Medama sits on the bed in the nurses office, feet swinging back and forth and still swaddled in Shinsou's jacket. The hoodie offering a comforting support now that her purple haired friend wasn't present anymore. She wishes he was, thumbing the palm of her uninjured hand and feeling the gritted frown on her face grow. Recovery Girl was kicking out anyone and everyone who didn't show any signs of injury and, unfortunately, Shinsou was one of the first to go.

("Thank you- I- Do you want your jacket back now or-?"

"I said don't worry about it."

"Mn'kay." She has to admit that she'd sniffled a bit and then felt her cheeks go absolutely rosy in embarrassment. "Sorry for… this."

The rolling of his eyes is unnecessary.

The flick to her forehead even less so and her eyes water intensely.

He grimaces, "Not your fault…" Before shaking his head and kicking at the floor with one of his feet, Medama doesn't even pretend to not watch him go. Eyeing his back until he turns the corner and Recovery Girl is ushering her to a seat as a sudden influx of injured students crowd into the office.)

She massages her eyes, fingers pressing into her closed lids until the underside of her vision begins to spot. She's not crying anymore, after the initial tears, the pain hadn't gotten… well, it hadn't gotten better but she'd definitely gotten used to it. The throbbing was just another beat in her head to try and focus to and she carefully took in deep calming breaths to keep herself from thinking about the pain too hard.

It helps that the hoodie is soft, the knit feeling more like a blanket wrapped around her than anything, and she wishes she could just curl up on the bed and lay down.

"Now, dear, let's take a look-" Recovery Girl waddles over, much too old to still be up and about as she regularly was. Medama had half the thought that she was going to keel over just standing there. "-thank you for waiting for so long. I know you were one of the first to arrive."

"It's okay."

She would shrug but the action would only jostle her arm.

Due to the… stampede caused by the students freak out, there'd been people coming in and out of the nurses office every time Recovery Girl would so much turn to look in Medama's direction and she'd ask, quite worriedly given Medama's face was still splotched with lavender-redness and tears, if she thought she was alright enough to wait. And Medama, an idiot, but also anxious on a good day and trying not to draw attention to herself or her sniffling and just generally not wanting to be a bother, would simply nod her head and give a shaky thumbs up.

So much time had passed that she was pretty sure she had completely missed Mathematics-

(Not that she was complaining.)

-but she was also one of the final few still in the nurses office.

(Her phone vibrates with a couple texts. From Shinsou. Wondering where she is and she takes that as a sign that it's passing periods and Mathematics is, officially, over.

She groans.

Not great.)

The only few remaining in the office is a Support Course student who needed ice for stomped on feet and a Hero Course student with blue hair, broken glasses, and a concussion that had him a little cross eyed. One he'd apparently gained whilst attempting to stop the stampede of students who'd clearly never received a safety drill in their life.

(Medama is frankly disturbed by the lack of fire, hurricane, shooting, and earthquake drills that the students have had. It seemed like a massive oversight. But that may just be her coming from an American public schooling perspective- still, she would think with all the villains and disastrous quirks up and about, they'd at least teach people some things.

But no.

They don't.

Because, apparently, there's always going to be a hero there to save you.

She wants to scoff.)

"Where were you injured?"

She struggles to slide the hoodie up, wincing and letting out a pained hiss through her teeth. Not quite able to bend her arm anymore and she grits her teeth as tears begin to prick her eyes again. When she finally does manage to pull it free, the horrifying gasp Recovery Girl let's out is a little gratifying. Makes it feel like she hadn't been overreacting after all. And, well, now that she's gotten a good look at it, she can certainly see that she wasn't.

"Why didn't you say anything-?"

It catches the attention of the Hero Student, who looks a little green at the sight of her arm, and she tries not to blush. Tugging on an earlobe, looking away from Recovery Girl's reprimanding gaze. "I-I figured other people needed help more. I mean, it's fine. It- It doesn't hurt so bad anymore-?" A lie. Very obviously a lie. "Someone just grabbed me in the hallway. I- I think they had a strength quirk and didn't realize…"

She trails off.

