Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba

by Marshmellowtime

There was a red thread that connected each and every one of them. It could bend, twist, and tangle, but it would never break. Though considering who her classmates were, she was getting pretty close to cutting it herself. "If you get your ass kicked one more time, I'm not healing you." Oc/?

30. Hot Condensed Milk I

Hot condensed milk was my hot chocolate when I was growing up, I still drink it, when I'm happy or sad.

It's really good!

Also, Hawks' name drop! FINALLY.

HAPPY BELATED HOLIDAYS EVERYONE, TO A NEW DECADE!

I do not own BNHA.

---

Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba

Chapter Twenty Nine:

Hot Condensed Milk I

---

Hot condensed milk; hot water mixed in with condensed milk, or sweetened milk. Honey can be added for more flavor, it's a simple, warm drink (it's a drink that tastes like home)

---

"You sleep here, alright? This place is yours now too."

"Just make yourself at home, dear."

Fuyu, eight and a half, newly released from the hospital, gripped the can of milk tea Yagi had given her on the walk to their small home. It was a condo on the first floor of a set of other buildings, much, much smaller than the estate.

Her heart thundered in an unfamiliar manner. She loved it. She loved it and she didn't know how to tell them how much she loved it.

Her hands were still wrapped up with bandages. The wounds had long healed, but she asked for the fresh wrapping anyway out of comfort. She didn't want to see the scar on her hand. A large, oversized coat hung over her shoulders, brand new red sneakers the kind hero who'd been watching her progress as of late had gifted her. He promised to bring orange ones next time.

Aizawa Shouta. Eraserhead.

She didn't know how to thank that man either.

Yagi and Naomi watched, varying expressions on either of their faces. Yagi looked uncertain, hands shoved deep into his pockets and wary. Naomi on the other hand looked hopeful. She rubbed her fingers together and traced little patterns over the back of her hand as the two of them watched their granddaughter stare at the home from the entrance of the genkan.

There was a cup still sitting on the small coffee table that would serve as a kotatsu in the winter. An old cup they'd left behind in their haste to get to the hospital and the back and forth trips. Shoes lined neatly against the side of the hallway. There was a little tapestry of flowers and a crane hanging off the wall. A small television set. A bookshelf. An old record player.

Tentatively, Fuyu reached down to slowly unlace her shoes, keeping one hand on her can of milk tea. Yagi arched a brow and Naomi simply smiled, patting his back. Fuyu carefully shrugged off her shoes and finally, carefully, she took one step into the hallway.

Something hard hit her chest. It bounced up to her throat and sat there, unable to move, lodging itself tight.

Yagi huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's not much... but it's all yours, whatever you want it to be."

"This is... your home now," Naomi said softly behind her. "Okay?"

There was a tightness behind her eyes that made Fuyu realize she wanted to cry but it'd been so long she couldn't.

---

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

Fuyu snorted, shoving her leftover items into a trash bag and pulling the top closed. She dropped it into the duffle bag that would help cart her belongings, the other half of the bag filled with neat labels and sorted bags of iron supplements—courtesy of her hook up through Shinsou's father's hospital—on top of folded clothes—she hadn't been the one to do the sorting, that was Shinsou. She set it all down on top of three modest boxes.

She was taking everything she owned with her—which wasn't much—to the dorms that had been stationed at the Shinsou residence. Yuuei's new dorms would now serve as her own new home, through holidays and breaks until she graduated. This was a more permanent move for her more than anything else.

There's nowhere left for you to come back to.

Yesterday Naomi and Yagi had left for Hokkaido. Her grandmother had met with her one final time, leaving her with a small box of items to take with her before they parted with a warm, heavy hug and tears.

Now it was time for Fuyu to move too.

"I bet the rooms aren't even going to be that big," Fuyu said, brushing dust off her uniform skirt. Her fingers lingered for a moment, brushing against the sturdy threads. She stared at the gray skirt, a small smile touching her lips. "I barely have enough stuff to fill a drawer. It'll be perfect."

Wearing the uniform made her feel a little bit better. A little more put together. It reminded her of where she was headed, where she still needed to be. Things I still gotta do. The place she'd have to work her hardest at, no matter what happened.

You're gonna be okay.

She had to be.

Shinsou set his suitcase down beside her things, decked in his own uniform and looking unconvinced. Classes were still assigned to meet today on a mandatory notice, but not for actual schooling and instead to begin the process of moving into the dorms. A few of his own boxes were stacked up beside hers in preparation for their move into the newly built dorms on Yuuei's campus. He'd be staying in the wing designed for his class, a few minute walk from her own if she remembered right.

He wouldn't be far if she needed him. He was never really far anyway.

I don't deserve a friend as good as you. Fuyu allowed the small smile on her lips to widen. Shinsou looked wary at her suddenly cheery mood. I'll pay you back for all of this, I promise.

"Mom still wanted to take you shopping for more things," he said. "I doubt she'll let you go without a few more pairs of clothes. Or furniture. Expect something in the mail."

"Maybe she'll get us matching sweaters," Fuyu said. "Like the cat ones you wore in that scrapbook of you when you were five—"

Shinsou shoved one of the donuts he'd picked up this morning for them into her mouth. Flakes of sugar smeared the corners of her mouth until Fuyu obediently bit down onto it, chewing around a grin.

Pale irises watched her for a moment longer. Shinsou wiped donut glaze on the side of his pants.

"You sure you're going to be alright?"

"...gotta be," Fuyu said. She swallowed, licking her lips. "I've spent enough time holed up like a bum in your room anyway. 's okay. I've never moved before, this'll be fun."

"Moves are typically tedious," Shinsou said. "A pain, if you ask me."

"It'll be like we're neighbors all over again," Fuyu said amiably. "Even closer now, right? I wonder what they look like..."

Shinsou watched her hands, following the way her fingers traced patterns over her scar.

"...you nervous?"

"Nah," Fuyu snorted. "I've always wanted to decorate my room a bit—now's the chance, right? Add a bit of personality or—"

"Not that," Shinsou said.

Fuyu was quiet for a moment. She absently kicked a small pebble off the side of the road. A low hum of an engine was signaling the coming of a car down the street in front of the house. She rubbed the side of her arm.

"It'll just... be like school," Fuyu said slowly. "Right?"

She loved her classmates. She liked every moment she was able to spend with them on the training grounds, in that light filled classroom. Living with them... it seemed like it ought to be some sort of dream come true. Some kind of fun, new experience to look forward to and enjoy. Sharing meals together, lounge rooms, walking to school and...

Fuyu frowned at the ground, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. Bells jingled.

It would just be... different is all.

Home for her had always been gram and gramps. Yagi and Naomi. The three of them, tucked away into that little condo.

Now, whether she was ready or not, home was...

Yuuei.

And all of them.

Shinsou watched her for a moment longer before he shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets, "Living with people is always different. It should be good for someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

"Whatever you want it too, bum."

A white van pulled up alongside them before Fuyu could try to stomp on Shinsou's shoes. Aizawa rolled down the window, stepping out of the passenger side after saying something to the driver. She and Shinsou each reached for their backpacks and a box, hefting them up into their arms.

"All ready to go?" Aizawa asked, opening up the back of the van.

"Yes, sir," Shinsou said. "Thank you for picking us up."

"Yeah," Fuyu said. "Thanks, Zawa."

Aizawa rolled his eyes, motioning to Shinsou, "We'll drop you off in front of your building first. Your teacher will take it from there for your class." Shinsou nodded. "And you—"

Aizawa's hands reached out, lifting to box from Fuyu's grip. She blinked, raising a brow as Aizawa gazed down at her from over the top.

"I'm giving you a forewarning now," Aizawa said. "I plan on giving the lot of you that went out that night and some a lecture on what exactly I think of your actions."

Fuyu grimaced. She reached for another box and nodded, "...yeah, I figured you'd bring it up eventually. But maybe... go easy on us? I mean, well, what we did was wrong—"

"There's nothing to give merit too," Aizawa said. "What you all did was irresponsible and dangerous."

Fuyu wilted. He isn't... he isn't wrong. He was never wrong. We all knew that when we left that night and we've just been fortunate not to have expulsion letters at our doors.

"Think harder," Aizawa said, voice rough. "On the repercussions your actions may bring."

Fuyu froze.

If it had been an expulsion letter at her door, if they had decided what they had done went too far and if they were all told to—

She didn't know what she'd do without Yuuei.

If I didn't have this place to come too—

For a brief, fleeting second, Daiki's face flashed through her eyes.

Aizawa's box lightly knocked into hers. Fuyu stopped, looking up at him.

"But given circumstances," Aizawa said, a little quieter. Shinsou politely continued to place things into the van's trunk, giving them space. "I want you to know that you've done a good job, Fuyu."

Fuyu's heart twisted painfully in her chest. A little thump thump of sorrow. Aizawa set the box he was carrying on top of hers before stooping and lifting both of them with ease. Fuyu's hands hovered in the air, empty.

"Remember that," Aizawa said simply, "and take everything else with a grain of salt."

Fuyu lowered her head, bobbing it in a small nod.

"Yes, sir."

I can't lose this place.

---

Not this too.

---

"As always, be present in my office. The code remains the same. My secretary will escort you up. Any questions will be under the guise of a check-up regarding the future of the billboard rankings coming up later this year. We will continue to discuss what I mentioned before. 10AM sharp."

His phone blared to life once more. The bright screen flashed in front of him, the soft vibration settling in the palm of his hand. Dull, dark eyes watched the words without a hint of emotion.

"Do not be late, Hawks."

I can be late all I want. He thought in dull amusement. You complain however you want. You always bring me right back no matter what. I'm your best piece on the board.

Satin sheets crinkled under the grip of his fingers as he stared, hunched over the phone screen. His room was filtered with plenty of natural lighting. Dawn was just peeking over the skyscrapers and city tops. His bedroom was designed with the ultimate image in mind of the sky, giant, curved windows specially made for the high rise apartment—one of his many—and blocked from outside view. One-sided, the same way he liked people to be able to see him. His wings folded against his bare back, hanging tightly in the air.

They'd raised him this way, after all.

"You were groomed to be the perfect hero."

Miss President of the Hero Public Safety Committee had been especially on his case lately. He knew in light of recent events that they were working to move ten—twenty steps ahead of whatever they were suspecting was at play. The information they retained from the public and heroes alike was hefty and Keigo already knew down to the tips of his feathers his coming role in all of this.

