MHA Paragon: Version 2.0

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---

Taking a step back, I stared at the wall of whiteboards covered in mathematical symbols, formulas, and calculations. The culmination of my last six hours of work, all in an attempt to answer Nezu's question, 'Could I make it sparkle?' 

I looked back at the mouse, who had been silent as usual, watching while I slowly filled in the whiteboards, "So...what do you think?" 

"I think...I have no idea what I'm looking at," Nezu replied as his beady black eyes narrowed at the board, "But this wouldn't be the first time you wrote something seemingly nonsensical only for it to work out flawlessly." 

My sessions with Nezu revealed far more about my quirk than I had expected, though ironically, I hardly used it in its active state. Instead, Nezu sought to develop my quirk's passive effect, which I hadn't even realized was an aspect of my powers. Originally, I had attributed my ability to control my quirk and create advanced molecular structures to my previous engineering and architecture experience, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. 

It was only when Nezu started to question me about the nature of my quirk when we first spoke that I realized the insanity of what my mind was now capable of understanding and processing. 

"It makes perfect sense to me," I muttered as I took another glance over my work, which I was sure would give any physicist or mathematician an aneurism, "But I think I know why." 

"Oh?" Nezu asked as he glanced from the whiteboards to me, "Do tell." 

I paused momentarily, deciding whether I would listen to my guts, before I gave a mental shrug and let loose, "I think...that our world's understanding of math and the universe as a whole is wrong." 

"Math...is wrong?" Nezu repeated slowly, making sure he heard me right. 

"Well, not exactly....just limited," I corrected while rocking my head back and forth, "I think that math is humanity's way of diluting the truth of reality into a more tangible form. But with that tangibility, there are restrictions." 

"So what is the undiluted version?" Nezu asked, and I could feel his eyes focused on my back as I stared at the whiteboard and the mess of seemingly nonsensical formulas. 

"As I said before, it can't be written or explained," I replied as the board seemingly came alive, each mathematical symbol contributing a piece of understanding or kernel of truth, "It's like trying to describe colors to a blind man, or sweetness to someone without a tongue. It can be explained it just...is." 

My brain lit up as the last piece on the board came together, forming one cohesive whole, a complete design, a universal concept I could understand. 

Holding out my hand, I covered it in flux before squeezing my fingertips together. After a moment, bright purple sparks lept into the air, shining brightly briefly before fading from view. But soon, more and more sparks started to fly off, and before long, the tips of my fingers were consumed by purple electricity that hissed and spat with a high-pitched buzz. 

Pulling my fingers apart, I watched miniature arcs of purple lightning shoot between my digits with blinding speed and equally blinding flashes of light. I dismissed my flux a few moments later, but I couldn't get rid of the smile across my lips. 

A soft round of applause rose from behind me, and I turned around to see Nezu smiling at me, "I truly thought I had you stumped for a moment." 

"So did I," I admitted, "Using my flux to create a magnetic field and then oscillating it back and forth to generate a current is definitely a step up from making it stretchy." 

"But you managed to overcome your shortcomings," Nezu countered before sighing, "It's been truly inspiring to watch you over this past week, Kenji. I believe it won't be long before the rest of the Hero Community also starts to recognize your promise." 

I nodded gratefully but didn't respond verbally, which Nezu noticed. "Do you not agree?" 

"Don't get it wrong, your flattery and praise means a lot, but..." I trailed off, and after a second, Nezu nodded with a sigh of understanding, "But you can't help but wonder...Is this tiny improvement enough?" 

I smirked, "You didn't tell me you were a mind reader." 

"I'm not," Nezu replied with a smile, "I'm just a very clever rodent, but to answer your question, no, it's not enough. It won't ever be enough...all you can do is remember how far you've come and how much you've achieved." 

"That's from personal experience, I assume?" 

"Everything I say and do is based on personal experience," Nezu answered thoughtfully. "Otherwise, they're just empty words or actions." 

I paused for a minute before asking my follow-up question, "Then what experience did you have that made you choose me?" 

Despite the strange nature of my question, Nezu didn't seem surprised in the slightest, "Is it truly that hard to believe that I would help you because of my bleeding heart?" 

"Yes," I answer immediately, making Nezu laugh.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Nezu replied with a smile, "But unfortunately, I can't tell you why. Just know that there is a method to my randomness." 

"Oh, Principal, nothing is truly random," I countered with a smile of my own, "But I'll play along, though don't think you can just lead me around like a horse and expect me to drink when you want." 

"If I believed there was even the slightest chance I could pull that off, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Nezu replied shamelessly, "I'm not asking for blind trust, but I assure you I have your best interest at heart."

---

Nezu watched the live security feed from his office as Kenji got a bus back home. Over the past week, Nezu believed he had gotten a decent read on the young man. In Nezu's opinion, Kenji possessed the ideal mindset for a budding hero: driven, dedicated, and passionate. However, that wasn't something unique among students his age. What truly peaked Nezu's interest was how Kenji responded to his bloody defeat at the hands of the living terror employed by the League of Villains. 

Nezu knew of very few pro heroes who could suffer the same amount of physical and psychological pain and rebound without missing a beat. So, the fact that Kenji had done so at his age made Nezu suspicious. 

Initially, the principal believed that Kenji was repressing his emotional trauma, which would only lead to the trauma building up over time before Kenji had a mental breakdown. 

But after talking with the boy, Nezu realized that Kenji was almost entirely unaffected by his ordeal. 

That didn't mean Kenji had no feelings about the incident. He was angry, understandably so. But it didn't consume him or distract Kenji from focusing on what needed to be done. 

'Another mark in his favor,' Nezu thought with a smile before closing out the feed and turning to other pressing matters. 

---

I sighed as I stood in front of the door to my apartment. During the entire bus ride over, I dreaded this moment, 'Time to rip the bandaid off, I guess.' 

Raising my hand, I knocked on the door and waited. A second later, I heard a set of footsteps walking up to the door before the knob turned and the door swung open. 

"Hey, Mom, I'm-" My words died on my tongue as I stared at the familiar face in the doorway that didn't belong to my mother.

"H-hey Kenji." 

After a minute, my surprise faded, replaced by an apathetic stare, "Mina, why are you in my apartment?" 

"I-I...I uh," Mina stammered, trying to think of a reply, but her already pink complexion darkened as she flushed. "I-I didn't mean..." 

"I invited her in! Someone had to keep me company!"