Dreaming of Stars

by Gushy48

Sanji Inochi, a selfless man who is unable to use his Quirk—Dreams, being considered Quirkless. Through luck and seemingly-impossible odds, he finds his way to U.A. High School in Class 1-B. With what Life brings to 1-B, the society that they live in—the Hero Society—will forever be altered. (x-posted on AO3 and Quotev/bi-weekly schedule)

46. The Hidden Battle

Sanji Inochi

I have a dream.

One moment, Itsuka was sleeping beside me exhausted after watching a ton of movies, and in the next, I felt a warmth overtaking my body. I'm not entering my Mindscape, it's a different feeling. So I must be dreaming.

But I can't dream. I don't dream.

For my entire life, I never once dreamed. It's terribly ironic especially when my Quirk revolves around exactly that: dreams. I can't say I'm unfamiliar with dreams because I know how they work. I know what they do.

They're the things that let you experience what nature considers to be impossible, then once you wake up, you will most likely forget your experience as if it never happened. They are the painting to a man's psyche, detailing their inner desires and hidden fears with their own mind as the Picasso.

So… What is my dream telling me?

I open my eyes.

There's a raging fire all around me, filling the midnight air with crimson red as if it was a scene from hell. There are destroyed buildings, scattered debris, and the barely visible bodies surrounding me like I killed them. I smell the faint scent of blood, I can even taste some of it in my mouth. My ears can only hear the fires, but just barely, I can hear the faint crying of sirens in the distance, grieving at what was lost because of this catastrophe. It's the picture of destruction; it's what movies would depict a national tragedy.

I'd say that I have this dream because of the ungodly amount of American action movies I watched with Itsuka, but I beg to differ. I can't exactly explain how, but this scene feels so different, too different to blame this dream on action movies.

I mean, I can't recognize this place. I'm standing in a city, but I can't tell which city, or even the country I'm in. I can be in Japan, South Korea, or even Brazil. Maybe my brain just couldn't find a location, or the damage was so severe that you can't even identify where you are.

C'mon Sanji, why are you having this dream? Why now ? Is it because of David's tests? Maybe because my barrier in my Mindscape is cracked? What is my brain trying to tell me? Do I secretly enjoy seeing the world burn? Or maybe this is what the future will bring when Setsuna eventually takes over Japan and establishes a dictatorship? One is more plausible than the other, in my opinion.

I…

Click… Clack… Click…

Footsteps, they're behind me. They're slow, uneven. I can hear the dread within those steps, almost like a man who lost everything. I turn around and see a dark figure, slowly walking down the street with his body wobbling. He's hurt and dazed. I can't make out any specific details about him, but he's a little taller than me.

"Hey!" I call out to him. "Are you okay?! What happened here?!"

The man doesn't respond. He keeps walking through the destroyed street. Almost falling over himself, he gets back up and keeps walking as if that's the only thing he can do. I should go after him. No use trying to stay put.

I follow him, making sure to avoid the debris on the ground, but it's almost impossible to walk steadily. You can't even see the asphalt. Everything is covered with a layer of ash, then heaps of trash on top of that.

"Sir, are you listening to me?!" I shout, trying to get his attention again. He doesn't respond. I don't think he even realizes that I'm here, chasing after him like a lost kid trying to find his father. He continues to traverse down this path like it's self-inflicted torture to atone for his sins. And yet, just like him, I walk down this very same path.

The man's figure is slowly revealed before my eyes, becoming a bit more clearly with each step. The darkness that was draped around him is casted away, being replaced by a dim and blurry white light that envelops him completely. He stops just ten meters ahead of me, looking up at the destruction and fires that blaze around us. And again, I don't think he notices that I'm here.

With careful steps, I approach him. The light becomes blurrier as the gap between us is closed little by little by little. It's so blurry that I can't even recognize that it's a man standing before me; that he's even a person.

"—!" I try to speak, but nothing comes out. The words are lodged in my throat. I can only open my mouth and struggle to make a sound, but I'm literally speechless.

I'm right behind him now.

Dread and fear rises in my chest. I want to scream. I want to shout. There's a crushing feeling against my chest like someone is pressing a car against my lungs. I'm struggling to breathe—I can't breathe. My body is almost paralyzed—almost all of my muscles refuse to move. Yet my right arm—only my right arm—I can move that. I slowly raise my arm, reaching out for the white light—reaching for the man—while I suffocate.

"—Ah—"

A series of images flash before my eyes.

Smiles—

—I can hear distant voices—flashes of a home—

—a room—outside—the sun—blurry faces—then the smell of blood—

—there's a fire—the smell of ash—worry builds up—

—panic, heart racing—my heart is pounding!

I suffocate further—can't breathe—I can't breathe. I can only panic—my muscles don't work—my body is shutting down—I need to scream—I might die—I might die from suffocation—my heart is beating too fast—way too fast—I'll have a heart attack! My head is pounding—jackhammer to skull—make everything stop—it's too much—it's too much! I'm gonna die—it's inevitable—this is too much! It's—?!

SLAP!

"Snap out of it, Sanji!" That… hurts. What just happened? Oh God, I feel so hot. My heart is beating so fast that I could have a heart attack. Why am I shaking so much? God, why do I feel so scared? Ah right, Itsuka… She's awake… She slapped me out of whatever-that-was. "What the hell was that?! I woke up to you hyperventilating! You were shaking, and shivering, and God , I almost thought you were dying or something!"

A sense of disgust wells up in my stomach. For a brief moment, I feel like I want to vomit, but I push that feeling down. I wipe the sweat off my face, but there's too much to wipe. Holy crap, I really thought I was gonna die… In a quiet voice, I ask her, "C-Can you… Can you get a towel for me, please?"

"Of course. I'm getting you some water while I'm at it," Itsuka replies, getting out of bed and leaving the room. I blink just once, and before I know it, she's back with a towel and a glass of water. How did she get here so fast? Am I just perceiving time faster than normally? God, I don't know I don't know… I need something to get my heart to just slow down. Just slow it down for only a moment…

"Th-thanks," I stutter out before I dry the sweat off my face and arms, putting the towel on the ground afterwards. Itsuka sits down next to me, laying her back against the bed stand watching me with concerned eyes. We sit there in silence for seemingly an eternity, but it has only been about a minute. I drink the water she brought me—room temperature, not the worst thing in the world… My heart slows down a little; it's still beating fast though. I take a heavy gulp almost like I'm trying to swallow a plum.

"...Are you feeling better?" Itsuka asks, finally breaking the thick silence in the air.

"A-A little," I reply with another stutter. I sound like I'm back in middle school honestly. Back when I was weaker ."Thanks Itsuka… This is kinda awkward, isn't it? I'm sorry that I woke you up."

Ah… When was the last time when I felt this vulnerable?

I put my water back on the nightstand as Itsuka moves closer to me, making our shoulders touch. My body's cooling down. I don't feel like sweating my entire weight out anymore. Even then, my heart just can't stop racing. I have to make an effort to breathe. It's like I've been bashed on the head with the anxiety stick. Itsuka notices me heaving, and without hesitation, she takes my hand in hers, holding it tightly. I can feel how strong her grip is, but she's holding my hand so gently. Her hand is warm, soft…

"Sanji," she says in a comforting voice, just as comforting as her touch, "what happened? When you woke up, your eyes were glowing white again. Did you have some sort of nightmare?"

I sigh, gripping her hand in response. "Something like that." If my eyes were glowing white, then it has something to do with my Quirk. I predict that it has something to do with the crack in my Mindscape; that has to be the only answer.

"Do you wanna talk about it? It's just us. No one is listening," she offers, but I still feel uneasy. I… I don't know what to make of this. I don't know what to think or do. Should I even tell Itsuka? What will she say? How will she even respond to this? We were just having fun watching movies, and then, I woke her up from I-don't-know-what! Just thinking about the implications this could have, it's making my heart pound against my chest.

"I…" I begin, and already, I'm having trouble getting the words to come out of my throat. It feels like I need to pull them out with my hands in order to tell the truth. "I… God, I don't know if I can describe everything that's going on, Itsuka. I'm sorry, but I don't think I have it in me."

After saying that, I let go of her hand and sink into our bed, letting everything my body be covered by our blanket. Itsuka frowns, being upset that she isn't able to help me. I mean, look at her eyes. Why is she giving me that look? "Oh Sanji…"

I form a small, weak smile on my face. I'm still heavily breathing, but it's less noticable and apparent than earlier. "Why are you giving me those eyes?"

"I'm worried about you, you dummy," she answers, leaning over me. Her frown deepens from her eyes to her lips. She slides her hand under the blanket, putting it over my heart. She's startled from how fast my heart is beating. "God, I don't know who's gonna get a heart attack first. Me, for being so stressed out about you; or you, because your heart is beating like a hummingbird's wings."

"Wanna make a bet?" I joke, dryly laughing. That was a terrible joke and a terrible attempt to lighten the mood. The air is still thick with awkwardness and tension. "We should go back to bed. Well, you should go back to bed. I don't think I can go back to sleep after this."

"I wouldn't be able to either if that happened to me," she quietly responds, laying down with me and taking her hand off of my chest. Itsuka lays on her side, and I lay on mine. We face each other. If I move up just a little, our foreheads would be touching.

I know those eyes. She has so much to say to me. "What do you wanna say, Itsuka? I know you have more than a few words for me."

"Yeah, I do, but I'm not gonna yell at you. Who do you think I am? Bakugo? No, I'm just… I'm just really concerned. Not only you're keeping stuff about your Quirk to yourself, you're keeping this locked up too. It's not healthy to bottle things like this up. If you need someone to talk to, I will drop everything and lend a ear. I could be saving a cat from a tree and I'll still be at your side within the minute. That's a joke, but I really am serious…"

Hearing those words, my heart begins to slow down. I can feel the genuine kindness and concern from her voice. Each word, each syllable, everything is meant to comfort me. Not to yell, not to berate, not to scold, just to comfort me… Itsuka won't belittle me, won't insult me… She won't do any of that.

"I know," I find myself responding with my voice quieter than hers. "You're really sweet for saying that, but I'm fine. Well, I will be fine, don't worry. It's just a one-time thing, we'll forget about it soon enough."

"But that doesn't excuse the fact that you're not fine now . Sure, you'll be okay in the afternoon or maybe in the morning, but not now. Your heart is still rapidly beating, right? You still feel anxious, right? I know you're not fine."

Even if I try to lie, she'll see right through it. I don't have the courage to affirm her assumptions. God, she's absolutely right; I just can't find it within myself to say that she's right. With the hesitation in my voice, that's the answer she needs.

"Jeez… Lay on your back for me," she asks.

"Why?"

"Just do it. "

I do what she asks, laying on my back. Itsuka moves over and lays her head on top of my chest right over my heart, cuddling close to me. She sucks in a breath, hearing my beating heart drumming in my ribs, drumming like I'm about to enter a warzone. From the suddenness of her action, I anxiously exhale with chills running throughout my body, striking my skin. "I-Itsuka… You don't have to do this."

"Why is it different?"

"Huh?"

"You told me that, anytime I give the word, you will immediately hold my hand or give me a hug, no questions asked. You are so ready to give me support, but whenever you need support, you push me away. Why is it so different, Sanji?"

"It's because you shouldn't worry so much about me. You really shouldn't. Like I told you, it's a one-time thing. This will never happen again in the future."

"You don't know that. We're both hoping that this is just a 'one-time thing', but we can't know for sure."

"So is that why you're so adamant on doing this? You really shouldn't make yourself do this for me."

"I want to do this. Just as much you want to support me whenever I need a shoulder to lean on. We are partners, y'know? It's only fair if I reciprocate everything you do for me."

I don't want to be a burden. Those words choke up in my throat, kinda like tears welling in your eyes. "I really don't think you should do this. I'm giving you my word, and that's it."

Itsuka hugs my arm tighter. I can feel her soft breath against my chest, seeping through the fabric of my shirt and warming my chest. "Overruled. Besides, I can feel your heart slowing down. You need this, Sanji."

I can't deny that. I can feel my heart coming back down, beating at the rate it's meant to beat in. I can feel the uneasiness melting away, being replaced with a gentle warmth that's spreading throughout my body. I can feel my fingers and toes tingling with a pleasant sensation, like they're telling me to keep indulging myself. My body is yearning to let Itsuka continue to hold me, to let her comfort me as much as she wants.

I can feel a quiet heat in my heart; I can feel my cheeks growing warm with a faint blush.

Barely, above a whisper, I respond, "You know I won't sleep, right? Even if you say that you'll stay awake for me, you won't. You'll eventually fall back asleep."

"Then you could pull yourself away from me if you want. I won't be able to stop you," she says.

"You won't threaten that your Kendo strength will prevent me from escaping? That your grip is so strong that it rivals Olympians?"

"When I'm sleeping, I'm as strong as a cat after eating a big meal. If you really think what I'm doing is wrong, then you really can just pry me off of you and that's that. Like I said, I won't stop you."

"You really won't, huh?"

"Yup. I'll be at your mercy, Sanji. Just so you know, what I'm doing is right—at least to me. Even if I comfort you for only a second, it's worth it. It means that I can see your cute smile, because I know you'll be happy. That's all I want, Sanji. It's just you being happy."

"You won't scold me for not caring about myself? You won't do any of that?"

"Not tonight. If you refuse to care about yourself, then I'll make up for it by doing this."

"I see… You're really stubborn, Itsuka."

"So are you, but at least we have something in common."

"Heh, yeah…"

Slowly, Itsuka lifts her head up to stare at me. She's blushing; her blush is worse than mine. "Say, this was an argument, right? Ready to make true on our tradition?" Our tradition…? Oh, she means that. Guess my words are coming back to haunt me.

"Right, only for one second, just because you asked." Itsuka smiles, resting her head back onto my chest. I put my arms around her. One of them loops around her back while the other has my hand against her head. As soon as I hug her, as soon as I hold her close, the warmth that's flowing throughout my body becomes hotter, becoming a gentle fire. Instinctively, I don't pull my arms away. I fight against my instincts just a little, but I lost the battle before it began.

I don't want to pull my arms away.

I want to stay like this.

"Sanji," Itsuka mumbles, "you're hugging me a lot longer than 'one second'."

I glance at her. Her hair looks like silk honestly, and she smells amazing—mixture of beautiful, scented flowers. I reply, "Good night, Itsuka."

She lets out a small laugh. "Good night, Sanji."

Before I realize it, Itsuka falls asleep, just like I said she would. I can't tell how long she stayed awake until fatigue took over her. Now, I can pull her away. I can stop hugging her; I can stop this.

But…

She feels warm. This gentle heat that's flaring up in my chest, in my heart, in my face, everywhere…

I don't want it to end.

Even though my thoughts say, I'll stop hugging her after a few minutes .

A few minutes pass, and I say that again.

A few more minutes pass, and I say that again.

And again, and again, and again; continuing for the entire night.

---

"Ah, Baihu! You're up early."

"...Same to you?" Lian's sitting in the lobby with a book in his hands. The title is The Emphasis on Quirks by an author that I don't recognize; his name is American though. Lian knows Chinese, English, and Japanese; that's impressive. "You enjoying your read? What's it about?"

Lian looks at the cover and laughs, closing the book with his thumb still inside, resting on the page he stopped at. "Nothing much, frankly. It's the same social commentary swirl you often find in most books in this genre. You heard of Wahrmann before. Baihu?"

Oh right, Wahrmann. I know him because Suzuki used him as evidence that I'm a mentally ill man. Yeah, fun times. "Mhm, haven't read any of his books though. He's a philosopher right?"

He nods. "Look at you, being an intellectual! That's right though, Wahrmann is a philosopher around when All Might sensationalized the world. He was the one who 'introduced' the thought of Quirkism, which is summed up as 'Society pushes the best Quirks to the top while the terrible and villainous Quirks—and especially the Quirkless—drift towards the bottom of this draconic caste system.' Sauerism is a more of a...extremist version of this. Thank goodness he didn't take over Germany for long." Sauer… Right right, he's the guy who tried to take over Germany during the Origin of Quirks. He did actually, but his reign was cut short due to him being assassinated.

