Hello crazy, beautiful world! The Scribe is here once again! Welcome to November, that iffy period between summer and winter, especially in Canada! Can't wait to gorge myself on candy-cane chocolates and turkey! But most of all, I am looking forward to what I have planned for this season! I've got a feeling you're going to love who shows up!

Also, you may have noticed that the chapters have actual titles now! I decided it would be fun if I made the little addition and makes a little easier for me to distinguish which chapter is which. Tell me what you think!

Borderlands is owned by Gearbox and 2KGames and My Hero Academia is owned by Kohei Horikoshi and Funimation. Please support the official release.

Please rate and review!

"This means someone is talking."

'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'

This means it's a flashback.

This means it's a sound effect!*

{This means I'm speaking in a different language!}

Angel in a Gilded Cage

It was the beginning of a beautiful Monday morning. The sky was clear, the air was fresh and the sun was bright as it just barely peaked out over the horizon. It was kind of chilly this morning. Even though it was the middle of spring, the air still held a certain bite to it.

Or maybe that was just due to how early it was?

Meanwhile, down in a park on the edge of the city, a young, pale skinned girl dressed in a blue tracksuit ran along the paved trail, following after a taller, grown woman, contrasting even more from her counterpart in her shorts and tank top.

The girl pumped her arms and legs while gasping for air as she tried to keep after her leader, but inevitably had to stagger to a stop.

"Come on Sugar! Only two kilometers to go!" Moxxi called out several feet in front of her. Angel's lungs burned while she hunched over, hands on her wobbling knees as she gasped for breath.

"C-Can't we…" She gasped. "Take a quick break?!"

"There's no brakes on the health train Sugar! Where's that Yūei spirit?" Moxxi yelled back from where she was running in place, her body's bouncing causing a cyclist to crash into a nearby tree.

Taking one last deep breath, Angel swallowed and started running again.

"Atta girl! Let's go! Plus Ultra and all that!" Moxxi continued with her words of encouragement as she maintained the distance between them.

Nine. That's how many days it has been since the attack on USJ.

Six. That's how many days since her talk with All-Might. She had spent the day after recovering from her self imposed isolation, taking long naps on the living room couch instead of her bedroom and getting some much needed sustenance.

A bowl of soup had never been so inviting.

The rest of the day was spent reflecting on All-Might's advice and planning her next move.

First, after much consideration, Angel decided on telling Moxxi the whole story behind her trauma. It was both out of guilt for making her caretaker worried and hope that she might be able to help her.

It was a worrying experience retelling the event from her childhood to the grown woman who thankfully remained perfectly quiet until she was finished. When she reached the end, there was a tense moment of silence where she fearfully awaited her answer, only to be pleasantly surprised when she was pulled into a hug. Then Moxxi gave a tearful thanks for trusting her to share something so sad and horrible and that she promised to help her come to terms with her past.

It was a comforting night, the two of them holding each other as they fell asleep on the couch. The relief she felt in knowing that Moxxi didn't judge her for her mistakes and only wanted to support her gave Angel the determination for her second decision: to resume and intensify her hero training.

Aizawa and All-Might's tests had given her a small preview of what was to come, but USJ was what had hammered in the dangers of being a hero and the weight of the responsibility. If she really wanted to continue down this path, she needed to become stronger. Stronger so that she would never be helpless in the face of danger again and most importantly, strong enough so that she never hurts anyone with her quirk ever again.

This meant that she needed to develop in terms of her mindset, her control and her physical capabilities.

The first two would have to wait for when she returned to school, but there was something she could do about the third.

Exercise.

Angel could admit that she wasn't in the best shape. A lifetime of being sheltered and pampered didn't make for a good constitution. She was fairly skinny and didn't have great endurance which was painfully advertised during Aizawa's test last week.

In lieu of this, she asked Moxxi to help her transition into a healthier lifestyle, to which she enthusiastically agreed.

Thus, Angel had joined Moxxi on her early morning runs before she got ready for work.

Which brought her to the current moment, wheezing as she struggled to keep up. Her body begged her to stop and she was SO tempted to oblige.

But every time, she remembered her and All-Might's little heart-to-heart, about what he said about needing to keep moving forward.

So she kept pushing.

At the same time, there was something else that he said.

"The pain fades with time, but it's still there."

It was true. Even though her spirits had been lifted since they talked, the burning guilt in Angel's stomach still remained, albeit slightly lessened. Her nightmares too, those painful memories invaded her slumber almost every night. Sometimes it was that day twelve years ago, other times it was some of the more recent tragedies that reared their ugly head, reminding her of the pain she had inadvertently caused or failed to prevent.

