Yosetsu Awase was, to put it simply, not the most sociable of people.

Don't get him wrong, it wasn't as though he hated being around others. If anything, being in a group did feel oddly comforting to him… but even so, the guy was no expert when it came to actually interacting with… anyone, really.

Usually cold and seemingly uncaring, Awase's blunt and vulgar attitude tended to drive people away from him, and honestly speaking, he couldn't bring himself to be surprised by that. After all, who would want to hang out with the guy that would sooner tell you he'd rather have you break both your legs in an accident so that you won't attend a school event that was well out of your league rather than wishing you good luck?

The answer to that little question was simple. Very simple, really.

No one.

No one but the Chryse Orphanage residents, anyways…

He had to admit that, when he first found himself in this little social group, Awase wasn't exactly comfortable with them, so to speak. They were rowdier than he was used to, even more so than his elementary schoolmates were, which was a massive achievement in itself, and likewise, they were a lot more… let's just say gungho than Yosetsu was comfortable with.

Sure, the kids back at Kameshiro were a little rowdy from time to time… but they never did go so far as to throw dumbbells at one another just for fun. That was a truly terrifying day for Yosetsu, who had to hide in a storage room alongside Atra, and most of the younger residents of the orphanage to weather the storm. Yukinojo may or may not have received a small fine for that whole debacle, though that was neither here nor there, really.

Regardless, it definitely did take quite a bit of time for Yosetsu to get accustomed to the enthusiasm and overall immaturity shown by the orphans in the establishment. At the very least, however, Mikazuki was always there in some way to help reel these kids in before they got too out of hand, and before long… he found himself growing a little comfortable around these guys.

Who could blame him, though? The orphans, while generally good natured and kindhearted, were just as vulgar and blunt as he was (with the exception of some, such as Mikazuki, Akihiro and Yamagi), and likewise, they seemed to be just as socially inept as him. Sure, amongst one another, the orphans were undoubtedly a group of tightly knit gremlins, with some of them seeming to even harbour feelings that transcended friendship, though Yosetsu knew that he was in no position to ask anyone (especially Yamagi) about the issue, but when it came to people that were outside the orphanage, they were just as lost as he was on how to speak to them properly.

That, more or less, gave them equal ground when it came to speaking with one another. They were just as inept as one another, and as such, they had a mutual bonding point, regardless of how pathetic as said bonding point really was. Sure, he wasn't ready to consider them friends just yet, but even so… they were definitely not strangers by any stretch of the word.

They never treated him like an outcast for one reason or another, never did try to make him stop with his cussing (and whenever they did, it wasn't too harsh), and all in all, they really did fill in the void that was left behind by his parent's busy work schedule. He did love them, there was no doubt about that, but their absence in his life made him crave some camaraderie that he has never been able to find for oh so long.

Not until he found the orphanage, anyways. And he had Mikazuki to thank for that.

Of course, with all that being said, Yosetsu had to admit that, despite him liking these guys quite a lot, he wasn't sure if they were the best influence on him, as they weren't exactly the most ethical of people. Yosetsu himself didn't fault them for this, as they were very much victims of circumstance, seeing as how they never did have a proper upbringing, though then again, part of him did wonder if they realized that teaching a thirteen year old boy how to play poker was a bad idea.

Honestly? They probably knew that it was a bad idea, but considering how Orga, Chad and Shino were, they probably didn't care too much. Which was how things ended up spiralling into the present, with Yosetsu sitting behind a coffee table with his legs crossed and with a full hand of cards in his grasp, attempting to outwit the three aforementioned young men in a game of poker all the while. Chad, at the very least, had the moral decency to appear sheepish as he glanced between his hand and Yosetsu whilst they played, though the same couldn't be said for Shino and Orga, who simply watched as Awase tried to figure out how to play the card game.

The fact that one of his cards was being held the wrong way was a good sign to everyone present that he still had a long way to go before then, and that issue was only resolved after Yamagi walked into the living room, reversed the card's position in Yosetsu's hand and sat down on the couch behind him alongside Mikazuki, who was just observing all this go down.

"I… don't know how you guys can play this daily," admitted Yosetsu as he scratched his head awkwardly, with his gaze glued to the deck of cards in his hand whilst he scratched his head. Behind him, Yamagi snorted in amusement whilst Mikazuki appeared to agree with Awase, as he found poker to be an incredibly complex game that only Orga could play perfectly, so perfectly, in fact, that he was the only one who could defeat Shino in the damn game.

Orga found it prudent to not tell anyone that he was the only one who knew that Shino was cheating, and that only he knew how to counter his cheats. Hell, even Norba didn't know that he knew he was cheating, which only made things more entertaining for everyone in the long run.

Regardless, Shino found himself snickering a little at Yosetsu's words as he grinned at the kid, with him exchanging his King for a random card on the deck all the while. His grin only grew when he withdrew a Joker, and at that, Chad paled a little whilst Orga snickered a tiny bit, already preparing one of his many counters against Shino's cheat system all the while.

"Eh, you'll get used to it, Awa," assured Shino with a grin as Yosetsu shook his head and convinced himself that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, and at that, he exchanged a card, one that he didn't know about whatsoever, and held it up to Yamagi. Gilmerton, despite being rather annoyed at him being used as a dictionary, decided to whisper to him what the Ace of Spades was and what its effects were. Awase thanked him for that before he threw away his Queen in favour of the Ace, prompting the blonde, and even Mikazuki himself, to almost faint all the while.

Yeah, he'll need a lot more time before he could get better at this game.

