Chapter 1

"Wow!" Emma exclaimed, looking at the giant school building before them. "I knew that UA was considered the best hero school in Japan, but seeing it a second time is even more amazing than the first!"

"How much money was needed to build something of this magnitude?" Norman wondered, straightening his tie.

"I heard they get a lot of funding from the government as well as donations," Scarlett responded. Although she didn't show it, the place had impressed her quite a bit.

Anna's eyes had a look of awe and curiosity in them. "I wouldn't be surprised if people still get lost from time to time here."

"Norman, how can you stand wearing suits all the time," Ray muttered, pulling on his collar in irritation. "If only we didn't have to wear these stuffy things here."

Scarlett silently agreed with her significant other. Any sort of uniform felt like a restriction.

~0~0~0~0~0~

4 Years Ago

In an instant, their whole world changed. Quite literally. This world… was not how they expected it to be at all. The more advanced technology was expected, but some of the things are so insane that you wonder how they could possibly be on the public market. Of course, the Ratri clan does have even better technology, like how they are able to clone things. They are kept very secret for very obvious reasons, even to governments.

The most bizarre thing in this world however was something that no one could have predicted. 80% of the entire population… had a superpower. In this modern age, having no powers would make you seem out of the ordinary. They were called quirks.

The heroes of the world were something that fascinated all of them, especially those on the younger side. All of them would always try to see the fight scenes between them and the villains, who terrified them to no end. You could imagine Gilda's chagrin at having to make sure they didn't get too close.

But although the thought of heroes and watching them is exhilarating, the older ones knew of the reality. They saw stories of heroes dying or failing to save people, causing others to blame them, which in turn caused their career to go down in flames as they were no longer able to go out for fear of the public eye. Many heroes also become crippled or develop mental disorders. It was no easy job. They had a lot to carry and burden. None of the older ones could tell the younger ones of this reality though. It was just too heartbreaking to imagine how they would react. Well some, like Scarlett and Ray, had tried to tell them, but the others managed to convince them otherwise.

"What?!" Emma had shouted out when they first learned of heroes and quirks. "But how?"

"Was it some sort of genetic thing that started and then expanded over the years?" Norman theorized. "Who knew humans could evolve that way."

"Scarlett! Anna!" Phil looked up at them with big bright eyes. "There's more people like you! Isn't that great?"

When Scarlett first learned of this, she was very happy at first. The fact that there were others with powers like her made her feel more welcomed in this strange new place. But then that feeling of happiness went away as fast as it came. They were not like her. Yes, they both have supernatural powers that shouldn't be possible at all. But Scarlett didn't get them the way they did. All of them got their abilities from their parents. The origin of quirks is still mostly unknown. Its first appearance was in a baby in China that glowed. And then soon after that, more and more children born had strange abilities as generations went on.

The ravenette however, was not born with these powers. They were given to her due to experiments she had been put through as a newborn baby. At the time she discovered this, they felt like a curse more than a blessing. She no longer felt that way, but her powers were not a quirk. Countless babies were killed for the same purpose she was tested on. Yet she was an exception. Perhaps it was survivor's guilt she felt.

They were not the same. At all. They were worlds apart.

As the Ratri clan had intended, they rounded up all of the people who were from the demon world. With all their connections and wealth, it was easier to house all of them in several buildings they owned and bought. The majority of the escapees and the others from Grace Field stuck together and lived in a large house in Sacramento, California. Most of the kids went to public school. That included all of those from Grace Field and most of the escapees. Emma, Norman, Ray, and Scarlett all had opted for tutors instead for certain reasons.

Most of the Goldy Pond Resistance, except for Oliver, Violet, Gillian, and Nigel, had gone to college. They still have rooms available in their house whenever they visit, but they stay in their dorms for the most part, insisting that the others should have some more room in the house. Even with them not there, they all still had to share rooms. The entire house was still quite large and came with a gym and a swimming pool in the backyard where most of them learned how to swim for the first time.

There were varying degrees of resentment and disgust at having to rely on the Ratri clan for their living expenses and everything else. If it weren't for the fact that they have very useful resources and connections, no doubt all of them walk out the second they could. Norman and Scarlett were especially upset. The white haired male claimed that once he's an adult and can actually make his own money, he'll part ways with the clan and bring everyone else with him. For now though, this is how it will stay.

The Sisters and Moms too had to adapt to society in secret. None of them were allowed to live on their own until they've proven to be able to live in society. Everything about the demon world had to be kept secret. No matter what. The Ratri clan was very uptight about that. Even though they no longer needed to be mediators, they still had the task of keeping the truth secret.

Yuugo and Lucas had the option to live on their own, but they decided to stay with the rest of the group as the adults and supervisors of their home. This made them much happier because since none of them were adults, the Ratri clan would have had to send their own supervisor. Their relationship with the Ratri clan was still shaky and unknown.

Ayshe was given the offer to live with them, but much to their surprise, she declined. Norman had assumed it was because of him, but she then said that she simply wanted to go back to her old lifestyle. The one like the one with just her demon father and dogs. Of course, that was impossible now, but she just wanted to live life peacefully. All of them respected her choice and offered their home to her in case she changed her mind. Since then, she's gone off the radar with her three dogs and they convinced the Ratri clan to not look for her, assuring she was sworn to secrecy. There were rumors, however, of a blonde girl that had excellent marksmanship who lived in Alaska with three dogs.

Although as the clan expected, there were rumors that children and several women in maid outfits were found all over the world, some with strange tattoos, having appeared from out of nowhere. The Ratri clan used their political power and other resources to cover it all up. Nowadays, it is seen as a hoax. The children and women were hidden after that. Of course, not everyone believes that it was fake, but the majority of the people moved on from the strange incident. It was just another piece of history that was mainly forgotten, except to crazed theorists.

As soon as they were found, the Ratri clan gave all of them the option to keep their numbered tattoos or to professionally remove them so that they don't leave a mark at all. It was an interesting proposition for most of them. If they kept their tattoos as they were, it was heavily ordered to cover them up in the public eye.

In the end, all the escapees decided to keep their numbers. Yes, they symbolized the dark times of their life. But they were also a symbolism of their origin. They were proof that they had gone through what they did. With the tattoos, they couldn't deny what happened.

They had also organized a proper funeral and burial for their Mom, Isabella. All of the escapees and those from Grace Field attended as well as all the Sisters and Moms, each of them wearing black clothing. She was not buried in a public cemetery for fear of grave robbers as there have been a number of cases like that. After the service ended, Scarlett stayed with Ray at her grave, holding his hand tightly as she helped him go through with it. He as well supported her back in response.

But Chris… still had yet to show any signs of waking up. Even though it's been months and the Ratri clan's equipment was the top of the line. The clan had suggested multiple times to 'put him down' or let him rest. Of course, no one wanted that.

"How dare you!" Gilda shouted in fury.

"He's not some dog!" Don added, just as furious. "He's one of us!"

"We're not letting him die," Yuugo stated firmly. "Not if there's a chance to save him. So you better not do any shit to him, or we'll know."

At their stares and stances, Mike Ratri reluctantly agreed to their terms.

With Adam's DNA, they had created the cure for the Lambda people's spasms. Norman however, hardly had contact with Vincent and the others after that. They seemed to have wanted to keep their distance from him for whatever reason. It worried him quite a bit. Other kids from the resistance too had decided to part ways to find their own place in life.

Through the aftermath, many Sisters and Moms as well as even many of the escapees had gone through so much trauma. Many of them needed therapy. The Ratri clan had supported them for that because they were responsible for much of it. Yuugo needed to attend some sessions as well as Lucas and many others of the Goldy Pond Resistance.

Scarlett was also one of them. It's the main reason as to why she didn't apply for public school. Emma, Norman, and Ray just followed her in that they didn't want to go to a school. Anna was also the same. The blonde had experienced first hand how Scarlett had felt. Being alone and feeling out of place.