But she was done letting her past control her. She may keep getting hurt again and again, but she will get right back up, this time with help from the people who cared for her.

"Keep up Sugar! You still need to get back in time to get ready for school!" Moxxi yelled again.

"Coming!"

About a half hour later, they had returned to the apartment, where Angel thanked whatever deity who was listening for the invention of the elevator. Moxxi took the first shower while Angel got her breakfast of hot cereal and a fruit smoothie.

Carrying her meal from the kitchen, she set her aching body down on the living room couch across from the widescreen tv. Lifting a spoonful of warm milk and grains into her mouth, she pressed the remote. The screen immediately flickered on and displayed the morning news segment.

"-thorities have reported yet another victim of the "Hero Killer". Pro-hero Rolling Thunder was found dead last night in a back alleyway in Hosu. Cause of death: multiple blade wounds to the chest. This marks the seventeenth fatality in the last two months that the "Hero Killer", who also goes by "Stain" has been at large." The news anchor reported with a serious expression with an image of a smiling man whom Angel assumed to be the unfortunate soul on the screen behind her.

Angel continued to listen intently, soaking in as much information as she could while eating. It was out of habit that she had decided to keep herself abreast of the so-called Hero Killer. Soon after he began to make headlines, she couldn't help but profile him and try to determine what motivated him. Was it out of revenge? Was he trying to make a name for himself? Who could say? Serial killers were difficult to understand and therefore, hard to predict. Thus they were more terrifying than the average criminal or villain.

'What does he want?' She wondered as the report resumed.

"Authorities advise civilians extreme caution at night and to remain out in the open to prevent themselves from getting ambushed." The anchor finished, not providing anymore useful information.

'So we still don't know what his quirk is. Good thing I'm not going anywhere near Hosu then. That's where Iida's brother Tensei is operating though.' She thought with a spot of worry. Then she shrugged. 'He'll be fine. He's in the top twenty and has tons of sidekicks to back him up. The Hero Killer only attacks single targets.'

She took a deep sip from her smoothie.

"In international news there has been a recent sighting of Interpol's most wanted, the terrorist group known as the Crimson Raiders."

Angel gagged and just barely stopped herself from doing a spit take, quickly swallowing and gluing her eyes to the screen.

"Eye witness accounts report the appearance of a group of four individuals with a resemblance to the description of the villains who go by the names Soldier o'Fortune, Firehawk, Slabking and The Birdman." The anchor announced, the image behind her getting replaced with artist renditions of four familiar faces.

Angel's heart raced, hanging on to every word.

"Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay!" She pleaded under her breath.

"These terrorists who reportedly dubbed themselves the "Crimson Raiders" were given a red notice by Interpol six months ago after a trail of destruction carved through the United States, including an attack on the Hyperion company headquarters in Silicon Valley. The group is wanted for numerous accounts of illegal and unregistered quirk usage, theft, assault, murder, destruction of property…" The anchor took a breath. "...arson, corporate espionage, embezzlement, public inebriation, blackmail, possession of controlled substances, illegal firearms and munitions. The Mexican government has refuted all allegations of harboring the fugitives and promises their full support to the CIA and Interpol in the chase. Global authorities advise civilians if they spot any of the suspects to immediately evacuate and call for the nearest hero agency or police service as they are to be considered extremely dangerous and very, very armed."

The segment ended and Angel shut off the tv, a tight grip on the remote as she stewed in the diverse mixture of emotions that had emerged.

She felt immense relief that her old friends were not caught. They were an extremely capable team, she had experienced that first hand, but with several of the world's governments and heroes on their trail, she couldn't help but worry.

Then she felt angry. Angry that some of the best people she had ever known, her personal heroes, were hunted like dogs for crimes they didn't commit. Sure, they were mercenaries to begin with, but they had a good sense of right and wrong, they hadn't done practically any of the things that they were wanted for.

But most of all, she felt guilty. She was the reason that they were in this situation. If she had just not found them a year ago, they wouldn't be running across the globe hiding from the law. If only she had tried harder to convince them to leave her, to not sacrifice so much for-!

She shuddered and lightly slapped herself on the face, snapping out of the depressing spiral she had placed herself in.

She needed to stop blaming herself. They had told her long ago that they didn't blame her for anything, that saving her was their decision. All she could do now is make sure their struggle didn't go to waste.

