James rarely panicked in life.

His one hand slipped off the edge of the rock were he dangled in the still morning wind. The sun's rays blinded him when he looked over to Moxie whose eyes were still closed. He had wrung her arms around his neck and wrapped his free arm around her waist. Beads of scarlet blood oozed down his back; shrapnel from the blast burning at his skin through rips in his shirt as his arms strained under the tension. With his left arm nearly straight, he had almost no hope of pulling both of them upward towards the surface of the plateau above.

James panted with salty sweat stinging his eyes. The boost Moxie had given him disappeared, and now he was left with his tongue hanging just beyond his lips in hopes of some miraculous spurt of water to hydrate him. His legs battered and limp underneath him, he groaned out when he tried to lift the both of them up with one arm. His muscles strained and creaked under the pressure. James' head rose up to almost eye level with the surface. He saw the very top of the rock's face; the auburn wall mocking him as it reflected the sun's heat back at him.

James released his breath and panted again. He extended his arm back and gripped the edge with all his might. He did not dare look down. When he turned his head, his chin rustled into the top of Moxie's lifeless head. The soft chestnut hair scratched at his bare face when he saw her eyes still closed.

His arm burned like it had been thrown into a furnace, and the strain on his body made his entire frame shake like a wooden bridge during an earthquake. James tried to catch his breath, only his own breathing and the occasional snap and crackle of the rocket wreckage on the mountain's summit spitting out any other noise. In fact, an eerie calm massaged James with the soft wind whistling through his unkempt obsidian hair.

The boy cried out and swung his legs forward to gain purchase in the rock face. However, the slope curved inward and stretched away from James. He steadied himself and surveyed the rest of the area around him. Nothing but the rock's ledge and empty air all around until the very bottom of the valley where a death in the redwood canopies awaited.

James knew the light from the sun was too far away and weak to charge up his neon fast enough to get out of the situation. The sweat had now sunk into the pads of his fingers which made them slip on the jagged rock. His heart stopped when his arm gave way, only for his fingers to latch onto a small outcropping right at the precipice. He cursed between fast breaths that raced through his lungs. His body becoming weaker by the second, his mind was blank with what to do next.

"Moxie," James said and squeezed the girl with the arm around his waist. "Wake up. Please!"

The girl was dormant.

"Someone," James shouted above. Embarrassed to ask for help, he grit his teeth and lifted up his chin towards the sky. "Help. Get us out of here!"

James knew it was no use with nobody else on the mountain. His fingers slipped again. He adjusted his hand and slammed down the very tips of his fingers within the outcropping. The sharp rock cut into his sensitive skin and prickled beads of blood that also stung at the nerve endings on his digits.

In that time, James thought back to the wacky month that had occurred in his life. He reminiscent about the strange feeling he had landing at LAX and getting onto the school's bus. Without his parents to take him to the orientation, he sat by himself at the very back and gazed at the rows of traffic on the freeway. The bus jolted forward and halted every few feet it seemed with the musty carpet scent fuming within the frigid air. His forehead kissed the glass while the vehicle rumbled to his new school.

It was supposed to be a fresh start for James, and the boy had a major chip on his shoulder. He was not there to be friends with anybody. He was going to dedicate his life to his studies and to shaping himself to being the best hero of all time. He was going to show up his parents who never believed in him. He was going to avenge the crimes he saw on a daily basis back home. Most of all, he was going to avenge what those monsters did to her.

Yes, her. He had forgotten about her.

At least try and enjoy it, JJ. You might have fun.

No, none of this was fun.

Meeting all of these annoying classmates of his. That pious wet blanket Lloyd. That Chinese girl that kept flirting with him. That short and scrawny green kid that didn't care about any of this. Having Moxie see him at the hospital. Becoming intertwined with Shoto fighting cancer. Being forced to team up with Lloyd at Void Industries. Trying to befriend and getting punched by Leo. For all of the fighting and grumpy arguments he led in class, he was no closer to becoming a hero to anybody. Least of all, himself.

If only he was stronger or nicer. Maybe his life would have been more satisfying.

One thing that did stick out was that etoufee.

The way Moxie beamed when he was the first to try it, and it was certainly the best thing he had eaten despite the incredible delicacies at the cafeteria every day. The way her face and gray eyes lit up with her excitable southern accent as hard to decipher as the complicated lines on a computer binary code. And as he hugged the girl next to him even tighter than before, as his grip started to falter for good, he lowered his head and peered at her placid face with cuts blemishing her olive skin.

