Oddly enough, today was a quiet day: in places where I patrolled little was happening, and about the activities of villains and criminals almost nothing was heard. There was some talk in the neighborhood about a thief with a body made out of sludge, but it was also mentioned that an old acquaintance of mine, the All Might, went after him.

Toshinori... On the one hand, I am glad for his determination and desire to help literally everyone, but on the other hand, knowing his condition now, it must be understood that he simply is not capable of doing the same feats as before. Although I can certainly understand his feelings.

The feeling that everyone is relying on you and everything depends on you is very familiar to me. The only reason I'm still doing this hero thing is because I still owe my friends, but even so, I realize that because of my age, I'm no longer capable of full-fledged action, so I'm mostly acting like an underground heroine.

I kept moving as quietly as possible between the buildings, I didn't want too many people to see me, let alone photos and videos. Everything was still relatively quiet until something strange happened nearby. At the entrance of one alley a crowd of curious people gathered, restrained by the Heroes, and the sound of explosions in the alley, accompanied by flashes and tongues of fire. When I quietly transformed, I got close enough to see what was happening and was horrified at the sight: something made of some slime held a teenager, also trying to crawl inside him through his mouth, while he himself was blowing explosions, waving his arms around. But what was worse was that the Heroes in front of this scene weren't trying to get close enough to help, except that Backdraft was trying to mitigate the damage, put out the flames.

What are they doing? Can't they just pull a guy out?! thought the woman, amazed, in a bad way, at the work of her colleagues. If I had it my way, I could save him with my Yo-yo! How could they?!

But before I could act, I heard the subtle words of another person beside me, "I'm so pathetic…" That made me turn my head aside, notice a familiar face.

"Toshinori?!", surprised, I shouted to my friend in a whisper, he turned to me too.

"Wha-. Ma- Keun?! What are you doing here?" he asked, wondering as much.

"I should be asking you that! There's a kid in the alley on the verge of death, and you're standing here in the middle of the crowd?! What can you say?"

"Uh... Ahem." he blurted out, he was clearly uncomfortable "I've used up my limit for today."

"What! Nrh, you know, we'll deal with it later, now our problem is-," I wanted to explain, but I was silenced by people from the crowd.

"Hey, boy, where are you going?!"

"Get back here!"

"Get back behind the line!"

Toshinori and I turned back, not knowing who was screaming, but when we looked, we saw something interesting: another boy came out of the crowd, headed straight for the Villain and the hostage without even thinking about slowing down. Halfway through, he took off his backpack, rolled up and threw it at the perp, hitting him right in the eye. After this action, he ran to the right side and started scraping the mucus with his hands, trying to free the hostage.

The criminal at that moment began to slowly recover and his gaze was already aimed at the unexpected savior, filled with anger.

"You little bastard!" snarled the blob bubbling up, and Toshi and I realized that he was going to attack, and the sight of it was making my heart crawl with anxiety for this young enthusiast, but my friend reacted differently.

"How pathetic I am," he said quietly, as the smoke began to blow and muscles began to grow rapidly, as if they had literally been inflated and before the criminal could attack the boy, Toshinori had already disappeared from the place on which he had just stood, and the villain's attack blocked out of nowhere the hero, All Might. All the civilians saw was #1 Hero once again rescued those in distress, one blow that created a wind so strong that it just knocked The Villain out, ripping him off the hostage.

But I saw the way Yagi was looking at a teenage boy running out of the crowd and that he was clearly saying something to him, something important and personal. I wasn't sure it was one of his old acquaintances, because I personally know them all, they can literally be counted on the fingers of one hand. These two are connected somehow, and I absolutely have to figure it out!

Right after the incident, the police picked up The Villain's bits, and the crowd began to slowly disperse, making positive and admiring comments about the outcome of the situation, but news workers had arrived, apparently ready to literally tear for comment from participants of the action, mostly directly from All Might. As for the young participants, I was disgusted. The heroes began to praise the courage and fortitude of one, and began to scold the other, who decided to intervene and at least somehow help both the victim and the same rescuers. What do you mean?!

