"Can I come to your house, Awa?"

Upon hearing that out of left field request from Mikazuki, of all people, Yosetsu found himself choking on the cup of water that he held up to his lips as he took a moment or two to process what was just asked of him, and all the while, Augus remained perfectly neutral as he watched his acquaintance pound his chest with quite a bit of force from across the table they shared.

"Come again?" grumbled Awase, with him pointedly ignoring all the stares that were directed their way from all his coughing as he spoke, and at that, Mikazuki had to resist the urge to smile, just a little, in amusement as he shook his head. By all means, he knew that Yosetsu was a tense guy, though he didn't expect him to be this tense, all things considered.

"Can I come to your house?" repeated Augus, with him keeping his words to a minimum as he spoke, and at that, Yosetsu's mind seemed to bluescreen for the briefest of moments as he stared over at his shorter acquaintance with a disbelieved expression plastered onto his face, and by all means, Mikazuki, despite being quite a perceptive fellow, thought that Awase was just thinking about the offer, prompting him to remain silent as he let him mull over it.

One had to wonder why Mika didn't question why Yosetsu's eyes had glazed over, though then again, for all he knew that could be a normal thing for him.

It took him a while, but eventually, Awase did snap out of his thoughts as he shook his head and groaned a little, with him pinching the bridge of his nose in a mixture of amusement and shock all the while. Mika stayed silent as he usually did while this happened, and after a brief few moments to wind down from the initial shock that came with processing such a question, Yosetsu turned back to his acquaintance and awkwardly looked him in the eye.

"Erm, what for, actually? Our mid-terms are literally less than a week away, so I don't think we can afford to mess around in any way, shape or form, y'know?" pointed out Yosetsu, to which Mikazuki shrugged noncommittally.

"You visited us a few days ago despite knowing about mid-terms being close by," reminded Mikazuki flatly, prompting Yosetsu to open his mouth in protest, though at that, he snapped it back up as he acknowledged the truth behind his acquaintance's words, prompting him to huff in resignation.

"Shit, you got me there," lamented Yosetsu in defeat as he slouched his shoulders a little in resignation, and all the while, Mikazuki seemed to appear a little smugger than usual as he sucked on a sweetened beverage via a straw, and all the while, Awase found himself silently grumbling to himself at losing an argument, however insignificant it was, to the boy, though within seconds, his small bout of anger was replaced with amusement as he shook his head and smiled a little to himself.

From time to time, Yosetsu could be a bit of a sore loser… and yet, when it came to Mikazuki Augus, he realized that he couldn't really stay mad at him for too long.

Ever since that little visit of his to the orphanage, Yosetsu had to, somewhat begrudgingly, admit that he has been getting a tiny bit attached to Augus, and likewise, the blue eyed boy seemed to be growing more and more fond of Awase in his own unique way. Sure, they weren't ready or willing to consider each other friends just yet, with Yosetsu still a little unsure on if he wanted any just yet while Mikazuki seemed to alienate Awase from that classification due to… personal reasons, though at the same time, both were clearly a lot more open with one another in their own unique ways.

Sure, they never really talked much, though between Yosetsu's tense nature and Mikazuki's all too familiar silent demeanor, that much was a given, though with that being said, Augus has found himself growing a little interested in Awase's little Maxi-Boost ON mobile game, with him requesting to playing twice ever since his first time in the orphanage, something that surprised even Orga when he heard about this, and likewise, Yosetsu has been conversing with him about random topics that he found interesting on occasion, and ever since one faithful day, he has been abusing Augus' 'lucky finger', so to speak, for his own nefarious schemes.

"I still can't believe you got her on a single pull, Augus-Kun."

"It was just random luck."

"Yeah, but what if it wasn't?! C'mon, try pulling her again!"

"...okay."

If he ever had the time to do so, Mikazuki would probably try to get Yosetsu some help for his gacha addictions, though for now, it was manageable enough for Augus to overlook it for the time being.

Regardless, the relationship between the two has improved drastically over the last few days since the visit to the orphanage, and by all means, there was a rather substantial amount of mutual trust and respect between the two of them. Of course, even with all that said, Awase never did expect Augus, of all people, to ask to visit his residence. It seemed so out of left field, and by all means, he never expected the guy to be interested in any way, shape or form.

Then again, Mikazuki rarely did express an interest in… anything, really, not noticeably so, anyways, so who was he to say at this point?

"You're being quiet, Awa."

Blinking a little at Mikazuki's sudden comment, Yosetsu found himself requiring a little more time than he was willing to admit before he could refocus his vision on Augus, who was staring over at him with an overall neutral look on his face. Even so, Awase could just barely make out the somewhat impatient glint beneath all of his neutral bravado, and as such, he huffed and shrugged.

"Sorry, your question just caught me off guard, that's all," apologised Yosetsu half-heartedly as he smiled a tiny bit, to which Mika shrugged, seeing nothing really special about his request as he nodded, a sign for him to continue speaking. "But uh… why do you want to come over, anyways?"

"Study session. Shino told me kids my age do that a lot," replied Mikazuki almost instantly as he sipped on his beverage, and at that, Yosetsu had to hold back a small smile as he processed his words. Of course Norba would've been the one to bring this up to him. That guy was a troublemaker to his core, and though they had only met on one occasion, Awase had to admit that he's met enough people like him to figure out the fact that he was a massive troublemaker, unintentional or not.

"You, listening to Norba-San? I never would've guessed," joked Yosetsu with a roll of his eyes as he spoke, and to that, Augus… well, he didn't really respond much outside of his usual stare, seeming unsure on if he should pretend to be amused by Awase's attempt at a joke or just ignore it completely, though he ultimately settled on the former as he snorted.

"Shino's not the smartest, but he keeps up with trends more than the rest of us," muttered Mikazuki as he finished drinking from his cup and placed it down onto the table, with the ensuing silence between both Augus and Awase being so intense that the sound of the plastic cup's bottom impacting the tabletop was almost deafening as the latter stared at the former incredulously. "He told me that studying at a classmate's house helps make you smarter…"

"And where did he find out about this trend?" inquired Yosetsu, sounding genuinely curious as he spoke, and in response, Mikazuki held a finger up to his chin and tapped it a few times.

"He just said to trust him… and Orga told me that he was telling the truth, so I didn't have any reason to not trust him," muttered Mikazuki, with him rubbing his chin uncertainly as he recalled that conversation he had with Norba a few days back in regards to this study session thing. His mutter was just barely audible to the average person, though considering how Yosetsu was sitting directly in front of him at the moment, he managed to catch it with very little issue, and at that, he double facepalmed as he sighed to himself.

"I… really should've expected that, honestly…" quipped Awase with a roll of his eyes as he grumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose all the while. Mikazuki didn't really get what that meant at the moment, though before long, Yosetsu let the topic of Shino's stupidity fall to the wayside for now as he shook his head. "Either way, you sure you wanna come visit? If you want to have a study session, we can just head to the school library after hours like how we did a few weeks ago, or I could come over to the orphanage again. I'm sure Takaki and Ride would love that."

"I want to see what your house is like, so I'd rather come over," was Awase's immediate response from Augus, prompting the headband-wearing boy to shudder a little at his ruthless bluntness as he nodded a little, sighing to himself all the while. "It's not a problem, right?"

"No, it's not, but even so, it's all very sudden. I should at least tell my parents about this, y'know?" muttered Yosetsu as he rubbed his chin awkwardly, and to that, Mikazuki nodded understandingly, though there was a rather noticeably glint of sadness present in his eyes all the while, one that Awase was quick to pick up on as he winced a little, knowing that, as an orphan, the topic of parents must be a hard one for him, and out of no small amount of guilt, Yosetsu was quick to change the subject at hand. "Hey, mind if I have your phone number? I'll be able to call you after school after I inform my parents about this and tell you what they said."

