"You're next."

Two words. That was all it took. Two simple words that echoed throughout every television in all of Japan, recorded and replayed over, and over, and over again, sent the entire country into a craze of speculation and contemplation. It had become impossible to go online and not see a different news article breaking down the implication and meaning behind those two words, claiming to be the first to report on it. Headline after headline broke, trying to be the 'one' that found the hidden message in a bottle that All Might had proverbially sent to sea.

Yet, Mina knew that none of the articles were true, even without clicking on them. She knew that not a single one had even a word of truth embedded in the massive bodies of text and click-bait, simply because, Midoriya hadn't once been in the public's eyes. Not that they cared, of course. Not a single person knew that Midoriya had a connection to All Might, after all. But that was exactly the point, as well.

Nobody knew the truth, because nobody knew Midoriya.

But she did. She knew the truth. And by extension, that made her the most valuable commodity in all of Japan. With just one quiet tip to a major news network, she could be essentially set for life, assuming they managed to extort the truth from the timid teenager. Of course, she had no intentions of revealing anything, because that was not who she was... but it was something that had crossed her mind while she was laying in bed one night.

Following All Might's invisible proclamation, the real tragedy struck, which had been the reason that Mina had so much free time. In all of his glory - standing with his fist in the air, accepting the praise, screeching and hollers from the city and all those that watched on with tears of joy streaking down the face - the fist had fallen suddenly, and All Might had fallen backward in a heap.

Emergency response had kicked in immediately, rushing on-scene with law enforcement, hoping and praying that they were not too late. Several news stations cut their broadcast - the truth of the situation being too much for them to comfortably air live. The uncertainty of the situation, paired with the increasingly grim reality of what might have just happened, was simply too much, and they turned their cameras back to the studio in a helpless attempt to save innocence. Other stations were not that generous, and kept their lens on the scene - knowing that if they got the best angle, they'd be worth millions. As greedy as it was, it was what people wanted to know.

There was a wall of people that huddled around the fallen hero, blocking him from the peering eyes of the public, much to the camera's chagrin, and in that time, emergency services began working tirelessly. Rumors were the only thing that there was to go off of, and the rumors were far from comforting. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation had been the first step, followed by 'dose upon dose' of Epinephrine. The rumors only got worse. Someone's whisper said that All Might had to be intubated on his transport to the trauma center; a result of compromised airway, along with assumed pneumothorax. Someone else reports hemothorax. Mina didn't know which was was, nor did she know the truth - but she knew that it was bad.

Some reports had mentions of several defibrillation attempts, with no recorded successes. Others noted success after the first 200 joules. With so many conflicting reports, it was hard to decipher whether or not All Might had even needed to be shocked, and there was no clarity on the matter of that, either. It would likely remain a mystery until either All Might was well enough - assuming he... survived - to admit the truth, or until someone accidentally leaking the medical records. Which, if that happened, it would be a large scandal, but it wasn't impossible.

At the end of the day, All Might had successfully been transferred to the ICU of an unnamed trauma hospital, and he had undergone successful surgery. However, with what doctors called the overuse of his quirk, he was to remain in a medically-induced coma for at least 7 days. Depending on his progress, he'd be evaluated and either released from the coma... or kept under for a longer duration. The doctor with the quirk responsible was made unavailable for comment, so once the report had surfaced, it was another uproar from the public that was met with no answers.

Mina herself was frustrated with the darkness she was kept in - All Might had been her teacher, after all! She had an actual relationship with him, and under his tutelage, she'd learnt a great deal about heroics and history! But... as frustrated as she was, she knew that Midoriya had to be significantly worse off. He hadn't been seen by anyone, and he'd refused to answer his phone for anyone - even Uraraka had been unsuccessful. Truthfully, it worried Mina a great deal more than she vocalized.

