Chapter One: Arson

"I have you now!" the American hero yelled. Clapping his hands together, the ground underneath Arson turned into thick, cement-like mud, and the humidity increased by at least ten percent.

Arson had to fight to keep a smile off his face. A swamp quirk wasn't something he'd ever encountered before. In theory this hero, Mississippi Mud, should pose a threat to Arson, but the opposite was true as well. Arson's flame, carefully controlled by his telekinesis was also a swamp quirk's weakness. It would all come down to cunning and sheer power.

The hero was young and fueled by righteous fury. Mississippi Mud hadn't been on Arson's list, but his mentor had been. The seasoned hero had put up an admirable fight, but he fell just as the others had.

That had been just over a week ago, and in that time Mississippi Mud had hunted Arson ruthlessly. Finally the young hero had found him, determined to avenge his mentor. The fact that the boy had been able to find Arson spoke volumes of his skill.

Arson adjusted the mask that covered everything but his mouth. As he did so, he felt his lower calfs sink into the young hero's mud.

"The path of a hero is rarely happy, child," Arson warned. "If you swear it off now I'll let you walk away."

"Why?" Mud asked, the humidity increasing even more. Arson found it a little harder to breathe, but he was fairly sure that he could still breathe fire. "You've never let a hero walk away after an encounter with you."

"I was told to kill them. But you kid, you haven't pissed anyone off badly enough that they want you dead," Arson said easily. "Just walk away and figure out another job."

Mississippi Mud stared me down. "We both know that's not going to happen."

"I tried," Arson said, making a show of sighing. In actuality, he was observing the young hero. As the mud beneath them got deeper and the air more humid, the kid's lower extremities got more blurred, merging seamlessly with the mud.

So the kid's physiology is made of mud, Arson thought. It really is a matter of cunning and power.

"You'll be happy to know your mentor put up a decent fight," Arson said, flames dancing from his mouth with each word. The kid lurched backwards, his eyes fixated on the flame.

The flames began circling Arson like a cat twining around his legs. As they did so, the ground encasing him dried, flaking away easily so he could move again.

"I gave you a chance, kid," Arson said, shaking his head. "You could have made a life for yourself, but you've chosen to join your mentor. Better luck in your next life."

Opening his mouth wide and raising his hands to control it, a barrage of flames encircled the hero known as Mississippi Mud. The kid tried to save himself by throwing himself to the semi-moist ground to survive the flames, but the heat was too much. The kid's body began drying out, and then flaking away.

Barely able to move even his mouth, Mississippi Mud said, "You'll pay."

Arson stared down at him, much the way one looks at a cockroach. "That's going to take someone a lot stronger than you."

Completely devoid of emotion, Arson planted a single foot on the hero's chest. As he pressed down with his full weight, Mud's chest cracked. Arson kept pressing down, until all that was left of Mississippi Mud was a pile of dust.

Brushing off his clothes, Arson shook his head. He was too young. I had hoped for a better fight.

When a quick glance confirmed that Arson was truly alone, he pulled off the mask, revealing an average-looking Japanese man, a man who looked more at home at a desk job than on any kind of battlefield. Patting his head, he internally lamented about mask hair. In actuality, his hair looked exactly the same as it had before he put the mask on, as he wore it in a buzz cut. In his younger days his hair had always been a mess of curls.

He found his way back to his apartment complex, still disappointed in how quickly the fight had ended. Upon entering the apartment complex, he was almost immediately cornered by his neighbor.

"Hisashi, you lived in the same city as that really famous hero school, right?" Antony asked excitedly.

Hisashi suppressed a sigh. "Yes, we lived fairly close to U.A."

"Did you ever see the U.A. Sports Festival in person?" Antony pressed. "Those kids are insane! This year the first-years took the spotlight. No one else did, but I personally rooted for the kid who tried not to use his quirk. He actually got surprisingly far without it, which made sense because he totally trashed his body with his quirk."

"Oh?" Hisashi asked blandly, internally calculating. Had All-for-One gotten to a kid who then sneaked into U.A.'s hero class?

"Hisashi?" Antony asked.

"What do you want?"

"I have the English version of the Sports Festival recorded, but I also have the version with the original Japanese commentary. I love Present Mic, and I remembered, I have a wonderful neighbor who literally translates Japanese for a living," Antony said hopefully.

Hisashi heaved a sigh. "Fine, I'll translate it for you."

Antony cheered as Hisashi followed him into his apartment. Sitting on Antony's couch, strange emotions burned through Hisashi. Whenever Inko managed to get ahold of Hisashi, she told him how badly Izuku wanted to be a hero and how it broke her heart that he could never become one. This always pricked at what little conscience Hisashi had left, and because of this he rarely called Inko, and almost never answered the phone.

"I can't stay long," Hisashi warned. "I have important things to take care of."

"Of course you do, you always do," Antony whined. "In that case, we'll skip the first event. It was impressive, but I care about the others more."

Hisashi eased into Antony's couch glaring at the TV with an unblinking gaze. As Antony fiddled with the remote, he cursed. "The kids must have deleted the second event. Oh well, the last event was the best anyway. I'm glad you finally have a free moment in your schedule. I've been trying to pin you down since the Sports Festival actually happened, and that was months ago."