"Heh, I'm not much of an intellectual as you might think," I comment, sitting down next to him. "Though, I've definitely faced some 'backlash', to put it lightly, because I'm legally Quirkless and whatnot. Rin told you about it, right?"

Lian smiles and nods, looking straight ahead at the Greek cafe. They're actually open right now, though not many people are inside having a drink. "Of course. Rin admires your determination despite adversity, Baihu. Say, between you and me, did you become a man last night?"

"What?"

"A man," he repeats with a sultry smirk, "you slept in the same room as your little fire. Something exciting was bound to happen." Yup, something exciting like a panic attack—I actually researched what happened to me—and ended up cuddling with Itsuka for the rest of the night because she made me do it.

I give him a smile, which has a hint of sarcasm in it. Though, I can't deny that I'm feeling a little fire in my cheeks right now. "Don't be a pervert, Lian. Nothing happened between me and Itsuka. She's still sleeping in our room." Yup, simple as that. When it was early morning, I finally decided to get out of bed. Thankfully, I didn't wake her up.

"That's a shame. She's enamored with you. Your classmates enjoy your being here too. Finally, it seems the world is starting to favor you," he says, taking his thumb out of the book and putting one leg over the other.

"Yeah… Speaking about luck, can I ask you something? It's about your Quirk," I tell him. If there's a time to talk about Astral, it's now. I need to get some more information about Origin-type Quirks, and Lian has exactly that.

Lian's eyebrow perk up, and so does a golden smile that's almost as bright as the sun in overcast. "What about it? I explained a little about my Quirk to your class, but Astral has more aspects to it than you might think."

"I know," I say, taking a deep breath in, "you… you have an Origin-type Quirk."

As soon as I said it, Lian looks at me in slight disbelief. Then, just afterwards, he lets out a laugh, smacking his leg as his long, golden hair flutters around like the wings of a mockingbird. "I should've known, Baihu! That's the reason why you have the potential to be a real monster; it's because you have the rarest Quirk Type in the world. When you reach your prime, you'll be just as strong the Top Ten combined."

"I wouldn't exaggerate my strength that much…"

"I'm not exaggerating. Right now, I could challenge All Might to a fight and we'll be evenly matched. The reason why I'm not the No.1 Pro Hero in China is because my father hasn't retired yet, but once I come into the spotlight, I'll quickly scale the ranks and dominate the leaderboards. We are the ones that the world will push onto its mantle, but—"

"We shouldn't belittle those who are less fortunate. Everyone matters." Especially someone like Melissa. She's Quirkless, but she's the smartest student in I-Island Academy. Yet her accomplishments go largely ignored because she wasn't born right.

"Exactly. If the world didn't discriminate based on how many sparkles your Quirk creates, we would see geniuses sprout all over the land. Anyway, enough of this topic, you asked me a question, didn't you? How about I ask you one first? What generation are you?"

What generation am I? Oh, he must be talking about me being the tenth heir. "I'm the tenth. What about you? Are you the tenth too?"

Lian shakes his head. "No, the seventh. Your ancestors must have died young if you're the tenth."

...I don't know how to respond to that. "Okay, I'll just smile and nod."

He laughs a little, patting my shoulder. "Lighten up! It's actually somewhat fortunate. As generations go by, Origin-type Quirks typically become stronger through each iteration."

"I see… Astral must be a powerful Energy-type Quirk, since y'know, it's an Origin-type."

"It is. I'm able to emit energy attacks through any part of my body, being able to control nearly every aspect, like its concentration, size, shape, et cetera. Concentration is the most important part in my opinion. If I use my power at 100% and attack the right places, I could destroy a large part of I-Island." Ah, it's like All Might and Midoriya. If they use their Quirks at 100%, destruction is all but guaranteed.

"Can you channel Astral internally?" I ask. "Since Astral is also an Accumulation-type, then you might be able to channel the energy internally?.Like being able to move around easily, not being rooted to the ground."

"I can't, one of my brothers can but he's the only one. The best we can do is use our energy attacks to propel our body like how Bakugo uses his Explosions.

"Did you go through a Quirk Awakening and gain the ability to grow wings? If so, I have some questions."

Lian chuckles, scratching his cheek. "Ah, did Rin tell you? I'm joking of course. No… Well, you see, each man who inherits Astral has two key aspects. One determines their strength, and the other gives them a trait unique to only them. The strength-determining aspect is called 'Color', and the trait-determining aspect is called 'Quality'. Color existed ever since the first ancestor awakened to Astral, but Quality appeared ever since the fourth generation.

"Color is determined on… Well, the color of your attacks. I'm gold, my father's black, and my grandfather's azure. My brothers emit green, light blue, and purple. If you have every man who possessed Astral and lined them up, we would create a rainbow, darling! Hehe, I thought up that joke for a long time, but I'm finally able to use it on someone that isn't family! Back to the point, our Color determines the strength of our Astral. We kept a hierarchy of different Colors. I was the first one to be born with gold, but it was ultimately determined that I had the second strongest Color in the entire history of the Fei-Longs, with the strongest being white—the Color that my first ancestor had."

White, huh? Maybe that's why he holds me in high esteem. He knows that white, the Color in Astral, is stronger than him. And of course, my dominant color is white. "I understand. Is that why your Hero Name is 'Shangdi'? Your father's Hero Name is the same name as the Black Tortoise, and your grandfather's is the name as the Azure Dragon."

Lian nods. "That's right! How intuitive of you, Baihu! Color determines your Hero Name in our family. Because I was the first one born with gold, they gave me 'Shangdi'. Wasn't my first choice, but it's a nice name nonetheless. Because of my Color and my natural talents, I was easily determined to be the seventh heir. Though, my Quality had a massive impact too.

"Like I said before, Quality has appeared ever since the fourth generation. It's the trait that makes you you . Think of it as the 'quirk of a Quirk'. Remember when I told you that only one of my brothers can internally channel Astral? That's his Quality—Internal Channeling. My other brother has Energy Absorption, meaning he can absorb any energy he takes and recharges himself like a battery. As for me, my Quality is External Manifestation. Allow me to demonstrate."

He opens his right hand. From his palm, a small orb of golden energy comes alive. "Normally, whenever you discharge energy, the attack has to stem from your body. It cannot magically appear five meters away from you. However, External Manifestation ignores this rule."

Then, just a few meters in front of us, another golden orb appears out of thin air. "That is what External Manifestation allows me to do: manifest my energy attacks in the immediate space around me. The limit is two meters. However darling, if your imagination is big enough like mine is, this opens the door to a world of new techniques and abilities that were previously considered to be impossible."

Both of the orbs disappear. I guess he's able to dispel them whenever he wants. But holy crap, Astral is impressive. It's not like Hado's Quirk where her attacks are limited to spirals. Astral has a wide variety of different attacks that Lian could do, and with External Manifestation, he could easily beat many Top Ten Heroes, No.1 Heroes too even! What does this imply about Dreams though? Is there an equivalent of a Color and Quality? I'll think about this more later. I say, "Thank you for explaining, Lian. This gives me a better idea of how my Quirk could function."

"Ah, don't mention it, darling! Once you know more about your Quirk, and better yet, awaken to it. We ought to have a proper fight between you and I! I'm curious to see who will win." Oh, he actually does want to fight me. Thank goodness he doesn't want to fight me now when I'm still Quirkless.

"I'll be fine with that. You promise that you won't kill me, right? Your Quirk sounds incredibly dangerous," I ask.

"Quirks have a habit of being 'incredibly dangerous', Baihu. Anyhow, are you ready for what today will bring? Think you'll have another fight?"

"God, I hope not. I just want today to be fun. No one harassing me to join their club, no one pushing me against a wall, I just want to spend time with my friends."

"I'll help you. After all, I only came here to visit Lin." Ah! That reminds me of something!

Awkwardly, I scratch the back of my head. "About that… Why are you the only one here? I would think your siblings would tag along, right?"

Lian sighs, his face looking glum. "Well, Lin is the black sheep in our family. He wasn't born with Astral, which made him a natural outsider. Our brothers didn't know how they could help him, and our sisters didn't know how to either. I was the only one who reached a hand out to him. Our siblings don't hate him, they just don't know how to interact with Lin. The same goes for our mother, but our father… He's a rabbit hole that I won't get into."

"At least he seems happy now. You made the good choice of sending him to Japan. He's been apart of our class ever since the first day of school. In terms of class role, he's the mature man who isn't afraid to call you out, especially me," I tell him, which forms a smile on his face.

"Good. He deserves a family that will accept him. And hopefully, he'll find a woman and I'll be an uncle. I won't be afraid of spoiling my niece or nephew. I will literally give them the world, just watch!"

"Heh, I'd like to see that," I reply, leaning back against the couch. The world is pretty dang complicated alright. I feel like I got dropped into a volcano. Please God, just let me get through this trip without dying. If I have to fight Shigaraki, then I'll be really mad. I—

"There you are, Sanji!" Ah, that's Itsuka! She woke up already? "You weren't in bed when I woke up. I was kinda disappointed, honestly. I mean—"

Why did you say that, Itsuka? As soon as she said that, she sees Lian who's sitting right next to me. She quickly realizes her mistake, and I put my hand on my face. My cheeks are growing warm again. That's my little fire doing what she does best…

Lian smirks. "You two were sleeping in the same bed, I hear?"

"You heard nothing, Lian!" Itsuka snaps. Her hair is down and not tied up in a ponytail like usual; she's objectively adorable. "Just purge what I said out of your memory and move on!"

Lian stands up and bows. "I'll do what you ask, little fire. In fact, I have already forgotten what we were talking about! I am a very absent-minded man."

I raise my hand. "That's my thing."

"Ah, sorry about that, Baihu. Unfortunately darlings, I have somewhere to be. It's incredibly important, a matter of life and death even."

Itsuka crosses her arms. "Your point is…?"

Lian turns towards the elevator. Coincidentally, it opens, letting a few businessmen walk out. "I was actually stalling for time."

"You what—?!"

SPRINT!

"I have something to say to you, Lin!" Lian runs towards the elevator.

"You bastard, get back here! I don't care how strong you are, I'm gonna tape your mouth shut and throw you out a window!" Itsuka shouts, running after him.

And I'm left behind.

Well.

This seems like a good time to get some food. Oh crap, I didn't bring my wallet with me.

Dammit.

---

Shindeka Oji

"Is there a reason why you called me here?" I politely inquire, taking a gentle hold of my warm cup and sipping my espresso. The aroma is deliciously fragrant, and the taste matches the smell. Though, I can't say the same for the conversation I'm partaking in, especially with the man in front of me. "As much as I enjoy drinking an espresso in the morning, I do question why you brought me here, Valjean?"

Valjean sits at the other side of the table. He ordered a regular coffee. His hat is sitting in the middle of the table, reminding me of a scene from a movie taking place in the Wild West particularly when Valjean is wearing his Hero Costume with chains weighing down on him. His eyes lock onto mine, taking on a serious demeanor. "It's about Claude. Where is he, anyway? I also wanted to talk to him."

"Where's your daughter?" I return a question, making him scowl. If you encounter any parent with pride in their hearts, asking them about their child is a surefire way to rile their emotions. Master Kendo is a good example of this.

"She's with Victoria and Eliza, eating breakfast with them," he answers. I suppose Cosette has a lovely family of powerful Heroes. No one would dare harm her.

"You're fortunate that you have so many powerful Heroes defending her, including yourself," I comment. "As for Claude, he's dealing with something personal, but he told me he will be here. He never breaks his promises."

"Alright… Before we throw our drinks into each other's faces like civilized men, can I ask you something?"

"I don't see why not. Like civilized men, we're having a conversation without throwing our drinks into each other's faces."

"Haha," he dryly laughs and crosses his arms. "Anyway uhm, I wanted to ask you about Claude's time in Japan since he turned away from France and never looked back; to be honest with you, he had more than enough justification to do so."

"Of course." I put my drink down. "He's a lot happier in Japan. Even though he's a foreigner, he integrated himself into our culture quite well—you don't see that often. Despite his notoriety in the international world, he was registered as a Pro Hero in our Hero Public Safety Commission and has the same rights as every Hero. He loves Japan, and he enjoys being at my side solving crime and exterminating evil."

"That's great. He deserves a life like that after what happened to him. We're lucky that he didn't enact revenge against the rest of us. Thank God that he isn't a vengeful man. You don't know human potential until you've seen a good man on a vengeance."

"Oh, I'm inclined to agree. I arrested a few individuals who enacted revenge on others. Those were the more violent cases in my career. Not as violent as a deranged serial killer who was born sick in the head, but still violent nonetheless."

Valjean sighs, taking a quick sip of his coffee. "Yeah… Remind me, you're taking Armory as your future intern, right? I overheard a few things here and there; it pays to have good hearing."

"As expected from the No.1 Hero in France," I say, cheering to his name by drinking more of my espresso. "And yes, I am alongside Kendo and maybe Tokage. Claude is fond of our interns; he treats them like they're his kids. You should've seen our last internship. Then, we had Togaru Kamakiri and Manga Fukidashi—Sanji Inochi too, naturally—because no one would take them, and Setsuna Tokage tagged along. We had an...interesting week."

"Because of the Musutafu Suicide Spree? Remember, it made international news. Japan was already suffering from high suicide rates, but to make international news? It was really bad."

"Every country has its flaws, I'm afraid. That's one of them," I admit; you cannot just ignore the abnormally high suicide rate as much as we want.

He nods. "Like men. You can see where I'm going with this." I most definitely can. When Claude was framed for Jeanne d'Arc's assassination, the country of France called for his head. Thankfully, capital punishment was abolished; though, it didn't help that the average man wanted to lynch him. The Pro Heroes in France did everything they can to see Claude put behind bars for the rest of his life, especially Hugo Veilleux, who was known as "The Chains Hero: Valjean".

While Claude was a Sidekick to Jeanne, he was friends with Valjean to their connection to famous French novels. Claude said that they were good friends, almost like brothers. That made the "betrayal" worse. Valjean, who was angry more than anyone else, was the very one who arrested Claude. And he was one of the few Heroes who actually advocated for his death. However, when I came along and absolved him, the news was hush-hush about his release. France didn't want the public to know that they were wrong, but they also never apologized, especially Valjean.

"Yes, I can see," I say with my voice slightly trembling with emotion. I drink the rest of my espresso to drown my emotions out.

"Why did you absolve Claude anyway? Did you do it out of the good of your heart? In the name of justice?"

"Mhm. The real perpetrator was enjoying a good life at the time, so I had to be the one who'd ruin it. To let Claude be tortured in prison would go against everything I stand for. Having him come stay with me in Japan…" I smirk. "Well, it was a unexpected, but pleasant surprise."

Valjean laughs, having a sad smile on his face. "If he had stayed in France, he would've been turned away at every door. It'd seem he was the real Jean Valjean with a dash of Edmond Dantes. I like the old saying 'Life imitates art', but by God, I'm happy that life didn't imitate art in this case."

"Indeed, but we should actually have a conversation about what you want," I say, cutting to the immediate chase. It's obvious what Valjean wants. "You want to apologize to Claude. It takes a strong man to admit his mistakes."

"Yeah, it's the least I could do. Do you think he'll accept it?" Valjean asks, locking eyes with me. Eyes are the window to a man's soul, I hear. Judging from a man's eyes, you can see their genuine self; what I'm seeing now is a man who is sincerely apologetic for his past actions and words. Hugo Veilleux is an authentic man, and an even more authentic Pro Hero.

I sigh, putting my elbows on the table and interlocking my fingers together. "I don't know. Claude went through literal hell while he was in prison. He's still suffering from the long-term effects to this day."

