Okui was reading a book he'd gotten from the library when he heard a knock at the door.

"Yo," Fu said from the other side. "Can I come in?"

Okui sighed and set down his book, and went to unlock the door. "Sure."

Fu entered and took a seat on one of the chairs. "Thanks."

"What do you want?" Okui asked, his tone indicating just how eager he was to get this over with.

"Nothing much just wanna talk," Fu said casually, as he looked around at the room. It was practically barren. No decorations of anything of the like to speak of. "Not a fan of posters?"

"Afraid I might eat them," Okui said. "I don't keep things I don't need. Always end up eating them in my sleep. Do you know how many pillows I had to replace?"

"That's fair I guess," Fu said. "Then you should probably go outside more."

"I'm not really an outside kinda guy," Okui told him. "Or a people, kinda guy."

"Is that because you're concerned you're gonna hurt everyone around you?" Fu asked. "Or is it because you feel so disgusting you don't think you deserve to be around them?"

Okui froze. With a very deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes. And the clamps around his body trembled.

"You know, I can't really feel most things. At least not like everyone else. It's all muted." Fu explained. "But hunger? That's not muted. It's worse. Sure I don't feel the pain. But that empty feeling, that NEED to put something into your mouth. It's so powerful it's like it's got a claw on your brain."

"You…you really do know what it's like," Okui said.

"Back before I met Dad, it was hard to get meat." Fu continued. "And when I got too low. I'd lose control of myself. My mind just shut off, and my body moved on its own, looking for any meat in sight to scarf down. And I mean, any meat. It ended badly sometimes. Some people got hurt. I don't have to worry about it anymore, because I get plenty to eat…but I still hate the thought of it. Eating people, living people, is just disgusting."

"Then how are you…you know…around people?" Okui asked, looking at him almost desperately. "Doesn't it feel…wrong?"

"Sometimes. I just don't think about it most of the time." Fu shrugged. "Unfortunately, that's not really an option for you, is it? But honestly, you don't really have to worry about hurting people here. They're all way too strong. If you tried you'd get tackled and knocked out faster than you can say om nom nom. But if you don't trust that, stick close to me. It doesn't matter if you take a bite out of me so it should be fine. Beats hanging around here all depressed."

"I…" Okui considered it but seemed hesitant.

"...You wanna know something interesting," Fu said. "Mr Akira told me about something called exposure therapy. The more you're around something, the better you get at handling it. Kind of like how you get better at things the more you do them. So if you go around people more, you'll get better at resisting the urge."

"Is that true?" Okui asked, unsure if he could trust that.

"Really," Fu told him. "And if you stay in here, all you're going to do is damage your mind. Loneliness is the mind's greatest enemy after all. And you need your brain in tip-top shape otherwise, you're gonna give into that hunger."

Okui thought about it. He was far from comfortable with the idea, but at the same time, he didn't love his current plan either. Fu seemed to know what he was talking about…so maybe he could trust him. "Alright. So…what do you wanna do…outside."

"How about we just go for a walk." Fu shrugged. "We don't have to do too much too fast. So if things get too hard, or you feel like you need to eat something right now, just tell me. Or anyone else really. We all know what it's like to be afraid of hurting people, and that's why we're all here. And we all want to help each other, including you. Remember that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That looks so nice, Tenko!" Mina praised as she patted the boy on the head. She was currently watching over a coloring session in the art room.

Tenko smiled as Mina ruffled his hair.

He liked the Midoriya Foundation. His first few weeks here had been in kind of a haze. But at least they let him be depressed without yelling at him like…

Nope. Not thinking about it.

And after he started going out and doing stuff again, it was so much fun! Pool parties whenever he wants. Running through the woods. Petting Fuku's bear who's fur reminded him of his old-

Nope!

And no one even laughed at him when he said he wanted to be a hero. They didn't beat him either.

Like his dead dad did.

Tenko sniffled, as tears rolled down his cheeks. He tried to hold them in but to no avail.

"Oh sweetheart," Mina said as she wrapped her arms around the poor boy, who quickly embraced her in return.

As Mina comforted the boy, Kioku watched the two of them, not saying a word, just yet.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tenko walked back to his room, red eyes and his head hung.

Mina had offered to walk him back, but Tenko refused. He'd embarrassed himself enough by crying out of nowhere.

