"The thing about a hero, is even when it doesn't look like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, he's going to keep digging, he's going to keep trying to do right and make up for what's gone before, just because that's who he is."

― Joss Whedon

Chapter 07: Dimming Sun

After getting dressed into a dark colored suit – as opposed to his golden-colored pinstripe suit – Toshinori hurries over to the infirmary. He had just left Hound Dog's office and learned that Ruby headed to the infirmary to check on Izuku. Good. Killing two birds with one stone. He was about to open the door to check on them when he heard voices inside.

"When do you think Midoriya will wake up?" That was Ruby.

"I'm afraid a little longer, dear." And that was Recovery Girl. So, Izuku is still unconscious. "You might as well return to your class."

"I wanted to apologize to him about my actions today."

"And you can tell him later when he wakes up."

"Were you able to find Toshinori Yagi?"

Toshinori made a curious sound. "She was looking for me?" Toshinori thought.

"No." Toshinori's heart clenched. Ruby sounded upset. "Since Uncle Qrow had to go with Yang, I wanted to talk to him, but he wasn't at the teacher's lounge. Principal Nezu said he was busy."

A wave of guilt washed over the man's tall frame. Toshinori leans his back against the door, his head thumped softly against the wood.

He hated keeping this secret from Ruby. And Yang! Both of them! But, he keeps reminding himself why he did. Summer.

Summer.

What would she think of this? How would she had felt about Ruby's choices and his?

He hears muffled movement from the other side.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Midoriya will wake up before you have to go home," Recovery Girl said to Ruby. "Now, run along before you could get in trouble with Mr. Aizawa."

"Thank you for letting me stay, Recovery Girl," Ruby thanked.

"Of course, sweetie. Having a friend by your side while recovering could be beneficial."

"Yeah."

Footsteps came close and Toshinori moves to the side before the door opened. Ruby exits and leaves but fails to notice Toshinori behind her and the man watches silently.

He hesitated to say something as Ruby grows further away. Toshinori sighs to himself, unable to say anything. What could he say?

"Well, if it isn't the Symbol of Peace," Recovery Girl quipped sardonically as soon as she slid the door open again. Toshinori was quick to hush her.

"It's still school hours!" he chided, but the older woman wasn't deterred.

"Whatever. Come in." Toshinori does so and walks over to where Izuku laid. His scowl went back to worry at the sight of his protégé. Izuku's right arm was heavily casted, and his left was covered in bandages. His spring green hero suit, the suit made by his mother, was ripped all to hell. He's going to need a replacement from an actual support company.

Seeing the damage on Izuku, Toshinori thought back on the fight between Izuku and Bakugo, or rather the final clash.

Toshinori clenched a fist. "Did I make the right call to allow the fight to continue?"

With no warning, Recovery Girl digs her knuckles into Toshinori's right side with great force, nearly bringing the man to his knees from the sudden attack. "His second day here and he is already becoming a regular. Honestly, Toshinori. How could you let this happen?"

Toshinori rubs his now sore side as he tries to collect himself. "I know, and I am sorry."

"Then why?" Recovery Girl fumed. "Keep in mind that this more than a broken finger!"

"Young Midoriya has a low opinion of himself, and I wanted him to see that he can do this."

"I know you chose him as your successor, but you can't go around playing favorites!"

"I'm not trying to," Toshinori said. "I just…I wanted to consider his feelings." He knew that Izuku had a hard life. What's wrong with allowing to him to see what he can do?

"Same can be said for Ruby," Recovery Girl said. "She told me how she got those injuries on her face and her doing the same to Bakugo. Were you considering her feelings then?" Toshinori grew quiet, his eyes still on Izuku. "I take it that you heard what happened to Yang Xiao Long?"

"…Yes. I was told that she snapped at one of her classmates rather violently and now she's taking a leave of absence."

Recovery Girl's frown changed to sympathy as she turned her gaze to Izuku. "Ruby was scared." Toshinori shifts his shadowed eyes to the elder hero. "Scared for the people around her. People she cares about with all her heart. Scared of what may happen to them. She wanted comfort. Her mother is gone, Qrow took Yang home, and her father will no doubt be busy with Yang and work at the same time. Ruby went looking for you and you weren't there, technically speaking. Yes, you were there the whole time, but Ruby didn't know. She didn't know anything."

