The next morning, I actually managed to arrive in time for the bus. I woke up, drank a cup of coffee, and told myself that I needed to get it together. I had Final Exams in two months, I had training with Mister Aizawa starting up again as of next week, and I had friends who were concerned over me. I had a life and people that cared about me, I was going to pull through this like I did everything else.

I sat down in the back row of the bus, against the windows, and took a deep breath. Looking at my reflection, I pasted a smile on my face. I could do this. I would do this.

"Hime-Hime!" A happy voice chirped behind me. I glanced backwards, and my eyes widened at the sight of Michi climbing into the empty seat next to me. "You're a real Hero Princess now, Miss Ichigo!" The little girl told me excitedly.

I smiled softly. "I guess I am, huh?" I leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, "Now you can tell all of your friends you helped name a superhero."

Michi gasped, eyes comically wide. "Really?!" She said excitedly. I nodded seriously, and she grinned like I'd just given her a million bucks. "That's so cool! I can't wait to tell Fumiko-chan and Kotori-chan that I gave Hime-Hime the idea for her superhero name!" She smiled, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "I wish I could help more heroes pick out their names! Wouldn't that be cool?!"

I grinned. "You actually could. Yuuei has a whole educational track dedicated towards people who support heroes," I informed her.

Michi nodded, crossing her arms. "That'd be cool, cause my quirk came in late and it's no good," she pouted, frowning down at her feet.

I bit my lip, slightly nervous. We were entering uncharted conversational territory. "Your quirk… isn't any good?" I repeated, confused.

"Yeah!" Michi bursted out, tossing her arms in the air. "It's just Minor Magnetism! I can't be a hero with that!" She shouted in frustration. Several people on the bus looked towards her at the disturbance, including her mother. Michi quieted immediately.

I smiled sympathetically. "You know, that may not be great for heroism… but you know what that would be really good for?" I asked. Michi looked up at me, eyes full of excitement and hope. "If you learned how to make machines, you could build support gear for heroes. You remember that girl with the pink hair during the sports festival? The one who helped the guy who had the ten million points?"

Michi nodded immediately. "Yeah! Her name was Mei Hatsume, I remember her. She had those really cool boots that let her fly!" As she spoke, she gestured with her hands someone soaring through the air.

I nodded, grin growing wider. "Yeah, she's part of the Yuuei Support Class, she actually made those boots," I told her. Michi's jaw dropped, eyes sparkling. "I bet if you worked really hard, you could do something like that, and your quirk would be really helpful if you were building machines," I ruffled her red hair, seeing her smiling brightly. "And if you did that, you could help design heroes costumes and help them capture villains."

Michi nodded vigorously, holding up her tiny fist. "That's a great idea! That'd be super cool!" She grinned at me, making a very familiar peace sign. I blinked in surprise, seeing her copy what'd I'd done so many times at the sports festival. "Thanks, Hime-Hime!" She cheered.

I smiled, holding up two fingers as well. "Anytime, Michi-chan," I said as the bus pulled to a stop. I stood up, patting Michi's head one last time. "I suggest you get back to your mom though, this is my stop," I told her.

"Right!" Michi agreed, pushing off the chair. "Bye, Miss Ichigo! Have fun at Yuuei!" she said, waving. I waved back at her, climbing down the bus steps.

Stepping down onto the concrete, I took a deep breath, smile still stuck on my face. I glanced back, as the bus rolled away, before straightening my shoulders and turning back to the bus stop. I spotted several familiar faces, and I walked over with all new pep in my step.

"Hey guys!" I chirped, sliding in between Izuku and Ochako.

Ochako jumped, surprised by my sudden entrance. She laid a hand on her chest, grinning happily. "Hey Icchan! You're still pretending to be a ninja, huh?"

I smiled smugly. "I have caltrops and can throw knives, I'm not pretending at anything," I joked. I wasn't lying either. Mister Aizawa did keep both our utility belts constantly stocked with caltrops, and I had learned how to throw blades (though not in the way Ochako was thinking).

Ochako's mouth fell open. "Wait, what?!" she said, bewildered.

Izuku laughed. "Morning, Ichigo!" He greeted, smiling sunnily.

I smiled back, happy to see that my friend wasn't as concerned about me anymore. "Good morning, Izukun!" I responded, then spun around to face Momo and Shouto. "Morning to you both too!"

Shouto nodded. "Good morning, Ichigo," he said.

"Indeed! I'm looking forward to the rest of our day," Momo added, smiling. Her eyes sparkled. "I heard we were going to be participating in one-on-one sparring today!"

Ochako held up her fist, aura suddenly growing dark. "I can't wait," she said determinedly. I laughed nervously, taking several steps back to hide behind Izuku. Ochako could apparently be very intimidating if she wanted to be. "Let's go!" She rallied, marching towards the school.

