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)

52. Before the Festival

Current Events

Flutters of flashing light flickers like fireworks. The central figure is a well-dressed man, both in attire and in bandages, positioned behind a dark wood podium with a cluster of microphones vying for his voice. Behind the man, whose bold grin is circulating throughout the media channels, are some of his close associates, sharing the same theme of formality and injury. Some wear the same smile as the man at front; some embrace stoicism; some frown.

They display a carnival of emotions with the main fellow as the ringleader, charismatically standing, wholesomely grinning. Their display is exactly that: a carnival, a show. Everything is calculated, down to who would attend the press conference, what each man and women would wear, how they would present themselves, what questions would be asked, what answers would be given. Every detail is micromanaged, no detail was minute enough to warrant ignorance.

To a wise man, this conference cannot be trusted. To the people, this conference is like any other. Heroic acts deserve national headlines; heroic acts merit trust and goodwill. The orchestra yearns for exactly that.

As the flashing light ends, it signals the beginning of the conference. The man, Rikiya Yotsubashi, has his eyes curl upwards to show his joy. These events, although exhausting at times, are his favorite.

He clears his throat. "Thank you for attending this press conference. I know most of you have responded to the horrible incident that hit just less than a week prior to day. It wasn't on our soil, yet it was on the grounds of one of the greatest places on Earth."

Yotsubashi's joyful expression becomes solemn, saddened by the memories of the I-Island Incident. That, again, is a part of the show. "It's not everyday that you witness a man such as me, a mere man wearing a fine business suit, take part in a battle that only Heroes would partake in, especially against a monstrous foe as Hassan-i Sabbah. When I realized my life was in danger—no, when the lives of my friends were in danger, I was humbled. Although I'm the CEO of Deternat, providing lifestyle support for many, never would I imagine facing a… Ah, a creature of pure evil baring its fangs.

"I was afraid, but not for my own life, no. No, I was truly fearful of the future, where my dear, beloved companions that you see beside me will see this great country no more. Many of men, many of women would shrivel at the prospects of danger, and for the first few minutes, I did. I was plagued with such fear that I sobbed uncontrollably, praying to God that all of us would see the sunrise once more."

Every word is an attempt to make the hearts of the masses cry. He tries for their sympathy because if they shed a tear for his pain, then they would shed an ear for his words. Although there is a hint of dramatism in his speech, it's not wholly uncommon given the current hysteria surrounding heroism as a form of entertainment.

He reeled the audience in through humility, lowering his status to that of the common citizen up against a massive, overwhelming threat. The cliches such as friendship that, although critics would grow red with anger over its uninspiring use, are effective because the people love them—they are exactly why cliches are cliches. The audience, the average folk of Japan, are listening.

They watch Yotsubashi turn to his fellow associates with a certain expression that speaks of immeasurable pain, then witness him turn back to the camera and slowly reach out.

"'From my lips to God's ear,' I said. However, God was deaf. There would be no supernatural forces that will give me a fortunate fate. There would be no saviors, no Heroes, to save this old body of mine. The only one who could save my life was myself. That was the flashing insight that I saw. No one would save me other than me.

"Calling forth my allies, I commanded as a leader. That night, we would not act as Pro Heroes. We didn't think of ourselves as such. That night, we would not act as Vigilantes. We didn't think of ourselves as such. We acted as any of you: civilians unfairly caught in the battle between life and death."

He clutches his open hand and pulls it towards his heart. There's a pained expression, highlighting his sorrow reminiscing on the hopelessness of the situation, where Pro Heroes wouldn't be able to aid him in his fight for life. It's enthralling to watch. Yotsubashi, even when lying, has such gusto that is undoubtedly alluring. With the correct words, with the correct gestures, he's able to capture ears.

"Why would we wait for Heroes to arrive? Would they even be capable of stopping one of the most powerful Villains in the entire world? Although we were in a liberal and progressive territory such as I-Island, we were still of Japanese blood, where Quirk use was a privilege enjoyed only by higher authorities and not the people themselves. Such a restrictive, overbearing culture weighed heavily in our minds. Yet the weight of our deaths was heavier.

"To be wholly reliant on Pro Heroes to rescue me would be a death sentence. Their attention was focused on Wolfram's attack, while we were arguably dealing with the worse threat. Thus, we fought. Thus, we fought for our lives with no chains holding us back no longer. We were civilians, yet we deserved the right to live by exercising the use of our Quirks!

"To live is to use our Quirks, that was the mindset that gave us much guilt, but guilt was preferable than death! Now that I speak on this podium with clarity, now that I share my story with each and every one of you good people, to feel guilt is unreasonable! To be guilty of saving my life? No, I should feel praise! I should feel elated at my newfound freedom!"

At the exclamation of freedom, he opens his arms as if he's opening them towards the good people of Japan. He's asking them if he should feel guilty, then telling them that he shouldn't. A rhetorical question, and in the purpose of rhetoric, is an effective tactic. Within a few words, he shaded heroism and advocated for free Quirk use, the main goal of the Meta Liberation Army on paper.

One would imagine the awkward tension within the faces of journalists and reporters as he boldly speaks out against heroism, yet they are listening to Yotsubashi's words as if spoken from a prophet. Most of them are chosen for their faith in equality. Those who aren't potential believers are ready to preach the gospel regardless of their previous dispositions, else they'll stand out from the crowd and become ostracized. Seeing the jovial unison of the crowd and on the stage, one should feel happy and gleeful, taken with manic pride that an esteemed gentleman fought carelessly of social norms for the greater good.

"While Heroes do fight for our society, they cannot fight every hour for every second. Someday, there may come a time where the only one entity you have to rely on is yourself. I am not saying that Heroes are necessarily infantilizing us—they're our saviors for goodness sake—we must learn to stand on our two feet while allowing the professionals to do their best. When you have only seconds, they are minutes away."

Yotsubashi clears his throat and looks straight ahead. On cue, TVs around Japan focus and zoom in on his visage. He looks injured yet taking much joy in his pain, experiencing some sort of enlightenment from his experience. Then, in that same moment, it turns into sorrow. "That, unfortunately, was the case when one of my friends passed during the attack. He was the only death during the incident. He fought for us, he fought to live. He fought for peace, yet that deathmonger spared no mercy for him. The Heroes weren't there to save him, and that was exactly when I knew that this could not go on.

"I don't feel remorse for using my Quirk. Just like him, I fought to live. As I said, to live is to use our Quirks. To use our Quirks is to live. It's a way of life; it's a way to live. While the League of Villains is gaining traction and avid cultists of Stain are roaming the streets, reliability for heroism can only go so far. To make up for the difference, you must fill it. No matter what Quirk you have, you are valued."

Tears begin to drip from his eyes. "In remembrance of my friend's memory, we must do our part to contribute to peace alongside All Might. To honor him, we cannot be idle with the status quo no longer. Heroes are great, but we can be greater. Legends are made, yet the people themselves take on a divine status. That can begin today at this very moment. Take responsibility for yourself and rise, men and women.

"We may not be created equal, but we can be made equal."

Applause. The circus claps. Praise, praise Rikiya Yotsubashi for his speech. He began with strength then ended with a solemn hope; he reeled the viewers with his confidence then made them weep. He's the symbol of perseverance against the odds, surviving against a foe as Hassan-i Sabbah.

Yes, Yotsubashi cries for the cameras, for Japan. The same tears will be shown for weeks, maybe even months. He deserves to be broadcasted nationally, maybe even internationally. Everyone will know of his name certainly. Everyone will know his words.

And little by little…

Japan will become intoxicated with his grandeur. After all, he wants to fight for free Quirk use. That is freedom. Stand against him, you stand against freedom. No matter the angle or perspective or context, you are fighting against freedom. They are the heroes, so any naysayers must be villains.

Stand with Rikiya Yotsubashi, you are a freedom fighter. Turn your back, and you live to oppress. Drink his tears and be sober, mimic his words and be wise, wave a flag and be sovereign.

For freedom.

As he said: to use your Quirk is to live.

As his smile gleams: everyone is unique, yet some are more unique than others.

By his word, we can be made just as unique.

---

Itsuka Kendo

"G'morning."

"Didn't expect to see you here…" I lay on my side, picking my head off the mattress slightly. A few blades of sunshine come through the window; it's a little hard to see my partner sitting against his bedrest with his phone in his hands. He looks cuter than normal. His fluffy black and white hair, his soft expression, his warm smile… Wish I could wake up to this every morning.

Sanji's face scrunches up into something awkward. "This is my room, Itsuka. Why wouldn't I be in my own room?"

"You know what I mean, dummy." I'm a lil' tired from waking up, but I have enough energy to drag myself to him. I let my head rest on his shoulder; I know he doesn't mind. "I thought you'd be downstairs making coffee, or get a headstart on training."

"I do have something planned with Master Kendo and Hayami in a little bit, but it can wait. I'd rather be there when you wake up," Sanji says with that warm smile again. When was he this sweet? He always made my coffee, Mom's too, and cooks for me whenever I want him to. But—how do I say this—he does stuff on his own time. Night is his "own time" to exercise, train, study, whatever. Back home, I would always see him downstairs making coffee after he worked out. I don't think he did that last night. It looks like he just chilled in his room.

"Are you saying that to get me to smile or was the gym closed last night?" I ask. My eyes drift over to his phone. He's reading an article about Re-Destro. He made a speech last night apparently. "Better question: why are you reading this garbage?"

Sanji frowns, turning off his phone and putting it on his lap. It slides down his slacks and falls beside his thigh. "Whatever you think about General Masayuki or the President, they're right about keeping up with current events, even if most of the media publications are M.L.A. lackeys."

I can't say I disagree, 'cause really, I completely agree with that. Keeping up with current events helps gauge where we are in comparison to Japan. Still, do we have to be reminded that the world is crappy everyday? Especially after I wake up? "But do you need to read this bullshit in the morning? Is this the first thing you wanna talk 'bout with me? About what? How handsome Re-Destro is?"

Sanji groans, shying his head away from me. Looks like I hit a nerve with Re-Destro. Is this because of what he did to me, or the fact that I sarcastically called him "handsome"?

I pick up my head and lean against him. My hand falls on his thigh. "I bet those journalists are going on and on 'bout his gorgeous witch nose, or his receding hairline, or his smile where you can see every crooked teeth he has. Who needs teenage heartthrobs or gorgeous Pro Heroes when you have Rikiya Yotsubashi?"

"Itsuka…" says Sanji in the most disapproving tone I've heard yet. "Don't...talk about Re-Destro like that." So he's annoyed about that. Well, it's not everyday that I can tease him and win. There's the bait, so I need to bite.

Pushing myself against him further, I give Sanji hell, "Why not? Are you jealous that you're not as handsome, or cute, or dreamy as Re-Destro?"

Sanji rolls his eyes—he never does that—and gets out of bed. He throws his arms up in the air and walks around. "Nope, nope, nope… You're not doing this to me, Itsuka. What kind of negotiation tactic is this? Is this punishment for reading the news in the morning?"

Y'know, I never thought about this as a negotiation tactic. I genuinely wanted to tease him as revenge. Sliding myself over, I sit on the edge of his bed. "Well, it's—Actually, yeah. It's a punishment. I was trying to word it nicely, but it's completely a punishment for reading that sorry excuse for 'news'. Unless you wanna hear me rave 'bout Re-Destro, promise not to start your mornings with downers?"

"I promise." Sanji crosses his heart. "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, Komori can do a better rhyme. That's how the saying goes?"

"Close enough." While he crosses his heart, I cross my legs. "Congrats, you don't hafta hear me gush over my almost-murderer."

"Never thought that would be a reward, but thank you for your generosity." Sanji hands me a sarcastic gaze following his sarcastic self. He heads over to his dresser and picks out a gray gym shirt. He—

"—Hmph…" Well, didn't expect him to take off his shirt like that. He throws it like a rag into a nearby laundry basket. Didn't even warn me that he was gonna do that. Shameless as he is stupid. "Did you have to take your shirt off?"

"Again, it's my room, Itsuka. You invited yourself last night. You scuttered in like some kind of ninja trying to assassinate somebody," Sanji says frowning. He's holding his gray shirt, not putting on just yet. Dammit, it's like he wants to make me blush.

My chest puffs up and I cross my arms. "I didn't want anyone to see me, 'specially Mister Kan. Unlike you, I still get embarrassed by all the 'Hey Kendo, why did you spend the night in Inochi's room?' 'Hey Kendo, what did you and Inochi do?' 'Hey Kendo, had some fun? Wink wink nudge nudge.'"

At the last part, Sanji laughs like an immature middle schooler—actually that sounds redundant—and he earns a disappointed look from me. He puts a hand on his dresser and leans slightly to the side, having his other hand on his hip. With his cheeks red complimented by a smile, he comments, "Good thing I make a habit of locking my door. If someone walked in, they'd definitely think we had some fun."

Wow, this dork is really going far with his teasing. I think I'm radioactive now from how much I'm glowing red. If I wasn't so used to him, I'd be a flustered mess stammering over every word. But from how blatantly he teased to us having sex, I'm almost tempted to punch him. "Honestly, I dunno what to say! What's gotten into you lately? Are ya sick or something?"

Sanji laughs, his eyes hanging low to the ground before picking them up to look back at me. "I'm not sick, don't worry. I've been feeling a lot happier lately."

My face straightens. I should be glad that he's happier, especially after the mess we went through, but I'm having a hard time believing it. "That sounds really ominous and creepy coming from you. You sure? In our last spar, you were red and kept straining a smile."

Our last spar was really weird. Once I stepped onto the mat, Sanji had a hard time focusing. His mind was somewhere else, and I had no clue where it went. I ended up capitalizing and brought him to the ground. After that, he had to excuse himself to the bathroom where I assume he vomited like a faucet spout. Didn't feel like a real win. I asked Grandpa about it—he was watching—and he laughed. Mom was watching too, and she had this really smug smile that annoyed me.

And mentioning that same spar to Sanji, he's almost as red as he was back then. "I...felt a little nauseous."

"Did that nausea make you more of a pervert than usual?" I ask. Before, it was flirty comments like calling me "pretty". Now, he's downright referencing the dirty act itself. I was only joking when I called him a "pervert" before; now, I feel justified.

Sanji, the shirtless pervert standing before me, puts his hands up. "I will admit that I wasn't exactly in the right mind, but I'm not nauseous now. I'm perfectly sane."

"Alright 'perfectly sane' Sanji, put your shirt on." As much as I wanna, well, keep him with his shirt off—he really does have a good body to show off—it doesn't sit right with me. Sanji sighs and goes to do just that, and… Hold on a second. "Actually wait."

I stand up; Sanji raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

I point towards the scar over his heart. "Where did you get that from? It's the first time I'm seeing that scar."

He looks down to see the fairly sizable scar on his chest. His face softens, and not in a happy, comfy way. "How did you know that I didn't get this scar from some of my recent fights?"

Sanji's body is getting scarred. Vainglory gave him a few big ones, like some on his chest and that one on his back. Compared to them, the scar on his heart is a little kid. I walk up and take his left hand, flipping it over to show the back. "I know 'em pretty well. Like this one on the back of your hand, you got it from Catharsis who drove a knife through it. But I dunno where you got the one on your heart. Was it before my time?"

I run my thumb over the scar Catharsis gave him. This guy will make my hair turn gray before I hit twenty…

Thinking for a few, Sanji answers, "Yeah, it was before your time. Don't know exactly how or where, or even why. Just know that I got it."

I keep rubbing his scar. Stupid reckless Sanji, always running into danger whenever he's acting on impulse. I'm glad he didn't get any more scars when Hassan-i Sabbah showed up. If I didn't get my ass handed to me, I would've been convinced he would do something so incredibly stupid. Thank God he didn't.

And the fact that I did get my ass handed to me, that was the trigger for Sanji to be enraged. Nothing came out of it.

These scars are the stuff we earned. They're nothing big like what Sanji has, but they're small. Most of them are on my hands and arms 'cause of my fight with Re-Destro. No one has pointed them out other than Mom. She looked at them and said, "Oh sweetie…"

Other than that, they're kinda just there. They exist. And they exist for the rest of my life. I don't wanna say that they're ugly to look at, but they're not pleasant either. They're not "cool" as they are in the movies. Hell, Sanji doesn't look cool with scars. But that's probably 'cause it reminds me that he could get himself killed. With mine, I just feel sad. I didn't really think I could get scarred, but here I am…

"Itsuka…" whispers Sanji in a soft and gentle voice.

"Hmm…?" I'm still rubbing his scar. Dunno what I'm trying to achieve. It's not gonna rub off no matter how hard I try. I can't get rid of mine either. Can't wash them off like dirt. Can't cover them with make-up without spending at least an hour every morning.

Sanji, who's letting me do this, leans his head in. "I'm going to get more scars, y'know. You are too. As much as you don't like to see mine, I don't like to see yours."

"Don't remind me," I grumble. "My scars, I didn't think I would get 'em. That was stupid of me. Very, very stupid. Just the other day, I thought I could get rid of my scars with a hot shower. Don't mistake what I'm saying though. I… I don't feel ugly, but—"

"—Just insecure, right?" Sanji says. "You have enough self-confidence that they don't weigh heavily on your mind. But you'd prefer to cover them if you had the choice."