That actually stung Toshinori. Recovery Girl returned her gaze to him. "She wasn't looking for All Might. She was looking for you. I understand why you want to keep this a secret from others. I can understand Yang, but Ruby? Her mother…"

"…I know."

Ruby didn't feel the need to return to Ground Beta. At this point, the rest of the exercise was now over, and the rest of her classmates are probably on their way back.

She was sitting in her desk with her head and arms on the desk with her goggles next to her. She only lifted her head when she heard a commotion coming close to the classroom.

"…And that is how Ren and I caught a bakeneko!" Nora said.

"It was really a normal cat that ran into a white sheet," Ren corrected.

"Perhaps a good thing," Tokoyami commented.

"Valkyrie, you've got the wildest stories," Kirishima smiled. He notices Ruby. "Huh? Hey, Rose!"

Ruby raises a meek hand. "Hi." She gets taken aback when some of her classmates suddenly comes over to her.

"You okay?" asked Kirishima.

"We were kinda worried," Mina said.

"Why did they call for you?" Nora asked.

"You think they knew about her fighting with Bakugo?" Kaminari asked Sero.

"Somehow, I doubt that," the lankier student said.

"So, what happened?" Hagakure asked.

Ruby hesitated to say anything because she didn't want to worry anyone, but she then remembers Hound Dog's words.

You'd be amazed with how much help just talking would do.

"It's kind of a long story," she said.

"We are currently in free period for the time being," Tenya said.

"We're all ears!"

Ruby looks at everyone, the ones standing around her to listen: Ochako, Tenya, Tsuyu, Kirishima, Nora, Sero, Ren, Mina, Aoyama, Hagakure, Kaminari, Mineta, Ojiro, Shouji, Jiro, Tokoyami, Koda, and Satou. Ruby looks at Jaune, who nodded.

Ruby looks down her twiddling thumbs before saying, "…Okay. There was an accident back in February. A day before the entrance exam. Have you guys ever heard of Golden Hearth and Belle Noire?"

"Oh, heck yeah, I do!" exclaimed Mina. "They're provisional heroes from this school! I actually saw them in action last year! There was an incident with a giant bear villain and Hearth and Noire swooped in to kick butt! I even got an autograph from them!"

"Oh, you gotta show me that later!" Hagakure said.

"Sure!"

"Before we stray off topic," Tenya cuts in with a push of his glasses. "What do these provisional heroes have to with an accident earlier this year?"

Ruby's brows knitted together. "They got ambushed by some guy named Adam Taurus. They were hurt from the attack, but they're alive."

"Hold up. How do you know this? Do you know-know them?" Sero asked.

"Yeah. I do," Ruby nodded. "Golden Hearth is my sister."

Mina gasped. "Get out!"

"Holy moly, is everyone in your family heroes?" asked Kaminari.

"Didn't we have this conversation back in the monitoring room?" Jiro asked him.

"I believe we are not asking the right questions here!" Tenya declared. "Rose, what does your sister have to do with you having to go see a guidance counselor?"

Ruby was hesitant to continue but did so, telling what had happened, including last night and Blake being missing. She watched as their curiosity turn into understandable concern as she spoke.

"…And that's about it," Ruby finished. "I'm not sure what I should do or what I should say or…" She looks at her classmates, who've all looked concerned. "I'm…I'm sorry for making all of you worry! You don't have to be!"

"Of course, we'd be worried, Ruby," Ochako smiled sweetly. "We're not heartless."

"I'm more concerned that you're still calm about this," said Jiro.

"Yeah, I'd be a blubbery mess at this point," Hagakure said.

Ruby would be. But, at some point during her childhood, she tries to keep her feelings to herself, so her family wouldn't have to worry about her. "I tried to keep it together. I didn't want anyone to worry about me, so I tried to bottle it down. Just like when…when…" Ruby felt something wet against her cheeks. She sniffs as she rubs her knuckle on her face and sees tears on her fingers. "Am I…crying?" The tears grew thick as though her realization made it more apparent. She tries to wipe the tears away. "Why…why am I crying?" She tries to hide her eyes. She then felt hands taking hers and pulled them away.

"It's okay, Ruby," Ochako assured, still holding the girl's hands. "You have every right to cry."

Tsuyu moves close to put comforting hands on Ruby's shoulders. "It sounds to me that you needed to talk to someone about this." She looks over at Jaune, who nodded.

"I *sniffs* guess I do," Ruby sobbed. "And with everything that happened today, I guess I hit my limit. I'm—"

"No, don't apologize," Tenya said. "It's a good thing that you are telling us this. Bottling it up will only harm you."

