The cold bit fiercely as the group ventured back out onto the sidewalk. Kairi pulled at her scarf, hiding from the harshness around them. They had spent the last week studying safety procedure, rescue tactics, and methods of advanced first aid. They covered demonstrations in class, but once home, they were meant to spend time thoroughly reviewing diagrams and reading through their textbooks. The aggressive studying didn't seem to have the same impact as it did when they were learning how to investigate a situation, or when they studied how to read villains, for the most part. That much was action-packed, the stuff one would see in films when a movie about a loved superhero came out. First responder material was the kind of content often skipped over when a film was shown on the big screen, and many seemed to become drained by it, no matter how important it was. There were the few who were still attentive to it, but it was only a handful of the class. Even Shoto, who excelled in nearly everything in class, was finding his attention drift from it slightly. Though, part of that could be attributed to how often he and Kairi found excuses to study together. But Kairi quickly became absorbed in her studies around it, in a way she had never found herself to be. As a result, most of her friends had pleaded with her to take a break with them and go out for a movie. After Shoto expressed a strong desire to go, she found it impossible to turn him down. So for the next few hours, she left the textbook and researched websites alone to join in the newest film, a box office hit that had only just come out. It was hard for her to not be restless throughout the film, as much as she enjoyed it.

"Who kills the main character in the middle of the film!" Momo expressed, as the group chattered out of the cinema.

"That seems as if it was the art of the film," said Iida. "He was never meant to be the main character; it was a device used to the trick the audience!"

"It seemed the focus shifted to his sister, ribbit," said Tsu thoughtfully as they walked down the street. "Representing how she was always overlooked her whole life because her brother always had the bigger quirk and was destined for great things. But her quirk turned out to be just as great and useful, if not moreso, even if it seemed more subtle."

"Hm," Shoto replied thoughtfully, eyeing Kairi as she remained quiet while walking behind the bulk of them.

"I found the ending to be the most thrilling of them all!" answered Yuga, sounded passionate in his answer. "The whole time, her best friend was the one who had always seen her potential and held her so high, and yet she never seemed to value it til the end! Oh, I shed a single tear when her friend finally confessed their love for her and she found she loved them back! What a beautiful way to end it!"

"It really illustrated how the most unexpected person can become a hero," Izuku said, who had still been a bright red from how close he had tried to sit to Uraraka throughout the whole movie. She also, was inexplicably growing suspiciously bright.

"Yeah! It really was inspiring!" she said. "I admit I struggled to follow the first fifteen minutes..."

"It started slow and subtle," Izuku offered as a response. The comment finally drew Kairi's eyes, exchanging a knowing gaze with Shoto.

"Not as subtle as hiding your holding hands under your coat," Shoto coughed out lowly. Kairi snickered quietly, her hand flying over her mouth to cover it up.

"You okay over there?" Uraraka said.

"Uh, yeah, perfectly fine!" Kairi said hurriedly, still giving Shoto a mischievous smile.

"Why don't we get something to eat?" Yuga said, pointing down the length of sidewalk where a café waited some several blocks down. "I'm positively famished and it's nearing dinner time!"

"Uh, well, I kinda want to get back to studying," Kairi answered softly.

"Another hour won't kill us," Momo said with begging eyes. "And besides, you've been pouring over those books harder than anyone."

"That's true. I can't recall the last time you've offered to speak so much in class," Iida said.

"You've also been incredibly focused in class," Yuga said, hanging back to walk alongside Kairi and Shoto. "Something about our rescue lessons has really captivated you, hasn't it?"

"If you're eager to get back..." Shoto began, gesturing towards the direction of the closest bus stop. A scan over her friends faces told her all their emotions in that moment. They smiled for her benefit, but it was all forced. They looked excited to finally get out of the dorm and have some fun, and looked disappointed for her to be wanting to go home so badly. Her guilt clenched. She was getting some of the highest marks on her work the last week or so, and she hadn't stopped to take a break to watch anything or play her game even. A reminder from her counselor to recognize when she needed a break and to take care of herself reverbed in her mind. She desperately wanted to continue going over her notes so much that they would just be second nature to her should a rescue situation occur. But the logic just wriggled through her. It just felt right. Kairi mentally shoved aside at that desperation, choosing to follow through on her friends desires. Not only was important to keep close to her friends, but she needed to learn to take a break now and then.

