*lands my flip from the previous chapter, hits my head on my bed, gets up, grabs some kind of painkiller because OUCH, grabs out my computer, and begins typing*

Yeah, I'm not fit to be a gymnast-new Quarantine goal!

Sup! Here's the second part of the last chapter, where we'll be meeting-drumroll, please-Innocence/Fear, Wrath, Sloth, Health Nut, Social Life, Depression, and the first Anxiety, who we will be getting rid of soon because he's a jerk. Ahem. Anyway.

So, first off, there are currently...9 sides, and I'm honestly having a hard time keeping track of everything to do with them, so I'm going to note their current names, area of expertise, original name, quirk (for some of them, their quirks haven't been featured, so here's kinda their quirk introduction), and age that they had been. (And the order in which Izuku met them.)

Odin, the Caring Side, was Irene/Ofa, has wings/one for all/a vocal quirk, died at 17.

Yui, the Morals and Emotions, was Himari, advanced copy, was 16.

Yumio, the Logic side, Hajime, analysis, was 25

Dasu, Creativity, Saburo, can make tangible illusions, was 23, one of three triplets

Duke, Intrusive Thoughts/Insecurities, can make weapons, was 23, one of three triplets

Darnell, Deceit, Hai, Snake, was 8 (and he's afraid of fire), and speaks in lies

Brazen, Recklessness, Oboro Shirakumo, Cloud, was 17

Emory, Patience, Peyton, can see emotions, was 21

Kamari, Sleep, Remy, food & drinks, was 21

I'll probably start putting this list at the end of every chapter so it's easier to keep track of all of them.

Now that all that fun stuff is over...

*pulls out silver platter containing the "next chapter"*

Your chapter-

*brings it somewhere else and just slams the REAL next chapter onto the table*

-IS RIGHT HERE, SERVED UP, ENJOY! OH, and this ain't no fancy-shmancy restaurant, this is , which I will argue is better.

.

Innocence/Fear, Wrath, Sloth, Health Nut

(At this point, Izuku is now ten years old, it's September, and it's his last year of elementary school.)

.

"Come on, Hope, we've been in this graveyard for forever!"

As always, Hope just shrugged and looked at Cheran. "Come on, it's not like we have anywhere to be, Cheran. I just wanna kick back and enjoy the day, don't you?"

"Yes, Hope, we need to get up and seize the day!' Midori said happily.

"But lying in the sun is so much fun…" Hope said. "We can seize the day by enjoying the sunlight, can't we?"

Hana sighed. How had she ended up in this group, anyway? Midori and Hope were sisters-somehow-and Cheran had been Midori's best friend back before the three had passed away, meanwhile…

Hana had to get away from Tenko oh dear god he killed Moni-chan what-the pain, the pain, the pain WHY COULDN'T OFA HELP HER-

"Hey, Hana, don't you wanna go somewhere else?"

Hana snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her friends, then gave a short nod. "Well...I mean, Hope isn't completely wrong. It's nice out, and we're always moving around! We could stand to stay put for a day and enjoy the sunlight!"

"But-" Midori started.

"Come on, Midori, it's two on two, and I guess that Hana's right-just fly laps 'round the graveyard if you can't stay still for that long!" Cheran said, rolling her eyes, but Hana knew that she wasn't really annoyed-and she'd probably actually join Midori in her laps around the graveyard before too long.

Midori thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah, I'll go some laps around the graveyard!" With that, she began to fly towards the edge of the graveyard to go some laps.

Hana rolled her eyes, then went and laid down next to Hope. "I'll join you over here, I guess."

"Yay!" Hope said, then yawned. "I'm tired…"

"How do you get tired?" Cheran asked, giving Hope an odd look. "Seriously, we're ghosts, we theoretically can't get tired, nobody else gets tired, yet you somehow do."

Hope shrugged, then closed her eyes. "I'm gonna take a nap."

"Aaaannnndddd...she's asleep," Hana said, then shrugged, sitting up and looking off into the distance…

...just as she heard a very familiar laugh.

Cheran and Hana looked into the distance to see a small group of people walking towards the graveyard-after a few seconds, Hana realized that only three of the people were real-there were three ghosts with them.

"I still don't get why we're doing this," one of the living ones-a blond boy-said angrily.

"I just wanna know how you dragged me with," another living one with purple hair said.

"Sorry, Dad said that I couldn't go alone," the last living one-he had green hair-said, sounding really sorry.

"But you have Odin, Yui, and Emory with us-and there are others in that thick skull of yours!" the blond boy said, knocking on the green one's head, causing the green one to laugh.

"I know-it's been more than a year, but Dad's just worried about me getting hurt," the green boy said. "I mean, I'm happy that he's concerned, but I can look after myself-we'll be going to middle school before he knows it."

"Still think you should just do online middle school and just wait until high school," the purple one said, then yawned. "I mean, you're smart enough to do it."

"I could, but then I wouldn't see my best friends everyday!" the green one said, hugging the other two, then the three ghosts laughed-and that's when Hana was able to pinpoint the laugh.

One of the ghosts had familiar blond hair, wings, a green dress…

...and even though she looked way younger, Hana knew that face anywhere.

It was Ofa.

Instantly, Hana stood up, causing Cheran to yelp in surprise, which woke up Hope, and it caused Midori to come over.

Meanwhile, the ghosts and the green boy all looked at them…

...and Ofa landed on the ground, along with the other two ghosts-wait, why had the green boy looked over? Could he hear ghosts or something? Was that why those three were following him?

Ofa blinked a few times, then turned to the group-the other two boys looked confused-then seemed to say something before walking over.

Instantly, Hana took a few steps forward as well, which greatly confused Cheran.

"Um...Hana?" Cheran whispered. "Is...something up?"

Hana didn't say anything as she continued to walk forward, stopping when she was just a few meters from Ofa, who stopped as well.

"Hana?" Ofa asked.

"Ofa?!" Hana exclaimed.

"Who?" Midori asked as she, Cheran, and Hope came over.

The other two ghosts that had been with Ofa came over…

...and Hana realized something.

"Hey, Ofa...who are these ghosts...and wait, where's User-" Hana started.

"Wait, wait, you know Odin?!" one of the other two ghosts-a girl, Hana wasn't sure what the other one was-suddenly said.

"Odin?" Hana asked, making a face. "I know Ofa."

Ofa flinched. "Um...Hana, it's been a really long time, hasn't it? I haven't seen you since you were six years old...wait, you don't look that much older."

Hana bit her lip, looking at Ofa. "Well, you look like you're a kid again!"

Ofa chuckled. "Well, yeah, I'm ten years old again-but how old are you!? Oh dear, I should be asking how and why you died young-did the others in your family die, too? How long ago?! Oh dear, was someone responsible? If so, then I'm gonna go back to User Eight and make him hunt those peeps down, I swear to God-"

"Um, what?" the unknown ghost said, blinking.

The girl ghost looked at the other ghost. "Hana...I'm going to guess that Odin means the granddaughter of one of the Users."

"I see," the ghost said, then smiled at Hana, then at Midori, Cheran, and Hope. "Well, it's nice to meet all of you!"

"Who are you?" Cheran snapped. "No, eff that, who are all of you!?"

