Izuku was frozen in place, his thoughts screeching to a halt as he stared at the pink-skinned, horned woman who had saved his life. She glared back at him, fire in her eyes.

"She's gorgeous," Izuku thought, through a haze of shock he didn't know the origin of.

Izuku liked to think that he wasn't so shallow as to notice someone's appearance above the rest of them. But this woman made it impossible for him to notice anything else. She demanded attention, pink skin and golden eyes and curved horns drawing eyes in until you couldn't look away. Even if she'd looked totally normal, there was something about the shape of her face, the set of her eyes, the way a few stray curls of hair spilled forwards over her forehead that made her beautiful-or perhaps regal was a better word. This woman shouldn't have been gorgeous-her face was scarred and dirty, her cheeks too sallow, her hair roughly shorn close to her head. And yet, she was, if only to Izuku. Perhaps it was the uniqueness of her face that did it; staring into those blazing eyes, seeing challenge on every line of her too-thin face, Izuku somehow knew that there was nobody else on Earth who looked like this, nobody else with eyes like burning suns at midnight. There was something else prickling in the back of his mind, something that was on edge, but he couldn't reach it, and buried it as far as he could in the depths of his consciousness.

Izuku's breath was slow in coming back to his lungs; for a long moment, he didn't respond to Mina's last statement, too stunned by the fury on her face.

Still deep in the grip of the rage that had blown away every self-preservation instinct screaming for her to turn tail and run, Mina took a single, threatening step forwards. Her body shook, though she didn't know if it was from anger or fear.

"What's wrong, hero?" she snarled, voice bitter and deadly cold. "Am I too scary for you to even look at?"

"That's not the problem," Izuku thought to himself as he snapped from his reverie, only to find he'd forgotten how to speak. "It's the exact opposite of my problem."

Seeing that Izuku was still trying to stammer out a response, Mina just shook her head, snorting humorlessly. She asked, "What, is it really that hard for your fragile little ego to accept the fact that you got saved by a monster?"

Mina's heart twinged again, as it did every time she heard that word aimed at her-even when she did it to herself. She'd heard it so many times, from so many people and so many places, she couldn't even recall the first time it had happened anymore. It always burned so badly, but she'd known for her entire life that she couldn't argue against it. It was true, after all. It caused rebellions in her heart every time she thought that, but she was just too tired, too exhausted, too hungry to care anymore. Let abovegrounders call her what they wanted to. She just wanted to survive.

Then, Izuku finally found his words. Shaking his head, he stammered, "Y-you're not a monster."

Mina frowned. Ignoring the part of her that felt odd at being apologized to like that for the first time she could remember, she replied, "Cut the shit, hero. I know what I am, you know what I am. Don't lie about what you think of me."

Izuku raised his head, and Mina saw his eyes up close for the first time. They were like deep green pools, ringing with expressive emotion, with not an ounce of guile or dishonesty. Mina was instantly on her guard, watching suspiciously, waiting. Those eyes were too open and free for the Number One Hero. He was up to something, he had to be.

Izuku paused for a moment, thinking through his responses, wondering how this had gotten so heated so quickly. At last, he softly said, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I swear I don't think you're a monster. Can we try this again?"

Mina's eyes narrowed. Her voice still scathing, she replied, "What is there to try again at? I don't want to talk to you."

Izuku didn't even flinch, though his heart stung for reasons he couldn't quite place. He said, "I just…you saved me. Why can't I want to know who I owe my life to better?"

Mina scowled at him. "Are you a fucking broken record or something?" she asked. "I already told you, I don't care what you want. There's nothing to know, anyway. Like I said, I didn't save your life for…for any good reason, really."

For the first time, Mina broke eye contact with Izuku, looking away as if she was suddenly uncertain.

As her rage faltered, Izuku grew curious. "Then why did you save me?" he prompted.

Mina leaned against the tunnel wall. Her body language grew heavy, her expression looking tired and weaker now that the light of rage was draining from her eyes. "I…I don't know," she admitted. "I…like I said, you didn't deserve to die. I don't know how to explain it any better than that."

Izuku nodded softly, knowing that he didn't dare risk pushing any further, at least right now.

