Once again, Shouto doesn't understand why he is in this situation.

"Why the hell am I in this situation?" Shinsou says.

"Now, now, Shinsou-kun," Deku says amiably. His height, Shouto notices, is terribly dwarfed as he stands between the both of them. The top tuft of his hair barely reaches above either of their shoulders. "I take my part-time job seriously, you know. We'll get to meet Nana after that, m'kay?"

Shinsou rolls his eyes. It's quite something; Shouto has never seen someone roll their eyes in a perfect 360 degree circle before in his life. "Okay, whatever, but why the hell do I gotta come with—" for the first time since they got on the train, Shinsou's eyes land on Shouto. "With this. Guy."

"Now, now, Shinsou-kun," says Deku, explaining nothing.

The carriage sways gently around them. Not too crowded—it's too late to be lunch time and too early for workers to be going home. There are empty seats scattered all about, and yet the three of them chose to stand in the middle of the train. A few more stations to go. "Who's Nana."

Deku beams at him, as if proud of Shouto's first contribution to the conversation since they got on. "Shinsou-kun's dog!"

"She isn't my dog!" Shinsou hisses. That's how the two of them communicate, Shouto has noticed; Deku would declare a statement and Shinsou would be ready to contradict it twenty-four seven. "You were the one who—" Shinsou abruptly pauses, and then looks away. "Don't you push this on me."

"Shinsou-kun misses her very much," Deku continues, as if Shinsou hadn't spoken at all—another common occurrence that Shouto has noticed. "He's been texting me non-stop asking how she's doing, it's really very sweet of him—"

Shouto can see Shinsou glaring at Deku heatedly from the other side. "I did not!"

"—so we're going to check up on her later. The vet says she's okay, just needs a bit of rest is all," Deku explains, as if Shouto has even a shred of interest in this Nana's wellbeing. "Aren't you glad to hear that, Shinsou-kun?"

"Whatever," Shinsou says, seemingly having given up in his endeavor of countering everything that Deku says. There is something like suspicion slipping in his voice. "No, actually, what exactly is your part-time thing in the first place?"

"Todoroki-kun knows."

Shouto blinks, somewhat surprised that the question is suddenly thrown at him. And now that the question is thrown at Shouto, Shinsou seems suddenly less eager in chasing an answer. Not that Shouto notices nor cares. Shouto doesn't look at him as he answers. "Deku dresses up weird and gives stickers to kids."

It takes Shinsou a moment to process. "Like," he says. "Legally?"

Ignoring Shinsou's question, Shouto looks back at Deku. "Do you get paid for it?" he asks, and belatedly realizes that this might be considered an insensitive question. Not that he really cares.

It appears that Deku doesn't care either. "Nah," Deku replies, easy. "It's a volunteer thing."

He did mention that, didn't he. "So it's not technically a job."

"Okay, this doesn't answer my question at fucking all," Shinsou interrupts. "I still don't understand what it is that you do. What the hell is a magician?"

Good question, Shouto thinks, looking over at Deku. On the other side, Shinsou is doing the exact same thing. Caught between the two, it takes Deku several seconds before he says in the tone of someone who is currently being mugged, "I trick people into having fun..?"

Huh. Finding that to be a surprisingly rather sufficient answer, Shouto nods understandingly. "I see," he says seriously.

"I don't fucking see," Shinsou says equally seriously. "Aren't magicians those guys who trap themselves in a water tank and shit? Sawing people in half?"

"Funny you should say that," Deku says. At the look on Shinsou's face, he adds calmly, "That was a joke, Shinsou-kun." Shinsou doesn't look the least bit convinced. "I never saw anybody in half, Shinsou-kun."

An image pops uninvited in his mind: Shouto lying on a gurney with a chainsaw-holding Deku standing over him and a bunch of kids cheering and clapping as their spectators. "The nurses wouldn't allow that," Shouto says.

Deku snaps his fingers at him. "Exactly. Maybe they would be willing to negotiate for water traps," Deku amends with a pretty serious tone, as if considering the pros and cons of traumatizing little children with a life or death magic performance. "But water traps are messy. And also super cliche, actually." he looks back at Shinsou. "So there you have it."

Shinsou looks at Deku. He is a pretty expressive person, Shouto realizes. Shinsou can somehow convey a feeling that Shouto feels towards everything with just a flat gaze: a sense of being entirely done. "This explains absolutely fuck all, Midoriya."

"You do weekdays as well," Shouto says.

Deku looks back at Shouto. Looks up at him, more accurately. "Mm. I come every Wednesday and Saturday. There are other volunteers besides me on the roster as well."

"Okay, whatever it is that you two are talking about," Shinsou says, having apparently once again given up on getting an answer. "How long is your thing gonna take again?"

"Well, let's see," Deku looks at his watch. "We should get there by four, so let's say … we'll be on our way to Nana at five, five and a half?"

"Huh," Shinsou says, looking at Deku. And then his gaze lowers to Deku's hand. "Stop fucking taking my watch, goddamnit, how the hell are you doing this?"

Deku laughs; that soft, quiet laugh. He takes off the watch with just a flick of his wrist—and then the watch is dangling from the tips of his fingers as he gives them back to Shinsou. Quick and deft.

"You used one hand."

"Hm?"

"You took his watch with one hand," Shouto says. Deku's left hand has stayed firm on the straphanger the whole ride, Shouto is sure.

There is a soft curve on Deku's face—a leftover from the laughter. Deku looks less washed out like this, outside of school. Shouto can't put a finger on what exactly is different about him. "It's easier with one hand, actually," it's amusement, perhaps. That amusement is back on Deku's face, in his mannerism. "Less chances of getting caught."

The train station is connected to Fujiya hospital through an underpass. After weeks of trials and errors—mostly consisting of errors—it has grown familiar to him. Shouto would always walk through this very tunnel with his heart beating out of his chest and a fucked up monologue going through his head that goes somewhere along the line of what the fuck are you doing turn around right this fucking second you fucking idiot.

But he isn't alone this time. Peculiarly, Shouto has found himself in a group of three. It's peculiar enough that no monologues have the chance to go through his head courtesy to him experiencing this very new sensation of, as one puts it, 'having company'.

The awkwardness of walking in a group of three is a well understood and widely accepted reality, and today is the first time Shouto has ever faced this universal social experience.

The three of them walk at a different pace, so they aren't exactly walking side by side; being the only one who has never been here before, Shinsou trails behind with a gait that is distinctly stating his unwillingness to the world. Deku, whose legs are the shortest amongst the three of them, is walking leisurely as he is sandwiched between the two—his shoes, Shouto has come to notice, make absolutely no sound. This is somewhat of a problem, because Shouto finds himself having to slow down copious times having not noticed that he's leaving Deku—and Shinsou by extension—far behind him.

And so is born the jankiest, most non-synchronized pace Fujiya Hospital has ever seen in its seventy-years of standing. It's less of walking in a group and more of shuffling uncoordinatedly in a group.

The group trots into the hospital. Some people turn to look at them—at their UA uniform, Shouto realizes. He never received this sort of attention before in his … his trial and errors. By reflex, his gaze slides to the receptionist—the bowl of candies by the desk. By reflex, Shouto's hands start to sweat, and he—

"I still don't understand why you're bringing me along," Shinsou says. His voice is pinched low to a whisper as if not to disturb the general public. "Like, I swear if you're getting me into trouble again I will explode and fucking die."

—right, he realizes distantly. Shouto isn't alone right now—he has company. He isn't going to go meet his mom today.

And this time, he isn't meeting her on purpose.