"Ooh, introducing ourselves!" the girl ghost said happily. "Hi, I'm Yui!"

"I'm Emory," the other ghost said.

"I'm Odin-that's my new name these days, Hana," Ofa said, smiling at Hana, then she looked at Midori, Cheran, and Hope. "And you three are?"

"I'm Midori!" Midori said, stretching a little.

"I'm Hope," Hope said, then yawned.

"I'm Cheran-but how do you know Hana?" Cheran said.

Hana looked at Cheran. "Ofa here used to haunt my grandma, and she'd babysit if grandma needed her to."

"Wait...she haunted your grandma...and babysat you?" Midori asked, clearly confused.

"Long story," Ofa said. "And it's Odin these days, Hana."

Hana blinked at her. "Why? Because that's what the latest User wants to call you?"

"Eh," Ofa-or Odin, whatever-said. "Well...I'm not exactly tied to the Users anymore." She smiled. "I'm a free ghost now!"

There was a pause.

"Wait, what!?" Hana exclaimed, eyes wide.

Odin chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah...something happened, and now, I'm my own ghost-been about a year now since I saw User Eight in person."

"Woah," Hana said. "I didn't know you could even go far from the Users, though."

"Still don't know what's going on," Cheran said pointedly.

"Like said, something happened," Odin said, then looked at Cheran. "Basically, I was tied to a person that could pass me to someone else, and those people could as well, so I was passed from one person to another because of that, but 'bout a year ago, that tie broke…"

"...and she tied herself to someone else," Yui said. "Ironically."

"Huh?" Hana asked…

...just as the green-haired boy walked over.

"Um...hi?" the boy said, causing Hana, Cheran, Midori, and Hope to jump.

"Wait, you can...see us?!" Cheran exclaimed. "What the f***?!"

Odin gasped, then covered the green boy's ears. "No swearing in front of my child!"

"Um...Odin?" Hana said, raising an eyebrow. "Hate to break it to you, but there's no way that you have a kid…"

"She basically adopted him," Emory said. "And...um...no swearing in front of children in general, Odin-all of the ghosts present are children."

"Oh, right-or, well, have the appearance of," Odin said, then looked at Cheran. "Young lady, no swearing, if you'd please."

"Why should I listen to you?" Cheran snapped. "But seriously, how the heck can this boy see us!?"

Odin hesitated for a few seconds, then brought her hands away from the boy's ears, and he instantly gave her an odd look.

"Why do you do that everytime someone says-" the boy started.

"Don't finish that thought-you aren't allowed to say that word until you're in high school at least," Odin said.

"Oh," the boy said. "Ok, Mom."

Odin smiled at the boy, then turned to Cheran. "This is Izuku. His quirk allows him to see ghosts and make contracts with us."

"That...sounds like the dumbest quirk ever," Cheran said. "I mean, what? Does making contracts with ghosts mean you're better at spying? How about breaking contracts? Betrayal! You shouldn't put faith in the dead-most are back-stabbing idiots!" She rolled her eyes. "That's just stupid."

"Why, would you stab him in the back?" Yui asked.

"Psh, of course not-unless I got a better deal," Cheran said.

"But you wouldn't, and that's the point," Emory said. "I mean, you don't really get a better deal than what Izuku can give, but that's not the point right now. Basically, that's why he can see us."

"Huh," Cheran said, clearly not impressed.

"Either way...yeah," Emory said.

"So...you made a contract with...Izuku?" Hana asked.

"Well...yeah," Odin said.

Izuku gave Odin a confused look. "Do you know this girl, Mom?"

"Well...remember when I told you about the Shimuras?" Odin asked.

"Yeah-Tenko and Hana," Izuku said.

"Wait, you told him about us?" Hana asked, eyes wide.

"Huh?" Izuku asked. "Oh, wait, you must be Hana, then, right?"

"Well...yeah," Hana said.

"Then who are the rest of you?" Izuku asked.

"I'm Midori," Midori said.

"I'm Hope," Hope said, then yawned.

"And I'm Cheran," Cheran said. "The rest of you already introduced yourselves." She glared over at the other two boys, who both seemed to be waiting...for whatever reason.

"Those are my friends-they can't see ghosts unless I have a contract with them," Izuku said.

"Oh," Cheran said.

"Well, it's been nice to see you again, Hana!" Odin said. "Although you were supposed to live a lot longer...what happened, anyway?"

Hana bit her lip, not liking this change of subject. "Um…"

Yui poked Odin's shoulder. "You know that you shouldn't ask that, Odin!"

"Oh, sorry!" Odin said. "Um...you don't have to answer that, Hana-I shouldn't've asked-why did I ask in the first place, anyway-I care, that's why-but I should care more about the way you probably feel about that question-"

"Tenko!" Hana blurted before she could stop herself.

Odin paused-so did Yui, Emory, and Izuku.

"W-What?" Odin asked.

Mentally, Hana was cursing-or, well, close enough to it for an eight-year-old ghost. Why had she said that? Well, too late to take it back.

"Um...Tenko got his quirk when he was five…" Hana said quietly-which surprised Cheran, Midori, and Hope. After all, Hana never talked about her past family-or her past in general, really.

"Ok," Odin said slowly. "Did...did something happen when he did?"

Hana bit her lip.

"Hana…" Midori said slowly.

"W-When Tenko developed his quirk...a-a year late, b-but still there!" Hana said, smiling slightly, then frowning again. "It...wasn't good. Honestly, it was awful." She shivered. "I...I hated it. He...no, his quirk destroyed everything-Moni-chan, me, our family, our home." She burst out sobbing.

Everyone jumped, and instantly, Odin had Hana wrapped in a hug, and Hana started sobbing into Odin's shoulder. After a few awkward seconds, Yui joined the hug as well...then Midori did...then Hope...then Cheran...then a confused Izuku and Emory.

After a few minutes, Hana was done crying, and everyone backed away slowly, staying close just in case.

"You alright?" Odin asked.

Hana wiped away some of her tears, then slowly nodded. "S-Sorry."

"It's alright," Odin said. "Well, it is if you are, that is."

Hana smiled. "I-I'm fine."

"Good," Odin said, then wiped away the remainder of Hana's tears. "There! All good now!"

Hana giggled a little at that.

Suddenly, a phone started ringing, causing them all to jump. Izuku blushed, then took his phone out-it looked really new-and looked at it.

"Um...Dad wants me back home before too long…" Izuku said. "Something came up with the...with mother."

"Oh," Emory, Yui, and Odin said.

"Yeah," Izuku said, putting the phone back in his pocket (to which Cheran snorted, muttering, "why do boy's pants have to have good pockets while girls are left with small pockets?"). Izuku gave Hana, Cheran, Hope, and Midori a sheepish smile. "Sorry, but we have to go…"

"Will we see you guys again?" Hana asked, glancing at Odin.

"Hmm...we might come back after some time...but who knows," Emory said.

"Oh," Hana said. "Then...um…" She bit her lip, took a deep breath, then just blurted, "Then can I come with you guys!?"

They all jumped as Hana scratched the back of her neck.

"I know that it's really weird to just ask, but I haven't seen Odin in so long, and you're kinda one of the only familiar things I've had in a long time, and-" Hana started, then cut herself off. "Sorry...but can I?"