He gave his lit screen another look before his eyes strayed to his night stand. He stared, looking through the closed drawer to what he knew was already inside. An old, folded up future-career prep sheet from middle school and an old photo kept in pristine condition, worn only from being picked up and held.

Keigo closed his eyes for a second. He let the old sound of cicadas filter through his ears. The warmth of dappled sunlight on his skin, peeking through leaves. The smell of wood and incense. Rain. Tea leaves. The low, hum of energy.

"Well, what do you want to be, brat?"

"I could be anything you want me to be."

"People like that are borning, you know."

"I already called Miri," Keigo opened his eyes at the quiet voice, steady and soft. I like that voice. He could hear the sweep of his heavy cloak and the soft clack of his staff against the ground behind him. "She checked the barrier and the shrine is still fine. I doubt they'd even know where to start looking."

What kind of a life is that? Keigo bit back the words, letting them sit on his tongue instead. Forcing yourself to hide away in that place. It's filled with all your memories and everything else. How will you ever move on if you're stuck there for another year? Two? Three?

Sora loved that shrine. He loved it too. It brought good memories to the surface.

But that shrine was not where Sora's life was supposed to end.

Even if you want it to be.

Keigo turned off his phone, deftly switching it to silent. He turned it face down onto his sheets and turned to properly greet the man standing in the doorway across from him.

Sora looked to be twenty right now. He'd been filtering out a bit of energy, visiting the broken sites in Kamino in secret and balancing it out with hospital visits under Granny's name from Yuuei. Keigo loved when he looked like this the best because it made him feel less far away. Within reach.

That you and I can stand in the same place without threatening to disappear.

"You sure you want to go back?" Keigo asked instead. Don't go back. But he'd be safer there. Stay with me. They couldn't touch him if he went back into hiding. If you hide, will you really stay under wraps? He only had to worry about Sora running headfirst into the spotlight if something happened to that precious intern of his again.

"It's the best place for me to hole up for now," Sora said. He hesitated for a moment before stepping into his bedroom. Keigo bent one wing down, opening it up in invitation as he sat on the edge of the bed, but Sora remained toward the edge of the wall, moving instead toward the window. "Besides, I'm used to hiding there. It's home."

Aren't you sick of it? "You sure this is what you want?"

Sora shrugged, "Isn't this what's best?"

I'm tired of them using you. I want you to stay out of all of this. I don't want you to get hurt anymore. I want—

You to give it all up. "Not wrong there," Keigo smirked, bringing his wing back up against his back. His feathers shifted once, rearranging themselves. "Poor President will be crying her eyes out when she finds her new pawn's slipped off the board again."

"I still have some business to take care of," Sora said. "I'll just be laying low. I won't be gone gone. Not like last time."

I'm glad. "But that's exactly what you should do," Keigo said. "Don't give them a reason to rope you back up into this."

Sora's brows furrowed but he didn't say anything. Keigo didn't need to be a genius to know it meant exactly what he thought it did. But maybe you want to come back to it all.

Once upon a time, not too long ago, he wanted the exact same thing. If he could, he would've broken through every screen door he could and brought Sora out back into the world. He dreamed of it, being the one to open him back up again. He thought up about everything, about their life together, about how they could balance it—this hero thing. He'd change his agency around to compensate just for it. They'd be partners. He knew how Sora worked and Sora knew how he worked. It'd be—

Nice.

It would've been nice.

But Keigo wasn't that guy anymore. Instead, he was the guy that saw the look on Sora's face that day. The new expression he wore now, standing beside that wild-eyed, angry looking girl with blood dripping through her fingers. The face Sora made when he slept beside him and Keigo would lay there, trying to ease the crease between his brows, wishing he could chase him all the way into his dreams to destroy whatever laid there.

He thought about Kouki Fuyu and what she said to him the day of her final examination. The only words that had saved her from getting utterly destroyed and beaten by himself, who'd cruelly been testing her that day for reasons beyond her own education.

"I just want him to rest," she said. "I dunno, grow old somewhere, eating hotpot all day."

Yeah. Keigo smiled, a little tight. Me too.

Keigo's phone vibrated again. It was 9:52. He didn't look at it. Sora stared out the window.

"You could go to Okinawa."

Sora turned over his shoulder, looking at him with round eyes. Keigo smiled at the shiny wooden floorboards. The hand propping himself behind him fisted tight into the sheets.

"Remember when I told you I always wanted to buy a place out there, a cliff overlooking the beach we went too?" Sora was silent, but the golden light to his eyes told him he was listening. Keigo continued, "I bought it, you know. A while back. Maybe a year and a half ago now? Two? There's a lady who keeps it clean but it's in great condition."

Gold brown, almost red eyes met blue-gold.

"You could go there," Keigo suggested, keeping his voice light, breezy. He ignored the tightness in his chest. "Relax. Take a bit of a vacation... wait it out until it all settles."

He could see it. He really could. Sora always looked great under the sun and he never went to the beach enough.

Okinawa was old and slow and peaceful. He could head out, down the path Keigo walked himself, down to the beach if he felt like it and let the water wade up to his ankles. The weather was great there. The sky was always blue. Keigo picked that spot because it made him feel endless. Sora could hang up the little rain charms he liked and the wind chime he probably still had of the glass bird. Sora could wake up early and learn to sleep in, eventually. He could make friends with the cute locals down the road. He could use the nice, smooth plot of mountain side Keigo had bought with his paycheck as Hawks to even build his own little shrine. Make a garden. A forest retreat. Hire someone to open up a hotpot restaurant. Whatever he wanted. Anything.

You could wait for me there. Keigo didn't say. You could live happy and peaceful and content and finally rest. I'd come and join you in a heartbeat, if you'd like. If you wanted.

Once I'm done here.

"I'll make it a reality as soon as possible. A world where heroes have more free time than they know what to do with."

He hadn't even heard Sora's soft steps close the last bit of distance between them. Keigo lifted his head, looking up into those quiet, kind eyes. He saw the sky in Sora's eyes. The sun and the blue. He wanted to live in those eyes.

Keigo kept his hands in his lap. His wings reached out from behind him, curling out past Sora and softly pressing the feather tips to his back. Sora stepped into the space between his legs.

"I heard before Quirks," Keigo said. "Some of the oldest people in the world lived in Okinawa."

Sora gazed down at him. His hand reached up, pausing for a moment before it settled against the side of Keigo's face, thumb brushing down his sideburns, against his cheek. "I'd have that record beat in a second, huh?"

"You liked it there," Keigo said.

"I did," Sora agreed. Something soft filled his eyes and Keigo knew, sinking deep into the pit of his stomach, his mind was made up. You always knew but you always try. "But if I get cozy in Okinawa, getting fat on the beach, who'd come running once you finally get yourself burned flying too close to the sun?"

His heart twisted pitifully in his chest. Keigo's hands reached up and settled on Sora's hips, beneath the thick fabric of his cloak. Sora didn't move away from him.

"Not for your cute intern?" Keigo mumbled, a soft tease.

"She knows how to take care of herself if her arm falls off or her leg breaks," Sora ran a hand through the windy strands of his blonde hair. "It's you I worry about."

Keigo grinned. "Oh, yeah? If I knew you were gonna spoil me this much, I would've said something sooner."

"Okinawa can wait," Sora pressed a fleeting, soft kiss to his head and Keigo felt the instant the healing energy crackled through his body, flooding his system with life and vitality, making him feel brand new. He could already see the wrinkles fading from Sora's eyes. "I've held out this long."

Keigo shut his eyes, still as Sora slipped from him and stepped back. He opened his eyes to find that small, tired, blinding smile. Sora pressed a tag to his lips.

"What's a little more?"

A crooked smile curled over Keigo's lips, "My door's always open for runaways."

Sora smirked, "See you later, brat."

Keigo watched in silence as he disappeared before his eyes. He stared at the empty spot for minutes longer before finally turning his phone over.

10:13.

(4) Missed calls.

Keigo snorted, eyes crinkling tiredly at the corners as he stood. He grabbed his shades from the top of the nightstand and headed to the closet for his uniform.

"You always say that," he muttered to no one but himself.

---

I just want you to rest.

---

Maybe I'm the first one here. Fuyu slipped her student ID back into her wallet, walking through Yuuei's front entrance and past the massive school buildings. The backlot of the school was where the dorms had been supposedly built, practically a five minute walk from campus. Aizawa had driven ahead to drop off their things and she and Shinsou had parted when his class arrived first to sweep him off.

Text me if you need anything. His eyes said, watching her over the tops of his classmates' heads as he walked away from her. Call me.

"Go have fun, loser," she mouthed at him.

I thought Class Rep would be here first though, Fuyu made a face, tugging the end of her ponytail. Her hair was growing out more now. It went past her shoulder blades. Maybe I'm the one that's late. It's just behind the building and a short walk so...

"Kouki-chan?"

Fuyu blinked, looking down at the startled squawk.

Mineta gaped back up at her, purple juice spilling from the corner of his lips.

Oh.

"Hey, Mineta," Fuyu said, a bit pleasantly surprised. It was nice knowing she wasn't the only one walking in. "Just get here too?"

"Well, yeah," Mineta said. He wiped the corner of his mouth quickly, smoothed a hand several times over the rounded tops of his ball-shaped hair. Fuyu stared at them for a harder moment, curious. He fixed his tie, adjusted his sleeves and then looked up at her with a suave sort of smirk. "Guess we're walking in together, hmm?"

"Yeah," Fuyu said amiably. "Do ya mind?"

Fuyu took a few steps forward and then stopped. She looked back when she realized Mineta was still standing there, gripping his can of grape soda.

"Did…" Fuyu started, watching his blank face carefully. "Did ya...not want to walk together?"

"No!" Mineta shouted forcefully. Fuyu blinked. "No! I mean, well, of course not! Who the hell would give up the chance to walk in with a babe and—"

Mineta paused. He waved his can a bit and then shrugged, "What the heck am I supposed to say? You're always either with stupid Bakugou who can't keep his mouth shut or stupid Todoroki who looks too hot for his own damn good."

Fuyu stared at him a bit longer, "...are you saying we just don't do this often?"

Mineta bobbed his head. The balls on top of his scalp bounced a bit with the motion. Fuyu stared at them again before meeting his eyes.

