Inko, motioning towards the blur that was Izuku. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but this is the first time you've seen him at work in person, right?"

Inko nodded, barely taking her eyes off of her son as her gaze darted back and forth in a futile attempt to follow him, "It's incredible. After fourteen years of him being quirkless, sometimes it feels like I'm dreaming. I can't imagine what it feels like for him."

"Mm, a perspective only he and I can understand. Whole life without powers, and then suddenly bricks break like glass in your hand. I suppose it's a similar situation for Young Kyouka, but she's still had a quirk her whole life. Although, I suppose having a Mutant-Class quirk can come with a whole slew of problems. Thankfully, as far as I know, she hasn't experienced anything from that ugly spot of the world."

Next to Inko, Kyoutoku scoffed, "If she does, I'm beating the shit out of whoever introduces it to her."

"Call me and I'll join you."

"We'll have to get them before my wife does."

"Pfft. You know, we say all this, but we all know Young Izuku wouldn't leave anything left for us."

"Hmhmhm, you've got a point," Kyoutoku chuckled, his own gaze switching from his daughter to Izuku. "That kid…Quirkless. I guess he's probably experienced some of those ugly spots of the world, huh?"

Toshinori glanced down at Inko, seeing a flash of a mix of sadness and dread on her face. A feeling he felt himself, already knowing the answer. There was that sadness for already knowing the answer, and the dread for knowing it was probably even worse than you dared to imagine.

He wasn't sure if it was exactly correct to call Izuku lucky, because his luck didn't turn around for fourteen years, but…

Some people never escaped those ugly spots.

~AMP~...

(Unknown Location: Abandoned Satellite Base)

Tomura yawned, cracking his neck as he reached the balcony. He looked down at the rest of his compatriots, those who were awake anyway. Twice, Spinner, and Compress sat around the center table, eating whatever food they had scrounged together from their grocery run (robbery).

Kurogiri had set up crates, tablecloths, and cutting boards in his own little corner of the main floor, creating a surprisingly decent kitchen area. Unfortunately his "stove" was four hot plates shoved together, and his oven was an air fryer, but it would do for now.

Tomura made it downstairs, grabbing a box of cereal as he walked past their pile of goods. He opened it up, pouring some into his palm as he sat on the back of their couch, "Kurogiri, did you manage to find Giran?"

Kurogiri pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket and sent it through a small portal, letting it drop onto the table.

Tomura set the box down and picked up the paper, smiling at the contents inside once unfolded. "Perfect."

Twice put his plate down, nodding up at the paper, "What's that, boss?"

"The files of the Tartarus guards you'll be replacing. Compress, when we're ready, I'll need you to go with Twice and Toga to their addresses. Once blood has been taken and measurements made, keep 'em sealed up. At least until our new potential friend has been broken out. And...Speaking of which, where is Toga? She's always up early."

While the rest shrugged, Kurogiri called over from his kitchen, "I believe I heard her step outside."

Tomura hummed in thanks, setting his box down and walking towards the front entrance. Once through the front office and the door, he took a breath of fresh air. Kurogiri, Compress and Magne had done a pretty good job cleaning up the place, but he wasn't sure anything was gonna get rid of that musty smell. He looked around the opening of their little base, the massive radar looming above their concrete brick of a home. They were surrounded by miles of forest, so chances of any random citizens showing up was slim-to-none.

It was a good spot. He had already spent years living in a forest, so it was comforting in a way. At night, even through thick concrete walls, he could hear bugs and rustling leaves, animals crying out in pain…

Wait, what?

Tomura turned towards the sound, heading into the forest. The squeals were getting closer, but weaker. It could be an animal taking care of its prey, but he had a strong feeling it was something else. Or, someone.

So, really the same thing.

He pushed his way through the bushes, finding another small clearing. Only this one was occupied.

He found Himiko, drinking the blood from a very recently killed deer. Her fangs were sunk into a portion of its neck where she seemingly had cut away the fur to better reach the skin. She seemed to be breathing heavily as she drank, almost like she was desperately trying to chug it down.

"Those are considered sacred, you know?" Tomura didn't even flinch as a startled Himiko's knife flung back and hit the tree next to his head. "Not to mention diseases and all that."

"I could've killed you!" Himiko growled, wiping blood away from her chin. Her typical blushing was different than normal. Was she…embarrassed?