The night terrors never really stopped in the first place. When Scarlett learned of the experiments, every night had been filled with the horrible memories that resurfaced in her mind. After she had sorted herself out, they had definitely lessened a bit. But they never disappeared. Once they appeared, hardly a single night had gone by without seeing the haunted and tortured faces of those babies or her victims. Especially Andrew and his decapitated head. All the deaths she saw and caused, how much blood she spilled, and how many lives she must have ruined. It always resorted to her waking up several times in the night with a cold sweat and uneven breathing. Headaches also often appeared during the day, which were quite annoying. It wasn't quite exactly just PTSD. It was mainly insomnia. Every night, it was incredibly difficult to fall asleep and usually whenever she is able to, it always ends in her waking up from a nightmare and staying up until morning.

No amount of therapy had truly helped her get rid of them. And soon enough, they were affecting her mental health and state. It resorted to the Ratri clan having to give her pills that give her dreamless sleep. They actually had something like that, which was a surprise. Apparently, Peter Ratri had quite the fits in his sleep as well.

Unfortunately, Scarlett couldn't completely rely on the pills. If she took too many too often, there's a high chance that she would get an addiction to them or there would be bad side effects. Besides, she hated having to rely on something like that. It made her feel helpless.

It wasn't all bad though. Her family and friends were with her the entire time, helping her after she wakes up in the middle of the night and comforting her. She did feel guilty about affecting their sleep as well though. But they insisted it was fine. They had it worse when they were on the run from the Ratri clan and demons.

Ray especially was watching her closely. He and Scarlett started dating as well as Emma and Norman. Ray was always helping her whenever it was needed. He was worried about her, but did not continuously ask about her wellbeing. She appreciated that. He knew when to back off and quietly support her.

For months she kept switching therapists to see if any could do any better. And eventually, she was stuck with one named Mayumi Walsh. The woman was 38 years old and was rather short, only reaching Scarlett's chest. Then again, Scarlett was very tall. Her eyes were a golden yellow and she had short lavender hair and always wore the same black square-shaped glasses. Her nationality was Japanese American and she is fluent in both English and Japanese.

For a therapist, Mayumi was quite strict, always telling Scarlett to do these certain exercises and to not skimp on any details, whether it be how she was feeling or what her daily habits were. Unlike the past therapists, she showed little pity, claiming that it was not part of her job. It was a nice change. All the other therapists treated her like an invalid and so she in return refused to do anything with them, leaving them no choice but to leave.

Mayumi was actually being nice in her own way, by treating Scarlett like an actual person. Not their customer or someone helpless. She also gave several good pieces of advice. But that wasn't the biggest perk of having her as a therapist. It was her quirk.

Her quirk, Mindscape, allowed her to look into and even enter the minds of other people. With permission, she would enter Scarlett's mind and see her memories and thoughts, using the knowledge she gains from there to help Scarlett. It was much easier if she got to see it in person instead of Scarlett just describing it. For them though, it took Scarlett a long time before she let Mayumi do such things. But when she proved her trust, the ravenette warily let her in the one place that was to never be seen by others. It first felt weird, having her see even her darkest secrets. But it also made her worry about the woman's mental state. After all, her memories aren't exactly the easiest to stomach.

"Don't worry," Mayumi had reassured her. "I've seen quite a lot of things in the human mind that are messed up in their own way. It comes with the job. You don't need to worry."

"I see…"

"Now, how are you feeling? Any coping methods you use?"

"Does being with family count?" Scarlett shrugged.

"It could," Mayumi conceded. "But seeing as it hasn't gotten us too much progress, perhaps we should also do something else."

"Like what?" Scarlett asked.

"Try finding something that you are into," was what she had suggested. "Maybe even something that you can turn into a career."

"Something I'm into?" Scarlett repeated.

She had dabbled in several departments. One was art and drawing but Scarlett found it was just something she did not have the talent nor patience for. There was also writing, where she had a decent talent for, but it just seemed so boring to her. The ravenette had also learned several types of dance, which was fun, but it just didn't seem career worthy to her. It didn't feel like something that she could do for a lifetime.

While Scarlett had been doing this, many others were looking for their passions as well. Some had found them easier than others. Nat obviously pursued the music path and was a pianist. Gilda had always loved fashion and so she immediately found an interest in designing clothes. In fact, the olive haired girl is planning to go to a top designer school that has already accepted her entry. Don was very athletic and wanted to play a sport professionally, preferably football or soccer.

Nigel was currently at a school in I-Island, the artificial island where technological advancements are made. Gillian was with Nigel at I-Island as his partner. Nigel would create the idea and do all the necessary programming and Gillian would help create the structure and design. Pepe continued his passion for cooking and is even now going to a culinary school. Oliver joined the military as a pilot instead of going to college like the others from the Goldy Pond Resistance. Yuugo had a job as a member of the police force. Lucas had also joined him, having also gotten a prosthetic that actually worked as a moving and functioning arm.

Norman wanted to start a business to create his own money and help and support the others with it. Ray wants to do something with mechanics or building devices. And Anna was planning to go into the medical field with her healing tears.

The ones who had the most trouble deciding what to do were Scarlett and Emma. Emma was talented in several things but she never really saw them more as a hobby.

As Scarlett had continued to look for more things, Nat had come to her with a suggestion.

"Why don't you try music? I'm currently practicing piano. Maybe you'll be interested in it or something similar."

So Scarlett decided to give music a try. When she heard Nat play on the piano, it sent a wave of strange emotions through her. You could tell how much emphasis Nat put into each note, elevating the already beautiful piece. All the feelings were expressed through the music and it just makes it that much better. Immediately, music piqued her interest.

She had started with piano. It was fairly simple to learn and with her quick movements and reflexes due to experience, it was easy to do fast-paced songs. After that, she tried more and more instruments. Guitar (acoustic and electric), violin, drums, bass, etc. With more and more instruments she learned, her passion for playing them grew. It seemed more than just a simple hobby of hers. It was becoming more.

One day Scarlett and Ray had gone out on a lunch date. Whenever Scarlett goes out nowadays, she would have her hair styled to hide her blind eye. For some reason, people would just stare weirdly at her eyepatch. In her opinion, there were far weirder things walking on the street. Weird body parts and strange hair colors seemed far more bizarre than an eyepatch. Perhaps it was when one sees an eyepatch, they immediately think that they lost their eye, which in Scarlett's case is correct. One probably cannot help but stare in curiosity or shock. Gilda had come up with a very simple style that covers her left eye with her hair, whether in a ponytail or not. Small black clips that basically blended into her hair would keep it in place. It wasn't that she felt ashamed of her eyepatch. She just hated the unnecessary attention from it.

It wasn't often that they went on dates. A big reason was the Ratri clan kept an especially close eye on her. Even though the information was secret, it could still be leaked out that her blood could give people powers. Many bad people would want to get their hands on it. Villains, politicians, and governments alike.

Peter Ratri was right in some ways. This world had cruelty in it as well. Poverty, quirkless oppression, and just society in general. Kids and adults suicided from being pushed into an inescapable corner by many others. Bosses overwork their employees for their own gain. Wars were a constant thing, with many losing loved ones because of it. Countries threatened each other with terrible acts and other things. In many ways, this world was just as cruel as the other.

But there were also good things. People giving to those less fortunate, heroes saving lives, new things being invented for the good of the future, and inspiring others to do great things. Nothing is ever just black and white. It was all different shades of gray.

Ray had asked her something while they were on their date, eating ice cream while walking through the city.

"Is music something you want to pursue as a career?"

And at that moment, Scarlett had never been more sure of what she wanted. The feeling of elation and freedom of just playing a single note or plucking a string, or even hitting a drum was something that she enjoyed immensely. "Yes. I think it's something I'd like to do for a profession."

"Then do it," Ray said in reply. "From what I remember… you had a pretty good voice. Maybe you should be a singer."

"A singer…" She closed her eyes, imagining it. On a stage where the world can look at her. Where the world can hear her voice. While the ravenette typically despised any sort of attention, this seemed to be an exception. "That sounds nice."