"I'm sorry," James choked out. "I...I can't be the hero today."

With a final brush of wind, James' body swung backwards. The rock snagged into his skin and seared through it to the bone. James gasped and was forced to release his grip with the rock prying his fist open. Once free, James took his arm and threw it around Moxie's waist just above where his right arm was placed. Wrapping her within his grasp, James leaned back and hugged her head to his chest.

If they were going to fall, he was going to be underneath her. Maybe she would have the slimmest of chances to survive the hard impact on the forest floor.

As pointless as the action was, James felt a twinge of satisfaction knowing he would have accomplished one heroic deed before dying.

James closed his eyes and focused only on Moxie's soft hair blowing just below his face. The slightest aroma of honey poured into his nose as gravity took over. His stomach shifted within him with the wind erupting in his ears. His legs kicked upward and his neck shifted to nearly collapse under the pressure of the fall.

They fell.

Then, they started to slow.

Just as the wind started to die down, James opened his eyes. The freefall turned into a soft descent like two bubbles bobbing in the breeze. James rotated himself, and before he knew it, he realized that he was floating in the middle of the air. Around him, a strange lilac cloud emitted an electric hiss as it twisted around them like a translucent bubble. Everything around James was purple, and he felt weightless as his center of gravity changed and he rose upward with Moxie in tow.

"What...is this?" James looked down at his hands. Whatever was happening, he had no energy left to make it happen. It had to be something else creating this force around them.

They both rose over the lip of the cliff. Coming into view with the wreckage on the mountain, James lunged forward and dived for the solid ground. He descended onto it and crashed his cheek with the hard clay that had been overturned by the wreckage.

James snuggled Moxie into his center as they landed within the trail engrained into the ground from the wreck. The purple light disappeared, and James panted for breath as the calm that arrested him gave way to the pain his body still felt from the situation. He released Moxie and collapsed onto his back. His arms splayed out to either side of him as sweat diffused from him.

Then, James looked down to his feet. What he saw made him shout out in shock.

Rising beyond the tips of his destroyed shoes was Shoto hovering over the edge of the cliff. The man looked immaculate; not a single scratch on him as he wore what appeared to be his regular hero uniform that made him so famous. An ornate golden glow fizzled around him with the occasional ivory sparkle popping like a cork of champagne as he floated right by James' feet as his stature blocked away the sun. The man looked as powerful as ever with an unreadable expression on his face.

Next to James, Moxie stirred with her eyes cracking open. Her vision stung by the bright light, she raised her forearm and pressed it to her brow. Her head was heavy and a migraine pounded at the interior.

However, she had enough strength in her limp limbs to perch her head upward and look at the comforting warmth that called out to her. She focused her vision and spied through her eyelashes the shape of a certain hero. When she realized it was Shoto, she popped up and sat straight as a poised ballerina at the sight.

"M-Mister Todoroki," Moxie cried out. "What? How?"

James, realizing the proximity with Moxie, shunted himself over on his haunches and plopped himself a few feet to the side. Regardless, both of the students awed at Shoto.

In an even more shocking sight, Shoto smiled.

"Moxie, thank you," Shoto said. "You believed in me, and you reminded me of the sacrifices that have to be made to be a hero. And I'm sorry for how I treated you over. I should have embraced the lesson you were trying to teach me."

"Lesson?" Moxie asked.

"Just how precious life is," Shoto said. "I wish I had realized it sooner. But you also helped me learn what it meant to truly have gratitude for others. To care and to learn how to love other people. Or at least, to realize that was what I was doing this whole time. With my family. With Katsu. And now, with you."

Moxie locked her hands together in front of her chest and bit at her lip. Her eyes watered and she began to tremble from her seated position. "Mister Todoroki, I don't know what you're saying, but it sounds like you're...you're not gonna be around any more."

Shoto chuckled. "Moxie, you of all people should know that's not true. Wherever there's a hero saving the day, wherever there's a villain facing justice, wherever there's a student learning the ropes or somebody doing something as simple as cooking a pot of gumbo for their friends, those are the places where gratitude exist. And those are the places where I exist. Keep living your life this way, and you'll be a greater hero than I ever was."

