Cold. The cold was everywhere: hands, arms, legs, back, and head. It was impossible to fall unconscious. That would be a mercy he didn't deserve.

The old man standing above him was just trying to help. After all, his crime demanded a severe punishment.

With a start, Callum awoke from his slumber. Sunlight hesitantly peeked through his curtains, exposing his empty room to the start of the next day. With a grumble, the dark haired teen hopped off his bed and moved to the bathroom.

Chipped wallpaper greeted him as he instinctively flipped on the lights. Bleary, dark green eyes stared back at Callum, his motions robotic as he splashed his face with the frigid water. Once he perked up from the shock of the cold hitting his face, he grabbed his razor. With slightly trembling fingers, he performed his daily ritual of running the blade across his face. Facial hair was a stubborn enemy that demanded persistence to defeat.

Still in the process of waking up from his slumber, Callum's hand trembled and swung downwards, leaving behind a long, thin trail of blood dripping down his face and onto the floor. Irritated by his lack of control, Callum pulled his focus inwards. The energy that was already threatening to escape was gradually reigned in. Once his shaking had stopped, he resumed his morning maintenance.

Thankfully, he was able to finish a moment later. While the drying cut would be a bit of an eyesore for the next few days, he knew it was only a superficial injury. It would take a lot more than that to concern himself over his own injuries. Dabbing the excess blood off his face, he put on his uniform. Today was the day that would determine his future; the UA Entrance Exam.

Now, while Callum knew he was not unintelligent, he also acknowledged that he likely would not have been allowed to participate in the Exam without his… special circumstances being taken into account. While it stung his pride, he recognized that coming from a Quirk Refuge, especially one in Musutafu itself, would pay dividends.

For now, of course. Once he got in, he would show that he earned his place. Handouts would be unacceptable from that moment on. Callum steeled his gaze at the mirror. "No more games," he said. "It's time to get to work."

Walking to the door to his room, he glanced back into his room. His eyes fell to the sole locked drawer at his desk. Eventually, he moved to kneel at his desk. Pulling out a key hanging on a silver chain around his neck, he took out a polished violin case. Caressing the case, he slung its strap over his shoulder. With the comforting weight settled on his hip, he grabbed his backpack, already prepared with snacks to give him a boost as needed. He closed the door to his room and moved to the ground floor.

Reaching the bottom floor, dozens of stony gazes locked in on Callum. Seeing him wearing a UA uniform made the neutral expressions turn bitter; the ones with elemental Quirks burned brighter, and the mutant-Quirked growled, hissed, and bristled. One particularly arrogant boy‒‒nearly a man, Callum corrected himself‒‒sauntered over to him with a lazy, predatory grin stretching his face.

"And where is the resident gaijin going today?" Standing at six and a half feet, he towered over Callum. Red tinged his face, and breath reeked of alcohol despite the early hour. He had to fight to keep his empty stomach from rolling.

He rolled his eyes, more than used to this behavior. "I'm making a future for myself, Shiro. Which is more than I can say to you and the rest of your 'crew'." Aware of his predicament with his peers, he sighed.

"If I fall unconscious during the exam because of this, you will regret it."

Shiro's eyes widened. Before he could back away, a black shot out of Callum, stopping several feet beyond Shiro. He felt his body unable to support his own weight. Slowly, he found himself collapsing to the ground. His teeth ground against each other as he tried to fight off the increased pull of the Earth. Within thirty seconds, however, he found his face pressing into the ground.

The others caught in this field fared worse. Lacking the pure strength that Shiro possessed meant that they lasted half as long as their spokesman, if they were lucky. A series of grunts and curses spewed forth as Callum left the entrance of the Refuge in a dozen quick strides.

Reaching the end of the street, Callum withdrew his Quirk before other people were unwittingly crushed by it. It fizzled out obediently, though he could already feel the faintest touches of fatigue settle in his chest.

Ignoring his now heavy eyes, he pulled an apple from his backpack and consumed it in half a dozen bites. The grumbling of his stomach grew quiet, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Napping after just waking up would be a terrible idea, especially for today.

When the crosswalk light changed, his feet moved of their own volition. Several minutes later, he arrived at the bus station that would take him to UA. With his body running on autopilot, his mind was left alone to focus on the tasks of the day.

