[attr="class","likedo"]

[attr="class","likedo"]

[attr="class","likedo"]

She smiled at his response. She hadn't known him for long, but she couldn't help but feel a little proud of the answer he had found. Even if it was temporary. Even if he thought about it and still decided to stay on the same path, at least he had been open enough to give it some thought. ''That's all I'll ask of you.''

''You are correct, Hawthorne, but just as mastering one's quirk is important, we also can't rely on it too much.'' He probably had a leg up on her in this aspect of fighting. Elijah was clearly either a hard worker or talented, or perhaps both. Just how much had he trained while condemning his quirk? She could only imagine the kinds of sacrifices he had made to become that good in spite of it, to pass the entrance exam and get into the school in spite of it.

She did indeed choose to level the playing field this time, refraining from using her quirk this time, as sparring with someone in a fight without quirks was somewhat of a rarity for her. Besides, just as she expected, when she went to block the feint and eventually was hit in the solar plexus, she knew she was outmatched. Staggering back a few steps, she panted, putting a hand over the area she was hit. ''Not bad, not bad at all, Hawthorne.'' She looked up, smiling through the pain. Not only did the student get a win, but it was genuine too. There was no way she could willingly fake taking a hit like that. ''We were rotating partners, right?'' She let out a small cough and straightened her back as she bore the pain. ''Bring that same energy to your next sparring partner.'' She gave a reassuring thumbs up.

Elijah
Arataki Noa
Takeo Hoga
Shirayuki Mai
Shirayuki Mai

''Hawthorne it is.'' She smiled, still internally assessing all three students as they moved ahead with the practical portion of the lesson, but her focus was especially on Elijah. As unusual as it might sound, Elijah reminded her of her younger self. Back when she hadn't embraced her quirk or figured out what her role in the world was. That wasn't to say they were alike in every way, but it did make her take a bit of a personal interest in his situation and refusal to use his quirk.

She was glad to see how eager he was to get started, as she had hoped him being without his signature knives wouldn't discourage him entirely. Assuming a fighting stance of her own, Sadako did little to defend herself against his strike before the very last moment. His prosthetic would land a glancing blow against her neck as she too, went on the offensive. She wasn't too phased by his attack and instead tried to aim a palm strike of her own against his midsection. A cursory glance at her neck would reveal that it had been wrapped in protective chains. It wasn't perfect armor, but it was enough to help mitigate a bit of damage.

''The quirk does not make the hero.'' She loosened the collar of her shirt a bit with her index finger, as to highlight what she had done with her quirk a little more clearly. ''You will meet plenty of people who believe that they do. That it's a matter of luck, and by simply having a strong quirk, they are guaranteed a high ranking position as a top hero. Luck is a factor, but it is not a deciding factor.'' She didn't want to bore him with a long lecture, but she did want to try and get her point across. ''I resented my quirk for many years. It always got in the way, always failed me when I needed it the most, but then I tried to compromise with it.'' The chains around her neck vanished into thin air. ''Rather than try to use my quirk in the way everyone expected me to, I used it to try and backup the style I was already training, or cover up for potential weaknesses. I used it bit by bit. For a second, maybe two. Gradually, I got a better handle on it and what was once a hinderance became a new tool for me to use in a pinch.'' She smiled back at him. ''At the end of the day, it's the hero that makes the quirk. To discover the source of our power is a highly personal journey and it's different for all of us. To some, it means learning to understand their quirk, while others reject it and derive power from elsewhere. This is also the case for quirkless heroes.'' She rubbed her neck where he had hit her. No wonder this kid had survived a combat zone. ''I'm not asking you to make a choice today, but I encourage you to reflect on your own path sometime. Whichever one you go down, it is yours to choose and yours alone.''

She raised her fists once again. ''How about one more round? I won't use my quirk this time.'' It was only fair seeing as he was having to make do without his preferred weapon of choice!

Elijah
Iphigenia Pavlina
Shirayuki Mai
Takeo Hoga
Arataki Noa

[attr="class","likedo"]

She couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at his visible relief at her answer. ''I hope you'll come to find most pro heroes you speak to share that sentiment.'' She folded her hands on her desk, glad that both Shion and Toto seemed to be at ease. It was limited what she could do with one session, but hopefully he felt like coming here to speak with her today had been worthwhile. ''Yeah.'' Speaking from the heart could be a somewhat vague statement, but it was how Sadako viewed it after her years in the industry.

''You speak from your heart, Shion-san. You speak honestly about your motivations and why you chose the hero's path. It may not feel like it to you, but speaking so earnestly about your passions requires a lot of courage. Many people, though they may say something else drives them to become heroes only say so because they are scared to speak from the heart like you are. In those cases, don't just listen to their words, even if they shout it out loud. You must also observe their actions.''

''Yeah? Well, we've managed to cover quite a lot today.'' She smiled, glancing at the clock. They had been talking for a while already so she didn't mind. ''I hope you found our talk here worthwhile. You're always welcome back in my office anytime.'' She smiled warmly. ''You and Toto make quite the pair.'' She would give him some parting words before he left. ''Make sure you both look after each other.''

Shion Utsui