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Chapter Text

In an unprecedented phenomenon, stars are disappearing from the sky. Many citizens may not have noticed the events due to the large amount of light pollution that plague many of japan’s city skylines. However astronomers and astrophysicists from several major universities have noticed the sudden disappearance of several New Stars in the past few months. 

Alarm rose across the country when three different stars near the Cepheus constellation ‘winked out of existence’ at the exact moment they were under observation by the Chief Astronomist of the Galaxya Space Center.” 

–Tokyo News, 03 Nov 2XXX

Mirio approaches him about the issue after a late night patrolling. The young hero walks into Sir Nighteye’s office with a sweep of his cape and a sense of urgency. There are bags under his eyes but they are wide with concern. 

“I saw it, Sir! It was three this time.” Mirio leans on the desk with both hands. 

“This isn’t normal,” he insists. 

Sir looks up from the work on his desk. Elbows on its surface. Fingers of both hands woven together with his chin perched on the top. 

“I can understand how this would disturb you, but Mirio--”  

“I think we should take on this case.” 

Sir Nighteye already new there was a hero investigation in the works. The peculiar situation in this case is that there were only a handful of heroes that worked in the domain of the stars. Nighteye Agency wasn’t one of them. Even fewer heros had the ability needed to truly take on such a case. Besides Mirio wasn’t taking on a problem, he was unwittingly trying to tackle a solution. 

“I admire your determination, Lemillion, but the agency already has a heavy caseload on our own in addition to  my recent collaboration with the Quirk Crimes unit of the Missing Persons case.” 

Lemillion nods, yes, yes. “But Sir, you would be an enormous help in this situation. I’m surprised you haven’t already been called into assist.” 

Nighteye looks away. He gaze settles on his prized All Might 10 year anniversary poster. 

“Trust me, Mirio. I wouldn’t be much help at all.” 

 The first time Nighteye held a star in his hand, he’d found himself wandering past the tail of the constellation Yamaneko. 

It was an accident, maybe. Or a whimsy. Children are told from a young age to never reach out toward the stars. To not get to high or to stand too close. Blazing spheres of hot gas.These particular ones low enough in orbit that the temptation is there to want to pluck them from the sky like low hanging fruit. There glow mesmerizing, a delicious sight to behold. A slow burning forbidden romance that plants a constant sense of yearning in human’s hearts. 

It’s a cold  February night and he’s old enough to know better. Just weeks before he’d finally earned his full Pro Hero License. He planned on applying to All Might’s agency in the upcoming weeks. The surrealness, the euphoria of finally achieving his dream courses through his veins as he walks home. He looks up into the night sky with a smile.

While the city’s lights are used to distract ordinary people from the star’s in the skyline, Nighteye never had any trouble picking out the naturally occurring lights from the artificial. The tail of Yamaneko sweeps back and forth back and forth across the darkened sky.  This is the first time he’s noticed the constellation sweep so close within his grasp. Quickly, he checks to see if there is anyone nearby, but the street is oddly devoid of passersby. 

He reaches out. Long fingers brush the stars of the mountain cat’s tail. One. Two. Three. Four. 

Oh. 

Nighteye snatches his hand back quickly and stares at it in wonder. He expected there to be a feeling similar to touching a hot pan just out of the oven or the crackle of electricity when statics persistently clings to your body. 

Instead, there is a lingering comfort, the warmth of a familiar embrace.  Left behind on the pads of his fingertips is a bright purple-yellowish glow. Peculiar embers of the same color drift up from them and float back up to the stars that they were taken from. He rubs his fingers against his cheek and stares back up at Yamaneko in wonder.  

Then reaches up with both hands and grabs the entirety of the nearest star.  

Returning to Minato Ward is hard. Everything reminds him of All Might theses days, but this is...a lot. It’s where it all began and it’s where it all will end. 

He meets Detective Tsukauchi in the back of what is now called Might Cafe. 

“Sir!” Naomasa greets, with an apologetic grin, “It’s good to see you again.” 

Nighteye nods in understanding. They’ve done it again: worn matching ties. 

All Might wasn’t the best at giving gifts. On several occasions, he’d gifted the same tie to both his sidekick and best friend. The two didn’t see each other too often, so they didn't figure it out until after he was gone.  

Nighteye orders his usual. Both men sit together in a comfortable silence. 

After a bit, Tsukauchi speaks up. “It’s funny. I used to come to meet Toshinori here  all the time. This is actually the exact table where I figured out he was All Might.”

Naomasa retells the story of costume mishaps and a rescued but forgotten cat. Nighteye smiles behind his cup of coffee.  

“That must have been when I was on leave. I told him that secret identity trick wouldn’t work.” 

The detective chuckles, “To be fair, I’m not the best person to lie to.”  

“No, I suppose you aren’t.” 

Tsukauchi clears his throat. “I know this isn’t the place but  I want to thank you for all your help on the case . I know you prefer to work from behind the scenes but t your efforts on the matter have been invaluable” 

“Even with my selfish motive?” 

“I didn’t request you because of your motive. I did so because I know what you can do.” 

Naomasa looks down into his mug. “Besides, you're not the only one whose motives are selfish.”

Nov 13, 2XXX

Memo 

Untitled  

The recent string of missing persons reports are now being treated as abductions. It’s now clear that there is a particular group being targeted. People of all ages. Civilians, government workers, even a pro hero are among the missing. A suspect and motives are still unclear. 

Mirio gets centipeder and Bubble Girl on board with the newly dubbed ‘Falling Stars’ case. Of course, NIghteye lets him lead, calling it an opportunity for Mirio to fully step into his role as a pro hero. Despite the pretense, it pains him a bit. He knows that Mirio can’t stay at Nighteye agency forever. 

But when Lemillion stands before him with a PowerPoint presentation and handouts regarding the case, Nighteye’s heart swells with pride. He’d taught him well. 

In the meeting room, Lemillion clears his throat. “By now we all have heard about the disappearance of star as in the night sky. However there is something going on that is more disturbing than the loss of starts.” 

Up on the screen in a headline about mission persons incidents. The problem had become so bad that the local news outlets stopped reporting who was missing and only reported the numbers. However social media was a big help in identifying the victims. 

The next slide was a recent scholarly article about the recent appearance rate of New Stars. 

Flowing that is a plot chart. The number of New Star appearances next to t the number of missing persons per week. 

Bubble girls gasp can be heard through the meeting room.  “Oh”. 

Centipeder raises a hand. “Lemillion, this is startling findings. How can you be sure that correlation equals causation?” 

The young hero nods “An investigation is in order, of course. That’s why I called you all here today. But the Intel and statistics were verified by an analyst.” 

Midoriya. 

He’d consulted with Midoriya. 

Nighteye sighs through his nose. Matters were about to get a lot more complicated. 

Nighteye doesn’t buy into horoscopes or astrology for several reasons, including the obvious. He loves the stars and the planets. Their relationships on the psyche of people around him. He loves to stand outside at night and brush his fingers against his favorite constellations. But to put stock in what you think they are trying to tell you is ridiculous.  

Stars can’t talk in a language humans can comprehend. Not while they hang in the sky. 

Nothing he has ever seen with his quirk has ever matched any so-called star predictions. Fortune is a state of being not a promise. The stars don’t determine the future. It’s the future that determines the stars. 

Nighteye excuses himself from the Falling Stars investigation. It’s only rational. His focus is on his current collaboration with the Quirk Crimes Division. He and Tskauchi have decided to label it as such inorder to not raise suspicion. It’s truly not quirk related. Or a crime. There’s no evidence, only altered stars and constellations. 

“These aren’t meteors of other previously known celestial phenomena. There are moving like metal drawn by a magnetic pull...Astronomers have decided on the simple yet straightforward name: New Stars.”

