Chapter 7: Tera's Tragedy

Sero felt his eyes flutter open. The blinding florescent lights made him squint for a second before this eyes adjusted properly. He tried to move but his body felt heavy. He turned his head to try and see where he was when he saw Aizawa leaning on the wall, eyes closed.

"Mr... Aizawa?" Sero groaned. His voice was hoarse, making him cough. Aizawa looked up at him and his eyebrows went up.

"Oh good. You're up." He said. He walked up to him. "How are you feeling, kid?" Sero did his best to try and sit up, having some difficulty so Aizawa had to help him.

"I feel like a ton of bricks fell on me." He said. He cleared his throat. "What happened?"

"You passed out last night and have been asleep ever since." Aizawa explained. Sero's eyes went wide.

"What? Is everyone ok? Did I miss class?" He asked.

"Calm down. We didn't have class again because of yesterday and yeah, everyone's fine. They're more worried about you." Aizawa said. Sero felt relief at that. "Speaking of that, I'm gonna go get them. They wouldn't shut up about you." Sero chuckled as Aizawa let the infirmary. Recovery Girl came in when he did.

"Oh, you're finally awake, sonny! That's so good." She said with a smile as she walked to him. "Although you might break Midoriya's record of times being checked by me in such a short time, which is not good. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I still feel heavy and tired. What happened?" Sero asked. Recovery Girl then came up to him with an otoscope. She urged him closer and he gave her his ear. She stayed quiet for a second as she looked at his ear.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what happened." She said before she signaled him to give her the other ear. "Your classmates just said that you started screaming in pain on the ground and when you stopped, you just passed out. Do you have any idea what happened?"

"Not really." He replied. "I just started feeling like some pain I never felt before. It was so bad, I can't explain it. Then when it stopped, I just felt super tired and that was it."

"Hm, that is curious." Recovery Girl said. "And it came from your ears?" Sero nodded at that. She then finished looking at his ears. "Well, I checked your ears when you were first brought here and aside from some more damage, they're ok. Nothing permanent, thankfully, but you should be more careful."

"Right, sorry." Sero apologized.

"Oh don't apologise, sweetie. You did the right thing for being a hero." Recovery Girl said with a smile. Sero smiled back when they suddenly heard loud thumps nearby and then bangs on the door.

"YOU IDIOTS! SLOW DOWN, WILL YOU?!" Sero heard Bakugou yell.

"Guys, cool it! You guys are being loud!" He heard Midoriya say.

"SHUT UP, DEKU!" Bakugou yelled some more.

"All of you stop! Let me open the door!" Iida yelled. The door then opened with the class bursting through and immediately running up to Sero.

"Holy crap, Sero! I'm so glad you're ok!" Kirishima said.

"You were sleeping all day! We almost thought you died last night!" Ashido said worryingly.

"You looked so busted up. Are you ok?" Kaminari asked.

"All of you back off and give him some space!" They heard Aizawa yell. "Geez, maybe this was a freaking mistake." The class backed up as he walked up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything good, Recovery Girl?" She nodded.

"Fortunately, yes, he should be fine but he must be more careful with his hearing. We can't let any more damage happen or it could be permanent." She explained. "I'll leave you kids here with him but do please be quiet. For his and the school's sake." She then walked out of the infirmary as the class gave a collective sigh of relief.

"Sero, we're so happy you're ok." Yaoyorozu said with a sincere smile. "We were so worried when you passed out last night."

"Do you have any idea what happened?" Todoroki asked.

"Yeah. You started screaming in pain and you were covering your ears." Kirishima added. Sero sighed.

"I don't know what happened, guys." He said. "All I know is that my ears just started hurting but it wasn't normal. It was way worse. It felt so... unnatural. Then when it stopped, I felt so drained and tired. That's why I passed out."

"But your ears are ok?" Kaminari asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. Nothing too bad." Sero replied.

"That is weird. Do you think it could be Quirk related, Mr. Aizawa?" Midoriya asked.

"I don't know. As far as I know none of them that were there were using Quirks but it probably was." Aizawa answered.

"Do you think it was that man? Could he have done it?" Shoji asked. Aizawa thought for a second before shrugging.

"Like I said, I don't know." He replied.

"I wonder who that man was and those two kids. Why were they even here?" Tokoyami asked.

