Chapter 39: Heights Alliance

Aizawa turned the key and shoved the door open, muttering under his breath. Darkness fled out from the apartment within. Doko stepped in with some trepidation, unsure of what to expect. His heart was still racing from everything that had happened.

I am free, I am well and truly free of my parents. It felt strange. His mind kept doing somersaults, trying to think of something he might be forgetting, some glaring issue with this that would prevent it from being anything but helpful. But he couldn't think of anything, besides Akane.

"What will happen to my sister?" Doko asked Aizawa as his teacher went deeper into the apartment, his feet shuffling against the floor. The place smelled vaguely of coffee and leather.

"She will stay with your parents. They treat her well, don't they?"

"I mean…yes, they do…" Doko blinked as Aizawa turned the lights on, and he got a good look at the place. It was small, with a dinky living space and kitchen area laid out in front of him. Off to the right were two doors. One led to a small bedroom, the other to the bathroom. Basic apartment. The walls were grey and undecorated, which seemed to suit Aizawa well enough, and the place was surprisingly clean otherwise.

"I'm just worried," Doko muttered. "I'll be able to visit her, right?"

Aizawa was shuffling through the kitchen cabinets, his back turned. "Do you mean legally? Yes, you can visit her. I suppose you'd have to set that up with her though. I don't imagine your parents would continue to allow it."

"Right…" Well, that was one thing he'd have to think about. Sacrifices have to be made. If it meant getting to live free of them, to live with the people he actually cared about…then Doko was willing.

In the meantime, though, he was stuck at Aizawa's apartment, which…now that he took a second look, seemed to be rather…spare. Of course, that fit Aizawa's character. But also…

"Sensei, you don't use this place very much, do you?"

"You'd be correct. I am usually out at night, solving incidents. That's why I bring my sleeping bag to the school."

Doko stepped further into the dinky living space. "Am I sleeping on this couch?"

"You can use the bed; I don't care."

"I think I'd rather not."

"That's fair too. Spare blanket is in the closet in there." He nodded toward the small bedroom.

"Are you going to go out tonight, sir?"

"Oh, yes. Lots to do." Aizawa had made himself some tea, and was now sipping it while leaning against the counter. Doko felt his teacher's eyes on him as he fetched the spare blanket and spread it out on the couch.

"...You want to come with me."

"Well, I'd feel weird just being here by myself…"

"You do not have your provisional license yet. There'd be very little for you to accomplish. With that being said…" Aizawa's eyes darted away. "...As it stands, you would be one of the few students I'd trust to patrol with me."

Doko brightened up a little at that. It was the closest thing to praise his homeroom teacher had ever directly given him, unless he was forgetting something. "Thanks for doing all this, Aizawa-sensei. I mean it. I reckon…I reckon you've changed my life."

"It was the logical thing to do," his teacher muttered. "It's my job to make all my students reach their full potential. You can't possibly reach yours while operating out of that home."

Suddenly, Doko remembered something. Something he had to tell Aizawa. I can't believe I forgot! Sure, a million things had happened since then, but…

"Sensei?"

"What is it." Aizawa was nearly done with his tea, and clearly intended to leave the apartment as soon as that happened.

"Sir…it's about something that happened at Kamino."

The man lowered his cup, and pushed himself off the counter, taking a seat on the couch. He didn't say anything, but the gesture was clear enough: I am here to listen. Doko appreciated that, but he was worried that the information was not what Aizawa would be expecting to hear.

"Well, sir…after All Might arrived, All For One helped the League escape by forcibly activating Kurogiri's Quirk while he was unconscious. He forced a portal out of Kurogiri, basically. Also…"

"Kurogiri has your mother's Quirk," Aizawa said softly. "Your birth mother. I am aware."

Doko's eyes widened. "You knew?"

"It's my job to know things. Keep going with the report."

"But, anyway…I got pushed into the portal as well. They sent me in first. I don't know what happened, but…I didn't go through. I ended up in some kind of void. I think…" Doko swallowed. This part was mere guesswork, but he felt so certain about it. "I think I ended up in Kurogiri's subconscious, somehow. And I was able to get out, and rejoin the fight."