But honestly, at the moment, I didn't care that much, but my focus was on Toshinori. He was already surrounded by reporters, asking questions, but he paid attention to them and answered them as if, as a matter of courtesy, automaticaly, while looking at a boy with green hair, a look full of regret, well hidden from the rest under the trained smile. But before the All Might could break free of the media, he was already released, which made me realize that it was time for me to come out. Good thing I have a good reason to take him.

"Hey!" I shouted to the press, "Sorry to distract you, but I need this Hero now!"

When they heard me, they turned in my direction with obvious bewilderment.

"And who are you to demand such a thing!" said one of them.

"Wait, I know her, it's Nuuhari Keun from 'Tsurugi Technologis', the creator of some of the best hero costumes!" said someone else.

"Yes, thank you for introducing me to the uninformed. Now, if you'll excuse me, Number One and I have an important thing to do" I said, gesturing that All Might would follow me, not stand in a stupor.

When he realized what I was asking, he came up to me and said, "Um, yeah, that's right, we, uh, had planned... The meeting, so I have to leave." He awkwardly justified, after which we immediately went in the opposite direction.

"Thank you for helping me, I am very grateful." Said the Hero, when they moved away from people.

"It's all right, I know you can't say no to people like them." The seamstress answered him with a light smile, after which she immediately changed her face to a serious one, continuing - "Now answer me, you were heroic again, Mr Number 1?"

This question, posed with such a face, caused the Almighty to shudder, but when he took control of himself, he said, "Well... It's just that I was just leaving the store in the district where this guy ran and I thought I could catch him quickly, but eventually he made me chase me down the sewers, which is more your line, hehe."

"Don't even think of joking!" The woman angered in response. "You mean that those two almost died because you were worn out by some slug?"

"Not quite. I was able to catch him for the first time, but only, um, I lost him because of one situation."

"And what is that?"

The hero crumpled a bit, silently, but eventually explained: "The fact is that the first time he caught a teenager - the one with green hair - but then I was able to disable it in time, but when I went to hand it over to the police, that kid grabbed me by the leg at the last moment, and I noticed it already high in the air». Even though he answered the woman's question, she knew from his face that there was something else behind it, so she didn't back down.

"What happened then?"

"I, uh, landed on the ground and we separated."

"Don't lie, I saw your look in his direction and you said something to him in that alley. There was a cat running between you."

"Was it a pun?"

"That's not it, I just want to understand what happened."

The hero wanted to get away from this conversation, but realized that his attempts would be unsuccessful. Deep and hard he sighed, he began to explain. He recounted how the young man grabbed his leg at the moment of the jump, how they landed on the roof of a building so that the boy could safely leave, but instead asked a question to which he himself gave a disappointing answer, which he himself doubted after the incident.

"And what was that question?" Asked his companion, wanting to know all about it.

"... Is it possible to become a Hero without having a Quirk."

To this, the girl could only sigh sadly. "I believe your answer was negative."

"Is it that obvious?"

"I have known you long enough to be able to assume this. But I will tell you honestly, if I were you, I'd probably answer the same."

"Really?"

"We both know better than anyone how dangerous this is. For the Quirkless, in our time, especially." She explained with great sadness in her voice and face.

"I said the same thing, with a few exceptions, but I'm afraid he might have misunderstood me."

"This is not the only reason why you want to catch up with him." And it wasn't a question.

"What?" asked a confused All Might.

"You've finally found the one, haven't you?"

There was a silence, which was broken by the roaring voice of the laughing hero, who, out of surprise, had shaken the girl a little, even though she was trying to stay even. "As always you are astute, Nuuhari, that's right, I think he is truly worthy!" now solemnly answered the Hero, to which his companion could only giggle.

"Glad to hear it, pal. I must admit, I myself find him a worthy candidate, so be on your guard, I also decided to find an apprentice."

"You too? Why all of a sudden?"

"The Peacock Miraculous is activated again and I can hardly handle it alone, you know what it is capable of."

It was a bitter truth, once, five years ago, he faced his sworn enemy, the only living one who could match his strength and even surpass him. By the time of the battle, he had already met his partner, but only in the heroic guise of Ladybug, as she was called, and she told him about the lost jewel and its power. What to say, he himself experienced this force, but he was able to get out of it the winner, losing part of the organs, from which he got the ability to «deflate».

Moving away from these memories and taking a hard breath, the Hero replied, "Yes, you're right, but I thought you'd already got it back."

