"I see you're only slightly less reckless than before, young man. Still, baby steps do count as an improvement. I won't need to use my cane on you this time."

Giving her walking aid the side-eye, Callum gingerly extended his arm towards the nurse, the pain now growing to a constant throb. Recovery Girl gingerly took his hand in hers, moving the damaged limb with care. Pleased with her inspection, she planted a kiss on the injury.

After grunting from the discomfort of having his wound touched, Callum breathed a sigh of relief as the pain left his system. Pulling his arm to his chest, he glanced at the violin case beside him; he'd be able to play tonight, at least.

"Thank you again, Recovery Girl. I'll make sure not to require your help for at least another week."

The elderly woman snorted. "Don't go making promises you can't keep. I'll probably be seeing you the most out of all the General Studies students." She hopped onto a stool, putting a hand on Callum's shoulder. "I'm going to keep an eye on you; you might be just as troubling as 1-A's Problem Children."

Callum frowned at the familiar phrase. Regardless of his feelings, however, he knew that he wouldn't be here long enough to worry about her choice of words.

The first day of classes would be ending early, according to Recovery Girl. Most students would only be acquainted with the expectations that come with being a student at the most prestigious hero school in Japan. The real classes wouldn't start until tomorrow, meaning that Callum had the rest of the day to himself.

"Can I stay here until the end of the normal day of class?"

Recovery Girl quirked a brow. "Of course you can. Just make sure to be out of here by three; that's when the faculty will have their first meeting of the year."

Callum looked at the clock on Recovery Girl's desk; it was already just past one, meaning that he had a few hours to kill before making his way to the bus. Grabbing his instrument case, he leaped off the bed. Before he reached the hallway, he turned to Recovery Girl with a sheepish smile.

"I just remembered that I have exactly no idea where anything is in this place. Where do I need to go to find a practice room?"

Recovery Girl snorted. "Go up to the second floor and look for Present Mic's classroom. It'll be obnoxious, just like he is."

"Got it. Thanks for the help." Callum slung the violin case over his shoulder with a casual wave over the shoulder and left the medical room.

Walking through the empty halls of UA was an odd experience. Without the crowds of people filling the halls with useless chatter, it was rather peaceful. Hearing his steps echoing up the stairs to the second floor was a comfort; knowing he was alone allowed him the luxury of retreating into his mind.

It was always difficult, recalling his childhood. Everything felt so jumbled, yet also not; it was organized chaos, but as if someone else had done the organizing. With so many pieces missing, Callum knew that he needed to find something to hold onto.

Reaching Present Mic's heavily decorated entrance to his office brought him out of his thoughts, Callum stalled as over a dozen band posters surrounded his door frame. With an 'On Air' sign directly above the door, Callum decided against disturbing whatever the Pro was doing. When he found an area labeled 'Practice Rooms,' he made a beeline for the one furthest to the back.

Approaching the door, Callum saw that the door was cracked open. Knocking on the opened door, he heard no response. Shrugging to himself, he pushed the door back, flooding the room with light.

A snarl reverberated throughout the room. Before Callum could turn around to leave, a purple beast lunged towards him, pinning him to the ground. Taken by surprise, Callum strained against his grappler to no avail; his recently healed arm was already throbbing again, and he couldn't get into a proper position to push back.

Callum cursed. He didn't want to make his opponent heavier, but maybe his quirk could unbalance his captor long enough to‒‒

"Dark Shadow, that's enough! Release him at once!"

Dark Shadow growled but obeyed the order. Released from the crushing grip, Callum groaned as he reached a sitting position. As he carefully checked his arms for injuries, he sighed with relief when he saw that his violin case had remained undamaged during the struggle. Hearing the door open wider, Callum saw the familiar form of Tokoyami emerge from the darkness.

Unlike the first time meeting the avian-headed teen, Callum saw several injuries littering his body; his arms were bruised, he had a fading black eye, and Callum saw the remnants of a shredded school uniform further inside the room. Looking up at Tokoyami, Callum saw his peer's contrite expression. Having a good idea of where his thoughts were going, Callum knew he had to shut that down as soon as he could.