It's a peculiar sensation. Peculiar enough that he doesn't even have a mental breakdown stepping into the elevator. He supposes it's harder to have a mental breakdown when there are other people in the room.

Deku presses the button—level six, Calla Lily, three-one-five—for level five. "This is completely innocent, Shinsou-kun, I promise. Right, Todoroki-kun?"

Shinsou looks at Shouto. Shouto looks at Shinsou. Both of them look away. The elevator opens with a ding.

And then Shouto feels a hand pushing his back forward.

It's a pretty hard push. Having its center of gravity disturbed, Shouto's body compensates by stumbling out of the elevator. Next to him, Shinsou is doing the same thing, nearly losing his balance as he trips. Alarmed, the both of them look back to see Deku standing perfectly still in the elevator. His arms are stretched out. There is a smile fixed on his face.

"Mm, I need to go and talk to Kubo-san for a moment," Deku says, his voice lilting in a sing-song as he presses a button. "Todoroki-kun, take care of Shinsou-kun for a bit, m'kay? I'll meet you with the kids later on!" He waves cheerfully, fingers wiggling.

"Huh?" Shinsou says. And then more aggressively, "Huh? Wait, you can't just—"

The elevator closes with a ding.

"I can't fucking believe that guy!" Shinsou says. "He's the one who took me here and now he's leaving me with—" he pauses. And then he looks at Shouto. And then Shouto looks at him right back.

Both of them look away.

Several beats pass where the both of them stand in silence in front of the elevators. Somewhere far away, Shouto can hear the sounds of children laughing. Next to him, Shinsou is standing completely still.

This, Shouto thinks, might be what people call awkward. Shouto supposes that at times like this one would need to—as they put it—break the ice. But Shouto, who is pretty good at making ices, doesn't really care much about breaking them.

He turns on his heels. "This way," he says, and starts walking down the hallway. Shouto has gotten a few metres far when he finally hears footsteps behind him prefixed by something that sounds like "Goddamnitall."

The hallway looks the same as it did last Saturday. Last time he was here, Shouto thinks idly, he was having a hysterical meltdown. Funny how things change.

Shinsou caught up quickly—not really behind him, this time, though they are too far apart to be called walking together. "What is this place?"

Shouto glances at him. "Can't you read." The sign is just over there.

"Fuck you, yes I can fucking read, it's a fucki—" they arrive at the end of the hallway, the floor opening into the familiar span of the recreational room. Shinsou's voice abruptly pinches low again. "It's a children's cancer centre," he says, suddenly sounding like a respectable person. Shinsou eyes what Shouto suspects is a caricature of All Might's long lost fraternal twin drawn on a side of the wall. "Why are we in a children's cancer centre?"

Before Shouto could give an answer, a ball-like creature in high speed bumps and sticks to his legs.

Shouto looks down. The creature looks up at him with eyes that shouldn't fit such a small face. "Sho'to?" says the creature.

Silence. Next to him, Shinsou freezes. Shouto kneels down. The creature is still holding Shouto's leg as a hostage, so it's quite an awkward position. "Tocchan," Shouto says finally when they meet eye to eye. "Hello."

"Where's Deku?"

Shouto considers this question. "I don't know," he says. At the disappointment entering Tocchan's face, he rectifies himself. "Deku is. Taking a nap."

Shinsou turns to look at him. Shouto ignores him. "Oh," Tocchan says thoughtfully. "Why?"

"..you have to rest well," Shouto says. "To do magic."

Shinsou is staring at him harder. Tocchan is staring at him as well. The pressure is getting into Shouto. "That's why he has to sleep a lot. In a coffin," he adds. Because that's what magicians do, right? They sleep in coffins and become bats and stuff … Shouto belatedly realizes that he is probably getting this magician lore all mixed up, but he's gone too far to take it back. He valiantly pushes through. "In his castle."

"Oh. Okey," Tocchan finally releases Shouto's leg from its confinement. And then the boy runs off.

Shouto stands up, feeling he has done a pretty good job of interacting with small creatures.

"Coffin," echoes Shinsou next to him flatly. "What, does he suck blood too?"

"Shut up," Shouto says.

The two of them stand in silence, just a shy metre from entering the playground. There are slightly more children than usual, Shouto notes, and a good handful of adults scattered about. Unlike last time, the windows are closed this time. The entire room is bathed by the light from the overhead lamp, glinting off lego bricks and an assortment of toys.

"They call him Deku," Shinsou says. The name rolls odd on his tongue. "You do too."

"That's what he introduced himself as."

"How'd you meet him?"

This is another universal experience that Shouto is encountering for the very first time in his fifteen years of life: the experience of being left alone with a friend's friend. A widely known ritual in human society in which the extroverted mutual friend is out of the picture, pushing the two socially awkward people to hit the next important milestone in their relationship—getting to know each other.

What Shouto says next will crucially determine the dynamic between the two of them for the rest of time. At this point, it is universally known that one should be warm and friendly to encourage the blossom of a new friendship. Shouto, however, wouldn't know friendly if it's flinging a friendship bracelet in his eye.

"How did you?" Shouto says.

Silence. They look at each other, cool. They are nearly the same height—Hitoshi has a scant few centimetres over him, but his build is nothing impressive. He certainly wasn't doing anything impressive in that stadium back at the festival, Shouto would know.

"..just to make sure," Shinsou drawls. "We aren't friends, are we?"

Shouto considers this. It is not a long period of consideration. "No."

This answer seems to be satisfactory. Shinsou smiles—it's the first time Shouto has seen it, a cold, arrogant curve of his mouth. "Cool," Shinsou says. "I'm not interested in being friends with my competitors."

"Not that much of a competition."

Shinsou's jaw twitches. "Watch it, Todoroki," he says, something low and rough lacing the way he says Shouto's name. His eyes flash, and momentarily Shouto remembers the first time they had met each other on that arena—a memory that Shouto had previously deemed unimportant. "One of these days I'll—"

"Weird hair guy," a voice says.

Both of them pause. And look down.

A pair of yellow cat eyes look back. Shouto recognizes them instantly. "Miya.." and then, because it feels appropriate, he adds, "..-san."

"Weird hair guy," Miya-san's gaze moves to Shinsou. "You brought a friend huh."

In the presence of a terrifying creature known as a six year old girl, neither boys have it in in them to refute her statement that has been proven false just a few seconds ago.

"'S good," she nods, as if approving Shouto's apparent ability in having friends. "The nurse said. 'The bore the perrier'.."

"The more the merrier," say Shouto and Shinsou at the same time. Both of them look at each other and then promptly look away.

The girl ignores this. "Because it's Takeshi-nii's b'day. We're all makin' him b'day cards. See."

She pushes a scrap of paper to Shouto's face, and he distinctly feels a sense of deja-vu over him. He inspects the paper—birthday card, apparently. On it, written astutely in an avant-garde spelling of the English alphabet, is hApY BIrtdAY. On top of it is some sort of illustration reminiscent of cavemen's depictions of a herd of llamas of centuries gone past.

"It's nice," Shouto offers, and Miya snatches the paper back. And then, surprising both Shouto and Shinsou, she pushes the paper into Shinsou's face.

Not exactly Shinsou's face—she is far too short to reach more than Shinsou's waist—but it has more or less the same effect; she is pointing the paper at him as if it were a gun. Shinsou looks like he wants to take a step back in face of the pulp-made gun. "Wh—uh...?"

"Draw," she commands. She hands him a crayon with her other hand; Shinsou is now being threatened by two guns. "Draw the legs. I can't draw legs. He can't either," she sniffs at Shouto. "So you draw it."

