Moxie picked out the jar of beets from the shelf of the grocery store.

The wide aisles glimmered underneath the bright white lights hanging overhead. She had to pick out the rest of her ingredients that she lost from almost being run over. Her cart filled with peppers and celery, she pushed it forward and sulked towards the checkout area.

Avoiding the other shoppers, she scanned the items in the self-checkout area. She was not in the mood to say much to others, and her eyes stung with a thin layer of saline threatening to come out.

Putting the contents into the plastic bags, Moxie stared out at the hospital across the street. She had just left it a few moments previous. James and Lloyd decided to take the bus back to the school, and Moxie had to grudgingly stay behind to get the supplies for her etoufee. Despite the upsetting news she overheard from Shoto, she decided it was best to continue onward. After all, she had already told Katsu that she was going to be making the food for the class.

Paying with a card, she rolled the cart outside and opened up the trunk. The lobsters were somehow still crawling around on the bottom of the stifling hot trunk. She placed her groceries there and slammed down the trunk.

Putting the cart away, she climbed into the driver's seat and turned the engine on. The frame rumbled to life, and the static from the AM station on the radio buzzed through the speakers.

Moxie squeezed the leather wheel, her frustrations bubbling over.

Then, she smacked the wheel.

Smack. Smack.

She was not even completey sure why she was so upset. Yes, anybody getting that kind of news was bad. However, she had no connection to Shoto. For that matter, she only knew Katsu for about a week. Maybe she still felt gratitude and guilt for being bailed out of jail by Shoto. Perhaps these were feelings that she felt more towards Katsu.

No, it had to be just Shoto getting the news. It could not be anything else. The idea that a Pro-Hero could still be susceptible to something like this was troubling. That's what it had to be.

Moxie pulled back and headed for the main road. She rolled the car over to the intersection and pulled a wide turn onto the highway. Surprisingly little traffic, she shifted up and slammed her foot down on the gas.

As she pulled past the hospital and steered straight, she looked back at the hospital. Gazing at the sidewalk, she gasped at the head of blonde hair that traversed down the walkway. Seeing his youthful, playful face, she locked gazes with the bright jade eyes of a certain British ghost (or spirit. She was still unsure.).

"Alistair?" Moxie asked.

Slam!

Moxie screamed and slammed back on the brakes. The rubber burned down on the pavement and left marks as smoke billowed from the screeching brake rotors. She steered the car to the curb and jumped up over it. Stopping the car, Moxie turned off the engine and rushed out. Looking around, she saw a man standing over a hospital gurney. Alistair was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, my Lord," Moxie said. "I'm so sorry. I was distrac-."

"Honey, don't even worry about it," A tall man with a thick Mexican accent said. He had a face mask over his mouth and donned turquoise surgical scrubs. In fact, Moxie looked at his facial features and noticed something familiar about the man.

Next to him was a hospital gurney that had a covered body that lay in a heap on the concrete.

"But I just hit that man," Moxie said.

"Oh, he's already dead sweetie," The doctor said. "I'm just taking this guy to the morgue."

"Whew," Moxie brushed some dirt off her shoulder. "That's a relief. But I thought morgues were in hospitals."

The "doctor" scooped the "dead man" back onto the battered gurney. He heaved the whole mechanism upright and made sure the white sheet was covering the entirety of the man's body. "Oh, no, dear. Some hospitals have morgues down the street. It also makes it easier to get coffee between morgue runs."

Standing the gurney upright, he pushed it back onto the crosswalk. Looking both ways and seeing no vehicles, the "doctor" pushed on the gurney. The bent metal tubes and sideways tires made the task akin to pushing a large box over the hot concrete. Before he could leave with the body, Moxie cleared her throat.

"Mister Doctor," Moxie said. "Can I call you that? Doctor...?

"Rai-Raymond. Doctor Raymond."

"Can I ask something?"

"It's just that the body is getting warm," Doctor Raymond said. "And you know what they say about warm bodies smelling. Hotter than a pack of wolves in heat! So, I really gotta g-."

"I just got some really bad news about someone," Moxie said. "And I don't know how to take it."

"The hospital has a therapist. Sure they can help."

"But it's not me. It's someone else," Moxie rubbed her arm. "A new friend of mine. I like him a lot, but I learned that someone he cares about has cancer. Should I say something to him?"

The "doctor" blinked and tilted his head. "Are you outside your mind right now? Hell, no. You keep that to yourself. Secrets are important to have, and I'm sure that guy with cancer will tell whoever they need to. Focus on yourself! You gotta mind your own business, otherwise you'll end up like this guy here," he tapped on the chest.