'I'm going to become a hero! Then… I'm going to make things right!' She told herself as she focused back on eating so she could get ready for her first day back to school.

Angel could barely sit still on the ride to Yūei. Much like the beginning of the semester, she was filled with an anxious energy, only this time she was nervous about what her classmates thought of her since USJ.

Did any of them hear about her "breakdown" or the blast? Did any of her friends spread the word?

So many unknowns, so many possibilities. She would have to wait and see.

"Alright. Here we are!" Moxxi declared as they pulled up to the sidewalk next to the newly repaired Yūei barrier. "You've got everything?"

"Yeah." Angel gave a shaky nod, releasing her seatbelt.

"Hey," Moxxi gently squeezed her shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?" She said, asking the same question that she had asked every morning for the last five days. "If you're not feeling up to it yet, we can call you in-"

"Moxxi." Angel kindly interrupted, giving her a look of gratitude as she grasped the older woman's hand. "I'm going to be fine." She assured her with a smile. "Thanks again, for being there."

Moxxi visibly sagged with relief. "No problem. Just… if anything goes wrong-"

"Find a teacher and talk to Principal Nezu. Don't worry, I will." She interrupted again, receiving a hesitant smile, before being pulled into a hug. They sat there for a moment before Moxxi took a deep breath and finally let go.

"Well… knock 'em dead Sugar!" She sighed as Angel left the car and made her way to school.

A few minutes later, Angel found herself standing outside the classroom once again. She could hear the voices of her classmates within.

Placing a hand on the door handle she took a deep breath.

'Here we go!'

She pulled it open. The class was about half full, most of the students present were in small groups conversing with each other. A few took notice of her arrival, giving her a brief look before returning to whatever they were doing.

No one was looking at her out of the ordinary so that was good. On the far side, she could see Iida and Uraraka talking with Midoriya at his desk.

Steeling her nerves, Angel began walking over.

On the way over, she heard snippets of conversation from one of the groups made up of Mineta, Kaminari and a blackhaired boy whose name she could just barely recall as Sero.

"Hey, did you hear about that Stain guy?" Mineta asked.

"Yeah, seventeen murders, geez! I'm SO glad he wasn't at USJ, no telling what would happen if that freak was there!" Sero said.

"I know right?! It was really touch and go near the end! Yaoyorozu-san, Jiro-san and I had to fight off so many bad guys!" Kaminari shivered.

"Lucky bastard..!" The purple haired boy grumbled.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered! Did you guys hear the rumor?" Sero asked.

"No? What?" Kaminari leaned forward with interest.

"I overheard some second years talking in the hall. Apparently, on the week we had off, Mad Moxxi visited Yūei!" Sero whispered excitedly.

"WHAT?!" The two other boys yelled.

"MAD MOXXI?! THE MAD MOXXI?!" Kaminari's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"NGAAAAH!" Mineta screamed in agony. "YOU'RE TELLING ME THE X-RATED HERO MAD MOXXI WAS HERE AND I MISSED IT?! SOMEONE KILL ME NOW!"

"DON'T TEMPT ME! NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Bakugou roared, scaring the three gossipers into silence.

Angel sweated nervously as she slipped past the commotion. Moxxi had told her that she had paid Nezu a visit while she was in her self imposed isolation. She didn't say anything though. As much as she cared for Moxxi, she didn't want it to be common knowledge that she lived with her, due to the type of people her fans were like.

Unbeknownst to her, she was under the scrutinizing gaze of the angry blonde, whose eyes discreetly followed her as she passed him by.

Midoriya was the first to see her coming, his eyes lighting up as stopped behind Iida and Uraraka.

"H-Hey guys!" She smiled and waved demurely.

Iida and Uraraka whirled around, their faces filled with equal amounts of joy at seeing her, the latter immediately pulling her into a tight hug.

"I know you said you were fine, but it's so good to see you in person Angel-chan!" She said, her voice brimming with relief.

"It's a great comfort to know that you are safe and healthy. That goes for everyone." Iida stated nearby.

Angel could feel the stress melting away as she held Uraraka in the presence of her other friends and classmates, talking, yelling and laughing together. It was comforting knowing that despite the danger last week the class was unfazed, they were still their quirky selves, their gaze set on the horizon in anticipation of what was coming next.

And she was one of them.

"Angel-chan."

Glancing over, she saw Midoriya standing out of his seat nearby. Reluctantly leaving Uraraka's embrace, she turned to face him.

