Coco: Hey, guys, it's time for another chapter. No villain attack yet, but next chapter, I swear XD I was going to just let this one be a long one and try to fit the fight in, but I think I would have just tried to cram it in and not give it enough length and attention if I did try to tack it in on the end of this chapter, so I'll save it for next chapter. I have a lot of ideas on how I want it to go anyway and I want to make sure I have plenty of room to work with when I do write it as I like to keep my chapters between 4,000 to 5,000 words, so it's not too much to read at once. The BnHA movie being an exception since it was like a special chapter.

Now, enough chatter! Let's get started, shall we?

"He went pretty far," Ayano commented as she and Izuku walked up a trail leading to a small mountain kind of far from the main office building.

Izuku hummed in agreement before noticing Kota sitting in front of a cave near the top of the mountain. Ayano noticed him as well while hearing his stomach rumbling.

"I heard that," Izuku said with his voice making Kota stiffen. "You must be hungry. Here we brought you some curry."

Kota glared heatedly at both Izuku and Ayano as he hurried to his feet. Honestly, his expression reminded Ayano of Katsuki.

"No way!" Kota snapped. "How did you find this place?"

Izuku stopped a little short when hearing Kota's angry voice as he looked down.

"Well, we followed your footsteps and when we couldn't do that…" Izuku trailed off as he glanced over at Ayano.

Kota looked at Ayano as well as the ginger girl reached up to tap her temple.

'I took over from there,' Her voice said through his mind.

It made Kota flinch, so Ayano left his mind as to not cause him anymore discomfort.

"Sorry, we just thought you might want some dinner before it gets cold," Izuku said.

"Whatever, I'm just fine," Kota insisted. "Get lost. I don't wanna hang out with either of you, so forget about my secret hideout."

He looked away as he said this as Ayano and Izuku both looked around at the area curiously.

"This is a secret hideout?" Izuku murmured.

It was definitely something. Very different from the hideout he, Ayano, and Katsuki had as kids in the small forest near their neighborhood. They had a fort they had made up in the trees using Ayano's quirk to build. He remembers how unsafe it had been as it hadn't exactly been sturdy or well put together. He had fallen off of it plenty of times. And finally, it had been decided it was best for them to stay on the ground. Something Katsuki had been annoyed about.

"Tch, spending your whole life just trying to improve your quirk," Kota scoffed. "It's dumb! All you wanna do is show off. Both of you get lost!"

Ayano and Izuku exchanged a glance as Kota continued to glare forward as if refusing to look at them. Izuku then took a breath as he looked back to Kota.

"Hey…about your parents," Izuku began. "I was wondering…were they the Water Hose heroes with the water quirks?"

At his question, Kota gasped while whirling around to look right up at Izuku and he did not look happy.

"Did Mandalay tell you?!" He demanded.

"Uh, no," Izuku replied. "It's um, well…sorry, but I heard a little bit about what happened to them. Based on that information, I figured…I remember reading about that horrible incident a few years ago."

Kota looked away once more with a sigh that almost sounded like in defeat leaving his lips.

"Go away." Kota told them once more. "Everyone around here is so stupid. Calling people such stupid names like hero and villain, and then killing each other because of it. Always focusing on their quirks. If they hadn't been showing off, they'd still be here! Idiots."

Ayano looked down at the boy sympathetically as Izuku glanced to his friend.

'It's just not heroes. Kota hates quirks,' Izuku thought. 'And this entire superhuman society.'

Ayano in a way could understand where Kota was coming from. In the beginning, she hated her quirk. She hurt people with it. Then from him being a hero, Ko was taken from her. For some time, all she felt was anger, but she had managed to overcome it. Kota, however, was much younger than her when he went through his tragedy. And he was still so young now. It was no surprise that all he could do was hold onto his anger.

"We're done here." Kota said. "Go back to camp with the other losers!"

Izuku didn't look ready to give up, however, as he didn't budge from where he was standing.

"Hey, uh, my friend—this guy I know very well—he didn't inherit any abilities from his parents," Izuku said, which got a curious look from Kota. "It's a hereditary thing. And these days it's really uncommon. He admired heroes so much and wanted to be one. The thing is you usually can't become a hero unless you've got some kind of quirk, but still, my friend refused to accept that. And hoped for a miracle. He tried to use telekinesis and to breath fire, but he was no good. There's a lot of different ways to think about how quirks work, so we might not be on the same page. But I think that if you reject them completely, it's just going to make life harder in so many ways."

Kota, who had actually looked to be genuinely listening to Izuku, soon went back to frowning as Izuku spoke his last statement.