Thankfully enough, however, before Yamagi and Mikazuki could be subjected to more of Yosetsu's (somewhat understandably) terrible poker skills, the small group of boys and young men heard someone walking down from the second floor, prompting the four who were playing the game of cards to hide their decks temporarily all the while. Awase needed Yamagi to coax him into hiding it, as, by all means, he wasn't meant to be playing it in the first place. The group relaxed a little when they saw that it was Atra that had descended from the second floor, though they still kept their decks hidden for now as they knew how she wouldn't approve of them teaching Yosetsu how to play the game regardless.

"Sup, Atra?" greeted Shino, with him smiling a little at the aforementioned girl all the while, with the rest of the guys present offering similar greetings to her. The girl in question found herself smiling back as she waved gently at them, and after they greeted her, she bounced up and down a little and spoke up.

"Norba-San, Itsuka-San, Chadan-San, Awase-San, Yamagi-Kun, Mikazuki!" greeted Atra cheerfully as she bounced up and down happily, with her bangs bouncing up and down alongside her all the while. It made for an adorable sight, that much was certain, though Yosetsu did take note of Mixta's use of Mikazuki's full name, without any prefix no less, and raised his brow curiously. He's noticed this a long while back, back when they had first met rather, though he never did ask about it. That didn't stop him from being curious, though…

Regardless, Yosetsu allowed that thought, like most things he had to contend with, slip into the back of his mind as he smiled and offered the little girl a two fingered salute, one that she gratefully mirrored when she called him out. Awase felt a little proud of himself for some reason, though he didn't dwell too much on it as she scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

It was a normal thing for her, really. She was incredibly friendly with the rest of the orphans living here, and she was most certainly warming up to Yosetsu, however slowly that process took, though in spite of all that, the girl still remained incredibly shy whenever it came to conversing with… anyone, really… anyone that wasn't Mikazuki, anyways.

She always seemed more confident around him, and pairing that up with her using Mikazuki's first name without any prefixes made Yosetsu just that much more curious about the full extent of their relationship, though he felt as though it wasn't his place to pry on the matter, not yet at least, so he let it simmer at the back of his mind until a later date.

Unsurprisingly, amidst a somewhat sizable group of people, friends or not, Atra's confidence ended up taking a small nosedive as she fumbled with the helm of her long sleeved shirt, seeming unable to put her thoughts into words all the while. Miraculously, however, Yamagi existed, and with his Quirk, they were able to bypass Mixta's issues with anxiety as the blonde huffed in amusement and smiled gently at Atra, who blushed and looked away sheepishly.

"Atra-Chan's going back to Haba's for the day, and she wants someone to go with her," offered Yamagi gently as he leaned back on the couch and glanced down at Yosetsu, who didn't notice his gaze as he watched Atra tap her fingers together. Glancing up at Gilmerton, she hoped that she could help him get her point across for her, though the look he gave her told her that, sometimes, she needed to fight her own battles, prompting her to almost pout at him before she sighed in exasperation.

"Well, that's your cue, Mika," piped up Orga with a wink towards the aforementioned boy, who nodded a little and moved to get up, though before he could do so, Yamagi placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down onto the couch, eliciting a raise of the boy's brow all the while. Gilmerton was quick to give him a look that said just go with it for now, something that made Mikazuki feel just a bit more confused as he eyed Yamagi for a few more seconds, though before long, he simply nodded and waited patiently.

"W-Well… actually… I was wondering…" began Atra meekly as she looked at Mikazuki apologetically. The boy took a moment to get what she was about to say, and though his shoulders noticeably deflated a little upon realizing it, she allowed it to slide as he knew that he wouldn't be able to spend all his time with her. And he definitely didn't feel a small pang of jealousy when Atra's gaze abruptly landed onto Yosetsu, no siree. "C-Can Awase-San follow me there today?"

"Wait what?"

All things considered, that was a pretty reasonable response to Atra's wholly unexpected request, and upon hearing it, everyone present, sans Yamagi who already knew beforehand, thus allowing him to suppress his genuine surprise over the issue, displayed varying levels of shock over it. Even Mikazuki blinked a little as his cold facade faded away for the briefest of moments, though he regained it before long as he stared at Atra with a raised brow. Vice versa, the girl seemed mildly sheepish as she tapped her fingers together awkwardly, and before long, Orga grinned a little as he nodded.

"Well, if he's up to it…" muttered Itsuka as he eyed Yosetsu cheekily, and though his cheeks did redden a tad at the prospect of following a girl… anywhere, really, he didn't really have the heart to deny Atra of anything, especially as she puffed her cheeks up and staring down at the ground in a manner that said that she was already expecting rejection.

Damn those puppydog eyes.

"Sure, I guess. I'm fine with following," commented Yosetsu, with him doing his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke. He wasn't getting very far with it, unfortunately, as he ended up stuttering a tiny bit, prompting Shino and Chad to share a mild laugh with one another in the process, and though Awase did redden a little in embarrassment at this, he otherwise ignored it in favour of asking Atra something else. "What time do we-"

"Now, Awase-San!" cut off Atra as she smiled a little and bounced up and down in excitement, seeming eternally grateful for her new walking buddy all the while. Yosetsu, admittedly, felt a little overwhelmed by Mixta's enthusiasm, though he'd never admit to it (not that it really mattered when Yamagi was present anyways, as evident by the smug smile on his face), though he got over it reasonably quickly before he stood up and placed his hand of cards atop the desk. Atra seemed surprised that Yosetsu had been playing poker at first, though she dismissed it as she watched Awase walk up to her with his hands in his pockets and a mostly disinterested look on his face.

He also pretended to not see the uncharacteristically smug look on Yamagi's face, and likewise, he did his darndest to ignore the mild look of contempt that Mikazuki was sending his way. It wasn't too intense, but the mild sharpness in the shorter boy's eyes was almost enough to rip through Yosetsu's soul right there and then.

