The training block stood still, hollow and echoing after a day full of intense battles. Inside the observation room, Class 1-A buzzed with quiet anticipation.
The final match was moments away.
"All right, young heroes!" All Might's booming voice crackled through the speakers. "The final match begins now!"
He gestured to the screen with a proud smile. "Team J—Mina Ashido and Yuga Aoyama—will act as heroes. And Team K—Kael Ishiro and Yumi Hoshino—will defend the villain stronghold!"
Gasps and whispers rippled through the room.
"They saved the best for last," Kaminari muttered.
Yaoyorozu nodded. "This will be on a completely different level…"
Inside the Building – Bomb Room (Top Floor)
Dim emergency lighting flickered across the floor.
Kael stood in absolute stillness next to the glowing bomb, his palm resting flat against the floor like a monk listening to the earth. But this was no moment of meditation.
From his arm extended dozens of faintly glowing, deep-blue tendrils—Shadow Thread—threading out in every direction. They crawled through cracks in the floor, flowed up the walls, slithered into ducts and ceiling panels.
They weren't just waiting.
They were hunting.
Yumi paced behind him, a light orbit of cosmic energy shimmering at her shoulders. "You've got every floor covered?"
Kael nodded once. "Just like how Todoroki iced out the whole building, I made this place my domain as well. Any sort of movement they make inside here, I'll know instantly."
She grinned. "Then how about I go say hello before you have your fun?"
Front Entrance – Heroes' Side
Mina punched her fists together, nerves masked by her usual grin. "Okay, we've got this. They're students just like us. In the same class and everything. We worked just as hard as them to get here."
Aoyama struck a confident pose. "Even if they are the top students… I shall shine the light of justice!"
The building loomed ahead like a dormant beast. Mina took a breath as All Might's signal crackled in.
"Match start!"
First Floor – Initial Entry
As the heroes entered, Kael felt it—through the subtle pressure on the floor, the faint vibrations traveling up the walls, the motion of air displaced by footsteps.
He opened his eyes.
"They're in."
Dozens of thin, ghostlike threads surged alive. Not thick bindings. No brute force.
A sensory net.
He tracked their every movement.
Second Floor
Yumi floated down a stairwell mid-level, keeping low and light. She made no move to engage just yet. Instead, she watched the threads Kael had left behind quiver ever so slightly.
"They've split," she murmured into her earpiece.
Kael's voice reverberated through the air, sounding like distant thunder. "Aoyama is leading the charge. Ashido stayed behind. I'll draw her closer."
Third Floor – Mina
Mina crept cautiously, acid dripping from her palm, eyes scanning every corner.
Suddenly—
TCHK.
A tendril brushed against her ankle.
She jumped back, but it was too late.
The hallway behind her shifted—Darkbind threads snapped taut, forming a wall that sealed her in. Then, dozens more threads arced from the ceiling like silk, weaving a dome around her.
"What the—!?"
She spun and lobbed acid, but the threads split around the attack, reforming as soon as it passed. They weren't solid ropes—they were living conduits, responding to pressure and heat like muscle fibers.
A chill quickly ran down her spine.
He wasn't only reacting to her.
He was anticipating her.
She turned to escape—but the tendrils behind her silently unraveled, then slithered across the floor and walls, reforming into a single glowing strand that pointed upward, guiding her toward the next trap Kael bad prepared.
Fifth Floor – Bomb Room
Aoyama burst into the hallway leading to the bomb room, cape fluttering behind him.
He fired a laser—straight ahead.
The beam hit nothing—the hallway was empty.
Then the floor rose.
Shadow threads coiled like sea serpents, forming a net that snared his legs mid-step. He stumbled—then fell hard, and Kael was suddenly there, one arm raised.
The threads around Aoyama's limbs responded in perfect coordination—soft yet inescapable, like vines tightening on command.
Aoyama gasped. "M-Mon dieu—!"
"I've been tracking your every move," Kael said calmly. "You walked straight into my domain."
He turned slightly.
"And now Mina's coming."
Fourth Floor Stairwell – Mina
She exploded upward in a desperate climb, hurling acid at every shadowed surface. She was breathing heavy now—more from confusion than exhaustion.
"Where is he?!"
Suddenly, Darkbinds tendrils erupted beside her—not to grab her, but to form a twisting staircase midair, redirecting her fall as she stumbled.
Kael was sculpting her path.
Then—
Yumi dropped from the ceiling like light incarnate. With one sweeping hand, she reversed gravity on Mina's body. Mina floated just high enough for Kael's threads to form a net around her—no violence, no waste.
Mina hung suspended in midair, blinking.
"We… lost…?" she whispered.
BZZZZT!
Observation Room
Silence.
No explosions. No drama.
Just precision.
Kirishima exhaled. "He didn't just trap them… He moved them."
"He turned the whole building into a battlefield only he could see," Yaoyorozu said quietly.