And at that… silence followed, with Mikazuki tilting his head a little to the side as he blinked a little in confusion, prompting Yosetsu to widen his eyes a little as he heard the end-of-recess bell ring out through the air.

"Phone… number?"

'Oh shit. He doesn't have a phone.'

Several hours later

The gentle afternoon breeze gliding over Awase's skin didn't do much to bother the headband-wearing boy as he pulled his mobile phone out of his pant pocket and stared into it for the briefest of seconds, and not long after, he thumbed in a number that he had memorized by heart by now and held the device up to his ear.

Patiently, Yosetsu listened to the repetitive ringing of his phone as he walked down the road that led to the rural town he lived in, and after the seventh ring, Awase smiled a tiny bit when he heard the person on the other end of the line picking up, and at that, he greeted them with a small smile.

"Hey there, dad," greeted Awase awkwardly, with him never knowing how to properly greet his father, even after thirteen years of living with him, as he smiled into his phone's receiver, though in his defence…

"Yosetsu! M'boy, why're you calling me now? Do you need your old man to bury someone? I assure you, no one will find the body! No one."

Mr Awase wasn't exactly good at greeting his son either. The guy was so energetically jovial that even his wife wondered if he was really Yosetsu's dad from time to time, as he inherited none of his laid back sass, but alas, Mr Awase was indeed his biological father, for as strange as that may seem to some, and for as boisterous as he could be on almost all occasions, Yosetsu still loved the guy to death.

Not that he'd ever be able to say that in front of his face, anyways…

"Erm… no, dad, I don't need anyone buried… I think," responded Yosetsu awkwardly as he opted to humor his dad a little. He was never really good with humoring anyone, really, though even he had his moments, as evident by the low snicker that erupted from the other end of the line as soon as he finished that statement.

"Good! Now then, if it's not to tell your old man that you want someone buried, why did you call me, my little Yoyo?" asked Mr Awase jovially as Yosetsu cringed at that old nickname his dad had given him long ago. He didn't really like it, though he never voiced that thought out as he sighed a little.

"Well, I have an acquaintance in class, and he wants to come over for a study session today. Is that alright with you and mum?" asked Awase with an awkward smile that would not be seen by his dad as he spoke, and in response, Mr Awase remained a little silent as he processed what his son just told him, and not long after, he responded, with his grin rather apparent all the while.

"My oh my, is my son finally making a friend? It's been forever, kiddo! I'm proud of you!" proclaimed Mr Awase as he laughed into his phone receiver, and at that, Yosetsu's cheeks reddened a little as he shook his head in an attempt to recover from his mild wave of embarrassment, though by all means, he couldn't help but acknowledge the truth behind his father's words.

Thanks to some… unsavoury parts of his younger years, Yosetsu had to admit to being a little… uncertain about making any actual friends. Acquaintances, sure, but never friends… though recently, he had to admit that Augus, and perhaps the rest of the Chryse Orphanage children, were slowly but surely changing his mindset on the prospect of having someone by his side, not as an acquaintance, but as an actual, honest to god friend of his.

"... I… wouldn't really call Augus-Kun a friend, dad…" muttered Yosetsu uncertainly as he bit his lower lip awkwardly, and though he had made his stance on the issue clear, that didn't stop his dad from laughing once more as he winked on his end of the line.

"Well you like him enough to call him Augus-Kun, so that's enough proof for me!" joked Mr Awase, prompting his son's cheeks to redden yet again as he stopped dead in his tracks once more.

"D-Dad!" proclaimed Yosetsu indignantly, the hairs on his body stood on end. His embarrassment was made clear in his tone of voice, and upon noticing that he may have pushed his son a tad bit too far, Mr Awase chuckled gently and spoke up.

"Alright alright, I'll leave it at that! But to answer your question, of course your… acquaintance can come over, Yoyo! Don't forget that we've got some leftover cake in the fridge!" assured Mr Awase as he laughed over at his end of the phone, a sound that simultaneously made his son smile and shudder in good-natured annoyance as he nodded. "Is there anything else you need, sonny boy?"

"No, dad… thanks. And say hi to mum for me," responded Awase as he frowned and stopped in front of his home door, with him reaching into his pocket to fish his key out shortly thereafter, and all the while, his father laughed a little to himself.

"No problem, kid! In return, say hi to this 'Augus' brat for me, alright?" responded Mr Awase, and at that, his son snickered a little at his father's casual tone as he nodded.

"I hear you dad, stay safe," assured Awase as he unlocked the door to his house, prompting his father to blow a raspberry at him from the other side of the city before he responded.

"Since when have I never been safe, Yoyo? Don't answer that!" inquired Mr Awase, with him adding that last part thereafter to keep himself from being embarrassed, and after he took a moment or two to listen to his son's amused laughter, he bid him farewell and hung up, leaving Awase to lock the door to his home in silence.

And shortly thereafter, sighed to himself and smiled a little. Though he didn't exactly show it, the boy was just a little excited to have a friend… an acquaintance over, even if it was just for a study session. He couldn't recall when was the last time he had someone over for any specific reason, and by all means, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Mikazuki was the first person to ever be invited over to his home.

Sure, it was bound to be at least a little awkward for the two of them, there was no doubt about it, but at the same time… while it was a study session, Awase couldn't help but feel a little excited about this, with his fingers shaking a little because of this as he thumbed down a new number into his phone.

When they had conversed a few hours prior, Mikazuki revealed that he didn't have a phone, which was a little strange, though considering his orphan status, Awase supposed that it wasn't exactly too unexpected. The orphanage did, however, have a phone, one that was from an era that predated the Pre-Quirk Era by a handful of decades(!), and Augus wrote the number down for his acquaintance, with him telling him to contact it when he got his answer from his parents.

As soon as the numbers were thumbed in, Yosetsu smiled a tiny bit and leaned back against his house door, with him patiently waiting for someone to answer the line, or for it to go silent, all the while. Surprisingly enough, however, the call was answered within three rings, and Awase was met with an audible bang as the house phone of the Chryse Orphanage was answered by Ride, who sounded as though he had crashed headfirst into the ground upon answering it.

"Moshi moshi? This is your captain speaking! You will now address me as captain or sir!" announced Ride Mass, sounding just as jovial as ever as he spoke, and by all means, it got a mild snicker out of Yosetsu as he shook his head at his antics, though evidently enough, the phone was taken away from him rather promptly, if his cries of dismay were anything to go by, as an older, more tired sounding person snatched it out of his grasp.

"Oi oi, who is this?" demanded the new, grouchy voice from the other side of the phone, with the aforementioned voice sounding completely done with life as he spoke. Yosetsu had no clue who this person was exactly, as he didn't sound like anyone he's met so far, though he went along with it for now as he smiled and responded awkwardly.

"It's Awase, Awase Yosetsu… and you are…?" responded Awase, with him offering his own inquiry at the end as he spoke, and at that, the line went silent for the briefest of seconds, with the only noise that could be made out being the sound of people yelling in the background as the seconds ticked by. Admittedly, this made the headband-wearing boy more than a little uncomfortable as he waited quietly for someone to say something, though before long, the phone was handed off to someone else.

"Hey, Awa, you still there?"

Oh, Shino. Good, at least he recognised this person's voice.

"Yes, Norba-San, I'm still here," assured Yosetsu with a small smile on his face as he spoke, to which Shino laughed a little from his end of the line as he responded.

"Why're you calling now, kid? Seems a little random, considering the time of day. You wanna come visit?" asked Shino, with his excitement for that last part being rather apparent as Yosetsu could quite literally hear the smile that was on his face as he spoke, and it was so infectious that Awase couldn't help but smile a little wider himself.