So when they came home, Scarlett announced her plan. When they encouraged her to sing right there and then, it surprised her. Being put on the spotlight just like that was off putting. But she sang a song that came to the top of her head. When she finished, all of them were shocked at how good she sounded.

"You have such a nice voice!" Emma exclaimed. "It's deep and feels down to earth!"

"Hey, do something with a higher tone!" Dominic suggested excitedly.

"What am I, a vocaloid?" Scarlett responded irritatedly, but in good manner. And so when she sang a different song with a higher pitch, it also stunned them to no end.

"...How sure are you that you want to do this?" Yuugo questioned, although he already seemed to approve of it.

"There has never been a doubt in my mind that I didn't want to do it," Scarlett replied immediately. "I want… the world to hear me. To feel what I'm feeling through my words. And to sing my heart out and give to others in need."

"Well, looks like we got a lot of work to do!" Don cheered.

Since then, Scarlett started using her voice when making music. When she was visiting them outside her college, Sonia had shown her a website where she could post music to the public. It was a popular website where many famous idols and singers originated from. However, Scarlett decided to keep herself anonymous to not warrant as much attention or get the Ratri clan on her back even more so. Starting out, she only posted covers of different songs. All of them had received praise, although not too much considering how small she was compared to others.

With this, Mayumi had then come up with an idea to use her new passion as a coping method after Scarlett told her about it.

"Try making your own music that you can proudly call your own. Use it as a way to release those pent up feelings about your past."

And so she did. It was surprising how addicting it was, just coming up with new lyrics and tunes. She wrote several songs with countless amounts of drafts and dropped ideas. Songs about survival, freedom, sacrifice, pain, and even a few feel-good ones for fun.

Slowly, her existence on the net grew more and more. It still wasn't huge, but she was popular in several communities. Their praises gave her strength and more confidence to write and sing more and more songs. Of course, there were some bad apples that would insult her and her music. But Scarlett's faced far worse than a few hateful and jealous remarks. They hardly fazed her at all. She's gone through physical and emotional pain before. This was nothing compared to other things.

With every song that she recorded in her studio that was built in their home, she gave it her all. And whenever she felt like it could use more emotion or feel to it, she would do it over and over again until it seemed satisfactory. Just like Mayumi had theorized, it did help with her mental state, being able to release all her emotions into music.

(Rain by Sid and English lyrics by Amalee. (Her covers are a hit or miss for me, but I enjoyed her cover of this song))

"Will the rain falling down ever find an ending?

All this time, I've been waiting in the freezing cold

Will the rain, ever leave me alone, I wonder why it chose

To follow me when there's nowhere else I can go..."

With this new found passion, she was able to let herself go. Whenever she sang or wrote lyrics or played an instrument, it felt like she was free. Free from worry, pain, frustration, and stress. It lifted her up and made her feel stronger. At that moment in time, almost nothing felt better. There were few moments that topped that, but even so, it was momentous for her. They were the kind of memories that would always stay with her. Just like the ones with Mike. Even though the memories were fairly short, each one was engraved in her mind clearly.

The ring that Mike gave her in the Seven Walls still stayed on her right ring finger. And she only removed it when she was in the shower or sleeping. It was still a mystery as to how it was still here despite it coming from such a place. But she didn't care, because even if the Mike that gave it to her was an illusion, it was her image of him.

Speaking of mysteries, there was another enigma to speak of. Her powers and the cursed demon blood. What other properties did it have? Could those with the cursed blood do anything else? That form that Scarlett was in after she killed Andrew was still unknown. It was obviously connected to her emotions in some way. But she had no intention of trying to reawaken it, despite the Ratri clan's attempt at trying to convince her to do so. Anna too had the blood inside of her now. Would she also have a similar form? It scared and concerned all of them that it was the case.

Ever since they arrived at the human world, Anna had trained non stop to create more powerful healing tears. It was concerning how dehydrated she was at times. It showed how much effort and perseverance she had in order to not become like what Scarlett was.

"Anna, don't push yourself too much!" Gilda had chastised her the first time she had begun to train her powers.

But the blonde girl was undeterred. "I saw how much Scarlett trained her powers over the years to get where she is now. I want to be at that level too! If I'm going to have these powers, I'm gonna use them to their full potential!"

With the girl's determined eyes, it was hard to argue with her more. The death of Isabella still weighed on her heavily for sure. No one blamed her for feeling that way. But it couldn't be helped since Anna had only just gotten her newly gained abilities. It was also sheer luck that they healed wounds. A part of Anna knew that it wasn't her fault that Isabella died. But the feeling of not having done enough was still vividly present.

They noticed back then that her fingernails were permanently golden yellow, as if they were painted. But no amount of scrubbing or nail polish remover would even make a dent in it. Immediately, they compared it to when Scarlett's eyes turned permanently red. It was a strange characteristic of the even stranger thing that was the cursed blood.

~0~0~0~0~0~

In just a blink of an eye, two years had passed with little issue. Everyone was confident on their path that they chose and nothing that was worth worrying about had appeared. Of course though, things just couldn't stay that way for long.

Scarlett was just recording a song in her home studio, feeling the same as she did with recording her other songs.

(Call Your Name AoT OST- Lost Girls Ver.)

"I'm crying, missing my lover

I don't have the power on my side forever

Oh, where is my lover?

And I have no power

I'm standing alone, no wa-"

Suddenly, her legs buckled as an enormous headache wreaked havoc on her body. Her body would not listen to what her mind ordered it to do. Everything around the ravenette began to blur rapidly as voices in her mind were screaming at her. It all was so sudden and so agonizing, leaving her feeling weak and terrified.

'What's… going on? Why is this happening…? So… much… pain...'

Ray had been outside the recording room when it happened and he barged in to help.

"Scarlett! What's wrong? Can you hear me?! Oi, don't black out on me now!"

With the help of Yuugo and Lucas, they carried her to her bed where she could rest. All the others were informed of what happened and immediately questioned her when she woke up from her unconsciousness.

"I… don't know," Scarlett had whispered, her eyes haunted as she looked down, shaky hands in her vision.

After recovering, she went back to recording more songs. But just like before, she had breakdowns and flashbacks, this time somehow more intense. It was time for Mayumi to step in to figure out the problem. Scarlett had her guesses, but she desperately hoped that her prodigious mind was wrong.

"It appears that perhaps it's the songs that are the cause of it," Mayumi bluntly concluded, confirming her patient's fears.

"But why?" Scarlett had croaked out. "Before, they helped me release those pent up emotions. Why is this happening now?"

"I'm not sure. But maybe you should try recording and writing songs that don't have to do with your past," she suggested.

And so, with some reluctance, Scarlett did. But nothing changed. She still had the same panic attacks like before. They had only seemed to get worse and worse. The whole ordeal with the strange sudden flashbacks and whatnot had been going on for a whole month now. During that time, Scarlett turned 14, but there wasn't a good mood for celebrating her birthday at all. Although that didn't mean the others didn't try to.

At another session, Mayumi sighed as she took off her glasses and cleaned them. Scarlett was quietly and nervously waiting for her to speak. To just say something, anything! It felt like an eternity as she wiped her glasses. Everything was going impossibly slow, as though she was slowly falling in a lake. Breathing became harder and the feeling of suffocation increased tremendously.

'Why… Why are you taking so long?' Scarlett was incredibly frustrated at everything. 'Just say something! Tell me what I can do! It hurts… it really hurts…' Her hands were clenching in and out and the whole world seemed to be spinning.

"Scarlett."

When Mayumi called her name, Scarlett gasped slightly, looking back up at her.

The woman's expression remained cool and professional as always. Except for her eyes. They were filled with worry and even a bit of guilt.

"I'm sorry. I was the one who encouraged you to create these songs from your past."

"There's nothing you need to apologize for," Scarlett insisted quietly. "I would have done so anyways. But please. Tell me. What should I do?! How can I fix this?! Is there a way?!"

