I finally give some valid reasons why Leinei doesn't like All Might! And more reasons to hate the Commission, if you don't live for the slandering said organization like I do. And we finally learn the name for Leinei's first of four ultimate moves. Enjoy reading!

Music selection for this chapter: Overwhelmed by Ryan Mack, and Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft The Civil Wars

"Your reaction time has gotten better, Salinsa," Ectoplasm's clone compliments, slipping out of the way of her feinted punch. She grunts in return, following the feint with a kick that nearly knocks herself off balance. The teacher grabs her arm to keep her from falling over. "You're trading speed for balance. It takes time to correct a stance like that-"

"I'm fine," she retorts, jerking her arm away from him and taking a breath. She glances over at her classmates, seeing them refining the coarse edges of their ultimate moves. And here she is, having not even started on the basics of hers.

"Do you still need a little time to work on your ultimate? Or did you have an idea of where you wanted to start?"

"I…I really don't have any clue where to start," she admits, the words seemingly forced from her mouth as she scratches the back of her head. "I'm just trying to find a basis, so that it's recognizable like everyone else's."

"Well, your quirk isn't like everyone else's," Ectoplasm reminds her, which causes her to give him the oh you don't say look. "What I'm saying is, your quirk isn't flashy or external, right? It works from the inside out. You're trying to put someone else's mark on it when it should just be yours."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Make it your own. You have better control of it, exercise that control to its limits. Just to that precipice where you're sure you can reign it in."

"Okay…well, I..I wanted to try to use it on multiple people at once," she admits, her shoulders slumping the tiniest bit as she lets that out. "I can use it one after the other, but if I could use it on multiple people at once, that could be better! Like what I did at the Sports Festival."

"There we go, that's a start. So, why don't we start with two people at once."

As he says this, his clone creates a second, leaking the ooze from it's mouth so it spills onto the floor. Leinei cringes seeing it, shaking her head as it forms. She glances around at the other clones still engaged with her classmates and looks back at the two in front of her.

"Doesn't your quirk work like a hive mind?" she asks, concerned. "If I use it on these clones, wouldn't it affect the others? What about you?"

"I understand your concern," the first clone says. "But I assure you, I can operate my clones separately as well as I can operate them collectively. I can disable these ones' links to the others so the clones training with your peers will not be affected."

"Okay," she relents. "And yourself?"

"I wouldn't be much of a hero if I let a child's quirk mess with my head, now would I?"

"I guess not," she relents, smiling softly. "Alright. Let me know when you're ready."

"Whenever you feel you are prepared."

She curls her hands into fists, taking a breath as she feels her nails dig into her palms. Her heart is slamming into her ribs, panic filling her head. This is the first time I've used my quirk since we were rescued…what if I can't use it? What if my control is gone? What if I end up killing someone else because I'm just as bad as Dabi-?

"You're in your head. It's written on your face," Aizawa says as he walks over. She snaps out of it and looks up at him, her face reddening. "You have excellent control over your quirk, much better than when you first enrolled here."

"I don't want to hurt-"

A familiar booming voice makes the frown on her face turn into a scowl. Why does he have to be here again? Why couldn't he just have died in Kamino?

She had watched the footage from Kamino while in the hospital. But she didn't have bated breath like everyone else, or the tears streaming down her face like Reina. Keigo didn't seem to be about as phased as Leinei was, seeing the fall of the Number One Hero. He probably was thinking about the extra work he'd have to put up with because of it. But Leinei-she felt her stomach turn when at the end of the fight, he was still standing. Hearing the newscaster's relieved voice, she wanted to retch. Symbol of Peace my ass.

"Hello! I am here-to assist teaching!" All Might greets, in his skinny form as he waves. She glared at him over her shoulder, but didn't pay any mind beyond that.

"You're supposed to be on sabbatical still, All Might," Aizawa reminds him. "Recovering-"

"I was getting tired, staying in the teachers' dorms," the man admits, rubbing the back of his head as he chuckles. "I figured I'd come down and see how the students were doing. I see you've recovered well, Miss Salinsa. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she says curtly, taking a breath to keep the edge out of her voice. "Don't you have a hole to crawl into?"