He wasn't wrong. She talked to Mineta enough, but always with others. He was just a sociable guy in her eyes. There was never a moment Fuyu found him alone. He was always surrounded by chatting friends or Kaminari or Sero, even plenty of other guys from the other classes. She was kind of jealous how easy Mineta could get along with people or make them laugh.

She was also mildly curious about his pain tolerance because this was a guy who took hits from Tsuyu's tongue and slaps from Mina and ear-jack attacks from Jirou left and right. This guy was a tiny tank for what it was worth.

"Well," Fuyu said and then she shrugged. "I dunno. If you don't make it weird, I won't make it weird either, yeah?"

Mineta tipped his can to the side in thought. He stared at her and Fuyu stared back, waiting patiently with her hands at her sides, blazer wrapped around her waist. Mineta seemed to finally conclude that the rare chance of walking with one of the babes from his class—Mineta's classification of the hotties in their class still ranked Yaomomo at the top, but Fuyu had a cushiony spot high on his list because she was curvier than he expected but her rough attitude made it hard to think she was cute—

"Stop that," Fuyu said automatically, not sure why but feeling oddly creeped out. "I feel like you're thinkin' something weird."

"I-I'm not!" Mineta said quickly, catching up to her and the two proceeded to walk together, following the designated signs directing each class to their assigned dorm buildings. "I have to consider my chances when walking with you, you know. You're dangerous."

"Yeah?" Fuyu said.

"Oh, yeah," Mineta said. "You're always getting into some crazy stuff. Midoriya and you are dangerous!"

Can't argue there. Fuyu shrugged, "How about these dorms? You excited to move in?"

"Are you kidding me?" Mineta shouted, throwing his hands into the air. His juice sloshed out onto the concrete. "Excited? I'm living for it! Cohabitation, Kouki-chan. Co-ha-bi-ta-tion! Do you understand what that means?"

Fuyu considered his words, "We're gonna be living together."

"Yes!" Mineta shouted gleefully. "Exactly! Under the same roof! Same baths! Same living space! Girls in their loungewear! Girls in—"

"I guess that does make it sound kind of fun," Fuyu said thoughtfully. "Like one long sleepover or something… I'm a bit nervous though to be honest. Dunno if I'll… adjust well."

"Well," Mineta said haughtily, tapping his chest with his can. "If you're ever nervous, just come to my room and we can talk out all the nerves and—"

"Okay," Fuyu said. "Thanks."

Mineta tripped over his feet, spilling his can. Fuyu watched him pick it up and chuck it into the garbage bin before glaring at her, "You're just playing with me, aren't you? That's pretty messed up, Kouki-chan. Give me some credit! I'm just honest with my wants and needs, you know. All the other guys have them too, they just pretend they don't but we're all the same!"

He stopped, frowning briefly, "I don't really know about Aoyama. That guy's always been weird."

"Yama's cool," Fuyu said. "Should talk to him more. You like cheese?"

Mineta nodded, satisfied with himself and ignoring her talk of Aoyama, "All the way from the too cool Todoroki to that quiet Kouda… we're all the same!"

"Oh, yeah?" Fuyu said, honestly a bit curious. "What do you guys normally talk about?"

"Oh, no," Mineta said, smirking as he walked beside her. "If you want to know the juicy secrets of what goes on between the boys when we talk—these are high classified secrets by the way, that I shouldn't even be sharing, you need to tell me something the girls talk about too."

Mineta's ears turned red, eyes a bit dopey. "All the details."

"Okay," Fuyu said. "You first."

"Really?" Mineta screeched, practically launching into the air. Fuyu stared at the rounded purple balls on his head acting as hair again. "Alright, alright, how about this…"

Mineta rubbed his chin in contemplation as they walked. Fuyu waited, watching the way his hair moved on top of his head.

"Got it! Hoho, I'll tell you something real good." Mineta snapped his fingers and leered up at her, eyes glinting darkly. "This is just between you and me, alright?"

"Okay," Fuyu said.

Mineta grinned darkly, beckoning her closer. Fuyu crouched down beside him, lending her ear.

Mineta whispered.

Fuyu blinked. She pulled back and looked at him in mild surprise. "Oh, yeah?"

Mineta nodded, looking smug. She watched the balls on his head bob again with the motion. Fuyu stood up and Mineta followed after, waving around his hand in a haughty manner. "Alright, now you have to tell me something juicy about what the girls talk about! It's gotta be just as good and not skimping out on any details—"

"We talk about what new cafes to try a lot," Fuyu said absently. "Or donut shops. There's a lot apparently."

Mineta blinked, looking up at her with blank eyes. Fuyu nodded. "'s true. No lie."

Mineta continued to stare.

"Sometimes we talk about going and what we liked the best there too. Cute waiters. Stuff like that."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Mineta scrambled after her, waving his hands wildly. "That's not what I'm talking about here! Where's the juicy bits? The dirty goods? That's not at all what I wanna hear! The cup sizes! The secrets!"

Fuyu blinked, "I don't really get what you can do with stuff like that, but if you're really that upset, I'm a B."

Blood splurted from Mineta's nose. He hit the ground on his knees, one hand clutching his chest. Fuyu stopped in mild alarm, looking back at him. "You good, dude? The signs of a heart attack are—"

"K-K-Kouki-chan…" Mineta cackled darkly, wiping his nose with the back of his head. He looked up at her, panting heavily, a bit of appraisal in his eyes. "You're much bolder than I thought… I'll take notes."

Fuyu frowned, brows furrowing as she waited again for him to catch up. "You're a pretty weird guy, Mineta. I don't really know what to do with ya sometimes."

"You're just saying I'm amazing, right?" Mineta said, walking quickly beside her. His hand combed through his hair, balls bouncing back into place. "You're amazed by me. We've never had a moment alone together and now we're bonding. Be careful, Kouki-chan, you might just fall in love with me. I wouldn't mind a girlfriend, you know. I think I could balance on top of all this hero work. I'm pretty great."

"Yeah?" Fuyu said. "I don't think I could. That's pretty awesome."

Mineta chuckled, rubbing his hands together. "You know, you should stop spending so much time with those no good top students and instead head to my level—"

"Mineta."

Mineta stopped. He paled for a moment, looking up warily, bracing for an attack. "W-What?"

Fuyu looked down at him, eyes a bit hopeful.

"Can I touch your hair?"

---

"Dude, did you hear though? Considering everything that happened with All Might and since he's retiring, they're totally giving a revamp to the entire charts!" Kaminari gestured energetically to his phone, Sero walking beside him with his hands inside his pockets. "Makes you wonder who's gonna rise to the top now, right?"

"You're surprisingly into this kinda stuff!" Sero said. Kaminari grinned. "You can barely open up a textbook, I didn't know you read so much news."

"Hey, man, believe it or not, it's prime time to be informed! I might look like that goofball, but I'm always up-to-date on what's happening. I like knowing what the buzz is since—" Kaminari stopped, following Sero's bewildered line of sight.

Kaminari blinked.

Blood pooled along the pathway toward the dorms. A single, small body was limp in the center of it all, dark tendrils of blood creeping over him. Purple balls littered the floor.

Kouki Fuyu looked up, staring at them as she kept her hands over Mineta's fallen body, blood wrapped over her palms.

"Oh, my god," Sero said, clapping a hand over his mouth. "He did it. Mineta finally got himself killed. Oh, shit, oh, man, Kouki we gotta help you hide the body—"

"He should've known better," Kaminari said solemnly. "He could've gone after any of them. Fu-chan was the most risky choice. He did it to himself."

"Why the hell are ya guys talkin' like I murdered him?" Fuyu snapped. "I just asked if I could touch his hair, damn it!"

Kaminari and Sero looked somberly at each other.

"He got too excited!" Fuyu explained. "He kept pulling them out! I didn't know how to tell him to stop! What the hell was I supposed to do?"

Kaminari carefully knelt down beside Fuyu, setting a hand on her shoulder as he seriously looked at her.

"Hey, Fu-chan, it's gonna be alright. I'm pretty knowledgeable on how to get rid of bodies, you know? I listen to those true crime podcasts all the time and—"

"He's not dead, damn it!"

---

Fuyu balked, gaping at the massive building looming in front of her.

"What happened?" Mineta mumbled weakly, coming too as Sero set him down. The rest of their class had gathered before the massive building. "Had a dream… Kouki-chan wanted to touch… balls…"

"Sometimes I wonder how you even got in here in the first place man," Sero sighed.

Kaminari gave Fuyu's side a teasing nudge with his elbow. "Come on, Fu-chan! It's not that surprising for a prestigious school like Yuuei, right?"

Fuyu gaped at him, jaw hitting the floor as she wordlessly pointed to the massive, grand dormitory standing before them. One of several lined up with beautifully furnished pathways, complete with lamps and shrubbery. Behind the lined buildings laid a massive fountain, curved walkways and elegant paths designed for strolls through the gathered forests that once kept Yuuei's school building even more secluded.

"It's huge!" Mina crowed, thrusting cheerful fists into the air. Ochako was in a similar state to Fuyu's, the two gawking in disbelief. "Nice to see everyone again! Isn't this exciting guys?"

"We're sharing this, right?" Fuyu demanded. "With 1-B or something? You can fit like three classes in here!"

"No," Iida said dutifully, turning to her with a swing of his rigid hand. "This building is solely designated for class 1-A. Each class has been furnished with their own respective dormitory."

Fuyu hit the ground on her knees, soul escaping her lips.

"Oh, man, I missed you guys!" Mina cheered, throwing her arms over Jirou and Hagakure's necks. "You sure you're feeling totally fine now? Absolutely?"

"Plenty," Jirou said. "My parents wouldn't even let me out of bed even when the doctors gave the okay."

"Getting here was an uphill battle for me," Hagakure slumped.

"Makes sense though," Ojiro said. "You two had it really rough after all."

"You look much better now, Fuyu-chan, ribbit," Tsuyu said, patting Fuyu's back as her soul returned to her body. "Were you discharged right after?"

"Mm, yeah, something like that," Fuyu said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Kirishima met her gaze briefly, a small smile on his lips before he looked away.

Fuyu paused for a moment, slowly moving her hand away from her neck. Her eyes flickered upwards, catching the two quiet gazes directed specifically at her. Fuyu's eyes narrowed.

"Keep giving me those looks," she mumbled roughly to them. "And we're gonna have a problem."

