Shouto sat silently in one of the many plastic chairs, pressing his palms into his eyes. His expression was closed, but his trembling jaw betrayed his inner turmoil.

Akemi's gone. He took a deep breath, the words the girl told him before she'd let go still fresh on his mind. He'd got off relatively unharmed, but earn Akemi was dragged in one of her shoulders had a dangerous amount of dried blood on it. How badly was she hurt? Will she hold out? Will he ever sees her again? His palms are clammy with sweat and Shouto can't bear to look at them now— it hurts.

He can still feel Akemi's desperate grasp over his fingers, gripping him with frightful eyes. His heart clenches, but Shouto could do nothing but close his eyes. But what scares him most isn't the girl's fear, nor was it her injury or the possibility of her getting hurt, but the look of grim acceptance and just tiredness on her face, it's almost like- almost like-

It's almost like she's given up.

And this scares him, he doesn't know why but this scares him. The look she gave him was just so tired and sad but accepting, bitter. And it scares him more than he'd like to admit.

He digs his palms into his sockets until it hurts. So the tears won't come, so he can at least stay calm on the outside— Shouto takes a deep breath, but is interrupted by a loud, heart-wrenching scream.

"NO!"

He looks up, and across the main hall, a small, pale haired figure sat on the ground, gripping the front of Aizawa-sensei's costume with trembling fingers that barely has any strength. It's Ueno. Somewhere when he was still wallowing in his regrets and fears the petit, frail girl had arrived and is currently collapsed in front of his home room teacher, body wreaking with each sobs and every breath wheezing as it left her. He can see her tears even from here. It wasn't long before her voice breaks, and an agonized wail tears from the girl's delicate throat.

Next to Ueno, her mother stood with a stoic face. But her fists are clenched and her jaw oddly tight. Her form was rigid but the look in her eyes was painful to see. Akemi's mother, along with Kōki-kun is also near by, the tall girl's eyes are red-rimmed and her hand is clenching the corner of her mother's jacket tightly, while the usually strong-willed girl seems completely unaware of it. The mother herself however seemed the most calm. Her hair is frazzled and she looks saddened, nervous and shaken, but on her face was a somewhat familiar look of tired, pained and albeit reluctant, acceptance.

Shouto watches on as Aizawa grimly exchanges words he couldn't hear with the business woman, unable to tear his eye away as his schoolmate— friend? shakes with sobs that have surely ripped her vocal chords, as his classmate's sister stands with quiet tears. Because that calm, jarring look on Kimura Suzumi's face,

Was exactly the same as her daughter's.


Current Poll Results~ (from both the poll and the reviews)

Akemi's paring:

Todoroki Shouto: 22

Midoriya Izuku: 7

Ueno Hibiki: 7

Bakugou Katsuki: 4

Iida Tenya: 3

Iida Tensei: 1

Kaminari Denki: 1

Seiba Hiroi: 0

Others (Please state in review!)


Hibiki's pairing:

Shinsou Hitoshi: 8

Kimura Akemi: 7

Iida Tenya: 4

Midoriya Izuku: 0

Seiba Hiroi: 0

Todoroki Shouto: 0

Others (Please state in review!)


Well good news, I'm not skipping the next update. I somehow squeezed in some time and managed to type up one more chapter! It's now under editing by my beta, a big hand for Thundqh! Thanks a bunch!

Well for the bad news, well... With my past unhealthy habit of burning through three full notebooks a month via filling them till there is no such thing as a blank page (and trust me, my handwriting is TINY, just look at the Muji notebooks.), Along with my various school and personal art projects my right wrist and shoulder have developed pretty bad damage. The muscles are all swollen and the wrist joints are just, well in the doctor's words, 'no'.

That means I can't write in my normal speed for over twenty minutes without feeling like my bones are grinding together and hurting so badly I have to throw my pen down and just, do nothing. That means my coming exams are probably doomed. Nevermind, my Liberal Studies exams are already doomed. (Took it yesterday, and for once my brain knows what to write, but my hand just wasn't working. T_T)

Well at least I can still type. RIP my right wrist for the time being, you have served me well. I'll be back to overworking you in two weeks. *cue wrist sting* Ouch! Wtf wrist leave me alone won't you!

P.S. Just realised that sounded kinda gory like the type of stuff I used to write like people yelling that then actually cutting their hand off. Oops.

Also yeah I write horror. I mean most of my fanfics are less... Bloody and dark but more fluffy angst, but most of my original works are pretty graphic, like 'taste of blood and bile', 'liquid iron' and 'tendrils of intestinal skin' and their synonyms are some of the most used phrases back when... Well remember when I kept ranting about that ghost Etoile? Yeah. Then.

Onto the comment(s)!

Ree.Human: Ahh! It makes me so happy that you read Wreaking Havoc too! I mean I've seen your reviews there but this still makes me happy! Anyway thank you so much for understanding, it means a lot!

To Guest (who voted for IzuAke): I got your vote! And don't be so down I've seen polls with less odds making a 180. Also, I don't want to spoil anything but... *Cackles*

To Guest (who asked for more screen time for Shinsou): Oh no worries! Like I said, after the dorms starts Hibiki will get a bigger role in everything, which means Shinsou will get more involved! You'll be seeing a lot more of the purple boi!

Chat with me here!

https/discord.gg/2S7Cy4R