Chapter 46: The Little Horned Girl

Doko sat on the edge of the bed, watching Recovery Girl shuffle through the results. Her aged, chiseled face was hard to read. I'd almost prefer it if she felt sorry for me.

Since his Quirk had returned to his legs, four days past, it had been acting differently. Not just in his legs, but in his arms as well. It had changed. Before, it had always felt like a natural extension of physical exertion. He would strain to bear the weight of the thing he was warping, or strain to run forward, which would result in a warp. But since then, in all his training…it had felt different. More…flowy. As if not warping was the thing that required him to strain, and unleashing his Quirk was the release from that, like coming up for air after holding your breath underwater.

It had gone from feeling like he was using his strength to hold a valve open…to feeling like he was using his strength to holding it closed.

"Well," the heroine finally said with a deep breath, "there is some good news."

He perked up at that. "Which is?"

"The cells that used to flare up upon activation of your Quirk are no longer doing so."

Doko's eyes widened. "Really?"

He remembered Endeavor's words. Find a way to release it to your whole body…he'd figured that out, and had discovered Warp Field as a result. And then, his Quirk had left his legs, and he'd tried to force it back into them to no avail…until his fight with Mirio, when he'd just operated off of instinct and had managed to do it. His initial warping of Todoroki, too, during their fight at the sports festival…that had been instinct.

Have I been using my Quirk wrong the whole time?

"Does this mean I no longer have the faster aging process?"

"Oh, you still have it. But you can no longer accelerate it or make it worse, as long as you continue to use your Quirk in this new way."

"I…think I can do that." His Quirk had been coming a lot easier to him in the past few days, and he wasn't about to go back on that. "But wait…I'm still young. I'm still my own age. How can you be sure that I will continue to age faster, if the cells aren't flaring up anymore?"

Recovery Girl frowned. "Every Quirked person has their Quirk contained in a section of their DNA that we call the Quirk Factor. The faster aging process is inherently part of that. It seems to have affected your hair first, which is why it's dark grey like mine. Top medical professionals are working on a way to potentially separate certain parts of the Quirk Factor DNA, and reverse them out of a subject. This would help mutants and emitters with many of their physical issues and shortcomings. However, the research is still in its early stages, and the process would be incredibly dangerous."

"So," Doko said sadly, "I'm still stuck with dying at forty." He needed to tell Mina, and soon.

Recovery Girl shrugged. "Unless there's some magical way to rewind that part of your Quirk out of your DNA…I'm afraid so."

…

"Eri?"

"Eri!"

"Soon, Eri…soon we'll come…"

"Your long suffering will end."

"One way or the other, Eri…"

"Eri…"

"...Stay strong."

…

Doko left Recovery Girl's office, feeling sort of better but not really. I have to tell Mina about the aging thing. And the others too, honestly.

He was holding so many secrets with him. Kaminari was one he didn't plan on divulging at all…but there was the thing about his parents, too. None of his other friends knew that he had escaped them, or that he had even needed to escape them in the first place. Tsuyu, Toru, Sero, and Shoji should all know about it. And…honestly everyone else should too.

But when was a good time? He couldn't just let them know out of nowhere. And his friends had a lot on their plate as well. They were all bearing the same burden that he was…the fact that they would have to pick up where All Might left off. What if they didn't have the emotional availability for such things? What if he impeded their progress?

I reckon I'm just making excuses. Mina would maybe know what to do. Maybe.

Doko thought back to their class that morning as he passed the teacher's lounge. For some reason, he thought he heard Midoriya's voice from inside. What's he doing in the teacher's lounge?

The class that morning had been about the work studies again. According to Aizawa, most of the teachers had agreed that first years shouldn't do them. However, they were allowing it to happen with certain well-connected agencies.

Doko thought back to that long list of offers he'd gotten from the Sports Festival. He…had no idea where it was now. God damn it.