Recovery Girl scowls. "Of all times for the Security Cameras to fail, we could've at least figured out who the student in the crowd responsible for this was…"

(Medama pointedly doesn't mention that she hadn't been injured by the crowd. And that's where she's secretly glad Shinsou hadn't been able to stay, because the insomniac wouldn't have let it slide, she doesn't think. And Medama doesn't want to spill her guts. Not over something so… so stupid .)

"First a kid with a finger nearly bitten off, now this!"

(Medama fails to not smirk.)

She eyes her arm. It's swollen, to nearly twice it's normal size. The skin is such a dark purple that it's almost black and yellow and red lines the outside of it. Honestly, pain-wise, she could only describe it as… burning.

"B-But, I mean, an ice pack and some pain killer to bring down the swelling and I'm sure it'll be fine!"

Medama's grin is shaky.

And Recovery Girl gives her a flat look.

"Your elbow is broken."

"... aa."

She feels her heart stutter a bit.

"Oh no, no." The tears on her face spring forth are genuine and not a byproduct of pain this time and she feels her shoulders hunch in worry, brows furrowing. "How will I work on my music like this?!"

Okay, so maybe her priorities are a little wacky.

She does not appreciate the taken aback look Hero Student!

...

...

"Three days! Three days, Shin-sou!" She lets out a frustrated shout. "I can't do anything with my arm for three days ."

"...If it wasn't for Recovery Girl, it would be longer."

She presses a pillow to her face and lets out a scream that's thankfully mostly muffled. "I'm going to go crazy. You don't understand." She wheezes. "And I'm going to be so behind schedule and I won't be able to stream because the stuff I have pre-recorded isn't finished yet! I just had a piano piece to do and- augh!"

"You seem to be forgetting the fact that someone broke your arm . "

Shinsou seems very hung up on that fact.

Unfortunately, Medama was not the same.

"So? People hurt each other all the time, I'm not special." She huffs. "But my piano …!"

Shinsou squints at her through the computer screen. The two were video chatting, because Medama hadn't wanted to hold her phone the whole time, and she was currently stuck on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest while avoiding her arm and sitting crisscross-applesauce. She'd struggled to throw on a pair of pajama pants and had, very painfully, managed to toss a tank top and Shinsou's hoodie back on.

Shinsou's eyes followed the deep purple that was one shade away from clashing with her hair. Unable to keep himself from fiddling with the hair on the back of his neck, a nervous tick that Medama couldn't help but notice.

"I'll return it tomorrow morning. No worries." Medama assured absentmindedly. Shinsou blinks ever so slowly, eyes crinkling as he frowned and didn't point out how 'that wasn't the issue he was having.' She tucked the pillow under her chin and let out a long sigh. "Still. Can't believe I can't work on music for so long."

"You said you stream…?"

Medama flushes, shoulders tensing.

"Um. Yeah. It's- I'll show you sometime. Maybe. It's kind of embarrassing, you know?" She played with a strand of hair, eyes shifty. "I, uh. Haven't really ever shown anyone before so I-"

"It's cool. You don't have to."

"...Thanks. Are you heading to the gym tonight? Sora asked me to give you her number if you were going to keep it up."

"Sora-sensei did?"

"Mn."

So far, Medama really liked video chatting with Shinsou. She had never been a person who enjoyed talking to someone over the phone without being able to see their face, well, except for texting, sure, but she had to say that she enjoyed this far more than just a simple call.

Her room was a bit of a mess. Peeling music posters that were torn at the edges, of bands she wasn't particularly attached to, a couple clothing items still strewn about from where she hadn't been able to decide on her outfit, and guitars and a stack of guitar picks knocked over on her desk. Her piano- keyboard, really, if she was being literal- was pushed up to the wall on the other side of her bed, right next to the closet she used to record and stream. Though, not much anymore, now that UA had much better equipment.

It's a major difference to Shinsou's room. Which she can't see much of. It looks like he has a couple hero posters on underground heroes, a music poster here or there, and a bike up against his wall, but otherwise most she can see is his face and part of his bed's dark purple comforter in the background.

"Are your parents angry about the arm?"

"Huh?"

His voice grows dry, "Your arm, Medama. How'd they react when you came home?"

"Oh! I live alone. For the most part." She says it so casually that Shinsou actually doesn't catch it at first. "They're in Tokyo, actually. I mean, my mom came to visit me when I first went to school, but I haven't seen her since."