Mina lay against the wall for a moment, fighting off a wave of exhaustion. Damn it, she didn't have enough energy for this. When it passed, she laid eyes on Izuku standing there, his eyes deep pools of sympathy and understanding, and it set her off all over again. How dare this abovegrounder look at her like that, like he actually gave a damn. Mina knew that that was a lie. Nobody gave a damn about her. They hadn't for years.

Rousing herself, Mina snapped, "Go away, dammit. You chased me across the whole fucking city just to ask me a stupid question. Well, you got the answer, now leave me alone."

Izuku saw the hatred in her eyes, and wondered how he was still alive. The way Mina's golden eyes burned when she looked at him, he half expected to be turned to ash by their light.

"What did I do?" he asked softly. "To make you hate me so much?"

Mina grimaced as her empty stomach rumbled aggressively. She hissed, "Where do I start? For one thing, you're a hero. The hero, in fact. Everyone in the Depths knows who you are. And they all hate you."

Even though he had already known that, to an extent at least, having it confirmed still stung for Izuku. He didn't like the thought of people hating him for the same reasons so many loved him. It was tempting to just dismiss them all as criminals and villains who hated him for stopping their attempts to hurt and steal from others…but then, wouldn't that put the woman in front of him in the same category?

"But even if I wasn't raised hating you for all the shit you've done to us," Mina continued, her voice low and vicious, "you and your fucking spiky friend are making me starve."

She went to speak again, but was cut off by a grunt as her stomach twinged again, her head starting to swim from exhaustion and lack of food. She slumped further down the wall, and when she forced her eyes open again, she found Izuku kneeling over her, green eyes shimmering in worry.

Why was she telling him all this? Why was she even still talking to the damn hero? Mina didn't know. She was tired, and starving, and at the absolute end of her rope, and all of those things were impacting her judgment. But even so, she wasn't stupid.

It was the eyes, she decided in her semi-aware haze where she couldn't be bothered to care anymore. Atlas wasn't wearing his costume, and if she hadn't seen his hair and eyes, she would never have recognized this young man wearing jeans and a t-shirt as the most famous and feared hero in Japan. Those eyes…they were too expressive, too open and honest to belong to the kind of man Mina thought that the Number One Hero would have to be. She'd expected Atlas to be a cold, calculating celebrity as much as a hero, ruthless and uncaring of who he hurt, someone obsessed with the spotlight and appearances above all else. Instead…instead he was something different, something she wasn't quite sure what to make of yet.

At last, Izuku's words cut through the fog in Mina's mind. "Ashido, what's wrong?" he demanded, his voice clearly concerned and worried. "Are you okay?"

Mina's eyes refocused, and she shook her head clear of fog. Damn, she was in worse shape than she'd thought if she was losing focus this hard. Glaring up at Izuku, she snarled, "No, I'm not okay! I'm fucking starving to death, because of you!"

Izuku flinched. "What do you mean, because of me?" he asked.

Mina tried to pull herself to her feet, but found she didn't have the strength. Instead, she leaned her head back against the wall and snapped, "You and Red Riot have been hunting me for a week. I haven't been able to eat in days because of you guys. Every time I have to run from you without getting anything to show for it, I burn shitloads of energy and have no way to get it back. My reward for a good deed is getting slowly starved to death."

Izuku seemed to shrink in on himself as Mina snorted bitterly. Weakly, he said, "We weren't chasing you. You didn't have to run. We just wanted to-"

"To talk?" Mina finished, her voice dripping with harsh sarcasm. "Yeah, because I would see two of the top heroes in the country charging towards me, a thief, and think "Oh, they must be here for a nice friendly conversation!"

Izuku flinched again. "Yeah, I realized that eventually," he muttered. "Sorry."

Mina glared at him hatefully. "Sorry isn't good enough," she snapped. "I don't care if you feel bad. I honestly don't even care if you decide to haul me off to jail after this. One way or another, you've doomed me."

Izuku hung his head, and didn't respond for a second. Mina honestly didn't care what he was doing, but she hoped he at least felt guilty. Maybe she could take some small amount of savage pleasure in it.

