I have to admit, while it was annoying to be left out of it… the fact that the medal ceremony was happening was at least enough to stop me from curling up into a ball out of self-disgust. Tensei. Stain. I forgot that Tensei got injured by Stain! And the worst part is I know exactly why it was the case too, and not one I think Iida will like – I can't help that I was a big fan of Illegals! Or that I forgot WHY Stain fought Tenya Iida in the first place. Even the notebook didn't help with that. Or-

Gh! Ow, what was-

"Focus. You made one mistake Andros." Jiro admonished.

Hagakure leaned over. "Jeez, is beating yourself up always what you do?" Hagakure asked. I flinched at that, but before I could answer she waved her arm. "Hey, I know, it's a big thing to forget. But what was it, five years? I'm surprised you noted down as much as you did that still works."

"Simply put, don't stress too much about it," Sero added. "Just be happy for the others right now. What happened happened."

And I sighed at that, even as the podiums rose up and… huh. I… feel like something is missing for Bakugou. He definitely doesn't look totally pleased about his position, even as Mina is LOVING the cameras. She's posing with twin V signs – wonder when those took off, isn't that a British thing?

Still, everyone is surprised at the next moment… except for me. My selective memory decided to remember All Might showing up…

All Might. A symbol of peace. A pillar of justice. And for some reason, REGULARLY getting interrupted today. Ah well, as much as he'd like to be congratulating young Midoriya for this, the fighting today was exceptional. In fact… perhaps a bit of a script deviation is in order.

"Before I hand out the medals, I'd just like to say something!" All Might boomed out – all-natural voice too, the sound system was still busted. "While these are three of our top four – as young Iida had to leave early for family reasons – I think we can all agree that this has been one of the most spectacular displays from all classes! What do you think folks?" The resulting cheering roared out… and out of the corner of his eye, All Might noticed young Bakugou idly kick the ground. Ah, perhaps that wasn't the best point to bring up.

Still, he started to hand out the medals, starting with third place. While young Iida had received his earlier, young Ashido looked quite eager to receive it. "Congratulations young Ashido. I see that since your battle training, you've been working to branch out a bit with what you can do." He exclaimed with a warm smile as he hung the medal around her neck.

Young Mina rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah, yeah, I was originally thinking of just physical training, but everyone else was pushing themselves so hard in the lead-up…" She explained.

All Might simply nodded and moved on. He didn't need any further explaining, it hadn't just been the training, she'd likely been influenced by young Nebulos after the USJ incident… it hadn't helped that she hadn't gotten to do much until now. Still, he moved onto young Todoroki. "Congratulations are in order for you too young Todoroki. I understand you would have rather only used your ice." All Might noted as he hung the second-place medal around young Todoroki's neck.

"It was either stick to a broken vow or disobey Recovery Girl's orders." Young Todoroki remarked. His face said a lot more than that, but All Might wasn't one to pry as a hero or a teacher.

"It still takes strength of its own kind to do that… and I imagine young Bakugou wouldn't have taken it well either." All Might remarked. Speaking of… he took the first-place medal and approached young Bakugou-

"Don't bother." Young Bakugou practically spat out. "I haven't earned it. A first-place like this is hollow."

For a moment All Might simply raised an eyebrow… and then it was clear to him. "You mean how your clash with young Nebulos and young Todoroki's with young Midoriya both ended in draws, and you two could move on, correct?" All Might took the ensuing grunt from young Bakugou as an affirmative. "It's true, the two of you moved on because your injuries were lesser. But you still moved on. And if that isn't enough… then take it to remind you that you still have heights to reach." All Might insisted, before preparing to hang the medal around young Bakugou's neck…

Only for him to snatch it and just… hold it in his hands. No explosions, but no display either. It was a bit baffling to All Might, but he supposed he couldn't exactly take the medal out of young Bakugou's hands now. Even so, it did confuse him… he'd be happy to know he still could reach higher at his age.

Golden week. The time when a bunch of Japanese public holidays are stacked together and as a result of basically taking most of the week off anyway, people take the entire week off. And how do I spend part of that?

Blizzard Of Heroes: Seriously, how long have you been hiding that you could do stuff like that!