"Uh." Shinsou raises his hands in front of him. He probably means it to signify refusal, but it makes him look like he's surrendering instead. "I don't think I can—"

"Do what Miya-san tells you to do," Shouto says flatly.

Shinsou glares at him. Shouto looks at him back. Miya-san looks at Shinsou. It seems that the pressure is getting to him, because Shinsou then relents. "Ok. Uh."

Shinsou takes both the paper and crayon gingerly as if they would blow up any second. "So.. legs..?"

"Yes," Miya is starting to sound impatient. "Takeshi-nii's legs. Draw 'em."

Both Shinsou and Shouto stare at the illustration. The creature in the illustration does not seem to own any sort of anatomy that would require appendixes. If this is an accurate depiction of this Takeshi-nii person, they must be living one hell of a life. "Like.." Shinsou taps a random corner of the creature where perhaps the waist must be located. "Right here..?"

Miya looks incredulous by the foolish question. "Uh, no," the no is said so savagely that it's a wonder Shinsou doesn't burst into tears immediately. "That's his chair. He's sittin' down. So here, and here. Duh."

"All right, all right.."

"What is that." Shouto peers over Shinsou's shoulder. "Are you giving Takeshi-nii a tail."

"Shut—" Shinsou cuts himself off. He glances at Miya, and then back again at Shouto. "Be quiet."

Shinsou finishes his masterpiece. Takeshi-nii now owns two more scribbles in addition to his entire body, which is also entirely made of scribbles. "Here."

Miya inspects the drawing thoroughly. "What's these," she points at two check marks on the bottom of Takeshi-nii's 'legs'.

"Shoes," Shinsou says. "Uh. I gave him Nike shoes. Thought he'd like that."

"Perfect," Miya declares. She takes the paper and crayon off Shinsou's hands. And then she leaves.

Shouto frowns. Perfect? It's uglier than what Shouto came up with the other day. Much uglier. Perfect ... How could that be perfect. That's just—

"So you can't draw, huh?" Shinsou says. There is that smile again on his face.

Shouto stares at him, and at this moment, for the first time, Shouto feels something towards Shinsou. Something grating, heated, in the pit of his chest. Something that perhaps can be classified as..

..annoyance.

"Shut up," Shouto says.

"Bad word."

Both of them pause. And then for the third—but not the last—time that hour, they look down.

Tocchan points at him, shaking his head. It's scary how children can sneak up on you like that. "Sho'to said a bad word."

Shinsou laughs, and Shouto frowns harder. Fu—damn him. Before Shouto can say anything, he realizes in alarm that Tocchan isn't the only kid in their vicinity—the other children have now come to be interested in their presence. Swarms of them are now approaching and absolutely nothing is stopping them.

"Who said a bad word?"

"He said it."

"Where's Deku."

"Deku! Deku!"

"Who's that?"

"Bad word."

"Sho'to said a bad word."

"Where is Deku.."

"Omygod," someone in the crowd—one of the older kids—exclaim. "Look at their uniforms! They're UA students!"

Silence. And then there are gasps.

"UA!"

"UA! UA! UA!"

"Yueeeeiiiii."

Next to him, Shinsou is taking a hesitant step back as if preparing to run away. Shouto understands the feeling well, but it's already too late. They are surrounded. The kids are closing around them like a fence of tiny bumbling short-limbed creatures. There is no exit in sight. It is over.

"I saw you," a little boy says suddenly, pointing up at him. Shouto recognizes him—one part of a twin, Rin. "I saw you on tee-vee! You're. The ice onii-san. "

All things considered, that's a way better Hero name than anything Shouto could've come up with.

"No," his twin, Tsu, says. "He can do fire too. Ice-fire onii-san. Ice-fire onii-san, can you burn something up?"

"No, no, ice is way cooler, dummy!" the twin argues. He looks back at Shouto. "Do ice. Do ice!"

"Fire!"

"Ice!"

"Fire!"

"Ice!"

Their argument is starting to sound like Shouto's warring psyche in one of his hysterical meltdown sessions. Realizing that his mouth is smiling without his consent, Shouto tries his best to tamp it down. "Unlicensed Quirk usage," he says, pursing his mouth with effort, "is very dangerous without proper supervision and.."

Beside him, he can hear Shinsou snort. Rin is looking at him with disappointment, as if he had lost all respect he previously had towards Shouto—it's surprisingly a quite hurtful look. "What?"

"So booooring."

"Boriing."

"Purple onii-san! I saw you too!"

Purple Onii-san seems troubled by this for a second before his expression smoothes out. "Oh, did you now?"

"Uhuh! Ice-fire onii-san blew you up to the sky, like this!" Tsu moves her hands wildly in what Shouto supposes is an imitation of his Gaten Hyōheki, with added sound effects. "Boooom."

"Yes, he did," Shinsou says, looking Shouto in the eye. The corner of his mouth is twitching. "It was very cold, very painful, and very very very unnecessary. Isn't that just cruel of ice-fire onii-san?"

"No, it was awesome," Tsu says.

"I see," Shinsou says. He has not broken eye contact. "But he said a bad word. That's not awesome, isn't it. That's just awful, isn't it."

The mass is swayed by this reminder of Shouto's criminal act. "Bad word.."

"Ice-fire onii-san said a bad word."

"Awful.."

"Maybe," Shinsou says, fully smiling now that the crowd is on his side. "We should have ice-fire onii-san stand in the corner as punishment."

How dare he, Shouto thinks. How dare he turn the mass against me. "You.."

"Now, now, folks," a new and rather familiar voice says. "What do we have here?"

Another round of gasps. And then, nearly in unison, the sound of dozens of kids screaming "DEKU!" in a pitch so high that it must be heard by all bats and dogs and dolphins in one kilometre radius.

The kids immediately leave Shouto and Shinsou to flock to the newcomer like a swarm of bees finding a tastier honeycomb to mine. "My fellow countrypeople!" Deku spreads his arms. He is somehow standing in the middle of the room even though Shouto is one-hundred percent sure he never saw him passing them in the hallway. "How are we feeling today, denizens?"

The masses cheer like All Might himself has come to the party. Some of the kids are standing up on chairs to flail their hands as high up as possible in an effort to express their enthusiasm. Shinsou says, in a voice that sounds half in awe and half aghast, "What in the goddamn hell is he wearing.."

Shouto shares the same sentiment. Deku was right, he thinks. The top hat does make him look a little like an asshole.

"My, my, my, what a crowd we have today on our hands!" Deku spins dramatically, doing what can only be described as a twirl. His cape billows behind him, looking so overwhelmingly big compared to Deku's small stature that it's a wonder he isn't drowning in it. The thing is practically mopping the floor every time he walks. "Today is a special day. A very special day indeed.."

"I got a bad feeling about this," Shinsou mutters.

"..for we have not one, but two UA Heroes with us today!"

The entire room swivels their heads like a perfect domino to look at Shouto and Shinsou. And then the crowd goes wild.

It's overwhelming. It's somehow even more overwhelming than the crowd at the sports festival stadium. Shouto finds himself to be standing still like a concussed deer staring at dozens of mini headlights.

"All right, all right, pipe down," Deku laughs. "Come on everyone, sit properly, in order ... you know the rules ... aht, aht, no pushing!"

The masses obey, though with not a small amount of giggling and screaming as they sit neatly—a very loose use of the adjective—next to each other, leaving a generous space for Deku to occupy at the end of the room. Deku seems pleased by this. Deku turns—twirls—once again, gesturing to both Shouto and Shinsou across the room. "Can mister Heroes please join me on this humble stage?"