"Don't blame yourself." Seeing Tokoyami open his mouth, Callum held up a hand.

"I'm serious. This wasn't your fault. Your quirk has a mind of its own, and it reacted to defend you. I can't blame you for something you have no control over, Tokoyami."

Callum raised himself to his feet, clasping Tokoyami's shoulder. "That means you can't blame yourself, either. Alright?"

Tokoyami matched Callum's gaze with his own, searching for any hint of deceit from the taller teen. Finding no such thing, Tokoyami sighed, dipping his head in reluctant agreement.

"It appears that you may have a point, Matei. However, I must still apologize for being unaware of my surroundings."

"No sweat, man. It's my fault for not speaking before I tried walking in here. Although," Callum saw the now identified 'Dark Shadow' retreating from the encroaching light, "I have to ask; what are you doing in a pitch-black room in the middle of the day?"

Tokoyami dragged himself back into the room, with Callum following close behind. Tokoyami closed the door again when they were inside, leaving only a slight crack for the light to peer through.

"Class 1-A had Battle Training Today. As a member of the class, I was partnered with Asui Tsuyu; her quirk is quite reminiscent of a frog. Our opponents were Kirishima and Sero. Kirishima can harden his skin, and Sero can launch tape from his elbows. We were tasked with recovering a false bomb from somewhere within a building."

"Sounds like the kind of training I had to do today. I got paired up with a guy named Hitoshi Shinso: purple hair, brainwashing quirk, and a bit of a dick. The two of us went up against four 'Villains,' only we had to rescue civilians being held hostage."

Tokoyami slid down the wall opposite of where the light crept in, letting his shoulders drop from exhaustion. "You'll have to tell me about your trial sometime, then."

"We planned to have Dark Shadow and I act as the vanguard, forging a path for Asui to use her greater mobility to recover the explosive device. On the third floor, however," Tokoyami grunted as he shifted to a more comfortable position, "We encountered both of our enemies in a choke point. Sero used his tape to bar entry into the room where the bomb was being held, and Kirishima was standing in the middle of the hallway. He called out a challenge, and Dark Shadow raced to meet it."

Tokoyami rubbed an affectionate hand over Dark Shadow's head, causing him to moan pitifully. "Dark Shadow and I took quite the beating. Kirishima hardened his skin enough to absorb most of the blows Dark Shadow dealt, and Asui was struggling to capture Sero due to the tape he had strapped the walls with."

"So he did something stupid!"

Callum snapped his gaze to Dark Shadow; he can talk. He felt both reassured and just a mite unsettled. He gave the sentient quirk a wary glance, before returning to listen to Tokoyami.

"I decided," Tokoyami ground out, "to provide my partner with an opening. With Dark Shadow fighting Kirishima, I lunged towards Sero myself."

Callum looked over Tokoyami's injuries once more. "Somehow, I don't imagine that went very well for you."

Tokoyami sighed. "Quite. It only took a moment for Asui to flank Sero with my help. In doing so, however, I fell out of sync with Dark Shadow; Kirishima held him over the window and into direct sunlight. Dark Shadow weakened considerably, enough to allow Kirishima to rush me. I took several hardened strikes before Asui and I were able to throw him into Sero's tape, winning us the match."

Once Tokoyami was finished, Callum sat in silence. The two heroes in training were lost in thought, with the angle of the sunlight bending more and more as the minutes ticked by.

"That's some pretty good teamwork you managed with someone on the first day of classes. Asui sounds like she could be a good friend."

Tokoyami chuckled. "You may very well be right. She and I were able to discuss a rudimentary plan and stick to it, at least. It would be good to have someone I could rely on."

Biting back his initial response, Callum instead asked the question that was at the forefront of his thoughts.

"So that explains why you're hurt, and why Recovery Girl couldn't heal you safely. But why're you in nearly total darkness?"