"Will you just leave me alone already?!" Kota shouted. "Go away!"

Izuku apologized quietly for bothering the boy before looking to Ayano. She nodded her head in reply to his silent question, which had Izuku nodding in return. He then set the plate of curry down for Kota when he was ready to eat before heading down the hill where he'd wait at the bottom for Ayano.

"You get lost too!" Kota snapped as he looked away.

Ayano sighed then stepped forward despite what Kota had told her to do, which had Kota whirling around to yell at her to back off. However, the words stuck in his throat when he saw the sad expression on her face. When she crouched down in front of him, he almost flinched at the deep emotion in her eyes.

"Kota, I understand." Ayano said. "Why you hate people like us. And why you hate our society."

She put her hand on his shoulder as she said this. And while her words might have meant to comfort him, all Kota felt was anger.

"No, you don't!" Kota snapped. "You don't know anything! Now leave me alone!"

He slapped her hand away as he said this. Ayano didn't seem upset by Kota's actions as the same understanding, empathetic expression remained on her face.

"Yes, I do." Ayano said. "You see, around the same time you lost your parents, I lost my brother."

Kota's eyes widened at Ayano's words as she gave a sad smile while looking down at the ground.

"He was a hero too." Ayano went on. "And I used to think he was so invincible and that I'd never have to worry about him…but one day, he fought a villain he just couldn't handle and he lost. And I was there to witness everything."

Ayano still remembers the paralyzing fear she had felt and the guilt and anger that came after as she had watched Ko fall.

"He's technically not dead," Ayano continued as she looked back up at Kota. "He's hospitalized right now with machines keeping his body going. I was too afraid to let him go even when the doctors told me he'd probably never wake up again…I just couldn't…I wasn't ready to say goodbye, and I thought with my quirk…if I could just become stronger, I could bring him back. I could wake him up. But…that hope died some time ago."

Things fell silent between the two as those words left Ayano's mouth. The girl's eyes gleamed with the threat of tears as Kota took a breath.

"Why?" He asked in a soft whisper.

He then flinched slightly when Ayano reached towards him with her hand again. Though she only placed it gently on the side of his face. He blinked at how soft her touch was as her fingers brushed his temple. That's when he heard what almost sounded like a soft hum in the back of his mind.

"Do you feel that?" She asked and when Kota nodded, she continued, "I just connected our minds. What you're feeling right now—that hum you hear, is my mind. You see even without actively thinking, you can still feel my mind's presence. It's like this with all living creatures. Even someone who might be in acoma, their mind gives off this hum to show that it's still active…but Ko…lost this hum some time ago. I can't hear it...feel it anymore like I do with others."

Kota's eyes widened once more as he understood what she was trying to say. A few tears leaked down Ayano's cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away.

"I can't save him anymore and I'm just delaying the inevitable." Ayano said as she dropped her hand from Kota's face. "I'm just afraid to let myself truly believe he's gone and that I lost him because he wanted to be a hero and save people. I don't want to fall into that dark place again, Kota, because I have been there just as you are now."

Kota's hands clenched into fists at his side as he continued to stare into Ayano's eyes.

"Then why?" Kota asked. "Why do you want to be a hero when your brother died because he was one?!"

He didn't understand it at all. He didn't understand why she'd want to be a hero. Why be the very thing that killed her brother?

"It's kind of hard to explain," Ayano said. "When I first joined U.A, my only goal was to become stronger so I could try and save my brother. Despite knowing in the back of my mind that I couldn't. Then as I kept learning and becoming stronger and as I kept fighting alongside my friends, the old spark I had when I was a child returned and I wanted to be a hero again. I want to protect those dear to me and prevent anyone from going through the same pain we have felt, Kota. That we still feel."

Ayano paused for a moment to gauge Kota's reaction to her words, and when he didn't look like he was going to snap, she continued.

"I want to be a hero that fights for a future of happiness and smiles." She said. "The same hero my brother was even at the very end. I know you might not understand, and that's okay. Maybe someday you will, but know this, while the pain never truly goes away, it does lessen with time. The darkness won't last forever, Kota, and if you ever need anyone to talk to, you can talk to me. I'll leave my number with Mandalay before the end of the week is over, okay?"

Ayano then stood while giving Kota a gentle pat on the head before she turned to return to camp.

"Don't forget to eat your dinner," She said as she walked away. "And be back home at a decent hour. You shouldn't worry the Pussycats by staying out all night."