Endeavor surely counted as a well-connected agency, but his time there, while productive, hadn't done wonders to establish cordiality. Doko doubted that Endeavor spared him a passing thought at all on a day-to-day basis, and would definitely not go out of his way to do Doko a favor, especially now that he carried the burden of being number one.

And he couldn't ask Todoroki for help, either. He and Bakugo were too busy with their remedial classes.

Doko nearly threw his hands up to his face and groaned, right there in the middle of the hallway. It was all so frustrating!

The only thing that stopped him was someone saying his name.

"Katayama!"

Doko whirled…and saw no one. Empty hallway.

"The fuck?" he muttered aloud, looking around wildly, his feet stepping over each other in a circle. It had been a girl's voice, vaguely familiar. Who…

"GOTCHA!" the voice squealed, and suddenly arms were thrown around Doko's neck, a metric ton of blue hair draped over his face, and something very squishy pressed against his back. NOOOO! NOT BOOBS!

"You!" Doko accused wildly, blinded by the hair, flailing his arms around to escape. He couldn't use his Quirk in the hallways, unfortunately.

"Hehehe, I believe I'm senpai to you, not you," she said.

"Get off me, Nejire Hado. I will call a SWAT team." He continued to spin, trying to throw her off, but she remained fastened to him like velcro.

"With what phone?" Suddenly, her hands wandered to his pocket, and stole the device out of it.

"Some kind of heroine you are! Bleh! Pah!" Her hair had snaked its way into his mouth, and he spat it out in disgust. "Hado, I'm serious! Get the hell off!"

"I told Mirio this was a bad idea…" a dour voice said to the left. "But he never listens. It's because he never suffers the consequences of stuff like this. He will this time. Mark my words."

"Amajiki? Amajiki, is that you?" Doko turned toward the source of the voice, with some effort thanks to the extra weight attached to his back. "You're the sensible one, I can tell. Help me. I'll give you anything. Riches beyond your imagination. Please."

"He remembered your name, Tamaki!" Nejire exclaimed. "Both our names! I like this kid! No wonder Mirio wants to talk to him! Oh, by the way, Katayama, Mirio wants to talk to you. We were told you were hard to catch, so we came to kidnap you."

"I'll only talk to Togata if you release me from this feminine prison. The scent of your shampoo is going to make me sneeze."

"Let the poor kid go, Hado…" Tamaki muttered. "He even seems to be resisting your chest. This plan was a failure."

Nejire finally released his neck, springing backward off of him with a bounce. Doko gasped for breath, brushing stray blue hairs off his shoulders. "If Mina were to see that on my jacket…" he grumbled, before whirling on the blue-haired girl. "Hey, what's the big idea, senpai? Are you just insane or something?"

"Yes," Tamaki said helpfully.

Nejire pouted. "Sorry. I was only doing what Mirio suggested. I thought it was a pretty foolproof plan! Sorry about hugging you like that, I know you're taken and everything! I suggested that Tamaki do it instead, so it wouldn't be cheating, but he was too scared!"

Tamaki began to vibrate, and something in his eyes glistened. "You're going to blame it…on m-me…?"

As if he'd teleported himself, suddenly the black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest wall, a depressive shadow falling over him. "It's all my fault…" he mumbled. "It's my fault after all."

Doko's eye twitched. "You two are nimrods. Just take me to the tall one already."

"Of course!" Nejire exclaimed, pumping her fist. "Right this way, little warper kouhai!"

She spun on one pointed foot, and began to half-float down the hallway. Doko followed her, somewhat warily. Tamaki brought up the rear, slouched, hands in his pockets.

I guess I've been briefly abducted by the Big Three. But what does Togata want with me?

He soon found out, as he was brought outside the building, to the small outdoor seating area beyond the cafeteria windows where the third years often took their lunch. There were a few other third years scattered about, all of whom waved to Nejire and exchanged greetings. Nejire responded to all of them in turn with that perky, preppy voice of hers. Their eyes passed over Doko, widened in surprise, and then arrived at Tamaki before turning away out of boredom.

"They know who you are," Tamaki muttered in his ear. "The first year winner of the sports festival. It was kind of a big deal for some people."

