I yawned, rolling over in bed. I opened my eyes. A set of bunk beds with two sleeping women sat opposite me. I sat up and looked around the messy room. I was at Redemption's agency. My mouth was dry. I rubbed my temple with a hand as I remembered last night's events. Sirius was alive. My father was alive. I hurried out of bed and grabbed my half-charged phone, slipping out of the bedroom. I leaned over the railing, watching as vigilantes and sidekicks laughed while eating breakfast or mulled about.

One of the men downstairs noticed me and lifted his hand. "Morning Makoto! Come grab some breakfast before it's gone." I hesitantly nodded, making my way down the steep steps. Each person greeted me as I walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Sirius sat on the farthest sofa, a canned iced coffee in hand. He raised his hand in greeting and smiled. I bit my lip and covered the bottom half of my face with a hand. He was flesh and blood in front of me. This was real.

My phone vibrated. I exited out the back of the kitchen and answered Katsuki's call. "Hey."

"Where'd you go?" Katsuki closed a door. He must have gone to my room this morning before his provisional licensing class.

"I left early – Redemption found someone to help with my combat skills, so Eraser gave me permission to stay here for a few days." I leaned against the brick wall and looked up at the clear sky. A news copter flew above.

"Oh?" He grumbled into the phone. "How's that going?"

I sucked in my bottom lip. I had told Katsuki while I was at my lowest after Akari had left me behind that our mother was alive – could I tell him that our father was as well? No. I needed to speak with him first. "We haven't started yet – we're just waiting on them." The line was silent for a long moment. "Thank you, again, for helping me with that panic attack."

He grunted. "Not a big deal, I get them too. I'll call you later." He hung up before I could speak. He knew how to deal with my panic attacks since he also suffered from them. What did Katsuki have to panic about? I put my phone away and re-entered the kitchen. I pulled a plate out of the stack and went to the stove. Pans and serving trays were full of a western-style breakfast. I scooped scrambled eggs onto my plate with strips of bacon and toast. I grabbed a canned iced coffee and slunk back into the living room. Redemption was seated across from Sirius, stuffing his own face with bacon. Tiny was seated beside Redemption. I crossed the room and sat with Tiny.

"Makoto!" Tiny spoke through a slice of toast, ripping off a hunk with his teeth.

"Morning," I gave him a small smile, leaning back into the sofa. I laid my drink in my lap as I slowly picked at my breakfast.

Tiny swallowed his bite. "It's great having you here with everyone!" He reached over and ruffled my hair briefly before returning to his food.

Sirius tilted his head. "Did you bring anything with you?" I shook my head. I had not been that clear-headed last night. He pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning. "I'm sure your grandmother will want to take you out shopping this morning then. We'll do some training downstairs when you come back." I replayed our conversation in my head last night – it was all so surreal and unbelievable. I stiffened; two arms wrapped around me from behind.

"Let's go now," Phoenix whined as she rubbed her cheek against my head.

Sirius frowned. "Ryuu's coming with you."

"Why," Phoenix groaned, placing her chin on top of my head. She was completely different from how my other grandmother treated me. It was still rough to wrap my head around her being my grandmother as well. She looked and acted so young.

Sirius stared at his mother. "What was Makoto drinking last night?" Phoenix had given me a soda after Aizawa had confiscated the can of beer she tried to get me to drink. Was he mad at her for giving me that initial beer? It was not my first time trying alcohol, anyway. Mrs. Haruka had given me a small taste of some of the liquors she baked or cooked with, so I would better understand how to sell the flavour profiles to patrons.

I felt her throat grumble. "Just a few of my vodka sodas." Sirius rolled his eyes. "Come on, son – it's not like we both didn't do worse things at her age."

"You gave me what?" I turned to gawk at her. I thought I was just drinking lemon-lime soda; it didn't taste like there was anything else in it. It did explain my dry mouth when I woke up, though.

Sirius crossed his legs, "can't trust you to be alone with my daughter." I froze. My daughter. It hit so different. I felt warmth spread throughout my chest – for the first time in a long time, I had family that actually wanted me.

Phoenix blew a raspberry at Sirus. "You two better hurry up then. I wanna go shopping." Redemption and I took our time eating to spite her. I changed out of my pyjamas and into a pair of her spare ripped jeans and a black tank top before heading out. Phoenix immediately began pulling us into store after store. By the time we stopped for lunch, we had already amassed a whole new wardrobe for her and a decent chunk for me. She was just like Midnight – grabbing anything without a care for the price. Sure, I needed new clothing for a change, but this was too much. I sat with Redemption and Phoenix in a less crowded corner of the mall, holding my drink out of her reach. "Do you not trust me?" She whined, pouting.

"Nope," I popped the 'p', taking another sip of my iced tea. "You said you'd tell me tomorrow -so what's your story?" Redemption leaned back in his chair, his foot hitting a shopping bag under the table.

