Welcome back to another chapter of A Quirkless's Daughter! In this chapter, we continue from the last chapter of the mock battle, as well as get a bit of a background story from a couple of characters~ ... Well, my version of their backstories that is. Whose backstories will be revealed? Well, that, peeps... you will find out!

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia! I do, however, own my OC, Rena Trobe!

Rena and Aluche stared down at Naofumi and Raphtalia. Earlier, the hero team had searched around the building for the villain team and the weapon. After locating the room in which they were residing in, Rena and Aluche had engaged in combat with Raphtalia, who revealed to have an illusion Quirk in addition to her raccoon Quirk. Letting Rena handle the female villain in close combat, Aluche rushed to retrieve the nuclear weapon and end the exercise, only for Naofumi to stop her approach and show there was more to his shield Quirk than they thought.

"There's only seven minutes left on the clock. If we hold out for these last seven minutes, it's our win!" Naofumi declared.

In the monitor room, All Might and the rest of Class 1-A, minus Izuku, stared at the screen in surprise and shock.

"Whoa! Kutenro-chan's Quirk also makes her invisible?!" Tooru asked.

"I thought Todoroki's the only one with double Quirks in this class," Denki stated.

"And where'd that invisible wall come from?" Sato asked.

"Looks like it's from Iwatani's shield Quirk," Tokoyami spoke. "Look at his shield. Did it always look like it's made of glass?"

"Now that you mentioned it, that's true," Mina agreed. "But wait, I thought he gets boost depending on what his shield looks like. That's what he showed back in Mr. Aizawa's test."

"Looks like he didn't show us everything about his Quirk that day, then," Shoji said. "But even so..."

"I thought Rena-chan wasn't going to use her Quirk here, like she did with most of Mr. Aizawa's test," Tsuyu spoke, a finger on her chin in thought.

"True, but she seems to be using her Quirk sparingly," Momo observed. "If you think of it from her perspective, she's only using her Quirk to summon out a normal sword. Even Quirkless can at the very least use a weapon. Maybe this is the approach she's going for."

"Then what about that cute little creature from earlier?" Uraraka asked.

"It may also have something to do with what Mr. Aizawa said, about how there are times when she needs to use her Quirk. Since they don't know where the weapon and villain team are and are limited on time, Trobe-kun must've thought it was necessary to use her Quirk at this time," Iida assumed. "Even so, to think she can summon a living creature with her Quirk... If she can summon something that can fight with her, her Quirk is surely one of the most powerful ones."

Back to the mock battle taking place, Rena and Raphtalia resumed their sword fight, the latter stopping the former from assisting her partner in any way, and Aluche swung her sword at the invisible wall, which proved to be futile.

"Aluche, stop! Just switch with me!" Rena called out.

"That won't happen. Raphtalia!" Naofumi called to his partner.

"Right!" Raphtalia broke away from Rena and disappeared.

Rena kept her guard up, especially as she didn't know where Raphtalia would be. She glanced down at her left arm and noticed one of the four heat signatures moving towards another. It didn't take the red-head long to know where the raccoon girl was. Before she could react, though, the sound of blades clashing was heard behind her. Rena looked and saw her partner holding her sword up in a defensive position. The air before Aluche wavered as Raphtalia's Quirk wore off of her, revealing the girl in full view.

"About that switching thing, I'll handle Kutenro. Do something about the wall and get the weapon," the heterochromian girl said.

"My thoughts exactly," Rena agreed, rushing to the wall while her partner handled her opponent.

Like Aluche, Rena swung her sword at the barrier Naofumi had up.

"It's hopeless," he said. "Try all you want, it's going to take more than a sword to take down this wall." Just after he said that, he noticed something different. Unlike when Aluche only focused on one spot, Rena moved around as she attacked. His eyes widened as he realized what the girl was really trying to do.

'She's looking for a weak spot!' he thought.

As for Rena, as she hit around the wall, she felt her strikes being more effective around one part of it, compared to the rest. "Right... here!" Switching her sword out for her big, yellow one, she swung with all her might at the wall and broke it down.