He thought Aizawa would raise an eyebrow or say something cynical, but the teacher's eyes softened. "Quirks are strange things," he said. "I've learned that over years of erasing them. It could be that a combination of Kurogiri's unconscious state, All For One's forcible activation of his Quirk, and the genetic connection between his Quirk and yours caused some strange thing to happen. It's perfectly possible."

"Well, that's reassuring, but…" Doko took a deep breath. "Sir, this specifically pertains to you. While in Kurogiri's subconscious…I talked…to someone."

Aizawa DID raise his eyebrows at this. "Pertains to me?"

"Yes. They said…they said they knew you. When they were a student at UA. Their name was Shirakumo, I think. I could be misremembering."

Aizawa stood up so abruptly that the couch slid back across the floor. His eyes flashed red, and he suddenly pushed up against Doko, getting into his face with a furious snarl. "Is this some kind of joke to you?" he growled. "I help you out of that horrible home and you repay me with THIS?!"

Doko was terrified. "ARGH! I! I don't understand! I'm not joking! It's the truth, I swear! I swear on everything!" He held up his hands, backing away from his teacher in fright.

Aizawa paused. For a moment, they both stood there in that small apartment, breathing hard, staring at each other.

Doko slowly relaxed his muscles, lowering his hands. "Are…are we good?" he asked.

He did not respond immediately. And then: "Yes, I suppose we are." Barely a murmur.

Shota Aizawa collapsed back onto the couch, holding his face in his hands. "No, I'm sorry Katayama," he groaned. "You are telling the truth. I can see it. There's no way you would have known, otherwise…"

"Who is Shirakumo?" Doko dared to ask.

"An old classmate of mine and Mic's," Aizawa answered, somewhat softer. "He died."

"...Oh. I'm…sorry."

"But…if you saw him while inside Kurogiri's portal…and the League makes the Nomu out of people with compatible Quirks…" Aizawa stood up abruptly all over again, suddenly rushing to the door to pick up his things.

Doko turned to follow his movement. "Are you going out now?"

"Yes, but there's a change of plan," his teacher replied hurriedly. "Gotta go see Mic…tell him…and Tsukauchi too, yes…"

He briefly paused, one hand on the doorknob. "Stay here, Katayama."

And then, Aizawa disappeared into the night.

…

Doko was at Eraser Head's apartment for two more days after that. He barely saw his teacher during that time, and heard nothing else about the Kurogiri/Shirakumo situation. Is Kurogiri some kind of Nomu made of Shirakumo's corpse and my mother's Quirk? The thought was grotesque, and that was reason enough to not push Aizawa about details whenever they were together.

Three days was all it took for UA's construction bots (and possibly Cementoss) to build the Heights Alliance dorms, and then it was time for the move-in.

Doko had brought very few things with him to Aizawa's, packing only the essentials from his home. He had his clothes, washroom products, a desk lamp, a few books, some travel posters…and that was basically it. There hadn't been much time for anything else upon leaving the Katayama house. Is that still my last name? I suppose it is. He still wasn't clear on all the legal rules of everything.

During those two days, he'd updated Mina on what had happened through text, although he hadn't yet seen her in person.

Mina: you have no idea how happy i am for you. when i see you, i'm just gonna

Mina: i don't know

Doko: yea, i'm still having trouble processing it, to be honest. hoping i can still visit my sister

Mina: i'd like to meet her too!

Mina: she's gonna be fine with your parents right?

Doko: oh yea. they've always treated her well

Mina: also…

Mina: i think you should tell the others about your situation. tsu and sero and them

Doko: i don't know. maybe.

Doko: since we're all moving into dorms, that kind of gives me a cover. they won't know that i don't have a house to go back to on the weekends.

Mina: doko...don't be naughty…

Mina: i really think you should tell them.

Doko: i will at some point

Doko: but it takes time to get ready for these things.