"Oh. Um, I don't exactly know how to answer that," All Might replies, a little shocked by the question. "I like to think I avoided that hole."

"Hm. Good for you, I guess," she replies. Then a cruel thought crosses her mind as she looks at him. "You want to help don't you?"

"Of course! Nothing like bringing the next generation of heroes to the next level!" He agrees, beaming at her. She shudders, but forces a smile.

"Wonderful! Ectoplasm, is it alright if All Might joins our test run?"

"I don't see why not. The more the merrier with this trial run," he agrees, but can't help the concern edging into his voice. "Though, All Might is still recovering. Perhaps taking it easier on him?"

"Oh, here I thought he was the Symbol of Peace? If he thinks he can't stand up to a sixteen year old girl's quirk, I guess I won't do it."

"Salinsa, that kind of baiting isn't okay," Aizawa warns. "I agree with Ecto-"

"I'm fine, Eraserhead!" All Might assures, waving his good hand at the teacher. "I'm sure it's just like the files say. Nothing to be worried about."

"If you say so," he sighs, stepping away as All Might joins the clones with his smile still plastered on his face. Leinei takes a breath, glancing at the three figures she was about to use her quirk on. I won't go full bore into them. They are still my teachers. I already have three days of detention and I think Nezu won't be too forgiving if I killed the students' favorite teacher.

Just ease it in. Do their worst fears. Just that infinite seeming loop. Just a bad dream. Then pull them out of it. It'll be okay.

Her eyes turn purple, and each of them suck in air as if they'd just been punched. Ectoplasm's clones dissipate with a yelp of pain, leaving All Might there. He's still standing, his eyes glazed over as his bottom lip trembles. She doesn't know what loop he's in, or what he's seeing, but it must be horrible from the tears in his eyes. Pull him out, Leinei. Don't let him suffer.

But we suffered because of him…

Two wrongs don't make a right. Pull him out.

She turns her quirk off with a soft breath, All Might gasping for air as it jerks him back to reality. He holds his chest, taking measured breaths before smiling at Leinei. How can you still smile after what I put you through?

"That truly is a scary magnificent quirk you have," he tells her, reaching over to pat her head. "I'm very proud to see how far you've come with it, and how much further you'll go. If I may give a suggestion, start out stronger. Ease them out of it, then slam them back in."

"I..uh..th-thank you, sir."

"I look forward to seeing it more refined," he continues, pulling his hand away. "I'm going to go check on the other students' progress, and see if I can give them any advice. Thank you for letting me help."

"Ye-yeah.."

Her mouth is dry as he walks off, seeing a slight limp to his steps. His praise and advice slip into her head, eating away at the cruel thoughts she had of him. How can he be so nice? Why didn't he yell? I would have yelled. Everyone else would have yelled.

"Salinsa?" Aizawa calls for the third time. It finally snaps her out of her head, so she looks at him. "Do you need to take a break?"

"No, I'm fine," she assures. "I just need to work on it more."

"Are you sure? It's alright to take pauses to gather your head."

"I'm fine, Mr. Aizawa. I already have detention this afternoon. I'd rather work on this as much as possible."

"If you say so."

He can't keep the worry out of his voice as Ectoplasm gives her more clones, four this time. He walks away to watch the other students operate, stepping out of the way of one of Aoyama's lasers. All Might is giving advice to Kirishima, showing him the best way to slam his arms into a person while causing minimal trauma to himself. The Erasure Hero walks to the door, taking in each of his students' progress and feeling proud that something so horrible only encouraged them to work harder, rather than give up. After a while, All Might joins him, smiling brightly.

"It's inspiring seeing them become so much stronger. They're almost ready to take the provisionals soon," the retired symbol remarks as he stands with his back to the door. Aizawa nods.

"Yeah. Bakugo and Salinsa seem to be adjusting well despite the trauma they went through."

"That's good! I can't imagine the horror they went through. I heard Salinsa was almost dead when Edgeshot and Kamui Woods found her."

