500 PS IS THE GOAL
***
The final bell rang, marking the end of the school.
Class 1-A filed out of the homeroom in clusters, making their way towards their respective house.
Akira and Momo were the last to leave.
They said their goodbyes at the door, AKA: Kirishima's bone-crushing handshake, Kaminari's finger-gun salute, Mina's aggressive hug that Akira had to peel off Momo for the second time that day, Tsuyu's quiet wave, Tokoyami's solemn nod that was accompanied by Dark Shadow doing a little bow of its own.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Uraraka called, waving as she walked backward down the hallway.
"Don't trip on your way home!!" Toru yelled.
Uraraka still tripped....
"I'M FINE!" She yelled back with a red face.
And then they were gone. The hallway emptied as Akira and Momo were alone, walking side by side through the corridors of U.A., heading toward the front gate.
They stepped outside the UA building. The air was cool. The sky was clear, a perfect day to enjoy the walk.
And enjoy they did.
As they were walking, Momo suddenly laughed.
"Nia is probably running around the house right now," she said, her eyes bright with the image. "Xiaoqing has been chasing her all week. Every time I come home, there's fur everywhere and Xiaoqing is on the floor trying to cuddle her."
Akira grinned. "Can't blame her. They're leaving soon, so she wants to pet Nia as much as she can before they go back. I think Xiaoqing asked Jian if they could take Nia with them."
"What did Jian say?"
"He said he'd have to ask Nia's father, and then he looked at me, and I looked at him, and we both understood that Xiaoqing was not getting a cat."
Momo laughed again.
"Na has been teaching her piano, too," Momo added. "Nia, I mean. She's... surprisingly good? Her paws are small enough to hit individual keys."
"She played 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' for me last night," Akira said.
"Then she knocked the music sheets off the stand and ran away. Classic Nia."
They walked in comfortable silence for a while. Past the gate. Past the security checkpoint, where the guards nodded at them — everyone at U.A. knew who they were now. Past the tree-lined road that led from the campus to the residential district where the Shuzenji estate sat.
Just then, Akira's phone rang.
He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.
MOM
He picked up.
"Hey, Mom."
"Akira, are you on your way back?"
"Yeah, just left school. What's up?"
"Bring Momo with you."
Akira blinked. He glanced at Momo, who was walking beside him, close enough to hear bits of the conversation.
"Why?"
"It's regarding your internship. With... well, just get here and we can discuss it. Both of you."
She paused. Akira could hear something in the background. A loud voice of a female.
"Just come home, baby," Honoka said. "And don't take too long."
The call ended.
Akira stared at his phone. Then he pocketed it and looked at Momo.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Mom wants us both at the house. Says it's about the internship. She was being vague, which means someone's there that she doesn't want to explain over the phone."
Momo's expression shifted as the gears turned inside her head.
"It must be regarding Mirko and Indra, right?" she said.
Akira nodded. "Most likely."
"If names like Mirko and Indra are involved, it has to be important," Momo continued.
"This isn't just an internship offer, is it?"
Akira sighed. He looked up at the sky.
"Hope it doesn't get too messy," he said. "I'm tired of things going bad all the time."
The words came out heavier than he intended. After all... he would kill to have some normal time for himself.
She reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Everything will be fine, Akira."
Akira looked at her and smiled.
"Hope so."
She took his hand. He took hers. Their fingers intertwined, and hand in hand, they walked toward the estate.
***
The Shuzenji estate was quiet from the outside.
From the inside, it was anything but quiet.
They heard the noise before they opened the door.
Akira opened the front door. Momo stepped in beside him.
The living room had been rearranged. The coffee table was pushed to one side. The sofas were occupied. And sitting in the middle of the room, looking like they had been there for hours, were two familiar faces.
Mirko sat on one sofa, legs crossed, one foot bouncing with the perpetual energy of someone whose body didn't understand the concept of stillness. She was wearing normal clothes — jeans, a hoodie that was too big for her, and sneakers. Her rabbit ears poked through two holes that had been cut in the hoodie's hood. She was eating from a plate of onigiri that Honoka had clearly made, because the rice balls were shaped like little cats.
Indra sat on the opposite sofa. Calm and composed as always.
Honoka sat in the armchair between them, thinking hard about something.
"Ah, you're here," Honoka said, standing. "Good. Sit down."
Akira and Momo took the remaining sofa.