"Tera seemed to know him. And so did you, Mr. Aizawa." Iida pointed out. Sero then noticed that Tera was nowhere in the room.

"Wait, where's Tera?" He asked.

"She... didn't come." Ashido answered. "Ever since last night, she's been in her room and she hasn't talked to any of us." Sero shut his eyes in slight disappointment.

"Well, now that you brought her up, there's actually something we need to talk about." Aizawa stated. "Listen, guys, as Iida pointed out earlier, yes, Tera and I knew who attacked us last night but I can't tell you guys yet." The class collectively looked at him. "I need to talk to Tera first. All of this involves her and I think she probably has some things to say too."

"Why didn't you guys tell us about this before?" Uraraka asked.

"It was a deal we made with Nezu. He didn't want you guys to get involved after everything that has happened." Aizawa replied.

"Well, we're plenty involved now. We could've died or something!" Mineta said.

"You weren't even there, Mineta." Tsuyu pointed out. Aizawa sighed in annoyance.

"Look, guys, I know it wasn't our best decision but we had no other choice." He said. "That's all I'm going to say for now. I'm going to talk to Tera. Don't stay here too long. Sero still needs rest." He then got off the bed and walked out of the infirmary. Sero sighed and held his head.

"You gonna be ok, man?" Kirishima asked.

"I don't know." Sero replied.

"Maybe we should leave. He'll be fine after he gets some more rest." Midoriya suggested.

"That would be wise." Tokoyami agreed.

"You ok with that, Sero?" Midoriya asked. Sero didn't really want his friends to leave but he still wasn't feeling a hundred percent so he thought it'd be best if he rested some more. He nodded as he sat back in the bed.

"I guess so. We'll talk later then." He answered. The class each gave him a goodbye before they left. When they did, Sero laid down on the bed and stared sadly at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what to think at the moment. His thoughts went over what happened the last night, the people they fought and then eventually to Tera.

He sighed as he shifted to his side. He wanted to know if she was ok. He has never seen her that angry and upset. He had a feeling that the man they fought was the doctor she mentioned before. She was always worried about him every time she did. He then thought of the one comment she made that was weird to him. When she heard about Eri, she said "Her too." What could she have meant by that? Was she tortured too? Was it because of that man? Is that how she lost her eye?

"Tera," He mumbled worryingly. "What the hell happened to you?"

Tera was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees tightly and her face buried in them. It was a miracle she hasn't been able to cry yet but she's come close a couple times. She kept thinking about the events that occured last night but the one she kept thinking about was seeing Sero screaming in agony on the ground as he held her wrist and whispered in her ear. The words rang through her head even though she couldn't look at him when he said it. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Sero. When she felt him let go, Sero stopped screaming and she couldn't care less that he left. The only thing she could think about was Sero.

She immediately ran over to him. Nothing else mattered to her but him at the moment. She saw his consciousness fading when she knelt down and she screamed his name in worried. When she saw his eyes close, she immediately assumed the worse. Her world faded, deafened, as she shook him, still screaming his name but she couldn't hear herself. When Aizawa pulled her off, she kicked and fought, trying to get to Sero as the rest of the class carried him off to the infirmary. It took her a while before Aizawa could finally calm her down and assure her that Sero would be ok.

She would've been the first to visit Sero in the infirmary and probably would've never left his side until he woke up but she couldn't. Even when she heard from Aizawa that he woke up and the rest of the class urged her to come, she didn't. The thing he said to her before he left made her feel even more worried. He didn't threaten her but it still felt like one.

"See you soon, my pet." He said. She hugged herself even tighter whenever she remembered those words. He was going to come back and he will stop at nothing to get his hands on her. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing anyone else getting hurt, especially if it was Sero. She couldn't let it happen again.

"Tera." She suddenly heard, followed by two knocks. It startled her for a minute before she realized it was Aizawa. "You ok in there?" She sighed out of relief and went up to the door.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"We need to talk. Can I come in?" He replied. Tera sighed as she opened the door and let him in. They both sat down on the bed, silent for a minute. Tera fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"This is about yesterday, right?" She asked timidly.

"Obviously." Aizawa replied. "I talked to Nezu. He was still adamant about us telling the class but given what happened yesterday, we have no other choice."

"Right." Tera said. "The thing we should've done when we first got here." Aizawa looked at her.