"To allow Dark Shadow a chance to recover. Being in light lowers his constitution until a puppy could fight him off."

"I see." Callum clicked his tongue. "Still, it must get boring as hell to sit in a dark room by yourself." Dark Shadow grumbled, and Callum held his hands up defensively.

"Oh, you know what I mean. You know what? We can kill three birds with one stone right now." At the deadpan stares Callum received from his two companions, he dropped his head to his chest.

"Poor taste. Right. No bird jokes around you two. Anyway," Callum began unzipping his backpack, pulling out a trio of red apples from the bottom pouch. "Eating some food should help you two recover faster, right? Bottoms up!"

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow watched in morbid fascination as Callum proceeded to devour the apple in his hands in under a minute. He then pulled out a second apple, reducing it to its seeds in a matter of seconds. The speed of his consumption belied a level of hunger that shocked the dark-themed hero.

Taking a curious sniff towards his companion's bag, Tokoyami could tell that the scent of fruit was strongly woven into the fabric. Just how often did Callum bring half a dozen apples around with him?

The teen in question pulled a napkin out, wiping his fingers with a content sigh. Coming to a decision, he leaned over and opened his instrument case. "I was thinking that I would let you hear me play. I'm not the greatest, but it has to be better than sitting with no other people around."

Tokoyami glanced at the unveiled violin, intrigued. He had wondered why Callum carried it around with him all the time; at the very least, he hoped he would hear at least a mediocre performance.

Even if it wasn't, Tokoyami admitted, it would be a novelty to have someone not be afraid or paranoid around him. His quirk was a powerful one, but one that often left him isolated. For good reason, the thought intruded.

Callum appeared to be an exception to that rule. How long would that last, he wondered?

Tokoyami was pulled out of his musings by the sound of the string being fiddled. Looking up, he saw Callum focusing with an intensity unseen before now. His companion took in a deep breath, exhaled, and began moving his bow.

The sound that greeted Tokoyami was above mediocre, even above good; Callum swayed with his instrument, gliding around the room with eyes half-lidded. The Jet-Black Hero watched as a deep, sweet sound emanated from Callum's violin. Even Dark Shadow seemed to have calmed down, sitting in his lap as they listened to the notes that filled the room.

For his part, Callum found himself thrust into the past. Tokoyami and Dark Shadow weren't five feet away from him, he wasn't at UA, and he wasn't nearly sixteen anymore.

Large, warm hands held his head in the proper place so his chin could fit in the chin rest. When his arms dipped because he was tired, those hands would gently lift them back to the proper angles.

'Come, little Dove, there's still an hour left of our practice today.'

The boy groaned pitifully. 'A whole hour? But that's so long! Papa, I'm tired; can we stop for today?'

Papa knelt in front of him, a patient smile stretching across his face. 'I know you're tired, but I know you aren't too tired to keep going. Do you still want to surprise your mother for her birthday?'

'Yes! I wanna play an awesome song for her!'

A hearty laugh from the man sent the boy into a fit of giggles. 'And if you want to be able to play that awesome song, you need to be able to hold up your violin. Can you do that for me, Callum?'

'Of course I can, Papa! I can do anything!'

'That's right, my little Dove. But to be awesome, you need to practice awesome habits. And the most important awesome habit to have is to practice!'

A knocking sound echoed throughout the house, causing both father and son to snap their heads towards the door.

'Looks like practicing will have to come to a stop today. We'll spend an extra thirty minutes tomorrow to make sure you don't forget anything. Are you ready to learn your first Etude tomorrow night?'

The son nodded his head fervently. 'I'm always ready, Papa! Mama's gonna love my present a lot!'

"‒‒tei? Matei?!"

Reluctantly shaking himself free of the memory, Callum blinked. Unbidden, a lone tear slid down his face, hanging onto his chin for just a moment before falling to the floor. Callum gazed at the wet spot on the ground before putting a hand to his face. To his surprise, he found more tears ready to pour out of his eyes.