That man had been his idol... his teacher... his predecessor. Everything that Midoriya was set to inherit by taking on the Quirk of One-For-All... it was almost all built by All Might himself. Through years upon years of training, all the way through his Golden Age... it was all so inspiring for someone to look at, but it had to be intimidating to inherit. With his only guidance now in a hospital bed - possibly dying - and no clue of where to go from now... Mina could only wonder what Midoriya's next move would be. He hadn't exactly gotten a name as the most... rational student when it came to making choices. He was level-headed, sure, but he didn't always think with his head. The fight between himself and Todoroki was the most obvious example of his reckless decision-making skills.

A knock on Mina's door interrupted her thoughts, and the pink-girl sighed in reluctance. She contemplated leaving the door untouched, and just letting whoever it was assume that she was asleep - because if it was who she thought it was, then she had no desire to have the conversation just yet. She glanced around her room - the boxes she'd used to store her stuff in were tossed around the room, but everything had been set up in her new dorm room accordingly. With no reason to not answer (aside from her reluctance in talking), she slowly shimmed free of her bedsheets and made her way to her door.

The decision to move into the dorms had been a drastic, last-resort move by U.A. no doubt. Her parents had been skeptical, but they hadn't been opposed to the idea. Thus far, Mina had escaped danger in all the events that had transpired, and her parents were well aware of that fact. Even so, they weren't so eager to sent her back to a place that seemingly had a target painted on its walls, even if she was only two-and-a-half years from fighting villains on her own. With only a little effort, her parents conceded and allowed her to return - but not without teasing, crying and a few well wishes.

From there, the time had flown by, and aside from Aizawa's stern warning to everyone who'd gone to on the raid for Bakugou, everything had... essentially settled into normalcy. As expected, neither Bakugou nor Midoriya had been present for Aizawa's scolding - in which Aizawa said he'd talk to them separately. As cold as the man could be, there was something within him that stayed beating, and for that reason alone, Mina could see the care he had for the class. Even if that care was poorly (at times) demonstrated.

"Kirishima I do-" Mina paused as she swung her door open, blinking a few times as she came face-to-face with not Kirishima, but Jirou. The earjack teen nervously spun one of her jacks around her finger as she looked anywhere but Mina's room. "Jirou?"

"I wanted to talk with you, if that was cool." Despite her attempts to sound nonchalant, there was an undertone of desperation... mixed with something else. Something that Ashido couldn't quite put her finger on.

Slowly, Mina opened her door further, granting Jirou the passage of entrance. Her gold sclera brushed over the visible hallway, checking to ensure that no one else was waiting secretly to listen in - as she had a feeling this was personal - before she slowly closed her door, taking note of a cool breeze that brushed by her. The dorms seemed to run much colder than Ashido was used to, since her family kept the thermostat up higher, and it hadn't yet failed to send a chill down her spine.

Once the door was closed, and appropriately locked, Mina turned to Jirou - who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room - and crossed her arms skeptically. "What's up? Not that I'm not happy to see you or anythin', but..."

"Yeah, sorry," Jirou muttered. "I know it's kinda awkward. I just... got some things on my mind."

"Boys?" Mina asked, a sudden glint appearing in her eye. In just a second, her whole outlook on the conversation changed, and she practically lunged into her bed, twisting violently so that her sheets ensnared her limbs, before facing Jirou with a giant smile. "I am so ready! Tell me, tell me! Did Kaminari finally confess?! Oh, wait, no, was it Koda?! Or am I off? Maybe it's Yaomomo!"

"W-wait, w-w-what?!" Jirou nearly screamed in reply. She sharply yanked on her earlobe and hissed as she did so, dropping the jack as she gaped at Mina's sudden interrogation. "W-what makes you think that... Y-Yaoyorozu..." She shook her head. "T-that's not why I'm here!"

Ashido smirked. "Is it someone else? Maybe you have a crush on them, and want to know how to show it, huh?"

"Would you wait?!" Jirou retaliated, though her voice lacked malice. She sighed, eyeing Mina carefully. "Could I at least sit?"

"Sure, grab a seat, then the love consoling session is underway! The love doctor is in!" The pink girl eagerly gestured to her multi-colored desk chair, which Jirou carefully removed from the desk and sat down in.