"Well, you probably can, but...you'd probably have to make a contract with me," Izuku said.

"Well...I'm fine with that," Hana said.

"So you're just gonna leave us?" Midori asked, giving Hana a concerned look.

Hana looked at Midori. "I'm sorry, Midori, but...I knew Odin when I was alive, and it's just…"

"Huh," Cheran said, then stuck her nose in the air. "Well, if you're going with them...how about we come along, too?"

"Huh?" Izuku, Odin, Emory, and Yui asked at the same time.

"Well, I'm not gonna speak for Midori and Hope, but I've gotten used to having Hana 'round-besides, I wanna prove that your 'contracts' are stupid," Cheran said.

"I think it sounds like a fun idea!" Midori said.

"Same," Hope said, then yawned.

"Oh-got it," Izuku said. "Um...so, basically, how this works is that I come up with a new name for you, we shake on it, and if you're older than me, you become the same age as me. Then we can communicate telepathically...and you'll get the rest from there."

"Got it," Hana, Cheran, Hope, and Midori said.

Izuku bit his lip, then turned to Hana, holding his hand out. "Um...how about...Darlina?"

Hana thought for a few seconds, then smiled. "It has a nice ring to it! I like it!" With that, she took his hand…

...and a gray string appeared around both their wrists, disappearing, and Hana's clothes changed to a gray dress-but her hair remained the same.

Darlina Midoriya, a voice said in Hana-no, Darlina's-head, almost making her jump. Izuku's Innocence and Fears. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Darlina a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Neutral Side, giving Darlina a room in the Neutral Mind Palace, accessible through the gray door in the Mind Palace living room. Darlina is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Darlina's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate. This also gives Darlina a small area of the Imagination-also accessible through the Mind Palace Library-called Memory Lane, where a house represents each of the Sides, and their memories can be viewed at.

Ooh, gonna have to check that out later, a new voice said, surprising Darlina a little bit. Hello, I'm Yumio, Izuku's Logic-I'm in control of the Mind Palace Library, so I have a feeling that I will be seeing you there.

We'll all love to meet you! another voice said. I'm Brazen, Recklessness-wait, you'll probably be keeping me in check…

I'm pretty sure that will not be a problem, Yumio said.

Anyway, time for the next contract! Yui said.

Izuku smiled, then turned to Cheran, holding his hand to her. "How about...Hirah?"

Cheran snorted, but smirked. "Nice name." With that, she took Izuku's hand, and a dark red string appeared, then disappeared, but Cheran shrunk a little bit, looking to be ten years old again. She was wearing a red shirt that had a fire design and khaki shorts that seemed to have big pockets, and her hair was styled around the horns on top of her head. A black bow was tied around one of her horns.

Hirah Midoriya, the voice said again. Izuku's Wrath. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Hirah a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Dark Side, giving Hirah a room in the Dark Mind Palace, accessible through the black door in the Mind Palace living room. Hirah is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Hirah's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate.

Cheran-no, Hirah's-eyes grew wide, and she stared at Izuku.

"Well, you weren't kidding when you said that there's no better contract to be made," Hirah said.

"What?" Midori asked.

"You'll see," Hirah said, stepping back as Hope yawned again. Izuku turned to her, then held out his hand.

"How about...Dot?" Izuku asked.

Hope yawned, nodding as she took Izuku's hand. A dull pink sting appeared, then disappeared. Hope-wait, Dot's-clothes changed to a dull pink pair of pajamas. A gray stuffed cat appeared in her hands, and she hugged it, smiling.

Dot Midoriya, the voice said. Izuku's Sloth. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Dot a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Neutral Side, giving Dot a room in the Neutral Mind Palace, accessible through the gray door in the Mind Palace living room. Dot is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Dot's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate.

You seem tired, Dot-I'm Kamari, the Sleep side, a new voice said. Looks like we'll be working hand-in-hand.

Nice, Dot said, not seeming surprised at all at the voices in her head.

Izuku finally turned to Midori. He thought for a few seconds, then held out his hand. "How about...Yuki?"

Midori smiled. "I love it!" With that, she took his hand, and a dark green string appeared...then disappeared, and Midori-wait, Yuki-became slightly smaller, and she was wearing a gray crop top and dark green skin-tight shorts that reached her knees. Her hair was in a pony-tail.

Yuki Midoriya, the voice said. Izuku's Health Nut Side. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Yuki a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Neutral Side, giving Yuki a room in the Neutral Mind Palace, accessible through the gray door in the Mind Palace living room. Yuki is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Yuki's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate.

Oh dear, does this mean less sweets? Yui asked.

Wait, how many sweets do you all eat? Yuki asked. Because we need to eat healthy!

That's what I keep saying, Yumio said. I'm Yumio, Izuku's Logic, by the way.

Nice to meet you! Yuki said. Now...what's this "Mind Palace" place?

Odin, Yui, and Emory all grabbed onto Darlina, Hirah, Dot, and Yuki, then they disappeared, heading to the Mind Palace.

Izuku smiled, then headed over to Kacchan and Hitochan to tell them what had just happened, and that Hisashi needed him to get home-hopefully it was nothing too bad…

Well, apparently, Inko had decided that she wanted to see Izuku again...but she didn't want to come to Japan to see him, so instead, she was paying for a plane ticket for Izuku to fly all the way to Scotland for a few months, insisting that she would pay for him to do schooling online during that time, and if he really wanted, she would figure out a good time for him to call home at least once a week during that time. Odin wasn't completely sure if it was a good idea (after all, she was still wary about Inko as a general rule), but Yumio insisted that it might be a good idea, seeing that it would also give Izuku experience speaking English for a while, and he would be able to understand a new accent of said language. Odin had thought about that, but said that they would definitely have to talk to Kacchan, Hitochan, and Hisashi at least once a week, and she didn't want to stay in Scotland for more than two months. All of this had been approved, so they would be heading to Scotland in three weeks so there would be enough time to get Izuku registered for online school for at least the time that they were there. (And get him started so he would be used to it by the time he went to Scotland.) (Yumio was excited about this. He insisted that they go through online schooling as fast as possible so they could maybe finish the school year early and focus on preparing for middle school then, not that they really needed to, but point taken.)

Kacchan and Hitochan made him promise to be back before they went to middle school. Of course, though, Hitochan insisted that he try to get ahead so he wouldn't actually have to go to middle school, to which Kacchan responded that he refused to go to middle school with only "Mind Freak" as a friend, to which Hitochan joked about how glad he was that Kacchan considered him to be his friend, which lead to bickering...and so on. (It was really funny.)

So, the time passed...Izuku got enrolled in online school...was finished with three days of it by the time a day had passed...and was done with a month of it by the end of the week, which was when it was time for him to head to Scotland.

Yeah, this was going to be interesting.

Social Life and Depression

:) I'm gonna start with Izuku's point of view for this part.

Izuku took a deep breath as he looked around the airport where Inko and her new boyfriend were going to pick him up.

What if they don't show up? Darlina wondered, fear trickling in.

Inko didn't like Izuku because of his previous quirkless state-you don't think that dislike stuck around from then, right? Duke asked, making Izuku feel insecure.

She'll be here, Emory said. We just have to be patient.