Mayumi sighed again, pushing her glasses up her nose. "I think… you have to stay away from music."

Those words made her freeze up. Time seemed to have stopped. A clammy hand went up to her forehead as her wide eyes stared at the coffee table between them. Her tea was completely untouched as the liquid slowly cooled.

"...What?"

"You have to stay away from music," Mayumi repeated. Even in this situation, she showed no remorse or sympathy. Little did Scarlett know though, it hurt the therapist almost as hard as it did for her. "Music used to be a coping method for you. But now it's just gonna cause you more harm from here on out. It appears that your mind is now associating any sort of music with your past experience."

"Wait!" Scarlett protested, standing up. "It could just be a phase! Maybe it's only temporary! There's no way-!"

"Scarlett." Mayumi closed her eyes. "Right now, I'm speaking to you not as a therapist, but as a concerned friend. You have to stop playing music. Everyone is worried about you and your mental state. As of now, you're only causing yourself more harm. I'm sorry."

That night, Scarlett didn't come out of her room for dinner. Immediately, her empty presence brought the mood down by a lot. No one seemed to want to talk or eat. Their minds were all on the ravenette. And the worst part of it was… no one seemed to know what to do or to say to her.

Ray, Norman, and Emma were the first ones to finish dinner. They went upstairs to the room that Scarlett was staying in. Ray didn't bother knocking and just walked right in, much to Emma's surprise and disapproval.

On one of the beds was Scarlett, who buried her head in her pillow. Her hands were clutching the bedsheet so tightly that her knuckles were white.

Ray sat on the bed, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Scarlett…" He then paused. What could he even say? Are you ok? Everything will turn out fine? You can find a new passion? None of that would do anything. It would probably make things worse.

"Hey, Ray," Scarlett murmured in the pillow. She raised her head to look at him. Tears were slowly falling down her face. It was cruelly funny that she didn't have big giant ones and sobs. Instead, there were only tiny tears with small sniffles.

"Why… is music turning against me? Why is music becoming my enemy?"

Her voice sounded so broken and lost. The words weighed heavily on all of them as well.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But no matter what… we'll be here for you. Every step of the way. We will help you find yourself again. No matter how long it takes."

Emma nodded aggressively in agreement. "Yeah! You can pick yourself up again! We've all lost heart before! And we would always find it again! This is no different!"

"Emma's right," Norman conceded. "You're strong. You've been through more than the average kid, even adult. We'll help you get through it. We got your back. Always."

Scarlett didn't say anything and just buried her face in Ray's shoulder, her own shoulders shaking uncontrollably. After a while of silence, minus Scarlett's sniffles, they pushed a couple of beds together and the four of them slept right next to each other, like when they were younger. Of course, Scarlett never participated in one before, but it still felt strangely familiar and welcomed.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Ever since then, for about a month, the entire house's mood was always a bit dampened. But everyone pitched in to help Scarlett in any way possible. Nat even stopped playing piano in the house and would go practice somewhere else instead to ease her torment. Now to her, music just sounded like pain. No one would play any around her.

The night terrors and flashbacks kept raging on. Scarlett took more and more of the pills, with the others still restricting her use of them, but allowing her to use them more. Her sessions with Mayumi were increased drastically as well.

And in secret, Scarlett would sneakily go out at night to their gym to train her body and practice with her katana. Despite not needing to use it ever again most likely, she wanted to keep her skills sharp if needed. And so she never stopped practicing with it since she came to the human world. However, before she was only lightly practicing with it just so her skills didn't become dull or she would forget what Mike taught her. Now it was a reliever. Her body would perform the exercises and procedures that Mike showed her. She would condition her body until her body couldn't take any more. Her form started to become more lean again and her six pack was more visible. She did still maintain her feminine body for the most part though.

Every night was the same. She would wear a tank-top and sweatpants, sometimes shorts, with sneakers, and go on down to the gym quietly.

It was aggressive, how she would train. Even more than what Mike had done to her. It was a form of coping that she knew wouldn't do anything, but she still did it anyways. Because there was nothing else she could think of. Her breath was ragged as she swung her katana through the air.

'More… more! Keep on swinging!'

Her swings grew more aggressive, creating strong gusts of wind from each one.

'Punch harder! Kick faster!'

The poor giant punching bag was abused heavily from her attacks. Each punch and kick's sound echoed through the gym.

'Faster… faster! Harder… harder! Better… BETTER!'

"AGGGHHHHHH!" With a loud yell and a fast spinning kick, she completely knocked the punching bag across the room.

Sweating profusely and breathing hard, she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling with dead eyes. The light was starting to become too bright for her so she used the back of her hand to cover her eyes.

Laughing bitterly and quietly, she asked herself, "What the hell am I doing?"

Not knowing the answer to the question, she sighed, standing up. She walked over to the gym's refrigerator and took out a bottle of cold water. Chugging about half the bottle, she then went ahead and poured the rest on her silky black hair, shaking her head.

Scarlett then grabbed her phone that was on a table. All of them had been issued one from the Ratri clan. It took her months to get used to such a strange device, but at the very least, she has the basics of it down now.

She scrolled through a bunch of videos, not looking for anything in particular, while leaning against the wall. Maybe she'll look for some songs to listen to… her gaze darkened at that. Pushing that thought out of her mind, she continued scrolling. Her eyes landed on an interesting video about hand-to-hand combat techniques. As her thumb was about to tap on it, she felt a sneeze coming up and she went to cover her mouth. Due to that, her thumb instead tapped on the video right below it.

"Damn it," Scarlett muttered irritatedly. "What is this video even?"

But for some reason, she didn't stop it from playing.

It was a video of a disaster. There were fires everywhere and a whole building seemed to have been destroyed. Cars were wrecked and people were crying and calling out to loved ones. It was a terrible sight. But she kept watching, deeply immersed.

Then, from behind a fallen bus, a hero emerged. He was buff and had blonde hair, with a giant smile to top it off. He was carrying several people in his arms and back, laughing. Scarlett recognized him as the hero All Might. Wasn't he the number one hero in Japan? And one of the top heroes globally?

She had never really immersed herself in the world of heroes. They were fascinating for sure, but it felt strange. And some heroes actually disgusted her. Some of the top heroes in the world were only in it for the money and fame. Doing it mainly for a living wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Heroes should be rewarded for their work somehow. But eventually, they start getting addicted to the cash and the attention that even if the money stops flowing or the spotlight is off of them for just one second, it's like death to them. At that point, they forget why they even became heroes in the first place.

As the All Might in the video laughed, he then said to the crowd watching, "It's fine now. Why? Because I AM HERE!"

A small gasp left her lips and her eyes grew a bit wider. His giant smile was shining so brightly and never wavered once.

For some reason, the way he said those words, the way he portrayed them… affected her greatly. They were so simple. Yet so eye opening. It made her feel like there was something invigorating inside of her. For the first time in weeks, she felt free. Just like when she made music. Why was it so moving? Those words were simplistic. Why does it feel like something has awakened inside of her?

After cleaning up and leaving the gym, she went back to bed, making sure not to wake anyone else up. Although with her loud punches and kicks, she might have done that already. As her hand reached for the sleeping pills on the bedside table, she paused and pulled her hand back. For once, it didn't seem like she needed them.

'If that video made me feel like this… then… have I found something? Something that gives me the same passion as before?'

Even back when she was making music, no matter how much enjoyment she found doing it, it always felt like something was missing. She was content, but she knew that something felt a bit off. However, the feeling was always simply brushed off and there was no second thought about it. But now… she thinks she knows what it is. Scarlett was craving to fight. To do something physically. And even now, the reason why she sneaks out at night to condition herself wasn't to just relieve her frustrations at the world or to escape the nightmares. It was also because she wanted to fight.

"A hero, huh?" Scarlett murmured as she fell asleep.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The next month was pretty much the same, even after finding the video. Scarlett's feelings were still conflicted and she had yet to really truly give up on music. But whenever the idea of heroism popped up in her mind, for once, music was just an afterthought. And with that, her choice was made.