I nod. "Y-Yeah, right on the mark. It doesn't help that goons in the M.L.A. will probably make fun of that fact. Once I get on camera and they notice my scars, can you imagine all the hate comments I would get? Ugh…"

Hearing what I said, Sanji frowns. A discomforting sigh leaves his mouth. He takes my hand and holds it close to his lips. "I won't say 'Forget about them'; that's too insensitive. They'll be on your mind, but just as you said, I'm a complete pervert. Each time they taunt you, I'll simply flatter you with something that keeps you thinking."

He brings my hand closer and—

"—Huh?"

On one of my knuckles, the one that has a small scar going across it, he places his lips against it. A small chu rings out from the contact. Did he just...kiss my hand? That's what he did, right? I felt his lips; they were surprisingly soft against my hand. They didn't stay there for too long but I'm sure it felt really soft, and the look he gave me, his gray eyes curling upwards to stare into mine, and how he smugly laughs after doing whatever-the-hell-he-did, and then he decides to act so casual 'bout it and put his shirt back on! Just what is he thinking?!

"Hah…" Shit, when did my body start heating up all of the sudden?! This guy… He's so annoying when he tries to act cool!

Sanji picks up his phone and slides it into his pocket. "Gotta head downstairs. You coming with or do you wanna loiter in my room?"

Yeah, there's no way in hell that I'm gonna camp in his room! But, ugh, I don't want anyone to see me right now! "Just get the hell out."

He doesn't say anything else thankfully. If he said something snarky or sarcastic or smartass-y, I would turn his guts inside out. Anyway uh, we head out the door. After he locks it, we head downstairs. Luckily, I think pretty much everyone is still in their rooms after the craziness last night. Still, I'm not leaving anything up to chance. My head is nearly pressing against Sanji's back, the same guy who made me have the same complexion as the surface of Mars.

Before I know it, we're downstairs. I look over to the side and see Grandpa and Mom sitting in the commons. Grandpa lets out a sigh of relief. "Finally, kiddo. What the hell took you so long? And why is 'Suka hiding behind you?"

"For the last question, I'll tell you later—" I pinch his arm, "—Y-Yeah, I'll tell you later. And I thought I was on time? Aren't you two here early?"

Mom shrugs her shoulders. "We're supposed to meet here at nine. It's nine-thirty, sweetheart. Though, I don't blame you. Heard the party got a little...fiery last night." I can feel Mom trying to sneak a glance at me.

After getting told that he's late, Sanji scratches the back of his head. "Sorry. Anyway, I'm ready whenever you are. Itsuka, you wanna come with?"

I shake my head. "L-Lemme take it easy today… Last night gave me a headache…" Mom and Grandpa understand my pain. I was lying 'bout it, but they're not gonna doubt me after the fiasco that happened.

Sanji heads over to the two of them while I lean against a nearby wall, my body still up in flames. He does a small wave and says, "Catch you at noon, Itsuka."

"Take care of yourself, sweetie. Text me if ya need something." Mom blows a kiss.

"Lay down for a lil' bit too. You're glowing from where I'm standing." And Grandpa, of course, points it out.

The three of 'em leave, and now it's just me. Great. Lying down is a good idea though—?

"—Why are you so red?"

"Gah?!"

WHOOSH!

I almost punched Setsuna's head off. The wind crashed against the wall across from me, but thankfully, it's practically untouched. Setsuna takes her head off herself to avoid getting hit. She grabs it with her hand and twists her head back on like a screw. "Remind me to never scare you in the mornings. You almost killed me."

I huff. "You almost killed everyone last night from your stunt. What the hell were you doing that caused a fire in the kitchen? You never gave me a proper answer."

Setsuna annoyingly laughs and saunters into the commons, plopping her butt on the couch and lounging on it. "What if I so elegantly declined your request as the ceremonial Queen of 1-B?"

"I'll throw you off the roof and see if you float down." I hover over the tyrannical Queen of 1-B. While I'm annoyed and angry, she's cheery and upbeat.

Setsuna whistles, putting her hands at the back of her head. "Wow, woke up on the wrong side of the bed this beautiful morning? What made you all grumpy? Is it Sanji? C'mon, we both know it's him."

"No, I'm still kinda pissed that you almost burned down our dorms on the first day." I sit across from Setsuna. Instinctively, I start rubbing the spot where Sanji kissed me. As much as I'm angry at the prodigal doofus with jagged teeth, I'm so much more focused on what happened earlier.

Said prodigal doofus points at me though. "You're so angry at me that you didn't tie your hair this morning? I know you and Sanji spent the night together, so if something happened, then it has to be 'cuz of him. Otherwise, you wouldn't forget to wear your trademarked ponytail."

"I—!" She's right. Her logic is annoyingly correct. Dammit, did I really forget to tie my hair? Ugh, I knew I was forgetting something. "...Shut up."

Knowing she's completely and irritatingly right, Setsuna sits up with a proud smile I wanna wipe off. "Gotcha! So what happened? You can tell me. I already figured out your big secret. It might be an open secret, but I figured it out anyway!"

Before I can think of a response, a couple sets of footsteps rattle down the stairs. "Figure out what?" one voice asks. It's Kinoko. She pokes her head into the commons with Yui with her. Kinoko's bangs are clamped over her head too, so we can finally see her eyes for once.

Just what I wanted: more people. Even if they're my best friends, it's embarrassing to talk about this with 'em.

So instead of me talking, Setsuna does the talking for me even though I never asked her to nor did I want her to. She tells Yui and Kinoko, "My favorite subject!"

"Science?" asks Kinoko.

"Yourself," Yui deadpans.

"...No."

"Math?"

"Yourself."

"You already said that, Yui."

"History?"
"Yourself."

"It's love!" exclaims Setsuna indignantly, to the point where she stands up fuming. "Y'know! Gossip, love, everything in-between?! You girls are supposed to be my friends! You're supposed to know me! I'm always talking about love!"

Kinoko puts a finger on her lips, thinking. "Don'tcha use 'love' in everything you say? Before break, you kept saying, 'Man I love science! Quirks are awesome!' Oh, in Ectoplasm's class, you were all mushy with Calculus! In Hero History, you fangirled over that one girl I forgot the name of."

"Levin!" Setsuna chimes. Oh good, she sounds like she's gonna go on a spiel about her! Maybe she'll forget about my thing with Sanji. "She was one of the seven Vigilantes-turned-Pros when the Rhode Island New State Statute was legislated! Levin, technically, was the first No.1 Pro Hero in existence since, y'know, that statute was the beginning of the Pro Hero System we have today.

"Anyway, other than being gorgeous and badass—I mean, have you seen pictures of her in and out of her costume—her Meta Ability, back when they still called it that, went by the same name as her Hero/Vigilante Name! I mean, imagine the ability to summon lightning anywhere you want?! One eyewitness account saw her destroy an entire building from a single lightning strike! Some claim that she could give All Might a good fight, maybe even win it!"

Setsuna blinks a couple of times and looks 'round. Kinoko's staring at her blankly while Yui's always been staring blankly. "Are you guys even listening to me?"

Kinoko answers, "Of course I am! This Kevin sounds amazing!"

"I—Never mind." She lays back down on the couch while Kinoko and Yui sit with me. "What was I talking about again…? Oh right! Sanji and Itsuka!"

"Dammit," I mutter. I still haven't stopped rubbing the spot Sanji kissed.

Setsuna explains, "Earlier, I ran into her while she was beet red. And we all know that she's deeply, madly, practically obsessed with Sanji at this point."

"I'm not obsessed with him like how you are with our relationship. Like how Monoma always talks about 1-A, you always talk about us!" Kinoko and Yui have my back here. They nod their heads.

"This time, I actually struck gold! This is the moment you've been waiting for! And I've been waiting for it ever since I first laid my eyes upon him in middle school!" she says, and I don't know what she's talking about 'cause she's being vague.

Yui hums. "Mmm, you said that last time."

Seeing Yui's point, Setsuna resigns, "Okay, this time, it's actually, legitimately gold. I bet actual gold that it's gold. Do you want a golden guitar?"

"A golden guitar?" Kinoko's interest is peaked. "Wouldn't that be, like, really heavy though?"

"Probably but it'll be incredibly cool—!"

"—Setsuna!" I yell, startling her to sit up. "Can you stop getting off-topic and explain what's going on?"

"Right! Right. Remember last night, Itsuka? When I was talking to Sanji in the kitchen before I accidentally started a fire?" I slowly nod. "Well, I gave him my normal talk: He loves you, you love him, why don't you two get together already? The thing is… He pretty much admitted it."

Kinoko puts a hand over her mouth, and Yui's eyes widen.

"He did...what?" Did he really say that to her…?

Setsuna continues, "It took me by surprise from how straightforward he was. He said that he was done denying it or something, the exact words he used is a bit hazy. We had a little conversation about, well, just that. Sanji...admitted some things that I didn't expect. I mean, one of the biggest shockers that he downright confessed to you when you popped your head in."

"He confessed to me? When did he…" Wait, Sanji mentioned a confession at the Eiyukawa Fireworks Festival. I thought he was joking when he said that he wanted to confess to me. 'Cause he flirts with me so much—he never takes it seriously—I thought it was a cover to hide the pair who he's trying to put together. If that isn't the case… "...Setsuna, are you telling me that his off-handed comment was actually a confession?"

Kinoko asks, "What off-handed comment that got you two all bent?"

Setsuna clarifies, "When Itsuka checked up on us, we were talking about how he, being our handsome knight, wanted to make everything official. Sanji decided to, for whatever reason, freaking go, 'I want to confess to you at the Eiyukawa Fireworks Festival.' He didn't say exactly that but it's pretty much that. Itsuka became the dense one for once and thought he was completely joking."

"Don't call me 'dense'!" I shout. "You weren't on the receiving end of his teasing. Of course I thought he was joking 'cause… 'Cause uhm, I never anticipated that he would, well, actually close the distance 'tween us. I, uh, I mean…

"It started out with shameless compliments, y'know? It got me flustered but I didn't really start to develop feelings after the Sports Festival—I took the internship with Uwabami to figure out my own feelings. Then Catharsis happened; I stayed the night in his hospital room. I've gotten a lot more worried about him since then, so I've been stuck to his side ever since. Hugging was something we typically did whenever one of us was upset, usually me…

"When we had that study session at your place, Setsuna, he, uh… Well, being the shameless bastard he is, he decided to tease me by acting like he was gonna kiss me. Skip forward a little bit, and we were at I-Island. You did something with our rooms and gave me and Sanji a hotel room all to ourselves. And…"

I'm spilling my heart out to them, but I shouldn't spill Sanji's insecurities. When we actually spent our first night together without one of us hooked up to an IV, Sanji said he didn't like feeling alone. That's something he said in confidence with only me. I especially can't tell them 'bout his panic attack in the middle of the night.

"And, well, one thing led to another… Lian ratted us out so you guys know already, but we slept in the same bed, alright? We didn't do or try anything. Moving on, on the day of the gala, I showed off my dress to Sanji. For the first time, he was the one flustered. He stammered, his face was beet red just like you saw with me earlier, he was a lovable, antsy dork... When we got back home, I decided to stay in his room 'cause what happened with the President made him anxious."

What Setsuna did, intentionally making an "error" with our rooms, actually helped us a lot. I think… I think if it wasn't for that, Sanji would have woken up in a panic with the boys. Who knows what'll happen? That was something I had to handle 'cause I don't feel comfortable with anyone else taking on such a sensitive responsibility, and I know Sanji feels the same.

Compared to when we started off, strangers who just met each other but now have to live under the same roof, we really did grow a lot. What I said earlier about him "closing the distance", it's wrong. He's been closing the distance gradually and gradually, and I was doing the same thing. Then, sitting here in U.A., we're just as close as we can get.

Thinking about it, maybe I am the dense one this time. I was stuck in the mindset that Sanji wouldn't change 'cause he has heroism on his mind. I kept going, "I love Sanji, but I know he'll prioritize heroism over everything else. So, I'll let him focus on that while I give him the support he needs." It sounds a little sad and pathetic that I'd resign myself to having unrequited love, but I didn't want love drama to take priority over my education. I am studying heroism too, just not as intensely as Sanji. Unlike some people—cough cough my classmates cough cough—I like to think I'm more responsible when it comes to that.

Jeez, I start rubbing my eyes. Some of the crust flakes out. Did I really not go to the bathroom to wash myself? Ugh, Sanji really did a number on me… "Saying this out loud is embarrassing, gosh… Cut what I said earlier about him not closing the distance or whatever. It's stupid of me to imply that he's doing none of the work. He's not, it's not fair for me to say something like that.

"And… And…"

It was his choice to open up to me. While I let myself be a shoulder he can lean on, he chose me as someone he can confide in. Since he's just as stubborn as I am, especially when it comes to his own personal problems, that must've taken a lot of trust on his end.

After all, the words "I trust you" are heavier than the words "I'm here for you".

In hindsight, the time we spent together was the work needed for him to internalize those words. Everything we did was for that. We both did a lot, but I don't think he genuinely knows how big of a change this is.

'Cause like I said, I thought he would devote all of his attention into becoming a Hero… So headstrong, unyielding, adamant, dumb...

"I do have something planned with Master Kendo and Hayami in a little bit, but it can wait. I'd rather be there when you wake up."

...To change like that, it's monumental. He didn't change over the course of a day, but over the time we spent together.

Before, when we first met, becoming a Pro Hero was No.1 on the list of "Things To-Do". Nothing could beat it out, almost as thick as the rivalry between All Might and Endeavor. Then, one day, I saw my name taking its place.

I rub my eyes again. Yui tugs my sleeve, basically asking me why I'm rubbing them so much. "I-I'm fine, Yui. I was thinking about everything and man, I feel really bad now. It's really hard to explain. Basically, uh, God, I thought he was hellbent on being a Hero, y'know? On the list of 'Things to-do', that was No.1 clear and center. Then, to see that replaced by me, from out of nowhere mind you, it was shocking. I don't wanna sound mean or misrepresent him, 'specially after his talk with you guys last night, but I thought nothing would beat heroism for him."

Kinoko dramatically sighs, letting her head sink into the cushioned back of the couch. "Don't be a downer shroom, I perfectly getcha, 'Suka! Inochi is that kinda guy, y'know? Y'get what I'm talking about, right? Right?"

I blink. "Not really, no? You should prolly be more specific about what kind of guy he is. He's a lot of guys."

She does a few small nods, understanding that she was being vague earlier. "I mean, from all the stories Setsuna tells the rest of us girls, Inochi didn't have much growing up. He moved from house to house, was bullied, and all that other jazz. What did he have before he met you guys? Not much! Not a single shroom to his name! Didn't have any money, any fame, any gold, any treasure, not an inkling of ink! He was his own nation, a sovereign, so all he had was aspiration.

"Now, guess what? It isn't the only treasure he has now. Sure, he has friends, but his greatest treasure is you. You musta done something to earn that accolade, you sadsap. The three of us know exactly why!"

I get what Kinoko's saying. It's natural for Sanji to fixate on heroism because of how little he had before he was introduced into my life. Seeing as he has more than he imagines, in terms of self-fulfillment that isn't self-sacrificial in nature, he has seen the light if you wanna be corny about it.

Setsuna piles on with her annoying self, "Who wouldn't fall in love with someone who's so understanding and gives constant support? You put love dramas to shame."

"I wanna avoid love dramas in the first place. I got enough on my plate as it is, and it'll be kinda awkward to have literal civil war and relationship issues be at the forefront of my worries."

There's nothing more romantic than falling in love while your country is falling apart and barely anyone knows about it. The President would hate us if she heard this conversation, but fuck her. I want a break.

Yui hums. "Happy for you." I'm happy for me too, thanks Yui. I actually am though. Me and Sanji are both ready to wrap everything in a bow.

Kinoko asks, "So are you gonna be confessed to at the Eiyukawa Fireworks Festival? It might be a cliche, but it'll be gorgeous like the most colorful shroom you can find!"

I laugh, rubbing the spot where Sanji kissed again. "If I can hold out that long. Thanks to this conversation, we know that we love each other. The Eiyukawa Fireworks Festival is the most we'll have to wait."

"Because Sanji is a lustful beast?" Setsuna sits up…?

"Huh?" I go.

"Lustful?" Kinoko questions.

And… "Beast." I knew Yui would say that.

But I need to be caught up on this "lustful beast" thing.

Setsuna gives me one of the most exhausted, tired stares that I didn't think she could make. It's like Yui, but dead. "Remember all the times you joked about Sanji being a pervert? Turns out, you're right on the money. In our little chat last night, he said...some things that made me question my sanity. It was vague, but he made very blatant implications. Like, uh, that one spar you guys had not too long ago?"

"...The one where I absolutely beat his ass 'cause he was sick or something? He went to the bathroom immediately after, so I thought he needed to empty his lunch where it came in."

She twiddles her fingers, pensively pressing them together. "You're not wrong. Sanji was 'sick', but the medicine doesn't come in a bottle. The medicine is—how do I say this without making this rated for adults… He, uh…"

Oh God…. I can feel my face heating up again.