"Ah, poor bastard. Well, I just wanted to ask to gauge whether or not he'll punch me in the face," he replies, and—

"—Should I punch you in the face, Hugo?" the man of the hour introduces himself, standing at our table as beautifully as ever. I exchange a quick glance—and smile—with Claude before Hugo laughs to himself, taking his hat and putting it on.

"Perfect timing, Claude. I was talking to your partner here about… Well, we were talking about you and your antics—I'm putting it bluntly," he says while Claude puts a hand on his hip.

He looks at me first. "My prince, did you tell Hugo about us? Have you been gossiping like one of those ladies getting their brains sucked out in a beauty parlor?" That's an oddly specific comparison, but incredibly fitting.

"Huh?" Valjean squeaks.

I shake my head. "Not yet, and those things don't suck out their brains, Claude… They'd be dead."

"I know that, but still! Who would willingly stick their head into those machines?! It's like burying your head in an anthill for 'skin treatment'! The only skin treatment you'll receive is having the same complexion as an overripe tomato!"

Valjean raises his hand, stopping us from bantering any further. There is a peculiar expression on his face, as if he realizes something shocking like he's stepping into uncharted territory. "You two are partners in ways more than one? Hehe, I won't lie to you Claude, but I had a sneaking suspicion."

Claude gasps, putting a hand over his heart. "Yes, but just so you know, I am offended that you said that, Hugo! Besides, I didn't know I prefered the other side of the fence until I met Shindeka." There is a slight blush on his face. The only time I see him blush is when we're alone. "Anyhow, let's not discuss this further. The elephant is out of the room, that's it."

"Request granted," Valjean says, tapping the table like he's physically removing the topic from the conversation. "Still, I'm glad that you showed up, Claude. For a second, I was worried that you wouldn't."

He stands up from the table, facing Claude directly. They're about the same height but Valjean is a little taller. I'm still sitting though, watching the two men. I don't need to be in this conversation. This is a conversation that they need to have by themselves—with a small audience curiously watching them. Valjean is the No.1 Hero in France after all. It's only natural that people's eyes would turn towards him.

Claude sighs, putting a hand against his head, his eyes turning downwards towards the immaculate wooden floor that almost sparkles in the sunlight. "I have to face my past at some point. In fact, with Shindeka, our current case involves nothing but facing the past. It has a few connections to what happened all those years ago."

"Damn, really? You have my sympathy then. I'd offer my help, but we oughta get this out of the way first." This raises a good question: Does Valjean know about All For One? The only way he could know is through the U.H.N., but they have it on a need-to-know basis. Anyhow, All For One is a threat located mainly in Asia. He rarely does anything himself outside of the continent. That's why he's well-connected.

Claude picks up his head, looking Valjean in the eye. He's not turning away from him, yet I can sense that some of the painful memories are returning. "Alright, I already know what you're aiming for. Let's hear it, Hugo."

Valjean nods, putting a hand over his chest. The other cafe-goers silently tune in like they're watching a drama show. To be fair, our lives would make for good TV. "I want to apologize to you, Claude. I'm even doing this in public where others can watch us, as you can clearly see, they are. I wanted to say that I'm sorry that, well you know, everything turned out to be complete and utter shit, and I was deep in that shit too. I—"

"—I think that's enough, mon ami," Claude interrupts him with a soft, but sadden smile. "You don't have to embarrass yourself further; I was never that kind of man and I never will be. Tell me… You're genuinely remorseful about what happened in the past?"

"Of course I am. I saw a lot of atrocities, but the biggest atrocity was what happened to you. I was apart of the reason why you have those scars on your body, and I was apart of the reason why your mind has scars too. An apology isn't enough to fix what happened, but I think taking small steps is better than taking large leaps."

"I agree with that sentiment," Claude says, glancing at me for a brief moment. "Tell me, Hugo, are you still drinking that coffee?" He points to Valjean's drink, which is about half-full.

"Uhm, I hope so because I paid for—"

SPLASH!

"—it… Why didn't I see that coming?" Valjean asks himself right after Claude threw his own coffee in his face. At least it wasn't scorching hot. Claude knew that and took the opportunity when it arrived. Personally, I wouldn't resort to such tactics, but I'm not the one who was constantly abused in prison for a crime he didn't commit. If anything, throwing coffee on Valjean's face was one of the more harmless things he could do.

Before Valjean grabs a towel, Claude does it first, handing it to him. "I agree that an apology isn't enough to mend the gap, but coffee can, don't you agree? Consider us even, Hugo. I've been meaning to do that for a while."

Valjean laughs, drying himself with the towel after his coffee washed his face. "Jesus Christ… I can only imagine, ha! Are we really square, Claude?"

"Oui, just like your head; just like your heart," he replies, deflecting some of the eyes of the people around us. They're whispering in confused voices. "On second thought, maybe we should've taken this in a private space… Oh well, I don't see any phones out. No one will believe that a random Frenchman threw coffee on the Valjean and laughed about it."

"I'm sure Valjean's quite satisfied with this," I finally rejoin the conversation, finishing my espresso and standing up.

"I sure do, don't get me wrong," Valjean says, putting the towel on his chair. Some of his hair is still wet with coffee, and I can smell it from where I'm standing. "I was expecting a right hook square in the jaw."

"Ah, I wouldn't do something so cliche. Punching is so barbaric. It's better if you kick someone, they wouldn't even see it coming!" Claude sarcastically comments, putting his elbow on my shoulder.

"I'm inclined to agree, but I'm not one who advocates for unnecessary violence," I add before Claude's phone buzzes in his pocket. Taking his elbow off of me, he takes out his phone and exclaims in shock.

"Ah right, I forgot! Shindeka, we have a meeting to go to! Master Kendo's at our hotel waiting for us! He just texted me to complain, saying that he'll 'drag our sorry asses' if we don't get there in the next thirty minutes." Oh, we've been caught up in the excitement that I actually lapsed on a meeting with Master Kendo. Him and Claude are investigating a possible threat regarding Rikiya Yotsubashi and his goons. They want my input. It's something to busy myself while I wait for Hakan to come back to me.

Valjean frowns, knowing that we have to leave. "I guess that's my cue to find out what scheme Victoria is conjuring up with my daughter. I'll talk to you later, Claude." I clear my throat. "You too, Grandmaster."

Claude nods, patting my back. "Of course. Small steps, right Hugo? Let's take small steps like a toddler learning how to walk."

"That's right. Just small steps," Valjean repeats.

I nod, being the first one to head to the exit. Claude follows me out the door, and we start to make our way back to our hotel. My partner opens his mouth to say something, but he's soon interrupted by hasty footsteps. It's Valjean again.

We turn around, seeing him standing on the sidewalk still damp from the incident earlier, but more apparent as the sunlight shines over him. "I almost forgot, you two… The new case you're working on, it's linked to Jeanne's assassination, correct? Do you need my help? I don't know much, but it sounds incredibly dangerous."

I shake my head. "It has the potential to be, yes, but we don't require your help. Not right now, at least. Don't worry, whenever we need a powerful friend, you'll be the first one we'll call on."

Claude nods. "Oui, the very first one. It pays to have friends in high places, especially No.1 Pro Heroes."

Valjean sighs, scratching his neck. "Lucky you. Knowing what's going on in Japan, it probably has to do with Shigaraki. You know that I'm the first one to jump on the opportunity of locking up a brat like him, but he obviously has a mentor. Do you think you can take down their entire scheme?"

I try to answer, but Claude stops me by putting a hand on my chest. With confidence, and with sincerity in his heart, he replies with an astounding voice, "Naturally, we're Pro Heroes after all. When our world inevitably cycles through its period of chaos and unrest shrouded in a seemingly unconquerable darkness, we are there to ignite just a small bauble of hope, uttering just two words—just two, but massive words—that sum up the entirety of human wisdom: Attendre et espérer."

Wait and hope.

---

"Let me restate the figureheads we're dealing with:

"Rikiya Yotsubashi, the CEO of Deternat, a lifestyle support company for mutants.

"Chitose Kizuki, the executive director of Shoowashya Publishing, a media outlet.

"Koku Hanabata, the leader of the Hearts and Mind political party.

"Gajin Nobuto, the CEO of Ronin, a Hero support company.

"Kabeya Rugami, the CEO of Bastion, another lifestyle support company.

"Hiro Takaiki, the director of Quirked Minds, a Japanese newspaper founded right around when the Meta Liberation Army was making rounds.

"And Geten, just a random white-haired man who looks like a woman."

Master Kendo nods. "Yup, that's all of 'em. Nobuto is who Hayami complains about the most. Apparently, his company bullies his opponents until they go out of business. It hasn't happened to her yet, but she's just waiting at this point."

Claude lays on our hotel bed with his fedora on his chest. "These suits are up to no good. Master Kendo eavesdropped on their conversation and they sounded quite villainous. They're suspicious of us too, since Yotsubashi found out that Master Kendo was there the entire time."

I glance at Master Kendo who sighs. "Yup, I got caught but after the fact. No doubt that those bastards are keeping a closer eye on us and on the kids. It seems like the Tokages and that Tokugawa kid know what's up with them."

"Wait, the Tokages know about this?" I ask. "Can we not just ask Setsuna Tokage about Yotsubashi and his gang of misfits?"

He shrugs. "I would , but she's probably forced to keep it a secret by her father. As much as she trusts us, I don't think she'll blabber. In her eyes, the less people who knows, the better. It's exactly like One For All, which considering we're on the topic, how's the thing with Aldemir going?"

"He hasn't responded yet. He told me that he has to handle business regarding the Order of Assassins, so it's completely understandable that I have to wait."

"Think this Mystic business is worth it? What if he's a dead end? Both literally and figuratively. Let's say he's still kicking. Why would he help us? He prolly feels guilty as hell for what happened in Busan."

"Maybe, but any information regarding the history of All For One-slash-One For All is valuable. Having an ally who could help will be even better. Hakan Aldemir stated that they, the U.H.N., don't have records of Japan in the Vigilante Era, and we know how many apocryphal stories there are during that age. Unless All Might has a notebook regarding the history of One For All…?"

Master Kendo shakes his head. "He can barely write his own name, so I really doubt it. Toshi, as strong as he is, is a total lughead. Anyway, I get your point. We're flying with our windshield covered in mud."

Claude adds, "And on top of that, our engine is on fire and one of our wings was clipped off. In terms of strength, we are outmatched one hundred to one. A man with thousands of Quirks is a disaster."

Master Kendo frowns, looking at me. "What got his pants in a twist? You guys met up with Valjean, right?"

"Well—"

"I'll answer, don't worry," my partner steps in, sitting up. "Hugo, well Valjean, apologized. It was an uncomfortable situation all around. Then you know, we have to talk about All For One and his antics, which involved my incarceration and everyone knows what happened after that. On top of that, we have whatever the corporate suits of Japan have organized which is undoubtedly villainous in nature."

I gesture to Claude. "Exactly that. I don't mean to drag the mood down, but the odds really are stacked against us. If we consider the strength of all Japanese Heroes, All For One is still stronger. If Yotsubashi's group is against him, then that's amazing. If not, then we're even more in trouble. That's why you came to us, right Master Kendo?"

"Yeah, I already hated Kizuki before with all that bullshit about my kids, about U.A., anything she could get her dirty blue hands on. But if these big wigs really are dangerous Villains, then we oughta see what we can do else we'll have a Villain coalition on our hands. If we get into a war with them, we'll experience some heavy losses," he replies.

"Agreed." I open my notebook. I took some notes about this earlier when Claude brought it up to me. I already theorized that Yotsubashi was apart of something shady, and this confirms the thought. In my notebook, I have the names that Master Kendo gave me with notes about each individual. Deternat is one of the most popular companies in lifestyle support, and I heard they're going into heroism. They're trying to expand their reach and it'll be easy. On the internet, there's conspiracy theories that Deternat is a front for something more sinister. Some said that Yotsubashi is trying to take over the Japanese government, or that he's a pawn for another country like the United States or China to take control of Japan's economy. All of them are equally far-fetched, but with this new information, I can safely cross off any foreign influence. With Yotsubashi's connections, especially like Koku Hanabata who's in the Japanese government, he can very well wage war against Japan.

But why? What for? He's rich. He has anything he could ever want! Satisfaction is at his fingertips, but considering he's a Villain, he's not satisfied. Thus, it has to be about our current world. He wants to "fix" society to an image he desires. That's his motive. Looking at Master Kendo, I conclude, "Judging from his status as a fairly rich man, that narrows down his motive. Yotsubashi wants to reform our current society."

Master Kendo snaps his fingers like genius struck him. "That's right! Fuyushiro Tokage mentioned that Yotsubashi is an idealistic man! A radical! Only radicals are insane enough to tear down the pillars that are keeping the house standing. God, that old fart gave me the creeps. And don't say anything, I know I'm an old fart too."

Claude says, "We're not that much younger than you, Master Kendo. Both Shindeka and I are in our 30's. Age aside, at least we know why Yotsubashi has followers, who then have more followers behind them. Mon Dieu, I wager they want to liberate us from the chains of society or whatever. Let them be gluttons on their own delusional ideals, I'd say. History has shown us drunkards drunk on their own ideals doing harm more times than doing good."

We, Master Kendo and I, both frown. It's best to let Claude sulk. He'll be fine by the afternoon. Though, Master Kendo is in thought. Something about Claude's words struck a chord in his brain. "Funny that you mention that… There was something off during my conversation with Yotsubashi last night. When he was talking about Sanji, he wanted to see him 'liberated' because he'll 'truly be one-of-a-kind'. It honestly sounds like Meta Liberation Army stuff."

It honestly does. They are obsessed with the liberation of Quirks, and in the context of Yotsubashi's comment, it was very well centered around Inochi's Quirk. I wouldn't be…

Wait.

Rikiya Yotsubashi… Chikara Yotsubashi, the grand leader of the Meta Liberation Army…

"...It's actually the Meta Liberation Army," I mutter.

Master Kendo's mouth drops. "Eh?"

Claude's mouth does the same thing. "Uh, speak louder?"

I speak up, "Rikiya Yotsubashi is leading the new Meta Liberation Army! His family name is literally the same as Destro's! On the internet, there are theories that Yotsubashi is more than he seems. But one of the most prominent theories is that he is a believer of the Meta Liberation Army! It's been documented that he donated to a fund that supported the soldiers of the original M.L.A. movement who weren't arrested! There's a whole rabbit hole to jump into; believe me, the theory itself was riddled with holes and wild assumptions, but some of the evidence was solid!

"Rikiya Yotsubashi is in command of the newest iteration of the Meta Liberation Army!"

"Fuck."

"Jesus Christ."

Master Kendo rubs his mouth, processing what I just said. "That makes sense, honestly. Fuyushiro was wary of Yotsubashi, and I didn't think anyone could do that to him. But damn , these people are trying to start another revolution?"

"It's probably on a smaller scale this time around," Claude says. "The first time, Destro focused on gathering allies around the world while also making their cause known, giving them a lot of attention. It backfired since each country was able to prepare for the attacks made by the M.L.A. and eventually imprison Destro."

I put my hands together. "Assuming the current M.L.A. isn't trying to have an international force, then they most certainly have a national force. They have key members in high positions in corporations, in the government, and surely in the heroism industry as well. God knows how many soldiers they have. Rikiya Yotsubashi must have been planning this for decades. They have a chance at overthrowing the Japanese government, I'd say."

"Think the Safety Commission knows about this? They might be understaffed, but they're not stupid," Master Kendo asks, but I shrug my shoulders.

"Most likely, but I'm not sure. That's information classified to high ranking members, and even then, we don't know if those members are apart of the M.L.A. or not. Now I see why the Tokages kept this a secret. They're sitting on a massive conspiracy which thankfully, they aren't apart of," I answer.

