Hey everybody! Happy to see me? Sure you did! Sorry that this update wasn't yesterday as most of you probably have gotten used to, but unfortunately my beta reader was out of town, so I had to put it off till today. Hope that isn't a deal breaker for you! On the other hand, I think that I have gotten enough of a feel for my new work schedule that I can keep my 2 week update schedule, hooray!

In other news, AGC has reached 200 favourites and 250 followers, woot! Thanks again everybody!

Sidenote, it doesn't look like anyone is taking the poll. I'll leave it up for another 2 weeks, but if I don't see anything, I'm just going to close it and stick to the system I've got.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter, if you couldn't tell by the title, things are going to unwind a little before they get tense really soon, lol!

Reviews:

Hornig3: Glad you enjoyed Toru's fangirling and yes, the moment you had been dreading has come to be, mwahaha! We'll see how it goes, yeah?

Engineer4Ever: Expect me to feed you more drama in the future, I'll try my hardest to make it work!

Cya next week!

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

"Alright, all of you settle down." Aizawa grumbled as he entered the classroom, followed by an anxious Mineta, his arrival met with glares and annoyed looks across the board. The diminutive lecher wilted a little and scuttled to his seat.

Angel never knew she could have so much disgust for one person, but here she was, fuming and cursing his existence. It was about a half hour after Hero Studies. She had joined the rest of her female classmates in the change room where they had fun talking about each other's performances in the exercise. A large amount of focus had been on her much to her surprise, due to her victory and the new moves she had shown off against Bakugo and Mineta. It had caught her off guard, but she was beginning to enjoy the compliments being thrown her way.

However, the moment was soured upon the discovery of an intrusion on their privacy. Apparently, Mineta had found a small hole in the wall between the girl's and boy's change rooms and had planned on sneaking a peek. Thankfully, Jiro took notice before he could get a good look, using one of her earjacks to stab him in the eye on the other side. Yaoyorozu plugged up the hole shortly after.

Hence that was the reason all of the girls, Angel included, were trying to set their classmate on fire with the heat vision none of them possessed.

"Now, before I send you off today, I've got an announcement to make. As you are all surely buzzing over, summer break is on the horizon."

Angel's ears perked up along with the rest of the class's.

"Of course, it wouldn't do for all of you to stagnate for thirty days, so Yūei will be hosting a special training camp at a forest lodge in the mountains."

The class immediately went nuts, excitement on everyone's faces!

"Seriously?! A camping trip at a lodge?! Yūei is so awesome!"

"This is going to be so fun! We can play games and dares!"

"The open air baths!"

"I hope there will be fireworks!"

"Open air baths!"

"You think there's going to be grilling?! Man, I'm getting hungry already!"

"Open air-!"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone yelled at Mineta, making him shrink and hide under his desk.

Angel on the other hand was more quiet in celebrating her elation. She had never been on a camping trip before (unless she counted the trip from the United States, she didn't.) and it sounded like a lot of fun. Spending time with her friends and classmates, all in the tranquility of nature far removed from the cities? That last part was especially appealing, being a chance for her to take a break from technology and all the commotion that brought for her.

'Sign me up!' She thought, smiling and tapping her foot eagerly.

"However…" Aizawa's dour voice cut through the bright atmosphere like butter. "Those who fail the end of term exam coming in two weeks will not be joining us. They will spend the break in remedial classes instead. That is it, see you tomorrow." He declared and immediately left the room almost in sync with the afternoon bell, leaving the now teens alone. Most of them started chatting amongst themselves, either taking guesses at what the activities at the camp will be or worrying over their grades.

Angel rubbed her hands, lost in thought. An exam. Was it going to be anything like the entrance exam? If so, she might not have that much to worry about. The academic portion was fairly simple and she had scored first in the practical.

'Still… Yūei has thrown a lot of curveballs. Maybe I should get right to studying when I get home?" She thought, getting up from her desk and grabbed her bag from her locker. She was just lifting it over her shoulder when she caught the attention of a pair of black eyes.

"Heeeeey, Hodunk-san!" She looked up to be met with Ashido's pink, grinning face. "Whatcha doing? Got any plans?"

