After the attempted kidnapping, which was determined to be an independent event not connected to any villain organizations by the police, life went back to normal.

Momo was thankfully not traumatized by the event, but rather was even more inspired to be a hero like her older brother. She started to take training her quirk, which she had awakened a year prior to the attempted kidnapping, more seriously. She also asked Yuuichi to train her and teach her how to fight, which he gladly did but obviously went easy on her as he didn't want to harm her.

As to why she asked Yuuichi and not Yamamoto, it was because he had resumed his journey traveling the world once Yuuichi entered U.A., confident that he had nothing more to teach him. Seeing his mentor leave was a melancholic event for Yuuichi, but he appreciated his time with him.

Having experienced life with him, learning from those experiences, and taking that with him throughout his journey of life is what Yuuichi's ideology is all about.

And speaking of Yuuichi, he did not believe that the kidnapping was done by the four villains independently. He thought that they were part of a bigger scheme. As to why he thought that, it was a gut feeling. Something deep inside of him told him that the villains were part of something bigger. Maybe it was due to all the novels he had read in his past life where a seemingly insignificant event was actually part of something much more significant that he had that gut feeling.

But whether or not that was true, or whether or not the Yaoyorozu siblings were an important part of it, remained to be seen. All he could do was continue with his U.A. schooling, become a hero, and then try to investigate the kidnapping.

At least that was his plan until one day, a few months after the incident, he heard an interesting tidbit of information that would lead him to pull on a small thread from a much bigger web.

~

"Good job-nya. All of you go change and enjoy your weekend-nya." said a humanoid with feline characteristics, Takumi Nekomata also known as the Pro-Hero Claw, and Yuuichi's homeroom teacher.

THUD

"Finally. I'm. So. Tired." said Kunio in between breaths after letting his body crumple onto the ground to rest.

"Haha, you need to train your body more, Kunio." said Yuuichi who was standing next to him, not a drop of sweat on his body.

"He's right, Kure. Your weakness is too obvious." said Kentaro, the Oni.

"Don't. Compare. Me. To. You. Two. You're. Both. Abnormal." he said as he continued to lay there, trying to catch his breath.

Yuuichi, Kunio, and Kentaro had all passed the entrance exam with Yuuichi coming in first, Kentaro in second, and Kunio in sixth. This led to all three of them ending up in Class 1-A.

Of course, having bet on who would beat whom, Kentaro had to cough up some candy for Yuuichi which ended up being the catalyst that led to them becoming friends. Kunio was a little surprised that Kentaro was so amicable after having formed a bit of a bad impression of him from the interaction they had at the entrance exam.

For that, Kentaro apologized because his quirk, Oni, made him a bit hot-headed which when added to the pressure of the entrance exam, made him more irritable than usual that day. Kunio being the nice guy he is, easily forgave him and considered it water under the bridge. And from that day forth, Kentaro was added to their group.

That's not to say they didn't get along with the others from their class but the three of them tended to stick together. Especially since Kentaro's brashness and Yuuichi's fondness for speaking his mind without caring about the consequence tended to leave a bad impression. One which Claw had tried to rectify multiple times to no avail.

"Come on." said Yuuichi as he held a hand out for Kunio, who grabbed it before being pulled to his feet.

"Thanks."

"Boys-nya." said a deep, silky voice that could only belong to their homeroom teacher.

"Sensei." said the three as he approached them.

"Good job today, Yaoyorozu-kun, Hirose-kun. As for you, Kure-kun, I recommend you work on your physique some more."

"I know, thank you, Sensei." said Kunio, clenching his fist in frustration which did not go unnoticed by Claw.

"But don't be too hard on yourself either. You excel in other areas, just like your friends lack in other areas." said Claw.

"Whoa, Sensei. What areas am I lacking in?" asked Yuuichi.

"Tact."

"Touché." said Yuuichi, unable to retort.

"What about me?" asked Kentaro.

"Anger management."

"Intelligence." joked Yuuichi.

"You wanna go?!" yelled Kentaro while Yuuichi laughed.

"Haha, you're right, Sensei. Thank you." said Kunio, the frustration gone from his face.