It was clear that Jirou was far from enthusiastic about this conversation, and just by reading her body language, Mina felt a pang of guilt surface, realizing she'd pretty much jumped the poor girl. The punk rocker wasn't exactly the most keen on sharing her thoughts - or feelings - and for her to gather the confidence to approach someone... Mina sighed. Jirou hadn't even had a chance to explain herself, but yet, she'd taken everything and blown it sky high. With a hint of guilt, Mina dialed back her intensity, squashing down her feelings for at least a few moments.

"Sorry, I guess I kinda jumped the gun there," Mina said with a guilty chuckle, although, if one listened closely, they could note the lack of actual humor. "What brings you in?" Admittedly, Mina was curious. The relationship she had with Jirou, like most of the relationship she had with the girls, was rather strong, and aided by their lack of numbers. Because there were only six girls, they'd bonded quickly - even if it hadn't been fully intentional. As the saying went; birds of a feather, flock together.

Jirou rubbed the back of her head, averting her eyes. Her earjacks hung loosely in the air; a stark contrast to their usual portrayal of emotion. "It... is a boy. B-but it isn't me!" Her eyes darted up to meet Ashido's golden iris. "It's... you."

"Me?" Mina asked skeptically, pointing at herself. "I'm not a guy."

"I know that!" Jirou shouted suddenly, before running her hand across her face. She sighed heavily, her gaze flickering between awkward and irritated. "Midoriya! You and Midoriya!"

Oh.

Oh.

Mina blinked, and suddenly, the room felt... a lot warmer than it had a second ago. Were the walls closer, too? Slowly, deliberately, Mina untangled herself from her sheets, taking care not to move too quickly, lest she get re-wrapped. As she rolled, her thoughts from earlier came sneaking back, and the concern she felt for Midoriya seemed... different. Why was that? She felt a trickle of warmth touch her cheeks, and she inwardly cursed; she was blushing.

To her credit, Jirou remained straight-faced and stoic, not commenting on the blush that may or may not be present on her face. In fact, she seemed a bit tense, given the circumstances. Was there something more to it? Did... did she perhaps... like Midoriya, too?

Ashido froze.

Had she just admitted to liking Midoriya?

"Oh... shit..." She mumbled.

"What?" Jirou asked, and Mina suddenly became aware of the earjack girl's enhanced hearing.

"Nothing~" Mina sang, trying her best to conceal her rising anxiety behind a facade. If there was one thing she was good at - one thing she'd developed in her time from middle school until now - it was creating a temporary facade. It wouldn't last long. But it didn't have to, either. "Just, what brings on this sudden interest, hmm? Do you maybe like him?"

Jirou's eyes narrowed. "This isn't a joke!" Mina drew back suddenly at the sharpness in the girl's voice. For the first time since the conversation started... there was a weight that hung over the room - a weight that felt familiar with Kirishima. "What did you mean that day?!"

"W-what... what are you talking about? What day?"

"You know what day! The day you talked about quirks!" Jirou's shouts were beginning to rise in volume, and Mina felt a sweat breaking out. Her only neighbor was Uraraka, but that didn't make the matter of the reality any better. If Uraraka was in her room... there was almost no chance that she wasn't going to hear Jirou's voice - and if she did... matters would only escalate.

But that wasn't the only thing on Mina's mind. Jirou's demanding question... the quirk conversation...

'Would... would it be weird for someone to pass on their quirk on?'

There was no doubt in Ashido's mind. That had to be it.

"It was a weird question... I wasn't really sure what you meant by that, but it was... weird." Jirou's voice dropped to almost a whisper as her eyes locked onto Mina's, the dark amethyst orbs piercing through Mina's facade, leaving her feeling naked and vulnerable. "It sounded like just a coincidence... but I could hear something... and I knew something was off. People think my quirk only works when my jacks are plugged into something, but that's not entirely true. That helps me differentiate noises, and enhance my hearing so that I can hear through things. But unplugged, I can see make out really faint things... like a heartbeat."

Mina's stomach flipped, and if what Jirou said was true, than there was no doubt she was hearing her thumping heart now. It felt like it was trying its hardest to jump out of her chest. A bead of sweat dripped down Mina's temple, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she tried to feebly manage her rising anxiety. It didn't take a genius to see where Jirou was going with her statements.