Angel blinked at the question. "U-Um, no? P-Probably just going home to prep for the exam."

"Whaaat?! Boring!" Ashido gave her a thumbs down and pulled her in a little closer. "Look, Kaminari-kun, Jiro-chan and some others were thinking of hanging out. Wanna come?"

For Angel, the world had slowed to a crawl. Was… was this really happening? Was she really getting invited to "hang out"? She had heard of this mysterious phenomena before, a concept constantly referenced in books and shows she had enjoyed growing up. A small part of her had always wondered what it would be. Now that part was jumping around inside her head, inflamed by the opportunity presented to her.

Still, she was unsure. Hanging out, from what she understood, was a public activity. That meant people. That meant a lot of people.

"I-I-I-I don't know…" She stammered, looking away shamefully. "I t-think I should just study tonight."

"Aw come on!" She jumped as the other girl pulled her into a tight, sideways hug, making her sweat at how close their faces were. "If you do nothing but study all the time, you're gonna turn into Iida-san!"

"Hey!"

"No offense dude! Love ya!" Ashido shot over her shoulder. "But like I was saying, you need to live a little! I haven't seen you go and do anything since the start of the term!"

Angel tilted her head, trying to parse Ashido's implication. "Is… that a bad thing?"

"It totally is!" Ashido threw her arms up. "We're in the prime of our lives! We have to savor the free time we have left before adulthood comes and ruin that for us!" She said in a completely serious tone.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah! That's what kids do! They hang out with their friends and have fun! Otherwise there's just something wrong with ya!"

Angel's eyes widened. Was that true? By actively avoiding group activities, was she denying herself of fundamental experiences, of sensations that she wouldn't be able to recapture when she got older?

Come to think of it, she hadn't done anything like that with her friends yet. All they did was talk, eat and talk and train. None of her friends ever brought up the topic and she definitely hadn't, so it never crossed her mind.

Then her blood ran cold.

Perhaps her friends had wanted to do these things, but never asked about it because of her. They knew how she got around crowds. Were they depriving themselves of having fun out of concern for her?

Would that mean she was being a bad friend? Maybe there WAS something wrong with her.

If so, she needed to fix this, right now!

"C-Can… can I invite my friends to come with us?" She asked quietly.

Ashido beamed.

"Well, duh! The more the merrier! Go ahead and ask them, we'll meet ya at the front gate!" She gave her a clap on the back and did a happy little spin back towards her group. Angel watched her go, more than a little nervous about her new mission.

Turning around, she spotted her three friends over at Midoriya's desk.

She sucked in a deep breath and approached.

"H-Hey guys." She greeted, trying not to squirm when they all looked at her.

"Hey Angel-chan!" Uraraka gave a little wave, then frowned a bit. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing. You look like a nervous wreck." Iida added. Midoriya remained silent, but gave her an equally concerned look.

"I-I'm fine. I-I just, u-um, would you guys like to..? W-Wait, what I m-mean is…" Angel stumbled over her words like they were right in front of her shoes, trying to find the right way to bring up her question.

"It, um, occured to me t-that we haven't really done a-any, uh, after school activities together. Or anything not school related really."

All of her friends blinked in shock.

"Huh… now that you mention it, you're right." Uraraka muttered in a low, serious tone, as if it was some dark revelation.

"Oh yes, I've heard of these "recreational rendezvous"." Iida held his chin in thought.

"W-We have been pretty busy lately, what with training, the Festival, internships and stuff, I guess it never came to mind." Midoriya said in usual ansty fashion. "Why do you ask Angel-chan?"

She shimmied, twiddling her thumbs. "W-Well, Ashido-san and her friends are going to hang out for a while a-and she was w-wondering if we'd like to join them."

"Cool, really? What are they gonna do?" Uraraka leaned over with interest.

Angel shrugged. "I-I dunno. She didn't say."

"Ooh! A surprise? That sounds fun! We should totally do it! What about you guys?" Uraraka turned to the boys expectantly, both of whom looked away, filling Angel with dismay.