Doko shuddered. How long had these older kids known about him, probably talked about him without his knowledge?

They arrived at the table where Mirio was sitting. He had a blue plastic lunchbox in front of him. Attached to the lunchbox was a large red tag, almost like the box was wearing a cape. This guy is a massive child, isn't he?

Mirio waved enthusiastically as Doko sat down, despite them being close enough to speak already. "Hey! Nejire, I see that you did it! Great job! And you too, Tamaki! Sorry, I didn't mean to exclude you!"

"You never mean it," the dour boy mumbled, sitting on Mirio's right.

That left Nejire to sit by Doko, who was on the opposite bench. "He wasn't so hard to catch!" the blue-haired girl said as she plopped down, far closer to Doko than was necessary considering the amount of space on the bench. "He did threaten me, though."

"That reminds me. Give me my phone back."

"Can I take a bunch of selfies with it first?"

"Sure, if you want them to be your last memory of a pretty face."

Nejire stuck her tongue out and handed him his phone back. "Threatening to beat me up isn't very heroic," she mumbled.

"Neither was capturing me!"

Mirio laughed. "Oh man, I can tell that Sir would like you already! I mean, I already figured that he would, since you landed a hit on me. But man, this is just making me feel better!"

"Who is this Sir and why would he approve of me threatening women with physical violence?"

"Sir Nighteye," said Mirio, and his smile seemed to turn more relaxed. "He's a lesser known sidekick of All Might, so I guess it's somewhat understandable that you haven't heard of him."

"Sorry. I've barely heard of any heroes. I wasn't much of a fan of them before my last year of middle school."

Mirio tilted his head, making an O shape with his mouth. "Really? That's so interesting! I know for me and Tamaki, at least…" He threw a muscular arm around his shy companion. "...We've wanted to be heroes since we were kids!"

"Don't give this stranger our touching backstory," Tamaki hissed, in a surprisingly protective way.

"Are you trying to introduce me to an old sidekick of All Might? What for?"

"Sir Nighteye is who I do my work study with!" Mirio said, his grin widening. "It's really excellent; his agency is great. I know you first years are trying to get into work studies, so I thought I'd ask you if you wanted to join me at mine! You were the one who caught my attention most during the fight, after all!"

Doko was astonished. "I mean, I…just happened to have a power that could counter yours…it wasn't anything special. I mean, Midoriya nearly landed a hit on you and his power is a straightforward physical type. He's more of the strategic one in our class, honestly…"

"Hmm, Midoriya might be a good second pick!" Nejire put in, leaning forward to Mirio.

Mirio seemed thoughtful. "I dunno…"

"Second pick?" Doko asked, confused.

"All three of us were gonna try and recruit some kids out of your class to join us at our work studies!" Nejire answered, turning to him with her bright blue eyes. "I was looking at Uraraka-chan and Asui-chan, myself."

"Tsu," Doko corrected automatically. "She goes by Tsu."

"Uraraka-chan and Tsu-chan, then! But yeah, we can ask more than one person if we want!"

"But we don't have to," muttered Tamaki. "I was only going to ask the red-haired kid, Kirishima…" he began to shudder. "If I can work up the courage. But we're straying off topic."

"Well, to be honest, Katayama…" Mirio said, breaking from his own thoughts, "the fact that you had a power that could counter mine is kind of the point. Our powers are similar in a way. We both have normal human strength, but we rely on dancing around our opponents, forever able to dodge their blows! Sir is already used to working with me and teaching me, so it wouldn't be too hard for him to take you on as an extension! We can train in all the same ways!"

"That makes sense," Doko said, suddenly feeling good about this. He knew nothing about Sir Nighteye, but if someone as good as Mirio was working under him, then he HAD to be good, right? And it's doubtful that another opportunity like this is going to just fall in my lap!

"If I agreed, what would I have to do?"

"Just fill some stuff out, and then come with me to the agency this weekend!" Mirio said. "I'll introduce you two, and I'm sure that it will work out!"

