Tensei was still recovering from his run in with the Hero Killer. It was insanely hard to see him that way - in a chair, unable to walk. Every time I was around him, I fought the urge to wait on him and constantly ask if he was ok, or if he needed something. He seemed, however, far more cheerful than he had been the last time I'd seen him.

Mother seems as though she has aged ten years in the last few months, between Tensei's accident and everything that happened to me. She has such dark circles under her eyes, she looks so much more tired and fragile than she ever seemed when we were growing up.

Coming home brings a great deal of stress. I always maintain a cheerful air in front of them. They seemed happy to see me and thrilled to hear about my most recent achievements. We shared tea and I explained about my trials at Manual's, and what had happened with my engine.

Tensei waved to me and smiled. "Tenya, congratulations on getting your Provisional License! Your engine's been used quite a lot, hasn't it? Isn't it about time now since your body is still growing? Right, Mom?"

"Yes, but I feel it might be a bit early..." she said, but at a look from Tensei, gave him a nod.

He turned to look me in the eye. "For your engine's 'tuning.' We'll pull out the muffler for your training. A muffler that is able to withstand that strain should then grow out. This is a technique passed down since our grandfather's time as a hero so we could run and save as many people as possible. Though it will be accompanied by extreme pain and perseverance, if you want to run even more...it's the best way."

"I see - of course! The human body is the source of my quirk - if I cannot keep that attuned, I cannot hope to save anyone."

"Exactly. Listen, talk to me when you do it on the phone so I can walk you through the process, okay?"

"I will. Thank you ever so!"

Tensei then smiled at me even wider. "Come here."

Mom brought me in, and I leaned over Tensei, then came to her, for a warm family hug.

"Good luck, Tenya. We're so proud of you. You're a real hero, you know."

So I came back to Heights Alliance and, on my cell phone with Tensei, walked through the process of removing my mufflers. It was the most intense pain I had ever experienced, as he walked me through each step, I bit into a handkerchief to stop myself from screaming and alarming my classmates. Painfully, each one after the other, I yanked them out - that damn pain - another - another - one by one, leaving my legs raw and ever so slightly bleeding. The bandages would hide under my school uniform.

Taking steps was exceedingly painful. According to Tensei, I had to wait a minimum of a few weeks before using my quirk again at anything higher than the lowest setting. Which meant I would fall behind a little in class, but it was going to be a worthy price to pay.

Never again would I be too slow to save someone.

"Wow, that sounds sooo painful!" Uraraka shook her head as I told her - in confidence - the details of what I'd done. "You're really tough, Iida! Congratulations! Hope the payoff ends up being super cool."

"Congratulations yourself on getting to work with Ryukyu."

She winced a little. "Well...my first day was kinda embarassing. I got taken out by a villain right away."

"If it makes you feel any better, so did I."

"Huh. I guess that probably happens a lot. I dunno, I guess I assumed with all I learned from fighting - real villains...that I could handle totally normal baddies, no problem."

"Indeed. After the League of Villains, everyday nemeses seem as though they shouldn't be as much trouble."

"Well, we'll have to get them next time."

Midoriya and the rest of our classmates joined us then, cutting short the conversation. Midoriya was telling Asui about his new work study with Sir Nighteye, and I took the time to congratulate him as well. "Well done - you're an example to us all."

"Thanks. To you too, Iida. Manual's agency again - that must be interesting."

We avoided each others' gaze. After all, we couldn't bring up the details of my last time with Manual in public. My eyes drifted to Todoroki, skulking at the side of the room with Bakugou as he's apt to do these days. Not that I don't appreciate Bakugou's hard work, but I sure hope he doesn't end up being a poor influence on Todoroki.

Though I haven't always been the best influence on him myself.

"Iida, may I speak to you for a moment?" Yaoyorozu tugged on my sleeve, looking very serious. I nodded and accompanied her out of the room.

"Pardon me for eavesedropping, but I couldn't help but overhear you telling Uraraka about your...operation."

"Oh. Do you think you could keep that private?"

"Of course. But I wanted to know, is it going to interfere with your duties as Class Representative?"

"Of course not! At least - I don't believe it will."

"As deputy rep, I hope you understand I had to ask."

"Absolutely. Thank you for checking in." I noticed she appeared rather concerned.

"Are you all right, Yaoyorozu?"

"My work study has been challenging..." she sighed, and avoided my gaze. "It's nothing."

"Mine as well. It seems we have been facing some rather...menacing villains."

That evening, I had a message from Manual. He asked me to come to the agency, but not to bother bringing my costume, this weekend. We needed it seemed to discuss last week's incident.