"Nah, you threw the knife early once you realized who I was. You've got crazy reflexes. Speaking of your unexplained skills, you're always the one silently sneaking around. I don't think I've ever seen you startled before."

Himiko grumbled, turning back to the deer, but not continuing her feast, "I was distracted, okay? I didn't expect anyone to follow me out here."

Tomura stepped closer to her, looking down at the deer, "And I didn't expect to find this. But, I was looking for you. We were going over some details about the Nagant Heist."

"Mm…"

Tomura raised a brow, peering down at her noncommittal response, "...Is that okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be there."

"...Uh-huh. You know, looking back on it, you barely said a word when I introduced this plan. You've been surprisingly disinterested this time around. You're usually more excited. Got something against it?"

"What? No."

"Is it Nagant?"

"No!"

"The HPSC?"

"...No." Well, there it was. Interesting. Very, very interesting. He'd let it slide for now, you couldn't push too hard. Especially not with this colorful cast of reprobates. But, it seemed his files on Toga were more incomplete than he thought. "Can I please get back to my deer? I have to finish this."

"You have to? Wait a second, why are you doing this in the first place? I thought your quirk only worked on people."

"It does."

"But-? Do…Do you need blood?"

Himiko squinted at him, not quite sure how to respond, "Uh…Yeah?"

"No, I know you need it for your quirk. What I mean is, do you need blood to function? As in, you crave it? If you go a while without blood, do you start going crazy…-er?"

"Kinda, yeah." Toga wiped away the blood on her hands, throwing her cardigan back on. "I'll be fine, though. I won't get in the way of your plans or nothing. I'll find some more animals."

"No, no, hold on. If you need blood, I'll get you blood. I can get Giran to divert some stuff from a blood drive, maybe? Hospitals? Or-"

"I'm fine," Himko cut him off, a bit curtly and out of character. "I can handle it."

"Uh-huh, sure," Tomura rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, though. Not a fan of animal blood? Just doesn't quite suit your needs?"

Himiko sighed, looking back down at the dead dear. She shrugged, reaching down to pet the carcass, "It gets the job done."

"That's a resounding 'no'. Listen, I can help. Besides, I don't want you killing any more animals."

Himiko seemed to tense up, just barely. If Tomura had blinked, he would've missed it. "You like animals?"

"I like dogs. And…And, they're innocent, I guess. They didn't do anything, hurt anyone. They're better than us, that's for sure." Tomura dared to walk closer, pocketing his hands as he looked down at the deer, "Something the matter? You're not being your usual bubbly, psycho-crazy."

"I don't…like people seeing me drink blood." Himiko nodded down at the deer, "Not like this, anyway."

"You bit Dabi in the first week of joining us."

"That was different. He was being an asshole."

"If that's the case, then I'm surprised he's not covered in teeth marks twenty-four/seven."

Himiko giggled, but her look turned vacant again. She pulled her knife– one out of God knows how many— out of the carcass, twirling the blade in her hands as she stared at the crimson staining the metal. "When I was little, I would kill animals and drink their blood. At the time, I didn't realize it was a craving. My parents got mad, or…disgusted, more like. I always felt ashamed. I guess that feeling never fully went away."

Tomura pursed his lips as he dug his foot into the dirt, "I get it. You got no fucking idea how much. I'm not gonna go into that story. But, to be fair to the Sharing Circle, I'll say one thing. When I was a kid, I was moved to the woods to live and train in secret. My master had me train my quirk on animals he caught. I would beg to just train on objects, or already dead animals. He refused, I relented. Sometimes we do things we're ashamed of, but sometimes we don't have a choice. Sometimes our choice is taken away. You came here to live in a world that's easier for you to live in, and that starts here. You don't have to be ashamed of a damn thing. Not around us."

Himiko looked up, no longer spinning her knife. A smile slowly grew on her face as she nodded, "...Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"...Do you think Izu-kun and Kyou-kun would find it gross?"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

"I'm just asking!"

"I don't eve-...Anyway, there's another guy I can go to. He…He doesn't really like me, but he's the one who helped create the nomu. No doubt he's got plenty of 'em still on standby. He won't give us a bunch, but I think I can convince him to give us one. I'll see if we can get one of the failures, completely brain dead. Maybe he's got a blood quirk or something lying around."