"You know why we couldn't." He said sternly.

"I know, but still, we should've told them." Tera insisted. "They were gonna get involved either way, it was just delaying the inevitable." She stood up with a frustrated groan and paced.

"You don't know that. We were just trying to keep these kids safe." Aizawa argued.

"Oh really?" Tera asked. "Keeping the truth from them wouldn't have kept them safe. He was eventually going to find me and you know it."

"Tera, please-" Aizawa started.

"No, shut up!" She yelled out. "If he found me when you were keeping me in a top secret facility, you think that he would figured out that I was here? This is freaking UA high! A high school that pumps out heros. What's more obvious than that?"

"Will you just calm down?" Aizawa said, standing up.

"Calm down? How can I?" She continued to yell. "If we would've just told them everything before, none of this would've happened! They could've at least known what was coming and Sero wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Aizawa suddenly yelled out, startling Tera. "These are my kids too. Ever since day one, I've been looking out for them, mentoring them, protecting them, doing everything I can to prepare them for the ordeals they'll have to face in the world when they become heros." He took in a frustrated breath as he tried to calm himself down.

"I know we messed up, I know what you've been through and I know that you're still afraid of what he'll do, with good reason." He continued, walking up to her. "But don't underestimate these kids. They've been through a lot too and they have come out on top every time. They can handle it." He put his hands on her shoulder to reassure her as she thought over what he said. She shut her eyes and held her head as she sighed.

"You're right." She said. "I know they've been through a lot so I shouldn't think so little of them. It just scares me."

"I know." Aizawa said. "You have every right to be but don't worry about it. We're going to tell them everything when Sero gets back, ok?" Tera nodded.

"Yeah, they deserve that." She said.

"I'll call you down when everyone's ready. Take your time." He said. He patted her on the back before he left her dorm. Tera sighed as she sat down on her bed.

"Telling them everything." She mumbled. "That should be easy, right?"

After Sero woke up and got a last minute check from Recovery Girl, he was escorted back to the dorm by Aizawa. He told him to settle at the living room while he got the rest of the class together so they could talk. Sero obeyed and say down at the couch, where Midoriya and Uraraka were at.

"Hey Sero. Feeling better?" Uraraka asked.

"Yeah, lots better." He replied.

"Good. Everyone was very worried." Midoriya said. "Not just for you but Tera too."

"Is she ok?" Sero asked.

"She hasn't come out of her room at all or even talked to us." Uraraka replied. "Aizawa said she'll talk to us in a bit though."

"Yeah, he told me that too." Sero confirmed. They then heard the elevator door ding and the Bakugang came out running to Sero. Ashido immediately wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh, Sero, thank goodness you're ok!" She said.

"You know you just saw me a few moments ago." Sero said.

"I don't care! You were hurt!" She replied.

"You feeling alright, man?" Kirishima asked. Sero quickly nodded.

"You trynna break Midoriya's record or what?" Kaminari joked.

"Hey, come on." Midoriya groaned.

"Next time, you better let me handle the fight. You're vulnerable with those damn ears." Bakugou said. Sero chuckled at Bakugou's concern, even if he wasn't trying to show it.

Eventually, the whole class started showing up in the living room, giving Sero a hug and thankful that he was ok. Everyone crowded around couches and living room, bringing chiara from the dining tables so everyone could sit. They weren't told much, only that Aizawa and Tera had to talk to them about what happened. They all had questions but they agreed not to discuss things until they were told everything. Sero was anxious to know what was going on and he had so many questions to ask. When Aizawa and Tera finally showed up, Sero found himself sitting up with attention. He saw Tera look at him for a bit before she looking away sadly.

"Before we get started," Aizawa spoke up. "I'm sure you guys have a bunch of questions, but I ask you to please hold off until we tell you everything. It'll make this a lot easier, ok?" The whole class nodded in unison, which Aizawa returned with a grunt of approval before turning to Tera. She glanced over at everyone in the room and then put her head down sadly.

"Well, first, I want to say that I'm sorry." She said. "I've kept the truth from you guys and even though I had my reasons, it still wasn't right. It ended up putting you guys in danger and now more than ever." She sighed as she leaned over to the side of the couch, crossing her arms close to her chest and still looking down at the floor.