"You said it," Kirishima agreed. "At my place, my moms could always tell when somethings wrong and would drop everything so they could get me to talk. They always said that keeping pain in would only hurt more."

"I am rather concerned for Belle Noire if such a madman is still on the loose," Tokoyami said.

Weiss huffed from her seat. "Why waste time worrying? She could be a criminal too."

"Weiss!" Momo chided.

"Seriously?" Satou muttered.

"Come on, people, think about it!" Weiss said. "If Golden Hearth and Belle Noire were as good as you say they are, then they should've been prepared for an ambush. It was obviously a set up."

"Really? That's what you're gonna say to someone who had just spilled their heart out? Get real!" Jiro said.

"Oh, boo-hoo. Didn't you hear what Mr. Aizawa said yesterday? We live in an unfair world. Deal with it."

"Are you such an ice-cold bitch?"

Weiss rises from her desk. "What did you just call me?"

"You heard me!" exclaimed Jiro.

"Guys, please don't fight!" Ruby pleaded.

"Shut up, Rose!" Weiss snapped.

"Don't tell her shut up!" Jiro seethed.

"Guys, please…" Ruby begged. She puts her head in her arms as she started to regret saying anything as Weiss and Jiro verbally fought while Momo and Tenya tried to quell it. Everyone else stood back, not wanting to get into the crossfire. Even Todoroki was quick to move. "This was a bad idea…I shouldn't have said anything!"

Ochako was the first to notice Ruby's distress. "Guys, I—"

Bakugo slams a fist on his desk. Everyone looks at him. Ruby hadn't noticed that he had returned to his desk in front of her. He must have kept quiet up until now. Bakugo glared heatedly at Weiss. "The one who should shut the fuck up is you, Snowflake. You're giving me a headache."

"Me? Really. Like I'm going to listen to a wannabe villain," Weiss accused.

Bakugo's eyes flashed with anger and exploded out of his chair. "What the fuck did you just call me?"

"What's going on here?" Everyone turns to the classroom door to see Toshinori standing in the doorframe.

"It's him. Mr. Yagi," Ochako realized.

"Uncle Toshi?" Ruby wondered. Where has he been? She notices how the air around Toshinori is different. It was dense and heavy, almost scarily so. Somehow the tense atmosphere made him feel bigger, intimidating. Like he's a force to be reckoned with.

"You're lucky Aizawa isn't around," Toshinori mused, his tone not quite matching the intensity. It was light, but not frivolous. It was serious, but not too stern. "I can practically hear the commotion done the hall."

"I apologize, Mr…" Tenya trailed off.

The intensity started to simmer down. "You can call me Mr. Yagi. I'm the school's new secretary."

"Right." Tenya bows. "Please allow me to apologize for the ruckus!"

"What was going on here?" the man asked.

Jiro thrusts a thumb at Weiss. "Nothing but this girl being an uppity shrew."

Weiss scoffed. "How is this my fault? You guys are just sensitive."

"You wanna see sensitive, Snowflake?" Bakugo challenged.

"Enough," Toshinori said. With just that one word, the intensity went back up. "Whatever it is that you all were fighting about, yelling at each other won't help to solve anything. This isn't how heroes should treat each other. One day, you will have to work together. You kids are the next generation of heroes, so you can't waste time bickering like this." There was a long silence. "Look at the person next to you. You will be working with this person for the next three years. Instead of fighting, learn to cooperate. That is all." He leaves, but not before giving a swift look at Ruby. It was short, but Ruby somehow caught a glimpse.

Jiro and Weiss glared at each other before turning away.

Ruby saw this and went to apologize. "I—"

"Nope," was Ochako's short reply.

"Nope?"

Ochako smiled. "That's right. Nope." Ruby feels a little bit better.

A few hours later, Aizawa was looking through the videos of the exercises. Sitting beside him was Toshinori, feeling anxious as Aizawa checked out how the class went. The taller man was fidgety, and his leg bounced. Toshinori recalled how Vlad King was less stress inducing. But, this was Shouta Aizawa. For someone who seems to live an apathetic life, the man had many demands.

"Is this like a new form of torture?" Thirteen questioned.

Hizashi shrugged. "Not really. Shouta always gives off an aura of resentment. If he was born in a world with animal people, he'd be a literal cat person."

