*****Author's notes to follow the chapter*****

It was like standing on the edge of a war-zone.

Fire and smoke filled the air as the villain rampaged without anyone to stop it. Heroes ran back and forth trying to keep people safe as well while explosions went off wildly. Those who tried to help were forced back in an effort to avoid being caught in any of the blasts and injure themselves trying to save the hostage. People on the sidelines watched fearfully as they were unable to assist and yet unable to escape as well.

All except for one teenage girl standing near the front of the crowd with a distant but petrified look on her face. For her this was like reliving her worst nightmare...

She was a young girl again, watching with tears while her mother held her close as debris and fire rained down around them. Most of their home had been reduced to nothing but rubble, however they had been fortunate enough to escape unharmed thanks to the efforts of her father - he was currently out trying to defend others in the neighborhood from the villain that was lashing out.

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew from pictures she had found in albums that had once existed in their home that her father once knew the villain who was destroying everything.

At first, the attacks and damage had been random and without targets as the villain had thrown objects left and right without a care about what he damaged. As soon as her father had stepped into his view however, things had changed.

It almost seemed like he had been looking for her father. She knew that he was a Pro Hero as well, but he had never done enough to have a foe of his own. It was rare for any hero, save for someone as great as All Might, to have someone targeting them specifically. All Might stood as the symbol of peace and justice, after all. Of course aspiring villains that wished to tip the balance would go after him. Her father just did his job and protected people without trying to stand out too much. But now it seemed that didn't matter as the two continued to battle in the streets while people ran for safety now that the villain was preoccupied.

The girl and her mother would have run as well if it weren't for the debris that had fallen on her parent's foot. Some of it had damaged her ankle and left her unable to walk to safety. Her mother had pleaded for her to save herself, but she had refused to do so. She looked up to her father and the Hero business too much to run away from danger and the people she cared about, even as a young child. And so all she could do was stay wrapped in her mother's arms as she watched the destruction rage on in front of her eyes.

The mystery man's hand thrust out to the side for a moment before a large chunk of a building broke off and went sailing towards her father, whose body grew as he caught the debris in both arms and thrust it to the side where it wouldn't hurt anyone. The man then reached out his other hand behind him as two small vehicles began to float and then sail in her father's direction as well. Once again he reached out both hands and grabbed onto the flying motor vehicles to stop them from crashing into anything before setting them down to the side. The man seemed to smirk for a moment before his eyes turned somewhat and fell upon the girl and her mother. They widened briefly before a sadistic grin fell upon his face and he reached out both of his arms in different directions. He moved his mouth, likely saying something to her father while his body tensed up and his head turned slightly to see his enemy's family out of the corner of his eye.

Moments later, multiple pieces of debris varying from playground equipment to slabs of concrete to larger vehicles began raining in their direction. The girl lost sight of all of them moments later however as her father stepped in front of her and her mother, his body growing to the largest size she had ever witnessed him grow. Her eyes shut with fright as both the shadow of her father and the oncoming debris passed over them. Sounds of crunching and banging sounded from above as the wreckage pounded into his form, the occasional grunt coming from him.

Things were quiet then for a few moments, the young girl opening her eyes to see what had happened before her father fell to one knee and then slowly shrank down to his original size in front of them. At the same time, the mystery villain slowly started walking towards them even as her father began to struggle back to his feet. A spurt of blood came from his mouth as he coughed roughly before he wiped an arm across his mouth and took up a fighting stance.

Her father slowly started ambling towards the man even as the villain continued his slow march towards them, a look of indifference now etched across his face as though he was disappointed at the way things had gone. To the girl however, all she saw was a face that would haunt her dreams for years, the sight of that sadistic grin never leaving her mind's eye.

The villain stopped a little away from her father even as he continued approaching, his body tightening as she saw both of his fists clench before he began to increase his gait towards the person that had caused so much damage. Nearing the unknown figure, her father cocked back one arm to deliver a vicious punch to the face of the man. As it neared him however, he raised one hand slightly and she saw her father's form stop in place even though the man had not laid a finger on him.

His muscles could be seen visibly contracting through the shreds of clothing that remained on his body, most of it having been torn by the assorted raining trash he had physically blocked with his body to protect everyone when he couldn't resort to grabbing it out of the air.

The girl saw both of their mouths move while they had a conversation as though they were two friends who haven't seen each other for a long time. Or rather, two rivals. Two very different, tough, and terrifying rivals.

After the two finished their discussion, the villain simply looked at her father with a raised eyebrow for a moment before shaking his head in disappointment. He swung his hand to the side and her father's form sailed through the air like a ragdoll, landing roughly amidst some of the leftover debris that had been scattered during the battle.

The man then turned to look at the girl and her mother, the girl feeling her mother's arms wrap tighter around her. She was trembling and the girl didn't know if it was because she kept screaming her father's name or because she was afraid of the frightful figure that stood before them. But, despite the fear her mother felt – and she felt it as well - that they would be next, the man simply turned and began walking away. His hands now limp at his sides, his interest in the area seemed to vanish after he had defeated her father.