"Unfortunately, no. After that battle it disappeared with its owner…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find it. You know that the Miraculous is still functional, which means that it is at least still intact, and finding it with your friends will be easy!"

Nuuhari smiled a little with her friend's enthusiasm and optimism, but immediately got upset, thinking about his words.

"I don't know, Toshi, it's been so long since Master lost it, and so far we haven't been able to bring it back, even with the help of others, although I managed to save the Butterfly Miraculous."

Her companion grinned at this. "This proves once again that all is not lost."

"I think you're right, the main thing is that I just don't want to have to put that on someone else because I'm leaving."

These words made the atmosphere darker as a result of a woman's memories of her predecessor, her Master, sacrificing his title and memory to protect the Miraculouses, which she foolishly lost after that, even if she later returned them. But then she realized that they had moved away from what was important now.

"So, what about your successor?" she said, returning the conversation to the right course.

"Oh yes, with this conversation I almost forgot about it, I was just about to catch up with him to talk."

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go get him!" suggested Keun, immediately running forward, ignoring the perplexity of her fellow traveler. "And by the way, no Quirks, we act as equals!"

"You know, I still can't believe you're about twice my age." All Might rattled, but he took off his power and chased after his friend, smiling slightly.

This day feels like it's the beginning of a bad day. No doubt, he got to see the arrest of a raging criminal and even the debut of a new Heroine before school, but can you ask for more? But then it all went wrong: at school, everyone laughed at him again because of his choice for the future school, indirectly tends to suicide from a for- friend, and then also crossing over with a living lump of slime.

He was saved by his idol, of course, and, like, things started to get better, but... When he asked about his dream and whether someone like him could be like that man, all his hopes were dashed, even here, even He didn't believe in him.

The green-haired young man walked slowly towards his home, completely shattered and disappointed, the shattered dream of a lifetime – not something that can be easily endured, but many things can change very suddenly.

«Hey! Young man, wait!» There was a voice from behind the back of a teenager, which made him turn to see a pair consisting of dark-blue-haired woman and... What is All Might doing here?! The hero was now in his «skinny form», but the boy had already seen him like this, even if by chance. Not knowing what was going on, he stopped and turned around.

"It's good that we caught up with you, will save us time." said the woman, with relief sighing, clearly very tired. Her words confused the young man a little, he was a little confused and looked around, as if trying to find another person, who, of course, was not there.

"Are y-you talking to me?" he asked the couple, uncertainly pointing to himself. The woman could not answer because of a slight shortness of breath, so her companion decided to answer for her.

"Yes, young man, we had something to talk to you about, but for the most part I wanted to apologize to you for my words."

"Aah... What do you mean, sir, I see you for the very first time, you must have mistaken me for someone." nervously teenager tryed to justify himself, remembering the promise not to reveal the Hero's identity, so officially, they do not know each other. But the attempt failed when the girl spoke.

"Heh, well done, boy, but don't worry, I know the secret of this big guy."

"You know?"

"Of course! I knew him long before he was 'lucky' to get his 'disguise'."

«Really?!»

"Come on, you were saying something, Yagi" she changed the topic, addressing the man.

"That's right, ahem" a man coughed up, then said again "I am truly sorry for what I said to you earlier at our first crossing. It was a bit cruel of me."

The boy was instantly darkened by these words, and the early feelings and disappointments, which had given way to bewilderment, immediately returned, but he did not want to openly display them, so he decided to change the subject in order to finish the conversation.

"N-no, sir, you have nothing to apologize for, I myself should not have hoped a lot." he tried to take the blame on himself, but the Hero did not allow him.

"This is not true, young man," he said with a serious face "you can not be guilty for dreaming about something. If there's someone to blame, it's me for my words, I was wrong, then I just wanted to say that in your case, you can't become a hero of my image or someone like that."

These words caused the boy to ask questions, but he failed to ask them, as All Might, realizing this, continued to explain.

"You are unlikely to be a Hero of my caliber in your position, but you can always be a Hero who supports his fellows in one way or another, or, for example, someone who helps from the outside. There are really many options!"

"... B-but," said the teenager uncertainly, thinking how to choose the right words for the question. "why are you telling me all this?"

The companion of All Might smiled at him, saying, "We have not been chasing you only to make Mr Awkwardness-"

"Look who's talking." muttered blond.

