I return to find the apartment a mess. It's enough to distract me, breaking the strange emotion and leaving something… else. Apparently, while I was sleeping on Todoroki, Aunt Nemuri and Yama—Uncle Zashi have been working on my notes. The papers that started all this are spread across the floor, layered with sticky notes. The whirl of the printer spins in the background, thick packets of paper printing—I didn't even know we had a printer.

Where did they get all this?

I stand in the entryway and squint.

Aunt Nemuri, still red-eyed, looks up and smiles.

"Hey baby girl, have a good nap? There's food on the stove, you should eat."

I don't move.

She doesn't pay attention, her head ducking back down to a laptop where she's typing or searching for something. I pick my way closer.

"Glowworm, go eat first," Yamada-sensei interrupts without looking up.

It's not normal for him to issue orders like that, and I stare at him strangely for a long moment. He doesn't look back, and reluctantly, I back away. The takeout's on the oven. It's the same noodle dish Yamada-sensei always brings.

I eat it alone, thrown by the chaos in our living room. Even Miska seems uncertain, tail flicking as she watches lazily from atop the cat tree.

Normally with Sensei and I, she'd be walking all over everything.

I toss my trash and consider what to do.

"What…" I pause, then giving up, decide to take the spot closest to Yamada-sensei on the floor. I plop down, leaning in and breathing the strong smell of expensive cologne. "What are you doing?"

"Teamwork," Aunt Nemuri answers unhelpfully. She reaches over from her spot on the couch to snag something off the printer, examining it for a moment before looking our way. "Here's another from that case. Dismissed again."

"Damn," Sensei huffs, reaching out and placing it without looking in a rather thick pile. "Same time frame?"

"Within two weeks, yeah."

"Check the Okamoto case."

Aunt Nemuri makes a noise and turns back to the laptop.

Yamada-sensei pauses before turning to me. His arm snakes out, pulling me close.

"Hey Glow worm, heard you did pretty good for your first solo bust."

I lean in and shrug.

"I guess?"

He chuckles.

"You guess?" he teases in English. "Don't be so modest, you did great, own that! Best work yet! You let an adult know something was wrong, you stayed calm, and you kept your quirk from seriously hurting anyone. Tch, the only thing we need to work on are those code phrases. Jeez, telling people your father lost his glasses in a bush is about the lamest thing ever. Do better, yeah?"

I scrunch my nose and make a face.

That's not fair.

"He could see through the phone," I tell him sourly. "And it's not like I had time to come up with something clever. I could hear nee-chan crying in the background."

"Mmm Hmm," Yamada-sensei hums, clearly unimpressed. "Was still lame."

I scowl.

Aunt Nemuri lets out a small giggle, and it's kind of distracting. Nice too.

Like the whole room lightens.

I try to think of something to say to make her laugh again, but the moment passes with the whirl of the printer, and Aunt Nemuri shifts on the couch, her tiny smile slipping away as she stretches to collect the pages and staples them. When she leans out from the couch, my godfather takes them automatically.

"Same pattern?" he asks, becoming more serious.

"Sort of. He was charged, but the sentencing was paltry at best," Aunt Nemuri says. "The fine's maybe a quarter of the normal payment and there's no jail."

Yamada-sensei grimaces, studying the paper he'd been handed from behind wire-thin glasses. I lean closer to see, but it doesn't look special. In fact, the page just looks like a massive block of text.

"Time frame?"

"Six days," she responds, leaning back to stretch. "Have you heard back from Nedzu yet?"

Yamada-sensei blinks, then shaking his head, pulls out his phone. I crane my neck at his background picture. It's him and another man, both of them grinning brightly over drinks. He looks vaguely familiar, and I'm certain I've seen him before.

Who's that?

Sensei turns though, pulling up his messages, and I look at him weirdly.

"Yeah. Says he wants a copy of everything."

"Of thank goodness," she says, and when I glance her way, she looks relieved. She does once more thing at the computer before shutting it and standing. She makes her way carefully around the papers and continues to the kitchen. Her heavy sigh carries all the way across the room, the sound of the coffee pot sputtering to life with it. "What do we owe him?"

"You mean besides our soul?" the blonde snorts.