Callum knew that UA's acceptance rate was abysmally low. There was a one-percent chance that he would be accepted, and that was being optimistic. UA's standards have risen steadily over the last decade. With the rising prominence of popularity polls, he could understand their position.

Being a hero was akin to being a celebrity; the clothing lines, record deals, sponsorship, and salaries netted today's heroes enough of a fortune to coast for the rest of their lives with a comfortable lifestyle. Of course, a majority of heroes lived more than comfortably, soaking in the spotlight like a sponge. A bloated sponge that was ready to burst, but a sponge nonetheless.

Callum would be lying if he said the money wasn't a lure. He didn't have any good prospects outside of being a hero. His bed was made; now he just needed to lie in it.

That being said, there were other reasons for Callum to want a life of a hero. He needed to learn proper restraint. While his current level of control over his Quirk was currently acceptable, he knew that it would take extensive training to stay in control. To not do so was a gross oversight, to say the least.

A surge of energy coursed through Callum's veins as the bus arrived. He entered, the smell of sweat welcoming him aboard the large vehicle. His thoughts remained undisturbed as he made his way to the back of the bus.

His musings were cut short as he collided with someone. Taking a step back, he was only just able to hide his surprise at seeing someone with a crow for a head. Suspicious red eyes took stock of him, and silence dominated the immediate space.

Recovering from his staring, Callum realized that his peer was also wearing a UA examinee outfit. He also realized that making a good impression would probably be helpful, even if it wasn't reciprocated.

"My apologies," Callum said. "I was lost in thought and unaware of my surroundings." He gave a small dip of his head towards the darkly dressed teen.

He seemed to take it in stride, however. "Do not fret. I see that your uniform is the same as mine; thinking about the ensuing test is an understandable reason to be distracted."

"Still, it's something that I need to work on. Being a successful hero requires the ability to multitask, after all."

His new acquanitance nodded. "I agree. I am relieved to see that someone is thinking about their future responsibilities seriously."

He stuck his hand out, surprising Callum. "My name is Tokoyami Fumikage. I wish you luck in the upcoming exam."

Callum smirked, clasping his hand in a firm shake. He liked Tokoyami's attitude. "I'm Matei Callum. I think you and I will be getting along just fine."

Tokoyami nodded his agreement, before he turned his head in thought. Matei wasn't a japanese name. Looking at his face more critically, he saw that while Callum held some stereotypical japanese features, his jaw was more defined than the average japanese citizen. His frame was also somewhat stockier than most of Tokoyami's peers were. Something was different about him but what‒‒

"I'm half european." Tokoyami grimaced, embarrassed about being caught so easily by someone he had just met.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to seeing the confusion, especially after I introduce myself." There was a carefully guarded expression on Callum's face. Tokoyami knew that he would have to be selective with his next words.

"I believe it is my turn to apologize, Matei-san. I could not contain my curiosity about your origins. I should have asked you about your family lineage instead of pondering right in front of you." Tokoyami bowed. The lack of space in the bus kept the bow from going too low, but his point was made.

Callum stared at Tokoyami for a moment before releasing the tension in his shoulders. Feeling hungry again, he opened a side pocket in his backpack and pulled out an energy bar. He consumed it in seconds, not even stopping to chew.

"I'll be damned," Callum said. "An apology? That's a first. Don't worry about it, Tokoyami. Idle curiosity is far better than ridicule."

His piece being said, Callum turned around, facing the now closed door to the bus. Tokoyami finally noticed an instrument case by Callum's hip. That was interesting; perhaps he had a music based Quirk? That would certainly be flexible for the trials they faced going forward. His wondering wasn't enough to make him speak his question, however. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bus door opening; there was little else to do but begin the trek to UA with his most unusual acquaintance.

The bus left the station. Another silence fell over the two, but this one was more comfortable than the last. As the bus grew closer to UA, both teens were lost in thought. Though the exact words may have differed, their drive was the same.

They would get into UA, no matter what.

Thankfully, the Written Exam was easier than expected to finish. Although there were several short essays that Callum felt he was rushed through, he acknowledged that he didn't have the best environment to study for the exam. Still, he thought he did well enough to at least pass.

Besides, the practical exam was where he would truly have a chance to shine. So long as it didn't last over an hour, he should be fine. Despite the mild ache spreading across his temple, Callum felt like he could carry on for the rest of the afternoon. Rolling his shoulders, he forced his stiff muscles to loosen up, relieving a small amount of the tension that had built up over the course of the past hour.