Mina: i know. if you need me to be there, i will be.

Doko: love you.

Mina: love you too 3

And the day had finally arrived. Aizawa had offered to take Doko with him up to the UA campus, but Doko had declined. He didn't really want to be seen with his teacher…not in a juvenile way, but in a way that might make people question things before he wanted them to be questioned.

Besides Mina, the only other people who knew were Todoroki and Bakugo…which was strange, wasn't it? Doko was fairly certain that Tsu suspected something, as did Midoriya…but still. In any case, he did not want them to know that he'd been staying with Eraser Head. Only Mina knew.

His eyes went to her first upon walking up the sidewalk toward their new dorm. "Mina!" he called with a wave.

She laughed, her eyes glowing, and ran to him, hugging him tightly. "Good to see you," she whispered in his ear. Behind them, several of the class were hooting and whistling, but Doko didn't much care. "Feeling alright?" she asked, backing off.

He smiled. "Best I've felt in a while."

Shoji approached him next, his stump and some of his webbing tied off in gauze. "Katayama, it's good to see you again," the multi-armed boy intoned.

"And you," Doko said seriously. "I'm glad you're still gonna be learning with us."

"Well, if you guys can become heroes with two arms, I'm sure I can become one with five."

Doko laughed at that, as Sero, Hagakure, Tokoyami, and Ojiro came up to greet him as well.

"I'm so glad everyone made it!" Toru was gushing, waving her sleeves expressively. "I was afraid that some people wouldn't get permission from their parents…"

Off to the side, Tsuyu was standing alone. Doko noticed Uraraka try to say something to her, but Tsuyu just walked off.

Their eyes met. Doko blinked, and Tsuyu averted her gaze. So strange. Not once since Kamino had the frog girl typed in their group chat.

Kirishima was looking around. "Kaminari isn't here, though?"

Doko met eyes with Bakugo. Bakugo glared at him, and then lifted two fingers up to his closed mouth, making a zipping gesture. The communication was clear. Don't talk about it. They had no idea what the stance of the authorities was on that, so for now…they just had to remain quiet.

Yaoyorozu was also standing off to the side, holding her arm with her other hand, but she made a strange, anxious expression when she overheard Kaminari's name. Doko's eyes widened. She knows. How did Yao-momo know? He wasn't sure, but just from that moment…he was certain of it.

All in all, everyone seemed happy to see each other and happy to be moving into these dorms, but there was a tension as well.

Aizawa faced them from the steps, standing between them and their new home. "It's good to see most of you back and in good health," he announced to the class. "Behind me is your dormitory building, obviously, but before we go into that, there are a few things I need to address.

"First of all, Denki Kaminari is no longer with us. He will not be moving here and will not be attending classes at UA anymore."

Chatter erupted from the students all at once.

"Is he okay? You guys DID find him, right?" asked Jiro.

"Did his parents say he couldn't come anymore?!" Kirishima demanded.

"He hasn't been replying to texts, either! What's going on?" Sero called.

"I'm not at the liberty to say much, I'm afraid," said Aizawa with a shrug. "All I know is that…his family do not view UA in the best of lights. It'd be best if you did not try to contact him anymore. You might be creating trouble for him."

The class murmured amongst themselves. Doko's heart was racing. He looked at Bakugo again. Does Aizawa know? Was the story he'd just told a lie, or an excuse? It was impossible to tell.

Then, Doko felt another pair of eyes on him. He turned slightly, to see Yao-momo staring. When he met eyes with her, she quickly looked away.

Yep. She knows too. He'd have to tell Bakugo, and they'd need to confront her about it together. They needed to ensure that there was a lid on this. If it gets out that he betrayed us, the public will lose faith in heroes all over again.

"I suppose it makes sense," Ojiro was saying sadly. "There was no way everyone's family was going to let them keep coming after a disaster like that."

"But Kaminari stayed out of trouble, for the most part!" Jiro pointed out. She seemed more distressed about this than expected. "He wasn't hit by the gas like me or Hagakure, and he didn't get into any fights, either!"

