Authors Note: Welcome back, everyone. Just want to remind you that Dialogue written like this means they aren't using English. Also, we get a mild dosage of some good old fashioned America Bashing (I'm American, I'm allowed to talk shit about my own nation).

I

A few weeks had passed since Alice had officially moved in with Thomas, and for those first few days, Thomas had wondered if he really had taken a child into his home or if he imagined the entire thing with how scarcely seen she was. Alice hid in her room for most of the day, coming out only when asked or when needed. Thomas couldn't help but wonder if she was raised to believe she could only ever leave her room when given permission, but then he'd find her doing things to contradict the theories, so he simply surmised that Alice was trying to adjust to her new home one room at a time.

He was careful not to pry too deeply into her past, to not bring up the Yakuza and her 'papa' around her, partly because the specialist he'd spoken to had warned him that he should refrain from prodding, and partly because he did not feel it right to interrogate the girl.

It took time, and a lot of patience, but over the first few weeks, she did slowly start to open up bit by bit, slowly spending more time out of her room and in the others.

But, as time went by, and Thomas saw her, saw her quirk more and more, he thought. Thing that, had he not found her when he had, had she stayed with the Yamazaki group, Alice could have very well turned into one of the more dangerous villains they would face. She was a kind girl, an innocent child, but she was still at a very impressionable age, and her quirk seemed inherently violent; quick to lash out at any perceived threat or annoyance.

It was in everyone's best interest that a quirk like hers didn't belong to villains. It would be even better if it could belong to a hero, and perhaps Thomas could lead her down the path of heroism.

Thomas had also settled into a routine in that short time they had been together. He had taken some time off from hero work to spend with Alice and help her adjust, citing it as 'vacation time' to his agency, knowing they would keep the details private from news and media outlets, as he did not want them knowing of Alice yet. He wanted to keep the information that he had become a foster parent off the media's radar, wanted to keep Alice a secret from them, so that they wouldn't swarm and overwhelm her.

He already knew what her quirk did when she was.

But even with his supposed vacation days, Thomas couldn't turn a blind eye to people in need, and so when he received his first emergency call one night, a building having crumbled because of a criminal with a destructive quirk with people trapped within, Thomas had gone into a blind panic. Not knowing how he was supposed to handle this, if he could leave Alice alone for the night, especially when he didn't know how long he would be gone.

As a result, he had accidentally woken Alice, who had freaked out when she saw Thomas rushing around the house in his own panic. It ended with the destruction of two lamps and an entire wall between them.

In the end, the commotion had awoken their neighbor; a small, elderly woman with a pleasant disposition and skin of diamonds. She had come over to see why Thomas was causing such a racket and then, when he explained the issue, had offered to watch Alice for the night while Thomas, still in his pajamas and just his lion cowl, had bounded off to the scene.

When he had returned, half-past two in the morning, Alice was asleep in her room and the woman had been reading on the couch. She had politely reminded Thomas that she would be moving to New York by the end of the week to stay with her daughter and son-in-law and that he would need to sort out a plan better than 'Wake the Neighborhood' when he needed someone to watch Alice on short notice.

And so, Thomas had made use of his extensive list of hero contacts.

Of course, there were some (many) heroes he had worked with in the past that had been disqualified automatically from the job, some because they were too far away, too busy, or for some it was that they were not good around children. Finding someone who had the time to take care of Alice when Thomas could not, could protect both themselves and her should her quirk get out of hand, and calm her down should that happen was tricky. It was an added boon if he could find one who had experience with children.

Eventually, Thomas had found one, a perfect candidate in his honest opinion, and just in time as his vacation days had run out. Of course, it had taken considerable time and effort to convince him to help, and Thomas had to resort to some bribery to get the man to agree.

"You know I have a job, right?" Adriel 'Patchwork' Traynor had said as he hoisted his faded blue duffle bag over a shoulder—Thomas had seen that bag go with him everywhere. It had everything Adriel would need, snacks, books, and medical supplies.

He did, in fact, have a job. He was a professional hero, a support-class hero to be specific, and a licensed doctor. He wasn't a combative hero, instead he provided medical aid on the battlefield for heroes and civilians, and was one of the most trustworthy people Thomas knew. But, even outside of his hero work, he had a job for the local Hero Academy as the head nurse.