Himiko tilted her head, a brow raised, "Lying around?"

"Uh, it's complicated. Just hold tight, I'll see what I can do."

Himiko watched as he began to walk back to the base. She furrowed her brow, peering at him, "...Why are you so nice?"

Tomura scoffed, looking back over his shoulder with a confused smile on his lips, "You have a very strange definition of nice. Now, finish up and meet us inside. We've got work to do."

~AMP~...

(UA - Ground Beta: Top of Skyscraper)

"That's a horrible idea," Aizawa replied to his coworker as he shut off the pitching machines, finally letting Izuku stop and take a breather. He turned to All Might, arms crossed, "I thought you said nothing crazy yet."

Toshinori shot a quick glare at Aizawa, "Shush! Who's the One For All expert here?"

"With how it's been changing with him, I'd say Midoriya."

"Hilarious," Toshinori deadpanned, turning back to his students. "Okay, c'mere you two. Now that Young Kyouka has a good grasp on actually drawing on One For All, let's actually use it. Young Kyouka, are you afraid of heights?"

Kyouka raised a brow, "You ask me that after you take me to the top of a skyscraper?"

"Just answer."

"Fine. Not particularly. Falling from heights, though? Absolutely."

"Perfect. Now, have you ever seen the Matrix?"

"That movie from like two centuries ago?" Kyouka asked, growing more confused. "No, but I've heard of it."

Izuku smirked, knowing what All Might was doing, "No one ever makes it on the first jump."

"Ha!" Toshinori clapped Izuku's shoulder, "That's my boy! You wanna go ahead and demonstrate."

Izuku nodded, turning to Kyouka. "What you thought you weren't physically capable of before is now possible. Speed, strength, durability, reflexes, beyond your imagination. What should be scary…"

Izuku suddenly took off into a sprint, running towards and leaping off of the building's edge (giving Inko a heart attack) and soaring over the street below until he landed effortlessly on the building across from them.

Izuku turned around and shouted, his voice echoing across the gap, "Is now a walk in the park!"

Kyouka's brows slowly rose as she clicked her tongue, "Ah…I see."

And then she immediately turned around and began walking towards the exit.

"Whoa, hey! Where are you going!" Toshinori quickly grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around. "Like we said, it's easy. Even at five-percent, you should make that distance with meters to spare."

"And if I plummet?"

"Pfft, you'll be fine. You won't fall. Even if you do, One For All will keep you perfectly unharmed."

"What happened to the guy in the movie?"

"...He fell."

Kyouka started walking towards the exit again as Aizawa facepalmed to the side. Toshinori grabbed her arm, gently guiding her back to the center of the rooftop.

"Don't trust One For All? That's fine. But, trust Young Izuku. You think he'd be okay with this if you could possibly be harmed in any way?"

"That's…actually a really good point."

"It's all just a leap of faith!" Izuku shouted from the other side.

"Okay, that movie I've seen." She looked over to the other end of the roof towards her parents, throwing her arms out towards the one-hundred meter drop before her, "Only child, the light of your life, about to jump a hundred feet over a death drop! Any objections? Anything?!"

"We only object if you do," Mika countered. "And we mean if you actually object. Not snarky objections."

"I-...Fair point." Kyouka sighed, backing up to give herself room for a running start. Five-percent. Just five-percent. She had seen what Izuku could do at five-percent before, so she at least knew it was possible. She couldn't back down, she needed to do this. "Okay, c'mon…C'mon!"

Kyouka bolted towards the edge, feeling the surge of power rush through every fiber of her muscles. If only five-percent felt like this, then she really couldn't imagine going all out. She reached the ledge in the blink of an eye, pushing hard with one leg.

…Maybe a little too hard.

She definitely made it to the other side…and a little beyond that.

In her conviction not to fall hundreds of feet, she had jumped as hard as she could with the limited amount of power she was trying to handle. She had soared across the gap, over the streets below with ease…and over Izuku…and now almost over the building.

"WhoaWhoaWhoaWhoa!"

Izuku chuckled, already having zipped over to where she was about to land at the other edge of the rooftop. "Don't worry, I got-"

*CRACK!*

In Kyouka's panic, she had already reacted before realizing Izuku was going to catch her. She had attempted to shoot her jacks into the building to stop herself from going over the building.

…And, may or may not have blasted straight through the concrete, with cracks ripping through the rooftop.

