A few days passed since the Battle Trial, and class 1-A had been scheduled for another test. This time, it would be a rescue trial, where the student would be sent to one of the more high-tech training grounds. There, they would have to deal with simulated natural disasters and save citizens that were "trapped" in them. Fey would have been reluctant to participate in the first place, but luckily for her, she happened to be indisposed that very day. What she didn't know at the time was that she would have dodged a massive bullet by not showing up to school that day...

Her mother had to go to the hospital on that particular day, and Fey was the only person she could count on to bring her there. While most of her day was spent in the hospital waiting room, once she arrived home at the end of the day, she received a phone call from the school. Assuming that they were calling to scold her for not showing up, Fey reluctantly answered. What she heard though had nothing to do with her being absent that day. The school had been infiltrated by villains and her class had been attacked during the U.S.J. Shocked, Fey asked if everyone was alright. Unsurprisingly, Midoriya was in the infirmary with some severe injuries but so was Mrs. Aizawa. He was in critical care and had sustained major injuries to many parts of his body. Fey's heart sank as her blood ran cold. Her friends had been in danger and she hadn't been there to help them out...

As soon as she got off the phone, she told her mother that she would be going out. She quickly grabbed her bag and shoes and flew out the door. She flew over the buildings and streets to get to the academy, something she wouldn't normally do on a daily basis because of the amount of energy it took out of her, but now was not the time to be conservative. She had to make sure everyone was alright. She had to know what exactly had happened...

She arrived at school and landed in front of the entrance. She saw many of her classmates pass her by as they left. They all seemed shocked to see her but were also completely exhausted from the rough day they had. So she waited for others who would stop to tell her what had happened. Eventually, she saw Iida and Uraraka exit the school. They seemed a bit less disheveled than the rest and looked up at her with the same surprise as those she had crossed paths with before.

"Iida! Ochaco!" she called out as she ran as fast as she could towards them.

She launched herself at Ochaco first, squeezing her tightly in her arms. She was so relieved to see that she wasn't hurt. Then she turned towards Tenya. There was a slight hesitation in her initial movement, but she ended up hugging him as tightly as she did with Uraraka. She rested her cheek on his chest as she held him close, not wanting to let go of him just yet.

"They just called me," she explained. "I-... I'm so sorry you guys. I wish I could have been there to help you out..."

Iida seemed really surprised by her hug and stayed motionless for a moment, not knowing what to do. She didn't seem like she was going to let go of him anytime soon, so the most logical thing to do seemed to just reciprocate her embrace. He wrapped him strong arms around her, trying to comfort her as best he could, despite him not having much experience in such matters.

"You don't have to feel sorry, Fey," he reassured her softly. "If you had been there, you would have been in as much danger as we were.

Ochaco seemed surprised both by what Fey had said, but also at how they were holding each other for so long. Tenya was even stroking her back softly to calm her down. She smiled slightly, choosing not to say anything to see how long this would last.

"Yeah Fey," she said to her. "At least you were safe. If you had been there too, we would have been so worried about you."

Fey contemplated for a moment what Ochaco and Tenya had said. Of course they were right. If she had been there today, she would have been in harm's way just like them. They all would have been worried about each other and she probably would have gotten hurt. She squeezed Iida a bit tighter for a short moment, then released him as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't noticed that they had been holding each other for a solid minute.

"You're right of course," she admitted in a sad voice. "I'm just really glad to see that you guys are alright."

Uraraka smiled cheerfully at her.

"We're glad to see you too!" she chirped happily.

Fey smiled back at her. Then, coming from inside the school, Deku emerged from the large entrance with a few bandages on his body. Fey noticed him and immediately ran towards him, assaulting him with a hug of his own. Izuku let out a surprised grunt, completely freezing up as his face was mere centimeters from her boobs as she was holding him in her arms.

"Deku! You're alright!" she exclaimed.

"F-F-Fey!" he stuttered, unsure what to do while trapped in her arms.

Luckily, she released him pretty quick and let out a sigh of relief.

"I heard all about what happened. I'm so sorry you got hurt... I hope you'll be alright for now!"

Deku scratched his head nervously, trying to wipe the image of her boobs from his mind. Ochaco seemed a bit annoyed by this and quickly got closer to Midoriya.

"I'm surprised they let you out of the infirmary with how badly you were hurt Deku," she admitted in a tone of surprise.

"Recovery girl is quite the efficient healer," he replied. "But she couldn't heal everything right now. I'll have to take it easy for the next couple of days."