Claude suggests, "Then we oughta do some research, don't we? We should take a gander at the Quirk Registry List. Their Quirks should be listed there, so if we ever get into a fight with them, we won't be fighting blind."

"Good call. I'm going to keep my kids away from those pricks," Master Kendo promises, his eyes already scrolling through ideas in his head. "I'm not gonna confront Fuyushiro about this yet, 'cause we got ourselves into one serious situation. Ugh, dammit… I wanted to come here to enjoy a nice trip with my family, but nope! We have to deal with the second coming of the M.L.A.! God gave us the middle finger, fucking hell…"

"That's one way of putting it." Claude finally stands up, grabbing his laptop from his bag. "Now then, how about we be Heroes for once? Our kids are counting on us after all."

I nod. "For once, I would enjoy handling one problem at a time. I suppose there's no rest for the wicked."

---

Setsuna Tokage

"Monoma dude, how could you?"

"How could I what?"

"You won the freaking contest! How the hell did you win?! Not only you kicked our asses in the vote, you kicked Kamakiri's and Pony's ass too!"

"Well, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but Kaibara and I are a cute couple, and an actual couple. To think that you would resort to faking a relationship… I taught my friends well."

Shojo huffs. "Oh, be quiet! I got the idea from a manga! Besides, you didn't even pick a good prize! You just took the biggest stuffed animal they had! And it's a dolphin! What would you do with that?!"

Monoma, who's holding his comically large dolphin that's just as tall as Manga, says, "Hang it on my wall as evidence of my conquest? Alongside my other trophies?"

Awase frowns, giving Monoma the biggest stink eye imaginable. It's so rancid that I can smell his eyes from where I'm sitting. "Dude, you're gonna regret this. This will be the first and only time you will ever get a one-up on me and Shojo. Especially Shojo, 'cuz she can make you cry until you run out of tears."

"I can do that! My Quirk is honestly terrifying and I should wield it responsibly," Shojo comments with a cute smile. "But I'm not afraid of torturing you! I'm not in the Hero Course after all! I'm just the support class! A mage! A priest! That means I can debuff you to hell and back! Just watch!"

"Yeah, just you watch, Monoma!" Awase cheers his adorable shorty on while Monoma looks very unimpressed. His dolphin even more so. I gotta say: I'm disappointed. From the fake relationship fiasco that went on yesterday, neither fake couple became a real couple! They were focused on Monoma's sudden entrance and his even more sudden victory! Togaru was fuming and so was my sweet little Pony; she rarely gets upset! Then we have the disaster duo: Awase and Shojo. Awase made so many comments about her thighs that it outnumbered the amount of times I tease Sanji and Itsuka. Shojo has to catch on to Awase's feelings, right? Ugh, who knows? She's so hooked up on mangas that she might be thinking, Awase is just a shameless pervert! He doesn't actually have feelings for me! Yes he does, you dense girl. Ugh, why am I even arguing inside my head?

"Setsuna, I see that you are enjoying the banter of our fellow classmates," Reiko says, joining me at the table! Why, I'm always happy to have a pretty girl like her to talk to. She has her face mask down.

"Trying to get in the shade like I am?" I ask as I spin myself around to face her. Behind Reiko, Tsuburaba is watching Tetsutetsu do a bunch of pull-ups at a game. From the looks of it, if he can do one hundred, he can win a prize—Tetsu is trying to do one thousand. Sounds like him, honestly. If you ask him to go on a walk, he'll run a marathon.

Anyway, that's enough about Real Steel. Reiko nods, having a soft smile on her lips. "As much as I like the sun, too much can and will be the death of me. Thank goodness though. We have not ran into those pesky recruiters yet."

"Aw, don't jinx it. They'll be hounding over us in a couple of hours; I'm willing to make a bet on that. But let's not talk about them! We're literally at I-Island, one of the most technologically advanced places on planet Earth! I-Expo is a place where Heroes like us can just hang out and chill! Throw in a few friendly fights here and there, and we got ourselves a vacation to remember!" I exclaim as beautifully as ever while Reiko sits there and listens to me ramble. Yeah, I ramble a lot, but my rambling is so charming that everyone naturally listens to me. I have that effect on people.

"This is already a vacation to remember, I'd wager. On the first day alone, we witnessed a tree being kicked into Inochi, the incident with Bakugo, being hounded by annoying recruiters, and this morning, apparently Itsuka and Inochi slept in the same bed? I heard that Lian yelled that in your tower?"

Oh right! That happened this morning! Haha, my dastardly scheme worked! I knew that there'd be the option of Sanji sleeping on the couch, but I hoped that they would sleep in the same bed! And according to Lian, they did! It's a shame that I wasn't able to put any cameras in their rooms because apparently, it was "incredibly illegal" and "so immoral that even the worst people in the world would judge you". Well I'm sorry, but I will literally destroy the world if it meant that I could see these two sharing a sweet kiss.

"Apprehended him? Not peacefully, because just like Monoma, she chopped him dead. Rin was horrified that someone killed his brother, but at least he got resurrected when Sanji mentioned breakfast."

"Rin's brother, to say the truth, terrifies me slightly. He's a powerful Hero certainly, but his personality is so vibrant that it drains my energy. I'm afraid that is the consequence of being an introvert."

"Luckily, you got me, an extrovert. I adopt every introvert I see, especially Sanji!" I say, crossing my arms and holding them close to my chest.

Reiko's head tilts a little to the left—my left—confused about what I just said. "Inochi is an introvert? Are you mistaken? He seems far from it."

"Oh, believe me, he's an introvert. When I first met him, he was a shy guy who wore a hood to hide himself from the crowd. He used to stutter whenever he spoke. Honestly, he did a full one-eighty ever since then," I explain. If only Sanji was with us now. He's in another group probably flirting with Itsuka.

"I see. He really changed that much? I'm pleased to see that you had a positive impact on him especially considering his status at the time," Reiko compliments me like the darling she is before glancing at Awase trying to steal the dolphin from Monoma. "Ignoring whatever Awase is doing, are you prepared for the gala tomorrow? I know that the entire class was invited to the Early Access Event, but only some of us are attending the gala itself, correct?"

I nod. "Yup and yup. I got a beautiful blue dress that compliments my jagged teeth perfectly. As for our companions, only a few of us are going to the gala. From off the top of my head, it's me, Sanji, Itsuka, Yui, and I think Momma Kendo is coming too—my dad's obviously attending the party. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Jurota's bringing you, Rin, and Honenuki."

"That is correct as always, Setsuna. It's a shame that the entire class isn't attending, but I understand. Having all of us in one room will surely spell disaster and we would ruin the entire gala, spell its destruction and bring shame upon the legacy of U.A., and extension, Class 1-B." Reiko rambles a little. She's always been a formal, verbose woman. Sometimes, some of us need translating what she says into normal words, kinda like Yui Speak.

"Itsuka would have a heart attack if everyone was going to the gala. One: We wouldn't make it on time because someone —cough cough Awase cough cough—would somehow delay us by an hour. And two: She loves us, but she also hates us. Case point, look at Sanji. I know how—"

Reiko interrupts me, "I'd rather not have you go on a tirade about them again. I mean no harm, but you ramble about them a lot."

"I know I know! I hold them dear to my heart, Reiko. I am a romantic pure and true, sweetie. Love loves to love love, and so does the heart; beats beating to the beating beats."

"Most certainly," says her, who has her hands hanging from her wrists like a phantom haunting me, "if I may ask—"

"Of course you may, and may I answer?"

"Heh, yes you may. I would like to ask how you're so confident and jovial despite everything God has thrown at us. You were bullied for quite some time, you felt responsible for a woman's suicide, and now this? How do you do it?"

"Well, I mean…" That's a bit of a hard question to answer. "I just push through it, y'know? I allow myself to cry, but I don't allow my tears to become concrete or whatever. You just gotta push through because everyone is expecting you to. I'm a prodigy, so of course I gotta show what I'm made of. I'm just itching to show the world what I, Setsuna Tokage, got in store."

"You push through the mud onto dry land but do you ever wash the mud from your own boots?" Reiko asks. "Needless to say, to allow the mud to fester on your legs, they will harden and become the concrete you speak of."

"Of course I wash the mud or whatever answer you want out of me," I say with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm perfect as perfect can be. I mean, we've known each other for years, haven't we?"

Reiko corrects me, "About five months."

"Five long years."

"Months."

"Decades."

"Setsuna, no."

"Setsuna, yes."

"...I see." Reiko's small smile turns into a small frown. Yeah, I kinda made the topic change. That was intentional this time. For the other times I did that…? Uhm, that's just me being me. Like I said, I have a habit of rambling about random stuff that comes to my mind.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

That's my phone, and it's Dad. I look at Reiko and she nods. I stand up and walk to somewhere private, taking the call. "Hey Dad, what's going on? Didn't see you this morning."

On the other end, I can hear distant voices of businessmen and women chatting. "I had an early meeting, but I found time to call you. Is everything well on your end? I don't hear any explosions nor any blood-curdling screams, so I'm assuming your classmates are behaving themselves."

"Just about yeah." I look at Awase, Monoma, and Shojo again. "I mean, do you count being assaulted by a large stuffed animal in the shape of a dolphin count as pure anarchy?"

"Violation of human rights while practicing animal cruelty in an odd manner. If it was anarchy, they'd be eating the dolphin alive while chanting 'Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood' but I digress. Did you encounter any pestering individuals that I should keep note about?" Ah, that's his way of making jokes.

"Not yet no. It's almost noon, so I'm guessing that they'll come out of the woodworks in a few hours from now. Is that why you came to call me? To check if we still have beating hearts?"

"Essentially, yes. Your classmates are incredibly chaotic and unpredictable. Even though you do not have a set schedule for this trip, that doesn't mean that your classmates will behave as proper adults. Giving freedom to teenagers can be a fickle thing. It's the line of separating the mature from the immature, and I raised you to be on the former."

"That you did, yeah. Thanks to you, I'm with my amazing friends trying their best to enjoy I-Expo. It's a lot better when you have people to enjoy it with, y'know? Instead of just being cooped up in a hotel room all day watching nothing but movies and ordering room service, I'm out here laughing and smiling."

"...Yes, that you are. I'm…" Dad clears his throat. "Sorry, my throat was getting dry. I'm satisfied with how the trip went overall, since you already made connections with other No.1 Heroes. Your future is getting brighter by the second."

"Imagine the people at the gala. Hopefully, it won't turn out like last time." Dad almost got assassinated, but at least Sanji saved his life.

Dad doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Speaking about the gala, we'll have to do things differently this year."

"Hmm? Differently how? We just took a ride to the central tower like always." I actually know this already, but I'm just asking him so I don't look weird.

"Well, you have your companions who will also be attending the gala. I have to be at the central tower earlier alongside other prominent business heads. At the Gemini Hotels, you have to remain there until a limousine picks you up. Fortunately, Miss Kendo is acting as a chaperone and can lead you in my absence." That's right. Okichi told me that this year's gala is different from the rest. There's a lot more people, breaking the previous record. I don't know why exactly, but I-Expo wanted the business executives to be there earlier than everyone else. Yotsubashi is one of them. When he's gone, his friends too, me and Okichi can take a quick gander at his laptop and get what we want, head out, then go to the gala like nothing happened.

Humming, I respond, "Sounds like a plan. I'll tell everyone else if you don't tell them already. If our entire class was going, you would give them a long lecture on etiquette."

"Oh, I am already going to give them a long lecture. I will squash the small chance that your friends will embarrass themselves, and most importantly, embarrass myself, namely that Honenuki boy. Actually, I'm only lecturing him."

"I...don't blame you. Honenuki is a really smart guy, but he needs a good smack to the brain to get those maturity gears going."

"I'm glad we agree. Anyway, another meeting is starting up. I'll speak with you later, Setsuna."

"Love you."

"Mhm."

Dad ends the call. Okay, the only thing I have to worry about is tomorrow. Stealing data from the Meta Liberation Army itself. That can be a plot to an action movie honestly. The plan itself is simple. With the leaders of the M.L.A. at the party earlier, I can use the time between their departure and my departure to sneak into Yotsubashi's room. He won't bring his laptop to the party because who the heck would? So I can just plug in the stuff, get the stuff I need, then get out with the stuff. My Quirk makes things so much easier, and Okichi will be my lookout. His Quirk is actually useful because he can hear any potential threats. I'm starting to have high hopes for this operation. Ah, I didn't even give it a name yet!

How about this…

Operation Reverse Liberation!

That's a good name, right? Ah, I know that's a good name. Success is right at my fingertips, I just know it!

---

Sanji Inochi

"Perfect! You look absolutely dashing, Inochi." Monoma uses his fingers to create a picture frame with me as the muse. It's a quite fitting comparison considering that the hotel is Greek-themed, and the word "muse" itself is from Greek mythology. That's something I learned on this trip along other things like hair gel and what a cufflink is. I'm not very keen on dressing up, especially for big events like the gala. There are so many ways to mess up that it's utterly terrifying; just make a mistake and it'll be the mistake.

"Y-Yeah, thanks for doing this, Monoma. I had a feeling you were good in suits considering you wear one for your costume," I say, adjusting my cuffs so they feel comfortable. Setsuna brought me this suit because she wanted me to look "so handsome that Itsuka will faint" and because Mister Tokage wants me to be the most presentable as I can. He thought last time—at the gala that almost got him killed—I looked "passable", which isn't good but at least it wasn't terrible. Gotta up my fashion game here, and I got the perfect friend to help me.

Monoma nods, flashing a smug smirk. "Of course! You'll be the envy of the party, yet I can't help but notice your stutter. Are you nervous, Inochi? You rarely get nervous."

"Well, I can easily mess something up!" I exclaim. "Mister Tokage is expecting me to not screw up! But there'll be all kinds of important people at the party! Including Heroes! Sure, I can just hang around everyone else, but y'know, I'm supposed to be someone special. There's no doubt that I'll be forced to talk to someone powerful."

"Ah, you'll be alright! You can just turn on your charm and wow them with your earnest honesty and desire to do good!" he assures me, but uhm…

"I don't think my 'charm' is like a light switch, but I get your point. Just act like myself and pray to God that I don't screw things up. Why aren't you going to the gala anyway? You'd enjoy something like this, especially since a lot of 1-Aers are coming too." My question makes Monoma scoff like 1-A doesn't deserve to be talked about. That's his arrogance in action alright.

Monoma crosses his arms, leaning against the wall with an even more smug smirk than before. "I, like you, have my limits. I don't want to spend my night talking with old men chatting about Quirks. Sure, they are a few amazing individuals coming to the party, but I personally think it isn't worth it, even when 1-A is also there. I won't be able to humiliate them because I'd be thrown out of the gala within the second."

"That's...true. So I'm guessing I'm gonna chat with old men about Quirks all night, huh? Well, people are obsessed over my Quirk, so it'll be the same old same old."

"In their defense, you're one-of-a-kind. Everyone wants to see what you can do, Inochi. Especially me! You'll probably be able to beat the Terror Trio of 1-A and ground them to dust!" he cheers with enthusiasm about killing my fellow schoolmates… Yay. I know he's joking, but I rather not challenge them for bragging rights. I mean, I'm probably gonna fight Bakugo anyway because he's Bakugo , but still…

"I'd rather not be praised so much for something that I haven't done yet, or if at all," I say, showing my discomfort, but I'm not too bothered by it. Being complimented too much, it doesn't sit right with me not one bit.

Monoma nods, obliging. He looks around my room, and Itsuka's too technically. "I'm glad to see that Tokage set you and Kendo up with a nice room."

"Oh, she set more than one thing up, that's for sure," I respond, referring to, uh, me and Itsuka sleeping in the same bed. At least yesterday, when I had my panic attack, she was there to comfort me. If she wasn't there, I wouldn't have asked for help; I would've just sat there drenched in sweat. Last night though…

"Sanji, are you gonna have another panic attack again?"