"Good. Now go on and get changed. Go out and experience life as you youngins do." he said before walking off.

"Youngins? How old is Sensei anyway?" asked Kentaro.

"Ancient probably." said Yuuichi.

"I heard that. And even though I'm barely 60, I can still whip you into shape." said Claw, as he continued to walk away.

"Barely?" muttered Yuuichi causing Claw to turn around and look at him.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Oops." he said as he bolted out of there Kunio and Kentaro in tow.

~

After changing, the three of them left the campus and started to make their way to the station where Kentaro would go on a separate train while Yuuichi and Kunio went on the same one. Lucky for the two of them, their city is only a 30-minute train ride away or they would have to wake up a lot earlier.

As they made their way to the station, they passed an electronics store that had TVs on display that were showing the news. A report on an uptick in kidnappings of children.

"That brings back memories." said Yuuichi after seeing the news report.

"Sad." said Kentaro who had a soft spot for children.

"You said you thought your kidnapping was part of something bigger, you think these are connected?" asked Kunio.

"Maybe. No way to tell for sure with the information I have right now." said Yuuichi.

"Well, I'd be careful if I were you. Don't want you to end up getting kidnaped again." said Kunio.

"Hmm?" said Kentaro, his ear twitching before turning to look in the direction of an alley.

"What?" asked Yuuichi.

"I thought I heard someone screaming, but it might have been the wind or a cat or something." he said.

"Let's check it out just in case then." said Yuuichi as he started walking toward the alley.

Reaching the entrance of the alleyway, the three of them saw nothing but a normal-looking alleyway with trash and overflowing trash cans.

"Nothing here." said Kunio.

"Can you hear anything?" asked Yuuichi.

"No." said Kentaro.

"Must've been the wind. You're on edge from that news report." said Kunio, patting Kentaro on the back.

"I guess." said Kentaro before his ear twitched again.

"I heard it again, but it wasn't screaming, it was cheering." he said.

"Cheering?"

"Yeah, cheering. Like at a sporting event."

"Well logic and law say we should report it to the police or a hero, but my curiosity is the type to kill a cat." said Yuuichi before down the alleyway.

"Sigh, we should probably follow him. Not for his safety but so he won't cause any problems." said Kunio before he and Kentaro started to follow Yuuichi.

As the three of them walked further into the alleyway, they began to hear the very faint sound of cheering.

"It is cheering. What the hell?" said Kunio.

"It's coming from over there." said Kentaro, pointing at a ramen restaurant.

"A restaurant?" said Kunio.

"You sure it's coming from there?" asked Yuuichi.

"Yeah. It's probably a front."

"I don't doubt it. A ramen restaurant with zero clientele right when students and workers alike are going home. It should have some people at the very least. Even if it is in an alley." said Yuuichi.

"There's nothing illegal about any of this. They're probably watching a show or something which is why they're cheering. Let's just go." said Kunio.

"Well, I'm hungry." said Yuuichi as he made his way to the restaurant.

"I'm hungry too." said Kentaro as he joined him.

"Wait!" said Kunio in a whisper causing the two of them to stop.

"What?" said Yuuichi.

"If that place is for villains, don't you think we should take off our uniforms? Our U.A. uniforms?" said Kunio.

"Oh, good thinking." said Yuuichi before taking off the jacket and putting it in his backpack while Kentaro and Kunio did the same.

"Sigh, I still think this is dumb." said Kunio.

"Relax worst comes to worst, we fight our way out." said Yuuichi before they entered the restaurant.

"Welcome." said a raspy, grating voice that belonged to the chef who had the head of a squid and was currently smoking while watching TV.

"Yo. You guys open?" asked Yuuichi as he took a look around the restaurant, finding nothing suspicious nor anything that would warrant cheering. But he also didn't see any visible cameras which would make sense if the place was a front for a shadier clientele.

"Yeah. What do you want?"

"Your most popular ramen. Three of them." said Yuuichi as they sat down at the counter, facing the chef.

"Mm." he said as he put out his cigarette, before starting to serve the ramen.