-Miyazaki Reporter, Newspaper Clipping June 10, 20XX

Mirio is doing an excellent job on this own with minimal guidance from Centipeder and Bubble Girl. He’s even hand picked his team. An all-star line-up of the best young heros and a few veterans.

When Nighteye sees Thirteen and Uravity walk through the agency doors, he has to do a double-take. The two agencies have worked together once or twice but essentially Nighteye and Thirteen work on two different sides of the hero game. Maybe its a side effect of working with All Might for so long, but Sir Nighteye’s team tries their best to prevent disasters. Thirteen’s agency is proficient at rescuing and cleaning up after disasters happen. With this case, the two are going to be meeting somewhere in the middle.  

He greets Thirteen and Uravity professionally and points them in the direction of the meeting room. 

“You aren't attending the meeting Sir Nighteye?” Uravity asks. 

“I have other pressing matters to attend to, I’m afraid. Lemillion will be handling this mission fully.” 

“Ah, I see. Well Deku and I had been looking forward to working with you again. Maybe next time.” 

Now,  the last time he had worked on the same team as Uravity had been nearly five years ago when she was a first year interning with Ryukyu. The raid on the Shie Hassakai had been the longest 45 minutes of his life. Nighteye would not have made it had r young uraraka ochako not held his body stable after the grave injuries he sustained during his battle with Overhaul. 

In the end, Eri’s quirk had grown so out of control, before Aizawa could erase it, the girl free of Midoriya’s hold attempted to run away. She barely made it any farther than where Nighteye lay, tripping and falling onto him. 

The next thing he knew, Nighteye was up in the hospital, no injuries to speak of. His abdomen whole, his left arm intact. All he felt was the picnh of the IV catheter inserted in the inside of his elbow and a familiar warmth sliding over his skin. It reminded him of the night sky. 

 He is Still Here? –Heroes and Friends Refuse to Believe All Might is Gone

May 23, 21XX 

There’s a knock on his office door. Mirio pops his head in. 

“Sorry to bother you, Sir, but we have stumbled onto something and would like your opinion.”  

There was no way to avoid it any longer.  

“Come in, then.” 

Behind Mirio follow Midoriya Izuku who is somehow balancing three thick notebooks, a tablet in his hands and under his arms what looks to be several maps. His green eyes linger on the familiar All Might merchandise that decorates Nighteye’s office along with the filled bookshelf. 

The newest addition on the shelf in the volume Toshinori Yagi: Then and Now sits sideways on the shelf, recently referenced and loaded with sticky notes. 

“Good Morning, Sir Nighteye. It’s good to see you. Sorry for the intrusion.” 

Midoriya makes quick work setting the materials up on the office floor. The map is spread out on the flood and as expected its an astronomical chart. Only Izuku Midoriya would have a full blown paper map this day and age. 

“The problem is that the abductions seems unpredictable. Even though we know by now that they are all related, we still keep treating them and the appearance of NS’s as separate events.” 

He fiddles with the tablet as he continues. 

“How how exactly did you figure that these are directly related events?” Sir Nighteye walks over, kneels down and smooths down a corner of the chart that has started to curl back up. 

“Coordinates” says Midoriya. “The coordinates of the abductions match that of the most recently formed New Stars.” 

“That’s too simple.” Nighteye replies immediately. “Astrophysicists can’t even figure it out. The coordinates mean nothing if these new stars are moving in patterns never seen before.” 

At that Midoriya’s face lights up. His hands flail  around as he speaks. “Exactly! That what I told Togata and that what Thirteen said when we brought the issue up to them.” He turns the tablet around and shows the screen to Nighteye. 

It's the article he’s already read about the composition of the NS’s. He quietly hates that Deku won’t give up on this. He quietly hates how close he is.

Mirio seems more than a bit lost, but keeps a serious face the entire time he’s been nodding as Midoriya speaks.  

“So tell me what to a high school graduate with no degree or experience think these New Stars are made of? Hopes? Dreams?” 

The fact that Deku rolls his eyes is a testament to how far he’s come since his intern days. 

“These,” he says with pointing toward the map at their feet with  conviction, “are lives. ” 

Sir Nighteye nods. “So prove it.” 

 The first time that Nighteye held a star in his hands he was shocked with a sense of awe and affection that radiated from the celestial body. He tugged it from the sky and pulled it toward his chest. Glowing warmth ebbed around his fingers and seeped into his chest. Never before had his heart felt so full. 

But the star fought back. The universe using gravity to take back what was theirs. He reluctantly let go and watched the star slowly float back and realign itself to its proper place in the sky 

He stumbles in the station feeling like death. He tries to avoid such exaggerations but after tonight he’s decided to reconsider. Hawks is already being escorted back to his residence Sir Nighteye firmly assured him that he could handle the paperwork himself and no he did not need his company any longer.

Finding the first chair in sight, a loud scraping noise fills the room as he collapses into it. With a finger, we pops open the buttons of his shirt collar and pulls his tie loose. The glowing remnants of starstuff stain his finger tips, glowing yellow. His hair and shoulders are dusted with purples and blues. 

Looking up, Tsukauchi and Sanssa are staring at him in wonder from where they sit behind their computers. 

Tsukauchi clears his throat. “Good job out there. I was told it was a tough one.”

Nighteye nods, starstaff tumbles from his hair and the bits float up toward the ceiling. Every job is tough working with him , is what he refrains from saying. Instead he says in frustration, “Five. It could have been six, but we weren’t quick enough. I’m...I’m sorry.” 

He drags a hand over his face. “It’s not like it used to be.” 

“Perhaps you should take it easy” Officer Sansa suggests. 

“You they found a way to keep these Stars from merging with the constellations?” Nighteye says. “To keep these misguided people with their feet on the ground?”

Sansa starts, then looks away. 

“Then my job...our job isn’t done.”

Noamasa speaks up “We’ve been looking for someone else to be able to help. Someone who hasn’t been…” 

Nighteye nods. 

“If you do find someone else . Please remember that not only do they have to have the strength and the skill. They need to have the heart.” 

Slowly he pulls himself up to a standing position. Walking toward the door, he massages his aching wrists. "If we can't face what we are doing with our heads held high, why are we doing it at all?"

“NS9 moving toward Alpha capricorni seems to be resisting the larger stars gravitational pull. This is highly irregular given the origins of NS9 and the fact that the thousands of new stars that have appeared since its birth have not followed such behavior. Consult with 13? Or perhaps N.A.?”

-Taken from memo written by [Redacted]

Yagi has always been his favorite.  

The constellation the English speaking world knows as capricorn —the sea goat. Nighteye can’t pinpoint why. It’s based on a feeling is all. No particular lore, no scientific backing. He was one of the worse scholar’s on the stories of the stars back in university after all. 

All Might caught him once of the roof of Might Tower one evening in the late summer. Nighteye lounged on his back gazing up at evening dusk, Theta Capriconi tucked beneath the back of his head like a pillow. The star emitted a dull pulsing hum that he felt in his head. The sound lingered in his ears and crept into his jaw. 

He watched the night sky peacefully. Counting the stars as he did when we was younger. The rest of the members of the constellation pulled and vibrated awaiting, demanding the return of Theta to become complete once again. 

“Soon,” Nighteye murmurs to them, “Soon. Please just let me have this for a little while longer.” 

Familiar footsteps interrupt the session. Quickly, Nighteye sits up and hides the glowing star behind his back. He feels like a small child that’s just been caught stealing. 

“Nighteye? Is that you?” All Might’s voice calls. 

He rounds the corner and comes into view. 

The tall man has already changes out of his hero costume and his wearing casual pants and a collared shirt. 