"So, I'll start from the very beginning." She started. "Do any of you remember that five years ago, there were a few cases of Quirkless families being murdered and the kids turning up missing?" Everyone gave quiet gasps as they each glanced at each other, wondering if any of them knew what she was talking about.

"I do." Midoriya spoke up, timidly. "It was a series of them and although they were able to figure out who was behind it, they never caught them. Since then, they've been doing their best to keep this case away from the public eye to not ensue panic among them."

"Yep, that's it." Tera agreed.

"Wait, they figured out who was behind them but they were never caught? Who was it?" Kirishima asked. Aizawa was about to speak up, but Tera held up her hand, stopping him.

"I'll explain it in a bit." She replied. "Anyway, the reason why I brought it up... is because I was a victim of this case." Audible gasps and shocked faced filled the room. Some of the class had to cover their mouths to fight the urge to exclaim out loud or ask questions. Sero's mouth was left open at this sudden revelation and he was just in pure shock that he couldn't tear his eyes away from Tera.

"Five years ago, my mom and dad were murdered one night and I was kidnapped." She continued. She looked visibly hurt and it looked as if it was hard enough for her to even mention it. "I didn't know where I was taken at first or who took me. When I woke up, I was locked in a cell with just a bed, sink, and toilet. There were no windows or other openings, only a cell door with no door knob and a small slot where whoever was keeping me there would give me food." She heaved a shaky sigh as she tensed up some more.

"I wasn't the only one there. Every time they would open the slot to give me food, I could clearly hear more kids outside, screaming, begging, crying for help. I don't know how long I was there for, it felt like forever but overtime, I started noticing something that worried me. The kids' cries, they were getting quieter, as if there weren't as many as there were before... Then I found out what was happening." She continued to get more distressed as she kept talking. She was finally able to look over at the class with the most pained expression ever.

"It was one night, when the people who were keeping there came in, drugged me so that I couldn't move and brought me to a laboratory. That's when I saw him." She said in a dark tone. Her face turned to slight anger as she thought of him. "His name is Dr. Kenji Nomura."

"Nomura? As in the old military scientist?" Yaoyorozu asked. Tera nodded. Yaoyorozu's face turned grim as she covered her mouth in shock.

"What is it, Yao-momo?" Kaminari asked.

"That man, he used to work for the military, working to make man-made Quirks to supply to soldiers and officers in the force." She explained. "But then it was found out he was conducting inhumane and dangerous experiments to try to make all-powerful Quirks, so powerful that anyone he tried to implement them on ended up dying from the sheer amount it was."

"Whoa, for real?" Hagakure exclaimed. "They were that powerful?"

"He ended up getting dismissed and discredited, but that didn't stop him." Tera suddenly spoke up. "He had made enough money from all the services he provided to the military that he was able to make himself an underground facility where he could continue his 'work.' It was so secret that no one had been able to find it." She the clenched her fists.

"Of course, he needed people to experiment on and he then figured to do it on Quirkless kids." She continued. "They didn't make up a lot of the population so it wouldn't have affected much, but he knew he couldn't have loose ends, so he killed the parents and took the kids."

"But why kids? Was there a real reason?" Shoji asked. Tera nodded sadly.

"Kids' bodies, although fragile and a lot weaker than adults, were more susceptible and it was much more possible for the implementation of Quirks to work on them... in theory." She explained. "Of course, they're still kids, which means can also easily die, especially with how powerful the Quirks were."

"So the kids' cries getting quieter, did that mean..." Uraraka asked before trailing off. Tera looked her and nodded. She covered her mouth as she gasped.

"Eventually, it was my turn." She continued. "They brought me in, strapped me to a table and they had some weird machine hovering over me. I was completely paralyzed and I couldn't more. I could only watch as they prepped up the machine and then it happened." She looked down at the ground and gulped as she tensed up more.

"I don't really know exactly what happened after that." She said. "I just felt a lot of pain at first. It was unbearable. I thought I could've died... but I didn't. After a bit, the pain suddenly subsided. I'm guessing my body was somehow able to accept the Quirk, but even so, it was too much for me to control." She looked down at her hand and clenched it.

"This power... it's inhumane. It was man-made to be unlimited and probably enough to even rival All Might's power." She said. "I couldn't control it all and I ended up blacking out from it. When I woke up, I was in the hospital, with Aizawa there with me and..." She raised her hand to her left eye, where the patch was.