Who thinks that we should just find somewhere to sit? Dot yawned. Or take a nap...that sounds nice…

Nah, we should start running around trying to find them-or find somewhere that we can do squats or something! Yuki suggested. We were sitting and napping for hours!

Still surprised that we managed to get our passport and all that together so fast, Yumio said. I thought that it wouldn't work that way...and is anyone else still surprised that we were sent on this trip without proper parental supervision? This is Izuku's first time flying, and yet he was expected to know exactly what to do in order to get all the way to Scotland?

Maybe Inko and Hisashi just don't care if we get lost… Duke said.

Please tone down on the Insecurities, Odin said, sending a wave of care through the whole Mind Palace to calm everyone down. Inko set this up, and while most of us haven't known Hisashi for that long, we all still know that he cares deeply about Izuku and every single one of us. He wouldn't just send us here if there was a chance that Inko wouldn't show up. As for the airport thing, remember, he did ask us if any of us had ever flown in a plane before.

Yeah...I'm not surprised at all that Yui and Hirah are the only ones out of us all that have flown in a plane before, Darnell said.

My parents thought that it would be a good idea for me to get a cultural perspective of different countries, Yui said sheepishly. Not that it helped-I was still never smart enough for them.

You are...very intelligent, considering you were sixteen when you met your demise, Yumio said.

They didn't think so, Yui said.

Hirah still makes sense, Darnell said.

Hirah scoffed. Planes are convenient to travel in.

They're...expensive? Kamari said. I mean, Yui's admitted that her family had money, but you're starting to sound like a rich girl.

Ha! Hirah said. My parents just traveled a bunch and brought me with them before they died and left me in Japan.

Wait, you never said your parents died, Odin said.

Well, Mom, you never asked, Hirah said. Well, whatever. Let's just find these two and get out of this airport-that person next to you clearly hasn't heard of personal space-get back, dude!

Hirah, this is an airport-there are plenty of people, and we can't just demand people to stay back from us- Yumio started.

"Izuku!"

Izuku turned his head to see Inko standing next to a tall, thin man. She was waving at him.

Izuku smiled a little, picking his bag up a little more and walking over.

Yumio...do you think you can activate your quirk to analyze Inko's boyfriend? Izuku asked.

Let's see if it decides to like me today...ah! Yumio said. His name is Stewart Bruce, and his quirk is called Aura. He is able to read a person's aura and tell what they are feeling at any given moment. I'm not completely sure, but I think he is also able to see all of us in your aura.

I can try to copy his quirk later and test it out! Yui said happily.

Good to know, Izuku said as he got over to Inko and Stewart.

"Nice to see you again, Izuku!" Inko said in Japanese.

What, does she think we're stupid? Duke asked. I mean, we're all fluent in English, but are we not supposed to be?

"Nice to see you again, too, Mom," Izuku said in perfect English, surprising Inko and Stewart.

"Wait, since when could you-" Inko started.

"English isn't that hard of a language when you've been learning it since you were really young-and Odin and Dad slip into English half the time, so even if I had a hard time, I'd have it figured out by now," Izuku said happily.

There, Izuku said. Even if we aren't supposed to be fluent in English, I gave a good reason as to why we'd all know it.

Good way to phrase that, Yumio said.

"I see," Inko said, then put a hand on Stewart's arm. "Izuku, this is my boyfriend, Stewart."

"Nice to meet you, Izuku," Stewart said, kneeling down to look Izuku in the eye, but he was still a little bit too tall.

"Nice to meet you, too, Stewart," Izuku said.

Hmm…

Please don't be skeptical, Odin-he's probably not that bad, Izuku said.

I'd still rather be in Japan-Hisashi, Hito-chan, and Kacchan are there, Odin said.

You're just unsure about Inko because you haven't met her before, Yui said. Honestly, I'm pretty sure most of us are.

I'm not, Darnell said.

See? Yui asked.

I know, but still, Odin said. She did leave not long after Izuku was declared "quirkless"...

You really don't like discrimination, do you? Dasu asked.

Of course not! Odin said. One out of every five people you meet is quirkless, and yet they're treated like dirt! It's not fair, especially since quirkless people have gotten us off this planet, and in the past two hundred years, people with quirks really haven't gotten us further in technology, but have the nerve to act as if people without quirks are completely useless!

I know-I hate it, too, but we can change that view someday, Yui said, sending a wave of happiness. After all, we are planning on making Izuku into a great hero someday, and when we're one of the best-because let's be honest, there are currently...14 of us, including Izuku, and working together as a team, we're going to do great-we can make statements and try to change the world's view.

That sounds...really thought out, great job, Yui, Yumio said.

Thank you! Yui said.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm getting pretty hungry-how 'bout we stop somewhere and grab something to eat?" Stewart suddenly asked, breaking through Izuku's inner conversation.

Hopefully something healthy-we gotta stay strong! Yuki said.

Come on, Yuki, you've been trying to get us to eat only healthy food for almost the past month, Yui said. Surely we can just have a treat?

Staying healthy! Yuki insisted.

We shouldn't make requests on what to eat-after all, we don't know any restaurants around here… Duke said. Besides, we don't want to seem picky…

If they get mad about us saying something about what we want to eat, too bad! Hirah said. I mean, come on, they made us come here!

"Food sounds nice!" Izuku said.

Guys, remember, Stewart can read emotions-can you please stop changing my emotions every second? Izuku asked. We're trying to look sane here.

I'm sorry, there are 14 voices in your head, including your own, all the rest from dead people-I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be defined as perfectly sane, Hirah snapped.

"Alright, let's get going-want me to carry your suitcase, Izuku?" Inko asked, reaching for his suitcase.

"Thanks, but I'm good," Izuku said, holding his suitcase a little tighter.

"Aren't you tired, though, champ?" Stewart asked. "I mean, you did just get off the plane…"

"Tired of sitting, but that's about it-and Yuki is the only one really complaining about that," Izuku said.

"Who?" Inko and Stewart asked at the same time.

Izuku smiled. "Oh, Yuki's one of my Sides-I'll introduce you to her later."

"Sides?" Stewart asked, clearly confused.

"Oh, wait, you mean like...Odin and Yui, right?" Inko asked.

"Who and who?" Stewart asked, clearly confused.

"You'll meet them later-it's a crowded place, and I don't think it would be a good idea to have you meet them right now," Izuku said.

Not a good idea? Dasu asked. More like we would suddenly become a crowd.

I'll tell Inko that there are 13 of you later, Izuku said.

Stewart gave Izuku an odd look, but shrugged. "Well, let's get going-it's about...three o'clock, so there shouldn't be too many people grabbing something to eat."

"Yep!" Inko said. "Now, let's go to the car."

Izuku nodded, then followed the two adults.

..

"Hey, Collin?"

Collin looked at his twin. "Sup, Kimi?"

Kimi flinched at the name, and Collin did, too, regretting saying it just after it slipped off his tongue.

"Sorry," Collin said.

"It's alright-I mean, I still haven't decided on a different one," Kimi said, fiddling with a loose thread on their shirt.

"Well, what's up?" Collin asked.

"Well...do...do you think we should go somewhere else?" Kimi asked, glancing around.

Collin looked around as well. They were in the country in Scotland, and all they could see was the grass and rolling hills.