Leaving the cramped exam room, Callum looked around the increasingly crowded atrium that led to the Practical Exam. There were a few people that stood out to him: a girl with a mushroom cap as a hat, a guy whose skin was pitch black, and an abnormally short boy with purple balls on his head (was he wearing a diaper?).

The purple-balled boy was damn near drooling looking at the mushroom girl. While it made even Callum feel some discomfort seeing it, he didn't really have a reason to interfere. So long as it didn't get into a physical side of things, he would stay out of it.

There were dozens of other people in the room, of course. However, it was difficult to save most of their faces to memory. Being as lost in thought as he was, he had only managed to remember those three before the Pro Hero Snipe arrived at the podium at the front of the room.

Snipe was a hero that didn't get a lot of spotlight. While he was technically a Daylight Hero, he also mostly focused on efficiency over performing. His track record reflected that productivity; while his popularity was middling at best, he was one of the most efficient heroes in the field, only falling behind Eraserhead and Endeavor in arrests per month.

His wild west outfit was at odds with his work ethic; an obnoxiously large cowboy hat adorned his head, a large gas mask dominated his face. A protective leather or kevlar vest tightly fitted against his chest, and a pair of enormous boots that reached just below his knees completed the ensemble.

Snipe tapped the microphone, clearing his throat before speaking. "Listen here, you miscreants! I'm only gonna say this once, so sit down, shut up, and pucker your ears."

Callum chuckled. He could certainly appreciate Snipes' blunt nature. He hoped he was still a teacher at UA; his no nonsense attitude would be seriously helpful once he got accepted. The better mentoring he could get, the sooner he could begin mastering his Quirk.

"Y'all have twenty minutes to kill as many bots as you can before time runs out." Several slides were shown behind the Pro, revealing an outline for a one, two, three, and zero point bot. Why was there even a robot that didn't offer any points? It was probably a hazard that needed to be avoided at all costs.

"If you don't bash in enough scrap, you'll fail. Anyone who still struggles to do this ain't worth the effort to polish you up." Callum grimaced at that. While he knew he wasn't totally helpless, he acknowledged that he didn't have enough stamina to last longer than a few engagements. He hoped this one wouldn't be too draining.

The sound of a gunshot startled him out of his thoughts. He saw Snipe with a gun raised in the air, smoke leaving the barrel. The wall behind the Pro Hero collapsed, revealing an artificial city behind him.

"What're you all staring slack-jawed at? Get at 'em!" Firing his weapon again, Callum was one of the first to have broken out of the universal stupor. With a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins, the hopeful hero rushed out into the streets.

Quickly spotting a pair of single-point machines, he tightened his fists as he let the control he held over his Quirk loosen. Not stopping his dashing, he ran right between the wheeled bots. When they got within five meters of Callum, their movements were slowed by the amplified force of nearly fifty-percent increased gravity. When they swung their arms downwards, he stopped his running. Wrapping his own arms around one of the now stationary bot, he yelled and tore its arm off, splitting it almost in half with the force he used.

Turning as quickly as he could manage, Callum launched a punch between the thick plates protecting most of the faux villain in front of him. Without both of its arms to maintain balance in the increased gravity, it fell over on its side. He threw his elbow down on the exposed neck, smashing through the thin sheet metal shielding the delicate wiring within.

Sparks crawled up his arm, bringing mild discomfort to Callum as he brought himself to his feet. Around him, he saw flashes of fire engulfing two pointers to one side, and spines and bone projectiles flying through the air towards a cluster of single-point bots slightly in front of him.

Callum gulped. He had taken too long to get started, and his early lead had vanished. He needed to seriously raise his pace if he wanted to get ahead again.

Taking note of a three-point bot that was hiding inside a bank, he rushed through the windows, the glass unable to cut into his dense skin. When he neared his much larger opponent, his gravity field took effect; though it tried to aim its missiles at Callum, its hardware struggled to follow through with its commands.

Using the artillery bots' body as spring boards, the gravity fighter jumped between the twin missile launchers. With a hand on either neck piece supporting its weaponry, he ripped both pieces off, using them as makeshift hammers to pound his opponent to scrap.