"Well…alright." Doko stuck his hand out, and Mirio gripped it firmly, giving it an enthusiastic shake. Oww…

"This is brilliant! I hope we can work well together!"

"Yes, me too."

They separated, and suddenly, another student, a girl, came running up to the table. "Togata-san! I was asked to deliver a message. All Might wants to see you in the counselor's office."

"Whoaaaaa!" Nejire gasped. "Mirio, what does All Might want? What could it be? And why the counselor's office? Do you need counseling?"

Yes, Doko thought as an answer to the last question.

"What do you reckon it's about?" Tamaki breathed in a low voice.

Mirio lifted his face to the sky. "I…" he took a deep breath. "Have no clue!"

Nejire visibly wilted.

"But it's All Might, so I can't refuse! I will see you guys later! Katayama, feel free to eat lunch with my friends!"

"I don't need your permission," Doko mumbled, as the blonde boy walked away.

Nejire overheard "Whooaaaa! Does that mean you're going to stay and eat with us?! I mean, I'm okay with you leaving, but poor Tamaki would be sad!"

"Yes, I'm going." Doko stood up. "I have my own friends I was planning to eat with. Sorry," he said, mostly aiming the apology at Amajiki.

"It's alright," Tamaki muttered, while Nejire wailed. "Waaaaah! You were supposed to give into the pressure! Now I'm sad! Waaaaaah!"

"Amajiki-senpai, cheer her up. I'll be going now. See you guys around."

"Oh, u-uh…" Tamaki swallowed, surprised at being ordered to do such a thing, and then blushed in Nejire's direction.

"See you!" the troublesome girl called after him, as Doko left the seating area.

…

"Sir Nighteye?" Mina gasped. "Wow! And Togata-senpai asked you? Doko, that's amazing!"

"It is," he agreed. "I don't know anything about the guy, but…"

"He must be a competent hero, at the very least," said Shoji, "if Togata is working for him."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Have any of you heard about him? What is his Quirk, even?"

Tsuyu put a finger to her chin. "Dunno. Maybe you could ask Midoriya-chan? If he's an old sidekick of All Might's, then…"

"True enough," Sero joked. "Midoriya probably knows the guy's exact height, weight, blood type, penis size…"

Doko choked on his food, and Mina let out an uncontrolled cackle.

"Sero-kun!" Toru chided, hitting the tape user in the arm repeatedly. "Imagine if Shiozaki heard you speaking like that!"

"You wouldn't tell her…"

"I totally would!"

"Argh!" Sero clutched his heart in fear.

"Still, ribbit," said Tsu, continuing to look thoughtful. "If Togata-senpai himself asked you to join him at his work study, then you're already ahead of the rest of us, Dokkun."

"Ah…yeah." Doko didn't really want to think of it like that, even though Bakugo and Midoriya and some of the class's more extreme personalities had begun to look at getting a work study as a competition. That reminds me, Nejire said she had her eye on Tsu. Should I tell her now? No, I guess not. Let Nejire approach her on her own terms.

Mina was watching him carefully. Doko lowered his chopsticks. "What. What is it."

"You just entered Brood Mode for a second. Want to share with the rest of the class?"

"Not particularly."

She pouted and pressed herself against him. "Will you share with me later, at least?"

Doko raised his eyebrow at her. She was close enough to steal a kiss from, but he thought better of it at the lunch table. "That greatly depends on if it happens between now and then?"

"If what happens, ribbit?" Tsu asked.

"Well…I c-can't exactly tell you…"

"Aaaah, who cares!" Sero complained. "Stop being all lovey-dovey, you two!"

"Sero, you should go sit by Shiozaki," Doko said honestly. "I bet she'd be really happy to eat with you."

"I mean, it's not like I haven't though about it…" he mumbled. "But she's always surrounded by…them. Tokage, Kendo, Kodai with her deadly stares…"

"If you can deal with Mina and Toru, I think you'll be fine."

"Hey!" Toru said hotly.