Moxie swore she could hear a quiet moan from the body, but she chalked it up to her imagination. "What did he do?"

"White truffle burrito," He said. "Overdose on that shit, and you end up on a gurney to the morgue down the street from the hospital. Not even the one in the hospital. The one down the street."

"But I thought you said there was no morgue in the hosp-."

"Gotta go!" He said. "But you remember that. Look out for number one. Don't worry about other people's business. And don't get distracted driving again."

He groaned out and shouted as he pushed the gurney over the crosswalk. Moxie examined the odd situation, but decided to focus on the real problem at hand. She went back to he car and climbed back inside.

"Focus on myself," She said to herself. "That I'm not sure I can do that well."

Moxie put the car in gear and drove down the road. Before she got back to school, she needed a calming place to clear her head.

Wikipedia did not have as much information as Abel hoped.

Sitting in the gigantic atrium of the library, Abel typed away on the old cinderblocks that they called computers. The clunky machines honked and buzzed with the slow dial-up internet connection splitting at his ears. At the long oak desk, a neon green lamp illuminated the area with shadows from the towering bookshelves obscuring the arching windows that filtered in sunlight.

The webpage popped up like streaming rain on the screen revealing low-resolution pictures of Deku and his various escapades. The machine roared with air blowing out from the monitor while Abel scrolled down the page. The text tiled up and froze numerous times, blinking along with the setting sunlight that peered through the gaps of the mahogany bookcase. The aroma of leather and newly-bound pages mixed with the can of cherry red soda that Abel sipped on.

The page froze again. Abel tapped on the scroll button, but the page remained in the same spot. He clicked various other buttons on the keyboard. Still frozen.

"Why is this happening to me?" Abel muttered to himself. He leaned forward and scanned the digital pixels. "Why are we still using dial up in a new school?"

Abel leaned back on his hardback plywood chair. Bending his neck back on the headrest, he spun around on the axis and glanced at the library. Only a few older students sat at the other tables scribbling away and scanning through textbooks. At the reception desk in the center, a frump-looking man waddled over the stacks of books that he was marking into the computer system.

In his lap, Abel had a book opened up on All Might, Deku's mentor and teacher. It was a puff piece discussing how great he was and all of his accplishments. Little was said about his past, and he noticed just how vague the explanations behind his quirk were in the book. In fact, other articles pretty much took his quirk at face value and left much else to the imagination.

Abel slipped off his headphones and shut off his music. He was getting nowhere in this search, and he had only been reading for about ten minutes.

He stood up and clicked out of the screen. It remained frozen in place. Abel sighed and grabbed his soda can before spinning around; the biography of All Might forgotten on the table.

Walking over to the reception desk, he thumped his fist on the desk and waited for the librarian. The pudgy man kept hobbling around and stamped some more signs into the front cover of the books.

"Hey, Library Man," Abel said.

The librarian turned around and sneered at Abel. "Whaddya want, kid?"

"Where's the top secret shit in here?" Abel asked.

"The what?"

"The top secret shit," Abel said. "You know, classified documents and all that."

"What makes you think they'd be here?" The librarian shouted. "What is it?"

"I'm doing a report on something, but I need to know some things the public don't," Abel said.

"I don't have time for your shit," The Librarian huffed. "I'm going on lunch."

He banged open the swinging door for the desk and rolled out of the glass double doors to the library. Abel blew out a deep sigh.

Then, he peeked his head over the counter. There was a small filing cabinet right by the main computer of the reception desk. Slightly ajar, he noticed the sticker on the front of the drawer that stated the phrase "Teacher Info" scribbled in black marker.

Abel scanned the room and threw his head around like a suspicious jewel thief. Only the flipping of pages and occasional creak of a wooden chair interrupted the peace in the room. No eyes locked onto him.

Drawing in a quick breath, Abel bent his knees and propelled himself over the counter. He landed on the pads of his feet and crouched underneath the top of the sleek summit. He crawled on his hands and knees to the filing cabinet and grabbed the top of the metal. With the care of holding a newborn baby, he slid the cabinet back towards him. The smallest of squeaks snuck out like a pinky finger running down a chalkboard.

He examined the names on the folders. Dossiers of the teachers lay in alphabetical order. His nimble fingers raked over the tops of the different manila folders. There was one for Bakugo. He would need to look at that later. One for some Japanese doctor that he had not seen yet.