She was suspicious, too.

"Yours was fast. Too fast. I thought it was just coincidence. Then... th-then..." She paused, gathered her breath. "Then Ragdoll lost her quirk!"

Ragdoll; a member of the Pussycat Hero team... and a victim of All-For-One's quirk. Once she'd been captured by the villain's during their raid of the forest, Mina had a sneaking suspicion that - if All Might's words had been true about All-For-One returning - they were taking her to be 'drained'. It was a valuable quirk; despite it's lack of pure power, it could turn the tide of any fight. Especially one against the world's strongest hero.

"What are you asking...?" Mina whispered. She was all too aware of the dryness on her lips, but no amount of licking her lips would restore the moisture. Her voice cracked weakly, as her emotions took stranglehold of her vocal cords, and she was almost sure that a few tears were pooling in her eyelids.

Jirou breathed in slowly, her eyes glaring daggers into Mina's. There was a silence that punctuated the thick tension, though neither party dared move or speak again. For Ashido, her fists were balled around the hem of her shirt, trying desperately to wring the fabric, as if she could maybe - hopefully - squeeze out the betrayal she was feeling. This was the second accusation in such a short time... had she really been acting that suspicious? Had she really been hiding that much, driving her friends to believe she was working with blood-thirsty villains, in an effort to slaughter the world's symbol of peace?

Honestly, she didn't know anymore. It was just a secret. It had been innocent enough. There wasn't anything that was... overwhelmingly negative about Midoriya's secret. Sure, he'd accepted a quirk when he was previously quirkless - and that was astounding. And the quirk was designed to stop the evil that laid lurking beneath the eyes of the public. But other than that...? There was nothing.

Midoriya was essentially being trained for a single fight, but it wasn't as if he was doing something suspicious under their noses. He was genuine about becoming a hero - nobody could take that away from him. Not Jirou, not Kirishima, not Bakugou... not herself. Nobody could deny his drive - his goals. He was quite possibly the most motivated individual within all of Class 1-A.

The tears were blinked from her vision as Mina's eyes narrowed just slightly, a sudden bubble of anger popping up inside her chest. Where heartbreak once laid, defiance now stood. Who was Jirou to assume she was betraying anyone?! Who was Kirishima to accuse her of being a traitor?! Who was anyone to question her place in the Hero Course?! She was there because she wanted to become a hero! They couldn't tell her otherwise!

The change in stance caused Jirou to take a step back, her once narrow eyes widening in surprise. Her earjacks shivered, and reared themselves up, the sharp ends glaring at Mina's now offended gaze. "You know what...? I don't even care that you couldn't just ask me what was going on, instead of accusing me of something..."

"But I won't sit here and let you say these things wrongly!"

The resolve that had glared at Mina previously, crumbled within Jirou's eyes, though she stood her ground and clenched her fists. "Then tell me!"

"I meant what I said!" Mina shouted back, no longer caring if anyone heard. She knew it was dumb - anyone that heard would become just another problem to fix later on. But her teenage hormones were driving her forward with the force of a runaway train, and for the moment, she didn't care about any destruction that laid in her wake. She just wanted to be heard; no matter who listened. "Is it really that weird to think that someone can give quirks?!"

"That's not the point! You knew something about that... monster before anyone else! If you knew something... why didn't you tell All Might?! Or someone?!" Jirou shot back.

She was now aware of how dangerously close she was to revealing Midoriya and All Might's secret, but - for better or for worse - she didn't precisely care. "Don't you think he already knew?! Did you see the fight? He already knew what he was dealing with!"

"How do you know that?!"

"BECAUSE I HEARD ALL MIGHT TELL MIDOR-"

A sharp, singular knock completely interrupted the verbal confrontation, halting both parties mid-sentence. Their heavy breathing was the only noise made, the gap that had previously existed between the duo having closed significantly as their words had raised in volume. Both Ashido and Jirou became aware of their position and stance, and slowly receded, a look of guilt flashing over each of their faces. Ashido folded her arms behind her head, while Jirou grabbed her wrist and slowly massaged her arm.