Midoriya flinched, looking sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head. His eyes still worriedly darted her way, asking silent questions while Todoroki's gaze remained unfazed, stubbornly remaining on her.

Are you okay? / Will you be fine?

Yeah. Fuyu thought firmly. I've done my time. I have to keep moving, you know?

Yagi grinned at her, slapping the back of her head.

As far as I can, as fast as I can.

Burnt sugar hit her before a hefty weight slammed into her shoulder. Fuyu stumbled in surprise, catching herself before she planted face-first into the floor. Tsuyu let out a small noise of protest, helping her up. Fuyu looked up, eager eyes quickly landing on the hard slope of his hunched back.

"Get off your fucking knees, First Aid," Bakugou snapped. "You look ridiculous."

Fuyu quickly scrambled to her feet. She took a few steps closer to him. Her eyes glittered eagerly, brightly.

"Hotshot—"

"Put your hands on me again and I'll kill you," Bakugou barked over his shoulder. "Old hag wouldn't shut up about it and—"

Fuyu grinned at him, briefly touching his wrist.

Good to see you again.

"I said keep your hands off me, First Aid!"

"Oho?" Mina clapped her hands together. "A development we didn't get to see? Could it be—"

"Shut it, raccoon eyes!" Bakugou snarled, wringing Fuyu back and forth by her shirt collar, but she allowed it for once, simply letting her feet hang. "Any of you say anything and I'll fucking destroy you—"

"It's crazy to see everyone again, huh?" Satou laughed. "After everything that happened, it's kind of nice."

"Very much so," Momo agreed. She briefly glanced to Iida and the two shared an uncertain look before she continued, "I'm just glad we were all able to make it here without any problems."

"Exactly," her classmates looked up to where Aizawa came down the steps of the dormitory to stand before them. "First and foremost, Class 1-A, what's important is that you all have gathered together again safely."

"The same goes for you too, Aizawa-sensei," Tsuyu said. Ochako noded beside her. "After watching that interview, I thought you might not be able to come back. I was really sad…"

"I wanted to punch their fucking faces!" Fuyu snapped, recalling the broadcasted interview. Bakugou dropped her back onto her feet with a warning snarl. She grabbed the tail end of his untucked shirt. "Assholes goading you left and right. Who the hell were they to criticize? Did he think he could do any better?"

"I can't say I didn't feel the same," Shoji agreed. "Though in different sentiments."

"I'm giving you five seconds to let go, fucking Apples."

"It's surprising to me as well," Aizawa said slowly. "Well… a hell of a lot happened, that's for sure."

Hero Public Committee… Fuyu frowned, ignoring Bakugou grinding his teeth at her as she still clutched the tail end of his shirt. Lately they've been leaving a bad taste in my mouth. They weren't a huge problem when I was a kid, but after what Gram told me and Sora…

Fuyu grimaced. In the end, they're still the good guys though.

"Now then," Aizawa clapped his hands once, bringing their attention swinging his way. "I'm going to give you all a quick debriefing in regards to the dorms. But before that, just one thing."

Fuyu paused. A sinking feeling fell into her gut at Aizawa's low shift in tone. Her classmates didn't seem as bothered just yet, but Momo a few feet away seemed to have picked up on something as well.

"It's true that the plan was for you to earn 'provisional licenses' after the training camp," Aizawa said. "But you didn't get them."

Aizawa's eyes hardened, "So why were some of you walking around acting like you did?"

Midoriya stiffened in front of her. Todoroki was silent and Iida lowered his head. Their classmates broke out into slow chatter, recalling the intent to get the licenses as Aizawa shut his eyes for a moment and then faced them all evenly. "Listen up to what I'm about to say. It's important."

Without flinching, Aizawa made eye contact with each of the six of them standing beside their classmates. "Todoroki. Kirishima. Midoriya. Yaoyorozu. Iida. Kouki."

When his eyes reached Fuyu, she met them quietly, lowering her head in understanding.

"You six were present on that evening at that place… You took it upon yourselves to proceed towards the site of Bakugou's rescue."

Their classmates flinched aside from Jirou and Hagakure, who seemed to be looking around in disbelief.

"From the look of things, all of your classmates understand the weight of your behaviour in deciding to go there," Aizawa said. "A lot of things have been pigeonholed in light of everything that happened, but I'll say this now."

Aizawa raised his head. His eyes were hard chips of ice.

"If it weren't for All Might's sudden retirement…With the exception of Hagakure, Jirou and Bakugou, I would have you all expelled as punishment."

The weight of Aizawa's words and the reasoning behind them hung heavily on Fuyu's shoulders. She lowered her head this time, shutting her eyes in nothing but understanding. Todoroki had already said it himself, back then on that train, that what they were about to do was selfish and their own violation of the rules.

Think hard, Aizawa said. Fuyu forced herself to think heavy on those words. About the consequences your choices will lead to.

"It goes without saying for the six I mentioned, but the twelve who were aware of their actions and didn't stop them as well. Regardless of the reason, the fact that you all betrayed our trust doesn't change."

Fuyu flinched.

What would you do without this place?

But I don't regret it.

Do you?

"From now on," Aizawa said, without mercy, facing them all evenly, "If you would all do me the favor of following the established procedures and acting accordingly… I would very much appreciate it. And it would certainly go a long way towards restoring my trust."

Aizawa fixed them all with one last look before he turned, unbothered, "Now, that's it. Let's head in with smiles on your faces and lots of energy."

"H-His words don't match the mood at all…" Jirou mumbled, twiddling her fingers through her ear jacks.

Fuyu sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. Tsuyu was silent beside her, eyes trained hard on the ground while Ochako rubbed her wrists.

"Hey, dumbass," Fuyu blinked, looking up as Bakugou ripped himself from her grip and fisted Kaminari's shirt, dragging him off to a bush. "C'mere."

"Huh? Wait, what? Hold on, man, I don't wanna go with you—"

Electricity shot out from the bush, blinding them all in a bright flash gold. Fuyu blinked, hands raised tentatively in case something happened.

Kaminari stumbled out, thumbs thrust forward and face turned stupid. "W-Whee….!"

Jirou spit, clutching her sides. Everyone jumped, slow smiles crawling over their faces as Kaminari hopped forward, thrusting his thumbs into the air. "W-What the heck man?"

"Kirishima," Bakugou barked. Kirishima jolted, looking up as Bakugou shoved Fuyu to the side, an indignant squawk leaving her lips as he pushed her head roughly down like an arm rest and flung out a heavy wad of cash.

"Huh? What the hell man?" Kirishima paled, backing away. "Did you shake him down for that? Holy hell—"

"Wrong, you fucking dumbass," Bakugou snarled. "This is my money. Just take it, damn it. You're making me feel shitty about it!"

Kirishima blinked. His eyes went round in understanding and Fuyu floundered, shoving at Bakugou's elbow. "But where did you hear about it…"

"Who cares?" Bakugou snapped, thrusting the cash at him. He grabbed Fuyu's necktie and she choked, hacking as he hauled her a few steps off with him. "Just keep bein' a dumbass like always."

A slow, small smile touched Kirishima's lips. Fuyu's face turned blue and she snarled, shoving at Bakugou's arm, "Paws off, asshole! I just got this necktie ironed for once—"

"Where are you at, shitty Apples?"

Fuyu stopped, squinting up at Bakugou from her awkward angle. He didn't look back at her, his grip on her necktie rigid.

"...what's that supposed to—"

"I won't repeat myself, dumbass."

Bakugou hadn't just left her on read the rest of the time after she'd opened up to him about the situation and everything that happened over the past few days. A single text had been sent to her phone last night, late into the evening when she was packing beside Shinsou. A single photo filed she opened up.

A view from some rooftop. It overlooked the entire neighborhood. It seemed like he had to climb awful high to get there. Or propel himself via explosions at least.

A view from the top.

"Ready to climb even higher than you," Fuyu said simply. She felt like she meant it. Honestly. "I'm used to high places, you know."

Bakugou scoffed. His fingers unhooked from her now wrinkled tie. Fuyu stumbled back onto her feet and turned over her shoulder, watching him stalk off, hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Fuyu played with the edge of her skirt, smoothing it out. She thought about what she'd said to Bakugou that day at the police station.

"I'm angry."

"Kouki…" Fuyu stopped, looking up. Midoriya paused, folding the hand he'd been about to reach out to her back to his chest. Todoroki flanked the other side, eyes silently peering into her, assessing and contemplating. Momo, Iida and Kirishima stood beside them. "I'm glad you're here."

Fuyu felt something hard twist her chest. It sat there, heavy and warm before she absently rubbed the corner of her eye, feeling it flicker with warmth before it faded to their normal hue.

"Yeah," she said, voice lighter than she'd heard it in awhile. "Me too."

"Alright, everyone!" Kirishima shouted, thrusting the money into the air. "I know it won't make up for it, but tonight, I'm treating everyone to barbeque!"

I really am glad.

---

One class.

One entire class to this building.

Shared common space, finely decorated with sofas and tables. Bright, glistening windows with natural light streaming every which way. Massive lounge areas, a television set that looked as dangerously huge and expensive as the ones she saw in the window her first day on the way to Yuuei. A kitchen that was essentially the size of her condo with her grandparents and even more room to fit the giant, ginormous baths and laundry rooms and—

One class to this entire hotel.

Fuyu grabbed her nose, blood threatening to spill in her disbelief. Her knees hit the floor once more, shaking in horror at the sheer massiveness and grandois of the entire establishment.

"It's spacious! It's beautiful! It has sofas!" Mina cheered, eyes sparkling as her classmates filtered in through the common area, examining everything.

"There's even a courtyard!" Sero shouted.

"It's a freakin' mansion!" Ochako cried, falling over sideways.

"Uraraka!" Iida said.

"Did I hear that right?" Mineta huffed, eyes drawing toward the other corridor where the baths were designated. "Baths and laundry… shared spaces…"

"They're separated by gender, give it a rest already," Aizawa said flatly.

"Yes, sir."

"Hey, Fuyu, we're on the same floor," Jirou motioned to the room paper arrangements Aizawa pinned to the wall before the elevator. "Looks like we'll be roommates."

"Me too!" Ochako was helped to her feet by Iida, eagerly looking at the assignments. "How awesome! It's like a slumber party!"

