Leinei sighs as she stands outside the door to the dorm building. Her body aches after patrolling all day with Shindo and Nakagame. There were more people after that little girl that had to be shown to the school or needed some kind of help, all more draining than the last. Her skin is crawling from the lingering effects. She just wants to go up to her room and fall asleep.

But she also wants to hear about everyone else's day. There's a mixed swirl of emotions seeping through the door, exhaustion the most prominent of them all. She wants to know if she can help, even if she doesn't deserve to.

'She shouldn't have even tried…'

The girl's words sting her again. Her hands tighten into fists, her nails cutting into her palms as she bites down on her bottom lip. She can taste blood in her mouth from how hard she's biting, anger and self-loathing circling inside her.

Why do I even try? Why do I give so much of a fuck about a world that shoved me away each time I asked for help? I have more reasons to become a villain than anyone, yet I'm choosing to stand above all of that. I'm still trying. Don't I at least get credit for that?

What could have gone differently? What could I have done to change this outcome, change who I am?

I hate this…

She rolls her shoulders back, holds her head up. Releasing her fist, she opens the door to walk inside. Everyone is huddled in groups, talking amongst themselves while eating whatever dinner it seems that Hanta made. It smells divine, the perfect mix of sweet and spice in what seems to be a curry. Her mouth waters.

"Hey, Lei's back," Denki says, having looked up. He sounds genuinely happy to see her, a smile on his face as he raises a hand to wave at her. "Hey! Heard you got sent to help Ketsubutsu! Yaomomo and Todoroki ain't back yet from Shiketsu, but we saved plenty for you guys! Grab a plate!"

"You sure..?"

"Hell yeah," Eijirou says, grinning. Tears prick at Leinei's eyes, a shaky smile spreading on her face as she closes the door behind her. A chorus of hellos follow, a few asking how her patrol went, and others asking if she was okay. It makes her feel warm and less alone. She wants to cry and apologize to them, instead walking into the kitchen area to make herself a plate.

"We heard you got cleared for field duty today and wanted to make something fun," Hanta says as she sits on the floor next to Denki's feet. She nods, thankful more than anything. "Sato made some of those truffles you like too."

"You guys didn't have to do anything," she tells them, her voice soft. Mina rolls her eyes as she leans forward, pointing her spoon at Leinei.

"Shut up. We all talked about what happened and what you told us. We don't care. That was the past and you're atoning. Besides, we're your friends. We just wish you would've told us what happened before you did all that crap."

"Yeah, we've been waiting on you to come out of your room and talk to us," Denki adds, reaching for his glass of water. He tips it towards her. "You really find ways to avoid people if you don't wanna talk."

"You're almost as bad as Bakugo," Hanta snickers.

"Which of you extras are asking for an ass kicking?"

Katsuki is coming over with his third helping of curry and a glass of water. His chest and shoulder are still bandaged underneath the black tank top he's wearing, the bandages stained in some places from the residue from his explosions, but he seems to be nearly completely healed up from the way he walks with a sure gait and his head held high. His red eyes land on Leinei, lingering for a moment before he looks away from her and sits next to Eijirou on the couch across from her.

"Oh, we're just saying how good you and Lei are at avoiding your emotions and talking to people," Mina says dismissively, leaning back into the couch next to Hanta and shoveling her food into her mouth.

"Only because you guys are shit at listening and not trying to fix crap," he snorts back, rolling his eyes as the front door opens. Shoto and Yaoyorozu walk in, both exhausted. The latter says hello to everyone, stopping to talk to Jirou and Hagakure while Shoto trudges into the kitchen and makes a plate for himself. He sees Leinei sitting with the others and walks over, sitting next to her. "What the hell are you doing, Todoroki?"

"Sitting down and eating," he replies blandly, looking at Katsuki, his face deadpan. He maintains eye contact as he spoons the first few bites of his food into his mouth. Leinei's eyes flit back and forth, biting her lip to try and keep her giggles from breaking out.