"L-look... play it innocent. Don't say anything." Jirou said roughly, though there was an waver of hesitance in her voice. "Just... we had a simple fight, okay?"

Ashido snorted with clear disdain, moving around the punk-girl to open the door. "Yeah, sure."

But when she opened the door - having expected Uraraka, or maybe Aizawa - she felt her already sinking heart plummet into her stomach as she stared into the vibrant emerald eyes of Izuku Midoriya. He seemed nervous - a common adjective used in associated with the green-haired teen - but he also seemed... determined. For something.

"M-Midoriya...?"

"H-hey... can I come in...?"

"Actually, we're talking right now," Jirou interrupted, her frustration from the earlier fight leaking into her words. Before Ashido was given a chance to retaliate, and remind the purple-haired girl that it was her room they were in, Midoriya did something that surprised the both of them.

He stood his ground.

"It... really wasn't a question. I'm sorry. I think this involves me."

Jirou blinked, her mouth slightly gaping, and Ashido couldn't blame her. Midoriya was a nervous wreck nine out of ten times during the day. He was as timid as timid came, and it was no exaggeration to say that he reminded the class of a walking marshmallow with how soft he was. The only times he'd been as firm as he was being, was during the Sports Festival fight against Todoroki, and then again when he was fighting All Might - which, admittedly, was punctuated by moments of softness.

But right now, he was none of what he had become known as. With the recent events that had befallen All Might, Mina wasn't exactly sure what she expected from her green-haired classmate. Would he be a timid, sobbing wreck? Would he be distant, teetering on the edge of depression or something worse? Or would he pretend everything was okay, and go about his life as normal, only to be rotting away on the inside, waiting to break when no one was looking?

This hadn't been a conceived outcome.

"Were you listening in?"

Midoriya's eyes flashed. "No. But I was given a recap. And that last part included me."

From the corner of the room, Ashido suddenly realized that something was off. The carpet was depressed slightly in two specific spots, and there was a slight disturbance of the environment around the spot. "Hagakure?!"

"Oopsie... looks like they found me~" The giggle that echoed through the room seemed much more ominous than it should've been, especially coming from the bubbly girl. Her upbeat energy seemed to diminish slightly as she spoke again. "I'm sorry for hiding... b-but... everyone's been acting really strange recently... and I became worried."

"How did I not hear you...?" Jirou mumbled in shock.

The invisible girl perked up and giggled again. "I trained, silly! When I did my internship, my sensei taught me to control my breathing to evade even the best of trackers! Covert operations is something I want to do, after all!"

"And your... heartbeat?"

"Same story! But that's not important!" While it was impossible to tell (since the the girl was completely naked) Ashido assumed that her arms crossed her chest unhappily as she prepared to scold the two. "You guys were out-of-control! I needed someone to come and reign you two in!"

"And Midoriya...?" Ashido asked.

Hagakure laughed nervously. "Well... he was the best one I could think of... a-and, honestly, it seemed like you guys were talking about stuff that he'd be able to help with. Quirks and all... that's kinda his mojo..."

And for the first time since Hagakure's reveal, Midoriya stepped forward, making his presence known. "I-I know that... a lot has happened. Jirou... you have a lot of questions... and Ashido... you..." He paused. His eyes flickered over her body, and for a second, she felt more vulnerable that she had earlier. But the feeling fading, looking into the depths of Midoriya's eyes, and she simply let herself open up. "You... know stuff."

It was very difficult to discern the heir of All Might's tone, whether he was angered, annoyed, worried, confused, sad or... relieved. His gaze did little to clear up that difficulty, leaving Mina, essentially, in the dark about what it was that he was thinking. For once, he wasn't an open book.

He sighed, and subconsciously, his hand flittered to the new scar he adorned on his arm, tracing the rough skin, as if he were trying to soothe a phantom pain. It was the first time that any of them had actually seen his new scars... and nobody felt comfortable for the moment. The skin was roughly discolored, though it looked relatively healed compared to what Ashido had originally seen. If nothing else, it relieved the tension within her heart of Midoriya's well-being.