The conversation continued, and Doko looked back at Mina, still leaning on him. "So, you'll be going to a work study, huh?" she said to him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Y-yeah. It's not exactly an opportunity I can pass up."

She did not respond immediately. Then: "We'll all be getting really busy soon."

"Hey," Doko said, gently holding her chin in place with his fingers. "I'm going with Togata to the agency on Saturday, but on Sunday, we can have a date, alright?"

She grinned. "Sounds good to me."

"And I'm sure you'll find a place to have a work study, too. I'm just the first of the class; you'll all be moving forward soon enough."

"Right."

…

Doko was told to meet Mirio just outside the dorms, and to his surprise, Midoriya was waiting there as well.

"There you are!" Mirio said. "Great, now we can get going!"

"What are you doing here?" Doko asked Midoriya, immediately wishing he'd phrased the question in a kinder way. He was just surprised to see the boy, is all. It hadn't sounded like Mirio was going to ask Midoriya as well, even after Nejire suggested it.

The green-haired boy seemed nervous about something, more subdued. "I'm going to try and get my work study with Sir Nighteye as well," he said. "I…can't afford to fall behind."

Doko nodded. "Right. Did Hado and Amajiki kidnap you too?"

"H-huh?! No…"

"I didn't ask Midoriya like I asked you!" Mirio called back over his shoulder, as they continued to walk toward the train station. "All Might was the one who wanted me to help him out!"

"Ah. Okay, then." Why did All Might want Midoriya to work with Sir Nighteye? He suddenly remembered hearing Midoriya's voice in the teacher's lounge, and All Might calling Mirio to his office, and Midoriya and Bakugo's fight…

What's going on, exactly?

"I'm not up to your level, Katayama," Midoriya mumbled, his eyes filled with a sort of sad determination. "I wasn't good enough for Togata-senpai to think of asking me; I had to rely on All Might. That's why I have to be selfish with this, and take this opportunity! I've got to move forward!"

Doko blinked. "Not up to my level in what, exactly? If you'd figured out how to stop from breaking your bones beforehand, I'm absolutely certain you would have won the sports festival instead of me."

Midoriya grinned weakly. "I guess we'll never know."

Doko felt concerned. Something really seemed to be bothering Midoriya, and now it seemed like they would be working together.

There are certainly worse people I could be working with. Much worse. But still…he wanted to help Midoriya if he could. The boy always seemed to carry such baggage with him…although that must be what I look like to an outsider, too.

One train ride and another short walk later, they were outside Sir Nighteye's agency.

"We're here!" Mirio declared, looking up at the modern glass building, hands on his hips. "Now…Midoriya, I'm sure you know already, but Katayama told me he doesn't know much about heroes, so this is mainly for him. Sir is a really strict kind of guy."

"Strict?" Doko asked. He'd had to deal with plenty of strictness in his life.

"Yes, I do know," Midoriya said. "Watching him on TV…I'd feel intimidated by that piercing gaze of his."

"Right…" Mirio agreed, opening the doors to the building and letting the first years through. "But, in spite of his appearance, or maybe even because of it, Sir values humor and comedy really highly. If you guys want to have a chance of him accepting you, you have to make him laugh."

"M-make him laugh?" Midoriya repeated in disbelief.

Doko's eye twitched. People have told me I'm funny before. But getting put on the spot like this? Not good with a capital N. This is going to be an utter failure.

His fellow Class A companion seemed similarly worried about it, as they went up the spiral staircase to Nighteye's office.

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" said Mirio. "Sir always says that a society without cheer and humor is a society without a future. So, in that way…making people laugh is an important part of being a hero!"

"Is that what you third years have learned that we haven't?" Doko grumbled, thinking of the Big Three's absurd antics.

They arrived at a closed door. "Midoriya," Mirio said more quietly. "You told me you wanted to get stronger. Strong enough to where no one had to worry about you anymore. Nighteye is behind this door. Open it with your own strength!"

Midoriya nodded, took a deep breath…and pushed the door open.

