Nevermind.

On second thought, heroes are strange, and Unknown doesn't understand them. It's like they were completely different things, some abstract other she could never really relate to. She doesn't understand their thought process, she doesn't understand why they do what they do, and she certainly doesn't understand why Todoroki Shoto was standing outside her door at such an ungodly hour.

Unknown squinted up at him.

He stared blankly back.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Can I help you?" her voice was dry, her half-asleep brain void of any reason why he would possibly be here.

"I didn't know if you were awake," he stated simply, shifting a bit under the bright hallway lights.

"It's 4am."

"I am aware."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Can we talk?"

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Unknown blinked at him incredulously, yet he remained as stoic as ever. After a long, unsuccessful moment of attempting to stare him down, she finally relented, sighing as she flipped the lights on and gestured for him to come in.

Making her way back towards the clearly slept-in bed, sheets flipped aside and abundant wrinkles surrounding where she lay just a minute ago, she sat down on the edge of the mattress and nodded towards the desk chair.

"So what is it?" she asked as he shifted the seat to face her.

Todoroki was quiet for a moment, his gaze focused on something next to her. The buzzing of faraway machinery drifted faintly between them.

"Midoriya said I should speak to you."

"Why?"

"I told him about what happened at the hospital."

And all of a sudden, Unknown was wide awake, a rush of embarrassment slapping the drowsiness from her mind at the reminder of... that. The fuzzy memory she had tried so hard to forget appeared once more in the front of her mind- of how far gone she had been back then, of how invasively close she had gotten to him, of how she-

"...so, about that," she started, despite having no words to follow, "...uh… sorry."

"...it's alright."

Now it was her turn to avoid his gaze. His hardly-convincing response to her hardly-convincing apology did little to ease the constriction in her chest. She reflexively curled in on herself as the horrifically awkward silence dragged on, shoulders hunching, eyes lowering. She never considered herself to be so malleable as to become embarrassed by mere words, and yet here she was, visibly distressed at the thought of a memory she could barely even recall, and in front of some hero, no less.

"...so you told Modoriya about it?" she spoke finally, unable to withstand the deafening quiet any longer.

He nodded faintly, gaze still averted, his usual passive expression now replaced by one almost as uncomfortable as her own. "He said I should speak to you about it."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She doubted there was anything she could say to make it better, and it wasn't as if she had anyone to blame but herself. In her defense, she had been locked away in isolation for three months by that point, and she wasn't entirely sane when it happened, but that didn't exactly change the reality of things. All that was left to do was brace herself for whatever he was about to say.

But whatever she was expecting, it never came.

After a moment too many of that same, thick silence, her eyes flicked up to his in puzzlement, only to find a concentrated, pensive stare directed at the ground.

"I'm not sure what I wanted to say," he admitted quietly.

She paused for a moment, blinking a few times. "Are you… upset?" she offered uncertainly.

"Not really."

"Do you... resent me?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you angry?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Not even a little?"

"Did you expect me to be?"

"Well... yea," she blinked in confusion, "you should be angry."

"Why?"

"Why? Why wouldn't you be?"

"I don't know."

"What's wrong with you?"

"..."

"Ok, I didn't mean it like that. It's just… if you're not upset, why are you here?"

"...I'm not sure."

Unknown stared at him incredulously. The embarrassment she felt a moment ago had inverted into pure confusion, and she could tell she wasn't the only one.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

For a moment, he seemed surprised at the question. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"Well, for one, you're awake right now. I'm guessing you couldn't sleep."

He remained quiet, and she took that as a sign to continue.

"There's probably something on your mind, right? Something you're concerned about? It's hard to sleep when you're thinking all the time."

"Are you suggesting I stop thinking?"

"Sure, it's not hard. I do it all the time."

"..."

"What?"

"You don't strike me as the 'not thinking' type."

"Ok, well, I'm going to take that as a compliment, but my point is there's a time and place for everything, and 4am in my room is not the time or place to be awake."

"That's a rather polite way to ask me to leave."