"I don't think it would be very wise of us to squander our time gamboling about when we could be using it to prepare ourselves for the coming exam." Iida stated, pushing his glasses up his brow in disapproval.

"Aw come on Iida-kun!" Uraraka playfully drummed her fists off his side. "We've got almost two weeks before the exam and it's been nonstop work since the term started! I think we've earned a little break! You don't want us to work ourselves to death, huh?"

"I-I guess that may be true, to a certain extent." He admitted. "I suppose some of my hesitation comes from the fact I've never done this sort of thing before. How about you two?" He addressed Midoriya and Angel.

"Oh, uh, y-yeah, me either." He scratched behind his ear shyly. "I've never had a-anyone to go out with and never got invited in middle school."

"M-Me three. Y-You know why." Angel mumbled.

Uraraka gasped and slammed her hands down on Midoriya's desk! "Wait, none of you guys have ever hung out after school before?! Okay that does it, we are totally doing this!"

"I still don't know…" Iida hummed, grimacing in uncertainty.

Angel almost groaned. They were just going in circles and if this kept up, Ashido and the others were probably going to leave. She could understand where Iida was coming from, but she really wanted to have fun with everyone and experience something she had only dreamed of.

"P-Please Iida?" She said quietly, her tone wobbling a little. He seemed stunned, probably at her using his name as casually as she did, perhaps even ashamed when he saw how badly she wanted for him to say yes, being written all over her dejected face. His mouth opened, then he caught himself and sighed. Finally, he gave a defeated smile.

"Very well. I suppose one afternoon of merriment won't hurt. But only if Midoriya-kun wants to as well."

The verdette gave a shaky laugh. "S-Sure! I-I think it'd be fun!"

"Then it's settled!" Iida took on his usual professional persona, gesturing to the door. "Let us be off!"

"Awesome!" Uraraka bounced jubilantly. "Let's go!" She raced out to the hallway, leaving the three of them behind. A couple seconds later, they could hear the loud squeak of her shoes on the marble floor and she came back around the corner, looking extremely bashful.

"U-Um, I don't know where I'm going, heehee!" She laughed.

A few minutes after their little discussion ended, Angel had led her friends out the school's front door. From there it was a simple matter of spotting Ashido alone, thanks to her vibrant pigmentation. As promised, she was standing under the front gate along with her own entourage made up of Kirishima, Kaminari, Jiro and Sero.

As soon as she spotted them, Ashido smiled and jumped up exuberantly, her hand a blur as she waved them over.

"Heeey! Guys! Over here!" She called out to them, as if they hadn't already seen her.

"H-Hey!" Angel returned the gesture, albeit with much less of the passion the other girl possessed. God, how much she wished she did, then maybe she wouldn't be trembling so much.

"Good to see that you could make it and-oh!" She gasped. "Everyone's here, even Iida-kun! Kaminari, Sero, pay up!" She held out a hand to the two boys, who grumbled as they pulled out their wallets and passed her some coins.

"Wait, did you wager on whether I'd be coming or not?!" Iida asked incredulously, as if he'd been struck. "Do my classmates think so low of me that I wouldn't join them in recreational activities?! I'm a failure of a representative!" He dramatically hung his head.

"Nah, we don't think that man!" Sero assured him. "It's totally fine if you want to be ready for classes, we just didn't think you'd show up."

"You are kinda high strung though." Jiro commented off to the side.

"It's okay Iida-kun. We love you the way you are." Uraraka gave the tall boy a comforting pat on the back.

"T-Thank you for letting us come along, Ashido-san." Angel spoke up, getting a laugh from the horned girl.

"No problem Angel-chan! But just call me Mina-chan! We're all friends here right?"

Angel blinked. "W-We are?" She sputtered.

"M-Me t-too?!" Midoriya stammered from her right, matching her own surprised expression.

It couldn't be that easy could it? She had barely interacted with Ashido, let alone Jiro, Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero. She didn't think she had even spoken to Sero before, while the closest approximation to interaction with the other two boys had been her sitting completely silent on a bus. That and Kaminari's failed attempt at flirting with her, but she couldn't even think of that moment without blushing.

