Chapter One: “The Weight of Fire”
The wind smelled of smoke and iron.
Katsuo Todoroki stood at the gates of U.A. High School, his sharp eyes scanning the campus like he was expecting it to reject him. A long black jacket hung off his shoulders, ash-gray on the inside, the edges scorched from constant overuse. His breath fogged slightly, despite the spring air. His internal temperature always fluctuated. Always unstable. Much like everything else about him.
People stared.
Whispers floated in the wind: “Is that Dabi’s kid?” “Why’s he in Class 1-B?” “I heard he inherited the blue flames—”
Katsuo’s fists tightened in his pockets. He didn’t want their attention. He didn’t want anyone’s approval. He didn’t even want to be here.
But Deku had chosen him.
The man who saved the world. The Symbol of Peace. Midoriya Izuku had looked him in the eyes and ed down One For All with a trembling hand and words Katsuo still couldn't forget:
> “Because you still believe you can save people… even if no one ever tried to save you.”
He didn’t feel like a savior. Just a burned kid with a ticking time bomb in his veins.
---
Inside U.A., Class 1-B was already gathering.
Airi Midoriya smiled at him, bouncing in place beside Haruto Kaminari, who sparked faintly with nervous energy. Riku Mineta muttered something under his breath. Naoko Ashido waved, casual but cautious.
Katsuo didn’t wave back.
The classroom wasn’t cold, but the air felt colder when he walked in.
> “Todoroki, Katsuo,” announced Present Mic from the podium, more subdued than his usual flair. “Quirk: Blue Infernal—a hybrid flame-based Quirk, partially ice-resistant. Also… recommended by Midoriya Izuku, our last One For All holder.”
Dead silence.
Eyes flicked from him to Airi, then to the floor.
> “Any questions?” Present Mic asked.
Riku raised his hand. “Yeah. Is this some kind of charity case? Or are we training beside the son of a mass murderer just for the PR?”
Katsuo didn’t flinch. He’d expected that. He felt Airi’s eyes snap toward Riku, brimming with fury. But Katsuo shook his head gently.
> “You want to punch me?” Katsuo said coolly, voice like frost over flames. “Get in line.”
---
Training Grounds, later.
The Quirk Assessment test had begun. Katsuo’s ball rocketed so far into the sky it left a trail of blue flame across the clouds. No cheering. Just a few stunned faces. One or two impressed whistles.
> “Not bad, Blue Hell,” Riku muttered.
“I’ve got a name,” Katsuo shot back.
“Yeah? So did Dabi.”
The two locked eyes before Kaito Tokoyami stepped between them, calm and quiet. “Enough.”
---
Later that night, in the dorms, Katsuo sat by himself at the edge of the rooftop garden. A faint glow of blue flickered on his palm. He clenched it shut.
A voice interrupted the silence.
> “You know… my dad said your flames were beautiful once.”
Katsuo turned. Airi stood nearby, arms folded, smiling gently.
> “He said even Dabi looked like he was trying to burn something away. Not destroy. Just... erase something painful.”
Katsuo didn’t answer.
> “You’re not him,” she said.
“No. I’m worse,” he muttered.
Airi sat beside him, pulling her knees up.
> “Maybe. Or maybe you’re the only one in this class who knows what it takes to change.”
Katsuo looked at her. For a moment, her eyes reminded him of Deku’s. Full of unreasonable hope.
> “I didn’t come here to be a hero,” he said.
“Then why did you come?”
“To burn away the past.”
Airi nodded, then held out her hand.
> “Then let’s start with the future.”
He stared at it. And for the first time all day, Katsuo Todoroki reached out.
The rooftop breeze was gentler now. Like it had waited for them to finish talking before it let the world breathe again.
Katsuo’s fingers lingered a moment longer in Airi’s palm before he pulled them back, the warmth of the touch already fading. It was too soon for trust. Too soon for friendship. He knew how quickly warmth turned into scars.
But she’d cracked something. A layer of ash, maybe.
He stood.
> “Don’t expect me to fit in,” he said, eyes flickering.
“Don’t worry,” Airi replied with a soft smirk. “I like people who don’t.”
---
The next morning, 6:00 AM sharp – U.A. Training Dome Gamma.
They’d barely had time to settle in before it started: a sudden, high-pressure team training match.
> “Welcome to your first live combat scenario,” announced a stern voice over the loudspeaker.
Standing at the observation deck was none other than Pro Hero Shouta Aizawa—the man Katsuo’s grandfather had once trained under. The same man who now watched them like he was already writing them off.
> “Two teams. Capture-the-flag style. No holding back. Heroes win by securing the target or immobilizing the opposing team. Villains win by overwhelming the heroes within the time limit.”
Team Alpha: Airi, Haruto, Kaito, Saya, and Katsuo.
Team Beta: Riku, Naoko, Shin, Shika, and Sora.
Katsuo stood at the back, arms crossed, not even facing the rest of his team.
> “We good with that strategy, Katsuo?” Haruto asked, sparks flickering behind his ear.
“I don’t do plans,” Katsuo replied flatly.
> “You do now,” Airi shot back. “You’re not a lone wolf anymore. That ended the moment you took One For All.”
The words hit hard. But she was right.
---
The match began.
Team Beta moved fast—Shika Aizawa’s Quirk kicked in early, blanketing half the field in a drowsy mist that dulled their senses. Riku’s ink bubble traps slowed Kaito, and Naoko’s explosive armor spikes pinned Saya down near the flag zone.
Katsuo stayed still… until the moment Airi dropped a starlit gravity bomb behind enemy lines, knocking Sora’s invisible sprint off-course.
> Time to stop holding back.
Blue fire erupted from his feet as he launched forward, using One For All’s base strength in short bursts. His flames roared outward—not wild like Dabi’s, but focused, contained, deadly.
He barreled through Naoko’s defense, melted Shin’s reflective projections mid-air, and stopped just inches from Riku.
> “You gonna call me a villain again?” Katsuo asked, flames flickering like wings behind him.
Riku sneered. “You’re playing hero. But I see the burn marks.”
Their fight lasted twenty seconds. Riku was strong—his ink constructs were fast, versatile—but Katsuo was a furnace with a purpose. He didn’t overwhelm. He outlasted.
Flag in hand, Katsuo returned to Airi and the others, barely out of breath.
---
Training Over. Team Alpha Wins.
Aizawa said nothing for a long while.
Then:
> “You're reckless, Todoroki. You burn hot, but not smart. That’ll get you killed.”
Katsuo met his gaze evenly.
> “I’m not trying to live forever.”
Aizawa narrowed his eyes… but didn’t argue.
---
Back in the dorms that night, the class buzzed with quiet talk.
Katsuo sat by himself again—but this time, his chair was angled slightly toward the others. Airi tossed him a protein bar. He caught it one-handed.
> “Progress,” she said, grinning.
He didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched.
Across the room, Riku watched silently, one hand rubbing a faint scorch mark on his side. His eyes narrowed.
> He’s not done yet. And neither am I.
Chapter One: “The Weight of Fire” – Part Three
Night. U.A. Dormitory – Class 1-B Common Room.
The room buzzed with the low hum of conversation, screens casting soft glows, and the smell of microwave dinners. Everyone was riding the high of their first official training match—everyone except Katsuo.
He sat near the window, hoodie pulled halfway over his head, eyes reflecting the faint sparks flickering between his fingers. They danced erratically. Unstable. Just like him.
Airi plopped onto the couch beside him, arms full of snacks and two cans of juice.
> “One for you,” she said, popping one open. “And one for the guy who thinks he doesn’t need friends.”