"Well no, I'm calling for Mik… Augus-Kun," corrected Yosetsu, with him having to swiftly correct his words mid-sentence as he grimaced. For whatever reason, it felt… odd, calling Mikazuki 'Augus-Kun', though for now, he blamed it on the fact that the guy kept calling him Awa. Maybe he oughta give him a crappy nickname as well, just to make things even…

"Oh? Well, he's busy at the moment. We've got a guest over, after all, and he quite likes having her around!" apologised Norba, with him sounding just a little… envious as he reached the end of his words as he spoke. Awase just barely picked up on that as he raised a brow in confusion, wondering who this 'her' was briefly, though he let the issue slide for now as he continued. "Tell you what, you tell me what you wanna tell Mika and I'll relay it to him!"

"Sure, I guess," responded Yosetsu with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders, with him seeing no reason to tell Norba about all this as he snorted. He reckoned that Augus told everyone about his plans to visit him, after all. "Mikazuki asked if he could come over for a study session earlier today, and I told him I'd get back to him on that after I got permission from my parents. They said yes, so… Shino…? Are you still there?"

The deafening silence was the primary cause for Yosetsu's worries, and as soon as Awase had called out his name, the sound of the phone dropping to the ground could be heard, and seconds later, a shout for Augus rang through the air, followed by several yells and accusations of betrayal from Mikazuki for keeping such an important piece of information away from his fellow orphans blasted into Awase's ear, prompting him to lean away from his phone speaker lest he wished to blow out his eardrums.

"Jeez… what the fuck…" began Awase as he slowly placed his ear back against the phone, and much to his relief, the background sound of multiple people yelling was mostly drowned out by now, and after a few seconds of silence, someone picked the phone back up and spoke into it.

"Sorry about that, Awase. Everyone wasn't expecting that," came a rather unfamiliar, gruff voice from the other end of the speaker. Just hearing it made Yosetsu shudder a little as he imagined what the speaker looked like, though his thoughts were cut off as he continued speaking. "So, you invited Mikazuki over to your home?"

"Uh, yeah. For a study session," confirmed Awase awkwardly, prompting the guy on the other end of the line to grunt in affirmation.

"Well, considering his current predicament, he'll probably be over by five if he's lucky," commented the gruff sounding person as he briefly paused and held one of his hands over the receiver of the phone. Yosetsu couldn't see it, and by all means it was probably a good thing that he couldn't, as Mikazuki was currently batting away the likes of Shino, Ride and Dante as they demanded to know more about this arrangement between himself and Awase whilst Yamagi, Chad, Orga and Takaki simply watched on in amusement. The guy with the phone simply shook his head in lighthearted annoyance before removing his hand from the receiver. "Or if he's unlucky, seven."

"That's… a little late…" admitted Awase awkwardly as he sweatdropped a little at that inconvenient timing, to which the gruff sounding guy grunted, acknowledging his words but not caring much for them.

"Late for you, probably. But to us, it may as well be the afternoon," grumbled the guy as Awase sweatdropped a little, with him wondering just what those kids got up to in their free time as he nodded, a gesture that he realize would not be noticed by the other fellow, as he responded verbally.

"Alright then… erm… I guess I'll be seeing him around?" muttered Yosetsu awkwardly as he pushed himself off the front door and got ready to end the call, and at that, the gruff sounding guy simply grunted once more.

"Yeah. I'm hanging up now. Goodbye," was his quick response from the guy on the other side of the line, and before he could even open his mouth to echo that word, the gruff sounding guy hung up on him, prompting him to wince a little.

"Rude…" muttered Yosetsu noncommittally as he shook his head and turned his phone off. As he did so, he walked towards his house's kitchen and placed the device atop the kitchen counter before he removed his backpack and placed it atop the living room couch. Thereafter, he stretched his arms and back a little before tilting his neck from side to side, eliciting several satisfying pops with each tilt.

With all that done, the guy smiled gently to himself and stared up at his home clock. Three-forty five, it read, and according to that gruff guy, Mikazuki would be here by five at the earliest and seven at the latest. Best to take his chances with him arriving at five, he reckoned, and with that in mind, Awase swiftly rushed up to the second floor and crashed into the bathroom in a metaphorical sense.

An hour and fifteen minutes later

Right as Yosetsu had finished the final question of his math homework, the headband-wearing boy found himself perking up a little when he heard the doorbell to his house ring.

At first, he thought it to be a figment of his imagination, something that he attributed to the past hour or so of constant homework, and as such, he simply shook his head and moved to shove the assignment he had just completed back into his bag. Right as he did so, however, the boy raised a brow when he heard the doorbell ring once more, and this time, he was certain that it was not a figment of his imagination.

'There's no package coming in today, and we weren't supposed to have visitors…' thought Yosetsu rather curiously as he scratched his cheek in confusion, silently wondering who was knocking on the door as he moved to leave his room, and right as he swung the door open, the gears in his mind snapped into place as he tensed up a little and remembered… 'Wait… shit! Augus was coming over!'

It seems as though his past hour of assignments had ended up turning Awase's brain a little mushy, as he ended up forgetting about the blue eyed boy's visit to his home for that study session of theirs, and upon remembering the fact that the gruff sounding guy had told him that Augus would be over by five at the earliest, Yosetsu wasted no time in rushing down the stairs and sprinting towards his front door so quickly that he nearly slammed straight into it, a predicament that was thankfully avoided when he came to a grinding halt mere seconds before he face planted into its front.

As he unlocked it, however, Awase spared the wall mounted clock a quick glance, and he was rightfully surprised to see that it was exactly five in the afternoon. Man, Mikazuki was certainly a diligent one…

Regardless of his tardiness, or lack thereof, Yosetsu was quick to unlock his house door and peek out of the small opening, just in case the person outside was not Augus, though unsurprisingly, it was the short, neutral looking boy standing outside of his house. Upon noticing the guy peeking out at him, Mikazuki Augus' shoulders noticeably slackened a little as he stared over at him, and likewise, Awase found himself smiling just a tiny bit as he opened the door fully.

"Augus-Kun…" greeted Yosetsu as he opened the door fully, with him raising a brow when he saw Mikazuki wearing his usual baggy green coat, something that looked incredibly stuffy to be wearing out in the open, and his usual Chryse padded pants. Strangely enough, however, Mikazuki was also wearing a pair of homemade… headphones(?!) that were connected to an ancient looking MP3 player, and the sight of that alone was almost enough to make the grey eyed boy freeze on the spot out of shock. "Wha-"

"Awa," greeted Mikazuki in response to Awase's greeting, with him looking just as neutral as he usually did as he reached his hand up and brushed his headphones off the top of his head, with him wrapping its curve around the back of his neck and staring up at Yosetsu shortly thereafter. From where he stood, Awase could vaguely hear the sound of calming music being emitted from the headphones, prompting him to wonder what the boy's music taste was, though he didn't question it for now as he shook his head and filed that thought for now.

Stepping a little to the side, Yosetsu was about to let Mikazuki step into his house, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Augus as he nodded in gratitude, though as he did so, Awase raised a brow when he noticed how his blue eyed acquaintance was… holding onto someone's else's hand? Blinking a little at that, Awase raised his brows and stared down at the small hand that Mikazuki was gently holding onto, with him confirming that he was not hallucinating that, and it didn't take the short guy long to notice his gaze, prompting him to gently squeeze the hand he was holding onto, in turn signaling for its owner to introduce themselves.

"Atra…" muttered Mikazuki as he glanced behind himself, no doubt at the person that he was holding onto, and upon saying that name, Awase raised a brow in curiosity… only to feel his curiosity melt into no small amount of heartburn when he saw an adorable face poke out from Mikazuki's back, causing her adorable pink hair to bounce up a little all the while.

From where he stood, Awase couldn't help but feel a small amount of surprise at the sight of the person hiding behind his acquaintance. She was short, shorter than even Mikazuki, with pink hair curled upwards near the sides, giving her an almost lamb like appearance, two red eyes that reflected no small amount of caution and a generally adorable demeanor. As soon as she peeked out of Augus' back, the girl made eye contact with Yosetsu for a handful of seconds, with her red eyes locking onto Awase's grey pair with a rather cautious gaze, though not long after, she turned her attention up towards Mikazuki and asked him a simple question.