"Hell yes," Abel said when he came across the folder for Izuku Midoriya. He slid up the thick folder and pushed back the cabinet.

He popped up from the desk and cradled the folder in his arms. He tucked it into his leather jacket and zipped it up. The folder to his chest, Abel crossed his arms and strolled to the door.

"Abel?"

Abel spun around and came face to face with Katsu. The boy wearing a tight black polo and corduroy pants scratched at the back of his head.

Abel spazzed out and swatted his hands in front of him. "Jumping Joni Mitchell! What are you...I mean...hello, bro. What's going on?"

Katsu narrowed his eyes and leaned an arm on the counter. "Not much. Just hadn't been to the library yet. What'd you put in your jacket?"

"Psh," Abel spat out. "Nothing. I didn't put anything in there. In fact, what jacket? This isn't a jacket. This is a sweater," Abel tapped on the front of his jacket.

"Abel," Katsu pointed at his chest. "I saw you put a folder in your jacket."

Abel shook his head and put his headphones back on. "You saw no such thing. In fact, I rebuke your slanderous accusations."

Katsu tugged at his shirt collar and blinked. "Uh...I'm still new to English, so could you explain what those words mean?"

With a flourish of his hands, Abel took out his mp3 player and scrolled through the songs. "If you want to bruise my honor, then I must defend it! Put up your dukes, bro!"

Sticking his tongue into the side of his cheek, Katsu examined the frantic boy thumbing through the songs on his music player. He was not quite sure if this was typical American tradition to provoke a fight in a library, but he supposed Abel was just nervous about whatever he had taken from the cabinet.

"Hah!" Abel shouted. "'Paperback Writer' is perfect." He selected the song and let the opening riff rock into his brain. With the music, Abel felt his muscles tense up and practically lift upward in inflated strength.

"Abel, just tell me what it is," Katsu said. "I won't snitch on you, man."

"We must now fight!" Abel said. He jumped upward and stood on top of the reception desk. "Prepare yourself!"

"Abel, are you on medication?" Katsu asked.

With a roar, Abel charged at Katsu. The Japanese boy stood at perfect foot height from the man who ran over the desk. Leaping upward, Abel's momentum soared him over the desk and spun him into a flying kick. He struck down towards Katsu's face, the bottom of his leather boot covered in wads of chewed up gum found on the hallway outside.

Katsu ducked right down and grabbed Abel by his ankle. With a heave, Katsu slashed his arm down and flipped Abel to the ground. Before he crashed headfirst, Abel outstretched his arm and landed on it like a cat. He used the momentum to barrel roll forward and tumbled a few feet away. Avoiding a bad impact, he bounded back to his feet and slid to a halt right next to a pile of books on an oak table.

Grabbing one book, Abel flung the large encyclopedia towards Katsu. The lithe boy dodged and rolled sideways. Springing up to his feet, Katsu dipped and dived as Abel threw more books at him.

The books crashed onto the ground and bent pages ripped from the bindings. Some of the books bounced off the shelves and rocked the foundations. The shelves teetered and shook like the palm leaves on the beach outside the windows.

"Chill out, Abel," Katsu said.

Abel grabbed a chair from under the table and lifted it up in front of him. He jostled it forward as Katsu creeped towards him. Like a matador teasing a bull, he held the limbs of the chair right at Katsu's chest.

What Abel also saw was how the bookshelves behind Katsu tottering on it's hinges. The impact of the books thrown caused its weight to rattle around. Then, it tilted right over Katsu. Abel's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when a few books from the shelves rained down with the tipping tower of literature.

Abel sprung the chair to the side and bolted towards Katsu. The lurch of the tower groaned from the weight of the structure falling towards Katsu.

Katsu saw Abel running and tapped his chin in consideration at the crazy boy. He had little interaction, but it appeared this classmate of his was off his rocker. He saw the boy's shaggy hair dance around while he sprinted at him, and he wondered whetger he should counterattack when Abel attempted to tackle him.

Then, a book fell right by his shoe.

A few more pelted the ebony carpet.

Katsu leered his head back and gasped.

The books rained down and smattered the ground. The heavy, large bookcase fell over and raged down towards Katsu. He lifted up his arm and braced himself for the impact. Whether it simply crashed through him or he was flattened, he was unsure.

An ink-black shadow slammed down on Katsu. The frame of the case collapsed just inches over him. He closed his eyes, his legs just not fast enough to avoid the impact.

Nothing.

Right at the top of his head, the bookcase froze in its tracks. The wood moaned out from the stress and the remaining books littered the floor. The bookcase kissed the top of his hair, and Katsu looked to his right.