"I mean, we can-there aren't that many people or ghosts out here-it would be nice to make new friends!" Collin said happily.

"Um...people can't see us...and I don't think that most ghosts would want to be friends with us…" Kimi said, shifting uncomfortably.

Collin sighed. "Listen...it shouldn't matter to ghosts that we don't have quirks. Seriously."

Kimi bit their lip. "But still...I...I just don't want to have to deal with that...p-people will be so mean about it…"

Collin sighed, sitting up and patting the grass next to him. After a few seconds, Kimi sat next to him, and Collin pulled his twin into a hug, rubbing their back as Kimi started crying.

"Shh, shh, it's ok," Collin said gently, as if he hadn't said this thousands of times already to his twin-it still broke his undead heart. It had when they were young kids diagnosed as quirkless, it had when their parents became abusive towards them, it had when Kimi discovered that they were non binary, it had when their parents had found out, it had when their bodies went missing a few days later...and it still did, even now that they were dead.

Kimi just quietly sobbed as Collin held his twin close.

After about ten minutes, Kimi stopped crying and sat back up.

"Alright, so how about we go to a graveyard to recharge on Lifeforce?" Collin suggested. "Few ghosts, fewer people…and we're pretty low, anyway..." Honestly, Collin was aching to see other ghosts-he didn't like this isolation, but he also didn't like the idea of leaving his twin alone, so if Kimi would rather be isolated...then Collin could hope that other ghosts would be at the graveyard, and if there weren't any, then oh well-they'd run into more ghosts eventually.

Kimi thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "That...that sounds nice, I guess."

"Awesome!" Collin said, getting up and pulling Kimi up, too. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" With that, the two took off flying.

Collin laughed as he did a flip in the air, coming back to Kimi, who looked bored. "Isn't this fun, Kimi?"

"Yeah, I guess," Kimi said.

Collin's smile turned into a frown, and he sighed. "Come on, don't you find anything fun anymore?"

"We're ghosts-quirkless ghosts," Kimi said. "What's supposed to be fun?"

Collin sighed again. "Come on, Kim-" He cut himself off, then took a deep breath. "Come on. Yeah, we're done with life, but we still have our afterlife to have all the fun we didn't in life!" Including meeting other ghosts, maybe getting enough Lifeforce to be able to go on a long journey to leave Scotland...or flying on a plane or something.

"But none of this is fun," Kimi said.

Collin sighed. "Alright, I guess…" He turned away…

...but Kimi suddenly started talking.

"The afterlife is boring-it's as meaningless as life had been," Kimi said in a monotone voice. "What's the point of it all? There isn't one, that's the truth. All we did in life was survive, and now that we're dead, there's no difference-we're just surviving by going to a graveyard or whatever to get enough Lifeforce to keep going on, but what's the point? We're just existing when there isn't really a point to it." They took a deep breath. "You know what? You go on ahead to the graveyard without me-I don't want to do this anymore." With that, Kimi stopped, then flew downwards fast.

Collin jolted in surprise, then began to fly after Kimi, who was somehow really fast-Kimi never moved that fast! Collin had always been the faster one-

Kimi disappeared into the ground, and Collin tried to follow, but under the Earth's surface was basically impossible to navigate.

After searching around, Collin went back above ground…

...and promptly felt the last of his Lifeforce start fading.

Collin's eyes went wide, and his eyes darted around. How had his last Lifeforce drained so fast?! He and Kimi should have been able to get to the graveyard without any problem! Did that mean Kimi's Lifeforce was almost gone, too?! Oh ghost, were they about to become Wraths?! No, no, no, this wasn't happening!

"Um...are you alright?"

Collin spun around as fast as he could to see a human boy-no, no, he couldn't be around people when he was at risk to become a Wrath!

"S-Stay back!" Collin said, forcing himself to take a few steps back.

What are you doing step forward take his Lifeforce KILL HIM-

"Is something wrong?" the boy asked, not moving forward at all.

"Please, just stay back-your Lifeforce, give it to me-no, go away!" Collin cried, clutching his head.

The boy started to step forward, but another ghost appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.

"Izuku, don't get any closer," the ghost said.

Collin opened his mouth to agree with the other ghost, but instead, he screamed, which turned into a roar as he felt his body being taken over by something that wasn't him. He lunged at the boy and the ghost...but he felt like his actions weren't his own. Like he was actually watching someone about to attack these two instead of it being him. It was...weird.

Instantly, the boy and the ghost moved out of the way as Collin hurled past them, then spun around, ready to attack them for their Lifeforce.

"W-Wrath!" the boy said-and if Collin could have talked, he would've asked how in the world this boy knew about Wraths-or how the boy could see ghosts in the first place. However, Collin couldn't, so instead, he lunged at the boy and ghost again.

"That's not a Wrath yet-Izuku, listen, you're gonna have one shot, but I think I have a solution," the ghost said.

The boy-Izuku-barely even looked at the ghost as Collin rushed at him. Izuku barely dodged in time as Collin focused solely on him-the living boy had more Lifeforce than the ghost did, surely, and Collin was going to take all of it.

Suddenly, Izuku nodded, then smiled at Collin.

"I'm really sorry about this-if you weren't in this state, I'd ask for your permission first," Izuku said, then stopped.

What are you doing?! Collin wanted to scream. I'm going to kill you!

Izuku took a deep breath, then, as Collin came at him again, at the very last second, he leaned to the side, then reached and grabbed Collin's hand oh dear ghost was he planning on dying or something-

"Paz!" Izuku yelled, and a neon pink string appeared around both their wrists, then disappeared…

...and Collin changed instantly.

He felt Lifeforce run back into him, and he felt fine...and a little shorter, like he was...ten years old again? And he was in control of his actions again oh thank ghost-

Collin's clothes shifted into a neon pink shirt and a pair of jeans as he stopped and looked at Izuku, opening his mouth to apologize-

Paz Midoriya, a voice boomed in Collin's head, causing him to jump and look around. Izuku's Social Life. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Paz a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Light Side. Paz is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange...oh dear...Paz has no quirk of his own. Well...in exchange, Paz is part of Izuku's team. This...contract allows the two to communicate.

"W-What the-?!" Collin-wait, was that his name anymore, why did he feel like his name was now Paz-started.

"Calm down, I'm so sorry!" Izuku said, rushing over and pulling Collin-or was it Paz?-into a hug, surprising the ghost.

"W-What just happened?" Collin-Paz asked.

"I should've asked for your permission, but I freaked out, and Brazen said that you weren't a Wrath just yet, so he thought that it might be a good idea for me to share Lifeforce with you so you wouldn't become a Wrath, and the only way for me to do that was to put you under a contract with me, which basically makes you one of my Sides-wait, you don't know me-hi, Paz-that's the name I just gave you to create a contract to give you Lifeforce, I'm really sorry-I'm Izuku Midoriya-" Izuku started.

"Woah, woah, please, slow down," Collin-Paz said. "You...gave me Lifeforce?"

"Well...yeah," Izuku said, scratching the back of his head. "My quirk allows me to share Lifeforce with ghosts as long as I have a contract with them-"

BRAZEN, WHAT THE WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! a new voice suddenly screamed, causing Collin-Paz to jump, but Izuku just sighed as the other ghost scratched the back of their neck.