Not wasting any time, he searched for more points. Fortune seemed to smile on him, for there were at least half a dozen machines moving together. Following their path, he took in a sharp breath as he realized that they were headed for the girl with the mushroom hat. She was far from idle, shown by a cloud of spores landing on a pair of one pointers. Hundreds of mushrooms sprouted from within them, destroying them, but there wasn't going to be enough time to eliminate them all before they reached her.

Gritting his teeth, Callum released more of his control over his Quirk. The pressure in his skull increased, but he continued sprinting towards the short girl. As the edge of his gravity field‒‒which extended to ten meters‒‒enveloped the two scorpion-like robots, they turned around to face the new threats. In response to the noises their superiors made, the four smaller enemies whirled around.

Although they were moving slower than they would outside of his field, Callum cursed as he found himself surrounded by four enemies at once. Pushing through a sudden cramp in his legs, he readied himself to clear the area. When a two-pointer thrust its stinger at him, Callum grabbed the offending appendage. Realizing how heavy it was with the increased gravity, he forced his field to shrink down to a meter in front of him. Nearly crushed in his grip, the fighter pulled and twisted a hundred-and-eighty degrees.

The unbalanced robot didn't stand a chance. Off balance already, it wasn't able to stay balanced as Callum swung it against two of the smaller wheeled bots. The force of the collision destroyed all three of them at once.

He didn't have time to relish in his efforts, however. Reigning in his Quirk as quickly as he did left him momentarily stunned, which his opponent took full advantage of. A steel tail slammed against Callum's shoulder, sending him sprawling. His shoulder made a sickening pop, and he instinctively clutched his injury in a futile effort to provide relief.

He had gotten careless. While reigning in the range of his field had certainly been necessary to make his attack work, he failed to realize that it would allow the other metallic scorpion to regain its original speed and outmaneuver him. And now, he lamented, there wasn't enough time to recover; the machine was nearly upon him, and he was already fighting off a wave of exhaustion. He needed to think of something soon, or‒‒

"N-No!" The girl he had rushed to save was now standing, her hands pushed out away from her. The spore cloud that had nearly settled on the ground was now surrounding the two-pointer. A cluster of mushrooms nearly ten feet high crowded around the bot, which gave Callum time to crawl to his feet. A swath of smaller mushrooms littered the ground around the makeshift prison, so he gave the plants a bit of distance. The sound of the trapped robot crashing to the ground brought a vicious grin to his face; there must have been mushrooms growing inside of it. It was certainly a pile of scrap by now.

He held his arm against his side, doing his best to minimize movement to his dislocated shoulder. Carefully, he walked towards his unexpected savior. His grin morphed into a grimace with every step he took. His adrenaline was fading, leaving nothing to keep the pain at bay.

"Hey!" He saw the brown-haired girl flinch at his volume. Lowering his volume, he spoke again. "Hey. Thanks for the save. I'd have been smeared into paste if you hadn't helped."

The girl's face was partially hidden by her long bangs, but Callum could still see a blush spread across her face.

"Do-Don't mention it. I just did what I could." She was about to speak again, but her mouth quickly shaped itself into an 'O'. Her shoulders shook with mirth, and Callum could hear her giggling escaping her lips.

Frowning, he turned his head down until he felt something spongy push against his chest. Raising his good hand to his face, he grasped the mushroom beard that had grown on his face.

"You-you look like an old man! You're a Shitaki Claus now!" The small girl couldn't stand upright anymore, collapsing to her side from her laughter.

As much as he tried, Callum couldn't find it in him to be mad. It was pretty funny, even if he wished this happened at a better time.

With his adrenaline rush fading, he couldn't stop a grunt of pain escaping his lips. His short friend quickly stopped laughing, standing upright as Callum sat on the ground with an exhausted thud. He hissed in pain as his shoulder was jostled by the rough movement.

He felt small hands gingerly touch his wounded shoulder. He looked up, locking with the concerned gaze of a stranger. Her worry over him was a rarity, and he didn't know how to best react. So, he fell to logical thinking.

"If you can pull on my arm hard enough," Callum said, raising his arm with a moderate tremor. "You can help me reset it before the injury becomes permanent."

The girl looked beyond uncomfortable, but he saw her push it down. Nodding to him, she stepped back, both of her hands gripping his wrist. Forcing the pain in a faraway corner of his mind, he started counting.