Moxie flashed a watery smile and clutched the crucifix around her neck. "Thanks. But it was etoufee I made. Not gumbo."

Shoto nodded and glanced up at the sky. "Now, if you excuse me, I have a few other people to call to. Just remember...a hero's life is measured not in the villains he defeats, but in how many people you convince that life is worth living."

"Worth living?" James asked. "Wait...what's that mean?"

Then, as if a light switch had been flickered silent, Shoto vanished.

And he was now in Katsu's room.

Shoto lost his balance and fell backwards over a beanbag chair. He yelped out when he crashed onto the floor only to fall onto the bag. His body sunk down into the soft fabric which hissed and crackled before deflating under his weight to conform to his shape.

The Pro-Hero, the strange glow still cast around him, scanned the room. It was somewhat messy with used tee shirts strewn about and a few ramen noodle wrappers tossed and littering the outer edge of a wastebasket already coated with dust. Katsu's bed was unmade with the orange comforter folded up and twisted at the base of the bed.

Despite this mess, the room was a serene setting, almost one that stretched between the reality he had lived within and the newer one he would soon join. The sun poured light through the window, and from the horizon a sea of blue bobbed and waved before disappearing beyond the edge of the oceanside cliff. Right outside the clear pane of glass, a few cardinals zoomed past, their wings fluttering through the gentle breeze that hummed underneath the ticking alarm clock placed on the wooden nightstand beside Katsu's bed.

A single candle burned at the edge of the desk seated underneath a mirror. Katsu could be a vain individual at times, but he instilled in him that he needed to look his best the moment he got out of bed. Shoto saw his own reflection, and the small flume of smoke wafted the honeysuckle scent of the candle that massaged his sinuses.

He stared at his own reflection as the door opened. A quiet creak, and then a surprised yipe squeaked from the boy in the doorway.

"Shoto," Katsu said. "I-I didn't know you'd be here."

Shoto turned and saw the boy in a yellow undershirt and purple shorts. Based off the towel drooped over his shoulder and his glistening hair that cascaded past his chin, he had just been in the shower.

"To be honest," Shoto scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't, either."

Katsu slammed the door behind him and draped the towel on the copper coatrack next to the mahogany dresser. "Well, I'm ready as I'll ever be for the Sport's Festival today. You should see all the preparation that's been going on. Leo and James got into a fight a few days ago, and the other guys have been lifting weights like crazy. You wouldn't think Abel would be that fit, but he really is once he listens to Black Sabbath. That's the name of the band, by the way. I think some of the girls from Class 1-B have been talking about him, but it's probably because of how obnoxious he could be. "

Shoto smiled and stepped over to Katsu. The boy had opened up his dresser and thumbed his way through it locate the school gym uniform. The rack rattled with the sliding of metal hangers ringing within the wardrobe.

"I know it's a bit unfair with your connections and all, but I really want to do this on my own. So, if things don't work out, I'd rather find my own hero agency to intern with, by the way. I know one of your old classmates could find me a spot, but I think I can impress here in America. By the way," Katsu pulled out two small headbands and raised them in each hand. "Blue or red?"

Shoto pointed at the red one.

Katsu turned back around, not noticing the strange look bubbling on the surface of Shoto's face. "I really don't know much about the competition from the other classes. I don't think they'll be a big deal. I'm not worried about the other students either. James is just a loudmouth and Lloyd is pretty predictable. Hunter might be a problem if he can swing off things, but I can wear him down. Honestly, only Blake and Synaes bug me. Blake is just kinda weird, y'know? And his quirk is sort of creepy, but if we get a challenge like how you had your first Sport's Festival, I could just push him out of the way. Synaes can predict my every move, but she needs my DNA first. I don't think she has it, though. Do you think I should ask, Shoto? How do you ask a girl if she has your DNA?"

Silence.

Katsu turned back towards his old mentor. "Shoto?"

Shoto could only stare back at the boy who was almost as tall as him. Within the span of a few years, he went from a scrawny and annoying brat who complained about his family all the time to a cock-sure and somewhat hyper teenager. He knew that attitude would lead to trouble in the future, but it was nothing that could not be fixed. All of the honest talks and arguments and fights between them, and it was all that Shoto had to give.

"Katsu," Shoto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's up to you now."