Me, Kinoko, and Yui watch Setsuna sway herself back and forth trying to find the right words to say. "Okay, lemme just give you a quick run-down. Sanji definitely wants to kiss you, right? It's really cute and it's a staple for couples—what couples don't kiss, am I right—but y'know, sometimes he just wanna go for more kisses—like, like uh, plural of 'kiss' y'know, more than one kiss heh, since that's the definition of 'plural' after all—but y'know, sometimes you wanna go a step deeper after that, right into the deep zone of a pool, just freaking step in, or in Sanji's case, dive in—"

"—Please shut up, please shut up, please shut up. You're making this a lot worse than it needs to be!" I say, burying my face into my hands. Maybe I didn't need to think about all the implications Setsuna's making right now! And she's incredibly flirty, but apparently when talking about sex, she gives up all rationality!

Kinoko gasps. "Wait, I think I got it! Are you saying that Inochi wants to stick his shroom in—?!"

"—Don't you dare finish that sentence, Kinoko!" I shout. Holy shit, my entire body might be red at this point.

Yui comfortingly pats my shoulder, nudging herself closer to me so I can actually receive some emotional support. "Itsuka. Sanji is a boy. You are a girl."

"Yui, you don't need to point out the obvious!" I take my face out just enough so I can yell at her too! Okay, no one is helping me here! Yui's way too mischievous! She's smiling too!

"I'm sure you're not innocent either, Itsuka!" Setsuna accuses, and I have no idea why she's turning this on me! "I'm sure you had indecent thoughts about Sanji too!"

"I'm not on trial here! You're supposed to be talking 'bout Sanji, not me!" I fight back. Setsuna raises a finger and gets ready to fire back. Then, we hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Thank goodness.

That's my cue to leave.

I stand up, and the girls wordlessly acknowledge my intentions, which is getting the hell outta here before someone asks me why I'm burning up. Quickly, I dash into the kitchen while I hear Kamakiri shouting at Setsuna about why everyone is yelling. At least it's Kamakiri. He can handle bantering with that demon…

How did the conversation go from me reminiscing about Sanji then...whatever the hell you call this. Whatever he's feeling, it's natural. I'd be more worried if he didn't feel that way despite being in love with me, and being so flirty, and being so touchy…

It's natural, right? It's natural that I want him to keep staring so intently at me, where he doesn't say anything like the absent-minded guy like he is, but instead, all his thoughts are firing on all cylinders when it comes towards me. It's natural that, in spite of me pestering him about it, want him to openly touch me with his gentle fingers that are shockingly soft yet strong from all of the training he did, and without a care too, shamelessly I mean. At first, my shoulders would jolt up an inch, and my head would crane down. Now, after he does it so much that I'm wishing for it, I can tell it's him from touch alone, and I'd always lean my body towards him wherever he decided to surprise me from.

Last night, when I decided to stay in his room because of the insane anarchists in our class, we laid in bed. He let me rant to him 'bout all the craziness that happened in just the span of an hour, and all he did was laugh. All he did was bring an arm around me and hold my head against his chest. I could feel his muscles underneath; even more, I could feel his heartbeat, how his body slowly rises with every breath, then eases back. It annoyed me that he didn't say anything. Could I be mad though? When he had his arm 'round my back and kept me so close to him?

If I had known about his direct feelings about me, then I don't think nothing would stop me from lifting my head off of his chest, and looking up, and having his tender, sweet eyes looking down at mine… Nothing would stop me from pressing my lips against his. I wouldn't do it for just a second but for a long time, yet it'll prolly feel like a second anyway. Just have Sanji push me against him further, and further…

I would grab his shirt, clutching a handful of fabric in one of my hands basically asking him to take it off, and with the other, hold the side of his face… And I'd wish for his hands to go lower, and lower, and lower…

I'm not that innocent either, heh… I'm just as guilty as Sanji. I shouldn't be worked up 'bout this as much as I am—I blame Setsuna for that. I'm more worried about us surviving until the Eiyukawa Fireworks Festival. He wants to confess there for a reason: it's his birthday for one, and it's a special holiday. However, if something happens before then, oh well. We're winning either way.

I look down at my hands. Still rubbing. That was the first kiss he gave me, all because I felt insecure about my scars. So what did he do to help me with it? Doing something ridiculous and out of nowhere that I'm forced to think 'bout him…

"Ha…"

Can't believe it worked, you bastard.

---

Sanji Inochi

TINK TINK!

"Rest well, old friend…" I lay my battered wooden sword against the rack with his other equally battered brothers. Master Kendo stands at the other side of the room with Hayami in the back taking notes. This is his new dojo, an actual building that's near Heights Alliance. It comes with state of the art technology, which means fancy features like having a dummy rise up from the floor, and the best equipment. It's definitely an upgrade from his old dojo on a technical standpoint, but I find myself longing for the old one. I guess that's due to nostalgia.

Master Kendo preemptively crosses his arms, ready to hit me with a technique called "critique". "So, you weren't lying when you said you could make wind pressure. It's pretty damn impressive that you managed to create wind around ninety-five percent of the time, and 'bout half that, you could concentrate it into a single shape. Your movements got tighter too. Did ya get inspired by Vainglory or something?"

Right, I only used wind pressure back with my fight with Vainglory. I didn't exactly get stronger, but unlocked an aspect of my technique. Compared to the full potential I can unlock, I'm only at the foot of the mountain. I'm nowhere near as strong as Itsuka—who can do it without thinking due to her strength—so whatever's left has been filled in using technical ability.

"Ah, you can say that," I answer. A half-truth, I guess? Vainglory was the trigger, but seeing my father perform an exhibition… That was the real reason why I could do it, I reckon. Due to Adoptive Muscle Memory, I was able to replicate a small fraction of his ability into my own—the small adjustments that were immediately possible, allowing me to perform Nightingale Original at its most imperfect. Beyond that, it would require mental training alongside physical conditioning to go any higher. "That's kinda why I asked Hayami to redo my Hero Costume completely. I wanna ditch my crossbow and grappling hook 'cause of my latest development. Looking back on it, it was kinda silly that I asked for them."

Hayami lifts her pen and wags it at me. "Silly or not, it was fun making and testing 'em. 'Sides, the Commission woulda require you to ditch 'em anyway once you get to your Provisionals Exam. They do a check-up of your support equipment and see if everything follows the proper guidelines. The time we have now is considered the 'experimental period' where 'Hero Students experiment with what support equipment best suits them and their needs.' I mean, not sure how it would go now, but I'm talking 'bout the pre-almost-got-ourselves-killed time."

"You have a point. I would think they'd be even stricter due to my, uh, unique circumstances. Can't believe I survived this long, God…" I scratch the back of my neck. "Think I can't rely on my Adoptive Muscle Memory anymore. I learned just about everything I need, so I gotta train harder than before."

"Congrats, you hafta rough it out just like the rest of us bastards," Master Kendo snarks. "Itsuka's been working her arms ever since she wanted to be a Hero. About what? Nine, ten years put into it? Sure, she was actually serious for 'bout half that, just look at her now. She's in the same spot as you, and you're catching up to her, Mister Origin-type."

I grab a towel and wipe the sweat off my face. "I get it, I'm the weakest strongest, uh, strongest weakest guy you know? That doesn't make sense. Y'know, you get my point. Itsuka's one of the best in 1-B, and she deserves that ranking."

"Mmm, uh huh." Hayami crosses her legs, tapping her lips with the end of her pen. A smug—wouldn't say 'smug' exactly but cocky—smile is mocking me. Don't know how or what she's mocking me for though. "Itsuka Kendo. My daughter, your mentor's granddaughter."

I nod. "That's her name, and that's how you and Master Kendo are related to her."

Hayami goes on to say, "My daughter."

"Yes."

"She's my daughter."

"She is."

"My baby girl."

"God, I hope so at this point because I'm terrified if she isn't."

Hayami sighs, presumably of how dense I am, and uncrosses her legs with her hands in her lap, displeased that I didn't get her message. "Sanji, I don't know what you did to my daughter, but—"

"—Woah, I didn't do anything to Itsuka! At least, not on the extent that you're thinking. I promise on the bottom of my heart." I wrap the towel around my neck letting the sweat trickle in, then put a hand over my heart as a sign of sincerity.

They don't believe me. Not one bit. They think I took advantage of their precious daughter and granddaughter respectively. With his face accusingly flat, Master Kendo says, "When you two went downstairs, you were late. And guess what? Itsuka was redder than her hair. It's pretty obvious that you did a morning exercise with her."

I… Okay. Seeing it from their perspective, that looks to be the most logical conclusion. So uh… How do I talk myself out of this predicament that doesn't result in my death? "Is the cat outta the bag now? That I, uh, that I, well, have feelings for Itsuka? But really…" I pensively tug on the collar of my shirt, "...I didn't do that with her."

Master Kendo eyes the wooden swords sitting on the rack beside me, then looking back at me. "Yeah, we both figured it out. What did you do anyway?"

I explain, "Well, to provide the context and all, we were talking about some stuff and the conversation went to our scars. We personally have seen the scars Itsuka has on her arms—not as bad as Midoriya's, they're pretty gnarly—ah sorry, almost got off-topic. Anyway, Itsuka was feeling a little insecure. I wanted to take her mind off of those thoughts, you don't wanna dwell on them after all, so I did something she wouldn't expect: kissing her hand. I knew she would be flustered about it, and all she would think about is what I did. Honestly, I was shocked that I did it in the first place."

My cheeks are warm. Master Kendo turns to see how Hayami's reacting. She softly sighs and puts down her pen and notebook. Hayami stands up. Taciturnly, with a neutral expression on her face that makes it almost impossible to gauge her emotions, she comes to meet me. Hayami raises her hand—

—I flinch.

Hayami slowly retracts her hand, an apologetic expression taking over. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Sanji, do you really think I would ever be upset with you? Me and Grandpa, we were just joking 'round. Didn't mean to keep you on edge."

"Heh, you almost looked like you were about to kill me. I know you two love Itsuka a lot, more than the world even," I reply, relieved. Behind Hayami, Master Kendo's smiling. He busies himself with putting the equipment away, the ones that we brought out.

Hayami laughs at me. "What about yourself? What changed, Sanji? D'ya remember that one conversation we had a while back? The afternoon before Uncle Sora came to visit?"

That afternoon… I put a hand to my head, trying to remember.

That afternoon, Hayami told me about Itsuka's feelings. When she did, it was a shock, but I expected it somewhat… She was trying to gauge how I felt towards her, and…

"Yeah, I just… just think that I can't worry about my own feelings. I don't have time to. Between this and heroism, I have to choose heroism. That's more important.

"Everything will stay the same as it always has been. I'll still treat Itsuka like I have for the past nine months."

Did I really say that…?

What did Hayami say in response…?

"It's not a choice of heroism versus yourself. It's a choice of heroism versus Itsuka. So I don't know why you believe heroism is more important than her."

What changed… It was my entire perspective, right? I'm focusing on my own feelings, my own wants. For the first time, I'm giving attention to my own desires. When did I change so much though…? I—

—A headache. It's not a migraine like before, thankfully. It's still annoying.

"I think I remember," I tell Hayami. "You didn't tell Itsuka about that conversation."

Hayami shrugs her shoulders. "You were right that you two didn't have all the time in the world. Better to leave her in the dark and not stress her out more. But really, what changed? Where's the Sanji who refuses to be selfish? Where's the boy who's oh-so-devoted to heroism like a God-fearing man? Why was he late when he's punctual as hell?

"I don't hate it, but I also don't get it. Before, you were training 'cause you were afraid of an unknown threat, one that goes beyond the League of Villains. Now, you enjoyed a morning of kissing hands with Itsuka while the M.L.A. is taking Japan apart piece-by-piece. The old Sanji would've texted us saying, 'I'm already at the dojo.' He would be incredibly preoccupied with getting stronger, so what happened?"

"I don't know," I blurt without thinking. I need to stop doing that. Might as well continue. "I-Island must've done something to me. Obviously, since, well, everything happened. I didn't make a big, life-altering change though. Being selfless is the best way to be a Hero, and being punctual is a good trait to have, heh. Anyway, uhm, I was happy spending the day with my friends and spending the night training. Then, I spent the night alone with Itsuka in I-Island. I was...happier, right? Right, I felt happier. Back home and back at the dorms, Itsuka let herself into my room after that, and I had the same feeling. So I thought, yeah so I thought to myself, 'Thinking about it, can I have both? Heroism and her?'"

Master Kendo chuckles, carrying a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. "You sound like me when I was your age. I entered U.A. wanting to be the best fighter as the prodigal douchebag I was, so I trained my fucking ass off. Then, I met Hayami's mother, and Sora, and Chiyo, and, well shit, Nana. My priorities shifted. It was a helluva lot funner antagonizing Sora than beating a punching bag into dust." He sighs. "It was a helluva lot better hearing your sweetheart laugh, rather than hearing bodies hit the mat."

Hayami's face turns blue at the mention of her mother. "Kaito, he was a lot more focused on being a knucklehead than anyone else. He literally said he would marry me in front of his classmates and my classmates too. To his point, he did do that, heh… Sanji, guess you found something just as sweet as heroism, didja? Just like my senile old man behind me, kindred souls or whatever you call 'em. Turns out, connecting with others is better than you thought."

Hearing her ask that question, I have the same face as her now. "Yeah, it's… it's something that I needed." I clear my throat. "Can I officially ask you and Master Kendo something?"

"'Officially'?" Her mournfulness is replaced with bemusement, pretty evident by how the sides of her lips are curling in intrigue. "Dad, y'hear that? Sanji wants to officially ask us something."

Master Kendo holds his broom with contempt. "Honey, I'm old, not deaf. I can hear his mumbling just fine."

Hayami tilts her head towards me, signaling that she's ready to hear it. Right…. Right! They already know, but why am I so anxious? "Okay… Well, Miss Kendo, and my honorable elder—" ("Meh," mutters Master Kendo,) "—I adore your daughter, and granddaughter respectively. She means a lot to me, and that's an understatement. Can I receive your blessing to have a relationship with her?"

With a bright smile, Hayami pats my head. So that's what she was trying to do earlier… "Of course you can!"
Master Kendo shakes his head. "Nah."

Hayami, still maintaining that sunny smile, says, "I will take that broom and shove it up your ass, Dad."

He straightens his lips, busying himself with brooming the floor. "That's the woman that Kaito married. Fouler mouth than me sometimes, sheesh."

Ignoring him, Hayami is over-the-moon. She has stars in her eyes. I haven't seen her so jubilated before. She wasn't this happy when me and Itsuka were accepted in U.A., or any other of our accomplishments. I want to keep that expression on her face. Out of us all, I think she deserves to be happy the most.

She tells me, "You have our blessing, Sanji. I can't imagine anyone else with Itsuka other than you. I would ask you to promise me that you'll support her, do some chores 'round the house, cook every now and then, but you already do that stuff anyway. Thinking on it, you guys are already a couple. All you need is an official seal. Wait, have you already confessed or are you still in that weird spot?"

"I haven't, admittedly…" I anxiously rub my arm. "I'm planning to confess during the Fireworks Festival coming up. It's also my birthday, so I thought I would make it special."

Hayami titters something small as if she expected it. "I thought so. There's nothing more romantic than fireworks; bonus points 'specially 'cause it's your birthday and all. Saves me the trouble of buying a cake."

It sounds like Hayami remembers my birthday, so why in the heck did Itsuka and Setsuna both forget? And why was Yui the only one who remembered it out of them three? Y'know what, the two of them will make it up to me somehow. "Mhm yeah. That is, if I, uh, can hold myself back for the rest of the week. I'm around Itsuka so much that I can't guarantee that I can restrain myself."

"Whatever happens, happens," says Hayami, again shrugging her shoulders. "Either way, we get what we all want. I've always thought 'bout you as my son, Sanji. Hell, you are my son, and I'll shoot anyone who disrespects you. I'm just glad that someday, I pray to God, that you'll be my son-in-law."

I'm almost paralyzed from what she said. My body freezes, and barely, I can feel my lip quivering, the movements almost too little to be visible. Those words hit a lot harder than I expected them to. Hayami accepted me as her son. She takes care of me. That's more than most people I've met in my life.

I make a small nod, then another one, then another one. I'm doing my best to put up a solid front. If I was caught a tiny bit more vulnerable, then I'd be crying right now. "I'm praying too. It's almost been a year since I've been with you, but it's the best year of my life. I mean, I did almost die a few times. Even with those, uh, awkward moments, it's worth it."

Hayami takes me by the head and lowers it, kissing my forehead. "Take care of yourself, Sanji. We're always here for you. We can handle whatever you throw at us."

Master Kendo affirms what she said, "Look kid, I helped train Toshi. You have no idea what kind of a destructive monster he is. If I can handle whatever he got, your Quirk is nothing. Really though, you're 'part of the family now. We said it before and we'll say it again: we got your back."

I can't stop myself from forming a genuine smile. "Ah, stop saying that stuff. I'm running out of things to say here. I'm really just happy that—"

—BOOM!

"—Inochi, you asshole!"
"—There you are!"

"—What's up, bro!"
"—I tried to stop them!"

...Eh? All the boys from 1-B are here. Literally all of them. Hayami sees the sudden influx of people, turns to me, pats my shoulder, then escapes to one of the walls. So much for motherly affection!

"Hey?" I wave at them. "Why did you nearly broke down the door?"

Awase steps from the crowd and grabs me by the collar. "We got the gamble of the century here, Inochi. Tokage set it up. 'Will the stars of 1-B break before Eiyukawa, or will they survive the week?' All of us are going all in—"

"—I refused to participate because gambling is immoral, so 'all of us' is an incorrect statement," Rin comments from the back with a scowl.