"Is t-that… Awa?" asked the girl, sounding somewhat anxious as she stared up at Mikazuki, to which the blue eyed boy nodded.

"Yes. He's Awa," confirmed Mikazuki as he glanced down at her, and at that, the aforementioned boy found himself blinking a little in shock when he noticed how Augus' voice seemed to be a little… softer, so to speak, when he addressed this girl. It still sounded rather neutral, sure, though there was an underlying sense of gentleness behind it all, so much so that it threatened to make his heart melt right and then, though for now, he remained steadfast and resolute, even in the face of this unintentional cuteness, as he nodded his head and bowed a tiny bit.

"Erm… yeah, I'm Awase, Awase Yosetsu," double-confirmed Yosetsu with a small smile as he stared down at the pink haired girl, whose expression went from a generally cautious one to relaxed as she found herself recognising that name, and as soon as she did, she emerged fully from behind Mikazuki, allowing Awase to have a good look at her light blue sweater that reached her fingers, short pants and stockings. At best, she came up to Mikazuki's chin in terms of height, and when compared to Yosetsu, she came up to the base of his neck.

"Oh! W-Well, I'm Mixta! Mixta Atra!" introduced the girl, Atra, as she called herself, with a small wave of her free hand. The other kept its fingers wrapped around Mikazuki's hand all the while, though Augus noticed how her grasp on his hand loosened just a bit as she greeted his acquaintance, and as for Awase, he simply chuckled a little as he nodded, and though brief, Mikazuki noticed how there was a small glimmer in his acquaintance's eye as he looked between Mixta and himself, prompting him to sigh internally as he acknowledged what was to come.

"Well, I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Augus-Kun," joked Yosetsu with a grin as he crossed his arms and glanced between the two of them, anticipating a reaction of sorts from either all the while, and granted, Atra did react rather drastically, with her hastily removing her hand from Mikazuki's as she waved them around, muttering about how Awase had gotten the wrong idea about their relationship as her cheeks began burning red, and though he was, admittedly, a little amused by the sight, Yosetsu had to admit to feeling a little bad for teasing his acquaintance's friend like that.

Or at least… he would've felt bad were it not for the lack of any reaction at all from Mikazuki, who appeared confused by that statement as he raised a brow at Awase, who snorted a little under his gaze, having grown used to it by now, as he gestured for his acquaintances to enter his house.

"Well, either way, while it would've been nice to know beforehand that you were bringing over a… friend for this study session, I can't exactly let either one of you stand out there for the entire day. C'mon in," invited Awase with a smile as he held the door open for the pair, and at that, Mikazuki nodded in appreciation at his acquaintance once more as he entered his house, and Atra gave him a rather nervous thanks! as she followed behind him, and as soon as they entered, Yosetsu found himself rolling his eyes a little as he shut the door, which impacted its frame with an audible knock…

… and shortly thereafter, things became rather silent as Mikazuki silently observed the interior of his acquaintance's house. It wasn't much and, by all means, when compared to the orphanage, it was rather boring looking, though Augus supposed that its simplicity did have a bit of charm to it.

Whilst Augus was mostly unamused by the interior of the building, Atra was absolutely loving it. Her red eyes widened quite a bit as she observed the place intently, with her walking up to the living room couch and pressing her hands into its cushions with great vigor, amazed at how intensely her hands sunk into it.

"Soft…" commented Atra wistfully as she smiled and prepared to take a seat atop the couch, though before she did so, she noticed Awase dusting his palms off and walking up to Augus' side, with him watching the girl squish his home couch with an amused look in his eyes. "Uuu… can I… s-sit?"

"Huh? Well, yeah! You're the guest, and the couch is made to be sat on, after all, so go right on ahead!" assured Yosetsu with a small smile as he waved Atra off, and at that, the girl smiled so widely that it almost blinded Awase with just how genuine it looked, and seconds later, she jumped atop the couch and got herself comfortable atop it.

"T-Thank you, Awase-San!" thanked Atra with a small smile as the aforementioned boy shuddered at the San prefix as he moved to the kitchen. As he did so, the headband-wearing boy noticed how Mikazuki was walking towards a shelf near the living room television, with him stopping in front of it shortly thereafter as he stared down at the photo frames that were neatly set down atop it.

"Uh, just Awase will do, Atra-Kun. Calling me San makes me feel old, and I'm fifteen years too young to be feeling that way," insisted Yosetsu as he pried his attention away from Mikazuki and turned back towards Mixta, who blinked a little in surprise at Awase's request, though her surprise was quick to turn into relief for the briefest of seconds, with it appearing and disappearing so quickly that Yosetsu didn't even notice it, before she smiled and nodded in affirmation, much to the grey eyed boy's relief. "Do you guys want something to drink?"

"I'm good," assured Mikazuki almost instantly as he kept his attention on the photo frames that lined the shelf he was standing in front of, prompting Yosetsu to wince a little at how straightforward the guy could be at times as he shook his head. He got over it quickly, however, and turned his attention towards Atra, who appeared just a bit sheepish as she tapped her fingers together awkwardly.

"Can… c-can I have some water, please?" stuttered the red eyed girl as she avoided direct eye contact with Yosetsu, who raised a brow at her uneasiness, though he didn't question it too much as he huffed in amusement and nodded, with him assuming that she was just nervous around strangers.

"Sure. You want ice with that?" asked the headband-wearing boy as he grabbed a glass off the kitchen counter and began filling it with water. Atra appeared to be briefly taken aback by his question, though she was quick to nod in response to it, seeming a little eager at the prospect of a cold drink, as Awase huffed in amusement yet again. "Alright then…"

Seconds later, Atra had her drink in hand, with her staring down at the glass cup for the briefest of seconds before she lifted it up to her lips and began drinking from it. Yosetsu tried to not let how cute the sight was get to him as he turned away from Mixta with an awkward expression on his face, and in an attempt to distract himself, he refocused his attention onto Mikazuki, who was still staring down at the photo frames, though one frame in particular seemed to have gotten his attention, as evident by how he had picked it up and was now holding it up to eye level to have a closer look.

That was… a strange sight, to say the least, as Yosetsu had never expected Augus to be interested in something as simple as a photo frame, or at least not to this degree, anyhow, though he didn't dwell too much on that thought for now as he cleared his throat, in turn catching the blue eyed boy's attention.

"Hey, do you want to, y'know, get this study session going now?" asked Yosetsu offhandedly as he eyed Mikazuki awkwardly, and within a second, the boy nodded and set the photo frame down, with him remaining completely passive as he watched his headband-wearing acquaintance motion for him to follow him up to his room. Upon noticing this, Atra seemed to seize up a little, with her not particularly fond of the prospect of being left alone without Augus by her side, and the blue eyed boy was quick to notice this, as he marched up to her and removed the headphone from around his neck.

"I'll be back soon," promised Mikazuki gently as he gently set the headphones atop Mixta's head and over her ears, with him pulling out his ancient MP3 player shortly thereafter and having it play a calming melody that Atra was a fan of. In an instant, the pink haired girl's eyes softened a little as she sunk down a little more into the couch, with the corners of her lips twitching upwards a little all the while.

"P-Promise…?"

"Promise."

A pinky promise sealed the deal, and with that, and after a gentle pat over the head, Augus left Mixta by herself as he marched up the stairs of the Awase residence.

"You must really care for Mixta-Chan, huh?"

Yosetsu's mild accusation was a soft one, and as soon as he registered his words, Mikazuki found himself glancing away from his acquaintance briefly as he remained silent, prompting Awase to blink a little as they reached the second floor of his house. Though it was a little rude of him to do so, the headband-wearing boy had been watching his blue eyed acquaintance's little interaction with Atra, and though he would never admit it, not to Augus' face that is, he had to say that Mikazuki was a lot softer than he had initially expected him to be.