"Thanks for saving us back there at USJ." He said earnestly. "If you hadn't bought us time… Asui-san, Mineta-kun… one of us might not have made it out of there." He bowed his head.

Angel would have been taken back if she hadn't gotten to know Midoriya, only relishing how considerate he was being. Surely he was curious about the circumstances around her confrontation with Shigaraki or the sheer power she had unintentionally displayed afterwards or even the reason behind her hiding herself away for a week.

But no, he didn't pry, the only thing out of his mouth was his thanks for risking her life for his.

Then he started blushing. "O-Oh! Sorry I said that Hodunk-san, I-I overstepped!"

"Oh, no no no!" She gave a small laugh, waving off his concern. "I'd like…" She twiddled her thumbs nervously. "A-Asui-san told me that you tried to save me after I passed out, so, thank you! W-What I'm trying to say is that I'd um, I'd like it if you'd call me that. You've more than earned it… all of you."

Midoriya's face reddened more as a bashful smile wormed its way to the surface, all the while their mutual friends just beamed at them.

"R-R-Really?! O-Ok, then I-I'll be in your care A-Angel-c-chan!" He stammered.

She tittered at his behaviour, guessing he's not used to being friends with girls before.

"Don't force yourself if you can't handle it yet! Just let it happen naturally, okay?"

"S-Sure!" He sputtered again, collapsing into his chair and hiding his face out of embarrassment as all of his friends laughed good-naturedly.

"So just to make sure, you ARE feeling better from… whatever it was right?" Iida asked, trying his best to dance around the issue.

She nodded. "I'm feeling a lot better. I'm sorry I can't tell you guys yet."

"Of course!" Uraraka winked. "As long as you're safe, we can wait as long as you need to feel ready!"

Angel's smile broadened. "Thank you so much guys. Seriously… you don't know how happy you all make me."

"That's pleasing to hear!" Iida said, then glanced at the clock. "It's almost class, I'd better get things ready for the day!" He gave them a salute and raced off to perform his duties.

"Guess we should follow his lead, we'll talk more at lunch!" Uraraka laughed and excused herself.

"See you guys!" Angel waved and made her way to her seat at the back of the room.

On the way, she took a quick, accidental glance at Todoroki in his nearby seat.

She immediately regretted it as a glimpse at the scar on his face brought back painful memories.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

She shuddered, dispelling the ghosts of her past by shaking her head. She shakily set herself down and took a deep breath, unknowingly getting a sideways look from her bi-coloured neighbour.

Time passed and more and more of the class filed in until the room was full.

"Everyone! It is time for homeroom! To your seats!" Iida declared from the front.

"Uhhh, aren't you the only one not sitting down right now?" Sero pointed out.

Iida froze, then bolted to his chair, just as the door opened to a bizarre sight.

"Morning…" A muffled voice groaned. Standing in the doorframe was Aizawa, completely wrapped up like a mummy. Both of his arms were bandaged and in slings and his entire face was covered in cloth, only his usual dead eyes occasionally poking out from under the folds.

"YOU'RE BACK ALREADY?!" The class cried.

'What the heck?! There's being resilient, then there's being completely inhuman!' Angel thought with her mouth agape as they watched their teacher shuffled over to the podium.

"Don't waste your energy worrying about me. I'll be fine." He mumbled. "You all need to be focused on the next battle, right around the corner!"

'Battle?! Oh no, what now?!' She fretted along with the rest of the class.

"The Yūei Sports Festival!" He announced.

"SO NORMAL!" Everyone shouted.

"Stop yelling like that. It hurts my head."

"Wait a second Sensei! Isn't this super risky?! Won't the villains try to pull something again?!" Kaminari protested.

"That's exactly why the festival is going forward. It'll show that Yūei is not going to be deterred by a bunch of punks and that we are ready for anything. There will also be a sizable detachment of police on the premises. What you should really be worried about is concentrating on is what you are hoping to get out of the festival and what needs to be done to get it. The festival is one of the most important events in this school that will have a big impact on your future careers. It is one of the most celebrated events in Japan! You could compare it to the Olympics of the past, before it lost its popularity with the advent of quirks! It is the moment for you to show the world what you are made of!"

"Not just the world, but also the country's top hero agencies who will be scouting us for when we graduate!" Yaoyorozu added from in front of Angel, causing the class to whisper amongst themselves nervously.

"That is correct. The festival is one of the only three chances in the school year to show the pro-world your worth. This is something you can't afford to miss!" He declared as the class grew into an uproar of excitement.

