I awake in the hospital.

Eyes crusted shut, throat dry, and body stiff and heavy. I reach for my flashlight. It's not there. I let out a groan as I peel my eyes open, my head aching in the bright light, the room white and sanitary and unfamiliar.

It's not there.

I make a crying noise in my throat and try to sit up, but it's nearly impossible wrapped as I am. But I need it. I need it. I need-

"Young Hoki, what's wrong?"

I look up at a stranger with kind blue eyes, and an unnaturally thin frame, and hair the color of sunlight.

"Fl-" I can't speak past the thickness of my tongue. I try again, "Flash-"

His eyes widen and his mouth makes a little 'o.' A moment later he reaches over, emaciated arms moving past my head to the side table I can't reach or see. Then, to my relief, he presses the familiar weight of my battered flashlight against my chest. I sigh and relax, the sharp ache of anxiety gone. The man smiles, its as kind as his eyes.

"Would you like some water?"

I nod and he presses a straw to my lips, holding my head up slightly at an angle. I take a small sip, feeling it slide down my throat. It's sweet and cold. He pulls it away before I can drain the glass.

"Not so quickly," he chuckles, putting it back on the table. "How are you feeling?"

I consider the question for a moment.

"Okay?" I don't feel much of anything really. Like the fight left a numb hole inside my chest. All the emotions I felt so strongly are gone, and it leaves a buzzing feeling in its wake. "Thank you, Stranger-san."

"You're welcome. I… I heard about your battle with the villains, you did very well despite your injuries. You protected your teacher and your peers. You should be proud."

I frown, his face blurring as I lose focus.

"I lost control," I admit.

He sits on my bed. I don't know him, but he's easy to talk to. I stare at my hands. Flashes of the darkness swirl through my mind, the rage and chilling joy I felt from capturing him. I sigh.

"You faced a villain with cracked ribs and head trauma," the stranger argues. He lays a hand against my arm. I startle at the warmth of it. "You gave it your all and you persevered. You prevented your teacher from being killed, protected your classmates, and kept the enemy busy long enough for help to arrive. Without you, it could have been much worse."

I swallow my doubts in the face of his blue eyes.

He smiles and stands.

"Get well soon, young Hoki."

.

.

.

I fall in and out of sleep constantly. Recovery girl claims its due to my healing and keeps me overnight. I spend two extra nights. She's worried about brain trauma from the hits, and tells me numerous times of the dangers, listing possible side effects like a loss of tastes, mood swings, and irrational behaviors. My bones were broken, my lungs pierced. She fixes that the first two nights, but she can't fix it all. She worries over my arms, stating the use of my full power split not just my skin, but the muscles and bones underneath. They'll definitely scar.

Scar.

How many more will I collect?

I say nothing when she tells me this and instead, stare off into space. Until, finally, she sends me home. I return to the Last One with both arms wrapped in bandages, held in slings across my chest. I return during dinner, my foot kicking the door in place of a knock.

Yui-san takes one look and sighs.

She lets me in, and I walk through the kitchen as they eat. The youngest stares, the older ones ignore me. Niko smirks. Akira frowns. I look forward, struggling to pull my lips into the designated smile.

"You'll need to be extra careful with those," Yui-san says walking me to my room. "They'll see this as a weakness. Be careful, but not passive. I know you, girl, if they think you'll take their abuse it'll keep coming."

I nod, the smile dropping as I stare at the floor.

She unlocks my room and turns. Before she leaves, she pats my shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, kid. I heard what you did. Taking action like that, that's something to be proud of."

I nod and go to my room, closing the door behind me. I lock it after a moment of struggle.

I don't feel proud.

I feel weak. I feel cold. I feel… angry.

I lay on the bed and stare at the ceiling, not sure what to do with the thick emotions swirling in my chest. Eventually, I fall asleep.

.

.

.

Yui-san is right.

My door remains locked all night, there's no sign of forced entry, but my items are scattered across my room in the morning, drawers emptied, items toppled, and materials spread around. It looks like a tornado came through and ravaged my room, and the crazy part is I never woke for any of it. That thought alone feels like lead in my stomach.

It's likely Shin, the new boy with a ghost quirk that allows him to pass through walls. He had grown close to Niko almost immediately upon arriving, taking Akira's place as she grew more distant and transferred schools. It doesn't matter though, because he unplugged my alarm and I don't have time to shower, to clean, or even worry about it all.

I grimace.

If you want to be a hero, show them your strength. Smile.

I choke on my smile.

It's harder now.

Anger seeps through my chest and I stomp as I struggle into a wrinkled skirt. I struggle to put on my white blouse now covered in inky penises. All of them are covered in them. Giant blue cartoonish features. I console myself with the fact that I can keep it closed. What I can't help is the rather potent smell of cigarettes coming from my jacket. The inner lining is coated in tobacco. I shake it out as best as I can with my sore arms and casts, thick wads of green falling on the floor.

My stockings are ripped, so I struggle into socks and shoes with no souls.