The heads swivel again, but they're quieter this time, hushing and whispering to each other as Shouto and Shinsou freeze on the spot. "It looks like our Heroes are a bit shy," Deku says, sounding sympathetic to the Heroes' apparent stage fright. "Why don't we call them out together? Hero-niisan, Hero-niisan…?"

The room choruses it back. "Hero-niisan, Hero-niisan!"

He is enjoying this, Shouto realizes with a distant horror. Even from this distance, Deku looks like he's holding back laughter. "Come and play with us, Hero-niisan!"

"Come and play with us, Hero-niisan.." the crowd echoes, words jumbling with each other between giggles.

"What the hell is he doing..?" Shinsou hisses quietly. As if Shouto knows.

Deku shapes a cone with his hands as a makeshift megaphone. "We love you, Hero-niisan..!"

"We love you, Hero-niisan..!"

"Screw this," Shinsou says. Shouto shares the same sentiment, but finds himself too mentally unprepared to anything else besides standing in horrified shock. He is experiencing an emotion that he has never felt before in his entire life.

"It looks like our Heroes need a little more encouragement, folks," Deku says, one hand on the hip and the other tapping his chin as if wondering how they could possibly rectify the Heroes' lack of self-esteem. The fingers snap. "Oh, I know!" exclaims Deku so brightly that one could practically see a light bulb shining with ideas over his head. "We just need to do a little magic."

At the mention of magic, the kids hurray viciously.

"Screw this," Shinsou says, voicing Shouto's internal thoughts. "Screw this, screw this—"

In one ridiculous swoop, Deku brings his cape to cover his entire body—and then he twirls. "Why don't we.."

When Deku finally returns to face the crowd, a ukulele has somehow appeared out of thin air and into his hands. "Sing for them?"

The kids gasp, and Deku strums a playful chord. Shouto is momentarily impressed, despite everything. "Isn't music the strongest.." another chord is strummed, and his next words are sung in a heartfelt melody. "Magic of them all..?"

"Oh my fucking god," says Shinsou quietly in the helpless tone of someone who is facing death penalty.

Deku clears his throat. "Ahem. Unfortunately, esteemed members of the high council, singing is not my greatest forte—so all of you have got to help me, m'kay? Whenever I pause—" he strums a tune and then stops to demonstrate. "You have to yell, 'we love heroes!' m'kay? So for example, oh, Hero-niisan, let us tell you something.."

He pauses and gestures to the crowd expectantly. The crowd delivers. "We love Heroes!"

"Yes we do, Hero-niisan," Deku sings, the ukulele accompanying with a series of cheerful chords. "Yes we do, yes we do, don't you know that.."

"We love Heroes!"

"Oh, you're so strong, Hero-niisan," Deku belts. His voice is projecting impressively around the room for such a small figure. "You're so tall, so cool, so hand~some.."

Shouto looks out to the crowd. And then he looks at Shinsou. Shinsou, he finds, is looking at him right back. Shinsou's face, he notes with some surprise, looks a little red with a peculiar expression on it. This peculiar expression enlightens Shouto what exactly is the nature of this feeling he is experiencing for the first time.

This feeling, Shouto realizes suddenly, is called embarrassment.

"What would we do without you, oh handsome Hero-niisan.." Deku continues his attack mercilessly. His ukulele, as far as Shouto is concerned, might very well be a nuclear weapon. "Absolutely nothing, handsome Hero-niisan! Don't you know that.."

Another pause, and the kids scream in delight. "WE LOVE HEROES!"

Shouto and Shinsou stare at each other. In this very moment, despite their past animosity, an understanding comes between the two: it's going to get worse and worse the longer they don't comply.

"Goddamnitall," Shinsou says under his breath. And then he walks towards the stage with Shouto following closely behind.

Now that he's up front, Shouto can recognize some of the faces looking at him. Shouto remembers now; Takeshi-kun—the eldest of them all, the teen sitting in a wheelchair at the corner of the room. Their eyes catch for a second before Takeshi looks away. There is also Haru right on the front—she looks up shyly at him, waving a hand. Shouto waves a hand back, and she ducks down, pale cheeks shining red.

Shouto's mouth twists. Something unclenches in his chest.

"Look who finally decided to join us," says Deku. He is still playing the ukulele as he speaks, some whimsical melody a background music to this torture chamber. "Let's give it up for our Heroes, shall we?"

There are lots of clapping and cheering. Shouto and Shinsou stand next to each other on the makeshift stage like two very tall lambs about to be slaughtered in cold blood by creatures half their size.

"Now, now," Deku claps twice, and the crowd dies down. It's terrifying how much control he has over these children. "Why don't we get to know our Heroes better?" Deku walks circles around the stage and is now standing between the two of them. "Does everyone still remember this oniisan right here?"

Another round of clapping and cheering and screaming. "Sho'to!"

"Ice man!"

"Fire man!"

"Weird Hair guy!"

"No, Ice man!"

"No, Fire man!"

"Hmm, I'm sure some of our audience hasn't met him yet, so why don't we let him introduce himself again?" Deku kindly suggests. He turns to look at Shouto and—yes, he is definitely holding back laughter. "Please, Hero-niisan, kindly tell us your name—your Hero name, to be precise."

Shouto looks at him. Shouto looks at the crowd. Shouto accepts his fate. He bows down. "Pleased to meet you all once again.." next to him, he can hear both Deku and Shinsou snorting. "My Hero name is Shouto. Please take care of me."

Silence. And then whispers fill the room. The twins frown. "Shouto..? That's so.." the twins look at each other. "Boring," they say in unison. Shouto stares.

It's the most hurtful thing he has ever heard in his entire life.

A hand is raised in the crowd. "Yes, Miya?"

Miya stands up. And then she points at Shouto. "Hero Shouto," Miya says gravely, "said a bad word."

A hush falls over the crowd.

"Sho'to did ... he said a bad word."

"He's got to stand in the corner.."

"No stickers for Ice-fire man."

"Bad word. How awful."

"He did?" Deku says, voice effortlessly rising above the crowd. He sounds aghast by the report of Shouto's immoral act. "What exactly did Pro-Hero Shouto-niisan say, I wonder? Yes, Tocchan?"

Tocchan puts his hand down. "He told Purple Hero onii-san to.." Tocchan can't seem to bring himself to say it, so he trots over to the front while glancing sadly at Shouto. "He told him to.."

Deku leans down so Tocchan can whisper the words to his ears. After the message is passed, Deku shakes his head gravely. "That is bad, isn't it."

Shouto can't even say anything. Never in his life has he been tattled on before. Frankly, it's quite traumatizing.

"As punishment, Hero Shouto will not get any stickers today ... unless!"

The kids lean forward, intrigued, as Deku tiptoes to circle an enthusiastic arm around Shinsou's shoulders. Shinsou looks too startled to protest this abrupt skin contact. "Unless Hero Shouto apologizes to his Hero friend right here. What is your name, oh mister Purple Hero onii-san?"

Beneath Shouto's current despair of his unfair predicament, there is some satisfaction in seeing how Shinsou looks like he is having the worst time of his life. "Midoriya," the boy says under his breath so the crowd wouldn't hear him. His tone is threatening, although all three of them know that Shinsou has nothing in his arsenal to threaten Deku with. "I swear to god I'll explode and die and bring you with me.."

"Hm?" Deku puts a hand over his ear. His ukulele has disappeared into thin air while they weren't looking. "What's that? Your Hero name is Purple Onii-san?"