"I'm just saying, if you're not looking to talk about your problems, you're not going to do yourself any good staying here."

He remained quiet, seeming to analyze her for a moment before a hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

"You seem well," he stated simply.

"Oh?" she raised a half-amused eyebrow, "I suppose I am. It's good here,

A lapse of silence fell between them, but this time around, it wasn't nearly so strained.

A yawn escaped Unknown as she rubbed the dryness from her eyes, enough a disturbance to bring the boy out of his daze.

"I should be going," he stated, rising quickly to his feet, "I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"It's alright. You're the one with class tomorrow," she smiled tiredly as she followed him to the door.

He nodded politely at her, quietly excusing himself before turning and starting down the empty, lonely hallway that seemed longer than usual in the haze of these early morning hours.

"If it means anything," she called out evenly, eyes trained low on the empty space in front of her, "I wasn't lying when I said I was sorry."

The electrical hum of the panel lights buzzed faintly overhead. The air was warm and homely, the kind of familiar comfort where the worn take reprieve and the weary find rest. It wasn't too impressive, it wasn't too unique, nor was it altogether much of anything at all, but it was what it could be, and that was enough.

The sky outside was still dark, but sunlight would be coming soon.

Unknown stared quietly at the unfolded piece of paper, the neatly printed words causing her heartbeat to quicken as they gradually seeped into her mind. She read it once, twice, three times before looking back up at Aizawa, eyes wide in disbelief.

"They're letting her go?" she whispered.

"The hospital just made the decision. She'll be released in a few days."

Unknown let out a short breath, her eyes returning to the letter as if trying to make sure it was real.

"What's going to happen to her then?"

"At the moment, they plan to give her a new identity. They'll place her into the foster care system until they can find her a more permanent home."

"Is that… will she be ok?"

"I'm sure it will take some time to adjust, but she has a decent chance at finding an adoptive family."

"Decent?"

"It's hard to say when it comes to these kinds of things," Aizawa admitted with a quiet sigh. "Statistically speaking, the adoption rates for children her age aren't particularly high, but it's not impossible. It'll give her the best chance at starting over."

"Could she... come here?"

Aizawa sighed once more, scratching at the back of his neck, seemingly expecting that question. "The hospital asked if we would be able to take her, but I'm afraid that's not possible."

"What? But why? You took me, didn't you?"

"It's complicated, but the circumstances are different. The school can't take responsibility for her as well."

Unknown frowned, her gaze lowering.

Traceback couldn't just wait around for someone to take her in, and being shuffled between homes was no way to grow up. And what about the danger? There was only so much a new identity could change- surely people would recognize her. She couldn't just leave so much up to chance, right?

No, certainly not. She had to do something.

"Could I go with her?"

Aizawa seemed to have expected this too, as it only took a moment for his response to come. "No."

"What?" Unknown frowned, taken aback at his plain denial. "Why not?"

"You're at more risk than she is; no amount of work can hide your identity, no matter where they move you or how many times they change your name. Your face was plastered across the country for months, remember? I doubt there's a single person in Japan who doesn't know who you are. Many people still have strong opinions about you, whether good or bad; it would be dangerous to put you back in the public eye. Even if that weren't the case, the chances of you and Traceback being kept together are almost none. You wouldn't be able to help her that way."

Unknown remained silent, eyes lowered, lips pressing together as she stared uncertainly at nothing in particular. After a moment, she felt a hand on her head, causing her gaze to shift up warily. Aizawa stared down at her with those same dark-ringed eyes that never seemed to lighten, and she could see the sympathy behind them.

"You'll be a legal adult in a few years. At that point, we may be able to arrange for you to reunite with the others, but until then, you should worry about your own recovery."

"...recovery?" she echoed in confusion. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

"What were you doing before I got here?"

"Nothing?'

"That's because you were asleep."

"So?"

"You're still sleeping irregularly. I wouldn't be surprised if you were still experiencing hallucinations too."

"That-" she hesitated, brows instantly drawing together, "...how did you know that?"

"The psychiatrist warned us beforehand."