Abel held up the bookcase, his knees bent and arms straining under the weight. He grunted out, his eyes closed as the bookcase trembled from the strength Abel projected. He kept the entire structure from falling on Katsu, but the mass was about to collapse anyway.

"Song's not strong enough," Abel said as the song pounded through his ears.

"Huh?" Katsu asked.

"Just get out," Abel screeched through his teeth. "I got this."

Katsu ducked and stood right next to Abel. He raised up his arms and pushed up on the bookcase. The amount of pressure made Katsu grunt out, and they both stalked forward to raise back up the case. They worked together to bring it back upward, and the two lifted the empty shelves back up. Once it got to nearly a right angle height, they gave it one final shove.

The case rattled on it's foundation before standing upright in the center of the room. Outside of the misplaced books on the ground, no other damage was accrued.

"Whoo," Katsu blew out a gasp and stretched his arms. "Haven't lifted anything like that in awhile, huh?"

He turned back to Abel. He was seated on the floor catching his breath. He pulled back his headphones and shut off the music.

"Thought that song would work better than it did," Abel panted.

Katsu crossed over the room and knelt next to Abel. "Seemed to work great for throwing books."

Abel wiped away sweat diffusing on his forehead. He rubbed at his shoulders and looked through his frazzled hair at Katsu. The Japanese kid could not help but smile down at the rockhead.

"Thanks," Katsu said. "But it would have been okay if it fell on me. My quirk really lowers the amount of pain I feel. I'm basically a giant bouncy ball."

"Good to know," Abel said. He unzipped his jacket and pulled out his folder. "This is what I took. Wanna read in the dorms?"

Katsu read the name, and he peered at Abel. "You wanna know about Deku's quirk, don't you?"

On top of the tall hill, Shoto stood next to the base of the thick oak tree.

The sun was setting underneath the waters of the Pacific. below him, the shoreline with cars zipping past on the freeway in the valley below. The orange sun stained streaks of velvet and indigo in the darkening sky above, with gold flecks bounding over the glittering ocean. With a soft breeze rustling his hair, Shoto peered out at the ocean and crinkled his nose in contemplation.

His mind played back the events of the past week. He came all the way to California in the hope of being helped with his recent illness, but it seemed the line was coming to a dead stop right off the cliff. Sure, he had felt more tired, but he was shouldering the burden of being the new number one Pro-Hero in Japan. Not only that, but moving Katsu was a hassle on its own.

Shoto looked down at his right hand and saw the mist of warmed ice waft up from his chilled skin. The coolness stung at his cheek with a quick slap from the ice crystals that popped up on his palm. Then, they disappeared as fast as they came.

His quirk was giving him more trouble than usual, but he just assumed he was tired. On the rooftop, he assumed he subconsciously went easy on the students. He absolutely could have defeated Blake and Drake if he had given them his all and known their quirks. The idea that he could not was insulting.

"Mister Todoroni?"

Shoto glanced back towards the dirt jogging path. Moxie, in her red sundress, clutched a bag of cayenne pepper spice. The girl blinked her gray eyes and planted herself behind the pro-hero. After seeing her, Shoto turned back and examined the horizon before him. A dolphin fin poked out from the water and splashed about as free as could be. The cars and the waves hushed the two with the occasional firefly blinking about on the top of the hill.

"Why are you here?" Shoto asked.

Moxie flashed a nervous grin and thumbed at her rosary. "It's just...Katsu told me about this place, and I wanted to see it before I got back for the night. I still have a lot to do before the lobster etoufee."

Shoto ignored her and stared out with his heterochromic eyes. His arms hung limp at his side with his head sullen and eyes tired. Moxie saw that the normally poised man seemed dejected, and she could certainly understand why.

She stepped forward over the small pebbles in the dirt and stood right behind Shoto and to his right. A jogger ran past over the hill towards the parking lot. A bird chirped somewhere in the oak tree above and fluttered away from the pair.

"It's a pretty sight, isn't it?" Moxie asked as she saddled up next to Shoto. "Reminds me of the delta. There's a place called Chalmette, and I used to go down there by this tadpole pond. Accidentally threw my brother in there one time. I wanted to save him, but my daddy told me that it'd be better if he swam out himself," Moxie sighed out with a wry grin. "Also, he was like fifteen or something. Should've learned how to float by that point. Guess that's what my daddy was thinking."

"I want you away from Katsu."