"No it's not!" Shinsou seethes. He clears his throat, stares at the crowd. There is sweat dripping from his forehead. "It's M—" the blush on his cheeks can rival Shouto's hair with no problem. "M-Mindjack."

Deku releases his hold from Shinsou's shoulders. "Ohh, give it up for Pro-Hero Mindjack, everybody!"

Shinsou's face is so red that it really does look like he is about to explode and die. Shouto thinks to himself: serves you right, asshole.

"Now, before we begin," Deku says. "Can Pro-Hero Shouto please apologize to Pro-Hero Mindjack?"

Fuck.

Shinsou, on the other hand, seems to be momentarily revitalized by this turn of events. "It was quite hurtful, you know," the asshole says, the blush dissipating from his face ever so slowly. Quite a bravado for someone who looks like he was about to be embarrassed to death a second ago. "I am very sensitive to foul language, you know."

Asshole, Shouto thinks. And then he realizes that Deku is looking at him expectantly. The children are also looking at him expectantly.

The pressure is getting into Shouto.

"..I apologize."

"As expected from Pro-Hero Shouto!" Deku says. "Man, what a great example you have set for these impressionable young children, Hero-san. I for one think you deserve a reward. Would you like a reward?"

"No thank you."

"A reward it is!" Deku says. To the fascination of his spectators, Deku starts to take off his cape—unclipping the fabric from the shoulders of his suit. He then proceeds to hold them like how a matador would hold their muleta in a bullfight. "To apologize for your mistakes is a very Heroic-y thing to do. For that I think you deserve.." he billows his cape as if to blow away a fire. "Some magic."

Bubbles spring forward from the depth of Deku's cape.

Round and iridescent; the kind of bubbles you get out of soap. A lot of them. Deku swishes his cape a few times more, and soon enough, there are enough bubbles to fill the room. The kids ooh and aah as they stand up and run about, trying to pop as many bubbles as they possibly can.

Shouto gets it now, that cape. It's so big because it's full of secrets.

Deku straightens up his cape—a few bubbles escaping from the fabric as he does so—and fixes them back to his shoulders. "And now, Pro-Hero Shouto-san.."

Deku pops a bubble floating just above Shouto's shoulder. And then from it, he plucks out a piece of candy. It's a chocolate candy—the kind wrapped in gold foil to look like coins. "Your reward, sir."

Shouto stares at it. How did he do it. He must've hidden it in his hand, that's the logical answer. He just made it look like he popped it out of the bubble. The bubbles too, there must be some kind of hidden mechanism. He couldn't have done it with magic.

But for a second, a part of Shouto almost believes he could.

"Thank you," Shouto says, keeping the candy in his pocket.

"You're very welcome. And here is one for you too, Pro-Hero Mindjack"—Deku plucks another piece from a stray bubble—"for having such a cool Hero name."

Shinsou's cheeks redden again. "Whatever." He takes the candy.

"Now that we have that settled—huh, where did my audience go? Hello, is anybody there?" Deku puts a hand over his eyes, looking for the children who have mysteriously disappeared from their seats. "Hmm, I guess I should go home if no one's here.."

As if on cue, the scattered children immediately give up on their bubble-popping endeavor and return to their seats. In less than five seconds. It truly is terrifying, Shouto thinks, the power that Deku holds. It's like a shepherd with a flock of sheeps, if sheeps are able to conquer the world. "Oh, here you are, my respected earth inhabitants," Deku claps his hands, pleased once again now that his spectators have returned. "Let's begin the show, shall we?" Deku trots around the stage with ease, circling both Pro-Heroes like a shark around its prey. "Isn't it just so fun to have two Heroes in our presence today?"

The crowd hollers. "But why are they here, I wonder?" Deku stops behind both Shouto and Shinsou, tapping his chin. "Don't tell me … is there a Villain among us today?" The crowd gasps. "Could they possibly be investigating a crime?"

This seems to rile up the kids even more. Their eyes are practically bulging out of their sockets, shining above their gaping mouths. "Oh, perhaps, our Heroes should be looking for clues right now," Deku continues. And then his voice lowers, enough that no one but Shouto and Shinsou can hear them: "In their pockets, maybe."

Shouto's hand automatically goes to his pocket. To the surprise of no one, he finds something in it beside his wallet—a scrap of paper. He opens the paper to read it. Next to him, Shinsou is doing the same thing. Shinsou hisses in a furious whisper, "Midoriya. What the fuck is this."

"You guys are my set props," Deku whispers back. "So behave, m'kay?" and then in a much louder voice, "Oh, whatever have you found, Pro-Hero Shouto?"

Shouto stares at the paper. Shouto knows exactly what the fuck it is.

"'It seems,'" Shouto reads. "'That a great theft has occurred in our beloved Musutafu an hour ago.'"

It's a script.

"My, a theft!" Deku says, voice affecting surprise. "How awful. Whatever shall we do, oh Pro-Hero Mindjack?"

The script—written with the neatest handwriting Shouto has ever seen—reads:

Shinsou: (SPIRITEDLY) We shall arrest the culprit at once! (CLENCHES FIST OVER HEART) Justice must prevail to preserve order in our beloved Musutafu!

Shouto looks at Shinsou. Shinsou is glaring at his paper so intensely that had Shinsou been born with a fire Quirk, the paper would be a second away from combusting. His jaw twitches and for a second, Shouto is sure that the boy is going to walk away from the stage. But then, in a voice so flat that it can be used to iron clothes: "'We shall arrest the culprit at once. Justice must prevail to—'"

"Clench fist over heart," Deku whispers behind them.

"'Justice,'" Shinsou does not clench his fist over his heart, but there is so much fury in his voice that it could be mistaken as his Heroic endeavor in catching this foul thief. "'Must. Prevail. To preserve order. In our beloved Musutafu.'"

Todoroki: (SMILING BRIGHTLY) Well said, (SHINSOU'S HERO NAME)!

"'Well said, Mindjack,'" Todoroki reads.

"Smile brightly," the stage director who is holding the both of them hostage whispers.

Shouto does not smile, brightly or otherwise. When did he prepare for the script? Shouto wonders. Shouto just met Shinsou today. Shouto just found out that Midoriya was in UA today. Had he written this after lunch? He continues. "'We have evidence that the thief has concealed themself in the best, coolest, most awesome location in all of Musutafu..'" PAUSE MEANINGFULLY (FOR SUSPENSE, THIS PART IS IMPORTANT), the script instructs. Deeming that he has paused meaningfully enough, Todoroki proceeds to reveal the name of this mysterious location. "'The Fujiya Hospital.'"

"Gasp!" gasps Deku in a fantastic show of his acting prowess. "Fujiya Hospital?! But that's exactly where we are!"

"'How could we ever find the thief in such a place,'" Shouto says. "'This seems impossible.'"

Both Shouto and Deku look at Shinsou. It's his turn. Shinsou opens his mouth, closes it again. He does this several times, which gives him the impression of being a very tall and purple fish. "'All—'" Shinsou pauses. He closes his eyes and sighs. "Do I have to say this?" he whispers angrily. "Really?"

"You have to say it," Deku whispers back cheerfully.

"'All Might on a stick!'" says Shinsou. He then closes his eyes once again. In a low voice, he mutters, "what the hell even is that, damnit? What the hell even is that?"

"PG-13 cursing," Deku reply-whispers. "It gives your character, you know, a bit of an oomph.."