"What's another hour?" she asked, surrendering with a smile. Her friends seemed to light up and carry on down the sidewalk. With skips in their strides, they pushed on through the icy weather. Kairi rolled her gloved hands together, trying to arise more warmth beyond the thing fabric. It wasn't an empty part of town, but it was less quiet. Her friends had taken great care to choose this part of the city to help made things a bit easy for Kairi, especially since she hadn't originally wanted to go out. It was hard to know if this part of town was older and a little more worn looking because it was more mellow, or if was the opposite effect. While clean and friendly, many of the buildings on the outside had a much more rustic look which could make one wonder if perhaps they were up to code or not. It was hard to not notice the tall apartment building across from the café that had seen better days. It was industrial in its look and some of the siding was discolored. The integrity of one or two balconies were suspicious, but a corner of the building did seem to be covered by plastic with a company's name plastered all over it. So it was hopeful it was getting a major remodel done to it.

The host greeted them as they slid into the café. It was one of those cafes that had a humble appearance and wasn't often thought of as anything special; but their reviews were fantastic and their staff and food was always exquisite. Shoto excused himself to head to the restroom while the others took their seats at the table they were showed. Kairi looked up at the apartment building across from the street, following the curiosity spark at some strange fluttering movement. Once the wind revealed it had been the plastic on the remodel, her gut settled and she returned to the menu.

A buzz moaned against her purse and Kairi hand flew to fish it out. The screen lit up with the unwelcome characters and she punched the red button. Shaking her head, she dropped her phone back into her purse. Momo looked on with concern.

"Have you told her you want nothing to do with her yet?" she whispered quietly. Kairi pouted, defeat falling on her.

"I... I haven't found the strength to."

"You shouldn't really keep just ignoring her calls and texts," Momo reminded. Her throat tightened by her conscience's reminder.

"I... know that," she sighed, eyes falling on a listing for a sandwich she thought looked nice. "I've been telling her I've been busy with schoolwork. Which is true enough but... I just..." She looked up again, catching a shadow across the flutter on the plastic. But it didn't look natural. The shadow moved and seemed out of place. Suspicion pulled her from her seat.

"Kairi?" Yuga asked as she paced towards the window. The shadow was gone again, but she kept her gaze on it. The girl narrowed her eyes, watching closely.

"Is everything all right?" Iida asked. Tsu looked on with concern. Izuku frowned and slowly rose from his own seat, watching.

The shadow came back. Something moved in an arch, almost waving down at them. The shadow was small, barely noticeable, but it had a striking appearance to-

"That's a hand," Kairi said. Vigilance rose in her gut, causing the others to tear from their seats and run to the window. She pulled at the door and stepped out on the sidewalk. There was a very quiet wind, softening the city's sounds around them. Kairi pushed her focus, dampening the sudden emotions that were trying to work up a worry. If she was worried and frantic, that wouldn't help her now and she needed to calm herself. Taking in several breaths, she turning her attention to the building. There; another shouting. And the quietest, most tender of cries ever to be heard.

"Help..." it said. It wasn't even clear the age range, or the gender of such a voice. Not that any of that mattered. Someone was stuck in that reconstruction, trying to wave something down and crying out.

"There's someone stuck up there!" she cried through the still open door of the café. The groups scuffling could be heard just as she let it slam behind her, darting across the street.

Shoto emerged from the restroom, coolly making his way to the table his friends were sitting. But they were gathered near the large window, just as the café door fell shut. The three other patrons in the café clamored up from their tables and ran to the other window. A server left a table to run to the door to look out it, while the other three behind the counter clamored about for something to do, one of them picking up a phone. Izuku pulled away from the group and apologized to the server as he pushed her aside and ran out the door. Tsu was close behind him.

"What is going on?" Shoto asked, staring out the window with the rest of his remaining friends.

"Kairi saw something... heard something... I'm not sure," Yuga stammered, as he pointed at the scaffolding. "She said someone is stuck up there and ran across the street." Having enough information, Shoto turned away and ran out the door himself.

Kairi stood at the base of the building, looking between the narrow gaps of the alleyway and assessing the environment she was working with. The screaming had become louder and was a little clearer, but the easy wind had still removed most of its din.

"There is someone up there!" Izuku said, giving her a proud look. She ignored it, deciding now was not the time to be flattered. She was looking across, noticing that since the building was older, there didn't seem to be any visible escape route in case of an emergency. And even if there were, it might be covered by the scaffolding and plastic around the side.

