As the piercing sounds of my gun rang throughout my ears, I strained myself in fighting to cover them – knowing that Shigaraki would reprimand me if I failed in doing so. While, when Shigaraki began training me in using guns, he had instructed me to wear specially made, sound-canceling headphones to protect my ears, recently, we realized I wouldn't be wearing them outside of training – practically speaking. So, he decided that it would be better to train my ears in handling the sound of a speeding bullet as it is being shot out of a metal barrel. However, as a result, we've been hitting a lot of speedbumps during my training – my ears being sensitive – though, over the last month, my accuracy, consistency, and precision have improved substantially.

Shigaraki also thought that it would be an, as he put it, 'educational experience' if I were to learn how guns functioned as well. So, to learn the ins and outs of their mechanisms, he wanted me to learn how to disassemble and reassemble a gun. I wasn't good at reassembling them, but I could pull a gun apart within thirty-eight seconds.

It's called field striping.

Aside from my training advancements, an interesting event coming up is the day of the famous U.A. Entrance Exam – which is on February 26th this year, or in other words, tomorrow. I had been hoping to sit in on the exam – partly to silence my curiosity regarding what could have been, but also to spy on the future students – and luckily for me, Shigaraki rescheduled my training and lessons for the day after as he needed to meet someone. So, with excitement coursing through my veins, I fired my weapon one final time and struck the target in the chest before packing up and bolting to the bar for dinner.

The mental strain of Shigaraki's training was intense, so it was natural that I would be starving like an alley cat come dinner-time.

Sitting myself down quickly on a stool, I started to scarf down Kurogiri's Homemade Sashumi. His cooking was so amazing I had almost forgot to take in the strange neatness of the bar. So, after consuming a decent amount of food to satisfy my starvation, I looked at the placement and noticed an extra plate full of food.

"Kurogiri, why is there an extra place set on the table? Is someone joining us this evening?" I questioned him rudely with food in my mouth.

"Yes, we have arranged for one of our new recruits to meet us for more details about their assignment. They will be posing as a student at U.A High this next term." He answered with a slight glare, handing me a handkerchief to clean the stray pieces of raw fish that flew out of my mouth as I spoke.

Ignoring his obvious physical annoyance, I focussed purely on his words rather than his actions.

A new recruit would be posing as a U.A. student?

With a member of the league posing as a U.A. student, we would be able to gather information regarding the heroes' quirks, weaknesses, strengths, schedules, and virtually any other important pieces of information we would need to kill them from the inside. It was brilliant.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Shigaraki's voice rang out from my side.

I peered over my shoulder and sure enough, there he was.

"Sorry, was I muttering?" I asked, flustered as a light blush crept onto my cheeks.

"Yes. Yes, you were." Kurogiri answered back.

Shigaraki chuckled slightly before coming to sit down, and all was peaceful for the next few moments. Until, that is, I heard the doors burst open and saw a kid, who looked to be about my age, thunder in.

"Hey," The stranger smiled. "My name is..."

I entered the surveillance room and right away noticed All Might and Attraction. They sat next to Principal Nezu in one corner of the room, so naturally, I leaned against a wall, as far away as possible.

I was still frustrated with what I'd learned of their children's troublesome relationship, and wasn't sure where I stood with them. So, I wasn't eager to associate with them currently.

As I watched the cameras, I noticed three kids in particular. Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto, and Yagi Izumi.

I glanced at All Might and Attraction, and as suspected, they both wore looks of admiration and pride as they spotted their daughter.

I stared at the screen, watching the current objects of my disdain. They may be talented, but I highly doubt they could ever be heroes. For starters, if they were so comfortable with treating people so horribly, how would they ever be able to accomplish the self-sacrificing acts heroes must be prepared to make every day? Saving people, and helping them through traumatizing situations isn't something you can BS your way through – the people they help will see through their false patience and ungenuine kindness, and then they won't be helping anyone.

Secondly, even if they were to grow maturity and become functioning and productive members of society, if I were able to find out about their past mistakes, any internet sleuth with an hour to spare would be able to as well. Their careers would be over before they even began. So, I don't think they have much of a future, and I don't plan on sugarcoating it when I confront them, either. That's just not my style.

Turning my focus back to the screen, I noticed the panel of judges press the button to release the zero-pointer.

A person's true self is revealed in a crisis situation, like the one that would be created with the release of the robot.

I watched as Yagi Izumi saved another young girl from the zero-pointer, and the panel gave her more rescue points. This girl would definitely be in class 1-A.

My class.

I woke up the day of the Exam with excitement. I couldn't wait to see our new recruit in action!

Getting up from my bed, I walked into the bathroom. Then, I stripped myself of my clothing and stepped into the shower. As I felt the crisp and frigid water drip down my newly formed muscles, I noticed my mind drifting to the inevitable encounter I would have with my sister and company. Although I wouldn't be meeting them in person, just the idea of gazing upon them from afar weirded me out.