"'All Might on a stick!'" Shinsou repeats, with such ferocity that he might as well have said the F-word. "'Such evil and cunning plan! However, my … friend..'" —Shinsou's nose crunches at this word—"'my friend. We must not cower in face of adversity. Nothing is impossible so long as we work together.'"

Shouto returns to his script. "'Well said, Mindjack..'" he pauses. ADDRESS THE AUDIENCE, the script instructs. DON'T FORGET TO SMILE BRIGHTLY.

Shouto looks at the audience. The kids seem to be engrossed in their shitty actings, staring up back at him all starry-eyed as if this is the coolest thing that has ever happened to them and not the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to Shouto. Shouto tries to shape his mouth into something that is not a grimace. "'So, what do you say, most honored citizens?'" Shouto addresses the aforementioned most honored citizens. "'How do you feel about giving us Heroes a hand?'"

"'Whoever aids us to find this foul thief,'" Shinsou, too, addresses the mass, "'Shall receive all the stickers they wish in the world.'"

The following cheer ringing in the room is so loud that at this very second, everyone currently residing on level four of the Fujiya Hospital is convinced that there is an earthquake happening upstairs.

As expositioned by Shinsou's character after, a bank has apparently been robbed off a precious cargo ("'A sum of five megatrillion yen,'" Shinsou flatly recites. "'Five carts of gold and a national treasure. How wretched!'") and oh, the thief could be just about anyone of them ("'They must be hiding in plain sight!'" Shouto reads. "'How insidious!'").

"'All Might on a stick,'" says Shinsou. "'We aren't getting anywhere in cracking this case, Shouto. Dagnamight!'"

"'Don't lose hope, bro,'" says Shouto. "'The criminal must have left some trace..'"

Shouto stops. And then he looks at Shinsou. Shinsou looks back at him.

The script ended. There are no more dialogues.

Both of them look at Deku.

Deku isn't looking at them. He seems to be in deep thought concerning this dauntingly complicated case. "Hmm, you're right, Pro-Hero Shouto … a criminal always leaves a trace. What do you think, esteemed residence?"

Aforementioned esteemed residence murmur among one another. And then a hand is raised. "Yes, Miya."

Some of the kids huddling around the girl whisper some more before Miya emerges from the group. She appears to be the appointed representative by the pack. "We would like to pr'pose a search," she solemnly states.

Deku's brows rise. "A search?"

"This thief," she says. "They stole lots of stuff, right?"

"Yeah, and..?"

"And, um.." a kid from the crowd whispers something in Miya's ear. She nods. "Hero Shouto said," she says, voice more confident, "that the theft happened an hour ago." another kid whispers in her other ear. Miya nods solemnly once again. "So we think. They gotta be still carryin' some of the stuff they stole with 'em."

"..my, what a fantastic idea," Deku sounds genuinely impressed. Deku turns to look at the Pro-Heroes who, unlike the children, have contributed zero fantastic ideas. "What incredible deduction skills. Don't you think so, Heroes?"

Shouto and Shinsou stare blankly at Deku. And then they stare at each other, helpless.

There are no more scripts to follow. They never thought they would be missing the damned script.

Deku is still staring at them expectantly. So is Miya and the rest of the audience.

"..yes," Shouto says finally, feeling pressured to say something, anything at all. "It is. A good idea."

Shinsou clears his throat. "Right," he says, his voice uncharacteristically unsure. "Uh. Maybe. We should get in a group of two … to search each other for … suspicious articles..?"

"Well, then," Deku says, putting his hands together cheerfully. "You heard 'em, folks!"

It's chaos. But a surprisingly organized chaos.

The kids form two lines—a word that is used generously because a line usually does not have so many crooked angles—around the room, each row consisting of two people. They do this with extreme enthusiasm, which means they do it with an incredible amount of noise. Both Shouto and Shinsou are tasked with patrolling the line to check for any suspicious items that have been unearthed.

This, of course, leads to difficult conflicts.

"Rin has this with 'im!" Tsu reports her own twin, waving what looks like a half-eaten bar of chocolate. "That's susvicious!"

"Uh," Pro-Hero Mindjack says.

"Nothin' susvicious 'bout it, dummy!" Rin says, trying to take the snack he has saved for late night munchies away from his twin. "You just wanna eat it, don't you!"

Tsu refuses to give it away. "Unhand this, foul sief!" she says with an impressive amount of dramatics. Has a talent for theatrics, this one, even if she can't pronounce her words properly. "This is important pevide—ediven—evizen—"

"Evidence," Shinsou corrects her. His superior pronunciation is ignored by both children. "Now, come on now, uh, don't fight—"

"Give it back!" Rin roars. Both of them are holding on to the piece of chocolate in a tug of war with the ferocity of a death duel. "I'll kill you!"

"I'll kill you more!"

"I'll kill you more more!"

Children— Shouto thinks as he witnesses these homicidal intentions declared with such unabashed fervour—are terrifying.

Shinsou is hovering over both children as if trying to figure out a way in prying both of them apart in a safe way that would not hurt both parties and especially himself. "Don't—don't say that to your sibling," Shinsou says, in a tone that clearly shows that he has never talked to children before in his life and is very distressed about breaking that record. "Come on, kids, why don't you just make up and—"

"This is clearly susvicious particle!"

"You're susvicious particle!"

"Suspicious article ... hey, no no! That's dangerous! Hey—" Shinsou looks up and his eyes, desperately, meet Shouto's. "Oi, Todoroki, help me with these—oi, where are you going? Oi, Todoroki! Come back, Todoroki! Dagnamight, you—"

Shouto is busy escaping from the point of homicide chocolate conflict when he feels someone tugging on his blazer. He looks down. "Hello, Haru-san."

"Hello," she says shyly, fidgeting from one foot to the other. Her voice is as soft as Shouto remembers it. "Umm."

Around the room, fights are breaking out here and there as betrayals unfold one after another. On the other side of the room, he catches Deku mediating two parties accusing one another over a piece of gundam ("This gundam must be the national pressure! The national pressure that got stolen!" "You're national pressure!" "No, you!" "National treasure ," Deku corrects the children gently. "Now, why don't we think about this with a cool head, y'know, like All Might do..") much better than the way Shinsou is handling the chocolate fight.

Shouto kneels down so he can talk to Haru eye to eye. "Do you have any suspicious articles to show me?"

She looks better, he notes pleasantly. Healthier. Less pale. "Umm. Not really.." her cheeks shine red. "Just, um. This.."

From behind her back, she hands him a … a card. A piece of paper folded in two. Shouto takes it in his hands carefully like it's the stolen national treasure. "Is this for me?" Haru nods. "Can I open it?" pause. And then she nods again, ducking down shyly.

On the cover is a drawing of two butterflies of different sizes. The bigger one is white on one wing and red on the other. The smaller one is colored pink. Shouto opens the card. Inside, carefully written with scrawly hiragana and adorned with colorful illustrations of flowers, is thank you, Shouto-niisan, for the..

Shouto reads it through. And then he rereads it again. Shouto's thumb swipes over the paper—the texture soft and brittle, before he closes the card gently. He breathes, silent for a few seconds. Evidently a few seconds too long, because Haru then says, "Shouto-nii doesn't like it?"

His throat hurts. "Shouto-nii loves it."

"Really?"

Shouto stares at her, silent again. And then, carefully, he places his hand on top of her head.

Her hair is thin, soft, frail. So small and warm under his hand. Someone did this to him once, Shouto thinks—there was a hand, caressing his hair just like this a long time ago. Someone who is waiting on the floor above, for a son who never came. Someone who might not be waiting at all, for a son she never wanted.