"Shut it, Rin! You say 'immoral', I say 'filthy rich'!" Awase exclaims, still holding me by the collar. Gently, not hurting him, I grab his wrists and he takes the cue to let me go. "Anyway dude, 'cuz we haven't been keeping track of the latest bets, that's pretty much why Tokage made this massive bet for us! She told us 'bout it just earlier, and as soon as we heard you were here, we rushed over."

Kaibara hollers, "We pretty much know that you admit to liking Kendo now. Sorry, not really sorry. I put a lot of money down on this bet."

Awase nods. "Yeah, we all did. That's why…"

He suddenly bows, his body bent almost ninety degrees with his arms as sturdy and straight as they come. "Break, dammit! I put my life savings into you breaking! Say 'Fuck it!' to self-restraint! I need to win!"

Honenuki runs up and pushes Awase to the side. "Have some self-restraint! Don't listen to Awase! Be a good Catholic just like Shiozaki! I'll give you everything in my wallet too!" He pulls out his wallet to make a point.

"What do you even have in your wallet right now?!" I ask while he's waving that thing at me like he's about to use it as a weapon.

He looks inside and goes, "Five thousand yen plus a gift card to that one mochi place! If you go there one more time, you get a free dessert on the house!"

"I can't even go outside campus without permission!" I say while glancing towards Hayami and Master Kendo. They're watching the chaos from a safe distance, leaving me with the responsibility to wrestle with my mentally insane classmates.

Togaru, I can see his mandibles shifting, snorts, "I hope you break, Quirkless. Seems like the best choice, heh."

"I thought you'd be on my side, Togaru! And why do you keep calling me 'Quirkless', I literally revealed that my Quirk is on All Might's level!" I holler at him; meanwhile, Awase and Honenuki are butting heads, both literally and metaphorically.

"Sorry, but I wanna steal money from these idiots. And ya still a Quirkless in my beety lil' eyes," he snarks.

Neito wraps an arm around Togaru—Togaru pries Neito's arm off and gives him a death stare—and flashes a bold smile. "In any case, my friend, I have full faith in your composure, lest you'd be similar to those 1-A savages! Though, we may need to separate you from Kendo until the festival arrives!"

Kaibara nods? What do they mean by 'separate' me and Itsuka? "It's kinda like separating the broom and bride for a week before their wedding."

"What? We live in the same building! It'll be impossible!" I exclaim while Awase and Honenuki are at each other's necks. I'll let them resolve their differences 'cause I got more important things on my plate!

Tsuburaba says, "Don't underestimate our ability, Inochi! We can just lock you in Kuroiro's room and sustain you for a week! We're still on break until we go to summer camp!"

Kuroiro smirks. "Indeed. My dark haven has been blessed with the mysticisms of simple-minded entertainment. It is quite cozy. Fear not, for when the mortal world orphans you, the dark below shall always reserve a chair."

Tsuburaba points at Kuroiro with a smile. "I have no idea what Kuroiro just said, but his room is exactly that! The chair and all!"

Tetsutetsu agrees with them two. "I can entertain ya! Gonna teach you to not break the Real Steel way!"

A few of the guys—Bondo, Shoda, and Shishida in fact—are sitting out. They probably tried to stop everyone from coming here but they most likely got overpowered. Wish they would help me, but it's no use speaking with people who have dollar signs in their pupils.

Awase hears what Kuroiro says and pushes Honenuki back. "Fuck that noise, I'm gonna make sure Inochi has zero self-control for the rest of his life!"

"That kinda sounds like you're gonna lock him up and brainwash him!" Manga says in the middle of the group. He's the shortest in 1-B; I could barely see him in the pile of bodies stuffed in this single space.

"Well I'm sorry, I want money! This is the most lucrative way to make money fast without risking shit! Thank you, Tokage!" he argues, and just about everyone is starting to get antsy. Okay, one-half of the group wants to break me, the other half wants to imprison me.

I got an idea.

THWACK WHACK!

I took a wooden sword off of the rack from earlier and whacked it against the floor. That gets the attention of everyone in the room, and makes Master Kendo raise an eyebrow. "Since you're in the dojo, that means you oughta do something physical. All of you against me, whoever knocks me on my knees… I'll do whatever they want. You're free to use your Quirks, but keep in mind the property damage. Who wants in?"

"Nope. No thanks." Manga sits with Bondo and the other sitters. Rin goes with him. Other than that, I got my opponents.

"Quirks? Sorry dude, you're going down today!" Awase claps his hands to psyche himself up.

"Been working on a few Super Moves since I-Island. Gonna show you up!" Tsuburaba inhales, preparing himself.

"Thanks for the free opportunity to punch your shit in, Quirkless." Togaru extends a blade the length of a short sword on his right forearm.

"I have no ill will towards you, Inochi. This is what one would call 'business'." Kuroiro scans the room for any black spots.

CLAK CLAK!

Tetsutetsu steels up, clanking his iron fists together. "If ya say so, Inochi bro! Not gonna hold back!"

Neito pats Tetsutetsu's shoulder, then Kaibara's. "This is an unfair fight, don't you think? Or are you letting your newfound status get to your head? Haha, don't think I hate it!"

Kaibara cracks his neck and pulls his right arm back. "I don't see how this won't end up with you losing, no offense."

Honenuki stares a gander at the floor, seeing how he should turn it into mud. "This oughta be quick and easy! And my win, kehehe."

"Master Kendo!" I holler at him. "You're watching, right? You can give us the signal to begin."

Master Kendo smirks. "Go ahead, kid—"

—THWACK!

---

Sasaki Kendo

"Master Kendo, did you really let an eight v. one happen in your own dojo?" Vlad King shoots me the stink eye, added by disapprovingly crossing his arms, and the half-confused half-amused looks of the other faculty members behind him.

"Yeah. My boy wanted it, so I let him," I say. "As his mentor, if he wanna fight, then he oughta fight. Gotta get better somehow, right?"

Vlad King nods, humming along to that sentiment 'fore turning to the nine numbskulls behind me. "Combat is essential to heroism, but really…"

One by one, the boys lower their heads in shame. "Out of you all…"

Except for Sanji. "How did Inochi come out unscathed while the rest of you are covered in scratches? I'm both amazed and disappointed that this happened, more disappointed than the fact that one of you already put multiple holes in the walls."

The boys look at Tetsutetsu, who's absolutely brimming with pride, freaking glowing. "I dunno why you're disappointed, Mister Kan! I'm strong 'nuff to jackhammer holes into concrete! That's Real Steel for ya! Just sorta wish that Inochi stayed still…"

Sanji goes, "If I stood there like a metal pole, you would've put a hole through my head! When you spar, you go fifty percent not one hundred!"

"Bro, why should I go fifty when one hundred is obviously bigger?! That's simple math, right, right?! Bigger is obviously better, that's why I jack up my muscles and eat lots of protein! Iron too 'cuz of my Quirk!" Tetsutetsu obilerates Sanji with his flawless logic. Yeah, I can't believe this is the peak intelligence of the men in 1-B. I gotta remind myself to teach Tetsutetsu the proper way to spar. Just hope that he doesn't punch a hole in my stomach like how All For One did for Toshi.

"Holes aside…" I begin, raising my voice so the dumbasses can pipe down and listen, "...Lipless over here decided to turn almost the entire floor into mud, prolly ruining the wiring that's running underneath it. That isn't the worst part: my dojo is a fucking—ahem, prolly shouldn't use language 'round you kids—my dojo is a freaking mess. All eight of you had zero communication and zero synergy with your Quirks, completely disregarded the environment you were in. Guess what? That's exactly why Sanji challenged you idiots. He knew he would win 'cuz of that fact alone. You got hustled, and you gotta pay the price."

Vlad King doesn't say anything, only giving me an awaiting look. Oh, he's prolly seeing what punishment I'm cooking up for 'em. Saves him the trouble of thinking one, lazy bastard. "Everyone but Sanji—he did kick your asses with the least 'mount of effort needed—will be spending the afternoon cleaning up my dojo. I'd better see my reflection in the floor."

"Yessir…"
"How did this happen…"
"There goes my afternoon…"

Vlad King tells 'em, "You're dismissed. Enjoy your summer, boys. Glad you're spending it well." The nine numbskulls bow and head outta the faculty lounge. Think I hear Itsuka outside the door waiting for 'em. Not surprising. Least I don't hafta deal with 'em for the rest of the day.

"Welcome to U.A., Master Kendo. Here, you can drown your disappointment in coffee and ink. Each time you believe your students' irrationality hit the bottom, they prove you wrong. It's the only time they prove you wrong," Eraserhead says to me, the sorry bastard of a newbie I am. He pulls down his scarf and takes a sip of coffee, black just like the ink in his pens. He wasn't kidding.

Present Mic almost tackles himself onto Eraserhead, pushing him forward in his chair and nearly spilling his coffee over his papers. "Aw, don't say that, Sho! This year, your kids have been knocking your socks off! You got the cream of the crop here! And guess what?! You didn't expel any of them this time! Normally, your average is one kid a year!"

"That average has unfortunately been skewed considering last year's incident, the current class of 2-A that is," Ectoplasm points out. "It's a dramatic outlier that horribly distorts the statistic. It's good practice to acknowledge it as a statistician."

"I can't even pronounce 'stat-test-cyan' right, Ectoplasm. D'ya take me as some sorta math wiz? Ha, heck no!" Present Mic stops leaning off of Eraserhead who's glaring bullets into his buddy. These two remind me of some kind of buddy cop duo.

"Mic, you're just as irrational as the students. You should've been prepared to be doused in coffee, 'accidentally'," Eraserhead threatens, but Mic doesn't give a damn.

Beside me, Midnight comes through the door with a stack of printer paper in her hands. "Ease up, Shota! That's Zashi's way of showing affection! How sweet, am I right?"

"As sweet as garbage in an alleyway," Eraserhead snarks. "Don't encourage his behavior, Midnight. It'll spread to the rest of the students, especially since they're living on campus now." He sighs, rubbing his eyes. There's a scar running under one of 'em. Got that 'cuz of U.S.J.; heard his Quirk use was limited due to his injuries. Damn shame.

Midnight frowns. "Debbie downer. Anyway, help me with this, my honored elder." Well, I'm not completely an asshole. I take 'bout half of her stack and walk with her.

"How's returning to work so soon? Bet none of ya coulda predicted the I-Island shit," I ask. I hear Vlad King and Eraserhead scoff in unison. Yeah, bet their asses were livid after hearing the news.

"I'm glad all the youthful souls made it out in one piece. It could've been really bad from what I heard." Midnight sets her stack down next to a printer; I do the same thing. "What's worse is the Commission's annoying meddling. Can we teach our beautiful children in peace? Of course not. We got what's equivalent to an annoying in-law with a big stick."

I laugh; that's a good joke. "Yeah, speaking 'bout that, I got an email the other day from Nezu. He sent me a file of what the Commission expects outta my class. 'Parently, and I quote, 'We expect all forty-one students to be adequately trained in hand-to-hand fighting by the time the Provisional License Exam arrives.' Like hell that can happen. I just witnessed my boy making a fool outta eight of his friends."

"You should've seen mine," Eraserhead remarks. "'Teach Class 1-A the responsibilities of heroism in order to provide a great foundation for their upcoming careers.' Three of them acted as Vigilantes when they chased after Stain. Their foundation is compromised. No amount of plaster can fix that within a month or so. Do I need to mention the fiasco with I-Island?"

Vlad King groans. "At the end of my email, there was this sentence in bold: 'Report any strange occurrences to the Hero Public Safety Commission immediately.' Pretty sure they were talking about 'your boy', Master Kendo."

"Pah, leave him be," I tell Vlad King. "Those bastards want the worst for Sanji. Glad no one here is a stooge for the Commission, otherwise we'd be hauled off to jail in a moment's notice."

"We might be walking corpses. I've heard from Nezu that there might be a representative from the Commission who will conduct regular check-ups," Cementoss says, neatening a bunch of letters. "But yes, none of us is secretly an agent."

"Pah!" Snipe totters in, adjusting his bulky half-plague doctor half-I-dunno-what-fucking-theme-he's-going-for mask. "Ain't none o' us is a bullet fer that institution. Unlike those empty, hollow good-for-nuthin' corporate monkeys, we gots more brain cells than they 'ave ties."

"Sounds like we're just as foundationally compromised as your students, Eraserhead," I joke. Really though, no self-respecting Hero actually likes the Commission. They're filled with idiots who think they know better than the guys and gals who are actually risking their lives everyday.

"Frankly, if my students place their lives in a cesspool of politics and bureaucracy, that's more of a reason to expel them," he replies. "Shame that the Commission will do more than a slap on the wrist if I attempt to do that given the current circumstances. They didn't say anything outright, but they could use one of the provisions in our handbook to suspend us for disobeying direct orders."

"That's disappointing. I haven't read that boring textbook once. Not even a single sentence," Mic admits. "Yo, I'mma be an anarchist and burn it. Who needs words when you got fire?!"

Cementoss quips, "Ha-ah-ah, I'm afraid that you'll be branded as a heretic and be crucifixed, Present Mic. That, and you might be heralded as a martyr by the current rebels. I've seen a few toting Stain merchandise."

"Ah, never mind! Stain really isn't the best guy to associate with! Can't even choose him as a sponsor!" and Mic reels back on his joke. Hah, that's how today works, I guess. Glad I'm not as involved in entertainment as Mic is.

Midnight jabs at Mic, "That's Zashi for you, all bark but no bite. I mean look at his haircut, he's definitely compensating for something—!" ("I will bite you, Nemuri!") "—Fufu. Where's your beautiful daughter, Master Kendo? I thought she'd be joining us for some playful banter."

"She had to do something with Power Loader to set up for her class. Believe me though, she wouldn't hesitate getting drunk and shooting the shit 'bout the crappy assholes in charge. My daughter got that from me," I answer. I remember all the times I complained to Sora and Nana 'bout the useless Commission. The President, younger but still a bitch, already knew the war 'tween the two giants. She kept trying to butt her head in and take control; didn't work.

Midnight sighs, woefully putting a hand on her cheek. This woman is a mankiller. Don't think she's doing this on purpose too, it's natural for her. "I'm glad that we have another woman on the team. Some things you simply can't talk to a man to, you know? Ah, I shouldn't ramble too much. Are your kids adjusting well to the new changes?"

"Surprisingly, yeah. 1-B pretty much ignored that the M.L.A. are taking over their lives and decided to have some actual fun for once. Glad that they did." 'Specially Sanji. He changed a whole lot, and I'm happy for it. Finally diverting some of his energy into himself. Just hope he can finally tell us the shit that runs inside his head, or worse, the shit that he's tryna suppress.

"Speaking of fun…" Midnight leans against a nearby counter and runs her finger along the blue countertop. "...It seems some youthful love is sparkling between two lovely students. A relationship is bound, am I correct? Care to gossip?"

I say, "Dunno if a respected and mature lady such as yourself would care a whole lot for high school gossip."

"As a teacher, it's my duty. Also, to ensure that no harassment is taking place. We know the media ruination that happened with Inochi's revelation and the, ahem, sudden passing of Hifumi Osuhashi. Between 1-A and 1-B, 1-B is the donkey in their eyes."

Midnight made the conversation depressing, wow. I don't need to be reminded of the media crapshow that Sanji had to wade through 'cuz of his Quirkless status, and the bullying that Setsuna Tokage went through due to the Catharsis mess. I wandered around the Business Course section of Heights Alliance earlier, and I thought I could make out a "Bitch Princess" here and there. Staying in their head rent-free…

"Well, they have a donkey as a teacher." That sounds like I'm calling Vlad King a "donkey", oops. "I mean me, not Vlad King. Regardless, they can handle it. The hit pieces they'll get will be more hilariously pathetic than soul-crushing."

"Happy to see that they'll be optimistic about this! See, this is why I rag on youthly spirits so much! They have so much potential and energy that it's just overwhelming! Stimulates the body with such a warm glow!" Midnight yammers. I think she's a little too into the youth. Maybe that's why she doesn't have a husband…

Y'know what, bad thoughts. As long as she doesn't do anything suspicious, I'm not gonna judge her preferences.

CLICK CLACK!

Heavy footsteps behind me. I know who that is.

"Master Kendo! Mind if I speak with you in my humble office?" Toshi asks in a big, heroic voice. He looks like a cartoon character wearing that yellow striped suit of his.

"Sure. Enjoy basking in that youthfulness, Midnight. The No.1 idiot wants me," I bid her a very nice goodbye from me, following Toshi into his office. Once we're inside, he locks the door and shrinks down to his skinny, skeleton self.

His suit is multiple sizes too big, and he honestly looks like a homeless lawyer who does a horrible job at defending you. "Ah, you don't mind, do you? Since I-Island, it's becoming painful to maintain that form of mine…"

I look around his office. He hasn't decorated it much. Only the odd picture here and there, and it's neater than I expected. "No, don't mind at all. Glad I could give ya some form of respite. What's up? I'm guessing you didn't drag me to talk 'bout our mornings."

Toshi shakes his head and heads over to his desk. "It's about the recent events. After the uncomfortable meeting we had with the President and General Masayuki, it's been gnawing at my soul. Normally, I would quell the threat where it stood, yet I'm afraid it would largely be a useless effort when I could be working on other things."

"Wow, you really did get smarter, Toshi." I jokingly clap my hands. "Kinda hard to uproot something that's pumping life into us. What're you working on?"