Katsuo didn’t respond right away.
> “I didn’t ask for this Quirk,” he muttered finally. “Didn’t ask to carry his name either.”
Airi leaned her head back, cracking open chips.
> “Maybe not. But you chose to carry it.”
She glanced at him. Her smile wasn’t cheerful—it was knowing.
> “That means it’s yours now. Not his.”
---
Across the room, Riku Mineta stood by the kitchen counter with Shin Aoyama, casually munching on gummies as his eyes tracked Katsuo.
> “He’s flashy,” Riku muttered. “But he cracked Naoko’s armor and nearly burned Shin’s lens array. You think he even knows his limits?”
Shin adjusted his glasses, gaze calm behind pastel-reflective lenses.
> “He doesn’t have to yet. But we’ll find out when it matters.”
Riku scoffed, crushing a candy between his teeth. “You don’t give a pyro like that power unless you’re planning for disaster.”
> “Then maybe we should be ready when it happens.”
---
Upstairs, Dorm Room Halls.
Miko Asui knocked quietly on Shika Aizawa’s door, the heavy silence between them saying more than words.
> “You noticed it too, huh?” Miko whispered.
Shika nodded, pulling her sleeves over her hands. Her voice was like fog—quiet, strange, and oddly poetic.
> “He burns like he’s trying to outpace something. Maybe his shadow.”
Miko looked away, uncertain. “You think it’s One For All?”
> “No,” Shika said softly. “I think it’s what he’s hiding from it.”
---
Later That Night. Katsuo’s Room.
The ceiling stared back at him.
The silence was thick—until it wasn’t.
A distant whisper licked at his ears. A familiar voice, distorted like static in flames.
> “You still think you’re not one of us?”
Katsuo sat up sharply, breath caught in his throat. His hands were glowing again. The blue flicker of inherited embers… and something darker underneath.
He clutched at his wrist, forcing it still. The air smelled like smoke.
He heard footsteps in the hallway. Someone paused outside his door. But they didn’t knock.
---
Somewhere in the city outskirts. Unknown Location.
A monitor buzzed.
Footage played in grainy resolution: Katsuo Todoroki mid-fight, surrounded by flames and light.
A figure watched in silence. Long, pale fingers tapped against a table. The hum of life echoed behind them.
> “Another bearer,” the voice rasped.
A second figure stepped into the frame, a slender young woman with silver hair and eyes like mirrors. She wore a League insignia twisted into a new shape—unfamiliar, evolving.
> “Should we act?”
The older figure smiled faintly.
> “Not yet. Let them shine first…”
> “...so we know how to break them.”
Late Night. U.A. Dorm Rooftop.
The sky was bruised with stars, clouds skimming overhead like thoughts too heavy to settle.
Katsuo sat with his legs crossed on the cold rooftop tiles, the soft glow of his Quirk flickering around his fingertips like a nervous habit. He hadn't been able to sleep—again. The pressure of legacy, power, and those ghostly whispers had his nerves buzzing like static.
He didn’t expect company.
> “You really don’t do lights-out, huh?”
Katsuo turned slightly, eyes flicking toward the doorway.
Airi Midoriya stepped onto the rooftop barefoot, hoodie way too big for her small frame, sleeves covering her hands. Her mint-colored hair was tousled from sleep, cheeks a little pink from the wind.
> “Didn’t mean to bug you,” she said, stepping closer. “But I figured… if you’re gonna sulk up here, might as well sulk with company.”
Katsuo exhaled a quiet chuckle through his nose, scooting over slightly.
> “You always this persistent?”
> “Only when I care,” she said simply, sitting beside him.
For a moment, neither spoke. The air between them was quiet but full. Like heat beneath a kettle.
She glanced at his hand—at the pale blue flickers—and reached out gently.
> “You’re shaking,” she murmured.
He tensed. “I’m fine.”
> “You’re lying.”
Katsuo flinched when her fingers brushed his.
They were warm. Steady. Brave.
> “I don’t know how to control it yet,” he itted. “One For All… it’s not just power. It’s pressure. Responsibility. And my Quirk—Dabi’s fire—it’s not meant for peace. It’s meant to destroy.”
Airi looked up at him, her soft pink eyes steady.
> “You’re not him.”
> “Maybe not,” he muttered. “But what if I crack like he did?”
There was silence.
Then—
Airi leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his.
The gesture caught him completely off-guard. Not a kiss. Not romantic in the usual way. But something tender. Real.
> “Then we’ll hold the cracks together,” she whispered.
Katsuo’s breath hitched.
The flickers between his fingers steadied.
For the first time in weeks… the fire didn’t feel so heavy.
---
Dorm Hallway. Downstairs.
Shika Aizawa leaned against the stairwell wall in the dark, listening. Miko stood beside her, eyes wide.
> “You were right,” Miko whispered. “She’s already gotten through to him.”
Shika didn’t smile, but her voice was soft.
> “Hope she’s strong enough to stay.”
---
Elsewhere. Watching.
That same unknown villain from the last part adjusted the monitor, now zoomed in on the two teens close together beneath the stars.
> “There it is…” the figure rasped.
> “The fracture line.”
[[END Chapter 1]]
Chapter Two: “The Ember Test” – Part One
“Light the Flame”
U.A. Hero Course – Class 1-B Homeroom
The classroom buzzed with energy.
Posters were pinned, announcements flashed on the screens, and students whispered across desks with growing excitement. In the center of it all stood Ms. Hoshiyama, their homeroom teacher—stoic, sharp-eyed, and holding a tablet with one finely manicured hand.
> “Attention, Class 1-B,” she said, her voice slicing through the chatter. “You’ve officially survived your first month at U.A.”
A few students chuckled or sighed. Katsuo crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat, while Airi tapped her pen nervously against her notebook.
> “To celebrate your survival—and test your growth—you’ll be participating in this year’s First-Year Hero Exhibition,” she continued. “Two weeks from now, all Class 1 students, including 1-A and /Rescue branches, will engage in a live demonstration of skill and teamwork. Audience? Professional heroes, potential sponsors… and the media.”
The silence was instant.
Shika blinked. “Wait, the media? As in broadcasted?”
> “Live-streamed and archived,” Ms. Hoshiyama said without a flicker of sympathy.
Haruto Kaminari groaned. “So, I definitely can’t screw up, huh?”
> “Correct.”
Katsuo’s jaw clenched. His thoughts immediately raced:
All eyes will be on us. On me. On One For All.
As if reading his mind, Airi glanced over from her seat beside him. She didn’t say anything—but her pink eyes told him everything:
You’re not alone.
---
U.A. Gym Gamma – After Class
The team selection trials were brutal.
Three-on-three combat simulations, Quirk limitation exercises, and precision-target drills. The students were ranked for teamwork compatibility, tactical performance, and control.
> “Group One: Katsuo Todoroki, Airi Midoriya, and Naoko Ashido.”
Katsuo raised an eyebrow. Airi's brows lifted too—but not in surprise. More like something sparked behind her smile.
Naoko, covered in flecks of emerald hardening and pink slime residue, gave them a confident nod.
> “Let’s melt something, yeah?”
Their test: Urban rescue scenario under villain pressure. Save two civilian dummies, evade six combat drones, and navigate a collapsing rooftop environment.
> “You’ll be up against Group Five,” Hoshiyama said. “Ren Sato, Saya Sero, and Riku Mineta.”
Katsuo narrowed his eyes.
Ren—big, fast, relentless. Saya’s sonic tape made her tricky in tight quarters. Riku? unpredictable, but those comic-based sound attacks could overwhelm senses if timed right.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
---
Simulation Start – “Urban Sector Gamma”
Sirens wailed. Smoke curled through narrow alleyways. The countdown hit zero.