Nighteye attempts to stand without his hands free to right himself and stumbles. Theta slips from his grasp and floats steadily back toward its proper place toward the back of the outline of the goat. 

“I came to see if—“ All might trails off as he watching the star travel until it has realigned itself in the sky. 

“Huh, didn’t think anyone else was able to reach that constellation.” 

Nighteye’s tongue isn’t able to catch up with his brain. His words start and stumble “I, um, its… the only one I can reach.” 

All Might smiles, almost as brightly as a star in its own right.  “Well then,” he reaches up with both hands and two stars from the Yagi constellation begin to travel down. They are gravitating toward him. Both Alpha1 and Alpha2 Capricorni settle into the palms of All Might’s hands. 

Both he and Nighteye have to squint. The orange and yellow glow lights up their faces in the night. All Might hands him Alpha 2. The sensation is like nothing he has ever felt before. Instead of feeling the star draw away from him, he feels drawn toward the star. 

All Might gives a mirthful laugh. “Amazing isn’t it?” 

A few more mesmerizing moments and the star is gently removed from his grasp. 

“Not too long now,” All Might says softly. “the stars have a habit of taking what they like back along with them.” 

 Oct 18, 20XX: A PHENOMENON witnessed for the first time in 50 years. Astronomers around the globe have been scratching their heads since early Tuesday evening when a burst of light signaled merger of NS8 with the star Regulus. [Read More]

Team Lemillion has had great success preventing abductions. It took some time and planning but ultimately they had a breakthrough thanks to uraraka. They work to intercept victims before the attackers strike and were even able to stage a multipoint intervention. 

Naomasa jokes that now Nighteye can actually get some sleep at night these days. 

“There’s not much time left,” Nighteye argues and that sobbers the detective up very quickly.

With All Might gone, Midoriya turns to Nighteye to work out some of the mysteries of One for All. For a while Nighteye wondered if Midoriya was like himself and All Might. His suspicions were dashed when one day the young man came into the agency with charred hands saying that he had been distracted and careless when leaping across the Nagoya skyline on the way. 

Carefully administering the standard Starburn first aid, Nighteye couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Yet Deku was obsessed with the Star. To the point that in yet another way Nighteye was reminded of himself as a young man. It made him want to open up to the boy, to tell him about his life before All Might, before the raid on the Shie Hassakai, before Foresight became more of a liability than an asset. 

What did he have to lose? The only piece of All Might that belonged to him and him only. 

“I don’t think All Might is really gone,” says Midoriya one day. He’s come by the agency to borrow another book from Sir Nighteye’s office collection. They boy has read them all, of course, but he was a special interest in Nighteye’s sticky notes and marginal annotations. 

Nighteye is working on some filing. It’s the end of the month and he wants to start anew. Midoriya runs his fingers across the volumes. His had comes to rest a top a recent favorite: Yagi Toshinori: Then & Now . Midoriya plucks it from the shelf and turns the volume over in his hands. Then turns to face Nighteye. 

“I don’t think I ever told you about a certain aspect of One for All,about the dreams.” 

Nighteye looks up, “Toshinori never mentioned ‘dreams’ in regards to his quirk.”

Midoriya nods. “According to him, he never had them. But back when I first inherited One for All, at times I would have dreams where I would...meet past holders.” 

Nighteye’s eyes widen “That sounds…”

“Crazy, I know” Midoriya looks down shyly. 

“Incredible, Midoriya.”

“Oh. Oh, it was. It is. And terrifying. It was like I was starting from the beginning. So much power would arise afterwards and I couldn’t control it. But” He opens the book and smooths his fingers down the crease. 

“Back then, I would see the most recent holders of the quirk appear before me. It would be nearly all nine except All Might. The others could interact with me but not him. I think it’s because he was still alive at the time. Is still alive.

“I’ve been having those dreams again recently. Though for different reasons. I still don’t see All Might though. That’s why I think. That’s why I know he’s still alive.” 

Midoriya pauses and takes a deep breath. “Besides, it’s like what they wrote."

The young man places the open book on Nighteye’s desk and slides it to him. Nighteye looks at the page, the words are highlighted and underlined twice.

This is it. This is why Midoriya Izuku was adored by All Might so much. It’s why he will always be welcome inside Nighteye Agency.  

Sir Nighteye looks up at him and smiles. “Glad to know we are on the same page.” 

“There is a constant that remains steadfast about the Symbol of Peace whether in his prime or in his retirement: All Might will never give up without a fight. The day he does so is the day the stars cease to illuminate the sky.” 

 – Yagi Toshinori: Then and Now a Biography in the Present Tense by Naitou Aihiko

Chapter Text

After the operation is over, it’s back to business as usual at Nighteye Agency. Everything was a success but Lemillion walks around the agency downcast.

Sir decides to take him out on patrol for old times sake. The streets are quite calm considering there were more people out than there had been in days past now that the threat of spontaneous and indiscriminate abductions had been contained. 

The investigation lead to the development of a subsequent task force lead by Uravity.

The two heroes ran into a lost school child and a purse snatcher the latter of which Sir Nighteye was able to handle with a glare alone. 

At the end of their patrol, Nighteye suggests the two get ice cream. Mirio laughs but doesn’t object. 

“Getting nostalgic for old times, Sir?’ he asks as they settle onto a familiar park bench. Not too long ago, they would go get after-mission snacks and review the day. Especially whenever they collaborated with Fat Gums agency. 

“Something like that” Sir replies with a small smile on his slips onto his face as if it had been there all along. 

They settle on a park bench out of hearing range. 

“So Mission Falling Star Seemed to be a success” Nighteye starts “However, you seem to still have concerns.” 

Mirio nods “I do. Mainly, the sole reason the mission came to be was never solved.”

“Ah.” 

“What if Midoriya is right? About what the NS really are made of. Think about every star that disappears. What does it mean?” His voice cracks. He hasn’t touched his ice cream and it melts into the bowl he holds in his hands. 

“Mirio, do you know what you have accomplished?” Nighteye places a hand on his shoulder. 

“You initiated an investigation, assembled a diverse and effective team of pro hero’s, the results of which created an algorithm now used by the police and  astrophysicists  to predict the movements of an unknown force. And though the perpetrator, if any, is still unknown, you’ve saved thousands of lives across the country. 

”You did that Lemillion. Orchestrated the means of a feat in both hero logistics and scientific discovery.” 

Lemillion shrugs, a pleased smile stretches his lips. 

“Well, I learned from the best...except that science-y space and stars stuff. I have no idea how that got accomplished. Most of it was due to Uravity.” 

“Yes after being around Thirteens agency for so long, I’m sure she was an enormous asset.” 

“Actually, yes. But it didn’t have anything to do with that. When it came to predicting the location of the next target, she just said she had a gut feeling. And it turned out to be right, every time.” 

“A gut feeling about the abductees?” 

“No, about the location of the new stars.” 

Today the first New Star appearance in the night sky since Oct 18, 20XX. Unlike NS-8, which appeared and quickly gravitated to the star Alpha Leonis, NS-9 seems to be in a struggle against the gravitational pull of Alpha Capricorni. Astronomers agree that this is the most peculiar phenomena they’ve seen since the appearance of New Stars themselves. 

  —StarBlogger May 23, 21XX

“It’s looking like that is going to be one of our last jobs” Sir’s partner comments. The younger man stretches out his wings and shakes feathery hair, freeing the last of the remaining stardust.

”I’m glad because this one was a little too close for me.” 

Unlike Nighteye, he’s going to have to spend some time in Decontamination ward. He definitely needs it. The extraction took no more than fifteen minutes yet it looks like he just spent an entire day out in the sun.  

With the task force in place, they have had to conduct fewer and fewer extractions. But the ones the pair do have to conduct have been challenging. He’s surprised his partner was able to hold up this long. Despite the trouble the two have getting along, Nighteye worries for the young man. Under these conditions, his partner won’t be able to last much longer. 