I realize rather belatedly it's a joke.

Then, scowling, I crawl over to sit in Yamada-sensei's lap. He blinks down, my head just barely past his collar, his green eyes sparkling.

"Well… someone needs some attention…"

"Yes," I huff, wiggling a little to get comfortable before leaning back into his chest and snuggling closer. It's nice. I gesture at the mess.

"What is all this?"

One arm wraps around my middle, holding me loosely, and another passes the paper in his hand to a pile—one of the shallow ones.

"You should know, it's your extracurricular research," the blonde says dryly.

I flush, ducking my head.

"I know that. I meant the- the rest—what are you printing?"

Yama-Uncle Zashi snorts, but the amusement dies as he reaches for a different page. It's worn and familiar, one of the ones I had printed.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear yah. You remember this list?" he says, and I frown at the column of crimes listed on the front. "See that little space right there? Notice it's blank. There should be a seal there, either HPSC, WHS, or whatever hero agency published it. But there's nothin', so either your informant conned you or you got someone's personal files."

I reach for the paper and the blonde lets me take it.

He reaches randomly for another page and hands it over to compare.

"Oh."

He's right. The correct seal is round, almost the same color as the paper but a little darker and embossed into the paper with the characters HPS neatly printed in the middle.

"Right, so then you look at the names on here," he says, plucking away the official sheet and sorting it back where it was. I look, taking in all of Aizawa-sensei's small scribbles along with several highlighted names. "These highlighted ones were pretty big cases. Heroes caught-"

"Heroes?" I interrupt, eyes widening.

"Yeah," the blonde says, and he grimaces. "Pro-Heroes. That first one was a pro for about ten-ish years before the prefecture brought charges against him."

Yamada-sensei reaches for the thick pile and thumbs through it with nimble fingers.

"Ah, here."

There are sticky notes attached to the top along with several numbers in Aunt Nemuri's handwriting.

"This guy was tried for racketeering—that's where you take money from people by threatening or forcing them to. There was quite a bit of evidence, but the judge ruled out a lot of it as circumstantial, so the case was dismissed. Four days later the cops find him murdered in his house."

I swallow.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Sensei says, and he doesn't look particularly enthusiastic. "The second Pro on the list was much younger, reports were issued for obstruction of justice regarding a human smuggling case. I remember that one, her agency ran a media campaign about how easy it was to mess up paperwork to try and save face. She was given a fine and a temporary suspension of her license for a few months. They found her two weeks later dead in a back alley."

I… I don't know what to say.

I shrink back into the warmth of Yamada-sensei's presence, and he tightens his hold, pulling me comfortingly close.

"What… What does all that mean?" I ask, not certain I want to hear the rest.

Just this bit felt overwhelming.

Yamada-sensei opens his mouth, but it's Aunt Nemuri that actually answers.

"Corruption," she says, and when I peek past Sensei's arms towards the kitchen she stares back. Leaning on the counter with one of our rare few coffee cups in hand, she looks grim. "Corruption, coverups, and a very high likelihood of a smuggling ring with vigilantes murdering the culprits."

"Shouta would have noticed the signs immediately," Yamada-sensei agrees, pulling back my attention as he sorts the pages back into meticulous piles. "A lot of underground work is flushing out these kinds of groups."

I… I didn't know that.

But it makes sense.

I open my mouth to ask a question but at the same time Yamada-sensei's phone rings.

He smiles ruefully down as he fishes out his phone.

"Well, speak of the devil."

"Demon?" I ask, translating the English awkwardly.

"Eh… remind me to teach you idioms," the blonde snorts, opening his phone and dragging it up to his ear. "Yo, Eraser. Wazzup?"

I perk up, surprised and maybe distantly amused at the loud volume on Yamada-sensei's phone. I can practically hear Aizawa's harsh breath.

"Yamada, where the hell is my-"

"Woah, woah!"

I shrink back down at the anger in my guardian's tone.

Oh boy.

He sounds furious…

"Hey! Hey! I got your girl right here! Safe and sound! Say hi Rin-chan!"

"H-Hi," I squeak.