Amidst the chaos Angel was in deep thought, her hands trembling with nervous energy.

The Yūei Sports Festival, a major physical competition held every year and televised all across the world. She remembered watching it almost every year since she was little, staring at the screen in amazement at the crazy events and quirks on full display. All the while she would picture herself there, before dismissing that notion as wishful thinking.

The fact that she was really going to be part of this year's competition was terrifying, yet exhilarating.

'I'm going to be in the competition! I'm going to be on tv! The whole world is going to see me!'

Then she froze.

'Wait…"She blinked. 'Doesn't that mean-!' Her blood ran cold.

That meant he would see her too.

The morning classes passed by in a blur as Angel's mind was too occupied to focus.

'If I participate in the festival I won't be safe anymore. But if I don't, I'll be sabotaging my chances of becoming a pro hero! What do I do?' She asked herself, desperately hoping for an answer.

'What do I do? What do I-?'

"Angel-chan!"

She jumped in her seat, just becoming aware of Uraraka waving her hand in her face.

"Are you okay? You looked really zoned out. Class is over y'know?"

Blinking owlishly, she looked around to see their modern literature teacher Cementoss leaving the room while the rest of the class were chatting animatedly.

"Oh. Sorry… I just… had a lot on my mind." Angel muttered.

"About the festival right?!" Uraraka hopped with anticipation.

"Y-Yeah. You're sounding pretty excited."

"Excited?" Angel blinked again at the sudden dark chuckle coming from her usually cheerful and spritely friend. She was taken by surprise when the brunette glared at her with a (dare she say it?) bloodthirsty smile. "I'm getting pumped up! Deku-kun! Iida-kun! What about you?!" She grabbed the attention of their mutual friends standing across the room as well as everyone nearby, all of whom were equally unsettled by the uncharacteristic shift in the girl's attitude.

"Woah! Uraraka, you're acting pretty… un-Uraraka right now." Ashido remarked.

"You think she's on her mon-?" Mineta was cut off with a swift slap from Asui's tongue across the face.

"Everyone! I'm going to do my best! Say it with me!" Uraraka roared, thrusting her fist in the air, completely gung-ho for the competition, while many of her classmates didn't know what to do other than mimic her pose.

Angel couldn't help but giggle at her friend's antics. If she kept worrying about every little thing she would never be able to enjoy her time at school. She would talk to Moxxi about attending the festival later, they'll work through the problem together.

"Yeah! I'm so into it!" Uraraka continued before finally calming down. "Whew! All of this cheering is making me hungry! You ready to get going Angel-chan?"

"Actually…" She said just as she spied Aizawa struggling to climb into his sleeping bag at the front of the class. "I need to talk to Aizawa-sensei about something. You guys go on ahead, I won't be long!" She promised.

"Okay, see you there!" Uraraka waved and went to talk to the boys while Angel stood up and walked over to their teacher.

"What are you doing here Sensei? It's break." She asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"I eat my lunch here. Mic doesn't come with an off switch." He answered as he took a sip from a nutrient pack, somehow keeping a grip on the bag despite his numerous bandages. "Is that all you want to ask? If so, please leave me alone."

"W-Well… I wanted to talk to you about something that's been bothering me since… USJ."

"Mmhmm?"

"During the attack… I lost control of my quirk." She recounted regretfully. "It… shook me up really bad. I was hoping that you could help me with getting a better grasp on it or send me in the right direction."

"That's right, you blew up Thirteen's big "waterslide"." He said, eliciting a wince. "Don't worry, she's not mad about it. It's good that you're taking this problem seriously. Restraint is one of the key things that separates the heroes from the villains."

"S-So you'll help?"

"Already planned to. All-Might brought up the issue a couple days ago." He said, making her tense.

"Did he-?"

"Again, don't worry about it. He gave me the minimum amount of details and I could sense that the issue is very personal, so I won't look into it." He interrupted, filling her with relief. "The point is, we're going to be doing something today to start helping you with your problem. Now if that's everything, go and enjoy your lunch. I need a nap."

"Thank you." She said, receiving a nod as he zipped himself up and she turned to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing." She halted and looked back. "I think it'd be best if I informed you that due to you getting first in the entrance exam, you're going to be giving the opening pledge at the Festival."

The world slowed down as she felt the mental equivalent of falling off a ladder.

"W-Wha? What?" She sputtered.

"So you might want to get your speech written up ahead of time and get some practice. Off you go." He concluded and began to relax.