(Level six, Calla Lily, three-one-five.)

Shouto takes off his hand. "Really," he says, and tries to smile. Not brightly—he doesn't think he can ever do that—but he tries anyway. "I do. Thank you, Haru-san."

After another five minutes of ransacking and accusations, the search appears to be fruitless. Deku sighs in exhaustion as he returns to the stage—doing that trick where he sits on an invisible chair. "At this rate," Deku says sadly, "I think nobody will be getting stickers today."

Sounds of protest are heard around the room. The mass seems to be upset by this suggestion. "Damn you, Todoroki."

Shinsou is standing beside him, having apparently returned from his homicide-chocolate conflict. "Pro-Hero Mindjack," Shouto says flatly.

"Cut that sh—cut that out," Shinsou says. "Don't call me that."

"Sure, Pro-Hero Mindjack."

"You—"

"Hero nii-san! Hero nii-san!"

Both of them sigh. And then look down. "Yes, Kenta," Pro-Hero Mindjack says. "What can I—" he glares at Shouto. "What can we help you with."

"Takeshi-nii won't let us search him!"

The two Heroes are dragged by several children to investigate this Takeshi-nii. Takeshi-nii, the uncooperative civilian in question, stares up at both of them, unimpressed. "Hello, Hero-san #1, Hero-san #2," he says, deadpan. "How do you do."

Both Shouto and Shinsou are momentarily silent. For the past half an hour, they have been playing along with Midoriya's Heroes-Robbers stageplay mental torture for various personal reasons, most of which incomprehensible to themselves. But one single factor plays a big role in their obedience: most of the audience are children ranging from three to eight years old. One always finds it easier to do cringe Hero roleplay in front of an audience who can barely do the multiplication table.

"Well, Hero-san?" Takeshi says flatly when he receives no answer. "Are you gonna search me? Arrest me for obstructing an officer of law? Well," he eyes them. "Two officers of law."

Both officers stand in the embarrassed silence of two teenagers who were caught doing cringe Hero roleplay by a fellow teenager.

"He brought you into this, didn't he."

Shouto looks up at that, momentarily snapping out of his shame reverie. Takeshi isn't looking at them—he leans back on his wheelchair, gazing across the room at Deku, who is currently doing a routine where he is making shapes out of soap bubbles to appease the disappointed masses. He has somehow shaped multiple rabbits; the creatures floating and popping the moment they touch the ceilings.

"Oh yeah," Shinsou says. "He's been bringing me into lots of things, lately."

Something about the way Shinsou says that gives Shouto a pause. It's said dryly, but without sarcasm.

Takeshi smiles at that—pale lips momentarily quirking to one side, lopsided. It makes him look a little less tired. "Yeah, he does that. You guys his classmates or something."

"I am," Shinsou says. "He isn't."

"Huh," Takeshi eyes Shouto. He's skinny—skinnier than anyone Shouto has ever met, cheekbones sunken and collarbones protruding beneath his hospital gown. "So he goes to school. UA, even … ha," he scoffs, softly, but not unkindly. "That's pretty crazy."

"Midoriya never told you that?" Shinsou says.

Takeshi shrugs. "He just showed up one day, and then.." Takeshi nods at the crowd. Deku has moved on from rabbit soaps to juggling, now. He is juggling a soccer ball, a ping-pong ball, and an apple. Occasionally, he takes a bite out of said apple. "Well. The kids fell in love with him. And then he keeps showing up. But none of us really know where he came from, y'know?"

Can you watch this for a moment, please? Shouto thinks back to that day—that day where they first met. Showed up one day, and then keeps showing up. Will you let me treat you?

Have we met before?

"I mean," Takeshi says, gaze settling back to Shinsou. "This is the first time I know his name is Midoriya."

"Oh," Shinsou says. Something odd slipping into his voice that Shouto doesn't really understand. "I see."

Something that he heard when Shinsou had asked him, how'd you meet him?

"Anyway, you guys are pretty bad at this."

Shouto and Shinsou look at him. "Huh?"

Takeshi sighs. How old is he, Shouto wonders. Fifteen, sixteen? He somehow looks both older and younger than that. "It's Deku. He's actually pretty predictable once you get to know him for a while."

"Predictable?" Shouto says, the first time he says anything in this conversation.

"Oh, yeah. Here, I'll give you a tip.." Takeshi smiles—a pale, short-lived thing. "There's ever only one answer with him."

With that confusing statement, Takeshi proceeds to raise his hand up high.

This seems to garner the attention of the practicing magician up front. "Oh!" Deku, who is currently balancing Tocchan, Miya, and three soccer balls on his shoulders exclaims. He sounds delighted by the interruption. "How rare. Yes, Takeshi-kun? Would you like to join us on this magic trick?"

"No," Takeshi says, sounding bored. "I would like to propose an idea. To catch this thief and stuff."

"Ooh, intriguing! Do share with the class, Takeshi-kun."

"Isn't there," Takeshi says, "One person we haven't searched yet?"

"Is there really?" Deku says, surprised. He puts the giggling luggage on his shoulder carefully down to the floor. "And who might this person be?"

"You," Takeshi says.

A sweeping silence ripples through the room. And then all heads turn toward Deku.

"Takeshi-kun," Deku says, slowly and carefully into the silence. "Are you suggesting … that I'm the Villain..?"

"Besides the Heroes, you were the one who holds most information about the crime," Takeshi says with the air of an experienced sleuth. "Doesn't that alone make you the number one suspect?"

Whispers hush around the room. The children have started to put a distance between them and Deku, looking at the magician with accusing eyes.

"No way.."

"Takeshi-nii's right.."

"Deku, it can be Deku.."

"Deku magicked the bank moneys away."

Sensing that the tide is turning against him, Deku laughs nervously. "My esteemed friends," the suspect says, holding both hands up in a placating gesture. "Surely a true Hero wouldn't accuse without proof?"

A criminal always leaves a trace.

And then something clicks.

Shouto puts a hand inside his pocket, mind racing. He looks up at Shinsou and the other boy must have caught on, because he is doing the exact same thing. Together, the both of them pull out the candy that Deku gave them at the beginning of the show.

No. Not candy.

"Deku," Shouto says, holding the chocolate high up so that the audience can see it. The foil glints against the light. "Where did you get this gold from?"

The crowd gasps.

Shinsou advances threateningly forward in a heroic manner. "Yeah, Deku," Shinsou says, tossing his own gold coin up and down in one hand. "From a bank robbery, maybe?"

The crowd gasps some more.

More nervous laughter is coming from Deku. "Come now, gentlemen.." Deku says, taking a step back from the stage, the soccer and ping-pong balls scattering on the floor. "I'm sure we can talk this ou—"

One of the ping-pong balls gets in the way of Deku's feet, and the magician slips.

Thankfully, Deku catches himself at the last moment—gaining his balance just before he kisses the ground. However, his hat sleeps off his head, and as it falls to the ground a large number of chocolate gold coins fall with it.

Silence fills the room. And then, once again, all residents of the Fujiya Hospital believe that there is an earthquake happening on the fifth floor of their building.

"Get him!"

"Thieeeeefff!"

"Villain! Deku's the Villain!"

"Sic 'im!"

Now that both his cover and his hat have been blown, Deku seems to be in a hurry to leave the room, inching far away from the advancing children. "Oh no, everyone, I promise I can explain.." he trips over a soccer ball, and more coins keep falling out of him—dozens of them, as if his cape is an infinite portal to a gold coin universe. Deku scrambles to cover his tracks, his loot scattering everywhere noisily. "I promise I didn't rob the bank!" Deku proceeds to take out a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing non-existent sweat on his forehead vigorously. A second later, Shouto realizes it's not a handkerchief at all, but a five-thousand yen banknote. "I just borrowed from them a little, y'know!"

