It was the first Saturday after the students of Titans Academy had arrived for the cross-cultural exchange program, and despite spending a few hours of each day since then with his assigned partner, Fumikage Tokoyami had found nothing to tie the two together. For their first day off together, he and Mal Duncan had agreed to meet up somewhere on-campus, and decide what to do from there.

The issues with this were numerous. Tokoyami was not as recalcitrant towards conversation as Todoroki or Shoji, but neither was he the type of person who found social interaction a natural instinct. Perhaps that was the single thing the two teenagers had in common: while Mal was an affable person, quick with a smile and a supportive comment, he was rarely one to start talking without being prompted. Now, the two stood outside the Class 1-A dorms neither sure of what to do first. Tokoyami looked at the young hero he'd been assigned to spend time with. He was black, of fairly average height, but build wide and strong and currently wearing a zip-up hoodie with the Titans Academy logo on the front. Beginning to feel awkward, Tokoyami coughed and tried to do something about this himself. "I don't think you've told me, but what is your quirk?"

During the combat exercise from two days before, Mal had been wearing quite the interesting hero costume: a dark blue cloak with a hood that enshadowed his head, and a blue tunic underneath. Not only that, but he'd been carrying a trumpet. The question made Mal's eyes widen, as he realized the oversight he'd made. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't trying to hide it or anything it just...doesn't come up too often. Reaching into the pocket of his hoodie, he pulled the same trumpet out. "I can use this to teleport."

[MAL DUNCAN/HERALD! HIS QUIRK: AUDIOPORTATION! HE CAN TURN LOUD, HIGH BASS SOUNDS INTO PORTALS TO ANYWHERE HE'S EVER BEEN AND CAN REMEMBER CLEARLY, WITH NO LIMIT ON DISTANCE! TOO BAD THE KID CAN'T ACTUALLY PLAY THE TRUMPET FOR SQUAT!]

That certainly came as a surprise to Tokoyami, who had been expecting Mal to have a more physical, combat oriented Quirk, just based on how he held himself. Still, it was quite the ability. "Can you go anywhere with it?" he found himself asking. "Perhaps our Saturday excursion can be more adventurous than either of us expected."

A warm smile bloomed on Mal's face. "Good idea, I think I've got just the place." Then, he brought the instrument to his lips and blew as hard as he could. The sound that came from the trumpet was louder than Tokoyami expected, and from the instrument he saw a circular portal stretch into being. Looking into it, Tokoyami saw what looked like a forest. "You have to go in first," Mal explained, extending one hand. "It'll close once I'm through."

Unable to help his curiosity, Tokoyami tentatively stepped through the hole in space and arrived somewhere where the air was at least ten degrees cooler, and the air tasted of pine. Looking around, he could tell they were at the top of a hill, or the boundary of a valley, on a pathway through a forest of pine trees and other evergreens. Despite it being late morning, the cloudy sky and blanket of trees shaded everything, and Tokoyami could feel Dark Shadow grow stronger, unable to help himself from feeling a little safer and more comfortable in this atmosphere. "A dimly lit paradise," he muttered to himself.

"I like it too," Mal said, having come through as well. He took a deep breath, as if he wanted to inhale as much of the scent of this place as he possibly could. "This is Seele Park, in Oregon. Came here with my family three years ago, so if you're okay with a hike, we can get started." Tokoyami had no objects, and the two set out on the trail, taking in the scenery around them. Although his Quirk didn't offer any enhanced senses, Tokoyami could still feel how full of life this forest was, and relished every chance to see a stray wild animal as it appeared. "Since you asked me about my Quirk, is it okay if I ask you about yours?" Not understanding where this was going, Tokoyami nodded. "I've seen Dark Shadow a few times. Is he his own person? Or is he some part of you?"

Without looking at Mal, Tokoyami kept walking as he thought about the question. It wasn't the first time someone had asked him that question, and he didn't have a better answer than he had before. He could hear Dark Shadow though, wanting to come out and give his own answer, but Tokoyami decided to hold him back. "I'm not entirely sure." Remembering the destruction and fear Dark Shadow had caused during the training camp, Tokoyami hoped desperately that Dark Shadow was some entirely separate entity. After all, their personalities had nothing in common. But, what if that was the connection? Was Dark Shadow everything he repressed about himself? "I apologize if you expected a more lengthy answer, but I don't have one to provide."

If Mal didn't care for that answer, he didn't show it. The two continued to walk through the forest for quite a while, the subject definitively dropped. When the sun had crept out to its zenith, signalling to the world that noon had arrived, Mal spoke once more. "Did you know Titans Academy has a school football team? We're not allowed to use Quirks while we play, of course, but that doesn't bother me at all."

While it had been some time since UA had a formal sports team, it wasn't a surprise to Tokoyami that Titans Academy did. "Is it something you enjoy?" Tokoyami felt odd asking the question, which felt to him both too personal and trite.

Tokoyami got a nod for a reply. "Yeah," Mal said, eyes still on the forest. "Do you know Karen?" The name sounded familiar, but Tokoyami didn't know much about the girl. "She's on the cheerleading team, easily the best one too. Sometimes, it's hard for me to focus on the game after watching her perform." Tokoyami felt he knew where this was going, but Mal didn't leave room for alternate interpretations. "I want to ask her out, on a date, but I'm afraid she'll say no."