"Yes. I'm relieved neither of them succumbed. They're stronger than we give credit for." He glances at the elder man. "Do you know why Salinsa seems to hate you?"

"Um, well…the Commission and I were never on good terms," he admits softly, chuckling after as he rubs his neck. "I didn't agree with a lot of what they did, but we had an agreement to interact only when needed. I heard rumors they were training children to take my spot, but didn't want to think they actually were doing so."

"I suppose Hawks rising so fast was because of the Commission's backing too," Aizawa sighs. "Elementia is still in the fifties, and Salinsa…I don't know if she'll even stick with the hero job."

"I think she will," All Might assures, smiling at his fellow teacher. "She has great teachers to guide her to the right path, and a wonderful group of friends. Young Midoriya, Young Bakugo, and Young Todoroki will help her to that."

"Yes until the Commission decides her path like it has her sister and brother's. Yagi, do you mind watching the class while I call someone?"

"Of course! It would be my pleasure!"

"Thanks."

Class ends, and everyone goes to get dressed. Leinei is quiet, her eyes closed as she leans her head against her locker door. Her head is hurting from the constant use of her quirk, and her body was throbbing from the attacks she had taken from the few clones she hadn't gotten with her quirk. I need to use it while mobile. You can do that, you did it during the sports festival. Come on. You're better than this! Fucking idiot!

"Hey, Lei, are you okay?" Mina asks, touching her friend's shoulder. "Bakugo is outside waiting for you."

"Yeah, I know," she mumbles, nodding. "Sorry, my head is just hurting."

"Did you use your quirk too much? I think I have some tylenol in my bag."

"I'll be fine once I get something to drink," she assures, pushing herself off the locker and grabbing her bag. "Thanks anyway, Mina. I'll see you guys after detention."

"Please don't punch Monoma again!" she calls as Leinei walks out of the locker room. Katsuki is leaning on the wall across from the door, his bag at his side as he leans his head back against the brick. Leinei clears her throat as she walks up to him, smiling.

"How did your ultimate come along?" she asks as he pushes himself off the wall and they start walking towards the classroom she had detention in. "I heard a few explosions, but I didn't have the most time to look over."

"It's coming," he assures. "I'm just refining the technique I used at the sports festival against Uraraka."

"Really? What's the name for it?"

"Howitzer Impact," he boasts proudly, grinning at her as he tightens his free hand into a claw. "It's going to kill those bastard villains."

"I like it. It fits you," she tells him, nudging him with her elbow. "I think I have a name for mine, but it's kinda edgy."

"Oh yeah? Tell me," he demands, nudging her back as they round a corner. She blushes and sighs, looking down as her face burns.

"Infinite Nightmare."

"Have you been hanging out with Bird Brain?" he asks, but doesn't laugh. "I think that's actually a pretty cool name. How many people can you use it on at once?"

"Well, Ectoplasm had my numbers at twelve people," she admits. "Thirteen if I really want to strain it. And that's all at once, not consecutively."

"I bet we can get those numbers up in no time. Especially with that special training," he assures her, grinning still as he switches his bag to his other hand and wraps his arm around her. She smiles and leans her head against his arm, closing her eyes. "So what did All Might have to say to you?"

"Mm, not much. Asked how I was, helped me with my quirk," she grumbles, the moment ruined by the memory of him. "Just the usual teacher stuff."

"Do you not like him?" he asks, confused by the change in her demeanor.

"It's…complicated. I'll tell you later," she replies, shrugging his arm off. He grabs her arm as she goes towards the classroom door. "Katsu, I can't be late or-"

Her face turns bright pink as he brushes his lips against her cheek, giving her a quick hug and a murmured see you later. Her heart skips and she feels lightheaded as he pulls away, watching with a happily dazed look as he walks to the dorms. For the first time in two days, she feels like her normal self, doing a little happy jitter to get her excitement out.

He's so fucking cute. I just want to go back to the dorm and curl up with him…

"Salinsa, glad you could join us," Vlad King says as she walks into the classroom. Her good mood is dampened a bit seeing the 1B teacher and Monoma sitting in one of the desks at the front of the room. "Have a seat."