"What the hell is so funny?" Katsuki grumbles, breaking eye contact first. She shakes her head, inhaling the rest of her food. It was nice to be able to eat a hot meal with her friends, not a microwaved container of leftovers after everyone else went to bed. She listens to Denki and Hanta complain about their patrol route, and Mina and Eijirou ask Katsuki if there had been any new sightings of Izuku. He didn't answer them, choosing instead to keep shoveling curry into his face.

"How were the Ketsubutsu kids?" Denki asks Leinei, who almost chokes on her food when he addresses her. Shoto looks at her with wide eyes as she beats on her chest, her head back as she manages to get the food dislodged before taking a breath. "Don't die please. We don't need another letter coming to us."

"Kami, that's a little messed up," Hanta snorts, shaking his head with a smirk. "Come on, man."

"Sorry, sorry. It was right there! But seriously though, we haven't seen them since the festival. How are they?"

"They're just as run down as we are," she replies, grabbing her glass and taking a drink before holding it. "Joke assigned me to Shindo and Nakagame's patrol sector so we've just been helping where we can. How's Shiketsu doing?" She directs the conversation to Shoto, staring at him with a silent plea to bail her out.

"They're fine. More lively than ever honestly," he says, shrugging his shoulders. "Inasa and I were assigned to the same sector with Nagemasa so it's mostly learning to drown him out."

"Inasa was the really loud one at the licensing exams right?" Leinei asks, setting her now empty bowl on the floor in front of her. Eijirou gets up, taking everyone's now empty bowls and heading to the kitchen with them. Mina follows him quietly, Leinei glancing over her shoulder at them. She smiles a bit seeing them standing a bit closer together than they used to.

"Yeah. We got to know him better during our remedial lessons," he replies, gesturing with his head to Katsuki. "He's still…too loud, but he's more bearable now that he doesn't want to tank my career before it starts."

"That brother of yours already did that," Katuski grunts, leaning back into the couch with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah I still can't believe he name-dropped you too, Lei," Hanta says, his phone dinging now. He takes it out of his pocket, a small smile on his lips as he types something out. "Sorry, that was-"

"Kendall checking in again?" Denki asks. "He's been texting you a lot more lately since Jaku."

"Yeah, he's been worried. Apparently this is all international news and the American hero courses are tightening their school security as well. He just likes to make sure we're all safe."

"I get it. It's hard having a partner so far from you."

Katsuki glances at Leinei as Denki says that, his lips pressing into a thin line. She can't bring herself to look back at him, instead pushing herself to her feet. Shoto looks up as she dusts her pants off.

"I'm gonna take a shower and head to bed. Shindo and Nakagame want to head out early tomorrow to try and cover more ground in case more refugees pop up. Night everyone."

Hanta and Denki wish her a good night, waving as she walks away from them. She doesn't look at anyone else as she starts up the stairs to her dorm room, shame heating the back of her neck. That feeling slowly morphs into anger, the thought of did they just invite me over to insult me lingering at the back of her head.

The freshly ingrained memory that was meant to be happy is tainted now, sitting and replaying over and over in her head for any other signs of malice. Each word is now daggered at her, twisted and turning with each new question and answer.

I should have never come back.

The thought makes her flinch as she walks into her room and closes the door behind her. She strides over to her bed and, without stopping, face plants into the mattress. She lays there for what seems like an eternity, her exhales warming her face and leaving a thin layer of moisture that is just as quickly absorbed into the blankets.

She eventually pushes herself onto her side, picking at a loose thread as she stares at the wall across from her. She wants to cry but can't get the tears to loosen themselves from her eyes. She would really like to march back downstairs and yell at Katsuki to get over himself, that they're obviously already broken up, she knows he hates her, and that he doesn't need to get their friends to start making conspicuous jabs at her.

There's a knock at her door and she has to say twice for them to come in. She pushes herself up as Shoto opens the door, poking his head in before fully stepping inside of her room. He closes the door behind him and leans against the door. He curses under his breath, having accidentally jabbed himself on the doorknob.