Yeah...I'm the only one that was going to do anything… another voice said.

CREATING A CONTRACT WITH A GHOST ABOUT TO BECOME A WRATH?! the other voice cried. Were you trying to get Izuku and all of us killed?!

Haha, in hind-sight, it wasn't the best idea… the second voice said sheepishly.

WASN'T THE BEST IDEA?! 12 voices cried, causing Collin-Paz to flinch.

Guys, please don't get mad at Brazen-after all, he's the reckless one, Izuku said, causing Collin-Paz to give him an odd look. Izuku took a deep breath, then turned to Collin-Paz. "I'm really sorry about all this, Paz-if you're alright with that name-"

"I'm...really confused," Collin-Paz said.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised that you are," Izuku said. "So, as I had been saying, at the moment, I'm sharing Lifeforce with you, which kinda makes you part of my quirk in the sense that you're in control of my social life-I'm really sorry for putting all of this on you without explaining it first, really."

"It's...it's fine," Collin-Paz said. "So I'm not gonna become a Wrath?"

Izuku shook his head. "Nope."

"Then thank you-that was terrifying," Collin-Paz said.

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "You're welcome...but in exchange...that means that you're part of my quirk now...which means that we're able to communicate telepathically with me and the other ghosts I have contracts with-like Brazen here." He nodded at the other ghost, who smiled and waved at Collin-Paz.

"Nice ta meet'cha!" the ghost said. "I'm Brazen, in control of how reckless Izuku is!"

You're way too reckless… the first voice muttered.

"That was Odin-she's my Caring side-she's kinda the Mom of the...well...14 of us, including you now," Izuku said.

"Are they...nearby?" Collin-Paz asked.

Brazen walked over and knocked on Izuku's head. "We all live in Izuku's noggin'!"

"Wait, what…?" Collin-Paz asked.

"Yep!" Brazen said. "We all have rooms there-can't wait to see yours, Paz! We're excited to have you as part of our family!"

Collin-wait, his name was just Paz now, or whatever-was still confused by the entire situation, but he smiled at the idea of having a family again...but then frowned.

"Look, I'm sorry, but...I already have family," Paz said. "I have a twin sibling named Kimi...they're in the same boat as I am...please, can we find Kimi and get them some help?"

Brazen and Izuku looked at each other, then back at Paz.

"Well...we'd have to make another contract against their will…" Izuku said. "But then they'd be part of the family...but if Kimi doesn't want to be part of the family...I don't know how to break a contract, so your twin would be stuck with us. Would...would they be alright with that?"

Paz bit his lip. "I...I don't know...they...my twin changed today...I don't know anything about them right now."

"Well...I'll make a contract, and if they don't like being part of the family, we can try to figure something out to let them go without making them a Wrath," Izuku said.

"Thank you," Paz said.

"Now, I'll look around-Stewart and Inko did tell me that I can just run around the countryside as long as I'm at their country home before supper…" Izuku said.

Yeah...Inko is not a responsible mother, Odin muttered.

We all know-hi, Paz, I'm Yui, the Morals and Emotions-we'll all introduce ourselves before long, a new voice chimed in. Brazen, can you bring Paz back to the Mind Palace so Izuku can start looking for Kimi?

Yeah! Brazen said, then turned to Paz and grabbed his hand…

...and they both disappeared.

"What am I DOING?!"

Kimi let out a wordless scream, lying back in the graveyard they were in.

Unlike their twin, when Kimi had felt the whole losing-Lifeforce thing, they had bolted towards the nearest graveyard, and they were regretting that choice.

"I should've just let my Lifeforce run out-did Collin-oh dear ghost did my brother become a Wrath because of my mistake-" Kimi said. "He shouldn't have to pay for my mistake...my fault, it's my fault."

The emptiness in Kimi's chest grew-Kimi knew that they were depressed, and that's what was causing this whole thing, but...they didn't know what to do. After all, Kimi was quirkless. Quirkless people didn't matter-their parents had hated Kimi and Collin, there was no way they would've paid for therapy, especially after Kimi had come out of the closet...their fault, it was all Kimi's fault that they and Collin were dead.

Kimi took a deep breath, imagining a large glass of water pouring into the emptiness they felt to fill it up-it didn't work, of course, but it was...oddly comforting, and it gave Kimi enough will to get up to go find their brother.

Kimi flew out of the graveyard, sure that they had enough Lifeforce to at least find Collin and get him back to the graveyard.

Kimi flew around for about ten minutes, looking for Collin...but they couldn't see any sign of their twin.

"Collin?" Kimi called out, stopping at the top of a hill. "Collin, can you hear me?" There was no response, obviously, which made their emptiness feel more overwhelming…

...but Kimi knew that they couldn't give up, because finding Collin mattered more than anything.

Kimi flew to a few more hills nearby, calling out for Collin at the top of their lungs…

...but after another ten minutes of doing that, Collin still hadn't responded, and Kimi sank to the ground on the hill they were on, tears in their eyes.

"I-I...w-where could he have gone?" Kimi muttered, wiping away their tears, but the tears didn't stop. "C-Collin has to be around here somewhere...right?"

"Hello?"

Kimi got up and spun around to see a slightly younger ghost wearing a black leather jacket, gray shirt, leather jeans, and a pink bow-and they were holding two things of Starbucks coffee.

"W-Who are you?" Kimi asked.

"I'm Kamari-want some coffee?" the ghost asked, holding one of the two coffees to Kimi while sipping the other.

"Um...I've never had coffee before…" Kimi said slowly.

Kamari's eyes grew wide as they shoved the coffee at Kimi. "Sweetheart, you ain't lived until you've had coffee-too bad Odin and Yuki won't let Izuku drink coffee until he's twelve."

"Um...what?" Kimi asked.

"Just drink the liquid goodness, sweetheart, and tell me why you were just addressing someone named Collin," Kamari said.

"C-Collin is my twin brother-we were both low on Lifeforce and I ran off and ended up going to the graveyard but he didn't and it's my fault he could be a Wrath right now because I'm an idiot-" Kimi started.

"Sweetheart, slow down and drink some coffee," Kamari said.

"I don't think I should trust you…" Kimi said.

"What, do you think I'm gonna poison you?" Kamari asked. "We're both ghosts-I couldn't do something to kill you even if I wanted to, for whatever reason."

"Um...okay…" Kimi said, then took a sip of the coffee. "Woah, this is really good."

"Exactly," Kamari said, sipping more of their coffee.

"Kamari!"

Kimi and Kamari turned their heads to see another ghost and a living boy coming up the hill.

"You shouldn't just run off like that, Kamari!" the ghost chastised. "Especially when Paz said that there is potentially a Wrath on the loose-"

"Chill, found 'em," Kamari said, rolling their eyes.

The boy looked at Kimi, who looked at him in surprise.

The boy smiled. "Nice to meet you...Kimi, right?"

"Wait, how do you-" Kimi started…

...just as a slightly-younger version of Collin appeared and lunged at Kimi, pulling them into a hug.

"Kimi, I was so worried!" Collin exclaimed.

"C-Collin?!" Kimi exclaimed, then pulled their twin into a tight hug. "I-I'm so sorry-!"