He takes a deep breath, notably taken aback and let's it out with an odd glint in his eyes that Medama… doesn't know how to describe. "There's… no one there with you." He asks dully. "At all."

"My aunts live fifteen minutes away and check up on me every week?" Her head tilts when Shinsou makes an unhappy noise in the back of his throat. "And it's not like I don't call my parents or they don't visit. They just had to move because of a court case-"

Shinsou takes a deep breath.

"-and have been really busy lately-"

And pinches the bridge of his nose with a growing weariness that has him even more tired than usual.

"-it's not like it's unusual. There's plenty of people living alone because they had highschool in another prefecture."

She… has a point there. And Shinsou can't really fault the situation. There's just something uncomfortable knotting itself in his stomach, paranoia, he guesses, because the thought of her sitting at home all alone isn't exactly a comforting one.

Unbidden, his eyes drift to the cast and sling her arm is in. The green cast is a bit of an eyesore already-

("She only had this really ugly yellow and this green to choose from. I wanted orange." Which would've been an equally terrible choice but Shinsou doesn't point it out.)

-and Shinsou didn't like how his attention seemed to always be coming back to it.

He opens his mouth to say something, maybe voice his concern, but instead jumps when Medama gasps, leaning into the camera and asks: "Is that a cat?!"

Shinsou has barely enough time to push his keyboard out of the way before his cat is leaping onto his desk and trying to shove his way into his face for attention.

"Damn it, Espresso!"

Medama breaks out into mad giggling. "Oh my gosh, is he named after coffee? That's amazing!" And grows immensely more delighted by the second as Shinsou struggles to keep him from accidentally tabbing out of the video chat. "Ooh, I think I can hear him purring! Hehehe~!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying this ."

Shinsou deadpans. Before abruptly turning-

"Espresso, no! Don't shove stuff off my desk!"

Medama laughs and laughs. A rambunctious and twinkling noise that contains such incredible joy that's such a far cry from the tears she'd shed earlier in the day that Shinsou has to hide the fact that his face is burning red and the disappointment in his voice when he has to end the call.

If he's more determined than usual when he approaches Sora then that's his own business. If he hits twice as hard and if Sora-sensei has him go to town on a punching bag for a while, that's also his own business.

If he imagines the face of that guy that'd broken Medama's arm, well, that's his own business.

(He grits his teeth, frustrated.

How could someone like him be a hero if his reasoning for wanting to take someone down is because of a petty revenge trip? He should've been able to stop it in the first place, instead of standing there and doing nothing but stare.

Shinsou does not think about how his reasoning is born from protective instincts. Or how Medama hadn't asked for help. Or even seemed to truly want it. If he had, maybe then he wouldn't be as frustrated at himself as he was. But he doesn't think about that and so he carries on with negative thoughts in his head and-

"Shin-sou! Shin-sou! Look, one-handed!"

Medama sends him a shakily taken video, he has a feeling, given the angle of the video, that she has it tucked into her sling, and is trying her damndest to play a version of Mary Had A Little Lamb with only one hand and is actually succeeding.

"Yes, oh shi-!"

The video flips over on itself as she drops her phone and it cuts out.

The buzzing in his head doesn't seem so loud anymore.)

-0-

Halo Halo_Official

Important Announcement: I was recently defeated in a battle to the death and broke my arm. Streams will be rescheduled for when I expect to be able to bounce back and the Album may be delayed by a few days. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Halo Halo_Official

The- The battle to the death bit was a joke. How would I be typing this if I was dead? DO NOT MAKE ME A MEMORIAL STOP TELLING PEOPLE IM DEAD why are you all like this

Halo Halo_Official

No. The arm being broken was not a joke.

Halo Halo_Official

Important Announcement: I AM NOT DEAD STOP ASKING and YES I DO SEE THOSE ARTICLES POPPING UP IN MY FEED AND I DO NOT APPRECIATE BEING USED AS CLICKBAIT

-0-

Shinsou waits in class, pencil tapping against a blank page in his notebook, as he impatiently looks for a head of familiar curly pink hair to arrive.

His body is aching, muscles burning, but it's a bit less than it was the day before. This time he'd made sure his alarm was turned all the way up before going to bed and had set multiple reminders- glad that his insomnia had gone away long enough for him to actually close his eyes and truly rest- and had been extra careful with the time.