"-apologize to you. We also want to offer you something."

"R-really?"

"You have shown yourself to be a real hero today," continued Yagi. "In that alley, you ran towards the danger without thinking, right?" the boy just nodded affirmatively. "You know, for many heroes this is a common feature and your example perfectly demonstrates it!"

"And though I'm not particularly happy with this approach," said the woman, "I can confirm that these are not empty words and I agree with them too. In my time, when I was your age, I couldn't even dream of seeing myself in such a situation. Such courage costs a lot, believe me."

"Right, and that's why I would like not only to apologize to you, but also to offer you something! Tell me, do you still want to be a Hero?"

The question echoed in the boy's head, he could not believe he had heard it from his idol, especially after what had happened earlier, and it was the first time that anyone had apologized to him for his words. It was like a hit, but in a good way, maybe the boy was starting to lose the strength to hold back his tears, did anyone really believe him?

"Y-. Y-yes sir" was all he could say, but that was enough.

"Then you can definitely become one, and in order not to be groundless, and also to atone, I will prepare you personally."

One more hit. "Are you serious?"

The hero wanted to answer, but he was interrupted by his friend, who stuck an elbow in his side with a resentful face.

"We're both gonna prepare you. Someone's got to make sure this guy doesn't deceive you."

It was too much for the boy, and otherwise he would have cried, but then he was able to hold on to himself, even though tears were still flowing, and he looked at the faces of his elders and sincerely, though crooked, smiled. Overpowering himself, he said, "T-thank-you, that means a lot to m-me, but don't you think that's too much?"

"Not a bit, you have already shown your desire, we want to help you fully demonstrate it," the woman explained, going up to the boy and putting her hand on his shoulder, as if passing him her confidence, which seemed to work well.

"But," she said, "before we start working on you, we should walk you home, 'cause it's pretty late. Besides, we should talk to your parents about all this."

"Wh-what?" said the young man and the woman's companion, startled, and their faces groaned slightly.

Inko Midoriya was very worried. It was not surprising, because by nature she is a very impressionable and emotional person. However, she was particularly worried now, as it was late and her son had not yet returned from school. Not only that, the news said something about a villain attacking high school students.

What a nightmare, why did he take so long? What if something happened to him? What if he got hurt? What if that villain attacked him?! Maybe I need to call him? Should I call the police? One by one, the poor woman's thoughts and questions ran through her head. She had already gone around the living room, checking the clock, checking the hallway, hoping to see her boy.

She would have fainted in a moment, but luckily she heard the sound of a doorbell and almost instantly found herself at the door ready to open it. As soon as she opened, Inko immediately noticed her son and rushed at him with a bear hug, crying so much that tears were literally pouring down three streams, paying no attention to the people who had come with the boy, while the latter awkwardly tried to calm his mother.

At the same moment, the boys' escorts watched the scene, not fully understanding even how to react to it.

"That's awkward, don't you think?" said All Might, whispering to his friend.

"Meh, believe me, I've dealt with worse situations in my time," she replied with an unshakeable face.

"In that context?"

"I'm not gonna talk about it."

"Okay" The Hero went off topic, realizing that continuing would be more expensive to himself.

While they were talking, the younger Midoriya was able to reassure Inko, who had already noticed unexpected guests, which made her uncomfortable for her reaction.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry about that. It's just, my son, Izuku, doesn't usually show up this late, and then there's the news about the villain and I- '' the woman started apologizing, but the blonde interrupted her.

"Don't worry, miss, you don't need to apologize for showing concern for your child. Believe me, it's perfectly natural."

"But anyway," said Keun, "we came here to talk to you about your son."

"Oh no," said the mother, "is my boy in trouble?"

"Oh, ha-ha, don't worry, nothing bad is waiting for him, on the contrary, my colleague, Yagi Toshinori and I, want to help, but about that if you let us go in your house."

"A-ah. Sure, how rude of me to keep you at the door. P-please come on."

With these words, she immediately went inside, letting the others pass. The guests were taken to the entrance hall, where they immediately settled at the table, waiting for the hosts to gather, as young Izuku went to his bedroom to put his backpack and change, and his mother went to the kitchen, deciding to make tea for everyone. Meanwhile, Keun and Toshinori quietly inspected their surroundings. Although the interior could not be called distinctive, it was possible to feel the general cosiness of the places, from which the woman had a somewhat melancholic smile with a slight sadness. But she could not deeply dive into her feelings because of the older Midoriya, who came out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands, on which there were cups and a kettle.

