The weekend flew by, mostly thanks to the great time she had with Hitomi. Though after Saturday night's events, Nanami's only thoughts were on her friend's suggestion to get self-defense training. Well, that and the cute doodles on a now-bookmarked page in her planner. She smiled to herself remembering that night and the unexpectedly pleasant company. The image of him sitting next to her as they joked brought a warmth to her face she was very reluctant to accept. Snap out of it and focus. She chastised herself as she quickly remembered what had happened earlier that night when she felt she couldn't defend herself.

Sure it turned out fine, but what if he'd been more aggressive and I was alone? Or what if he had a quirk or got training to use it against people… Nanami didn't finish the thought but she knew where it led and she was honest enough to admit it scared her. Sunday night she made a list of classes to check out. Usually being a thoughtful shopper, she figured it would be smarter to vet the classes by observing before diving in. She had an hour or so after work before she went to the lab, so why not squeeze in an errand?

Packing up her things, she headed out of the office, pulling up the directions on her phone. After a couple blocks, she arrived in front of a studio with large, glass windows and a dozen or so occupants inside. It wasn't very long before she realized this wouldn't be a class where she'd learn much. The "assailant" was really just some poor guy in a thick layer of padding, standing still as the students formed a line to shyly "punch" or "kick" him with all the brutality of a raucous pillow fight. Everyone moved at their own pace, but pragmatic as she was, Nanami knew whatever she learned from this class wouldn't be enough to repel someone who really meant trouble. After checking out two other classes yielding similar results, she decided to give it a rest for the day and head to the lab. They had a lot of data to analyze from the most recent round of tests, and she wanted to get a leg up on preparations.

Parking in her regular spot, she walked up to the front gates and knocked. She cocked her brow in confusion after waiting for a minute. Where the heck is Kurono… Usually if she was due to arrive at 6:00pm, he'd be in the front room waiting with an extra cup of tea he'd just so happened to have made at 5:45pm. Despite their initial meetings, they'd gotten closer over the past couple months, trading looks when Overhaul was in one of his "moods" and taking breaks together. No one was as meticulous and punctual as Overhaul, but Kurono would definitely be a close second, so seeing him late was surprising. This is odd. Nanami began to think as the door opened and she was greeted by another man she'd seen in passing.

"Good evening, doc. This way, please."

"Oh, good evening. Lead the way," she said, brushing off the concern from earlier. It wasn't unreasonable to think they'd changed schedule every now and then.

The man escorted her to the lab and shut the door, leaving her to some work she was happy to do alone. After Saturday night, she wasn't completely sure how to interact with her lab partner. Sure they hadn't necessarily done anything untoward, but it would be a lie to say it was nothing.

Five minutes passed by, then ten… once minute number fifteen rolled around she began to get Worried? Nope. We're not going there today. It's probably just "business" or something else shady. If he doesn't think this research is important, that's his loss. She convinced herself, a little irritated he'd blown her off without even one of his curt "I'm busy. We'll speak later" texts. Just as she was about to mentally practice the argument she'd have with him when he finally decided to come in, the door burst open, startling her as she almost dropped the samples she was moving.

Turning towards the door, she saw the angry little Muppet, already preparing to hear some kind of smart remark. Thought everyone else had warmed to her in one way or another, Mimic made it clear the only person worth any courtesy was Overhaul. "Well how can I help you Mimi—"

"Please—please just come with me right now. I don't have time to explain, just hurry and follow me!" the small creature shrieked. Well, in a way, he always shrieked, but this time Nanami could hear a desperation she'd only heard during her E.R. days. Switching gears, she knew to drop what she was doing and follow him. Whatever he needed, it was serious.

Racing down the long, winding hallways behind him, she was grateful to have kept in some semblance of shape. Just before she reached her limit, they stopped at a familiar door.Her heart sank, Isn't this his office? She realized before Mimic quickly opened the door and promptly closed it once they entered. She looked confused as she saw Overhaul lying face down on one of the couches in the office. Kurono was blocking most of her line of sight to him as he was kneeling by his side. Hearing the door close, he looked back, moving out of the way, a grave look on his face. As she took in the scene, she heard a voice croak out "I… I can't reach...". She was confused for a moment before she saw there was a sizeable, deep gash across Overhaul's back and hives, Probably from being touched and carried in here she guessed. By the look of it, she knew even breathing had to be excruciating and even a contortionist would find it challenging to bend their arm behind their back to touch it. Traditional medicine would be a gamble…she thought, as she took off her gloves, resigning herself to the obvious option.