"Alright then, lead the way, I guess?" muttered Yosetsu as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, with that action causing his headband to shuffle a little all the while, and at that, Atra led Awase out of the building. Before he left, the headband-wearing boy shot Mikazuki a quick wave and a slightly apologetic smile, one that he returned without much enthusiasm, and as soon as the door slammed shut, all eyes turned towards Augus.

"Jealous?" commented Shino with a grin as Chad smiled a little whilst checking on the cards that Awase left behind, only to be surprised at just how good his hand was before he had to forfeit. He didn't voice that out, however, and he hoped that no one noticed him exchange a few cards for the ones that Yosetsu once had as Mikazuki glared at Norba, who wilted a fair bit under his gaze.

"No," denied Mikazuki, and as he spoke, he sent a sideways glare towards Yamagi, telling him that he knew that the blonde's Quirk was activating and attempting to slither its way into his mind. Gilmerton wisely halted all attempts at reading his mind from there on, though his defensiveness was more than enough to give him an answer or two as he smiled a little and leaned back on the couch… only to freeze up a little when he realized that, in the short time where they were interrogating Mikazuki, someone else had entered the room.

Both Orga and Chad had also frozen a little upon realizing this as well, and likewise, Mikazuki's demeanor went from mildly irritated to slightly amused as he watched the newcomer stand behind Shino with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Thus far, it seemed as though only Norba was unaware of who was behind him, as he smiled and snickered to himself.

"If you say so," commented Shino as he grinned and dropped the issue for now, with him turning his attention back to the cards in his hand. He was quick to notice the awkward silence, however, as he glanced over at his friends, with his reptilian eyes reflecting more than a bit of confusion at their silence all the while. "Something wrong, fellas?"

Unsurprisingly, none of them wished to tell him who was standing behind him, though Yamagi, being who he was, found himself taking pity on Norba as he reached his hand up towards the eyepatch that covered his left eye. Lifting it up briefly, Gilmerton made full eye contact with Shino and activated his Quirk at maximum capacity.

'Look behind yourself, Shino.'

"Eh? Look behind myself? What's behind-" began Shino as he turned around, and at that, he looked up and saw none other than Yukinojo Nadi Kassapa standing behind him with his arms crossed and with a look of disapproval etched onto his face, looming over him like a vast, predatory bird. Upon noticing him, Norba noticeably paled as the guy sighed and spoke up.

"What did I tell you kids about teaching Mr Awase how to gamble?"

"Oh about that, we weren't… uh…" muttered Chad, only to trail off as he realized that he couldn't really deflect that. Poker was one of the main gambling games, after all, and though uncommon, the older orphans would often gamble on minor things to pass the time, so he couldn't really deflect that statement, and Yukinojo knew this.

"Hm?" grunted the old man as he waited for Chad to continue speaking, and though the orphans weren't exactly afraid of anything, the Quirkless old man that ran the orphanage they lived in had more than enough ways to put the fear of God into their souls, and when he realized that Chadan wasn't going to finish that statement of his anytime soon, Orga sighed and added on.

"Yeah, we got nothing. EVERYONE SKEDADDLE!"

And even if Yukinojo was more than a decade older than them, it didn't take him long to catch all three young adults and sentence them to garage cleanup duty. Yamagi quite enjoyed watching it all happen while Mikazuki accepted it as decent entertainment to pass the time with.

"So… are you sure you're not jealous?" inquired Yamagi after some time, with him adjusting the eyepatch over his left eye as he spoke, to which Mikazuki glanced away passively.

"No."

Meanwhile

For as strange as it was at first, Yosetsu had to admit that walking with Atra wasn't too bad.

Sure, this whole issue was incredibly foreign to Awase in more ways than one. Not only was he following an acquaintance to a grocery store, a girl to a grocery store, no less, but this grocery store was located in the neighbouring town of Kametsuka, a place that Yosetsu was wholly unfamiliar with as he never had any reason to map the place out. And last but not least, Yosetsu was also talking to Atra, something that wasn't exactly frequent, to say the least, as she was still at least a little uncomfortable around him, though if this trip was anything to go by, she was slowly but surely warming up to his presence.

"Haba-San's been asking a l-lot about you, Awase-S-San! She asked to meet you as soon a-as possible after M-Mikazuki told her a little about you!" said Atra not long after they left the orphanage, and upon hearing this, Yosetsu blinked a little, clearly surprised at the fact that Augus would talk about him to anyone.

"Honestly speaking, I still can't believe that Augus-Kun actually talks about me to other people," admitted Yosetsu, with him shoving his hands into his pockets as he spoke. Atra, whilst a little taken aback by his statement, saw more than a bit of logic behind his words as she nodded. Mikazuki didn't seem to be the kind of person to take enough of a liking to anyone, to the point of talking to other people about them, but even so, even he could make exceptions from time to time…

"W-Well, that's because you're p-pretty important to Mikazuki, Awase-San!" commented Atra with a bright smile as she glanced over at the aforementioned boy, who blinked a little in surprise as he stared over at her. He found that statement to be a tiny bit believable at the very least, as Mikazuki did seem to be at least a little fond of him, but with that being said, Awase wouldn't go so far as to say that he was important to the guy.

"Again, I find that pretty hard to believe. I'm not really sure why I'd be important to the guy, anyways," commented Yosetsu with a noncommittal shrug as he spoke. Atra flinched a tiny bit at that as he spoke, and shortly thereafter, things went a little silent as they entered the neighbouring city of Kametsuka, with the two of them walking down the mostly barren sidewalks in awkward silence. Awase found himself surprised at how quiet Kametsuka could be, though then again, he remembered that it was a Friday, and schools were still in session for a handful of the kids. He was probably lucky that he got the past few days off for 'food poisoning' after that cheese fiasco a handful of days prior.

Before long, however, Atra broke the silence with a mild hum, prompting Yosetsu to glance at her general question with a raised brow.