> “Move!” Katsuo snapped, dashing forward with one flaming step. “Airi, get a visual on the civs—Naoko, wall up the left flank!”
> “Already on it!” Naoko shouted, crystal-armor coating her arms as she slammed up an emerald barricade.
Airi’s boots barely touched the cracked pavement, her gravity manipulation keeping her aloft. Her voice buzzed over comms.
> “Two targets on the east rooftop. Drones closing in!”
Suddenly—
> FWASH! A sonic blast ripped through a nearby building, blowing out the wall behind Katsuo.
> “INCOMING—!”
The fight had begun.
---
Back in the Control Room
Ms. Hoshiyama stood with Principal Nezu and a guest: Pro Hero Deku, arms folded, face unreadable as his daughter zipped across the screen.
> “You think he’s ready?” Hoshiyama asked quietly.
> “No,” Izuku said. “But he’s getting there.”
He watched as Katsuo threw himself between Airi and a collapsing tower.
> “And he’s not doing it alone anymore.”
Chapter Two: “The Ember Test” – Part Two
“More Than Sparks”
Simulation – Rooftop Sector Gamma
> “Katsuo, behind you—!”
Airi’s voice cut through the static just in time. Katsuo twisted, throwing his arm up—and the drone’s electrified net tangled with his flames, bursting in a blinding flare. He stumbled back, smoke curling off his jacket, panting.
> “They’re adapting to our patterns,” he growled, steam venting from his palms.
Naoko crouched beside a crumbling vent, shielding one of the dummy civilians under a crystalline dome.
> “I can’t hold this cover much longer. We need to move!”
Airi hovered above the debris, hands glowing with soft gravitational pulses as she maneuvered the second dummy toward the exit beacon. Her eyes darted from Katsuo to the next incoming wave of drones.
> “Then we change the pattern.”
She met Katsuo’s eyes. His mind raced.
> One For All… just enough to break through—but not blow my cover.
The weight of legacy pressed on him—but then he saw her: Airi, steady in the chaos, eyes full of purpose, and faith.
> Not alone.
He nodded.
> “New plan: Airi, boost me over the roofline. Naoko, give me a launch pad.”
Naoko’s emerald armor extended into a hardened ramp. Airi’s hands glowed, a shift in gravity surrounding him like an invisible cradle.
> “Ready when you are,” she whispered.
> “Then light the fuse.”
Katsuo blasted forward like a fireball, One For All surging faintly through his legs—controlled, focused. The rooftop cracked beneath him as he slammed into the drone nest with a blast of heat and explosive force, scattering the final assault unit.
Victory flare: green.
---
Training Dome – Control Room
Cheers erupted from the spectating students, but the pros watching said nothing for a long beat.
Then—
> “Todoroki didn’t just power through,” murmured Endeavor, arms crossed. “He planned it. Trusted his team.”
Izuku’s smile returned, small but certain.
> “He’s starting to learn what it means to carry a symbol.”
---
Aftermath – U.A. Campus, Garden Path
Katsuo sat on a bench, drenched in sweat, his hair a wild halo of steam-dried spikes. The scars of the training battle still smoldered on his gloves. His head hung low, exhaustion deep in his bones.
Footsteps padded lightly across the stones.
> “You okay?” Airi asked, sliding into the seat beside him.
He glanced up. “I didn’t mean to overdo it.”
> “You didn’t.”
He blinked. She was smiling softly, hands folded in her lap, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. For once, she wasn’t glowing with stardust—just… warm. Real.
> “You trusted us,” she said. “That’s huge.”
Katsuo looked away, jaw tight.
> “It’s hard. Knowing what I’ve got inside. What I could do.”
> “And you didn’t let it control you,” she replied. “You chose to let us help.”
A pause.
Then she nudged his shoulder.
> “You’re not just carrying the flame, Katsuo. You’re learning how to make it burn brighter—with others.”
He turned, eyes locking with hers.
Airi’s expression softened. There was something unspoken between them—a tension that wasn’t just from the adrenaline. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
> “You saved me back there. Again.”
> “Yeah, well,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. “I guess you’re kinda hard to ignore.”
Her laughter rang out, clear and musical.
They sat there a little longer, the sunset painting golden lines between them.
Maybe this was what warmth really felt like.
U.A. Main Building – Post-Simulation Debrief Room
The students of Class 1-B gathered around the projection screen, where footage of the training exercise replayed in slow motion.
Katsuo watched silently as his final blast scattered the drones. The crisp replay captured every flicker of blue flame, the faint green lightning curling at his boots—an echo of power far beyond what he should have used.
A murmur rippled through the class.
> “Dude… was that a secondary Quirk?” Ren Sato asked, wide-eyed.
> “That jump was insane,” said Miko Asui, crouched on her chair with her hoodie half-zipped. “Like, there’s no way that was just his fire.”
Naoko leaned against the wall, arms crossed but expression unreadable.
> “Whatever it was… it worked. We ed because of him.”
Katsuo tensed.
> “No. We ed because you held the line, and Airi kept the mission going. I just—” He cut himself off.
Sora Hagakure floated upside down midair, arms tucked behind her head. “You always deflect compliments like they’re heat rays.”
> “Because he’s hiding something,” said Kaito Tokoyami, voice low but pointed. “You all saw it.”
Silence.
Airi stepped forward. “That doesn’t matter right now.”
> “It does if it puts him at risk,” Haruto Kaminari said, frowning.
Katsuo stood, fists clenched.
> “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask for a legacy. Or this power. Or to be compared to him every time I breathe.”
Everyone froze. His voice cracked like firewood under pressure.
> “I’m not Midoriya. I’m not Endeavor. I’m not Dabi.” He looked down at his hands, scarred and trembling. “I’m just trying not to burn everything down.”
Airi moved to his side, placing a hand on his arm.
> “Then let us help you carry it. That’s what this class is for.”
No one said anything for a long moment.
Then Shika Aizawa yawned from the back. “Well… that got intense. I vote we take five. Emotions are strong Quirks too, you know.”
Everyone chuckled—lightly, awkwardly—but the tension began to ease.
---
Later – U.A. Observation Deck
The city lights stretched below. Katsuo leaned against the rail, breathing in cool air, the hum of the campus calming his racing thoughts.
He didn’t hear the footsteps behind him—until a quiet voice spoke.
> “You should talk to him. You owe that to yourself.”
Katsuo turned to see Midoriya—older, wiser, with the same hopeful green eyes—but tempered now with the weight of peace hard-earned.
> “You saw it?” Katsuo asked.
Deku nodded. “Felt it, too. You’ve started tapping into it.”
> “It scares me.”
Deku stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.
> “Good. That means you’re not taking it lightly.”
> “Why me?” Katsuo finally asked. “You had plenty of options.”
Deku looked at him, smile sad but sure.
> “Because you remind me of the version of me I needed when I was your age. Strong… but struggling. And still choosing to protect people anyway.”
Katsuo stared out at the skyline.
> “It’s not just a flame anymore, is it?”
> “No,” Deku whispered. “It’s a torch. And you’re not carrying it alone.”
[[END Chapter 2 ]]
Chapter Three: “Inheritance” – Part One
“The Empire Descends”
Location: U.A. Heroic Testing Center – “Gauntlet Ridge” Simulation Zone
The sun blazed overhead as Class 1-B prepared for their full-day gauntlet—a rigorous multi-terrain combat and rescue simulation meant to push second-years to their limit. Giant rock formations, dense steel constructs, flooded zones, and mock evac shelters dotted the massive training field.
