After your training incident with Touya, brought you straight to the infirmary. Sure enough, her suspicions about your arm being broken were correct. Within the hour, they had you fitted with a cast that covered everything from your wrist to your elbow and a sling to keep you from moving it around too much. You weren't so concerned with your injury, though. Sure, it hurt like hell, but your mind was preoccupied the whole time. Although you'd tried numerous times to ask about your fiery friend, no one would tell you anything. You were sure he'd need medical attention for his own burns, but you hadn't seen him in the infirmary, either. You were worried about him

It was dark by the time you left the infirmary. escorted you back to your room. Though you were kind of bummed about missing dinner, it wasn't your main concern. Once your overseer had retired for the night, you headed up to your usual nighttime rendezvous, once again stealing the light of your lamp to bring with you. You held it with your good arm, but the strain of carrying around electromagnetic energy made your broken arm throb violently. You managed to make it up to the forbidden room and released your light as soon as you could see the entrance. The faint sound of a crinkling snack bag let you know that one of your friends had already arrived. Given what had happened today, it was probably Keigo. You clumsily made your way up the stack of desks leading into the destroyed classroom. With your arm in the shape that was, you didn't want to risk missing the entrance by using your quirk to fly up. You popped your head into the room and scanned the area briefly. Sure enough, sitting at a discarded desk snacking on a bag of fruity whatevers was your feathery friend. He had his backpack beside him today- likely because he'd stolen more food from the cafeteria. He turned his head toward you as you stepped into the room.

"Hey, Crash! I got something… what… happened to your arm?" His excited tone died suddenly when he noticed your cast and sling.

"Hey, Kei." You said, still searching the area. "Is Touya here?"

A look of concern fixed itself onto Keigo's face. "Uh, no… why? Wait, no- what happened? Did'ja fly into something?" He forced himself to stay on topic.

"No… ah, well…"

You told Keigo about what had happened during your training session with Touya- about how you'd tried to tell him who you were, how you felt bad for throwing a door at him, and how you'd wound up with your injuries. Keigo didn't interrupt or even speak the whole time. Instead, he stayed silent with a face like stone as he stared at all of the bandages that covered you. It wasn't uncommon for any of you to get hurt; this was an intensive hero training course, after all. The dressings on your burns likely didn't raise any alarms in Keigo's mind at first- you'd all seen each other in bandages at one point or another. A broken bone, however, was a different story. Generally, the overseers would make sure to cease any practice drills before the kids were seriously injured. Especially if that injury would inhibit their physical training.

"That looks bad…" Keigo noted as the two of you sat amongst some rubble. "How long do you have to keep this thing on for?" He questioned, eyeing your cast.

"The doctor said I should be good to go in about eight weeks, but I'm not allowed to do any quirk training in the meantime, and I have to take it easy during exercises." You told him dejectedly. It was so frustrating. Here you were, so excited to finally have your training regime intensified, only to go and put yourself out of commission for two months. It may have been ironic, but to you, the hindrance to your training bothered you a hell of a lot more than your broken limb. You were fully aware that you'd hurt Touya as well, but you still didn't know to what extent. Knowing Touya, he'd be devastated if they made him sit out of quirk training for any length of time. With the way his overseer dragged him off like that, you were sure he was receiving the reprimand of a lifetime.

"I hope Touya's okay…" You sighed sadly.

Keigo blinked in surprise at your kind words. "Are you serious? After he did this to you?"

"Of course. He's my friend, Kei, and he's yours too- don't be so moody." You responded calmly as you adjusted your arm in the sling.

Keigo's usually-smiley demeanor seemed to have vanished. "I knew Touya was working through something, but I never thought he would've taken it out on you of all people." Resentment came through clearly in his tone. It was upsetting to see Keigo so angry with Touya. The three of you were supposed to be friends, and you didn't want your two closest buddies to be fighting. You waved off his comment in an attempt to downplay your injury.

"I already told you, I'll be fine. Really, there's no need to be upset with Touya. He was just doing his best. It's not his fault I couldn't keep up." Though you tried your best to hide it, a sliver of sadness seeped through your words. In truth, you hadn't put much effort into the exercise at all. No, you refused to fight Touya altogether, but your presence didn't seem to bother him one bit. You frowned as you recalled what he had said before: "Don't act like you're one of my friends!" Did he truly mean that, or was he just trying to save face in front of the overseers? You tried not to dwell on his hurtful words. You could ask him about it later.