Mirko looked at them and grinned. "Yo, lovebirds! How was school?"
"Productive," Momo said diplomatically.
"Did you pick your hero names?"
"We did," Akira said.
"What'd you go with?"
"Ashborn."
Mirko paused mid-bite. And gave him a nod.
"Ashborn," she repeated. "Born from ashes."
"That's the idea."
She grinned wider. "I like it. It's got weight. Villains hear that name, they don't think 'oh, another kid.' They think 'oh shit, it's the guy who came back from the dead and burned someone alive.' Good pick."
"High praise from Japan's Number Five," Indra said dryly.
"Shut up, Sparky. I'm being supportive."
Indra took a sip of tea and said nothing. The faintest smile touched his lips.
Honoka cleared her throat. "Now that the pleasantries are done. Indra, if you would."
Indra set his teacup down. The casual energy faded. What replaced it was his professional version.
He looked at Akira and Momo.
"I'll keep this straightforward," he said. "You've already been introduced to the AHSA through the trial. You know what we are — the Asian Hero Support Association. You know we operate across the continent and that we function independently of any single government."
He leaned forward.
"But what you don't know is what we actually do on a day-to-day basis."
He paused, organising his thoughts.
"Think of us as something between a guild and a regulatory body. We take missions — assignments that come from governments, private organisations, and sometimes from within our own network. These range from intelligence gathering to security operations to direct combat engagements. We operate in the spaces where traditional law enforcement and the standard hero system can't reach — or won't reach."
He let that settle.
"Border regions where no single country has jurisdiction. Black markets that span multiple nations. Villain networks that exploit the gaps between legal systems. The places where a hero with a license from one country can't legally operate, and a villain knows it."
Momo's mind was already processing the information.
"We get paid for it," Indra continued. "Well. The AHSA provides funding, resources, and legal protection to its operatives. In return, those operatives take the missions, complete the objectives, and maintain the network. It's not charity. It's not vigilantism. It's organised, structured, and legally recognised by every government that has signed the International Hero Operations Accord."
He looked at Akira directly.
"And when necessary, we use lethal force."
Indra let that settle before resuming again.
"The standard hero system operates on a principle of capture and containment," Indra said. "Subdue the villain, hand them to law enforcement, let the courts decide. And in most cases, that works. Most villains are petty criminals, small-time quirk abusers, people who made bad decisions and can be rehabilitated."
His eyes hardened.
"But some aren't. Some villains are monsters. The kind that the system catches, processes, sentences, releases, and catches again. The kind that leave a trail of bodies behind them every time the revolving door spins. The kind that deserves to be buried before it's too late."
Akira thought of Muscular. Of Kamikochi. Of the Water Hose duo. Of a villain who had been caught, imprisoned, released, and came back stronger. Who had been given a second chance by the system and used it to kill again.
"The AHSA exists for those cases," Indra said. "We are the answer to the question that the standard hero system refuses to ask: what do you do when containment fails?"
He leaned back.
"And that brings me to why we're here."
He looked at Akira. Then at Momo. Then back at Akira.
"We want you to join us."
The words were simple. Direct. No ceremony. No dramatic buildup.
"Not as a full operative. Not yet. You're fifteen, and there are limits to what we ask of people your age. But as an affiliated member — someone who trains with us, learns from us, and when the time comes, works with us. We'll give you the freedom you need to achieve your goals. The resources to grow. The legal framework to operate in the way you've already shown the world you intend to."
He paused.
"You declared yourself the Symbol of Fear. You chose the name Ashborn. You've made it clear, to everyone watching, what kind of hero you intend to be. We at AHSA can give you the structure to be that hero without the system trying to destroy you for it."
Akira sat in silence. Processing.
He looked at his mother. Honoka met his gaze. Her expression was calm, she believed in Akira's judgement and would do whatever he thought was right.
She gave him a small nod.
He looked at Momo, who simply squeezed his hand gently.
Akira looked back at Indra. At Mirko, who had stopped eating and was watching him with an expression that was, for once, completely serious.
This is what I wanted.... Akira thought.
Plus, he knew what he was.
"Yes," he said.
Indra nodded. Mirko grinned. Honoka closed her eyes and took a breath.
And Momo held his hand.
And just like that, Ashborn had found the AHAS.
+++++++++++++
Here we goo!! Our boy is with the big guns now
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