Thomas was adjusting the bronze cuffs on his costume, getting ready to head out for his daily patrol and to remind the villains that he was here! (Though perhaps he should refrain from quoting All Mights slogan, even if it were in his own thoughts). "It's summer, Adriel, the new school term won't start for another month," he reminded the younger man in a gentle tone. "You said it yourself that the academy's summer program doesn't need you there, they've got two other nurses watching the kids."

"And what do you plan to do once school starts? I can't take her with me."

"I'll figure something out, don't worry," Thomas shrugged him off.

To be honest, though Adriel seemed against the idea, Thomas knew he wouldn't have been here at all if he wasn't interested at least a little. He had a feeling that the man had been dreadfully bored with no reckless teens to patch up these past few months, so he likely had looked forward to getting to do something with his time.

Alice sat on the stairs, watching Thomas prepare for his departure, "He's a doctor?" She had asked, hugging Snowy to herself. "I didn't see him at the hospital," she added in a soft mumble.

Adriel adjusted his glasses, eyes locking on hers. "I don't work in hospitals anymore, save for special circumstances," He answered bluntly. "Headmaster Mirren asked me to work at the Garrick Academy as the head nurse, something about needing a competent medic to patch up the kids when they do something stupid and break their bones."

"Is that different from being a doctor?"

"Doctors do a lot more work than a nurse, a lot more paperwork, it's more chaotic," Adriel had moved past Thomas to walk closer to Alice while he spoke. "Working in the school is rather dull in comparison."

Thomas had smiled as he saw the two chat, finishing up adjusting the last of his uniform, flipping the lion cowl over his head to cover his face. "I'll be back later today," he told Alice, watching as she stood up and scampered over to him. His smile grew as he knelt down in front of her, placing a large hand atop her head. "Be a good girl and don't mind Adriel too much. He's got a sharp tongue, but a good heart."

She nodded her head, smiling shyly as he stood back up, "I will. Be safe, Mr. Thomas!"

Once Thomas had left the house, Adriel had settled himself down on the plush couch, reaching into his bag to pull out an old novel that he had been meaning to finish, but never had the time too. So long as the kid did her own thing and stayed out of trouble, everything would go fine.

He barely even acknowledged Alice quietly sneaking past him from behind the couch, and as the time on the clock ticked by, he noticed that the kid was fairly quiet. He could easily forget she was even there with how little noise she left. It was refreshing to be around a child who was quiet and well behaved after spending days around the students of the Academy, and he appreciated her not following him around like his shadow, like several girls at the school did.

What was with women and their infatuation with older men? They understood that he would date none of them, right?

Adriel had gotten three chapters of the book read when he noticed the frantic scribbling coming from the kitchen. Lowering his book, he peered in through the open entryway, watching the child who seemed to be trying to write something at the table. Key word being 'trying'.

He could have just let it go, ignore her and let her go about her business. His job was just to make sure she didn't hurt herself while Thomas was gone, after all. But, well, perhaps that 'hero' side of him was getting the better, or maybe it was simple curiosity that had him put his book down and stand up. He made his way to the table, and when he plopped down on a chair, he seemed to have nearly scared Alice out of hers.

The way her shadows trembled and shifted, latching on to Alice to keep her in her seat, inching closer to Adriel. He didn't miss the animosity he felt from them.

"What are you doing?" he asked, peering down at the book she had been writing it. It looked like homework from one of those 'Learning to Write' books for grade schoolers, something Thomas had likely gotten her to help her prepare for school come September. Adriel hadn't even considered the possibility that Thomas would send her to school, but he could understand giving her these books, who knew what education she was receiving prior to being placed in the idiot's custody.

Alice didn't look at him, "I, ah… I was just having some trouble with some letters," she answered, eyes down as she tried to write—if what she was doing could be called that—again. Adriel gazed down at the paper, brows scrunched up. The penmanship was just horrible, but he could surmise that it was because she was naturally righthanded, and learning to write with her left was a difficult feat for anyone who was not lefthanded. But there was something else about this that felt, off.

A lie.

Skimming through the scribbles and making sense of the words she was trying to write as best he could, Adriel felt a frown forming on his face as he took her book and slid a blank sheet over to her. "I want you to write and spell out 'Apple' for me."

Alice blinked, "What?"

"Apple. Spell it."

Slowly, she took her pencil in hand, and with a shaky grip, began writing. "A… p… p… e… l?"

