"So you didn't find anything?"

"Nothing," Izuku sighed. He should feel slightly relieved. With no record of any Quirk that may have caused this in his notebooks, there was a better chance that it wasn't a villain at work. But it didn't rule the possibility out.

"Chin up, Izu." Setsuna nudged him with her shoulder, cheeks rosy red from the cold as they walked side-by-side towards the town square. Evening had begun, the night sky beginning to rear its head as street lamps lit up overhead. "It may turn out to be nothing. Plus, she has the Big Sister and the Saint of Class-2B looking out for her. Nobody could be better equipped to keep her safe than them. Except you of course. But I need you for this date of ours."

She yanked on his arm, pulling him closer to her, successfully making him blush. "Alright alright, I get it, Set." He smiled at her. "Now, where do you feel like going?"

"Hm…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully as she took a look around the town square. "For a small town they do have quite a few options available."

"It's a popular tourist spot, of course they'd have this much," Izuku said. "With how small it all is though, I'm not surprised they can get away with only a hero and one sidekick."

"Just the one?" Setsuna looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yep," Izuku shrugged. "Crime doesn't happen here much and whatever does happen the police generally have it taken care of. Turnback may not be combat oriented, but that doesn't mean he isn't good in a fight. But Yamatora… She could've gotten into a bigger hero agency, so I'm wondering why she chose her hometown…"

"Maybe she just likes it?" Setsuna suggested. "Anyway, we've gotten off topic. Again."

Izuku looked sheepish. "My bad. But you encourage it."

"That I do!" Setsuna grinned cheekily. "I don't call you Mumbles for nothing y'know. Now, let's see… How about there?"

"Pasta?" Izuku questioned, but he led the way over to the restaurant she'd chosen. "You sure about that?"

"Hell yeah!" She winked. "As a dinosaur, I'm a naturally messy eater, so pasta is nothing!"

"You're not a dinosaur."

"I'm a dinosaur if I say I am." She flicked his forehead. "And don't you go forgetting that."

"Yes ma'am."

"Ooo, ma'am," Setsuna flashed him a predatory grin. "I like the sound of that."

Izuku groaned as he made to push open the restaurant doors. "Please behave yourself, Set."

"No promises~"

"Yo, what's up with Yui-MMPH!" He was cut off when Itsuka's hand covered his mouth. She'd just exited the room the girls were sharing at the inn to find Yosetsu along with the rest of their class standing just outside.

"She's not feeling good at the moment," Itsuka told them. "She'd rather be left alone right now." That was a lie, sort of. Yui definitely didn't want to be alone right now, not with the feeling of still being scared. But she also didn't want her ongoing freakout to be public knowledge to the whole class.

"Looked more than just 'not feeling good'," Sen said, crossing his arms. "What's really going on?"

"We are just concerned for our friend," Jurota said quietly when Itsuka hesitated. "If something is going on that we may be of assistance, we'd like to help."

"It should be fi-" Itsuka tried to assure him when a thought struck her. "Actually, maybe we could use some help. Sen." She turned to him.

"Me?" He blinked at her. "Why me?"

"Just get in here!" She tugged on his arm and pulled him into the room, quickly closing it behind them.

"Itsuka?" Ibara looked up from where she was sitting next to Yui. Her vines had put Yui in a cocoon, the silent girl having her eyes closed.

"Is she okay?" Sen asked no one in particular.

"She had a mild panic attack," Ibara explained, rubbing the girl's back in a soothing manner. "I think she's feeling better, but… Yui, has anything changed?"

A shake of the head.

"She said the worst of it was by that alley," Ibara said. "Now it's just like a muted feeling in the back of her head. If she focuses on it too much, well…"

"What feeling?" Sen glanced between the girls. "And why am I the one in here?"

"Right, sorry," Itsuka apologized. "Okay, ever since earlier, Yui experienced a sort of… hallucination. Vivid, horror-like hallucination. Scared the hell out of her. That feeling hasn't gone away. Now, we hope it's just because of sleep deprivation or something, but on the off chance it's a Quirk affecting her… Well, you grew up here. Do you know anyone with a Quirk that may have caused this?"

Sen frowned. "No… I don't think so. I mean, it isn't unusual to still be jumpy after a scare like that. How certain are we that it's a Quirk?"

"We're not," Itsuka shook her head. "We just want to cover our bases."

"Hmm…" Sen looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I can't help with the cause of this, but I do think I know of a way to help get rid of it."

Yui's eyes snapped open, looking at him in shock. "How?"

"Well… how do you feel about getting some coffee?"

"How about this one?" Setsuna jabbed a finger down on the page of the notebook. "'Negative Thoughts'. No, wait, nevermind. This is just depression given Quirk form."

"Plus she's been locked up in Tartarus for quite a while," Izuku said while palming through one of his notebooks. "Try finding the Quirk 'Enigmatic'. I've been puzzling over that one for a while now. Based on the only information I was able to find, it's well… enigmatic." He frowned. "Hold on a second, when did- I thought you said you wanted to focus on the date?"

"Hush, Mumbles," Setsuna remarked as she flipped through the pages. "Okay, here it is. Okay, wow, not a whole lot of notes. You really haven't gotten this one down yet."

"As I said, not a whole lot of information to go off of-hey, I think that's our food coming?"

"...Yeah, definitely not this one. I mean, maybe, but even with how little you know, it would be a stretch."

"Set, our-Hi, thank you. Yes, I had the beef stroganoff."

"I mean, it could affect the mind-Oh, yes, spaghetti please. Sweet! Thanks!"

"I'm closing up shop in a minute," Kohaku Yuunaiyama said when she heard the doors to her cafe open. She had her back to it as she gathered up the mugs on one of the tables. "If you want something, it'll have to be-"

"Any time for an old friend?"