"Alright, lift him up, very gently." Nanami commanded firmly, noticing the significant blood loss.

"Touch me again and I'll kill the lot of you." He seethed as his subordinates backed away, knowing better than to take the threat lightly.

She tried to think quickly as she needed to see if there were any other injuries before acting. Remembering all the times he'd touched her yet hadn't broken out, she decided to give it a shot. "Then I'll do it." She said resolutely. He mustered up enough strength to turn his head and glare in warning. She cautiously moved forward and knelt beside him to whisper. "You've touched me before without breaking out, remember? You and I both know there's a time limit and the longer your wound is open, the harder it will be to repair. I promise I won't let anyone else make contact, just let me help you."

He seemed to accept she was right and that he had no other choice. The warning was still in his eyes, but he nodded reluctantly. Though moving him was a two person job, she knew she'd have to make due. With one of her hands at his head and another along his side she tried to keep his head, neck and back aligned while rolling him onto one side. She tried her best to be careful, but it was hard moving him at all without earning a wince and hiss. Good, it's just the back. She confirmed noting the lack of blood underneath him as she quickly looked over him before her arms gave out.

Letting him down, she knelt down beside him, assessing the situation. His weak, but at least he's conscious. I can do this. She reassured herself, not used to having such a captivated audience watching behind her. Usually when she'd used her quirk to fix something so drastic, she'd make sure she was alone with the patient and they were sedated. The Eight Bullets knew about her quirk, but it was still nerve-racking having to perform in front of so many eyes.

"Just do it" he exasperated from behind gritted teeth. He seemed to be bracing himself, but she was confused as to why.

Brushing it off, she took a deep breath, disassembling his shirt to get a better view of the wound. It was as bad, if not worse, than she thought. Within seconds she reconstructed the damaged bones, sinew and then skin until the wound vanished, earning her a sigh of relief from her patient and the onlookers.

"There you go, good as new." She piped, almost slapping him on the back like a fixed car before stopping herself short and gently patting instead. "Who did this to you?" a note of genuine concern in her voice.

"It doesn't matter, it was a cheap shot. None of them exist anymore." He replied too simply for someone who'd probably just murdered multiple someones. Nanami never forgot what he was, but it didn't make the regular confirmation any easier. "Kurono, Mimic: Leave us." He added, now moving himself to rise from the couch.

They filed out of the room, Kurono looking back, giving her a small nod and thankful glance before closing the door behind them. Turning her attention back to him, Overhaul was already at the closet in his office, putting on another, identical shirt. Knew it. She thought remembering her theory about his wardrobe.

He continued buttoning it up, his back turned to her as he began," How did you do that?"

"Um… the same way you do?" She replied, perplexed as to what he meant. She'd disclosed most of what she was able to do with their shared quirk already, and he'd shown that he knew how to heal himself. She'd become leagues more cooperative and transparent during their research, so the question caught her off guard.

"No, you don't. It's been a long day, and I'd greatly appreciate it if you gave up this little act and just explained it to me."

"I... I don't know what you mean…" Ok now I'm really confused…

He turned around, an obvious look of suspicion in his eyes, "I won't ask again."

Nanami was taken aback, insulted," So I save your ass and in return I get an interrogation?"

"First of all, it was my back, not my ass. Secondly, I only interrogate uncooperative parties, so cooperate and explain how you healed me like that?" he intoned, now stalking towards her, an accusatory look still in his eyes.

"Like how? I have literally no idea what you mean!" Genuinely confused at why he was so angry with her all the sudden, she was really hoping he'd throw her a bone here.

"Without the pain!"

"…the what?" She looked at him searchingly before realizing what he meant, a pained and slightly embarrassed look on his face. Her tense stance relaxed before continuing, "Have you… just been feeling it all the entire time?"