Aluche and Raphtalia ceased their battle as they heard the wall break and looked at their partners' direction. "Naofumi-kun!" the latter cried out in worry.

As soon as the barrier was down, Rena charged at the nuclear weapon. Before she could touch the weapon, however, something glowed around it, and a chained ball made of shield appeared, trapping the weapon within.

"What the-?!" Rena gasped. She turned to Naofumi and saw his shield had changed once again, the gem glowing.

"You're not getting to the weapon. I'll make sure of it," he claimed.

"Then I guess I'll have to do something about you first," Rena stated, changing her weapon back to her normal blue sword and rushed at the Shield Quirk user.

Naofumi raised his shield to block the strike and was quite shocked to feel the force behind it. 'That's strong! Is it because of her arms? Or did she make that sword out of some strong material? No... Even if the second option is possible, it's supposed to be only a solid hologram, isn't it?' he wondered, pushing the girl off. Rena charged back at him, and the guy either blocked her strike again or avoided them. 'I don't know if I can hold off her attacks and keep the container up for long.'

"Naofumi-kun!" Raphtalia cried out in worry.

"Where are you looking?!" Aluche asked, continuing her assault on her.

Not wanting to stall any more time with her, especially as she knew the limits of Naofumi's Quirk, Raphtalia made herself disappear, just in time to avoid another strike from the heterochromian girl.

"Gone again?" Aluche questioned. She looked around her surrounding, but found no sign of the raccoon girl.

"Nyaooh!" she then heard. Aluche looked up and saw Komainu in a ventilation shaft, waving his arms around. Upon seeing that he got her attention, he directed his arms to Rena's way, much to Aluche's confusion.

'Komainu? What is he trying to tell me?' she wondered, looking to where her partner and her opponent are. She felt her skin crawl when she looked their way and dashed.

Back to Rena, as she swung her sword at Naofumi, she noticed two things. Firstly, there were many strikes he could've just blocked with his shield, and yet he blocked some hits, while avoiding the rest. This could mean that the shield has a limit to the number of hits it could take before it reverts back to normal. Which brings to the second thing she noticed; the gem on Naofumi's shield. For the past couple of days since school started, she knew the gem never glowed, even if his shield changed appearance. Not only that, but back when she broke the wall earlier, she could've sworn the gem was glowing back then. Unless if she was overthinking it, that gem must be the answer to that barrier, which means...

'I hit that, the barrier will disappear, and the game is ours!' Rena thought, swinging her sword down, only for Naofumi to avoid it.

"Get away from Naofumi-kun!" she then heard. Rena looked up and saw the air wavering slightly, as Raphtalia's figure appeared, sword drawn and ready to strike.

Aluche arrived just in time to push Rena out of the way and block Raphtalia's sword.

"I don't think we have much time left here!" she said to her partner. "Got a plan?"

"Just one. Komainu, cover his eyes!" Rena called.

Naofumi and Raphtalia both raised a brow in confusion at the order, when Komainu dropped on the former's head.

"What the-?!" Naofumi gasped, as Komainu quickly moved his body to cover the guy's face. "Wha-?! What are you-?! Can't breathe!"

"Naofumi-kun!" Raphtalia rushed to help, but was blocked by Aluche.

"Sorry, but you have to go through me!" the heterochromian girl said.

As her partner and creation were keeping the villain team occupied, Rena recalled her sword and summoned out her blaster. 'Homing shots take up more battery life than normal shots. At most, 10% of my battery will be drained, depending on the control and size. My right arm has 30% of battery left. I need to be careful not to waste the shot,' she thought.

Just as she aimed her blaster at Naofumi, specifically his shield, Rena saw something off about his shield. Off in a way that it was glowing, with the gem losing its glow. She turned to the shield barrier he had up around the nuclear weapon and saw that it was also glowing, as well as fading. It was then she realized the true weakness, and an obvious one, to Naofumi's Quirk. 'Of course one would have to have concentration to use their powers,' she thought with a mental face-palm, and rushed to the dissipating barrier.