She then disappeared over the hill, which left Kota on his own. He frowned as he looked down at the ground. Though he soon found himself moving forward. He grabbed the plate of curry off the ground before hurrying after Ayano. She paused at the sound of his steps to turn and smile at him. He paused at her smile as his own frown deepened.

"This doesn't mean anything!" He snapped. "I still think you're all stupid!"

"Sure, sure," Ayano said. "Now, let's go back, okay?"

She reached out to take one of Kota's hand, which had the boy blushing slightly.

"Make sure not to let go, okay, Kota?" Ayano said as she gently pulled him along. "This forest kind of scares me, and I need you to keep me safe."

She said this with her smile widening as Kota, who was still red in the face, scoffed and looked off to the side.

"Whatever." He grumbled.

Rina frowned from her spot at the top of the mountain overlooking the Pussycats' headquarters. She sensed Ayano's mind nearby, but didn't reach out to it as she knew it'd only alert her little sister of her presence. Even if it appeared the girl was sleeping, Rina wouldn't take the chance. Even if she was…eager for this family reunion of theirs.

"I do not like this," Himiko said from beside Rina.

The white-haired girl looked to the blonde next to her as she was adjusting her new gear around her face.

"It's so not cute," Himiko continued.

Rina resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she could practically see Himiko's pout through her mask.

"They were engineered on the black market from what I hear," Mustard said. "You should be worried that they work. Not that they look pretty."

Himiko just whined some more as she failed her arms up and down in a small tantrum like manner.

"Ugghh, I'm just saying they could be a little more stylish." Himiko said. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Well, I think they suit you just fine," Rina quipped. "They the mask draws attention to your pretty eyes."

Her words that were obviously spoke with sarcasm made Himiko's eyes widened. However, instead of getting angry or annoyed, Himiko let out a small surprised gasp.

"You really think so, Ri-chan?" Himiko asked. "You're so sweet!"

Rina's brow twitched at the ridiculous nickname, but before she could rebuke Himiko for it, three more joined the group.

"Hi, darlings," Magne greeted as she arrived with two others. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Get to work, get to work," Moonfish mumbled from beside her as he moved forward.

Spinner just smirked as he came to a stop next to Muscular whose fidgeting has been getting on Rina's nerves for some time.

"That makes nine of us." Dabi said.

"I don't care!" Muscular said. "Just let me loose! I'm too pumped up to stand by."

Rina did roll her eyes this time and she wasn't the only one as Royale did the same while also letting out a scoff.

"Shut your mouth, you crazy bastard." Dabi ordered. "We wait. We're still expecting three more people to join our little party. The League of Villains made a mistake going after them with a bunch of random thugs at the USJ. Better use a small group of elites. First thing we have to do, is take away their sense of peace and show them that their lives rest in our hands."

Muscular growled looking ready to argue, but he suddenly felt his limbs grow weak. He crouched down refusing to just fall over completely as he whipped his head around to the culprit.

"Knock it off, bitch!" Muscular snapped at Rina who gave him a bored look in return.

He then groaned in pain as he felt it hit him tenfold. He finally fell to his knees as a deep red color bled into Rina's orbs.

"You need to calm down," Rina said. "I will not have this entire operation blown just because you can't exercise patience. If we have to go in one person short, so be it."

Muscular just continued to glare at Rina through his mask though he said no more. After a few more tense seconds of silence, Rina released Muscular from her quirk's influence.

"You really shouldn't have pissed off the boss lady," Dabi said to Muscular.

Said boss lady just sighed as she tried to ignore the headache that was coming on. Tomura should have to be here to suffer with her. Why did she have to babysit these people on her own? He could have at least sent Kurogiri with her.

"Tell me, Sebone," Dabi called out getting her attention. "You said there are two telepaths here besides you, right? Are you blocking our presence from both of them?"

"One telepath only has the ability to put her thoughts into others minds." Rina said as she hovered her right hand over her eye in concentration. "She cannot sense the minds of others like myself and the younger telepath can. She's weak, so we needn't worry about her. I'm more concerned with the one who seems to have an ability similar to clairvoyance. Ragdoll…I believe her name is. While she cannot sense out our minds either, if the telepath who is one of our two targets happens to copy her psychic ability, we might have some trouble."

According the Master, he didn't believe Hive was awake, which means Ayano might not be able to use her full potential just yet. However, if that isn't the case and Hive copies Ragdoll's quirk Search, Ayano, who won't know how to control the ability, might just get flashes of information about them. It's possible because while Search cannot actively feel or read a person's mind, Ayano can with her telepathy. And with her telepathy combined with Search…it's possible for Hive to pinpoint them and try to pull information about them at the same time. Ayano might not get much, but Rina would rather she not get anything at all.