The boy squinted and stepped closer to the man. He licked his dry lips and basked in the warm sunlight that filled just over Shoto's shoulder.

"Your class," Shoto said. "Has already been through a lot. Not as much as my old class, but things are just beginning. And...there will be a lot of pain in the future. That's the life of a hero. But that pain sets a fire within us, and that fire makes us save people. And...I hope you never extinguish that flame."

Katsu nodded. "You're acting weird, Shoto. Are you upset about leaving me here and going back to Japan?"

Shoto felt a strange pulling at his heart. It was a warning sign telling him he had little time left. He just knew it. Despite that, Shoto felt no sadness or panic. Instead, a quiet resolve calmed his nerves as the faint glow around him grew just a shade brighter. Within the sunlight, Katsu did not notice.

And he ignored it long enough for Shoto to reach out to him and envelop him in a hug.

Katsu whined at the strong arms squeezing his midsection dry of all blood. "Sh-Shoto! Please, you're gonna suffocate me. I won't win if I can't breathe!"

Shoto paid no mind to his words and buried his nose in the thick locks of Katsu's hair. Still damp with the fragrance of mint, felt Katsu relax and return the hug with an awkward few pats on the back.

They stood in complete silence for what felt like hours, a litany of words transferred from the tight hug.

Finally, Shoto pulled back and released Katsu. His body became tense as the glow emanated around him further.

Just then, Katsu gasped and reached down into his pocket. "That reminds me," he said. Katsu pulled out a silver room key and held it out to Shoto. The metal gleamed in the light with a sparkle bursting off the very tip.

"My room key," Katsu said. "I know that was part of the deal for staying here, but...I guess if you want to visit more, I can give you the spare key."

"Thank you, Katsu," Shoto said. He nodded his head in humility towards the boy. "You've allowed me the chance at expressing my gratitude to the rest of the world, and the chance to feel what it was like to have a real family. You, Midoriya, Momo, even Bakugo. On occasion, of course."

"Well, maybe you should remind him that," Katsu scratched at the back of his neck. "The grade he gave me on our history pop quiz didn't show that."

Shoto chuckled and ruffled the top of Katsu's head. "You're next, Katsu. In becoming a hero. In learning who you are. In learning just what it means to be grateful and what it means to be a hero. It's all coming up next, and you'll make me proud."

Katsu smiled and flashed his brilliant teeth at the boy. It reminded Shoto of when he was much younger and finally pulled off a complicated move in training. "Thanks, Shoto. Now, hurry up and take my key so I can get ready for the Festival. It's only in a few hours!"

Shoto reached out and grabbed the key. For just a brief second, both him and Katsu were holding onto the metal together. Within that time, a strange event occurred. A spark, not entirely unpleasant, coursed through both of their bodies. A strange glance shared between the two of them communicated the knowing solemness of the situation. Katsu suddenly felt a flash of melancholy snap into view, and his heart twinged at the bittersweet image of Japan's number one Pro-Hero smiling over at him.

For some odd reason, this felt like a goodbye.

Yet, Katsu did not act. He did not rush over and interrogate Shoto. He did not shout for him to stay or to tell him what ailed him. As much as he wanted to, he did not take back his room key either. Instead, his own fingers relented and retreated from the base of the silver.

Whatever would happen, it would happen because it needed to happen.

"By the way, Shoto said. "Clean your room. And make your damn bed, Katsu."

Katsu released the key.

And then Shoto Todorki disappeared from this Earth.

James cringed at the slurping noise Moxie made as she sucked on the juicebox. She threw herself on the back bumper of the ambulance and swung her legs in a carefree swivel. She squeezed the remnants of the apple juice inside, the golden liquid drenching her parched throat. She let out a loud sigh and grabbed the corner of the blanket resting on James' lap and threw it over her shoulders. Swaddled in a thick ruby fabric, she threw the juice box behind her onto the stretcher in the ambulance and scratched at a cut etched into her cheek.

The boy next to her rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He turned away from the girl and observed the sight in the trailhead parking lot. After Shoto had vanished, Moxie and James were confronted by park rangers who arrived just seconds later attracted by the massive explosion at the top of the mountain. Soon, a helicopter came in and police began to survey the wreckage with medics doing the same to James and Moxie. Little else was said to them as the officers documented the crash and then escorted them down towards the trailhead by the helicopter.