Suddenly, after a few days, everyone slowly started noticing how different she was. She was seen going to the gym more often and her diet consisted of more healthy foods. Scarlett also seemed much more alive although she still had her usual insomnia issues.

"Hey, have you noticed how fit Scarlett seems?" Thoma pointed out.

"Yeah, but she's always been fit?" Don replied, not getting what he was saying.

"No, she looks really good now!" Thoma emphasised.

Gilda suddenly appeared, her eyes scary. "I hope that you aren't ogling at your sister."

Thoma flinched, looking appalled and even a bit disgusted. "No way, Gilda! It's exactly as you said, she's like a sister! But you know what I mean! She's been really different lately… almost like before… that thing."

Ray had frowned as he watched her go to the gym in workout clothes. He had known for a while now that she would sneak out in the middle of the night to go there. But he hadn't told the others nor had he confronted her about it either. He knew that his interference would only make her defensive and maybe even a bit hotheaded.

Most of them were too scared or apprehensive to ask Scarlett what she was doing. They were afraid that it would break her or something bad would happen. But then Emma stepped up and asked her outright.

"Hey, Scarlett," Emma called out to her when she walked out of the gym hours later.

The ravenette was wiping sweat off her forehead with a towel that was around her neck. She was wearing a gray tank top and black yoga pants as well as white sneakers. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with the same red ribbon Emma had given to her years ago. Since she wasn't in public, she wore her eyepatch with no issues.

"What is it?" Scarlett questioned.

"What's… been going on with you lately? You've been so down and depressed for almost two months and now it seems like a total 180!" Emma spread her arms out wide for emphasis.

The others who were nearby were gaping at Emma for asking such straightforwardly.

"Um, Emma," Norman said, grabbing her hand. "Maybe this isn't the time to-"

"I'm training," Scarlett replied bluntly, as though it were obvious.

"Why?" Emma pressed on curiously, despite Norman's protests. "What's the training for?"

"To be a hero."

"...Eh?" Emma looked at her with wide eyes. "A hero?!"

Scarlett nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to give it a shot."

"But where did that come from?" The ginger spluttered out in surprise. "Why now? What made you decide that?"

"... I've realized something," Scarlett admitted. "I know I can't do music, no matter how much I want to." It was painful, saying and admitting that for the first time out loud, but it was the truth. "But I also have been itching to do something. I realized another reason why I liked to sing and make songs. I wanted to help people. To be a sort of comfort to them like how you guys are for me. But if I can't do that through music, I'll do it through my actions. I'll save people. Although I guess it did come to me on a whim."

And she had never admitted this before, when the others had first asked her why she wanted to pursue music as a career. Another large reason was because she wanted to...atone? Sure, she didn't owe these people anything. But the guilt of all the killing and pain she caused for others in the demon world heavily weighed her down. In a way, it felt that if she gave to the people, maybe her sins could be forgiven. It didn't make much sense. But that was how she felt. Being a hero… can also help her maybe forgive herself.

Emma's eyes were wide with shock and something else that Scarlett couldn't read. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. But… if you are sure about this, I don't see why not?"

"I do!" Gilda interjected, walking over to them crossly. "You've already fought for two years! And we can finally stop now! Why would you try and go back into that? Little kids and even adults look up to heroes, but you know there are many heroes that die in service or crippled for life! Why would you risk that? It's already worrying enough that Yuugo and Lucas are in the police force and Oliver joined the military! But a police officer or a military pilot and a hero are two different things!"

"Gilda, you're always like this," Ray said, standing next to Scarlett. "Then again, I guess that just shows how much you care for us. But… do you really want to get in the way when Scarlett's finally found something she has passion for again?"

Gilda hesitated, not looking at any of them in the eye.

"I was something different, but similar," Lucas spoke up. "I was afraid that something would happen to all of you because of my orders. My decisions. But in reality it's not. It's also their decision to follow through with mine. Gilda, it's not your fault if something happens to them just because you agreed to it. The important thing is that you support them in whatever they need."

The olive haired girl looked tentatively at Scarlett, whose spine was straightened out and looked as though she wanted to do something.

"Do you see?" Norman pointed out quietly to Gilda. "That's the look of someone who is ready to act. No one can stop them once they are like that. Does it make sense now?"

Gilda sighed. "I still don't understand why you would do this to yourself, but… I suppose a part of me always expected this. Fine. I can allow it. BUT," she grabbed the ravenette's shoulders, "promise me you won't do anything too reckless alright? I know that there are times where you have to be, but don't do it unless necessary. Ok?" Her eyes were pleading and desperate.

"Yeah." Scarlett hugged Gilda. "I promise."

After revealing it to everyone, all of them were equally surprised but also surprisingly very accepting of it. No one really raised any objections after Gilda. Yuugo didn't seem entirely thrilled with her new choice, but was willing to let her do what she wanted, especially after what she had gone through.

Others had also helped to pitch in to help, by looking for potential hero schools to enroll in. They specifically looked for ones in America, but one caught Scarlett's eye. Of course, it was UA High School, from all the way in Japan. The very same school that All Might went to. Of course, that wasn't what really piqued her interest. It was just a coincidence... is what she tried to convince herself. But it was the top school in Japan as well as one of the best globally. It had an astounding reputation and plenty of recommendations.

When they filled out the area that asked for her quirk, they called it Crimson Aura. For an explanation of it, they only said that it gives her telepathy and the ability to create things out of red energy. They left out the strength, speed, durability, and the enhanced senses she did have. If they added it in, it would be strange and suspicious since no one has more than two quirks in this world.

"UA?" Lucas was looking at the reviews of the school. "It has a good reputation, that's for sure. But it says that a very small percent actually get into the school and even less get into its hero course. Then again, I'm sure we can convince the Ratri clan to get you a recommendation-"

"No," Scarlett denied. "As a hero, unfortunately, you have to be popular to be considered successful. It's really stupid in my opinion, but that's how it is. I think if I pass as one the highest in the regular entrance exam, I'd get a lot more recognition than if I was recommended, even if I was at the top. Plus, it's mainly children of famous heroes or rich families that get recommended. Even with forged records, it would seem a bit weird and suspicious to see this unknown girl be recommended to such a prestigious school. I'd rather not have any rumors about me."

"What if you don't make it as one of the top in the exam?" Violet questioned.

"I will," Scarlett said determinedly. "There's no question about that. I'm banking it all on that. I've done research and noticed that most of the top heroes were popular since their school days. I should do that as well, to try to make myself noticed through that way."

"Are you sure you just don't want to be lower than number one?" Mark teased.

"I'm not denying that," Scarlett replied immediately, surprising them. "I hate losing, more than anything. It pisses me off whenever I do. So I'm going to aim for the top."

All of them quietly and simultaneously agreed to move on from that.

"Well," Yuugo scratched his head, "are you sure? At the very least we should consider some other schools…"

"No," Scarlett refused bluntly, putting an end to that conversation immediately.

The training continued for a few more days and after a session, Emma, Norman, and Ray suddenly walked up to her and said something shocking.

"I want to be a hero too," Emma declared.

"You… what?" Scarlett was perplexed. "You don't need a quirk or power to be one, but it would be significantly harder without one."

"I know," she conceded. "So that's why… I want to ask you a favor."

Scarlett's gaze narrowed, also noticing how Ray and Norman seemed a bit uneasy.

Emma took a deep breath and said, "Please give me some of your blood."

"Absolutely not," Scarlett hissed immediately, glaring at her.

"That's what I figured you'd say," Emma laughed a bit nervously. "But seriously… I want to have powers. I want to be a hero. Before, I was in a similar situation as you, as in I was not sure what I wanted to be in life. But then when you said you wanted to be a hero, it got me thinking. And I realized that I want to help and save others as well! It's what I've always done. I know that these powers are still very mysterious and it's already bad enough that Anna has to deal with them as well, but please!" She bowed down deeply. "I want to be a hero as well! Give me this chance!"