Keigo shook his head. "It's not about being able to keep up, (Y/n). Sure, that's important, obviously, but Touya went overboard. When a villain is running away, they aren't posing a threat. There was no reason for him to go on the offensive like that." The scowl he bore was nothing like his typical self. You'd never heard Keigo speak so seriously. You placed your free hand on his shoulder and flashed him a warm smile.

"It's alright, Kei. I'm fi-"

"No, you're not." Keigo interrupted. "I can only bite my tongue so much, y'know. Your arm is broken, dude. You can sit here and pretend like none of this bothers you all you want, but you can't fool me. You hate this place, and yet every day you come up here and act like everything is all sunshine and rainbows. I feel the way you shake when we line up for drills. You're even nervous during mealtimes, so what gives?! Why can't you just admit you're not okay for once?" His sudden rise in volume caused you to recoil a bit, but you supposed you couldn't blame him. You knew he was just trying to look out for you. Still, you felt he was being a bit of a hypocrite right now.

"What is it that you do, then?" You asked him. Keigo knit his brow as you went on. "It's not like you don't do the same thing, Kei. That smiley exterior you like to show off… it's not entirely you, is it? I'm sure you'd like it to be, but you wouldn't understand why I hate this place so much if you didn't feel the same way." You brought your hand down to his knee and gave him a gentle pat. "Thing is, I don't mind it so much when I'm up here with you and Touya. You guys get me through it all, but it won't be the same if you two are fighting."

Keigo didn't respond immediately. He just sat there with his gaze fixed on the floor. You could tell he was thinking hard about what you said. It wasn't like he wanted to fight with Touya either, but you knew he couldn't help being upset. Just as it seemed like he was going to respond, something pulled your attentions away from one another.

"(Y/n)?! Are you up here?!" Touya Todoroki's panicked voice echoed off the walls of the corridor below and up into the classroom as he climbed in. A messy head of snowy, soot-covered hair popped up from the entrance. As he pulled himself up, you noticed that he was covered practically head-to-toe in bandages. Pads of gauze were neatly laid on multiple sections of his face, and cottony white dressings were wrapped carefully around the entirety of his neck and arms.

"Touya!" You called out to him, distress evident in your tone. Touya had only taken a few hurried steps forward when Keigo stood abruptly between the two of you. The glare he gave the other boy now was a far cry from the playful smirk he'd usually greet his friend with.

"That's close enough." Keigo growled. Touya quickly slowed to a stop a few feet away from him, a perplexed look shaping his features.

"What the hell, man?" Touya questioned with nearly the same amount of venom Keigo had spat at him. "Now's not the time for games, Bird Brain- (Y/n)'s hurt." Once again, Touya began walking toward you, only to be stopped by Keigo a second time. The winged boy stuck out his arms defensively as his feathers instinctively puffed up behind him.

"And who's fault is that?!" He retorted. It appeared as though you hadn't managed to defuse your friend's anger after all.

Touya scrunched up his nose and furrowed his brow, outraged by his friend's insinuation. "You think I did it on purpose?! You know I'd never do that!" The white-haired boy shouted back.

"Keigo, it's fine." You muttered quietly from the floor behind him. Keigo wouldn't yield.

"No, it's not! You went too far this time, dude!" He snapped between Touya and yourself as his wings spread open behind him. Your eyes widened, and you reached your hand out in front of you.

"Kei…" You tried again.

"Let me talk to them." Touya demanded, balling his fists up at his sides. Tiny orange flames flickered at the corners of his eyes as he stomped closer.

"You can talk to them from over there." Keigo extended a wing right into Touya's chest, causing the fiery boy to grimace in pain- a reaction that did not go unnoticed by you.

"Keigo!" You shouted authoritatively. The downy-haired boy finally turned his head to face you. "I said it's fine."

"But…" He began to protest but stopped short upon seeing the urgency in your eyes.

"I can take care of myself, Kei." You concluded confidently, giving him as straight-faced of a look as you could muster. Keigo kissed his teeth and reluctantly folded his wings up behind him.

"Fine." He stepped to the side. Touya stayed in place, hand holding his chest as his eyes locked with Keigo's.