"Hagakure, you should stay too, I guess. You kinda heard a lot..." It remained difficult to tell Hagakure's expression without clothes, but a larger depression in the carpet suggested she was sitting intently. "D-do you want clothes... or something?"

"Nah, I'm okay!" She chirped cheerily. Mina would've smirked at Midoriya's exasperated look had she not been wound up so tightly.

"Right..." He muttered, before awkwardly looking around the room. Jirou's unconvinced, slightly irritated gaze definitely unnerved him, but Ashido would admit, she was impressed as he shrugged off the discomfort and took a deep breath in. "S-so... I guess... I need to know." He turned to Ashido. "When did you...?"

He trailed off, and she picked up the queue he was leaving. "Learn about everything? The day I fainted... I kinda overheard All Might talking to you about... All-For-One." His eyes were unreadable, but widened ever so slightly. "And... One-For-All."

This time, his eyes widened fully, and a look of concern flashed across his features, before settling back down, his face returning to stoic once more. "Oh."

"All-For-One? One-For-All? Can someone fill me in?" Jirou's irritation had settled slightly, but her face was still unsettling. She still hadn't been convinced.

"Right... so... All-For-One was the villain that... he fought." Mina took direct note of Midoriya's hesitance saying All Might's name. She shouldn't have been surprised - he was, after all, the biggest All Might fan that U.A. had to offer. Assuming he wasn't affected would've been insane. He was probably taking the entire ordeal rather hard, especially considering his connection to the legendary hero. "He had the ability to steal quirks. It... it's how he stole Ragdoll's quirk."

Jirou's eyes were as wide as saucer-plates as the information sunk in. "So... y-you're saying... someone out there could steal quirks?"

"R-right," Midoriya replied, albeit, uneasily.

"Okay... so where do you fit into all of this," Jirou asked, turning to Mina. The look of accusation had faded, and now, it was replaced with a look of complete and utter confusion. It didn't alleviate the tingling anger that was bundled up within, but Ashido admitted that she felt a slight weight off her back, knowing she was no longer staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.

Midoriya coughed gently. "R-right, I'm curious as well... did you know this whole time...?"

"About All-For-One? No... I mean, I knew who he was, but I only knew as much as you did. I only heard All Might talk about him the once. When... he talked about your quirk." Midoriya flinched.

"That reminds me... Midoriya?" Hagakure spoke up, all evidence of teasing joy in her voice having faded. "What is your quirk? It's registered as Super Power, right?"

"Super Power?" Mina couldn't help herself. What kind of fanboy named their all-powerful quirk super power? She wanted to break out in laughter - that really was a Midoriya-level move! Only the world's biggest fanboy, who had lived his whole life dreaming of a quirk, could come up with such a... plain name! It honestly fit him well; but more than that... it was a little cute. His innocence and joy could be felt in the simplicity of the name - because, to him, that's all it was.

A super power.

Midoriya's face turned pink. "I-I didn't have much time! Besides... it kept everyone off me, didn't it?"

As Ashido broke out into controlled giggling, Jirou looked around, evidently more confused than before. "Super Power? Am I the only one completely lost here?"

Midoriya looked at Jirou with a slight tinge of guilt, and slowly opened his mouth to respond. The laughter that had just been ringing through the air halted, and a stroke of guilt painted Mina's face, too. She had essentially brought the topic to that, after all.

"I... my quirk... I said I was a late bloomer, right?" Jirou nodded slowly. "That... wasn't true. Entirely. I... I inherited my quirk. F-from... A-All Might."

"WHAT?!"

"EH?!"

"Midori!"

Three voices caused Midoriya a few sharp head turns in rapid succession. None of them overpowered each other, and they were all filled with similar emotion, but somehow, Midoriya's eyes landed on Ashido's, and for second, it was only the two of them in their own world. Green gazed into gold, fading the rest of the world out.

"Are you sure you want to... y'know, reveal all that?"

