I sat beside Kirishima at a table after the meeting Sir had called. It had only been three days without any contact from Sir, but it was a long three days. Aizawa was discussing our work studies with Sir, Fat Gum, and Ryukyu in the room. Somehow – all of us were now linked to the Shie Hassaikai investigation despite barely being in our work studies for less than a month. We had somehow all found ourselves in something much more complicated. It was suspected that they were using the girl's, Eri's, body to make bullets that destroyed the quirk gene in our bodies. The bloody mess I had found confirmed that suspicion. Thankfully, the one that hit Amajiki was only temporary – but what if the next was permanent? We still did not know which potential location they were keeping Eri in, but Sir wanted to utilize all these heroes to search across Japan. They could be anywhere. He needed more manpower than his small agency could support. Unfortunately, Redemption was not one of the heroes invited.

Aizawa exited the room and stopped in front of the table we were waiting at. "You know – before today's meeting, I was going to recommend stopping your work studies since the League may be involved. But I doubt any of you will want to stop after hearing this all today. We have a child to rescue. So, Satoshi, are you going to tell them, or should I?"

I looked up from the table and met his gaze briefly before returning to stare at the table. I could not bear to see their reactions. They did need to know if there was a possibility of the league being involved, though. "Akari joined the League of Villains." My fingers tapped against the tabletop.

"Wait," Kirishima gawked, "you mean everyone's been calling you a villain when your sister's been one all along?"

I nodded. "I didn't know until the night she left. Vlad expelled her from his class."

Uraraka reached across the table and took my hands in hers. "I can't imagine how you feel, Makoto – but we'll do what we can to help." I looked up. Her eyes were tearing up.

"If the League makes an appearance – you will all pull out immediately." Aizawa stared at Midoriya sternly before turning back to me. "Even if it's your sister." We all nodded.

The train ride back to UA was silent. I sat between Uraraka and Kirishima, staring out the window at the cement tunnels or occasional blue sky. What would happen if we ran into my sister – or my mother? I needed to train more. I needed to figure out how to get that constant defence to work. Was Sir, right? Did I need to keep pushing and pushing myself to break ceiling after ceiling? I needed two bags of blood this time, and double the time, to replenish the cells that had been destroyed by overusing my quirk. Why did my quirk have to hate my body!?

Katsuki had been so worried at our messages he had gone back to the dorms on our break since I did not pick up my phone when he called. I had over twenty missed calls from him. If he had not have been calling, he would not have heard my phone and known where I was. Who knows what would have happened if he had not found me and knew Recovery Girl could help. Katsuki and everyone had worked so hard to make zosui, rice soup, for me, too.

"Hey, Makoto – it's our stop." Kirishima nudged me with his elbow.

I shook my head, standing up. "Sorry, I must've spaced out." I followed behind everyone as we trudged up the hill back to school. No one felt like talking. We arrived back at the dorms, kicking our shoes off before slinking back to our rooms. None of us felt like socializing.

"Hey, there's mail here for Uraraka and Satoshi." Shoji's dupli-arm spoke. He sat at the closest table, reading his mail. Uraraka smiled, picking up her letter. Her parents always sent her mail as her family were not nearby – but why did I have mail? There was no one left to send me mail. I approached the table and picked up the letter addressed to me. It was from a law firm. Odd. I entered the elevator with Uraraka and Tsu, exiting on the second floor. I said goodnight to the two before the doors closed. I entered my bedroom, letting my bag drop to the floor beside me. I opened the letter, pulling out another sealed envelope with some age and damage. My grandmother's handwriting on the front. Right, Redemption had said she had left a letter for me. I swallowed hard – popping the seal, and pulled out the yellowed paper.

Makoto;

Your grandfather and I thought that if we raised you two differently, we could prevent what happened to Kaguya and Yui from happening to you and your sister. If you're reading this – we were wrong. I know that I was never the best grandmother to you. I dedicated all my time to Akari to not repeat our mistakes with Kaguya and Yui. To give myself another chance to raise a hero. This will never make up for how I treated you, but I hope it will give you a good foundation. I do love you.