"You okay?" she asks with a snort, watching him rub the spot. "What's up, Shochan?"

"Just wanted to come check on you. We haven't really had a chance to talk since the whole incident at Jaku," he tells her, his voice soft and thoughtful. He nods his head towards her bed. "Is it okay if I sit?"

"Go for it."

He crosses over to her bed, sitting on the edge of it and propping his elbows on his knees. They sit in silence for a moment, comfortable and empty as they stare at the floor. Shoto is bouncing his knee, closing his eyes as he takes a breath.

"It was nice to see you okay," he tells her finally. "At Jaku, I mean. Well, afterwards when we were all recovering, there wasn't really a lot of time to process the whole 'oh she's alive' bit during the battle with the League."

"Yeah."

"Dad told us about him and Reina."

Her brow furrows. She looks at Shoto, who is staring at her with his lips in a thin line. His hands are clasped together now but she can see his arms trembling. There's confusion and concern wafting off of him in long slow waves of blue and gray.

"What are you talking about?" she asks, genuinely confused by what he's saying. "How they were working together or…?"

"He cheated on Mom with her."

The directness and bluntness of the words shocks her. It knocks the breath out of her. Her head is spinning now and it suddenly clicks with how Reina used to act when Leinei was first enrolled at UA. The nights she disappeared, when she came home feeling ashamed of whatever it was she was doing. The little things that seemed to just be quirky parts of her personality made sense when it all came to light.

"I didn't know," Leinei admits, her voice soft. "I wouldn't have let her if I did know-"

"No, we figured you didn't know. Hawks apparently did, and got onto both of them at different points for it. Natsuo would've paid to see that," Shoto adds, a note of reassurance in his voice. "I just…thought you would like to know before you heard it somewhere else. I know you don't pay attention to tabloids or anything, but gossip-"

"Spreads like wildfire," she finishes his statement, nodding her head. "Thank you, Shochan. How is your family doing with everything?"

"They're…coping, I guess. Dad's been dodging my calls again and Mom is here in the civilian dorms with Fuyumi and Natsuo. I was about to go see them if you wanted to come with me."

"Is that really a good idea after everything?"

"I mean, I think so. I know that Mom's been really worried about you then when you wouldn't really take any visitors at the hospital, we were all pretty concerned for your wellbeing and mental health." He reaches a hand over, the familiar gesture of placing his hand between her shoulder blades. "You're family to us, Leinei. Always will be."

One simple hand reaching out to her. A light in the darkness that she's been hiding in, a life line in the middle of the roaring ocean. It's almost too much. It is too much.

But she's so grateful. So happy that someone finally said something that she needed to hear, that she wanted to know so badly: that even amongst the insanity, there were still those that loved her unconditionally. She still had a family, even if it was broken. Even if it was put through hell because of her and others.

The thought makes her smile and she looks at Shoto through blurry eyes. He offers a wan smile to her, rubbing her back gently. She hugs him, much to his surprise, but he returns the hug with little hesitation.

"You're like my big sister, Leinei," he tells her, patting her back with a slight tense awkwardness, like he doesn't know how to actually react to this. "No matter what happens, we'll all stick together."

"Thank you, Shochan…" she whispers, just relieved for a moment, for just a brief moment, she didn't feel alone anymore. He nods and pats her back twice more before pulling away, clearing his throat.

"So did you want to go with me or…?"

"I'd love to go see everyone."

The rooms set aside for the civilians were no different than the dorms everywhere else on campus, just more crowded. There were cots set up in the living areas, kids huddled in groups and playing on tablets or board games that they'd brought with them. The adults were cornering the TVs, looking for answers and a resolution to the hellscape that All For One and the League brought upon Japan.

"Leinei!"

She freezes as she sees Mitsuki and Masaru there, the former running towards her. She expects to be yelled at, to be slapped upside the head, but all the woman does is wrap her in a massive hug and squeeze her close. Tears are bleeding into the girl's eyes as Mitsuki gushes how worried they were, how glad they were she's okay.