Sure, he knew that the blue eyed boy was not always a complete hardass, his time spent in the orphanage several days prior was proof enough for all this, but to see him act in such a gentle way without hesitation felt rather… strange. By all means, Yosetsu didn't mean to bring it up so soon, but even so… he was curious about his acquaintance's relationship with Atra, and for as rude as it probably came across as, he did his best to frame his curious inquiry in a polite manner.

"Yes," was Mikazuki's simple answer to Yosetsu's question, with the guy's tone of voice telling Awase that he wasn't willing to reveal much more in regards to their relationship just yet as he kept his eyes averted from his, prompting the headband-wearing boy to nod understandingly as the two of them stopped in front of his room door. Reaching out for the doorknob, Awase pushed it open and motioned for Augus to step in, to which he did after a nod of appreciation.

And by all means, Mikazuki wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting to see when he set foot in Awase's room, and as such, he readied himself for pretty much anything, but even so, Augus had to begrudgingly admit that the simplicity of the headband-wearing boy's personal room did catch him off guard quite a bit.

His room was, simply put, functional, if a little messy at parts. His bed laid by the far corner of the room, with the bedsheet and blanket still a mess as the latter remained flopped precariously over the edge of the bed. A simple study table and desk chair sat by the side of the bed, with a still opened workbook laying atop it and a desk lamp situated close by. A closet sat by the far side of the room, and through its partially opened doors, Mikazuki spotted a small box filled to the brim with several headbands, prompting him to raise a brow in amusement at his acquaintance's fashion sense, though he didn't question it too much as he scoffed.

Unsurprisingly, Yosetsu did have quite a bit of Hero merchandise as well. His room curtains were embroidered with the emblem of the Excavation Hero, Power Loader's, personal emblem, a small figure of the Turbo Hero, Ingenium, sat atop his study desk and he even had a signed picture of the Coiling Hero, Centipeder, framed up and hung above his study table. Admittedly, Mikazuki was a tiny bit surprised at just how sparse the Hero merchandise was in Awase's room, though he didn't question it for now as Yosetsu moved to plant his rear down onto his chair and spun it around to face Augus.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Augus-Kun. Make yourself at home, if you will," welcomed Awase as he sat down on his chair with a welcoming smile etched into his face, and to that, Mikazuki simply nodded and moved towards his bed. A quick glance towards Yosetsu more or less told the headband-wearing boy what he was trying to nonverbally ask, and after he nodded, Augus sat down atop his bed and stared directly at his acquaintance. "So, do you happen to have the books that you want to revise on?"

"Ah," confirmed Mikazuki as the back of his green sweater began shifting a little, and seconds later, something dropped down from inside it onto Yosetsu's bed. Awase was taken aback by that unexpected turn of events, though Augus didn't offer any reaction to it as he reached behind himself and grabbed onto the thing that dropped out from beneath his sweater, which turned out to be a science textbook. "This subject."

"Science, huh? Well, I'm not really the best at it, but I can offer some pointers, if you don't mind."

And after Mikazuki gave him a quick nod, he was quick to gesture towards his study table and set the book down atop it, with him flipping it open shortly thereafter. He wasn't a good teacher, not by a longshot, but Hell, how hard could it be to teach Mikazuki the basics of year three science?

Two hours later

Atra had, simply put… fallen asleep sometime after Mikazuki had left to conduct his study session with Yosetsu, and by all means, could you blame her?

Awase's living room couch was just so comfy, and that, combined with the headphones and the soothing music that they played out for her, allowed her to fall asleep in record time, with her snoring gently without a care in the world as her head fell onto the armrest of the couch. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for, though what she did know, however, was that, as soon as she had woken up, she was greeted with the sight of Yosetsu Awase sitting on the far side of the couch with a dead look on his face.

His sudden appearance did shock Atra quite a bit as she squeaked and paused the still playing music, and seconds later, she pulled the headphones off the top of her head and held it in her hands before she refocused on Yosetsu, who has yet to acknowledge her existence as he simply stared off into space, appearing rather traumatized all the while. This in itself was enough to worry Mixta quite a bit as she scooted over to his side and poked his cheek with her index finger.

"Awase-Kun?" tried Atra as she poked her acquaintance on the cheek awkwardly, with her finger sinking in quite a bit as she spoke. He didn't offer much of a reaction to that, even after Mixta had poked him two more times, prompting her to panic a little as she wondered if he was dead, with her conveniently missing the fact that the guy was still breathing as she began to widen her eyes in shock. "A-Awase-Kun?!"

Grabbing onto his upper arm, Atra began shaking it a little in order to rouse him from his stupified state, with that not getting her too far as he remained locked in a trance. She attempted to jab his sides as well, though it didn't do much of anything either, much to her shock as Shino had demonstrated that it was an incredibly effective way to get someone pissed off at you, and beyond that, Mixta had no idea how to snap Awase out of his stupor as she began to panic, wondering if she should go get Mikazuki to help her out.

And then, she remembered her headphones, which gave her an idea.

Swiftly, Atra slid the headphones over Yosetsu's ears and pulled out the ancient MP3 player, and, not without at least a tiny bit of guilt, she brought it up to max volume before she played the loudest and most bombastic song it had. The build up to the beat drop took quite some time, but before long…

"RAISE YOUR FLAG!"

… those three words blasted through the air with enough force to break the sound barrier, and upon hearing them, Yosetsu screamed out in terror as his entire house shook from the aftershock of the song. At that, Atra wisely lowered the volume down to its lowest as Awase finally snapped out of his stupified state, and at that, he looked around the living room briefly before his eyes finally settled on Mixta.

"T-The fuck happened?" muttered Yosetsu uncertainly as he stared down at Atra with a mildly panicked look on his face, to which the girl waved her hands around apologetically as she watched him pull the headphones off his head and hold them in his hands.

"Y-You weren't moving, so I… I-I thought that I could use the music to wake you up! I'm sorry!" apologised Atra sheepishly as she fumbled and tripped over her words, though by all means, Yosetsu didn't really seem too peeved about it. Sure, his ears were still ringing after the musical equivalent of standing too close to Present Mic as he performed one of his super moves, though he reckoned that it wasn't unbearable as he waved the girl off.

"It's fine, Mixta-Chan, no harm done," assured Awase gently, with him half-lying as he handed the headphones back to Atra as he spoke, with the girl grabbing it back without much issue all the while. Thereafter, things became rather silent in an incredibly awkward way as Yosetsu began to rub his forehead in an exasperated manner, with Atra watching him do so all the while.

She wasn't an expert at reading other people, that much was a given, but even so, she was still observant enough to notice how the headband-wearing boy appeared to be a little stressed as he sat beside her, and though she didn't need to, Atra ended up voicing out her concerns for him before she could stop herself.

"Are you alright, A-Awase-Kun?" asked Atra worriedly as she stared up at the aforementioned boy with a worried expression, and in response to that, Yosetsu simply shrugged and shook his head.

"Well, aside from severely underestimating how fucking tough it is to teach someone, letalone Augus-Kun, I'd say I'm alright…" grumbled Awase in exasperation as he pinched the bridge of his nose, with him groaning at the memory of him attempting to explain to Mikazuki a handful of simple equations not long ago. It… didn't go well, to say the least, as the blue eyed boy barely understood any of them, and by the time an hour had passed, the two of them had only gotten through three pages of the science textbook, and even an hour later, they had only gotten through two more.

Understandably, Awase had gotten a little fed up over Mikazuki's slower than average learning speed, with him coming extremely close to blowing his top by the time the second hour had passed. In an attempt to keep himself composed, Yosetsu had excused himself to the living room to take a short break, and all that led to the present, with Atra sitting beside him with a worried look on her face whilst the boy lamented his life choices up to now.