"Sorry again. I hope you don't mind waiting."

"Don't worry, Miss," said Toshinori to the woman, "we don't have anything urgent to do right now, so we have time."

"So what did you want to discuss with us?"

"It's simple enough, Miss Midoriya," Keun said after tasting their tea, "my friend Yagi Toshinori and I were impressed by what your son did today, you should know what it's about. In general, having consulted each other and chatted with the boy, we chose to take him under our wing for training and preparation for UA."

Such a straightforward response shocked the woman, choking on it, which made the adults tense and the boy rushed to help his mother. She coughed for a few seconds, then came to herself. First the woman had to catch her breath, then she asked:

"I-is this a joke?"

"In no way would we be so cruel to anyone, especially in your case." assured the guest the woman, in response to which she received a inquiring look in her direction, to which she began to answer before any words, "We have already had a little talk with your son and know about his situation." but the lady of the house has a new one.

"Oh, by the way, why did you decide to meet Izuku?"

"Honestly, it was an accident," Toshinori continued, "my colleague and I were in the area where the villain attacked the schoolboy. We were near that place and we saw everything that happened." he looked at the teenager sitting quietly watching the conversation, who, in response to the attention, shrank from embarrassment, looking down, "Including your son's act."

Mother, not understanding anything, also looked at her son, but he only silently shrank even more. Realizing that they would not talk, the blond continued to talk.

"While everyone who was just standing there and the Heroes could do nothing, this young man ran towards the villain, drawing him away using what he had on him at the time, his school backpack, and then helping the hostage by scraping the slime of the villain. Not everyone will be able to coordinate their actions so quickly and accurately in such an emergency situation, especially not acting on only one impulse."

"What he did was really impressive," added Keun, "but the boy clearly lacks some things that can be corrected with the proper preparation we are prepared to provide."

"Yes, that's all well and good, of course, but," Midoria, the eldest, began to speak with great uncertainty, turning a sorry look to her son, "why do you want to help Izuku?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy for him, being a hero is his dream from an early age. But after the fact that he was Quirkless came out, a lot of people started to turn their backs on him, and I'm just not used to people caring."

The guests looked at each other with sadness, then nodded to each other and Keun continued.

"Believe me, Miss, Yagi and I know firsthand what it's like to be homeless these days, especially for children and teenagers. It's extremely difficult and that's why we want to help you, help your son achieve his dreams. Yeah, to him it's gonna be a lot harder than to most of his peers, especially in the absence of pre-training, but don't worry about that."

"We already have a plan," continued the blond, "we just have to discuss the details with my colleague."

But despite her friend's optimism, Nuuhari could not share it, having a hard look at the idea of keeping a secret from the boy's mother.

Anyway, we'll talk about it afterwards, she thought, keeping the dark thoughts away and taking the business face again while Yagi continued to explain the overall composition of the training.

In the end, Inko agreed to the idea of Toshinori and Keun on the condition that they take care of her son, to which both made promises. They continued to talk to each other, not only about Izuku, but also about more everyday topics. During this time it was dark even more and at the same time it was time for the guests to leave.

"It was easier than I thought." Yagi sighed after they had left the building far enough away.

"Glad to hear. Now we have to form a clear plan of his training to be as effective as possible," said his friend.

"Pfft. Always trying to prepare for everything." said the blond with a grin, paying attention to the woman's condition. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm just not happy that we have to keep such important things from his mother... even if I understand why."

The man thought about the words, and he said, "I know how you feel, and, you know, remembering your story, I think about it. But I just don't want to risk putting innocent people in harm's way, who knows, maybe disclosure will make things worse. Whatever you're saying about the positive side, you haven't had the most pleasant experience yourself."

"Your Truth."

They both continued to walk in silence, their thoughts weighing heavily on them. The topic was not the best one for them to talk about, and they had too often faced this dilemma in their lives. What can you say, even though they know each other's secrets, is only the will of chance, and not the conscious decision they made in the first place.