"I won't! How many times do I have to say it? It's just a one-time thing. My first and last time, okay? Don't worry about me.

"Ugh, you know it's impossible for me to notworry about you. No matter how many times you say 'Oh Itsuka, Itsuka! Don't worry about goofy little me! I'm right as rain,' you will always contribute to 50% of my stress."

"Alright, if we argue any more, we won't get anywhere. So how about this: how can I help? What do I have to do to lift some of that stress off your shoulders?"

"Really? Would you do anything for me?"

"...I'm scared of what 'anything' entails, but yeah. Anything that's both legal and moral. I'm not gonna rob a bank for you."

"Hehe, I would ask you to rob a jewelry store not a bank. Anyway, I got a good idea. How about you —"

Poke!

Ah! Monoma just poked my forehead! "Inochi, you're staring off into space again. And , you're blushing. Whatever could you be blushing about? Did something happen between you and Kendo last night?"

What? I'm not blushing! My face feels a little warm, but that shouldn't be enough to make me blush, right? Y'know what, that's not important! "We didn't have sex, if that's what you're insuitating—"

"I didn't mention sex! Why was that the first thing that came to your mind, Inochi?" Monoma asks. His smirk still remains flashing across his lips, but his smugness has a target in mind: me, Sanji Inochi.

I frown. "Don't gaslight me, Monoma. Your mind is naturally perverted whenever me and Itsuka are brought up."

"Then why are you blushing? You don't blush when you flirt with your partner. Have you finally realized your feelings for her?"

There he goes again with the blush. I pretend that my phone rings, taking it out of my pocket. I turn on the camera and briefly look at myself. I—Oh, I am blushing. It's definitely noticeable. Well, that's something to take note of. I put my phone on the table, crossing my arms. "My… My feelings have been the same as always."

For some reason, I feel a small lump in my throat, almost like my body is reacting negatively to my statement. Monoma tilts his head slightly to the right—his left—looking disappointed in my answer. "Oh Inochi, Inochi… My dear friend, you're many things, you practice many values, but denial? That's unbecoming of a saint like you."

Dang, he's really pushing hard for this. I should usher Monoma away. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I really don't wanna have this conversation. As much as I like feeling this warmth, I'd rather not be interrogated about my own feelings. "Speaking of saints, you should check on Setsuna and Ibara. I'm sure Setsuna is showing off her gorgeous dress to her. You can be there and tease them, because as you know, love is war."

"Love is indeed war, but I know that Setsuna isn't with Ibara right now. In fact, I haven't seen her. Want me to look for her?" he offers with a smile that says, I know you want to get rid of me, so I'm politely giving you a way to do it.

"Ah, I wouldn't bother her, but you do whatever you want," I answer, and Monoma nods.

"In that case, I'll hang out in my room. If there was a contest of best dressed man, you'd get first place for sure," he says, walking towards the door and waving. "Be sure to praise us every chance you get and belittle those 1-A brats!"

"I'll only be doing one of those things," I tell him.

"Then who would praise us?" he jokes with me, walking out the door as confidently as ever. I think Monoma has enough praise. Before he leaves though, he says one thing, "Enjoy the party, Inochi. Let's hope no one tries to cause any trouble."

I reply, "Thanks Monoma."

I hear his footsteps trailing down the hall before they stop suddenly. "Ah, Kendo!" Itsuka's here?!

"What's with that outfit of yours? Who knew that a tomboy like you could actually look like a proper woman! My goodness, you might be—!"

"Shut up, Monoma!"

CHOP!

Oh my God, I heard her chop from here! She truly has the Kendo's fist! It could kill a man with one punch! A loud groan erupts from Monoma, but I'm pretty sure nothing's broken. "You're a sadist, you know that, Kendo? Anyhow, your partner's in your room waiting for you. I'm pretty sure he's listening to our conversation right now."

"Yeah, thanks for sprucing Sanji up. See you later, you blonde rat," Itsuka snaps before I hear her footsteps coming closer to the door! Okay, I need to make sure everything's in order! We, mostly Monoma, worked very hard on this outfit! My current attire is similar to what I wore during my first gala. I'm wearing a white tuxedo outlined in black, but the collar is a dull gold. Underneath my suit jacket is a black vest with a gold leaf pattern through most of the fabric. Then, I have an ordinary white dress shirt with a black tie with a gold leaf pattern as well. What else… Black and gold belt, black and gold dress shoes—pretty sure no one's gonna notice my socks—I got that black fabric thing in my chest pocket, I have black cufflinks which look cool, and what else…? Right, my hair. Monoma used gel to "tame" my hair. My hair is naturally fluffy, going all over the place "much like myself", so Monoma thought it was a good idea to gel my hair. It's slick, sweeping towards the back of my head in nice, even strands. Not a single one looks out of place or uneven; Monoma was very meticulous.

I think that's it. That's what I'm wearing for this gala.

I stand about ten meters from the door with my hands at my lap, waiting for Itsuka to come. Her footsteps get louder and louder, the sound reminiscent of heartbeats. As she approaches, the anxiety in my heart flares up. Why am I so nervous all of the sudden? It's just Itsuka! It's just her, so why is my heart racing? Not like before, goodness no, but the good kind of a racing heart, y'know? Like that…

"Sanji!" Itsuka exclaims on the other side of the door, "I'm coming in! I gotta say, Reiko is a blessing when it comes to fashion. She gave me so much jargon that I thought she was speaking another language—"

—Itsuka walks inside.

"—!" Was that my voice?!

Holy crap, Itsuka looks amazing! I knew she would look fantastic, but this beats my expectations and then some! Just from a single glance, my entire body goes up in flames from my head to my toes. My little fire creates a roaring bonfire in my cheeks. God, Yanagi made her gorgeous. The dress isn't making Itsuka beautiful, but the other way around. It's a sparkling jade dress that goes below the knees. Surprisingly enough, there isn't a slit for her legs so her movement is restricted—need to ask her about that. I'm not complaining though, God no. Everything about her dress is food for the eyes. There's a gold pattern of a dragon that goes diagonally down her dress, dazzling anyone who would dare even glance at his ferocious face. And uh, her dress clings tightly to her body, highlighting her curves and the things that make her a woman. I'm not a pervert—I'm not trying to be one anyway—but uhm, that's something I noticed; admittedly, it's the first thing I noticed. I'm really not a pervert, but ugh! Moving on! Matching her dress, she's wearing jade heels, shoes that I never thought she'd wear. Her red hair is swept back into a bun, but there's two equally-lengthed strands that fall in front of her ears. I can smell perfume too. Itsuka always smelled like flowers, but with this perfume… How can I describe it? Well, in a poetic sense, it reminds me of an open plain filled to the brim with nature's touch, a day after a rainstorm. That's how I'd describe it without actually naming the scent, which probably describes nothing but that's just how I feel!

This is my partner? God, what did I do to have someone like her? My heart's pounding just from one glimpse! Just one! Ah, my body is making me smile without my input! It's probably a really creepy smile that'll weird her out! As much as I want to keep looking at her, I don't think my heart can take this!

I'm turning around! Yup, that's right! Just turn around and compose myself! I can't go downstairs looking like this! Damnit, when did I get so flustered about this? The only time I was this flustered was when Sakuna Kazeha asked me and Itsuka graphic details about our relationship! Basically, it was sex, but that's obviously implied so I don't know why I thought that! I mean, Itsuka is a very—Nope, my thoughts are tainted now! What the hell, Sanji?! Why are you acting like this today?!

Whack!

I slammed my palm against my forehead. It did absolutely nothing! I'm still flustered! "Uhm, Sanji?" Itsuka says with worry in her voice. "Am I that hideous where, with one look I might add, you immediately turned around and slapped yourself?"

"What?! Who would call you 'hideous'?! Show me the bastard who insulted you!" I find myself saying, turning around to find that Itsuka's really close to me . Holy crap, I didn't hear her approaching me! Startled, I take a step back and finish, "You're not hideous at all! I'm just, uhm, I'm just very surprised that you genuinely look good for once! Wait, that came out horribly wrong! I meant that you look, jeez how do I put this in words, you really look like a, uh, yeah you look like…. God, what am I trying to say?"

"Gorgeous?" Itsuka suggests. "Stunning, the epitome of beauty, incarnation of Aphrodite, the descendant of Amaterasu, and other dramatic compliments that Kuroiro would come up with? Jeez Sanji, why are you acting like a dork just because I threw together makeup and a dress?"

"Well, uh, you just…" I look down at her, briefly admiring her ocean-colored eyes. "You look amazing, Itsuka. That's what I was trying to say. You look absolutely amazing."

There's the warmth again. It's a lot harsher than before, threatening to roast me alive. Despite the intense heat in me, this is a heat that somehow brings comfort. I have no idea why this heat emerged in me, nor do I know what this heat is exactly, but I know that I would gladly re-experience this a thousand times over. This is going to be a guilty pleasure of mine, isn't it?

Itsuka, having a big smile on her face, steps up and grabs my tie. "It's a little crooked," she says, but I know for sure that it isn't. Monoma was very particular with my tuxedo; he spotted all imperfections and made them perfections.

"Heh…" There's a deep blush in Itsuka's cheeks, and I can feel a deep blush in mine too. As Itsuka slowly corrects my "crooked" tie, I apologize, "Sorry for acting weird… You really took me off-guard. You're really using that Chinese blood in you, huh?"

"Of course. Chinese dresses are amazing." She finishes adjusting my tie, still maintaining a close distance to me. She brings a hand to the side of her face, holding it there with a pretty smile. "Y'know, I never thought I would see you so flustered. I don't like dressing up like this, but if it means seeing you like that, then it's already worth it."

"Ditto," I agree with my heart beats drumming louder in my ears. "I love your dress."

"—Ah?" Her eyes go a little wide, being oddly surprised with what I said. I love her dress. Is that such a shock to hear?

I add, "I really do. I never thought you would wear something that would restrict your mobility. Your dress is clinging tightly to your body, and you're wearing heels! I can't believe you're wearing heels of all things! I—!"

Itsuka takes the hand off of her face and presses her index finger against my lips. "Stop talking already! That's the reason why I don't like wearing these things! It doesn't mean I can't wear them, I prefer not to. Thankfully, my dress doesn't restrict my movement too much. I'm still able to kick your ass."

"At least I like your dress," I awkwardly comment.

She sighs and turns around, pacing like she just needs to move her legs. "At least you love it. Anyway, that's enough about me. You look fantastic, Sanji. You look nothing but handsome. Even though Monoma is a rat with a blonde wig, he did an amazing job."

Being awkward again, I scratch the back of my head. "You're gonna make me blush, Itsuka."

"Dummy, you're already blushing!" she exclaims before she laughs. "Now come on, everyone else is waiting in the lobby. I would've texted you, but I wanted to fetch you myself."

"Guess you'll be my date then." I walk up to Itsuka and take her hand. A brief flash of heat goes through my body as I feel the soft texture of her skin, then it fades away as fast as it came. I say, "Let's go."

We leave our room, locking it behind us. There's no one else in the halls except for us. My partner has a silly little grin on her face. "This reminds me of last night, Sanji."

"God, without context, that sounds suspicious," I remark, remembering when I daydreamed this exact thing when Monoma was still here. "Before you came up, Monoma thought we had sex last night."

"Why in the hell would he think that? Just because Setsuna planted a condom in the nightstand, it doesn't mean we'll do that of all things, ugh…" She shivers. Somehow, I feel weirdly offended that she's disgusted at the thought.

"Well, I kinda daydreamed in front of his face about our conversation. Apparently, I was blushing and he saw, so he pried and pried until I chased him away."

"Then I chopped him."

"Then you chopped him, yeah."

"Why were you blushing through?" she asks. "All we did was hold hands."

"You know what Shojo says about hand-holding!" I exclaim, using my free hand to do some crazy gestures. "It's lewd!"

"It's not lewd! Do you think two elementary school kids holding hands is lewd? Of course not! It's just an innocent act between two consenting people!"

I chuckle a little. "That's the joke, Itsuka. I can't believe that went over your head—"

Squeeze!

With her iron grip, she turns his innocent act into an act of torture! I let out a pained gasp, and Itsuka eases up. "Either way, we were just holding hands. I wanted to avoid another strange nightmare. Seeing you sweaty and panicked really made me worry. I never want to see you like that again."

It's crazy how fast she switches from angry to genuinely concerned. "Yeah, I know. As you noticed though, you had a peaceful sleep last night. You didn't have your goofy partner wake you up dead in the night in a cold sweat." Thank goodness that happened. I would feel so bad if I woke Itsuka up again because of me.

"I'm more happy that I didn't wake up to you hyperventilating and shaking. Anyway, I don't wanna talk about this anymore. It's depressing, and I'd rather talk about the party we're about to attend."

"I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Mister Tokage is counting on us to not, y'know, screw things up for him."

"To say the truth, I don't give a damn what he wants. He's an asshole and doesn't give Setsuna the freedom she needs to thrive."

I remind her, "We talked about this before, Itsuka."

"I promised that I won't be argumentative whenever I'm talking to him. However, I'm still gonna complain about him."

Sighing, I squeeze her hand tighter. "Figured. We should at least recognize that he's helping us regardless of his motives. Like how you're going to act mature at this party. You're not doing it for him, but you're doing it for yourself."

"Yeah, you're definitely right. I mean, I'm not gonna act immature and bratty to get back at him. I'm not that kind of girl and I don't wanna be. Still, do you think we'll get anything out of this party? Besides getting the insider's look on what the future will bring?"

I shrug. "No idea. Monoma said he isn't going 'cause he doesn't wanna talk to old men ranting about Quirks and stuff. Frankly, a lot of people will bother me about the things I haven't done yet. It's...exhausting honestly."

"I can imagine…" Itsuka mutters.

I turn my head towards the ceiling. As we walk, we pass by light after light. "For once, I want to have a conversation with someone that doesn't involve my Quirk. I don't want to hear 'Because of your potential, you'll be more powerful than 1-A!' or 'You're destined to be an amazing Hero! Plus Ultra!'. Everyone is so obsessed about my Quirk that their expectations are literally in the stars, and I'm standing here on the ground looking up at what I'm meant to be—no, what everyone else wants me to be.

"I don't like the constant attention that everyone's giving me—our teachers, our friends, and the people we're yet to meet. I don't wanna be a great Hero, because that in itself defeats the entire purpose of heroism. I just want to save those who need saving and defeat those who need defeating. But I'm conflicted, y'know? I want to know more about my Quirk, I want to use it; I don't want the constant attention, I don't want the high expectations. I'd say I can't have my cake and eat it too."

That's just me I guess. Me being selfish as always. I can't have both. No matter how much I can complain or whine, in the end, I can't have both. I don't like being praised, especially for things I haven't even done. I don't like being put on a mantle for my power that I haven't shown yet. I don't like the attention I'm getting for my supposed "potential". Although I have these feelings, I think deep down, deep within myself, I know that my feelings ultimately don't matter. I will be a Hero. If it came down to it, if I have to decide between sacrificing my effectiveness as a Pro Hero or my heart, it'll have to be my heart.

In a way, I'm a little bit of a hypocrite. I say all these things, but I turn around and impose the same expectations on Midoriya. The reason why is… Well, I want to help him be the best version of himself. Himself and no one else. He wants to be a great Hero, and with his Quirk, he'll be it. Whatever his Quirk is, it's the key to a fulfilling life that he wants. He wants to be the greatest Pro Hero, and I want to be a Pro Hero. That's the difference between us in the simplest way possible.

Despite that, I'm still a hypocrite. I think I'm a hypocrite about a lot of things; most of them, I haven't realized yet.

Itsuka and I stop at the elevator. I press the button and we wait. My beautiful date beside me exhales, taking in what I just said. "I can't say that I understand what you're going through, because I can't. You're a rabbit hole that I don't wanna jump into, but you're a hand that I'd gladly hold."