"Embi, Trow, Pedro and Shino told Mikazuki what you said about Quirks, you know…?" muttered Atra meekly as she tapped her fingers against one another, and as she did so, Yosetsu perked up a little as he glanced over at her. The girl seemed rather awkward, albeit a little more confident than usual, as they discussed the issue of Quirks, though Yosetsu opted to sweep that detail under the rug for now as he raised a brow in surprise.

It had only just hit him that, whenever he had a conversation with Mikazuki, which wasn't too common in the first place, they never really discussed anything Quirk related, and whenever Yosetsu brought the issue up, Augus would always change the topic with reckless abandon or simply not respond to him until Awase was forced to drop the issue all on its own. Quirks must've been a sore point for his acquaintance, though the reason as to why was still a mystery to him…

"I… don't know if you know this… b-but… Mikazuki… has issues with his Quirk," continued Atra, with her words effectively snapping Awase out of his thoughts as he glanced in her general direction once more. The girl's red eyes looked a lot wiser than Yosetsu had ever seen them, and as she spoke, she sounded like someone that he should be taking advice from and not the usually meek girl that he knew. "It's… it's n-not my place to tell you everything… but… his Quirk… is powerful… and it's very d-dangerous. He doesn't like it at all…

"Almost everyone he knew told him that it… it's a Villain's Quirk. He… accepted it, I think, and he always hides it. He doesn't want anyone to see his Quirk… because he's scared of what they'll think."

The thought of Mikazuki being scared of… anything, really, was more than enough to make Yosetsu pause briefly as Atra spoke, though besides that, the revelation of all this, of how Augus had been treated because of his Quirk, was more than enough to make Awase's stomach churn with disgust. He was still adamantly against the prospect of 'Villainous Quirks' even being a thing, and though Mikazuki could be seen as a little shit from time to time, that didn't mean that others could treat him poorly because of something that he couldn't change.

And then… something hit him… Mikazuki hid his Quirk… and he always wore that jacket of his. The upper half of his jacket was always prone to shifting a little, and likewise, whenever he wore his school uniform, its back would always be a little bulkier than usual. Likewise, though it was incredibly rare, Yosetsu had noticed how Mikazuki's eyes would turn red on occasion, and he knew that it wasn't a normal thing for blue eyes to turn red… so perhaps…

"He… he just wants people to see him for who he is," continued Atra, with her voice snapping Awase out of his thoughts once more as he blinked and glanced over at her. "But… his Quirk makes him unapproachable as well. There's a drawback to his Quirk… i-it makes him… suppress his emotions forcefully. If he doesn't… it… i-it becomes harder to control, and he might h-hurt someone unintentionally. He can't be too sad… too angry or too… o-or t-too… too h-happy… because if he does, his Q-Quirk… it'll become active… and he d-doesn't like that…"

"Wait… so you're telling me that Mikazuki is such a prick… because his Quirk forces him to be one?" inquired Yosetsu, with his eyes widening rather abruptly as he blinked a little in shock. He knew that Accumulation Quirks, which was most likely the Quirk type that Mikazuki had if what Atra was telling him was anything to go by, were a thing, but he never heard of one that was this severe up till now. To force its user to remain emotionless, to stop them from expressing themselves in any meaningful way, just to keep it under control… it felt needlessly cruel in the most unorthodox way imaginable… and all of his thoughts were swiftly confirmed when Atra nodded in response to his question.

"Y-Yes. He… doesn't like it, but he needs to keep himself calm so his Quirk won't… attack other people," confirmed Atra shyly as she tapped her fingers together. Suddenly, a lot of things began to make sense for Yosetsu, though for now, he remained silent as Mixta continued to speak. "But… a lot of people… d-don't know about his Quirk. Sometimes… they even call him Quirkless… and he doesn't really mind it too much… b-but… because of how… calm he has to be all the time… he never laughs or smiles very often… and people… t-the ones that don't know about his Quirk's drawbacks… t-they're creeped out by him. And those who know about it… are scared of him…

"No one ever wanted to be near him… in all the previous schools he went to, Mikazuki was always alone…"

And as those words left her lips, Atra slowed her pace, if only by a little, and turned her attention towards Yosetsu completely. Likewise, Awase, upon noticing that she was slowing down and staring at him with complete attentiveness, glanced back at her, and as red eyes met grey, the taller boy found himself blinking a little as he took note of how… thankful Atra seemed to be as she looked at him with a small smile present on her face.

That one smile told Awase a lot more than he needed to know, and before she could even open her mouth to continue speaking, he already knew what she was going to say.

"... then you came along."

Yosetsu needed a lot more effort than he was willing to admit to requiring to keep the dumb smile off his face… though then again, perhaps the smile was justified. To know that he was the one that broke the vicious cycle that Mikazuki had been trapped in for so long did feel rather nice, though to preserve the mood of the moment, Awase forced himself to remain neutral as Atra continued to speak.

"You… talked to Mikazuki despite him being… a… p-prick?" muttered Atra, with her staring at Yosetsu a little awkwardly as she wondered if she was even using that word correctly. A nod of encouragement told her that she was, prompting her to continue speaking. "And… you never stopped sticking by him, even if he c-can be difficult to talk to at times. And… a-and Mikazuki… likes that about you.

"He likes how you can look past how… different he is from everyone and just like him for w-who he really is…"

Upon finishing her little speech to Yosetsu, Atra's face had become beet red as she launched her hands up towards it to shield it from view. It was rather obvious to Awase that Mixta required a lot more courage than she was used to using just to get those words out in the open, and upon acknowledging this, he found himself smiling just a bit as he rubbed his upper arm meekly.