"You don't need to apologize-I'm just so glad that you're alright!" Collin said, pulling back and smiling. "And...my name's Paz now."

"Paz?" Kimi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Collin nodded, then looked at the boy, who stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Izuku," the boy said.

"You can...see us?" Kimi asked.

Izuku nodded. "I'm able to see ghosts and make contracts with them by giving them a new name. Well…"

"I made a contract with him when we got separated," Collin finished.

"Huh?" Kimi asked.

"Ok, so basically, Izuku can create and share Lifeforce with ghosts like us," Kamari said, sipping their coffee. "Which gives us all a place in his mind so we can communicate with him and each other."

"Wait...how is that possible…?" Kimi asked.

"There are tons of weird quirks out there-at this point, anything's possible," Kamari said, sipping their coffee again. After a few seconds, Kimi sipped their coffee, too.

"I mean, I guess, but...that's just...weird," Kimi said.

Collin, Izuku, and Kamari all shrugged.

"Well...it's nice to see that you're alright," Paz said.

"I should be saying that to you," Kimi said. "I shouldn't've flown off like that-"

"Chill," Kamari said.

"It's alright," Paz added. "But...I'm probably gonna be going around with Izuku and everyone…because of this contract..."

"...oh," Kimi said.

"Yeah," Paz said.

"So...does that mean...you're going away?" Kimi asked.

"Well...Izuku's from Japan, so I'd be going to Japan with them," Paz said.

"Oh," Kimi said.

"Um, if you'd like, I can make a contract with you and you can come with us," Izuku said. Kimi looked at him.

"Are you sure?" Kimi asked. "It wouldn't be worth it-what do you even get out of these contracts? I mean, it would be pointless to make a contract with me, anyway. I'm worthless, and I don't matter-"

"But do you want to make a contract?" Izuku asked.

"I mean, yeah, but-" Kimi started.

"Then that's all that matters to me," Izuku said, then held out his hand. "So I need to give you a new name to make a contract...how about...Hex?"

Hex. Huh.

"Sounds nice," Kimi-no, Hex-said, then reached out and took Izuku's hand.

Instantly, a dull orange string appeared around both their wrists before disappearing, and Hex felt themself shrink until they were ten again, and their clothes became a dull orange hoodie with black sweatpants.

Hex Midoriya, a voice suddenly said, making Hex jump. Izuku's depression. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Hex a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Dark Side, giving Hex a room in the Dark Mind Palace, accessible through the black door in the Mind Palace Living Room. Hex is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange...Hex doesn't have a quirk...so Hex is just part of Izuku's team. This also allows the two to communicate.

Is the voice biased against quirkless people or something? a different voice said.

Odin, we get it-you don't like the discrimination-can we please move on from it? another voice asked. Hi, Hex, I'm Duke, Intrusive Thoughts and Insecurities, and I'm also a Dark Side-pleasure to meet you!

Um...nice to meet you, too, Hex said.

Now, we should probably be getting back-Inko and Stewart might start wondering where we are, Izuku said.

Kamari nodded, then grabbed Hex's hand-Paz grabbing the other-and the three of them disappeared.

….

Anxiety

….

All of this seemed to have been done with no one watching, but they weren't alone.

Nearby, an adult ghost watched as the boy-Izuku, was it?-walked away from the area, having made a contract in which he would share Lifeforce with those two quirkless child ghosts-what even? He was much more worthwhile to share Lifeforce with!

And he did this without hesitating…

...so would he make a contract with me? The ghost's smile grew, looking creepy. Ha. This will be a piece of cake with my quirk. The ghost's quirk was called Influence-he could force people to do anything he wanted…

...which meant that, if he put his mind to it, he could force this boy to make a contract and give him Lifeforce.

But first, he would have to follow him.

The ghost's smile somehow grew creepier as he began to fly after Izuku.

Now, as you probably know, Izuku is by no means dumb. In fact, he's incredibly smart, and he knows when he's being watched. He's also aware that it's most likely not a living person (due to the fact that people would probably have come up and talked to him instead of just watching from afar unless they were trying to kidnap or stalk him, especially since this person had been watching him for a while), and he's also aware that this probable ghost is likely to approach him at some point...but the big question is when.

For now, though, all of the Sides were on guard, but they weren't engaging with the other ghost just in case. Also, they didn't want it to take too long since it was almost dinner time, and they didn't want to worry Inko and Stewart. Speaking of…

Izuku stopped for a few seconds and closed his eyes, concentrating on something that he had trained himself to do recently. He reached out to his Lifeforce and took some, shaping it behind him…

...and his wings appeared.

You're getting good at this! Odin said happily. (I think I mentioned this earlier on, but to recap: before, he couldn't summon his wings unless Odin was out of the Mind Palace, same applies for the other quirks and their corresponding Side.)

Thanks, Mom, Izuku said, then spread his wings and took off flying.

..

"You have more Sides?!"

Izuku sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, Mom-Paz and Hex."

"Izuku, how many Sides do you have now?" Inko demanded, then facepalmed. "You know what, I don't really want to know right now. Just...let's eat supper, then you can call your father tomorrow morning."

What, does she have a problem? Hex asked nervously.

None of us really like Inko-this is one of the reasons why, sweetheart, Kamari said, followed by sipping their coffee.

Just wait until you meet Hisashi-he's awesome! Yui said happily. He's Izuku's dad-the guy over there is Inko's boyfriend, Stewart.

We all prefer Hisashi, and this visit to Scotland is the first time any of us had met Inko, even though some of us have been Izuku's Sides for over a year now, which I believe says enough about their relationship, Yumio added.

Oh, Hex said.

I can't wait to meet Hisashi-ooh, how about your friends, too? Paz asked excitedly.

Kacchan and Hitochan are the worst, Darnell said.

Huh? Paz asked, clearly confused. Then why are you friends with them?

That's Darnell-he's Deceit, and he speaks in lies, Dasu explained. He's also a Dark Side-wait, you two still need proper introductions-argh, we forgot to do that on the way here!

Well, no time like the present, Odin said. I'm Odin, the Caring Side, on the Light Side.

I'm Yui-Morals and Emotions, Light Side! Yui said happily.

I'm Yumio, Logic, Light Side, Yumio said.

Dasu, Creativity, Light Side, Dasu said.

Duke, Insecurities/Intrusive Thoughts, Dark Side, Duke said.

My name isn't Darnell, I'm not Deceit, and I'm not a Dark Side, Darnell said.

I'm Brazen, I'm Recklessness, and I'm Neutral, Brazen said.

I'm Emory, Patience, and I'm a Light Side, Emory said.

Kamari, Sleep, Neutral, sweethearts, Kamari said.

Darlina, Innocence and Fear, Neutral, Darlina said. But I don't mind if you call me Hana-Odin often slips up by mistake…

Hey, you still accidentally call me Ofa-I think we're even, Odin said.

I'm Hirah, Wrath, Dark Side, Hirah said.

Dot, Sloth, Neutral, Dot yawned.

Hi, I'm Yuki, Health Nut, Neutral-my room's a gym, so if you ever wanna work out, come stop by! Yuki said happily.

Nice to meet you all! Paz said.

...okay then… Hex said.

Izuku walked over to the kitchen table while the introductions were going on, and he sat down. The small family then began to eat.

..