"Her Quirk was so powerful that it caused the whole entire facility and even more around it to start collapsing and break apart." Aizawa jumped in. "We were obviously called in to handle the situation but it turned out to be a lot more difficult. She was at the very center of it, unleashing the ultimate potential her Quirk has. I was barely able to erase it before she was finally knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital."

"Did... anyone make it out?" Midoriya asked. Aizawa slowly shook his head.

"Everyone who was in there ended up dying... except for Nomura, who somehow managed to escape." He explained. "But that was the least of our worries at the time. We now had to deal with her. We knew that if she woke up, her Quirk would end up becoming unleashed again, so we had to keep her sedated and asleep until we could figure out what to do."

"And what happened? Has she learned how to fully control it now?" Sato asked. Aizawa shook his head again.

"Not exactly." He said, looking over at Tera, who was now looking at the floor again. "The way you see her now, she's only at a half, manageable power level, enough for her to control."

"What? How is that possible?" Jirou asked.

"My eye." Tera spoke up. Everyone was confused at this. "I didn't lose or damage it. It's still here." More confusion filled the room. "They were able to find a scientist who used to work closely with Nomura before he was dismissed and with the help of the doctors, he was able to figure out a way for only half of my power to be used by locking away the other half in my left eye. As long as I have it covered, the full potential of my Quirk will not be unleashed." The room was filled with silence with the whole class glancing at each other in shock.

Sero was the only one not doing this as he couldn't take his eyes of Tera. Everything he just heard about Tera's backstory was just unbelievable but it now made since as to why she was so worried and scared for everything, even more of why she was so upset when Nomura showed up last night. Seeing her now clearly distressed and sad for having to tell everyone about her horrible past made him want to give her a hug but she looked like she was way too uncomfortable for anything.

"For then last five years, we were able to keep her a safe by keeping her in a secret hideout." Aizawa said. "I've been looking out for her and even training her to use her power. Things were ok... for a while. Nomura ended up finding her and attacked the hideout, but we were able to fend him off."

"And you decided to bring her here afterwards?" Tokoyami asked.

"I know, it wasn't the best choice but we had no other choice at the moment. We had to do what we could." Aizawa replied.

"And yet you didn't tell us. Did you think we couldn't handle it?" Todoroki asked.

"Of course not. I know you guys are more than capable, but Nezu told us not to tell you." Aizawa answered. "After everything you guys have been through and all the attention this class has gotten, he thought this was the last thing you guys needed to deal with."

"That was dumb." Ashido commented. "We would've gotten involved anyway."

"That's exactly what I said." Tera mumbled.

"Don't you start." Aizawa said to her. Tera rolled her eyes and looked away. "Look guys, I know it was a bad decision, but it was to keep you and her safe."

"A lot good that did." Bakugou said, bluntly.

"Kaachan, don't-" Midoriya tried to say.

"Shut it, Deku!" Bakugou interrupted, making Midoriya flinch. "I don't care that you've been through hell, Earth Bitch, a lot of have been through it too."

"Bakugou, stop it!" Kirishima said. Bakugou suddenly stood and walked over to Tera. She looked right at him a straight face, even though it looked like she was barely able to keep it together.

"This jerk put you through shit, I get that, but do you really think this makes you better or different from us?" He said. "Listen when I say this to you, you're nothing special. You're the same as the rest of us so don't you get the idea of handling this on your own. I'm sure as hell you won't be able to fight that douche by yourself so you bet your ass we'll be there." The class was beyond surprise at what Bakugou said. He was blunt about the situation and a bit rude sure, but he practically said that they'd be there for Tera when anything were to happen.

"Geez, couldn't you have said that a bit nicer?" Kirishima asked.

"Like she needs the pampering. She can handle it." Bakugou retorted.

"Well, that aside," Midoriya said, standing up from his seat. "Kaachan is right. We will help you, Tera."

"Yeah, we'll be there for you, girl!" Ashido said.

"You can count on us, Tera." Yaoyorozu said with a warm smile. Uraraka stood up by Midoriya and pumped her fist up.