"That does not always matter," said Iida. "Different families operate in different ways. We must be sympathetic, but also respectful of Aizawa-sensei's wishes. If it would truly be bad for Kaminari if we continued to have contact with him…then it's best to simply drop it, I'm afraid."

The class seemed to be accepting it. Doko did not miss the briefest flash of relief on Aizawa's face, that slight lowering of the shoulders indicating a release of tension. "In any case…" their teacher said. "That is not all that I wish to say to you. If you'll recall, the point of that training camp was to have you all receive your provisional licenses early."

"Oh, right…" Hagakure muttered. "So much has happened that I forgot…"

"Alternate measures are being developed at the moment," Aizawa said. "The camp was cut short, but you will all still receive another chance to get your licenses. With that being said…Kirishima."

The red-haired boy stiffened upon being called out.

"Uraraka. Midoriya. Todoroki. Sero. Ashido. Iida."

One by one, all of them went to nervous attention. All the people who rescued us, Doko realized.

"These seven all went to Kamino Ward that night, to rescue Bakugo and Katayama."

A few people gasped lightly, but most of the class remained silent, squirming or shifting on their feet.

Aizawa sighed. "And based on that reaction, the rest of you knew that they were going to do this. I'll set aside a number of issues and lay out a blanket statement. If it wasn't for All Might's retirement leaving a gap in hero society…I would have expelled all of you besides the two who were captured and Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Hagakure, who were unconscious in the hospital and did not know any better."

A rippling of gasps went across the group. Doko's brain flipped. Mina would have been expelled…

"Of course I mean the seven who went, but I'm also referring to the eight others who were completely conscious and complicit. In these times more than ever, it is important to act rationally and act based on the sets of rules surrounding you. From this point forward, especially with this dorm situation…" Aizawa's eyes flitted back toward the building behind him. "I'd like you to all follow procedure, if you want to regain my trust. That is all."

He turned, and walked off.

…

Later, they'd all toured the dorm building and settled down a little. The mood was a bit easier, more lively. Mina kept pointing at things and shouting excitedly. Sero could be heard complaining about the gender separation. Yaoyorozu was expressing thoughts that Doko found very strange, like this room is almost as big as some of our closets. Then, he remembered how big her house had been when they'd gone to study there…

"It's like a mansion!" Uraraka kept repeating, and fainting in shock. Iida kept having to pick her up.

Doko was surprised to see that not only would they be getting their own individual rooms but their own toilets as well. Bath and laundry were shared areas, still, but that was fine.

He was one of the first to finish unpacking his room. He did not have many belongings, after all. He'd had to go buy new sheets for the bed, since he'd left his at his parents' house. Not my parents. Don't have to call them that anymore. It would take some getting used to.

In any case, he was now waiting in the common room along with Ojiro and Shoji, who had apparently taken similar approaches to unpacking.

"I wonder what's taking Tokoyami so long," Ojiro wondered aloud, craning his neck to look back up the stairs. "What could the guy possibly have to unpack?"

Shoji shrugged. "Maybe he is a secret fan of something that we don't know about."

Doko couldn't help but snort. "What, like…yoga or something? He's taking his time rolling all the mats out?"

"I could do with a bit of yoga myself," Ojiro muttered.

It took another hour or so, but the rest of the class joined them in the common room, having finished up their packing. This included Mina.

"Do you wanna come see my room?" she repeated for the fifth time.

"Please stop asking me that."

"Why not? Why don't you want to come and see it?"

"It sounds like a trap," Doko complained, while Ojiro and Kirishima laughed from the couch across from them.

"What would I gain from that?" Mina asked snidely, leaning in closer to him. "I've got you trapped already."

Somebody whistled. Uraraka turned red and nearly fainted again, only to be picked up by Iida. "You two!" the class rep barked. "I realize that we are all living together now…"

"Wow, really?" Doko asked, leaning forward in interest.

"...but you must keep the displays of affection…"

Mina pouted, leaning her head against Doko's shoulder.

"...to a minimum!"