He frowns at me mocking him a 'lil—just a joke—and starts to search for something inside his desk. "Grandmaster contacted me. He said that, although the largest threat is the Meta Liberation Army, the most dangerous is All For One and the League of Villains. I'm inclined to agree. We mustn't forget that… That fiend is still active, Master Kendo. The same one who killed—"

"—No need to give me his portfolio. I'm more than familiar with that motherfucker," I tell him.

Apologetically, he lowers his head in shame. "I'm sorry for misspeaking. Wolfram was one of his soldiers as it turns out. Just like us Heroes, he meddles in the affairs of others. Unlike us, he corrupts them for his own personal gain. Because of this fiasco, David is awaiting trial."

"David will turn out alright. No judge will consider locking the brightest engineer in jail. At worst, he'll be stuck at home with all his toys and gadgets," I assure him. The world has too much to lose if the best scientist is behind bars.

"I hope so. I'm doing everything I can to support him and Young Melissa. Anyway, let's return to what I was talking about, with Grandmaster and All For One, I mean. Grandmaster wanted me to research anything regarding the past with One For All to see if we can use anything against that man. He also mentioned something about 'Mystic'? I have a vague recollection of that name," Toshi explains. Well, looks like he's becoming a historian. I'm sure he has some few stories that only the holders of One For All knows, given that he's one of 'em himself.

I tap his desk. "Right right, Mystic… Years ago, me, Nana, and Sora went on a mission to South Korea, Busan to handle one of All For One's associates, some prick from Ireland I think. Maybe Irish-American, I dunno. We were allied with South Korea's No.1 at the time, Bam, China's No.1, the father of Shangdi, and an agent from the U.H.N., Mystic."

Toshi nods. "Now I'm starting to remember… That's…" He clears his throat. "Mhm, yes. The Busan Bombing… It's tragic."

I nod, forcing those memories outta my head. No need to think back on 'em now. "'Tragic' doesn't come close to it, Toshi. Regardless, 'bout Mystic, he was Japanese. His costume consisted of a white and gold haori, and y'know one of the most famous Vigilantes back in the early days: the Winter Samurai, who also wore a white and gold haori. Grandmaster thought, 'Someone as prolific as the Winter Samurai would've encountered either All For One or One For All at some point during his life. It might be good to chase down this lead for, at the very least, some information.'

"So that's why Grandmaster's looking into it. He's attacking it from both angles: Winter Samurai and Mystic, hoping they meet up with each other."

The knucklehead in front of me hums, pulling a notebook out from the bottom-most drawer. "I see, I see… Thank you for explaining, Master Kendo."

"You don't hafta keep thanking me. It's annoying," I point out. I pick the notebook up, no title. "Is this everything you can find so far?"

I open it.

Toshi has all of the holders of One For All listed.

The first one, All For One's brother.

The next two were allies who fought with him during the beginning.

Hikage Shinomori, the guy had a Quirk called Danger Sense.

Daigoro Banjo, he had a Quirk named Black Whip.

The next one has a weird name: En. He had Smokescreen.

Then, there's Nana—Float.

Toshinori Yagi, and finally, Izuku Midoriya. Both Quirkless.

The next pages detail how One For All came to be, and the circumstances that led up to it. It's basically a history textbook. The first three holders, the founder and his two compatriots, don't have much information other than what they did. They led a resistance against All For One, but ultimately, they failed.

They recruited Vigilantes, like-minded individuals who were willing to fight with them. One by one, each of 'em ate dirt.

Toshi says, "About the Winter Samurai, he was a notorious name even in his time. There's no doubt that he was connected with the founder, I just don't know how."

"That's what happens when the entire country is plunged into chaos. No one's there to act as a recordkeeper. Though, it doesn't take smarts to guess that the Winter Samurai ended up in a grave like his pals. If Mystic was his descendant, hope he's doing well for himself."

Toshi's eyes fall down to his desk, glumly looking at the mess of papers and books that cover the surface. "That's what Master said after she came back, I remember now. She was praying for him, especially since he was 'one of us'."

"What does 'one of us' mean? Dead? Optimistically heroic but crushed by a megalomaniac with a club of a troll?" I ask. Mystic was "one of us" where he sacrificed his well-being and blundered. He wasn't alone, ha. Everyone connected to One For All fucked up at least once; most of us, we royally shit the bed so much that the entire house stinks. Our lives are a bundle of mistakes wrapped up in a bow thinking we got everything handled. Then, we get a sledgehammer to our knees. A cycle of misery, that is.

Toshi shakes his head as resignation. "I didn't want to pry after a sensitive time. Anyhow, I haven't finished my research just yet. I've only started a couple of days ago. As much as I wish to help Grandmaster, the years I spent as Japan's Symbol of Peace also resulted in my head getting knocked around. Compared to my golden days, I'm not as spry as I used to be."

"Hah, you're getting old like me, Toshi." I take a seat in front of him, and Toshi sits down too. "We're both old men at this point. The best we can do is guide our kids."

He picks up a few pieces of paper and frowns. "Yet we won't be chaperones when they go to camp. Are you caught up with the details? Nezu had to change them last minute due to the Hero Public Safety Commission's demands."

I shake my head. Toshi gestures towards the papers he's holding and I trade the notebook for 'em. From what I last heard—Vlad King gave me a run-down the other day—both classes will be dropped in a secluded spot with the Wild Wild Pussycats to do some summer training. The location is 'posed to be top secret to, y'know, not have a repeat of U.S.J. 'cause the last thing we need is more controversies.

Eraserhead and Vlad King are the only Pro Heroes attending on our side of the fence. While the Pussycats handle a lot of the physical exercises, these two are there to give supplemental classes to the kids who failed the Final Exams a while back. That's all I know.

I skim through the papers. "Doesn't look like much has changed, Toshi. Everything looks like it's largely the same. Pussycats, Eraserhead and Vlad King, and...? Shinya Kamihara? Name's familiar."

"That's Edgeshot, the current No.5 Hero. He'll be standing in as a representative of the Commission's wishes. Alongside him is an official named Kei Shirabe," Toshi explains. Two mouthpieces for the know-it-alls with ties, huh? Didn't think Edgeshot, a Top Ten, would be one of 'em, but it'll be naive to think everyone on that list is on our side. Not counting Toshi, the most we can rely on is maybe three; the ones we can trust, the number might be zero.

I rub my thumb over the characters spelling "Kei Shirabe". "Kei Shirabe… A chick, right? What's her story? She gotta be someone important if the Commission is letting her tag along."

"Last page." I flip to the last page that Toshi gave me. There she is: Kei Shirabe. A 45-year-old woman. She has black hair with green highlights, mainly going through the back of her hair, all neatly tied up into a ponytail. Her Quirk is Epinephrine Luminescence; the description is in the name: Any time Shirabe experiences high amounts of epinephrine, adrenaline, the green highlights in her hair starts to glow like fireflies at night.

At the Hero Public Safety Commission, she's a metaologist. She's employed as a "researcher". To what extent? I dunno. Her job description is pretty bare bones. Whatever bones we have, they're vague. We don't have nearly enough details to make out Shirabe's character or what she does. The Commission omitted that.

"A metaologist. If you ask me…" I slap the papers onto Toshi's desk. "...Edgeshot and Shirabe are taking the two Origin-types off to somewhere private to do some 'hands-on' research. They're not here for Class 1-A or 1-B; they're here for the two who can level mountains. That's prolly why neither of us are coming along; we'd put a stop to any shifty business they're thinking of."

Toshi interlocks his fingers, firmly placing his hands on the hodgepodge of papers and a single notebook in front of him. With a deep, disappointed sigh, he says, "That's...exactly what I thought, Master Kendo. If Nezu wasn't able to dissuade the Commission, then I wouldn't be able to either. We need to warn Young Midoriya and Inochi, then afterwards, pray that they can handle whatever they have in store."

"We need to pray for their lives at this point." I lean forward in my chair. "The only reason why the Commission, and the government too I guess, didn't stick their heads into your training growing up was 'cuz of recent events. Everyone was strained and overworked tryna deal with Villains and All For One's schemes in the background. Now that you punched peace into existence, these guys remember how it once was, and they would do anything to keep it. Having two kids act as heartless super-soldiers is a small price to pay. This time, they have the means to do it."

He shakes his head in denial. "They won't try it. They can't be so desperate that they will use my successor, and your student, to corrupt them into mindless drones."

I click my tongue. "It's war, Toshi. Remember when the last time Japan was plunged into war? Bands of Vigilantes slaughtered any evil-doers, and a lot of the time, innocents were caught in their massacres. That's what we know, the small nugget of stories in a gold mine. We can't even imagine what normal, everyday busybodies on the street would do in a time like that. People do unthinkable things when their lives become unthinkable.

"But that'll be the excuse the people up-top would say. In reality, these guys..." I remember something Hakan Aldemir said back at I-Island. "These lunatics are interested in power. In I-Island, the official we saved mentioned a plan that the U.H.N. is thinking of. A classification of a new breed of Pro Heroes, maybe people in general: Sovereigns, individuals who can single-handedly make countries bend the knee. Here in Japan, we got two Sovereigns-in-training.

"This period is the perfect chance to mold 'em into the pretty lil' tin cans they want 'em to be. They're the best kind of insurance ya can get as a Hero Country. Pop quiz: know why? Two reasons."

Toshi gulps. He's having flashbacks whenever I sprung pop quizzes on him. They mostly consisted of me beating his ass 'cuz he was still training. "To thwart any threat within the country. They guarantee that they can defeat anyone who's trying to disrupt the peace. At least, in the straightforward manner we know. With how the Meta Liberation Army does it, direct combat is not a solution."

"That's one, yup. Internal threats? Rebellion? The occasional Villain who wanna blow up the government in a single swoop? They can be handled easily by two Sovereigns. What's the other reason?"

"...Outside the country? International threats who want to harm Japan?" Toshi asks, and he got it.

I nod. "Yup. I barely remember anything 'bout Hero History while I was in this school, but you'd be an idiot if you didn't know that Europe and Asia got plunged into multiple wars 'cuz of some power hungry warlords, like that German guy, Sauer. Since Japan is the shining example of heroism, can you imagine what will happen to the world if we crack?"

"Mass panic, I suppose. But I don't see how Japan could be threatened by other nations, Master Kendo. Let's say an outbreak of crime happens across the world. Everyone would be focusing on their own issues, correct?"

"You're exactly right. It's just that, in those places, freedom exists, so you're free to burn a car, get fuckin' wild, the usual crap. In places where freedom doesn't exist, in a period of turmoil in our good green Earth, every innocent soul would be cracked down, scrutinized into oblivion. If they can do it in international peace, they can do it in international chaos. While everyone else is focused on their own problems, they rub their hands and go, 'This is the time where we can make our great country greater.'

"In Asia, we still have a pretty big thorn in our side, a couple of 'em actually. It's the sad case of the wrong people getting more power than they had previously. Makes it even more ironic that the Meta Liberation Army is fighting for 'freedom' in an already free country, where across the sea, that word is a myth."

Toshi gulps. "North Korea and China? They wouldn't dare try to subjugate Japan."

I shrug. "They can try. I mean hell, they would prolly give the M.L.A. supplies when the revolution kicks off. Do I make a convincing argument? Fuck if I know. The chance of it happening is not zero. That's why the government is very interested in our punks. They're our deterrent to both external and internal threats."

"And with two of them at the reins, Japan may be more of a superpower compared to my time." Toshi stands up from his desk and walks over to the window, staring off deeper into the main campus. I would tell him to back off before anyone sees him in his skinny state, but I don't got the heart. "Moments like these, Master Kendo, I feel inadequate as a teacher. I became ignorant of the current status quo of Japan and believed Young Midoriya would grow in a healthy environment. Now, he is hounded by many: Villains, other Heroes, institutions with hidden motives… Time is moving faster than I can blink. Soon, maybe a week, or a few weeks from now, I won't be able to fight as All Might anymore.

"It's getting harder to maintain that stature ever since All For One wounded me. I could feel my stomach churning each second I obdurately persisted. When I gave One For All to Young Midoriya, living as the Symbol of Peace became painful. I'm fighting with the embers of the power that Nana Shimura gave me while my successor carries the flame.

"I remembered how Izuku Midoriya, that boy, stammered when he spoke to me on that fateful day. His eyes glistened with admiration, I could almost feel how his heart was rapidly beating. But he was innocent, he was innocent, Master Kendo. Seeing the first-hand effects of the decay of Japan, now that I become aware, I feel guilty. It's as if I used him to fight as a pawn in a brutal war.

"It was never my intention to, yet that's how everything unfolded. All For One would surely cease, yet he hasn't. He wouldn't breed another warlord such as him, yet he has. As a mentor, as his Hero, as his idol, everything I did thus far, whether through my actions or inactions, made him ill-equipped for what will happen next. With my two hands, I had to crush All For One's skull, and that incident was just after I reigned in peace. I'm afraid what Young Midoriya will do with his own hands when peace is slipping out of his grasp.

"I am a terrible teacher, Master Kendo. I haven't prepared that boy." Toshi looks away from the window. With his worn, almost-emaciated eyes, he looks towards me for guidance. "What can I do?"

I stand up. "Whatever's right, Toshi. You realized that you gotta up your game, so do it. Midoriya's learning a new style, Shoot Style, that focuses on his kicks. Support him. Whatever developments he has next, support him. If he wants advice, give him it. Tell him to never back down and grow a fucking spine, 'cuz the goons out there will tear it out if it's not it's not straight enough. If he starts to waver in his ideals, slap him back to shape. Giving up what you believe in, that's admitting defeat. You can change, but you can never break.

"Tell him to stand up to the bureaucratic suits who wanna use him, tell him to beat the shit outta the thugs who wanna kill him, do all of that. As a mentor, you're 'posed to guide your protege into becoming the best version of themselves. Before, that kid was tryna to be like you. Now, he's beginning to find his own way. Encourage that. We got Japan's biggest Hero coming up, and we need to make sure he finds his stride."

Toshi's lips quiver. He nods to gesture that he understood what I said, thank God. "Support him, yes… I just need to be there, don't I? Teach him to be independent, that's the answer. Thank you, Master Kendo. I'm sorry for making you lend an ear without asking first."

"We've known each other for years, Toshi. At this point, lending an ear is something I do regardless. 'Sides, you're an emotionally frail man. Can't blame you if ya get all worked up 'bout something like this," I say. We both share a small, old man laugh. I've known him far too long, but he's doing well for himself. Toshi isn't the best teacher, but if he supports Midoriya by being there, then that's Toshi at his best. His presence is his strongest trait.

He walks away from the window, straightening his baggy clothes. "Thank you again. We should also mention Young Inochi too then? How is he coming along?"

Ah Sanji, that complicated bastard. "He's at zero compared to Midoriya. Hasn't awakened his Quirk obviously, so he's still stuck in that awkward space 'tween Quirkless and Sovereign. Mentally though, his head's a bit further along than your boy. A bit too far, I'mma say."

"How so?" Toshi asks. "Young Inochi is a very positive person. I can't imagine that you, of all men, would be saying that."

God, this will be awkward to explain. "Well, somehow, he mentally conditioned himself to be perfectly fine with killing someone. Him, a kid who's 'bout to turn sixteen, is okay with that. That's not normal. He's mature, believe it or not. I just think he's too mature. Sanji can handle the bad shit better than Midoriya, I'd wager. It's just that, shit, Sanji has some issues he needs to work out."

"Issues…" Toshi straightens his lips. "Should we recommend Hound Dog to him? If he has 'issues' as you say, then it makes the most sense for him to see a counselor."

I shake my head. That's not happening in a million years. "Sanji is too self-conscious for that, he'll refuse. Hell, I dunno what he experienced before he met us. At this point, I'm waiting. When he falls, we'll be there to catch him."

"I'll be there too. Young Inochi is also my student after all. It'll be unfair to only give Young Midoriya all of my attention. I can't forget that Young Inochi fought for my statue back during that exercise with the General Courses," Toshi points out. I remember that exercise. Sounds like a year ago, honestly.

"Haha… Anyway, think I need to start checking on the idiots who wrecked my dojo." I start to head for the door, but at the last second, I stop. "Oh, by the way, Sanji dumped you as his idol."

"Young Inochi did what? I-I don't understand—?"

Got my hand on the doorknob. "—Like Midoriya, he's starting to do shit for himself. Our boys are going places, Toshi. Hopefully, not to the grave. See ya 'round."

Before Toshi can respond, I walk my ass outta his office and back into the teacher's lounge. Snipe is there with a coffee mug in his hands, and I hear Midnight and Mic having an argument. Do I know what? No. Do I care? Eh.

"The hell's going on, Snipe?" I ask him.

"Reckonin'. Had a fun chat with the No.1? Whaddya talk 'bout?" he asks back.

"Ah, just some personal shit. Fun fact: All Might is afraid of snakes. Don't let the news find out. You'll never hear the end of it, cowboy." I'm lying to Snipe's face. Well, mask but I don't get bogged down in the details. I've learned a good way to shut nosy people up: just throw a bone and joke 'round.

And it works. Snipe lifts up his mask to take a sip of coffee, and he continues to watch the "reckoning".

Shit, these lunatics are my coworkers. I should retire.

---

Karisuma Suzuki

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Isn't it pretty?"

"Looks like we're in a shitty movie set."