Moxie blinked, a sharp pang in her chest at the verboseness of Shoto's tone. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" Shoto snapped. From behind him, Moxie could see the man's frame coil up like a snapping snake about to strike. "I mean stay away from him. Shut up and leave him alone. He has a future, and I'm not letting it get ruined by anyone let alone you."

"Mister Todoroni, I-."

"That's not how you say my name, you inbred hillbilly," Shoto turned back and growled at Moxie. His face flushed and his eyes streaked in thick scarlet bloodlines, his arms widened beyond his sides with a deep shadow cast over his face. "Maybe you should learn how to talk properly before you try to become a Pro-Hero."

"You...you don't get to say that to me," Moxie said. As shocked as she was by the outburst, she knew right from wrong. "You might be mad, but that don't mean you get to say that to me."

"Oh, yeah," Shoto clenched his fists. "And who are you to lecture me?"

"I'm a person," Moxie said. "And you might know more about going into a burning building and taking down some villain, but I know more about other things. Changing oil, changing a tire. Hunting and fishing. Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you, but it shows how much you really know about living."

"What's that mean?"

"It means you don't know about living," Moxie said. "You don't appreciate those good things. Those simple things. And I think that's obvious from how you're acting about all of this."

"About all of what?" Shoto spat out.

"I was at the hospital," Moxie dropped the bag of spice and stood up to Shoto, her nose just centimeters away to the point where she could feel Shoto's hot breath on her face. "I happened to be walking by with James and Lloyd. And I know that's why you're acting like this."

"You don't know about anything," Shoto said. "Nothing important, at least. And stop acting so virtuous. You got thrown in jail, you carry guns, you break into people's houses, and you spy on people. What a great future hero you are."

"Maybe you should stop acting so virtuous, Mister Todoron-oki," Moxie said, a rare frown crossing over her face. "There's nothing virtuous about feeling miserable all the time. You're not automatically a better person because you feel bad about things. You're the same person you were yesterday, whether you have cancer or not."

"But...wait," Shoto took a step back, his face morphing from anger to surprise. "What? How did-?"

"I heard your voice at the hospital," Moxie said. "Also, you were hollering pretty loud. But I know you got some problems, and it's sad. But you don't get to treat people how you want. You know, I've met a few people over the past few days, and they're all different. Some of them are great, but some of them don't appreciate what they got. That's you. And now you've been put in a spot where you can't be doing that much longer. Either because you're gonna push people away from how mad you are, or because you won't be on Earth for much longer."

Shoto, his mouth agape, stared right down at Moxie. His heart pounding in his chest, his veins turned could at the words and realization. "That's not true. None of that. I...I have a long way to go."

"And I hope you do," Moxie said. "But the only person that knows that ain't standing here right now."

Shoto clutched his chest and turned back around to face the ocean. The golden ocean illuminated his face casting a warm copper glow. He lowered himself down and sat on the ground crossing his legs. Ignoring the dirt, he sat straight up and clasped his hands on top of his lap.

"I guess I thought things were looking up. For both of us."

Moxie crossed the summit of the hill and stood next to him. Reaching down, she grabbed onto Shoto's shoulder and squeezed on the broad muscle.

She wanted to assure Shoto that things would be looking up. That things would be getting better. That there lives were going along just how they were supposed to. She could not bring herself to give any empty assurances, however.

There were no more words that were spoken between the either of them. And neither of them cared too much when the light from the sun dimmed out, and the headlights on the cars sprinkled down the freeway.

"That's not how you do it, Mister Todoroki."

"I've never even peeled carrots before," Shoto argued. "Why do carrots need to be peeled?"

"Cause they're spicier that way."

In the kitchen at the dorms, Shoto held a carrot peeler like he was using a stapler to turn off a television. His fingers could not gain purchase on the tool, and he dropped it onto the stainless steel counter.

Moxie shook her head like a disappointed teacher and grabbed the peeler. She ran it over the carrot, the orange skin sliding off the vegetable like butted melted into a hot pan.

"Here," Moxie handed the peeler to Shoto. "You try."

Shoto then proceeded to cut his finger.

The lobster boiled in the tall pot, and Moxie stirred the broth around in a separate container. The vegetables added, she grabbed a tube of the cayene pepper spice and clutched it in her hand. Channeling her energy, she enhanced the spice of the pepper and then poured it into the boiling concoction.

"How's the rice?" Moxie asked behind her.

Shoto dumped a whole sack of the rice onto a large pot of water. The entire burlap of rice tumbled over the top and spilled out on the surface of the stove.

"It's...great."