"1… 2… 3!"

Several things happened at once. The mushroom girl pulled his arm towards her as hard as she could. Callum pulled against her yanking arms. The tension in his shoulder built up and up and up until everything snapped back into place. His vision swam from the flashes of pain shooting down his arm and up his neck. He gasped desperately for air, leaning on his uninjured arm as he retched up the remnants of whatever partially digested food lingered in his stomach.

An agonizing minute later, he recovered. When he managed to sit upright once again, the mushroom enthusiast still looked at him with clear worry.

Desperate to get rid of the tension, he tried to laugh. "See? I'm good as new!" moving his arm in a circle earned him a wince for his efforts. "Though I might be sore for a while. Thank you for your help…"

Snapping out of her stupor, the brunette blushed and looked at the ground. "M-my name is K-Kinoko Komori. Thank you f-for saving me."

Callum scoffed, getting Kinoko to whip her head up, facing him again. "You pulled me out of an equally bad spot. I think that makes us even."

He saw her gaping at him, and he sighed. Standing up, he extended his uninjured arm towards her. "I'm Callum Matei. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kinoko."

Kinoko blushed at the attention he was giving her. Despite the weirdness of her Quirk, he didn't seem bothered by it. Hell, the mushroom beard was wiggling whenever he spoke, and he didn't even seem annoyed by it. Shyly, she smiled up at him, her eyes shining with appreciation.

"Thank you very mush, Matei-san."

Callum held up a hand, confusing her. "Nope. No last names with me. We saved each other from being out of position. That makes us comrades. We don't need formalities between us, do we?"

Kinoko's blush darkened at his words. "R-right!"

Any further conversation, however, was halted when they both felt the ground tremble beneath them. The hero hopefuls across the artificial city all felt the tremors grow as they saw something gargantuan rise above even the skyscrapers surrounding them

Reflecting an unnatural amount of light, a behemoth of steel stood at several hundred feet. Turning in the direction of Callum and Kinoko, the iron giant raised a hand, a single metal finger pointing towards them.

A chorus of screams broke the pair out of their stupor as hundreds of fellow hero-hopefuls turned and ran from the dozens of robots that were seemingly following the command of their much larger brethren. The sounds of panicked uses of Quirks echoed around them, slowing but not stopping the oncoming horde of enemies rushing them.

There were small piles of scrap metal littering the street in front of them. Callum squared his shoulders; they would be at their position within the next minute or two at the latest.

Turning to his companion, he was surprised to see her tiny body trembling. Her head was jerking from the enemies in front of her to her peers running away from the obvious threat.

Callum steeled his nerves, before kneeling in front of Kinoko. Putting his hands firmly on her shoulders, he broke her quivering with the intensity of his gaze.

"I can try to hold them off so you can get away," he started, "but I won't be able to get all of them. The street is too wide for my Quirk to reach them all. I need your mushrooms to cover my sides. Can I rely on you, Kinoko?"

The mushroom-fanatic in question stilled when realizing the significance of his words. Callum knew he couldn't stop them all on his own; he had said as much. What he didn't say, but Kinoko saw, was how every explosion was making him flinch. His grip trembled ever so slightly, and she realized that he was close to exhaustion.

Willing her nerves to settle, she returned his confidence with her own (admittedly less certain) resolve. "Of course! I'll help you as mush as I can!"

Even with those words, however, Kinoko knew he was a little short on time. "I need more moisture to be more helpful, though. The more humid it is, the faster my mushrooms grow." She unveiled her twin spray bottles, both empty of any liquid.

Callum nodded, let go of her shoulders, and put his backpack in front of him. Curious, Kinoko watched him pull out a pair of full water bottles. Her eyes lit in comprehension as he placed them both on the ground.

"Is this good enough?" At Kinoko's nod, Callum let a tight grin etch itself onto his face before turning around. The bots had broken through most of the debris, and he needed to stave off the building fatigue as best he could before he had to go all out.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two… Callum allowed the pressure in his chest to lighten, even as the tension in his skull grew to agonizing levels. With an enemy in front of him, he was able to tune out the pain.

And just in time, too. At least eight one-pointers charged towards him, with the imitation-scorpions close behind.

"Time to get to work." Waiting until they were five meters away, Callum pushed.