"Why?" Mina asked testily. "You jealous, Iida-kuuuun? Want what ya can't have?"

Iida turned red, and open and shut his mouth over and over like it was attached to a lever. Everyone else was laughing, but Doko looked at his girlfriend with deadly seriousness. "Now, now, Mina," he admonished. "Iida is a very focused individual. I appreciate your possessiveness of me, but he doesn't have time for silly things like boys."

"BOYS!" Kirishima roared. Sero choked on the soda he was drinking.

Iida sighed and facepalmed. "This is already getting out of hand…I was hoping that living together would improve our cooperation…"

"It's okay to be fired up," Kirishima reassured him. "Although I think you should let the kids live a little. Pinky, you guys have my full support!" He gave them a thumbs-up.

"You don't have mine," Sero said unblinkingly. "I'm incredibly jealous." He barely held in a snort at the end there.

"Sero-kuuuuun…" Hagakure sang. "It's a shame that we're not living together with Class B, huh?"

The tape user's eye twitched. "Please don't."

"Because, you know…"

"Hagakure…"

"Shiozaki, and all…"

"How does EVERYONE know about this!" Sero shrieked, pulling at his hair, while the rest of the class laughed.

"Wait…" Midoriya blinked innocently, leaning in closer. "Are you and Shiozaki a couple too, Sero?"

"In his wildest dreams," Jiro hooted.

Sero put his face in his hands, while Kirishima patted him on the shoulder.

Midoriya seemed confused. "I don't get it."

"It's perfectly simple," Doko told him. "You know yourself, right?"

"Uh…"

"And you know Uraraka?"

"Uh, yeah, but…"

"Shiozaki and Sero are like that."

"HUH?! Wait, wh-what do you mean!" Midoriya cried, his face turning the shade of a tomato. Uraraka nearly fainted again. Iida caught her again.

"I mean what I said," Doko answered plainly, purposely not making eye contact with him and winking at Mina instead.

While Hagakure and Kirishima continued teasing Midoriya, Ojiro leaned back into the couch and sighed. "Man, you guys are too much for sometimes…"

Tokoyami shut his eyes. "Revelry in the dark."

"Where's Bakugo?" Shoji wondered aloud.

Sato looked around. "I DID notice a distinct lack of angry shouting, now that you mention it."

Doko gave Yao-momo another glance. She'd been talking to Iida in a low voice, but she met his eyes again, and then averted them.

"OOOH, I know!" Mina exclaimed, suddenly jumping away from him and up onto her feet. "We should have a room presentation contest!"

Aoyama looked alarmed. "A…what in the what now, mademoiselle?"

Tokoyami and Midoriya had both frozen up. "Umm…"

"Do we have to…"

"LET'S GO!" They suddenly began surging toward the stairs, Mina and Toru leading the charge.

…

Midoriya tried to block them out of his room, waving his arms frantically. "THIS REALLY ISN'T NECESSARY I SWEAR I…"

They got in somehow. The room was filled with All Might merchandise.

"It's an otaku's room!" Uraraka exclaimed with a smile. She seemed happy about it, but Midoriya was embarrassed.

Next was Tokoyami. "This is unnecessary," he said, leaning coolly against the front of his door.

A beat passed, and then Mina and Toru shoved him out of the way. "NO!" Tokoyami exclaimed, losing his cool and scrambling to his feet as they pushed the door open, laughing. "NO, I…"

"Oh my god, it's so dark and scary."

"Coool!"

The others followed in. Kirishima picked something up off Tokoyami's desk. "I think I had this keychain in middle school."

"Get out…" the bird boy mumbled.

Midoriya gasped. "A sword! So cool…"

"GET OUT!"

Aoyama's room was predictably shiny. They moved on to the third floor.

Ojiro's room was, as Doko might've predicted, plain and normal. Iida's was similar but had the added quirk of bookshelves…and a whole shelf of spare glasses. Uraraka found this tremendously funny.

Next was Doko himself. He casually stood next to his closed door, not seeing the point in trying to block their entry.