Izuku caught her with ease, a couple yards short of the edge of the building. Kyouka turned her head, finding the surface of the rooftop practically destroyed. The spots where her jacks were still pierced through the roof looked as if mini missiles had struck down.

Izuku set her down, lightly touching a now loose shard of concrete with his foot, "...Wow."

"Sorry! Sorry, I just panicked. I knew you would catch me, I jus-"

"You're so cool."

Kyouka paused, turning to her boyfriend with a scoff, but with a hint of a smirk on her lips, "Of course that's your takeaway from this."

"I-I mean, look at it!" Izuku started geeking out, throwing his arms out as he walked over the destroyed roof. "To Hell with your support gear—Don't tell Mei I said that— Kyouka, you'll probably be able to produce massive sound waves with your jacks alone."

Kyouka retracted her jacks, moving them in front of her face, finding not even a single scratch on them. She had been so annoyed by her out of control hearing that she hadn't fully thought about the fact that her jacks could probably be considered lethal weapons. Maybe even weapons of mass destruction. This, the nomu back at camp…

Was it cool? Yeah, like, really fucking cool.

Scary? Well, it certainly is until she fully masters this quirk.

…But still so God-damn cool!

"Eventually you'll be able to move faster than the soundwaves you produce."

"I-...Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah," Izuku shrugged, still clearly buzzing with nerd energy as he leaned in close to examine Kyouka's jacks, despite having seen them up close and personal for seven months. "All Might was way faster than the speed of sound, and I'm talking about the All Might we know now. Back in his prime? Breaking the sound barrier was the equivalent of a light jog. I mean think of the omni-directional attacks! Hitting someone before they're even hit by your soundwaves! I think yo-"

"Okay!" Kyouka laughed as she grabbed his shoulders, stopping his muttering before he got too far with it. "I hate to interrupt your nerdgasm, you know I love them. But, I'm still trying to handle five-percent. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I wanna learn not to break my arms first…Buuut let's make sure to write all of that down in the hero journal tonight."

"Hey!" Both teens turned around at the echo of Aizawa on the other building. "You two done romantically bantering?! If not, stay over there as long as you want!"

"Sorry! We'll be right over!" Izuku turned back to Kyouka, nodding back over to the original building. "You think you can jump back on your own?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. And, I promise not to destroy another rooftop."

Izuku chuckled as he easily jumped across the wide gap and landed back next to All Might. He really did make it look so easy. Nobody would ever be able to tell that he didn't have a quirk until this year. Even though he was still training and growing with this quirk, and had a long way to go, Kyouka knew she was far behind.

Of course that was obvious, but she just didn't want to hold him back from his progress.

Lower percentages or not, she'd do everything she could to push herself to match Izuku on every level. She had to. It was her responsibility now, too.

It was already intimidating thinking about how she had to live up to All Might. But…

She had to live up to Izuku, too.

Kyouka readied herself again, preparing to jump as violet sparks clashed against her skin. She didn't know if she was ready for this power. Hell, deep down she knew that she probably wasn't. But, it was just like Izuku said. It was all a leap of faith.

Kyouka pushed off the ledge, feeling a rise in her chest as she looked down at the streets far down below. She soared across the gap, sticking the landing this time. Maybe a little stumble at the end, but she was on her feet.

She looked up towards everyone else, chuckling a little at the awe that still hadn't left her parents' faces. But, what really struck her was the pride on Izuku's and All Might's faces. Even for what should be such a simple thing as jumping from building to building, they couldn't have been happier.

Yeah, she'd take a leap of faith into Hell if they were by her side.

~AMP~...

(A Few Hours Later: Outside of UA Grounds)

"Great work today you two," Aizawa complimented the two teens as he unlocked the front gate. "Practice what you can on your own time. We'll meet back here Wednesday. And, if I were you, I'd start coming up with plenty of at least plausible excuses for any accidental occurrences that might occur with this new predicament. Our options are…Well, limited is a weak word for it, but any lie told well enough can be believed."

"He's right," Toshinori nodded. "But, hopefully we'll get Young Kyouka properly in control before school starts. But, if a time ever comes where you have no choice but to use your new powers, let's hope in front of someone you can trust. Great work, but I've come to expect nothing less. Young Kyouka, are you confident enough in your control until we meet again?"