It didn't take long for the barrier to disappear and Rena to retrieve the weapon it was hiding under.

"Hero Team wins!" came All Might's voice.

"Wait, what?!" Raphtalia gasped, as she looked back and saw Rena had reached the nuclear weapon in time.

"All right, Rena!" Aluche cheered.

A thud, grunts, and muffled got their attention, and the pair looked and saw the guy still struggling to get Komainu off his face. "Ged! Dis! Obf!" Worried, the pair went to assist the guy in removing the creature.

"Komainu, you can release him now," Rena called out.

At her command, to Naofumi's relief, Komainu released the guy, allowing him to breathe. "I... I thought I was going to die..." he panted.

"Sorry. Believe me, I would've gone for the homing bullets if I didn't know doing that would also break your concentration on your Quirk," Rena apologized.

"Oh, so you managed to figure out how my Quirk works..."

"It's not hard if you're observant enough." At that simple response, Naofumi simply sighed. "Come on. Let's get back to the others," Rena then said, approaching the guy and lending him a hand.

Naofumi glared at her slightly before he got himself up. "I was suffocating, not hurt." With those words, he walked out of the room, with Raphtalia following.

"What? He didn't have to say it like that," Aluche said, not amused with his attitude.

"It's fine. He probably didn't expect to lose this way," Rena reasoned, as they followed the pair out.

Once the four students met back up with All Might and their classmates, it was time for the final review.

"The MVPs of this final battle are Young Trobe and Young Iwatani!" All Might announced. "Can anyone tell me why?"

"Yes, sensei!" Iida called out with his hand raised, as did Momo.

"Young Iida!"

"It is because for Trobe-san, she used her Quirk to properly map out the building as well as hasten the search for Iwatani-san and Kutenro-san. Not only that, back when she struck the wall Iwatani-san had put up earlier, unlike her partner who focused on one spot, Trobe-san searched around for a weak point on the wall, as well as exposed a possible weakness from the enemy. As for Iwatani-kun, he anticipated the hero team coming to retrieve the weapon and, with Kutenro-kun's assistance, set up an assault and barriers to prevent the heroes from getting their goal."

"Correct! Now then, with this, combat training is over for today! Everyone, good work! Other than Young Midoriya, no one has any major injuries! You guys took this on seriously! You all did a good job for your first training!"

"To have such a proper class after Mr. Aizawa's class, it's kind of anticlimatic..." Tsuyu stated, with almost half the class nodding in agreement.

"We're free to have proper classes, as well! Well then, I must review the results with Young Midoriya! Change and return to the classroom!" At those last three words, the guy took off at full speed out of the control room.

"All Might's amazing!" Denki exclaimed, impressed by the guy's speed.

"Why was he in such a hurry?" Ojiro wondered.

"Maybe he also has something urgent to attend to?" Raphtalia wondered.

"So cool..." Minoru said in awe.

School went by quite normally after that. The rest of the classes the group was taking were all normal classes with nothing to do with anything physical. Eventually, it became late in the afternoon, and instead of going home for the day, the class decided to stay a little longer for their own detailed review of the combat training from earlier.

"Wait, your Quirk creates living creatures?!" Sato asked Rena, who was one of the very few packing up to leave for the day.

"So to speak, yes," she answered. "Though materializing creatures use up more battery than weapons would, depending on the size."

"Whoa... That sounds broken as hell," Eijiro stated.

"It is. Combatively speaking, I only have one creature who can fight alongside me. The one you guys saw earlier is more of a pet, an sidekick-type of a creature."

"But I thought you want to be a hero who doesn't rely on her Quirk. Aren't you being a hypocrite in doing this?" Jiro asked.

"Normally, yes. However, as I had already explained to Aluche, my mother is developing an equipment that will detect heat signatures of a person. If not that, then there is the possibility of using the security cameras to find out where villains are hiding in a building."

"So that red puppy is a loophole to your dream?" Toru asked.