A handful of seconds passed after Awase had laid out the source of his grievances, and during that amount of time, he felt his shoulders slacking a little as he felt a little relieved to be able to vent his current frustrations with Augus, though as for Mixta, she found herself frowning a little at his words as she tapped her fingers together in an awkward manner, and not long after, she spoke up.

"I… I-I'm sorry, Awase-Kun… it's just that… Mikazuki has issues with learning…" apologised Atra as she avoided direct eye contact with Yosetsu, who resisted the urge to scoff as he shook his head.

'Could've fucking fooled me…' grumbled Awase mentally as he sighed a little to himself, with him requiring a bit more effort than he was willing to admit to refrain from saying that out loud. Mixta seemed to pick up on his silent anger, however, as she smiled a little and placed a hand over the headband-wearing boy's wrist, a gesture that got his attention as she continued speaking.

"But… I-I'm happy that you're being so p-patient with Mikazuki, Awase-Kun!" commented Atra with a nervous smile as she beamed at the aforementioned boy, who felt his grievances with Mikazuki slowly but surely slipping away at the sight of such an adorable smile as she continued to speak. "No one h-has been this kind or patient to him before you… no one outside of the orphanage, I mean…"

As she said that, Atra found herself staring down at her hands as she clasped them together, intertwining her small fingers together as she trailed off. Her nervous expression was quick to morph into a more somber one, with it reflecting no small amount of sadness as her hands began to shake a little. Upon noticing this, Yosetsu found himself frowning a bit more than usual as he held a hand out towards Mixta, though he halted it almost immediately as he lowered it down to his side.

"... what do you mean by that, Mixta-Chan?" asked Yosetsu curiously before he could stop himself, and as soon as he registered what he had just said, he found himself widening his eyes in shock as he opened his mouth yet again to tell her that, if she didn't wish to, she didn't have to tell him, though before the words could leave his mouth, Atra turned and offered him a sad smile as she stared past his shoulder, with him making sure that Mikazuki wasn't around to overhear any of this, before she explained herself…

"W-Well, Mikazuki didn't have the best childhood. If anything, I'd say that his childhood was probably t-terrible!"

Tapping his chin thoughtfully, Mikazuki Augus found himself doing his best to make sense of the scientific equation that Yosetsu had written down for him. Despite his best efforts, however, he wasn't able to do anything outside of reading the numbers that were written down onto his textbook, much to his irritation.

"He suffered a lot in the past because of his upbringing and his… his Q-Quirk, and he… h-he was able to bounce back from it, but even so… he wasn't able to make much progress… n-not on his own, at least…"

Before long, Mikazuki found himself grimacing a little as he grew more and more irritated over his mental shortcomings, and all the while, the upper back of his jacket began to convulse dangerously. Even after trying so much, he was unable to do something as simple as completing a third grade scientific equation on his own… if he couldn't do something as simple as this, then what hope did he have of becoming… becoming someone that could protect others from harm?

He had to do better than this… he had to do better to prevent any more loss of life… he had to do better for the sake of his family… for Atra…

"When I met him… I-I realized that he was lonely. He… he wanted f-friends! But not many people wanted him as a friend, and… he accepted it… he c-closed himself off from the entire world because they did the same to him…"

Drops of red began to slide down from Augus' chin as he felt the tension in his body reach its breaking point, and seconds later, a single drop of blood fell from his chin and impacted the textbook page he was currently on, followed by another and another, messing it up rather intensely, though upon noticing it, Mikazuki found himself snapping out of his trance-like state as he leaned backwards against Yosetsu's bedroom chair and held a hand up to his nostrils.

"No one was able to break down his walls, b-because he already expected so little of those around him. He… Mikazuki was wronged so many times by the world that he began to push everyone and everything out of his life…"

'It happened again,' thought Mikazuki in annoyance as he wiped at his nostrils, in turn wiping the crimson liquid… the blood from his upper lip as he stared down at his red hand with a dismal look on his face, or at least as close to dismal as the blue eyed boy could get these days. He didn't like it when that happened… when he became emotional. People got scared of him whenever that happened, and by all means, he was glad that Yosetsu wasn't present to see any of that, even if he did leave behind some evidence in the form of the blood droplets…

"But then, you came along… and I… I-I don't know how… but you managed to break through his walls… if only a little…"

He didn't want Yosetsu to go… the boy was kind to him, he was living proof that even someone as sinful as he was could have a shot at being a good person. So many people had dismissed him as nothing more than a brat, a nuisance or even a Villain in the past thanks to his attitude, demeanor and/or his Quirk, and while Awase still had no idea what his Quirk was, he was willing to overlook his other flaws and accept him…

"And Mikazuki… he… h-he's been a lot happier recently…"

But alas, Augus knew that he would be gone eventually. He couldn't hide his Quirk from Awase forever, and by all means, he knew that he would leave as soon as he found out about it. They all left him when they learnt of what his Quirk was, they always did… only those from Chryse could understand how he felt… only they would understand how it felt to be treated like a monster for no reason other than being born different…

"And I… want to thank you, Awase-Kun! You're responsible for making Mikazuki feel a lot better about himself, and… a-and… a-a-and I just want you to know that… t-that… uuu…"

Maybe that really was just what he was, huh? A monster…

Staring down at his hands, Mikazuki frowned at the blood that was smeared on one of the two whilst grimacing intensely, his mind going blank for the briefest of moments as the smell of ozone and the taste of copper invaded his senses. Memories of a life he had escaped from began returning to him in full as the blue eyed boy delved deep into his self deprecating thoughts, and as the seconds went by, he found his vision going blurry as the light left his eyes…

"You sinful child, you deserve nothing more than death!"

"You Villainous rats should just return to the depths of Hell, where you belong!"

"Killing a child like you would severely taint my record, but killing a Villain like yourself? Now that's a different story all on it's own!"

"W-Why… I… I thought you were our friend… o-our Hero! Mi-Kun… w-why did you bring them here?!

"why…"

"Why…?"

"WHY?!"

"M-Mikazuki…?"

Blinking a little as he heard Yosetsu's voice ring through the air, the aforementioned boy felt his body jolt upright a little as he processed his words, and at that, he hastily wiped the remaining blood off his upper lip and swiftly rubbed the blood smear off on his blue innerwear in an attempt to hide the bleeding from Awase. As luck would have it, the headband-wearing boy had walked up to him as soon as he had finished wiping the blood off, and at that, the guy stared down at him awkwardly as he did the same.

"...Awa," responded Mikazuki, with him sounding very much out of it as he spoke, with him blinking uncertainly as he stared up at the headband-wearing boy, and by all means, Yosetsu found himself going a little pale at just how… different Augus looked. His eyes were a lot more hollow than he was used to by now, and likewise, his stature seemed a lot less confident than usual, with his shoulders slouched down low and his back hunched over rather noticeably.

It wasn't easy to notice, but at the very least, Mikazuki always did exude some form of confidence whenever he was present. He was always confident in his abilities to do what he was tasked with, and as such, to see him like this… well, it made Awase wince a little as he stared down at his frie… acquaintance…

"Hey… sorry for rushing off like that, Augus-Kun," apologised Yosetsu meekly as he scratched the back of his head, an awkward smile plastered on his face all the while. Mikazuki didn't sense any hint of a lie behind his words, and as such, he ended up believing his words, as evidenced by the noncommittal nod of his head.

"It's alright," assured Mikazuki somberly as he frowned to himself, silently berating his mental state, his inability to learn anything productive properly, as he looked away from his acquaintance and stared back down at the textbook. The sight of this was more than enough to make Yosetsu shudder a little as he took note of just how self-depreciative the guy looked, and out of no small amount of worry, he placed his hand up against the boy's back and offered him a kind smile, one that caught Augus off guard as he blinked in surprise.

"Hey, I… I wasn't mad, alright? Just a little… uh… tired, is all," apologised Yosetsu as he half-lied about how he felt at the moment, to which the blue eyed boy nodded a little in acknowledgement.