Each student was in costume, equipped with body cams and earpieces, split into squads for the rotating challenges.
Katsuo adjusted his gear, his black-and-green coat fluttering in the breeze. Airi Midoriya gave him a ive glance as she floated a mock civilian onto a platform.
> “You ready?” she asked.
He nodded, gripping his flame-scarred gloves. “As I’ll ever be.”
Ren Sato cracked his knuckles. “Alright, team Vital Surge is takin’ the lead! Who’s ready to smash some obstacle courses?”
Laughter followed—and for a moment, everything felt like normal hero training.
Then… the sky dimmed.
A low pulse vibrated through the ground. Drones monitoring the field shorted out with sparks. The air shimmered unnaturally.
Warning sirens blared.
> “EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL INITIATED—”
Before the announcement could finish, a ripping tear of black ash and light split open midair, hovering above the students like a jagged wound.
From it spilled masked figures in dark uniforms, brandishing Quirk enhancers, weapons, and cold intent.
Leading them stood a man draped in white and red, long silver hair flowing, and eyes glowing a vivid purple beneath a horned mask.
“Students of U.A.,” his voice echoed over loudspeakers hijacked by the villain tech, “Your inheritance dies here.”
The Empire of Villains had arrived.
---
Chaos ignites.
Explosions tore through the ridge’s rock walls as several villain operatives hit the field. Some warped instantly to squad zones. One crashed through the observation tower.
Naoko activated her emerald armor mid-dash, shielding Saya Sero as sonic blasts hit the ground. “They’re going after the teams separately!”
Katsuo didn’t hesitate. “Regroup. Fall back to Shelter Point C!”
But as he turned—one of the lead lieutenants appeared behind Airi, arm extended, a pulse bomb charging.
> “Midoriya—!” Katsuo shouted, flames erupting in panic.
Airi whipped around—too slow.
But in a flash of white lightning, Haruto Kaminari intercepted, pushing her aside as the bomb detonated—
—right in his chest.
Smoke and rubble surged, the sound drowning the students' cries.
Katsuo’s vision narrowed. The world tunneled.
The villain smirked. “Did I hit a nerve, little ember?”
Something inside Katsuo snapped.
His flames turned blue—then white at the core. Green sparks arced violently from his heels.
The villain’s smirk dropped. “Wait—what the hell are you—”
Katsuo was already on him, slamming his fist into the air, unleashing a torrent of condensed flame and kinetic force that tore the ground apart.
Students and villains alike turned toward the blast, stunned.
From the smoke, Katsuo stepped out, his eyes glowing, steam hissing from his shoulders.
> “You want my inheritance?” he growled. “Come and take it.”
The battlefield burned.
Smoke coiled into the air, tinted orange by the lingering light of Katsuo’s explosive backlash. Rubble cracked underfoot as students scattered to regroup, and alarms echoed through the facility—useless now that the security system had been overrun.
Katsuo knelt over Haruto’s unconscious form, teeth gritted. The pulse bomb had ruptured the side of his armor—his torso bruised and sparking with residual electricity. He was alive, but barely.
> “Dammit, Kaminari…” Katsuo muttered. “You didn’t have to take that for her.”
Airi crouched beside him, her hands trembling but glowing with a faint pink energy as she tried to stabilize Haruto. “I—I can slow his heartbeat. Buy him time. But we need real med , fast.”
Katsuo’s jaw clenched. “Then I’ll clear a path.”
His hands flared white-hot, steam rising from his forearms. The One For All embers crackled like embers in a furnace, winding into his flames—unstable but growing more synchronized by the second.
> “Katsuo,” Airi whispered, eyes wide, “you’re burning too fast…”
He gave her a half-smile—bittersweet and reckless. “Then I’ll burn brighter.”
---
Elsewhere on the field…
Naoko Ashido and Saya Sero ducked beneath a flurry of crystalline blades launched by a villain woman clad in obsidian armor. Each blade was laced with a paralyzing agent, glowing faintly in the fading sunlight.
> “I count six!” Saya shouted, rebounding off a steel pipe and unleashing a sonic wave.
Naoko leapt forward, armor hardening around her fists. “Let’s make it zero!”
They moved in tandem, years of trust forged in sparring sessions and messy dorm food fights. Their combined Quirks forced the villain into a defensive stance—until a second enemy phased through the wall behind them.
> “Look out—!”
Before impact, Shika Aizawa appeared with a yawn and a swipe of her hand, nullifying the second villain’s Quirk mid-lunge. “Ugh, can’t I nap for one day without getting ambushed by evil emos?”
Her scarf extended, grabbing the sneak attacker and hurling them into Saya’s sonic trap.
> “One down,” Shika muttered.
---
Back to Katsuo…
The masked lieutenant, the one who wounded Haruto, stepped forward again, flanked now by two more Empire enforcers—both with heavily modified Quirk gear.
“Your flames are impressive, Todoroki,” the lieutenant sneered, “but I’ve studied you. Your bursts are too short. Your Quirk balance is unstable. And that inherited power? You haven’t earned it.”
Katsuo’s head tilted, shadowed by the white-blue glow rising from his body. “Is that what this is? A message?”
The villain extended a palm. “This generation stole the world from us. Now we’re taking it back.”
> “Then try,” Katsuo said—and launched forward.
What followed was a blur.
Katsuo’s flames spiraled around One For All’s momentum, cracking the air as he weaved between attacks, unleashing small shockwaves with each burst of movement. His fighting style was still raw, but brutal in its intensity—Todoroki precision clashing with Midoriya’s raw power.
He dodged a beam, ignited his boots, spun mid-air, and drove a flame-enhanced punch into the villain’s side.
BOOM.
The lieutenant flew back, skidding through steel scaffolding. The other two enforcers rushed him—
And Airi stepped between them, hands glowing with grav-pink light. “You’re not touching him.”
With a flash, she lifted the ground beneath their feet—then slammed them into each other with a gesture, using their own weight against them.
Katsuo landed beside her, panting, flames still hissing off his back.
> “You okay?” she asked softly.
> “I am now,” he muttered, staring at her for a second too long.
She blinked, breath catching.
> “Katsuo, behind—!”
Too late.
One of the downed villains activated a final pulse charge—aimed right at Katsuo’s exposed back.
> “NO—!”
Airi threw herself into the path of the blast.
White light.
And Katsuo, on instinct, surged forward—his Quirk reacting, Evolving.
For the first time, One For All and his own flames moved as one. His aura flared—a radiant inferno—and he caught the charge in his hand before it hit her, his body blazing with light and fury.
The villain stared in disbelief. “What are you?!”
Katsuo’s voice was low. Final. “I’m the one you should’ve never touched.”
The air snapped with residual energy.
Smoke trailed off Katsuo’s clenched fist as the disarmed pulse charge fizzled out in his palm. His flame-wreathed silhouette loomed like a wildfire given human form—shoulders rising and falling in ragged rhythm, the heat shimmering around him in waves.
Airi was at his side, wide-eyed, her face streaked with dust and sweat. The blast hadn’t touched her.
He had saved her.
> “You… you caught it,” she whispered.
Katsuo’s voice trembled—not from fear, but fury barely contained. “Nobody hurts you. Not while I’m still breathing.”
Across the testing ground, more battles raged.
---
Riku Mineta and Miko Asui were locked in a precarious fight near the observation tower, fending off a villain whose Quirk allowed them to distort sound and perception. Miko clung to a vertical wall, her sticky tongue snapping outward to deflect thrown knives, while Riku weaved in disorienting comic-style s to confuse the enemy.