He nodded in agreement with Antony, but in reality, Hisashi was already regretting this. He had no desire to watch fledgeling heroes waste public attention and resources. Naturally Hisashi had heard about this year's Sports Festival. You would have to live under a mound of rocks not to. He had also heard of All Might's shocking defeat. Hisashi couldn't deny the small bit of smug satisfaction he found at the news.

Since then Hisashi hadn't heard anything from All For One or the League of Villains, and he assumed that meant he was now a free agent. He had taken care of the last person on the list-and a few others- which meant he could go anywhere he liked. He just had to decide where his skills would be most marketable.

Antony interrupted his train of thought. "It's an unpopular opinion, but the plain-looking kid in this first round is my favorite. He uses his mind more than his quirk, but wowza, his quirk is a little scary. I think they called him Izuku? No offense, but Japanese names are a mouthful."

Hisashi jolted a bit at hearing his son's name, but he quickly calmed himself. It wasn't an uncommon name, after all, and Izuku didn't have a quirk. Hisashi had seen to that.

Antony had finally stopped jabbering and began the recording. The camera panned out to show a stadium full of spectators watching eagerly as Midnight explained the rules. Who let that woman anywhere near a high school, and as an instructor no less?

Hisashi translated everything flatly, hoping Antony would relieve him of his duty if he did a bad enough job. Sadly it was to no avail, because either way Antony was utterly enraptured.

Finally they announced the first match, and Hisashi was on autopilot, translating without thought. However, Hisashi faltered upon hearing the second contestant's name.

"-and Izuku Midoriya," Hisashi croaked, his eyes glued to the screen. Surely enough, a smaller teenager walked out. He still held traces of the child Hisashi had known. He had Inko's coloring, but the same unruly hair Hisashi had when he let it grow out. A tide of emotions was threatening to drown Hisashi.

How was his son that old already? He could have sworn that Izuku was only twelve, maybe thirteen. More importantly, how had he gotten into U.A.? Even if he had a quirk, Hisashi wouldn't be able to stomach his own son attending any hero school.

"Hisashi? What's Present Mic saying?" Antony asked, once again breaking Hisashi from his ruminations.

He translated quickly, but luckily Present Mic and the other commentator -Eraserhead?- were fairly silent for the first battle, so he could focus on Izuku. Hisashi wanted to scream in frustration as he watched his son almost immediately begin walking to the edge of the ring. Whatever quirk the other kid had, Hisashi was ready to strangle him. Then, mere moments before Izuku disqualified himself, a loud crash sounded and dust filled the air, obscuring what had happened.

Hisashi growled in frustration, and he spat out a translation of Present Mic's confusion. When the dust cleared, Izuku stood barely behind the boundary. Despite the heroic setting, Hisashi found himself cheering for his son.

Izuku had always seemed small to Hisashi, but Hisashi hadn't seen him in person for… seven years? Ten? Every time Hisashi blinked, it seemed like Inko was calling him about forgetting to send the kid a gift.

The kid wasn't hopeless. He'd always seemed like a limp noodle of a boy, but now Izuku had clearly bulked up pretty significantly. When Izuku judo-flipped his opponent out of the ring, Hisashi found a smile on his face.

Maybe his son didn't have a quirk. Maybe he had trained until he could stand on equal ground with the kids who had a quirk. If that were true, then Izuku would be a valuable asset to the League of Villains. He may be in hero school now, but every child imitated their parents. Izuku would doubtlessly join the League of Villains if for nothing more than to be near Hisashi.

The other children's fights were impressive, especially considering they were all the same age as Izuku, whatever that age may be. Hisashi simply didn't care. They were merely heroes to be cut down one day.

In the second round of matches, Hisashi began to feel nervous. Izuku was pitted against Endeavor's brat, a boy with an ice-quirk powerful enough that Hisashi couldn't see a way for Izuku to fight back. As soon as the Endeavor Spawn sent a barrage of ice towards Izuku, Hisashi knew it was all over.

But it wasn't. Clenching his fist, Izuku yelled, "SMASH!" Bringing his fist forward, a deadly power obliterated the recently formed ice.

Hisashi stared blankly at the TV as the fight unfolded. It was a game of cat and mouse, and with each punch, Izuku seemed more and more injured. But Hisashi didn't really absorb what was going on in the fight, even as Endeavor's son displayed a fire quirk as well. Instead, Hisashi stared at his son, who had a quirk.

His son, who couldn't have a quirk.

Thinking on this, as soon as the event was over, Hisashi clapped a hand on Antony's shoulder. "It was nice knowing you, but it's time for me to move on."

Antony genuinely looked sad. "Well, where are you going this time?"

The barest smile brushed Hisashi's lips. "Japan, actually. It's time for me to go home."

A/N: Hello all! This is my first BNHA fanfic, and only my third fanfic ever. To those of you that may be coming from Shattered, I swear I'm not abandoning it. I just needed to write something that I felt a little more inspired about, but I swear I will get another chapter of that out soon, depending on what school and work permits.

To any new readers, I write fanfiction as an avenue to improve my writing, so please leave reviews letting me know what you think! I appreciate any criticism and take it into serious consideration when I write. This is going to be a longer fanfic, I'm not sure of how many chapters yet, but I'm really excited about this one. I don't make strict updating schedules, but I honestly do get inspired by reviews and follows, it assures me that people are still reading. So please, let me know what you're thinking about this.

Also, just FYI this takes place after the hero lisence arc, towards the end of fall, at least for now.