Len-Gal: The way you took that explosion! Making the best of a bad situation, right?

HeroesOath: I dunno. Taking an explosion like that almost knocked him out.

Online with friends from around the world in a debate forum. I shoulda known that with me known to them they'd have opened a debate topic involving the results.

The_Aeon: Dumb or not, it was almost creepy how much he seemed to fight like Blood Stark at points.

QuirkNebula: Wish I knew why. Maybe its my brain making it like that?

HeroesOath: Neb you look way too close. It's probably a Mist Match.

MightyAllMight: Mist Match?

Blizzard of Heroes: Transformation phrase from Build. He fights a lot like the sorta-riders there, so it makes sense.

Len-Gal: Much as I'd have liked him to win, I dunno. You guys saw that Todoroki kid – same level as the angry Pomeranian, and then there's MAM.

I chuckled a bit, before hearing a knock at the door. With a quick movement and a couple of clicks, I shut the computer down and swallowed hard… after all, what else are you supposed to do when a friend finds out not only that you have a crush on them, but the immediately insists that she's fine with going on what is almost certainly a date! She even came HERE for the meet up despite me insisting we could meet elsewhere. Still, I grabbed the helmet of my suit – a more casual one that was designed to look more like a red outfit with a light blue cobra because if you have a brand why not sell it – and rushed towards the door, if only to get there before-

"-just don't know… I mean, he's adopted yes, but isn't it a bit early for the parents to meet their child's girlfriend?" Te asked with a teasing tone.

Oh no.

"Maybe we should give her a talk about-" Yubi started, sounding slightly more serious than his wife. I never heard what they said as I tossed on my bag and dashed past them.

"Oh my Rider please don't! See you two later!" I hurriedly yelled as I grabbed Mina by the wrist and pulled her towards the end of the hallway… with Mina giggling a little as I dragged her into the elevator.

"Ok, firstly, they were just teasing!" Mina insisted as we practically skidded in… before stopping. "They… were just teasing us, right?"

I let go of her wrist and, with an apologetic grin, press the ground floor button. "Uhm, sorry about that. Yeah, they probably were but…" I coughed awkwardly. "They… ARE Mei's parents."

Mina blinked… and sighed. "Suddenly your worry makes more sense. Ok, secondly… 'Oh my Rider'?" She questioned

I could feel my cheeks warming as I blushed. "Uh… referencing a quote. 'Even if there's no God or Buddha, there is always Kamen Rider.'" I admitted

And Mina burst out into a giggling fit that soon erupted into full-on laughter. "That is so nerdy and cheesy!" Mina declared.

"It's a good quote!" I countered.

"It's a nerdy one," Mina affirmed. "Still very you, but nerdy."

I… really had no good response for that, even as I pressed my index fingers together embarrassed. "Um… you didn't need to meet me here; we could've met up wherever." I noted.

"I know," Mina said. "But I've never been to a house in a skyscraper before!"

…this is never getting back to Mei or I'll never live down this reasoning for her coming here.

… Mina knows how to pick them, in both a good and a bad way. The good? She'd managed to guide us to a café that was sci-fi themed! Like, right out the front was not just an alien monster I vaguely recognized from Ultraman, but also a Xenomorph! Black carapace and all, and the inside was themed to look spaceship-like!

The bad? It… wasn't exactly easy to get to. Even the closest train meant we needed to go through a few side streets and alleys to get here.

"How do you know about this sorta place?" I asked curiously, even as we sat down at a table near the window. "I mean, I didn't take you for much of a sci-fi lover."

Mina giggled in response to that. "So you really don't know everything about me. Good to know." She teasingly responded… before her face became a bit more subdued. "But ah… yeah, well… how much do you know about how people look at mutations?"

I blinked twice even as I started to remove the headpiece of my suit. "Uh… well, aside from stuff about me, I didn't see much talk about Quirk types on the news and… Yubi and Te never said anything." I admitted… before realization hit me. "Oh. Oh… people… found a reason to hate didn't they?"