"Funny," I reply, looking down where we're holding each other's hands.

"Thanks, I'm a comedian." Itsuka giggles a really cute giggle. "Anyway you goof, I won't lie, I've been thinking about your Quirk a lot. But remember our talk before David tested you? You're still my Sanji. I'll support you no matter what happens, and I have multiple times. Like a lot. I need a hundred people to count how many times I had to support you. Seriously, you have so many issues that—"

"Okay! I get the point!" I exclaim. "You were exaggerating, right? That was hyperbolic?"

Ding!

The elevator door opens. Luckily, there's no one inside. Itsuka stares at me and smiles. "Let's get in the elevator."

"Itsuka—"

"In the elevator!" She drags me inside and presses the button for the ground floor.

"Please tell me you were joking—"

"If you were blushing when you saw me, just wait until you see Reiko's dress."

"Itsuka!" I yell, my voice echoing inside the elevator.

She laughs, gently leaning her head against my arm. "I'm joking, don't worry. You're not a burden; you'll never be one. Anyway…" She takes her head off. "Everyone is probably waiting for us."

Itsuka tries to let go of my hand, but I still hold on. "Yup."

"You know they're gonna tease us when they see us holding hands, right?"

"I know. Just…" A little while longer , but I can't get the words out of my mouth. "Actually yeah, you're right."

I let go of her hand. Itsuka frowns, but before she can say something, the elevator door opens to the lobby. We hear the idle chatter of a few recognizable voices and that's it. There's faint music playing in the intercoms, and it's honestly kinda creepy—it's like we're in the setting of a horror movie. We step out of the elevator and see everyone sitting down on the lobby couches: Hayami, Shishida, Yanagi, Honenuki, Rin, and Yui. No Setsuna, oddly enough.

Hayami's wearing an exotic blue and black dress with a matching flower in her hair. She has her hair down and curled. Shishida's wearing his nicest tuxedo, which is ordinary considering how tuxedos go. He's a simple man despite his background. Yanagi though, she surprised me. She's wearing a silver and black dress with her hips exposed, revealing that she has an hourglass figure. Her hair, much like Itsuka's, is tied into a bun, but it's lower on her head. I almost didn't recognize her. Honenuki's rocking a black and orange suit; it's the same color scheme as his Hero Costume. He has a comically red—and very out-of-place—bowtie that he probably wore just so he could be funny. We have Hiryu Rin, who has his hair down, looking like a Chinese prince. His tuxedo is black and gold with a red tie. I'm surprised that Lian isn't here to see him. Last but not least is our beautiful Yui Kodai. She's wearing a crimson dress with a yellow belt that goes around her waist.

Honenuki waves us down with his trademarked toothy smile—I wonder how his smile would look like with lips? "What's up, my handsome man and my beautiful woman? Nice hair, Inochi."

"Thanks. Monoma nearly used an entire container of hair gel, but he says it's worth it. Itsuka didn't recoil in disgust when she saw me, so it must be good," I reply, laughing at my own joke. Itsuka rolls her eyes and goes over to her mom.

"Kehehe! Anyway, I was tryna serenade everyone with my good looks and jokes! No one laughed. Not a single one. I thought I would get Kodai to laugh, but look at her!" Honenuki points at a stone-faced Yui. Her face is so expressionless that she could be an android sent from the future. "It's impossible to get her to laugh!"

I raise a finger. "Well, you need to know how your local Yui Kodai operates. In the latest update, there's an exploit you can use to make your Yui laugh. Allow me to demonstrate this game-breaking exploit."

I look at Yui, and she looks at me. (Rin comments, "Why are you treating Kodai like a video game? You don't even play them, Inochi.") With a deep breath, I quietly mutter the secret codeword to make Yui laugh, "Weiner."

"Heh." Yui smiles.

Honenuki's jaw drops. "What the hell is that?! What did you just do, Inochi?!"

I stand to attention, having my hands at my side like I'm about to speak at a press conference. "For many years—" ("Not really," corrects Itsuka,) "—I, Sanji Inochi with the help of Setsuna Tokage, researched day and night to see how we can make Yui Kodai laugh—" ("That's not true," again corrects Itsuka,) "—before we found out something instrumental to our endeavor: Yui Kodai has a childish sense of humor. Just the mention of that word is enough to make her laugh." ("Did you ever think that Yui laughs so you guys would stop bothering her?" again again Itsuka says.)

Putting his hands together, Honenuki gets on his knees like I am the second coming of Jesus Christ. ' With the utterance of a single word, the Lord bestowed upon Man the knowledge to invoke laughter through the stoic Saint's lips.' - the Gospel of Sanji Inochi. "Thank you, Inochi. I will use this to my advantage."

Yui hums, "Mmm." Okay.

Approaching Yui, Honenuki looks down at her with narrow eyes. "Weiner."

"Heh."

"Weiner, weiner."

"Heh, heh."

"Hmm… Weinerweinerweinerweinerweinerweinerweiner."

"Hehhehhehhehhehhehheh."

"Oh my God, it works!"

Itsuka scolds us, "Yui is not a toy, you guys!"

Shishida is aghast at what's going on. "What is this…?"

Yanagi doesn't look too pleased. "I agree with Itsuka's statement."

Hayami is trying her best to not burst out in laughter.

Before Rin says anything, Honenuki exclaims, "Hey Rin, you gotta try it out! Say it! C'mon, say it!"

Rin, who looks very uncomfortable, just looks at our childish Yui and goes, "Uhm okay? Wein...er?"

Yui doesn't laugh.

Honenuki snaps, "That's a pathetic weiner, Rin! Try harder!"

"What?! Did you even recognize what kind of implications you made—?!"

"I don't care! Your weiner was shit! I want a better weiner than that!"

"Fine! Weiner!"

Yui doesn't laugh.

"Louder, Rin! Like you really mean it! You want a strong weiner, right?! Louder!"

"WEINER!" shouts Rin enthusiastically. Well, I guess he really likes weiners.

"Heh," Yui laughs.

Itsuka loudly groans, burying her face in her hands. "You guys will be the death of me!" She looks at Hayami. "And don't you dare laugh, Mom! You have a terrible sense of humor too!"

Hayami clears her throat, shaking her head. "I do not! I am a very mature woman! After all, I gave birth to a very mature daughter! We're just lucky that no one else is here! I mean that literally. No one else besides us is here."

"Wait, what?" I stop her right there. "Not even the workers? Or the other businessmen? Where did everyone go?"

She explains, "For the businessmen, where do you think? They're probably at the gala or doing some business deals or whatever, I'm not a corporate stooge. For the workers… Well, Ishtar texted me earlier. In the past, the hotel would pretty much be empty on the night of the gala. So, the owners of the hotel have a mandatory company party that everyone has to go to a few streets down.

"She asked me if you guys could, y'know, not destroy the building, it'll be amazing. I even told her that I could ask some of our trusted, adult friends to help watch everyone that's staying here. She said yes. Lian, Grandmaster, and The Count are coming as we speak."

Itsuka says, "So they literally left a class of high school students alone. How does this even happen?!"

"In their defense, they probably never anticipated us until the last minute," Rin suggests, his voice kinda shaky after embarrassing himself earlier. I feel bad for him. Only a shameless man could yell that with such heart, but Rin is not a shameless man. He feels shame just like any other man.

Anyway, I'm a little disappointed that Master Kendo isn't down here to see his loved ones off. He's probably watching the rest of the class. Eh, it's not like this is the last time we'll be seeing him. We'll be back.

"Speaking of anticipation, where in the world is Setsuna?" Yanagi asks, looking around for her. "I have not seen her ever since she got dressed for the gala. Is she alright? She would most certainly enjoy whatever the banter was earlier."

Hayami answers, "Ah, she told me she has to do something with Okichi. Don't worry, they're not gonna do anything immoral. And no Sanji, you can't chase them down and kill Okichi."

"Damn," I reply. Everyone gives me a look of… Well, it's basically, What the hell, Sanji?! "Either way, she'd be down here when our ride arrives. Mister Tokage is sending a car for us, right? Just so we're clear."

She nods. "Yup. Until then, we can just sit around and wait."

And I guess we wait.

---

Oh my God, it's been an hour.

Honenuki, who looks ready to choke himself to death with his own collar, complains, "I am going to run to the gala myself if that guy doesn't come here in the next five minutes! Who's with me?!" No one is with him. "Just me? Alright!"

Hayami sighs. She already took her heels off because they were getting uncomfortable for her. "That asshole better not have left us behind on purpose. God, the gala's started fifteen minutes ago! Hey Sanji!"

"I'm Sanji," I reply.

"Can you call Setsuna and see what's up?" she asks.

"Of course." I pat my pocket. My phone isn't there! I left it in my room! "Hey Itsuka, can you call Setsuna? I left my phone in our room."

Itsuka gives me a dirty look. "It took you an hour to realize that?! How much of an airhead can you be?! You really are gonna be the death of me, Sanji… Go ahead and get your phone. I'll call our lizard and see what the hell's going on."

"Thanks! You're the best!" I say, running to the elevator. Thankfully, it's still on the ground level. I get inside, press Floor 51, and wait.

I actually don't have anything to think about. I mean, I'm worried about Setsuna. Okichi better not be a serial killer. Actually, I hope he is because I have a good excuse to use my katana on him. Wait, that sounds bad! I want Setsuna to live! She's my best friend and I'll be crushed if she dies at the hands of that guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth!

Ding!

I'm here. I find my room and unlock the door, going inside. And I find my phone! It's sitting on the table right where I left it. Why did I leave it here again? Oh right, my conversation with Monoma. I wanted to check if I was blushing or not, so I used my phone. I just never picked it back up.

I…

Chills go down my spine.

The window.

I need to look out the window.

With my phone in hand, I approach the window that looks into the center island, moving the curtains away. I-Island is beautiful, but there's a weird feeling in my chest. I can't admire the beauty, I can only look at the central tower where the gala's taking place in.

"The central tower…" I mutter. "Something's happening."

I touch the window and see my reflection. I blink, then I see one of my ancestor's phantoms looking at me, taking the place of my reflection. It's the one with the golden glow. He warns me, "You sense it, don't you? The impending danger? Take care of yourself, dreamer. Fight, your life depends on it."

He disappears.

I-Island is getting attacked. I feel it. I feel the danger in the air.

"This is an announcement from I-Island's security system!"

"—!"

"We have received a report where an explosive device was located somewhere within the I-Island complex!"

A bomb?!

"For the safety of all citizens, I-Island Security Bots will be dispatched! If you are able, please find shelter and remain inside until the threat is handled! Thank you for your understanding! The threat will end as soon as possible!"

I need to call Itsuka! I—?! No service?! What the hell?! What the hell is going on?!

PHSSSSSH!

Above me?!

That sound… That sounds just like when Todoroki creates ice!

---

Shindeka Oji

"Look at us, Shindeka. We're in the cool kids club. We were asked to watch over Class 1-B like the trendy adults we are! How do you feel about that?" Claude asks.

"We're babysitters, Claude. That's all we are: babysitters. The only trends we're setting is law and order. Frankly, I do not know why Miss Kendo asked for your help. You're just as chaotic as the kids we're supposed to watch."

"That's hurtful. It's the truth, but still hurtful! I'm practically your husband, and that's what you say about me?"

"I've known you for years. If anything, if I don't know that about you, then I have a serious problem that needs addressing."

"Well, Lian Fei-Long is coming too! How do you feel about that handsome devil?"

"He gives off more of a chaotic energy than you do. I honestly don't understand why Miss Kendo would bring two sources of pure chaos to watch her kids. I assume she expects us three to be proper role models for these future Heroes. I'm sorry to say that she'll be very disappointed in us."

"I'll make sure that she won't be disappointed in us. I can be a great role model for those kids! In fact, I'll be such a great role model that they call me their uncle! That's right! Uncle Claude! I like the sound of that, don't you think?"

"...I hate it. You'll spoil those kids too much."

"Really, Uncle Shindeka?"

"Yes, and don't call me that."

"What's wrong, Cool Uncle Shindeka?"

"No."

"What about Dad? Papa Shindeka!"

"Oh my God, please stop. I will—"

"—Ahhhh!" A man's screaming. Claude and I immediately tense up, looking towards the source of the scream. It's not a prank. When you truly believe you are about to die, there is a sense of horror in your chest. And when you scream, you display that horror in the most audible way possible. That's why it is impossible to replicate a scream. Thankfully, this is not a blood-curdling scream. If it was that, then the man would be on his last breaths.

"Claude!" I exclaim, but he's already running towards the source. I didn't even have to tell him. The scream came from a nearby alley between two towering buildings. Claude, being the faster one here, arrives at the entrance of the alley first, and I arrive just shortly after. Within a glance, the alleyway shrouded in an abundant amount of darkness—too much to be created naturally. This is the Villain's Quirk. Every inch of the alleyway is pure black, almost like the abyss. And I'm sure that the abyss is staring back.

I barely see a masked figure with a black cloak enveloping their entire body. The cloak reflects the moonlight just slightly where I can see them. That's the Villain. They're hovering over a bleeding man wearing a suit, who's leaning against the wall clutching his side. Claude is about to charge in, but I stop him. Stepping into this alleyway would mean death. Quickly, I pull out my revolver and aim towards the Villain's head.

Cock!

"—?!"

BANG!

I cocked the revolver and the Villain turned their head towards me, but it was too late. I pulled the trigger. As I fired, the burst of light dispelled the surrounding darkness—that's the Quirk's weakness. The bullet connects with the Villain's skull, their head snapping back before their body falls into their own darkness. Then, the alleyway comes back to life. The darkness is gone.

Claude runs up to the bleeding man. The bleeding man shouts, "Stop! Don't come any closer!" But Claude's already there. Damnit, he must know about the Villain. The Villain targeted him specifically. I run up to them and—?!

"Hakan Aldemir?!" Why is he here?! Who would try and kill this man?! "What in the world happened to you?!"

Hakan looks up to me, managing to crack a grin. "Of course you'd be the one to rescue me, Grandmaster. But fuck, you really should've have come here. You just fell into her trap."

Claude yells, "What the hell do you mean?! Whose trap?!"

"Mine," the Villain says. Her voice is modified through a voice modulator, but I can tell that she sounds like a woman.

All around us, the abyss is slowly creeping to take our lives. The entire world is darkening right before our eyes. Looking at Claude, I shout, "Take out your phone, Claude. Light's the only way to counter her Quirk!"

Claude takes out his phone and turns on the flashlight. He waves it around, scaring off the creeping shadows that nearly swallowed us whole. I don't have evidence for this line of thought, but my intuition is telling me that if we step into the shadows, we would be instantly killed. There would be no ceremony, no parade. It will just be a cold, callous death.

Claude shines the flashlight around the alleyway, trying to locate the Villain. He points it at the end where—!

WHOOOM!

CLANG!

"Shit!" Claude swears just after the Villain through a dagger! His hand is cut, and due to the impact of the dagger flying as fast as a bullet, he drops his phone. The screen is shattered but the phone isn't wholly destroyed; the flashlight is still on. The light illuminates the end of the hallway where the Villain stands, her shadow taking up the majority of the cone of light behind her striking the wall. She wields two glimmering daggers, and under her hood, she's glaring with the dangerous intent to kill.

Seeing her now, dread begins to poison my blood. Briefly, I have hallucinations of death before I shake them away. We're surrounded by darkness completely defenseless, but she's not attacking. She can kill us right now, but she isn't.

Using this time, I hoist Hakan's arm over my shoulder, lifting him up. The Villain stabbed his side. He's bleeding, but it isn't too terrible. He'll live given the proper medical treatment. The three of us stare back at the threat, who simply cocks her head tauntingly. "I'm impressed, Grandmaster." She knows my name. "You were able to deduce my Quirk's weakness. Let me guess: when you fired, you noticed my Shadows scattering away from the light created from the discharge? How observant."