"Shine."

"S… h… i… n… e."

"Dog."

"That's easy," Alice smiled. "D.O.G."

Nodding, Adriel looked to the next word. "Dream."

"D… r… e… m… e."

"Sentence."

"S… e… n… t… e… n… s… e?"

The book came down and Adriel pointed at the first line of scribbles on the paper he had given her. "Not awful, but you got some wrong," he grabbed one of the spare pencils off the table, circled the 'el' of her apple and wrote 'le'. "It might seem tricky, but you will get the hang of it the more you work." He then went down the list, making corrections as well.

Honestly, shouldn't a seven-year-old know how to spell these words? Had no one been teaching her English? Then again, she had been likely living in Japan for a while; she was probably being taught kanji or hiragana instead of the English alphabet.

Either way, his book was forgotten. If someone didn't sit down with this kid now, she would never figure this out. He didn't trust Thomas to be able to properly teach her.

So, for the next few hours, Adriel found himself tutoring her not just her English homework, but also with some of her reading assignments, helping her to sound through some of the bigger words, as it turned out she struggled with reading, too. They even got to her math homework, which ironically turned out to be her best subject, though she hated it.

But what kid liked math?

Eventually, they finished schoolwork and had time to spare before Thomas would return. It was around that time that Alice decided she was comfortable around Adriel, enough so to do what kids always did best; pester with questions.

"Are you a hero like Mr. Thomas?" she asked, having watched as Adriel settled back into the couch, not giving him a chance to read his book. She didn't join him on the couch, watching from behind the arm farthest from the man.

Adriel sighed, closed his book with a sharp snap, and turned his body to look at her. "Yes," he said, hoping that was it.

It was, in fact, not.

Her eyes widened just a little, though it was hard to tell if it was in excitement or apprehension. "Do you know a lot of other heroes, too?"

"Of course. We need to keep some form of contact with one another in case we need the other's help."

Alice inched just a little closer, still gripping the couch as if it would protect her if things went sour, still watching Adriel carefully. "What are the others like? Are they nice, too?" she asked.

"They're people. There are nice ones, there are mean ones."

"Can you tell me about some of them?"

Adriel regarded her for a moment, a tight frown on his face as he thought the question over and the reasons she was asking. He knew her backstory, or at least the basics of it, and wasn't sure just yet how much information he could disclose to her. He decided that he did not need to tell her anything beyond what a simple internet search would tell her.

Shrugging, he leaned back into the couch, watching as she climbed onto one of the cushions. "Well, let's see. There's Dream Eater. She's… well, got a bit of an ego, but has a good heart. She is protective of those under her care, so I guess that's what's important," he said, thinking of the hero he had the closest working relationship with. "I guess her name is derived from her quirk; she's able to put people to sleep through tough, and can manipulate their dreams."

"She can make people fall asleep?" Alice repeated, her voice giving way to awe.

Adriel chuckled, a short, clipped sound, nodding his head, "And can give you nightmares or sweet dreams. Not much use though if her opponents keep at a distance, though," he said, and leaned back, humming. "Then there's Electric Rose… never understood her name, just sounds… uninspiring. But she's, well,"

II

"She's a pro hero who retired and works as a schoolteacher now, but apparently she gets stronger when absorbing electricity," Alice said as she sat on her bedroom floor, her window wide open, smiling widely as she stared at the crows. "Mr. Traynor says she can also discharge it all in an electrical attack!"

The crows hopped about, but otherwise kept watch over Alice as she told them everything she'd learned about the pro heroes of this country.

"And there's Nil, he… ah… Mr. Traynor didn't tell me what he does. But he's the big brother of Rush, who can move really, really fast!" Alice continued excitedly.

She didn't know if any of this would be useful or helpful to Chihiro, but she had felt that he'd like to know. So, if it would help him at all in anything, she was happy to tell him, and it was fun recounting things she'd learned to him, it made her feel accomplished. The crows seemed happy when she told them about the heroes she'd learned of.

"And Mr. Traynor? He's a doctor! He goes by Patchwork when he's working, but he's a really, really skilled doctor! He's nice, but he's not very friendly," she said, and shook her head, "And you already know about Mr. Thomas. He's got a quirk that makes him super strong, like the Hercules myths!"