Kinoko had refilled her spray bottles, and was in the middle of spraying the sides of the street when she heard the road crack. Not stopping her preparations, she still nearly dropped her gear when she saw several wheeled enemies simply collapse as they neared her new friend. They formed a makeshift blockade as the machine predators behind them crashed into their smaller counterparts. Callum had to have earned at least fifteen points with his opening move.

That was only the first wave, however. Her comrade was entirely focused on maintaining his current output, rooting him to his current spot. Retreating from the death field that was Callum, four three-point bots held about twenty meters back, loading their missile launchers and preparing to fire.

While Kinoko knew that they probably wouldn't kill Callum, UA wasn't known for pulling their punches. He would be hospitalized if something wasn't done quickly.

Thankfully, the mushroom heroine wasn't idle. The area around Callum was much more humid than before, even if it wasn't quite to her liking. With a flick of her hands, she propelled two clouds of spores that spread around him. Burning much more of her stamina than she was comfortable with, Kinoko raised a veritable forest of fungi that covered the edges of the street where Callum's Quirk couldn't quite reach.

The twin pairs of ranged bots launched their payloads, the missiles creating a loud whistling sound as they zeroed in on the isolated hero-to-be. Just before they would have landed right in front of him, Callum blinked as a three foot high wall of fungus rose to mitigate the incoming explosion. As the four payloads met the mushroom wall, he felt himself be pushed a dozen feet back. He would have fallen if it weren't for the thicker, taller wall of mushrooms catching him as he was blown backwards.

"Thanks for the save!" Callum groaned. Regaining his balance, he saw that the remaining thirty or so automatons had thought he was sufficiently weakened, since they rushed him in the tighter quarters provided by Kinoko's crowd control. After steadying himself, he gradually built up to a run, meeting the charge of his manmade foes head on.

Dammit, Callum! Kinoko wasn't holding up that well. She wasn't used to using so much of her Quirk at once, and she was nearly spent. Seeing Callum, clearly bone-weary, running at the danger was both inspiring and infuriating. Did he have a deathwish?

Pooling the last of her energy, she grew another layer of mushrooms to cover Callum's flanks. She watched, barely holding onto consciousness as the last of their enemies collapsed under the now-shrinking field of destruction that Callum still managed to emit.

The gravity-empowered examinee was barely standing as the zero-pointer stared down at him. It's red eyes flashed, one of its arms raised to strike down at the helpless examinee. The multi-ton pillar for an arm smashed the ground in front of Callum, hurling chunks of rock at him. Three of which landed on his chest, doing enough damage to finally make his control over his gravity field drop.

Once again, Kinoko came to his rescue once again. The last layer of mushrooms she grew were thick enough to prevent him from losing all of the skin on his backside as he slid a hundred feet backwards. Even so, he didn't escape unscathed; his examinee uniform was torn to shreds, and he felt a chunk of flesh on his arm burn from scraping against the road.

"And that's it, bootlickers! Time's up! Let's see how heroic all y'all actually were today."

When Callum finally stopped moving, he was on the opposite side of the street from Kinoko. Unable to keep the mounting pressure in his head at bay, he flashed a pain-filled smile at his temporary partner. When she returned the gesture with a thumbs-up, he was filled with relief that she was going to be alright.

As his consciousness left him, Callum snickered. There was no way anyone could have done anything against that monstrosity. UA was on some serious shrooms (thanks for that, Kinoko) if they thought anyone could actually fight that thing.

I probably did well enough, he thought. I think I can get away with napping for a bit…

When Callum woke up, the first thing he felt was a pillow underneath his head. Strange, considering he fell asleep on concrete. Weirder still were the blankets draped over him. They were much cleaner and much less rugged than the ones in his room at the Refuge. Clearly, he was somewhere else.

Additionally, he was surprised by how relaxed he felt. His head should be wracked with pain from how much he overexerted himself out in the field. His body should be too weak to even lift his arm up to his forehead, yet he was able to pull himself to an upright position.

"Welcome to the land of the living, boy." Startled at not being the only one in the room, Callum opened his eyes. He was in a hospital room, with four beds in it. His was the only one in use at the moment, thankfully. If someone saw him like this, Callum knew he wouldn't be able to recover from the embarrassment.

