"Misaka Misaka was trying to sleep, but your visitor kept crying and interrupting Misaka's much needed rest, Misaka says with a tone of slight annoyance." She'd just returned from her visit with the doctor, and Accelerator had purposely waited up for her to come back to ask his question again.

Accelerator wished he could move. He wanted more than anything to sit up and face the little girl. "Damnit, just tell me who it was already!"

"Well, she didn't give her name, but she was really tall, though everyone would be tall from Misaka's point of view. She had long violet hair, which Misaka thought looked beautiful. Misaka Misaka would like for her hair to grow out like that one day!"

"Sumire…" Accelerator murmured her name to himself, not catching the still rambling Last Order's attention. "Tch, what the hell was she thinking coming back here?!"

"Are you wondering why she visited? Misaka can show you if you'd like." Closing her eyes, Last Order used her computational abilities to bring up the visual memories of Sumire's visit, then directed them through the Network to Accelerator's electrode. A brief feeling of phantom pressure squeezed through his head, then Last Order's perspective began to appear in his mind's eye.

He saw through her eyes as Sumire crouched against the side of his bed, held his hand and cried over him. He heard her lamentations over what had happened and how she felt. Sumire's interaction with Last Order was there as well.

"He is a hero, but heroes shouldn't have to feel like the whole world rests on their shoulders. Sometimes the heroes deserve their own peace."

"Alright, cut it off, I got the point already. And don't do that again unless I tell you to. It's already strange enough to be connected to your Network, I don't need you running in and out of my head, too."

This was troubling though. She shouldn't have put herself in danger just to see him. He'd hardly made a dent in clearing up the filth of this city, and now he was working with a handicap. There's no way he'd accept a moniker like 'hero' for his actions. It's all just atonement for his past sins.

But even as he shut his eyes and tried to focus on the dull ache in his head, Accelerator couldn't stop dwelling on the image of Sumire crying.

Musutafu, September 5th, 2011

Todoroki could feel the sadness weighing on Sumire's mind, believing it to be from having to leave Accelerator alone. It couldn't have been easy for her, so he respectfully gave her the time and space to work through her feelings. They still walked to and from their classes together, though now it was with an uneasy silence that Todoroki wished he could break just to hear her cheerful voice again.

"Hey, Todoroki! Sumire!" Midoriya called out as they left the classroom. "We were thinking of heading over to the training grounds to get more practice in before the licensing exam, do you guys want to join us?"

Todoroki looked to Sumire who gave a half-hearted smile, "I'm actually going to turn in, I've been pretty tired lately, but you should definitely join them. I'll be fine heading back on my own," she said as she started to walk ahead, "Do your best!"

"Todoroki, you don't have to if you're not feeling up to it," Midoriya said, seeing his friend's expression fall as Sumire walked away. He knew how close they had become in the last few months and hated that he couldn't find the right words to help Todoroki feel better.

"No, we should practice. I want to be able to do my best for the exam," Todoroki said, following Midoriya toward the training grounds. Most of their class was already there, taking time to stretch before getting to work.

"Is Sumire okay? I figured she'd want to practice as well," Uraraka said as the two approached the group. "Though now that I think about it, she hasn't said much about the licensing exam. Do you think she'd still want to take it with us?"

Midoriya considered his conversation with Sumire on the train back from Academy City, her having doubts on using her quirk to be a hero. Would she even want to participate in the exam if being a hero was something she didn't want to be? She had spoken to him in confidence, so it wouldn't be right of him to tell the others.

"She's had a lot on her mind lately, getting more rest would be good for her," Todoroki answered, "So what are we working on first?"

September 10th, 2011

"Really, it's okay. I spoke with Mr. Aizawa and he said it was fine if I didn't want to take the licensing exam this time around," Sumire said. "I'm being allowed to observe it, so I can see what to expect. Just know I'll be cheering you all on!"

Todoroki had suspected that she wouldn't be joining them for the exam after avoiding most talk or training for it. He reasoned that she had only learned of her abilities recently and that taking more time to get acquainted with them would be the smart thing to do. So when she parted ways with the rest of the class as they walked into the building, Todoroki felt his heart cinch a little as he imagined Sumire watching him. He didn't want to let her down.

"Shouto," a deep voice uttered as he walked down the hallway to the main room. Todoroki's good mood was flattened in two syllables as he turned to face his father, Enji, also known as the number two ranked hero, Endeavor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, unamused as well as unsurprised to find his father appearing here for the licensing exam. He had to keep an eye on his investment, after all.

"I was asked to observe the exam along with other pros. Was that the girl that steals quirks I just saw you speaking to? You shouldn't be-"

Todoroki stepped away, furious. "You don't get to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing or who I'm friends with! I'm through with this conversation, I have an exam to pass," he said as he walked away from his father, whose flames flared up around his arms and face in anger at his son's attitude.

"Concentrate on that exam, Shouto, but this conversation isn't done."

Author's Note: Thank you to all the readers that have been waiting for an update on this story! I had other fandom events come up as well as some irl things that have taken up a lot of time and energy/motivation. Fortunately, one of the fandom events I participated in earlier this year was the Finally Finish Bang, which gave creators the chance to work on and finish a work they already had in progress.

While I didn't finish this story during that event, I did manage to create enough to feel confident to publish a new chapter. With fewer WIPs and events to focus on, I'll have more time to spend with this fic, which has been one of my favorites from when I started it years ago. I'm very grateful to all the readers that have stuck with it and left words of encouragement and excitement over the story, it means so much to have that kind of support!

Thank you again, I hope you all enjoy what will be the final continuation of No Direct Contact once this current arc is finished.