Completely ignorant of Angel's inner debate, Ashido laughed and said: "Of course we are! We're all classmates right? Future heroes who have come face to face with death. Unless you don't want to?" She pouted, sending Angel into a panic.

"N-N-No, I-I mean, y-yes! I-I think? I-I'l be your f-friend A-Ashido-san, I-I mean Mina-chan!" She corrected herself, trying to hide how much of a nervous wreck she was.

"I-I guess if you put it that way, w-we'd be friends, M-M-M-Mina-c-c-chan!" Midoriya answered just as shakily.

"Great!" Mina jumped. "Now let's get moving! Not a moment to lose!" She said, leading the troupe of hero students out the front gate.

"So where are we going?" Uraraka asked from the back.

"You guys are gonna love this!" Kaminari grinned. "I found this sweet arcade a few blocks away! We could totally blow an hour or two!"

"An arcade?" Angel muttered, running the unfamiliar syllables on her tongue. She had heard of arcades before, she hadn't been THAT sheltered, but she obviously never been to one. It was basically like a casino but for kids right?

'Hopefully this one won't be a front for a human trafficking ring.' She thought grimly while the rest of the group reacted to the news.

"T-That sounds like fun! Just give me a minute to text my mom." Midoriya said, retrieving his phone.

"G-Good idea. I should probably do the same." She agreed as she reached for her own device and pulled up the message app.

Angel: Hey, I got invited to hang out at an arcade near school. Is that okay?

She sent the message and not two seconds later she could see the bubble on Moxxi's end followed by her response.

Heartbreaker: Awesome! I've been known to be quite a button masher myself. Remember to stick with your friends and stay safe! You can use your card if you need money. Have fun!

Another ping and a second text came right after it.

Heartbreaker: And I know I'm not one to talk, but try to keep your hands to yourself if you take anyone into a photobooth for a private shoot ;)

Angel grimaced, familiar enough with Moxxi's lingo to get a general idea of what she was talking about.

"Ew…"

As Kaminari had promised, it was a relatively short walk from the school, down the hill and through the city. Before long, they had arrived at the arcade in question and the group gazed upon the new frontier with awe.

Much like the Pretty Penny, the establishment was a wide open space packed with games and vending machines. Unlike the casino, there weren't any scantily clad waitresses bussing alcohol or cigarettes around and instead of card tables and slots there were rows of video games and other attractions. Several of them were manned by kids and young adults, likely all coming here to relax after a long day of school. Heck, there were a few Yūei students around as well.

"Wow! This place is sick, Kaminari-bro!"

"I know right?!"

"Deku-kun, look at all those prize machines!"

"Y-Yeah! So this is what I-I've been missing?"

"I bet I could find a good dance game somewhere here!"

The group laughed and looked around, trying to find the first game that they wanted to play. But in their excitement, they failed to notice one of their members fall behind. For while they only heard the beeping and booms of the games around them, Angel's head was being bombarded with digital chatter. She had been so fixated on having fun with her friends that she hadn't considered what effect a room filled to the brim with machines would do to her. It felt like she was a raft floating in the middle of a static sea, the waves crashing against the side of her little dingy.

She massaged her pulsing temples, wincing as some kid nearby hit a high score, their cabinet sending signals to it's speakers and lights which in turn flooded her mindspace with more noise.

Her discomfort was steadily rising and was reaching the point that it was starting to become painful when she felt someone gently shake her by the arm. She looked up to see Midoriya looking straight into her eyes, concern written all over his face.

"Angel-chan, are you alright?" He asked, his voice low

She gave him a weak nod, but he didn't seem convinced. Then it looked like he put two and two together, his eyes widening as he took a glance at their surroundings.

"It's the machines isn't it? It's too much noise."

She nodded again.

"If it's too much for you, we can leave. I doubt anyone will blame you for that."

"N-No!" Angel said, shaking her head despite the throbbing. "I-I'll be fine! I have a workaround!"