"My nose is clogged up."

"Pretty fuckin' good, Sakuna!"

"Thank you, Gera! And you two!" Kazeha points her annoying-ass finger towards me and Mantora. "How many times do I have to say it? Give me a compliment! A compliment! That's C-O-M-P-L-I and M-E-N-T!"

"Your shitty movie set looks fan-fucking-tastic."

"What Suzuki said."

"You two are the worst comedy duo I've ever seen." Kazeha drops her arm and gives up; she can't deal with how shitty we are as friends. In our defense, this place really looks like a shitty movie set, if said movie takes place in an apocalypse decades after the world ended. "I invited you into a girl's room. Do you know how many guys would get excited at that thought?!"

Mantora says, "I'm excited to leave. I'm inhaling too much pollen and whatever those exotic flowers are producing."

"It's chloroform. Kazeha's trying to get into your pants again," I point out. For as long as I knew these two, they're one twisted couple. Mantora's completely disinterested, Kazeha's completely interested. This would be one of those crappy mangas that Manga—what a stupid name—would read 'cause he was bored.

Kazeha, like a brat, stomps her foot. "It's not chloroform! The only 'chloro' thing they have is chloroplasts!"

Gera puts a hand on her head, shaking it. "The fuck is a 'chloroplast'? Y'know that I'm a dumbass compared to the three of ya, right? Izzat some kinda… Quirk?"

"Biology, Gera. Remind me to go over some of that in our next tutoring session," I tell her. Poor Gera. No amount of muscles she has, it can't make up for the lack of brain cells inside that empty head of hers. At least she can brag about having more testosterone than most of the guys in our class.

Mantora raises his hand. "Can we leave now? I think I'm actually inhaling chloroform 'cause I feel like passing out, and I got something better to do."

"Y'gonna ta your room t'jerk off, Hentai Protagonist?" Gera crudely asks, and I wager money on her being right.

Kazeha raises an eyebrow. "Lemme help you. I'm really good with my hands!"

Hentai Protagonist looks to me, of all guys, for help. Suzuki, I want to drop out. Heroism is a mistake. No, I don't feel like helping. Sucks to be him. Should've thought twice before enrolling in this school.

Seeing as I wouldn't help him, the poor guy who has a girl chasing after his ass, he gives up and lowers his head. "I don't know why I'm at U.A. anymore. I got a kitsune who's an asshole, an actual rock in both body and head, and a hypersexual nymphomaniac after me."

"'Hypersexual nymphomaniac' is redundant, Hentai Protagonist," I say, and Mantora deeply, deeply sighs. He's sick of my bullshit. He's sick of everyone's bullshit. I've never met someone who's so lazy and unemotional.

Mantora turns around and starts to head out. "I'm going to Lunch Rush to forget this ever happened."

Kazeha frowns, then hearing that her "boyfriend" is getting some food, perks up. "Bring me a bento box! My usual, please!"

Gera holds up two fingers. "Make it two."

"Three. I'm hungry too." Mantora glares at the three of us. I kindly ask, "Don't spit in our food, jackass. Actually, spit in Kazeha's. She'll enjoy tasting your DNA."

Kazeha stomps her feet again. "I'm not a creep! I mean, I kinda am, but not like that! I'm not one of those stalker I-want-your-blood-mixed-with-mine types! That's incredibly gross, and this is coming from a 'hypersexual nymphomaniac' like me! Tell him, Gera!"

Gera shrugs her shoulders. "Hey asshole fox, Kazeha ain't a… I dunno, I wasn't paying attention. She ain't whatever the hell she said. Got it? Else, I'mma shove these plants' chloroplasts into ya jugular."

That was quite possibly one of the weirdest threats I have ever heard in my life. "I feel like a changed man after you tore me a new one. Thank you for changing my life, Gera."

"Don't mention it." She looks around. "Did Hentai Protagonist leave already? Damn, didn't even hear him."

"The moody guy is moody, what did you expect? Mantora's like that. Kinda uptight, lazy when he feels like it, maybe he is a protagonist from an anime," I suggest—Gera hates the idea, Kazeha loves it. "Whether he is or not, he's been mood-ier lately, did you notice? Kazeha, what did you do?"

Kazeha crosses her arms and pouts. "I didn't do anything! I offered to stay the night in his room and he shut the door in my face! That's as far as my advances went! I spent almost all afternoon yesterday chilling with the Dark One!"

The Dark One… Can't believe we're amusing that child. She's actually the oldest one in the entire class. She's already sixteen… Big ego in a small package, and I thought I was the one who thought my dick was longer than it was.

"You know what, I'm heading downstairs. I don't want to hear you gush about the Dark One. Enjoy your room filled with a botanical hellscape," I bid her the kindest farewell I can muster. Kazeha pouts more and that's all she can do. I walk out the door and shut it tight. God, I can still smell the flowers through the door. If I took a nap there, I'd wake up in an LSD trip and say, "I don't think we're in Japan anymore."

I make it down to the commons, and guess what, I see Class 1-D's resident android sitting on the couch: Yibiju, a purple-haired girl who never displayed a hint of human emotion in her life. Her fingers, unlike most people, have a very visible line drawn at the first knuckle. She can pop those knuckles open and fire energy bolts out of them. I've always been creeped out by her. U.A. is filled with oddities.

"Yibiju," I call out to her, "what're you watching? A documentary on toasters?"

Yibiju turns to see me, and like usual, her facial expression doesn't change. No matter what insults I throw at her, it doesn't faze her cold, mechanical heart. "Good day, Suzuki. I am not watching a documentary pertaining to toasters, but rather, media companies before the rise of heroism then afterwards. Would you like to watch with me?"

That's even worse. "I'll pass. I'm surprised none of the others are hogging the TV though. Where did everyone else go? Harassing the Hero Courses again?"

"My apologies, but I am not certain. The most plausible theory is that they all went to Lunch Rush; although, your theory is plausible as well. I am afraid that we need to await sufficient evidence to reject either of our conjectures," Yibiju mechanically explains. She's like one of those home robots you get in your house. Just say "Hey Yibiju!" and she'll respond.

"Peachy. I'm gonna sit off to the side and screw around on my phone, 'kay? Enjoy your documentary, Yibiju." Without any further comments from her, I do pretty much that. We're the only two down here while Gera and Kazeha are having girls time upstairs. Let's text Mantora to see if he's actually getting our food.

Me: "Oi you're getting our food right?"
H-Protag: read

Me: "Hey asshole"

H-Protag: read

Me: "Hello dipshit"

H-Protag: read

Me: "Hi honey"

H-Protag: "maybe"

Me: "Why did you respond to that?"
H-Protag "yeah"

Me: "I really do hate you"
H-Protag"mhm"

Me: "Don't disappoint me or your girlfriend. Gera too, I guess"

H-Protag: "not my girlfriend"

Me: "And you're not an idiot"

H-Protag: read

There's a sixty percent chance that he'll get our food. The other forty is if he "forgets".

What's in the news…

By Shoowashya Publishing: "Brave! The CEO of Deternat, Rikiya Yotsubashi, donated free support lifestyle gear estimated to be in the billions after a passionate speech!"

By Quirked Minds: "Why Rikiya Yotsubashi is Japan's trailblazer"

By Hosu Hearsay: "Heroes are not the only heroes Japan should rely on, and here's why!"

The first three articles that this stupid phone gives me… God, Rikiya Yotsubashi has made headlines everyday since the I-Island Incident. Why are these media companies suddenly praising a CEO like he's God? I've only seen this kind of fanatic fervor whenever All Might does something remotely impressive. I understand All Might, but a random CEO looking like a witch in a children's book? Sure, he did apparently fight against Hassan-i Sabbah, but…

I'm sure of it, both 1-A and 1-B were involved. Manga told me that. I've seen videos of All Might and someone with green lightning defeating the Villain who took over the Central Tower. That's just one of the incidents. The other one was where Rikiya Yotsubashi was involved. There's practically zero videos during the attack, but I swore that I read in a few comments that "kids" were there.

Dammit, these motherfuckers…

I open my chat log with Manga.

Me: "You alright?"
Nerd: read

I sent that a few days ago after news broke out. He still hasn't responded, that asshole. Sure, fight the No.2 Villain in the entire world and leave me on read. How about I kill him instead? That'll make headlines.

"Suzuki," Yibiju gets my attention, "someone is staring at you through the window. Look to your left."

"Eh? What fangirl would…" Of course. To my left, a short girl with auburn hair all tied up in a ponytail is staring at me like a freak. It's Sister Fukidashi, Shojo. Shojo, I should probably use her first name to be less confusing, jumps back in fright. Her lips quiver and she starts hopping around. She's yelling something to herself. I don't know what; I don't care; I want to know why she's staring at me.

This goes on for almost a minute before she stops. She creaks her head towards the front doors. Taking a deep breath in, Shojo puts on her big girl pants and walks through the doors—

—BAM!

She slams her face into the doors. What a dunce… I can hear her internally screaming to herself. How embarrassing, running into the doors with people watching your every step. Like a barbarian, Shojo clutches the door handles and pushes the doors open. She keeps pushing the doors open, but they don't open. They pull open, not push.

Yibiju chimes, "Miss, you need to pull—"

"—I got it," I interrupt Yibiju, raising my hand. "Keep pushing. These doors are awful, you really need to put in the elbow grease to push these giant logs open."

Shojo hears me and keeps pushing. "That's it. You're doing great."

Still doing it. "You might be the stronger Fukidashi."

Then, she finally wisens up and realizes that I might be tugging her arm. Carefully, she decides to, genius move, pull the door. Guess what happens when she pulls the door? It opens, that's what doors do. Once she's inside, her eyes lock onto me. She's about as red as her face, albeit a winsy bit flushed with anger. Yibiju asks Shojo something but she ignores her.

Walking up to where I'm at, Shojo looks like she's on the verge of tears. "Y-You bully… Why does Manga hang out with you?"

"We tutor elementary kids and we had to become friends," I answer. "Me teasing you, consider that an act of affection."

Shojo pushes up her glasses, irritated. The angry face she's putting on, it's like a puppy trying to act tough. "I don't wanna hear it! You're not even a tsundere, you're just entirely a jerk, big jerk! You could've opened the door for me, or just stop looking at me like I'm a freak!"

"It's good entertainment, what can I say? I enjoy messing the crap out of people, especially like you and Manga. Guess old habits die hard, huh?" I gesture towards the seat in front of me. Angrily, Shojo sits with her arms crossed.

"Hmph. Once a bully always a bully. I'm surprised you get along with Manga while Sanji hates your guts," she annoyingly remarks. Last thing I wanna hear about is the King of Quirkless, Sanji Inochi, the lunatic who's so reckless with his life that he would kill himself if it meant world peace. I haven't talked to him in a while; I haven't seen him in a while too.

I scroll through Jitter; like usual, it's filled with know-it-all idiots. I'm not paying attention to any of the comments. I just need something to occupy myself while talking to her. "Me and Inochi have an unsavory past, you know that already. I was an asshole, but I received character development: I'm still an asshole."

Shojo starts leaking steam from her head. "Obviously! You told me to keep pushing the door when you knew I was making an idiot outta myself! You're the worst kind of person!"

"I try my best to be provocative, kinda like your blonde-haired friend, Monoma." A post by Rikiya Yotsubashi himself catches my eye. That reminds me, Shojo went to I-Island too, didn't she? "Provocative-aside, I heard nothing from Manga after the I-Island Incident. Just what the hell happened over there?"

Jamming up, Shojo straightens herself in her seat like I'm about to eat her. The redness in her face disappears almost immediately, and she's back to her anxious self, the one that Manga describes as "Shojo when she's in public". "N-Nothing happened! Nothing at all! Sure, it was kinda, uh, kinda… kinda scary that, that, uhm, that, th-that…"

I already regret asking her. I forgot that people like her stutter. "That a class of Hero Students were alongside All Might? But that wasn't 1-B, obviously. Since you guys are magnets for disaster, you were there with Rikiya Yotsubashi, right? The CEO that everyone on TV can't stop talking about?"

She seals her lips, not wanting to open them else she'll give me more ammunition to torment her with. Instead, a curt nod is all I get. Much better than talking—wait no, stuttering so much that she could be a literal broken record.

I don't know what happened at I-Island. Sounds like some serious shit went down considering Hassan-i Sabbah was there, and 1-B was definitely involved. What's with these Hero Students and near-death situations, these absolute idiots. "Now I know why U.A. suddenly made the entire student body move into dormitories. Look, I might be a dick, but I'm not too much of one. I'm not going to pry into the 'whys' or 'hows' of the attack. Bottom line: glad you're still kicking. Are you and Manga doing alright?"

Shojo blinks. In her nerdy eyes, I'm a freak. Pot calling the kettle "black", huh? Oh, to make sure she's not going crazy, Shojo takes off her glasses and wipes the lenses with her shirt, then puts them back on. "Did you ask if me and Manga are doing okay?"

"You two literally got attacked by someone who's ranked No.2 on the U.H.N.'s 'International Villains' list. Something like that only occurs once in a blue moon. You have better luck waking up and finding yourself in a fairy tale than meeting with an assassin from the Middle East."

"I mean, you're not wrong, but… Uhm, no offense or anything, yeah no offense, but I thought you were a hardcore sadist! Manga told me all about how much you tormented him!" Shojo accuses me. I'm not a sadist—hold on a second, maybe I am. On second thought, I do like messing with people. Seeing their faces distort from embarrassment is the most satisfying feeling in the world, especially if it's someone I don't like…

I smirk; Shojo visibly shivers in fear. "On the off chance that I am a sadist, it's not another word for 'psychopath'. Compared to most people, you and Manga are leagues better. I can tolerate you two. Some of my classmates though? Nah, hell no. All they do is complain about the Hero Courses, uselessly sitting on their asses thinking an opportunity will fall into their lap. The few who actually try and hit the gym are convinced they can take out one of you guys."

Yibiju, who's still here, comments, "You should not speak ill of your classmates, Suzuki. That is not proper behavior from a promising student such as yourself."

I shrug because I don't really give a damn about what they think. "Since when did I care about being nice to lazy bums? They already know how I feel about them anyhow. No skin off my back."

Shojo squirms around in her chair, uncomfortable from our conversation. She's the type to be uncomfortable in any social interaction, so not surprised. "I-I guess I should take that as a, uh, compliment? I didn't think you would see Manga, my brother, as better than those guys…"

"You need to have a better image of him then, 'cause you're a blind idiot," I tell her. "Back at that program, he literally destroyed an entire street from a single Onomatopoeia. He might be a short, scrawny nerd, but he has the guts to stand up to you when it matters. I mean, didn't he get you out of the house?"

A stammer chokes out of Shojo. That's the bitter pill that she has to swallow. Manga Fukidashi is a lot of pathetic things, you can use a hundred unflattering adjectives on him. Cowardly isn't one of them, and weak isn't either. Out of 1-B, he has the strongest Quirk in terms of raw stopping power. With how he's going about things, I can respect that. From how Catharsis came and went, it had a happy ending.

Filled with shame and embarrassment, Shojo lowers her head to avoid eye contact with me. "I-I hate that you're right, Suzuki… Manga, as humiliating as it is to be his twin sister, he's doing great."

Looks like she wants to say more than just "doing great" but can't get her thoughts out. Eh, I got her point. No need to push her for examples. I move on, "Glad to give you a reminder. Speaking of which, why are you even here again? A walking disaster like you would stay far away from me as possible."

To that, she gets offended. "Hey! I'm not a 'walking disaster', you jerk! I'm just here 'cause Manga asked me to ask you to get the manga you borrowed before we went off to I-Island! He's in his room organizing his bookshelves right now!"

"He has a phone!" I hold my phone up. "He could've texted me to bring him! Why did he send you as a messenger? You would be the worst choice to deliver a message!"

"It broke during I-Island! He's waiting for a new one! Not his fault that one of the most dangerous assassins showed up to kill us!"

God dammit. This is already exhausting. I lay back in my chair exasperated. "Fuck, guess shit like that kinda puts a wrench into everything, huh? Besides, just last night, the Dark One noticed I had the latest volume of My Neighbor's a Pro Hero?! and wanted to borrow it."

An eyebrow is raised. "The...Dark One? Who's the Dark One—?"

—BURST!

I mutter, "Speaking of the lovecraftian horror…" Shojo sinks in her chair, carefully looking at the deadliest scourge mankind ever known, trying to not catch a glimpse of her.

"Kuku… Amidst the brevity of sunlight's days comes the twilight years of dusk. As the sun wavers and wrinkles into a prune, the moon blossoms into the most galliant of roses! My power grows with each moonlit cycle. Each emission trembles the soil and quakes the clouds, spawning torrents of rain and rivers of wind, and elsemore! None can dispute my power, none shall rival my might, for I am the world's greatest calamity birthed in a lonesome comet! Yes, witness me! Yes, bask in my presence! It is I, Kakumi Yamajiru, the Dark One!"

Kakumi Yamajiru, the Dark One, saunters into the middle of the commons with a smug smile on her face, having her hands on her hips and acting like she owns the school. She's more prideful than I am; at the same time, I literally can't take a single word seriously. Yamajiru, with her eyes closed to have comfort in her own light, proclaims, "I am here to bring a revelation to you fiends! Heed the word of the harbinger of destruction, I, Kakumi Yamajiru, the Dark One!"