The elderly woman looking over him was quite small. She barely came up to the metal armrests on his bed. Even so, the look she was giving him was enough to root him to his spot on the bed. He wasn't exactly afraid of her (yeah right. Get over yourself, Callum), but she certainly had a demanding presence.

"How… did I get here? What happened?"

The elderly woman scoffed. "We had our construction bots bring you here. You nearly gave yourself a stroke, young man! How on earth did you manage to do that at sixteen?!"

The sharp words made him sigh. He recognized his interrogator as Recovery Girl, the sole reason UA could be as loose with their training as they were. He probably should get on her good side if he wanted to actually grow.

"Well," he said, resigning himself to his fate, "it's my Quirk. If I dial up the strength of my gravity field too high, or keep it up for too long, my body begins to give way under the stress. Eventually, I fall unconscious from a lack of blood getting to my brain. The pseudo-stroke just kinda… comes with the territory."

When he finished, he knew that it sounded like he was coming up with excuses. From the look in Recovery Girl's eyes, she didn't approve.

Instead of berating him further, however, the hero nurse only scoffed. "Well, it's not like I can control your Quirk." She then reached into her pocket, pulling out a bottle of gummies.

Seeing Callum's head tilt in confusion, Recovery Girl gave a knowing smirk. "These gummies will alleviate some of your fatigue. My Quirk used your energy to heal some of your injuries, but you'll still be tired for a few days."

She lifted the gummies to Callum's chest. Gingerly, he took the pair offered to him, swallowing them in a single gulp.

Immediately, he felt a difference. His trembling hand stopped shaking, and the strain that he was struggling against suddenly lessened. A relieved smile flooded his face before he could stop himself.

Quickly working down the smile to a mere turn of his lips, he bowed as low as he could while still sitting. "Thank you, Recovery Girl. I'll make sure I trouble you as little as possible from here on out."

Recovery Girl rolled her eyes. "Well, at least you're not promising to never return here. You're more self-aware than the others I had to treat after today's exam."

Hearing her talk about other patients reminded Callum of the state his partner was in, the last time he saw her. "Recovery Girl, was there a girl with a mushroom cap for a hat that was treated here? She was in pretty bad shape by the end of the practical. I hope she wasn't too badly hurt."

"Kinoko-chan? She was in here for a bit," she said. Before Callum spoke again, however, she continued. "I sent her on her way a few hours ago. She overused her Quirk to a lesser degree, so she was good to go after eating a single gummy."

Callum breathed a sigh of relief, hearing that. "That's good. I'm glad I didn't hurt her."

He earned a critical look for that, but remained quiet. After a moment, Recovery Girl sighed, hopping into her wheeled chair. Spinning around once from her momentum, she leaned back, the long day clearly catching up to her.

"Go home, Callum-kun. I can't pull an overnight shift before the school year even starts."

Callum was grateful her eyes weren't focused on him. Otherwise she would have seen his shoulders sink in resignation. As much as he wished he could stay overnight, he couldn't afford to do so. Picking up his miraculously untouched violin case, he steadily rose to his feet. Even with the boost from the gummies, he knew he was on borrowed time.

"Goodnight, Recovery Girl. I'll see you when the semester starts." Getting a lazy wave from the good doctor, Callum made his way to the gates of UA. There were a few students who lingered at the entrance, likely waiting for their family to take them home.

Pushing down the familiar ache, he loaded onto the bus that was about to take off. He scanned the people boarded inside, disappointed at not seeing Tokoyami. He was far more respectful of his origins than most, and silence the two of them shared was a comfortable one. He had hoped that he could enjoy his company again, but it appeared that he missed the crow-headed teen.

Accepting the tight, hot, loud ride for what it was, Callum decided to scarf down the rest of the food he had packed away. There wouldn't be any food left at the Refuge; the dinner hour ended at seven, and it was nearly eight now. The power bars and stale apples would have to do for tonight.

And that's a wrap! I bet you guys are wondering why I have a second MHA story coming out so soon after the first. To be frank, I couldn't get this idea out of my head, and it was taking up too much space to come up with anything new for Fulfilling Desires.

With this, hopefully I'll have the rest of my edits for that story finished in a week or two. I'll be swapping back and forth between Callum and Izuku, so the updates might take longer than before to finish. Your patience will be rewarded, I promise you!

Have a PLUS ULTRA night, Everybody!