Kyouka smiled, her jack sneaking behind Izuku and wrapping around his waist, lifting him a few feet off the ground. "I think so."

"A-Ah, not that I'm not confident in you, Kyouka. But, I've seen first hand what your jacks can do now, so can you please put me down before you crush me?"

Kyouka set him down as the adults laughed, "Maybe I can walk with these things now."

Izuku's eyes widened, muttering to himself, "Like Doctor Octopus."

While Kyouka rolled her eyes, Aizawa checked his watch, "Alright, we gotta go, All Might. Meeting with Nezu."

"Right. Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute. My boy, a word?" Toshinori walked Izuku away from the group, the teen waving to his mom that he'd be just a minute. Once they were a decent distance away— even though the female Jirous absolutely could still hear them— Toshinori asked, "My boy, have you come to a decision on what you're going to tell your father? If you'd like me to be there when he arrives, just say the word."

Izuku furrowed his brow, biting the inside of his cheek as he felt the unfortunate return of the pit in his stomach whenever his father was mentioned. "I…I don't know. Not right now, at least. Let's not overwhelm him on his first day back home. Especially not with all this."

"Right. But, if something comes up, give me a call and I'll be there, alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks…"

Toshinori saw Izuku's gaze grow distant, clearly lost in a raging ocean of thoughts and emotions. Oh, what it was to be a teenager. He ruffled his hair, bringing the teen back to reality, "You're going to be just fine, kid. It might be rocky at the start. Hell, it's probably gonna be rocky for a while, but this is good. I may not be the best person to take advice from, my biological parents being who they were, but heed my words. You're going to be happy he's home."

'...I hope so.' Izuku thought to himself, but still nodded so that Toshinori knew he was heard. "...You don't talk about Nana's husband much. Yori."

"Hm? Well, honestly a big part of that is Nana comes up in conversation far more frequently, her being in your head and all. Why do you ask? Has Nana said something?"

"No, she's still radio silent. I just…I was just wondering if he was like a father to you?"

"Oh," Toshinori's eyebrows shot up. "Well, I can't lie and say my relationship with him was the same as it was with Nana. But, a lot of it was likely a 'men-thing'. Nana was just easier to talk to, open up to, all that. He was always there, and I imagine if I came to him with anything he'd help me in a heartbeat. But, I just went to Nana instead. But, in all the ways that counted in my limited time with him, he was indeed like a father to me. But, again, I have to wonder why you ask?"

"I-It's nothing, just curious."

Definitely not asking to see if it was really possible to grow a relationship like that with someone you barely knew. Not at all.

Toshinori scoffed, a shake of his head, "See what I mean? Men-thing. It's called emotions, my boy, and we're pretty bad at communicating them. Listen, I've gotta go, but just think about it. I'm sure Young Kyouka would agree. The two of us can only do so much, especially with our lack of experience for this specific kind of situation. Maybe you should ask someone who can hit a little closer to home."

"That…" Izuku paused, just about to bring up that he didn't particularly know a large amount of people. However, someone actually did come to mind. It would be awkward. Very, very, very awkward. So awkward that he definitely wasn't gonna immediately pull that trigger to save them both from the conversation. But, actually? "...That's actually a good idea. I'll keep that in mind"

"...Why do you have to sound so surprised?"

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Hmhmhm, I know, I know." Toshinori put his hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "Just remember to call if you need me, okay?"

"Yes, sir." Izuku watched as All Might walked away towards the main building. He sighed as he ran a hand down his face, wishing the evening never came. Izuku felt Kyouka's jack wrap around his wrist as she walked up next to him, a hand on his back. "You think Mei can create something that solves all my personal problems?"

"I'll be sure to ask. I'm sure she'd be up for the challenge," Kyouka chuckled, kissing his cheek. "I'm gonna go home and change, then I'll head over to Mei's. I shouldn't be too long. I'll be over to help you and your mom get stuff ready for you dad."

Izuku smiled down at her, leaning in for a gentle kiss, "Thanks. Say hi to Mei for me?"

"I will, but I wouldn't bet on her remembering," She left him with one final peck as he chuckled. It really was just bad timing, wasn't it? Kyouka completely understood why Hisashi was coming back. If her kid had been in critical condition after a villain attack, she'd want to get home as soon as possible too.

…Buuut, it was right when the actual weight of the world was placed onto Izuku's shoulders.