She opens her eyes and sees that there's literally only three other people here. "Where are you fiends?!"

"I am located in front of you, Kakumi." Yibiju does a small robotic wave. Kakumi waves back with a small smile.

"Ah yes, Yoku. My dearest companion who many assume to have a heart of steel, where its veins are wires and your blood matching that of electricity, yet you have a heart nonetheless, a warm one at that." Yamajiru hauntingly chuckles to herself while Yibiju doesn't show a change of expression whatsoever.

Shojo leans over the table and whispers, "You have a chuuni in your class? She's so…" Pause. "...Short."

Yup, Kakumi Yamajiru is a giant standing at 147 centimeters tall (Author's Note: 4'10"). Her aspirations might be tall but she's a goblin.

"You're not that tall either. To me, you and Yamajiru are shrimps. I can practically step on you if I wanted."

She pouts. Yamajiru glances over and sees us two staring at her. Oh God, she's coming. I give the Dark One my full attention.

"Kuku…" Yamajiru begins with her catchphrase laugh, "...Kitsune and a mysterious face, an unexpected alliance. Who might be this wanderer, Suzuki? I know her not from the Hero Courses, so I can only speculate that she is in one of the other three. What say you?"

Shojo raises a finger and I put her finger down. I talk in her stead, "I say me: Shojo Fukidashi, twin sister of Manga Fukidashi and a student of 1-H. She actually visited your domain because she heard about the infamous Dark One and wanted to meet you in person."

The widest smile forms on Yamajiru's face. I'm making this child's dream come true. Shojo, on the other hand, I—Eh, she looks too ugly for me to describe her reaction. Let's say I doomed her and she's upset.

Having her biggest, and only, fan in front of her, Yamajiru exclaims, "Kuku! Your taste in grand figures is much respected! And I, the Dark One, am delighted! Shojo Fukidashi, dear sister of an inspiring Pro Hero, I am pleased to make your acquaintance! Must I regale you in one of my tales of triumph? Once upon a time, I encountered a blazing dragon whose scales were crackling with molten embers, whose breath reeked with smoke, eyes ablaze with contempt for mere mortals such as I…

"Yet, I am no mere mortal, for I am Kakumi Yamajiru, the Dark One!"

Shojo side-eyes me. She whispers, "How long is this story?"

"At least a few minutes. At most, she went on for half an hour one time."

"Wah…" Shojo's head meets the table.

---

"..."

"Heh."

"Stop laughing…"

"You got your manga back, right? I thought you'd be happier. Mission successful, quest complete, and all the other nerdy references you make. Why so glum?" I ask her, and she's not having it. Adamantly refusing to make eye contact, huffing and puffing, stubbornly hugging onto the manga, I think she's upset with me.

"You made me sit through Yamajiru's ramblings… As much as I enjoy the chuunibyou characters, it doesn't mean I wanna be on the receiving end of their fanatics!" Shojo wails while taking a few steps away from me. "And why are you coming with me to the 1-B dorms anyway?! I don't need an escort!"

I frown. "Who said I was escorting you? If we run into a Villain, you bet that I'm leaving your ass. I'm only coming because I want to help Manga out. Just like Yibiju, I follow everything to the letter."

Shojo lets me see a little bit of her face. "The purple hair girl, right? What's up with her?"

"She talks and moves like a robot," I begin to explain. "There's this one time in class where Kazeha brought in some plants but she had to go do something. She asked Yibiju to 'watch her plants'. When she came back, Yibiju did watch her plants just like she wanted. What she didn't expect was Yibiju staring into the plants' souls, thinking it would just stand up and walk away.

"Hell, last night, I asked Yibiju to bring me a drink. Unfortunately for me, I was a dumbass and didn't specify what drink I wanted. You know what she did? She brought me one of every drink in the fridge. If she's a robot, then her master was an awful programmer."

Shojo snorts an ugly laugh. Catching herself, she turns away with her cheeks a little red. "Least you're not in the Support Course like I am. My classmates are literally insane. Everyday, I wake up accepting that this might be the day I die. Not 'cause of a Villain, not 'cause I accidentally trip down the stairs because I'm a klutz who can't walk right, no… It'll be because someone decides to build a nuclear reactor in the living room."

"Just kill 'em," I suggest. "That's what I do."

To her shock, she furiously shakes her head no. "Killing them?! Are you a psychopath or just a lunatic?! Wait, both of them are basically the same thing, I take that back!"

"I'm serious. Put your foot down. If they don't listen, put that foot on their spine and crack it. Don't wanna be bothered? Set your boundaries. Draw the line in the sand and say, 'Don't cross it or else.' In the event that they don't give a shit about you? Give them the 'or else'." That's how I got some of my ashamed-to-say classmates to leave me alone. The same guys who use up a day's worth of calories by talking, they used to complain to me. When I told them to stop coming to me about their shit, they got fussy, I got fussier, they backed down. Then again, I'm naturally intimidating.

Shojo is the opposite of naturally intimidating. She can only intimidate one person. They're a coward who runs from a fight, a nerd who buries themselves in fantasies, and a basketcase of anxiety that's constantly overflowing with distress. Obviously, I'm talking about Shojo herself whenever she's looking into a mirror. But what she has that I don't is, well, she's pathetic. Also, she's kinda cute too. Unless her classmates are real asshats, they wouldn't bother her.

She stops. I stop too. She turns to finally look at me in the eye. Don't know when she started to be dramatic, but I'm playing along. Opening her mouth, Shojo says—never mind, she closes it and thinks for a second. Then her mouth opens again. "Is that legitimate advice or are you messing with me again?"

On instinct, I say, "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Literally, because mini-Oppenheimers are becoming death in your dorms as we stand and have a little chat. It's fucking stupid to let misery shit over your dorm life, so why not do something about it before traditions set in? It'll be a lot harder to set your boundaries a month from now, maybe a week if you're unlucky."

Huh, maybe what I said was actual advice. Didn't mean to, but oh well. Shojo could use some steel in her bones. Speaking of who, like an absent-minded dork, she nods her head, physically processing what I said. No wonder her and Manga are twins: they're both expressive with their emotions.

"Got it, I guess… I'll think about what you said. Anyway, let's get going… Manga's waiting a long time—"

—Some annoying brats are just below yelling. To our right, a few girls—just girls actually—are having a nice conversation. Drama, much? Wonder whose dumbass class they belong to.

Shojo says, "Is that Setsuna and Ibara?"

"Huh?" Can't believe I'm saying this, but she's right. That is Setsuna Tokage and uh, I forgot the full name of the other one. Ibara Shiozaki I think? Probably right. If I'm wrong, so what? "Shojo, remember when I said that I follow orders to the letter?"

She frowns. "I'll tell Manga to rat on you to your kids."

"Fuck following orders to the letter, let's become fucking great Heroes." Knowing Shojo is still a wimp just like her brother, I grab her by the wrist and walk towards them. She gasps and tries to pull away; unfortunately for her, she's the only person who's weaker than Manga, that pile of twigs.

Shiozaki's raising hell against this other chick—Fuck, it's not "this other chick". I know her. Tokage sees me and Shojo. I can see a flash of relief lighting hope in her lizard, scaly eyes but once she realizes that it's me, not Sanji Inochi, she gives up living.

"Karisuma Suzuki? Long time no see. We haven't talked much after what happened at the Sports Festival," Akime Nisehana says, the representative of Class 1-G. Back at the Sports Festival, I spread some rumors with the help of Nisehana and a few of her friends to ruin 1-B's day. It worked. I ended up fighting Inochi, which was fun. In the end, I realized that I shouldn't be such a shithead all the time.

With a glare from Shiozaki, I let go of Shojo's wrist. Crossing my arms, I ask, "Still up to your old tricks, Nisehana? Damn, for a second, you were so irrelevant that I thought you faded into obscurity for good. Trying to put yourself back in the spotlight by harassing the Catholic and Bitch Princess here?"

Because I purposefully referred to Tokage and Shiozaki by their unflattering nicknames, I get on their bad side almost immediately. I mean, if I wasn't on their bad side to begin with.

Nisehana laughs something irritating; it reminds me of how stuck-up test tube girls laugh. "Never thought I would see you standing on her side. I remember when you hated 1-B and thought you deserved a spot in that class. You were so jealous and spiteful too. What happened to that anger—?"

"—Oh shut up, don't give me that bullshit trip down memory lane. Stop acting like you're better just 'cause you hold the world record for holding grudges. Why are you fucking 'round with these two anyway?" I prod, putting a hand on my hip. I hear Tokage whispering something to Shojo behind me.

("Is Suzuki helping us or insulting us?" Tokage asks.)
("I have no idea," answers Shojo.)

Flipping some of her brown hair away, Nisehana explains, "What happened to Osuhashi shouldn't be forgotten, so I was reminding Tokage of that. That's not the only thing though. I-Island too. What happened at the Gemini Hotels was all her fault. Every single bit. She ought to feel guilt for her actions, no? Walking around on a date with Shiozaki, that's no good."

I-Island again? Tokage caused it? Yeah right. More bullshit from the bullshit queen of the Business Course. I don't like 1-B much but even I don't pin all my issues on them. "Well damn, you might take the world record for spite too. 1-B is living in your head. You wanna know the difference between us? I moved on from that ex. Sure, they're still around and nagging me, but I'm focused on myself. Here you are saying random shit—"

—Nisehana steps up to me, pointing her finger dangerously close to my mouth. "It's not 'random shit', Suzuki. Tokage is my enemy, don't you know? Don't reprimand me for something you are completely ignorant about. You know nothing. You are dangerously close to being nothing if you continue to stick up for them. What will happen then? Well, you might end up dead."

"...Is that a threat, Nisehana? Since did you get in the habit of making threats?"

I step forward, making her step back.

"You small…"

Step forward, step back.

"...dramatic…"

And again.

"...bitch?"

Her body shivers at the sight of me. She'd better. Making threats like that? Who the hell does she think she is? Who the hell does she think I am? For someone who's all bark and no bite, I can easily tear her head off if I wanted to. Now I know why I loathe this broad. A complete and total cunt, that's what she is.

We stand like this for a good while before I hear someone running towards us. Don't recognize him. "Dear Setsuna, I heard you've gotten yourself into a confrontation with… Nisehana and Suzuki?"

"Okichi Tokugawa," I greet him, turning myself just slightly so I can see him but also keep my eye on Nisehana. "I'm not chewing your friends' heads off. Only this one's. What do you want?"

Tokugawa sighs, snobbishly crossing his arms. "Well, I came to disengage both parties from accelerating the conflict further, yet you did my job for me. I'm wounded, Suzuki."

"Don't care. I was never your friend to begin with," I snap back. "Tell Nisehana to run back to her dorms."

Inhaling, Nisehana puffs out her chest and tries to shoot a scary glare. Guessing I'm getting the horns from this devil. Worthless attempt. Not even worth amusing. "Tell me yourself, Suzuki." She pokes my chest. "You're not strong as you think you are! You're weak and feeble just like every single pig-eyed, snob-nosed moron behind you! You—"

"—Shojo, here's a lesson on boundaries."

SLAP!

"Don't touch me, Nisehana." The slap heard across the world. There's a few audible gasps behind me, astonished that I had the audacity to slap a poor, pathetic woman. Oh well, she breached my comfort zone. It's only fair that I give her a blemish on her already-tarnished face.

Nisehana clutches her cheek stained red and purple. She bumbles over words, over any coherent speech, yet she can't bumble the mental gymnastics going on inside her head—they're already twisted and downright dopey. "Y-You… You just…"

"I acted in self-defense." I put my hands in my pocket. "You attacked me with physical force, so I reluctantly, don't get me confused on this, defended myself."

Crazily, almost violently, she shakes her head acting like it would solve everything. "N-No! No! That's not—no! Not true, that's very much not true! I'll… I'll report this to the faculty! They haven't forgotten about Golden Week and the Sports Festival! They'll surely be on my side—"

"—Your word against mine. Hold on a second actually…" I spin on the balls of my feet, putting some attention on the witnesses. "It's our word against yours. Making friends is something you're good at, right? Go ahead and ask them what really happened."

Shojo turns away from Nisehana, nervously tugging on her collar. "Self-defense! Yup, exactly what Suzuki said!"

Tokugawa sighs, disappointed. Sorry fancy boy, I'm not rich like you are. While you took classes on manners, I burned the textbook that came with it. "I can attest to what Suzuki said. Between both parties, although both individuals are ill-mannered, he is in the right."

Tokage awkwardly rubs her arm. "...Self-defense. That's what we're going with. Can't believe Suzuki came in to help me out."

"Well, I took pity on you because you were useless. You're like Shojo, but worse. Your tongue does a lot of flapping, yet against this little bitch, it's in a knot." My comments make the four of them wince. What? Being harsh? Get over it. Shiozaki still has her icy eyes on me. I'd ask if she would collaborate with us but nah. Asking her would ruin the plan I got going on.

Nisehana—defeated, her ego bruised, her cheek bruised too—knows she's beat. Snitching on the faculty will do her no favors. Without a word, she walks past me. For a moment, she would've bumped into my shoulder. Seeing as what happened when she poked me, she finally got smart and decided otherwise. Before she runs off to her dorms, she whispers something to Tokage.

"Freedom to the Meta Liberation Army."

The fuck?

The fugly four simultaneously widen their eyes in shock. Can't even say anything to Nisehana thanks to whatever the hell she said. Smirking, she walks off, happy with the reaction she got. I, on the other hand, am very fucking confused. Why did the Meta Liberation Army enter the conversation? They're a has-been terrorist organization generations ago.

From the looks on everyone's faces, seems like they know something I don't. Shojo mutters-asks, "S-Suzuki… Did you hear what Nisehana said?"

...I should probably lie. "Something something this won't be the last you'll see me. Sounded like a cartoon villain. If you're thinking about what she said, don't. What do you think she would do? Blow up the school?"

"Well…" Tokage begins, "...she might try. Metaphorically, I mean. Not literally-speaking because that's absolutely absurd."

Shiozaki scoffs. "Absurdity is commonplace in this school. Much like yourself, Suzuki. A wrathful, audacious man living vicariously in whatever fantasy you dreamt up for yourself. Manga and Shojo may be your friends, yet you'll find naught but resent from myself."

"You act like I give a damn what you think," I retort. Ugh, no use arguing with her. Any further I might rip my tail off myself. "Anyway, moving on. Which by the way is what you and Tokage should be doing. Don't want trouble? Fucking walk away."

"Says the guy who gave us trouble in the first place," Tokage reminds me. Of course she did. "But I'm too exhausted to get into that rabbit hole."

Before I respond, Tokugawa clears his throat. "While Nisehana may not be telling the faculty about this incident, I am. Do not misunderstand, that woman is dreadful. I am simply informing them of new developments… My dear ladies, would you like to come with me? It's fairly important."

Tokage nods. "It's for the best."
Shiozaki reluctantly nods too. "I suppose. Let's be off then."

I put my arms behind my head. "So it's us two again, Shojo? To Manga?"

She gestures towards 1-B's dorms. "To Manga, I guess."

To Manga. I should ask him about the Meta Liberation Army at some point. Doubt anyone else in 1-B is willing to spill the beans, if there's any beans to spill. But now? When I want to enjoy my summer break without worrying about has-been terrorist groups a long time ago? Yeah right, there's no chance in hell that something's big is happening with them.

If the world was ending, we would know about it already.

Bzzt!

H-Protag: "idk where u are but gera ate your bento"

Motherfucker.

---

Sanji Inochi

When was the last time I was in here? The first memory that pops up is the exercise a while back where Recovery Girl measured our AP Levels—thinking back on that day, it foreshadowed that I had an Origin-type Quirk. I think I had around 23,510 Dreams stored. Now… How much do I have?

31,187—the number literally comes to mind. From then to now, I came into contact with seven thousand new people? It makes sense considering I went to I-Island. I bumped shoulders with Americans, French, Greek, Middle Eastern, and I don't know, Slavic countries?

"What? Aren't Quirks supposed to, uh, stay constant, right? I thought Growth Potentials were determined at birth."

"They're supposed to be. Accumulation-type Quirks have a 'limit' so to speak. Your cells are able to accumulate a substance up to a certain point. When you fully reach your Prime—where your AP Levels match your Growth Potential—you can accumulate energy up to its greatest limit. However, you're different. Frankly Sanji, I don't think you have a 'limit'."

"...I don't have a limit? That's kinda unsettling."

"Yeah, it's honestly a shock to me as well. As you grow, your cells will naturally produce more and more AP until it stagnantes when you're in your Prime. You're the exception. This basically means that your cells are constantly increasing the production of AP until you die. There's no telling how this affects your body negatively. I wouldn't be surprised if you develop cancer when you're older. You basically have no theoretical limit, but your body does."

Uncontrollable growth… If I remember right, Growth Potentials are the maximum value of your AP Levels. Everyone has a predetermined limit at birth—I mean, as far as genetics go. Environment plays a factor too, but that's an irrelevant comment. Back on subject, Heroes reach their Prime where their current AP Level matches their Growth Potential, then they go down from there.

In my case, Dreams doesn't have a Growth Potential. My thereotical power is the world's population, so it might as well be infinity. In actuality, my physical body cannot handle that much power. It'll break down. Regularly visiting Recovery Girl might be a good idea.