He watched in bewilderment as she reached into her pocket and pulled out some strips of gum. Ripping off the wrappers, she crammed a couple pieces into her mouth and rapidly started chewing. With every minty bite, the pain retreated until there was only a small buzzing in the back of her skull.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. I'm good."

"Really? Chewing gum alleviates your quirk headaches?" He said in disbelief.

"Mhm! You know how your head hurts when you're on a plane or going somewhere really high and you chew something to release pressure? It's the same thing for my quirk as all the energy courses through my brain." She explained, not getting surprised when her friend already had his notebook out and was writing away.

"Interesting, so that implies that maybe you could relieve pain from overusing your quirk through other means of releasing pressure, like yawning. Maybe that's an evolutionary change due to your ability to fly and-"

He continued to ramble on. Angel could only let out a soft laugh. One would hardly guess that this was the first year hero student that had stared down the sadistic leader of the League of Villains and survived a run in with the Hero Killer. Most people would have been scarred in a figurative if not literal sense.

Yet here he was, nerding out over her using gum to cure a quirk headache. It proved that no matter what harrowing circumstances Midoriya found himself in, he was still the kind, innocent boy that she met on the day of the exam.

She couldn't have asked for a better person to be her first friend.

"Hey." Angel lightly pulled down on the front of the singed notebook, cutting off his jabbering and grabbing his attention. "Thanks for noticing. Let's have some fun already, yeah?"

He flushed a little, probably from being caught in one of his famous muttering sprees again. "R-Right! S-Sorry." He apologized, putting his book away.

Filled with eagerness and a little bit of bravery, Angel took an idea from Uraraka and pulled him along by his sleeve.

"Come on! Let's find the others!" She said, leading the boy further inside, who was still a blushing mess.

What followed next was some of the greatest times of Angel's life. She, her friends and sort-of-getting-close-to-new-friends-question-mark roamed the arcade as a pack, looking for something to play. When someone pointed one out, they'd challenge each other at a friendly bout while the rest watched and rooted for their chosen champions.

Much to her surprise, Kaminari picked her as his opponent at some kind of shooting game. It was one of those game cabinets where one had to use a toy handgun to shoot at swarms of snarling alien monsters on the screen.

They swiped their cards and drew their weapons as the bombastic music began to play, the bulky, plastic magnum feeling awkward in her hand as she mimicked how Kaminari held his.

"Don't worry Angel-chan, I'll go easy on you!" He gave her a wink.

She narrowed her eyes a little at his jest. Now she was feeling competitive.

After a short cutscene of their characters boarding an infested spaceship, the game flashed "GO!" and they were immediately beset by the screaming chitinous horde! Taking aim, they opened fire. Every pull of the trigger was rewarded with alien screams as they burst into green goo and numbers flashed, adding to their scores.

Angel struggled to keep her arm steady as more and more of the digital monsters ran towards the screen and before she knew it, she had lost two of her three lives while her opponent had only lost one.

"Come on Angel-chan! Beat Jamming Whey already!" Jiro cheered her on.

"Not cool!" Kaminari shot back.

Angel didn't answer and only kept firing, still not liking how her gun felt in her hand. It was like something didn't quite click.

Then it hit her and she groaned. "Gah, I'm an idiot!"

They entered another cutscene and she took the opportunity to swap her weapon to her other hand just in time for the next wave. As soon as the aliens returned, she could already see and feel a dramatic improvement as she didn't miss a single shot.

"Oh, that makes sense. She's left handed isn't she?" Uraraka pointed out.

"What?! Seriously?!" Kaminari gawked at his opponent's sudden improvement.

"Eyes on the screen man!"

"Huh? OH GOD NO!" He screamed as his screen went red and he was promptly mauled to death.

"And the winner is Angel-chan!" Ashido cheered, calling the game.

Angel grinned, returning her pistol back to the cabinet's holster.

"Man, I've been meaning to ask, how'd you get so good at shooting anyway?" Kirishima asked.

"I practice shooting with my quirk every week at a firing range. I've put a lot of work into it."

After Kaminari picked up the pieces of his shattered pride, the group was quickly urged by an ecstatic Ashido to her activity of choice, one she had hoped would be present since they arrived.