"What a shame," Momo sighed. "I guess we can't all be on the same floor…"

"I hope you two don't mind music," Jirou mumbled, waving an earjack sheepishly. "I'll try to keep it down."

We're the only one with three girls on the floor. Fuyu eyed the paper assignment, staring at the empty rooms on the first floor. Zawa didn't want to put me alone.

Fuyu wondered if she found a bit of solace in that.

"It's not that different from my house," Todoroki said, hands in his pockets as he stared at the sheer size and looked down at Fuyu's crumpled figure. Midoriya was trying to coax her back onto her feet.

"The kitchen…" Fuyu said weakly. "'Bout the size… of my place."

Todoroki was silent, examining the entire area.

"This is about… one quarter of the size."

"Of your neighborhood, Todoroki-kun?" Midoriya questioned.

"Of my family's estate."

Fuyu beat her fist against the floor.

"Heh, who cares about the size of your house?" Bakugou snapped. "The hell you trying to compensate for?"

"Nothing really," Todoroki said simply, looking at the blonde. "How big is your home, Bakugou?"

Bakugou ground his teeth.

Momo hummed in thought, "I would say the same for my family's home… though our villa in the countryside is very similar to this."

Fuyu hacked, coughing up blood.

"Kouki, don't die!" Midoriya cried, shaking Fuyu's shoulders. "I-It's okay! The apartment with my mom is about the same! Don't worry! You'll be okay!"

"Stupid…" Fuyu coughed, face pale. "Rich kids…"

"Kouki!"

"Each room comes with an AC unit, a bathroom, a refrigerator and a closet," Aizawa explained, opening the door to one of the rooms for them to see. Her classmates all filed in, examining the offered bed and desk and area with wide eyes. "It's quite a luxurious space, if you ask me."

"There's even a veranda!" Midoriya said, looking over the balcony window as Kaminari thrust his thumbs beside him.

"The room is about the same size as my closet back home…" Momo murmured in thought. "Oh, dear…"

"It really is a mansion!" Ochako choked, falling over.

"The luggage we already had you send ahead has been delivered to each of your rooms," Aizawa said. "Use today to unpack and get settled. Tomorrow we'll continue with an explanation of our plans for the end of summer. That's all, you're dismissed."

"Yes, sir!"

Aizawa gave all their chattering, eager faces one last lingering sweep before stepping out the door. He softly pat Fuyu's shoulder on his way out, giving it a soft squeeze. Fuyu beamed up at him, waiting till he disappear around the corner of the elevator hall.

The room is… big. Fuyu realized dauntingly. She felt idly along the wooden floors, a little disappointed over the lack of tatami from her home and stared at the headboard. She always slept on a futon, so a mattress was different for her. Way bigger than I thought. Toshi's gonna make fun of me for this.

Fuyu touched the desk in the corner. I never had a desk before. I just used the small table in my room or worked at the dining table… I just had a closet too, not a dresser. Well, Zawa said we don't have to use the furniture but it's not like I brought anything new myself…

Fuyu winced. Toshi might've been right about moving being a pain after all.

Todoroki beside her looked strangely sullen as well. His eyes drifted specifically over the hardwood floors, pressing his foot against them as though to test his weight. A frown marred his features in surprising displeasure as he shifted to the bed frame, reaching out and touching it as well. He felt the prepared mattress.

"Something wrong, Roki?" Sero inquired. Todoroki went stiff, eyes flickering first to Fuyu and then to Sero.

"What?"

"You look bothered," Sero said. "Ah, wait, is it Roki?"

Todoroki blinked.

"'Cause Kouki calls you that!" Sero said cheerfully. "It kind of fits, right?"

Todoroki's brows creased, ever so slightly.

"...maybe just… Todoroki then?" Sero said weakly. "Man, why do I feel a bit rejected…"

"Oh," Jirou said, idly twirling one jack around her finger. "I think living together with everyone's going to give us a chance to see some interesting dynamics."

"I can't wait to start!" Mina cheered. "Tooru, come over and help me decorate and I'll help yours!"

"For sure!"

"I can help too—" Mineta started, only to be kicked aside by Mina's stray foot.

"Let me know if you guys need help moving anything heavy!" Ochako offered, raising her hands up.

"How manly!" Kirishima said. "Me too!"

"I can help hang anything up," Sero offered with a grin.

Fuyu thought back to her items, frowning at the size of the room. I don't even have enough stuff to fill this place up.

"Mon cheri!" Fuyu jumped, looking at Aoyama as he appeared at her elbow. "If you need help make your room more dazzling, let me know, non?"

"Oh, yeah…" Fuyu said slowly, blinking at him. "Yeah, I will. Thanks, Yama."

Aoyama beamed.

A quiet thought flickered through her head for a moment before she shoved it aside. Fuyu shook her head. She'd be fine.

You gotta be, remember?

---

Maybe she was going to have a rougher time than she thought.

Fuyu sat, legs folded beneath her on the tatami mat in the center of her room. She'd switched to the gym uniform track pants, a black spaghetti strapped tank top tucked into the waistband while she slung an orange zip-up over the back of her desk chair. Her graying hair was pulled up into a ponytail, bells clinking slightly as she surveyed the room.

Her room.

Fuyu hung up the windchime from her house out on the veranda. She still had some empty shelves and a ridiculous amount of empty space in her room stretching from the doorway to the center floor where she now sat.

Three empty boxes sat beside her, flattened and ready to be put away.

Fuyu had nothing left to unpack.

This was it. This was her room. This was… her.

And it was all… it was… well, it was plain.

Fuyu frowned, rubbing her scar with her thumb. She tugged at the edge of her futon. She could always pick up more stuff from the hundred yen shop close to campus. She needed a new lamp anyway. There was just nothing more to it. Fuyu's room had hardly looked lived in before and it hadn't changed, even now.

She tried to ignore the sound of Jirou and Ochako moving down the hall. She'd already helped them haul items into their dorms and seen enough to know she was sorely lacking in any other personality for her own room. Her most tasteful pieces were the teacup mascot and the orange futon.

"Well, who cares anyway," Fuyu muttered, rubbing the back of her neck and standing. She huffed, stuffing her hands into her pockets and pulling the veranda door open. No one's gonna judge me for my room looking like this. I just don't have a lot of stuff.

Or maybe you just don't have any personality.

Fuyu scowled in annoyance, waving the thoughts away. A warm summer breeze tugged at her bangs, brushing them back as an evening glow started to set over the dorms. She could see the other buildings from here, a huge, massive forest making the dormitories feel a little more secluded.

This is home now, huh? Fuyu crossed her arms over the top of the ledge, leaning out and listening to the absent sounds around her. This ain't so bad. It's kind of fun. I've always wondered what dorming was like.

The windchime clinked above her.

Fuyu shut her eyes.

She held onto the memory of rice crackers. The soft sound of music filling the room as Naomi cooked in the kitchen, a low sizzle of her skillet. Yagi flipping through a newspaper. The sun on her skin as she stretched out on the little patio out back, grass tickling her dangling feet.

Fuyu tried. She really did. As hard as she could.

But the loneliness came creeping, sitting heavy in her chest anyway.

Fuyu's eyes flickered over her shoulder to her bookshelf where a small box was tucked securely, hidden in the back.

….maybe I should...

"There's still one more we need to get! We can't let my precious baby get lost!"

"I already said I'm trying. Hold on."

Fuyu blinked. She peered over the top of her balcony, searching quickly for the familiar voices until her eyes landed on hot pink and peppermint split hair. Roki? And isn't that…

The girl Midoriya paired off with at the sports festival! Fuyu blinked again in surprise, watching the two of them head deeper into the forest. Mei? Yeah, Hatsume Mei from the Support department. Shuzenji-sensei was saying I should pay a visit soon to help update my costume…

What the hell are those two doing at this hour? Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck, watching the two of them until they disappeared into the treeline. Roki looked a bit stressed… huh, maybe they're close or something.

Fuyu idly thought of Mineta's words from earlier. An amused hum left her lips. Even Roki, huh?

Maybe she should visit Shinsou. Fuyu looked back into her room, trying not to frown at how it looked. Was he done packing? Maybe he wanted to spend some time with his classmates first. Or maybe she could go see if any of the others needed help…

Fuyu's eyes landed on the small box she had sitting on her bed. Several wrapped, nicely decorated bags filled the insides. She stared at them, bewildered for a second before her eyes went round in realization.

Fuyu's face twisted in wary disgust.

Well… she had to bring the furniture she wasn't using over to the support department apparently anyway so...

Shit, I should just get that over with.

---

Fuyu knocked as quickly as she could on the massive double doors, taking a step back and holding tightly to the neatly wrapped gift bag in her hand.

I'll give them seven seconds. Fuyu decided, betting on the lucky number. If they don't answer in seven seconds, I'll just leave it at the doorstep—oh, look, seven seconds.

Fuyu grinned, quickly rushing forward to set the bag down the same moment a soft click was heard on the other side. She stopped, looking up in horror as the door opened inwards.

"Yui, who is it?"

Quiet eyes blinked calmly at her startled face.

Fuyu stared back, caught like a deer in headlights. Yui stared back in silence, quietly holding the door open. She was dressed similarly in more comfortable clothes like the rest of her class who must've still been working on unpacking.

"Uh," Fuyu said. "Hey."

"It's our first house guest," Yui said quietly, opening the door wider. The inside lobby of 1-B's dorm appeared to be styled in similar fashion to their own, maybe just a few things switched around that the students might've moved themselves. "Kouki-chan."

"We have a guest?" someone shouted from deeper into the dorm. "Whadda they want?"

"Oh, go finish packing Tetsu, you're still a mess!"

"Yeah, man! You asked for help lugging these damn curtains, come help!"

"Hey! They're going to be a great workout day and night—"

Seems like they're all having a good time too. Fuyu inwardly sighed. Maybe I should just hit the hundred yen store after all...

"Kouki!" a firmer hand opened the front door wider and Fuyu grimaced awkwardly at the warm light spilling out from their dorm. Kendo appeared, t-shirt and gym pants and a little headband tied around her forehead. Boxes were spilling into the hallway behind her and Fuyu noticed Tsuraba and Awase arguing over something. "Hey!"

"Hey," Fuyu said again, feeling more awkward. She gripped her bag harder. "I just wanted to—"

"What brings you—oh, wait!" Kendo dropped her eyes up and down, "How are you feeling? Are you better now? We all wanted to check up on Class 1-A too, but Kan-sensei told us to can it when we kept asking."