"Right! Anyways, we should make our way home don'tcha think? I know I'm ready to get back home..."

They agreed and set out towards the street, but somewhere in the middle, Fey felt a sudden dip in energy levels and almost fell over. It was Iida who caught her and helped her regain her balance.

"Are you okay?" he said, his voice heavy with concern.

"Y-Yeah I'm just... I used my quirk to get here really fast and I didn't bring a snack or anything to drink to refill my energy," she explained, her voice sounding a lot more tired all of a sudden.

Midoriya and Ochaco stared at her with concern as well. After giving her a few moments to recover, an idea materialized into Tenya's mind. He looked at the other two sternly and said:

"Uraraka, would you be willing to take Midoriya home on your own?" he asked politely. "I'll make sure that Fey makes it home safely."

"Y-You don't have to-..." Fey started to say, before she was interrupted.

"You got it Iida!" Ochaco answered energetically. "Come on Deku! Let's get you home safe as well!"

Midoriya nodded and started to walk towards his house with his female classmate. Fey didn't have the strength to protest nor did she really want to in the end. Iida's presence was reassuring and she could possibly extract information from him about what exactly happened while she was gone.

"Before we set out," Tenya started. He reached into his bag and pulled out a can of orange juice. "Take this."

Fey's eyes lit up at the sight of the juice can. She eagerly grabbed it and opened it immediately to start drinking. She took a few big gulps of juice before sighing in relief.

"Thank you Iida," she said. "I had no idea you carried around orange juice with you."

"It's for my quirk," he replied, pulling out a second can for himself. "My drawback isn't so different from yours actually. When I use my quirk a lot, I have to replenish my engine's with orange juice."

"That seems... oddly specific. But then again, there isn't always a logical explanation for how certain quirks work."

She laughed softly, taking another sip of juice. This drink was really hitting the spot and helping her regain a bit of her strength, enough so that she could get back home without fainting.

"I wanted to ask you, Fey..." Iida started speaking. "As class representative, it's my job to make sure no one slacks off and that everyone is performing to the utmost efficiency..." He paused. "Tell me... why were you absent from class today?"

Fey had had a creepy suspicion that he was going to ask her that when he asked to take her home. Was she going to tell him about her mother? She hadn't shared her family's struggles with anyone, except for the fact that she had lost her father last year. And even that, she had only shared it with him, Ochaco and Midoriya. She let out a long sigh as they walked together on the sidewalk. He already knew about her striping, might as well tell him about the rest.

"I had to take my mother to the hospital," she announced without warning.

Iida was taken aback by her statement. Not only had she lost her father, but maybe she was at risk of losing her mother as well.

"Oh I-... I'm sorry. I didn't know your mother was ill..."

"That's because I haven't told anyone about it..."

There was silence for a brief moment.

"My mother has been sick for the past few years," Fey continued. "She's been getting a lot worse though lately, so I had to take her to the hospital to get checked out."

"I-I see..." Tenya acknowledged. "And, your mother's illness, is there a cure for it?" He dreaded the answer.

"Well... see, this is where it gets complicated," Fey began. "There is... but we simply don't have the means to get them for her."

This came as a shock for Iida. He himself came from a wealthy family, and whenever he or anyone in his family needed something, they would always have the means to procure said things, either through money or connections.

"We're already stretched thin as it is with my three younger sisters," she added. "They're triplets, you know? And they all have the same quirk as me."

She laughed softly. Tenya tried to imagine three miniature versions of Fey, but boys, but the thought of imagining her as a child was almost unbearably cute, so he pushed the image out of his mind before he started blushing.

"So, if I'm not mistaken," he said. "You're living with your mother and your three younger siblings, correct?"

"That's right," she nodded. "We live in an apartment not too far from here if I take the bus. But it's not much... We barely have enough room for the four of us. My sisters sleep in the same room. I have my own room and my mother's room is right next to mine in case she needs anything from me."

She sighed. Her eyes seemed to get lost in the cracks of the pavement as they walked.

"That's why I work at the club, Iida," she goes on to explain. "If I don't work, my family would have no money and we would end up-... I don't even want to think about where we would end up..."

Tenya felt so overwhelmingly helpless regarding Fey's situation. Her life was so drastically different from his. While he lived a life of relative comfort and luxury, she had to sacrifice so much just to keep her family safe. All this information was almost too much for him to hear. How could he possibly understand what she was going through?