Then Izuku's eyes snapped open wide again, and he said, "Wait, I know how to make it up to you!"

He held his hand out to Mina, who stared at it suspiciously. "Come with me," he urged her. She just kept glaring at him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," she replied flatly. "No way in hell."

Izuku seemed utterly untouched by her rejection. "I promise I'm not tricking you or trying to hurt you," he told her, his voice suddenly full of hope. "I just want to make up for what I did to you. Come on, I'll help you find something to eat, alright?"

Mina felt shock and a little bit of hope flare up in her chest, but she kept them tightly leashed, forcing herself to stay strong. "I don't want your help, or your charity," she snapped. She was being stupid, and she knew it-this was an offer that was the closest thing she could imagine to a miracle. She had a chance, if she followed him. But distrust and suspicion held her back, as did her fear. She was not going to be in anyone's debt, especially not the Number One Hero.

"This isn't charity," Izuku replied, his voice steady, his hand still extended towards her. "This is me fixing my mistake. And besides, I owe you a whole lot more than some food."

Mina held his gaze for a long moment, studying those honest, shining green eyes. Every instinct in her body screamed at her, telling her it was a trap. But something inside her whispered back that she had no other choice, that she was being offered hope for the first time in years…and that maybe she could trust this hero, if only for a little while.

At last, Mina sighed. "Fine," she said. She reached up with the remnants of her strength, and took Izuku's hand. Pink fingers interlaced with scarred, twisted ones, and Izuku pulled her up like she weighed nothing at all.

Mina immediately let go of Izuku's hand as soon as she'd staggered to her feet. Izuku went to support her as she wobbled, but she snapped, "Don't touch me."

Izuku stopped, and began to walk out of the tunnel with Mina following on unsteady legs. Gritting her teeth, Mina desperately prayed that she hadn't made a terrible mistake.

Soon, there was no sign they'd ever been in the dim, cramped tunnel.

It took them less than twenty minutes to find a place that wouldn't ask questions. A small, cramped sandwich shop on the sixth level wasn't the kind of place Izuku would normally go, but hey, it was clean, and the owner didn't seem to care that someone in a dark mask and full-body cloak was lurking next to Izuku as he ordered.

Figuring that he might as well go big or go home, Izuku ended up ordering one of every kind of sandwich the place offered, and walked out of the front door with two enormous bags hanging from his arms. Mina, nearly unrecognizable in her mask and cloak, gestured at a nearby rooftop with her head, and Izuku nodded. He watched in surprise as Mina-who he now knew to be malnourished and barely able to walk-scaled the side of the building as smoothly and naturally as if she had been on a casual Sunday stroll.

Izuku could only shake his head at the level of talent and expertise she was displaying. It was a pure miracle he had managed to flag her down in a narrow, confined space. If she'd bolted in an open cavern, he'd never be able to catch her. Quite frankly, he doubted that any hero could. She was just too fast, too good at spotting and planning her routes even as she took them, and knew the Underground too well. It would have been like trying to catch a ghost. A gorgeous, pink-skinned ghost who seemed to hate his guts.

Pushing aside his strange attraction to a mutant thief, Izuku slipped into an alley behind the building Mina had scaled, and bent his legs ever so slightly. With the tiniest of bunny hops, he leaped straight up the wall of the five-story building, landing on the roof and making his way to where Mina sat on the far edge, legs dangling over the edge as she stared out at the city.

Izuku sat down beside her, setting the bags down and offering them to Mina without a word. Equally silently, she nodded in what might have been thanks, ripped the first bag open, and tore into the sandwiches like a predator into an animal carcass.

Mina ate so fast and furiously, Izuku started to worry that she was going to choke. He couldn't blame her, of course-she'd said she hadn't had a decent meal in a week, after all. Izuku hadn't grown up wealthy in the slightest, but he'd always had food available, and for the first time, he found himself wondering just how lucky he'd been. Mutants may have been the most hated and feared group in Japan, but the quirkless…

"There but for the grace of God goes I," Izuku thought to himself, recalling a fragment of some book or other he'd read long ago. Pushing away memories he'd long since outgrown, he continued watching the woman who'd saved his life as she polished off her second sandwich and immediately began tearing open a third.