"Ah…" muttered Mikazuki as he turned his attention back to his textbook, with him desperately wishing to get his mind off the matter at hand as he refocused on the equation Yosetsu had been trying to teach him several minutes prior, though right as he did so, Awase felt his frown deepening a little as he brought his hand onto the textbook and flipped it shut, surprising Augus quite a bit. "...?"

"Why… don't we take a break, Augus-Kun?" suggested Yosetsu gently as he moved to take a seat on his bed, with his words catching Mikazuki off guard as he watched him lean backwards and drop his rear down onto his bed. He sighed a tiny bit on impact before he stretched his limbs a little, and shortly thereafter, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and turned it on. "I have a feeling that you're suffering from a tiny bit of brain overload after all that sciency bullshit, so just… take five, alright?"

"... okay," responded Mikazuki flatly, with him sounding rather unsure of how to think about any of this was he kept his attention on the boy sitting in front of him, and for the next few minutes, neither one of them spoke as they simply basked in the silent company of the other, with Awase antsily thumbing away at his mobile phone whilst sparing Augus a quick glance on occasion whilst Mika kept his attention on everything but Yosetsu…

Before long, however, the mutual silence was broken by Mikazuki, surprisingly enough, as he glanced over at Yosetsu and fixed his unreadable expression onto him. Awase took less than a second to notice his gaze, and at that, he lowered his phone and glanced back at him.

"Why?" asked Mikazuki rather abruptly as he stared over at Yosetsu with a confused expression, to which the headband-wearing boy raised a brow in confusion, though his confusion was quick to fade away as he realized what that question entailed, though before he could answer, Mika beat him to it. "Why… do you treat me like this?"

"Like… what?" asked Yosetsu, with him sounding a little… confused, so to speak, as he watched Mikazuki speak, and as he did so, the headband-wearing boy widened his eyes a little when he noticed something incredibly different about the boy. While yes, he did still appear rather neutral, there was something different about how he looked now, something that Awase couldn't quite put his finger on just yet…

… and then it hit him.

His eyes.

They looked so… different from how Yosetsu remembered them to be. When they had first met, the boy's blue eyes were cold and calculating, and if he were honest, if looks could kill, Awase would've been dead the moment he laid eyes on him.

And then as time went on… that cold and remorseless gaze seemed to soften a little as he grew used to his presence. It wasn't to say that it was lost completely, of course, as the sharp glare remained ever present, even when there was literally no reason for it to remain, but it had weakened ever so slightly. Whenever he made eye contact with Yosetsu, the headband-wearing boy noticed that his gaze would soften just enough to be noticeable… so much so that it made him think that he liked having him around…

That much was hard to believe, sure, but the thought of it still made Awase's heart lighten a little…

Now, however, Mikazuki's eyes were… empty, so to speak. Devoid of any noticeably form of life, the blue eyed boy looked… dead as he stared over at Yosetsu expectantly, seeming uncaring yet worried all at once as his body tensed, prepared for the worst possible answer to be given to his question as he eyed his acquaintance… timidly? That word sounded so wrong when put in the same vein as Mikazuki… but at the moment, it seemed to describe how he looked the best as he kept his gaze fixed onto the taller boy.

"... I treat you like how I do because… you deserve it as much as anyone else, Augus-Kun," explained Yosetsu, to which the shorter boy noticeably perked up a little, intrigued in his acquaintance's reasoning whilst also seeming to be a little taken aback by his words, prompting the taller boy to continue. "You're human as well, aren't you? Like me, you're still flesh and blood…"

As he spoke, Yosetsu made the bold decision to reach out and grasp onto Mikazuki's right hand, clasping it gently in his own as he held it up to eye level. The sudden gesture caught the blue eyed boy off guard as he visibly recoiled at the sudden gesture, though Awase, in spite of his embarrassment, didn't let it deter him as he continued speaking.

"I… I don't know what your Quirk is, exactly, Augus-Kun, and I'll be honest, I don't give a fuck about it. No, what I do give a fuck about is you. I'm not sure if you'll believe me on this, but I'm certain that you're a good person at heart, and you… you deserve to be treated with just as much respect as anyone else," concluded Yosetsu with a gentle smile directed at Mikazuki, and at that, the blue eyed boy found himself staring over at his acquaintance incredulously.

Orga had always told him that people could sometimes be good to him, that not everyone outside the orphanage was a bastard that only wished to use him for their own end goals, but he had never believed him… or at least… he had never believed him until now. There was no indication to him that any of what Awase had just said was a lie… all of it was… genuine… and it was so overwhelming that he needed more than a handful of moments to process what he had just heard…

… and shortly thereafter, he found himself pulling his hand back towards himself as he slowly but surely registered what he just did. That sudden burst of emotion threatened to overwhelm the blue eyed orphan as he pulled his hand back and rubbed his wrist with his other hand, seeming a tiny bit awkward as he avoided direct eye contact with Yosetsu, who blinked a little at how Augus was acting, though at the moment, he didn't really have the heart to tease him about it as he offered him a weak smile and a gentle punch to his shoulder.

"I meant what I said, Augus-Kun. You deserve just as much respect as any other person…" repeated Yosetsu with a friendly smile on his face, though not even a second later, he found himself recoiling his hand backwards a little as he realized that Augus' shoulder was probably tougher than most rocks at this point as he felt his knuckles growing a little sore from that hit. Rather awkwardly, Yosetsu began to shake his hand a little in an attempt to rid them of the soreness that plagued it, and all the while Mikazuki stared at him incredulously.

Not long after, however, Mikazuki's incredulous expression, or at least it seemed to be incredulous, anyways, as it was hard to tell when it came to someone like him, seemed to make way for a more neutral one as he watched his acquaintance get over his mildly sore wrist and smile at him awkwardly, though Yosetsu's aforementioned smile ended up faltering a little when he realized that Augus was now… smiling back at him?!

Ok not really. It wasn't much of a smile at all, though the corners of the shorter boy's lips did inch upwards noticeably enough to make Yosetsu assume that he was smiling, and at that, Awase found his cheeks heating up a tiny bit as he acknowledged how… nice Augus looked when he smiled. He almost looked normal, for the lack of a better word, and for the briefest of seconds, Yosetsu found himself forgetting about everything else as he simply watched his acquaintance 'smile' up at him.

Seconds later, however, that 'smile' of his wiped itself off the blue eyed boy's face as he shook his head and sighed, though there wasn't any noticeable form of contempt hidden behind that gesture as he quickly turned his attention back towards Awase, who still appeared dumbstruck at the sight of Mikazuki 'smiling' at him, though he was quick to snap out of it when his shorter acquaintance spoke up.

"You're… very kind, Awa. Thank you," thanked Mikazuki, with the words sounding incredibly awkward coming from him as he bowed his head down a tiny bit in apparent respect for Yosetsu, and at that, the headband-wearing boy found his cheeks reddening once more, this time in embarrassment, as he stuttered out in disbelief. Being thanked by someone was one thing, but being thanked by Mikazuki was another.

"H-Hey, I just said what was on my mind, y'know? Treating you like how I'd treat anyone else is a given!" deflected Yosetsu meekly as he smiled, with him ignoring the proud sensation in his chest as he spoke, to which Augus nodded.

"It's better than what most people say about me," pointed out Mikazuki with a shrug as he set his hands atop his thighs, and as he spoke, the upper back of his sweater seemed to… shudder a little in apparent agreement to his words. Awase took note of that movement as he raised a brow, though he didn't wish to ruin the moment by pointing it out, and as such, he nodded a little in acknowledgement.

"Well, some people are assholes, so fuck em'," quipped Awase, with him sounding horribly self righteous as he spoke, though his words did get a mild scoff out of Augus as he rolled his eyes at his acquaintance's childishness, and at that, Yosetsu grinned a tiny bit as he crossed his arms. "But erm… could you do me a solid and never tell anyone in the orphanage about what I just did? Shino and Ride in particular. They will never let me live this down."