I can't carry a bag, so I just leave, locking my door and tucking away a key. The whole process is harder without the full use of my arms. It takes four times as long and I manage to stomp down the stairs. Niko sits in the kitchen, smiling widely as she eats breakfast. As soon as I pass through, her grin widens.

"Ewww," she says, curling her trunk towards her chest as I ignore her. "You smell terrible. Must be all those hero germs rubbing off."

I pause. I turn. I glare.

Her excitement wanes for a moment, blinking as I don't move on.

For once, I don't want to.

Black smoke rises dangerously from my skin without my bidding.

"You're a bitch," I tell her coldly. I've never told her that before.

I want to do so much more.

"Fuck you," she snaps, tossing a glass full of water at me. I dodge the glass, but the water still sprays across my face and half my jacket. The cup shatters against the wall. "You're a fucking nightmare. I know what you did to those kids at your old school. Can't wait for the school to see you for what you really are."

"Shut up," I tell her viciously.

"Just fucking die," she sneers. She stands and walks out, through the back and towards her room. Wet, stinking, and covered in colorful penises. I head to school.

.

.

.

By the time I arrive a UA, I feel mortified.

The people on the train had stared and whispered, children had pointed and laughed, one old woman had even had the nerve to smack me.

"You ought to be ashamed!"

I was.

With no idea what to do, I lock myself in the bathroom and cry. Yui-san's voice rings in my ears, smile. Don't let them win. But I can't. I can't smile. I can't be strong. I can't, I can't, I just can't!

I keep the stall locked, my feet on the toilet, and refuse to come out. When a pair of second years come in, immediately complaining about the smell, I hold my breath and don't move. They leave quickly, but I make no move to follow.

I can't.

I stay there through all of homeroom and debate about first and second. My legs ache, my head hurts, and I consider my chances of just sneaking back to the home when high heels crack against the floor.

"God, what the fuck is that smell?"

I bite my trembling lip when dark shoes stop outside my stall.

The door rattles and there's a huff.

"Alright kid, I know you're in there, open it up and hand over the contraband."

I consider doing nothing, pretending I'm not here and hoping she goes away. She rattles the door again.

"And don't ignore me, I'll break this thing open. Just watch me."

I reach forward and unlock it at once. It swings inward. The smirking face of Pro Hero Midnight falls as she takes in my appearance.

"What the-" she stops, blinks, and looks me up and down. "What the hell kid?"

I open my mouth to say something but stop when I only manage to choke. She sighs and rubs her head.

"Alright, let's start with basics, name?"

"H-H-H-Hoki, R-R-R-Rin."

"Class?"

"1A."

She frowns and seems to look me over again.

"You're in my art class. You're one of Aizawa's?"

I nod.

"Let's take you to him then," she says nodding. I feel my stomach drop but say nothing to deny her. She moves out of the stall and I follow. The hallways are empty, the classrooms full. She doesn't knock as she slides the door to 1A open. Aizawa-sensei, as expected, is curled in a strange yellow sleeping bag on the floor, his entire face covered in bandages.

The rest of the room is blessedly bare.

Midnight kicks the bottom of the yellow sleeping bag gently and he opens red eyes. Face wrapped, it's all I can see. He looks past her to me. Then they narrow.

"Hoki, where have you been?"

Midnight backs away and closes the door behind us. I stare at my feet and she answers in my silence.

"The bathroom."

"Why do you smell like cigarettes?" he asks, unzipping the sleeping bag and pulling himself fully to his feet. All of him is wrapped in bandages even under his outfit. His arms, face, neck, and so probably torso by the stiff way he moves. I wince at the sound of his voice edged with something sharp.

I don't know what to say, so I say nothing. He frowns further. Then, leaning forward sniffs again. His nose wrinkles.

"Unlit cigarettes? Take off the jacket."

I nod, eyes still downcast, and try to struggle out of the jacket. Midnight stops me and peels it away. Then she shakes it, uncovering a few thick chunks of unlit tobacco. My eyes water at the sight of them.

Aizawa notices the shirt. Even with all the bandages, I can tell he's unamused.

"Who did this?"

"Was it a student?" Midnight asks, scowling. Neither looks happy.

I shake my head, body trembling.

"Is this why you skipped homeroom?"

I nod and he leans back, crossing his arms.

"I'll be calling your parents," he says, and that familiar anger rises up again. It's irrational and unnecessary. But still, tears gleam in my eyes and I glare at my soul-less feet.

"I don't have parents," I snap. It's the first thing I've said since arriving. The words come out harsher than I mean them to. Aizawa doesn't flinch. I almost wish he would.

"Where do you live?"

"The Last One," I say. It tastes bitter on my tongue. He grunts and I glance up, there's understanding in his eyes.

"Midnight, take her to see recovery girl. I need to speak to the principal."

My shoulders sag at the realization that my high school career is probably over. Because of Niko. Because of Shin. I follow Midnight trying not to sniffle, my lips pulling in a terrible rendition of a smile. Recovery girl takes one look at me and assigns me a bed. I curl under the covers and try not to listen when they whisper amongst each other.