What's wrong with me? Why am I such a baby? Tenko thought as he sniffled.

"Tenko!"

"Huh?" Tenko turned behind him and saw Kioku approaching him.

"Come with me," Kioku said, grabbing Tenko's arm and started dragging him away.

"Huh!? Wait where are we going?!" Tenko asked as Kioku continued to take him away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the, I had bad parents and can't get over it support group," Kei said.

"Huh?" Tenko repeated.

Kioku had taken him to a mostly empty room. With a bunch of chairs formed into a circle.

In those chairs were Kei, Kioku, Fuku, Fuhai, Inu, as well of course himself.

"All of you have had bad parents, and you just can't get over it like everyone else," Kei said. "And that's ok! You should never feel bad about feeling bad. You can't help how you feel sometimes, and that doesn't make you weak, or pathetic. It just makes you human. And so in these meetings, we're gonna try to help you guys out. Let's start by telling each other our stories, and why we're here, so we can understand each other. Who wants to go first?"

Kioku raised her hand.

"Kioku then." Kei said.

"Ok. My name is Kioku. My parents never paid any attention to me. And sometimes they'd just completely forget about me." Kioku admitted. "And anytime they would try to get them to notice me, they'd get mad and punish me. Sometimes they would even not feed me for a while. They never loved me, and they never would…never…I know that. But I just can't stop being angry about it! When I see other happy families I get jealous, even though I have a happy family now! And it's just so…frustrating! Ugh!"

Fuku patted the girl on the back, as she took a second to calm down after getting worked up. "It's ok Kioku, just breathe."

"Thank you for sharing Kioku," Kei said. "Anyone else."

Inu raised her hand. "I guess I'll go. My daddy…wasn't a good man. He abandoned our big brother, and he didn't really take care of us much. Sometimes we'd have to work to feed ourselves. And I don't think he hugged any of us once. And eventually…he just left us. But I don't hate him. I always wanted to like him. I used to defend him when my sisters would speak bad about him. But I know I was wrong. Even now sometimes… sometimes I wish he'd come back and say he's sorry."

"Thank you, Inu," Kei said.

"U-Um. Uh. C-Can I go." Fuhai asked sheepishly. After Kei nodded, he continued. "S-So um…I woke up. And I heard mommy got rid of me ...it wasn't really me, it was Fu…but that still really hurts. It hurts a lot! Mommy was so nice and-and I loved her so much! W-Why did she get rid of me!"

Fuhai broke down into tears, and both Fuku and Kei went to hug and comfort him.

"I want Mommy! I miss her!" Fuhai sobbed, his tears forming into streams worthy of his family name.

"It's ok. It's OK." Kei assured him calmly. "It's ok, cry as much as you need."

And so he did, Fuhai continued to cry for quite some time, until eventually he just ran out of steam.

"There you go, buddy. You feeling a bit better now?" Kei asked him.

Fuhai sniggled. "A little."

"Great!" Kei cheered as she went back to her seat. "Remember everyone, don't be afraid to cry. It's not something to be ashamed of, and it can make you feel better! Ok, who wants to share next?"

"Um. I guess I'll go next." Fuku said, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself. "My dad was an awful! Awful man! He basically named me disappointment when he found out I wasn't born a boy, he tried to force me to be some kind of perfect bride to marry off to some rich guy! He'd yell, and scream, and hit me if I didn't do well enough! He made me into this scared little thing that has a hard time leaving her room! And I can't even call Mr Midoriya dad, because when I think of what a dad is, I think of my old one, and Mr Midoriya's so much better than him!"

Kioku patted her on the back.

"Thanks, Fuku," Kei said, before turning to Tenko. "Tenko, do you want to share?"

"I…" Tenko hesitated and looked at Kioku, who gave him a thumbs up.

Well. Why not I guess. Tenko sighed. "So…My family was…they were nice to me. Most of the time. But, whenever I said I wanted to be a hero. Dad would get REALLY angry. He'd yell, and scream, and beat me. And no one would do anything about it. I didn't give up though. I went out, and tried to help people…and every time I came home, Dad knew somehow. And he'd beat more and more. It'd get worse every time. Mom would get upset. Ask him to stop. But he never did…she never MADE him stop. And then…one day I woke up…and now they're all dead. All of them. My dad, my mom, my grandparents, my sister, my dog! I should be sad right!? And I am but…I'm not also!? They were nice to me! They even loved me I think but they also…they let him hurt me! He beat me up, and they did nothing! I wasn't doing anything wrong! Why didn't they help me!"