I take a deep breath in. Dreams is such a weird Quirk. I can't really understand it. First of all, I got this mental kingdom of my own. Currently, it's useless 'cause I'm still locked inside a mental barrier that Yoru described. There's a crack that he made, but that's all there is to it. As for the Dream Mirrors themselves, they're kinda useless too. I remember playing around with them a while back. They do detail a person's dream and whatnot, but only to the extent that I know. I'm not omniscient; I know through the information I'm given. For most, I got absolutely nothing.

It's just a replay of my memories. That's all there is to it. There's a lot of strange features with my Quirk. The fact that I was born with Adoptive Muscle Memory thanks to my mother, it makes me think that Dreams—maybe Origin-types in general—are more receptive to taking in Quirks from their partners and adopting them into its genetic code. It might explain why some features are here despite being completely unrelated to the original design. That also means that Dreams, when Yoru wielded it, was completely different from the version I have.

Speaking of Yoru…

"Yoru, you around?" The Mindscape whispers silence, which is a dramatic way of saying I get no answer. What Yoru said was true: he appears when I have high levels of stress. What about the other heirs then? The other nine? I don't have a connection with most of them except with the last two…

"...Dad?" Nothing.
"My brother, are you there?" Nothing.

I distinctly remember hearing their voices a few times. They come in whispers. No useful information. Just memories from antiquity. They're fossils, really. Doesn't do me any good today, but I would sure love to know about them.

What else can I do here? I checked up on it. There's no major changes as far as I can tell. Everything's surprisingly still the same after Yoru's appearance. Really, sitting on my butt is the only thing I can do.

As much as I wanna contemplate and think about the functions of Dreams, I can only find out in the future. Might as well start walking there instead of dreaming about it.

I pull myself out of my Mindscape.

"Jeez…" I'm staring at the ceiling of my room. It's July 23rd, the day before the Fireworks Festival and my birthday. For the past week, it's been nothing but warfare. Almost everyone thought up schemes to either push me and Itsuka together or forcibly maintain my chastity. We survived, albeit with a few close calls.

Bzzt!

Someone texted me. It's Awase.

Yosetsu Awase: "final hours dude, i'll give you everything i own"
Me: "No thanks"

Yosetsu Awase: "c'mon, gimme something! every man wants something, what is it?"
Me: "Self-restraint"

Yosetsu Awase: "that's overrated, dude"

Me: "It's literally the reason why you and Shojo are cleaning the school for the week. Considering you're texting me, you're probably in our classroom slacking off when you're supposed to be be a janitor"

Awase stops texting for about five seconds.

Yosetsu Awase: "i'm a responsible student like you and kendo"

Yosetsu Awase: "listen here tho, not my fault"

Yosetsu Awase: "so what that i made shojo draw something lewd and exploit her quirk"

Me: "You tried to shove it in my face multiple times"

Me: "The straw that broke the camel's back was the last attempt"

Yosetsu Awase: "shhh shut up dude"

Me: "Pony"

Yosetsu Awase: "she was okay! she might've seen what was on the paper but nothing happened! she's too innocent!"

Me: "But Togaru was in the room"

Yosetsu Awase: "ok he's not innocent"

Yosetsu Awase: "never seen an insect so angry"

Me: "You were lucky that I managed to hold him back from making ribbons out of you"

Yosetsu Awase: "you didn't got my ass when mister kan came in tho"

Yosetsu Awase: "i thought we were friends, dude"

Me: "Yosetsu Awase"

Yosetsu Awase: "hi mom"

Me: "You got what was basically an aphrodisiac and tried to stuff it down my throat"

Yosetsu Awase: "it's what friends do"

Yosetsu Awase: "you know you got good friends if they try to up your libido"

Yosetsu Awase: "like what tetsu said: bros look out for other bros"

Yosetsu Awase: "specially when it comes to business behind closed doors"

Me: "How's business behind closed doors coming for you?"

Yosetsu Awase: "shit dude i gotta get cleaning"

Me: "Pretty sure you're still a virgin"

Yosetsu Awase: "mister kan is coming! gtg dude"

Me: "Have fun with business behind closed doors"

Nothing after that. Poor Awase. Poor Shojo, even. I mean, I don't really feel sorry since they both conspired to mentally condition me—I'm not quite sure it would work anyway given Dreams' inherent mental resistance.

Enough about that, probably should make something for dinner. Or maybe get something ordered from Lunch Rush. Getting out of bed, I walk out of my room. I hear chatter downstairs between Honenuki and Tsuburaba. Something about Re-Destro. Knowing them, they're talking crap about him. I'm all for it.

Bzzt bzzt!

My phone's ringing again. This time, I'm getting a call. It's Hayami. I pick it up, "How's the outfits going?"

"Going great," Hayami answers with a ton of background noise. She took Itsuka out to shop for stuff before the festival tomorrow. "I got your festival get-up. I just need to do some tailoring to make it perfect. And like we discussed, Itsuka isn't getting a sneak peak."

"Heh…" I walk towards the large open gallery window. A forest is on the other side, yet another training ground that U.A. has. "I'm kinda regretting that deal with Itsuka. We're planning to surprise each other, but the suspense is tearing me from the inside out."

"I assure you, Itsuka's jittery about it too. Tomorrow is a big day for the both of you, almost like you two are getting hitched."

"Ha, married in high school while a shadow organization is swallowing Japan whole… Is this how your high school years went?"

"Not completely. Not only did me and Kaito take down a grand conspiracy that would destroy the world, we also met God and killed him."

"Sounds like something Manga would read." I sigh, rubbing my eyes. "God, I'm glad this week is over with. I was attacked so many times. The training with Master Kendo didn't help either. Every afternoon, I came back to the dorms exhausted."

"You made it through, proud of ya. I—hold on a second." Hayami pulls her phone away to scream something at someone. Can't make out who or what. "Sorry, gotta go. Talk to you when I get back. Love ya."

Hayami hangs up. I don't hear Honenuki or Tsuburaba anymore. Probably went downstairs. I should head down to check on them and try to find something to eat, but I kinda wanna stay here for a little bit. No one else is up here. Just me and my thoughts.

For once, they're happy thoughts. While past me would've sat on a park bench and stared out for hours, I can do that with a smile. I don't have to dread what tomorrow would bring. Don't have to relive through each embarrassing memory, every moment of ridicule, none of that. I got better memories stuck in my head.

Sure, the fate of the entire country is on my shoulders—it's the responsibility that the Hero Public Safety Commission gave me. Adding onto that, my life is much harder for that very reason. Despite all that, I'm happy. That's all I can say. I'm happy with my life. I'm content with everything I have.

I'm blessed to have my friends, to have Hayami, Master Kendo, Itsuka, I'm blessed to have each and every one of them.

I'm blessed to have this life.

"Heh…" Absent-mindedly, I was scrolling through my phone's contacts. I still have Gin's number. I never got rid of it. In a way, he was the one who started it all. He sent me to Master Kendo; although it was ultimately his choice to accept me or not, he gave me that opportunity. I genuinely hope he's doing well for himself.

...Yeah, let's find out.

I call him. It goes straight to voicemail.

"Oi, if you're hearing this, I died."

Eh?

"Yeah, that's right. I died. You wanna know why? It's 'cause of you bastards who keep clogging up my phone! Every single day, I get phone calls from you newspaper companies so y'know what? I got so sick of it that I died. Leave some kind words after the beep, assholes."

He scoffs. "Fuckers."

Oh. I didn't expect journalists would go and look for Gin of all people. They're going that far to get information about me? Pah, that's a stupid question. Most of them must be associated with the M.L.A., so naturally they want every tidbit they can get their hands on. And maybe, people they can leverage.

Let's leave a voicemail for him. I clear my throat. "Sorry to disappoint you, Gin, but it's me. It's Sanji Inochi. I'd ask if you forgot about me, but apparently, no one is giving you a chance to forget. I know it's out of the blue for me to call you like this, but I wanna say thanks. You might think I'm crazy considering, well, all the stuff that happened. The articles that bashed me, all the negative attention I got, I'm basically Japan's biggest disappointment.

"But I'm happy with my life. Before I met you, I didn't have anyone who cared for me. You were the first one. You were the first one who took pity on me, and that's all it took for my life to change completely. Everyone in my class accepts me for who I am, and the Kendos are some of the best people I've met."

Thunk!

My head finds itself leaning against the glass. I'm gonna get yelled at for smearing it, hah… "They took me into their own family. Hayami—you probably remember her—she treats me as one of her own. Master Kendo gives me everything I need to push forward. And Itsuka, let's say that we're really close.

"Funnily enough, at the beginning, I was so scared of being a burden to them. I did everything I could to alleviate their loads. Chores, cooking, helping out whenever possible, anything I could so they wouldn't look at me with resentment. Itsuka, before I moved in, despised the fact that she was going to have a new guy in the house, now look at us… Not literally I mean, since this is only a voicemail.

"Wow, remembering everything… My life really did get flipped on its head. I was treated like garbage because I was legally Quirkless. People would harass me for being weak, so much. They would call me a freak, or some other insulting names because I was a foster kid. You knew about that. And I'm no longer that. You shouldn't tell anyone this, but I'm actually one of the strongest people on the entire planet. I got something called an Origin-type Quirk; for reference, it's the same kind that All Might has—I'm that strong.

"Most importantly, I belong to a family now. I have so many people who love me, and I love them. I wanted to be a Pro Hero, and you made that dream happen. Beyond that, what I really needed was a reason to smile. Not to smile for the people to assure their hearts, but to smile for myself, to ensure my heart still beats. For a long while, I kept pushing to be a Hero because that was the motivation that kept me going everyday. Thanks to you, I have better reasons that ignite a brighter fire than heroism ever could.

"You can't see me right now, but I'm smiling.

"I'm smiling.

"I wanna keep living, Gin. I promise I'll do that."

I end my voicemail. It gets sent.

Thanks for everything, Gin. I really do hope you're having a good life wherever you are.

---

Destination: Mugazuki

"Something's off 'bout this voicemail…"

"Really? What part?"

"I'm supposed to be the one crying." Gin Ikumoto looks over to Kakoe Aoki, the mayor of Mugazuki.

Kakoe gently taps her cheeks with a cloth, wiping the tears away. "Well, I can't help it, can I? His story is touching. He's going to be something special."

Gin stands up with a groan, his eyes diverted to his legs. He mentally curses at himself for getting old, although he's just in his mid-thirties. "Obviously, if you're speaking 'bout it from hindsight. He spilled that he has whatever this Origin-type is. Bet those bullies who dragged his ass for being Quirkless regrets it now. Though, you don't seem surprised yourself, Auntie Kakoe."

A sad smile forms on her lips. Turning around, she begins to walk further into the main hall of the mansion. Cocking an eyebrow, Gin follows suit. Kakoe looks to her right, gleaming through the open doors to see a gorgeous courtyard in a junction of hallways. "You did an amazing job maintaining its beauty, Mister Ikumoto. I'm shocked that you are a retired Pro Hero and not a famous gardener."

"Had to pick something up, and I like working outside." Gin crosses his arms. "Anything to keep myself busy and active. Been sober for months now, y'know."

Kakoe raises a finger. "Due to your own strength. Though I gave you the opportunity, you gave yourself the means. That courtyard is the product of your labor. Think of it as the manifestation of your will, Mister Ikumoto."

"Sorry, I still think of 'em as plants. If you want, I can say they remind me of little kids so I gotta make sure I take care of the little nuggets," Gin says, which only warrants a disappointed frown from his elder.

"Whatever helps you in the end." Kakoe approaches a shelf filled with artifacts of an old time. Each of them has a story, and their place here is the proof that the story exists to tell. On the center row, a linen-wrapped katana is held on a stand in two pieces. One of them is composed entirely of the blade, about half the katana's length. The other contains the remainder of the blade plus the hilt. Both have been worn down due to time and dust. Carefully, Kakoe reaches out and grabs the latter piece, gently running her fingers across the linen. A small pile of dust builds a cloud on her fingertips. "Do you know why I brought you to Mugazuki?"

Gin shrugs, making a dismissive sound with his mouth. "I was an alcoholic that you randomly came across. You thought I was a man who needed help."

She nods, affirming what he said. "That was exactly it. You looked like you needed help, so I gave you a more accepting place to be. You really are a good man, Mister Ikumoto. I'm glad you're by this old hag's side."

"Che." Gin turns his head away from Kakoe. "When I was training under Master Kendo for a spell, he told me something: 'Whoever's tryna flatter you, they have something hidden inside their heads.' Don't wanna sound mean, but I think you're lying. You helped me, and I'm mighty thankful for that. Yet I don't think our chance encounter was really 'chance' after all, Auntie Kakoe."

Kakoe stares intently at the broken sword.

"I've roamed nearly every centimeter of this mansion. Most of it was with you idly chatting the days away. Whenever we talk about Sanji, you always had that sorrowful look in your eyes."

"Mister Ikumoto…"

"You know who I was, didn't you? You knew I was his guardian. That's why you helped me. Not outta completely outta the goodwill of your heart, but also 'cause you wanted to repay the favor."

"You saved his life."

"He saved himself. I gave him the opportunity, he gave himself the means."

"Using my own words against me…" Kakoe laughs, amused. Gin has her verbally cornered, and she trembles slightly due to it. "If what you're saying is true, then what are your thoughts?"

"You know more about him than he does himself," Gin claims. "You knew he was special from the very beginning, yet you stood by and let his childhood go in the gutter. Why? You could've spared him from the pain, y'know! It makes no sense to make a kid go through that!"

"Sanji Inochi…" Kakoe repeats his name to herself. "Well, it seems you finally confronted me about your suspicions, Mister Ikumoto."

She puts the broken katana away and faces Gin, who's staring directly at her. With a steady voice, she says, "You are right. I could've taken the initiative and brought Sanji here, to Mugazuki. Yet I didn't. I resigned him to a life just as you implied. Why did I do it? Oh, why did I do it?"

Kakoe starts to pace around the main hall with Gin watching, stoic as the revelations come. "Auntie Kakoe, stop messing 'round. This is his life we're talking 'bout. Why didn't you take accountability?"

"Mister Ikumoto, I'm bound by the will of the previous owner of this mansion," Kakoe answers as a matter of fact. "When I was born, I was always a servant for this household. They deserve my loyalty, and I intend to remain chaste. The last heir, he told me to wait until the day Sanji Inochi would return. To 'live his life'."

Gin furrows his eyebrows, rubbing his mouth so roughly that one would think it'd come off. "Seriously? So you're listening to what the previous owner told you? He was the one who knew this would happen? This was all intentional?"

Kakoe nods.

"It was. Although it hurts my heart, I have faith in his words. Because Mister Ikumoto, that man—that boy—was his older brother. Not only did he foreshadow his younger brother's life… He foreshadowed his own death."

---

Post-Chapter Stuff

Hi. It's me again. This chapter was the filler chapter, yay. I didn't want to immediately move into the Fireworks Festival Arc because I had some things to take care of first. This is the chapter where some characters are "catching up" to the present information, like Itsuka in terms of her relationship with Sanji and Suzuki with just everything in general. The first scene is something that I will do almost every chapter though, with Re-Destro's speech and its effects on Japan. It's something I wanna explore. As the main characters are doing stuff, whether it be serious or funny things, the "Current Events" scene is supposed to make you go, "Okay, the world is still kinda going to crap so the kids will eventually have to deal with this."

The next scene shows off that juxtaposition as Itsuka and the girls talk about relationships (and a scene with her and Sanji at the beginning too). It's supposed to be happier, more silly scene (that I got embarassed writing). Additionally, Itsuka also acknowledges the amount of development Sanji went through compared to him at the beginning of the fanfic when they first met, and when he was trying to be a Pro Hero in a negative fashion. A lot of Itsuka's scenes revolve around him, and I actually got worried that I'm making her character only surrounding him, like she's only meant to be a tool for his development. I'm trying my best to push Itsuka to be independent in her own right, but Sanji is also tied down with her, if that makes any sense.

With Sanji's scene, it's him coming to terms with Hayami and Master Kendo, who both note his development with the establishment of his relationship. Then y'know, the bros came and he beat them up. Master Kendo has a scene with U.A. Faculty which was meant to be a fun banter between characters you don't typically see in this fanfic. Then, we have the conversation with All Might (where All Might is caught up with the Mystic stuff). It's for these two characters to remind themselves of their position relative to the current conflicts.

Suzuki is also like that. His scene is meant to "remind" everyone that 1-D still exists and I'm still paying attention to it, and for Suzuki to begin his journey to proper relevance with Nisehana (an unimportant character from the SF arc). He's also there as someone who recognizes Manga more than Sanji has himself; out of everyone, Suzuki is surprisingly a great friend towards Manga and acknowledges his strength.

Then we go back to Sanji. I had a lot of trouble trying to end this chapter but I landed on this. He leaves a voicemail for Gin Ikumoto who appeared in Chapter 1, the very first chapter. It's Sanji realizing how far he's come and how much happier he is, wanting to put more effort into his interpersonal relationships rather than his desire to be a Pro Hero (something that differs him from Deku, who mainly wants to be a Pro Hero). it also shows that Sanji doesn't forget where he started from, and how he gives Gin his thanks (albeit late). Then finally, we have the last scene with Kakoe Aoki, who did appear in an earlier chapter if you forgot. It's here that she's revealed to have taken Gin Ikumoto into a town called Mugazuki, and she knows a lot about Sanji's past that we don't know.

But of course I do, haha.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.