It was such a simple thing to do, he realized, to treat someone else with respect, regardless of how different they were… and yet, Mikazuki didn't have the privilege of being treated with respect by those outside of the orphanage. So many people had probably treated him as though he were less than human just because of his Quirk, and on occasion, perhaps even because they thought him to be Quirkless… so much so that, the instant Awase had become a factor in his life, a factor that treated him like an actual human for a change… he was quick to latch onto him because of it.

It was… tragic, really. Pitiful, even. Yosetsu knew that Quirk discrimination, especially against the Quirkless, was bad… but he never thought it would be this severe…

Though, then again…

"Y'know, in a way, I really can really say the same for Augus-Kun as well, Mixta-Chan."

That… was unexpected, really, and it was so out of left field that Atra couldn't help but blink a little as she slowed down a tiny bit to process what she had just heard. Yosetsu couldn't blame her for that, however, as he did drop quite a bit bomb on her without warning her beforehand, though he did take advantage of her brief bout of silence in order to continue speaking.

"Do you know what my Quirk is, Mixta-Chan?" inquired Yosetsu, to which Atra blinked. Of course she did… it was-

"Y-Yes, I do… it's-"

Yosetsu Awase

Quirk: Weld

By placing his hands on two touching surfaces, Yosetsu is capable of fusing them together on a molecular level, making them practically impossible to separate. He can unweld them from one another whenever he pleases, though overuse of his Quirk will result in temporary cramps in his hands, the severity of which depends on how many times he has used his Quirk after welding together a set amount of items.

"Yeah, Weld isn't really the best of Quirks, how is it? It's not exactly flashy, nor is it really universally useful," lamented Yosetsu with a shrug, to which Atra's face turned a little red. Awase could tell that she really wanted to agree with him, though she was definitely unsure on how he would react to her agreeing with a negative point he had made on himself, prompting her to go silent as she pondered her choices. "It's alright if you think it is. I've kinda… made peace with it myself, really."

"Oh…" muttered Atra, with her finding his admission on his Quirks less than stellar nature to be rather… depressive, so to speak, as she nodded in affirmation. Despite this, however, Yosetsu, rather than drop the issue as Mixta had expected him to, instead smiled a little as he walked on, with him motioning for Atra to keep pace with him all the while.

"I'll be honest with you, when I first got my Quirk, things were… rough. Back in elementary school, the kids liked to pick on me for having such a weak Quirk," admitted Yosetsu as he walked onwards, not seeming to care much about… anything, really, as he gently recounted the events of his elementary school days with Atra. The girl found herself wondering why Awase would ever tell herself something so sensitive in the first place… though vice versa, Yosetsu reckoned that she deserved to know about this.

It was the law of equivalent exchange, after all. Atra had told him quite a lot of sensitive stuff regarding Mikazuki, and it was only fair for him to return the favor.

"I'll admit that… uh, all the teasing, and occasional bullying, may have been the thing that gave me such a potty mouth… and it may also be the reason why I'm as much of a prick as I am," continued Yosetsu as they walked onwards, to which Atra raised her brows a little. There was an undeniable connection between what she was hearing and the things that happened to Mikazuki, and Awase was quick to catch on to the fact that Mixta could see it, prompting him to speed things up a notch. "Well, you see, my shitty attitude didn't really stay with the elementary school Yosetsu. No, it kinda followed me all the way up to middle school, and uh… I didn't like it all that much. I tried to change things, and ended up becoming a quiet little shit. No one really talked to me because of how weak my Quirk is, or just because of how sour and vulgar I always was. At least, not till-"

"Until you met Mikazuki…" realized Atra, with her blinking a little as the realization set in completely, and upon saying that, Yosetsu grinned and gently flicked her nose with his index finger, prompting her to whine a little as she leaned backwards, away from him, in annoyance. "Mou…"

"Heh. But yeah, that's the basic gist of it. I… don't know the specifics behind the fuckshit that Augus-Kun's been through prior to now, but even if his situation was a lot more serious than my own, what with him changing schools so frequently and all that, I have to admit that, in more ways than one, I can see a kindred spirit of sorts in him," admitted Yosetsu, only to blush a tiny bit as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. He probably should've thought more about what he was going to say before actually saying it, really, and right as he realized what just left his lips, he suddenly stopped walking and began to wave his hands around frantically as he attempted to reiterate what he just said, and Atra stopped walking not long after to stare at him in apparent shock. "O-Okay I just realized that what I said is incredibly fucking weird, so… pretend I didn't say it, alright?"

No response from Atra, who was simply staring at him with widened eyes as he tried to take back his previous statement. He didn't like it when people stared at him like that for too long. It made him think he had done something wrong, and with each passing second, his usually neutral facade cracked further and further. He was expecting Mixta to launch into a tirade about just how… weird what he had said sounded, and to perhaps see him differently, now that he had said something so stupid…

… and he sure as Hell wasn't expecting her to launch herself straight towards him and wrap her arms around his waist in a shockingly gentle manner.

"Erm… what…?" muttered Yosetsu awkwardly as he felt Atra bury her face in his stomach, prompting him to glance down at her in confusion as she pulled away from him briefly. Staring up at him, she allowed their eyes to meet for the briefest of moments as she nonverbally told him just how much his words had affected her in particular as she smiled a tad in his direction, a sight that made him blush a tiny bit as he looked away.

"It's nothing, Awase-San. It's just that… I never k-knew just how much pain you've been in up till now… a-and pain always goes away with a hug, r-right?" muttered Atra, with her age shining though rather intensely in her words as she gently hugged him once more. Yosetsu, unsurprisingly, felt his face burning up as he processed her words, though before long, he ended up smiling and patting the girl's head as he shrugged, seeming mostly indifferent, if a little appreciative, towards Atra's efforts at making him feel better all the while.