Yet Nighteye’s yet to accomplish the extraction that matters to him the most. 

It’s late, nearly dawn. Nighteye bids his partner a neutral farewell as they part ways at the station and an officer escorts the younger to the decontamination area. Nighteye uses his access to the station to finish up his report of the night’s activities in Tsukauchi’s office before making his way home. 

The only stars in the sky are the truly untouchable ones: Polaris, Regulus, and just over the horizon, the Sun. Naomasa once asked Nighteye how he could see the stars with all the light pollution from the city. 

The thing is, it’s not about literally seeing the stars. If that was the case then Nighteye would have failed long ago. His distance vision leaves something to be desired. 

Even as the sun rises washing out the light of the constellations, he can feel where each one is. He stretches out his fingers and reached toward the Yagi constellation. Of course, at the point, he’s too far away with his feet on the ground. Not even his fingers can brush the edges of Theta Capricorni. 

The best way to describe the sense is proprioception. The sense of body position but on an extension. Rather than one's own body, the sense applies to the celestial bodies. Starsense is what he refers to it as. Surely there is an astronomer or medical scientist that has created a better term for it. Surely NIghteye himself could reach into his wealth of knowledge and create a more scholarly word for it. But it’s been a long while sinner his time in university. Besides, Starsense just fits. 

Nighteye isn’t even half a block from the police station when he runs into Uravity. She’s walking briskly down the sidewalk. The helmet of her hero costume is tucked under one arm and a thick Manila envelope clutched between her fingers. She is muttering to herself, not attentive at all to the path in front of her. Nighteye wonders if the hero has always had that habit or if she’d picked it up from Deku over the years. 

He merely steps aside as she barrels through. 

About 5 seconds after passing Uravity lets out a “Oh!” Stops and turns to face him apologetically. 

“I’m so sorry! Excuse me Sir Nighteye, I—“

She tilts her head in question. “You’re out pretty late, Sir.”

“Well they don’t call me Nighteye for nothing,” he says deadpan. 

She chuckles uncertainty, “Well, I apologize that I didn’t see you there. The Task Force needed to submit these reports to the detective, um, yesterday.” 

“Ah, I just came from there. No one is in right now, as one might guess.” 

“Oh.” 

“I happen to have access to the building, I’ll be happy to let yon in to drop off the reports, Uravity.” 

She smiles gratefully and bows, “Thank you so much Sir Nighteye.” 

Truth be told, he hasn’t used his quirk in quite a while. It’s ill-timed and awkward, a split-second decision. Though, he’d been mulling over it since he’d spoken to Mirio, how to approach the subject lightly without scaring her off. 

As he as Uravity walk back from the station, she’s the one to take his arm. Nighteye turns, startled. Their eyes meet. Foresight is activated. 

His quirk is nothing like holding a star. It’s cool, detached. He’s watching a silent film in an audience of one. 

In the background, he hears her voice. 

“There’s something I want to talk to you...Sir? Sir Nighteye are you...”

It happens the following night. Uravity is racing across a rooftop with two officers on her heels.  

Suddenly, she skids to a stop in front of an elderly man. The man isn’t paying her or her companions any attention. His face is turned toward the night sky, lips moving in a conversation with an unknown partner. The words “I’ve missed you” clearly on his lips. 

Uravity reaches and calls out to him, “Please step back!” 

He steps forward toward the edge of the roof. 

“This isn’t what you want” her mouth moves. 

The older man glances back at her then glances back to the stars hovering mere meters above his head.  

The scene if focused so closely, yet Nighteye can determine which stars they are by their positioning. 

The elderly man reaches out his fingers, the celestial bodies draw closer in greeting. His fingers brush against them ever so softly. He pulls his hand back and stares in wonder at the remnants of starstuff left behind. No burn marks, no scarred skin. Only a warm glow that lights up the man’s face in more ways that one. 

Uravity gives her companions a few quick commands and the officers step back out of frame as she touches parts of her body, arms, torso, legs, activation her zero-gravity quirk on herself. 

Just in time for the elderly man to make an incredible leap.

One would think he was the one with the zero-gravity quirk considering how fast his body flies toward the sky. 

His hands turn first from flesh to a brilliant fluorescent yellow, brighter than when he first touched the star. Then arms, shoulders, hear. The silhouette of his human face remained. His eyes are ablaze with white heat and his mouth curved upward with peaceful bliss. The transformation took merely a matter of seconds. 

Panic and awe froze Pro Hero in her tracks, but not for long. She kicked into gear, leaping into the velvet darkness after the man who was becoming a star. Her arms wrapped around what remained of his torso. 

The two officers come into frame attempting to reach for Uravity, but she’s scaled an unreachable altitude. All they can do is call out to her in encouragement. As the two climb higher and higher

Maneuvering her arms together, she is able to touch her fingers together and release her quirk. The return of gravity forces her and the elderly man toward the ground. The stars grasp on him in severed as they fall. The glow of his body is slowly peeled away but the effect lingers. 

Reaching out to catch them, one of the officers is immediately burned when they touch the man’s skin. Uravity remains unscathed. The only consequence of her contact with the man is some leftover embers of stardust. She stares from her hands and arms to the now trembling man in shock. 

His hands latch onto her wrist and he falls to his knees as her feet. 

“Why?” his mouth moves, “Why did you bring me back to this earth?” 

Nighteye comes back to the present laying on the group with cool towels pressed against his face. Uraraka hovers above him with a concerned face and cell phone at the ready. 

“Oh thank god.” she sighs in relief as he blinks his eyes. 

His neck is stiff as he sits himself up. “Sorry for the scare,” he says with a raspy voice, “I have not used my quirk in a while.” 

“You’re quirk…?” She hands him his glasses. 

“You will have an assignment with the Task Force again sometime later today. Please come see me afterwards. But only when you are ready.” 

Dec 28, 21XX

10 Urban Legends that Just May Be True

#4 StarHolders

We’ve all heard of the Icarus Effect. It’s happened to all of us height seekers at one point or another. Whether at the top of the Ferris Wheel or hanging out on the roof of a building. There’s always that low hanging star that seems a little too close. It may be night but it feels as though the sun is out. You can feel the warmth of it radiate into your body. Thrill-seekers are reported to receive burns when carelessly attempting to touch the stars within reach. Some have claimed to have succeeded. Have they really? It’s long been rumored that there are people out there that can touch the stars without physical consequence. It’s been a topic of debate whether or not this ability would be considered a sort of secondary quirk. But what is known for sure is that if such an ability doesn’t exist, there are people out there that can commune with the stars in a way that humanity has only dreamt about for millennia. 

The first time he held a star between his hands, Nighteye felt a strong sense of awe and affection. The second time, he felt yearning. The third, he felt homesickness course through his veins and grip his heart. 

“Not many people know that the stars are within their grasp,” Toshinori tells him, “And why would they? There are so many tragic stories of injuries and lost lives. There’s a name for it in English: The Icarus Effect.” 

The hero and sidekick site together on the roof of Might Tower. It has become a place of refuge after a long day of hero work. Half-eaten cartons of take-out site beside them. Nighteye’s suit jacket is folded neatly to the side with his tie on top. Toshinori has detached his cape. He’d chosen to wear one of his earlier suit designs today. 

Nighteye gets the feeling that the day is an anniversary of sorts but decides not to ruin the peace by asking. Instead, he watches the man as his eyes are locked on the stars of the ShiShi constellation. 

“The Icarus Effect” Nighteye echos. It was a phenomenon he studied while in university. The psychology behind the reason some humans inexplicable pull toward the stars. Admittedly, he’s been trying to find out more about himself at the time, but after four years a finished thesis and graduation, he’d come away with more questions than answers. 