Scarlett hesitated, looking at Norman and Ray.

Norman sighed. "We were against it as well. But we also know there's no stopping Emma. And… there's something else we want to tell you as well."

"Don't tell me you guys want my blood too," Scarlett irked, crossing her arms.

Ray shook his head. "No. We don't have the intention to be heroes, but we also want to go to UA with you."

That threw her off yet again, which irritated her greatly as she was not used to being constantly thrown in loops like this.

"The hero course isn't the only thing UA has to offer," Norman continued. "There's several other classes as well. I want to try the business course and Ray wants to do the support class. We think our abilities would be useful there. And we also can stay close to you. We don't want you to live all the way in Japan by yourself."

"But… are you sure that's what you want?" Scarlett asked.

"Of course," Ray retorted, bonking her on the head. "Why else would we say it?"

Scarlett was speechless, staring at them like they're actually demons in disguise. Finally, she snapped out of it and her lips formed into a thin line. "I'll think about it." 'Like hell I am. There's no way I would agree to that!'

That night, Scarlett wasn't in bed, but in the gym to train. Her body was covered in sweat as she continued to condition her body. Not only did she want to have strength and speed, but also flexibility. That was what she had been training on recently. It was a blessing to have such high physical and mental ability, and she had never taken that for granted once.

With a bunch of mats laid out in a straight line, Scarlett took a deep breath. She then performed a series of backflips, not tripping in any way. Her feet landed on the ground with ease and her arms were spread out like a bird's.

"Impressive as always," Ray's voice complemented.

She turned to see him leaning against the doorway casually. However, the ravenette didn't miss the calculating glint in his eyes that she's seen countless times.

"What are you here for?" Scarlett knew exactly what, but found herself asking it anyway.

"Why ask such a meaningless question?" Ray fired back smoothly.

Scarlett scoffed slightly. "Just answer it."

"Why won't you give Emma the cursed blood?"

Taking a swig of water she replied with, "You know my stance on that. Now who's asking the meaningless questions?"

"I know that you don't want to burden someone else with a power," Ray said, walking up to her. "But it's more than that, isn't it?"

Scarlett looked at the window. "I'm worried. If I give Emma those powers, she'll have a big target on her back. I don't want to be the reason for that. I don't want my decision to do something disastrous."

"Do you really think that Emma's not going to find a way around it anyways?" Ray questioned doubtedly. "And that's exactly what Gilda said when she protested against being a hero. Aren't you being a bit hypocritical?"

Scarlett glared at that last comment. She hesitated and then sighed, choosing to answer the first question. "No… but I can't help but wish for her to have a less… risky aspiration."

"Emma can find a loophole around it, and even if she has to be a quirkless hero, then that's what she'll do." Ray locked eyes with his girlfriend. "The question is, would you let her go out there with the powers that she needs? Or let her fight with almost no power? Not only that, but I think that Emma would find great comfort if you allowed it to happen. It shows that you support her decision."

Scarlett's face was still impassive, but her mind was reeling. He had a point. Several good points. And that irritated her. But she knew it all along. There's no stopping Emma once she gets rolling.

"... I'll decide tomorrow. It's getting late."

Ray frowned at her response, but said nothing. Before he left, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Fine. Just be rational about it."

Scarlett glared at him. "I am rational!"

"Then you know what the right choice is." And with that, he left.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma stared at Scarlett apprehensive. "Have… you decided yet?"

Scarlett stared back at her blankly, making sure that this was the choice she wanted.

The ginger deeply bowed her head. "Please. I know that I suddenly jumped on to you about this, and it just might be the most reckless thing I have suggested so far, which is really saying something, but please! This is what I want! And I just want you to approve of it!"

Norman looked at Scarlett with serious and unnerving eyes. They said 'if you say no and make Emma upset, then we're going to have a long talk'.

Sweating internally, ('Crazy boyfriend…'), the ravenette looked at Emma apprehensively. She was still bowing. Then suddenly, she grabbed the ginger head by the cheeks and made her look straight at her.

"You have no qualms about this at all?" Scarlett queried.

Emma nodded fiercely. "Yes! I've spent so much time thinking about it!"

"But what if the powers you gain are useless?"

"I'll take that chance! You never know, right? You have to take risks to move forward!"

Scarlett sighed, letting go. "If I let you, do you promise that you'll be careful?"

"Of course!" Emma grinned.

"...I guess if I said no, you'd just go to Anna or sneakily take our blood," Scarlett muttered.

The other three waited quietly and tentatively for her decision.

"Fine. I'll allow it. But you owe me for this, alright?"

Emma squealed happily and hugged her while spinning around, shocking the ravenette. "Thank you!"

"While you guys are here, I want to say something as well," Anna's voice sounded out from behind them.

Scarlett groaned. "Don't tell me…"

"I want to be a hero as well," Anna announced. "But not in the hero course. I heard that their nurse, Recovery Girl, wants an apprentice. And I have the perfect powers to be a healing hero. So I won't be in the action, but I am a healer instead! I think this path would be far better than being a simple doctor. I can act faster that way. I can save more lives."

"It makes sense…" Norman mused.

"When we were finding a way to get to the human world, I was nothing more than a medic," Anna continued. "I wasn't able to really help with the mission. And even when I got stuff for Chris, I couldn't even help Scarlett or Emma when they were fighting demons. All I could do was cry and pity myself for being so weak. I don't want to do that anymore."

"Why… are you guys doing this?" Scarlett murmured.

"Because that's our dream!" Emma replied. "And we don't want to leave you alone in some foreign country! I don't know why you picked UA, but we will go with you anywhere!"

For the first time in months, Scarlett smiled. It was miniscule, but visible enough to be seen by the others. "You idiots. Then again, I guess I'm an idiot for letting you guys do this as well. But what about Gilda?"

As Emma laughed nervously, Norman answered for her. "We already told her, and like you'd expect, she was very unhappy. But we also got her to agree to the same conditions she gave you."

"It's the same for me," Anna added.

"We're in this together," Ray finished. "We'll always stick by each other, no matter what."

And like they expected, it caused yet another uproar in the house.

"You guys want to do WHAT?!"

"Did I hear that correctly?!"

"Where did this come from?!"

And just like they hoped, all of them accepted it after calming down. However, Yuugo then said something.

"We're all coming with you though."

"...Huh?" Ray managed to get out. "But you have your job and it'll be a big hassle!"

"Not all of us can come," Yvette pointed out. "Gillian and Nigel are at I-Island and Pepe still has his culinary school. The rest of the old Goldy Pond Resistance are also in college here right now. But Yuugo and Lucas can just put in a request to transfer."

"What about you, Gilda?" Emma looked at the girl.

"I have my designer school, but they allow you to work abroad," Gilda explained. "I don't need to actually show up in the class. As long as I prove that I'm doing the work. Plus, have you seen Japanese clothing? It's so unique and beautiful! I want to learn all about it and other types of clothing as well!"

"And I don't plan to start my sports career until college," Don added. "So I can just follow you guys too!"

"You guys…" Norman trailed off.

Scarlett sighed. "Well, I wasn't expecting my decision to do this much. But I can't stop any of you guys. So let's do it."

All of them cheered and rejoiced.

They applied for the five of them to enroll at UA. UA had replied to all of them and Anna was made as Recovery Girl's apprentice after she had submitted a video demonstrating her power. Emma and Scarlett were to take the entrance exam and Ray and Norman were already accepted. And with that, the Ratri clan sent a representative to talk with them.

Now the real issue was the clan, who were very uneasy about their plan. Especially about Emma being given the blood.

"Are you already sure about this?" The man in a suit asked. "We highly advise not to do this. With all of the exposure, there's a higher chance of revealing certain things that should not come out."

"We already applied for UA," Ray retorted. "There's no stopping us."

"But think about it. All of our efforts will go to waste, trying to protect you catt- I mean, kids," he corrected.

All of them narrowed their eyes at what he was about to say.