Mina let out a sigh and nodded. "Sadly, yeah. You don't see it too much in kids… I think it's the whole 'hero' thing that makes them look past it but… well, when you're four and you accidentally burn a boy's arm in kindergarten…" Oh… geez, this is the most sullen I've seen her look. "It… wasn't easy, I felt it was all against me. And then my dad… he took a day off and called me in sick and brought out a few old movies. Showing aliens using acid blood, fighting people, monsters and so on. And then he brought me here. Showing me that despite how those movies showed the monsters as scary, people loved them. People could see how cool acid blood or blades for arms or the like could be." Mina explained.

"… which lead to him linking it to Quirk mutations," I remarked with a smile. "So that's why…"

Mina blinked at that. "Why what?" She asked.

"Oh, uh, we're going to be getting internships with Heroes for a week soon," I confessed. "And part of that process is that we're going to need to pick hero names."

Mina's eyes widened and I could SEE the sparkles! "Oooh! Who gets what, tell me, tell me!" Mina eagerly insisted.

"Ah, I only remember the most memorable of them!" I insisted. "And not so loud! I'm trying not to make it too open a secret."

For her part, Mina had the decency to stick out her tongue and knock her fist lightly against her head. "Ok, ok… but who DO you remember?" She asked.

I leaned back a bit… who do I remember? "Izuku's gonna go with Deku-"

"Really? But Bakugou insults him with that all the time." Mina commented.

"Uraraka helped him turn it around," I replied. "Anyway, I can't forget Aoyama's… because I Cannot Stop Twinkling, even shortened to Can't Stop Twinkling, is dumb even in English. I… need to try and convince him other names might be good."

Mina nodded with a smile back on her face. "Yeah, but it might be hard. Aoyama kinda just… marches to his own beat, y'know? I think I'm the classmate he spends the most time with and… well, that's not much compared to the others." She explained.

"I have my own theories on that, but I'm not going to gossip." I pointed out. "Uh… Jiro… oh, Earphone Jack, and she'll suggest Kaminari is Jamming-Yay to mess with him. Don't remember what he actually picked though. Kirishima-" I stopped… and grinned. "Well, let's just say he'll earn his one. Red Riot."

Mina gaped. "Wait, Red Riot? Like Crimson Riot? He's an old one but I remember hi-" She cut herself off.

"I know the two of you were in the same middle school," I admitted. "Did he used to talk about him?"

"Once or twice." Mina confessed. "… what about Bakugou?"

"… King Explosion Murder. It's rejected, one of three to do so. Along with his next one… and your first." I noted. "Alien Queen, I think?"

Aaaand Mina's face has smacked onto the table… even as our order is brought over. For her, a strawberry milkshake, a cold pink mochi – I think it's ice cream mochi actually – and a couple of wafers, for me, cola and a lovely looking chocolate cake. "What's wrong with Ripley Hero: Alien Queen?" Mina whinged out.

Wait, Ripley Hero? Huh. Either that wasn't in the anime or I missed it. "Well uh… maybe drop the Ripley Hero part? A bit too on the nose if you ask me." I noted. "As for the rest… well, I remember vague comments that lots of my section liked it but… it's all in English. Maybe that's why?" I'm not saying it's because Midnight got freaked out, I doubt that was the whole reason. Still, I start to slowly dig into my cake… oh, good cake. "I can see why you keep coming here, mmm."

"Nice segue." Mina snarked. "Still… thanks for telling me. I think I need to think it over… and here I was hoping we'd talk about YOUR issues. Why did you go into such a slump during the festival? It was one mistake."

I… will admit I stabbed the cake a little harder than intended at that. "Ah… there's no way I'm getting out of this is there?" I questioned nervously.

"You don't need to… but you know so much about us and… I think it'd be good for you to talk a bit about you." Mina insisted.

I let out a sigh at that… and let go of the fork. "I… ok. I don't remember parts but…" I let out another sigh. "I was – and still am – British, but I was living in Australia with my close family. I loved to write but I… kinda let that go to the wayside when I started making the notes. And it's just… even back then, I was always… hypercritical of obvious mistakes like that."

Mina frowned a bit. "But… you didn't do that about the USJ." She pointed out.