I fell back as Izuku and Momo immediately followed, taking my usual position trailing after them next to Shouto. Shouto, hands in his pockets, glanced down at me. "So, you made your decision?"

I nodded. "I'm going to see her," I declared. "This weekend, there's a train… I'll go and visit her in the hospital," I looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "And you can't tell anyone, got it?"

Shouto shrugged, looking forwards. "I already agreed," he said. I stared at him for a few moments, trying to see if he was lying, before facing forward, walking just a little faster than before. I probably should've thanked him then, but I didn't want to admit I'd been wrong.

I layed in bed staring up at the ceiling, water pouring down my cheeks. My eyes were swollen and stinging from how much I'd cried, but I couldn't make myself stop. "I hate this..." I whispered, fists clutching my dark green sports themed comforter. "Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I have to get stuck like this?" I tried to muster up anger at the words. I wanted to hate someone for what had happened to me. Blame myself, Grandmother, Koharu… I couldn't though. I just felt more sadness crushing my chest. I bit my lip, feeling fresh tears well up. "Why can't I be like everyone else?" I asked the empty room, words barely coherent through my sobs. "I want to be like the heroes who everybody cheers for! Nobody ever forgets about them. People aren't mean to heroes."

I stood holding onto one of the metal bars, waiting for the train to stop. I'd already been waiting for the past hour for my stop, and my feet were becoming sore from all the standing and not moving. More than once, I'd caught people looking at me and muttering, but luckily no one had approached me. I assumed it was because the cameras had failed to capture how truly short I was, and they couldn't believe that Hime-Hime was a midget.

The train slid to a stop, and a smooth, feminine voice announced, "Welcome to Shibuya station." The doors slid open, and with a relieved sigh, I walked out of the train car. I took a moment to scan the surrounding crowds, before spotting the stairs leading up towards the streets. With a small smile, I started forwards.

I had memorized the pathway from Shibuya station to Shibuya Central Hospital, so with a few questions to random strangers and checking street signs, I managed to find my way to my grandmother's hospital.

I stood in front of the thirty story blue painted building. I could feel a heavy weight pressing on my shoulders, and something in me screamed that if I turned back now, I could forget about all of this. I closed my eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and stepped forwards, walking through the automatic glass doors. The hospital lobby was crowded, people sitting in various chairs around the waiting area as the occasional person in scrubs went running past, clearly in a hurry to go somewhere.

Seeing the front desk, I walked closer. I pushed up on my tiptoes to see over the counter. "Excuse me?" I called, hoping the receptionist would notice.

She did. Glancing over at me lazy, she flicked her eyes back to her computer screen. "Children aren't allowed to be alone at the hospital," she said unhelpfully.

I frowned, and then forcefully smoothed my expression out. "Sorry, ma'am, I'm actually fifteen," I said. "I'm here to visit someone, her name is Mitsuki Asano."

The receptionist glanced down at me, surprised. She took a second to stare at me suspiciously, before quickly typing something into her computer. "Yeah, there's a patient here under that name, but she's not accessible. What's your relation to her?"

I swallowed. "I'm a family friend," I told her. "Uh, there's a woman who's probably in charge of Miss Asano, uh, Koharu Oshiro? Can you contact her so she can allow me in?" I requested.

The receptionist scanned the computer screen, searching for something, before reaching for her phone. "One moment," she said, pressing the device to her ear. "Hey, it's Manami at the front desk. Yeah, I've got a kid who wants to visit patient 2034. Can you ask Koharu Oshiro if she knows anyone by the name of…" The receptionist looked at me questioningly.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," I supplied, and watched her eyes widen.

"Ichigo Kurosaki?" The receptionist repeated, looking stunned. There was a long pause, and then she continued, "Right, I'll print out a guest pass. Okay, thanks," she finished, hanging up the phone. She stared at me disbelievingly. "You're Ichigo Kurosaki? As in the up-and-coming hero, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

I grinned sheepishly, surprised despite myself that she'd recognized my name so easily. "Yeah, pretty much," I confirmed. "Uh, about that guest pass?"

"Right! One second," The receptionist said, rapidly smacking her keyboard. The machine on her desk made several loud noises. "I'm going to need to take a picture of you, please stand on the white 'x'," she asked. I quickly moved to stand on the spot she'd pointed out, and one blinding flash of light later I was holding a paper sticker with my name and face on it, along with the word "VISITOR" printed across the top in all bolded caps. "Please stick that pass to your shirt or somewhere visible, Mitsuki Asano is on floor five, room 347."

I nodded. "Thank you," I said gratefully, turning towards the elevators.

"Wait!" I paused, turning back curiously. The receptionist was smiling, cheeks tinged pink. "Would you mind signing this for me?" She asked, holding out a pen and sheet of paper.

