Notes: I'm back... yes. I'm back.

After months of insanity, insane work schedule, and just moving from San Diego CA to Washington... My insane life schedule is returning to normality. So I want to thank everyone for your patience, since that little tidbit of a chapter last month is no excuse. Now, we get to the real meat of the story you've been waiting for.

The feeling Katara had was one she hadn't felt for a long time. Sitting alone in the elevator going down, she rubbed her neck before huffing out, shaking her head and almost wanting to laugh at where she was now. "At this point, it's not worth hiding any longer." She said, looking up as the door opened up to the lobby. She walked out and saw Shoji and Ojiro already in the kitchen sitting across from Tsu.

"Katara, what's up?" Shoji asked, "You said you needed to talk to everyone?"

Katara nodded to him. "Yeah. it's… something that has to be said."

Ojiro tilted his head in confusion. "What is it?"

"Ribbit. She did say it was for everyone, so she should wait." Tsu quickly said, earning a smile from Katara.

"Thanks. It would be easier just to get it out all at once with everyone." As the elevator reopened, Katara turned to see Izuku coming out with Momo in hand, along with Toru beside them.

"Hey Katara. What's going on?" Momo asked as they approached. "Did something happen?"

"It's just something I need to talk about with you guys." Katara said, giving a quick glance to Izuku beside her. She didn't even need to say anything, for the look she gave him made his eyes widen slightly.

'Katara, are you…?' he said internally, realizing why she was summoning everyone here. He felt his heart race slightly, for the look she was giving was one he knew far too well himself. He quickly swallowed the lump in his throat and followed his girlfriend to the living room, finding a spot on the couch as the door beside the elevator opened up.

"Katara!" Tenya shouted as he sprinted her way chopping several times. "What's the emergency?! Are you alright? Please tell me the details of what was so important!"

"Tenya, it's fine, nothing's wrong. I…" Katara raised her eyebrow as she looked past him. "Did you run down the stairs instead of the elevator?"

"Of course! It was in use and I couldn't wait for the urgency!"

Unable to hold back a small chuckle, Katara patted his arm and took a breath. "I'm okay. It's just something I need to discuss with everyone."

Huffing out, Tenya nodded and adjust his glasses. "Apologies. I let my imagination get the best of me." Not wanting to cause more drama than necessary, he quickly joined the others as a few more came out the elevator.

"Come on, I think I'm doing pretty good, right?" Kaminari chuckled, looking over to Jiro and Tokoyami. "Right?"

"I mean you're getting better," Jiro admitted, honestly surprised how fast he'd picked up the song. "You just need to keep your pace on par with us. Slow down on the third bar."

"Aw, I'm flattered," Kaminari chuckled and clapped his hands together. "If that's all I need to work on I'm pretty much a pro."

"Humbleness is surely not a trait you have much of," Tokoyami muttered out, looking to see the others here already. He then saw Katara there and nodded. "You needed to speak to us?"

"Yes, just waiting for everyone." she answered, earning a head tilt from Kaminari.

"What's up? Something new for the festival?" shrugging, Kaminari sat down on the couch to his idea. "Hopefully it's more time for us to practice."

Sighing at his suggestion, Katara turned as several more came into the living room, with Mineta chatting with Aoyama as Uraraka and Mina smiled at the waterbender. "Hey class rep! So what's this class five emergency?" Mina joked as they approached.

"Emergency?"Uraraka giggled at her word choice. "Okay, talk about an imagination."

While playfully laughing, Katara internally huffed at the sarcastic choice of words, wondering if this conversation could be considered an emergency. "Just wait until everyone's here. It'll be easier to just say it once."

"Hmm," Mina sighed as she had to wait, gripping the back of her head and yawning. "Well, let's get this going. Just a bit tired tonight and going to hit the hay early."

As they moved towards everyone else, Katara turned when she saw kendo walking by, giving a confused look herself but staying silent and joining the others. Just behind her was Bakugo, his gaze locking with hers. The teen didn't say anything as he stared at Katara, the pair not needing to explain to one another what was going to happen. As he stood behind the couch beside Kirishima, the door opened to the final person to arrive, his eyes filled with some worry and confusion.

"Sorry…" Shoto quietly said as he approached her. "I didn't see the message right away. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Katara said, reached forward and grabbing his hand. "It's just something I need to say to everyone. Something I don't wish to hide any longer."