"Putting it that way, yes."

"A Quirk that makes weapons and dangerous monsters... If not for your ambition, you may be one of the strongest in this class," Tokoyami stated.

"She is! You should've seen her take that giant robot down during the entrance exam!" Aluche exclaimed. "I saw her summon that other creature she was talking about, and it looked real strong! Its tail is a mace!"

"Whoa! That does sound strong!" Mina said.

"Man, it's no wonder why you made it to first place, then. As expected of heroine's daughter!" Sero stated.

Once he said that, the friendly mood Rena was having left, and the girl slung her bag over her shoulder and silently made her leave.

*ALUCHE'S P.O.V*

Rena's sudden leave made everyone confused. Why did she up and leave like she did?

"Was it something I said?" Sero asked.

Rather than an answer, another student, Shoto, got up and made his leave.

"... I think that's a 'yes'," Mina guessed.

"Huh?!"

Most of the class didn't know what he said wrong, but Aluche did. It wasn't as though he meant any harm of any kind, but from what she gathered from yesterday, and back at the combat training, Rena must've not like it when people compare her to her mother.

Wanting to put the plan she had the other day to action, Al made her own leave. "I got a train to catch. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" she waved as she left.

"Sure!"

"See you tomorrow!"

"Get home safely!"

Several classmates bid her farewell as well.

*RENA'S P.O.V*

'In the end, it's the same thing,' Rena thought, as she walked out of school.

Throughout her childhood, ever since she first obtained her Quirk, many people close to her stated how she was destined to be a great hero like her mother, instead of a failure like her father. Any accomplishments done with her Quirk, her teacher responded to such accomplishments with the usual 'As expected from a top hero's daughter' or 'better her mother than her father'. Even her classmates thought so. The only thing people knew her dad for was for being a Quirkless police officer who supposedly makes the heroes' job harder. Never was his hard work recognized by anyone, except for his family. Rena and her mom were the only ones who knew how much of a hero he really was.

'In this world, Quirk is everything,' she thought. 'That's the old and dumbest way of things. Once I become a hero, I will change that perspective. No matter what.'

"Rena! Hey, wait up!" Rena stopped in her tracks when she heard someone call out to her. Looking to the source of the voice, she saw Aluche rushing over to her.

"Aluche. Don't tell me you're trying to follow me home," she instantly assumed.

"Of course not! Though I do want to ask if I can come over to your place," the heterochromian girl said.

"And why would I ever agree to that?"

"Oh come on. After that combat training, you can't tell me you still don't consider me as a friend."

"That doesn't really answer my question. You cannot assume that just because we did well working together in that training that we're friends, nor that I would allow you in my home."

"Okay, now that's harsh... Come on. Isn't there anyway at all I can prove to you I have no malicious intention in wanting to come over to your place?"

Looking at the girl in her different colored eyes, Rena could see that she truly was being quite unfair to the girl. Besides, even if the person was a fan, no one had pestered her this much about wanting to go to her place; they either left her alone or followed her there, only to be beaten down halfway and be brought to the police.

"Okay, then riddle me this. Why do you want to come to my house?"

"I just want to get to know you better, that's all."

"Um..." a voice called out behind Aluche. The two girls looked and saw Raphtalia and Naofumi behind her. "If it's possible, can we come along as well?" the raccoon girl asked.

"More people wanting to come? And tell me why you two want to come along."

"Just forget it, Raphtalia. Going by her tone, she doesn't want people coming over her place," Naofumi told her.

Rather than standing down, Raphtalia answered, "Is it possible to be a hero with a defense-type Quirk? Trobe-san's mother is a pro hero, and her Quirk is a support-type. At least, that's what it should've been. But Reconra utilized her Quirk in a way no one has ever thought she would, and became number 3 hero. We want to know if it's truly possible for someone with a defense-only Quirk to be a hero!"

"You say that, but isn't combat training enough? Sure you guys played the roles of villains, but-"

"Even so, that is not enough! We want the opinion of a Pro Hero; not the opinion of classmates!"