Callum cleared his throat, drying his damp eyes. He nodded his head towards Tokoyami, before placing his violin gingerly inside its case.

"T-Thank you, Tokoyami. I just went down memory lane for a bit, that's all."

Tokoyami gave a gentle smile. "It is the least I could do. It's what friends do for each other, is it not?"

Callum froze at those words, his mind screeching to a halt. Tokoyami furrowed his brows at Callum's dumbstruck expression.

"Friends? We're… friends, now?"

Now it was Tokoyami's turn to be confused. "I believe so, yes. It is hard to say we're not, at this point. You've earned my trust to call you my friend; few are willing to speak with me after Dark Shadow shows his aggressive side, much less stay in our preferred environment."

Callum searched through Tokoyami's eyes; the sting from his class activity made him doubt his sincerity. Try as he might, however, he couldn't detect any falsehood from Tokoyami. Hesitantly, he clasped the fellow hero in training's forearm.

"Right. Friends it is."

The remaining hour UA was open to its students was a quiet one. Both Callum and Tokoyami rested against the wall, enjoying the comfortable silence that settled between the two. While Callum was still wary of Dark Shadow, the sentient quirk was content to stay at his master's other side. He had to admit that seeing Dark Shadow stretching in the nearly lightless room like a cat in the sun was pretty damn funny.

Soon enough, Tokoyami shook himself from his dozing. He recalled Dark Shadow, offering a hand to his new friend. Callum reached out in response, and Tokoyami struggled to remain standing; Callum was much heavier than he looked.

"Now that Dark Shadow and I are somewhat recovered, we should head to the bus before we are left behind."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get out of here."

The bus, unsurprisingly, was nearly empty. Most of the students had left as soon as they could, so there were only a few other students on board. One of them was an orange-haired girl with teal eyes. Her UA uniform did little to hide her well-trained physique; Callum found himself impressed with the amount of work required to create and maintain that level of strength.

The shorter girl was much more familiar.

"Shitake Claus! I found you at last!"

Kinoko waved her arm, bouncing towards her temporary teammate with an infectious enthusiasm; Callum couldn't help but smile at her eagerness.

Kinoko reached the pair in seconds, her taller friend joining her a moment later. The orangette looked Callum up and down, and he saw a challenging smirk grace her features.

"So this is the guy that Kinoko's been talking about to the class. I gotta admit, he certainly seems to live up to the hype; Kuroiro is right to be jealous."

The teasing grin she gave Kinoko made the mushroom girl swat her arm. "Don't be mean! Kuroiro is a good guy, Prez!"

Tokoyami looked at Callum, intrigued. "I didn't realize you knew anyone else from UA; not anybody on good terms, that is."

Callum rolled his eyes. "Kinoko here saved my ass when I got in over my head. Without her, I'd have gotten knocked around quite a bit. I might've even failed to be a student here."

He turned to Kinoko's friend, putting out a hand. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Matei Callum."

The girl in question shook his hand; both were surprised at the strength in the other's grip. "Kendou Itsuka. It's good to meet the guy Kinoko's been gushing about all day."

Kinoko's hair fell over her face as she tried to make herself disappear. She wasn't comfortable receiving attention if her reddened face was any indication.

"Stop it, Itsuka! Callum is a friend, just ask him!"

Itsuka gazed conspiratorially at Callum. "Well, Mr. Gravity, what do you have to say to that? Are you just friends? Or did you destroy the Zero Pointer to protect Kinoko?"

"Of course we're just friends. Why would we be anything more than that?"

The girls gave him blank stares. Beginning to grow uncomfortable from the tense air in the now moving bus, Callum swallowed harshly. Even Tokoyami and Dark Shadow felt uncomfortable with the cheerful girls falling silent. He took a silent step away from Callum, hoping to avoid getting caught in the fallout.

"Well, you see, I've never actually had people I could call friends before; Kinoko and Tokoyami here are the first people I think I'm becoming friends with." Callum let out a shaky breath, before giving a weak smile to Itsuka. "Though there's plenty of room for you as well, Kendo. A friend of Kinoko could be a friend of mine."