At first Shoto was confused by what she said, his eyes widened when he understood what she meant. "Katara… are you…?"

Katara squeezed his hand, signaling him she was okay with this. "You don't need to say anything, Shoto. This is something I want to do."

Shoto's mouth opened in protest, unsure if this was the best for her to say to everyone. He knew only a few here, including Bakugo, knew who she really was, and he thought it would be safer to keep it known to less. In the end, however, this wasn't his secret to choose who knew or not. He glanced down to her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her fingers before giving a small nod to her. "Alright. you do what you feel is best."

Nodding, Katara let go of his hand as she turned to the living room, seeing everyone chatting together or chilling as they waited for the reason they were asked to come down, something that made Katara take a deep breath and scratch her head anxiously. Now that everyone was here, she could only hope the reactions from everyone would be tolerable, to not ruin the new relationships she had formed.

'There's no reason to hide it any longer,' She said to herself, stepping towards the living room. 'It's time for the truth.'

Walking to the front of the living room, Katara turned and faced her classmates, ready for the talk. "Thanks for coming, guys."

"So what's up? You needed all of us here for something?" Kirishima asked.

Kendo nodded to his statement. "Is something going on?"

Katara shook her head as she looked around. "Nothing's wrong, it's just…" she sighed and faced the class. "I just needed to talk to you all. "

While several in the class gave looks of concern to knowing what she was going to talk about, most gave looks of confusion. "Okay, so what's up?" Mina added.

Exhaling, Katara smiled softly as she looked up to the ceiling. "Ever since I came here, I honestly didn't know what to expect. After staying with Tenya, I came to learn how different Tokyo and the rest of Japan was from my home. When I first came to UA, I began meeting all of you wonderful friends."

"Hehehe, Your welcome," Mina playfully teased, knowing she was one of the first people to know her here.

"Over the months, I've learned so much about you all, and I cannot express enough how much I have come to enjoy being with you all. The fun times we had, or even the battles we've fought together have made me understand I can truly call all of you my good friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Katara noticed several of the smiles from some in the class, which only made her frown slightly. But, I have to apologize. After everything we've done together, I haven't been truly honest with you about who I really am."

Tokoyami tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Katara rubbed her arm as she glanced around to the other confused looks by the others, locking eyes with Tenya. His mouth fell open slightly when he realized what she was doing, the waterbender giving a nod of confirmation.

"I have been telling you all that I come from a village far from here, just outside the town of Akabira. But… that isn't actually the truth. I actually come from a place much further from here… if you can even describe it like that." Katara sighed as she clasped her hands together. "I… actually don't come from this world."

The silence that fell over the class was only broken by the phone dropping from Jiro's hand hitting the floor. Most of them felt their mouths drop open in disbelief, only for Mineta to chuckle suddenly. "Okay, now is this some kind of game? Because I can guess the next thing is there is some mystery we need to go find and-

"Mineta, just…" Katara grunted and gripped her hips, taking a moment to think about what to say. "I know you are going to think this sounds like some sort of joke… but listen to me. I am not just a girl from a village in the mountains."

And so… Katara began telling the story of her past, one she had been keeping from the others for so long. She left nothing out, her tale leaving the others in utter confusion and disbelief. Even those like Mina who usually took most things lightly, simply stared in silence to the waterbender speak. But as she continued on, reaching the portion of the others knowing her secret, the feeling in the room shifted.

"Wait…" Momo shifted her gaze to the boy next to her, blinking several times in contempt. "You… you knew about this?"

Izuku gave a slow nod. "I found out after the hero killer attack… along with Iida and Todoroki."

Momo closed her mouth and looked away, furrowing her brow as she looked at Katara once more.

Katara continued on, explaining how she had been taken in by Tensei and his family, how Aizawa had found out along with the other teachers who knew who she was as well. It all went on in the silent room for the class, taking in the tale that seemed far too ridiculous to be real… and yet they couldn't say anything against it. Once she stopped, they all sat unmoving, unsure what to say after all of that."

"This is just… man…" Kirishima rubbed his head in confusion. "This is a lot."

Tokoyami's beak hung open to the tale, staring up at Katara as she looked at him. "Is this… this is the truth?"

"Yes…" Katara nodded. "It's the truth."

"This is just crazy!" Sero shouted out as he gripped his own head. "If this is some kind of prank, just tell us."

"This isn't a joke, Sero." Tenya said calmly. "It's the truth."