There's a sound kind of like a sucking breath and Uncle Zashi pats my shoulder, clearly trying to be conciliatory. It doesn't help. It feels like this summer all over again. Sensei going to ground me forever. I can already imagine his ticking eye and flared nostrils.

"Where is Rin's phone and why is she not answering it?"

The blonde looks down at me and raises his brow, clearly aware of his loud volume.

I flush and duck my head.

"Uh… the… someone threw it away?"

There's silence on both sides of the receiver and a choked cough from the kitchen.

"Hizashi, put Rin on the phone," Sensei asks, and I can already imagine his eye twitching.

Yamada-sensei hands over his phone with a stupidly amused grin.

I swallow.

"Um… Hey… hi Sensei."

"Are you okay?" he asks gruffly, not even bothering with the greetings. I shrink in my godfather's arms. "I have a ton of messages about you getting caught up in something."

"Ah…"

"So something did happen," he says flatly. I can almost imagine his annoyed expression, fingers rubbing against the bridge of his nose. There's a deep breath, a sharp stutter as he seems to be trying to keep himself calm. "Start at the beginning, I was called in for the raid. What happened next?"

I glance cautiously up at my godfather.

He just raises an eyebrow, entirely unhelpful.

I switch the cell phone to my other ear and hold it with my shoulder, pulling at my fingers.

"Um… We… Well… Aunt Nemuri and I ate."

Yamada-sensei's snort is entirely distracting. If it had words, it'd probably be no shit. My guardian says nothing though, clearly waiting.

I fidget.

"I… So then I fell asleep on the couch and… and when I got a phone call I woke up and it was really confusing and there was this man talking and I didn't understand cause I was sleepy but then Nee-chan was crying and the man was on the line said he'd kill her if I didn't do what he said—and -and then he told me my shirt color and what was on it so he could see through the phone and—and he broke Kagura-nee's fingers because I questioned him and it was terrible and-"

"Rin," Sensei interrupts.

I suck in a breath automatically, feeling Yamada-sensei's hand tighten.

"Good," he says slowly, voice dropping into his teacher's voice automatically. "Now two more breaths then you can explain how you handled it."

The sound of his voice is steadying, the breaths calming.

I turn in Yamada-sensei's lap, folding my legs to my chest and leaning so that my ear is against his chest, and the phone against my other ear. Yamada-sensei lets me, patting my head and otherwise turning his attention towards Aunt Nemuri.

"I… I had to do what he said or else he'd hurt Kagura-nee. But… But Aunt Nemuri was there and- and she was asking questions so I… So I told her my-I told her that my Dad wanted me to come home."

"Oh, don't forget the bush part," my godfather adds glibly.

Sensei makes a noise.

"Bush…?" he asks, like he isn't sure he really wants to ask.

"I… um… I told him- him and Aunt Nemuri that my… that my dad lost his glasses in a bush," I admit, skin warming to a dusty pink. I don't look at Yamada-sensei who is chuckling loud enough that I can feel it through his chest, and instead, quickly move on. "I- I couldn't think of anything else! And it- It worked!"

"And this… kidnapper just accepted that?" Aizawa asks dryly.

"Ah… yeah?"

"I suppose it's lucky you were dealing with idiots," Aizawa huffs, I can almost imagine him leaning back to stare at the ceiling. "I'm guessing Nemuri understood your message."

I nod, before remembering he can't see that.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Continue."

He wasn't going to like this part.

I'm so grounded…

"I… So I left the school…"

"With Nemuri?"

"Umm… No."

The sharp breath on the other end makes me cringe.

"I… I couldn't!" I tell him quickly, trying to get it all out before he yells. "He could see who I was talking to and he- and he broke Nee-chan's fingers! I could hear it and she was screaming, and he threatened to do worse if I didn't leave immediately and- and- and- I couldn't help it! I promise Sensei-"

"Rin," he interrupts, voice commanding.

I quiet immediately, shoulders scrunching as I wait for the lecture.

"I understand, you don't have to convince me. You were forcibly coerced into leaving the school without adult supervision, it's not your fault. Now continue."

My godfather's hand rubs calm strokes up and down my arm. Slowly I loosen.