The two first year boys' jaws dropped at the same time. Mirio seemed unsurprised.

Inside the room, which was a completely normal office otherwise (minus all the All Might posters), a girl with a revealing costume and blue skin was strapped to a vertical board, and being tickled by feather machines, laughing uncontrollably. "M-make it stopppp!" she gasped in between laughs. "Please…I'll b-be funny, I promise…"

The one controlling the torture device was a tall, skinny man in a grey suit and gold-framed glasses. When he turned to look at the newcomers, Doko saw that his eyes were gold, as well.

"Sir! These are the two first years I was telling you about yesterday!" Mirio exclaimed, over the din of the girl getting tortured.

"Wh-what kind of a place is this?" Midoriya sputtered.

"Dude," Doko said to the pro hero, shooting his shot. "Let me go next."

The room went silent for a second.

Then, Nighteye snorted.

"Alright, that was kinda funny. You can stay, kid. Mirio has verified your abilities, anyway."

Doko's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Just like that?"

"Yeah. The papers are on my desk. Unless you really do want to get strapped to this thing?" Nighteye pointed at the machine.

"I'll, uhh…I'll sleep on it." Doko walked over to the desk, and picked up the papers he'd gestured to.

Nighteye nodded back toward the door. "Fill those out outside while you're waiting with Mirio and Bubble Girl. In the meantime, I need to talk to you." He looked pointedly at Midoriya.

The green-haired boy seemed to wilt under the man's gaze. "M-me?" he squeaked.

"Yes." Nighteye turned back to Doko. "When I'm done, you can come back in, and I'll seal the papers for you."

"Thank you…sir." Doko was a bit overwhelmed.

"Don't thank me yet," Nighteye said, in a darker tone. "Signing up to my agency at a time like this…may not be all puppies and roses. Mirio, Bubble Girl, you heard me. Wait out with him."

"Y-yes, sir…" they both said, the girl having been freed from the tickle machine by Mirio.

"That wasn't very energetic."

"Yes, sir!"

…

Doko finally looked up from all the forms, leaning back against the wall with a sigh. The three of them were out in the hallway, waiting on Nighteye to finish talking to Midoriya. Doko thought he had heard some bumping sounds from inside the office, but it was kinda hard to tell. Are they fighting? Having sex? What's going on?

The sidekick known as Bubble Girl was sitting on the bench next to him. Across the hallway, Mirio was getting a drink from the vending machine. "Done with your papers there?" he asked Doko, opening the can and taking a sip.

"...Yeah. Still seems strange that I'm here."

Mirio grinned. "Sir prefers energetic humor types like me, but he does hold an appreciation for the dryer, blunter side of comedy. I knew he'd accept you straightaway! Worried about Midoriya, though." The blonde frowned.

Bubble Girl sighed. "I'm glad you guys showed up when you did…" She seemed not really that embarrassed about the situation they'd walked in on. It must happen a lot, Doko thought, suddenly afraid.

"Can I ask you guys something?"

"You just did," said Mirio with a grin. "Sorry, carry on."

"When Nighteye said that working here wasn't all puppies and roses…what did he mean?"

"Oh, probably just that you might get strapped into the tickle machine from time to time," Mirio answered with a hand wave. "Nothing to be worried about."

"Yeah, but…he said at a time like this. What was that about? Is it related to All Might's retirement?" Doko looked back and forth between the two sidekicks in confusion.

Bubble Girl had a look of thoughtful concern on her face. "Recently, we've been investigating a designated villain group. The Shie Hassaikai, also known as the Eight Precepts of Death. They're organized crime. Yakuza."

A shiver went up Doko's spine. "Did you know about this?" he asked Mirio.

Mirio scratched his neck. "Kind of."

"Their leader, Kai Chisaki, recently had contact with the League of Villains," Bubble Girl continued. "Or so we think. There was evidence of a struggle, at their last known position."