> “I’m not sure if we’re winning or if they’re just really confused!” Riku shouted, dodging an explosion that looked like a “BOOM!” onomatopoeia.
> “They’re confused because you keep yelling your attacks like a Saturday morning cartoon!” Miko hissed.
He grinned. “It’s a brand!”
---
Meanwhile, deeper in the facility, Shika Aizawa, Kaito Tokoyami, and Sora Hagakure found themselves cornered in a generator room—cut off from the others by reinforced barriers. A strange, fluid-like villain loomed before them, with a Quirk that oozed corruption—able to dissolve shadows, invisibility, and even nullify temporary gear.
> “We’re locked in,” Kaito muttered, darkness feathering his cloak. “He’s suppressing Dark Shadow. I’ve never seen anything like this…”
Shika’s eyes narrowed. “Then we make our own shadows.”
She flicked a switch on her gauntlet—overriding the internal lights. The room plunged into pitch black.
Instantly, Sora vanished, Kaito’s Dark Shadow roared to life, and Shika’s scarf unwound like a serpent.
The villain didn’t stand a chance.
---
Back with Katsuo and Airi…
The remaining foot soldiers of the Empire were retreating—or so it seemed. That’s when the ground trembled.
A sudden pulse rolled through the area, low and seismic.
Katsuo’s instincts screamed danger.
From the center of the test arena, a crater opened as a new presence stepped out—tall, lean, and wrapped in fractured tactical gear laced with white embers.
Eyes gleaming with a dim silver glow.
Kishidoro Himortalia.
Villain name: Kishi.
Codename in Empire databases: Apex Burn.
A flame villain who couldn’t die—who regenerated from everything.
> “Yo,” Kishi drawled, cracking his neck. “They said the little Todoroki runt would be here. Figured I’d come say hi.”
The temperature around Katsuo dropped—not from cold, but from fear. The kind of chill that burns after it’s too late.
Airi backed up instinctively. “That’s… that’s Kishi. Katsuo, he’s not just a villain. He’s a monster.”
Katsuo stepped forward, unshaken. “Then I’ll be the one to stop him.”
Kishi smirked. “Careful, kid. Your fire’s bright. But mine’s eternal.”
And with a howl, he lunged.
The first clash was silent.
Not because it lacked impact, but because the sheer force of it vacuumed the sound from the air. Fire met fire—Katsuo’s roaring cerulean inferno against Kishi’s pale, blistering hellflame. The arena cracked beneath them as they collided, fists meeting in the center of the blast zone.
Airi was thrown back by the shockwave, tumbling to cover behind a fallen pillar, her ears ringing. Dust coated her uniform, but her gaze remained locked on Katsuo.
> “Come on, Katsuo…” she whispered, heart pounding. “You can do this.”
---
Kishi grinned wide as flames rolled off his skin. “That blue fire’s something else… You sure you’re not Dabi’s clone?”
Katsuo’s teeth clenched. “I’m not him. I’m not my father. I’m me.”
He launched forward, fists igniting with compressed, swirling flame. His heat burned clean—focused. Purposeful.
Kishi met the attack with a laugh, his body exploding into ash and reforming behind Katsuo, jamming a knee into his ribs. “Then show me who you really are.”
Katsuo coughed, flames sputtering from his mouth, but caught Kishi’s next strike mid-air and hurled him into a wall of steel.
> Clang!
Kishi’s laughter echoed. “That all you got, little Phoenix?”
---
Elsewhere in the arena, backup finally broke through—Haruto Kaminari, sporting a field-repaired costume and a surge in his Quirk after draining nearby batteries, arrived at Airi’s side.
> “Whoa—what’d I miss?”
> “Katsuo’s fighting Kishi alone.”
Haruto’s eyes widened. “He’s what?! That guy’s unkillable!”
> “Yeah,” Airi said, her voice trembling, “but Katsuo doesn’t care. He’s trying anyway.”
Haruto gritted his teeth. “Then we don’t let him do it alone.”
---
Back in the blast zone, Katsuo was bleeding now—cuts across his cheek, smoke rising from his back. His flames flickered unsteadily, but his stance didn’t falter.
Kishi walked toward him casually, no sign of exhaustion. “You’re tough. Got the fire in your blood. But you ain’t got the killer instinct.”
Katsuo’s breath was ragged. “Don’t need it. I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to prove something.”
> “That I’m worthy of One For All.”
Kishi stopped. His grin twitched.
> “You what now?”
At that moment, Haruto launched himself into the fight with a bolt of lightning, striking Kishi in the side. Sparks surged, overloading his regenerating nerves.
> “Tag in, Sparkplug!” Haruto shouted, sliding beside Katsuo. “Let’s cook this freak together!”
Katsuo gave him a bloody grin. “Took you long enough.”
Kishi growled, flames snaking back into place. “Oh, you boys are gonna regret this.”
> “Nah,” Katsuo said, eyes burning with focus. “We’re gonna finish it.”
As the two charged together, flame and lightning spiraling into a unified strike, Airi’s voice echoed in her mind:
> That’s why Midoriya-sensei chose him. Because when the fire rises, Katsuo doesn’t just burn…
> He becomes the light.
The moment Katsuo and Haruto’s combined attack hit, the battlefield erupted in light.
The fusion of lightning and flame burst outward in a wave of controlled destruction—Katsuo’s cerulean inferno spiraling around Haruto’s blinding volts like a tempest made of raw will. Kishi didn’t dodge.
He didn’t even try.
Instead, the villain grinned wide, arms crossed in an ‘X’ as the blast engulfed him.
> BOOM!
Smoke billowed high into the shattered remains of the training dome. Cracks spiderwebbed across the flooring, and chunks of molten concrete rained down like volcanic ash. Haruto landed hard, skidding back, chest heaving. Katsuo dropped to one knee, steam pouring off his shoulders.
> “Did… we get him?” Haruto rasped.
For a moment, all was silent.
Then a sickening snap echoed from the smoke.
From the charred haze stepped Kishi, his frame blackened, bones cracked, half his torso caved in—and still healing.
His eyes glowed red.
> “Nice hit,” he croaked. “You boys almost made me feel that.”
Katsuo’s hands trembled.
> What the hell is this guy made of…?
Suddenly—another voice cut through the tension.
> “That’s enough.”
A shockwave slammed into the arena, a crescent arc of air pressure slicing through the smoke like a scythe. It slammed into Kishi, sending him tumbling across the ground for the first time.
All eyes turned to the sky.
Descending from above on a burst of wind and energy—Pro Hero Deku landed in front of the students, his cloak whipping, green lightning crackling at his feet.
> “Class 1-B, fall back,” he said without looking back. “I’ll handle this.”
Kishi staggered to his feet, his expression twisting—not with fear, but with recognition.
> “You’re late, Midoriya,” he spat, laughing through the pain. “Always are.”
Deku’s expression was cold. Controlled. Not a trace of the nervous smile he once carried.
> “And you’re just another monster who thinks hurting kids will make your message louder.”
He crouched low.
> “I’ll silence you.”
---
Behind him, Airi rushed to Katsuo’s side, dropping to her knees.
> “You’re okay—oh my god, Katsuo—”
“I’m fine,” he lied, blood trickling from his lips. “Just… tired.”
Airi’s eyes brimmed with tears, hands glowing faintly as she tried to ease his burns.
Katsuo looked up, barely able to keep focus, and caught her gaze.
> “Sorry I made you worry again.”
Airi leaned in, pressed her forehead to his.
> “Just don’t scare me like that again, flamebrain.”
---
As Deku clashed with Kishi—green lightning vs. pale fire—tremors rocked the testing site. But the students, bruised and burned, watched from the edge, something shifting in all of them.