He doubted he'd have the reporters to use as an excuse to come in late again. From what he'd heard there were several news and media companies that were facing assault and harassment charges, as well as obstruction of justice and trespassing, after what had happened yesterday.

(Shinsou thinks of that smarmy reporter and lets out a scoff and a "Good riddance.")

"What's up with you?"

Shinsou blinks, pausing in his tapping as spiky blonde hair and a scarred face peer down at him. Gaiaku Raizuma. Kiroku's friend, if he was remembering correctly.

He keeps his face blank, voice carefully droll. "Nothing in particular."

For some reason, that Shinsou honestly can't comprehend, this seems to annoy Gaiaku. "Oh? Then why are you watching the door, huh?" The amount of aggression in his voice is uncalled for. But doesn't seem entirely out of left-field, at least, he didn't seem like the type of guy who was polite after all.

Shinsou gives him an infuriating slow blink, gaze blank.

Gaiaku looks ready to blow a gasket.

"...You… Have anger issues. I'm guessing."

"What did you just say?!"

Shinsou doesn't know why Medama could think he was any good at this whole friends thing. Emotionlessly, Shinsou points out, voice slow and clearly enunciated: "You're blocking my view."

(He doesn't see it but Kiko has buried her face in her hands and is letting out a small, pitiful moan. "Oh, why are you making him even worse ?" With the sort of fed up existence of someone entirely too used to Gaiaku's presence.)

Shinsou's shoulders tense, prepping for an onslaught of cursing or arguing or, hell, even accusations of villainy. But Gaiaku just suddenly presses his lips together and then shakes his head with a scoff that has Shinsou bristling slightly, "Whatever. Not even worth trying to talk to-" And Shinsou has to wonder if… that was his attempt at friendliness?

The sheer aggression wafting off the dude was enough to have his hackles raising and hair standing on end.

Not… violent. Or anything like that. But definitely sharp.

"Oh-kay…?" Shinsou mutters under his breath, pencil going back to tapping on his paper softly. Fidgeting in his seat as the clock got closer and closer to the bell, there were only a few stragglers left and Medama seemed to be one of them. Despite usually being one of the first people in class.

It made him wonder if something had happened.

"Ikimaru, right?"

It seemed something had.

"U-Um, y-yes-?"

"Cool. You're friends with Kiko, aren't you-?"

Ignoring Ikimaru's presence, Shinsou was too busy snorting at Medama's appearance. Her uniform was a complete mess. Even more so than usual.

Her shirt was almost completely untucked from her skirt, which was at a slight diagonal angle, and the buttons were only done up to her collar bone. Her tie was just thrown over her shoulders, laying there, and she'd completely foregone the stockings she usually wore under her skirt.

She'd clearly struggled getting dressed.

Hell, even her hair was done up slightly off center.

And, of course, she didn't care. Too busy lighting into Ikimaru Hisoo with an enthusiasm that was not befitting the early morning. She'd clearly gotten well-rested over the night, given that there was nothing to keep her up now that most of her normal activities were off limits, and Shinsou was slightly jealous of the sleep she'd managed to obtain.

He doesn't notice the smile on his face. Soft and easy, a warmth that he didn't usually show coming through. It only grows as she laughs at how Ikimaru is reacting to her prodding, and he can't help but notice the knitted hoodie she had folded and pressed against her chest, her hold on it tight and as if it were precious.

It has a slow elation beginning to build somewhere deep in his stomach.

And Shinsou catches her eye, briefly, watching her smile only grow when she sees him. Ushering Ikimaru in through the door as they seemingly spot Kayama-sensei on the way in and-

(It's a nice feeling. To not have someone afraid of him. Someone who could smile at him so genuinely.

And Shinsou has to wonder how he ever could have lived without it before.)

-that's when a bucket falls on Medama's head.

...

...

Dead silence.

Then laughter.

...

...

Medama is frozen.

Stock still.

Her heartbeat is in her ears and her breath has completely left her, a suffocating feeling descending on her as her mind registers water- water in her mouth- water in her nose-

(The sound of rushing water around her. The drip of droplets off metal.

She's scared.