"But… you told us how you came here for hero school, and how you wanted to help…" Uraraka asked, her mind still spinning from learning all this.

"I did want to help people. And that's why I joined this school. That part is true." Katara answered.

"But this doesn't make sense," Mina asked as well, her normal cheerful expression one of confusion. "You say you are from somewhere else, but you have a quirk and-

"This isn't a quirk what I have," Katara cut her off, making her pink friend and many others eyes pop from their faces. Katara looked down to the table, waving her hand and summoning a small stream of water from a cup. "It's called bending. It's… something people from my world can do, controlling one of the four elements."

"And you never told this because…" Shoji gave a huff before crossing his arms. "It seems crazy, right?"

Katara almost wanted to roll her eyes at the remark, but simply gave a shrug. "I figured girl from the mountain would be easier to swallow than "Other world" girl. As you can tell."

Kendo stared at Katara in disbelief, looking over to Bakugo's straight face during all this. She was really surprised to see he knew of this as well, but her own mind began to work. She remembered being in the cave with her during the battle, seeing abilities that were extraordinary. But she also got the strange feeling she felt when Katara changed in the end of the fight, with it being different than anything she saw before. "In the mountain… when you…"

"Changed?" Katara finished, knowing what she was referring to. "That is because of the power that brought me here. Now it's like, some kind of boost for me as you can call it."

Shoto looked around to the others faces, many of them obviously unsure of what to make of this news. Hell, he was still dealing with the news he had found out a week earlier. He gripped his knees as he stood up. "It was shocking for us as well, but Katara has done nothing to go against everything she has done. She's helped all of us so many times."

Katara turned back to the rest of the class once more. "It's just… I was told to keep this secret because we had no idea how people would react. It was thought it was safer to simply keep that part of my life to myself so it was less questions. But I need all of you to know the time I've spent with all of you was never fake. All those fun moments and things we faced together, it was all real. But with all of you, my friends, I realized I couldn't keep all these secrets from you any longer, and you deserved to know the truth."

The class remained silent as they took in the sudden news of their classmate, only able to look at one another in confusion. For the simple talk they were expecting about whatever topic they assumed, it was certainly far different than they ever could've thought. Tsu stared blankly at the ground, kicking her feet as her mind tried processing what to even think of this. Others like Aoyama sat blank faced, his normal goofy smile completely gone from his face as he stared off away from everyone. One however couldn't avoid the small frown that grew on their face, clenching their hands together as they looked up.

"So you were living behind a lie the whole time?"

Katara turned to the voice, her eyes widening to the source. "Yaoyorozu…"

Momo's face was filled with distraught, unable to even pick an emotion to feel. Katara was one of, if not her best friend after all this time. After she admitted to her the things that had made her so emotional during the sports festival, she had trusted her with being fully honest with her. Their time during the forest fighting, or Kamino. All the different talks and personal conversations they had together, she had grown to openly discuss anything with her. And now she found out an entire side of Katara hadn't even been mentioned to her. It wasn't something she ever expected.

"So all these times we talked, all this time we've known each other, you never thought I or anyone else should know this?" Momo sternly asked, earning a frown from the waterbender.

"I really didn't want to keep secrets from any of you, I swear I didn't." Katara said to her. "But If more people knew about me, the easier it would be discovered by those outside."

"Momo, you can't blame her," Izuku told her as he grabbed her hand, but flinched as she pulled away.

"And you… you knew something like this and never told me?" Momo accused him, feeling her throat tighten and her eyes stinging. "After… we said we would never keep secrets from each other?"

Izuku truly felt his heart ache seeing her like this, but he squeezed his fist by his side. "Because it wasn't my secret to reveal, Momo. I'm sorry, but a secret between friends isn't something I can break."

Momo clenched her mouth as she glared at Izuku, taking a deep breath before looking away. She didn't even know what to think, standing up from the seat before walking by everyone. "I… I need to be alone for a bit."

"Yaoyorozu, I…" Katara stopped herself as her friend walked by, seeing the tear roll down her cheek as she went to the elevator. As the door closed behind the creationist, Katara turned back to the other classmates, seeing the wide range of emotions in all their faces. She knew it would be much harder for them to accept this news than the others were. Other than Tenya, Shoto and Izuku were still newer in terms of being friends, so there was far less of trust formed between them and everyone now. Bakugo was the one exception in terms of time, but he certainly didn't have the bond like Momo or many of the others had with her now.