Toshinori jumped in his chair when Aizawa finally spoke. "And I said you'd be an annoying cockatoo."

"He says it like he's insulting me," Hizashi smiled.

Aizawa returns to the video feeds until the last round. Once it was over, he removed the earbuds. "It's surprisingly more organized than I thought."

Toshinori's hidden brows rose. Praise on the first go around. "Thank y—"

"Though the first round could've gone a lot better."

"Right! You are right! 100%!"

Aizawa looks at him. "It looks like there is a three-way animosity between Bakugo, Midoriya, and Rose. Of course, that was evident yesterday, I'm sure you know." Toshinori smiles awkwardly. "Whatever the case, they'd better get it together. Such discourse is a detriment for any future projects."

Toshinori thinks back on the fight he heard in the classroom earlier and briefly wonders if he should mention his intervention.

"Aizawa, about the—"

"If you are about to apologize for these kids' reckless behavior, I don't want to hear it," Aizawa shot down. "Sure, you may have enabled it, but they have brains too."

Toshinori clamped his mouth shut. "Aizawa is…very strange."

It was golden hour when Izuku finally wakes up. As his groggy mind tried to clear itself, he notices the amber colored sky.

"Well, look who's awake!" Recovery Girl chirped.

"…What time is it?" Izuku found himself asking.

"It's nearly 6 o'clock, dear." Recovery Girl's answer have helped to clear his mind a little more.

"…What?" He moved to sit up, but a dull pain made him lay back down.

"You've done and got yourself more hurt than even when you used One for All for the first time."

Her words reminded Izuku of his last attack. He lamented his decision. It was a stupid move on his part, but he was so desperate at the time. It took a moment for Izuku to realize what else Recovery Girl had said.

"…Wait…do you…"

"Do I know about your Quirk? Yes, I do," the woman answered. "And you need to start learning how to gauge it better. Otherwise, you may face irreversible repercussions."

"…Right." Recovery Girl wasn't wrong. Aizawa had said it first in that he would become nothing more than a liability if this keeps happening. Just as Recovery Girl said, he needs to gauge it better. "But how?" The microwave imagery method could only do so much.

Recovery Girl becomes thoughtful. "Hmmm. Maybe All Might should call him…" Who? "Anyways, now that you are awake, I'll give you another kiss and you can go. But take it easy."

Izuku nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

After Recovery Girl applied the effects of her Quirk, Izuku leaves and walks to his classroom. With each step he takes, he could only imagine what Aizawa would do to him for missing his other classes…and for wrecking his body again.

He goes to open the door before it was opened by Ruby from inside. They were speechless as they took in the sight of each other's injuries: Ruby at Izuku's arms and Izuku at Ruby's face. And they feel responsible for said injuries. For the first time since their friendship began, they didn't what to say to each other. They struggle to find the words to even just 'hey' to each other.

"Hey, he's awake!" Kirishima declared the moment he saw Izuku. Ruby moves to let Izuku in and watched as the class talked to him. Jaune came over and puts a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Most of the class stayed after school hours to wait for Izuku to wake up. The only one's not here was Weiss and Bakugo. Weiss left the school about two hours ago in a huff when Momo wished to remain behind. As did Todoroki, but quieter. As for Bakugo, he left a short while ago. Why he stayed was a mystery to Ruby.

"Wait, where's Kaachan?" asked Izuku.

"We tried to get him to wait a little longer, but he wouldn't listen," Ochako said. Izuku hurries to catch-up. He stops when he sees Ruby. Ruby smiles and nods for him to go. Izuku nodded back and does so.

Ruby and Jaune walk out to the hall to watch Izuku hurry down the hall to catch up to Bakugo. "Midoriya cares so much for the people around him, does he?" asked Ruby. No matter how he gets treated, Izuku would still remain the nice and sweet boy he is, even towards the raging might that is Katuski Bakugo.

"He does," Jaune said. "And so do you."

Sometime later, Ruby and Jaune find themselves heading home. As they walked, Ruby checked a text from her father.

Yang and I are setting up therapy sessions for her with Madam Xahn. It may take a while.

"And yet another chaotic day, huh?" Jaune said.

"Pretty much," Ruby said as she put her phone away.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. Burns don't usually bother me. It's more or less superficial."

"That's good. But I was really talking about you talking about Yang to our classmates."

"Oh…I do feel a little better," Ruby said, and she was honest. She does feel better compared to earlier today.

"I'm glad. You've been worrying me lately," Jaune said.