"I wouldn't really say that I'm in any real pain," admitted Yosetsu as Atra broke the hug off, with her staring up at him curiously all the while. "I kinda left all of that stuff back in elementary school, where it all started. I'd say that I'm more lonely than anything, but still… I can't really say that I'm fucking lonely anymore, now can I?"

"The Chryse boys fixed that, didn't they?" quipped Atra with a smile as she bounced up and down happily. Her serious demeanor was mostly gone by now, replaced with her usual carefree, if a tiny bit shy, self, and upon acknowledging this, Yosetsu smiled a little and nodded, with him snickering all the while.

"Well, I guess they're quite the Heroes to be able to fix an issue as terrible as my crippling loneliness, eh?" quipped Awase, with him partially joking as he was rather grateful for the orphans for making him feel accepted somewhere that wasn't his own home. Atra didn't seem to get his slightly sarcastic tone of voice, however, as, upon hearing him acknowledge them as Heroes of sorts, she found herself widening her eyes a little as she spoke up.

"Do you really think that… that… they're Heroes, Awase-San?" asked Atra meekly, with her staring up at him expectantly as she spoke. Yosetsu took a moment or two to ponder the issue, and not a moment later, he nodded.

"I'd say anyone can be a Hero, Mixta-Chan. As long as they got the heart for it," assured Yosetsu as he shut one eye and brought his fist up to his chest. Rather heartily, he knocked the side of his fist against his chest to place a bit more emphasis on his words, and upon hearing this, Atra smiled rather intensely as she found stars glimmering in her eyes.

"Then… does that mean you think that Mikazuki can be a Hero as well?"

That one question was asked with so much unease, so much fear… and so much hope that it threatened to overwhelm Yosetsu as he blinked a little at Mixta. He didn't expect her to ask such a thing out of the blue, though he was quick to get over it as he offered her a gentle smile, and before long, he lifted a fist up and gently bonked her over the head with it, prompting her to pout a little as she held her 'injured' head in her hands.

"What was that for, meanie?" pouted Atra, to which Yosetsu grinned.

"I said anyone could be a Hero, especially if they have the Heart for it. And Augus-Kun…" muttered Yosetsu, with him trialing off a little as he spoke. He knew better than to lie to someone as kind as Atra, and even if he didn't, he'd rather not lie in the first place, and as such, after a brief few seconds of pondering, he made up his mind on the matter.

Mikazuki Augus was a prick. He was a stick in the mud, a sometimes passive aggressive little shit, and most of all… he was a genuine person. He always said things as they were, and though he, ironically enough, knew very little about him beyond his stone cold facade, Yosetsu had no doubt in his mind that, should something go badly, and should a Villain attack any innocents out of the blue, Mikazuki would be among the first respondents to the scene. It just felt… right to think that way, so to speak.

"Augus-Kun can be a Hero. Perhaps even the best there is, really."

Upon finishing that statement… Yosetsu wondered if he had said anything wrong when he saw Atra's eyes begin to fog up. It took him less than a second to realize that she was about to cry, and he was quick to panic as he widened his eyes and went to work on trying to calm her down as best he could, though before he could do so, Mixta spoke up.

"Y-You're too nice, Awase-San," muttered Atra with a smile as she wiped at her eyes, prompting the aforementioned boy to blush at her praise all the while. One couldn't really blame him for that reaction, though, as he could quite literally count on one hand the amount of times someone, who weren't his parents, had called him nice. Much to his surprise, however, she wasn't done speaking, as she continued to say something that Yosetsu never really forgot, regardless of how much time had passed since then. "I… I think that you can be an amazing Hero as well, Awase-San!"

"W-Wait, what?" was all Yosetsu could really say at that point as he flushed intensely at Atra's assurance, and when she nodded firmly to affirm her words, Awase found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable, if a tad hopeful, as he tapped his fingers together meekly. "You… really think so, huh?"

"Ah! You can be an amazing Rescue Hero, Awase-San! Your Quirk can save so many lives if you put your mind to it, I'm sure!" proclaimed Atra happily and at that, the boy hid the lower half of his face behind his hand as he nodded in appreciation. He… couldn't help it. This was the first time anyone outside of his parents had encouraged him to be something that wasn't a factory worker… and it felt rather overwhelming, to say the least. He wasn't going to tell that to Atra, though, as he nodded and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, with him forcing himself to stop blushing all the while.

"I… damn… that's… very nice of you to say… A-Atra… shit, I mean… M-Mixta-Chan! T-Thanks…" thanked Yosetsu shyly as he scratched the back of his neck, to which Atra smiled and gently punched his elbow, a gesture that made him hold the aforementioned joint in faux pain as he smiled gently.

"You're welcome, Awase-San," quipped Atra with a wink, and at that, the two of them shared a quick smile before they continued walking to get some groceries. As they walked on, however, Yosetsu couldn't help but make a small handful of jabs directed towards Mixta, though none of them were really mean spirited in the slightest. Having heard that he could be a Hero ended up putting the guy in a good mood, and who could blame him for wanting to capitalize on it a little by messing with Atra?

And besides, she didn't really seem to mind, regardless.

"So… do you think of Augus-Kun as your Hero, Mixta-Chan?" inquired Yosetsu, to which Atra blushed a little as she tapped her fingers together awkwardly. It was obvious that she did, though he wanted to hear it from her for a change, and as such, he waited patiently for an answer, one that she was quick to give as she nodded.

"Y-Yes… Mikazuki and H-Haba-San are my Heroes, even more than anyone, really…" confirmed Atra shyly, prompting Yosetsu to nod a little, though before long, he did find himself growing confused at this Haba person. He's never heard of them before, and out of curiosity, he found himself asking the obvious question on his mind.