One of the crows squawked, and Alice's shadow lurched out to swat at it. "Hey! Don't!" Alice cried out, reaching out to grab the shadow to no avail. The crow angrily squawked and pecked at the shadowy hands before flying off to the safety of the tree in the yard, his brothers following. "You chased them away!"

Pests. Annoying.

She pouted, watching the shadows writhing, the tendrils pulling themselves back into the main body of her shadow on the floor. "They're not annoying," she muttered.

The shadows writhed, she could feel their agitation. Annoying. Stupid. Their wispy black tendrils began to crawl up Alice's body, grabbing hold of her by the face. Annoying. Stupid. They whispered in her mind, the intent clear.

Face crinkling up, Alice tugged herself free from their hold. "Hey! That's not—I'm not—why are you so mean?" she asked them, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Alice clamped her hand over an ear, rolling over to press her other against the ground in futile hope to silence the shadows. It was pointless, their words were echoing in her mind on repeat, it sounded like dozens of people talking at once, their voices oozing mockery like slime dripping between fingers. She closed her eyes tight.

Papa would have been able to get them to quiet down. They rarely misbehaved when papa was around. But he wasn't here, and they had no reason to behave for him. They could be as mean and as cruel as they would like.

As violently protective as the shadows were of Alice, it wasn't out of love for her, but self-preservation for themselves. They would protect their host to save their own lives, and they would torment her themselves.

Stupid girl. Stupid girl. Stupid girl. Stupid girl. Stupid—

One crow flew in through the open windows and angrily pecked at her shadow. The voices stopped, giving the bird a final, angry hiss, before slinking back into her shadow and going silent. The bird kept pecking the entire time, only stopping when the shadow had fully returned.

Alice lifted her head, staring at the crow. "Thank you," she whispered. The bird hopped closer, butted his feathery head against her cheek. Alice smiled, laughing a little at the feeling of the feathers tickling her. "Thank you."

There was a heavy knock on the door. "Alice?" It was Thomas.

The crow jerked back, gave her one last look, and flew out the window.

Pushing herself onto her knees, grabbing Snow and hugging him tight, Alice looked to the door, "Yes—" she cut herself off, forcing the English words onto her tongue, "Yes?"

The door slowly opened and Thomas peeked his head in. His brown hair was tied back into a ponytail today and was dressed in a suit—this time one that fit him better than the one she had first seen him in the day they met at the hospital. He smiled warmly, and Alice felt safe again.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out to eat for lunch," he said, carefully sliding his large body in through the small doorway. "I was thinking we could get burgers, and maybe we can talk about enrolling you in school, or maybe some program to help with your studies?"

Ah. School start. August. The shadows supplied in her mind. That's right. School would begin in a couple of weeks. If she was to enroll, Thomas probably wanted to know soon. There was probably a lot of paperwork that went with it.

She had… never actually gone to school before. At least, she had no memory of it. She had always been taught by Hayashi-san or papa in the past, or by someone else who worked for him. The idea of going to school was scary, that was certain, but…

It sounded fun. She'd get to meet other kids her age, play with them. Maybe make friends. She'd never done that before. But even then…

Hesitantly, Alice looked down at herself, to her missing arm, to her shadow. Would the other kids like her? She didn't look like them, and her quirk was mean, it'd chase the other kids off, she just knew it would. Maybe the kids would make fun of her, they might ask questions, they might…

Thomas seemed to have noticed her growing distress and held up a hand, "It's okay, we don't need to come to any decision today. I just thought we could talk about it, that's all," he assured her.

Looking up, Alice gave a small nod, "Okay," she said, softly at first, then shook her head again, forcing a smile. "Burgers sound great!"

III

Chihiro hummed as he wrote down the notes on a paper, his attention split between the file he was creating, the crows that sat across from him on the chairs and tables, and at the hero registry he was browsing on his computer.

Of course, the registry didn't list anything too personal, such as an address, family, and such. But, well, between what Alice had informed him, and what he could find on the registry, Chihiro had a better idea of what to look out for now than he had earlier that day.

"Of course, Herakles will be the biggest threat. Super strength is common enough, but that doesn't make it any less problematic," he said, sorting his thoughts out loud. Or perhaps he was just talking to the birds. It used to be he'd voices these out to Alice as he worked, having someone listen helped his mind to work out information and strategies, even better when the listener didn't bring in their own two cents. The crows would offer when he asked, and Alice was aware that she did not have anything she could say that would aid him. But his men would always try to 'help' by offering words.