Then he’d become a sidekick. Then he’d finally met the Symbol of Peace. 

“I used to be terrified of the stars,” Toshinori admits. 

He looks away from the night sky and down at Nighteye.

“They drew me in like moths to a flame. Like Icarus to the Sun.”

“This sun is a star,” Nighteye responds automatically. “The one star that is the furthest from reach.” 

Toshinori nods. “Ah! That’s right. Before becoming a hero, you studied astronomy right?” 

“Astronomical Psychology.” 

“That’s it! You know that’s why my master was studying when she inherited One for All.” 

Nighteye’s brow raises and he leans forward. 

“Is that an aspect of One for All? From what we know so far, the starholding ability is not directly related to the presence of a quirk factor.” 

“No, it’s not. I know that first hand. But I think that StarHolders are drawn together. Just like we are pulled toward the sky.” 

He sets down an empty take out carton and looks back up at the sky wistfully. 

“You would have loved her. She had the most contagious smile.” 

Toshinori’s eyes drift over to Alpha Leonis, ShiShi’s brightest star. 

“She would always say that people like us are all stars in the same constellation.” 

“It was like nothing I’d ever seen. No quirk we’d ever come up against. At first, I thought the man spontaneously caught fire. But he kept rising. When Uravity jumped, it hit me: He was turning into a star.” 

—Name: [REDACTED], Officer on NS Rescue Taskforce

     Interviewer: Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. 

     27 Dec 21XX

Uraraka Ochako wants answers.   

She enters Nighteye agency with determined steps. Centipeder at reception isn’t spared a single glance as she makes her way straight to Sir Nighteye’s office. 

Midoriya follows behind a few seconds later. With a sheepish expression, he gives Centipeder a small wave before following her. In his other hand, he’s grasping a notebook and pen. 

He steps through the doorway of Sir’s office to see her and Nighteye locked in a staring contest. Uraraka has one hand on her hip and the other flat against the desk between them. 

“You knew!” She says incredulously. 

“That is the nature of foresight, unfortunately.” 

“That’s why you passed out? You overexerted your quirk?” 

“You used your quirk on Uraraka?” Midoriya speaks up in surprise. Both turn to glare at him, then return to glaring at each other. 

“If you had said something more, we could have saved him!” 

Sir pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “My quirk doesn’t work like—wait. What do you mean? I Saw you pull that man back to the rooftop.” 

His eyes break contact and look accusingly at Deku who raised both arms in an “it wasn’t me gesture”. 

Uraraka steps back with a sigh and falls in the chair behind her. 

“I thought we had him but as we were escorting him down the stairs he...he jumped toward the sky. It started happening again. His body changed, started glowing. He rose and rose and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried, but it wasn’t enough. He’s gone.” 

Her head falls into her hands. Midoriya moves to put a hand on her shoulder. 

She lifts her head. Her eyes are red. 

“But not  gone .” She says firmly. “Last night I was out on patrol. THere’s a New Star out. It shone a bit brighter than the others. I can tell. It's the same color as...its him. It’s the man. I don’t. Sir Nighteye how is it possible? Why are you not shocked by this?” 

“Because I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count,” Sir answers. He gestures to Midoriya. “It seems that you finally have your proof.”

Uraraka turns to her peer. “Proof?” 

Midoriya nods “I had my suspicions about the composition of New Stars. But I didn’t know…I didn’t know.” 

“He’s not dead, Uraraka.” Sir says, “None of the ‘abductees’ are dead.” 

The two young hero’s look at him in disbelief. “Stars burn at over 10 million degrees,” Midoriya says ‘Surely those people are not living.” 

“Miss Uraraka has a direct encounter with one of those stars and she seems just fine to me.” 

She interrupts, “ Is there a change for him to become human again?” 

“He still is human.” 

Midoriya throws his hands it the air “ He turned in a huge glowing ball of gas! There can’t be any coming back from that!"

“Little is known about star state but being a star are being a human are not mutually exclusive.” 

“So he can be saved?” Uraraka asks. “People in ‘star state’ can be saved?”

Nighteye nods. 

She rises from the chair, standing straight. 

“Please, Sir, tell me what I need to do to save them.” 

Chapter Text

Tsukauchi is the first person that Nighteye pulls from the sky.

Heroes before him have conducted New Star rescues of their own initiative, he’s aware. That aspect of heroism never interesting him. He just got his start by being in the right place at the wrong time.

The two saw quite a lot of each other. Nighteye Agency had been collaborating with the Quirk Crimes Division more than ever before after Kamino and the Shie Hakkasai Raid. This was partially due to increased villain activity after All Might’s retirement and the new reforms in the industry that resulted. In truth, it was mostly due to Naomasa’s relationship with Toshinori.

Still, in Tsukauchi, Nighteye had found a reliable source of truth in the police force and a somewhat reluctant acquaintanceship.

In the weeks after Toshinori had disappeared, Nighteye’s meetings with the detective found the man more and more out of it. Distracted.

Nighteye knew the signs. He has studied them, seen them, experienced them.
Easily distracted by nothing in particular. Vacant stares toward the sky. Loss of appetite.
He watched the detective closely. Well, as close as a friend of a friend could. All seemed okay until he caught a glimpse of Naomasa one day scaling the maintenance ladder to the top of Rainbow Bridge.

Sir Nighteye had never run so fast in his life.

Scaling the ladder to reach his Tsukauchi, he couldn’t help but think how much easier this would be if only his quirk allowed him to fly.

“I don’t know what came over me,” Naomasa’s head is in his hands as he sits on the couch of his apartment.

The police chief made him to mandatory time off. While the man had completely misunderstood the situation, Nighteye agreed that it was for the best. After All Might’s disappearance, Naomasa took barely anything off for bereavement and this incident just complicates matters further.

Nighteye sits next to him awkwardly, trying to think up a tactful way to address the issue.

“I’m not that kind of person,” Naomasa goes on.

Nighteye nods in agreement.

“I’m telling the truth,” he insists.

“And I’m not doubting you.”

“Everyone else seems to be. They think I’m irrational due to loss.”

“You’ve been placed on leave because no one knows what ill effects radiation may have on others. I know you are a workaholic...but...Naomasa...It’s perfectly fine to still be grieving.”

In a rush the man stands, and Nighteye is taken aback as he raises his voice, dark eyes wild.

“Toshinori isn’t gone. He was there. Is there. It sounds impossible, but Nighteye you have to believe me.”

Of course, he does. That’s when Nighteye tells him everything. Everything about the New Stars, about the sky, and about constellations.

A few weeks later, Tsukauchi turns up at Nighteye’s office. It’s his first day back from leave and he’s in full uniform. He’s yet to unlock the front door when the detective greets him cheerfully. It’s almost scary.

“Well, aren't you bright today,” is Nighteye’s dry response. “You are going to attempt to recruit me for a ludicrous mission. The answer is no.”

They step inside the building.

“Did you use your quirk on me back then?”

“You’re an open book Tsukauchi. I didn’t need to.”

His posture drops a bit. “But why not? If you could save me, surely you could save—“

“The Icarus Effect is complicated. And I’m not immune. Besides, two things are working against me.”

“Well, gravity,” The detective says.

“Yes gravity, of course, one of the rudest reminders of our mortality.”

“So we get someone with a quirk that can get you to the ground in one piece.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“I didn’t come to you because I expected to do something simple.” he retorts. A frown creases his features. “Look, this isn’t just about All Might. We have reason to believe that over the past few months there have been a number of people that have had the same experience I did. I have a list of known starholders with quirks that allow them to get airborne with minimal harm and I have in front of me a pro hero who is also an astronomical psychologist.”