Norman stepped forward confidently. "You may have taken us in and helped us adjust. We are… very thankful for that. But you no longer have a say in our lives."

"That's right," Scarlett said. "We understand your concerns. But don't think that we've lost our touch with reality. We know what we're getting into."

The man sighed, pinching his nose. "So I assume there will be no changing your minds?"

"Yes," Emma spoke for all of them.

"Very well. However, we will have to forge some documents in order for that to happen," the man said. "Considering three of you will have the cursed blood, we cannot let anyone harm you or take it from you. And of course, since you had a… unusual upbringing, we have to forge your birth certificate, parents, and whatnot. That should be easy enough with our connections."

' 'Unusual', huh?' Scarlett thought irritatedly. 'What a way to describe hell on earth.'

"You will also have to be provided a fake last name to use, as it would be unusual to not have one," the man continued. "And we will provide services for you to learn Japanese and about their culture. Housing will be given to house all of you rather comfortably and you will have to have some security accompany you as you live there. And as 62-, sorry, Scarlett, is the only one with the correct age requirement, we will have to fake your ages for the rest of you. Is everything clear so far?"

Ray nodded. 'Jeez. I understand their concern, but this security better not be stalking us constantly while we are there.'

"To be frank, we were very torn about letting you pursue this path," he admitted. "But as you've said, we no longer dictate your lives but we also have a responsibility to take care of all of you. We also have the ability to protect you from the law, should anything come up that requires some rule breaking. However, do not abuse our services and resources. And are you sure you do not want a recommendation?"

"Yes," Scarlett managed to say in a monotone voice. This man was really irritating to her. "I want to get in on my own skills. If I can't get in with them, it just shows I'm not good enough to enter."

"The same goes for me," Emma tagged on. "And since the others don't take the exam, they're practically guaranteed entry."

"And I'm not going the usual route when it comes to the hero world," Anna added.

The man knew of the red eyed girl's abilities and highly doubted she was too weak or incompetent, even if he hadn't seen her in action. There were plenty of rumors about her. "Japan's culture is far different than the one you are used to. Are you sure-"

Norman nodded impatiently. "Of course. Is there anything else you want to tell us? Or do you want to continue to try and stall us?"

The atmosphere grew very awkward and still.

Emma tried to lighten the darkening mood. "Nope, that's it! We understand the circumstances and necessities. Is there anything else you need to tell us?"

"That is it for the most part," the man replied, standing up. "Anything else you want to say or I need to inform you can be said on the phone. I only came here to do a check-up."

As the man walked away, Scarlett muttered to herself, "What a stuck-up bastard."

Even though they were on the same page for the most part… they and the Ratri clan were still clearly very terse and suspicious of the other.

The Japanese tutors came and luckily were not like that other man. The culture was definitely a lot different, but not impossibly hard to get accustomed to. But many of them struggled to learn such a different language, considering that english was from an entirely different language branch. Of course though, Norman learned it all within a few months and the other three once premium products learned it around that time as well, much to Don's exasperation. For the others, the tutoring will continue when they are in Japan, but they have to know the basics.

And then came the blood transfer. For safety and procedure measures, the Ratri clan sent a special doctor. Scarlett had a cut made in her skin and the doctor filled a syringe with the exact measurements of the blood. It made Scarlett feel a bit tense. Her body did not react well with needles. It was not a fear, definitely not. After bandaging her arm, she then went to Emma, who was sitting on a chair nervously. Although not before she had triple checked to see if there was exactly *11.432 mililiters of blood.

"Are you really sure about this?" The doctor who worked for the Ratri clan asked. "There's no going back."

Emma nodded once. "Yeah."

"Ok… here I go…" She slowly inserted the needle into Emma's arm. The ginger winced slightly but kept perfectly still. The blood was carefully entering through the skin until not a drop of red was left in the syringe.

As the blood spread in her bloodstream, Emma felt drowsy and fell unconscious, much to Scarlett's surprise and shock.

"Don't worry," Anna reassured her. "I think the same thing happened to me before."

They brought Emma to her bed to rest and after a few hours, she woke up, an electric blue streak in her hair, much to her surprise and interest. After an extreme amount of questions (mostly of concern), from all of the others, they then started to test what her powers were in the gym. It was easier said than done though. With Anna, it was pure luck she happened to cry and there was a gaping wound in front of her. Actually… you could hardly call that luck, with their Mom having to die...

"Maybe your powers are also related to tears?" Lannion wondered.

"Let's try it!" Emma pumped a fist, sweating slightly from all the things she did to try to show her powers. "Someone, get me an onion or hit me!"

Norman highly objected to the second option, freaking out and refusing to let anyone near her. "Nat, get her an onion!"

"Ugh…" Nat was slowly walking towards the door, tired of having to run back and forth to get more things.

"Come on, Nat!" Emma encouraged him while pulling herself away from Norman, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can go a bit faster than that!"

Suddenly, blue lightning surrounded the two of them and Nat all of a sudden zoomed out the door and back with the onion.

"WHAT THE-" Yuugo nearly cursed as the boy appeared right next to him.

"Woah!" Nat exclaimed, staggering slightly. "I feel really weird!"

All of them oohed and ahhed at the sight.

"So Emma can make things go super fast?" Lucas guessed.

Ray put a finger on his chin, feeling that wasn't quite it. "We need to do more testing."

And so they did. After a few failed attempts it seems as though the trigger was for her to think or say for something to go faster or to speed up, including herself, although it did seem to take out more from her. But that was not the only extent of her new powers.

"Are her powers really just making things speed up then?" Yuugo mused.

"No. I don't think it's quite that," Norman replied, deep in thought. "Nat grabbed the onion, even though he didn't remember doing that himself. I think she's speeding their time. Emma, touch that onion."

She did and with the blue lightning surrounding it, it slowly began to show dark spots and mold growing on it.

"See? She's speeding up their time," Norman confirmed. "So I wonder if the opposite also applies… Emma, try to slow down Don."

"Wait, whaaaaaaaat?" Don protested, but as Emma touched him and thought to slow him down, his speech slurred and his movements were as if they were going in slow motion. His face was contorted in a weird expression with bulging eyes and a wide mouth.

"His face looks hilarious!" Thoma and Lannion cackled, holding out their phones and recording him. "This would make great blackmail material!"

"You two!" Gilda groaned, but made no move to stop them.

"You should probably put him back to normal," Scarlett deadpanned. "He's gonna fall on his ass."

Just like she said, when Emma put his time back to normal, he landed on his bottom, yelping from the pain.

"So Emma can manipulate the time of objects," Norman summarized. "Including herself, since we saw her speed up earlier."

"That's so amazing!" Yvette gasped.

"It's so useful too!" Rossi added.

"See?" Emma grinned cheekily at Scarlett. "You don't know unless you try!"

"That ideology is gonna get you in trouble someday," Scarlett muttered.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma had been training her powers with Scarlett and Anna every single day. Scarlett decided to make them do the training schedule that Mike made for her. This included exercises and hand-to-hand combat. And as expected, it was like hell. How Scarlett managed to do it for so long was anyone's guess. While Emma got through it easier due to how athletic she was, even she had trouble. You can imagine how it felt for poor Anna, who could barely even do 10 proper push-ups (Scarlett refused to count the ones she didn't do properly). She also forced Emma and Anna to follow her diet as well, making them miserable as they were forced to skip on any sweets or anything that Scarlett considered unhealthy.

When Emma asked the ravenette why she was so intent on exercise, Scarlett replied tersely to her:

"There's a big weakness to our powers. And it's our limit. No matter how much we train, there's always gonna be one. And we have to expand it as much as we can as well as train our body so that we don't have to resort to our powers. Powers aren't everything to a hero. You shouldn't be so reliant on them. Before I met Mike, I carelessly used my powers for simple things that could have been done with my own physical strength. Like holding the rope to get you guys out of those vampire tree roots that first day. And because I used up so much of my power, I nearly died or made the rest of you guys die because I was careless. Even back when that demon hurt Mom, I couldn't do anything because I used up too much power with those other demons."