"Ah. I won't. But I'm sure someone else already knows this happened," commented Mikazuki as he crossed his arms, and at that, Yosetsu perked up a little as he wondered if someone from the orphanage was spying on them.

"What? Did Ride secretly follow you here or something?" asked Yosetsu worriedly as he began reddening at the thought of being teased by that gremlin, though much to his relief, Mikazuki shook his head.

"Not Ride. He's not a stealthy person. No, I'm talking about her. You were listening in on us, weren't you, Atra?" replied Augus as he glanced towards Yosetsu's door, and upon finishing that statement, a shocked eep! could be heard from the other side of the door as Awase widened his eyes in shock, and his shock was quick to turn into bewilderment when he watched the aforementioned girl sheepishly push the door to his room open, prompting him to drop his jaw in shock.

"You were spying on us…?" muttered Yosetsu in disbelief as he stared at Atra, slack jawed, and in response, Mixta bowed down low in an apologetic manner and began fumbling for an apology.

"I-I'm sorry, Awase-Kun, Mikazuki! I… I-I just wanted t-to hear how it w-w-would go!" apologised Atra as she began to feel incredibly nervous, with her wondering what her fate would be for listening in on such an emotional moment for both boys. She was already expecting the worst to befall her by now, something that was instinctual at this point she supposed, as she waited for either one of them to strike her, or at least give her a verbal beatdown, though much to her shock, all she got was Mika gently setting the palm of his hand down onto her shoulder and gently getting her to stand back up. "M-M-Mikazuki…? Why aren't y-you…"

"... do you want to watch Awase play that game I told you about a few days ago…?" asked Mikazuki, with him instantly changing the topic right there and then as he gave Atra a deadpanned look, though she knew better. The shine in his eye told her that he knew, at least partially, about her unintentional orchestration of events that led up to this point, and by all means, he was thankful towards her for doing so, and upon acknowledging this, Mixta's mood took a turn for the better as she smiled and jumped up into the air enthusiastically.

"Y-Yes! Awase-Kun, does your game have Pro-Hero Taurus in it?" asked Atra enthusiastically, shocking Yosetsu with just how common mood swings were with anyone associated with Mikazuki, before he huffed a little and nodded, with him pulling his phone out shortly thereafter.

"Well yeah, it does. Are you a fan, Mixta-Chan?" inquired Yosetsu curiously as he tapped into the app they were referring to, and at that, Atra nodded and bounced up in excitement.

"Yes! She's an amazing Pro-Hero!" proclaimed Atra happily as Yosetsu smiled a tiny bit as well, with him finding Mixta's enthusiasm to be incredibly infectious as he nodded in agreement, though before long, she went silent for the briefest of moments, staring at Mikazuki and Awase briefly, before she gathered up her courage to speak. "But I think that both you and Mikazuki can be even better!"

"P-Pardon me?" muttered Yosetsu, with him having been caught off guard by Atra's comment as he stared over at her in bewilderment. Meanwhile, Mikazuki remained unphased by that statement as he remained as rigid as ever, even if the upper back of his sweater began to shudder a little in apparent annoyance, something that Atra noticed but chose to ignore for now as she continued speaking.

"You and Mikazuki can be amazing Heroes, Awase-Kun!" repeated Atra with a wide grin as she swung her arms into the air in a rather childish manner, and at that, Yosetsu blushed a tiny bit at her statement before he shook his head, dismissing it right there and then whilst Mikazuki simply accepted the unintentional praise Mixta had given him.

"Well, I… don't think I could be a Hero, actually…" muttered Yosetsu below his breath as he felt himself biting his lower lip apprehensively whilst a handful of bad memories resurfaced in his mind. Atra herself didn't seem to notice this, however, as she smiled and bounced on the balls of her feet, though the same couldn't be said for Mikazuki, who stared over at his acquaintance with a raised brow. Opening his mouth, he got ready to ask him why he thought that way, though before he could do so, the app for Pro Hero; Plus Ultra Maxi-Boost ON finished loading and played its menu music, prompting both Awase and Mixta to smile from ear to ear all the while.

"I call dibs!" protested Atra enthusiastically, with her excitement to play a game that even Mikazuki was interested in overriding her usual cautious nature as she sat atop Yosetsu's bed, prompting Awase to laugh lightheartedly as he sat down beside her as well and handed her the phone. Whilst Mixta thumbed through the main menu, Awase glanced up at Mikazuki and motioned for him to join them, and though he rolled his eyes at that, Augus relented swiftly and took his seat next to Atra, sandwiching the little girl between the two of them in the process.

And for the next few hours, up till the battery of Yosetsu's phone reached critical levels, the three of them took turns playing the ever popular mobile game whilst chatting with one another with great vigor. Or at least, Atra and Yosetsu chatted with one another quite a bit, as Mikazuki wasn't one for chatter. All in all, it was rather fun, and by all means, Augus enjoyed it…

He hoped that he could do this all again soon…

"Well, it's been a good day. It wasn't what I was expecting for a study session, but fuck it, honestly, it was fun."

A small giggle escaped Atra's lips at that goodbye offered to herself and Mika as they stood by the front door of the Awase residence, with Yosetsu himself seeing them off as they bid one another farewell. It had to be about nine at night by now, and by all means, the two of them were to return home much earlier, though thanks to a certain mobile game of Yosetsu's, that didn't happen.

Neither one of them could attest to regretting their decision to return home much later than expected, however, as they had quite a good time together, Mikazuki included, even if he didn't show it at all, and though all three of them were tired, they were still satisfied. Atra, however, did seem just a little woozy as she began wobbling a little from side to side as she stood before the two boys, with her hand being held by Mikazuki as he positioned his headphones up and over his head.

"Ah. It was fun. We should do it again sometime," agreed Mikazuki passively as Yosetsu laughed good-naturedly, with that being his apparent agreement with Augus' words as he nodded. Atra nodded in agreement as well, and before long, they took their leave.

"S-See you soon, Awase-Kun!" proclaimed Atra happily as she waved at him with her free hand, a gesture that was mirrored by Yosetsu as he watched them walk off into the distance, and likewise, Mikazuki huffed a little as well, with him glancing back at his acquaintance with a mostly neutral gaze, though hints of reluctance at departing were rather noticeable as he bid his acquaintance farwell.

"Ah. See you, Awase."

"Yeah, see ya," responded Yosetsu as he chuckled to himself and watched as the two of them disappeared from view, and as soon as they were gone, the boy shook his head good-naturedly and moved to shut his front door.

And right as he did so, it hit him.

'Did he just call me Awase again?'

Friendships/acquaintanceships are made, and Atra is introduced!

The soft little girl we all know and love, bless her soul. Why does Mika have headphones? Who knows! What's his and Atra's Quirks? Who knows? We'll have to wait and find out!

Do note that updates will be gradually slowing down from here since everything up to chapter 5 is pre-written. I just finished chapter 6 as of typing this! Renn isn't available to proofread it as of now but expect one more update before long.

Review replies!

CT567Rules: probably not, honestly

Hat109: so you believe that's his Quirk? Well, I shan't confirm or deny it!

Spyro fanboy: then be excited, my friend. Be very excited

wd1209111: you're welcome! I'm glad you love what little I do!

That's basically it. Again, not the best at outros, and the weather is horrid!

Peace.

(Noncanon Omake FYI)

"Hey, mind if I have your phone number? I'll be able to call you after school after I inform my parents about this and tell you what they said."

And as soon as he said that, Yosetsu watched in shock as Mikazuki reached into his pocket and pulled out a massive brick… no… that wasn't a brick! It was a phone.

A phone that predated even the Pre-Quirk Era… and to call it a phone would be absurd! It was more of a weapon than a fucking phone!

"Are you okay, Awa?"

"A-Augus-Kun… I fucking t-thought weapons weren't allowed in school!"