"I'll just have to be extra vigilant." Rina said. "Can't have little Ayano spoiling the fun before it even begins."

Ayano frowned as she concentrated hard on moving the boulders around in her hold. Aizawa asked her to build more than just a simple tower today. In fact, he wanted her to construct a full-scale pyramid and it was proving to be difficult. The rocks kept shifting and making the structure look wonky even as she tried putting up her walls to keep it as even as possible. She's barely completed the first few layers and she already wanted to give in.

'Don't lose focus,' Aizawa said to all the students through the mental link set up by Ayano.

He was really trying to wear her down with this only talk through the telepathic link crap. No one was allowed to talk out loud unless it was a private manner, and having all these conversations going through her head like she was a switch board was tiring her out. Even more than making the stupid pyramid or floating herself off the ground for hours on end. Though she was getting tired of that as well as Aizawa had her on a schedule to move her position every ten minutes. She was currently hovering thirty feet up at the moment and in ten more minutes, she'd adjust as to what Aizawa wanted her to do next.

'Each of you can move faster,' Aizawa continued. 'And no matter what you're doing just remember where you started from. Don't forget who you were before U.A. Always keep in mind why you're sweating and why your limit keeps getting tested. That's what it means to improve.'

His words had several of the students mulling over them. Ayano being one of them.

'Who was I before U.A?' Ayano wondered to herself.

She didn't feel like much of anything before U.A. Things were so crazy the two years before she enrolled with Katsuki and Izuku. She was just trying to adjust without her brother in her life and she was trying to just…get by in general. It was almost like she was on autopilot and just doing what she had to do in a timely manner each day. In her even younger years, she remembers always being closed off from others who weren't her two childhood friends. She remembers being afraid of her quirk and even hating it. Even at one point wishing she had been born quirkless while Izuku had been gifted instead. It almost seemed unreal. She didn't realize she's changed so much since then.

'Meowmeowmeow,' Pixie-Bob's unique laughter broke Ayano from her thoughts.

Many of the students looked to the blonde hero as she sat on top a bunch of boxes next to where Momo and Rikido were training.

'More importantly, tonight's going to be fun!' Pixie-Bob told the students. 'We're pitting classes against each other in a test of courage! I know you've been training hard today, and later you'll get to play hard. How's that for a reward?!'

Ayano frowned because she didn't like the sound of that at all. She'd rather just rest up. Besides, she hated those kinds of games. Though that might because of how bad Katsuki had scared her in middle school when his parents took them on a camping trip for the summer and he managed to really get the jump on her and Izuku. She can't believe she even let him talk her into going out in the dark woods to begin with. She should have known he was up to something.

'It just sounds like more training,' Itsuka thought.

'And training in the dark no less.' Kyoka thought forlornly.

'Revelry in the dark…' Fumikage's words set some on edge.

'How much can we do in one day?' Hiryū wondered.

'At least we get to beat Class A, am I right?' Neito chuckled.

Though he sounded just as displeased as everyone else in Ayano's opinion. Except for Fumikage...he didn't seem to mind.

'Everyone don't slack now!' Pixie-Bob called to the students. 'Make sure you keep pushing yourself as you work!'

'Yes, ma'am!' The students replied.

Ayano just sighed as she felt her headache grow by the second. She'd just be glad when she can finally lay down for some well-deserved sleep. Though she'd have to finish training before she could hit the sack. With that in mind, she went to move the next boulder. However, as she was lifting it, a pain even sharper than yesterday's shot through her head as more images of people she didn't know ran through her mind. Information ran through as well and as more and more came barreling through her head, she couldn't take it anymore.

She cried out alerting everyone to her as she lost hold on everything she was doing. The link cut off abruptly causing those who had been connected to wince, but they didn't notice the twinge of pain for long as they watched with wide eyes as Ayano came falling towards the ground. The boulders were set free as well and went to drop, which would undoubtedly crush any of those who weren't quick to move.

"Aya/Ayano!" Katsuki and Izuku shouted as the pros went into action.

Pixie-Bob was quick to use her Earth-Flow to catch as many boulders as she could while also a forming a pit below to keep them from rolling onto the students. Mandalay, Vlad, and Ragdoll all kept the other students back as Tiger, Doctorine, and Aizawa rushed to the falling Ayano. Tiger managed to snatch her up in the air and land safely on the ground as Aizawa and Doctorine made it to their side.

"Are you alright?" Tiger was asking Ayano who was clutching her head. "Ishida, what's wrong?"