The air seemed to become physically dense and suffocating from the growing tension in general silence until it was interrupted by the man's deep sigh.

"If it makes it easier for you, we can agree on this: when the training is over and the kid is sure to get into the U.A. We will tell him everything he needs to know to understand the importance of keeping a secret and what its disclosure can carry, and then he can decide what he wants. Then we will deal with it as soon as it comes to that. Okay?" Having said this, he stretched out his hand to her.

It was a strange compromise, and even Toshinori himself understood it, but he also understood that in this situation there was a risk in both cases, so it is left to choose only the lesser of the evils. Plus, in the worst-case scenario, the kid might need allies, someone he's willing to put his weight behind, someone who's willing to watch his back when the time comes.

Keun pondered the words of a friend. It was rather unexpected to hear such reasoning from him, it was difficult to call him as the master of thought and reasoning, but on the other hand, it seems that she had a significant positive influence on him. It seemed as if he was merely trying to support her in a peculiar way, but it was clear that he was actually thinking about it himself, and their current conversation was an excuse. In the end, she agreed with him, reaching into her hand and shaking his.

At this point they continued on to the train station, after which they had to disperse by train. After she left the station, she was spoken to by her little companion, who had been hiding in her purse all the while.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know what you're up to. You don't just want to 'give' him the Miraculous, do you? Are you sure you're ready for it, you've had your doubts for a long time." said the voice holder, flying out of the purse. It was a creature of red color and about the size of a finger, its head was disproportionately large compared to its torso and had large black spots, like a ladybug, and antennae grew out of its forehead like an insect. She flew to a woman with a restless face, waiting for an answer.

"Tikki, do not jump to conclusions," replied the woman. «Yes, I thought about it again after seeing the boy, but it does not mean that I am going to teach him for this. I have to get to know him first and then prepare him enough. He's a good guy, but like me long ago, he's too inexperienced and also he's too... impulsive, jumps into the fire as soon as he sees that someone needs help."

"Is it bad?"

"Not at all, not in itself, but he will have to understand in any case that he does not always have to rush into the midst of events and not always he can help and protect everyone, not necessarily through his own fault."

"This can really be a problem if it is not addressed."

"Glad you understand me." With a smile, the woman said, reaching out her hand to rub her companion's head with her finger, in response to which she received a happy purring from the latter. "We better hurry up, your friends should be getting worried."

"I doubt we should be afraid for them," said Tikki snidely.

"Truth."

So they continued on to their home, hoping not to see the disaster zone instead, preparing for what would be tomorrow for them.

"How's the project going, Doctor?" A gloomy voice echoed in a dimly lit laboratory, where the old man was sitting in a chair, working on the keyboard of a strange machine connected to a huge capsule.

"It's going even better than you might think, much better." He answered without distracting himself from his work, ignoring the holo-screen that had appeared from his ring, and in his voice delight could be heard, neither childish nor maniacal. "Your creations are truly incredible. If the previous ones were logs, barely workable, this, as if fresh clay for the sculptor, allows me to give it almost any desired shape! I'm sure I could even create the perfect vessel for your powers."

"I'm glad to hear you liked my gift, but don't forget that they are, for all their merits, quite unreliable. We cannot rely on a creature that can be subdued or destroyed by one object, especially if my own life depends on it."

"It's sad to admit, but it is, sir, it's a pretty big omission." The old man sighed with disappointment as he stopped his work for a moment and turned his chair away from the machine, looking now at the screen of his ring. "By the way, I don't know if that's true, but rumors have surfaced that the Guardian has suddenly appeared in Japan."

The voice grunted, thinking, and after a brief pause he replied, "So she must have been able to detect a trace of my magic. It looks like we're going to have to cut back on the number of communication sessions as a precaution. I'll leave you to continue with our current project. As soon as something changes, I'll let you know right away, and you'll be in touch if there are any unforeseen changes in plans."

"Hehe, you can bet on that."

"And another thing, how's our side project coming, doc?"

"Everything is going well. It is difficult to make predictions yet, but what we have now is quite promising." The old man replied, saying then to himself, "Frankly, I was genuinely impressed by the fact that your idea actually worked, although what more can be expected of you."

"All right, that's it for now. Over." The call was completed, after which the screen disappeared and the room filled with silence, which only the roar of electronics interrupted.