A line had been crossed. A trial survived.
And for Katsuo Todoroki—he understood now.
> This power I inherited… it isn’t just about strength.
> It’s about enduring, even when the fire doesn’t stop.
Even when it burns everything you are.
The air was alive with tension, a battlefield of titans where only embers and echoes dared linger.
Deku surged forward, flickering like a comet, Full Cowl 100% activated through the help of Eri on standby, who channeled her Quirk remotely under strict supervision. Every step he took cracked the ground. Every blow that missed still tore through the air with hurricane force.
Kishi’s body shifted erratically, patching itself mid-battle. His Quirk was no longer just regeneration—it evolved, adapting faster the more damage he sustained. His attacks had grown savage and brutal, a chaotic dance of bone spikes and ash-fueled combustion.
> “You’ve gotten soft, Midoriya,” Kishi hissed, dodging a blast of Delaware Smash. “You save too much. You hope too much. That’s why we’ll win.”
But Deku didn’t answer him with words.
He answered him with a Detroit Smash so massive it cratered the entire east quadrant of the testing field and sent Kishi flying through two beams.
The villain spat blood—and laughed.
> “You can break my bones all you want, but you’ll never break our vision. The new age isn’t coming—it’s already here.”
Suddenly—he reached into his coat, a strange black orb flickering in his fingers.
> “Time to reset the board.”
Before Deku could react, Kishi crushed the orb.
A portal of spiraling red smoke erupted behind him—an emergency warp gate, experimental tech from the Empire of Villains. It whirled like a stormcloud.
Katsuo tried to push up from the ground. “No—!”
Deku lunged.
But the portal closed just as Kishi vanished into it, dragging a trail of blood and embers behind.
The silence that followed was deafening.
---
Aftermath
Sirens wailed in the distance. Hero reinforcements had arrived. EMTs and drones buzzed overhead, tending to students now safely out of immediate danger.
Katsuo sat on a stretcher, bandaged but upright. Airi stayed close, her head resting on his shoulder. Haruto sat nearby, his arms crossed over a cracked rib but a proud smirk on his face.
> “We held our own,” he muttered. “Against a damn monster.”
Katsuo nodded, eyes fixed on the scarred arena.
> “Barely.”
Deku approached them, looking tired but whole. He stopped before Katsuo.
> “You did well, all of you,” he said, voice steady. “What you faced wasn’t something students should ever have to.”
He paused, then placed a hand on Katsuo’s shoulder.
> “But you stood your ground. Just like he did. Just like I did. That’s what it means to carry One For All.”
Katsuo looked up, his gaze sharper than before.
> “He said the age of villains had already started…”
Deku’s jaw tightened.
> “Then we make sure it ends with us.”
---
Elsewhere…
In a dimly lit facility lined with ruined hero tech and stolen blueprints, Kishi emerged from the warp gate and collapsed. A masked figure approached—a woman draped in layers of fireproof cloth, her eyes glowing amber.
> “You were reckless.”
> “I bought us time,” Kishi rasped, smiling. “And I tested the successor.”
> “And?”
Kishi looked up, grinning.
> “He burns just like his father. But unlike him… he’s still figuring out why.”
The woman turned, staring at a massive screen depicting Katsuo, frozen mid-attack.
> “Then we give him a reason.”
[[END of Chapter Three]]
BNHA: Legacy Rising – Chapter Four: “Ashes of Legacy”
Part One – “A Hero’s Image”
The skies over Musutafu were strangely quiet.
Even the usual hum of hero patrols seemed muted beneath the weight of the city’s newest threat—an explosive rise in coordinated villain attacks, each one executed with surgical precision and disturbing consistency.
In the heart of U.A. High, the faculty room buzzed with tension.
A wall of holo-screens displayed disturbing footage: citizens attacked, small hero agencies burned down, and masked figures bearing eerie smiles delivering the same message.
> “A symbol once rose. Now a titan shall replace it.”
Among the staff, Deku stood still, watching one particular frame in silence.
The image was unmistakable: a villain dressed in his old costume—cape, gloves, green combat suit—recolored and reinforced. His face was obscured, but his posture, mannerisms… even the way he clenched his fist mimicked Izuku Midoriya.
A fake.
Titanus.
The new self-proclaimed "Symbol of Absolute Strength."
> “He’s mocking everything you stood for,” Aizawa muttered. “But there’s more to it. The way he moves… his power.”
> “It’s not just mimicry,” Deku said darkly. “It’s intent. And he’s got a Quirk that worries me.”
All Might's holographic projection flickered in beside them, arms crossed.
> “This 'All for Power'—we believe it's a synthetic Quirk built from data fragments of both One For All and All For One. A hybrid.”
Deku clenched his jaw.
> “A weapon.”
---
Elsewhere – Class 1-B Training Arena
Katsuo Todoroki stood with his hands braced against the edge of the observation deck. Below him, the rest of the second-gen 1-B roster pushed through coordinated sparring drills.
Airi Midoriya launched into the air with a zero-gravity hop, twisting through Naoko Ashido’s acidic charge while Haruto Kaminari spun lightning discs into a controlled burst, forcing Riku Mineta to dodge on instinct.
Katsuo was still, observing, calculating—but distant.
Until Airi appeared at his side.
> “You’ve been quiet.”
> “Thinking.”
> “About him?” she asked softly.
He nodded once.
> “Titanus.”
Airi frowned. “He’s copying your dad. And mine.”
Katsuo’s gaze darkened. “He’s doing more than copying. He’s corrupting. And we’re going to stop him.”
Before Airi could respond, an alarm blared through the arena, its tone sharp and urgent.
Emergency Deployment.
Target: Titanus.
Level: Omega.
---
Cut to: Skies above Hokkaido – Present Time
A massive power signature pulsed like thunder.
Titanus stood at the center of a shattered plaza, cracking his knuckles. Flames danced from one fist, black lightning from the other. His green eyes were calm, dead behind a twisted smile.
> “They called him a symbol of peace,” he murmured. “But peace was just an illusion.”
He turned toward the camera drone, voice rising.
> “Now I offer truth—raw, absolute, unrivaled strength!”
He punched downward, the city block beneath him cratered in a single impact, sending buildings toppling in a shockwave that echoed for miles.
---
Back at U.A. – Hero Command Briefing Room
Katsuo tightened his gloves.
Airi stepped up beside him, visor sliding into place.
Haruto sparked his gauntlets with a grin. “We’re flying out, right? This guy’s got an ego the size of Kamino.”
Shika Aizawa leaned back, eyes half-closed. “He wants attention. Let’s give him some.”
Sora Hagakure gave a quick thumbs-up, her camo already activating. “Let’s ghost the bastard.”
Katsuo nodded.
> “This isn’t a drill. This is war.”
> “Let’s bring the storm.”
Part 2 – “Descent of Titans”
Time: 17:42 JST
Location: Hokkaido Evacuation Zone Alpha
The wind howled through the cracked remains of Hokkaido’s once-bustling commerce district. Streets lay in ruin. Buildings, now skeletal frames of steel and glass, barely stood. Civilians had been evacuated hours earlier—but not fast enough to avoid the wrath of Titanus.
At the center of it all, Titanus crouched over the ruins of a collapsed building, dragging a heroic body by the collar—an unknown Pro, battered and unconscious.
He lifted the man with one hand.
> “They sent you to stop me?” Titanus growled. “You’re not even a shadow of Midoriya.”
With a sickening thud, he tossed the body aside.
His head tilted up slightly—eyes glowing.
> “They’re here.”