But she had to tell everyone.

"I'm sorry if this is so much to take in. But… I am done with the secrets. I trust all of you, and I want you to be able to trust me too."

Katara then walked off, leaving everyone stunned in silence. Shoto went to grab her, but she shook her head no as she went to the reopening elevator. She wanted them all to take their time, to process what they felt and what they would want to do next as she closed the door, leaving Class 1-A to process the truth of her life.

The next Day

Sitting in his office, Principle Nezu skimmed through the papers on his desk as he read the many propositions made by the students for the festival coming up, giggling to himself at some of the crazy ideas these kids came up with.

"Oh, students are so clever these days. Watching their imaginations run wild is always a treat." He said to himself in amusement. Seeing things from concerts, plays, obstacle courses and the many talent shows made him smile. He knew something lighthearted was exactly what the kids needed after all the craziness lately. Even those who hadn't been involved in any fights just needed an outlet to have fun. To just be a kid for a day.

As he continued combing through the pages, his phone suddenly rang. "Hmm?" he saw the glowing icon beside Thirteen's name, clicking the icon. "Yes?"

"Sir, we have some guests who just arrived and are demanding to speak to you." Thirteen said, her voice filled with some concern.

"And who is requesting an audience, Thirteen?" Nezu asked, writing across the top of a suggestion from class 1-F.

"The hero commission president."

Nezu stopped writing when he heard that, certainly surprised. He sat back and nodded to himself. "Alright. Send them in."

Organizing the papers on his desk, Nezu set them aside before sitting back and waiting patiently in his seat. After a few minutes, the knock on the door alerted him of the newcomers, taking a small breath and smiling. "Come on in."

Pushing open, the door revealed the Madam president of the hero commission, the elder woman accompanied by two associates. Giving a small head bow, Nezu welcomed her. "Good afternoon, Madam. I am certainly surprised to see you here."

Giving a small bow herself, she entered through the doorway and closed it behind her, leaving her alone with the small principle. "I am surprised to be here as well." she admitted, earning a small chuckle from Nezu.

"I concur, as I can't even recall the last time you personally came here to UA."

"Neither can I," she said as she sat down in the chair in front of him. "I had hoped we could discuss some things that are very important."

"Of course," Nezu pulled out the small tea set he had underneath the desk. "Care for a glass, madam?"

Shaking her head, the president kept her steady gaze on the mouse creature. "After everything that happened three weeks ago, you have to understand the reasoning behind our decision."

Sighing, Nezu nodded as he poured himself a glass. "I completely understand. The fact two different incidences had seven students directly involved with such deadly situations was never planned. And the fact many got hurt is utterly terrifying. Needing to end the work studies program for now is a necessary precaution."

"It's quite crazy to have had this many students injured in such a short time. It is very fortunate that it actually hadn't turned out worse than it did."

"Indeed. It's astounding how powerful these kids are. Before you know it, they may be the next top heroes protecting all of us."

As Nezu happily took a sip of his tea, the president narrowed her eyes slightly at his remark. "Yes. These are powerful students you have here. You must feel proud having all these kids here studying under you."

Nezu slowly sipped his tea as his brow raised, noticing the hint of something hidden behind her words. His eyes also didn't miss the file she had tucked under her arm the entire time, setting his tea down and stirring it. "So tell me Madam? What was important for you to come and speak to me about? Are you interested in seeing the students involved and seeing how their recovery has been?" He asked.

"The reason I am here is to speak to you about a certain student involved in the raid among the hunters. And I believe you already know the answer to that.". She sternly declared, her finger tapping the file anxiously.

Keeping his face straight, Nezu simply gave a small shrug. "If you must ask, Katara is doing quite well, actually. I must say she was certainly a bit jumbled when learning she had been out for so long. Rest assured that she is right back at home here."

"Do you really want to keep this charade, Nezu?" She asked, pulling the file from her arm and dropping it onto his desk. "I truly didn't expect you to be keeping a secret like this."

Nezu eyed the yellow envelope for a few moments, looking up to her stone edged face before grabbing it. "And what is your interest in my student, madam?"

"We had growing concerns about her with all of the events happening recently. The fact nearly every major event involving the league of villains, she was in the epicenter of the action. After her injuries however in your camp and this recent mission, our worry for her loyalty lessened, and instead grew into curiosity of why they were seemingly after her. And we found some interesting things you were keeping from us."