In a minute, Angel and the rest were cheering the pink girl on as she spun and bopped to the wild rhythm pumping from the dance game's speakers. Her feet were a blur, stamping on each of the glowing panels in perfect tandem with the arrows on the screen. It was clear that she was in her element and it was unlike anything Angel had ever seen.

"WOO! You go girl!" Uraraka whooped.

"Yup, that's Mina alright!" Kirishima chuckled.

"Um, friends? I think something's wrong with my machine!" Iida cried out from his platform on Ashido's right. In comparison, his dancing was more like the stiff gyrations of a robot on a single wheel, Angel would know. As a result, his score was nowhere near as high as his partner and the screen was flashing red, the booing of an unseen crowd in the air.

"Might want to stick to academics class rep!" Sero teased.

They quickly followed up that music game with another, this time being a rock band one, which Jiro partook in after Kaminari badgered her into joining him. Wielding their electric guitar controllers, both of them went nuts, performing a catchy rock tune almost perfectly.

"Wow! I knew sound was Jiro-chan's thing, but look at her go!"

"Yeah and Kaminari-bro isn't too bad either!"

Angel watched on, dancing in place despite not being familiar with the song. What stood out to her the most was the look on Jiro's face. She was one of the most stoic members of their class, only getting outdone by Todoroki. But now she was grinning ear to ear, fingers running up and down the neck of her fake instrument.

She really was seeing all the different sides of her classmates on this little outing and she was loving every bit of it.

Speaking of…

"Ack! How'd you-?! Stop! Lemme go!" Kirishima yelped, slamming the joystick every which way and frantically pressing every button.

All the while, a rosy cheeked, brunette silently executed her strategies with a cold focus, her avatar juggling the muscular boy's around on the screen, who was helpless to do anything.

"ORA!" With a flourish of the joystick and two button presses, her character, a lithe ninja, uppercutted the thick muscled wrestler upside the jaw. The larger man cried in agony, falling back in slow motion and collapsing to the ground.

"Player 1, wins! Pristine Triumph!" The announcer declared.

Behind them, the rest of the group gawked in horror at the one sided slaughter. It was that moment that they learned a fun little tidbit about Uraraka. She was utterly merciless at fighting games.

"Whew…" Said monster wiped some sweat off her brow and smiled sweetly. "Wanna play again?"

No one volunteered.

About an hour and some change later, the teens were starting to lose steam. Feeling like they had enough of the digital games, they found some prize machines towards the back of the building. Sero and Uraraka were trying their hands at the claw machines while everyone else sat down on some benches to catch their breath. Well, except for Kirishima who had the endless energy of a month old puppy. He was wandering around to see if there were any "Manly" games he would excel at, whatever that meant.

Angel took a swig from a canned juice she got from a vending machine. She too was feeling quite exhausted, but in a good way. She felt satisfied after a long day at school, winning the hero exercise and having an absolute blast with her friends, feeling like she had gotten closer to all of them in the process.

Was this what she had been missing all those years, hidden away from the rest of the world? If so, she planned to make up for lost time.

"Hey Midoriya-kun! I think there's an All-Might figure in this machine!" Sero called out, catching the attention of the shy boy, who had been largely absent from most of the game's they've played. He immediately lit up.

"What, really?!" He gasped, running over to where Sero and Uraraka stood and pressed his face to the glass. "Oh my gosh, that's a limited series, bronze age All-Might with extra flex action!"

"Then what are you waiting for man?" Sero goaded him.

Angel watched, amused by her friend's obsession with their teacher. He slipped the required coins into the slot and the machine whirred to life. Grabbing the joystick, he maneuvered the claw over the coveted figure. He pressed the button and lowered it down so it was right on top of his prize

"Nice one Deku-kun!" Uraraka egged him on.

"Yes!" He pumped his fist and pressed the button to close the claw. The hooks locked onto the toy's head, but slipped off his glossy hair.

"What?" Midoriya's voice cracked, sounding like a kid that learned his Birthday had been canceled..

"Hey, what the heck was that! The claw's grip was too weak!" Uraraka pouted.