Looking into Raphtalia's eyes, Rena could tell she was serious in what she said. Plus, going by those words, she could only assume there were people from their past who had doubts in Naofumi being a hero with the Quirk he had, even if he did get into UA.

"... I guess I can let you two come along," she decided, to Raphtalia's joy and Aluche and Naofumi's surprise.

"Wait, then can I?" the heterochromian girl asked once more.

"... Might as well." With that response, the group of four made their way to the station to Rena's house.

Once they arrived at Rena's house, they, Rena especially, were surprised to see a fancy feast in the dining room.

"Oh, hey, Rena. Welcome home," Rallen greeted his daughter, as he and Jeena finished setting up the table.

"We heard you were having friends over and just couldn't help ourselves," the pro hero said to her.

It didn't take Rena long to know how the woman meant and face-palmed. "And now I am reminded why I keep Komainu in a hard drive instead of my arm..."

"Your Quirk sent them a message without you saying so?" Naofumi asked.

"He may be just data, but he's still alive in his own right. So yes."

"He also told us about how you guys had combat training today. You kids must be hungry. Please, have a seat. We made lots for this occasion," Jeena insisted.

After the big dinner, Aluche flopped down on a sofa in the living room. "Man, that was some good eats..." she sighed.

"You'll get fat if you lie down after eating that much," Naofumi bluntly said, sitting on a beanie bag.

"Naofumi-kun!" Raphtalia shouted in a scolding tone, sitting in a chair.

"He's not wrong, though," Rena said, sitting next to Aluche with Komainu on her lap. "On another note..." She pulled the little guy's cheeks. "You really had to do the unnecessary, did you, Komainu? You should've known better than to make these sort of decisions on your own."

"Nyaooh! Nyaooh!" Komainu struggled to get out of her pinching grip.

"Are you sure it wasn't you who uh... programed him to do that?" Raphtalia asked.

"That's not how my Quirk works. And even if it does work that way, I'm not the kind of girl who would take away a free will just because they did something stupid or unnecessary," Rena explained, releasing her creation.

"If she did, she would've gotten some scolding from me by then," Jeena added, walking into the room, while her husband wash the dishes. "So, Komainu also told me you kids also wished to speak to me about something?"

"Ah, right!" Raphtalia spoke up. "Recon-" Before she could finish that name, Jeena covered her mouth.

"While we're in this household, call me Jeena. It's dangerous for a hero's identity to be known in public," she advised.

Raphtalia nodded at her words, and the woman lowered her arm. "J-Jeena-san. Is it possible to be a Pro Hero with a defense-type Quirk?!"

Jeena looked at her in confusion. "How do you mean? Aren't you kids already in UA? I think that accomplishment speaks for itself. Or did you kids get in through recommendations?"

"We went through the entrance exam to get into UA, but for Naofumi-kun, he only got in because of the rescue points. Despite this, many students in our previous schools don't think he has what it takes to be a pro hero. Either that or they assumed he cheated his way in. Not even the teachers believed he made it in fairly."

"Why would they think that?" Rena asked, interested in the conversation.

"Because of this," Naofumi answered. He got up from his spot and approached Rena. Without any warning, he punched her in the face, knocking her off the sofa.

"Wha-?! Rena!" Jeena cried out, as she and Aluche knelt down to her.

"Hey! What was that for?!" the heterochromian girl demanded.

"Don't worry; she's fine," Naofumi said.

"What do you mean she's-?"

"Huh?" Rena spoke, interrupting Aluche. "That... didn't hurt?" Jeena and Aluche both looked at her in confusion. "I'm serious. That punch didn't hurt at all."

"Huh?! How is that possible?!" her fellow red-head questioned.

"That's the drawback of my Quirk," Naofumi explained. "In exchange for defense, I have 0 attack power. Can't even harm a fly. To make things worse, I can't use any weapon but this shield here. Because I can't attack, a lot of people belittle me for even thinking I have a chance to be a hero. Even said I'll only be lucky enough to even get hired as a security guard. Only Raphtalia believe that I can be a hero."