Nezu hummed at her words as he opened up the file, seeing Katara's entrance exam application along with her picture. His eyes noted the several highlights made onto the documents, including over her hometown and individual number. Flipping through the pages, he saw other highlights made over her information, along with images of her through her time in Japan. "It seems she really has become an interest to you… especially since this information was in our secured system."

"We had one of our technicians gain access to your software during the recent maintenance, since technically it's our right to access the systems we installed for you." The president muttered. "We also found emails regarding her and see that least some of the teachers working under you are knowledgeable about this as well."

Nezu raised his eyebrow at that, seeing they were going into areas that could've exposed another student in the same class. It seemed however the focus on Katara was the only thing they were looking for. Tilting the envelope down, he looked at the woman in curiosity. "And you were highlighting these because…?"

"Because when my team was searching for information on her past, their trail went completely cold. There is no birth record, or any school history of her before she suddenly came to UA." She leaned on her hands as she narrowed her eyes. "In fact, her Japanese individual number wasn't even made until a few months before she applied for UA, and this was given directly through the Hosu department… pushed through by Chief Tsuragamae."

"He is very efficient, isn't he?" Nezu chuckled, smiling despite the frown she gave him. "It is hard to find ID information for a girl who grew up in the mountains. We simply needed to create a new one for her so she could learn here."

"Hmph… grow up in the mountains," The president shook her head in disappointment. "You know, that could've worked if there was actual evidence of her entering the country, but there isn't even that. The first caught image of her in any form is the security cameras in Hosu seeing her. Before that… nothing. No airline travel, no train travel. I could say she walked here, but I highly doubt that."

"But tell me, madam president, what is the concern with you have with a single student trying to learn here?" he asked as he flipped through the pages, coming to a pair of X-rays towards the back, with one of them focused on her foot and the joints in her toe.

"Because someone with that bone structure shouldn't have a quirk."

Nezu stared at the image for a moment, smiling and laying it down. "I don't need to be the one to tell you, while certainly a great way to check, that theory is proven to not be 100% accurate."

"Of course, and yet you aren't fully denying it as well."

As the two stared at each other for a few minutes, Nezu let out a small sigh. He knew trying to word his way around the president was pointless, as reading the other notes showed they had other points to focus on. Clasping his paws together, he gave a small nod. "Alright, what do you need to ask?"

"I need to know what you were thinking; if this is a child without a quirk, what made it logical for you to let her into this school? On top of that, keeping this information from us as well." she sternly asked.

"Our knowledge of her being quirkless didn't even come up until after the sports festival. Once we did, we deducted there was no threat or need for us to contact you. We had a promising student who was here to learn how to save people, and whether she was born with her power or not doesn't change the fact she is willing to risk her life to help someone, which is exactly what you and I were looking for in the next heroes to rise up."

Squeezing her hands, the president clicked her tongue at his words. "No threat? You have a student who seemingly came from nowhere, who has a powerful ability that isn't because of a quirk? How could you assume that was something that shouldn't be mentioned to us?"

"Because I knew your reaction would be this right here," Nezu shrugged. "If you didn't have that file there, would there be any difference to her being with or without a quirk?"

"But I do have that file, so that is the case." She shook her head in annoyance at the situation. A "What if there are others like her? We are already dealing with these nomu's being created, these beasts with multiple quirks spliced together, and now you have a student with a powerful quirk… which isn't even a quirk at all. With everything happening, having this is just another thing for people to worry about."

"And that is why we didn't announce this. People are simple, and panic when they come across things they don't understand. Even those with quirks can be ostracized simply because of something that is out of their control, and that is from something common in our world."

"But it is something that is natural. This is something different, and we can't simply let it go unanswered."

"So what is your suggestion, madam? Shall I expel one of our most promising first years?" Nezu asked, taking a sip of his tea. "It seems quite unfair to her, wouldn't you say?"

"No, I am not saying that," Sitting up, the president placed her hands flat on the table. "I am asking to hand her over to the commission."

Nezu was usually never one to falter his expression, but even this made mouth fall open slightly. "I beg your pardon?"

"I think it would be in the best interest of you and your school to simply let go of this trouble and let us handle this from here, Nezu."