"Thank you," Yui added. "For all your help."

Fuyu smiled, a small one, "Yeah, I'm all good now. And 's no problem. It was the least I could do… you guys were the real helping stopping the gas."

"But without you, I would've been in trouble!" Kendo moved as Tsuraba thrust himself forward, pointing quickly to himself. Fuyu took a step back. "That stuff in my lungs was bad business! I'm lucky Todoroki picked me up when he did!"

"Don't worry about it," Fuyu said, "it wasn't much—"

"We heard you had it really bad," Kendo said, brows creasing. "Awase said it looked like something out of a nightmare. Monoma wouldn't say anything though."

"The whole night was awful," Fuyu diffused. Yui nodded in agreement. Just let me drop this stupid thing off and go before he comes. "Hey—"

"Do you want to come in?" Kendo said. "We can offer some juice!"

"Actually, speaking of—"

"Or some snacks!" Tsuraba said. "How's 1-A's dorms?"

"About that guy—"

"Huh? What's this?"

Fuyu's face dropped. Kendo looked exasperated and Yui wordlessly shuffled to the side as two hands thrust themselves forward, pushing the double doors wider for his entrance. "1-A has come to visit? Huh? Is that a good thing? You guys have that much free time? Are you trying to scope us out before our big new mission?"

Neito Monoma's pale blonde hair was a little more mussed than usual, to Fuyu's idle observation. The guy always seemed as prim as a peacock, so she hopefully wondered if he was having a rougher time with the move. A silky looking white dress shirt was rolled up to his elbows and tucked into the waistband of his black jeans. He was giving her that weird sneer of his that bordered a nasty mile whenever he looked at her class, the same taunting aura hanging over his head.

He's real good at making the same faces those assholes in middle school made. Fuyu huffed. Monoma held the doors wide open, suddenly blocking both Kendo and Yui while Tsuraba shrugged his shoulders behind him. She couldn't read his eyes and she didn't like how it seemed like he could figure out anything he wanted from her.

"No," Fuyu said flatly. She uncomfortably looked down at her shoes, working her jaw. Just bite the bullet. "...I'll be outta your hair in a second. I just wanted to—"

"Or maybe," Monoma leaned up against the side of the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest and forcing a disgruntled Kendo back. "One of 1-A's delinquents have come to cause trouble for Vlad-sensei's precious, studious students?"

"Monoma, come on!" Kendo sighed behind him. Yui quietly stared at the nicely wrapped bag in Fuyu's hand. "Play nice for once. You know how bad they had it too—"

"Hah? Why should I?" Monoma said loudly. Kendo rolled her eyes. "They're our competitors after all! Who knows what they could be up to now, right?"

Fuyu's brows hunched. She made an ugly face, considering her words carefully. I'm no good at this.

Just do it, Fuyu.

Monoma leaned forward, eyes flashing tauntingly. Fuyu grimaced at the close proximity of his face as he peered up, batting surprisingly long blonde lashes. "Hmm? Where'd all that bravado go? Maybe you really are all bark and no bite."

Fuyu's lips twisted in a harder grimace, she hesitantly opened her mouth.

Monoma raised a careless hand, "Perhaps you just—"

The soft handles of a paper bag settled over Monoma's hand, hanging there like an ornament.

It was a pretty, pale periwinkle with a small bow at the top. A small tag hung over the side, a polite and evenly scrawled thank you present in red ink.

Monoma's mouth was still open in a half sneer, eyes staring blankly ahead as he stood there like a statue, bag hanging from his hand. Yui, Kendo and Tsuraba blinked around him, staring at the gift bag and then at Fuyu.

"It's tea from the cafe I used to work at," Fuyu said, refusing to meet their round stares. "I don't know what you like, so there's a few. 's good though, my old boss gets the best. It's just… thanks."

Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck, before she dragged her hand up, tapping the corner of her eyes, "Zawa told me… and I read the charts too… It could've been a lot worse for me if someone like you wasn't there right then and I know it ain't easy to use my Quirk for that long. I heard you needed a transfusion so there's supplements too… but you're probably fine now anyway."

Monoma was still frozen in place, staring blankly at her. Kendo pressed a hand to her mouth in surprise, a bit of a grin behind her lips.

"...so thanks for helping me," Fuyu mumbled. She scuffed her shoe along the ground, ignoring how hot her ears felt. "I really… really appreciate it."

Monoma's face shifted, slightly. There was a flicker through his pale irises, hard for her to read, and then it shut her out completely. He seemed to snap awake from his stupor, looking at the bag hanging off his hand and then back at her.

"...is this poisoned?"

I'm outta here.

Fuyu roughly shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. She turned on her heel, marching toward the box of broken down furniture she wasn't using she'd left by the front of the dorm.

"There," Fuyu said roughly over her shoulder. "Bye. Gonna go now. Need to take this shit to the support department. Thanks again. Good luck with moving—"

"Perfect timing!" Kendo shouted. "We have some stuff we need to take too! Here, I'll take this for you and—"

"Kendo, don't you dare—"

A resounding smack echoed through the courtyard and Fuyu jumped, turning with wide eyes over her shoulder. She recoiled, seeing Monoma on his hands and knees on the ground, scowling with several boxes of broken down bedposts and furniture shoved out beside him. Fuyu quickly looked up with rounder eyes at a beaming Kendo, waving one enlarged hand before she shut the door on both of them.

"Keep her company and play nice or else. Thanks for the tea, Kouki!"

Wait. Fuyu stared, watching Monoma grumble something dark under his breath, rising to his feet and brushing dirt off his knees. Wait, wait. Pale colored eyes flickered to her beneath shiny blonde bangs, watching her strangely.

Fuyu's head swung around. The yard where they were supposed to bring unused furniture to the support department was a fair walk across campus.

She looked back at Monoma wordlessly and stiffly picking up one of the boxes and turning to her with an unreadable expression.

No thanks.

Fuyu quickly stooped down, grabbing her box and heaving as she lifted it up. Without another word, she started walking, setting a brisk and fast pace toward the support department without a single glance back. Don't follow me. Don't follow me. Don't follow me—

"Eh? What's this? Why're you walking so fast, hmm?" Monoma called behind her, voice floating over. Fuyu hurriedly looked over her shoulder and balked, Monoma's pace just as brisk and hurrying right after her, expression looming and stupidly frightening. "Something wrong, Miss Health Rep?"

"Why are you walking so fast?" Fuyu snapped back, keeping her brisk pace as Monoma kept walking, only a few steps behind her now. "This ain't a race."

"I just want to hurry and drop this off as soon as possible," Monoma said breezily, lifting the box up for emphasis. "And you were so kind as to drop off a little gift of gratitude earlier, where did that little kindness go? Scared of something?"

"The fuck I'd be scared of?" Fuyu shouted at him, whirling angrily on her heel. Monoma smirked in triumph. "I just don't wanna be with you any longer than I have to!"

"But didn't you say you were thankful for me?" Monoma pressed tauntingly, suddenly in front of her and Fuyu grimaced, biting her tongue as she raised her chin at him. Monoma leered a bit closer. "Hmm? That without me, you'd be—"

"Shove off," Fuyu said roughly, jostling his box with hers. Monoma wheezed a startled breath, catching his foot to steady himself and Fuyu turned, ignoring him as she continued to walk, albeit more easily. "I already said thanks. My debt is paid."

"With tea?" Monoma quipped. She could hear his even footsteps behind her. "I had to cut myself you know, and waste all that blood…"

"Good tea," Fuyu said darkly. "Worth more than your blood. Don't knock it till you try it."

"Hmph," Monoma said. "How do you know how much my blood is worth?"

How'd I get stuck with this guy? Fuyu made a face, keeping her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. She just needed to dump these items and book it back to the dorm. This is why I should've just tossed it at the front door and left. I knew I'd have to deal with him if I did it in person.

"He's a good guy," she remembered Kendo saying sheepishly. "His heart's just a little… black."

His personality sucks. Guys like him rile me up too easy. Fuyu paused, looking down to her hands wrapped around the hefty box before her.

….well, my personality isn't that great either.

Fuyu felt her shoulders tighten at the thought. A small frown touched her lips.

"I'm angry."

Maybe her heart was a little—

"Why orange?"

Fuyu blinked. She looked incredulously over her shoulder to where Monoma was staring unhappily ahead at her, clearly judging her bright orange jacket.

"...don't talk to me," Fuyu said slowly. "You're a terrible guy." I won't be responsible if I punch you this time instead of spraying blood or smearing wasabi on your pants.

"It's such a weird color," Monoma complained loudly.

"You're weird," Fuyu said flatly. "Orange is a fine color, leave it alone."

"You're weird," Monoma mimicked. "What are you, five?"

Fuyu refused to rise to his bait, huffing and scrunching her shoulders forward in her attempt to ignore him. Monoma sighed through his nose, looking bored behind her as he walked at his own, leisurely pace. He dully watched the absent sway of her ponytail, glancing at her scuffed up sneakers.

"...it's a fun color."

Monoma snorted, slapping a hand over his mouth and balancing the box under one arm to stifle his laughter.

Fuyu practically snarled back at him, hurrying off as he rolled his eyes. "So not cute. No grace or poise or even elegance. How're you going to get popular like that? Hasn't Recovery Girl taught you anything about bedside manner?"

"Should I put you in the infirmary so you can find out?" Fuyu said darkly ahead of him. Monoma let out a dramatic sigh but carefully kept a wary eye on her in case she made true of her threat.

"See?" Monoma said loudly. "If the image you're going for is a fun and friendly nurse, I don't think you're delivering. Your ratings will plummet before they start."

"Yeah?" Fuyu said. "What's your look? Asshole?"

She could practically feel the smugness radiating off of him behind her, simply happy to have gotten another rise out of her. He was just going to go back and slander to his classmates about the devils in 1-A.

Just keep your mouth shut, Fuyu. Fuyu kept her eyes on the prize, focusing on the pavement to get to the support department's dorm. He's just messing with you. You're good at this. You can keep your mouth shut.

Who was she kidding? This was the one thing she absolutely sucked at. There's more than this I suck at. Shinsou was always reminding her of how short her fuse was.

"Why 1-A?"

Here we go again— Fuyu stopped, almost tripping over her next step. She carefully kept walking, processing Monoma's question.