Strangely, Izuku found himself recalling his old classmate, Yaoyorozu…Creati, now, he supposed. It had always been an odd experience, watching the refined, ladylike woman pig out on carbs before, during, and after any battle or exercise. She discarded all pretenses in favor of getting as much food into her mouth as humanly possible, which was smart of her in order to use her quirk efficiently, of course, but did nothing for the onlookers who could watch Yaoyorozu go from delicately explaining some mathematical formula to Kaminari to inhaling an entire plate of donuts in five seconds.

After her fourth or fifth sandwich, Mina began to slow down noticeably. At first, Izuku wondered if she was full. Then, between bites, Mina noticed him staring at her curiously. Swallowing a mouthful of bread and meat, she curtly explained, "I know better than to eat too much too quick after starving like that. That's how you start throwing everything back up again…if you're lucky."

Izuku nodded. That made sense. He asked, "Do you think this is enough? I can get more, if you want."

Mina waved him off. "No, this is plenty," she assured him.

She paused for a second, seeming to hesitate. At last, she added, "Thank you. I…honestly didn't think you meant what you said about making up for accidentally starving me."

Izuku smiled gently. "Of course I meant it," he replied, "Do you think I would find out I'd hurt you like that and then not try to fix things?"

"Most people don't," Mina muttered under her breath, just softly enough for Izuku to not hear her clearly. He looked at her strangely, but she either didn't notice or didn't feel the need to elaborate. She went right back to devouring her sandwich, soon emptying the entire first bag.

She reached for the second, then paused. "Do…you plan on eating any of these?" she asked awkwardly.

Izuku had, kind of, he guessed. But he could see that Mina was still really hungry, and her eyes were filled with longing as she stared at the second bag of sandwiches.

Izuku shrugged, and told her, "No, I didn't. You can have them all."

Mina nodded, and promptly ripped open the bag, pulling out yet another sandwich and taking a massive bite out of it.

Izuku found himself drifting back into his thoughts. Idly, he mused, "Does this feel…surreal to you?"

Mina paused mid-bite to stare at him, raising one eyebrow. "Nah," she replied. "Top heroes chase me across the entire city and then buy me lunch all the time."

Izuku snorted at the sarcastic quip. With a shrug, Mina continued, "Of course this feels weird as fuck, Atlas. I'm still expecting you to arrest me and cart me off to jail, if I'm being honest."

"I'm not going to," Izuku promised her.

"But why?" Mina pressed, her face suddenly serious. "Why not? You know I'm a thief, and a mutant to boot."

Izuku found himself staring into her eyes again as he tried to decide how to answer that question. She'd taken her mask off again to eat, and he couldn't help but be drawn to the scar that lay along her right cheek, barely an inch below her eye. It was reddish-purple against her pink skin, an odd color that must have been the result of her mutations. Thin and sharp, it looked like something had slashed her along the face, perhaps aiming for her eye, and it was old. Izuku was something of an expert on scars, and how they aged-the twisted, jagged marks along his broken fingers had faded some, but they would always be there, a reminder of just how far he was willing to go to save others, a scar he wore with pride. Mina's scar looked as if it had faded just about the same amount that Izuku's fingers had-so it had to be nearly the same age, nearly a decade old, now. And judging by the way she tended to present it as angrily and aggressively as she did the rest of her impossible, unique face, she wasn't ashamed of it, either. Maybe she wasn't proud of it the same way Izuku was proud of his own, but neither did she shy away from it.

"Odd," Izuku thought to himself, "How out of all the things I could look at, I focus on the one thing that isn't unique to her."

Realizing that he still hadn't answered Mina's question, Izuku forced himself out of his thoughts. Quickly gathering himself, he replied, "Being a hero means stopping villains and criminals from hurting people. But, well…you steal to survive. Who are you hurting?"

Mina looked surprised, then chuckled, "I mean, if you ask me, I ain't hurting anybody. Who gives a shit if a few businessmen lose a couple apples and some bread? They'll live. If I don't steal, I won't."
"I agree," Izuku told her. Mina's eyes widened in surprise.

