It had been three days since (L/N) had rejoined The Watcher Agency and still he had yet to hear from the eponymous hero for whom the group was named, partially because The Vigilant Hero was still tied up in his work with The Nighteye Agency, but mostly because (L/N) was rarely at The Watchtower. During his internship, (L/N) had only spent a minimal amount of time in the field. Most of that week was learning the ins and outs of what happened behind the scenes. Now, operating with the authority of his provisional hero license, he was gaining a firsthand appreciation for just how much the heroes had to deal with.

In the past seventy-two hours alone, he had assisted in five high speed chases, two fires, a mountain rescue, and nearly two dozen incidents of theft or burglary on scales ranging from low level purse snatchings to armed hold ups. It was just past midday when he and Djinn staggered through The Watchtower doors. The two had just dealt with a hostage situation at a bank involving a potential suicide bomber. All said, it wasn't a particularly difficult mission. Djinn and (L/N)'s quirks were ideally suited to deal with the threat, and the incident was resolved without casualties in a matter of minutes. That being said, it was still and extremely tense situation, especially for (L/N). Knowing that one wrong move on his part could result in dozens of casualties wasn't exactly a foreign concept to him, given the nature of his quirk. But this time simply refusing to use his power hadn't been an option.

Cloudburst and Lionheart came into the office around one o'clock just as Djinn, Cortex, and (L/N) were starting lunch. Cloudburst was limping with every right step, and her uniform was torn around the knee.

"Matusi, what happened?" Djinn asked in concern.

"I got clipped by some thugs in a stolen car." Cloudburst dropped thankfully into the nearest chair. "No need to worry, though. It's nothing serious. Just needs a little ice is all." She said as she propped up her leg on another chair.

"Any more calls come in?" Lionheart asked.

"Fortunately, things seem to have quieted down." Cortex informed. "At least for the time being."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts, I guess." Lionheart shrugged as she too sat down. "And what do we have here?"

"Oh, (L/N) was kind enough to make lunch for us." Djinn said, indicating the vegetable stew and yakitori sitting on her left. "There's more in the kitchen."

Cloudburst and Lionheart looked over at the kitchen area with interest. Matsui was just about to push herself up from her chair when The Courageous Hero held up a hand to stop her injured comrade, signaling that she would get her food for her.

"Cortex filled us in on the bomber situation. Oh, thanks Isamu." Matsui said as Lionheart set a bowl and plate before her and handed her an icepack. "Good work taking care of that one. Especially you, (L/N). That's not an easy situation to be in, especially so early in your training."

"He certainly proved his fortitude." Djinn said. "Most rookies would have been shaking in their boots, but he handled himself well."

"I'm just glad no one was hurt." (L/N) replied uneasily. The others nodded and hummed in agreement.

Lionheart clicked her tongue uncomfortably as a small silence crept upon them as the conversation died. Clearing her throat, she turned her attention to the stew to distract herself from the quiet. A small slurping noise poked holes in the tense silence, followed by a shout which shattered the quiet completely.

"Damn, kid!" Lionheart exclaimed as she took her first bite. "This is some good shit, right here!"

"Isamu!" Cloudburst scolded.

"Sorry, but it's true." Lionheart laughed as she quickly scarfed down the stew. "This is borderline gourmet."

"Isn't it though." Djinn smiled and clapped her hands together. "I couldn't believe how delicious it was. Even Cortex had difficulty concealing his enjoyment."

Cloudburst rolled her eyes at the way Lionheart bit into the yakitori. It was like watching a wild animal with how she tore it off the skewer with her teeth. A complete disregard for manners. Dipping her spoon into the clear colored stock, she blew gently on the steaming broth and took a sip. "Oh, shit."

Lionheart and Djinn laughed as Cloudburst covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"See, now she gets it." Isamu laughed in her teeth baring grin, nudging (L/N)'s arm with her elbow.

"It's nothing special." (L/N) said uncomfortably.

"Don't be so modest." Djinn said through her own dying laughter. "You're quite the gifted chef. I'm sure many young ladies will appreciate your talent."

"Speaking of," Matsui dipped her spoon back in the bowl and flashed a teasing smirk. "Tell us, (L/N), is there a special girl in your life?"

A spoonful of broth went down his windpipe at Cloudburst's question and Lionheart gave him a few hard pats on the back as he coughed.

A special girl? What did that mean? Special how? Not that any of those questions really mattered. He didn't even need half the fingers on one hand to count the number of people he would consider to ever have been 'in his life'. He supposed that alone made them special. There had been Kendo, of course. But the three years they had together never amounted to anything, at least not to her. In the end he was only ever worth one mistake.

But Momo? How many times had she forgiven him? Forgiven his callousness and his cruelty? All he ever seemed to do was hurt her in one way or another. Sometimes he wondered how many more times she would allow him to mess up before she finally decided he wasn't worth her time. If she left him too, he wasn't sure what he would do. He hadn't seen Momo since he'd started his work study, and in just those three days he had already begun to miss her. And he wasn't sure which part of that fact surprised him more. That he missed her, or that it only took three days. Even as he thought about it, he could feel the warmth of her lips on his forehead where she had kissed him.

"Oh, look." Cloudburst squealed. "He's blushing!"

[My Hero Academia]

"We've got idiots fighting nonstop on the streets these days. Can't eat enough to keep up. So, we reached out to The Watchtower for some extra support. I appreciate you comin' all the way out here."