"Mind giving us a little privacy?" It clearly wasn't a request. Keigo's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah right. You think I-"

"Please, Kei." You cut him off a bit more politely than Touya. Keigo's unhappy glare never faltered, but you thought you saw his feathery brows arch up a smidge in surprise. He unwillingly headed for the exit, eyes fixed on Touya as he walked past. As he jumped down to the floor below, a single feather detached from his wing and followed a path back to you. Another swiped his bag and whisked it down the hole with him. You sighed and took the fluffy thing in your hand to hold in your lap. You knew Keigo's intentions were good, but the entire scene had only added to your stress and anxiety. You were sure he would get over it- he always did bounce back quickly, and you could talk to him later. Right now, there was someone else you needed to speak with. As soon as Keigo had disappeared entirely, Touya returned his attention to you. He was beside you in an instant, hands hovering just above your cast as if afraid to touch you.

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry- IhadnoideathatitwasyouIIswear. TheynevertoldmeanythingIknewitwasgoingtobeanotherstudentbutIdidn'tknowwho- I'm sorry, I just…" His word vomit spewed out so frantically that you could barely understand him. With all of the tension of the day still sitting freshly upon your shoulders, his desperate rambling was overloading your senses. You had so much you wanted to ask him, but you doubted you'd get anything out of him in this state.

"Touya, Touya- hey, calm down." You urged, placing your good hand on his shoulder. Touya's breaths were heavy and staggered as if he'd been running a marathon. He was visibly shaking. The anguish in his eyes culminated into tears that pooled and trickled down his reddened face. "Speak slower, I can barely understand you."

Your friend's chest rose gradually. He winced as he attempted another deep breath. Your mind immediately went back to the moment you'd struck him in the torso with the metal door, and worrisome thoughts began to flood in. Without thinking, you placed your hand on his wavering chest. He was hot to the touch. "Take it easy." You instructed. "Your chest- is it okay?"

Touya shut his eyes tight and roughly shook his head. "You shouldn't be worried about me." His voice cracked. He took hold of your arm and ghosted the small bandages that covered your burns. "I'm so sorry…" He repeated much slower this time. "I… they didn't tell me… I never would have… if I knew it was you." He'd gone from shouting his apologies to mumbling at a nearly inaudible level. It was clear he was shaken up, and, though you were too, you wanted to do everything you could to show him you were okay.

"It's alright… honestly, the fall hurt more than your fire." Your comment was meant to be reassuring, but it didn't sound as good once it had left your mouth. Your words lacked confidence; still, you tried again. "Really, you didn't hurt me very bad at all."

Touya frowned at the ground. "Your arm is broken, isn't it? That's pretty damn bad." He brought his hands just above his elbows and clutched himself tightly. "You never would've fell if I hadn't burned the tower down."

You weren't sure how to respond. You'd only ever seen Touya get emotional a handful of times, and it was only ever when he spoke about his father. Now, however, he was showing the same concern for you. It was touching in the saddest way. He looked up at your face, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "(Y/n), I'm so…"

"I know, I know. It's okay." Your comforting words took on a forlorn undertone. Based on his tangible regret, you were sure you already had the answer to the question that was burning in your brain. Even so, you felt the need to ask anyway: "We're… we're still friends, right?" You meeked. Touya's eyes went wide as his eyebrows furrowed and slanted into a brokenhearted expression.

"Of course we are! I mean, if you still wanna be, that is…" The poor boy's voice trailed off at the end, and your heart leapt. His confirmation of your continued friendship brought you pure joy. You reached out and pulled him with your uninjured arm into a fond embrace. His ash-scented hair was practically shoved into your face as the abruptness of your action didn't give Touya much time to react. He slowly wrapped his arms around your upper torso, taking care not to bump your sling. His own body, however, was still in a good deal of agony. He shoved his face into your shirt at the crook of your shoulder to mask the tiny pained whimpers that escaped. You gasped and released him immediately upon hearing his discomfort.

"I knew it. You're hurt, too. Come on, tell me." You begged. Touya's hand came up to clutch his chest.

"Eh, I just cracked my sternum. I'll be alright." He tried to sound casual, but the strain in his voice told a different story.

"You- I- what?!" You shouted. "I could've killed you!" The feather in your lap began to jitter sporadically. Your yelling must've put Keigo off. You gingerly stroked the side of the lone bit of plumage to let him know everything was alright. You understood now that this feather served more as a bodyguard than as comfort. You'd have to keep your voice down if you didn't want to alarm him.