---
Above: U.A. Strike Ship “Argo-12” – Mid-Descent
Inside the specialized airship, the second-gen Class 1-B team stood prepped and ready. Tactical hero gear activated. Tension coiled like static.
Katsuo stood at the front of the cabin, arms crossed, crimson-blue flames licking along his shoulders, eyes narrowed in focus.
> “Listen up,” he barked. “Titanus is using fear and image to shatter public trust. This isn’t just about power—it’s about legacy. If we let him walk away today, it validates every lie he spits out.”
Airi stood beside him, gravity gauntlets charged.
> “We hit hard, fast, coordinated. And we don’t let him break formation.”
Sora Hagakure flickered to the side, already half-invisible.
> “I’ll scout and disable any external surveillance. The public doesn’t need to see us bleed.”
Ren Sato rolled his neck, his muscles bulging with surging bio-energy. “Let’s make sure he does, then.”
Katsuo nodded to the crew. “Shika—smoke screen on entry. Haruto—cover right flank with Riku. Airi, Naoko, you're with me.”
Everyone stacked fists in the center.
> “For U.A.,” Haruto smirked.
> “For the symbol,” said Airi.
> “For ourselves,” Katsuo finished.
---
Descent Initiated – Drop Time: 18:00
With a low clank, the drop doors opened. The team launched out one by one—hero gear glinting in the sunset.
Smoke. Wind. Ruin.
Titanus turned to greet them.
> “Ah. The children come to prove themselves. How precious.”
He stepped forward, the ground crumbling beneath him from the sheer pressure of his Quirk.
His aura shimmered—lightning flickered down one arm, fire surged from the other, and a third aura—almost spectral—coursed around his body.
> “Let’s see if the Symbol’s spawn can even crawl.”
He leapt.
And the battlefield erupted.
---
Katsuo vs. Titanus – Initial Clash
Their fists collided mid-air, generating a shockwave that shattered glass for three blocks. Katsuo’s fire met Titanus’ inferno—but something felt off.
The pressure behind Titanus’ punch…
> “It’s like hitting a goddamn mountain,” Katsuo grunted.
Titanus smirked. “You’re not bad. But you’re no Deku. No Dabi. Just some messy rewrite.”
Katsuo snarled. “I’m not a rewrite. I’m the one writing the next chapter.”
His flames turned white-hot, engulfing his body in a searing nova.
Titanus laughed.
And the real fight began.
Part 3 – “Rising Inferno”
Location: Ground Zero – Evacuation Zone Alpha
The city burned.
Flames licked across buildings, smoke billowed into the dusk sky, and shockwaves rocked the earth with every exchange between Titanus and the Class 1-B strike team.
Katsuo was first into the fray.
His flames blazed across his back like wings, fury igniting from his palms as he clashed with Titanus in midair. The villain’s raw strength was overwhelming—borrowed Quirks layered like armor over his body.
But Katsuo didn’t retreat.
He adapted.
> “Don’t fight him head-on too long,” Airi’s voice echoed in his earpiece. “We need to expose his core Quirk focus!”
> “Already on it,” Katsuo growled, flames coiling around his fist. “Ren, now!”
---
Elsewhere in the rubble—Ren Sato broke through a wrecked column.
His bulk swelled with stored energy as he charged forward like a living freight train. With a thunderous roar, he slammed into Titanus’ side, forcing the villain off balance just long enough for Katsuo to twist and hurl a compressed burst of Hellfire Shotgun point-blank into his chest.
> BOOM—!!
Titanus was sent crashing through several buildings, smoke rising from the crater.
> “Don’t celebrate yet,” Sora warned from above, flickering between shadows. “He’s healing. Fast.”
Sure enough—Titanus emerged from the dust with a smirk and glowing eyes. The wounds burned shut, and his aura only pulsed stronger.
> “I like this,” he said calmly. “You kids actually try.”
---
Meanwhile: Team in Action
Down the northern flank, Naoko, Riku, and Sora were working to isolate civilians caught in the chaos and set up suppression fields to cut off Titanus’ visibility.
Naoko slammed her hardened crystalline fists into the ground, creating thick armored barriers as Riku summoned an avalanche of speech bubbles—each exploding with soundwaves to disorient any surveillance drones circling above.
> “We can’t stop the storm,” Naoko muttered, “but we can guide the lightning.”
> “Don’t get poetic when I’m trying to not puke,” Riku gagged, ducking another explosion.
---
Katsuo’s Perspective
The flames around Katsuo’s body grew erratic—his breaths were sharper now.
> He’s adapting faster than I expected, he thought grimly. Is this really what All For One left behind?
Titanus now stood still, cracking his neck.
> “You’ve all trained well. But legacies… legacies aren’t earned in classrooms. They’re earned in ashes.”
He pointed at Katsuo.
> “Come, Scorchspawn. Burn with me.”
Katsuo grit his teeth. His mind flashed to Dabi’s face… to Deku’s farewell… and then to Airi—still holding her own at the front lines.
> “You’re not the only one with a legacy.”
> “I’m not just my father’s fire…”
> “I’m his redemption.”
With a primal scream, Katsuo released the limiter on his Quirk—flames turning plasma-white, searing the very air.
Hellfire Mode: Unleashed.
And this time, it was Titanus who blinked in surprise.
Part 4 – “Legacy Unbound”
Location: Inner City Wreck Zone – Evacuation Zone Alpha
The clash between fire and borrowed power continued to consume the skyline. Buildings collapsed under pressure waves, flames danced like dragons across rooftops, and the world watched—helpless—as the next generation stepped into war’s hungry jaws.
But in the eye of the storm, three hearts burned in sync.
---
Katsuo’s flame-wreathed silhouette stood across from Titanus.
Plasma licked across his arms, his Hellfire Mode unleashed fully now. But even with that boost, he knew one thing:
> He couldn’t win alone.
Just as Titanus began to surge forward with another Quirk-enhanced strike, a sudden gravitational pull knocked him off course.
Airi Midoriya descended in a burst of starlight, her gravity field wrapping Katsuo and cushioning him as she flung Titanus midair—sending the villain crashing into a collapsed tram line.
> “You weren’t gonna do this without me, were you?” Airi landed beside him, panting but focused.
Katsuo gave a fiery grin. “Figured you’d show up when things got fun.”
She didn’t respond with words—only a glance that told him everything. There was heat in her eyes. Not fear. Belief.
---
Above them, Rei Todoroki circled in a sharp arc.
Ice traced across the edge of her flight path, coating exposed gas lines and collapsing debris to create impromptu shields. She dropped low, skidding to a stop as her hands surged with split-temperature energy—white frost on the left, flickering blue fire on the right.
> “You’ve got thirty seconds,” she warned. “I’ll suppress his healing and mobility. But after that, he’ll adjust. Move fast.”
Katsuo nodded. “We’ll crack his core.”
Airi added with a grin, “And I’ll make sure he floats long enough to get roasted.”
> “Alright…” Katsuo whispered, his flames narrowing into a concentrated spiral around his forearms. “Let’s make this count.”
---
Titanus re-emerged, the skin on his arms glowing molten gold.
> “Three little legacies,” he sneered. “Midoriya’s hope, Todoroki’s shadow, and Dabi’s cursed blood. You think you represent change? You’re remnants. I’m evolution.”
> “You’re just a thief,” Rei said coldly. “And you’re not stealing this fight.”
---
The plan was tight. Risky. But it was their only shot.
Airi launched forward first, manipulating gravity pockets to slam Titanus upward. He flew helplessly for just a moment—just enough time for Rei to drop a hybrid burst of freezing flame, locking his limbs in crystallized icefire.