"Where's the roux? Mister Todoroki, did you finish it?"

"Define finish."

Moxie peered down into the saucepan, the flour paste still stark white.

"You have to add the chicken broth in after fifteen minutes."

"Wait, it's already been fifteen minutes? I thought we just started!"

"Where's the lobster sauce?"

Shoto blinked as he peered down at the brown goop that bubbled and spat underneath the lid. "It's not done yet."

"Mister Todoroki," Moxie glared over at Shoto. "The lobster is ready. We need the sauce."

"Two minutes, Moxie."

"Where's the lobster sauce?"

"Moxie, wait!

"Where's the lobster sauce!"

Down in the kitchen, a large rectangular plastic table was set up for the people in Class 1-A. All the plates set up, bowls of lobster etoufee and vegetabes steamed on pearly white plates. The giant pot still wafting a nutty aroma behind her, Moxie wiped some sweat away with a rag as the students began to file into the room. The warm air was further boiled from the bright fluorescent lighting in the kitchen area.

The scent of pepper and broiled lobster stung at the student's nostrils as they walked into the room. All of them dressed for night time from the later hour.

"Sorry it took so long," Moxie said to the class while they took their seats. "A lot of complications today."

"I'll say," James grumbled to himself. He plopped himself down at the center of the left row like he was the king of the class. He grabbed a fork and stuck it into the food.

"You must wait until everyone is seated before eating," Lloyd said when he lowered himself down across from James. "It is highly rude."

"Your ass is rude, manatee." James said. He lifted up his arm and started to shove the food to his open mouth. Then, a hand smacked his and made him drop the fork. It clattered onto the plate below.

"It's bad luck to be the first to eat, y'know," Robyn said in a teasing voice as she sat down next to James.

"Well, it's bad luck to eat dog, but how many have you and your family had?" James asked with mirth.

Robyn shrugged. "I'm more of a cat person. Much more tender and faster to cook."

James paused with his mouth wide open from the surprise retort. Looking at the dumb look on his face, Robyn could not help but giggle.

"Is James being annoying again?" Anton asked with an apathetic stare. He sat himself next to Robyn on the other side of James.

"Quiet, Kermit," James shook his fist like an angry grandmother. "And who said you could sit next to Robyn?"

"Nobody said I couldn't."

"I'm saying that," James sneered. "She doesn't want your greenness to rub off on her."

"I don't have a problem with that," Robyn smirked at James. "Besides, green," Robyn faced Anton. "Is my favorite color. Although," She looked back at James's violet eye. "I don't mind purple either."

While the two students froze at the brazen comment, Austin sat down closer to the end of the table by Moxie. He had just finished wolfing down a hot dog for a late night snack before hearing that the food was done. Thanking his high metabolism, he pushed back his glasses that fogged up from the steaming hot dish.

"Pss. Austin."

Austin turned to the side where able lowered himself next to him. "Why are you whispering?"

"Because me and Katsu did some...research today," Abel said. "I have some top secret shit that we need to find out. About our teacher."

"That's what you call it?" Katsu tossed himself in the chair next to Abel. "Research? You threw a bookcase at me."

"We had our differences, and we worked them out," Abel said before turning back to Austin. "Besides, this top secret shit is more important. Meet me in my room after this."

On the other side of the table closest to the entrance, Hunter and Megan sat down next to each other. Synaes planted herself between them as Hunter and Megan talked about nothing. Martel strode in with a strange metal ball in his grasp. With his other hand, he soldered a piece of the metal before sitting down at the chair open next to Anton. Across from him, Blake babbled into his chair towards Drake as the silent dragon human took the side across from Austin.

Leo, meanwhile, kept his head low and saw two open seats left outside of the ones at the head of the tables. He snuck over to the seat by Katsu.

"Oi, Leo."

Leo hitched his breath and looked back at the annoyed James.

"Yes, James?"

"I didn't keep this seat open for nobody, Doctor Who."

"You didn't keep that seat for anyone," Abel snickered. "No one wants to sit by you."

"Mute your amp, you dirty raccoon," James shouted back at him.

Leo sighed and quietly put himself next to James.

Within seconds, even Deku and Bakugo showed up down the stairs and turned into the kitchen.

"What a great gathering," Deku said. However, his grin dissolved when he saw Shoto next to Moxie. "Todoroki? What are you doing here?"

"Cooking," Shoto shot back. "What does it look like?"

Bakugo pointed over at Katsu. "Hey, did you know he'd be here?"

"He texted me an hour ago," Katsu said.