"Ohh, it's Katayama-kun next, huh?" Hagakure breathed. "The wild card! What could be inside? It could be anything."

"Oh no. You're going to be disappointed."

The invisible girl opened the door, and her floating clothes slumped. "You're right. I am disappointed."

The others peered into his room briefly. "You've got some books, too," Sato observed, "though not nearly so many as Iida…"

"What's that poster from?" Midoriya asked, pointing at the one above his bed.

"It's for New Zealand," said Doko.

"You've been there?!"

"Err…no. I'd like to go, but I just have the poster."

Mina seemed to be inspecting every nook and cranny, tapping her chin in thought. "You're not gonna find the secret passageway," he told her dryly.

"Oh, just let your girlfriend snoop a little, huh?"

"What for? Practicing your investigation skills?"

"As a matter of fact, yes! Heroes have to be detectives too!"

"And what's your thoughts on the case, Holmes?"

"I think…" Mina stood in the center of the room, one hand on her hip. All eyes fell to her. "I think we're gonna need to go on a shopping date, and buy you some more stuff for this room."

Doko deadpanned at her. "Don't just plan our dates in front of everyone."

"I do what I want!"

After everyone had finished laughing, they moved on to Koda's room, which was decorated with a warm color scheme and a few fluffy rugs. He also had a pet bunny, which the girls fawned over for an excessively long time.

Sero nudged Koda's arm. "Not cool, dude. Using animals to win over the chicks? That's a breaking of code."

"C-code?" Koda stuttered, confused.

"Bro code."

"We're n-not brothers."

"Apparently so," the tape user mumbled.

They went up another floor.

"Shoji, Kirishima, and Bakugo live on this floor, right?" Uraraka asked, looking up as if recalling the floor plan that Aizawa had shown them.

"Is Kacchan participating?" Midoriya asked.

Kirishima rubbed the back of his head. "I asked if he wanted to, but he said shit sounds lame, I'm going to sleep and then locked himself in his room."

Damn, thought Doko. I was hoping he'd help me confront Yao-momo, but if he's sleeping, I shouldn't bother him.

"Anyway, it's time for your room!" Mina said to Kirishima. "You ready, Kiri?" She and Toru went racing toward the door.

Kirishima put his hand on the doorknob before they could reach it, and turned it himself. "Not that I care, but I don't think you're going to get it."

Inside was a punching bag, posters, and an array of manly things.

Mina pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah, I about expected that."

Shoji's room had nothing, literally nothing, in it.

"I told you guys you wouldn't be impressed," he said.

"Yeah, but we thought you were just downplaying it!" Hagakure complained. "This is sad, Shoji-kun! Let me decorate for you at least!"

"No."

"Pleeeeeaase!"

Doko put a hand on the multi-armed boy's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay," he mumbled gravely.

Todoroki nodded seriously. "I didn't know you were a minimalist. I'm quite impressed."

They went up to the fifth floor, where Sero, Todoroki, and Sato's rooms were. Sero and Todoroki's rooms were Asian style, and the latter literally had a Japanese-style room, down to the tatami mats on the floor.

"Dude!" Sero exclaimed, practically crying in shock. "How on Earth did you remodel this in that amount of time?"

Todoroki stared at him. "I worked hard."

The class sweatdropped. What's with this guy?

Sato had some cooking and baking supplies in his room, and procured a cake for them all to eat. The girls ate it up…literally.

Then, it was the girls' turn. Doko didn't really know what to expect with this…he was just kind of along for the ride. Guess I'm seeing Mina's room after all.

First, though, was Jiro's, which was filled with musical instruments, and decidedly not girly. When Aoyama pointed this out, however, he received an earful of Jiro's Quirk.

She seemed really embarrassed about it, but Doko took a second look at the guitar. She plays guitar, huh? He'd taken a few lessons when he was younger, but…

Hagakure's room was bright pink and girly.

"Are you sixteen or six?" Sero asked incredulously, while the rest of the class ooh'd and aah'd at the garishness of it.