"I did briefly. I got the day wrong." I admitted. "Aizawa spotted it but… I only did it briefly. Tensei? That's…" I trailed off at that. "It was always like that. School, theatre, painting…"

"You did theatre work?" Mina suddenly asked… before wincing. "Ah… if you don't mind-"

"Sorta." I interrupted. Anything to change the subject. "It was a theatre arts Saturday school for kids. Singing, Drama and Dance."

Mina blinked twice and excitedly grinned "Dancing?! Like, breakdancing or?"

"Regular routine and more… standard performance, why?" I questioned, practically feeling a sense of dread radiate off of Mina.

"I'm teaching you to breakdance."

"Mina no."

"Mina YES!"

By the time 'impromptu dance lessons with Mina' was over, we'd learned two things. Firstly, I'm out of practice with my dance moves. Second, my suit is NOT good for break dancing in – dancing, in general, would be tough given how much you can sweat in any given routine. Still, a bit of progress is better than none.

"Seriously, the squeaking your suit made was impressive!" Mina insisted. "I'd have thought it would catch first."

"Hatsume made costumes are like the rest of their stuff… temperamental at first, but if you can iron out the kinks…" I noted… but trailed off as I noticed the alley in front of us was blocked. Blocked by a guy who looked… gritty. As in, dressed in a coat and hat, domino mask, and… was the world going black and white?

"Two of them. A couple, coming back from who knows what."

The voice seemed to echo around us like he was… oh, you've gotta be kidding me. "Detective Noir?" I asked incredulously.

"Dismissive. Some foreign punk who can't even appreciate the classics of his own culture. Another thing to add to the crimes."

"What crimes would that..." Mina kept talking, but the volume lessened until nothing was coming out. She looked at me in shock, an equal look matching my face, before I started to gather steam, in the more literal sense. This had to be some sort of Noir Quirk.

The black-suited 'private eye' gave Mina a harsh look at that. "Dames should know their place, 'specially freaks'a nature like you." He remarked. Make that a Private Dick then. "Didn' think I'd stumble across tha freak dame tryin' ta make everyone think she's gonna be a hero shackin' it up wit' tha steam monster, but it's quicker this way." He reached for his pocket as I start to bend down to fire the helmet at him-

When suddenly the man is slammed into the wall to his right, a massive black and silver fist having forced him there. Colour seemed to return to the world from the sudden shock as droplets of acid splatter to the ground, stopping short of where the Dick would have been out of sheer shock on Mina's part, I expect. Given there wasn't even a hiss, it seems like it was more to distract the guy. As I look on still shocked, the metallic form of a very familiar bulbous upper body emerged, three holes where a face would be. "Tha' two of you alright there?" The Strong Smash Hazard – no, TARO – asked.

"Taro?!" I queried incredulously. "What?"

"You know this guy Andros?" Mina questioned.

"Ey, 'preciate the recognition but it's 'Hazard' like this." Taro insisted. "An' you could say that… Ashido-san right? From the festival?" Mina just nodded, a bit stunned, then turned her head as the wannabe-P.D. groaned… before being grabbed by the hand and tossed to the ground. "Sorry bout the trash. They like ta be subtle, an' this part o' town has some blind spots."

"So you've gone vigilante then?" I pointed out. "I… feel conflicted. You saved us, but what you're doing is technically illegal…"

"Ah… yeah, that's why I never told ya." Taro freely admitted, tapping where his head would be with his other arm. "Ain't a chance we can call it even?"

Mina puffed up her cheeks… and put on a thoughtful look. "Do we… have to report him in?" Mina asked. "I don't hear much about vigilantes…"

I let out a sigh at that. "Because it's a tricky subject. Ever heard of the Crawler?" At that Mina shook her head. "Well don't ask Aizawa-sensei, he'll tell you he hasn't either and probably give me a look for telling you."

Mina blinked twice… then let out an 'ah' of understanding. "So…?"

"We had a nice walk home, and briefly saw my friend Taro as we passed," I explained. Mina nodded at that as we started to walk. "And uh… Taro? Don't hurt him too much like that."

"Only as much as tha guy deserves." Taro insisted with a dark tone as we passed. "I heard what he said."