Checked out again by the paramedics at the surface level of the forest, James tugged at the IV line pumping in the electrolytes he needed to regain energy. He was tethered to the machine within the ambulance, so he was stuck with Moxie bouncing her legs on the bumper of the vehicle. Quite a bit had happened to them, yet James wanted to say as little as possible to the girl. Perhaps there was little he truly wanted to say to the girl. Maybe, he thought as he stole a quick glance at her, he was worried about what he would reveal.

Just then, a park ranger walked up and adjusted her hat to shield her from the sun twinkling through the redwood canopy. "Well, you two should be good to go soon. One of the medics will unplug you from the machine, Mister Guzman. Also, your school has been contacted, and they're sending someone to the airport nearby to pick you up."

Moxie flashed a sheepish smile. "Great. Uh...I'd like to ask exactly who."

"Some guy with a really rough voice," The ranger said. "Sounded kinda mad."

Moxie's face fell. "Oh. How mad are we talking?"

"He said something about locking you in an iron maiden," The ranger shrugged. "I'm assuming that's just a figure of speech."

"Not for Mister Bakugo," James grumbled. He turned behind him and saw a box full of juice boxes. He grabbed one and stabbed the paper straw into the hole. With swallow, he chugged down the juice and felt his limbs regain strength as the cool electrolytes made his arm shiver.

"By the way," the ranger pointed at Moxie. "The state troopers wanted you arrested. Apparently, the solar-powered vehicle you commandeered was fraudulent and used gasoline instead. Also, the rocket registration expired a year ago."

"Wh-but that's not my fault," Moxie grabbed at her chest in a cartoonish state of shock. "I didn't no nothing about it having gas in there."

"That's why they decided to arrest the manufacturer instead," The ranger said. "Don't worry, kids. Mister Buscemi will be locked away for quite a while."

"Wait! It's a misunderstanding! I thought it only had to be partially powered by solar!"

Steve slammed his feet on both sides of the door frame. The two officers behind him pushed his back through the opening. Steve screamed and slammed his face on the pavement of his front walkway. The cops next to him grabbed his arms and carried him like a carcass of pork towards the police car in the driveway.

"Doesn't matter. You're under arrest for emitting carbon emmissions without paying the tax."

"No, I'm innocent, I tell ya! Innocent!" Steve screamed.

"Tell it to the judge!" The cops said as they dragged him over the pavement towards the back of the squad car.

"This is how you goons repay me for suffering through Grown Ups 2?"

"Buddy, you're under arrest because of Grown Ups 2."

Back at the forest, James and Moxie stared back at the park ranger. She flipped through her notebook as more rangers mulled about behind her. Construction workers carried parts of the destroyed rocket into dump trucks with various news vans perched along the edge of the trailhead entrance. Ignoring the bustle of the emergency workers, the ranger pressed her pen to the pages of the notebook and focused back on the students.

"Now, you told me this was just a fun experiment you two were apart of," the ranger said. "But if there is anything else you want to say about why you were all here, now would be a good time to say it."

Before Moxie could open her mouth, James cleared his throat.

"Nada," James said. "Now leave us alone," He waived away the ranger.

The ranger, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, huffed. "Whatever. Just don't crash your rockets into park grounds again."

With a turn on her heel, the ranger walked away. Moxie shot an inquisitive look over at James. The boy looked back and took another draw of his juice.

"You really think they'd believe us?" James stated.

Moxie thought back to the events in the past hour. She looked down at her busted up knees and rubbed the wounds that bruised around them. "Nah, I guess they wouldn't. But...what did happen, James? Did Mister Todoroki...did he die? Is he gone? Why was he floating above us with that weird light around him? What did he mean with all he said?"

"I don't know," James drank again from the juice box. "And I really don't care that much."

"You should care," Moxie turned on her hips and faced James. "Don't you think there was a reason that happened to us? Why we had to be there together for that? Why Mister Todoroki said what he said? Don't you think God would make that mean something?"

"I don't know," James frowned with the straw poking at his lips. "Maybe you should ask him. But in the meantime, we should just keep this to ourselves. No one would believe us, and it means less talking to all of these morons around us."

"But you know Deku and Bakugo won't let it go," Moxie said. "They'll know something more was going on. I just have a feeling they'll know. I don't think Mister Todoroki is gone. Not forever, at least. And Mister Deku and Bakugo will know. And they'll know we had something to do with it. And I don't want you getting in trouble on my own sins, James."