Her Japanese is almost perfect, but she has a slight accent. She's a foreigner. I reply, "That's correct. Given how this alleyway is nearly shrouded in darkness, I figure light is your weakness considering how thematic that is. And, you haven't killed us yet. Is there something you want?"

She nods. "Hakan Aldemir. I'm willing to let you and The Count live if you drop the garbage where he stands. You can't win this fight, Grandmaster. It's impossible."

Then why is she letting us live? Why is she offering us this deal? Wouldn't it be easier to kill Claude and I but not Hakan? It would be incredibly easy to do that given her Quirk. I don't believe it's impossible to defeat her, because she believes that it's not impossible. She knows that she can be defeated. If she knows who Claude and I are, then she knows what our Quirks are. Aftershadow is Claude's Quirk, but mine?

My Quirk is a trade secret. There are only two people who know my Quirk: Claude and Gran Torino.

Thus, the Villain doesn't know what my Quirk is, and she doesn't want to take any chances. For all she knows, I can kill her instantly with a single glance. That is how unpredictable Quirks are. They can nearly do almost anything. And mine…

Well, given the right circumstances and a dash of luck, I'll be able to defeat her. The chances of that happening though is about one out of one million.

Claude glances at me, and I smile. With the hand that's holding my revolver, I carelessly wave it around in her general direction. I answer, "Whatever business you have with Hakan Aldemir, you'd have to wait until my business with him has finished. You see, I made an offer to him and I still haven't received an answer. On an unrelated note, you shattered Claude's phone , which was rude of you."

At the emphasis of "phone", both Hakan and Claude realize that I still have my phone with me. It's in my coat pocket, and Hakan is at the perfect angle to discreetly take it. Without prompting, he does exactly that. He takes the time to distract the Villain himself actually, "I won't lie, that was a little rude. I'm lucky that I screamed. Your Master wasn't the best teacher, was he?"

The Villain growls. "Don't you dare mention him, you filth! I will get what I want even if it means tearing every strand of muscle off your bones! Unfortunately for you, you just doomed both of your rescuers to a sad and pathetic death!"

The shadows rush forward! I shout, "Hakan!"

He pulls out my phone with his bloody hand. But then, right before our eyes, my phone slip out of his bloodied fingers. "Fuck!"

Claude exclaims, "Shindeka!"

Time seems to slow, then. That phone was our only way to live. Without the light, we're doomed. I don't have enough time to aim my revolver at the Villain. Even then, she could easily throw a dagger into my chest by the time I pulled the trigger.

Ah, dammit all.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use my Quirk. That's the only way we can live. Well, if I overuse my Quirk—which is incredibly easy—it's the only way Claude can live. From the moment we set foot in the alleyway, our fate was sealed.

I inhale a short breath. I—?!

"—Begone!"

Who—?!

GOLDEN ASTRAL FIVE: GOD'S HAND - PALM OF THE EMPEROR!

From the entrance of the alleyway, a golden, fiery hand rushes through the space, crackling with more energy than I can comprehend. The light produced from the attack forces the shadows to vanish, and the power cracks the walls of the two buildings that surround this coffin of ours. Claude sees the hand coming forth. He grabs Hakan and I, pushing us against the wall, narrowly avoiding the roaring energy attack.

BAM!

The attack collides against the back wall of the alleyway, destroying the wall completely. A shockwave comes after the impact, almost taking me off of my feet. But we're saved. The energy attack came from an Energy-type Quirk of a golden color. I could feel the afterglow of the power still vibrating in the air. And the voice… It could belong to one man.

"Ah, just in the nick of time, darlings!" Lian Fei-Long. He runs up to us fearlessly. His body has a slight golden glow to it.

Just down the alleyway, the sound of someone landing is just barely audible. I look up and see the Villain still standing after Lian's attack, glaring at him in particular. "Lian Fei-Long. I didn't expect you to appear. Oh well, I'll be taking my leave."

Lian clenches his teeth. "Not so fast, darling—!"

— SCOURGING SHADOWS!

Again, but with ferocity, a scourge of shadows rush to our position. They sound like rampaging, rabid animals aiming to tear us from limb to limb. Lian shouts, "To me!" The three of us launch to our feet, surrounding Lian, nearly hugging him even.

"—Come!" Lian throws out his arms, manifesting a golden dome that surrounds all four of us inside, keeping the shadows out from maiming us whole. Then, pushing his hands forward, the dome expands outwards like an electric net!

GOLDEN ASTRAL ONE: DIVINE SHIELD - DRAGON'S DEFENSE!

From the Super Move, the shadows die off from the golden light, purging the alleyway from the Villain's Quirk. The golden shield dissipates with its energy faintly crackling in the air. The walls between us are slightly cracked from Lian's attacks. They must've been at low-power. Any higher and he would've killed us by having two buildings fall right on top of us.

Breathing heavily, Hakan smiles, bowing his head. "I never thought we'd get our sorry asses saved by Shangdi of all men. After this, I'm thanking God for the luck He has given me, my Lord…."

Lian nods, frantically looking around to see if the Villain's still here. "I'll sign autographs later, my good man. We should flee before the Villain has any second thoughts!"

"Agreed, let's go!" I yell, and the four of us dash out of the alleyway. A few curious bystanders and passerbys glance at us, and some of them are even asking what happened. I'd apologize for the property damage, but we have no inkling of clue whether or not the Villain is watching us from afar.

We make it onto the main road, straight towards the Gemini Hotels in the distance. We're almost there. We'll make it within a few minutes. Hakan asks, "Where the hell are we going again?"

Claude answers, "The Gemini Hotels! We have some kids to babysit!"

"And you're bringing me to them?! You realize that she doesn't care about teenagers, right?! If they're in the way, she'll kill them all the same!" he pleads.

Lian laughs at his pleading, assuring him, "You have me with you! That darling wouldn't dare to do anything when I'm around! She's fully aware of the power I wield! If she knows better, then she'll stay her distance."

"That's what you think, and she's not a darling! She killed thousands of people!"

"I'm sorry, it's a habit! I call everyone 'darling' whether they like it or not!"

I shout, "Is this really a good time to be arguing?! God, how is your wound, holding up, Hakan? We'll deal with it once we're at the hotel."

"I'll live if she doesn't show up again," he says.

Claude asks, "Who was she anyway?! You know an awful lot about her!"

Hakan cringes, gritting his teeth. "She's—!"

"This is an announcement from I-Island's security system!"

What the—?!

"We have received a report where an explosive device was located somewhere within the I-Island complex!

"For the safety of all citizens, I-Island Security Bots will be dispatched! If you are able, please find shelter and remain inside until the threat is handled! Thank you for your understanding! The threat will end as soon as possible!"

Claude asks again, "Okay! Is that the lady's fault?! Mon Dieu, what the hell is going on?! I thought this would be a pleasant vacation!"

Hakan shakes his head. "I don't have a single damn clue! I don't have the answer to everything, you know!"

Lian winces. "Dammit, I'm coming, Lin!"

We arrive at the entrance of Gemini Hotels. We hear the clamoring of people behind us and the sounds of I-Island security bots. There aren't any around here. We see light in the lobby, and a group of men and women dressed up for an extravagant party.

It's them.

---

Setsuna Tokage

Castor Room 5815, the last room of this floor.

It's Rikiya Yotsubashi's room, also known as Re-Destro. Of course he brought one of the best rooms in the hotel. Anyway, this is Operation Reverse Liberation! Just gotta find his laptop and plug in T.R.I.P. and get the data. That's it! That's all I need to do! God, this is the first operation that makes me nervous. After all, I'm directly conspiring against a massive Villain group and not my friends. There's a big difference from someone as cute as Yui to someone who probably killed more people than I can count.

I mean, to be fair, Yui killed millions using her cuteness alone. That's not relevant, but that's something that I had to say.

Right now, my two eyes and hands are floating towards Re-Destro's room. I'm sitting right next to Okichi on the same floor. The only reason why I'm on the floor where the crime takes place is because of my limit. Gemini Hotels is a big place and that's a bad thing. My segmented pieces can only go so far before they stop functioning altogether. That's why I have to be on Floor 58 to ensure my pieces won't suddenly stop working, because I don't get a warning. It just happens and I have to either: regenerate my lost limbs or move closer and reactivate them. The former drains my energy and the latter isn't good because…

"Okichi, how's the five drunks?" I ask.

"Drunk," he responds. How helpful. "I cannot believe these buffoons would actually drink when they could be attending a perfectly good party! They're gouging themselves on beer the common people would drink. If they could afford to stay in such a luxurious room, then they have the capability of purchasing high-quality craft from the local brewery."

"Is that seriously what you're pissed about? The quality of their beer? Look, sometimes men need something to get them drunk. They don't care about the taste," I say.

Okichi huffs. "Alcoholics are alcoholics, I understand. But I know three perfectly good breweries that are famous for their work in I-Island! If they cannot enjoy a good beverage, then they ought to enjoy nothing but peddled garbage that the lower class drink." There he goes again. I'm a child who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but I don't flaunt that around! Ugh, that's not the point of this operation though!

He moves around grumpy at our conversation. Well, I can't see him move exactly since I'm blind and handless, but I feel him brush against my dress. God, I need to finish this before Dad's ride gets here, and do it before one of the dunkards comes out of their room. This is one of the unexpected variables that I figured would pop up. These guys don't wanna go to a party, so they decided to ditch it and get drunk instead. I respect that kind of attitude, but really? Now? They're just making my life harder than it should be.

Anyway, I'm at the door. I wiggle the handle and it's locked—kinda hoping that it was locked because if it wasn't, I'd be more concerned than overjoyed. Besides, despite the fancy electronic lock on the door, the security on this door is actually low. The door is not installed properly where the latch bolt is exposed through a thin gap between the strike plate and the door frame. I can use the old credit card trick to slide between the bolt and the frame, do some magic, and boom , open sesame.

CLICK!

And it worked. It opened as easy as that. I slide my parts inside and close the door behind me, leaving it open a crack just in case I need to make a quick getaway. Okichi lets out a satisfied hum when I unlocked the door. "After this, I'm sending a complaint to the hotel about the poor security. The locks may look intimidating, but a child could break in."

"I swear, if we need to break into someone's room again and the security is like Tartarus, I'm blaming you," I quietly retort, my eyes searching for Re-Destro's laptop. I'm in the living room space—kinda smaller than the living room at home actually. Ah, this is no time to compare! If I was a radical idealist aiming for Quirk liberation, where would I have my laptop?

Hmm, aha! There's the gold! His computer bag is on the couch! I tell Okichi, "Spotted the computer bag. The laptop's probably inside, so I'm going in."

"Okay, the drunkards are still drunk. They've gotten quieter ever since you entered the room, but they're still chatting about inane things," he informs.

I unzip Re-Destro's computer bag and take his laptop out. It's nothing too spectacular, but good enough to do his job. I open it up to a picture of his "most valued" employees standing together for a group photo. There's a white banner overhead that says, "THANK YOU MR. YOTSUBASHI!" I wonder if any of them are apart of the M.L.A.? Eh, I'll find out soon enough. I plug T.R.I.P. into one of the USB slots and the screen turns black. A box appears in the middle of the screen with a few options, but the one I want is the second one: "Data Extraction".

On the other end of T.R.I.P., I plug in a flash drive and hit the second option. It tells me I have five minutes until I can safely remove the devices. Alright, now all I need to do is wait. Thank God for this thing. It can bypass the password and any security measures built into the laptop. Apparently, Okichi got it from one of his cybersecurity friends. Anywho, Okichi asks, "Is everything sorted?"

"Yup, we need to wait five minutes before everything is extracted. Hopefully, it's five minutes. Last year, my laptop had an update. It told me it'd finish in three hours. After twenty-four hours, it still said three hours. Here's hoping it's actually five minutes."

"I know the pain. Anyhow, you were worried for nothing, my Setsuna. You were so stressed about fighting the M.L.A. when we could conduct mischievous actions while they are away enjoying fine wine and idle conversation. In actuality, our operation was as simple as this."

"Haha, you proved me wrong, congrats," I deadpan. "But you gotta understand that my concerns were valid. These are dangerous people. One misstep and we're toast. Speaking of toast, we're not saying anything about this to my dad."

"Naturally. He'd be furious. Not only did you risk your life fighting Catharsis, you risked it again fighting the Meta Liberation Army; however, you purposely went behind his back despite his orders. Are you entering your rebellious phase, Setsuna?"

"Shut up, I'm not. I just…" I exhale. "I just think this is the right choice. My friends would do the same if they were in my shoes. Though, they'd go against him no matter what. They don't like my dad, especially Itsuka." Don't think I ignored every single time Itsuka antagonized my dad. She really hates him.

"Well, your father doesn't let anyone inside that grand castle of his," Okichi says. "The only person he trusts is himself. He doesn't trust the Hero Public Safety Commission, he doesn't trust the government, he doesn't trust Pro Heroes. Why did he push you towards heroism?"

"That's simple," I reply, angling my head downwards. "He wants me to be a Hero because I could further benefit our company. I'll eventually take over it someday, so everything he's doing is just preparation."

"Like I said, Fuyushiro Tokage doesn't let anyone inside his grand castle. Not even his daughter; not even his wife. On the outside looking in, you could say he doesn't love you or your mother." What the hell is this guy saying?!

"He loves us!" I exclaim, louder than I wanted it to be. I shrink, going into a whisper, "Dad loves us. You're totally wrong about that."

"Maybe, maybe not. I see you two in the same room many times, and not once did I ever hear a 'I love you' come from his lips. I don't see small gestures of affection coming from his hands, neither to you or your mother. When you were hurting, did he ever comfort you? My father, despite having such a busy schedule ever since I could remember, always ensured that I was happy any chance he could get."

He… He never did that when I was growing up. Mom was the only one who comforted me whenever I was crying. I'm sure that Dad had freetime to check up on his daughter, but he locked himself in his study doing who-knows-what. I mean, Mom always told me he's just a distant man in general. I'm sure he loves me. Why else would he have me? I know he had a Quirk Marriage with Mom, but she told me she loves him. I'm sure he feels the same way, I'm sure!

"You know, you're starting to piss me off, Okichi. You're supposed to be my arranged fiance and all, but I wanna punch you in the face. My dad, he's a better man than you think. He isn't a crappy Villain like how the M.L.A. are."

"I hope I'm proven wrong, but I am not expecting much. Your father is as cold as fathers can get. I—"

Bzzt!

The extraction is done. "It's done," I say, ignoring what Okichi said. I unplug T.R.I.P and the flash drive from Re-Destro's laptop, putting it back in his computer bag. There, Operation Reverse Liberation is complete. I leave the room, shutting the door behind me. It should be locked hopefully.

With my body whole again, I give Okichi back his gift from his buddies, put my credit card and flash drive in my pocket—thank God that this dress has pockets in the first place—and that's it. Operation done. It's anti-climatic, but I'd prefer this ending over anything else. No all-out fight, no blood, no tears, just that.

Me and Okichi stand up. He doesn't come up with any remarks. He can tell that I'm just a little mad that he insulted Dad so carelessly like that. It's bad enough that Itsuka does it, but him? I don't really like him in the first place. Sighing, I tell him, "Let's head down to the lobby. Everyone's waiting for us."

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

"First, I need to take this phone call." I take my phone out and it's Itsuka. I answer it, "What's going on, my beautiful tomboy?"

"Where the hell are you?!" she shouts. "We've been waiting an hour for our ride to get here! The gala's starting!"

"Is it eight o'clock already?!"

"Did you seriously forget?! What were you doing with Tokugawa anyway?! You better have a good excuse or Sanji will kill him!"

"We had to take care of something regarding a friend of ours! I thought it wouldn't take much time at all, but apparently an hour went by! Sorry Itsuka, I'll try and come down as soon as possible, okay?"

"You better! Honenuki is about to choke himself with his collar."

"You should let him."

"I'm tempted to."