"We thought we'd lost you," she whispers to her and Leinei lets out a soft gasp of pain, unable to keep a strong face. Her bottom lip is trembling as Mitsuki pulls away, holding her shoulders and looking her over head to toe for any new injuries. "You've gotten taller," she says, a note of sadness and pride in her voice. "You're about the same height as Katsuki now."

"I hadn't noticed," Leinei replies, her voice breaking as she uses the side of her hand to wipe her tears and sniffle to keep her nose from running.

"No, I don't think you did either. You look almost like an adult now."

"Yeah? I don't feel like one."

"I'll let you in on a small secret," she whispers, taking Leinei's hands now and squeezing them tightly. "No adult ever does."

This makes her laugh, relief in her voice now as Mitsuki smiles at her and Masaru walks to stand next to his wife.

"Has Katsuki been to see you two?" she asks in a soft voice, looking between the both of them. They nod and relief floods her. "Good. I'm sorry for everything-"

"Don't. Don't apologize," Masaru says, stopping her. "Your brother explained everything to us already and we understand why you did what you did. We're just glad you're alive and well. Please keep being that way because honestly our hearts can't take much more."

"I understand. I'll do my best."

Shoto nudges Leinei's side, tilting his head towards the stairs. She nods at him, understanding what he's trying to say. He starts walking towards the stairs after saying a soft goodbye to the Bakugos.

"I-I came here with Shoto to see my cousins and aunt," she says, trying to excuse herself. "I-I'm sorry I can't stay longer-"

"It's okay. We understand," Mitsuki tells her before pulling her into another hug. She kisses the side of her head. "Just know we'll always be your family too, no matter what happens between you and Katsuki."

"Thank you."

Leinei heads past them, heading up the stairs to the dorms that the Todoroki family had taken residence in. It was three conjoined rooms, one for each of them to live in until the turmoil outside of UA had blown over. Walking into the one in the middle, she saw Rei, Natsuo, and Fuyumi sitting with Shoto on the floor. She's quiet as she closes the door behind her, standing there as they talk amongst themselves. Rei is the first to look up, her tired eyes lighting up when she sees Leinei there.

"Hi Aunty Rei," she whispers as the woman stands up. Natsuo and Fuyumi look up and glance between them. For a moment, they're all children again, playing in the massive room while she watches them. For that moment, everything is right with the world.

The next moment, Leinei is back in the present, hugging Rei so tightly and bawling her eyes out. She's apologizing, stumbling over her words and making incoherent noises.

"It's okay," Rei tells her in a soft voice, the soothing voice that only a mother can make. Leinei's legs start to give out, so they sink to the floor together. "It's okay, sweet girl, it's okay. It's not your fault, none of this is your fault. It's okay, Leinei."

Leinei tries to say something, but the words get stuck in her throat. She's choking on her apologies, choking on the pain and suffering she's been putting herself through. It all hurts, it's all too much.

"Nothing that has happened is your fault," Rei continues, stroking her hair. "Not your parents, not Reina, not Touya. None of what happened to you is your fault. It's ours, the adults that were supposed to protect you and keep you from suffering the way you have. We failed, not you. Never you. We failed you, and now you have to clean up our mess."

"Mom," Fuyumi says, her voice forlorn and hurting. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah it was all Dad," Natsuo grumbles

"It was both of us," Rei tells them as Leinei takes big gulps of breath, trying to calm herself down. "We both failed this family, and now everyone else is suffering because of it." Her eyes linger on Shoto, who is looking at the wall. "Especially those that didn't have a choice."

It's quiet now, Leinei's sobs turning into soft sniffles as she slowly pulls away from Rei and sits on her heels. Rei is holding her hands now, rubbing her thumbs over the girl's knuckles.

"You did beautifully," she tells her in a soft voice. "You did everything you could and then some. Thank you, Leinei."