"I have?"

"Yes. And don't apologize. It's part of the course between friends."

"…Friends." They are nearing close to home. "I wonder how Dad's gonna react to this." Ruby points at her bandages.

"Do you regret it? Fighting Bakugo like that?" Jaune asked.

"Honestly, I don't," Ruby admitted.

"Really?"

"I mean, I regret leaving Ochako on her own, but not fighting Bakugo. I felt that he deserved it."

"I…see."

Ruby could see the uncertainty on Jaune's face. "Don't worry. I won't make it a habit. Even though I don't regret it, I can tell that it's not the right way to face a problem. One punch would've sufficed. I think I was way into it. I'll instead save it for an actual villain."

Jaune huffed a laugh. "Good to hear." They soon arrive at their houses, the Xiao Long-Rose two story log cabin and the Arc's ranch home made for a large family.

"Have a good night, Jaune," Ruby said before making her way home.

"You sure you don't want to stay over?" asked Jaune.

Ruby paused. "I don't know. But I figured might as well try and deal with it instead of just avoiding it and see where it goes."

"Okay. But if it starts getting overwhelming for you, my door's open."

"Thanks." Ruby goes to into her house and exclaimed, "I'm home!" She finds Qrow passed out on the couch and noticed a faint smell of alcohol. "Rough day everyone, it seems." Ruby gets a blanket to put over him. She gives her uncle a kiss on the cheek. The man moved on his side, still asleep. After Ruby adjusts the blanket, she looks down at Zwei. "Mind keeping an eye on Uncle Qrow while I do some homework?" Zwei perks up, his tail wagging. Ruby head upstairs to shower. After drying herself, she reapplies aloe vera from the medicine pantry and placed a clean gauze over the burn.

Freshly clean, Ruby goes to her room to start her homework, the first thing she does is English. As she worked, her eyes land on her crack goggles before getting to work. She'll fix them later. She gets interrupted when she hears the front door slam open and Zwei started barking.

She could hear Yang angry say, "I said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't need a therapist!"

"Yes, you do, Yang," came Tai's even tone. "It's clear that you're still having trouble with the Taurus incident." Ruby tries to ignore the exchange and concentrate on her homework.

"I'm not crazy!"

"No one says you are. There's nothing wrong with seeing a therapist."

"I didn't attack anyone this time!"

"You lost it on Togata! One of your closest friends!" Tai countered, keeping calm. Ruby's writing hand stopped moving when she heard this. Yang…attacked Mirio?

"See? You do think I'm crazy!" Yang exclaimed. Ruby gets up from her desk and opens her door.

"I did not mean it that way and you know it. This is only temporary until you can feel better," Tai said. Ruby sees that Qrow had climbed up the stairs and was coming over.

Qrow shook his head at his younger niece. "But I am!"

"Raising your voice isn't helping your case."

Ruby returns inside her room and tries to drown it out with music from her headphones. Unfortunately, she can still hear their muffled back and forth. She briefly remembers the fight between Jiro and Weiss. Having enough, Ruby gathers her books and puts them in her backpack. She includes her phone, its charger, the photo of her mother, and an old wolf plush. She hesitates to bring her goggles before taking them. She writes a note before putting it outside of her door. She takes out a homemade rope from one of her dresser drawers.

"Blueprints No. 3: Support Gear #17 – Cotton Rope. Made with old clothes."

She made the rope some years back from old sheets found in the junkyard. Ruby ties the rope to her bed and throws the other end out the opened window. She sees it only goes halfway, but it was okay. She can drop the rest of the way.

"I never imagined I'd use it for this."

She carefully climbs down the she reached the halfway point, she drops the rest of the way. She lands on her feet and heads to Jaune's house. The night is quiet except for cows and chickens from the farm and crickets chirped. She climbs up a large tree near the house to a window balcony and knocked on the glass.

Inside the room, Jaune hears and opens his window. "Overwhelmed?" he asked. And Ruby smiled sadly and nodded. "Climb on in."

For the next couple of hours, they spend time studying and helping each other with their homework until dinnertime.

"Hey Jaune and little Rose! Dinner's ready!" Beryl exclaimed from outside Jaune's room.

"How did they…?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"Your uncle called. Now, get your butts down here!"

They head down to the dinning room, where a long table was set up for the Arc family and guest. Ruby took a deep breath, taking in the smells of Prism Arc's cooking.