I hang up. Okichi sighs. "Our driver is incompetent. It's eight and he hasn't arrived? The gala's getting started right about now! I suppose we'll be fashionably late."

"Uh huh, yeah," I reply, crossing my arms. "I'm the only fashionable one here. Anyway, enough talking. We gotta get going."

"Of course. After you, Setsuna—?!"

Click, clack…

Footsteps in front of us, just around the corner. Okichi stops, his eyes going wide. He didn't hear this guy?!

Appearing from the corner, a beautiful man with short white hair faces us. He's wearing a dark-colored parka with a fur-lined hood. In his hands, he's holding a water bottle. Though, if I had to say which white-haired beauty is more handsome—him or Sanji—I'd say Sanji, but that isn't important right now. If he's able to make Okichi, who has a super hearing Quirk, surprised, then he's more than suspicious. Staring at us, he suddenly forms a smile. "Setsuna Tokage and Okichi Tokugawa. It's a coincidence that we're able to meet."

He knows our names. I can feel the fear coming off of Okichi's body. Stammering, he replies, "Y-Yes… May I… May I ask your name, sir?"

"Geten. Though, in English, my name would be Apocrypha. It means—"

I answer him, "A story of unknown author or origin…"

Geten nods, taking a step forward. "That's right… I'll confess something: I used to be lost without direction until I found my purpose. This parka is simply a manifestation of that purpose. It gives me the strength I need; it's rushing through my blood as we speak. It's the courage that allows me to fight for what I believe is right."

BURST!

Behind us! A door just suddenly burst open! Okichi shouts, "It's a trap, Setsuna! The drunkards were deceiving us! Get out of here!"

"Dammit!" Which way do I go?! Geten must have a powerful Quirk if he's covering one exit! The stairwell is right behind him just around the corner! But behind me, there's another stairwell at the end of the hall! Considering that five M.L.A. soldiers are sprinting towards us, they're probably just grunts! I could use their numbers against them! That means I have a better chance with them than with Geten!

I step back and—?!

CHARGE!

Okichi's going the other direction?! What the hell is he doing?! "Get out of my way, you Meta Liberation Army scum!" He makes it past Geten, but—!

"—Be quiet, you stupid brat!"

TOSS!

The water bottle?!

PHSSSSSH!

Ice?! The water bottle exploded into ice! That end of the hallway is covered with it, just like Todoroki's Quirk! Geten can't create ice, but he has the ability to manipulate the ice around him! Even changing the temperature too! Oh crap, Okichi's trapped! I can't worry about him! I need to get out of here with the skin on my back!

I need to run! That's all I need to do! Just run!

I turn on my feet, running away from Geten and down the hall. Five guys in suits start running towards me, shouting obscenities and swears. If I split apart now, I'd unfortunately be naked since this dress isn't made up of my organic cells like my Hero Costume is. As much as I like living, I'd rather not run away naked!

How am I going to get past them then?! They're members of the M.L.A., so they're trained with their Quirks! Each of them basically have the same training as Pro Heroes! If I do manage to run away, I'd be leading them downstairs until I either go to Floor 47, where I can get help from my friends. But that's if I don't get caught, and if these guys won't capture my friends too. Maybe the best way to get out of this situation is to let myself be captured.

My friends will inevitably be involved in this situation. Geten used his Quirk, so everyone in Castor heard him. They'll rescue me and Okichi, right? Ah, wait… Why would the M.L.A. give us up? They won't just return us to our friends without something in it for them. That's why my friends need a bargaining chip.

The flash drive. It has all of the information from Re-Destro's laptop. I can detach one of my hands and fly it downstairs until it goes out of my range. But to ensure that the henchmen won't just chase after my hand, I need to distract them. I—?!

— POP! POP! POP!

The lights. For a brief second, each of the lights got brighter before they explode, shattering over my head. That must be one of the Quirks of the men: Illuminate. He can control the amount of lumen in a light source. Because of Illuminate, I nearly fall over from being partially blinded and being hit with the fragments that came with each tiny explosion. This actually works in my favor. Because the lights are shattered, the hallway is darker! It'll be harder to notice my hand flying away!

With my left hand, I dig into my pocket and grab the flash drive, clutching it tightly. With my right, I take out my phone. The screen turns on. As soon as it does, the screen gets brighter and brighter on its own. That's exactly what I wanted.

THROW!

I hurl my phone over to the five men like a grenade, because that's exactly what it is. Illuminate can't help but use his Quirk because he has no idea what I'm gonna do with my phone. It's better if he destroys it.

Knowing that, the best thing to do is let them have my phone!

POP!

My screen explodes, sounding like a balloon popping. My phone, acting like a flashbang, blinds them. They'll recover pretty soon, but this gives me the opportunity to detach my left hand. It dashes past the group without any of them being aware of its presence. I manage to past them myself, but when they recover—

GRAB!

YANK!

One of them grabbed my hair and yanked me onto the ground. I roll over onto my belly, tucking my left arm underneath me. I can't let them see that my left hand is gone, or else they'll start looking for the flash drive.

"Geten!" says one of the men, "we got her!"

Another soldier presses his foot against my back, making sure I stay there. Snarling, he presses down, inducing a gasp from me. What a creep, I bet he likes doing this to girls. "Stay down, you brat. This is what you deserve for acting against us."

The other three men surround me as Geten approaches. He warns, "Be careful. She can use her Quirk to split her body into small fragments. When that happens, it'll be nearly impossible to catch her. Now, bring her onto her feet."

The man who has his foot on me does exactly that. He grabs my right arm and pins it against my back. I make sure to hide my left arm inside my pocket. One of the men, he's leaning against the wall, comments, "Check her left arm. She's hiding something."

"No need," Geten tells him, leaning forward and staring down at me. "She's trying to hide the fact that she detached her left hand. You didn't think I saw that? When you used your phone as a distraction, your hand flew down the hall. As we speak, it's going downstairs, isn't it?"

I stay silent. But fuck, he got me.

"Should we look for it, Geten?" a soldier asks, different from the last three who spoke.

"We—"

"This is an announcement from I-Island's security system!"

What…? Why is there an announcement now?

"We have received a report where an explosive device was located somewhere within the I-Island complex!

"—?!"

"For the safety of all citizens, I-Island Security Bots will be dispatched! If you are able, please find shelter and remain inside until the threat is handled! Thank you for your understanding! The threat will end as soon as possible!"

Geten puts a hand over his face, starting to laugh like an actual evil villain. Did the Meta Liberation Army did this? Are they trying to take over I-Island?! "Hahahaha!" laughs Geten. His soldiers are just as amused as he is. From his parka, he takes out a walkie-talkie, turning it on. "Re-Destro, your predictions were right. They really did happen."

On the other end, I hear Rikiya Yotsubashi's voice. "That's why I had you stay back, Geten."

---

The Start of The Hidden Battle

"I knew that the daughter of Fuyushiro Tokage was conspiring something against our good cause. She was planning our very downfall, Geten. All for what? To uphold the flawed nature of the world we live in? Disgusting, utterly repulsive. If she was my daughter, I don't know how I would undo her brainwashing," Rikiya Yotubashi—Re-Destro—says over the walkie-talkie, standing on a rooftop looking ahead at the Gemini Hotels. Beside him are a few of his closest allies, his comrades fighting for the same righteous cause he believed in.

On the other end, Geten replies, "I agree, Re-Destro… Setsuna Tokage really attempted to ruin our cause. I… I have to tell you that she managed to take the flashdrive and hid it somewhere within Castor. If we don't get to it first, then our cause could actually—!"

"Don't fret, my boy," assures Re-Destro, "we'll find the flash drive in due time. Just focus on restraining Okichi Tokugawa and Setsuna Tokage, especially Setsuna. She is a slippery little lizard, so do not let her out of your sight. After we're done with her and her classmates, we can move onto our other plans."

"I will. I am sworn to carry out your commands. Let us be liberated," Geten says before cutting away. Re-Destro sighs, his arms hanging by his side. There's an exasperated look on his face as if he never wanted this in the first place. To have Setsuna act against him ? On such an opportune night for the Meta Liberation Army? She was just a thorn in his side.

And there came more thorns, just running towards the hotel. Four men are running to the entrance. Gajin Nobuto—Vainglory—watches them with binoculars in his hands. Informing the rest of his allies, he says, "We have more men to worry about. Grandmaster, The Count, some random man, are joining. But most worryingly, Shangdi is apart of the group. The ones who're going to the gala, they haven't left yet. Fuyushiro didn't send a car to pick them up, did he?"

Hiro Takaiki—Indignation—scoffs. "Of course he didn't. He knew just like us that Wolfram would attack I-Island."

Kabeya Rugami—Stalwart—simply stares ahead. "Re-Destro, I don't want to doubt your actions, but why are we doing this? We could put the fear of God into those two kids without having anyone else involved. Why are we going so far?"

Before Re-Destro could answer, Koku Hanabata—Trumpet—answers for him, "It's simple, Stalwart! It's not enough to make Setsuna and Okichi fear us. We must spread the fear to the rest of their naive and ignorant brats! Because some day, our cause will wage a fantastic war against Japan and their Heroes! They'll be on the front lines fighting us! It's certain that we will be fighting them! That's why we need to sow the seed of doubt and fear within their still-growing minds! We need to destroy their confidence so we can defeat them as if they were ants!"

Kizuki Chitose—Curious—nods with a laugh, sitting on the ledge of the rooftop. "If only I could publish this story myself, but too bad this will be kept a secret. No one will know about this punishment. To say the truth, I'm looking forward to this more than what comes after! Tonight is really an opportune night for all of us! Right under I-Island's noses, we will punish the future Heroes of Japan and take whatever we want for ourselves while they deal with Wolfram. That's all the news will talk about as well! Just Wolfram and nothing else! It's perfect!"

"Perfect, just like each and every one of us," Re-Destro says, turning to his allies who share the same heart. "Our powers are perfect and so are our ideals. Body and mind, both flawless and firm. We will prove such to these kids. So what if they have Shangdi by their side? He's nothing compared to the might of the Meta Liberation Army. While the ignorant, brainwashed kids are panicking over Wolfram's attack, we will emerge! It is impossible to convert their brainwashed minds to our cause, so instead we'll destroy their minds! From the first moment they stepped into U.A., they are no longer children! And we will teach them the harsh reality of the world! Our strength is our ideals, and our ideals are our strength!

"We will crush their spirits within the hour, and after that, we will use this attack to our advantage! By my order as the Grand Commander, we will descend upon the Gemini Hotels and poison the future generation!

"If they wish to show us 'Plus Ultra', then we will demonstrate how one truly goes beyond their limits."

In the Gemini Hotels, all of the businessmen and women left for the gala, but that isn't true. Not all of them left. This was proven so when six soldiers of the Meta Liberation Army foiled Operation Reverse Liberation and captured Okichi Tokugawa and Setsuna Tokage. They knew that they would act against them.

To punish them for their transgressions, and to make them fear the Meta Liberation Army; they would punish the entirety of Class 1-B. It's unfortunate that Fuyushiro Tokage never intended for them to go to the gala because he believed that they would be safe, only for 1-B to fall right into the clutches of an organization equally dangerous.

In Castor, on Floor 46 and 47, there are ten soldiers, five on each floor. These are the same floors where about one-half of 1-B are staying in. Re-Destro placed them there on the chance that Setsuna would act against them, and now that she has, he orders the ten soldiers to capture them.

If they capture one-half of 1-B, then the other half will naturally fall into place. What can they do? Would they really risk attacking when their friends are held hostage?

So as we speak, these soldiers are rushing to capture them.

There are 16 M.L.A. soldiers within the hotel. If the plan goes awry, there are 109 other soldiers that Re-Destro can call upon when he desires, so 125 soldiers total against 28.

Setsuna's only hope is the flash drive. Her left hand went too far from her body, so within Castor, the key to winning this battle is in there.

It really is unfortunate that the M.L.A. had to do this. If Setsuna had simply listened to her father's words, none of this would have happened. And now, a battle has begun.

---

Locations

Lobby: Hayami Kendo, Itsuka Kendo, Juzo Honenuki, Jurota Shishida, Reiko Yanagi, Hiryu Rin, Yui Kodai, Shindeka Oji, Claude LeNoir, Lian Fei-Long, Hakan Aldemir

Castor, Floor 46: Togaru Kamakiri, Neito Monoma, Manga Fukidashi, Sasaki Kendo, five M.L.A. soldiers

Castor, Floor 47: Yosetsu Awase, Kosei Tsuburaba, Sen Kaibara, Shihai Kuroiro, five M.L.A. soldiers

Castor, Floor 51: Sanji Inochi

Castor, Floor 58: Setsuna Tokage (Captured), Okichi Tokugawa (Captured), Geten, five M.L.A. soldiers

Pollux, Floor 46: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Ibara Shiozaki, Kinoko Komori, Pony Tsunotori, Shojo Fukidashi

Pollux, Floor 47: Kojiro Bondo, Nirengeki Shoda

Waiting: Re-Destro, Curious, Vainglory, Indignation, Trumpet, Stalwart, 109 . soldiers

---

Wow, I am really late with this chapter. Well uh, at least I managed to post it I guess! Haha, I am a terrible procastinator. (Or a good one? Who knows.

The next chapter is called: Liberation

---

Sanji's Dream: Oh boy, what did he dream about? Who was the mysterious guy? Was it him? Was it someone else? Or was it Frank the Mall Security Guy? Who knows! But at least Itsuka was there to help him after he woke up and had a panic attack. It's a heartwarming scene and it's finally more development (my god, how much development can these guys get?) between the both of them. Sanji begins to blush and finds out he has a new fetish: cuddling. I'm just happy that I'm finally showing a scene where Sanji is the vulnerable one here instead of Itsuka or someone else. It's refreshing to have him show some weakness for once.

With Lian: Ah, this is just a scene that helps explain Astral a little bit more, and give you some more insight into Origin-type Quirks in general.

Grandmaster: I wanted the first scene to flesh out The Count's character more, especially with Valjean who inevitably has some history with him. Here, I did my best to have Claude reasonably forgive Valjean for everything that happened. Both parties recognize that an apology won't fix what happened, but they know that small steps will bridge the gap between them. And onto the next scene, it's basically the scene where the three stooges find out that the MLA is a thing again. Because of that, they'll actually have information that will be helpful to the upcoming battle.

Setsuna's First Scene: Well, I can't really say anything about this one. It's just a set up for the next set of scenes. I didn't have anything planned for Day 2 of the I-Island trip. Really, everything happened on Day 1 and 3. Day 2 was just a break where everyone can just relax and not worry about being killed.

Sanji's Next Scenes: Oh yeah, it was fun writing Sanji being the flustered one for once. He's starting to blush whenever he's around Itsuka, especially when he sees him in that dress. Like the first scene, it's a much needed fluff without the comforting after the panic attack thing, yeah... That was a little angsty. But if you think that's angsty, you haven't seen anything yet. Anyway, I wanted Sanji to "fall" for Itsuka here. He doesn't realize that he's falling for her (or he already fell) but you, the audience, perfectly know that. However, he isn't allowed any time to think about it because next thing you know, he's talking to the first heir of Dreams, and then the attack happens.

Grandmaster's Attack: I don't want to say anything for this scene. You just have to wonder who the mysterious Villain is who attacked Hakan.

The Hidden Battle: And this is the main fight of the arc, the Hidden Battle. It's Class 1-B versus MLA. The MLA wants to punish 1-B and make them weak before the inevitable War Arc that's currently happening in the manga right now. However, things will not go as planned for them. The MLA are arrogant, completely underestimating what 1-B have in store. I hope you'll enjoy the many, many fight scenes that will happen in the next few chapters because my god, some of them will be exciting to write.

Anyway, I'm sorry that this post-chapter thing was short and rushed. I am actually rushing to type this and get this chapter posted ASAP. See you whenever!