"Of course you can! To be a hero is to protect people! Naofumi-kun's Shield Quirk is hero material, and yet a lot of our classmates and teachers said otherwise! A few even went as far as to accuse him of things he didn't do. Those heavy accusations almost sullied his chance to getting into UA, too..."

It was silent as the female Trobes and Aluche took in Naofumi's backstory. Rena and Aluche never thought they would hear someone get discriminated this badly because of their Quirk. It was normal for Rena if it was a Quirkless person, or someone with a weak Quirk, but Naofumi's Quirk was far from weak. Besides, his Quirk is definitely suited for a hero.

"I see," Jeena spoke at last. "Let me tell you kids a story. Years ago, a girl was born with a Quirk that can only be a support to either heroes or big companies. The girl didn't want to be a support; she wanted to be a hero, just like any other kid would. But no one ever believed she had a chance to be one. Well, almost no one. A boy who lived in her neighborhood supported her dream, and even helped her utilize her Quirk in a way that can be used as a hero material. It took many trial and error, as well as random, crazy ideas, but we got it to work. And like how he was helping her reach her dream, the girl did all she could to help him reach his dream of being a hero. But unlike her, because the boy was born differently from everyone else, no one would ever recognize his hard work and determination. To this day, the boy still tries to reach his goal, and the girl, having reached hers, did all she could to help him see through it."

Rena has heard of this story plenty of times before. She remembered asking once why her mother saw her father as a hero, and the story she gave became her favorite. From that story alone, she understood why her father was her mother's hero, and thus saw him as one as well, especially after the times he had helped her. Sure an incident occurred where she lost her arms, but compared to what her dad went through to save her, it was okay, in a way. Plus, she got new arms that helps with her Quirk, even if she was rarely going to use her Quirk much.

As for her three classmates, hearing Jeena's story, it didn't take them long to know it was a story about herself and her husband. And from that story, they knew the message she was trying to tell them.

"The point is, don't let other people define you. If even one person believes you can be a hero, no matter what Quirk you have, then you, too, have such potential to be one," Jeena summarized. "Besides, I saw the video from Komainu. A Shield Quirk that summons strong barriers is more than hero worthy. Do you have any idea of the public damage caused when heroes try to apprehend villains, or the percentage of the time where villains escape from heroes? Your Quirk can help people in a lot of ways. You can be the new Svalinn against villains, the people's Aegis, the heroes' hero. So, regarding your question as to whether or not you can be a pro hero with a Quirk based solely on defense... You can be a hero."

Naofumi was shocked to hear those words of a pro hero. If he could be honest, he didn't expect her to say such things, even if her Quirk was, in a way, similar to his. He thought she'd call him a lucky fool, if anything. His teachers and former friends all thought that of him, and even his parents looked at him in disappointment, solely because of his Quirk.

Jeena looked at the time on the clock. "Oh my! Is it this late already? Well, I can't keep you kids here for much longer, it seems. Tomorrow's another school day for you after all," she said.

"What? Can't we stay a little longer? Besides, if we use our Quirk, we can get home in no time," Aluche said.

"You do realize you'll be arrested if you do, right?" Rena asked her.

"Well, we better get going then," Naofumi said, as he picked up his and Raphtalia's bag from the floor. "Thanks again for dinner."

"Please, anything for Rena's friends," Jeena said. Rena looked at her with her eyes widened slightly at those words.

"Leaving already?" Rallen asked, entering the living room with a tray of snacks.

"Yeah. Got school tomorrow," Naofumi answered.

"Ah, that is too bad. Well, hope you guys can come again some time."

"It'll be an honor!" Raphtalia replied.

"I'm down with it!" Aluche also agreed.

After the trio left the Trobe's household, Rena went to her room with Komainu in tow. Once she entered, she lied on her bed and thought back to the conversation in the living room, specifically what her mom said.

'Friends... huh...' she thought. 'Well, I admit they are different from my former classmates. Maybe I'll give them a chance.'