Deku walked over to Shoto and raised his lips close to his ear. "Are you okay?"

Shoto's eyes pierced deep into Deku's worried orbs, and it made Shoto feel better. Yes, these people might be annoying, but it seemed most of them cared about him. Even if he did not feel like it was true, there were people that worried and cared about him. With a lick of his dry lips, he nodded.

"Good," Deku said. "Maybe we can discuss more tomorrow. How we can help you."

"Thanks," Shoto said.

With a tight, watery smile, Deku turned and sat at the head of the large table. Bakugo and Deku sat at the ends of the table. Only seats for Moxie, Shoto and somebody else remained.

"Hey," Deku pointed up at the ceiling. "I hear footsteps. I think it could be our new student!"

A few murmurs came out from some of the students. Despite being teased at the end of class that day, they had no time to see the students since the bell had rung and the student immediately walked away to the dorm. Many of the students shot anticipatory looks around the room. They were finally going to see the sixteenth student.

"I hope she's not annoying," Synaes said.

"I hope he likes hot dogs," Austin said.

"I hope she likes music," Abel chortled.

Thick, heavy footsteps clunked on the staircase towards the kitchen entrance.

A few of the students peered over to the stairs in anticipation.

A quiet rumble began to shake the floor of the tiled kitchen.

"Oh, hi everybody," Principal Tommy said when his lovely black mane crossed into the room.

"Principal Tommy?" Moxie asked. "You knew about this."

"I know all that happens in these walls," Principal Tommy walked back to the big pot of etoufee next to Moxie. He sniffed at the food and grabbed a ladle to scoop some out into a bowl. "Besides, I'm from New Orleans, if you must know."

"I didn't know that," Moxie said with a grin.

"Not much people know," Principal Tommy said. "But you know what they say. Love is blind."

"Can we just eat already?" James shouted out at the table.

"We should allow prayer first," Lloyd smacked his hand on the surface causing some of his cutlery to clatter. "People have a right to pray."

"Fine," James grabbed his fork and hovered it by his mouth. "Pray away, Cardinal! Rub-a-dub-dub. Thanks for the grub!"

James shoveled the bits of rice and lobster into his mouth. Everyone spied on his while he munched on the food to gauge his reaction. At first, James was surprised at the heat that prickled at his tongue. He was a connoisseur of spicy foods, but even this was challenging for him. Despite that, there was a succulent zing that tickled at the insides of his cheeks. The moist meat of the lobster melted away in his mouth, and the thin grains of rice dissolved with the tangy sauce that made the heavier parts of the food easier to swallow.

Pushing it down his throat, James wiped a smear of the sauce from his lips and licked it from his thumb. "This shit is actually good."

"Language!" Lloyd shouted.

"This shit is actually great."

Within seconds, the entire class dug into the food. Moxie surveyed and smiled at the class as they chomped down on the meal. Some people like Leo and Megan drank down their chalices of water more often than others. Principal Tommy sucked in his food like a vacuum, the curls on his hair dipping into the edges of his plate dotting his hair tips with sauce. Forgotten were the quarrels and the pressures of school and the hero world. Only the lobster etoufee and the cool water that washed away the pungent cayenne pepper remained.

Moxie, as happy as she could be walked back around the table to the chair next to Katsu. She sat down and ate at her own plate.

"When'd you learn to cook like this, Moxie?" Katsu asked the girl.

"Since I was born," Moxie replied. "Tell you, it don't taste as good as when you capture that lobster yourself."

"When you told me, I just thought you were kidding," Katsu said. "Hey, didn't you say it would be crawfish you were making. It was crawfish, right?"

"Oh, right. I had to improvise."

"You worked all day for this. You got some talent in more things than one, Moxie," Katsu said.

Moxie felt a quiet heat work its way up her face. She looked over the table. Her eyes locked onto James who was throwing the food into his mouth like it was his last meal. When he noticed Moxie staring at him, he stopped and looked back. She gave him a small grin, acknowledging the events earlier in the day.

James nodded back to her. Then, he buried his head back in the food.

Moxie also noticed Lloyd who appeared to be in much better spirits. Healthy as he could be, he discussed in animated fashion to Anton about his family's background. Robyn would give just the slightest of brushes of her hand on the side of both James and Anton's arms. Both of them would stiffen up at the contact. Something strange was brewing with those three, and Moxie would have no part of that sin.

Then, Moxie looked up at Shoto.

He smiled over at Moxie, a sad grin that also let her know that he remembered their earlier conversation. It seemed that, for now, he was at peace with his problems. He would do what had to be done to prevail.