That wasn't even mentioning training a new superpowered girlfriend, having to keep that secret, starting a new semester, Shigaraki having a hard-on for them, and assuredly a megaton of more garbage on the way.

To say Izuku's mind was probably cluttered was the biggest understatement of the year.

She'd do everything she could to hold up the weight he was carrying, but she knew Izuku's brain would default to "try to take it all on himself".

As a good girlfriend, she'd try and stop that in its tracks.

But, before that, she had 'New One For All User' duties to attend to.

~AMP~...

(A Couple Hours Later: Hatsume Family Workshop)

"Man, I feel bad for her neighbors," Kyouka muttered under her breath as she could already hear the banging and clanging of metal coming from the house. Mei's house was just a pretty standard Japanese suburban home, but right next to it was the real prize. Her home workshop was practically a miniature hangar. Except, instead of being filled with planes, it was probably packed with her "Babies".

Kyouka wouldn't be surprised if Mei actually made it herself.

She also wouldn't be surprised if the building wasn't even legal.

She stepped up to the wire fence, her jack reaching out to press the button on the (also probably Mei-Made) intercom.

*BZZZT*

"Leave packages at the door, please!"

Kyouka chuckled, recognizing Mei's voice immediately, "Sorry, but you've gotta sign for me."

"Ah, one-half of my favorite client! Come on back!"

Kyouka opened the gate, walking through the front yard to the side of the house, hearing the chains of Mei's garage begin to creak. The door raised up, revealing piles of scrap metal, the frame of a car lifted by a car jack, a…mech hanging from the ceiling?

Yeah, she definitely didn't remember that. Last time she was here was for Izuku's birthday. It was a miracle Mei had responded to the first text at all.

Mei was at the back of the garage at her work desk, welding away on what Kyouka could only assume was a weaponized Rubik's Cube.

Mei turned around on her stool, a welding mask covering her face, leaving her pink locks to plume out from behind it in a ponytail. "Heya! I see you finally got out of the hospital. Where's the Boy-Toy?"

Kyouka couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the nickname, Mei was completely genuine. "Preoccupied, but he says hi."

"He doing okay? Actually, are you both okay? You know, Kamino and all…"

"We're fine, just shaken like everyone else. Happy it's over."

"Tell me about it. I don't wanna make a bunch of my babies for some evil overlord. So, what brings you to Casa de Hatsume?" Mei asked, turning back to her project and letting sparks fly.

"Got something to ask of you."

Mei stopped welding and lifted her mask up, with the same crazy smile on her face as she saw her friend, "You could've just called, you know?"

Kyouka scoffed, "And you would've actually picked up?"

"Ha! Got me there! So, whaddya need? Rocket skis?"

"No, I— What? Nevermind." Kyouka's jack reached back, hitting the button next to the garage door. As it began to shut, she walked over to Mei's desk and hopped up to sit on it. "Mei, this is gonna sound out of nowhere, strange, all of the above. But, we need you to put the same impact absorption technology that's in Izuku's gear into the new suit you're making me."

Mei furrowed her brow, squinting at Kyouka, clearly confused, "What? Why? It would be mostly useless to you."

"Yeah, that's the other thing," Kyouka sighed, "You can't ask any questions. And, I'm also going to have to ask you keep that detail of my gear off the support forms. Power Loader can't know about this."

"..." Mei dropped her welding gun on the table, turning to face her friend, "Okay, what's going on here?"

"Mei, I'm serious. I can't say why, but it's extremely important that you do this. I'll buy you all the chocolate you want, but I just nee-"

"I'll have to completely tear apart the work I've already done and reassemble it. Not to mention turn your gloves into some gauntlets of some kind," Mei cut her off, opening a side drawer and pulling out blueprints. Rolling it out on the table, Kyouka could see it was the inner workings of Izuku's own gauntlets. "I'll also have to sneak out some more materials from the workshop safes. I got approved for enough stuff for Midoriya's gear, but I didn't plan on you. Workshop is closed until further notice, and I assume you want this before school starts. Kinda sounds like you want this off of UA records."

Kyouka was taken aback by Mei's sudden cooperation, but she composed herself and continued, "We don't want you getting into trouble. We can get those supplies to you."

"That kind of stuff is real expensive, and mostly come from specific Hero Support Industry outlets. Not from specific stores or anything. Even my home supply is pretty limited, and I leech off of my parents for that."