Hikaru Satoshi

Bank Account XXXXX

Pin XXXX

I reread the letter a few more times. I had more questions than answers. None of this made sense. Did my grandparents know all along that mom was still alive? They knew that she had moved from the heroes to the villains. Who was Yui? I shook my head, pulled out my phone, went to the bank's website, and imputed the information. I fell back on my bed as the numbers flooded my screen. I stopped breathing. All the money I had been paying my grandmother for rent and school had been going into this account, along with a few more recent large deposits. I scrolled through the list of transactions. Each and every month was accounted for. She had been setting me up – in a horrible way – to ensure that I had the means to take care of myself not only financially, but with the appropriate skills. I sent myself an e-transfer for a few months of payments. If it went through, this was real. If it did not, I was dreaming blissfully. My phone chimed as an email notification of the deposit came in. Hot, wet tears began to fall. I blinked them away, but they kept falling. I rubbed my eyes while I stood. I grabbed a hooded sweater and pulled it on before leaving my dorm. I repeatedly pressed the elevator button until it finally came. My heart hammered in my head. I descended the one floor, switched into the other elevator and pressed for floor four. I exited onto Katsuki's floor. I could hear Kirishima using his punching bag. I passed the first two doors, knocking on Katsuki's. It was getting harder to breathe.

"Go away," he sighed from inside. I bit my lip and knocked again. I heard his feet pad across his floor as he neared the door. He grumbled as he opened the door, stopping when he noticed me. "Makoto? What happened?"

I wiped my face with my sleeves. "Can I stay for a bit?" I could not catch my breath.

"Of course," Katsuki turned so I could enter. He closed the door after me. "What happened?"

I stood in his room, rubbing my foot along my calf. "I don't want to be alone," I spoke quickly. My chest rose and fell quickly. Katsuki crossed his room and stopped in front of me. My hands trembled. My limbs felt numb.

Katsuki took my hands in his and placed them on his chest, slowly breathing in, holding it, and then breathing out. "Just follow me." He breathed in again, staring into my eyes. I looked up at him, feeling his diaphragm rise and fall as his lungs expanded. I let out a shaky breath, taking another shaky breath. I closed my eyes, feeling Katsuki's fingers on mine. My breath steadied, and my pulse slowed. I stayed standing in front of him, letting my breathing regulate. I had another panic attack. How did Katsuki know how to deal with panic attacks? "Come." He took my hand in his, leading me to his bed. He wrapped his arms around me as he sat down. He leaned back, forcing my knees to hit the mattress and staddle him. I rested against him, allowing myself to place all my body weight on him. Katsuki slunk an arm around my waist and the other over my upper back. I let my arms wrap loosely around him.

We stayed embraced by each other until I spoke. "I got a letter from my grandmother." Katsuki loosened his grip on me without removing his hands and let me kneel over him. My hands dropped to his sides. "She apologized. She said she didn't want to raise Akari like our Mom – she hoped it would turn out differently. She knew she expected this." I stared down at Katsuki's face. I didn't need him to say anything.

The hand around my upper back dropped to my bare knee, rubbing circles with his thumb.

"She knew that Akari would be like Mom one way or another. She knew it might end in her death – and it did. Akari murdered her." I lifted my arms, rubbing my tears away with my sleeves. "I'm crying over a woman I barely knew." She ostracised me, and she somehow justified it for my best interest.

Katsuki pushed my hands out of the way, letting his hands cup my face as I sniffled. He wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "They're your family – it's fair for it to hurt a lot. Just because she apologized doesn't excuse everything, she's done to you." He frowned, his eyes darkening. I dropped my head, resting my forehead on his shoulder. Katsuki leaned back against the wall, his arms wrapping around me again.

[B&M]

I stood in line between Satou and Shoji – the massive obstacle course I could not even start loomed before us. I tugged at my sleeves as I watched classmate after classmate conquer the test. It had been days since any of us had contact with our work studies. We were all getting uneasy waiting to be called in.

"Stop dawdling, Satoshi," Aizawa called from the sideline. I pulled myself out of my thoughts – it was already my turn to go. I took in a breath and approached the rope. I took the rope in my hands and gripped it tight. I lifted my legs and wrapped a leg in the rope. I was holding myself up! I began to climb the rope, hand over hand, until I could pull myself over to the cement wall. I was already farther than where I had started. Damn Redemption, but thank you. I hopped onto the monkey bars, taking them one at a time. My arms were already burning, but I could make it across and onto the balance beam. I crossed the small beam to the next section. I gripped the metal bar. I needed to jump the bar somehow up using my arms to each rung. I let my weight hang off the bar and started to pull myself up. I quickly extended my arms up, swinging back slightly, and moved forward to hook the bar on the next rung. I barely lifted the bar two inches. But those two inches were enough to dislodge the bar from the rung and send me straight down to the ground. I landed hard on the thin mat below me, the bar hitting the beam behind me before shooting off the course. I was almost halfway through the course. I pulled myself up, dissipated a hand to grab the bar, and brought the bar back in place. I rolled off the mat, joining those who had already attempted the course.