That mattered little to her or her mother a moment later however, as she felt her mother tug on the sleeve of her shirt, begging her wordlessly to go ahead of her and see if her father was alright while she crawled behind. Once she had neared him, she fell to her knees at the sight of her bloodied and bruised parent lying on the rubble. His chest sharply heaved up and down as he struggled for breath, a large metal bar jutting out of the side of his abdomen that he had likely landed upon when tossed to the side. By the time her mother had reached the same spot, all sound had disappeared. The girl could barely even hear her mother's sobs or her father's hoarse voice as he reached out for the two of them, tears filling his eyes as he tried to hold onto those he cared about in his final moments.

It was then that the girl began to cry anew, tears of despair now replacing the tears of fear that had previously occupied her cheeks. She pleaded for her father not to die. As if that would do anything.

She had looked up to him ever since she had known what Heroes were and, after discovering her own Quirk a few years prior, had insisted that he be the one to help her master it. She wanted to be a sidekick with him when she was old enough to do so. She wanted to be with him just a little bit longer. That dream now rapidly fell away around her as the light slowly left his eyes and his own body seemed to slow down as he said his final words.

"Look after your mother…Kaori…"

And then he was gone.

His head was held gently in her mother's lap as the girl, Kaori, felt her entire life collapse around her.

These same feelings began to rush up now as she witnessed a boy's face, filled with desperation and fear, emerge from within the large sludge villain. Heads turned moments later as one of the Heroes yelled out for someone to stop. Kaori – now a teenager - looked over to see what the commotion was as she had been snapped out of her reminiscing by the sharp change in the crowd's focus.

Another young boy, around the same age as her from the looks of it, had started sprinting for the villain at the same time that Kaori had seen the boy's face within the villain's grip. Was it something about the look in his eye, or did they happen to know one another?

Those thoughts didn't matter as much however, as one particular thought invaded Kaori's mind after so many years: Here was a boy, trapped in the clutches of a villain and at his mercy with no heroes around to currently save him.

It reminded her so much of what had happened to her years ago that she had to stop herself from running in alone. As much as she would have liked to help, she knew that her skills with her Quirk were not yet sharp enough to stop a villain on a rampage.

The day her father had died, she had hung up the idea of being a hero as the only reason that she had wanted to in the first place was to work alongside him. She had never seen someone die from a battle before, and so after seeing her own father perish doing his job she had given up for the fear of losing her own life. Her mother had still insisted she get better with her Quirk so that she would still be able to attempt to defend herself since that was still allowed within the laws surrounding Quirks. But, in the end, she couldn't do it. She was afraid. She was a coward. And she knew it.

She'd accepted it.

But then this boy, out of nowhere, decided that he would risk his own life and safety even though none of the professionals were able or willing to intervene. Kaori's eyes widened as he threw his backpack at the villain, its body flinching backwards slightly from such a mundane object. The boy began clawing at the sludge surrounding the other young man, to no avail.

Kaori's eyes filled with worry that the boy with the messy hair would soon meet the same fate as her father as part of the villain's sludge body began reaching for him. Her hands clutched tightly at her sides and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from losing control. To keep herself from panicking at the monster's quickening pace.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came from behind her and a large man grabbed onto the boy's arm before his other fist swung out and dissolved the sludge monster with one punch. It was as he turned around to hand the two boys over to the other Heroes, as well as the police, that Kaori realized it was All Might himself!

Later on, as the crowd had dispersed Kaori could see the Heroes talking with the two boys - one of them being berated for putting his life in danger while the other had been praised for trying to defend himself with his explosive quirk despite the chaos it had caused. Kaori didn't care as much about the boy being praised, however. She was more occupied with the amount of criticism the other boy was receiving over trying to help. From where Kaori had been standing, none of the heroes were moving in to help the boy and instead had chosen to wait for another hero to appear and hope that the boy with the explosion power would be able to hold out for long enough.

It was as Kaori thought about that, a brief memory of something her father had told her came back to the front of her mind.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you're capable of. If you see someone in danger you should do everything you can to help them, no matter what anyone says. The law around Quirks may not let you use your powers to be a Hero, but that doesn't mean you can't save someone without it. A Hero is made by what they choose to do, not by what they're capable of."

Kaori had to rub her eyes briefly even as she shook her head. What an idiot she had been. She had taken everything her father had stood for and practically spat on it without realizing what she had done for so long. How could she admire what he stood for and then at the same time stomp on his ideals while other people did the very same things he would have done if someone were in danger?

It was at that time that a fiery passion filled her soul once again. A light that had long since dimmed now swelled forth within her heart as she looked down at her own hands, now clenched in front of her. She knew what she had to do.

…Right after she went and got the groceries she had gone downtown for.