"But surely you would be able to find employment in less... unsavory places, no?" he asked. "I mean... It can't be easy doing that kind of work while going to school and caring for your family all at the same time."

"It's not... but it's more complicated than that, Iida," she declared.

"Surely you have family here that could help? I heard that your mother was from here, can't her family help shoulder your burden?"

"Tch... We'd sooner be living on the streets with three hungry kids," Fey spat, her face twisted with disgust. "We're in this situation because they refuse to help."

Iida could not seem to wrap his head around the concept of family leaving each other in the dust like that. His own family had always been there for him, for his brother... He couldn't imagine what would happen if they suddenly decided to cut them off from the rest. Fey could see it in his eyes that he was desperately trying to comprehend her situation, but since he was from a vastly different background, it was going to be a hard task for him to achieve.

"I'm not telling you all of this so that you can feel sorry for me, Iida," she said, looking straight at him. "I just figured that, if I told you, you wouldn't think I'm some kind of... 'lowlife' for living the life that I do..."

Her words shook him to his core. Only because he knew that somewhere, deep down, he had labeled her as some kind of deviant when they had first met... that he still did, because of how his family had brought him up. If any of them knew about Fey's activities, they would surely force him to cut ties with her. They would never be accepting of someone that they deemed so lowly and it lit a fire in his heart. One of anger, anger towards his family, towards his parents. He knew Tensei wasn't as harsh with people. He was compassionate, caring... He wouldn't judge her as harshly as their parents, so why did he? This question burned him from the inside as he struggled to find the answer himself.

"Anyway, I've rambled on about my personal life far too much," Fey smiled. "What about your family, Iida? You told me your brother was a pro hero. Tell me about him..."

Tenya was grateful for the change of topic, even though thinking of his brother made him think about his own family, but at least he would get to talk about the one person he truly looked up to.

"My brother, Tensei, is... amazing," he said, looking up at the sky. "He is such a kind, inspirational person. That's the reason he has so many people that want to follow him. He is honorable, and I strive to be like him with every breath."

Fey couldn't help but feel at peace when he talked so honestly about his brother and how he wanted to be a great hero just like him. There should be more people like him, she thought to herself. There was clearly a lot of passion in Tenya's heart, a passion that burned brightly, bright enough so that everyone he interacted with could see it. Fey wished she could have even just a sliver of that passion for herself. She wished she had convictions as deep and as strong as his so that other people would look up to her as she looked up to him.

"You'll get there one day Tenya," she said, smiling. "Of that I have no doubt."

Her response caught him off guard. He had been used to hearing those words from his brother, but had never heard them from someone outside of his family. And to hear it from somebody who didn't know him for very long was... even more impactful. He simply smiled at her response, turning away after a few seconds to continue on their way towards Fey's house.

After a short bus ride and some more walking, they finally reached the apartment complex where Fey lived with her mother. The neighborhood didn't seem to be the cleanest nor the safest, but it was quiet enough not to rouse Tenya's vigilance.

"This is it then?" he asked.

"Yeah we're here," she answered, looking up at where her apartment was. "You didn't have to come this far, Tenya. You could have just left me at the bus station and I would have been fine to walk to my apartment..."

"Nonsense. I promised I would see you home safely, and I did. Now my promise has been fulfilled. I... doubt we'll be seeing each other at school in the next few days..."

"You're probably right," Fey sighed. "I guess we'll... see each other around then?"

She looked up at him, trying to expect what he would say. Tenya ran a hand down the back of his neck awkwardly. He wasn't the best with words...

"I-... Of course," he said finally. "Feel free to send me a text message if you feel like it. You do have my number, right?"

"O-Oh yeah!" she replied, taken aback by his response. "I have it right here." She lifted up her phone and showed her contact list, mostly filled with classmates. "We'll talk soon then."

She smiled before putting her phone back in her pocket and walking towards the door.

"Text me when you get home," she asked. "I would feel awful if something happened to you because you decided to accompany me home."

Tenya laughed softly. "If it will put your mind at ease, I will send you a message once I get home."

"Good. And if you don't, I'll have to challenge you to a rematch for that race." she said with a tinge of rebellion in her eyes.

He chuckled amusingly. "Very well. Goodnight, Miss Fey..."

"Goodnight... Tenya."

And with that he was off. Fey lingered a bit to watch him disappear from her street. Once he was out of view, she sighed softly. She didn't quite understand how or what she felt when he was around, but one thing was certain: she felt a lot better, a lot safer, when he was around…