Unknown sighed quietly as she rose to her feet. She padded over to the desk, pulling out the chair and taking a seat. Picking up her phone, she held down the power button, only lifting her finger once the dark surface lit up to read 'power on.' After a moment, the display flicked to the lock screen, flicking again to the home screen once she entered her password. For the first time, she noticed the date: January 29th.

It had been well over three months.

Three months since Sacrosanct had been captured.

Five months since her betrayal at Kamino Ward.

Nine months since she started an ordinary life under someone else's name.

A year since she first revealed herself to the Commission.

And much, much longer since the shadows of hatred had begun growing in her mind.

Three months since the conclusion of her plot, three months since she first stepped foot into the hospital, and hardly a few hours since she stepped out. It didn't quite feel real, not yet at least. She had her clothes back, she had her belongings back, she had access to the outside world again, but it didn't feel like she was free. Maybe she was still affected by her isolation at the hospital, she supposed, though she had felt much more grounded ever since she first learned of her release. Hope was a terribly potent thing. It would take some time to see if the effects persisted, but perhaps the newfound stimuli would keep them at bay.

It was better out here, she reminded herself. Here, she could turn the lights on and off, she could choose what and when she ate, she could leave her room whenever she liked, and she could even leave the building if she really wanted to. The walls weren't plain here, the furniture wasn't bolted to the ground, there wasn't a camera watching her every move, and most of all, nothing here was painted with that awful, blinding shade of white. There was a window right next to her bed. It was colorful here. It was better.

A distant noise reached her ears, momentarily pulling her from her thoughts. Chatter and footsteps drifted up from the floorboards, and she quickly realized she must have been lost in thought for longer than she expected. Glancing outside, she saw the sun had already begun setting, the sky glowing a vivid red-orange color: one she had almost forgotten existed. The sun tended to set earlier this time of year, she recalled, and the young heroes must be returning from their classes. Unknown supposed she would have to stay out of sight for a while longer, at least until everyone went to bed. She had no doubt most of them would be doing everything in their power to avoid her as well; she would do both them and herself a favor by avoiding any uncomfortable run-ins for the time being.

Unknown sat near the foot of her bed, pillow in her lap as her gaze lingered outside the window. Unconsciously, she rubbed her left wrist, the unusual sensation of finding nothing but bare skin almost surprising her. There were circles of faint bruises from the long-present handcuffs she wasn't yet used to being free of. Slowly, it dawned on her that she could use her quirk now. Why it took so long for her to realize such a simple fact, she wasn't quite sure. She turned her gaze away from the window and towards the dresser across the room, her eyes lowering a fraction to focus on the handle of the top drawer. Activating her quirk for the first time in months, she pulled the drawer open. A warm tingle spread through her chest as the familiar sensation blossomed pleasantly, her lips curling into a faint smile upon realizing the muscle memory was still intact, washing away the illogical whisper of concern that she had somehow lost her quirk. She wasn't quite sure what she would do without it; she wasn't sure if she could do anything without it. She smiled as she activated her quirk once more and slid the drawer closed, her eyes then flicking to various objects in the room and gently shifting them around one by one. It was oddly comforting to know she still possessed a bit of who she was back then.

Although, on second thought, maybe it really shouldn't be.

Dinner at the 1-A dorm was quieter than usual that night. Pockets of conversation remained active in some parts of the room as most of the class sat scattered around the common area. Uraraka stared idly down at her food as she pushed it around a bit, fidgeting in her seat and tucking her hair back for the tenth time that night. It had been like this all day, now that she thought about it, though perhaps it was only natural for everyone to be a bit nervous.

It had been a few hours since class ended, and they had yet to see even a glimpse of their newest housemate. A few of the more daring among them had even taken a peek into the second-floor girls' hall, perhaps expecting to find some sign of her. They had known she would be coming before the rest of the school. Surprisingly enough, Uraraka and Midoriya had managed to convince the class to have her stay with them. Uraraka had been the one to come up with the idea, and knowing Midoriya was the person most likely to stand by her side, she went about persuading him first. She had actually tried asking Yaoyorozu before him, knowing she and Naoko used to be close back then, but the girl hadn't been feeling well and sheepishly had to deny the plea for help, though she was the first to sign the unofficial petition they had created. At the time, Uraraka thought it was a bit strange, as the girl had seemed quite normal earlier that day, but she quickly dismissed it as a result of her own preoccupation. She did have a tendency to miss the obvious whenever she was distracted.