"Yes sir," she murmurs, sitting at the desk closest to the door. Between her and Monoma are two empty desks, hopefully creating enough of a buffer for them to prevent any more fighting. Vlad clears his throat and gestures to the board, on which there is Team Building Exercises boldly written across the top.

"Since it seems both of your faults lie with the inability to cooperate with a group," Vlad starts, looking at the students in turn. "Eraserhead and I thought it best to work you both on team building exercises. Monoma, your detention has been extended by a day."

"What? Why! She's the one that attacked me!" Monoma protests, exaggerating a gesture towards Leinei. "If anything, she should be suspended!"

"You were blocking a fire exit and refused to move even when you were asked nicely by both Kendo and Iida," Vlad reminds him. "You both are equally at fault here."

"Hmpf."

"So what are we starting with then?" Leinei asks. "And how long are these exercise classes?"

"They're only an hour and a half, and are every other day until your detention sentence has been served," Vlad replies. "Eraserhead asked specifically for that, so you aren't exhausted prior to your extra lessons."

"1A gets special treatment again," Monoma remarks, rolling his eyes. Leinei lets out a soft breath, resisting the urge to get up and break his nose again.

"Monoma, your detentions are staggered as well. No one is receiving special treatment here," Vlad assures. He claps his massive hands together, causing the both of them to flinch. "So, we are going to start with an ice breaker. Names, birthdays, and something you'd like to share. I'll give an example by starting! My civilian name is Sekijiro Kan, my birthday is on November tenth, and I have an adorable bulldog named Bram. Monoma, your turn."

"Um…" he looks at Leinei, who is watching him expectantly. "My name is Neito Monoma, my birthday is on May thirteenth, and I enjoy a good plate of escargot every once in a while."

"And Salinsa?"

"My name is Leinei Salinsa, my birthday is March twelfth. I like Disney movies."

Monoma lets out a laugh reminiscent of a strangled cockatiel, covering his face with one hand as he points at her. A soft growl leaves Leinei as she goes to stand. Vlad clears his throat, settling them both down with a sharp look.

"Monoma, she didn't laugh at your statement. Apologize to her."

He grits his teeth but forces one out anyway. The teacher nods and gestures for them to both stand and come to the front. Leinei does so, watching Monoma expectantly as he hesitates then gets up.

"Now we're going to do some trust falls," he continues. "Monoma, you're going to turn your back to her and fall. Salinsa, you're going to catch him."

"Seems easy enough," she mumbles, adjusting where she stands as Monoma turns around. He takes a few seconds before he falls back, catching him with relative ease and trying to correct herself so they don't both fall.

"Wonderful! Now, you're going to switch places and Monoma will catch you, Salinsa."

"Understood."

Detention that night went smoothly, doing simple trust exercises until he dismissed them. Leinei said bye to the teacher and Monoma, even going as far as to smile as she walked out. The hallway was starting to get dark, despite it only being about seven. Her chest tightens as she walks down it, sticking to the windows so she could have some semblance of light.

You're at school. You're safe. Just walk back to the dorms.

She repeats those words in her head despite feeling like she couldn't get enough air. She turns a corner to a hallway with no windows, a whimper leaving her throat as she sees how dark it is. She wants to cry, to run back to the classroom and sit there until it was morning before even attempting to head back to the dorms. I'm so fucking scared and I hate it.

But she forces herself onward, swallowing the growing lump at the very top of her throat so it sits just before her stomach and strangles her. Tears are biting at her eyes. She blinks once-the silver sheen of a blade slices the air in front of her. She stops, clenching her hand over her chest as she starts to struggle to breathe. It's not real. He's in Tartarus. You were there the night he was captured. You helped to bring him down. You know it's not real.

That spurs her enough to keep walking, despite the taste of bile in her throat. That lump wasn't as secure as she thought, her throat burning with the urge to throw up. She blinks again-this time feeling the heat of Dabi's breath on her ear and the warmth of his flames licking at her body. She tries to ignore it this time, ignore the faint sound of someone calling her name.