It was almost midnight when Izuku went outside, holding a flashlight. He wasn't going to leave the yard area, but it was about time to confront whatever ghost was watching him.

"Hello?" Izuku called out quietly. "I know that someone's there."

For a few seconds, absolutely nothing moved-even the wind seemed to be completely still. Then, an older ghost came floating out from the ground. He smiled.

"Huh, didn't think you'd be able to sense my presence so easily," the ghost said.

"You've been watching me for hours, and it's creeping me and my friends out," Izuku said. "If you want to talk to me, then do it now."

The ghost smirked, then stuck out a hand. "Hello, I'm Dave. I saw what you did with those two ghosts earlier, and I got curious."

"I made contracts with them to share Lifeforce," Izuku said simply.

I don't like the looks of this guy… Odin said.

Same, Izuku said.

"Ooh, how interesting," Dave said. "May I ask how you did that?"

Don't, Yumio said. We should not trust this ghost.

"I have my ways," Izuku said. "If that's all you need, then you should go."

"Ah, but that's not all," Dave said, each in his finger a little. "Would it be possible for you to make a contract with me?"

Wow, that's rude, Hirah said.

"Sorry, but no," Izuku said.

Dave frowned, then smirked. "Are you sure?"

Izuku opened his mouth to refuse…

...and his mind suddenly went blank for a few seconds, and his connection with his Sides was cut off.

Guys? Izuku called, starting to freak out when there was no answer.

"Oh, something wrong?" Dave asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Izuku's eyes widened, then narrowed, glaring at Dave. "What did you do?"

Dave boredly looked at his hands. "Oh, just used my quirk on you." His smile became really creepy. "I disconnected you from your quirk, and therefore...hmm...so you can usually communicate with those you make a contract with, huh?"

"How did you-" Izuku started.

"I can tell what quirk I've disconnected," Dave interrupted, then put his hands in his pockets. "You won't be able to speak to your 'Sides'...unless I reconnect your quirk, and I will...for a price."

Izuku glared at Dave, then sighed. "Name it."

Izuku wanted to punch the smug look off Dave's face, honestly. "Simple. Make a contract with me."

"What-!?" Izuku started.

"If you don't, you'll never be able to see your Sides again-they'll be trapped in your head forever," Dave said.

Izuku tensed up. If that was true...then he'd never be able to see them again...and other ghosts...but…

"...if I don't have my quirk, then how can I see you?" Izuku asked.

"I can't get rid of all of it, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to talk to them-I wonder what it's like to be trapped inside your head like that," Dave said.

Izuku glared at him. I can't hear them...my head hasn't been this silent in a while...I don't like it...and I'm not feeling anything from any of them. I mean, Darlina would probably send a wave of fear if she could...ok, Izuku, think rationally here-just because you can't hear Yumio doesn't mean you can't do that. If I make a contract with Dave, then I can just ask Yumio to look through the Mind Palace Library and find something that can get rid of him. It'll take some time, sure, but I can do this. He paused for a few seconds. Yumio...I don't know if you can hear me...I don't know if any of you can hear me, but...I'm gonna make this contract...to experiment secretly on how to break it.

Izuku took a deep breath. "Let it be known that I hate you...but fine." He stuck out his hand. "You'll give me back my quirk the second I make a contract with you, right?"

Dave nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes!"

"Got it...Rand," Izuku said.

Dave gave him an odd look. "I told you that my name is-"

"I have to give you a new name for the contract to work-are you fine with Rand or not?" Izuku snapped.

"Ah, I see-yes, it's fine," Dave said, then reached out and grabbed Izuku's hand.

A purple string appeared around both their wrists, then disappeared, and Dave shrunk, becoming younger...and he was wearing a purple t-shirt with black jeans.

Rand Midoriya, the voice said. Izuku's Anxiety. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Rand a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Dark Side, giving Rand a room in the Dark Mind Palace, accessible through the black door in the Mind Palace Living Room. Rand is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku is able to use Rand's quirk. Rand is in control of Izuku's Anxiety. This also allows the two to communicate.

IZUKU! Fifteen voices screamed at the same time.

Oh dear ghost, are you alright!? Odin exclaimed.

What the f*** just happened?! Hirah yelled.

Izuku, are you hurt in any way? Yumio asked. You do not appear to be injured, but we have no idea what just happened in that span of time.

Who the f*** is Rand? Duke asked.

Well, well, swearing to a child, Rand said smugly. How inappropriate.

F*** off, Hirah snapped.

...Rand is a Side now, Anxiety, Izuku said. ...so please be kind to him.

...what? Odin asked.

...he can disconnect me from my quirk-I...i don't want to lose you guys, so please, just...be nice to him, Izuku said.

Odin, please promise me that you won't be mean-you're the Mom of the group...please?

Yeah, Odin, pwease? Rand asked mockingly.

...f*** you, Rand, Odin said.

The other Sides burst into protest.

MOM JUST SWORE, I REPEAT, MOM HAS SWORN!

DOES THIS MEAN I CAN SWEAR N0W?!

ODIN, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

Guys, please, Izuku pleaded.

"Izuku!"

Izuku turned around to see Inko standing in the doorway of the house.

I have a feeling that you don't want her to know what you were doing out this late, Rand said, sending a wave of Anxiety as he disappeared into the Mind Palace. So you'll have to come up with a good lie. Is there a Side that specializes in lies?

...no, not me, Darnell said.

Darnell speaks in lies exclusively, Dot yawned.

Good, so what should Izuku say? Rand asked.

Darnell sighed, then sent a wave of Deceit through Izuku's mind.

"...sorry, Mom," Izuku said, walking back towards the house. "I was just getting some fresh air because I couldn't sleep."

"Hmm...please don't leave the house in the middle of the night," Inko said, then grabbed his hand and guided him back to the room he was using.

But being outside in the middle of the night is something that got Izuku his quirk… Odin said.

Izuku could practically feel Rand's smile.

Outside in the middle of the night, and you think that's alright? Well, then...you don't seem to be a good mother.

What the he- Odin started…

...and Izuku felt his connection with her abruptly go quiet.

...I'll be taking over duties as the parent from now on, Rand said…

...which terrified everyone in the Mind Palace.

And that's it for this chapter!

I. Hate. Rand. If you couldn't tell, I really hate him, and this is why. I wish his character wasn't necessary, but he's necessary for later in the story.

Also...you'll have to see next chapter for another big reason I hate him.

Ok, so you don't have to read this, but…

First off, if you know Deceit's real name, give yourself two points. But on the subject of that...SPOILER WARNING...Janus. His name is Janus...which is really close to Janice, sounds the same, I mean. And I know that this is my first update since the episode, and it's been a little while since it came out...so...here's the thing. Janice...the name of Odin's Mom...that was my grandma's name. "Was" being the keyword...she passed away not long before I started this fic...that deals with the afterlife...see what I'm hinting there? I don't want to actually type it...you get what I mean. So...yeah. Just thought I'd say something about it. If I start updating less and less for a while...I mean, I'm bad at updates, as you've noticed, but that might be one of the reasons why. Then again, most people don't read these notes-I could be saying anything! Pumpernickel pickle, the world is a lie, etc etc. Anyway.

Take it easy my dudes, dudettes, and buds. Until next time!