She stopped. She knew that voice. Turning, she saw Sen standing in the doorway with three girls behind him. He raised his hand in greeting. "Yo."

Setting down the mugs and wiping them off on her apron, she hurried over and threw her arms around him in a crushing hug. "Sen! It's so good to see you!"

"Y-yeah, you too!" Sen said awkwardly as he managed to break free from the hug a few seconds later. "Hey, sorry about this, but I have a favor to ask."

A few minutes of introductions and explanations later, Kohaku sat across from Yui Kodai, palms held out. "Place your hands in mine."

"I thought it didn't need physical contact?" Sen queried.

Kohaku gave him a pointed look. "It helps with focus. Now," she turned back to Yui and offered her a reassuring smile. "This is going to sound a little cliche, but look into my eyes. I promise it won't hurt. The worst it can do is nothing, and that's never happened before."

Yui took a shuddering breath and nodded, raising her eyes to meet her gaze. Kohaku squeezed her hands softly and took a breath before shutting her eyes. She held them closed for a few seconds before reopening them. Her amber colored eyes now shone with a brilliant light. Itsuka and Ibara both gave a small gasp as a feeling of warmth and courage filled them. Sen smiled wistfully as he closed his eyes at the nostalgia.

Yui meanwhile shuddered as her eyes seemed to reflect the glow of Kohaku's. She felt the darkness that had settled over her earlier that day melt away completely as she sucked in a breath of air for what felt like the first time in ages.

"How do you feel?" Kohaku asked.

"Like…" Yui couldn't form the words. "Like… I could do anything."

Kohaku smiled as she blinked, the fade glowing. She squeezed Yui's hands one more time before retracting them. "Sen said almost the same exact thing back when my Quirk first came in." She shot him a fond look. "What did you say again?"

"You sisters love to torment me," Sen said dryly.

"Thank you," Yui stood from her seat and bowed to Kohaku. "That feeling, it's completely gone now thanks to you."

"Don't mention it," the white haired woman said quickly. "Actually, please don't. I probably wouldn't get into trouble for illegal Quirk usage, but I don't need to hear it from my sister."

"You can count on us," Itsuka told her.

"Indeed," Ibara said after giving Yui a one-over. "That Quirk of yours, it felt… magnificent. Thank you."

"As I said, don't mention it," Kohaku insisted gently. "Now, before you all leave, how about a cup of tea? On the house."

"We can pay-" Ibara offered immediately, but Kohaku paid her no mind.

"Anything for friends of Sen," she said as she moved behind the counter. "Now, what do you all like?"

"Do you have the cargo?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Good, let me see it. Need to make sure it's all there."

"Sure…"

"Hmph, it'll do."

"Okay, why are you making this sound so sketchy?" Nirengeki sighed as he set the box of frisbees down next to the lantern he brought.

"I don't know what you mean," Togaru said as he stretched his arms. They'd come to one of the parks just on the outskirts of town next to the forest so Togaru could lose some steam. It wasn't too far away from town, but they also didn't want to be too close so that no one got upset by the Quirk usage.

"Alright." Togaru had shed his jacket, baring his arms to the freezing evening air as curved blades grew just below his elbows. "Bring it on!"

Nirengeki tested the weight of one of the frisbees experimentally. Not too light, but also not that heavy, so somewhere in the middle. He took a stance and measured in his head how much strength he would need to output. Narrowing his eyes, he flung the frisbee. At the halfway point between him and Togaru, he activated his Quirk and the frisbee suddenly took on a burst of speed as it curved sharply to the right.

SLICE

Togaru had performed a leap while slicing his arm upwards, cutting the frisbee cleanly through the middle. He grinned, a second blade emerging from his other arm. "Put your back into it! I want a challenge!"

"Coming right u-" Nirengeki paused, lowering his throwing arm. He blinked. Did the earth just… move?

"Come on, throw it already!" Togaru complained loudly. "What are you looking at?" He glanced behind him. "What?"

"I thought…" Nirengeki trailed his words as he walked past Togaru towards the trees. Just past them was a rather large mound of dirt and snow.

"Some kids must've been having too much fun playing in the snow," Togaru huffed from beside him. "Come on, let's get back to training already."

"Yeah…" Nirengeki nodded, glancing back at the mound once before shaking his head. He must've been imagining things.

"That was some good food," Setsuna sighed happily, rubbing her stomach in satisfaction as they left the restaurant.

"Glad you liked it," Izuku smiled, but inside he was dying. Oh, the food was great, no doubt about that. But his wallet was going to be feeling emptier for a bit.

As if reading his mind, Setsuna turned back and flashed him a smile. "Oh, next few meals are on me. You've paid for the last several if I recall."

"Oh, it's no-"

"Mumbles~" She gripped him by the cheeks and pinched him. "No arguing."

"Yes ma'am," he mumbled through his pinched cheeks.

She released him and patted him gently on the right cheek. "Good boy. Now, let's head back and see what everyone is up… to…" She trailed off and Izuku didn't have to ask why. They both heard and saw the police cars shoot past them down the road. They both exchanged a glance and took off after them. Setsuna disconnected her body at the waist and began flying while Izuku leaped high into the air to land on a roof. He saw the police turn a corner and began running, his metal soles thankfully finding enough traction in the snow and ice covered rooftops.

Setsuna's head came flying down next to him. "Izuku, there's a-!"

"I see it." Izuku slid to a stop at the edge of the roof overlooking the main street heading to the ski resort. There, in the middle of the road, was a sculpture of ice spikes jutting from the cobblestones. And pierced in the middle was a man, his skin icy blue as frozen rivers of blood ran down his body.