"Next is me!" Mina declared, jumping in front of her door and then throwing it open.

It was pink like Toru's, only darker, more fitting for her age. Doko blinked, taking it in. He realized Mina was looking at him, eyes brimming with expectation, so he said: "I think it looks nice."

She pouted. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, Katayama!" Kirishima called. "You're supposed to compliment your girlfriend better than that!"

"Well, I don't have the most qualified opinion on room decoration ever."

"True," mumbled Sero.

They continued to Uraraka's, which was like the female version of Ojiro's: fairly plain.

"Feels weird looking at all these girls' rooms," Ojiro commented from the doorway.

"A forbidden garden," Tokoyami agreed under his breath.

"Next up is Asui…where is she?"

Doko perked up. He noticed Sero and Mina do the same…none of them knew what she'd been up to.

"Oh, Tsu said she wasn't feeling well," Jiro said, flicking her ear jacks toward the closed door.

"Alright, then. I guess we'll just skip her like we did Bakugo."

They moved on to Yao-momo's room, which was incredibly cramped with ornate furniture. Most of the class reacted accordingly, but Doko's mind was elsewhere. He needed to talk to her about Kaminari.

…

Sato ended up winning the competition because of his cake. Sero and Kirishima got mad about this, but the girls had been won over, and there was nothing else for it.

"Is it over now? Can I go to sleep?" Todoroki asked Midoriya, as if the green-haired boy was his guardian.

"Uhh…I guess?"

"Actually, wait a second," Jiro called to Todoroki as he began to retreat toward the stairs. "Can you two come outside for a second? Kirishima, Sero, you guys too. And Uraraka, Ashido, and Iida."

"That's a lot of people," Ojiro mumbled.

"Huh?" Hagakure turned, confused. "What's going on?"

The others all looked at Jiro with bewildered expressions. The rocker girl just glared at them. "Just come outside for a sec! It's serious!"

The seven of them followed her toward the doors to the grounds. Doko, meanwhile, watched as the rest of them headed for the stairs…Yao-momo included.

…

Mina didn't really know what was going on. "Jiro, what's this about?" she asked the girl in front of her, who was leading them down the steps. Outside, the evening was warm, partially overcast. The bugs buzzed in the trees off in the distance.

"Over there," Jiro nodded. "She said she had something she wanted to tell all of you. I dunno, I'm just the messenger."

The rocker girl turned and went back inside, leaving the seven of them from the rescue team face-to-face with Tsuyu Asui.

"Tsu?" Mina asked with trepidation. She and Uraraka, her closest friends out of that group, took a few tentative steps toward her. Sero followed behind somewhat.

The frog girl was hanging her head down, her hands in that familiar position in front of her. "I can't help but say what comes to my mind," she croaked. "But sometimes…" her voice sounded frail, as if she was about to cry. "Sometimes I don't know what to say."

The air was uncomfortable, tense. Iida and Kirishima averted their eyes. Mina gulped. Is she talking about…?

"Do you all remember what I said at the hospital?" she asked them, lifting up her head a bit.

"Yea…" Midoriya said softly, slouching. "I remember."

"Mina-chan…Sero-chan…" A shadow fell over Tsuyu's face. "You planned the rescue without me. I don't know if you knew I would disapprove, ribbit, or something else, but…I cared about Dokkun, too. And Bakugo-chan…"

Kirishima shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"I had to harden my heart that day in the hospital and say some painful things. Because I didn't want any of you to go."

Mina felt her own eyes welling up. Gooseflesh crawled up her arms.

Tsuyu lifted her head fully, and they saw she was openly crying. "I know you love him, Mina. I can see it. You care about him, and Midoriya-chan and Kirishima care about Bakugo, even if they have trouble naming what their feelings are…and you, Uraraka…I thought I'd be able to override those feelings you had about the villains…I thought I'd stopped you all." Her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

"But then I found out…that you went anyway. And that…that made me very sad. I felt like I wouldn't be able to have fun with everyone today…because I just care about everyone…and want them to be safe…"

She let out a full cry, coughed, and then the softest of ribbits.