James raised an eyebrow and scooted himself towards Moxie. "And why do you care if I get in trouble?"

The girl hesitated and tucked a strand of her cocoa hair behind her ear. Her face twinged with red, she crossed her ankles and pulled at the top of her ripped stockings. Her gaze wandered to avoid James' while she rocked herself on the edge of the bumper.

"It's just that," Moxie started. "I feel a little weird around you. I know you don't like me all that much, but you're a really honest guy. Just in a very rude way. But I feel like...you've been actually trying to help me. Even when you said those hurtful things, you did it so I wouldn't hurt myself and my chances of doing good at this school. And then you came all the way just to apologize to me. You saved me on the mountain. I mean...you wouldn't have just done those things if I was just another classmate, right?"

James cursed himself as his entire body tightened like a stretched rubber band. Moxie had his number as far as his own emotions were concerned. Thinking back, he had involved himself in numerous was to Moxie for very little reason and almost no benefit to himself. It was just one of many questions he had uncovered over the past few hours. How he even had the strength to save himself and Moxie was another mystery entirely. That strange cloud around him was a color not unlike his quirk, but he had never floated or flown with it before. Was it something he unlocked under duress? Did Shoto give him the boost he needed or save him entirely? Did he actually...feel so awkward for this hyper and strange Cajun girl next to him that he went out of his way to go halfway across the state on a rainbow rocket and save her from falling off the cliff while confronting a resurrected Shoto Todoroki?

James had to admit, however, seeing the girl so shy was actually amusing to watch with a thin finger spindling around a lock of her hair.

"So, wait," James said. "What's your point here?"

"Well," Moxie pasted on a tight smile. "I know friends aren't something you got much of other than Leo. But theres a saying daddy always told me. One carp can't wrangle a possum, but two carp can choke out a gator."

James blinked. "I have no idea what that means? You want me to be your carp?

What?" Moxie blushed and shook her head like a bobblehead. "No, no! It's a saying about friendship! So...I guess we can be friends for real now? Be allies and work with each other?"

James blinked again.

Above him, a white dove zoomed past and rose upward into the sky. Distracted for just a second, James lowered his gaze and locked sights with Moxie's bright and shimmering charcoal eyes.

Then, James scowled.

"No."

Moxie paused for a second, not comprehending what the boy had said. Then, her face lit up in confusion and she folded her hands in her lap.

"Huh?" Moxie asked.

"Why would I wanna be friends with you?" James asked.

Moxie lowered her head crestfallen. She slumped her shoulders and breathed out a dejected sigh. "I just...after what we been through-."

"No, you're not listening," James scowled at the girl and scooted closer to her, their knees almost touching. "Why the hell would I want to be friends with you? You think I jumped off that Alaskan Dragon and flew on a rocket that shot rainbows and broke you out of the rocket and dangled hundreds of feet above the ground just so I could be friends with you?"

"I heard you the first time. Fine, I'll leave you alone," Moxie said. "You're crankier than a run over 'dillo."

"A what? Speak english."

"An armadillo," Moxie said. "We call them 'dillo.'"

"Moxie," James snapped. "What would we do as friends? Nothing. Jack shit. What, we'd sit around and talk about the weather? Interest rates? Like friends? Ugh. What a gross thing that'd be."

"Ain't nothing wrong with liking people enough to be friends."

"And that's the problem," James said. "I don't like you on the level of being a friend."

"Fine," Moxie crossed her arms and pivoted away from James. 'Then I'll just wave at you from across the room once in a while."

"You're not listening again," James clutches his head in frustration. "Don't make me spell it out for you, you oblivious otter."

"You don't like me enough to be a friend. Fine, then I'm a classmate."

"That's not what I said. I said I don't like you on the level of a friend."

At this, Moxie stopped.

She scrunched herself back around to face James. The boy was now just a few inches away as both of their hands rested right next to the other "What? James, what's that mean?"

James bit his lip and kneaded the back of his neck. He smoothed down one of the bandages over his cheek and swallowed hard. "We both gain zero if we're friends. And let's be real, I don't need friends. I don't really want friends. So, I know what I don't want. But...I also know what I do want, and...look, there's no freaking instruction manual for how to say what I wanna say. But I know what I don't want also, and if we were to be on any level, just make it anything but friends. Either were nothing at all...or..."