Izuku leaned forwards, sighing as he stared out over the sixth level. This far down, there were no grand vistas to look out over, just endless rows of close-clustered homes of rock and earth, like the brownstones of New York City, only far less impressive or desirable. These were simple, plain homes for simple, plain people, the lower-level workers who kept the Underground running and the economy of the upper levels churning. Levels five, six, and seven were much like this one-more low-to-middle-end residential neighborhoods than grand cavern cities. Level eight was different-far smaller than any of the others, it contained most of the industry and infrastructure that made the Underground livable. Almost nobody lived down there, for the dual reasons that nobody liked being near power plants or water filtration plants, and because the level was full of illicit paths down into the Depths themselves, the vast shadow city no hero ever entered.

Izuku said, "I became a hero to help people. Not businesses, not as much. Sure, if I'm in the area, I'll stop thieves and protect property-that's as important to people's survival as ever. But it isn't the most important part of heroics. And I always try to remember that people become villains for as many different reasons as they become heroes. Beyond that…there's something my old mentor used to tell me."

"What's that?" Mina asked curiously. She found herself actually impressed with Atlas, ever so slightly. Sure, he still hurt and arrested far too many people like her…but maybe there was a little bit of hope with him, more than any of the other heroes down here, at least.

Izuku's eyes grew distant, as he recalled All Might's bright blue eyes searing into him.

"Anyone can beat up a villain to save innocent lives," he said, echoing long-ago words on a golden-lit beach, words that he always tried to follow like gospel. "A true hero tries their damndest to save the villain, too."

For a long moment, the rooftop was silent. Izuku stared off into the endless cavern in quiet reverence, while Mina seemed lost deep in her own thoughts. She was staring at Izuku as if he was a puzzle she had no clue how to solve.

At last, she informed him, "You are the strangest abovegrounder I've ever met."

Izuku snorted, but asked curiously, "What do you mean, abovegrounder?"

Mina grinned as he looked at her, confused. "I mean an abovegrounder," she retorted. "It's a Depths word, it means someone like you. The people who don't live down here, and especially the ones who try and come down here to tell us what to do anyway."

Izuku frowned. "You make it sound like an insult," he said.

Mina nodded. "That's because it is an insult," she agreed. "I'm insulting you. Deal with it."

Izuku looked mildly affronted, though he had years of friendly insults from Ejiro to thicken his skin. He just chuckled, "I suppose I'll just have to take strange as a compliment, then. To even things out."

Mina looked at him oddly, then raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Stupid abovegrounder," she chided him. "Can't even sit there and be insulted properly."

Izuku let out a deep sigh as Mina went right back to eating. She was almost done with the second bag of sandwiches by now. Soon, she'd probably leave again.

That moment came all too soon. Swallowing heavily, Mina tossed aside the final wrapper, clambering to her feet as she stretched. "I feel better already," she announced. "Thank you, Atlas. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything," Izuku replied. "If anything, I still owe you for saving my life. And please, call me Izuku."

Mina glanced at him, and Izuku mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to say that. It had just sort of…slipped out, when he realized just how weird it sounded, having Mina call him Atlas.

"Izuku, eh?" Mina replied. "That your real name?"

Figuring he might as well go all in on it-his name wasn't exactly secret, though he did have a habit of not making it common knowledge-Izuku simply nodded. "One of them," he confirmed.

Mina looked thoughtful. "Fair enough," she replied. "Calling you Atlas was getting kinda old anyway. I guess you can call me Mina, then. Not like anyone uses my family name anyway. Kinda pointless when you don't have a family."

Izuku flinched a little, even as a strange undercurrent of satisfaction ran through him. Cautiously, he began, "What do you mean, you don't have a family?"

Scowling as if troubled by a memory, Mina replied, "I mean that I don't have a family…well, not anymore."

Ignoring the questions that once again cropped up after such a vague statement, Izuku gently said, "You know, I'd be happy to help you more. If there's anything you need-"

"Okay, stop," Mina demanded. When Izuku did, she told him, "Look, no offense, but as much as I appreciate you giving me food, I'd literally rather live in a cave-which I do-than accept more help from you. I am not gonna put myself in your debt, or let you control what I do. As far as I'm concerned, if we never see each other again, then I'll be happy."