"Hey, Rose, come sit—

"— with us," Jay and Mora said.

Jaune was quick to move Ruby to a seat beside him and away from the Arc twins. "Not happening. She is sitting with me."

"Aw, why?" the twins whined.

"I don't think she's up for any of your pranks."

They sat down as Prism put plates full of food in front of Ruby and Jaune. It was then when Prism saw Ruby's bandages. "Oh dear! Little Rose, what happened? Did you get into a fight?"

A sheepish grin stretched on Ruby's face. "Yes and no. It was during hero class. There was a guy that got on my nerves and we…well…"

"Duked it out?" Beryl finished.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Did you leave him like that, too?"

Jaune chuckled. "You don't know half of it. She took his punches like a champ."

"Easy for you to say," Ruby said. "I may be able to handle burns better than most people, it still stings!"

"Hey, at least you got to do something! That Todoroki guy has incredible power!"

"Yeah, Ochako told me about that. Because I missed the other rounds, she told me what happened and…"

After dinner, Ruby and Jaune are ready for bed. Whenever Ruby comes over, the family has a hammock set up for her in Jaune's room. Qrow had brought over her uniform before he heads out for work. Prism was kind enough to clean it for her and it, along with Jaune's uniform, are hanging on racks, ready for tomorrow.

Ruby was relaxing in the hammock, reading a manga, when she sees Jaune coming in his onesie.

"You're still wearing that?" she grinned.

"It's comfy."

Ruby closes the manga just as Jaune turned off the light. She snuggles deep in her covers as she made herself more comfortable.

"Hey, Ruby?" Jaune said from the darkness of the room.

"Yeah?"

"It's been a while since we had a sleepover, hasn't it?"

"It has."

"Yeah. Not since our first year in middle school." Ruby couldn't see her friend's face, but she could imagine how he looked just from the tone of his voice. Jaune still holds some guilt over what happened in their first year at Shingo Middle School.

"You made a mistake," Ruby said.

"Hm?" Jaune hummed, raising his head from the pillow.

"You made a mistake and you owned up to it."

"…Yeah. Goodnight, Ruby." From the tone, Ruby's words seem to have help Jaune. Good.

"Goodnight, Jaune." Twenty minutes in and Ruby fails to fall asleep. The thoughts of today still lingered in her mind. She turns to her other side, hopefully that would help. When she did, she comes face to face with the photo of Summer. She raises from the hammock and heads for the window quietly to sit on the balcony. The air felt nice and cool with the spring breeze.

She enjoyed the moment as she stared at the moon for a small bit. She looks at her phone that she carried out with her, checking text messages. A text from Ochako and another from Tsuyu. Both asked the same thing about how she was feeling, and she replied to both that she was doing okay, adding a simple smile emoji.

There was a message from Toshinori, apologizing for not being present when he was needed. Ruby had called him after reading the text.

The main thing Ruby noticed was no messages from Izuku. The only one she had for that day was in the morning earlier. She looks at his contact info, the contact picture was when they were cleaning Sentaku Park. Her thumb hovered over the call button.

"What am I doing? Look at the time. He's probably asleep."

Didn't you see his injuries? Injuries you made happen?

That antagonist voice in her mind resonated strongly as she remembered how Izuku got those injuries. All because she went on her own.

If you feel that you've made a mistake, own up to it. Take responsibility and learn from the mistake.

You made a mistake and you owned up to it.

She presses the call button. "Ah, crumbs! I pushed it without thinking!" Ruby cursed quietly. "It's ringing. If he doesn't answer, that's fine. I can just…talk to him in the morning." It continued to ring. Ruby was about to hang up when the line picked up.

/ …Hello? /

"He answered!"

/ Rose? Hello? /

"Uh, yeah, it's me," Ruby said quietly as she gently closed the window, so she won't accidentally wake Jaune.

/ Oh, hey… /

"He sounds tired." She then asked, "Did I wake you?"

/ …Not really. /

"…My arm hurts, so I'm having a hard time sleeping," Izuku said truthfully. He couldn't, not with this dull ache. Boy, did his mother nearly fell into a panic attack when Izuku came home with the cast. Thankfully, Izuku did assure her that he will be fully healed by tomorrow after a good amount of sleep. Being the ever-anxious mother, Inko went to get some over-the-counter painkillers to help if he needed it.