The kids howl and run after the criminal. Aforementioned criminal scrambles all around the room to escape jail time. There are laughter and gold chocolate coins everywhere.

It's absolute mayhem.

"Huh," Shinsou says, beside Shouto. "I didn't know you could smile."

Shouto twists his mouth. "Pro-Hero Mindjack."

"I said don't call me that, asshole."

"Bad word."

"Screw you," Shinsou says. And then he says, "We can't let him escape, can we."

"..no," Shouto says. "I don't think we can."

"Justice must prevail and all that," says Shinsou.

"..order must be preserved and so on," says Shouto.

The children try their best, but the Villain is a slippery one—he has somehow managed to dodge dozens of hands and leaving only dust and soap bubbles in his wake. The criminal, who has done an impressive job of coming this far, is now so close to escaping the scene. He stares down at the hallway leading to the exit, and also at the two mighty heroes standing in his way. Caught between the Pro-Heroes and the pack of rabid children, the outcome of this battle is obvious to everyone watching.

"Handsome Hero-niisan," the Villain greets them politely. Bubbles and gold coins are coming out of his cape like waterfall. "A wonderful weather today. Oh, did you wear a new cologne?"

"Silence, foul thief," says Pro-Hero Mindjack flatly.

"Surrender at once, blasted Villain," says Pro-Hero Shouto emotionlessly.

"Don't you see that you have lost," says Pro-Hero Mindjack. "All Might on a stick!"

"Curse you, Heroes," says the blasted Villain. He shakes his head sadly. "The plan that I have constructed carefully for the past ten years … my chance to escape my past into a new life to build a nice little cottage by the sea ... you and you.." the foul thief points at Takeshi, who is staring back at him, unimpressed. "Have ruined it all! Curse yooooouuu."

"Enough!" Pro-Hero Mindjack, who is eager to finish this roleplaying session, says. "You have lost. Now come quietly! Like, ASAP. Like seriously."

"Come quietly..?" the Villain repeats. And then Deku laughs.

It's a long, hard laugh. Very dramatic, just A+ classic Villain-final-monologue laughter all around. The bubbles furiously flying out from his cape is a unique touch to the climax of this scene. "Come quietly, you say..? Nay … NAY!" Deku points at the sky. Except they are indoor, so he's just pointing at the ceiling. "I SHALL NOT GO GENTLE INTO THE GOOD NIGHT!"

And then, to the astonishment of everyone present, the lights start to flicker all horror movie-like. The kids scream and gasp. From the corner of his eyes, Shouto can see Kubo-san and a couple of nurses standing at the corner of the room furiously flicking the lamp switch on and off to produce this effect.

"Muahahahahahaha," Villain Deku continues his deranged laugh. "You might win this time, Heroes … but I promise you this.." he points at both Heroes with a trembling finger, a manic smile on his face. "When we meet again … I shall have my revenge!"

The light turns off. Everyone gasps. And then it turns on. Everyone gasps.

To the surprise of nobody, Deku is gone.

Instead of the Villain, where once he stood, there lays a … box. A cardboard box. Taped on top of the box is a scrap of paper with familiar handwriting on it. The handwriting reads: NATIONAL TREASURE.

The crowd, still reeling from everything that has just happened, is shock silent. Shouto and Shinsou look at each other. And then, together they bend down to inspect the box.

It's a regular cardboard box—not too small, not too big. There doesn't seem to be anything irregular about it. Shinsou proceeds to tear off the tape and open it. They stare.

Inside the box is a cake.

A chocolate cake, to be precise. Sitting on the cake is two numerical candles reading 16. And decorated on top of the cake with icing is: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAKESHI.

Shouto looks at the NATIONAL TREASURE paper still hanging on the cardboard box. Something seems to be written behind it. He takes it off and flips it around. Next to him, Shinsou leans in so he can read better.

There is a small lighter taped behind the paper. There is, also, a set of instructions with the same impossibly neat handwriting.

It says:

CONGRATS ON CATCHING THE VILLAIN, HEROES!

NEXT:

1. LIGHT THE CANDLES (THIS IS IMPORTANT)

2. GIVE CAKE TO TAKESHI-KUN (ALSO IMPORTANT!)

3. SING IN THREE, TWO—

"Happy birthday," a familiar voice sings, "to you."

Shouto looks up. Sitting in the middle of audience is Deku—without his hat and his cape, and a ukulele in hand. "Happy birthday," Deku sings, clear tenor voice piercing the silence. "To you. Happy birthday.."

Slowly but surely, the crowd sings along—various pitches of voice joining in, high and low, off-key and otherwise. Deku stands, singing louder, and the kids follow—clapping to the beat. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.."

"Light the candles."

Dumbfounded, Shouto turns to look at Shinsou. Shinsou, who—when Shouto wasn't looking—has lifted out the cake out of the box and is now holding it in his hands carefully. "Light the candles," Shinsou repeats. Voice quieter and softer than Shouto has ever heard it. "Hurry up, asshole."

Shouto looks at the lighter taped on the paper. Still numb with surprise, he pries it off. It takes him several tries to get the candles lit—they are standing right below the air con—the crowd still singing around them as he does so.

Now properly lit, they carry the cake across the room. Takeshi stares at them, looking frozen in his wheelchair. Behind them the crowd of kids follow, singing, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday Takeshi-nii.."

Deku strums the final chords of the song. "Happy birthday," the kids sing, off-key, high, and happy. Very happy. "To you.."

Shinsou hands the cake to Takeshi. And Takeshi, seemingly still speechless in his shock, can do nothing but receive it in his lap wordlessly. The candles are melting, slowly but surely, wax dripping a little on to the chocolate frostings. He stares at the cake like he doesn't know what to do with it. The fire reflects on his skin, casting the pale span of them in a soft orange glow.

"Now," Deku's voice says behind them. Familiar and soft. "Why don't you make a wish, Takeshi-kun?"

Something flashes across Takeshi's face—and momentarily, he looks younger, much younger than sixteen. Takeshi closes his eyes. And then he blows on the candles.

The crowd cheers. For the third time that day, there is an earthquake happening on level five of the Fujiya Hospital.

The kids rush to hug Takeshi, laughing, laughing. Shouto takes a step back to give them way, watching Takeshi looking helpless as the pack of kids crawls all over him. Miya is kissing him on the cheek. Deku is throwing his head back in laughter amidst the crowd, strumming his ukulele once again to a rendition of Happy Birthday that Shouto has never heard before.

"So this is what he does, huh?"

Shouto looks to his side. Shinsou has also stepped back from the crowd, the two of them standing at the corner of the room, watching the kids laugh and bicker. Rin took some of the frostings from the cake and smear it all over his sister's cheek. Kubo-san has come from across the room to prevent a cake war from happening.

"Yeah," Shouto says.

I trick people into having fun.

Cake war is happening anyway. Takeshi's cheeks are now smeared all over with frosting—and he isn't the only one. He is laughing, though. Haru is sitting on his lap, a blot of chocolate on her nose as she giggles. Deku is running away from Miya and the twins who have somehow taken the cake into their possession and seem to be determined to facepie the magician.

Shouto smiles.

Not brightly. Shouto doesn't think he can ever do that.

But for a second—just for a second—a part of him almost believes he could.