Tsukauchi levels him with a serious expression. It looks awfully familiar. Maybe they’ve spent too much time together.

“I’ll think about it,” Nighteye says.

“That’s all I ask.”

“You’re asking quite a lot actually, but I wouldn’t expect anything less."

Naomasa smiles.

Phone Transcript

Source: Unknown

24 Mar 2XXX

[Start Recording]

Speaker 1: Sir Nighteye has agreed to join the operation but we face an expected obstacle with him as the main player

Speaker 2: I’m too old to get mixed up with Starholder business these days. Besides, don’t you know two vigilantes that fit the bill?

Speaker 1: I’ve asked my sister to help get me in contact with Haimawari and Haneyama. They’ll be excellent recruits. Takagi too if he agrees. But the way Nighteye explained it to me, it’s looking like we’ll need someone who is regularly skyward.

Speaker 2: Why does Nighteye have to go up? He could just train. Most New Stars haven’t had the chance to rise that high into the atmosphere to…

Speaker 1:

Speaker 2: You’re going after NS9 aren’t you?

Speaker 1:

Speaker 2: Well I can’t stop you. I’d be a hypocrite if I tried. So. Someone who will be able to get a man the size of Sir Nighteye sky-bound. They’ll have to be a Starholder so they don’t fry from starburn...I think your best bet is already in police custody.

Speaker 1: That’s what I was trying to avoid.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I’m not too crazy about the kid but you know he’ll agree.

Speaker 1: That man has agreed to a multitude of things, none of which are instilling any confidence in me to want to recruit him.

Speaker 2: You don’t need his loyalty. You just need his wings.

Speaker 1: So you think I should recruit the HPSC’s former puppet for this kind of operation? He’s heartless.

Speaker 2: He’s an opportunist and he’s useful. Besides, the HPSC owes us quite a few favors if I’m not mistaken.

Speaker 1: Nighteye is no going to like this.

[End Recording]

Chapter Text

From the start, Nighteye’s assigned partner isn’t ideal. Out of a list of Starholders, he would wish to work with, the former hero is very close to the bottom of the list. 

Nighteye storms into the station one day after a particularly unique extraction operation. He takes a heavy seat next to Tsukauchi and begins to aggressively type up his report. At this point, 6 months into NS Extraction work, this station, this office, this particular chai has become his second home.

Tsukauchi doesn't bother to look up from his work "Tough, mission?" he asks.

"The mission was splendid" Nighteye can't help but spit out. "An absolute success."

And it was. He and Takami pulled out an entire family. Five NS had formed an unusual sort of pentagon in the sky just above a large apartment complex in Musutafu. It's formation reminded both men of a mountain range. When Nighteye grabbed a hold of one, the rest followed. Their own little constellation strung together by a cosmic thread. They'd been holding hands. Four members of the family chasing after the youngest child, not willing to let them go.

It was beautiful. It made Nighteye almost regret his decision to let go all those months ago. To merely promise to return, only to let time pass as the earth turns in that awful way that it does.

There was no way he couldn’t have done saved them all without Takami. He couldn't safely make it to the ground himself without the winged man, let alone along with five extra bodies to keep track of. If only NS could stay in their form until they reached the ground. But time and time again have proved that that wasn't a good idea nor was it possible.

And so Takami used his feathers to guide the shocked parents and the eldest child to safety along with Sir Nighteye who cradled the young sleeping child in his arms.

He catches a glimpse of Takami's face. For once it is devoid of the false expression that usually masks his true emotions.

"I never dreamt I'd do anything like this," Takami says quietly. He looks Nighteye right in the eyes. "Not even the greatest heroes could imagine doing what we do."

"What did he say this time?" Naomasa eventually asks. He's leveling Nighteye with a neutral expression that makes him feel like the younger of the two.

"Nothing, this time, " Nighteye replies, frustrated. "Nothing that isn't true."

He goes back to typing up the report. Another minute passes and he pauses. "But what he implied."

One thing is for sure: All Might has never done this.

"Maybe it's nothing?"

"This is Takami Keigo we're talking about. he's always trying to imply something."

Naomasa gives him the look that Nighteye has come to mean he's a bit too wound up about something. Usually, it related to All Might. It's always related to All Might.

The detective is used to this by now. On this particular occasion, he nods patiently as Nighteye goes on about how disrespectful it was for a former pro-hero to imply that the two of them were doing work that surpassed All Might. As if All Might's work and influence were finished. As if--

Nighteye realizes he's started to repeat himself and his for trails off mid-sentence. He turns away, cheeks tinged pink.

Naomasa places a hand on his shoulder. "What do you say we take a break and go get some ramen? My treat."

Considering Nighteye had been too worked up to eat that day. Ramen didn't sound like a bad idea.

That was in the past. Now matters were going to change for the better. 

First things first, Sir Nighteye brings Uraraka to the police station to make sure she receives some well-earned peace of mind. Midoriya, of course, tags along. It’s clear to Nighteye that Deku is going to be apart of this journey whether he prefers it or not. Like the young man is some kind of obligatorily appearing protagonist in all of this. Though Sir will admit, he does tend to ask all the right questions and come to reasonably close conclusions. In a way, Deku reminds him of himself. 

Uravity, however, she has something else, something besides the combination of being a Starholder along with her quirk. She has something more. And that drive is what this operation needs. 

Officer Sansa points a finger at the information on the computer monitor.

“It looks like Haimawari was assigned to NS-917,” he says. He’s trying his best to hide the exasperation of someone who is stuck doing a job that is clearly above his pay grade. “NS-917, the man that is, is currently being quarantined until decontamination.”

Nighteye, Uraraka, and Midoriya crowd around the officer’s desk.

“Decontamination?” Midoriya asks. “What about being in starstate would make him…?”

“After being in star state for more than a few hours, radiation starts to build up. We make everyone who returned go through decontamination before returning to their lives.” Nighteye explains.

“It’s basically a really long shower,” Sansa adds, turning around in his chair. He nods in Uraraka’s direction. “So there you have it. NS-917 is doing fine.” 

Her eyebrows draw together in doubt, “So, that’s all you do. These starholders are just numbers on a spreadsheet to you, then?”

Sansa’s eyes soften, “Of course not. His name is Odoroki Housuke. We’ve already contacted his family. He’ll be released in about an hour.” 

“Only an hour,” she repeats softly. 

Midoriya hums with a finger to his chin, “It seems like more than just decontamination is needed to get back to normal after becoming...like that.”

Nighteye agrees. He has such a far reach in the sky but once his feet are back on earth, he has no means to give these people the help they truly need. To the rest of the world, StarHolders and StarState is an urban legend. A fantasy to explain humanity inexplicable pull toward the stars. And yet these StarHolders, these survivors have lived it. How awful it must feel to have to go back to normal life and have people say that what you experienced isn’t reality.

As expected, the three of them run into him in the hallway on their way out of the station. 

They are greeted with sharp eyes look them up and down and an even sharper smile. From the corner of his eye, Nighteye sees Midoriya's fist tighten as the former hero sizes up Uraraka like he already knows the punchline to the beginning of a joke that he's just been told. The man's hair is wild, wings pressed flat against his back in order to fit his body in the entirety of the hallway. Notably, he's lacking an escort.

"What a shame, Sir Nighteye," he says after a breathy laugh. "I take one day off and you're already replacing me."

Nighteye steps in front of Midoriya and Uraraka, crossing his arms. They aren't heroes in training anymore, yet he can't push back the need to want to protect them.

"I would have done so long ago if I'd been given the choice," he responds. "That's cold, Sir."

"Ah, we both know you prefer a much more firey response."

Deku and Uravity watch their exchange and it continues, back and forth, back and forth. Until the former hero turns his attention to them. The amused smile doesn't leave his face.