"Huh?" Fuyu said dumbly.

"I said," Monoma let out another long, dramatic sigh. "Why 1-A?"

"Why 1-A what?" Fuyu said.

Monoma looked as though she were the very bane of his existence, as though he couldn't imagine a more insufferable source of life. Fuyu considered how bad she'd get it from Aizawa from beating the teeth out of this guy.

"Why," Monoma said, overly sweet, pointedly making an effort to talk to her like a child, "were you placed into 1-A instead of 1-B?"

"Does it matter?" Fuyu said, trying to work his question out in her head and check it for any signs of snark. She couldn't really find any. Is he just asking a curious question? "I'm supposed to help both classes anyway."

"You're dumber than I thought if you think it doesn't," Monoma said breezily. Fuyu glared at him. "It changes the dynamics in all their entirety. You're dorming with 1-A, aren't you?"

Oh. Fuyu made a face. I guess I see his point. "...it's because Zawa. Since he teaches 1-A, it'd be easier for him to keep in touch and keep an eye on me."

"Wouldn't Vlad-sensei have been the more logical choice?" Monoma pressed. "Considering the nature of your Quirk."

"Yeah," Fuyu said. "But it was one of the conditions of me attending Yuuei, so I ended up in 1-A."

"Conditions?" Monoma said. His eyes sparkled with interest, "No, that's right. You're technically here for a health program. You didn't take the entrance exam like the rest of us."

"I took the written one," Fuyu said. "But not the practicum, that's right. The program is new… since they made it with me in mind, so hopefully next year they can open it up to more students who might be interested."

"Ehhh," Monoma dragged out the word with a low jeer, eyes sparkling with a taunt. "So you got in on a nice little freebie, didn't you? How fortunate for 1-A."

Fuyu stopped walking. Monoma stopped just as quick, readying himself with wary eyes at her back.

"No," Fuyu turned, looking at him over her shoulder. Wind tugged tufts of bangs from their faces and Monoma arched a brow, keeping his face cool.

Fuyu's eyes were settled, quiet.

"I'm the fortunate one," Fuyu said. "I don't mind if people tell me it's unfair, because I get it." She looked back ahead of her. "Instead of locking me up in a hospital, I got to come here… I'm real lucky."

Fuyu kept walking. She didn't see Monoma's face behind her. She didn't see the unreadable sharpness he watched the back of her head with.

"But hey," Fuyu added, "if you think being in A is supposed to mean we're better than B, I think you're the dumb one."

Monoma's brow twitched. "I don't think Class 1-A is the better class—"

"Hey! You guys are first years, right? Hero course!" Fuyu came to an easy halt and Monoma nearly bit his tongue, stopping just inches for jostling into her. The two of them turned to where a group of students were sorting through massive heaps of...stuff. Towering piles of metallic items and furniture flooded the courtyard of the dorm. A third year based on the form of his uniform hurried to them, waving a hand and wiping grease from his cheek.

"What is all this stuff?" Fuyu said, unable to stop her eyes from roving over the practical garage sale happening before them. "Is this everyone's junk?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it junk," the third year said, a bit defensive. "One man's trash is another man's treasure! These are all items our support students have been developing. Our dorms are all the same, but the support dorms have a custom forge too for late night lab and working hours. A lot of our kids made their own furniture or tried to design some Quirk-friendly objects for their own rooms… and well, not all of it fits the bill."

"So junk," Monoma said dully beside her.

"Not junk," the third year corrected. "Salvageable. Feel free to take a look through everything and take anything you like! If you're dropping off unused furniture, you can just leave it right there."

"Finally," Monoma said, setting his box down. Fuyu realized practically all of his dorm furniture was inside the heavy box, broken down and… minimized? Someone's Quirk? Fuyu set her box down beside his. "That took a senseless amount of time."

Monoma pointedly stared at her.

Fuyu ignored him, "Did you keep anything from your room?"

"Please," Monoma scoffed, waving a hand. "You expect me to use that tacky furniture? I brought all of mine from home."

"Oh," Fuyu said. She played with her fingers, "So it must be… really personalized, right?"

Monoma stared at her for a moment.

A small, condescending sigh left his lips with pointed force. Fuyu scowled, rolling her jacket sleeves back. That's it, I'm gonna let him have it. Monoma wordlessly pulled out his phone from his back pocket, scrolling languidly through his screen before he promptly shoved it into her face. Fuyu grunted, moving her head back and gingerly examining the bright screen before her.

It's a completely different room?

Fuyu grabbed hold of his phone, taking a second look with wide eyes. The walls had been painted over in sunset hues and pastels. Fancy looking curtains now draped his veranda, his bed, his desk, every piece of furniture had a foreign air to it that screamed—what, European maybe? She stared at it in disbelief, realizing even his photo frames and pieces of art were personal touches and…

This makes my room look like crap.

"I know," Monoma said simply, running a hand through his silky locks, chin high in the air. "Amazing, isn't it? Unlike 1-A, we worked hard to stylize our rooms to the utmost perfection. Not a single detail went to waste. I bet yours looks nothing like this—"

Monoma acked, hands flying into the air as his phone hit him square across the eyes. He threateningly raised it above his head, vein throbbing darkly as Fuyu shoved her hands deep into her pockets and hurried over to one of the piles of junk, stooping down onto her knees.

Monoma stared at her for a second before smirking. He pressed a hand to his mouth, leering over her, "Eh? What's this?"

"Shut up," Fuyu said, sticking her hands in deep and rifling through items. "Go home. Aren't you done here?"

"Are you really going to look through all this junk to find something to decorate your room?" Monoma set his hands on his hips, looking over her shoulder and watching her play with a weird looking lamp in the shape of Principal Nezu's face. " Don't tell me it's that sad."

Fuyu tossed the lamp carelessly over her shoulder, smashing into Monoma's chin.

"So uncouth," Monoma said darkly, rubbing his bruising chin and raising a threatening hand above her head. "Not beautiful at all. Can't hold a candle to the girls in our class."

"Have you seen Momo?" Fuyu muttered. Monoma rolled his eyes, crossing his arms firmly over his chest and watching over her head from a safer distance.

Fuyu contemplated a strange device in her hands. It was shaped like an egg and according to the note attached to it, would unfold into a spinning chair.

"Put that down, it's atrocious."

"I ain't gonna repeat myself—why are you even still here?"

"Hah? Are you saying 1-A owns this too? Last I checked, this was the support department's—"

"1-A, 1-A, 1-A," Fuyu said. "Do you wanna transfer or what? You never stop talking about us."

"Oh? Is that a challenge? I hear a challenge—"

"Who are those guys?" a girl walked over to where the third year was trying to sort through more items. "They're a bit noisy."

"Some first years from the hero course," he said. "Might kick them out if they get louder."

"Eh? They must be close," she sighed. "How nice. The first years in the hero course are so cute this year… total babes."

"No matter what you find in this pile," Monoma said loudly. Fuyu felt a vein throb. "It isn't going to make your room look any better."

"Yeah," Fuyu agreed. "I feel the same way about your face."

"You know, I think I should—"

Fuyu pointedly tuned Monoma out, frowning curiously as she tugged a small wooden cube out from the pile of metal. It was a slender, boxy little thing, smooth to the touch. Fuyu tipped her head to the side, turning it around in her hands. A small latch revealed itself at the corner of the box and she hooked her finger under it, pulling.

"Hey, wait!" the third year shouted. "Take a step back from that one before it opens—"

Fuyu wheezed, air rushing out of her lungs as the edge of a table slammed into her gut. Monoma's bark of laughter was cut off by his own pitiful wheeze, her head smashing into his stomach as they toppled back onto the floor. A fluffy, heavy blanket flattened over Fuyu's face and she quickly scrambled up, her palm smashing into Monoma's face. "What the hell was—"

Fuyu blinked.

A sleek, polished wooden table was the surface. Right below it and nicely fitted to the side was a fluffy comforter, the blanket and fabric thick and promising to keep warm and a soft shade of orange.

A kotatsu.

Fuyu blinked again.

"Who would make such a ridiculous thing?" Monoma snapped, brushing dirt off his shirt as he stood, scowling. "A kotatsu? In the middle of summer?"

"One of my classmates," the third year sighed. "She thought it would be nice. A portable kotatsu ain't a bad idea, but it clashed with the colors of her room. Sorry, I'll put a warning label on it and—"

"Can I have this?"

Monoma and the third year looked at her in disbelief.

Fuyu softly placed a hand on the top of the table, eyes shining brightly, face eager and hopeful.

"Please?"

---

"Can you wipe that disgusting smile off your face? It's giving me the creeps."

Fuyu ignored Monoma's jeers, walking happily with the wooden cube in her hands. A pleased smile was stretched stupidly wide over her lips, a little bounce to her step as Monoma walked grumpily beside her, hands crossed over his chest, nursing a bruise under his chin.

This is gonna brighten up my room for sure. She was confident. There was no worrying about personality anymore after this. Who else would have a kotatsu in their room? No need to worry about anything else!

Monoma pretended to be sick beside her, cupping a hand over the lower half of his face and staring dully at Fuyu's contented expression.

"Of course you would be happy over such trivial things," Monoma said. "Fitting."

"Careful," Fuyu said easily. "I might get too excited and get a nosebleed. I'd hate to see it get on you."

Monoma recoiled in disgust, watching with narrowed eyes. Fuyu grinned to herself, rolling the cube between her fingertips. Monoma scoffed, "You know, maybe I should have let you bleed out."

"You're lucky Zawa was there to walk you through using my Quirk," Fuyu cut in, flashing him a side-eye. Monoma looked at her in disbelief. "It's not easy to get used to. Takes time and training. Good thing you weren't the one bleeding out."

"What's that supposed to imply?" Monoma said. "I found myself adjusting to your Quirk quite nicely. I think maybe it's just you."

"Sure, sure," Fuyu said. "But you had to seperate between using the other one, right? It's hard to turn it off sometimes." And it's a good thing you didn't use that one either. Fuyu grimaced. That could've been much worse.

"That little red string thing?" Monoma sneered. "I'd hardly call it difficult."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Fuyu waved a hand his way. Monoma narrowed his eyes.

Well, I am thankful you were there. Fuyu kept that thought to herself. She raised the box up to the sky, lightly tossing it up and catching it between her fingertips. "Your Quirk's pretty cool at the end of the day, I guess."