"Just tell us when you need us and we'll be there!" She said. Everyone in the class all started giving their support to Tera as she looked at all of them with a mix of disbelief, shock and sadness. Sero watched as she looked on, her eyes eventually landing on him. There was so much he wanted to say to her but he felt a bit embarrassed that everyone was there. He didn't get to say anything though when he saw her face turn even sadder. She turned away and looked down again. Bakugou's eyes went a bit wide and his mouth opened slightly. Tera then covered her face and there were quiet, suppressed sobs as she kept on trying to stop herself from crying, making her shake a bit as well.

"Crap." Aizawa said. He immediately walked over to her and put his arm around her. "I'll be back guys, sorry." He quickly ushered her away to the elevator. The class collectively was shocked about everything that they were just told and what had just occured. They all stayed quiet though, unsure of what to say to each other. Eventually, Aizawa came back with a serious look on his face.

"I know that was a bit shocking, but please understand that she's been through a lot and she's scared about all this." He said.

"Don't worry, Mr. Aizawa. We understand." Yaoyorozu said.

"I'm sure you guys have a lot to say, but I'm gonna ask you to please leave her alone for the rest of the day. Hopefully she'll be better by tomorrow." Aizawa said. The class unanimously agreed and for the rest of the night, they all decided to go to their own dorms so that they could respect Tera and not gossip or discuss anything. As Sero walked up to his dorm, he found himself stopping in front of Tera's door. It took all of his strength to fight the urge to walk up and knock or even just to listen in to what was happening. He silently groaned as he walked into his dorm.

He stood there and stared at nothing before he found himself walking over to his drawers and pulling out the necklace gift box. He walked over to his bed and sat down, sighing. He looked at the necklace for a while before he put it down on the table and held his head.

"What now?" He wondered out loud. "There's no way I can tell her now, not with everything going on." He sat there quietly as he continued to question what he was going to do. He knew he was going to be there for Tera, that was obvious but it still didn't change the fact that he was a liability. With his injured ears and with whatever happened the other night, he couldn't deny that just him being nearby could cause even more problems since he had a weakness that Nomura now knows.

He sadly laid down as he realized that. He wanted nothing more than to tell her how he felt, but with everything that has happened and everything she's been through, he knew that was the last thing she needed. It hurt him but he knew this was the best thing he could do for her. He sighed again as he got more comfortable, ready to sleep, though he doubted he'd be able to get a good one tonight.

He wasn't sure if he even fully fell asleep. He knew he felt his eyes eventually shut as they got heavier and he genuinely felt sleepy but it didn't feel like it he slept long before he heard soft knocks on his door, making his eyes open.

"Sero? Are you awake?" He heard Tera's soft voice say. Whatever sleepiness he was feeling left him immediately and he sat up. He was about to walk to the door when he remembered the necklace box on the tea table, making him quickly hide it under his pillow before he went over to the door. He opened the door to find Tera standing there, her eye puffy and red from all the crying and her hair slightly disheveled, probably from her rubbing it out of worry and frustration. Sero was almost about to ask if she was ok but he felt that would've been a stupid question given her situation.

"Hey." He was able to muster. He felt stupid but he didn't know what else to say.

"Are you...ok?" She asked timidly. Sero blinked in surprise by her question.

"You're worried about me?" He said. As much as he was baffled, he felt he should still answer her question. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Nothing too bad happened." Tera's worried expression didn't change as she looked right at him. She then stepped closer to him and then raised her hand over to his ears. Sero tensed up but not as much as usual when he realized what she was doing. Her face got even sadder after a minute.

"I'm sorry." She said. Sero's eyes went wide. "It's all my fault you got hurt, let alone involved in my mess." Sero immediately shook his head and took her hand into his, holding it tightly.

"No." He said, looking right at her. "None of this is your fault. You had nothing to do with all the bullshit that you've been through. It's all because of Nomura and him wanting to keep up his 'work'." Tera didn't look convinced by what he said. He didn't want to leave it at that. He didn't want her to blame herself for any of this. She didn't deserve this.

"Tera, I understand why you feel the way you feel. You have every right to be scared of this guy but please don't blame yourself for this." He said. "He's a psycho who just wants to feed his ego by doing these horrible experiments, especially on kids. You didn't deserve it and you had nothing to do with it. Don't you ever blame yourself for this again." His grip on her hand tightened, showing that he was serious. Tera's face contorted as she tried to fight back more tears, even though they eventually escaped and fell down her face. Stifled sobs escaped her as she kept on trying to no avail. Sero wasted no time and he immediately brought her inside his dorm and hugged her tightly. Tera immediately hugged him back, her fingers digging into his back as she hugged him even tighter than he was. Although she was still trying to keep her sobs quiet, she was now crying a lot more.