Uraraka picked up her cup and took a slow sip, her eyes anxiously sweeping over the room. Her classmates may have agreed to it, but she knew not all of them were necessarily excited to have her here. She knew they were kind-hearted people, they believed Unknown deserved a second chance despite the hurt she had once caused them, but it was still a bit unnerving, the thoughts of "what if" always whispering in the back of their minds. Surely Mr. Aizawa and Principal Nezu wouldn't have agreed to this if they thought she was dangerous, right? Even still, it was strange to think she was really here- on the same campus, in the same building- just a floor above them.

"Hey, do you think Unknown is actually up there?" Kaminari asked quietly from the couch behind her, drawing Uraraka out of her daze. She shifted in her chair as she took another sip of her drink, leaning back to listen as inconspicuously as possible.

"Aizawa and Mic said she is, right?" Jirou blinked questioningly at him.

"But no one's seen her yet! Has she really been inside her room all day?"

"Hm… do you think she's a ghost?" Sero tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Or maybe she just doesn't want to see you idiots again," Mina sighed, shaking her head dramatically.

"Do you guys think it's alright to have her here? It's a little weird, right?" Sero asked through a mouthful, drawing a disapproving glare from Jirou.

"I think it's fine. I mean, she doesn't really have anywhere else to go, and no one deserves to be all alone without a place to live. That wouldn't be manly at all," Kirishima mused.

"Yea, just because she's a bad guy doesn't mean she's a bad guy, right?"

"I think the point is she's not a bad guy, dude."

"Hey! Don't change the subject!" Kaminari whined, pointing an accusatory finger at his friends.

"Denki, just because you haven't seen her yet doesn't mean she doesn't exist."

"That's not it! Mineta was up there for almost an hour and he didn't see anything! What if she really is a ghost?!"

"Dude, I was kidding!" Sero laughed, elbowing him.

Jirou sighed halfheartedly as the two began bickering and pushing each other around, barely able to stifle a laugh when Kirishima got kicked in the process of trying to calm them down.

They would never change, she concluded with a soft smile, taking another bite of her food.

Uraraka took a deep, shaky breath as she stood at the end of the hallway. For some reason, it seemed much longer than usual, the bright lights overhead remaining steady and warm, the emptiness of the corridor revealing nothing out of place, yet her heart still pounded as if she was expecting something to leap out at her. Logically, she knew she shouldn't have been so nervous; if the Commission's statement was true, Unknown had been working for them for quite a long time, even before she met her as Ito Naoko. She had been working hard to bring down Sacrosanct while everyone around her remained blissfully unaware of the kinds of things she had gone through. She couldn't be a bad person, right?

That's right. All the things she had done in the past were because of the Manager's influence. Uraraka had read the Commission's full report as soon as they released it so many months ago; she knew Unknown hadn't been raised the way most people had, the way she had. The Manager had fed her a skewed worldview for years upon years, ever since she was a child; he twisted her sense of morality, using his quirk to shape her into a weapon- a killer. It wasn't her fault, right? There was nothing she could have done, right? Were it up to her, surely Unknown would never have chosen such a life for herself. She was simply a victim of circumstance.

Right?

She couldn't be a bad person. If she was, she never would have passed up the countless opportunities she had to hurt them. She never laid a single finger on any of them: that had to count for something. She never meant for them to get caught up in all this; it was just another case of unfortunate circumstances, she was sure. There was no reason to be nervous because Unknown had no reason to hurt her.

She would be fine, perfectly safe.

Besides, even if anything happened, her classmates were all in the building, plus the teachers would come running in the blink of an eye.

And with that bit of reassurance, Uraraka gathered enough courage to step into the hall. She took a deep breath and continued forward, only stopping once she reached the very last room.

Turning to face the simple green door, identical to all the others in the building, she shifted the plate in her hands, sucked in a breath, and knocked.

Silence...

Silence...

Silence...

Sil-

The door cracked open and a familiar raven-haired girl peeked out from the sliver.

"Um, h-hi!" Uraraka grinned nervously, shifting her weight as she tried not to seem as anxious as she was. She almost struggled to meet her gaze, too focused on remembering the simple words she had been rehearsing in her head for the past hour. "W-we heard you moved in today! We're really h-happy to have you here!"

Unknown blinked at the girl's near-shaking form, eyeing her questioningly. After a moment, her eyes trailed down to the plate of food she held between her hands.

"O-oh, right! I-I saw you didn't come down for dinner, I thought you might have been worried about seeing everyone but I figured you might be hungry, and I... um, h-here!" she held out the plate nervously, hands trembling as she couldn't bring herself to look the other girl in the eye.