She doesn't want to admit it.

She's terrified.

She doesn't want to die .)

The moment is brief. Terrifying, but brief.

And then suddenly the rushing is gone and she's unfreezing and she can breathe again- and she hopes beyond hope that no one had noticed her moment. No one had noticed her hands begin to shake and her lungs begin to seemingly collapse on each other inside of her.

The room is chillingly cold.

"Are… Are you okay?" It's the quiet voice of… of… Suddenly her mind is whirring with disjointed and disorganized memories and the name doesn't come to her, even though she knows she knows it. She'd just been talking to him.

Her hands twitch.

She can move her limbs, she can move and she can breathe. There's nothing to worry about.

Tentatively, she lifts the bucket off her head. Or, really, she mostly just tilts it, just enough that she can glance from beneath the upturned brim and spy the classroom of people.

They're almost all laughing. Some even laughing and pointing. Some look too shocked to do anything and a few look genuinely confused.

Indigo eyes meet hers and she wants to pull the bucket back down and hide because all she can think is he saw!

She doesn't.

Instead, she pulls it off all the way, ignoring the uncomfortable scrape of it against her horns, and joins in on the laughter with a surprised one of her own. "That's kind of a super childish prank, isn't it?" She makes it seem like she's rolling her eyes, unworried and flippant and brushing the entire thing off with a practiced ease. "Come on guys, be more creative!"

She doesn't look at how Shinsou shifts in his seat, looking distinctly apprehensive.

She doesn't react beyond trying to get the water out of her clothes, arms crossing over her chest to keep from flashing her undergarments now that her white shirt was drenched and sticking to her skin, and waves off the laughter and the few playful jeers tossed her way.

She doesn't notice some of her classmates share a look and a thought process: That wasn't there before.

(Because it wasn't. They'd all walked in that door and none of them had seen anyone set it up. Not one.

Hell, even Ikimaru had walked in through it. And that was just seconds before her.)

What she does do, is apologize to Shinsou, who looks stiff and completely out of his element, because his hoodie is now equally as drenched as she is and she offers to hold onto it until they both dry. He doesn't say much, only gives her a nod, and she pretends to not be confused by the sudden silent treatment. This part she fails a bit at, not quite able to hide the furrow of her brow.

(It was intended for her, Shinsou grimaces. That much was certain. And he hoped that it was a simple prank, something stupid one of their classmates pulled to be a jerk.

But…)

He glances over at her seat. Her notebook that she's always writing in is wet. Not too badly, but even from his seat he can see the ink bleeding through the pages.

Her hands seem to grow even more shaky and her eyes blink rapidly a couple times.

As if she had something in her eye.

Shinsou looks away. Refusing to watch her cry when he knows she wouldn't want him to see.

(...he can't shake the feeling that it wasn't meant to be a simple prank.)

...

...

"It wasn't enough. Think we need more pain? And she didn't even run back out for us to grab her. She wasn't embarrassed or anything."

"Hey, why is her arm in a sling?"

"Do you think she got free yesterday? After we pulled her aside, and that- that villain broke it?"

"That must be it! He must've used the fact that the security cameras were down and the emergency yesterday-"

"You know, I know they said it was just the reporters. But I can't shake the feeling that… a real villain had something to do with it. I don't know about this, guys. I think he's way more dangerous than he's worth-"

"C'mon! We can't give up now! Hurry, let's go before they notice-!"

...

...

"What's got you acting so strange? You've been staring at me all day."

"Can you- Just- Let me-"

She laughs as his hands reach out to her and grasp the ends of her tie, pulling her along until they're in a quiet spot in the hallway, next to the vending machines. Her eyes dance with mirth as she freezes, head tilted towards the ceiling as he begins actually buttoning up the top buttons on her shirt for her and trying to tie her necktie.

"Was that what was bothering you?"

He grumbles. "...Part of it."

"Silly."

"You're still damp." Shinsou changes the subject. His hands fumble with the length of her tie. He'd only ever done his own before and so, when trying to do hers, he was essentially stuck doing it backwards. It was a nightmare to work with and took way more concentration than he thought it would. "...Shit. How does this even work?" He muttered under his breath.

Medama smiles, eyes closing as he struggles to figure it out.