"We have connections. Trust me, we'll get them."

Kyouka was really hoping All Might would forgive her for putting his bank account on the table without his knowledge.

"...Okay. Call me when you got it, and I'll go ahead and start disassembling."

"Just like that?"

"Hey, I know how I might come off, but you guys are more than just clients to me. You'd be surprised how many people at school find me…annoying. I guess my determination and love for machinery and crafting isn't totally matched by all of my classmates. But, not you two. You're my friends. I still haven't spoken much to the others besides Ochako, but I've got your backs. All of you. Just be careful, with whatever it is you need this for."

Kyouka smiled warmly, "...Thanks, Mei."

"Now get outta here. Enough mushiness, I got baby-making to do."

"God-damn, we need to change your name for that."

~AMP~...

(Evening: Midoriya Family Apartment)

"Hold on," Inko stopped her son as she closed the lid on her donabe, letting the curry simmer. "You can watch memories? Like they were a movie?"

"E-Eh, a bit more involved," Izuku shrugged as he continued to set the table. "It's more like I live in the memories. It feels like time travel, except I can't actually interact with anything. It's hard to explain, but it's surreal."

Inko turned around, leaning against the counter as she peered at her son, "...And a woman lives in your head?"

"...Kinda. She's great though! Nana, All Might's master and foster mother."

"Can she hear us right now?"

"I…think? I actually don't know. I think if she wants to she can, but I'm not sure how much she actually does. As far as I know, she can create anything she wants to up there, so I don't know what she does most of the time. You see, it's an inner space of consciousness tha-"

"You've already lost me, sweetie."

"S-Sorry. One For All is complicated."

"I'm no quirk expert, but I don't think quirks are meant to be this complicated."

Izuku shook his head as he set down the last plate, "Because One For All isn't meant to exist in the first place. It's the evolution that came about from the unnatural placement of two quirks in one body."

"And now it's in two bodies," Kyouka appeared from the hallway in a black cardigan, a black and white striped shirt, and black jeans. "At this point, you could tell me literally anything about quirks and I'd believe you."

Izuku chuckled as she came over and kissed his cheek, "Stuff like One For All, All For One, or even quirks like Stars and Stripes' power from over in America, are really making singularity theory sound not that crazy."

Kyouka walked over to lean on the kitchen island, "Your closet is now officially separated into two halves, and the room has been vacuumed."

Inko sighed as she placed her hand over Kyouka's, "Thank you so much, dear. You've been a huge help. You really didn't need to do any of this."

"Well, outside of wanting to help you, I might as well make a good first impression. Mr. Midoriya's gonna be stuck with me, just like the rest of you…He does know about me, right?"

"Yes, he does," Inko chuckled. "He saw you two on TV, during the Sports Festival. I've more or less filled him in on the rest. Besides One For All, and all that."

Izuku bit the inside of his cheek, resting back against the dining table, "...He watched it?"

Inko smiled a little, deciding not to point out the surprise in her son's voice, "He said his entire department watched; cheered you on."

Izuku clicked his teeth together as he processed that information. He…He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. He guessed he shouldn't have been surprised to learn that. The Sports Festival was one of the biggest events on national television. It's not like his dad could've told him anyway. They haven't spoken, he hadn't read any of his letters, an-...

Letters…

Izuku moved away from the table, heading towards the hallway, "I-I'll be right back!"

Both women watched as he disappeared around the corner, both looking at each other with raised brows. Kyouka got up from the counter, nodding in his direction, "I'll go figure out…whatever that was."

Inko gave a curt laugh, moving towards her rice cooker as it beeped, "He certainly keeps you busy."

"Izuku Duty is a twenty-four/seven service." Kyouka went after him, finding his bedroom door open, a rummaging sound coming from inside. She walked in, leaning against his door frame as she watched Izuku frantically search around his desk. "...Should I ask?"

"The last letter I got from my dad," Izuku sighed as he gave up looking in his desk drawers. "I never opened it. The whole reason he switched to letters was because he wanted us to keep them, and we'd put them all together and go over them when we saw each other again. Like a memento, or a kind of journal in a way."

"Mm, that's kinda sweet. You lost it?"