That stung, though Izuku could understand why Mina felt that way. Still, he felt compelled to point out, "We keep running into each other, though, so…what then?"

Mina paused, narrowing her eyes at him. "You say that like you're planning to track me," she accused.

Izuku hesitated, thinking of the scrap of cloth still in his pocket. As far as he knew, it would keep working forever, leading him straight to Mina, wherever she tried to hide. Bloodhound's quirk was just too strong, and even though he wanted to respect Mina's desire not to see him again, he couldn't imagine she would feel comfortable with something like that hanging over her head. And for some reason, he cared what she thought of him, more than he cared about anyone else. What was wrong with him.

"I'm not, but there's something you should know," he admitted. Mina whirled back around to face him, no longer starting to walk away.

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously.

Izuku shrugged weakly as he drew the cloth out of his pocket. "I don't plan on following you again, not if you don't want me to," he admitted, "But…well, this is how we found you every day for the past week."

Mina took a step closer, her eyes wide as one of her lingering questions was finally answered. "That…that's a piece of my cloak," she realized, eyes briefly flitting over to the ragged edge of the garment, noticing a new chunk missing that she hadn't spotted until now. "How did you-wait. In the alley, after I saved you. Red Riot, he-"

Izuku nodded. "He tore off a piece when you got away from him," he confirmed. "Then we took it to another hero who has a tracking quirk. It's led us right to you…and as far as I know, it'll keep working."

Panic flooded Mina's veins. Reaching her hand out, she demanded, " Give it to me."

Izuku hesitated, torn between the smart thing to do-keeping it-and the moral thing to do. Mina had been clear that she didn't trust him, and having something like this would almost certainly kill any chance of her ever trusting him. He'd always have power over her, always have a way to find her if he ever wanted to. She would forever be under the axe, waiting for it to fall. Who knew what she was capable of when she felt cornered like that?

Her eyes cold to prevent the hot panic in her chest from showing, Mina repeated, "Give it to me, Izuku. Now."

Izuku looked up into Mina's golden eyes, and saw the danger there. She was teetering on the edge of a cliff, and he knew which way she would fall if he didn't give the cloth to her. He knew she might well disappear forever even if he did give it to her, leaving him with no hope of ever finding her. If he wanted to ever see his savior again, he only had one option.

Izuku nodded, and offered the cloth up to her. Mina snatched it out of his hand so fast, he barely even saw her move. She held it in one hand, and Izuku couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. They shimmered with gratitude, with relief, with anger and fear and a thousand other things he could never have identified.

Mina let out a long, tense breath, and Izuku saw the fear drain out of her body. Then, she clenched her fist, and the hissing sound of acid scorching matter to nothing filled the air.

With blazing eyes, Mina opened her hand again, and the scrap was gone, turned into nothing more than a puddle of steaming, hissing liquid that pooled on the stone roof.

"There," she said, her voice icy and hard. "Now, if we ever meet again, it'll be on my terms. I'll decide to seek you out, or I'll decide that you're someone I never want to see again. I make that choice, you hear me?"

Izuku heard the trembles in her voice, and read the fear on her face. She was hiding it behind a wall of strength, a wall so breathtaking it took a moment for Izuku to gather his thoughts. At last, though, he said, "I understand."

Mina nodded, and turned to leave. She strode across the roof, reaching the lip. Her ragged cloak swished across the stone as she paused, turning back one last time.

"Izuku…" she said softly, the steel gone from her eyes and her voice. "Thanks again. For the food."

Izuku nodded gently. "Anytime," he answered.

Mina looked away once again, taking a deep breath and reaching down for her mask. As she lifted it up, preparing to hide herself once again, Izuku called out one last time.

"Oh, and Mina…" he began, eyes and voice as kind as she'd ever seen him.

"Yeah?" she asked softly. One last chance, she figured. They would probably never see each other again; it was probably best to get any last words out now.

Izuku smiled at her, and Mina felt something in her heart thrash in its chains.