The tone in the president's voice was certainly noticeable, one Nezu didn't care for. "And what is this trouble you are talking about? I must say I am not following-

"Come on Nezu, open your eyes," the president cut him off. "Don't you understand this? The fact this child possesses powers that isn't a quirk is something that changes the very nature of what we know. Is this something that others can develop? We have no idea what this is and what it can really do until we figure it out."

Nezu's small eyes narrowed at her words, setting his tea down on the table. "And what does that entail? Asking her nicely to leave with you? Abandoning her friends and those she's grown close to?"

"If what we know so far is true, it's not like she has any family," the president bluntly stated. "This is for the benefit of everyone, Nezu. If this is a power different from quirks, we need to understand how it works."

"I believe I understand what you are trying to say," Nezu quietly said, bringing his paws together. "I myself have been the subject of people trying to "understand" things, being a guinea pig for scientists. I will certainly not let that be the case for a student of mine."

"This… Kairi Katara is only a burden to you. One who will only bring more eyes upon you. I would prefer it if something like this is kept in the dark from the public."

"Kairi Katara is a wonderful student, one who is unwilling to waver in the face of danger to keep others safe. In my many years of teaching, very few first years have ever shown the level of determination and bravery that she has demonstrated. In fact, many here, as well has heroes outside, owe their lives to her and the others she fought alongside against the villains. I am utterly surprised to see you so determined to take away such a promising hero from the important studies she needs to continue growing. You yourself said you were in much need of new candidates for future heroes."

Even with his words, the president kept her gaze steady at the small principle. "That sounds very nice, Nezu, but it doesn't matter. According to this file, Technically, Kairi Katara doesn't even exist."

Sighing, Nezu closed his eyes and shook his head. "I thank you for the visit, Madam president, but I'm far from being convinced to your request."

"So, that means…?"

"The answer is certainly no."

Humming out, the elder woman stood up from the seat and straightened her outfit she wore. "I would advise you to reconsider this request, Nezu. This would go much easier if you just went along with this choice."

"If that is a warning to us, I thank you for giving that." Nezu gave a small smile and nodded. "I hope to be speaking to you very soon as we can clear this mix up out of our way."

"We will be…" Walking towards the door, the president cast a stern gaze back to the principle. "We will certainly be talking very soon."

As she opened the door and walked out, Nezu waited until the door closed before letting his smile fall. Rubbing his chin, he sighed out and leaned back in his chair. "Well, this is certainly not what was planned to happen. I can see why Aizawa chose to hide this."

Later that night

Alone in her home, the rabbit hero stretched her arms as she came from her room into her living room, sporting a crop top and shorts after showering. She glanced at the scars on her side and her arm, a reminder of the battle she had gone through. She didn't care however, as they only showed another victory at hand. After getting home from her last shift, she couldn't help but notice how quiet it was without the little bomber student following her.

"Kinda miss Sparky now," Rumi chuckled to herself as she pulled out the glass from her cabinet, along with the bottle of premium whiskey. She had heard how all the kids had all woken up and were back at school, glad to know all of them were doing good. As she poured the dark liquid into her glass, she watched the drink swirl around in the glass, reminding her of the water flying through the caverns in Mount Fuji. Her small smile fell away, her mind bringing back the thoughts that had been bothering her over the last few weeks. Sitting down by the counter, she held the glass in her hand and swished it back and forth, thinking back to the conversation she had.

—

Three days Earlier - Tartarus Prison

Deep inside the maximum security prison, one of the interrogation rooms sat in use. Mirko sat in her chair, tapping her foot against the steel floor and taking slow, deep breaths. Her ears stood at attention as she stared across the table, glaring at the man she once called friend.

Muteki leaned back in his chair, grinning despite the bandages over his broken jaw. His arm that had been broken was still in a sling, the medical treatment at Tartarus prison not as premier as the other hospitals or UA. It was common that the best treatment was saved for those who weren't villains.

"So, finally coming to say hi after what happened?" The raptor man snickered, shifting as much as he could in the thick restraints holding him to the table. "I could've at least gone for some flowers one day by my bedside."

Scoffing, Mirko clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Hi is the last thing I'd be saying to you. If anything I'd simply break that other arm as well."

"Oh, so touchy," Muteki chuckled, his tongue rubbing against one of the cracked teeth she gave him. "Even with this treatment they are giving here, it's going to be a few more weeks for this cast to come off."

"Such a relief…" Mirko growled, her fist clenching hard on the table "After everything you did, I'm so happy you'll be okay."