Todoroki, to everyone's surprise, spoke first.

"Asui-san," he said, very seriously, looking her right in the eye. "I'm sorry."

The dam broke after that. Mina and Ochaco both rushed to their friend's side, overwhelmed with emotions, apologizing. Kirishima and Iida both apologized profusely as well, the former citing that he had not been manly, the latter citing that he had not represented the class properly.

"Tsu…" Sero muttered.

The frog girl looked up at him, and Mina and Ochaco broke away from their hug for a moment, giving her some space.

"I…I don't know what to say. It wasn't that we meant to leave you out. At least, I don't think it was. I don't want to make excuses." The tape user closed his fists. "It was just…there was so much going on right then, while we were at the hospital. Kirishima and Todoroki approached us and we just had this…group, and everything felt right, and that we just had to move forward with it. There was no time to think about anything else. I'm not excusing what we did. I'm just…I'm just trying to explain…" He slapped his hand over his face and grimaced, as if shutting himself up. "You know what? I'm sorry, Tsu, that's all there is to it. Damn it."

Tsu smiled through her tears, still sniffling. "I accept that. I just want everyone to be happy again."

"Asui-sa…Tsu."

Everyone turned to look at Midoriya. There was a shadow over the green-haired boy's face.

"I'm not going to lie or make excuses, like Sero said. Looking back on everything that happened, and how All Might hadn't even been enough to save Kacchan and Katayama…" Midoriya looked up. "I don't regret the action that we took. If given the chance to save the two of them again, I would. That's just how it is. So I'm not going to apologize for that. But…I will apologize for making you worry. I promise you, Tsu." His fists, too, were clenched. "You're never going to have to worry about me again."

…

Doko, unaware of the closure his friends were getting down on the grounds, raced after Yaoyorozu in the hallway. They were alone now, since Tsu was the only other person on this section of the floor.

"Yao-momo!" he called.

She turned, her grey eyes widening. "Katayama-kun?"

"I need to talk to you."

She seemed uncomfortable, with one hand on her doorknob. "To me? What about?"

"You made the tracking device that led the rescue team to me and Bakugo, didn't you?"

"Umm…" Her face went dark, and she slid her hand off the door. "I wasn't conscious for all of that, but yes."

"And you weren't conscious," said Doko, feeling a little out of breath, "because Kaminari shocked you. Didn't he."

She lifted her head up. "How did you kn…"

"He came to the League's hideout. He talked to Bakugo and me while we were captured there. Tried to win us over. Kaminari…he's with them. You knew that, didn't you?"

"I…suspected."

"None of the rest of the class knows."

"That seems plain enough," Yaoyorozu said, straightening herself to look proper. "I am class president, don't forget. The well-being of the class is my responsibility."

"So you're going to keep it a secret, then."

"Of course!" She seemed aghast at the prospect.

Doko sighed in relief. "Okay. That's all I needed to hear. Bakugo and I already agreed. If it gets out that a UA student has really gone over to the League…"

"Everything will have been for nothing," she muttered. "Aizawa-sensei told me to keep a lid on it. His words, not mine. I think the pros are frightened. With All Might gone, they don't want to risk another scandal…"

"So Aizawa knows?"

"Yes. I think most if not all of the adults know the truth. The story he used for the rest of the class…I suppose it was some kind of lie."

Doko sank back against the wall. "This feels kind of scummy."

Yao-momo sighed. "I have had similar thoughts, but there is not much we can do, is there? I mean…it's for the good of society…"

"But Kaminari is still out there. He's with the League. They're going to move again, and when they do…not only will people know the truth, but they'll know that they were fed a lie the first time."

"Which is why it's all the more important that we look ahead and focus on getting these provisional licenses," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Katayama…" She put her hand on her doorknob again.

Doko backed up down the hallway. "Of course. Sorry to take up your time. Have a good night, Yao-momo."

"You too," she called after him as he retreated back toward the stairs.