She can't exactly show him, her own hands full. "Almost dry. So's your hoodie."

"Tch. Doesn't matter."

He's not talking about the tie, which he is quickly growing frustrated with and is beginning to see it as a challenge to complete.

"Who do you think dropped it on you in the first place?"

She presses her lips together thinly, smile falling.

"It's a bucket of water. It's not a big deal."

"What about your notebook then?"

"I…" That, at least, seems to have her faltering. Biting her lip. "I can rewrite it. I have a perfect memory for a reason, it's…" She squeezes his hoodie closer to her chest, the soft fabric beneath her fingers helps to keep her from stuttering. "It's fine. I didn't think you noticed-?"

He scoffs.

"...I'm willing to bet it was the same guy as before."

Medama frowns. "Does it even matter? So someone wanted to be mean to me. It's not a big deal."

Shinsou bristles, hissing- "He broke your arm."

They both share a glance as someone comes up to the vending machine in search of a drink and they peel away from the corner. Shinsou quickly tightens her necktie, finally managing to complete the look and have her cleaned up so she doesn't look like a complete mess. "Thanks." She muttered lowly, voice petulant as they made their way to one of the cafeteria lines that, by this time, had shortened significantly.

"And I don't think it was an accident." Shinsou mutters into her ear. Confirming what she was beginning to find was his thought process. "He hurt you on purpose. He's probably still trying to."

"With a bucket of water?"

They grab their food, each eyeing each other with looks that may be misconstrued as glares if people didn't know they were friends. Friends that were concerned for each other.

Medama takes a deep breath. "Why are you trying to convince me that someone is bullying me? You… You don't have to." Her gaze shifts and Shinsou is suddenly struck by a horrible thought- "...Look. I know that already." -that this was already an ongoing problem. "It's… I can deal with it."

"What. "

She kicks at the grass, straw of a juice box in her mouth and face pinched. "It's not so bad. They just- It's only sometimes. Not everyday." Her shoulders rise with tension, coming up to hug her neck as her head bows. "The arm is the first time that- that they ever touched me. And I don't think he meant to hurt me that badly."

"Medama."

"It's just a pack of idiots, okay? Besides, it's not like anyone's going to help, they didn't before. Why would they start now?"

The last bit is muttered and Shinsou would have almost completely missed it if not for the fact that he's practically shoulder to shoulder with her. She shakes her head, as if hoping it'll get her to stop thinking about all her worries. And she just… sighs, voice turning pleading as she looks at him, "Can we just… drop it? And eat our food? Please?"

Shinsou doesn't want to drop it. But she looks absolutely desperate for a change in subject and so, through gritted teeth, he growls a terse: "Fine. " That implies that 'no, it is not fine'.

The relief on her face almost makes up for it.

"I- I think your hoodie is almost done drying? If that helps?" She offers, looking exceedingly hopeful now that they weren't talking about her anymore. "Sorry about taking it home the other day. I didn't think Recovery Girl's quirk would make me so exhausted that I slept through the rest of the school day."

"It's just a hoodie."

"W-Well, I know, but it's still yours."

Medama lifts a knee up onto their bench to slide into a half folded seat, her thigh pressing into the back of the bench as she leaned down. The yelp that escapes her and the mad scramble to throw herself off the bench startles Shinsou enough that he lurches back a couple steps. "Son of a… For the love of…!" It's like she doesn't know what curse to even go with, eyes squeezed shut and teeth bared in obvious pain.

"Medama-!"

"I-It's nothing." She shoves him away, lips curled back and Shinsou let's her. "I… I'm going to go. I just- I- Don't sit on the bench. I'm gonna… Okay ." And she stumbles away, leg limping as she walks off and Shinsou watches, scowl curling across his face and- he looks back on the bench. There's… There's nothing there.

No object. No nothing that would explain her reaction.

But…

His gaze narrows.

There's a single spot of red, where she had put the side of her leg into the corner of the bench. Shinsou doesn't have to be a genius to realize that it's blood. And that, while he can't see any evidence of what may have happened, he knows that it's not a coincidence either.

...

...

"Did she just shove him away?!"

"Did we do it already?!"

"Yes, I knew the tacks would work!"

"C'mon, let's go follow her. We can take her to the teachers!"