"Wait wait what?! I have to do WHAT?!"

But he was already asleep.

Angel stood there, trying to process the responsibility that just got hoisted upon her shoulders.

"WHAT?!"

"This day just keeps getting better and better…" Angel sighed, rubbing her temples as she made her way out of the classroom to the cafeteria. She was a bit annoyed at how Aizawa just sprung the news on her like that and immediately went to sleep.

The opening pledge. Giving a speech in front of a huge crowd while getting broadcasted on national television? That's not something you just throw at someone! What the heck was she going to say?! What would the world think of her if she screwed up?! Would it negatively impact her career?!

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down.

"Everything's going to be okay! Everything will be fine!" She muttered fervently. "Just need to talk to Moxxi! She'll know what to do!"

"Do you make it a habit of talking to yourself?"

"Eep!" She almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice behind her. She whirled around, almost accidentally smacking the person in the face, at least if he didn't catch her hand.

"Wow, you're jumpy today." He snorted, amused.

Her shock wearing off, she began to smile.

"Shinso-kun!"

"That's my name, don't spread it around." He smirked as he let go.

Her troubles flew away as she was just so glad to see another friend of hers that she hadn't seen in what felt like a long time. Or at least she hoped he was her friend, the jury was still out on that verdict.

"It's so good to see you! How have you been?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much. Just trying to get over the whole thing at USJ. Crazy right?"

She sighed. "Tell me about it! It was so scary that those villains managed to get in! Thank goodness everyone got out okay."

He nodded sagely. "So what're you up to?"

"I'm heading to the cafeteria to have lunch with my friends. You?"

"Same, except I was thinking of going off and doing my own thing."

Angel perked up as an idea crossed her mind.

'Maybe… just maybe…'

"S-Say… I uh, never repaid you for helping me last week. Maybe…" She coughed awkwardly, looking down as she nudged the floor with her shoe. "...you can join me and my friends? I can buy you lunch?"

He blinked in surprise.

"Really? You barely know me. Would it really be okay with your friends if some drowsy looking guy sat at their table?"

"Y-Yeah, but you're a nice guy Shinso-san! You saved me back then and well…" She looked back up to him tilted her head. "I'd like to know you better. So u-ummm… what do you say?" She asked hopefully.

He let out a groan and leaned his head back, debating with himself for a few seconds. Then he finally shrugged and sighed.

"Eh. Sure, why not?"

'Yes!' Angel cheered in her head as her smile widened.

"Let's go then! I told them I wouldn't take too long!" She gestured and started walking, the violet haired boy easily keeping pace with her.

She was so ecstatic. She couldn't believe that she had succeeded in inviting him to join her for lunch. There was only one concern though.

"U-Um, just a warning. I'm uh, not very good with crowds…"

"Yeah, I noticed." He joked playfully.

"Hey!" She pouted at his jab before continuing. "As I was saying, I've been having trouble convincing myself to eat in the cafeteria without getting dizzy. Soooo... there is a slight risk we might have to... eat in the hall or something."

"You're really making it difficult for me to go through with this." He snorted, making her pout again even though she knew he was just playing with her.

"Stop it! How would you like it if I found your weakness and mercilessly teased you about it?!" She shot back.

"Ooooo~! I'm so scared!" He chuckled sarcastically, making her laugh despite her annoyance.

"By the way, I'm a bit curious. What got you all wound up back there?"

"Oh, that. My homeroom teacher dumped a HUGE responsibility on me out of no-where, can you believe that?!" She muttered spitefully.

"What was the job?"

"He told me the school chose me to do the opening pledge at the Sports Festival."

"What? Seriously?" His brows raised in surprise. "You don't strike me as the public speaking type."

"Believe me, it wasn't my choice. Apparently I've gotta do it because I was first in the entrance exam."

Shinso's heels squeaked on the floor as he suddenly came to a stop. She turned about in confusion, which was exacerbated by the look in his amethyst eyes.

"You're in the hero course?" He asked, his voice taking a sharp turn.

"Um… yeah? Aren't you?" She replied. "What's wrong? Did I… say something weird?"

He didn't answer, instead his frown worsened. He remained silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Sorry Hodunk-san. I just... remembered something I needed to do." He said, turning back down the hall and walking away.

"Oh, okay. Maybe next time? I'll uh… see you around." She called after him.

"Yeah… see you soon." He said quietly, leaving Angel behind to grasp at straws, trying to figure out what just happened.