"You haven't?"

"Hell no," she shot back before continuing, thinking out loud, "To feel every singular cell being ripped apart and put back together every time? That would be…" His eyes were no longer meeting hers, his jaw tightening, "…unbearable."

Clinically, she knew they utilized their quirk differently, but seeing the real-world effects was another thing entirely. Of course, someone who'd grown up only weaponizing their quirk wouldn't think about minimizing pain, and conversely someone who'd used it almost exclusively for healing would prioritize comfort. If it had just been a theory she'd concocted in a vacuum, she'd probably think it was fascinating, but now it just seemed… Sad. Knowing he'd been in that kind of pain for so long caused an aching in her chest.

"Do not pity me." He seethed, misjudging the look on her face.

"What? No. Look, I know this may be a novel concept for you, but there is such a thing as empathy."

"I have no use for that either."

"You sure did a couple minutes ago when you were bleeding out."

"Yes, and you were useful, as most tools are, but for now I need nothing else from you."

She couldn't help the look of hurt that flashed across her face, his hard stare unwavering. Looking him up and down with disgust, she knew it wasn't worth the effort to continue the discussion. He was lashing out at her because he was embarrassed, and she wouldn't tolerate it.

"This… was a mistake. Fuck you."

She turned on her heel out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Fuck that guy. Fuck that guy. Fuuuuccckkk that guy. She cursed to herself as she stormed down the hallway and back to the lab. The nerve of him to be bleeding all over me, begging for MY help one second, just to turn around and humiliate me the next. Fuck him.

Bursting through the doors to the lab, Nanami saw Kurono redrawing one of her diagrams in their notes, "I'm sorry Dr. Watanabe, it's nothing against you it's just—Wait, what are you doing?" he asked, noticing she was angrily shoving her things into her bag.

"I'm leaving."

Kurono sighed, confident that Overhaul had to have said something cruel. "I'm not sure what he said to you, but I do know he's been lighter than he has been in a long time since you started working together." He confessed, hoping it would strike a chord with her. She paused, a sad look crossing her face before it reverted to anger and she began packing again. "Is there anything I can do to convince you to stay?"

"Help me kick Overhaul's ass and make him apologize."

"… it has been a pleasure working with you."

Pausing for a minute, her fists clenched in frustration, she realized what she'd be losing by leaving. "Just this morning I had one of the most exciting research projects of my career and felt like maybe we'd become just a little bit closer to… whatever counts as forward in this weirdass partnership thing. But he just had to piss it away."It was upsetting to say the least, months of work would now come to a halt and collect dust, all because of his ego, "It's not fair."

Her eyes were trained on the ground, too angry and hurt to move when she heard him get up from his chair and walk over. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Care for one last cup of tea before you go?"

Sighing heavily, trying to release the tension from her shoulders, she nodded solemnly attempting to give a small smile, "Yeah, one more for the road."

"Ok, I'll leave you to your things. Come to the front room upstairs when you're ready." Kurono patted her shoulder as he walked past her, leaving her alone to finish packing up.

The anger was still present, but soon enough the sadness of loss came washing over her. No. We'll feel all the feels later, let's just get out of here she thought sniffling and recomposing herself. She was going through some papers when she heard the door open behind her.

"Sorry, Kurono, I'll be done in just a minute," she said, still focused on her task. When there was no response, she looked to see who came in, a grimace instantly plastered across her face. He walked over to the workbench across from her and stood quietly, his arms folded. She scoffed before turning back to her task, ignoring him. Packing up the last of her things, she glanced around briefly before her eyes landed on her planner that laid on the workbench he was in front of. Rolling her eyes, she marched over, standing only inches away from him before reaching past to grab the booklet behind him. As she turned to walk away, she thought she heard something.

"Excuse me?" she looked back at him, a tinge of irritation in his eyes. She rolled hers before turning again. "Why do I even ask..."

"I said, I'd like our partnership to continue."

She was sure she was going to get whiplash from dealing with him, but responded anyway, unable to let this slide. "You have a real funny way of showing it."

"But I am showing it, right now by asking you to continue."