"That wasn't your fault," Anna insisted. "You were up against dozens of demons! Even with how strong you were, fighting them without your powers would have been too much."

"Maybe," Scarlett conceded, ignoring her hypocrisy that the blonde blamed herself as well. "But either way, I won't make that mistake anymore. And I urge you guys to not either. Especially since your powers are not nearly as fleshed out as mine are."

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "You're right. We'll do our best!"

As Scarlett went to get a drink, she added, "Also, when we use up all of our power, we're extremely vulnerable. We can't even defend ourselves. It's not as if we can switch to physical combat after we've used up our powers. But we can switch to our powers if our bodies are too exhausted to fight."

"That's true," Emma said, stretching.

"Now that I think of it," Anna thought out loud as she stood up, "should Emma get her own weapon? Like Scarlett's katana?"

The ravenette stilled, looking at them over her shoulder. "...Do you want one, Emma?"

Emma sat crisscross on the floor. "It depends. What are the pros and cons?"

"Well…" Scarlett untied her hair and let it loose, causing it to cascade down her back. "It's super light, so it makes maneuvering much easier and gives you a speed advantage. And it's definitely much stronger than if it didn't have the blood in the metal. It's even stronger when against demons. Also, because it has demon blood in it, no one else should be able to hold it other than others with the blood. Most enemies won't be able to use it against you. As for the cons… I suppose it being limited to those who can lift it can be considered one. If you're in a situation where you don't have it with you, you can't rely on others to bring it to you."

"The lightness and strength are good factors, as well as how it can be held only by a very small minority," Emma mused, "but I don't really care about the demon thing. After all, we don't have to worry about them anymore, right?"

Scarlett faced away from them, narrowing her eyes. 'I wonder about that.'

"And that con you mentioned is heavily outmatched by the pros. I think I would like one," Emma decided. "But does it have to be a sharp weapon like Scarlett's or can it be something else? After all, as a hero, you are fighting other humans. And it's obviously top priority to capture them, not kill."

Anna looked down. "I hadn't even thought about that…"

"I thought about it for a little bit," Scarlett said. "But my precision with my katana is good enough that I won't kill anyone by accident. Emma on the other hand… I'm not sure. I say it's better to be safe and go with a less lethal weapon so that you don't kill on accident."

Emma nodded in agreement. "I definitely don't want anyone… to die by my hand. Heroes shouldn't kill anyone, villains or not."

Scarlett inhaled sharply and looked at the ginger with piercing eyes, making her gulp on instinct. "Emma. Don't you realize what you're getting into? You're training to be a hero. And yes, heroes save lives. That is the purpose of their job. But you have to realize that someday, you won't have the choice whether you kill them or not. I've done research and watched the news. Plenty of heroes end up killing villains whether by accident or because there was no other choice."

The ginger flinched at the realization and bit her lip, deep in thought. She then sighed. "You're right. I was being naive again. But I have no doubts or plan to back off from my choice. It's far too late to go back anyways."

Scarlett's eyes softened a bit. "Yeah. Sorry for being a bit harsh. I just… don't want you to have any doubts or get into something you're not completely aware of."

Anna nodded. "We understand. And now I fully understand why you're making me go through this as well even though I am just a healer. I can't rely on others to protect me. That's something I have to do by myself. I was being ignorant of that as well."

Emma stood up and put her hand out, palm down. "Let's try and get stronger together!"

The other two looked at each other and nodded. They placed their hands on top of Emma's after that.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Emma had started to research weapons that she could use. The others helped and came up with their own suggestions. Staffs, brass knuckles, bats, morning stars, all of them were interesting choices, but none really stuck out to her. The closest was perhaps nunchucks, but she feels as though they needed something more.

Then Don finds something that piques her interest. It looked like a nunchuck but it's three parts instead of two. Most of the images made them look as though they were made of metal or wood.

"A three section staff?" Gilda read out dubiously. "Seems difficult to use."

"It's like an upgraded nunchuck!" Thoma exclaimed.

"It would have an advantage in that it has a wide range," Yuugo mused.

"But it looks complicated to fight with," Nat added, not looking sure about it.

"I think I've seen it in B 06-32," Scarlett muttered as she looked at the video of a man demonstrating how to use it. "It's interested me but I didn't have the time or energy to really examine or practice with it. We were too busy looking for that temple."

"It's only about a little over a year until the exam though, right?" Anna said worriedly. "Not only that, but this weapon is complicated to use. Would Emma even be able to master it in time?"

"Probably not completely master," Lucas estimated. "It takes actual experience to master something. But knowing Emma, she'd at least be competent enough to use it well."

"I want to give it a go," Emma declared. "If it doesn't work out, then that's that."

A few days later, Emma was to come to get the weapon since no one could lift it. They had her make a small cut and let her blood drip onto the black metal. It glowed blue momentarily as it absorbed the blood. But like Scarlett with her katana, only the ginger saw it. When she came back, they brought it down to the gym to test it.

"Cool!" One of the kids exclaimed.

Emma slowly lifted it up and spun it around, making sure not to hit anyone with it. The weapon glowed electric blue every time it swung. "You're right, Scarlett! It is super light!" She then hit the punching bag with it and it swung roughly, almost hitting Nat's face. (Not my handsome face!") "And super strong too!"

"Can I try it?" Scarlett asked, holding her hand out.

She easily handed it to her and when Scarlett held it in her hand, she was surprised to feel that it felt pretty heavy.

"This… feels like the actual weight that it would be about," she murmured.

"Interesting!" Norman peered at the weapon in curiosity. "It must be tied to that blood bond thing Smee theorized."

"So basically it shows the most leniency to its owner, aka whoever's blood it absorbed," Ray summarized. "No one without the cursed blood can lift it, but even if you have it, it's still just as heavy as it would normally be. Because you are not its owner."

"Here." Scarlett held out her katana. "Try it, Emma."

"Hmm..." Emma mused when she took a hold of it. "I know katanas are already naturally light, but you say it's as light as a feather when using it. This definitely feels heavier than what you said."

"Around the same as a regular katana." Norman nodded. "That pretty much confirms it."

Scarlett took back her katana and held it straight in front of her. 'I remember back then, I wondered what you were. I know that answer now. But there are still so many mysterious things surrounding the powers of the cursed blood. Will I be able to solve them?'

*I changed the amount of blood needed to give a human powers because it was way too on the dot and it needed to be far more specific.

Author's Note:

Ahh, I'm so sorry that it took so long for this to come out! I was helping my family with moving and it took some time to adjust to our new home as well. We were also busy with other things and I just kept on constantly getting writer's block from writing these chapters beforehand. I'm going to be honest as well and say that laziness definitely had a part in it as well, haha. As of now, I am in the process of typing out the 7th chapter. Hopefully, you guys haven't completely lost interest in my series and I hope you'll stick around!

From now on, updates will be every Friday around noon, so stay tuned for them! As I have also mentioned, I am working on other series. Such as The Alchemic Wizard, which I am rewriting. Honestly, I have very little motivation or interest to continue it, which is why I am considering doing a different FMAxHP crossover. But I'll try my best to finish it up the best I can! I've also mentioned a crossover series with Natasha Romanoff, which is still in the works. I haven't had that much motivation with it either so I'm not sure if I will drop it or not, but we'll see.

There's two other series that I have been really excited to start working on as well. And, you guessed it, they're also crossovers. Crossovers are probably my favorite type of fics to read and I think there's not nearly enough of them to satisfy me. I think they're my favorite type of fanfiction because I'm always curious as to how different characters from different series will interact with each other. Anyways, I'm keeping them a secret until further notice, so stay tuned for that!

Once again, thank you for supporting me. All of you give me the motivation to continue writing. Writing fanfictions is also super helpful for me because I would love to be an author/writer when I'm an adult. Currently, I'm in high school, which honest to god has been awful thanks to our good friend named Covid. But I'm keeping my head up high and hopeful for the future! Have a good day!