"Hm… who's Haba?" inquired Yosetsu, with him speaking as straightforwardly as he usually did as he stared down at Atra, and in response to that, Mixta grinned and bounced up a little, surprising Awase with her sudden enthusiasm all the while.

"Haba-San's a nice woman who runs a shop in Kametsuka!" explained Atra, with her smiling fondly as she spoke. Yosetsu recoiled a little as the little girl shot her arms up into the air, nearly slapping him on the face in the process, though he didn't comment on it as she continued to speak. "She's very supportive of people who are Quirkless or those with weak Quirks, and shes very badass!"

"Badass, huh? Sounds like a fuckin' ninjamum to me," commented Yosetsu, to which Atra smiled.

"Haba-San's Quirk makes her a good ninja! She calls it… uh… Sir-Duck-Shen?" muttered Atra, with her sounding completely unsure of herself as she spoke, though Yosetsu seemed to get the general gist of it as he nodded. Seduction as a Quirk, huh? Well, in a way that would be a rather powerful Quirk for espionage, though the more he thought about it, the weirder he felt, and as such, Awase let the issue drop for now as he nodded and grinned.

"Yeah, I bet it would," commented Yosetsu as he crossed his arms, though as he did so, he quickly realized that… "Hey, Mixta-Chan…?"

"Yes, Awase-San?"

"What's your Quirk?" inquired Yosetsu curiously, and upon hearing this, Atra's pace noticeably slowed down to the point where she was barely moving, and by the time he noticed her decrease in speed, the two of them were standing no more than a metre apart from one another, prompting Yosetsu to blink in surprise. He was quick to realize that he may or may not have stumbled onto a sensitive topic, and at that, he held a hand out towards his acquaintance reassuringly. "Hey, I didn't mean to hit a sensitive topic. You don't have to respond if you-"

"N-No, it's fine, Awase-San… it's just t-that… p-p-people usually don't like it when they find out… what Quirk I have…" commented Atra, and as she spoke, her shoulders hunched inwards as she hugged herself tightly, a telltale sign of a lack of confidence as she looked away from Yosetsu, who winced a little at having brought up such a sore topic for her.

"W-Well… you don't have to tell me, Mixta-Chan. After all, I don't really care what your Quirk even is. Well, not unless it tries to kill me, of course," assured Yosetsu gently as he winked at Mixta, who perked up a little, seeming rather hopeful, as she listened to him speak. Awase's heart broke a little when he saw the look on her face, a look that told him that, as with Mikazuki, Quirk Discrimination had hit her incredibly hard as well, though he didn't point that out as he simply continued to speak. "Hey, do you wanna… continue walking, maybe? We're falling behind pretty badly already…"

"O-Oh! Okay, Awase-San, let's g-go!" replied Atra with a small smile as she nodded and jogged up to Yosetsu's side. Once she was there, she gave him a reassuring smile as they continued walking, one that didn't do much to convince him that she was alright, though he didn't bring the issue up to avoid making her feel uncomfortable, and for the next few minutes, the two of them walked onwards in subdued silence as they drew closer and closer to Haba's store with each step the took…

… though rather abruptly, their little walk was halted when the two of them took note of some movement in a nearby alleyway. At first, Awase was quick to dismiss it as a mild trick of his eye, with him pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked on, though Atra, who was a lot more privy to subtle details in situations like these, found herself pausing briefly as she perked her ears up worriedly. It took Yosetsu a moment or two to realize that she had stopped walking, and by then, he turned to face her curiously.

"Erm… Mixta-Chan…?" muttered Yosetsu curiously, and not even a second later, he shuddered when he saw the aforementioned girl pale a little as she took a step back. With shaky hands, she grabbed onto her upper arm tightly as her eyes watered a tiny bit, and upon noticing this, Awase tilted his head curiously. "M-Mixta-chan, what-"

And that was when he heard it. For as subtle and muffled as it was, Yosetsu could hear it with very little issue… the cries of a child… and along with it, the laughter of one grown adult man. Upon hearing this, Awase found himself widening his eyes a little at the implications that came with what he heard, and though he didn't wish for it, Atra ended up answering his unspoken question as she stared up at him with frightened eyes.

"S-someone's being hurt…" muttered Atra frightfully, with her gaze reflecting a lot more fear than she could ever hope to vocalise, and upon acknowledging this, Yosetsu realized that they were dealing with a kidnapping situation…

"Kidnap's the more appropriate term to use right now, I reckon…" muttered Yosetsu direly as he grimaced and pulled his phone out. While he was quite the stranger to the town of Kametsuka, Awase was no stranger to the patrol routes of the Heroes that operated close to his hometown of Shidaihama. Whenever he had some free time on his hands, the headband-wearing boy, aside from playing his Video Games, would typically look through Hero forums to alleviate his boredom.

Admittedly, it was a mostly useless thing to do, as most of the Hero forums he frequented never gave much info that was of use to him. He could count on one hand the amount of times he was given something actually valuable and not some obvious All Might or Hawks trivia that he's read over a thousand times at this point, and amongst the trivia that he could count on one hand was the patrol routes of the Heroes of the Niigata Prefecture, or more specifically, the patrol routes that Heroes took in the Seiro district.

It saddened him to know that, amongst the multitude of Heroes that patrolled Niigata, almost none of them would regularly patrol the outer districts, such as Seiro, due to the low crime rate in these aforementioned regions, with even Underground Heroes preferring only patrolling the area on infrequent occasions, and by all means, it seemed as though some criminals had taken advantage of the lack of Pros in the area, something that disgusted Yosetsu to no end.

Not only that, but it had also pissed him off, to know that Heroes didn't patrol these areas too frequently. The forum post had stated that Seiro was too remote, and because of this, they wouldn't get as much clout as they would if they were to patrol regions such as Agano or Gosen, and by all means, Yosetsu never really put too much thought into that fact… until now that is.