"Don't tell me what I already know," Monoma complained, but his voice was a little tighter, harder. "I especially don't want to hear it from you."

"Can't win with ya," Fuyu sighed in aggravation, "Whatever, it's the perfect Quirk for a hero." Lucky son of a bitch. Wish I could copy Quirks.

Monoma paused. Fuyu didn't look back, not even noticing. "Copying any Quirk? You'd give plenty of pros a run for their money."

"Oh?" Monoma said behind her. His voice was calm, taunting. His hands were limp at his sides. "You don't think it's the perfect Quirk for a villain?"

"Well, if it was used by someone bad, any good Quirk would be a good Quirk for a villain," Fuyu said roughly. She frowned. Toshi used to say the same thing. "Why are people always saying that? A good villain Quirk. If you ask me, blood is a plenty gruesome Quirk. What if I went around just—"

Something tugged softly at the back of Fuyu's mind. It was a weird sensation, one she felt like she'd never experienced before. Maybe once, a long, long time ago. In a way she couldn't possibly remember. She turned, eyes warming as she blinked.

Monoma's hands were casually in his pockets. The sun was already setting, casting both of them in a darkly rich, golden glow. Their shadows stretched out before them, long and promising against the cement. He cocked his head back, the picture of languid ease. Fuyu stared in blatant surprise.

A warm ring of red circled Monoma's irises, illuminated the pale violet of his eyes. Fuyu's eyes warmed in return, as though on instinct, red flickering brighter to life.

He casually examined his hand, touching his eye and then sighing. "Hmph. Doesn't seem particularly difficult to me."

"When did you…" Fuyu blinked, realizing it must've been from when she fell on him. "Huh, so you can use it. It's kind of weird seeing it on someone else."

Maybe even kind of nice.

Mama and I were the only ones.

"See?" Monoma said breezily, but there was a funny look on his face, a weird scrunch between his brows. "Nothing to it."

"It's kinda nice, right?" Fuyu couldn't help but press, a little curious, ignoring his jibe. "Do you feel any different? Like a little hum in your veins or a thump thump in your chest."

Monoma experimentally glanced down, arching a brow at his own string. It was a smooth piece of work, shiny and pale red, like a faded rose. It had the texture of silk compared to yarn. Fuyu watched it coast in the air as Monoma's hand reached out, letting it sit in his palm.

Monoma scoffed, "I don't see the big deal."

"It's nice!" Fuyu protested, stepping closer to him and motioning carefully to his string. Monoma followed her hands, eyes catching onto something else. New curiosity flickered through his eyes. "You have to actually touch someone's string to feel it. Everyone has a different sensation, but when they're not bleeding or something, it's warm. Even you, I guess and I... I dunno, I just never expected that from you. It's kinda nice."

Monoma's hand reached out.

Fuyu grinned, "But you have to be careful not to—"

His fingers lightly clasped over the ghost-like thing.

Fuyu realized what was happening a second too late.

Monoma shut his eyes, contemplating the sensation. His body did feel warm. A huge flood of it rushed through his chest, urging it to swell, beat in tandem with some unknown force. Her own? It warmed his fingertips and thrummed energy through him, turning up his attentiveness in a manner that wasn't painful. Aware. Like wearing headphones to only hear one thing. No big deal at all.

Monoma sighed, rolling his eyes open. "See? No big deal at all—"

She was frozen in place, absolutely immobilized by some invisible, incomprehensible force. Her hands were half raised, as though to put some sort of shield up, tense and rigid in the air. Her shoulders hunched, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, mouth open wide in disbelief, like she'd been about to shout. Her eyes were glowing and her chest was rising and falling, quick little lifts and dips. Monoma arched a brow at the strange behavior—

Monoma paused.

It started slow and took him a moment to realize it. Her ears colored first, deep and dark and standing out stupidly noticeable against her gray hair. Her cheeks followed next, flushed, dark and crimson and flooded with mortified embarrassment. By something as she stared helplessly in shock at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Monoma's eyes slowly traveled to his hand. Her wispy little string laid against his fingertips, sitting in his palm, near floating. She stared at where his hand connected with it with such rapt attention, face growing darker and darker and body trembling a bit, staring doe eyed at him and my, my, my what kind of expression is that?

Monoma couldn't take his eyes off her. His good sense told him to make fun of this moment, jeer at her. Have fun with it. Give the string a rough, careless tug. What a rare chance to see the loud, angry, belligerent girl quiver like a fawn in front of him. Belittle some sort of comment about how even she couldn't withstand the tables being turned or was helpless within his own hands—

He watched the deep crimson of her cheeks. The flushed, dewy look on her face. Fuyu's hands suddenly flew up, splaying over her cheeks, trying to hide behind her fingers. "I-I—uh, I—"

She stumbled for words. She ducked her head, hiding. Monoma stared, fascinated. Transfixed. "I just—um, I've never had… it feels so weird. Didn't know this was how… others felt… maybe I should just—"

Spurred by some unknown instinct, Monoma slowly twirled his finger, wrapping her string tighter around his index. He gave it the softest tug.

Fuyu jerked. Her eyes went round. Her cheeks flushed an even darker red. She looked about ready to explode. Her knees trembled. She stuttered, grabbing her chest, just over her heart. Her other hand stretched out shakily to him.

"W-Wait—"

Monoma's thumb ghosted over her string, dragging his finger down it in a single, fluid stroke. Fuyu squeaked in surprise.

He stroked his thumb down it again, feeling the soft touch of fabric. It trembled, warm and pulsing against his touch, like little jolts of electricity, not unpleasant, almost—

Pain exploded across the side of his cheek like a punch to the face. Monoma jerked in surprise, eyes dropping the red hue and the strings disappearing from his vision. He grabbed his cheek in disbelief, realizing he hadn't actually been punched, that the feeling of being punched had been conveyed.

Monoma looked up, holding his now bleeding nose

Fuyu's fist still waited in the air, ready for a second strike. Her cheek was void of any remains of where she'd punched herself in the face. Her eyes were almost watery, hot with anger and embarrassment as she bared her teeth at him, cheeks still flushed impossibly red and Monoma stared.

"I said wait!" Fuyu shouted, voice trembling. She pressed a hand to her mouth, shielding the lower half of her face. "I-I, it's a weird feeling! You can't just surprise people like that and you can't just… just touch it however ya want!"

Monoma stood statue still, staring at Fuyu as he held his bleeding nose. She threateningly raised a trembling fist, cheeks red as apples. Fuyu bit her bottom lip and grabbed her cube off the ground, clipping him roughly in the shoulder as she rushed past him.

"Hope you choke on the tea, asshole!"

Fuyu ran for the dorm, tugging her hood over her head and pulling her strings tight to cover her face. She thumped a fist against her chest, running as fast as she could and stop beating, stop beating, stop beating so damn loud! He just caught you by surprise!

She… she didn't know that's what it felt like to have someone connect to you. She just grabbed strings—she didn't… didn't fondle them like that! Fuck! That felt so weird—She'd just punch him properly the next time she saw him and call it even.

Fuyu let out a garbled cry of frustration, running faster.

She should've just tossed it at the door.

---

Monoma pulled his hand away from his nose, looking at the beads of red on his fingertips. He idly felt a little thrum beneath it, watching the blood float into the air and flicking it aside. Monoma dully stared at his hand, idly flexing his fingers once, touching his index to his thumb.

"D-Don't do it without permission, asshole!"

Ah.

"Huh? Monoma, what are you doing sitting out here?" Awase hefted the boxes further onto his shoulders. Tsuraba looked around his elbow, the two of them staring at their classmate. "Hey, weren't you with Kouki earlier?"

"Did she head back?" Tsuraba asked.

"Oh, shit," Awase said, noticing the growing welt on Monoma's cheek. "Did she punch you? Damn, dude, what the hell did you say?"

Monoma scoffed. He stood up, wiping dirt off his hands and calmly carding his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs back over his head. "Just remember 1-A is full of ruthless brutes."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened," Awase mused.

Monoma wordlessly placed a hand over his mouth, a contemplative look on his face as he stared down the path to 1-A's dorms.

So you can make faces like that too, hmm?

"Hey, he's got that weird look on his face. We should call Kendo."

---

Next Chapter:

A piece of everyone's colors. Waking up in an unfamiliar place. That boy and where he roams, the girl and where she will walk.

"You didn't forget, right? The sight of that door opening."

---

I REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. MISS DOING THE COMMENTS SECTIOOOOOOONNN, I just haven't had time to copy and paste the highlights for you guys, forgive this foolish soul, I'll do it again soon ;-; I miss your funny comments, thank you for blessing me with everything.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE TOO, AHAHAH ITS TIME TO START SOME WHOLESOME HEALING IN SERIES OF SEGEMENTS YAHOO. Will it be successful? Let's find out! The current events happening in the manga literally have me foaming at the mouth, and dude, my guys, if things go the way I think they're gonna go, it's going to fit GOOOOD with what I want to introduce into this story and the big debate I have on where I want to make a really big turn in things going forward, but we still got some time before that. :)

:)

I hope you all had amazing and wonderful holidays, I took some huge, well needed rest and spent some time with my family and then worked a shit ton of shifts to make up for that budget deficit the holidays always leave behind :,) Thanks for waiting for this update, next one we'll get more into some dorm goods and a scene I've been waiting to finally have is gonna show up! I think some of you know what it is!

Orchids!

I like Monoma more than I realize sometimes, he's an unexpectedly interesting dynamic for me when I place him with someone like Fuyu who wants to be an asshole to him but realizes she shouldn't be if he's not being obnoxious but then he is but then Fuyu is tired and Monoma is sneaky. I hope it was fun seeing him and MINETA THIS CHAPTER, FUCKING MINETA, I KINDA LIKE WRITING HIM MORE THAN I THINK TOO AHAHAHA.

Thank you all so much for your support and your well wishes and everything, thank you a thousand times over and don't forget Heroes Rising is coming to North America and Canada in February! HOPE TO SEE SOME OF YALL IN THEATRES ;)

(Me, ignoring all the people I've brought to tears with the last chapters and decides to throw all this fun shit in your face)

I'm working on a special chapter I want to put out reaaaaallly soon to celebrate this story and thank you guys and for all your support, I hope you'll all enjoy it! It's been fun to write!

Next chapter, we see Fuyu's room!

Thanks for reading!

Marshmellow-

-OUT!