And he did. Recovery Girl's Quirk requires energy, and it often makes her patients sleepy. Unfortunately, the pain in his arm was so bad, he couldn't get to sleep as quick as he did when he broke his finger the day prior. So, he took two pills and is lying in his bed now waiting for the effects to kick in when his phone rang.

"What am I doing? I'm just gonna make her feel more guilty." He sighs softly. "Hey, Rose?"

/ Midoriya… /

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time. After a pause, they giggled.

/ …You first. /

"…Okay. I'm sorry that I got you dragged into my mess with Kaachan. I didn't want you or Uraraka to get tied up in it."

/ Nah. Half of that was my fault. It was my decision to go after Bakugo. /

"Why?"

/ I guess it's because of experience. /

"Experience?" Izuku wondered.

/ Do you got enough time for a story? /

"I'm waiting for some pain killers to kick in so I can go to sleep."

"Okay."

"Remember when I said I have a friend who went through a similar situation?" asked Ruby.

/ Yeah. That was Arc, right? Jaune Arc? /

"I wasn't exaggerating. He was bullied too." Ruby looks at her sleeping friend through the window. "He was bullied for something he had no control over. And it made me mad. I'm no stranger to bullies too."

/ Why would someone bully you? /

"Just 'cause I'm weird. But, yeah, and my sister would protect me from those bullies. And I wanted to do the same for Jaune. I didn't think it was fair. I had kids my age telling me that I wasn't going to get any friends because I was friends with someone Quirkless. But I didn't care. Then, we entered middle school."

/ Wasn't that when Arc's Quirk showed itself? /

"Yeah, but not until the middle of the school year. Before that, we met someone who was Quirkless too. The school we went to, Shingo Middle School, was pretty accepting. No one was really mean to the Quirkless, which was refreshing. Despite that, Jaune was wary and who could blame him?"

/ Yeah…I get it. /

Ruby had no doubt. "The Quirkless guy we met was Cardin Winchester. He was very distant, but we figured that he went through the same stuff too. At the time, I was happy. I was happy that Jaune found someone to relate to. It was nice, but…" Ruby trailed off for a moment.

/ … /

"Midoriya?"

/ …Go on. /

"Oh. I thought you fell asleep," Ruby said. She was waiting for a snore or something if Izuku hadn't spoke.

/ I'm getting there but keep going. /

"Okay. Well, at some point, Jaune started to become distant too. Winchester was making Jaune do a lot of things for him, like get him lunch or do his homework. Soon, things escalated."

/ I see. And I'm guessing that made you mad? /

Ruby nodded. "I was furious. I couldn't believe that someone would do that. And I wanted Jaune to get away from him, but he pushed me away."

/ That's awful. /

"Yeah. And the sad part was that I didn't blame him. He finally found someone who understood him, even though they were using him. Fortunately, though, Jaune managed to get himself out of a particular jam, although he got suspended for about a week." And it was a lonely week for Ruby, because Jaune was grounded for that same week too. "From that, I learned that it takes all kinds. It didn't matter what you got, it's who you are. To be honest, I didn't bother on making any more friends because of that. Even when Jaune managed to find friends in Nora and Ren or when Yang brought her friends over, I didn't attempt to make any friends of my own. Until I met you."

Izuku smiled at that. "I'm glad. I mean, I can honestly say that you are my first friend in a long, long time."

/ Happy to be of service. /

Izuku could practically hear Ruby's smile. "How is she? Your sister."

/ Not great. She's on leave from school until she could get by. /

Izuku could feel his eyelids getting heavy. "I hope she'll feel better soon."

/ Me too. And thanks. /

Izuku blinked his eyes opened. "For what?"

/ Listening. I've been told that talking helps, so, thanks for listening to me ramble. /

"That's what friends are for, right?" he drawled.

/ Getting sleepy? /

"Yes. Finally."

/ Then, I'll let you go do we'd both sleep. /

"Okay…"

/ See ya later, Midoriya. /

"…Yeah, see you in the morning, Rose." Izuku lowers his phone when the call ended and succumbed to sleep. Before the phone's screen went black, it showed a photo of him and Ruby. It was the same photo of when they cleaned up Sentaku Park.

And next chapter, who will be class representative!

And, yes, I headcanon that Kirishima has two moms. I will die on this hill or you will die in my way.

The power of talking about your problems! You can call it venting or ranting, but sometimes its cathartic, especially if it's something that's been gnawing at your psyches. The person you are ranting to may not have an answer for it, or an answer you want, but they do have an ear to lend.