"He… The guy made me go to the train station. There was another guy there. He took my phone and did something before throwing it out. I… He made me follow him into a car and I… They did something to make me fall asleep."

Sensei doesn't say anything for a long moment.

I curl a little more with each passing second.

"S-Sensei?"

"Are you hurt?" he asks, and I frown at the dark undertones of his voice.

"I… No," I tell him quietly. "He… The boss person slapped me, but it—it wasn't really that hard. Even… Even Toru-chan hits harder. And then I got mad, cause he did hurt Nee-chan and there were others, this little boy and girl, and… and I kinda maybe made my quirk catch the main guy, and he was yelling so I… caught all the… all the villains?"

"You caught all of them?" Sensei asks, as if he's not sure he heard that right.

"Um… yeah? They thought I was quirkless, so they didn't really… It wasn't really hard. But then Aunt Nemuri showed up when I was about to call the police! I tried to call earlier, I promise, but they shut off the lines and none of the phones in the building worked!"

Sensei lets out a loud breath.

"I… see."

He doesn't sound… mad.

"Am… Am I in trouble?" I ask quietly.

"For defending yourself?" Sensei huffs. "No. It sounds as if you did the best you could with the situation at hand. We will be discussing your extracurricular research, however. They struck a lot more quickly than expected."

I look down.

Was... Was this my fault?

"Are… Are you coming now?" I ask instead, hopefulness rising.

"No. Not yet. The mission is running long and requires me to stay a few extra days to address an out-of-control quirk that isn't responding to sedation. They're suggestion it could be as long as three more days, but I'm not sure. If you can manage to keep out of trouble for about eight hours, you can come by in the morning."

I don't know how to feel about that.

"Three more days?" I repeat. "That's… That's so long."

He sighs, sounding tired.

"Too long," he agrees, and there's a sort of fondness mixed there with exasperation. "Seems like every time I let you out of my sight for more than a few hours you managed to get tangled up in something."

I duck my head.

"Sorry."

"Mhmm, hand the phone back to Hizashi and go find something positive to do. Don't sulk. Curfew is in two hours, and I expect you to follow it. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Rin?"

I pause, phone only a few inches from my ear. I pull it back quickly.

"Y-Yes?"

He hesitates for a moment.

"I'm glad you're safe. Be good. I'll see you tomorrow."

My skin hums with light, tiny fireflies breaking out across my cheeks. I smile, pressing the phone even closer to my ear and feeling somehow weightless.

"Night Sensei! I miss you! See you tomorrow!"

"You too," he says quietly, and I almost miss it as I hand my grinning godfather back his phone.

.

.

.

Sunday morning, we leave early to see Sensei.

Yamada-sensei takes me there.

It's nearly an hour by train and Yamada-sensei makes us stop at one point for breakfast as well as an extra coffee for Aizawa-sensei. When we finally arrive, I'm nearly wiggling with excitement.

I miss him.

The first thing I'm gonna do is give him the biggest hug ever!

Or maybe—maybe I'll squeeze him extra tight!

Oh, or if I'm lucky, I might be able to even snag a kiss!

Taking a bite out of one of the sweet pastries, I glow.

Yamada-sensei just laughs, waves energetically to the front reception, and steers us towards an elevator door. We ride it up the fifth floor, and I have to sort of semi-focus to keep from sprouting wings.

"Down this way," Yamada-sensei nods, chuckling as we step out.

Stuffing the rest of the pastry in my mouth, I smile up with puffed cheeks and squinty eyes. He raises an eyebrow, clearly amused.

"You know, you make that face long enough and you'll get stuck that way!"

I wrinkle my nose and swallow.

"That's not true!"

"I dunno… I did interview this one guy…" he says, leaning forward like he's telling me some big secret.

I scowl at his ridiculousness.

"Nuh-uh! Don't lie! Sensei, I'm not five!"

He makes big eyes.

"What! You're not!"

I pout and stomp past him, my annoyance ruined by the bright cat ears flopping about on my head. I make it to the hall reception area only to pause. My godfather nearly stumbles into me, catching himself on my shoulders.

But there's a familiar fluff of blonde hair!