Doko swallowed. The League of Villains…Kurogiri was probably with them. Kurogiri, who had his mother's Quirk and was possibly a former classmate of Aizawa's. Then there was Kaminari…would he have another run-in with the traitor soon? And more importantly…does he know where my true father is?

"I thought heroes left the yakuza alone," said Doko. He'd known about that dynamic of hero society, at least. He'd heard it from the underground training facility.

"Generally we do. They don't cause much of a stir anymore, and Chisaki has been especially squirrely. All his crime scenes are cleaned up and restored, thanks to his Quirk. We haven't been able to arrest him on anything substantial. But if he's made contact with the League…" Bubble Girl's forehead creased. "Well, I don't think I need to spell it out for you."

"No. No you don't."

The office door flung open, and both Bubble Girl and Doko jumped to their feet. Midoriya was walking out, sealed paper in hand. He had a…mixed expression on his face.

Doko smiled. "You got acce…huh? What's wrong?"

Midoriya looked away for a moment, and then smiled back. "Nothing! It'll be a pleasure to work with you all!"

"Yep! Same here!" Mirio exclaimed. "Great job, Midoriya!"

"Likewise," Bubble Girl echoed.

Doko's brow furrowed as he continued to look at his new partner…or coworker, I guess. What had happened to Midoriya in there? What had he and Nighteye talked about?

…

Back at the dorms.

"Wow, you both got your work study already?!" Kirishima gasped. "That's great!"

"Hah, yeah…" Midoriya seemed sheepish. He was definitely hiding something.

"And with Sir Nighteye, no less," Sero put in. "A sidekick of All Might…"

"Man, Deku, that's great for you…" Uraraka mumbled, hanging upside down over the couch with a depressed expression. "The school told me that Gunhead hasn't had enough interns to be eligible for work studies…"

"Same with Selkie, ribbit," said Tsu, who was sitting on the part of the couch next to where Uraraka hung.

"Fourth Kind wasn't even taking work studies," Kirishima muttered. "I feel like I'm fresh out of ways to go."

"We need to catch up as soon as possible," said Todoroki from the corner of the room.

"Tsk!" Bakugo hissed.

"It is unfortunate that many of our avenues from the Sports Festival seem to be closing," said Shoji.

"Unfortunate, but logical," a new voice said.

All the kids turned to look at the person who'd just entered the common room. "Aizawa-sensei!"

"The next time you all exclaim my name at the same time, I'm giving everyone detention. Anyway, in regards to the pro hero agencies, only the boldest ones are willing to take on students. Many of them distrust your abilities. More of them distrust their OWN abilities to protect you in the event of an emergency. With that being said…Tokoyami!"

Bird Boy had been leaning against the wall in the corner, brooding, separated from the others. He perked up upon hearing his name, though. "Yes, sir? What is it?"

"Hawks has requested you join him for a work study at his agency down in Kyushu."

The room gasped.

"Hawks?"

"He was the number three hero before All Might retired! Number two now!"

"Tokoyami, that's amazing!"

Tokoyami bowed toward Aizawa. "I respectfully accept."

"Let me know when you're going to go down to Kyushu, and I'll certify your absences for those days," said Aizawa. "You can get the paperwork from me in the morning."

"Great job, Tokoyami," said Shoji through an arm-mouth.

"I am most pleased," the Dark Shadow user said.

"We need to catch up as soon as possible," Todoroki muttered again.

"Stop saying that!" growled Bakugo.

"Also…" Aizawa turned to the group on the couches. "Kirishima. Amajiki of the Big Three wanted to talk to you. And Hado wanted to talk to Uraraka and Asui."

"Huh? Me?" Kirishima pointed at himself.

"Us?" Tsu's eyes got even wider than normal.

"Seek them out tomorrow or tonight, I don't care. I was just the messenger for that one. Anyway, good night." Aizawa turned and left the dorm.

"Man, I wonder what it could be about!" Kirishima breathed.

Tsu put a finger to her chin. "The work studies, perhaps? Just like how Togata approached Dokkun about his?"