Grunting, Muteki shifted in the restraints on his arms. "You always were a sarcastic one. Seems you still kept that as a hero."

"Would you rather me be honest? Explaining how you are a sack of shit who is nothing more than a killer for hire?"

"I just went into a line of work that was perfect for me. I realized blood wasn't something that bothered me." A cold chuckle began rising from Muteki's throat, his eyes narrowing from the glare he received from his former friend. "In fact, I loved it."

The air seemed to freeze as the two animal quirk wielders locked their gazes at one another, the hard breathing coming from Mirko the only sound heard. In a split second, Muteki burst forward at the rabbit, the chains snapping tight as he was kept on his side of the room. While the many guards watching jumped at the action, Mirko didn't even budge, her eyes not leaving his grin as he strained against the chains.

"The rush of fighting and beating someone with my hands is greater than anything else. And don't try and say you don't agree with me. All of those fights we both went to those days, the clubs we crashed. You couldn't get enough of the thrill either. The enjoyment you feel when you take on someone and win, knowing you beat them with your own strength. You know exactly what I'm talking about don't you?"

Mirko furrowed her brow even more at his words, her foot tapping the ground harder and slightly denting the steel. Seeing her reaction only made the hunter laugh more.

"But that's the thing; you have that sense of morality you follow, meaning as strong as you are, you will keep yourself from landing that killing blow I have no problem doing. The feeling of someone's last breath fading away, knowing you are the one taking it from them is beyond exhilarating, to know you are the master holding their life in their hands. To do this while you play cops for the country, putting on a charade as idiots crowd around you for autographs. The rush of feeling someone's blood pour from their body, it's something I now can't live without. And the fact I get paid to do this? How could I not choose this as my life's work?"

"And now look at you…" Mirko hissed, her ear twitching in annoyance. "You're nothing more than a soulless, bloodthirsty freak who killed for pleasure. The fact you even laid your hands on Bakugo is enough for me to break your legs right now."

Muteki leaned back in his seat, laughing to himself at the thought. "Oh, the little firecracker. He is quite the spunky little shit, isn't he? I do see why you actually chose him to work for you. He's as confident as you were back when we were younger." Seeing her glaring across at him, the raptor huffed out and licked at his cracked molars again. "Why did you come here, Rumi? I can tell it's not just to check on me."

"I told you don't have the right to call me that," Mirko chastised him, her eyes narrowing in anger. "And yes… I have to know what your plan was."

"What? The fact we were going for a large payday in capturing hostages?" Muteki shrugged, acting confused as she stared at him. "Ohhh, you mean our client? The fire brat that came to us. He was so determined to find us, it was almost comical. Or you referring to that quirk bullet? Those weren't cheap, so we-"

"Cut the shit!" Mirko shouted, standing up from the table and slamming her hands on the table. "You know what I'm talking about. What is the reason you were after her?"

The room fell quiet as Muteki stared at the rabbit hero, his lips curling up in a smirk. "Endeavor's student. That was Dabi's demand. Crazy bastard seemed dead set on getting her over everything. I've had many clients say things and want another, but it was obvious all he cared about was getting her to get at Endeavor. We were simply going to use her and everyone else there as hostages. All that money was going to make life simple. That was all before you came and ruined my payday. But that's still not what you want to talk about, isn't it?"

Mirko's eye twitched slightly at his words, the very subtle motion not passing by the raptor.

"Oh yes, I wasn't fully out when those kids took on Iktomi. I was pretty shocked to see her pushed to that limit, figuring only one of the top heroes like you to do that… but then that girl suddenly changed, I know you felt what I felt…" Muteki clenched his good fist as he remembered the chill he felt that day. "Very few times in my life have I felt this before. Most of the time it's when I faced someone else who actually was stronger than me, but sometimes, it was because there was something that simply made my skin crawl. And by the way you are staring at me, I can tell I am not alone here."

By her silence, Muteki knew Mirko was thinking the same thing. "You and I are true animals, our quirks pushed to their limits, and that means our instincts are as strong as any. If I felt it, I know you did as well; our animal sides warn us when something isn't right. Both you and I could tell there was something strange about that child's power."

Feeling the bead of sweat fall down her neck, Mirko struggled to keep her face straight to his comments. She never wanted to admit it, but she had been thinking about that sensation she felt ever since that day. Something about it just felt different to her, and she was not one who normally felt that with quirks. In all honesty, she had believed he and the hunters had known about Katara's power, but it seemed they were just as in the dark as she was. It seemed she wasn't getting any answers here.