I felt a warm liquid trickle down my arms, and then noticed my nails embedded deep into both my forearms – likely due to either my frustration, anger, fear, or a combination of all three.

It was weird. I couldn't properly understand how I felt. On one hand, I knew I resented and hated them all for what they did; I knew I wanted to carve my name into their flesh and kill them all slowly, one by one; I knew I wanted them to know exactly how they made me feel every day for the past decade: scared, suffocated, and powerless. But on the other hand, despite all of my training, and all of the muscle I had built since my last encounter with them, just thinking of them made me tremble. I was still afraid of them, and some part of me thinks that will never change – regardless of how strong I get, or how long I spend away from them. They'll always have a hold on me.

I stepped out of the shower after I was finished washing my hair and body, and then dried myself – not bothering to clean or bandage the cuts I had made by accident. Then I quickly applied my hair mousse and UV protecting serum – you think this hair just happens??? – and re-entered my room. I wore a dark spring green hoodie and black ripped skinny jeans. Kurogiri greeted me as I entered the bar and presented me with white rice, miso soup, and fried fish.

Exquisite as ever.

"Kurogiri?"

He looked at me, expectantly.

"I was just wondering: Would you mind opening a warp gate to U.A? I would like to observe our new recruit and the future heroes in action. Y'know, to get a headstart on my analysis journals for you guys." I asked with hope.

He thought for a minute before replying with a nod. I smiled and continued to eat my breakfast. Shigaraki left for his mystery appointment before I had woken up, so Kurogiri and I ate alone. Then, at 8:40 am, Kurogiri warped me to the top of the tallest building in the exam training field.

I had put my hood up and a black mask on to conceal my hair and freckles as a precaution. There were chances that the heroes could somehow see me, so I felt this was a necessary course of action.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, students started piling into the arena, and I noticed our new recruit and my old friends. I felt myself start to tremble as my eyes landed on Izumi – from rage, or fear, I wasn't sure – and immediately averted my eyes to focus on our new recruit, who was, by the way, absolutely nuts. They had no trouble whatsoever in destroying the robots, only using a fraction of their power, which was nice to see. I was worried they wouldn't be very useful, at first. Maybe it was my envy though, of not being chosen to go to U.A High myself – as it was my dream school for several years – that fueled my skepticism, but whatever it was, it's gone now!

Pulling me from my thoughts and back into the universe abruptly, I noticed the ground start to shake viciously, and then I saw it.

The largest robot I'd ever seen with a giant zero painted on it in red.

It took me off-guard, how dangerous this was. The examiners obviously weren't concerned with the safety of the examinees, as anything could go wrong with a dangerous situation like this. I wasn't sure how I felt about this – not that I've been very sure about anything recently. It's good that the exam isn't easy enough that anyone would be able to pass, because as much as I hated to hear it growing up, it's true that you need to be strong to be a hero. Or, at the very least, resourceful enough to take down a powerful villain, such as the one they're simulating with this test. But on the other hand, they're just kids, with likely very little training. That's why they want to go to U.A – they want to be trained. So, throwing a bunch of kids into such a risky situation didn't sit well with me.

Regardless, as expected, a brunette was caught under some debris, and was trapped only a few hundred meters from the robot, and it didn't seem to be slowing down; meanwhile, the examiners and examinees stood by idly and watched.

This is yet another perfect example of the incompetence of the heroes we were supposed to rely on.

Just before the brunette was crushed, a familiar woman jumped into action and knocked the robot down with one punch. This woman was, of course, my sister. After punching the giant robot, I watched as both Izumi's legs and her left arm shattered before she began plummeting to her death. I smiled at the thought until the girl she saved slapped her. She started floating and then slowly dropped to the ground.

Dammit.

Today marked the first day of the new term. I groaned as I rolled down the hallway in my yellow sleeping bag. I had almost forgotten about All Might's daughter and her posse being in my class until I saw them in the doorway. Clearing my throat and surpressing my disapproval, I started my usual speech, and directed them to meet me outside.

After all the kids were stationed outside, I explained that we would be conducting a 'quirk assessment test' so I could gauge their abilities. The person who scored highest on the exam was Bakugou Katsuki, and being the student who placed top, I asked him to throw a ball as a demonstration. Whilst he did, he yelled the word 'Die' relatively loud.

Exactly the type of lunatic I had expected. I once again questioned how he came to the conclusion that a profession where his goal would be to help people not die, was right for him.

I once again kept my dumbfounded expression suppressed for the time being and continued the explanation. After I had finished I began hearing some of my students talk about how "fun" this would be, and felt pushed to make this class more meaningful.

"The person who comes in last will be expelled immediately," I told them all.

My words provoked responses like 'that's not fair' or 'we just got here' and other irrelevant excuses, which, in addition to my building disapproval against three of my students, the school board for their lack of background checking the students they welcome to pursue this career, combined with the ignorant and coddled children I was given to mentor, blew my lid open.

"Oh, and you think natural disasters are fair? Or power-hungry villains, hm? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities?" I glanced at them all.