"James, are you asking me o-."

"Shut up!" James shouted in such a loud voice he even caught the attention of some workers carrying a hunk of rocket metal. Despite the extra attention, James cleared his throat and continued.

"It's just...ever since we ran into each other at the hospital," James said. "I think about why you kept that secret. And then this stuff happens. And...that dumb parrot at the school with that weird quirk forced me to think about some things. And...look. We don't have to be formal. There's no contract we have to sign. And we can start slow. Talk about our favorite color or some shit like that. Songs and the dumb stuff people talk about when they..."

Moxie intertwined her fingers and looked the boy deep in his eyes. A strange flutter made her heart soar when she felt the tip of her fingers just grazing James' rough and calloused hand. "James...I really didn't expect this. Not from you."

"Going into this, I didn't either," James looked away. "But now we're here. So either go along with it or agree to forget I ever mentioned this, but...I don't want to be friends with you. It'd benefit us none. But...if you want to be something else than just...that..."

"But," Moxie giggled. "What would we do?"

"I don't know. I didn't plan this," James shot back like an angry tennis serve. "But I have ground rules. We don't tell anyone about this. I don't wanna be a part of the dumb gossip talk. This is something between us, and we're taking it slow. I still don't know much about you, so if I find out you do weird voodoo things, then I'm done. If you do any drugs, I'm done. And if you try to get me to eat beignets, I'm done."

"Hold your horses," Moxie plunked her hands on her hips. "What you got against beignets?"

"They're too fattening," James said. "Food down in Louisiana isn't exactly healthy."

"Neither is Florida," Moxie added. "You ate cuban sandwiches every day down there, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and I burn it all off at the gym," James raised his voice. "That's why I'm there so much."

Moxie laughed and straightened herself up. She came face-to-face with James and rested her hand right next to James' yet again. "Okay, James. Then what can we do?"

James looked away again with a warmth bubbling under his face. His heart began to purr like a cocaine-addicted cat as he felt Moxie's eyes flash into his soul like a laser melting through a steel safe. Yes, James Guzman rarely panicked, but he could safely say that he would rather be hanging off a cliff threatening him with certain doom than be seated next to this girl on the bumper of an ambulance right now.

"I don't know," James groaned. "Boring couple stuff. What do you think?"

Moxie, in a moment of pure instinct, felt her mind go blank when she felt the heat emanating off James' skin. Just inches away from him, she smelled the fragrance of apple juice and mint within his breath getting closer and closer. A small voice in the back of her head was pleading for her to turn back. However, right when she came into contact with the loud and brash classmate of hers, a much louder voice directed her to make contact with James. It was a voice that made her eyes flutter shut and purse her lips in anticipation of what would come next. It was a voice that gave her the bravery to make the move and the stupidity to not think about any of the future consequences.

A voice that said what she told James in the rocket.

James let out a muffled and shocked whimper when Moxie's lips pressed to his. As the kiss went on for what seemed to be a decade, his mind rushed through a marathon of alarms that told him to stop it immediately.

Yet, once the girl wrapped her arms around his shoulder, he found himself much more compelled to continue onward.

Just as he was getting accustomed to the sweet taste of her peppermint kiss, Moxie's eyes shot open. Like she had been woken by a fire alarm, she smacked her lips off James and pulled back.

"Wah! I'm sorry, James," Moxie cried out. "I don't know what I was thinking!"

James brushed at his lips and wiped them with the back of his hand. "You dumb otter. When I said 'boring couple stuff,' I meant talking about our favorite color or some shit like that."

Moxie clasped her hands in a prayer gesture and bowed her head. "Please, I'm sorry. I won't do it again?"

James, realizing that he actually relished in receiving his first kiss, snorted out a chuckle. He took a hand and stroked Moxie's warm and soft cheek. The girl peered up, and for once, James had a genuine smile that made him look almost irresistible.

"I hope you don't plan on keeping that promise," James said cupping Moxie's face in his hands. "Of not doing that again. After all, how many chances do we get?"

And so, with a gleeful squeal, Moxie leaned forward and that she, in fact, would like to do it again.

"That was...kinda weird."

Weird, but a nice moment.

"So...do I go to heaven now?"