One could count the number of times Tokoyami had blushed on one hand, but it seemed this was going to be one of them. He even squawked out a cough before speaking. "I apologize, but I...do not have much experience in romantic matters." Perhaps 'no experience' would be been more accurate. Still he felt honorbound to offer something to Mal for admitting this. "We're heroes. You, me, and Karen. That involves courage, taking action when others may find themselves frozen by fear. In that context, expressing your feelings could be seen as going beyond." Tokoyami didn't say the words 'PLUS ULTRA', but he was sure Mal could hear them anyway.

For the first time in a week, Kole Weathers felt at peace. Here she was, sitting on the bed of Momo Yaoyarozu with the rich heiress herself as well as Toru and Ochaco, idly using her tech skills to illegally improve their phones as best as she could while gossiping. And the Pest wasn't there to bother her. If Kole ever found out who decided it was a good idea to pair her with Minoru Mineta for this trip, teacher or not, she'd deck them. He was way too interested in the ginger girl's ripe figure, easily the equal to any of her UA counterparts.

"...and she walked around for more than an hour, with a toilet paper tail!" Kole finished, sharing a good laugh with Toru about it. The other two girls didn't crack up, but it was clear from their faces they were torn between amusement and second-hand embarrassment. She put the finishing touches on doubling the RAM and storage space of Uraraka's old, crappy phone and handed it to her. "Who's next?" All there knew that what she said had two meanings: whose phone was next, and who did they want to hear about next?

Toru happily handed over her cell phone and asked, "Ooh, tell us about Cassandra?" Then, realizing they'd just been talking about Cassie Sandsmark, she calrified, 'Like, Cassandra Wayne!"

Just as Kole finished checking out the specs of the phone, which were fairly nice, if pedestrian, she got to work on jailbreaking it while starting her next scoop of gossip. "Well, she was a tough nut to crack, what with her language issues. You all know Batman adopted her, right?" A round of nods (and an assumed nod from Toru) later, Kole continued, "Well, before that happened, her last name was Cain."

Momo let out a gasp. "Kane? As in the Wayne's rivals, related to Bruce Wayne through his mother's side?" It surprised Kole a little to see how up-to-date the Japanese teen was with American rich people, but considering her own social class, she realized it was probably to be expected.

"No, it's spelled differently, different family," Kole explained as she pulled off the back of Toru's phone casing. "Her birth father? David Cain, one of the best assassins in the world. Apparently, he'd set up this whole crazy experiment to create the 'perfect killer', having a ton of kids with women with powerful combat Quirks, then raising them all through violence, no language at all. No wonder Cassandra's such a nutcase." If Kole noticed the sharp, annoyed looks the other girls were giving her at that last statement, she didn't show it. "Who else...ooh, want to hear about Raven? Her past is craaaaaazy."

The three UA students looked at each other, and became clear that Momo was going to be the one speaking up for all of them. "Um, Kole, I think we've heard enough, uh, 'gossip' about your classmates. Was there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself? Or, if you'd like, we can share a little about ourselves?" Kole went with the last option, and for a few hours she finished up her tech task while taking mental notes about all they'd told her.

Still, they weren't giving her anything really juicy. It seemed as though they'd found out about her hunger for the scandalous. Oh well. Once she was two phones down, she let them know she had to use the bathroom and bailed, wanting some air. Why was everyone like that? Kole just loved sharing fun stories. Why were people so sensitive about that? This had been the first time she'd gotten to gossip like that in months, even since she'd burnt all her bridges at her own school.

Suddenly, almost to the bathroom, she heard the sound of sprinting feet, and didn't even bother turning around, knowing for sure who would soon be trying to tackle her. Before Mineta could touch her though, she used her Quirk, and where there had once been a teenage girl of flesh and blood, there was now a solid crystal statue, identical in appearance to Kole. The grape-headed pervert hit the hard crystal head-first, recoiling in pain. A few seconds later, Kole turned back, and scowled down at the offending student.

[KOLE WEATHERS/KOLE! HER QUIRK: CRYSTALLIZATION! ANYTIME SHE WANTS, KOLE CAN INSTANTLY TURN INTO A CLEAR CRYSTAL THAT'S CLOSE TO INDESTRUCTIBLE! PRETTY COOL, HUH? ONLY PROBLEM: SHE CAN'T MOVE, SEE, OR HEAR WHILE SHE'S DOING IT, AND SHE'S GOT TO PLAN HOW LONG THE FORM WILL HOLD BEFORE TURNING INTO IT! STILL, YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE HER TEAMING UP FOR A FASTBALL SPECIAL!]

"If you try anything like that again, I'm telling Mr. Grayson! I don't know what your teacher does about your perverted antics, but mine will make you regret being born!" It was a bit of a bluff, as Kole knew corporal punishment wouldn't be an option, but she wasn't joking either. If Dick Grayson spoke to the right people, he could make Minoru Mineta's future career a hell. Turning on a heel, she continued her journey to the bathroom, where hopefully she could take a minute for herself, without having to worry about other people.