Once again tears rolled down his cheeks, he half-heartedly tried to keep them in, but then Kioku came and patted him on the back.

"Let it out buddy, that's what we're here for," Kioku said.

"We won't judge," Inu reassured him.

"I…I just don't know how to feel!" Tenko sobbed. "I'm so confused and it hurts!"

After that, Tenko cried for a bit longer, and he calmed down again. Feeling just a tiny, tiny bit better.

"Thank you for sharing Tenko." Kei praised him.

"All of us have similar problems. Even if some things are different." Kioku said. "So all of us know how you feel. Just remember that you are never alone. We're all going to try and understand our feelings and get through them, together!"

Tenko felt a bit…warm at that statement.

Sure he still didn't have answers, but at the very least he didn't feel stupid or isolated because of it.

He really did love the Midoriya Foundation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ms Shield," Izuku said.

He was currently at his desk, in front of his laptop, which was facilitating a video call between him and none other than Malissa Shield.

"Same. I've heard quite a bit about you." Melissa chuckled. "As a quirkless person, it's pretty much impossible not to hear about you."

"I can imagine." Izuku chuckled in return, albeit apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"No worries," Melissa said. "And please call me Melissa."

"In that case, please call me Izuku," Izuku told her. "Now, I'm sure you've been busy given the recent events that occurred during the expo."

Melissa sighed, her expression immediately showing several shades of distress. "That's an understatement of the century. Putting aside my own personal distress, my father's betrayal has caused many here to distrust me. Including the people funding my projects. If it weren't for Uncle Might vouching for me I don't think I'd be able to do anything around here."

"I guess that leans into what I wanted to talk about," Izuku said. "I've heard much about your work. Your understanding of quirks surpasses many of our own scientists, and they have access to Chaos Energy Research. I would love it if you would consider working with us. I assure you your father's actions would have no effect on your treatment, and you would get access to resources and research that could greatly expand your capabilities."

Melissa pondered the offer for a few moments. "In reality, there's pretty much no practical reason for me not to accept that offer. I'm just a little hesitant about leaving the island."

"Completely understandable," Izuku said. "It's difficult to leave a familiar place. I would know. I rarely leave my own house."

"To be fair, that might be more because of the assassins than anything else." Melissa pointed out.

"Surprisingly, I go outside more nowadays than before the assassins started coming," Izuku said. "Anyways, this offer is always on the table so if you want to accept just call me."

"Thank you. Both for your offer and for being so understanding." Melissa said.

"One more thing," Izuku said. "I feel I should tell you that we have contacted your father with a similar offer, with some stipulations given his previous actions."

Melissa frowned. "...Is that so?"

"Yes, he was able to directly affect the quirk factor without negative consequences, in a way unseen by anyone," Izuku said. "Could you imagine what he could do with access to chaos energy? Under proper supervision of course."

"...You understand how dangerous that technology is right?" Melissa asked. "We all had to go through hell to keep that crown thing from getting out into the underground. I can't tell you how relieved I was when it broke."

Izuku sighed. "I've said this before, I'll probably keep saying it for as long as I live. The problem with dangerous technological advancements is that you can't stop them. The ability to learn and create is exclusive to no one. Even if David Shield never makes another quirk-boosting device, someone, somewhere, at some point, will. And if that's the case, I want that technology to be in OUR hands, rather than someone less equipped to guard it, or someone who would misuse it immediately. If we understand what it's made of, we can figure out if someone is trying to create one illegally. If we understand how it works, we can understand how to counter it. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Melissa took a moment to let that sink in. "I…You're right. It's just…scary to think that something like that may become more common. Even Uncle Might struggled against it."

"Of that, we can agree." Izuku shook his head. "I fear the quirk singularity, or perhaps simply, the power singularity, might not be as far away as we thought. I may just need to build a stronger world, to handle it."

"...I guess that's all we can really do isn't it?" Melissa said, giving a half-hearted laugh.

Please review and have a nice day.