I watched as almost everyone struggled to finish the course. I had not noticed how others had difficulty with sections last time – I had spent too much time wallowing in myself to notice that Sero had great arm strength, but his balance was poor, and he struggled to cross the beam and fell on the rotating beam. Hagakure made progress, too – she made it up the rope but fell halfway across the monkey bars. Then there were the opposites. Katsuki ran through the course without breaking a sweat. We ran the course repeatedly – and I kept falling at the same spot.

My arms were sore and felt like dead weight by the time classes were over. I had been on dinner duty with Midoriya, Tokoyami, and Aoyama– we made a chicken stir-fry for the class. Thankfully, Midoriya and Tokoyami helped to chop up the veggies and chicken. My arms burned just from washing the rice. After dinner, I took a long bath in our shared bath before heading back to my room to study. I did want, and needed, to train my quirk – but what if we got called in to help and I could not assist if I were in Recovery Girl's office.

A light rapping at my door caused me to jump. I got up from my bed and opened the door – Mina and Sero stood in the hall. "Hello?"

"You all seem really down since starting your work studies. We want to do something fun together," Mina clapped her hands. "So, we're going to have a games night together, then watch a movie with everyone!"

Sero smiled beside her, "Come down and have some fun!"

"Sure," I returned her smile, "see you in a bit." Mina cheered as I closed my door. I puffed out my cheeks, pulling out my phone as I walked to my closet.

M: See you downstairs for games night?

K: If you're going – fine.

I put my phone on my bed. I pulled out a black hoodie. I pulled it on over my head and placed my phone in the pouch. I gathered all my hair into a messy bun at the top of my head and headed barefoot down to the living space. Katsuki and Midoriya were already seated on opposing sofas, chatting about Sir's All Might collection. I sat down in the space beside Katsuki, sitting cross-legged. My knee was resting against his. Uraraka, Tsu, and Iida sat with Midoriya, while Kirishima and Mina sat with us. The rest of the class came to join, spreading across the other two sofas and the floor.

"Let's play, never have I ever," Kaminari smirked, eyeing the room.

"Yes!" Mina threw her arms up, "that's a great idea. Who wants to start?" I watched as everyone held up one hand with all fingers extended. I copied them, resting my palm on my knee.

"I want to!" Hagakure threw her yellow fleece-covered arm up. "Never have I ever worn make-up." All the other girls put their fingers down, including Kaminari and Aoyama.

Sero sat to her left and went next, "Never have I ever gone on vacation out of Japan." Momo, Aoyama, Iida, Katsuki, and Jiro put a finger down.

"Never have I ever preferred salty food to sweet," Sato said. Iida, Midoriya, Katsuki, Ojiro, Kirishima, Shoji and Tokoyami put a finger down.

Todoroki went next, eyeing the room first. "Never have I ever had a provisional hero license." The room laughed as everyone but Katsuki put a finger down.

Uraraka hummed, "Never have I ever broken anything." Midoriya, Shoji, Iida, Todoroki, and Katsuki put a finger down.

"Never have I ever made anything float." Midoriya nudged her with his arm. Uraraka and I both put a finger down.

"Never have I ever had older siblings." Tsu mused after a moment. Todoroki and Iida put a finger down.

Kirishima smirked, "Never have I ever had a boyfriend." Mina smacked him as she put a finger down. I shoved my free hand into my pouch while I slowly tucked in a finger. I only had one finger left.

Hagakure groaned, "I'm out!"

"Never have I ever had a girlfriend – put it down, sucker!" Mina chuckled as Kirishima put a finger down, leaving him with two. Katsuki and Mineta put a finger down. I saw Midoriya's confused face look towards Katsuki. "Mokoto – your turn." Midoriya and Katsuki had grown up together – he, of all people, would know that Katsuki had never had a girlfriend before, and he had not told Midoriya yet either.

I stammered, drawing a blank as my mind ran. "Never have I ever had blonde hair?" Katsuki groaned, tucking his now empty hand away.

"Never have I ever been ticklish," Katsuki slumped farther into the sofa. I put my final finger down and shoved my free hand into my pouch. We continued around the room until everyone had gone once.

Mina clapped, "How about we do truth or dare before we pick a movie?" Mineta and Kaminari yelled in agreement. Mina leered at the two, "Nothing too inappropriate."

"Toru got out first; how about you go?" Jiro spoke, looking towards our invisible classmate.

"Sure! Hmmm, " her sleeve went to where her face would be, "Sero, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Sero smiled, sitting up.

"I dare you to only walk on your hands for the rest of the night." Hagakure clapped.

"Sure, man," Sero shrugged, "Kaminari, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Kaminari chose.