"I don't know. It was the night we kissed on the beach. I think I remember it being on my bed, but then I tossed it aside to-..." Izuku paused, instantly dropping down and looking under his bed. Lo and behold, a slightly dusty enveloped rested underneath, still awaiting to be opened. He pulled it out, brushing it off as he stood back up. Izuku tore it open, pulling out the paper and moving back towards his desk.

"What's it say? Ur-...Or is that private?" Izuku didn't immediately answer her. Instead he pulled out a binder from his bottom desk drawer, opening it up for Kyouka to see dozens of papers and torn envelopes. Izuku placed the letter and envelope inside, and shut the binder. "...Are you not gonna read it?"

"I don't need to. Remember, it's the same questions he's asked— and I answered— for years."

"Last time I checked, you stopped answering a long time ago." Kyouka sighed, moving to the desk and pulling Izuku into her arms, "Izuku, you weren't exactly the best conversationalist. You still aren't. Maybe he's not either. Maybe those questions are just the only thing he knows to ask."

"I…I-I know, just…I can't help but feel mad that he wasn't here to ask them himself."

"...I know." Kyouka hugged him tighter, sighing into his chest. "I know…"

"I know he's coming back, but it…it feels too little too late."

"It's not too late. You and him ca-" Kyouka stopped, her jacks perking up as she heard the front door open up, footsteps entering the apartment.

"H-...Hello? Anybody home?"

She didn't recognize the voice.

…But, Izuku certainly did.

Kyouka felt Izuku tense up in her arms, his limbs completely locking up. She didn't need super-hearing to know his heart began to absolutely pound in his chest, his breathing sped up to damn near hyperventilation. It was like he was having another…

Panic attack.

Kyouka looked up, his wide eyes looking straight at the door. It had been a while since he had one. It was his birthday night, after his interaction with Katsuki's former lackeys. She cupped his cheek, forcing his eyes back down to her as her jacks shot back to shut the door.

"HeyHeyHeyHey, focus on me. You're just fine, you're gonna be fine. C'mere, sit down." She and Izuku sat down on the foot of the bed, with the latter stumbling a little on his way there. Kyouka pulled his head down to her chest, putting his ear right at her heartbeat.

Izuku had been…Okay, not fine with the upcoming arrival of his father, but he hadn't seemed this bad. But, all it took was the sound of his dad's voice to send him spiraling. It was almost like he hadn't fully believed it until now, and hearing that confirmed that it was finally real.

She kept her jack placed against the door, just in case an excited father couldn't wait to see his son. He could wait another minute. Thankfully, now supercharged by One For All, most of the planet probably couldn't push open that door now.

Eventually, Izuku's breathing somewhat settled, and he slowly removed himself from the embrace. "I-...I-I'm fine….I'm fine."

"You're sure?" Kyouka asked, running her hand through the back of his hair.

"Yeah, I…Everytime I think I have these things beaten, they come right back around."

"Hey, you'll get there. Besides, I'm sure you get them a whole lot less than when you were in middle school."

Izuku scoffed, using his thumb and forefinger to rub his temples, "You have no idea."

"You sure want to go out there? We can leave through the fire escape? Hell, maybe we can help me practice and just jump down."

"No, I…I have to." Izuku stood up, shaking his head to try and focus. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the door. Kyouka followed him, hand on his back. They left the hallway, turning the corner to see…him.

He was there, in the front foyer, luggage discarded to the side as his arms were busy hugging his wife. They must've been hugging the entire time they were in Izuku's room. Kyouka could hear multiple tiny whispers of "I missed you so much" under his breath.

This guy was definitely Izuku's father.

His hair was shorter than Izuku's, the sides cut down, and was mostly black except for the sections of gray on either side of his head. He looked well-kept, outside of the scruff on his face and bags under his eyes. With all of the responsibilities Izuku had told her about, it was no surprise this guy was probably tired as all Hell. He wore glasses over his green eyes. They weren't quite as bright as Izuku's green; more of a forest than emeralds.

She finally could see where Izuku got his freckles from. Instead of the little diamond pattern, Hisashi's were in a square shape. It was kinda funny, in a way.

He finally opened his eyes, looking over his wife to see the other two in the room. Father and son looked at one another, neither really saying anything. Albeit, both looked like they had about a million things to say, but simply couldn't.

But, practically prying his jaw open, Izuku spoke first.

"...Hey, Dad."

~AMP~...