My face heated up, shocked that an adult was asking for my signature. I stepped back and took the pen from her hands. "Ah, s-sure," I agreed, stammering from surprise.

I walked down the quiet, empty hallway. I had passed a nurse several rooms back, rushing past me with a cart full of medications. I tried to ignore the occasional moan of pain, as I headed towards my grandmother's room. When I finally reached the light green door, I made sure to double check the number plate. I refused to believe I was trying to delay opening the door.

With a shaking hand, I reached out and grabbed the handle. Taking a deep breath, I turned my wrist and pushed it open. The room was dim, most of the light coming from between the curtains on the far wall. There was a low couch underneath that window, and only a few feet away was an immaculate hospital bed. Laying on it, with grey, papery skin and hooked up to far too many machines, was my grandmother. Her grey hair was fanned out around her, eyes shut, with tubes running through her nose towards a respiratory machine. The steady beep of the heart monitor was the only reason I knew she wasn't dead yet.

I shut the door behind me quietly, taking faltering steps over to the couch on the other side of the room. I sat down heavily, eyes fixed on my grandmother's pale, comatose body.

Suddenly, the door flew open again. My head shot up, eyes widening at the sight of Koharu. She had aged well, black hair pinned up in a bun atop her head. Her wrinkled blue eyes were faded with age, lacking the shine they'd had when I was child. She was wearing a rumpled purple skirt and white blouse, clearly having been staying at the hospital for some time now. She stared at me, equally shocked to see me.

I pried my eyes away from her, focusing on my grandmother. "Hey, Koharu," I said quietly, hands clenching the front of my jeans to keep from shaking.

"Asano-chan…" Koharu whispered breathlessly. She visibly swallowed, before slipping into the room, door shutting behind her. She walked closer to me, halting at the foot of my grandmother's bed. "You actually came," she sounded disbelieving.

I refused to cry or scream. "I'm not here for you," I said firmly. "I'm here for me, to make peace with all of... this."

Koharu nodded, head hanging. She was a shell of the woman who'd helped raised me, I realized. "I didn't think you'd forgive me," she said sadly. "I wouldn't deserve it."

"You don't," I agreed coldly, feeling my eyes well-up traitorously. I bit my cheek hard enough to taste blood, forcing the stinging from my eyes.

Koharu laughed, and I saw the tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you're here though," she looked at my grandmother wistfully. "Mitsuki always adored you," she said softly.

"She might have, when she remembered," I said stiffly, unable to act politely in the presence of Koharu.

Koharu's shoulders stiffened. "I really hope you don't believe that," she said, voice choked up. "Mitsuki always put her family first. She adored you, you were all she ever wanted to talk about. When she found out she was going to be a grandmother…" she laughed brokenly. "You couldn't have imagined her smile," she looked at me, eyes shining. "You have her smile, you know. Just like your father, too."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I wish I could've seen it," I responded finally, looking at the floor uncomfortably. How else could I respond?

"If - If you could visit her again, maybe when she's awake…" Koharu started.

I bit my lip. "Contact me if she wakes up, you already tracked me down once," I told her. "Speaking of which, the next time you call my employer in an attempt to talk to me, I'll make you regret it," I warned. It wasn't an honest threat, there wasn't anything I could really do to her, but it got my point across.

"Then how else can I reach you?" she asked helplessly. "You know how my quirk works, Asano-chan. I just saw that phone number on the wall where you were working."

I clenched my fists indecisively. "I have an email account, you can use that," I told her. I reached over to my grandmother's bedside table, scrawling out my email dress sloppily. "I check it daily," I continued, ripping the paper off the notepad and holding it out. "But if you contact me for anything beyond her condition I'll block you."

"I understand," Koharu said, taking it from my hand. She paused, before slowly adding, "I truly am sorry for the pain I caused you."

I stared at the floor, eyes stinging again. "You lied to me, when I asked you for help. You told me she'd get the help she needed," I said angrily. I raised my chin proudly, glaring at Koharu with watery eyes. "You should feel sorry," I told her, striding towards the door. "Don't contact me again unless she wakes up. And if you get any stupid ideas about helping me," I paused, struggling to keep my voice from wavering. "Know that I am so much fucking better off where I am now than I ever was with you."

"I know, Asano-chan," Koharu said sadly.

The first few tears fell out of my eyes, and I turned my face away from her as I opened the door. Koharu didn't deserve my tears. "It's Ichigo," I said, stepping out of the room and slamming the door shut behind me. I took a few seconds to wipe my eyes, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically. Then, I stood up straight and walked back down the hallway, jaw clenched firmly.

I couldn't say I'd made the correct decision, coming here, but I wouldn't let Koharu or my grandmother hold me back ever again. I'd face them, and grow beyond them. I was going to be a hero, after all.

Plus Ultra, right?