Bakugo's lip curled. "That bastard's not fighting fair…"
"No," Todoroki replied. "He's fighting smart. His Quirk is centered around control and capturing its targets, so he's managed to train it to an extent that even some Pro Heroes would end up unable to escape."
Post-Match – Rooftop
Kael released the bindings gently, lowering Mina and Aoyama onto the rooftop beside the rest of the class.
Mina blinked, still processing. "You didn't overpower us… You outplayed us. From the very beginning, everything went your way."
Kael shrugged. "That was the point."
Yumi threw her arm around his shoulder. "Told you we made a good villain duo. Even though you had all the fun.."
Kael smirked as he said, "Well, maybe next time I'll let you have the spot light.." Yumi groaned then sighed as all four of them began making their way back towards the observation room for their evaluation.
…
Voidflare's office was quiet, the city humming low outside the windows as the sun dipped past the skyline. Kael sat across from him on a low leather couch, stretching his arms behind his head. Yumi lounged next to him, kicking off her shoes, a bottled drink in one hand.
Voidflare leaned against his desk, arms folded. "So," he said, "how's U.A. been treating you two?"
Kael gave a shrug. "It's fine. Busy. Everyones a character for sure."
"Loud," Yumi added, cracking a bottle of juice open. "But not in a bad way."
Voidflare tilted his head. "Loud how?"
Yumi took a sip. "Everyone's got big personalities. Some of the kids act like every class is a stage."
Kael smirked faintly. "Yeah, there's this one guy whose already tried to blow up half the class."
Voidflare raised a brow. "That sounds about right."
"It's not just the students though," Kael said. "The pace is fast. They don't hold back. We had our first combat training already."
Voidflare's expression sharpened slightly. "How'd that go?"
"We won," Kael said simply.
Yumi leaned her head back. "It was an easy match, though. Mina and Aoyama barely put up a real fight.."
Voidflare nodded slowly. "Well, as long as it wasn't too easy, then it's fine."
Yumi glanced over at Kael. "Yeah, I guess. We basically had the upper hand the entire match. We didn't even need to go all out."
"You never do," Voidflare said, his voice calm.
Kael didn't answer.
Voidflare watched him for a moment longer, then pushed off the desk and crossed the room to a small shelf. "You settling in with the others?" he asked.
Kael nodded. "They're curious. Only because I mastered my Quirk in a short amount of time though. Not a lot of hostility, except from this one guy."
"Not yet," Yumi muttered, more to herself.
Voidflare handed her a second drink. "Anyone standing out?"
"There are a few for sure. This dude named Bakugo, Endeavor's son, and a super loud and semi obnoxious guy." Kael said.
"Endeavor's son, huh? Hey, Yumi. Think you could beat his son in battle?"
"Smh. Don't ever disrespect me like that again Dad. I could probably take on Endeavor himself, let alone his son. Remember! Im your daughter! I don't lose so easily!"
"That's what I'm talking about! Up high!" He raised his hand and Yumi high-fived it. Kael laughed a little, causing Yumi to grin as she began talking again.
"Midoriya's interesting too, especially with him getting a Quirk just a few months ago. He's quiet and sharp. Watching everything. Noting everything. Kael has to be extra careful around him."
Kael didn't say anything to that.
Voidflare looked at him again. "Oh? Kael, don't tell me you gave him a Quirk out of pity. You can't just go around giving out Quirks. We experimented with that remember? Giving someone a Quirk and they aren't compatible with it can lead to numerous side effects. Mental health problems, physical problems, even death. Please tell me you did your research with this one. Are you keeping your distance and observing at least?"
Kael's voice was neutral. "For the 100th time, I didn't give him a Quirk. He got it all on his own. I'm still watching him though. His power is… something else man, I'm telling you."
Voidflare gave a quiet grunt, as if he understood more than he let on.
"You're ahead of the curve Kael," Voidflare said. "But don't get comfortable. U.A. challenges you in ways you'll never understand. When I went there, they had me doing all sorts of weird stuff in order to develop my Quirk."
Kael leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Trust me, I'm not trying to coast. And I'm ready for any challenge ahead of me. Any and everything."
"You'd better," Voidflare said. "Things at that school don't stay simple for long."
There was a pause.
Yumi leaned her head on Kael's shoulder, her tone light. "We're doing okay, Dad. Theres nothing to worry about, okay?."
Voidflare gave a rare smile. "I'm glad to hear it."
The room fell into a quiet rhythm after that—soft city noise outside, low footsteps from the floors above, and the hum of lights overhead. The hard part of the day was over. But something in Voidflare's look—calm but measuring—lingered as his eyes settled once more on Kael.
"You two keep your heads low. But not too low," he said.
Kael nodded. "We're not there to hide."
Voidflare eyes widened a little.
"We're there to become the Number One Hero."
…