"You get many customers? You know, being in an alley and all?" asked Yuuichi.

"Some."

"Sounds like a lot more than some." said Yuuichi, staring at the chef to see if he reacts.

"You guys students?" he asked.

"Maybe." said Yuuichi.

"I didn't think you young kids would be the type to partake in these types of activities." he said staring right at Yuuichi.

"Well, we're looking to blow off some steam. You know how it is." said Yuuichi, not knowing what activities the chef was referring to but going along with it while returning the stare without backing down.

"Mm. Well, if you're here for that, you'll need a mask." said the chef.

"Oh, too bad I forgot mine at home. You have ones my friends and I could borrow?" said Yuuichi

"2000 Yen. Each." he said, taking out three animal masks, an elephant, a boar, and a mouse.

"A little steep for some masks, isn't it?"

"Take 'em or leave 'em."

"Fine." said Yuuichi before taking out 7000 Yen from his wallet while making sure nothing that could identify him could be seen. Even though both he and Kentaro weren't exactly the type of faces that would blend into a crowd.

"Here, an extra 1000 for the ramen." said Yuuichi, placing the money on the counter before taking the masks and giving Kentaro the boar and Kunio the mouse.

"Why do I get the mouse?" said Kunio.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" asked Yuuichi with a teasing grin.

"No."

"Hehe, mouse." said Kentaro.

"Here's your food. I'd eat now just in case you won't be able to after." he said placing three bowls of ramen before going back to smoking and watching TV.

'Won't be able to after? Sounds like this place might be an underground fighting spot.' thought Yuuichi before eating his ramen.

'Pretty good.'

~

After eating, they put on the masks and followed the chef who led them down the hall. As they got further down the hall, the previously faint cheering started to get louder and louder. Then they reached a closed door that the chef opened, leading them into a room that had some stairs that went down.

"Go on in." said the chef before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Let's go." said Yuuichi.

"Ah, I really don't think we should be doing this." asked Kunio.

"It's too late to back out now. It'd be suspicious. Besides, I think it's an underground fighting event which means we can spectate and not get involved." said Yuuichi.

"If that's true, then why don't I believe you?"

"Who knows?" said Yuuichi with a smile.

"I hope we do fight. My blood is boiling." said Kentaro.

"We're not getting out of this without some problems, are we?" said Kunio.

The three then made their way down the stairs and with each step they took, the cheering sounds kept getting louder. Once they reached the final step, they had a view of the source of the noise.

A giant fighting ring occupied by two men in the midst of a fight, surrounded by an octagonal cage in the middle of the room with crowds of cheering masked people under professional lighting.

"Whoa." said Kunio, awestruck by the place.

"Seems like this is an established place for it to be this professional looking." said Yuuichi.

"Look." said Kentaro, pointing at the ring with his chin.

In the ring were two men, one looked like a rhino and the other had mantis blades for hands, both bloodied and bruised, going blow for blow until one of them fell. Then the winner was announced while the loser was taken away by medical personnel.

"A no holds barred type of fight. I wonder if it's for money or just to fight." said Kentaro.

"Money. Look." said Yuuichi pointing at an area where people were lining up to place bets and collect their money.

"Alright guys, we've seen enough. Let's just go." said Kunio.

"Thought it would be something more exciting. Let's go." said Yuuichi.

The three then made their way to a door that said exit, down a long hall way and then up some stairs before exiting out a door.

"Where are we?" asked Kentaro as they took off their masks.

"Just a few alleyways over. That's the convenience store we pass every day." said Yuuichi, pointing at a store at the entrance of the alley.

"Phew, I was sure something was going to go wrong." said Kunio.

"Yeah, it was kind of funny seeing you look so nervous." said Yuuichi.

"I couldn't help it. We were doing something illegal." he whispered while looking around to make sure no one over heard him.

"Barely. If we got pinched, we would've been let go with a warning. Maybe. Anyways, we had to make sure there was no one in trouble especially with all the recent kidnappings. So if you think about it, we were doing the right thing."

"I guess. Anyway, I'm ready to go home. This has been too much excitement for me." said Kunio.