Not quite. Your role in this story is not complete.

"But...I'm ready. I'm ready to...move on."

And you will, just not yet. You see, I didn't just let you see Katsu again as a favor. You recieved something from him important.

"The key? It unlocks a door or something?"

It's not the key itself. It's what the key symbolizes.

"So...will I use it to unlock something?"

Ugh. You heroes. Always focused only on what the thing does instead of what it means.

"Gee, sorry for asking questions. I only just now became a...what exactly am I?"

You're a virtue.

"Got it. But like, am I a ghost? Human?"

You don't need to concern yourself with such titles anymore.

"Fine. Whatever, lady. Forget I asked."

...

...

...

...

"By the way, you said you didn't do a favor with me and Katsu."

And?

"Uh...could you actually do a small favor for me in the meantime?"

And what would that be?

"Well, it's actually a favor for someone else. I think i owe it to them to give them a break in something."

...

...

...

And what would that be?

"Dumbasses," Bakugo grumbled to himself. "I can't believe I gotta do the babysitting. And miss the Sport's Festival."

Bakugo dribbled his fingers on the sill of the window within the private jet. While he appreciated the school affording him the chance to pick up Moxie and James, he hated that he would miss the first chance to ee how his students actually performed within combat. Not only that, but he would miss the press and attention that would come with it. While he normally cared little about those things, he wanted the world to see that he was a good a teacher as a Pro-Hero, and now he would miss all of that.

He scrunched himself into the leather maroon seat and thunked his head on the window. The clouds below drifted past like leaves in a crystal river. His seat belt dug into his midsection, and he thought back to the last month or so of action. It would be a real shame that Moxie and James would miss the festival as well. Moxie had a very important support quirk that he imagined could be used for offense in the right circumstances. James, of course, was quite powerful and he admired the kid's bravado even though he was not the smartest thinker in the bunch. Based off the design of the festival, Bakugo knew teamwork was important in the first round, and James seemed to not possess much of a selfless bone yet. Hopefully, that would be a lesson learned sooner rather than later.

Frankly, the competition was wide open. Bakugo cracked open a packet of peanuts and scrolled through the list of students in Class 1-A. The entire group, from Leo with his powerful time-based quirk to Robyn and her super fast healing along with her sword skills, was a formidable bunch. He could see any one of them becoming decent mid-level heroes, though he doubted any of them would be stars in the making.

"Good luck, kids," Bakugo said more to himself. "Try and make me proud."

As he put away the list on his phone, one of the flight attendant walked over towards Bakugo. They held out a small rotary phone on a platter and held it down to him.

"A call for you, Mister Bakugo," The attendant said.

Bakugo, not even questioning the rotary phone and deciding that was normal in America, picked up the reciever and held it to his ear.

"Hello."

"Kacchan, I can't believe it! We have to postpone the Festival a day. The field in the stadium is on fire!"

Bakugo shot up straight to his feet. "What?"

Nobody could predict nor explain why it happened. How, on an otherwise beautiful and cloudless day in Southern California, a bolt of lightning raced down from heaven and struck the very center of the athletic field where the Sport's Festival was to be held just an hour or so later.

The fire raged through the field and burned it to a crisp. Fortunately, the astroturf grass would replace the field. However, it would take at least a day for the field to be replaced.

The crowd already gathered in the stands let out boos of disappointment as the massive television screens on either end of the stadium flashed a message. The festival was postponed another day. Plenty of time for Moxie and James to come back and compete.

Nobody could have known or predicted that a bolt of lightning would make that happen.

Except Shoto Todoroki, who, after striking a deal with a very important being, floated above the field and saw the blaze burn over the grass.

He smiled.

And then, seeing his objective complete, he released himself of this Earth.

For now.

There we are! I think we did it! The end of Shoto's arc!

Of course, there's more where that came from, and not everything is wrapped up. What will happen between Moxie and Alistair? Now Moxie and James? Did any of you expect that, by the way?

Tell me what you think? Are you happy? Surprised? Sad? Uncaring? What did you want to happen? What do you want to happen next? Plese reveiw and tell me everything you thought!

And now, buckle up! It's time for the Sport's Festival!

You are amazing people. you're reviews give me fulfillment in life. I hope you know how important they are to me. So please, keep reviewing! Keep telling others about this! Keep loving each other!

Thank you. See you soon!