"Good luck with that Midoriya." Jiro told him from where she leaned against the wall drinking a canned tea. "That sort of game is always rigged."

"M-Maybe I just need to try again!" He said, reaching into his pocket only to sag when he retrieved just a couple yen. "Aw man…"

Angel frowned at her friend's sorrow. Putting her drink down and standing up, she started marching over, determined to pay back a shred of the kindness he had given her the last two months.

"Let me try." She offered, holding up the coins needed for another go.

"O-Oh, y-you don't have to spend your money on me Angel-chan." He muttered, full of guilt and sorrow. "

"Yeah, well I want to. Now scoot." She ordered him, making him blink and move to the side.

Angel pushed the coins in and gripped the joystick with her right hand, the other one planted firmly on the front of the console. She angled the claw over the figure. She could hear her bystanders watching with bated breath as it lowered towards her target. The tension was so thick, it felt like she was defusing a bomb.

It was the moment of truth. She pressed the button to close the clamp and her left hand glowed.

'Executing phaseshift!'

Sparks coursed from her palm and surged into the machine. This time, the claw locked onto Mini-Might and held on tight. Pressing the other button, it rose into the air and there her spoils hung.

"Yeah! Eat it you stupid machine!" Uraraka growled victoriously and the rest of the group cheered while the claw automatically moved over to the chute and dropped the prize inside.

Angel opened the flap and retrieved the figure. "Here you go!" She smiled, holding it out to Midoriya, his hands shaking as he reached for the toy but stopped himself.

"R-Really? For me?" His voice wobbled.

"Yep! Enjoy!"

Predictably, geysers of tears shot from his eyes as he finally took the gift. "Th-haaank y-youuu!" He blubbered, making Angel laugh for what must have been the hundredth time this day.

"Hodunk-san! I believe using our quirks to win these games is prohibited!" Iida protested with a bout of arm waving.

"You heard Jiro! They cheat, I cheat right back!" She countered, getting nods all around.
With no one else to support him, Iida sighed and started to glance around anxiously, fearful for some hero to come arrest them for their misdeed.

Not that Angel cared if someone did come and chew her out for what she just did. The look on Midoriya's face as he looked over the All-Might figure for blemishes was more than worth it.

"Don't worry Iida-kun, I won't do it again." She promised. "I'm gonna sit back down though, my feet are starting to hurt." She said and excused herself.

Setting herself back down on the bench, she pulled off one of her shoes and began massaging her aching heel, letting out a thankful groan.

"H-Hey." She looked up to see Midoriya standing over her. "T-Thanks again, for this I mean."

Angel smiled again. "You're welcome."

"C-Can I sit down?" He pointed at the spot on her left.

"Sure."

With her permission, he sat down next to her. For a moment, they reclined in silence, content to just watch their friends from a distance.

"W-What a day, huh?" Midoriya asked, finally breaking the relative quiet.

"You said it."

"First day back from internships, hero exercises, coming here." He gestured around. "I don't think I ever imagined this is where I'd be."

She nodded sagely. "Me either."

Another uncomfortable lull, the buzzing of the games and laughter of kids filling the void.

"Y-You know, t-there's something that I've been meaning to ask you." Midoriya started again.

Angel raised a brow. "Oh? Like what?"

"It's been something that's been bothering me for a while now. The day that we got back to school after USJ, Iida-kun and Uraraka-chan and I got to talking. I-I think you were absent because you went to see Aizawa-sensei."

Her interest was piqued. "What did you guys talk about?"

He scratched his head, a nervous tick she was beginning to recognize easier now. "W-We were talking about our reasons for wanting to become heroes. Iida-kun wants to follow in his brother's footsteps, I want to be just like All-Might, b-but I guess you already knew that bit."

"Maybe." She snickered.

"And Uraraka-chan said she wanted to make money to help support her parents."

Angel hummed in approval. While not the archetypal motivation for becoming a pro hero, it was admirable in her own way, trying to get into a dangerous profession to help her family make ends meet while saving lives. "Hm. Sounds like her."