"No." I continued. "The world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to combat that unfairness. If you want to be a pro, you're gonna have to push yourselves to the brink. For the next three years, U.A will throw one terrible hardship after the other at you. So go beyond. Plus Ultra-style. Show me it's no mistake that you're here."

With that out of the way, and my students motivated, we started the test. I was biting my tongue the whole time. I said what I should have said, but I neglected the matter I wanted to talk about. I felt as if the conversation I needed to have with the three would be best in private.

As I observed the students and marked them, I tried to keep my personal feelings and impressions on the sidelines. Then, the time came to reveal who would be leaving us. I showed the scores and, in last place, was a boy named Mineta Minoru.

I sent him on his way – noticing the surprise of a handful of my students that I actually kept to my word – and dismissed almost everyone. I asked Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto, and Yagi Izumi to stay. With the rest of the kids gone I could finally speak my mind.

"You three." I started

They all looked at me, confused, but skeptical and somewhat suspicious that I knew their secret.

"I know what you did. I don't know how people like you three got into this school — especially the hero course, of all departments —but I want to tell you that I don't like any of you. As children of heroes and heroes in training, it's baffling that you got yourselves into a situation like that, and that none of you faced any repercussions for your actions. I will have my eyes on all of you. One screw-up is all it takes. I will not hesitate to expel you all. Because I think we all know, that you can't be heroes with such a lack of empathy for human life."

You could practically feel the disdain and pent-up frustration releasing into the atmosphere as I spoke. The venom that poured from my voice was substantial, and I knew that this was going to be a long year.

_______________

I had been watching the test with complete faith in my daughter's abilities. She had worked hard for this, and although she still was unable to use One For All, she has her own quirk to get her by. Aizawa revealed the chart and then to everyone's shock, actually ended up expelling one of his students.

I felt bad for the boy. Tests like these can't possibly be enough to determine who would wind up being a good hero, because there's more to it than just quirks – it's also about heart and courage, something that wouldn't be shown through a quirk evaluation. As well as that, it's only their first day. They came here to learn to handle, improve, and focus their quirks properly, which is something they haven't done before in a school setting. The evaluation was necessary for Aizawa to do an adequate job in mentoring them, but I personally don't believe that it was enough to make a decision regarding who wouldn't continue on their journey to becoming heroes.

Pulling me from my thoughts, I heard my daughter's name called – along with her friends – by Aizawa as he asked them to stay after class.

What could he want with them on the first day?

I carefully listened in — making sure to stay out of sight — and I was very confused by what I had managed to hear.

"I know what you all did...", he began, "...Repercussions for your actions...", I heard. "...You can't be heroes...", he continued. "...Lack of empathy for human life..."

All I caught were bits and pieces, but it was enough to grab my attention and shock me.

I watched as he walked away, and noticed my tears begin to roll down my daughter's cheeks. I was about to go console her, until she began speaking.

"How did he find out?" She spoke through sobs, "I thought for sure no one would know... We were so careful!" she continued.

"I don't know!" Katsuki replied, gripping his hair with one hand. "Could we go to jail if this got out?" Katsuki questioned Shoto, pacing anxiously.

"How the hell would I know? I've never looked up sentencing for suicide baiting before! Do you think this is a recurring problem I've faced??" Shoto shouted back.

After Shoto's statement, all the pieces lined up and everything was beginning to make sense. Shoto changing schools; Katsuki never coming by the house; Izumi's recent inability to look me in the eye: They had something to do with Izuku's death.

I still wasn't sure what they did exactly, but I knew I was angry. Beyond angry, I was livid, because although I still wasn't sure what part they played in Izuku's death, they decided to keep this from me. He was my son, and whatever they did, I had a right to know the truth. I needed to know what happened to my son, and why. I decided I would confront Izumi when she came home.

I flew home, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and once I got there, I was so furious and confused that I slammed the door shut, shaking the house in the process. Inko came to the living room and asked what was wrong. Then I explained what I had overheard and what I had found out. She was almost as angry and confused as I was. As if on cue, Izumi walked in as soon as we finished speaking. She greeted us as if everything were perfectly normal, and then I spoke.

"Izumi." My voice was rough and full of anger.

Izumi visibly tensed up at the tone. I had never once, been angry with Izumi.

"I overheard your conversation today with Aizawa, and then the one you had with your friends.", I began, watching her expression drop and the blood drain from her face. "What did you do?" my voice was softer and quieter, but the frustration and somewhat knowing tone from before was still just as evident.

Izumi looked up and looked me in the eyes for the first time since Izuku's death. Tears were filling her already red eyes from before, threatening to spill if I continued. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't form words.

"What did you do?!" I repeated, raising my voice – my soft tone from before vanishing as I grew more impatient and more distressed by the minute.

Inko just stood there, trying to comprehend the conversation we were having: I was asking my daughter if she has something to do with the death of my son.

This was one of the hardest things I've had to do, aside from reading my own son's suicide letter, of course. She opened her mouth again, and this time she spoke.