A woman with long, flowing white hair currently stood over the stove in the kitchen, a light humming sound coming from her throat. Her hands stirred the items in the pan gently and she smiled as she taste-tested the product. All she had left to do was to put the finishing touches on what was to be supper that day.

But, her eyes briefly wandered over to the front door of their apartment. She had been waiting for said finishing touches for nearly an hour. Her mouth scrunched into a frown and she reached for her phone just off to the side. Just as her fingers brushed the smooth plastic surface however, she heard the latch on the door shift as someone entered.

A young girl with shoulder length white hair stepped through the doorframe with a plastic bag in one hand and a determined look in her hazelnut eyes, much like those of her father. One of the woman's eyebrows arched with a curious look as she took notice of the tenacity within her daughter's eyes. It was rare to see her so fired up nowadays, so it must have been something special for her to come through the door gasping for breath.

Maybe she had found a boy that she liked? As nice as that seemed, that would not necessarily be a fun conversation to have.

"Sorry I'm late mom, things got held up by a villain attack down by the supermarket today. All Might took care of it though, so everything's fine. I got the things you wanted for supper."

The older woman turned back to the food on the stove as she gestured towards the countertop where an empty space was set aside for the food that had been purchased.

"Just set what we'll need for tonight on the counter, there. The rest can go in the refrigerator for another day."

The younger girl quickly moved to the counter where she put out a medium sized plate and dropped a few round shaped sweets. She hesitated then put a couple more on before throwing the rest into the fridge.

"I swear though, you go through that stuff like your life depended on it. I hope you can get a job one day that will be able to afford your eating habits when you're living on your own. I can't believe how much groceries cost us somedays."

"I can't help it mom," Her daughter chuckled nervously, "I can't go a day without at least one of those in my stomach. I can't help what I like."

"You will when you can't afford it every day." The older woman stated matter-of-factly before plating the food she had prepared for the two of them.

After setting the food at the table, the two then sat down and began to silently enjoy both the meal and each other's presence. Though, one of them was slightly preoccupied as she looked over towards the sweets sitting on the countertop waiting to be devoured.

Kaori took a quick glance at her mother to make sure she was looking at the news on the television while she ate, as per usual, before turning back to face the countertop. In a fraction of a second, her eyes lit up a light purple and one of her hands, hidden beneath the table, began to glow in a similar hue. Across from her on the kitchen counter, a perfect copy of her limb appeared near the plate of sweets. Just as the floating hand started to reach for one of the sweets, a harsh sound of a throat being cleared could be heard coming from her mother's direction.

Kaori looked over to her mother, who had now turned to face her daughter with a reprimanding look, and gave the woman a sheepish grin. Because of this slight distraction, her eyes returned to their hazelnut colour and the hand over the plate of goodies faded. With a shake of her head, her mother only sighed for a moment before returning to her own food.

"You know that's not what you should be using your Quirk for. You should be practicing using it for the day when you get a job. Having an extra reach like that could be immensely useful for many different careers."

The younger girl groaned from her side of the table as her head fell into one hand that sat propped up on the table. "Mom, I know that you talk about working multiple jobs like it's easy given what your Quirk lets you do so, but what if I don't want to do that?"

"Then what, pray tell, would you do for a job in the future, Kaori?"

"…"

Her mother looked at her in confusion for a few moments as the silence dragged on longer than she expected. In an attempt to avoid her mother's gaze, Kaori looked off towards the wall awkwardly before turning back to her food.

When it didn't seem like the young teen would be providing her with an answer any time soon, the woman simply sighed before getting up to gather the dishes and take them to the sink.

"…I want to be a Hero."

The sound of shattering dishes filled the air as her mother dropped the china onto the floor. Her face, filled with shock and perhaps a little fear, turned to face her daughter who simply continued to sit and stare out the window.

"What was that, Kaori?" She asked with a nervous smile on her face, "I swear I just heard you say you want to be a Hero."

The younger girl turned to face her mother, that determined and undaunted look now back upon her face.

"That's because that's what I said, mom. I want to be a Hero."

So, first things first. To those of you who haven't read any of my previous works, hello! My only previous works (of note) have been within the RWBY universe, so this is my first real attempt at branching out. And honestly it had to be something like My Hero Academia considering how moving and amazing this show is. For those curious about how far into the show/manga this is going to progress, I can't say for certain just yet as I know that the manga will receive quite a few updates before I catch up to it with this story as I will be updating it on a bi-weekly basis while I continue to work on my current RWBY story.

I am also receiving some assistance from another author on this site by the name of 3VAMM3, who has her own MHA story titled Siren. (It's quite good, and should be getting an update within a week or two, so I definitely recommend giving that a read as well for those that haven't seen it yet) She'll be doing revisions/giving me feedback on my story as I write the chapters for this story when able so thank her for this story not having quite as messy grammar. I'm still working out those kinks in my work before I go onto something bigger.

Anyways, I hope that anyone that reads this is intrigued at what is to come, and feel free to ask me any questions or give commentary if you feel the need!