You shouldn't have been surprised that Touya hadn't said anything sooner; that's just how he was. Even if he hadn't felt an immense amount of guilt for hurting you, it was unlikely he'd admit to his own injuries. Even now, as you were confronting him, he was acting as though it were no big deal. "Nah, you gotta do a lot more than that to take me down." He bragged with feigned confidence as he wiped the wetness from his face. Even though the tears had stopped flowing, he still looked extraordinarily sad as he went on. "But… I'm not allowed to be part of training for a month." The news broke your heart all over again. Even though he hated this place as much as you did, you knew very well that his training meant everything to him.

"Not even quirk training?" You asked, semi-hopeful.

"All of it." He confirmed.

You sighed as heat rose into your face. You sniffled when your nose threatened to drip from the tears you were holding back. You swallowed hard; it was your turn to apologize now. "I'm sorry, Touya… If I hadn't just chucked that door at you, you'd still be able to train."

"Hey, wait, don't you go crying too." He said with a stressed smile. "You have nothing to apologize for. You did exactly when you were supposed to- I was the one who took it too seriously."

You wiped your nose and did what you could to return his smile. "Well… aren't heroes supposed to take their jobs seriously?"

"Not as seriously as that, apparently." His depressed expression was suddenly swapped out for one overflowing with awkwardness.

"I heard your overseer yell before you left. Was he hard on you?" You asked.

Touya ran his fingers through the back of his hair roughly. "Oh yeah, Takakage gave me the lecture of a lifetime. Apparently, when they said we were allowed to use excessive force, they didn't mean when a villain is running away or something like that." His tone held a bit of disdain as he explained. "That's so dumb. Why even say we can go all out if they didn't even mean it?"

You tilted your head, feeling a bit confused at first. He was right, they did give you permission to go all out, so why should Touya get in trouble? It hit you all of a sudden. "They wanted us to fight each other for real. Like… for real for real." Well, that explained why the overseers did nothing but watch for a long time.

Touya's hands returned to his lap, and he sat up straight. "Well, yeah, obviously. They told us that in the beginning." Again, you were surprised. Touya went in knowing that he was being pitted against another program student, so why weren't you allowed to know? You always did train better solo. Did think you'd work harder if you thought you were alone?

You shook your head. "They didn't tell me anything." It was frustrating, to say the least. Most of the other kids seemed to have great bonds with their overseers. They were constantly talking- discussing both training and home lives; however, and yourself didn't have that kind of relationship. Maybe it was because she had a family of her own at home, but a lot of the time, you felt more like something that was just pawned off on her rather than an apprentice.

"These people are fucking crazy." Touya scoffed. Your eyes widened and you lowered your voice to a whisper.

"Touya, language!"

"What? It's not like anyone can hear us." He had a point. You two were almost teenagers, after all, and with all the crap these people had just put you through, maybe you deserved a good swear.

You allowed yourself an airy chuckle as you gathered the courage. "Well… Shit. I guess you're right."

Both Touya and yourself burst into a fit of giggles. Your chortling lasted quite a bit longer than you meant it to. You didn't think you'd laugh so hard at something so simple, but seeing Touya smile so genuinely just moments after he'd been on the brink of breakdown was so heartwarming.

"Well, at least we'll be able to study together more." You stated as your giggle-fit died.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Oh, I just meant that because they're making you skip training, they're gonna make you focus more on school, right?" At least, that's what they were making you do.

Touya shook his head. "Oh, no. They're sending me home."

Your wave of disappointment crashed over you. Of course he was being sent home- he was badly injured. Likely, the only reason you were staying was that you had nowhere else to go. "So… you're not gonna be here?"

Touya flashed you a great smile. "Hey, it's only gonna be for one month- that's four short little weeks. Actually, this works out better for me. Since those commission drones won't be watching me all the time, I can still train. I've got this secret spot my dad used to take me to when I was younger- it's gonna be great! No overseers, no rules, and best of all: no limits. I can go till I drop if I want to!" This boy was way too excited about hurting himself again. You had to say something.

"I'm happy for you- I really am, but… you just got through burning yourself. You really should take it easy for a while."

Touya pouted. "Jeez, you sound like my dad. The only way I can become stronger is by training. My body just needs to suck it up and get used to it."