"I need to get up there," Kairi said, seeing Shoto come up behind Tsu. Her eyes looked over to the café, watching her friends stream out one by one. "Are you able to shoot your ice to make something that can be climbed?"

"I can't make anything that complex," he said. "Not yet anyway. The most I can make is something similar to a slide and you will have a hell of a time getting up that." Her attention went to Momo, having just joined the group.

"Are you able to make a ladder?"

"I can..." she replied sheepishly. "But for something that big to reach that high, it's going to take some time..." Kairi swore quietly, and then looked over a dumpster, then at the row of air conditioning units. Her eyes followed up, seeing a pipe trail around the building and disappear under the bottom of the plastic covering. Under the material, was a complicated side of framing and scaffolding she could use to her heart's delight. Her mind zoomed, connecting the angles of the path. She would have to move quickly, and it was possible some of it wasn't very stable. But whatever was going on, whatever situation this, someone could be trapped and it was possible there was no time to worry about it. She needed to act, right away.

He watched the way her eyes moved, guiding over the makeshift journey. Slowly, as it came to him what she was planning, connecting her path, his gut fell. He knew her too well to know exactly what she was coming up with. He had seen her during their training battles; he had watched the way she analyzed not so obvious routes in video games, and he had first seen that look; that startling, intense, focused look he had become so endeared to and admired so much. She had a knock to just look at the distance between things and was aware of her own abilities to know how any angles lay between them, if she could make the distance, and how she would need to contort her own body to do so.

"I've called the police!" shouted one of the servers from the café. "They're on their way!"

"They won't get here in time," Kairi said coolly. The coat was bulky, restraining her too tightly. Quickly, she began to drop her gloves and then her scarf. The hat fell to the ground. The coat fell with a heavy thunk. The cold's sharpness was instant and began to seep into her bones. Shuddering away all thoughts of just how much she was freezing, she took a sharp breath and slipped off her panda sweatshirt. Shoto took it from her quickly, horrified at how quickly she was about to just drop it onto the ground. But his terror was deeper for her, as the entire group watched her step out of her jeans and her boots. She was standing in nothing but a t-shirt, leggings, and socks.

"What are you doing?" Shoto hissed.

"I can't hesitate," she said, pulling a hair tie off her wrist and winding it around her head. Icy razorblades wound themselves around her as the wind picked up again. Her body rippled in protest. "A few seconds could mean all the difference, remember?"

"At the risk of yourself?" he asked.

"The police are going to take their time!" she snapped, scowling. She placed a foot on the edge of the dumpster. "There's nothing around here to get us up there safely, Momo will take too long. Nobody here has a quirk that will help us out fast enough. I can't fight and I can't strategize and I haven't grasped the ability to make decisions without emotions mucking it up. But what I am is the best damn climber in the class, a fact you have even pointed out on multiple occasions. When it comes to saving someone you can't hesitate."

"But without your clothes?" Tsu said. "Once you're up there you're going to freeze!"

"Hopefully I can jump in and jump out in time... but I can climb faster without all this shit. If I can't get out quickly, well... I guess we'll figure it out once I know the situation."

"This building is old! That scaffolding doesn't look stable," Shoto said quickly. His insides were caving in, a strange panic beginning to rise. He usually was able to keep his cool, in even the worst of situations. But his soul was fretting, pleading for him to listen to his words. "What if you get hurt?"

"Occupational hazard of a hero, remember?" she reminded him calmly. She waited for the flopping in her center to happen, the response that told her this was scary, and she shouldn't do it. But then, she reminded herself there was no time to focus on that fear. If she did, she may back out and not want to save whoever this was. Then, she would be completely useless as a hero. It was a vital to get help to whoever needed it, she couldn't fall into that fear. Hard as it was, she screamed internally that it was vital to do this. She needed to help. But Shoto still looked at her fearfully. Never had she noticed such a look on him. He had been involved in terrifying things, had to fight monstrous villains in the past. Yet he had always looked so collected. Not this time though. He looked anxious. Her heart tugged, recognizing it was because he feared for her.

Kairi shot out a hand, gripping his wrist.

"I know," she said. "But you know I can do this. I'm a rescuer." A timid smile broke through his worry.

"Yes." He reached forward and firmly took her hand. "You are." With a less than comforting smile, Kairi launched herself up, hanging by her fingertips on the air conditioning box. Shoto spun, holding a commanding finger to Momo.

"Momo, start making that ladder, please!" Without protest she began to fumble through her jacket, digging until she turned away from her friends and faced the wall, opening her shirt.