"Y-Yeah. But then that got me thinking." He turned to her. "Why do you want to be a hero, Angel-chan?"

She blinked. That was a simple question with an infinitely complicated answer. In her head, she struggled to come up with what she could say.

But then it came to her, a lonely night many years ago and in a dark room so very far away.

Angel, nine years old, sighed as she lifted the helmet off her head. Another day of isolation, Another day of sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Another bank of private data pilfered and it's contents transferred to her servers.

Just as he ordered.

The guilt ate away at her insides. In the morning, the owner will discover his company's secret project stolen without a trace. He'll likely be held accountable and fired, his life thrown into shambles.

But he needed that project more right? For the big plan that would save the world? That's what he said, so it had to be true. She couldn't bear to think that she had been doing these terrible things for the wrong reason, so that was the lie she swallowed.

She looked to one of the dozens of screens mounted onto the arms of the large, padded chair she sat in. With a wave, she turned one on to the evening news. Hopefully something would be there that would take her mind off things.

As was the trend with the media, the current showing was the coverage of some disaster. In this case, an apartment engulfed in flames. Police held back crowds of onlookers, while firefighters desperately tried to contain the blaze.

Her heart went out for whoever might still be trapped inside, but she couldn't do anything about it, so she sat there feeling numb to it all.

Suddenly, one of the top floor windows smashed to pieces and a man wrapped in a cape and spandex shot out! Not a moment too soon as an explosion blew the top of the building sky-high, raining debris!

The man plummeted towards the street, but just when she thought he was going to splatter all over the asphalt, he was enveloped in a resplendent bubble of water. The orb squished as it hit the ground and promptly burst, showering the hero and surrounding bystanders.

Taking a moment to stand up, he opened his cape to reveal himself completely covered in soot and spotted with leopard print of burns. But held within his grasp was a little boy, his cheeks puffy as he cried.

From the crowd, a distraught looking woman wearing an ashy bathrobe ran to the hero and wrapped the boy, her son most likely in a tight hug, tears streaming down her face.

'All's well that ends well I guess.' Angel thought and was about to change the channel when something gave her pause.

The woman. She was smiling. She had likely lost all of her belongings in the fire, but she was smiling.

So was the boy. He was absolutely filthy and was probably scared out of his mind, but he was smiling.

And standing over them was the hero. Looking upon the hysterical woman holding her son. He was smiling too.

Angel sat there, transfixed with her eyes glued to the monitor.

Slowly, her hands rose to her face. And she lightly pushed up the corners of her mouth.

It was in that moment, that she knew she wanted something more. Something more than her quiet, stifling existence. She wanted to be a hero.

"I remember watching a news story about a fire. A hero ran headfirst into the building without a second thought, all to save this boy. They both made it and the boy's mom…" She paused for a moment. "She looked so happy. And so did he. And the hero. And everyone else. They were all just so… happy."

Midoriya listened intently, watching the emotions run over his friend's face.

"I guess…" Angel continued. "...I was just so used to the idea that my quirk causes more trouble than it's worth, that I wished I could do that too. To make people happy, instead of seeing them sad."

'Like Dad and I.' She kept to herself. "That's the kind of hero I want to be. The one that people are happy to see and to know that everything is going to be alright. It's why I made my name "Guardian Angel", to let people know that they are safe, that I am watching over them."

"I see." Midoriya muttered. "I… I think that's a really cool reason to be a hero, Angel-chan. I'm sure you'll be a great hero someday."

She nodded and looked at him, a small smile returning to her face. "Thanks… Izuku."

Almost immediately, Midoriya's face turned scarlet and he hid behind his new figure, the casual use of his name nearly too much for him to bear!

"N-N-N-No p-p-p-problem!" He chattered and she laughed again.

Soon after, the students filed out the door, their little jaunt coming to an end as they had trains to catch. The whole time, Angel smiled, doing exactly as Ashido said, savoring the prime of her youth. So wrapped up in her wistful thoughts, she didn't notice the short, skittish looks Midoriya was giving her.

He much preferred it when his friend was smiling than when she was sad. It suited her more than tears.