Ayano just shook her head as tears streamed down her cheeks rapidly. She couldn't make it stop. She just kept seeing people's faces and words were flying left and right through her head. Aizawa reached out to touch her forehead, which felt warm against his fingertips.

"Aya!" Katsuki shouted as he tried to rush over.

However, Vlad kept him firmly in place, which made the blonde growl in annoyance.

"I know you're worried, but stay back for now." Vlad said.

Katsuki was about to tell him to shove it, but Eijiro came up to calm his friend down. As the students waited tensely, Doctorine was trying to examine Ayano who Tiger had gently set on the ground though still in his hold, so to keep her propped up.

"Her temperature is spiking through the roof." Doctorine said. "I don't know what's causing it. I know all their medical records by heart, and Ishida has never had any kind of reaction like this related to her quirk."

As Doctorine continued her examination, Aizawa frowned as he kept his hand on top of the ginger-haired girl's head.

"Shota, try erasing her quirk for a moment," Doctorine said. "It might relieve the pressure she's feeling and we need to get her temperature to stop rising."

Aizawa nodded then activated his quirk on Ayano. As soon as her quirk was silence, Ayano let out a sigh of relief. Even as the world was going dark, she was glad the pain was over. She then passed out, which had her going limp in Aizawa and Tiger's hold. Aizawa deactivated his quirk as he tried to understand just what happened. As the pros continued to care for Ayano, Katsuki felt his jaw tense.

'Aya, just what is going on with you?' He wondered.

"We need to take her back to the main office," Doctorine said. "While it stopped rising, we need to get her temperature in check. It might start dropping on its own now, but I'd rather not take the chances."

"I can carry her," Tiger said.

Doctorine nodded her thanks before she and the muscular Pussycat stood up. Tiger carefully cradled Ayano in his arms as he and Doctorine started back towards the office building. Aizawa watched them go before looking back to his and Vlad's students. All looked a little shocked at what just happened and many looked concerned.

"All of you get back to training," Aizawa told them.

It took some coaxing from the three remaining Pussycats, but soon everyone was starting to move back to their designated training spots. Well, almost everyone. Katsuki and Izuku remained rooted in place as they watched their friend be carried away.

"Bakugo, Midoriya, that means you two as well." Aizawa said sternly. "Standing around in worry isn't going to make Ishida feel any better, and you know she wouldn't want you two too."

Katsuki, who growled, hated to admit it, but Aizawa was right. Ayano would probably try to give him a damn lecture or something if she knew he slacked on his training. Especially if it concerned her. His teeth ground together in anger.

'But what's wrong with her?' He had to wonder. 'What isn't she telling me?'

He knew without a doubt that what just happened has to somehow be connected to her weird behavior from I-Island. Connected to the thing she said she couldn't tell him about just yet.

'Why does she have to be so damn stubborn and try to carry it on her own?!' He thought in anger.

Chapter Bonus!

"Why the hell is that little brat holding onto you, Aya?!" Katsuki snapped.

Ayano, who sighed at Katsuki's aggression, placed her hand on Kota's head after the boy let go of her hand. The boy stepped closer to her while grabbing onto her thin cardigan with his hands. This had Katsuki seething even more. Izuku, who was carrying Kota's place for him, sweat-dropped as he stood next to Ayano and Kota. Though at a safe distance away. Their classmates were watching the scene as well with many of them looking amused.

"I don't see the problem, Katsuki," Ayano said. "Kota was kind enough to keep me safe as we came back to the office. There's no reason to get mad over it."

"Ehhh?" Katsuki shouted in disbelief.

Kota just glared at Katsuki as he stepped even closer to Ayano who smiled down at him. Katsuki's eye twitched at the action. The little brat was practically holding her around her hips at this point.

"Don't tell me you're jealous of a little kid, Bakugo?" Hanta called out teasingly.

"I'm not jealous, dammit!" Katsuki, who was now sporting a red face, snapped.

"You totally are, man!" Denki said. "Just look at that blush."

Katsuki snarled turning to give those two a piece of his mind as Kota frowned.

"Idiot." Kota said.

"Yes, Kota, yes he is," Ayano agreed.

Though she was blushing a bit herself as she said this.

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Coco: Sorry, couldn't help myself XD I saw the opportunity to and I took it XD Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. In the next, Ayano will finally confide in someone about Hive. Will it be one of her two closest friends...Maybe both? Or someone else entirely? And we'll finally be getting some action as it comes time for the Hero Course students to face some real villains. Class A has had to fight the League before, but how will they handle the Vanguard with a few extra twists thrown in?