"Please pardon my manners, you see, my partner and I have long-standing unresolved issues."

He gives a small bow, peers behind Nighteye's shoulder. "I am, as you can see, the hero formerly known as Hawks. These days I just go by Takami. It's a pleasure to meet you Deku and Uravity."

"Formerly," Uraraka echoes. "I thought you were only on leave?"

Nighteye coughs pointedly, but steps back.

"The Commission has an interesting way of twisting the reality of the matter to their favor," Takami replies, and like that his smile drops. He gestures to the device wrapped around his ankles. The grey band stands out against his pale ankle. There's an LED with a soft green light that flashes every second or so.

Sir Nighteye watches the two younger heroes. Carefully for their reactions. Not many know the fate of the former number two hero. After the events that shook Japan half a decade ago, the man dropped from public view. It caused quite a stir in both the hero community and the public in general. Many good heroes were lost during that time, but only one was left unaccounted for. Even Sir hadn't known the whereabouts of Hawks. Not until Naomasa came to him with a proposition and a classified case file.

Midoriya, like always had his feelings written all over his face and there was a lot to unpack there. But Uraraka was harder to read.

Hawks claps his hands and it's like a switch is flipped. Again a big predatory smile graces his face.

"So! Which one of you is our star child?" his eyes rove between the two young heroes. "My money --not that I have any-- is on Deku. Eh? Following in All Might's footsteps and all that jazz."

Nighteye clears his throat. "It's none of your business" he lies.

Just as Uraraka steps forward forcefully and says, "Actually, it's me."

Takami's eyes widen and he chuckles in amusement.

He knows what Uravity can do. They all know what she can all know what she is capable of. If she's the starholder than the sky itself isn't going to be an obstacle.

“Well. I was just here to check in with my handler. I do believe we are headed to the same place after this. Let’s walk together, yeah?”

In hindsight, Nighteye probably could have been nicer to Takami to Hawks. The younger man just never shut up. Half the things he said were merely meant to get under his skin, he knew. He knows just because All Might was the number one hero in Japan for over two and a half decades doesn't mean every other hero that comes after is going to love him the way Sir Nighteye does. All Might has faults. This is a fact Nighteye is aware of more than others. The man is human. There's not a single human on the earth that doesn't make mistakes.

So no, he doesn't expect everyone to worship All might. But for everything that the Symbol of Peace has done, even villains show him a level of respect.

Takami's words seem to hit harder in the days that the Hero Public Safety Committee placed that monitor around his ankle.

Might tower isn’t the tallest point in the city, but that’s fine. It scales high enough into that skyline that the building is the designated launch point for all the Division’s long-distance NS extraction operations. The choice may have also been a bit symbolic. 

This high us the summer air is cool. The sun has started its descent below the horizon. There aren’t many clouds in the sky as Polaris comes out to greet them. Slowly, as the overpowering light of the sun dims, other stars fade into view. It’s a perfect condition for training. 

Nighteye sighs as he leans against the railing of the rooftop, the wind lightly tousles his hair. He has no choice but to reluctantly stand back while both Uravity and Takami hover above them in the dusk. After all, it’s not like he has the ability to fly. Or more importantly, to land. 

This is what he tells Midoriya when he inevitably asks why Hawks is here in the first place. The young hero steps up and joins him leaning on the railing. He's in casual clothes, just a t-shirt and jeans. 

“That and the fact that Haimawari and Haneyama are out on a mission.” Sir elaborates. 

“You work with vigilantes, too?”

“In this business, it takes all kinds, Midoriya.” 

The young hero turns his eyes up to Uravity and Takami. The winged man has a star this size of a baseball in his possession, tossing it back and forth between his hands. Occasionally gesturing into the distance as he explains to her. Uraraka is hovering in place leaning casually with an elbow on a star about half her size. Every so often, though, her eyes dart to the star cautiously, as if to check that it really is stable. The two are high enough that their voices are just out of hearing range, from the roof of the tower. 

“I don’t understand then,” Midoriya continues. “If Hawks, um, Takami, can to this on his own. Where do you come in?” 

He pauses. Blinks. “Wait, sorry! I just mean—”

Nighteye turns around and leans with his back facing the railing on the edge of the building. 

“He is just going over the basics. Playing among the stars if different than extracting people from Starstate and pulling them back to Earth. For one,” he holds up a finger “Mr. Takami doesn’t have a degree in Astro psychology.”

“It’s true!” the man in question call down because of course, he would have excellent hearing. 

“Two,” Sir says, voice a bit strained, “I can withstand an immense amount more celestial radiation than he can.” 

“Also true! I get a nasty sunburn after about a full night’s work. Not pretty.”

Nighteye rolls his eyes. Looking up, he raises his voice, “Three!” 

He raises his left arm into the arm dramatically. The small star Takami was tossing about soars from his hand down onto Nighteye’s fingertips. Midoriya gasps stepping back as the heat of it fills the rooftop and Nighteye’s face is set aglow. 

“Three,” he repeats with a chuckle, “I’m one of the few in Japan that can do that.” 

“You draw stars toward you. Like a magnet” Midoriya’s green eyes are glowing. 

“That’s one way to put it,” Nighteye agrees. 

“No fair!” Takami calls out from above. “Show off!”

“Awesome!” Uraraka cheers. 

A finger goes up to her lips for a moment as she concentrates. Then she reaches out an arm and a nearby star slowly makes its way toward her. Once it’s between her hands she spins around excitedly, then releases her quirk gradually until she floats down with the star wedged between her arm and torso. After a moment Takami follows. 

Nighteye recognizes the star in her possession as Theta Capricorni. She has a gleeful expression and as soon as her feet touch down on the rooftop she makes her way to Midoriya. No doubt to share with him her newly discovered ability. 

“Wait!” both Nighteye and Takami call out. 

As she approaches him, Midoriya shields himself with his arms crossed in front of him. They’ve already become reddened in such close proximity to a star of that size. 

Startled Uraraka draws back and releases Theta Capricorni from her grasp. 

“I’m so sorry!” she calls out. “I don’t know what I was thinking!” 

Midoriya tries to reassure her but Nighteye’s pulling him by the neck of his t-shirt, leading him down the stairs and to the Might Tower Infirmary to administer first aid. By now its a familiar routine between the two. With precise movements, Nighteye opens the cabinets and lays out the materials on the counter.

“I wish I knew what you were planning,” Midoriya says, holding out his arm. 

His eyes follow Nighteye’s hands as he applies the starburn cream and meticulously wraps each arm. The burns are shaped in matching semi-circular patterns where Midoriya used his arms to shield his face. The young hero has faced much more dire threats to himself yet Sir Nighteye can’t help but feel responsible when it comes to matters of the stars. He can’t scold the young hero as he would normally do for being too reckless in his actions or for being too nosy in his with his questions. 

Nighteye has been keeping quiet so long out of habit that he hadn’t realized he’d been keeping his plans a secret at all. 

Chapter Text

Gravity is apparently of no consequence. Or at the very least when they make contact with the star it’s nullified? The science behind it is unclear. The pull of the star is stronger than the pull of the StarHolder with the exception of Sir Nighteye and Uravity. I’ve asked Thirteen if they have any guesses as to why this may be the case, but they told me not to think too hard about it. This is a valid response from someone with a black hole for a body. 

     — taken from the notebook of Midoriya Izuku 

Ochako is a quick study and has come a long way from when she haphazardly attempted to pull a man from the sky.