"So," Katsu reconnected Moxie's attention to himself. "Anything else happen today?"

Moxie thought back to the whole day.

"Just another Sunday."

"So you ran over two people, went to church, found out that guy's guardian has cancer, yelled at him, and made food for everyone?"

"Basically."

Alistair sat down on Moxie's bed. He learned that while he cannot effect anything in Moxie's world, he could still control his own tangibility. He could still touch walls and objects but could exude no force against them. After a few tries, he finally learned how to sit on the bed without sinking through it. Him and Moxie sat together as Moxie swung her leges over the bed.

"Sounds like you had a really rough day."

"You know what," Moxie smiled at Alistair. "I think it was actually alright. And I think, whatever it is, we will take on what the future brings. Good and bad."

Alistair flashed a heart-melting smirk. "So you wouldn't mind if I slept here tonight?"

Moxie blushed and covered her mouth. "Alistair! You need to go back in your crystal for the night."

"Please, Moxie," Alistair leaned forward towards her. "It's not like I can do anything. Besides, this bed is almost as comfortable as the one in the crystal."

"Isn't that weird for you, though," Moxie said. "I take the crystal off, and you go back into it like a genie to a lamp?"

"You should visit sometime," Alistair said. "I have a hot tub and bar and everything in there. Just the two of us."

"Alistair!"

"Blushing already," Alistair sighed and scratched at his hair. "Aww. Five days in and your already falling for me."

"You wish," Moxie laughed and swatted at Alistair's head. Her hand phased through his head, causing the teenager to shiver and fall off the bed. He pounced back to his feet and shared in with a quiet chuckle.

"Fine," Alistair said. "Crystal off. I'll watch tv on my king-sized water bed myself. Gotta focus on myself."

Moxie nodded and grabbed at the necklace that connected to the red crystal. Right as she felt the rope around it, she stopped. Moxie gazed back up at Alistair, her memory suddenly coming back to her.

"Were you at the hospital?"

Alistair's grin wavered for just a second. "Hospital? What would I be doing there?"

"It's just...when I ran over that dead body...I was distracted because I could have sworn I saw you."

Alistair gulped, but kept the tight grin on his face. This was the part he was beginning to grow weary of. If Moxie found out what he was doing, she would cast the crystal away for good and he would have no chance at gaining the power to go back home.

"L.A. is much more interesting than visiting a hospital, Moxie."

Moxie looked down at Alistair's dress shoes before matching gazes with his brilliant green eyes. Still unassured, she decided that the question would remain unsolved for now. She was suspicious, but it was best to close the book on this small chapter of her life that was this Sunday.

"You're right," Moxie grinned at her. "Was just worried you were stalking me."

"I'm not," Alistair said in a teasing tone. "Although, would you be that upset if I were?"

Moxie responded by taking the crystal off. Alistair disappeared and returned to its confines.

With a deep breath, Moxie clicked off the tungsten lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. She laid back and stared up at the beige ceiling. After such a long day, the muscles in her back finally relaxed on top of the pink and periwinkle striped covers of the soft mattress. She tapped at her head in a "Sign Of The Cross" gesture and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you, daddy. Thank you, momma. Thank you, Lord, for this Sunday and all others after. Amen."

And there we are! A character-centric arc focusing on non-hero things! I hope you found it entertaining.

Setting up some things here. Raimundo and Cletus escaping. Shoto having to deal with cancer. Alistair keeping secrets. Abel trying to find out Deku's secrets. That other villain Raimundo and Cletus are working with. All things that will be occurring in the future!

By the way, I just want to shout out Harvoc Phantom for commissioning an incredible artist with fan art of James. It looks incredible! I will say James looks a little older in the art, probably in his early twenties. Then again, this is anime land. 15 year olds look 30, and 30 year olds look 15. I would love to see more, and I would also love to use fan art of that quality as the cover art here on fanfiction! Harvoc Phantom, let me know if that's okay and I will credit that terrific artist as well!

Thank you for 300 reviews. Let's shoot for 1,000! Thank you Deadly Animals Are Cute!

Also...

The Librarian-Christoph Andretti-(voiced by Danny Devito)

Make sure you review! It is so important, and we need all the goodness we can get in life right now! You are the best readers I could ask for, and I'm so proud of all of us for making this such a fun experience so far. What do you think will happen next? What do you want to see? Not want to see? Any suggestions, fan art, ideas, or memes are so appreciated!

Thank you. Happy 4th of July! See you soon.