"Stop fighting it." Sero whispered to her. He stroke her back and hair in a reassuring way. "Just let it out. You'll feel better." More stifled sobs followed before she got louder and started full on sobbing uncontrollably. It was still quiet enough to not disturb anyone nearby but it was clear she was finally letting it all out. Tera's legs suddenly gave out and she couldn't stand up, making her fall to her knees. Sero kept on hugging her though, going to his knees with her as she continued to cry. Sero wanted to do more, he wanted Tera to feel better but he wasn't sure what else he could do. For now, all he could do was hold her to try to comfort her.

Some time had passed before Tera soon started taking in deep breaths and her sobs subsided. Her grip loosened and that let Sero know that she was letting go. He released her from the hug, now facing her. She sniffled a bit and rubbed some of the tear streaks off of her face.

"Oh crap." She mumbled. "Give me a second." She then moved her hand over to her eye patch and removed it. Sero almost gasped before he realized she was just drying her eye. She made sure she kept her eye shut no matter what before she put the eye patch back on.

"Better?" Sero asked. Tera sniffled some more and wiped her nose.

"Not really." She replied. "I probably won't be ok for the rest of the night. I just need some time." Sero nodded his head.

"I get it." He said. "Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?" Tera looked up at him for a minute before giving him a small smile and shook her head.

"No." She said. "I don't... really want to be alone right now." Sero silently chuckled and nodded.

"Ok, stay as long as you want." He said. He stood up with her and walked her over to his bed and sat down. They stayed quiet in a somewhat uncomfortable silence. Sero wasn't sure he could say anything else to make the situation better. He looked up at the clock, noticing it was a bit after his usual bedtime.

"How long do you want to stay?" He asked. He had no objection if she decided to stay longer. He figured if she ended up sleeping over, she could take the bed and he could sleep on the hammock. It was no big deal for him.

"I don't know but I won't stay too long. I know it's late." She said.

"Oh, that doesn't matter to me." Sero said. "It's just that... well, if you happen to sleep over again..." He saw her look over at him curiously. He nervously chuckled and rubbed his neck. "Well, if it happens, I can sleep on the hammock and you'll sleep on the bed." He felt his face flush with hot blush. Tera stared at him for a minute before she chuckled a bit.

"You... wouldn't mind?" She asked. Sero was a bit surprised by this but he gave her a smile.

"No, not at all." He said. She returned the smile before she glanced over to the hammock.

"I can take the hammock, you know. I don't mind." She said. Sero immediately shook his head however.

"No, you're taking the bed, no argument." He said. He saw her starting to argue but he immediately shut her down. "Just stop it. I've already made up mind. Take the bed." Tera paused for a second before she sighed in defeat.

"Fine, if you insist." She said. Sero smiled. He then got the bed as comfortable as he could so she could sleep well enough. He then made himself comfortable on the hammock as he laid down. Tera laid down on the bed, although a bit tentative as if she still didn't feel welcomed to sleep there. There were seconds of silence from both of them for a bit before it seemed like Tera finally settled down.

"Sero?" She said softly. Sero looked over at her on the bed.

"Yeah?" He replied. There was a moment of silence from her for a second.

"Thank you." She said. Sero couldn't help but smile. He knew this was the best he could do for her at the moment and that's all he wants.

"Of course, Tera." He said. They both said their goodnights before they finally went quiet for the rest of the night. Sero wasn't really used to being on the hammock. He usually used this just to relax and chill and the occasional nap but he was able to get himself comfortable enough so that he would be able to sleep well enough.

He stayed for a little bit more, mostly just staring at the ceiling and glancing back at Tera. Her rhythmic breathing was enough to let him know she was asleep. He felt himself smile in relief. He knows she's had it rough but he was glad that she was still able to get a good enough sleep. He shuffled himself around a bit more before he was in a comfortable position and went right to sleep.

*oh, it's so good T_T. I love this so much. things are going to get a bit chaotic from here on out. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. thank you so much reading. next one will hopefully come soon. stay tuned! :D*