 Still, there are aspects related to being a StarHolder that she did not expect. Tips and tricks of the trade that can only come from experience. Things such as to apply a healthy amount of sunscreen before a job, a suggestion courtesy of Takami. To fast before  taking to the sky, a habit she forced herself to adopt after a messy experience and honestly, she doesn’t know why she never thought of that one before. Most importantly, to swallow embarrassment and fear until after everything is said and done. She’s here to help propel a middle-aged man over twice her height through open air. And is expected not to kill either of them. Distractions cannot be afforded. And surely there is some sort of support equipment designed for the job. 

“You are probably asking yourself ‘Surely there is some specific support equipment that can aid our efforts?’” Nighteye says. He hands her some questionable looking equipment. She assumes it's some sort of skydiving harness. He explained the general concept of what they were about to do the previous day over the phone. The thought is confirmed when Sir Nighteye pulls out his own harness with an actual parachute attached to the back. 

“For the purpose of today’s training, a tandem skydiving harness is the best I can do.” 

She looks on incredulously as he dons the contraption. He steps into the loops that secure around his upper thigh, then pulled the sturdy straps around his shoulder. She follows his example and tries on own harness. The placement of it reminds Ochako of her own hero suit. It’s on odd sight. Rather than his usual business suit, Sir is wearing cargo pants and a red long sleeve thermal shirt. Gloves cover his hands. He seems completely out of place. Ochako isn’t so much fearful for herself as she is for him. 

Like their previous training session, the two are atop Might Tower. Unlike before, there isn’t much of an audience. There only other companion is Centipeder, who acting like he does this all the time, sitting off in a corner wrapped up in scarves and blankets with a laptop in his lap. When she asks Sir, offhandedly says that he was running point or something like that.

Dusk has just slipped over the horizon and the buildings of Minato Ward are lit up beautifully in a spectrum of colors, architectural masterpieces of varying heights. The skyline left a clear divide between the artificial and natural lights. A false day and a true night. 

Sir Nighteye’s steps are punctuated by the gravel of the rooftop as he comes over to stand next to Ochako. A long arm comes up, his fingers pointing to the sky and outlining the visible divide. 

“This occurs for the same reason that planes are not colliding with stars on an hourly basis. While we as StarHolders can draw the stars, other foreign objects tend to repel them.”

“They’re floating in the sea of space,” Ochako breathes in wonder, her eyes aglow. 

“Technically, it's the outer edge of the troposphere, but I can appreciate the poetry.”

She rolls her eyes. 

“So, how are we going to be propelling ourselves into the sky? Isn’t that why you worked with Hawks, I mean, Takami?” 

Nighteye bends down to shuffle through the bag of gear as he answers, “My problem was never getting up there or at least, that wasn’t the most difficult part. Ah.” He stands and hands her a pair of goggles. “Takami has been there to make sure I made it back to the ground.”

He signals Centipeder, who emerges from his burrow of scarves and blankets and slinks across the roof to the two of them. He checks both Nighteye and Ochako over to make sure their equipment is correctly in place. 

“I apologize in advance for any awkwardness,” Nighteye says calmly. “This will be a bit different from our previous sessions.” 

No kidding, Ochako thinks as Centipeder gently moves here to stand right in front of Sir. He hooks them together to the connections at the shoulder and two at the hips. She feels like a baby in one of those carrier harnesses that she often sees parents wear. When she referred to Sir Nighteye as a father figure that one time, this is not what she had in mind. 

Once Centipeder gives the okay, and Ochako can feel Sir moving behind her. He shakes out his arms and shoulders the best he can without jostling her too much. 

“Should I use my quirk on you now?” she asks. 

“Not yet,” is the response. 

She hesitates. 

“If you want, I can have Juuzo unhook you and you can watch” Nighteye offers. “I have a parachute, as you can see. And there are a few others from the team on standby below.”

“No, I—” She cuts shakes her head. She’s wondered quite a lot about this partnership. The only time she’s truly interacted with Sir Nighteye before this was to carry his dying body away from the wreckage of the Shie Hassaikai hideout during the raid during her first-year internship. Besides that on what basis does she have to truly trust him? The man has been saving lives for months without any recognition or compensation. All Might trusted him. Deku trusts him. If anything else, she’ll learn how to use an ability she never even dreamed she could possess. Besides, deep down in her heart she realizes she trusts Sir Nighteye too. 

Ochako lowers the goggles over her eyes. “Let’s do this.” 

“Excellent.”

He lowers his own goggles carefully over his glasses. 

Excitement bubbles up in Ochako’s chest as she grabs onto the handhold of her harness. A fleeting thought escapes her lips, “Deku is going to be so jealous.” 

Behind her, she hears a snort. Though she can’t see it, she’s sure Nighteye is smiling as he stretches an arm out in front of them and tells her “I’m sure he already is, Miss Uraraka.” 

Then they are airborne. 

The term StarHolder isn’t exactly accurate. Being about to touch the stars, being drawn to them in the way that they are. There are no words in any language to fully describe the experience. What it entails, it’s different for every person. 

Some like Naomasa are merely able to avoid the effects of starburn. 

Others like Takami, Haimawari, and Haneyama are able to treat the stars like toys. To temporarily remove the celestial bodies from their places in the sky. 

And then there’s Nighteye. 

He’s done this hundreds of times before, but that doesn’t quell the tremor in his hands. This high in the air, the July night is as frigid as a winter’s day. It’s an awkward shuffle to the edge of the roof. He hears Uraraka’s giggles as they move. 

Though his lifestyle never suited it, Nighteye always wondered what it would be like to have a child. Would they carry the same love of heroism in their heart? Would they be a starholder as well? 

And this. What he and Uraraka are doing now. Would it be a milestone for them? A rite of passage? 

Would his child be as brave as Uraraka has always been? 

Nighteye lifts his head high, the chill breeze ruffles the hair at his crown. There are few clouds in the sky and the stars of Yagi shine in the corner of his field of vision, as always. Or maybe it’s more that they are always on his mind. 

He finds the one start that he needs, Regulus, and raises his arms in its direction. Gloved fingers stretch wrap around an invisible cord as he concentrated on the star. Its heat, it’s gravity, its force. 

“Brace yourself,” he says quietly. 

Then he pulls. 

Ochako is very familiar with being suspended in midair. Thanks to her quirk it’s a sensation that she’s more than familiar with. But never before has she soared. 

They go up fast. The dots of light in the city skyline merge together in a stripe of lines stretching across her peripheral vision. As they rise stars that would normally dip about bob out of the way for birds and planes stay put. There are some near collisions and Ochako’s arms brush past feeling the warmth of the stars like the touch of an old friend. 

Suddenly, a star appears in front of them. On instinct, she tenses and closes her eyes. Sir hasn’t said anything. Why isn’t he saying anything? The rush of wind around them makes it hard for either of them to hear each other even while so close together. 

She peeks. The star is closer and closer, with no sign of moving out of the way. It’s obvious that it is much denser than the others near the skyline. Exactly how high in the atmosphere have they risen? 

Sir Nighteye lifts his left arm in front of them and they are suddenly rushing in that direction. There is a burst of stardust that showers over them. He turned the star that was seemingly an obstacle into an anchor, she realizes. And though she cannot be sure, it sounds as if Nighteye murmurs something along the lines of “Thank you” before he stretches his opposite arm out and draws them toward in the direction of another bright star. 

 It washes over her how surreal and how serene the situation is. Here she is hooked onto a middle-aged hero who is swinging from star to star as if this space in the sky is his personal jungle gym. She wonders what his face would look like if she could see it right now. 

By the tenth or so arc around, Ochako thinks she’s gotten the hang of the rhythm Nighteye had built. It was getting repetitive and she was getting antsy. She wonders… No, she knows. 

Reaching back she activates her quirk on part of her body, then begins to undo the part of the harness that is connecting them. 

This is where she comes in. 

She learns a vast amount of things so far this night but the most memorable is the fact that Sir Nighteye has a smile as bright as all the stars that surround them.