"Grunting, the rabbit woman stood up from her seat and clicked her tongue. "It seems your brain is useless to me, then. Just like you are now."

"Ouch… so hurtful." Muteki fake frowned at her. "You should be kinder to your old pal."

"Pal? Sounds too kind to use that for the shit you've become. I'll make sure they drop some roaches in your next meal." Mirko sneered as she turned and began to walk towards the door, only bringing a chuckle from the raptor.

"Mirko, don't try and act like this is the end of it for us," Muteki shifted his hands in the heavy restraints, unable to hold back his grin as she looked back his way. "This place won't hold me forever, and I'll be seeing you on the outside again."

As the door buzzed for her to exit, Mirko stood still for a few moments before glaring back at her former friend, a cold smirk of her own forming at his threat. "If you ever run into me again on the outside, I'll make sure you never get to even walk again."

As she threw the door open to leave, she hid her falling grin as Muteki laughed behind her, his voice echoing through the prison hallway as the door closed behind her.

Sighing, Rumi raised her glass and took another swig, wiping the drip of whiskey from her chin. Kicking her feet up onto her counter, she leaned back into her chair and stared up to the ceiling as her mind worked. She didn't want to admit it, especially since Muteki had been the one to confirm it… but she couldn't shake the feeling she sensed that day.

She could tell there was something very strange about the quirk that teen Katara had, like there was something more to it than simply controlling water. The fact she was even having these thoughts made her frown, especially after those kids were the reason she got out of those caves. Her instincts however just couldn't shake the feeling inside her, needing to know what was going on.

BZZZT.

Her phone beside her vibrating broke her thoughts, glancing at the device and picking it up. The moment she read the ID, her eyes widened to the name she saw. The hero commission barely ever called her, and most of the time it was to complain about her behavior. For some reason however, she knew it was something different. Clicking the speaker button, she sat it back down on the counter and answered. "Hello?" she said.

Hello Mirko, We have something important to discuss."

Rumi immediately recognized the president of the hero commission's voice, knowing if she was calling, it certainly wasn't a simple check up. "And what is that?"

"While I know you've returned to your standard work recently, there is a matter that has come up that is certainly a priority. It is regarding one of the students involved in the mission you were part of several weeks back with the hunters."

Rumi felt her heart jump slightly at the statement, not even asking who they were referring to. She leaned forward and placed her hands together on the counter. "And what is the concern you have with her?"

"There have been concerns growing about this student, particularly with her abilities and quirk…" the president paused before continuing, "and UA apparently has been hiding this information as well. We are going to attempt another talk with the school, and if not, we will… persuade them to accept our offer. Because of your involvement, we wanted to give you priority of joining us tomorrow when we return."

Rumi's eyebrow raised at the comment, being able to tell exactly what that meant. She truly didn't expect this was going to be the first thing she heard from the commission, tapping her foot on the ground. "What about Endeavor? I assume you called him since this kid worked under him."

"While I agree, Endeavor has been unable to be contacted recently. While his knowledge of the situation is unknown, the fact he is refusing all forms of communication means we cannot rely on him for this. Because of your knowledge you have, we request that you come in case there is a failure to oblige."

The rabbit hero didn't need to ask what that meant, sighing and clenching her fists. Her ears, and even her tail twitched slightly as her mind bounced back and forth, needing to figure out what plagued her thoughts. She was determined to get her answer, nodding to herself and grabbing the phone.

"I'll be there tomorrow."

"Good. I will let you know what time we will be arriving there."

As the phone clicked off, Rumi laid it down as she stared at it for a few minutes. She tapped the counter several times before grunting and pouring another glass of whiskey. Quickly chugging it down, wiping the excess dripping from her chin. After a moment, she glared and slammed the glass down, shattering it on the countertop. Panting several times, she reached up and gripped the bridge of her nose.

'Shit…."

Notes: The secret is out on all sides! The class, the commission, the rabbit!

What will everyone's choice and feelings come out in the matter? This story is even throwing me for a loop!

Now, awesome news! I have several new manga pages made for the story up on deviant art, with more already made just waiting to be published! can't wait to see your thoughts on them!

And please, i want to see your thoughts on the story and what's going to happen. the more reviews, the more excited i am to write more now that I have a stable schedule now!

Till next time!