She frowned, resting her chin on her palm. "Well. Back in my day – man, I sound fucking old – it was a lot more common to be without a quirk. I was the second in command of a quirkless female delinquent group in middle and high school. But anyway, I ended up dating a college guy. Heisuke was the sweetest. I got pregnant in my last year of high school, and my parents kicked me out. Heisuke died before Kai was born. His quirk was like yours. He died during one of his experiments. I died for the first time during childbirth with your father. I still look young, thanks to my quirk, but I'm fifty-seven." She smiled. "It was quite the surprise having a quirk, but I got to see you and your father grow up into incredibly strong heroes. I guess it was worth it."

"What's your name?" I tapped the lid of my cup.

"Chizuru – but call me whatever you'd like." She stood up. "Now, let's get back to shopping!"

[B&M]

I sat against the wall of the basement beside my father, drinking a protein shake. We had spent a good portion of the evening working on condensing particles. Sirius drank from his own bottle. He pulled out three folded slips of black paper and handed them to me. I lit up, taking the notes back. "I thought those got destroyed during the raid." It clicked. "These are from you – aren't they?"

He nodded. "I couldn't hide how proud I am of you. Even if you do stupid shit." I bit the inside of my cheek as I put the notes back into my phone case. "Sometimes."

I averted my gaze. "Who else knows you're alive?"

He hummed, leaning his head back and stared at the ceiling. "Eraser, of course, Hawks, and Recovery Girl. Then there's whoever's involved in the League of Villains – since they're with your mother, they must know about me. Though, I have met Shigaraki and AFO since we 'died'."

"Wait," I turned back to him, "Hawks knows?" It made sense with Recovery Girl – but the number three hero?

Sirius nodded. "After Lady Nagant was sent to Tartarus, he filled the gap we left in the hero commission." I swallowed hard. Hawks was in the same boat as my father. He laughed. "He's far too loved by the public – they aren't going to make him do anything too vile."

"Why do they…" I bit my lip, trying to think of how to ask.

"They pick people who they think are expendable with great quirks. They picked me because I was the son of a single mom who needed expensive transfusions and medications. They covered those costs, so she didn't have to work multiple jobs. If another hero would have killed me – the only people who would have mourned would have been Ryuu and my mother." Sirius smiled at me, nudging me with his elbow. "I'm glad you have more people in your life than I did at your age. Now, tell me about Mister Angry Pants."

My eye twitched. "You should know about him since you've been following me."

He turned to face me with hooded eyes. "I try to give you two your privacy, thank you. To me, he's just some kid with anger issues like Endeavor but with more redeeming qualities." The video of their fight flashed in my mind. Sirius had the perfect opportunity to kill him then but did not. He must just be a hero with a poor attitude.

I shook my head. "Katsuki's not like him. He's strong, passionate, and kind…" I stared at the drink in my hands.

Sirius laid his hand on my head, "If he makes you happy. But if he hurts you, I will rip him apart atom by atom."

"Dad!" I gawked. We both froze as we realized what I had called him. This was the first time that I had called him that. Did Katsuki's parents bother him like Sirius was doing to me?

He smiled like Aizawa again. "You called me what?" His blue eyes flashed.

I stood, moving across the basement. "Let's keep going – I want to learn. We only have three days."

"This time." Sirius let out a frustrated breath but pulled himself to his feet. He cracked his neck. "Remember you're focusing on slamming your particles together as fast as you can without folding in on yourself – you're not trying to create a black hole."

"What would happen if I made a black hole?" I screwed the lid back on my shake and tossed it across the room.

Sirius stared at me with a warning look. "Instant death of yourself and everyone around you."

"And we're doing this in the basement…why?" I deadpanned. If making a mistake meant instant death for everyone here – why weren't we practicing somewhere more secluded?

"Because I know you're not going to fuck up," Sirius shrugged, "at most a few bricks might come loose. You need this base technique if we're going see if dark matter is possible." He had too much faith in me.

"You can't even make dark matter – what makes you think I can?" I stared down at my hand, flexing my fingers out.

Sirius took his hair tie off his wrist with his teeth and put his hair up. "If we follow the quirk singularity theory, you automatically have more potential using stardust. You just need to go for it and stop being afraid of our repercussions." I froze, raising my brows at my father. Redemption was right – my father was crazy and an idiot.

[B&M]

"Thanks for bringing me back," I looked up at Redemption as we walked through the gates of UA.

He laughed. "Anytime!"

I stopped in my tracks. "D-Did you know that he wasn't actually a villain when you joined?"

Redemption frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't. He never went to high school, so the next time I saw him was in a fight with Boomer on the news. I kept going to his home every day after school and waited – but Chizuru couldn't tell me a damn thing. He pulled the same shit he did with you, showing up in my room in the middle of the night – king of the dramatic effect, and told me this bullshit lie about hating society and wanting to kill all heroes.

"I missed my best friend and started to develop that same way of thinking. I became a villain, too, so I could help him. Kai finally told me the truth when he found me after the fight with your mother. Fucking idiot nearly died. I thought he was delirious when he said he was an undercover hero." He let out a boisterous laugh and continued walking towards the dorms. "Can I meet your boyfriend?"