The sun had fallen nearly an hour ago and Japan's night life had begun to light up the streets in various shades of flashing neon. The sidewalks were flooded with bodies, but the crowd parted as people cleared the way and took out their phones to take pictures of the two pro heroes out on patrol.

The request from the Fat Gum Agency had come in about thirty minutes after lunch, during which (L/N) had been interrogated by Cloudburst, Lionheart, and Djinn about the identity of the girl who had, as Cloudburst put it, had his heart in a tizzy, until external affairs had saved him by dropping off the team up request.

"We're happy to help." Cloudburst smiled. "But I do have to admit, I'm surprised you requested us. Aren't Native and Best Jeanist's agencies closer?"

"You're right about that." Fat Gum nodded. "But Native is taking some time off after his run in with Stain. And all of Jeanist's sidekicks are busy picking up the slack while Jeanist recovers from the Kamino incident. Plus, when Red Riot mentioned one of his classmates was doing his work study with The Watcher, I kind of figured they might work well together. But, well..."

Fat Gum and Cloudburst looked over their shoulders at the three UA students trailing behind them.

"Why is he glaring at me like?" The hairs on the back of Amajiki's neck stood on end at the severe look on (L/N)'s face. "Can't he look somewhere else? I hate this. I want to go home."

"Don't worry, he always looks like that." Kirishima said, trying to ease Amajiki's nerves. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think he's glaring at you. Besides, how can he be? He's wearing a blindfold."

Still trembling, Amajiki risked a glance at (L/N) out of the corner of his eye. Sure, he had a blindfold on, but if anything, that just made him look that much more intense. 'It's fine.' Tamaki thought to himself in a panic. 'Just think of him as a potato. Nothing more than a lump of starch.' Swallowing the lump in his throat, Amajiki chanced another furtive peek at (L/N), whose head he now envisioned as a spud. 'He's a scary looking potato!'

With a frightened whimper, Suneater pulled his hood down further over his face, hoping that it would swallow him whole and make him disappear. But just as the world was about to vanish behind his cowl, he was jostled to the side by a fleeing individual pushing their way through the crowd. The runner was quickly followed by a second, then a third and a fourth, each one of them bumping Amajiki on opposite sides as they ran past so the UA student ended up comically spinning on the spot to avoid losing balance.

"Not so fast!"

With the reaction speed of a professional hero, Fat Gum quickly turned on the spot so all four ran straight into his stomach. Wrapping them in a crushing hug, he pulled them deeper into his fat until they were trapped.

"Screw this!" One of the thugs growled, turning his body into a strange whisp to escape the BMI Hero's grip.

"Yeah, you said it." Another one said as their body became water.

"Whoops. Lost a couple of 'em. Looks like he's got the same quirk as Edge."

Neither of the criminals got very far, though. The first was quickly wrapped up in Suneater's tentacles before being knocked unconscious by a fistful of clams. The second managed to get a little further, but it wasn't long before dark storm clouds gathered over the puddle, crackling ominously until a bolt of lightning reverted him back to his original form, albeit, a little charred.

"Man," Cloudburst shook her head as she moved to stand over the unconscious figure. "Imagine running straight past five heroes out on patrol." She laughed as the people on the streets clapped and whistled. "I don't know if it was luck or brains, but you were definitely missing one of those things tonight."

"That was amazing!" One citizen shouted.

"I can't believe I actually got to see Cloudburst in action!"

"Aw, geez." Cloudburst smiled and rubbed the back of her neck as more people sang her praises. A few yards/meters away, Amajiki was in a similar situation, though he handled it with far less grace.

(L/N) growled agitatedly as the crowd swallowed him and jostled him around in their haste to take pictures and selfies. The sound of the artificial shutters that accompanied each shot from a camera phone rattled in his brain. Worse were the flashes of light. Each one lit up his radar, overwhelming his quirk until he started to lose himself in a sea of rapidly pulsing light. Gritting his teeth, he forced his breathing to slow. He tried to imagine the feeling of Momo's hand and used the memory of her fingers interlacing with his own as a tether to guide him back to the present. That's when he heard the click.

It wasn't the same click as the ones coming from everyone's phones. It was deeper. More present and more physical than the rest. With his quirk, he sought out the direction of the noise.

"He's got a gun!" (L/N) shouted.

"Down!" Fat threw his arms up over those nearest him and forced them to the ground.

The first shot hit Amajiki in the shoulder. The second was aimed at Cloudburst, but before it could reach her, (L/N) tackled her to the pavement.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, ignoring the stinging sensation in the left side of his lower back.

"I'm fine, thanks to you." She said. "What about you? Were you hit?"

"No." (L/N) said, not feeling any blood. "No, I don't think so."

"He's getting away!" Fat Gum shouted as he wrestled with the two criminals trying to escape his stomach in all the chaos.

"On it!" Kirishima took off after the gunner.

"Don't bother." (L/N) reached his hand out and clenched it into a fist to capture the man in a cage of hard light.

Only the light never hardened. Slowly opening his trembling hand, he felt the light in his palm begin to fade until it was extinguished completely. His brow furrowed in confusion. His breathing came faster and more erratic as the feeling of the streetlights and neon signs left him. The last thing he sensed was the moon, its silver light pulled from his grasp. Shrinking, dying, and then it was gone, and he was once again a frightened little boy alone in the night as the world passed him by.

And then, from behind his closed eyelids...

He saw light.