"More."

Hmmph.

Clang.

With a driven gaze, the boy let his mind take a backseat as he focused only on the sound of the metal hitting the bar, signaling him to hit his max extension and prompting him to bring the weights down for another rep.

Clang.

He repeated the process an innumerable number of times, not stopping even when his arms felt like paste, even when he felt buckets full of sweat flowing down his arms, even when his fingers shook, threatening to drop the weights onto him.

Clang.

He used his anger and his hatred toward a man whose face he didn't even know to fuel his effort and his work.

Clang.

Mezo looked inside his mind, remembering the state the doctors said they found his father in.

Three of his six arms were completely cut off, each at varying lengths: one at the base, one at the elbow, and the other at the bicep.

One of them had lost three of its five fingers, and luckily the other two were fine.

Akari, Hero Named: HexaDexterity, Shoji and his mom, who were staying home on their break while Akari worked, got a call urging them to the hospital.

They walked in there thinking the worst, and even though it wasn't, it was still a terrible situation.

He'd encountered a villain, a nauseous and feared one going by the moniker of Hero Killer: Stain.

The boy gritted his teeth inside his mind, his hatred flourishing and his thoughts turning murky black as a part of him wished to find him this instant.

Clang.

His father was attracted to the sounds of fighting and found a villain in a mangled-up state next to the Hero Killer's bloodied blade.

Needless to say, even though he wasn't a combat-oriented hero, he called for backup and tried to hold the Hero Killer there.

However, apparently the villain had some kind of paralysis quirk holding him in place while he got cut up.

Besides saying he was asked a few bizarre questions, his father hadn't told them anything else, just that backup arrived and transported him to the hospital.

Clang.

"Enough."

The boy returned the enhanced weight to its rack, his muscles relishing in its enlightened state, now freed from its captivity, and informed him through pangs of pain of how audacious of a task he had just put them under.

As the dupli-armed man rolled his shoulder, he winced when he felt a particularly strong pulse of pain, signaling a conglomeration of torn muscles.

'That just means what I'm doing is working.'

And as pain equaled strength, he pushed past it, forcefully moving his body in the most hurtful ways so that he could get used to this feeling.

He opened his eyes, letting them get acquainted with the hero-only gym, something he had access to as a student at UA and the son of a Pro—former Pro Hero.

He looked at his father, seeing the bandages that still clung to his side, hiding his missing limbs, and seeing his tired state from restlessness, likely from the pain.

Still noticing his son's gaze, Akari managed to smile, causing Shoji to avert his eyes.

"Your training's been going well. The maximum weight you can carry has been increasing, and your punches have been getting heavier—a slow but sure rise in power."

The boy clenched his fist, feeling the same thing he's felt all his life, but then again, when you already have power, feeling its increase, especially in increments as small as his, was difficult.

He subconsciously nodded his head, noting that even as exhausted as he was, today's load was easier than yesterday's and the days before.

Shoji had been surprised when he, who had always been the strongest, was barely even able to lift weights—things he'd always found easy prior to him discovering this gym.

He looked outside, noting the drops of rain as they cascaded down the windows.

As he looked at them, the drops of water reminded Shoji of someone, a boy who he hadn't seen since that day, no doubt in the same kind of intensive training as he was.

'Suijin.'

"Suijin's definitely doing training comparable to what you are, probably more, since he has to not only get stronger but get familiar with a completely new aspect of his quirk."

The boy nodded, his face growing solemn, thinking about Suijin's fresh growth from before and how that likely wouldn't have changed.

As he thought like that, Shoji felt himself being pumped up with something, whether that was adrenaline or something else; it filled him with the motivation and fuel to complete another set.

Seeing the look on his son's face, how could Akari not know what he was thinking?

Knowing so, he turned around, walking to the door that opened to the gym lobby, and he said, "You do another set; I'm going to grab us some drinks."

In the midst of Shoji's nodding, Akari stopped for a moment, pondering something, before he continued and opened the door.

Then, before it shut, he left Shoji with one last piece of information.

"Oh, before I forget, it seems your classmates defeated that Hero Killer and put him in jail."

.

.

.

Seated upon a porch, two figures could be seen sitting in rocking chairs as they watched the street.

People were scarce as the day was barely waking up, yet two distinct figures could be seen walking away from the other two's gazes.

Both dressed in the same uniform and wearing similar clothing, yet in two completely different sizes, there was a contrast between the two.

Tall and short, energetic and lethargic, talkative and quiet, up front and afar.

The two figures seated in the chairs conversed with each other as their children made their return to school.

"It seems the times have passed us by, eh, Enkai?"

With his sides still bandaged, Akari asked with a chuckling tone as he looked back on his and his friends' fates.

Both heroes, not as prominent as the best, but they are still well known and respected in their communities.

With a future of doing the same and providing for their families reduced, they were forced to retire, thankful for government retired hero assistance.

Both have sons who will now take up the mantles of their father, furthering their legacies in their steps.

"I guess so."

Saying so, Enkai let his fingers suck the liquids his wife ensured were tasteful, letting them flow through his veins, giving him nutrients.

He felt the phantom pain at his distinct lack of a bright red nozzle on his face, yet he quelled it with the closing of his eyes, looking into himself.

He remembered the intense training Suijin's gone through, having to go through both him, who wants to pass on everything he has, and Erena, who refused to allow him out there without being ready, as she put it.

Enkai was really jealous of her quirk.

Pulling himself out of his bout of envy, he looked at the sky, noting the swaying of the leaves and the rustling of his son's clothes.

Enkai felt the once-refreshing breeze turn violent as a cold respite smacked him in the face, sending a chill down his spine.

He looked at the sun, which should be causing the winds to be more oblique, and couldn't help but say,

"It seems the winds are changing."