That just caused more harm.

"Our best bet would be to stay at a distance should we find ourselves fighting him. Close-range is out of the question. Same with this Dream Eater. Her quirk is only applicable when close enough to touch, so she would need to be neutralized by medium to long-distance fighters," Chihiro said, writing that down on the paper. "Rush, however, we will need more information on how to subdue. His quirk isn't anything fancy or complicated, but, like Herakles, it's a tricky quirk to counter."

He continued writing, moving between hero files on the computer. "Patchwork is a non-combative hero, but that shouldn't mean he's incapable of fighting. But, no, we should still have the combat advantage. Take him out first, of course, before he can heal the heroes."

There was a knock on the door. "Yamazaki-san," Hayashi said, his voice soft, but just loud enough to be heard through the thick wood. "May I come in?"

Chihiro put the pen down, sitting straighter in his chair. "Enter."

A few moments passed before Hayashi walked in, quietly closing the door tightly behind him, and then standing straight, his posture perfect as he folded his arms behind his back and took the few steps forward to get within a—respectable—distance of where Chihiro was seated. He gave the villain a respectful bow, and then rose, looking at him with his stoic face.

"I assume you had a reason for coming here," Chihiro said, leaning back in his chair, crossing his good leg over his others knee. "I was in the midst of work, so unless your reasons are important, I must ask that you leave."

Hayashi nodded and cleared his throat. "You asked me to seek out potential allies, Yamazaki-san. I've come bearing my report."

"And?"

His lieutenant paused once more, and Chihiro saw him looking at the crows from the corner of his eye. "This city is crawling with criminals. Not unsurprising considering the nation we are in. Too many people angry at the government, at the systems in place, having turned to minor crimes as a means to lash out, or simply to survive in an environment built against them. Its easy to find villains here."

Chihiro nodded, folding his hands over his lap as he watched. It was as unsurprising as Hayashi said. America was such a… a mess, for a lack of a better phrase. He had done his research before bringing his clan to this cesspool. The nation had a much higher rate of crime than his own homeland, a much, much higher rate of crime. Due to the anger the people felt, and the hypocrisy of the nation, there were more criminals and corrupt heroes here than back home.

It was why he chose this nation. They would better blend in. It would be easier for them to work without drawing attention. The heroes and police would already be over-extending themselves that, if Chihiro played his cards right, they wouldn't even be able to track him.

It wasn't a perfect plan, not at all, but it had been the best he could come up with under the circumstances. Besides, it wasn't as if he intended to stay here permanently. Hell no. Once things at home had calmed down and the heroes took their attention off of him to focus on some other group—like the Chie Hassaikai, or that new group that's been forming, the League of Villains, childish as the name may be—then he'd return home and resume business.

For now, though, he had to focus on the present.

"Were you able to contact any of them?" he asked.

Hayashi nodded, remaining straight and frozen in place. "I did. They did not show any interest in forming a partnership with newcomers. However, they did lead me to an interesting discovery."

"Oh?"

"Many of the ones I spoke to made mention that they had already allied themselves with a different group. Of course, they wouldn't give me a name, but that is beside the point," Hayashi said. "It means that there is a different villain's organization lurking in the city."

That was news, that was amusing news. Chihiro found himself smirking as he listened. A villains group that lurked in the city? One that Chihiro hadn't already sniffed out? Sure, they had not been here for long, but he should have noticed a rival group by now. Oh, that meant they were good. That meant they knew what they were doing as opposed to the junkies, thieves, and bruisers that called themselves villains.

Oh, this was interesting, this was positively entertaining.

"I want to know who this group is," Chihiro said, leaning forward, eyes locked with Hayashi's own. "I want to know who this group is, and I want to have a talk with them."

They were either going to be a valuable ally down the road, or a thorn in his side, and Chihiro wanted to know which one it was.

My, oh my. Heroes on one end, another group of villains on the other. Well, Chihiro could say plenty about this country, but at least it knew how to throw some good curveballs. He was going to need to keep his crows and his men even more alert now.

Oh, things were going to be fun.

Authors Note: As always, let me know what you thought. Where do you think I can improve the story, what you liked about it. Feedback is most appreciated and will help this story to improve.