"You do not get to humiliate me and then just pretend like saying that will be good enough. You're calling it a partnership right now, but a couple minutes ago I was a tool."

"So, you'd give up all of this work because your feelings were hurt?" his tone cold and almost annoyed.

"Because my feelings were hurt? No, you disrespected me. I helped you—which I was glad to do—and you spit in my face. No thank you, no nothing. Partners don't do that, at least not any I'd consider working with."

"We may be partners, but our standing is not the same. My mastery of overhaul exceeds yours, thus you need direction."

"You have a mastery of violence. Just because I don't use it to fight or kill people whenever my ego isn't stroked just the right way… that doesn't make me lesser than you, and it certainly doesn't make you better than me."

"You agreed to come into this world knowing exactly what it was. This is not about ego, this is about the natural order of things here. You admit you couldn't hold your own in combat, so where does that leave you in a world that bases order on the violence you're abstaining from?"

"I'd say right next to you." She stepped forward, solidifying the confrontation. "For all your power, you still had to be saved, by me. As far as I'm concerned, whatever fight you were in tonight would have been a draw without me, so who really decided the 'natural order'? My value is the same, whether I'm inside or outside this world, and I will not stay where people refuse to see it just because it doesn't conform to their narrow definition of it."

He stared at her a beat searchingly as she stared back in complete defiance. She knew logically she'd have little recourse if he made the snap decision to disassemble her, but she wouldn't want to live with herself if she let him think this was ok. As much as she lectured about ego, her pride never ceased to get the best of her.

"You…have a point." He managed to get out, the words sounding like they were causing him physical pain. He couldn't deny respect was paramount in the world of the underground and her demand for it was not unreasonable, not to mention how useful she could be in the future. However, for that to be true, he'd have to acknowledge the possibility that he was in the wrong, something he'd only ever done for his father, the only other person to save him. He knew what had to be done. He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, unintentionally inhaling what he knew was a light smell of lavender. She was standing much closer to him than anyone he wasn't planning on fighting, but he found himself not loathing it. Savoring it for a moment, he turned to walk around to her side creating some much-needed distance between them. Clearing his throat by swallowing what could best be described as his own pride, he locked eyes with her. She was still royally pissed, but also watching intently, reluctantly curious.

"I…I do find you valuable. To compare you to a tool was… unfair." By his tone and furrowed brows, she could tell this was difficult for him, but she needed to hear him say it. Her expression softened slightly, but she stood firm, waiting to hear the rest. She didn't want to leave, but their arrangement couldn't continue if he was going to treat her like he had earlier, and she needed to know he knew that. "You have my gratitude. I would like for you to reconsider your decision and to move forward… with me… on this project."

It was a relief to hear, but he'd left out one important word. "… is this your way of saying sorry?" she asked, knowing the answer. His arrogance might not let him say it outright, but judging by how worked up he'd gotten, she was sure it was as close to an apology as anyone had heard from him.

"Think what you want," he replied turning his gaze from her to stare at a cabinet that was suddenly very interesting. "… I won't refute your assumption."

Close enough. For now.

Her gaze dropped from his face as her hand massaged the back of her neck, resigning herself to this curve ball fate had thrown her. She sighed, walking back to the workbench, placing the notes down as they had been earlier. She went into her bag and retrieved a small box and began walking towards the lab doors.

"… Where are you going?" He asked, the slightest tinge of worry in his voice.

"Tea break and snacks." She said waving the small box," I'll be back in 30. We can go over notes then." She replied simply.

"… I see. I'll be waiting then." The subtle sound of relief in his voice did not go unnoticed. She paused, with her back still turned to him and spoke over her shoulder.

"Overhaul?"

"Yes?"

"To answer your question, I disassemble the nerve fibers connected to the tissue I'm repairing until I'm finished. I'd usually just rely on the anesthesia since most of the patients I work with have to go into surgery anyway, but in cases like tonight, that is how I do it without pain." She explained before leaving the lab.

"…I see. Thank you." He intoned with a level of sincerity that felt foreign to him. Though he'd never admit it, the sight of her lab coat hanging next to his brought a strange sense of comfort.