Unknown stared at the plate for a moment, then back up at her.

Slowly, she opened the door a bit wider, reaching out and carefully taking the plate.

"Thank you."

"No! It's nothing!" Uraraka smiled, hands waving rapidly in front of her, "Um, I-I hope you like it! I'll be going now!"

And with that, she raced back down the hallway, all but colliding with the stairwell door as she shoved it open and disappeared behind it.

Unknown stared after her for a moment. Eventually, she turned around, padding back into the safe recesses of her room as her quirk gently closed the door behind her.

Unknown wasn't able to sleep much that night, though perhaps that wasn't particularly surprising. She had quickly finished the meal Uraraka brought her, having last eaten that morning before her release. She found it was good, very good, particularly in the way it lacked the distinctive pre-packaged taste all hospital food had, and she was soon left with an empty plate and a dilemma.

How was she going to return this thing?

She racked her brain for any idea that didn't involve her going downstairs. From far-fetched plans of somehow getting it through the window, to using her quirk for very specific, highly unlikely maneuvers, she spent objectively too long sitting idly in front of her desk, thinking up convoluted ideas as she absentmindedly glared at the poor plate.

Sighing quietly, she eventually came to the grim conclusion that there was no way around it; she would have to physically go downstairs.

With another sigh, she took the plate in one hand and rose to her feet.

It was a few hours past midnight now, and Unknown decided it was likely the best time to chance a trip to the common area. She quietly opened the door, peeking down the hallway and quickly finding it empty. She stepped out of her room, making sure her footfalls were light, and briskly made her way down the hall. The lights were dimmed marginally after curfew but still offered plenty of visibility as she reached the far end where the elevator stood. Determining the stairwell was the better option, however, she pushed open the heavy door, careful to remain as quiet as she could, and slipped inside.

Unknown closed the door softly behind her, gradually padding her way down the stairs before soon coming upon the next door. Thankfully, this one was kept propped open, as she noticed on her way up earlier that day. She quietly slipped out of the stairwell, landing successfully, silently, on the first floor.

With attentive eyes scanning over her surroundings, Unknown carefully rounded a few corners, peeking around each one to ensure the coast was clear, before the lounge area finally came into view. It was empty, much to her relief. Nevertheless, her heart raced as she slipped across the room and into the attached kitchen, making a beeline for the sink. Moving quickly and quietly, she washed the plate and slotted it into the drying rack next to all the other dishes and utensils. She didn't bother wiping her hands before she was hurrying back across the common area, up the stairwell, and down the left-side hallway, quietly shutting the door behind her as she slipped back into her room.

Slouching in relief, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, blood still pounding in her ears as she twisted the lock and shuffled tiredly back towards her bed. She quietly reveled in having gone unnoticed, not wanting to consider what she would have done had she run into someone while sneaking around like a criminal.

That night, she tossed and turned for hours, trying to convince herself to sleep. It wasn't an uncommon conundrum; she often had trouble sleeping even before her tumultuous stay at the hospital, which was why she could only sigh in reluctant defeat as her heavy eyes noticed the sun begin to rise once more.

Unknown lazily threw her legs over the side of the bed, sitting up and leaning forward on her palms, the mattress dipping under her weight. Pulling the curtains open and casting her gaze out the window, the neon hues of the sunrise flooded in to replace the pale emptiness of the dorm room. Eventually, the sun rose higher above the horizon and the vivid colors gave way to a pleasant, kind blue sky.

She didn't know how long she spent there, gazing distantly out at that grassy field. The faint sounds of chatter and closing doors reached her ears as she remained transfixed on the color of the outside. Subconsciously, she registered the students must be leaving for class. At least she would be able to move more freely once they were gone.

However, just as the noises began to die down, a quiet knock came at the door, quickly pulling her out of her trance. She stiffened reflexively as her head snapped towards the sound, and she quickly racked her brain for who it might be. If the students were out, maybe it was Aizawa? He was always late to class. Or maybe there were a few stragglers who had yet to leave the building? What would they want anyway? With a quiet sigh, she rolled her achy shoulders and rose to her feet. She wasn't sure she could get away with not answering; hopefully whoever it was didn't want any trouble.

Another quiet knock echoed through the room, softer than the first, almost sounding uncertain. Unknown blinked curiously, making her way across the room and silently bracing herself as she reached for the doorknob. She twisted it, pulling it open just a bit, enough for her to see who was searching for her so early in the morning.

She blinked, puzzled, as she was met with only empty air; however, a glimpse of movement soon had her gaze dropping a bit lower.

"...Eri?"