He switched topics super fast. "Hell no."

"Come on," he pouted. "Chizuru and I will meet him at the cultural festival anyway."

I gave him an unimpressed glare. "What do you mean 'at the cultural festival'?"

"We're some of the heroes Nezu hired to guard UA during the event." He chuckled, slapping me on the back. I cringed at the impact.

I shook my head and rushed forward. "No way." Those two were going to embarrass me any way they could imagine.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Redemption hurried after me, groaning. My duffle hit the back of my legs as I rushed away from him.

"Long time no see, Redemption," All Might spoke up as we passed Gym Beta. We both froze. Midoriya stood next to All Might, stretching his fingers in his new gloves. "Thanks for bringing young Satoshi back."

Midoriya lit up, "Aizawa said you were off training – were you training with Redemption again? Oh man, I bet you're going to have some awesome new moves." He turned his attention to Ryuu, bowing his head repeatedly in aw. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, one of Makoto's classmates; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Redemption placed his hands on his hips and bellowed, "It's about time I met one of Makoto's classmates. Is he your mentee, All Might?"

All Might nodded. "You better run before Hound Dog sniffs you out."

"Right." Redemption sighed. "Have fun, you two – I'll look forward to headbanging with Phoenix during your concert." He laughed as he rushed off campus. All Might bid us farewell, leaving Midoriya and I walking to our dorm together.

Midoriya smiled, "Ka-chan's going to be glad you're back. He's been more quick-tempered since you left."

"Oh?" I stared at the cement walk. He hummed as we crossed into the part of campus where the dorms were located. "How did training with All Might go?"

Midoriya examined his hand. "It's been tough. I've been having trouble controlling my power to make long-distance attacks effective. Did you develop anything new?"

I lulled my head between my shoulders. "Almost. We worked on colliding my atoms and weaponizing that. I have a lot more work to do before it's viable."

We walked up the steps to our dorm. "I'm sure if I can master this new move – you'll be able to master that. Especially with all of us behind you." He beamed sheepishly as he opened the door and called inside. "Makoto's back!" We stepped inside and kicked our shoes off. Mina and Momo rushed out of the kitchen and towards us.

Mina stopped in front of me, her eyes wide, shock settling in on her face. I gave her an awkward smile. "You cut it."

"Yeah," I tucked my hair behind an ear. "It was too long to manage – and now that I have a suit I can rely on, I don't need it that long as a precautionary measure anymore."

"It looks so good," Momo began to run her fingers through my curls.

"Thanks?" My hair ended just below my shoulder blades now instead of past my hips. Pheonix had added layers to help define my curls, gave me some face framing, and touched up my side bangs. "Is it really that different?"

"Why'd you finally cut it?" Todoroki asked from the kitchen, returning to preparing his snack.

I let out a breath. "I think it's time to make some changes. Anyway – what have I missed? Sorry, I left you and the rest of the special effects team."

Todoroki shook his head. "Training with your mentor is the priority. We're meeting in Sero's room right now if you want to join."

"Of course," I joined him up to Sero's room. I dropped my duffel on the floor and joined the boys around the small table. The boys welcomed me back - Aoyama noticed my hair - and began to pick away at Todoroki's snack. "What did I miss?"

"Midoriya agreed to help us out – so he'll leave the dance team just before Aoyama turns into a human disco ball. Yaomomo's going to make some confetti cannons for us, too," Kirishima explained as he munched away. "Sero's going to program the lights and the backdrop."

"I'll make extensions with my ice to the stage for the dance team to surround the audience, and Kirishima'll make some snowfall on the audience." Todoroki nudged the plate towards me. I took a pretzel stick from the plate.

"We'll use Sero's tape for streamers from the ceiling, and I'll speak with some doves to have them join us in the sky," Koda spoke up.

Sero stared at me for a moment before speaking. "Why don't we use your Nebula thing?"

Koda nodded, "why didn't we think of that sooner? That's a great idea." Todoroki confirmed.

"Yeah," Kirishima agreed. "How cool would it be if you did something like Midoriya? Started out dancing and then moved into your Nebula above everyone? Let me grab Mina." He stood and rushed from the room before he could hear my dismay.

"That would be cool, but I can't dance." I put my hands up. "They've all been working so hard I'd make their job harder." Granted, Aoyama's lights shining on my Nebula would look amazing. What was I getting looped into?

"We have access to the gym next weekend – are you able to help us hang the lights?" Sero moved on, showing me the lighting sheet. That I had no problem doing; it would be easier for me to hang lights than maneuver a ladder around since the gym did not have a lighting walkway.

Kirishima came back a few moments later with a confused Mina, "What idea do you all have this time?" I watched as Sero and Kirishima explained their idea. Mina's face shifted to glee. "That is such a cool idea! Makoto – you're joining us for dance practice after class tomorrow!"

She was so excited to make this happen. I sighed. "Fair warning – I can't dance. We can try it out, but I don't want to ruin all the hard work you've already put in."