"Shit… shit shit shit shit shit…" chanted Yosetsu in a panic as he pulled his phone out and thumbed through it. With the knowledge of him being unable to rely on Heroes unless they got incredibly lucky, Awase opted to dial for the Kametsuka police, and before long, his thumb was hovering over the option to call for them…

And yet, he was just a bit too slow on the push, as, mere seconds before he could press down on the option, Yosetsu found himself gasping in shock as he watched Atra jolted forwards. With widened eyes and his mouth agape, Awase watched as Mixta, in spite of all logic and reasoning, lunged forwards and began sprinting into the alleyway, and it happened so suddenly that the headband-wearing boy barely had enough time to process her sudden movement.

"Atra!" proclaimed Yosetsu out of instinct as he reached out for the aforementioned girl, though his free hand was just a bit too slow, with the tips of his fingers just barely brushing against the long sleeves of Mixta's jacket as she sprinted ahead. Through grit teeth, Awase cursed out loud as he felt his body moving all on its own, and before he knew it, the older boy was running after Atra, regardless of just how stupid this course of action was.

'W-What the fuck am I doing?!'

Atra turned a sharp corner, and as she did so, she ran towards her left, in turn disappearing from sight. This only served to invigorate Yosetsu further as he pushed his legs to run faster, worried more for Mixta than himself.

'I should be calling the police, not rushing headlong into danger!'

With a grimace, Yosetsu attempted to make the same turn that Atra had made, though it was a little sharper than he had expected, and as a result, he nearly fell off balance as he turned.

'What am I doing. I shouldn't… I shouldn't… I shouldn't be…'

If he had any doubts prior to all this, all of them were quickly disposed of when Yosetsu rounded the corner and saw the scene before him.

The most obvious thing was the man that stood before him, and likewise, Awase took note of a… kid sprawled out on the ground. Said kid appeared incredibly injured and malnourished, to say the least, but even so, he was still alive… and he was undoubtedly a target for the man standing in front of him. Upon closer inspection, Yosetsu noticed how he was rather mediocrely built, with no visible muscles to be seen, though the Welder would've been a fool to believe that he could take him head on. He was still just a kid, after all, and regardless of how powerful he was, the guy doubted that a kid could take on a fully grown adult…

With that being said, however, Atra didn't seem to have the same rationel as Awase, as evident by how she had jumped into the scene without much thought, and without even thinking, she swung her fist towards the man, and due to her height… she ended up striking him directly in the crotch. The punch in itself wasn't particularly strong, but even so… the man was certainly not expecting it, and the surprise, combined with Atra's running start, caused him to stagger backwards in pain as he reached for his family jewels.

"What the fuck?!" proclaimed the man as he staggered backwards in shock, though as he recovered from the attack, Atra turned towards the boy that was being assaulted by the men and stared at him with a level of determination that Yosetsu had never expected to come from her.

"G-Go!" ordered Atra as she stared back at the boy, and the child didn't need to be told twice as he weakly scrambled up to his feet, though as he did so, the man recovered rather quickly and attempted to grab Atra, with him having seen her as a better target than the boy that was escaping all the while. The man's fingers wrapped themselves around the girl's arm, prompting her to gasp in shock as she turned towards him, and when he saw the look on the guy's face, Awase found himself wincing as he did something incredibly stupid.

He lobbed his phone directly at the man.

In hindsight, it wasn't the smartest of moves, honestly, more so because that phone of his held too much sentimental value to be used as a makeshift projectile. Regardless, he threw it anyway, and it struck the man dead in the forehead, causing him to recoil once more, allowing Yosetsu to barrel forwards and, with a growl, slam his shoulder into his chest, tackling the man backwards all the while. Instinctively, Awase held a hand against the man's chest and pressed his fingers against the ground beneath him, with him fully intent on welding the guy to the ground all the while, though before his Quirk could activate, he widened his eyes in shock as the man kneed him in the stomach, causing him to cough out in pain, before he was forcefully thrown off the guy.

"Tsk!" groaned Yosetsu as he fell onto his back, and when he landed, he attempted to get back up and perhaps run off, though before he could do so, he felt a heavy weight slamming down onto his back, forcing him against the floor all the while, before a hand wrapped itself around his mouth. Widening his eyes in shock, Awase struggled and attempted to free himself from his assailant's grasp, though before he could do so, he took a deep breath in… and then, the world around him became foggy…

'W-What the fuck?!' thought Yosetsu in a panic as his vision faded, with him just barely acknowledging how Atra was yelling his name out. If he focused hard enough, he could vaguely make out the silhouettes of the aforementioned girl and the boy they had inadvertently saved watching on in horror as he was being restrained by the man, though within seconds, the unnamed boy grabbed onto Mixta's wrist and pulled her away, and despite her attempts at keeping herself at bay to help Yosetsu in some way, shape or form, she found herself being pulled away from him, leaving Awase to fend for himself.

And, for as terrible as the situation was, Yosetsu couldn't say that he really regretted it…

… after all, he did technically save someone, and at least Atra got out of there without much issue…

Oh shit lads. Yosetsu just got kidnapped!

Who will save him? Who knows? The answer is obvious but I like teasing!

On a more serious note, this chapter took a lot more effort than I wanna admit to get out. Though it might not seem like much, it went through like, five different drafts before it got to this point. In fact, the next chapter was originally meant to be this one, but I dumped that idea and went with this one.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this one! By the time I upload this chapter, I would have more than likely cross posted this story onto AO3 for those that want to read it from there.

Fun fact: in the original version of this story, this was the chapter where Mikazuki and Yosetsu joined UA officially. Kinda funny, actually.

This is the part where I respond to reviews, but I don't have any today, so yeah… uh… see you all next chapter?