It wasn't her secret; she had absolutely no say in what Midoriya said or didn't say. Technically, he didn't owe anyone a single lick of information. He hadn't betrayed anybody, nor had he really lied. From what Mina had gathered, One-For-All was a strength-enhancement quirk, which was exactly what Midoriya had registered Super Power as. He was, by all metrics, a late bloomer... he just hadn't revealed that he'd been given the quirk, instead of developing it.

But more than that... Ashido technically didn't know as much as she let on. Sure, she knew the foundations of everything - she knew that One-For-All had been created by All-For-One, and she also knew that All Might was the sworn predecessor of Midoriya. Beyond that, she knew tidbits of information, such as the times before All Might's reign, where All-For-One ruled the streets. She knew that it was within the destiny of whoever wielded the generational power to put an end to All-For-One's leadership. And... she knew Midoriya was up to the task.

That was it, though. She didn't know about All Might's relationship with Midoriya prior to that; she didn't know how they met, how they trained, or even how the whole... quirk-transfer process worked. She was still in the dark about all of that. And, despite Jirou's assumptions, she didn't even know All-For-One had been waiting for All Might - she'd just assumed he was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the inevitable showdown.

Midoriya, though, looked skeptical. For the first time since he'd arrived in Mina's room, he looked unsure of everything. Like the whole situation was a line of dominos, just waiting to fall, and subsequently explode. "No... I'm not sure... to be honest, I think that... you know, he had a point in keeping it secret. B-but... I can't hide it if all it will do is cause strife." His fists clenched and his eyes became steely.

"I won't hide it. It might have been his wishes, but... I won't help to create a divide."

"So..." Hagakure said slowly. "Are you going to explain this to everyone...? I mean, it's a lot, if you know what I mean."

"I... would rather not just yet," Midoriya said hesitantly. Waves of concern emitted from his being, and honestly, it unnerved Mina. Midoriya wasn't the picture of confidence, but even now, he was unsure of... everything. She couldn't help but feel guilty for what she'd create.

Jirou, however, didn't hold the same reserves. "But you just said-"

"I know what I said." Midoriya said, and for a second, everyone's breaths hitched at the sharpness of his voice. The green-haired boy stood firm for a second, then exhaled, and his posture came crashing down with it. "S-sorry, I didn't... it's been stressful..."

"It's... alright, I get it..." Jirou accepted after a second.

"I can't tell everyone - not yet. It's... dangerous. This power is dangerous. If word got out, people would... the stuff they'd do would be bad. Please. I can't tell everyone yet." His pleas didn't fall onto deaf ears, yet, Mina felt her heart sink further and further as she realized he was begging them to keep his secret so that he wasn't... hunted like an animal.

A quirk, given to him to protect the land of which he walked, and he was reduced to begging so that he wasn't hunted by the same people that he was sworn to protect. Mina's stomach churned unhappily; what kind of sick world did they live in?

"B-but... I do owe you guys an explanation. So... if everyone's ready...?"

A thought popped into Ashido's head. "Oh, wait! I, uh, Kirishima... he should be here, too."

Despite his exasperation, Midoriya gave her a small smile - but a smile nonetheless - and nodded. "Can someone get him? I, uh, I'd rather not be caught in the halls and all."

Just for the moment, as Mina nodded and cheerily went to grab Kirishima, pushing down all of her fears and concerns, she felt a sense of peace within. Although things weren't exactly going the way she'd hoped, it seemed like they'd come out okay after all.

Hopefully.

Oh damn, things happened!

As you can see, this is a rather slow-burn going between Mina and Midoriya. I think it needs time to develop - especially with everything going on. With all the timeskips, I also don't feel like it would be a good idea to jump into it. That being said, the timeskips will probably slow down now, since we've progressed a bit and the bigger plot is underway.

What is that plot, you might ask? Well... I can't tell you! But it has to do with the title!

Anyways, sorry for my absence, I had a lot of personal stuff that was going on. I work in the Emergency Room so, from time to time, shit happens and I gotta respond as necessary. This means that I need personal time when really bad shit happens. My apologies.

I'm also on a time-crunch, so unfortunately, I won't be responding to reviews this chapter - BUT next chapter I will resume as prescribed, so if you have anything, drop it in that review column! Thank you so much for your support!