Tokoyami's expression became contemplative. Someone with a quirk strong enough to take out the Zero Pointer didn't have anyone he could call a friend? Just from his experience with the foreign student today, he could tell Callum was a man of good character. This was quite the conundrum.

Somebody's a fan of the Dense One. Why don't you get his autograph already?

Dark Shadow, be silent. I am attempting to think.

Yeah, I can hear you think over the sound of my snoring. Shut up and let me go back to napping.

Tokoyami snorted, garnering the attention of the three others with him. Embarrassed at his slip, he nonetheless met their curious eyes.

"My apologies. Dark Shadow was distracting me from the conversation."

Callum barked with laughter. "Tell him if he stays quiet I'll give him some more apples."

"Duly noted."

Kinoko tilted her head, seeing the violin case held in Callum's hand. "Sooooooo, what's your instrument for? It doesn't have anything to do with your quirk, right?"

Itsuka took note of the old weathered case Callum held. Seeing his thumb subconsciously rubbing smooth circles around the handle, as well as the tighter-than-necessary grip on it put a few puzzle pieces together. This was something he viewed as highly valuable.

Callum slung the strap around his shoulder, one hand holding the case against his side. "You'd be right about that, Kinoko. It's an old family heirloom, of sorts."

Kinoko moved even closer to Callum. "Ooh! An heirloom? Can I hold it? Please?" She reached out a hand, merely inches from the instrument-

None too gently, Callum slapped Kinoko's hand away. "No."

Kinoko's bangs fell over her eyes, but Callum could still see her face burn red from embarrassment. Callum knelt to look the much shorter girl in the eye, all the while feeling Kendo's eyes burning into him.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Kinoko. I just don't like having my violin out of its case in public. You can hear me play it at UA, whenever we get a chance. Sound good?"

Kinoko looked up at Callum, kind eyes looking into watery ones. Hearing a quiet 'mhm,' Callum gently squeezed her shoulder before standing up.

The bus began to slow down, halting the conversation at hand. Callum saw all three of his acquaintances (and friend, he reminded himself) gather their materials.

"All of you are getting off here?"

Itsuka turned, hearing Callum's voice unable to hide all of his disappointment. She saw him tense for a moment, before forcing himself to relax.

Itsuka gave him a thumbs-up, grinning as bright as the overhead lights."Seems like it. Don't worry, Matei. There's always lunch tomorrow; it won't be too long until you see us again!"

Callum quelled his irritation; it wouldn't do any good to end things on a bad note. "Of course. It'll be good to sit down with you all tomorrow. See you then!"

With a casual wave, the doors to the bus closed. As the shuttle pulled away, Callum's face fell back to its familiar neutral expression. He sat down on a relatively clean seat, relishing the silence as long as he could.

"Last stop!"

All too soon, however, the quiet was broken. Sighing to himself, Callum forced his way off of the bus. Trudging his feet through the deserted streets, there was little to distract him from the abandoned buildings dotting the surrounding area. The silence circled him, and he could feel himself disengaging once again.

A few minutes later, he reached the doors to the refuge. Callum felt a flash of satisfaction; flaring his quirk as the screen showing one Yotsubashi Rikiya crumbled to the ground beside him. A flare of pain in his skull reminded him that he wasn't exactly fully charged at the moment. Feeling his stomach growl, he reluctantly made his way to the mess hall.

Today was an emphasis of mess; tables were broken, food was squashed into the ground, and the sole employee in the kitchen area was glaring at the debris with such a glare that it may very well catch fire in the next few minutes.

Callum took long strides towards the bins containing burgers, sushi rolls, and rice. Most of the American food had been taken, while the sushi had been left untouched. Taking half a dozen pre-packaged boxes, he locked eyes with the kitchen worker.

"What happened here, Kira?"

The bald employee continued to bore a hole into Callum. "Shiro got into a fight with his 'friends'. Said that if they wanted to be something, they needed to stick together."