"The offer still stands," he told her. "If you need anything, anything at all, you find me, okay? I'll always be happy to help."

Mina nodded. She finally pulled the mask over her face, bringing her hood up, too.

"I'll keep that in mind," she responded, her voice warmer than she expected it to be.

Then, she jumped off the building, and disappeared back into the shadows. Izuku came to the edge to look for her, but she was already long gone.

When she got home, she had a lot of thinking to do. And maybe some screaming, too.

By the time Izuku dragged himself back to the agency, it was nighttime-not that you could tell the difference down here, beyond a preprogrammed dimming of the enormous lighting systems mounted on the ceiling. Still, it didn't need to be dark out for Izuku to feel the weariness in his bones. It wasn't exactly physical exhaustion-he was familiar enough with that to know what he was feeling was something different. No, this was something that went deeper. He was emotionally exhausted. His soul felt strained, as if all the tension he'd been holding onto for the past week had suddenly just…disappeared. But he didn't feel better, either. No, that tension had been replaced by something new, something that seemed to be growing into the space he hadn't quite realized was empty.

Tamping down the self-reflection for the moment, Izuku shouldered his way in the back door of the agency, slowly but steadily making his way towards the lounge. As soon as he eased his way into the softly lit room, he flopped onto the couch, groaning as his body finally began to relax.

"Have a fun trip?" a familiar voice asked conversationally. Izuku rolled his head, shielding his eyes from the overhead light as he finally saw Ejiro sitting there, clearly waiting for him.

Izuku raised an eyebrow, even as he internally scrambled to decide what he was going to tell his best friend. "Do I look like I had a fun trip?" he asked sarcastically.

Ejiro grinned and replied, "You look like you had all the energy sucked out of you. So, maybe."

Izuku rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just…it's been a long day."

"It has," Ejiro agreed, his voice far more serious again. "I didn't hear from you for hours. I honestly was starting to get worried."

Izuku winced. "Sorry about that," he muttered guiltily. "I didn't mean to concern you."

Ejiro shrugged. "I know," he assured Izuku. "Call it a bad habit. So, did you manage to find your mysterious savior?"

Izuku thought of Mina, all blazing eyes and fury and mystery, and his heart twinged at the thought that he might not see her again. What was wrong with him?

"Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, I found them."

He didn't want to keep things from Ejiro, he really didn't. But he needed to sort things out in his own head first. He was pretty sure that having a nice lunch with a thief was…frowned upon, in the hero world. And forget about giving that thief the only means to track them down and letting them destroy it. If Ejiro asked about the cloth, Izuku figured he would just say that he lost it or something. Izuku didn't like lying to his best friend…but he had to figure this stuff out by himself.

"Did you manage to talk to them?" Ejiro prompted. Something was glimmering in his eyes, something that made Izuku nervous. He looked…smug, almost, as if he was seeing more than he was letting on. Izuku knew that Ejiro was as smart and observant as any top hero, and had known him since childhood to boot. Hiding things from him was hard.

But he didn't seem to question Izuku when he replied, "Yeah. It was…weird."

Ejiro instead told him, "Well, that's good. Do you have your answers now?"

"Yeah," Izuku told him. What he didn't say was that all he'd gotten from those answers was even more questions, questions he could only ask one person.

Ejiro held Izuku's gaze for a few more moments, as if searching for something. Then, he nodded, and asked, "Sounds good. I don't suppose your mysterious savior happened to be a hot girl?"

Izuku suddenly started to choke on air. What the hell? Had Ejiro somehow guessed it, or-

"Or hey, could be a hot guy, too," Ejiro continued with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Either way, I'm sure you don't mind."

Izuku rolled his eyes. "Never change, buddy," he told his friend.

Ejiro bared sharp teeth. "I don't plan to," he replied.

When Izuku had finally regained control of himself, he fell quiet again, lost in his own thoughts as he had been so often that day. They all circled around one person, though, with pink skin and an angry soul and eyes so brilliant they could outshine the sun.

Izuku had a feeling he hadn't seen the last of Mina Ashido. And the fact that he was excited about that scared him.