Uraraka gasped. "If that's it, I'm totally getting my hopes up!" She was still hanging upside down on the couch.

"Urrrgh!" Kirishima tugged at his hair. "I can't wait until tomorrow! I'm gonna go find Amajiki-senpai now! Surely the third year dorms won't be closed yet!" He took off toward the door.

"Ochaco-chan, let's go too, ribbit."

"Right!" Uraraka pulled herself up from her position and followed Tsu out the door.

Todoroki sighed. "We need to catch up as soon as possi…"

"SHUT UP!" Bakugo screamed.

…

On Monday, Midoriya and Doko began their work study. The two of them, along with Bubble Girl and Mirio, gathered around Nighteye's desk.

Sir Nighteye turned a picture around for them to look at. "That's Kai Chisaki, the young head. You can see that plague mask of his. It's an identifying marker; he wears it everywhere."

Midoriya, who had not known anything about this yet, gasped. "That mask is scary! But I thought designated villain groups were being monitored by the police? They don't usually try anything."

Doko swallowed. He felt faintly sick to his stomach. Yesterday's date with Mina had gone well…but she'd seemed a little distant. He'd been feeling uncertain ever since then, and the feeling just got worse as he looked at the man in the picture. Codename: Overhaul…

Something about him made one's skin crawl.

"Recently, our intel has found that Chisaki may be rejoining old alliances, and he's made contact with the League of Villains as well," said Nighteye.

"The League…" Midoriya muttered, surely thinking of all their encounters over the past few months. Doko was thinking about the same things. At this place, I no longer have the school to hang its head over me. If we fight the League, we fight it as pros…which means we're on our own.

"The Eight Precepts of Death operate in a grey area that is close to black. Although we have collected some alarming intel, we cannot yet accuse them of any crimes," Nighteye continued. "That is why one of your main objectives while on patrol is to follow their tail! Learn what you can. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir!" the four of them barked.

…

The patrol was split up into pairs. Midoriya ended up going with Bubble Girl, leaving Doko with Mirio.

This was Doko's first time out in the daylight, in his costume, in public. It felt surreal. Next to him, Mirio's bright costume of white and yellow and red contrasted with his black-and-purple jumpsuit. For now, Doko kept the metal mask down. Still need to get the support course to improve it somehow.

"Oh by the way, what's your hero name?" Mirio asked, as they rounded a corner and waved at some playing kids. "We should call each other our hero names in public."

"Everywhere," Doko responded.

Mirio's eyebrows went up. "Everywhere? That's…interesting."

Doko smiled. "I want it to mean two things at once. When you say it literally, it says, I'm Everywhere! It's a promise to the civilians that I'll always be around, but it's also a warning…to those who would do society harm."

"Wow! That's really cool, actually. I'm Lemillion!" He pointed a thumb across his chest, to where the number one million was printed in numbers. "That's how many people I want to save!"

"Cool," said Doko with a grin, "but why stop there?"

"Hehe, I like that attitude."

They passed an alleyway…and suddenly, Doko's lower body was smacked by something, hard.

"Whoa!" Doko stumbled backward, looking down in surprise. What had run into him was a small child. A girl, with long white hair and a single horn protruding from her head. She was wearing a white slip-thing, like a hospital gown.

"Careful there," Doko said, kneeling down to check if she was okay. She hadn't fallen, at least. "Are you alright? Any…" The word bruises died on his lips, as he held her arms in his hands, seeing that they were covered in bandages.

"Uhhh…" What was she doing running out of this alleyway, anyway?

The girl had a look of absolute terror on her face, in her big red eyes. White hair, red eyes. Is she albino? She trembled in his arms, making a sort of low humming panic noise. Doko looked up to Mirio for assistance…and saw a figure emerging from the alleyway, resolving itself out of the shadows.

"Now, now, dear," a voice chided. "We don't need you to cause trouble for the heroes, do we?"

Doko had to fight back a gasp. He was staring at none other than Kai Chisaki, the leader of the Shie Hassakai.

Overhaul.