"I dare you to…call the last person you messaged on your phone and scream." Sero smiled. Kaminari took out his phone and called the last person he had contacted. Jiro's phone rang, and Kaminari just shouted instead of having her pick up.

"Satoshi," Kaminari pointed to me, "truth or dare!"

Someone picked me. "Truth?"

"What happened to your sister? She, like – isn't at school anymore." Kaminari shrugged, leaning over the arm of the sofa. I saw Uraraka and Tsu stiffen. Katsuki's elbow moved to touch my arm.

Could I tell everyone the truth? "She was expelled from Vlad's class and left the school."

"Oh man," Kaminari groaned, "that makes sense. I heard she cheated on her tests. Your turn now."

"Uh, Mina?" I turned to my friend beside me. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Mina smiled, resting an arm around my shoulders.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "What's your favourite singer?"

"Easy – Taylor Swift!" Mina smiled, "Tokoyami – truth or dare?"

"Truth," he kept his arms crossed.

"Does Dark Shadow have a mind of his own, or does he say your innermost thoughts?" Mina placed a finger on her chin, leaning her head on my shoulder.

Tokoyami chuckled. "He has a mind of his own. Midoriya, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Midoriya sat up straighter. Sero crawled away from the group and stood on her hands, walking into the kitchen.

"How many bones have you broken at this point?" Tokoyami cocked his head.

"Uh," Midoriya began to count silently on his fingers. "At least fifteen times? Maybe more."

"Ouch, man," Kaminari cringed. "At least you stopped breaking yourself so much now."

"Still working on that," Midoriya chuckled. "Ka-chan, truth or dare?" Sero came back with a bag of chips in his mouth.

Katsuki scoffed, "Why me? Dare."

Midoriya frowned, "I dare you to show everyone the last photo you took." Katsuki rolled his eyes, taking his phone out of his shorts pocket. I felt my phone vibrate in my pouch before Katsuki turned the phone to everyone. It was a photo of his notebook. He had sent that photo to me while I was at Sir's of what I had missed.

"That's the last photo you took? That's boring, dude," Mineta groaned. "I was expecting a nice busty babe!" Tsu hit Mineta with her tongue, knocking him over.

"Small fry – truth or dare." Katsuki snapped, putting his phone away.

"Dare," Mineta sat back up.

"Die!" Katsuki glowered, leaning over his knees, small explosions going off in his palms.

"Okay," Mina clapped, "the game's over. Bakugo, can you and Makoto please make us some popcorn? Momo, can you make us some super big blankets so we can all cuddle up? What movie do we want to watch?" Katsuki stood up and walked into the kitchen. I got off the sofa, following him. Katsuki got a large pot out and placed it on the stove, quickly adding oil and popcorn kernels.

I pulled my hair into a high ponytail as Katsuki slammed the lid. "What can I help with?"

"Send that photo back." Katsuki turned and stalked to the fridge. I leaned against the counter, facing my phone away from the group while they debated between a romantic comedy and a thriller. I had a photo message from Katsuki. I swiped open my phone, pulling open our conversation. He had sent me a photo of myself sleeping on his chest the other night. I had spent an hour crying before Katsuki gave me the same clothes I had slept in last time and pushed me into the bathroom to change.

I snapped my head towards Katsuki as the kernels began to pop. "You took a photo of me?" I whispered as he returned to the stove with a block of butter.

He shrugged, whispering back. "You looked cute. Now send it back." He had sent me the photo and deleted it in his phone so he would not have to show everyone.

My face flushed as I shook my head. "How many other photos of me do you have that I don't know about?" The popcorn popped wildly.

"What? I want photos of my girlfriend." He licked his lips. "Now send it back."

"No." I gawked, putting my phone back in my pouch.

"Give me your phone before I tickle you in front of everyone," Katsuki lowered his voice to a husky growl. I stared up at him and quickly gave him my phone. That was low. He swiped open my phone and sent himself the photo before handing it back. I puffed out my cheeks, taking my phone back into my pouch. I turned and got five serving bowls out. I watched as Katsuki removed the pot from the heat, the last few kernels popping. He separated the popcorn between the bowls before adding melted butter and salt. I picked up two of the bowls and placed them on the table in the middle of everyone. Mina pouted as Sero used the remote to bring up the thriller. Katsuki picked up two of the bowls, and I picked up the last one, placing them in the centre as well. We sat back down on the sofa – a few of the others moving the other sofas for a better view of the TV while others just lay or sat on the floor. Momo and Jiro laid a blanket over us before moving onto the next sofa. Katsuki tucked the blanket under his left arm. Everyone settled in as Jiro turned the lights off. Katsuki's right hand found my left, intertwining our fingers under the blanket.