> “Katsuo—NOW!”
He burst through the smoke, launching like a meteor.
His entire body burned white. His voice thundered with every ounce of Dabi’s legacy and his own will:
> “HELLFIRE: PURGATORY FANG!!”
A vortex of spiraling fire engulfed Titanus midair, crashing him into the earth in a burning crater. The shockwave flattened the surrounding street, launching dust and steam into the sky like a bomb had gone off.
---
When the smoke cleared… Titanus was down.
Breathing hard. Body seared. Not moving.
For now.
Katsuo dropped to one knee, panting.
Airi caught his shoulder. Rei landed beside them, frost clinging to her boots.
> “You did it,” Airi whispered.
> “We did,” Katsuo corrected, smiling up at her—tired, bruised, but burning.
Their hands lingered a little longer than necessary.
---
But before celebration could take hold…
The ground shook again.
Titanus coughed—and grinned.
> “Good… that was good,” he rasped. “Now let’s see what I can really do.”
His body began to shift—an unnatural ripple of Quirk layering taking over again.
“Round two,” he muttered.
BNHA: Legacy Rising – Chapter Four: Ashes of Legacy
Part 5 – “Borrowed God”
Location: Wreck Zone Alpha – Crater Ruins
> The silence following Titanus’s fall was short-lived. The air didn’t settle—it tightened.
As Katsuo rose with Airi and Rei behind him, Titanus’s body cracked with light—pulses of color-shifting energy coursing beneath his skin like veins of molten lightning.
> “You think this is the end?” Titanus croaked, rising slowly. “I borrowed All For One’s ambition. But I’ve become more than a mimic…”
His body twisted—evolving—ribs expanding, musculature warping. The raw fusion of stolen Quirks surged within him.
> “You’re looking at All for Power, in its next form—Titan Engine Protocol.”
---
A shockwave exploded outward.
The crater tripled in size. Katsuo raised his arm to shield himself—barely—as rubble and steel scattered in a fiery maelstrom. Titanus now floated above the carnage, pulsing with radiant force.
He had become a monster.
---
A transmission crackled in over the students’ comms.
> “—watch out! Incoming enemy reinforcements from the western approach—!!”
Too late.
From the smoke, two figures emerged.
---
Noruto Toga – “The Bloody Mirror”
A lean, wiry teen with a feral smile and mismatched eyes. His features echoed both Twice’s disarming grin and Toga’s chaotic energy. He twirled a butterfly knife lazily, licking a streak of blood from the tip.
> “Soooo much pressure in the air~ Can I in? I brought some friends with me…” he giggled, holding a vial of blood that shimmered violet.
In a flicker, a clone of Rei stood beside him—identical save for the mad grin.
> “Blood Copy’s fun like that,” Noruto purred. “Borrow the looks… steal the Quirk. It’s like cosplay with murder!”
---
Mariko Todoroki – “The Glacier Inferno”
Then came the chill.
A tall, broad-shouldered young man walked through falling ash, his expression unreadable and his long white-and-blue hair tied back in a high tail. Steam rose from his arms—one radiating cold like a snowstorm, the other flickering with blue flame.
His presence made Katsuo freeze, not from power… but recognition.
> “Mariko,” Katsuo said under his breath. “Tch. They sent you?”
Mariko’s lips curled in something between a smirk and a sneer.
> “Family reunion. Don’t take it personal, little brother. I’m just here to finish what Dabi never could.”
> “You’re a damn traitor,” Rei growled.
> “I’m a realist,” he replied. “The hero system failed. So I’m burning it down—with blizzards.”
---
The air turned deadly. Titanus’s aura expanded behind them like a nuclear pressure dome, Noruto’s clones were multiplying, and Mariko cracked the earth with a wave of frostfire that forced the trio back.
> They were surrounded. Outnumbered. Outgunned.
But not broken.
Katsuo’s eyes narrowed. He grabbed Airi’s hand tightly, then looked to Rei.
> “We don’t run.”
> “Wasn’t planning to,” Rei said, sparking frost on one arm, fire on the other.
> “I got your back,” Airi whispered. “Always.”
---
Katsuo stepped forward.
His Hellfire surged once more—but this time, it didn’t burn out of rage. It flowed—balanced by purpose.
> “Then let’s show them what legacy really looks like.”
BNHA: Legacy Rising – Chapter Four: Ashes of Legacy
Part 6 – “Infernal Eclipse”
Location: Wreck Zone Alpha – Central Warped Sector
The battlefield had shattered. Debris floated midair in the chaos of Quirks clashing. Titans—born from legacy and defiance—stood face to face.
Three battles ignited across the field.
---
Airi Midoriya vs. Noruto Toga
Airi’s eyes were wild with determination, her fingers glinting with energy particles. Noruto laughed as he summoned another clone—this time of Katsuo.
> “How romantic! Your little crush versus your little crush!” he cackled, voice vibrating with madness.
But Airi didn’t flinch. She shot forward in a burst of anti-gravity propulsion, blasting through the clone with pinpoint bursts. She was learning—adapting—channeling the controlled chaos her parents were known for.
Noruto’s real body vanished into mist—only to reappear behind her with a serrated knife and a copy of her own Quirk activated.
> “Let’s see who’s the better Midoriya.”
Airi spun, slamming an orb of starlight energy into his chest and sending him crashing into a wall of floating rubble.
> “Me.”
With a breath, she activated Nebula Bloom Mode—her energy crown flaring—and prepared for round two.
---
Katsuo Todoroki vs. Titanus
Titanus’s power was terrifying now—a blackened silhouette wrapped in molten lightning, sprouting wings of condensed kinetic energy.
> “You inherited your father’s fire,” Titanus spat. “But you’ll never match his legacy. I’ve studied him. I’ve copied him.”
Katsuo’s arms pulsed with both crimson flames and streaks of violet frost. He glared through his windswept bangs, defiant.
> “You studied my family. I survived them.”
The two clashed in a beam struggle of sheer force—Hellfire against Power Surge. Katsuo's movements had grown sharper, more focused, his fire dancing with the ice-like discipline Rei taught him.
Then Titanus roared—unleashing a catastrophic sphere of energy that warped the landscape.
> “DIE, PRETENDER!”
But Katsuo smiled.
> “Not today.”
He pushed past his limit—combining both fire and ice in a spiraling Infernal Comet Lance, punching through Titanus’s energy field and driving the villain into the dirt with a massive explosion.
---
Rei Todoroki vs. Mariko Todoroki
The battlefield here was frozen fire. Blizzards met infernos in a gorgeous, deadly ballet of legacy turned against itself.
> “Still chasing balance, Rei?” Mariko mocked. “You never learned. You’re half of two things, and all of nothing.”
Rei breathed in deeply, centering.
> “You’re wrong. I’m everything they couldn’t be… together.”
Their flames clashed, and for a moment—brother and sister—two paths of Todoroki power collided in symmetry.
Rei unleashed her Equinox Flame—a perfect spiral of heat and chill—and it engulfed Mariko, overwhelming his raw brutality with her precision.
---
SURPRISE AWAKENING – Enter: Judo Kirishima
Just when Noruto tried to leap back into the fight, the ground quaked.
A massive shadow loomed over the battlefield.
> “Oi… you’re outnumbering my friends.”
Twenty feet tall. Fully hardened like diamond and emerald steel. His wild, red hair glowed under the sunlight.
> “Time to even it up.”
Judo Kirishima had awakened his Quirk's evolved state: Fortress Mode: Titan Scale!
He grabbed Noruto mid-dash and slammed him into the dirt like a meteor strike.
> “Name’s Judo. And I don’t like bullies!"
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