"...oh."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, staring at her expectantly.

"...it's not often, and they're not as bad as before."

"But they're still happening."

"Sometimes."

"You should speak to someone about it."

"I'm speaking to you, aren't I?"

"Someone who can help."

"I don't need help."

"You know that's not what I mean."

"They'll go away eventually. I can wait it out."

"There's no reason to do that when you have better options."

"What are you, my dad?"

"I'm just trying to do what's best."

"And I get it, but-"

"Naoko!"

Unknown turned around just in time to see Eri dash out from the room behind them, excitedly padding over towards where they were speaking in the hallway. She was holding both hands in front of her, strings woven between her fingers in a delicate criss-cross pattern as she ran up to them.

"Can we play now?" she smiled hopefully, ruby eyes round and glimmering with anticipation.

"Sure, let's go," Unknown answered quickly, seizing the excellent chance to escape her current conversation.

Eri cheered as the older girl turned her around, wasting no time in skipping back towards the room, all the while being careful not to let go of her cat's cradle.

"Give it some thought," Aizawa called out after them.

"Yea, yea. Thanks, Dad," she called in response, offering a lazy wave before shutting the door behind her.

Despite her dismissive response, Unknown had indeed considered Aizawa's words, though her consideration was mostly regarding the news of Traceback's release. She glanced down at the letter once more.

Three days. Three more days and she would finally be free from her long, long hospital stay. How long had it been? Five months? She could hardly even imagine what it must be like; she was sure she would've lost her mind had her own imprisonment been even a day longer than it was. It had been nearly a month since she went to see Trackback; she was already struggling back then, and a single month in that place felt like nothing less than a lifetime. She could only hope the girl was still managing.

Unknown sighed as she leaned further into the desk. She stretched a bit, as much as she could while sitting, before resting her cheek against her palm and turning to face the window.

The moon outside was mostly hidden behind the clouds, leaving only a softly glowing patch to contrast against the deep night sky. The curtains were drawn, courtesy of the already-sleeping little girl who insisted on staying for a sleepover. This one, fortunately, was considerably more tame than the last one Unknown had; Eri had tired out a few hours ago and was sleeping soundly under the covers, curled up with a familiar penguin plush and practicality swallowed by the fabric of a bed that was much too big for her.

The chirping of insects sounded quietly. Through the sliver between the curtains and the wall, Unknown could see the streetlights dotting the perimeter of the building, casting a yellow-tinted glow on the world below. The night was still, not a single living thing in sight. Perhaps this wasn't too surprising, considering it was past curfew and the rule-abiding young heroes weren't all too prone to sneaking out. Well, at least in her mind. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen a few students wandering around after hours before, but the image of heroes as uniformly mindless rule-followers was familiar and comfortable, so she made no effort in convincing herself otherwise. Perhaps it wasn't the most realistic or helpful way of thinking, but correcting herself would take effort, and she always did take herself to be a low-effort kind of person.

It didn't take long for her wandering thoughts to arrive back at Traceback's upcoming release. It made her head hurt a little, thinking of all the things that might happen to her once she was out on her own, but Unknown had begrudgingly come to accept there was nothing much she could do for her at the moment. This rather dismal train of thought soon brought her to the other two. She wondered how Horus and Amnestica were doing, where they were, when they would be released. She hadn't heard anything from or about them in the months she had been here; she didn't know if they were still being held in some hospital, if they had been moved elsewhere, if they were even still in the city at all. She held out hope that they had already been let go, that maybe they were already out in the world somewhere, free, able to live as they please, but she wasn't so ignorant. Nevertheless, she was sure they would be released eventually; it would just take some more time.

Thinking too much was tiring, she mused with a silent breath, and as if on cue, Unknown yawned. She rubbed her eyes as they began to grow a bit too heavy to resist, laying her head down atop her arms as she let them slip shut.

Slowly, little by little, things seemed to be getting better. Even if it was a small victory, even if it wasn't all good, Traceback would be free soon, and that was reason enough to be hopeful.