You didn't like the idea at all, but you could never hold Touya back. Even if you wanted to, you knew he'd never listen. He needed someone in his life who supported him; Lord knows he didn't have that at home. The least you could do for him now was let him know you'd have his back.

"You always amaze me, Touya. Just be careful, please."

Touya beamed brightly at you, elated to have received your approval. "You're the only one in this place who gets me, you know that?" His eyes sparkled with a kind fondness that only he had ever had the decency to show you. "And once I'm back, the winter showcase will be just around the corner! Then, I'll be able to show my old man what I'm really made of!"

The feather in your lap suddenly pressed itself hastily into your palm. You looked down at it curiously, wrapping your fingers around it and stroking its side soothingly.

'Calm down, Kei.'

Touya glared at the thing. He didn't appreciate your friend being so interruptive. You moved your hand away from the feather and went on with Touya.

"I'm super excited for you, y'know. I can't wai-" Keigo's feather shot up and flew circles around your head before landing on your shoulder to tug your shirt. He must've thought you were taking too long. He never liked being ignored. Sure enough, from the corner of your eye, you saw Keigo's head pop up from the crumbled floor. His eyes were still filled with antipathy.

"It's getting late. We need to go."

Was it? No, you hadn't been here very long at all. The three of you typically spent a couple of hours up here, but by the look on Keigo's face, you could tell he wasn't going to allow that today. You could practically feel Touya's blood boil beside you. His hands clenched into tight fists as he glowered back at the winged boy, but he didn't react as harshly as you feared.

"Fine." He spat through gritted teeth. Touya helped you to your feet, and the two of you headed to the exit. He held onto your hand firmly as you shakily made your way down. On the floor below, you could make out Keigo in the darkness. He was standing with his back to you and his arms crossed in front of him. He peeked back just once when you were about halfway down the makeshift stairs, and extended his wing for you to grab onto. With their help, you were able to hop down safely. Touya followed just behind you.

"I'll walk you back to your dorm." Touya offered with a tiny smile. You were more than happy to accept; however, just as you were about to stick out your hand to take his, a bush of red feathers softly shoved you backward.

"No. You were supposed to pick them up. It's my turn to take them back." You peered over the wing Keigo held out in front of you and looked at Touya with longing. You knew Keigo wouldn't let this go without a fight, and you'd rather not have to break them up. You gave Touya a reassuring nod. Touya didn't say anything; he simply huffed as he ignited his power in his hand. The small flame illuminated your small patch of the corridor. Without a word, he turned on his heel and began his walk back to his room.

Keigo lowered his wing and turned his attention to you. "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't hurt your arm, did I?"

You shook your head. "Nah, you didn't even touch it. I did get a mouthful of feathers, though." You joked, hoping it would lighten his mood. Keigo didn't laugh, though. He didn't seem to react at all, in fact. "Alright." Wrapping his wing carefully over your shoulders, he rifled through his bag and pulled out a flashlight, and the two of you began walking down the dark hall in the opposite direction of Touyal. Still, Keigo was searching for something else in his pack. After a couple of seconds, he pulled out a carefully wrapped box, which he handed over to you.

"Here. My overseer wanted me to give this to you." He said. You mused at it for a moment. It looked like…a bento box? You took it almost hesitantly.

"What is it?" You asked.

"Food." He replied.

"The… president of the Commission asked you to give me this? Why?" You wondered aloud.

Keigo kept his eyes forward as he switched the flashlight on. "Probably because you missed dinner."

You felt an uneasiness in the pit of your stomach. It made sense that the overseers would want you to eat, sure, but why not just have Mrs. Yamamoto give it to you? Or better yet, just bring it to your room? A nervous shaking plagued your body as a troubling thought came to mind. There was no other explanation.

"Keigo, do they know that we come up here?" Your anxiety drenched your voice.

"I don't know." He said dryly.

You didn't have the stomach to eat anymore, nor the heart to try and talk things out with Keigo. You suddenly felt suffocated. For years, you held fast to the notion that the classroom was yours and yours alone. The one place where you and your two best friends could be truly alone- without the eyes and ears of the Commission. Now, it seemed, the truth wasn't so bright. The sick feeling hung over you like a cloud as you made your way back to your building. Neither you nor Keigo said one word the entire way.