"Stick together through what, exactly?"

Kira spat on the ground. "Hell if I know. Shiro had his quirk charged up before I could tell them to take it outside. Everyone used their quirks to defend themselves, as you can see."

Looking back to the destroyed room, Callum could see what Kira was talking about; from scorch marks to wood chunks littering the floor to frozen seats, there wasn't a spot that was untouched by whatever commotion had gone on here. Shiro must've gotten into one hell of an argument to have caused this much damage.

Shelving that train of thought, Callum trudged through the halls to his room. He knew he should try to get a better idea of what was going on in the Refuge, but he could hardly keep his eyes open. The fallout could be figured out in a day or two.

Opening the door to his room, Callum tore into two of the sushi packages with gusto. In less than five minutes, the containers laid on the floor, not a single grain of rice untouched. With his stomach satisfied, Callum sprawled across his bed. Unlike most of his previous nights, the hero-in-training felt content with how the day had gone.

Even though Hitoshi acted like a dick, Callum understood; jealousy was a vicious beast, and showing the strength of his quirk and body didn't do him any favors with his brainwashing classmate. Callum figured he needed some time to cool off before he attempted to reach out again.

Running into Tokoyami was a pleasant surprise. Being able to enjoy some quiet with someone was a relaxing change of pace. He still didn't know how to process his classmate not tearing into him for losing a bit of control; it was a foreign experience that the hero hopeful had no idea how to handle.

Kendo and Kinoko were even less expected. He was glad his mushroom-themed friend had made at least one friend in her class, and Kendo seemed like a natural caretaker. Somehow Kendo thought Kinoko was crushing on him. Callum snorted; as if anyone would make that choice of their own free will.

Despite that, Callum enjoyed talking with people he didn't have to maintain his paranoia around. He couldn't remember the last time he made a genuine smile; the last one was likely hidden in the time still lost to him.

Thinking of the memory that had emerged today, Callum's mood leveled. He saw his father, he was sure of it. He had the same dark hair that covered Callum's head. His voice sent a rush of warmth through Callum's core, the memory of strong yet gentle hands teaching him how to hold his favorite instrument. He wanted to feel that again; he needed to feel that again.

His hands glided over the violin case when inspiration struck him. Pulling out his instrument, Callum closed his eyes as he laid the bow against the string. Swaying with the bow, he reached back.

Larger hands covered Callum's smaller ones as he began his first etude. The graceful sound filled the room, and the much larger man's smile could be seen in his mind's eye. His teeth were a dazzling white, with a short goatee bordering his mouth. His eyes…

Were they brown? Blue? Green, like his? Yellow?

Furrowed brows and a scratched note interrupted the performance, but he pressed on. His eyes were a mystery, but his hair color was‒‒‒

Ginger? Black? Grey? White? Brown? What was it?

What shirt was he wearing? What about his pants? His shoes? What did he do? HowoldwashedidhehaveanyjewelrywherewasheWHYWASHENOTHERE‒‒‒

Each question piled on top of each other. One after the next after the next until the sound of music was replaced by muffled sobbing. Callum clutched his pillow like a barrel in the open sea. Even so, he could feel himself slipping under the depths.

He couldn't remember anything about the man who taught him his only source of peace. Hot tears soaked through the thin sheets as Callum let out an aching bellow into the bed. His knuckles turned white, shaking under the strain.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

In the end, he was alone; nobody who could help, and nobody who wanted to. Willing his lapse in control into nonexistence, Callum drifted into an uneasy slumber. Clothes and sheets soaked with sweat would make for an unpleasant night, but the discomfort was dwarfed by his exhaustion.

The gilded cage slammed its gates shut; there would be no escape tonight.

Hey all! I'm glad I was able to get this next chapter finished within the month. Life is slowly getting back together, and I'm able to better focus on where my passions lay. The next chapter should come out in a similar timeframe, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Enjoy the ride, friends and fans! Micromotor, out.