"Lei!"

She turns on her heel, her fist raised as Katsuki stands there with his hands raised. His eyes are wide, seeing the way she's pale and hyperventilating on the verge of tears. She slowly lowers her hand, trying to get her breathing under control.

"Hey, I guess you didn't see me when you stepped out of the room," he says, his voice soft and a little hurt. "Kirishima and Sero are standing outside waiting on us. Are-are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."

"I'm-" She stops herself, closing her eyes. I'm not fine. I'm stupid. She closes the distance between them and hugs him, pressing her face into his chest. He chuckles softly and hugs her, rubbing her back.

"There's dinner back at the dorms," he tells her gently, smiling as she squeezes him. "I can bring you up a plate if you want to shower first. Then you can tell me how detention with that extra went?"

"Maybe," she replies, her voice muffled by his shirt. "Can we just cuddle?"

"Of course," he assures her, resting his chin on her head. "We can do whatever you want."

"Thank you…"

"You don't have to thank me. Let's get back to the dorms."

"Alright…"

After dinner and a wonderfully hot shower with just the right level of water pressure, she curled up in the corner of one of the couches in the common room with Katsuki, leaning her head on his shoulder as he played with her damp hair. He watches as Eijirou, Denki, Hanta and Mina discuss their moves and how they can improve on them. Izuku even bounces over, offering tips and pointers, taking it from his handy dandy notebook.

"Are you doing better?" Katsuki asks Leinei, his voice a bare whisper as the others talk. She looks up at him, her body feeling heavy despite her wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his side. He sighs softly, rubbing her back through the black hoodie she was wearing. He can feel her trembling and how cold she feels despite being next to him and in that hoodie. "Do you want to go up to your room?"

"I dunno…"

"I think it would do you some good to be away from people right now," he tells her, untangling himself from her before getting up. She lets out a low whine, but stands, hugging his arm again.

"Lei, are you okay?" Mina asks, leaning back on her hands. "Was detention that bad?"

"Ashido, not now," Katsuki snaps, causing the pink girl to sit right and put her hands up. "Come on, Lei."

"M'comin'," she mumbles, giving a feeble wave to their friends as they walk up to the fifth floor of the girls' dormitory. It's just silence as they walk awkwardly, Katsuki adjusting to her clinging to him. He doesn't move her away, despite his arm starting to go numb from how tightly she's hugging it. She needs this. Just shut up and deal.

"This one is yours right?" he asks, pointing to the dorm room next to Mina's. She glances up and nods, turning the knob and opening it. She pulls herself away from him long enough to walk in and turn the light on. He follows her in and shuts the door, leaning against it for a moment as she sits on the bed and hugs Mr. Spokes to her chest.

"You're afraid of the dark, aren't you?"

"Do you blame me?" she asks breathlessly, getting defensive with her words as he shakes his head.

"No. But you don't have to be afraid when I'm right here," he protests, coming over to sit next to her. She doesn't look at him, opting instead to look at her lap. "Lei, I'm going to protect you. I will always protect you. Nothing like what happened at Kamino will ever fucking happen again. I promise you," he tells her, using his index finger to push her hair from her face. "You believe me, don't you?"

"I-I do, I just…"

"You can't get them out of your head, can you?" he asks, his voice soft and knowing. "They're playing on a loop?"

"Usually I can push it down," she admits. "And ignore it. But when it's dark, and I'm alone, it-I can't do it. And I get scared, and I hate it because I shouldn't be afraid of the fucking dark after what we went through! It's childish!"

"Lei…"

"I hate being this way…I hate it so much. I don't want to be scared of everything anymore," she whispers, clenching her eyes shut. "I hate freezing up, and being scared, and letting people around me get hurt because I can't fucking move when it comes to a do or die situation. If I hadn't froze in the forest, maybe I wouldn't have gotten drugged and caught. Maybe I could have helped prevent you getting caught. Maybe-"

"Hey," he stops her, squeezing her shoulder. "Breathe. You're safe. I'm safe. We're alive. That's what matters."