At that, we walked past… and I looked slowly at Mina as we made it back onto the much more exposed street. "Are you ok?" I questioned, ignoring the sound of someone clearly being thrown at a wall with a wince.

"Course I am!" Mina insisted. "… you're worried about what he said about me, right?"

"I got used to crappy opinions about me due to media exposure," I admitted. "But it didn't leave me feeling the best."

Mina nodded. "I get that… but I'm fine Andros, really. Anti-Mutation stuff… as much as people would love to think it's gone, you get it a lot sometimes. Like I said, that's why I had the Alien Café in the first place." She commented with a more earnest smile. "And if your friend hadn't shown up I'd have shown him what a… 'dame' – that's English right?"

"Slang from the 'Noir' genre." I corrected.

"Well, I'd have shown him what I could do." Mina pumped her fist at that.

"Uppercut?"

"Uppercut."

"Soooo how'd it go, Andros?"

"MEI, IT'S BEEN SECONDS SINCE I GOT IN!"

Of course, as Golden Week came and went, school resumed. It was Thursday when classes came back, and most people were excited, after all, they'd have been getting noticed from the sports festival. Me? Well aside from a few questions about the voice I used, it was just generally swapping out the cautious looks I get normally due to my Quirk for excited talking – even managed to get Neito dragged into it.

But as I got to class, I could see that others had already arrived. And that meant one thing. "Iida-san, I'd like a word," I remarked.

Iida seemed to all the world like he was perfectly fine… but I noticed the slight flinch at that. Still, he nodded and left the suddenly much more quiet class. The door shut behind him, I simply stood in front of him… and waited.

"Why?" Iida started, his tone making it clear he was hurt, and more than a little angry. "Why didn't you tell me that my brother was going to be attacked by the Hero Killer? That he'd be paralysed from the waist down?! He's not going to be able to do any hero work after this, not unless the doctors can pull out a miracle!"

I stood there for a moment in silence… and then let out a sigh. "T – Iida-san," I remarked, catching myself. No way I was in good enough books to call him Tenya right now. "It's not an answer you'll like. To cut the crap… I forgot."

Iida's expression darkened at that, his fists were gripped and for a moment I was worried he was about to burst out yelling at me or just go back into the classroom… but he simply indicated at me. I nodded. "Stain is important, yes. But there's little I could've done to change things. At least I think that's why…." I pulled out something from the pocket of my suit. A small, red notebook, with a bookmark in it that I open things to. "This is my notebook on the future. I tried to write down as much as I could about each moment, as much as I could remember about everyone. And here's what I wrote about what's about to happen!."

Admittedly it wasn't the most detailed page - an outline of what happened, but not the reasons why. It outlined who was in the fight and who was in danger that wasn't fighting, as well as some information on Stain's Quirk that I remembered. Beyond that I had it covered up to not give away that Stain would save Midoriya… didn't want Iida getting the wrong idea on that one. "And before you ask about Tensei's page… I think the issue is I knew too much." I added. "… have you ever heard of the Crawler?"

Iida took a step back at that and his look of anger was replaced by shock. "You saw- but that was five years ago – I had to force it out of-." And then he stopped with a look of horror." You mean… you didn't think of this because… you thought of his actions as a hero five years ago?!"

I nodded sadly at that. "I… I wish I had a better reason than that." I admitted. "And… please, PLEASE don't go after Stain in revenge! You only get so much time to train as a hero!" And yet the words… they ring hollow right now.

Iida… pinched the bridge of his nose. "I… will try to keep that in mind Nebulos-san." Ouch. Him calling me by the San and all hurt more than I expected. "But… I think with this… we all need to rethink how much we rely on that knowledge of yours. I… don't know if I'll be able to go with what you have written down… I don't know if I can…" He trailed off… and shook his head, clearly trying to fight off the words he didn't even need to say at this point. He didn't trust me – or at least my knowledge of the future – anymore. "Anything else you needed to say before we get to class?"

I shook my head. I had considered earlier telling him to carry on his brother's hero name but… I can't force that. And given my position right now… I can't risk making things worse.