I stretch my neck and stare across the waiting room curiously, ignoring Uncle Zashi as he huffs about something (probably me), and instead squint. Yellow fluff, check. Too-skinny arms, mhmm. I take a few steps further just to make sure. It is. It's Toshinori-san, his head and neck slumped forward in a dark chair. His long fingers cradle his face and his back bends sharply like someone had tied too heavy weights that he could barely hold.

He looks… gray, and like he's been crying.

My hair shifts, the glow fading.

It doesn't… It doesn't feel right.

Like looking at a purple sky or biting into a melon only to find it's a peach.

Did he know Shirakumo too?

Where was Midoriya? Why was he here? Did something happen?

I turn to ask, but Yamada-sensei's already beside me, eyes locked onto the blonde and his own lips dipping into a frown.

"Ah… Shouta mentioned there was a casualty," the blonde says softly, his voice only just above a whisper.

A casual-

Oh.

Oh.

Someone had died.

Yamada-sensei steps forward, clearly intending to head back towards my guardian, but I don't move.

I can't. Instead, I watch the gaunt man from a distance, memories of kind blue eyes and silly smiles tugging at my insides.

If you see someone hurting, and you have the power to stop it…

Do you?

"Rin-chan? You comin'?"

I think of all the times I felt sad. How Yamada-sensei would wrap me in his arms, how Aunt Nemuri would whisper kind words, the comforting weight of Aizawa-sensei's stare. The rest of my glow disappears, leaking out and something warm but something… more filling its place.

"I'll… Sen- Uncle Zashi, I'll… Can I—I mean, I'll be right back," I say, raising my eyes to meet his green ones. They're bright, almost iridescent under the fluorescent lighting.

He looks… proud.

"Yeah? You want me to wait for yah or give you a few minutes?"

I consider the idea of him staying.

He'd probably just stand there staring. Or make awkward finger guns in the background…

"Um… I can do it alone."

He throws out the pair of finger guns and grins.

Like that…

"Hah! Gotcha! Well, I suppose you've got about 10 minutes tops, glow worm! If you're not done by then or heading to room 573, I'm coming to find yah! Remember, you see any kidnappers and you tell them 'NOT TODAY!' Got it?"

I drag a hand down my face, skin heating.

Why?

Seriously, just why?

"Oh! And if you need some excuses, losing your glasses in a-"

"Sensei!" I scowl, my skin definitely red. "Go away!"

He snickers and winks but doesn't move.

"Soon as you get over there, Glow-baby. Got some trust issues at the moment. It's not you, it's me."

Is it possible to die from embarrassment?

I'm pretty sure I could manage it.

I probably look like a stupid traffic light! Even the nurses are staring, giggles hidden behind their hands as they walk by.

"Ugh," I scowl and spin on my heel, heading immediately over.

Toshinori-san hasn't moved, hasn't even looked up, and considering I'm reflecting red off everything, that's pretty bad. Once I get there, I squint suspiciously back, but Yamada-sensei just throws me two thumbs up. He taps his wrist with some more obnoxious hand signs and when I make a face he finally meanders off, looking hella suspicious with his hands behind his back and taking stupidly large steps.

He's so weird sometimes…

I pinch my nose and sit beside Toshinori-san, trying to reign in my quirk.

It's not hard, especially when the blonde man beside me starts to sniffle.

And just like that, all of my certainty disappears.

I have no idea what I'm even doing, no idea of what to even say. How do you transition into something like this? Where do you even start?

Hey, I'm here to see my guardian, but you looked like you were crying so I came over. Smooth, not. Hi, whatcha thinkin' about? Your dead friend? Were you friends? Nope. Hey, are you busy? I just noticed you crying…

Ugh.

I cross my arms and sigh.

Stupid words.

What would Hitoshi do?

What would Toru do?

I swallow and try to imagine up a dozen scenarios before finally just taking a deep breath.

You're going to run out of time…

Hesitantly I reach out, fingers tapping on the blonde man's back.

It's so bony… It's like I can feel his every rib beneath my fingers along the smooth warmth of wiry, thin muscles.

That doesn't seem okay…

"Toshinori-kun, are… are you okay?" I manage, feeling idiotic the moment I say it. Of course, he's not okay, someone just died. Why would you ask that? I didn't even add a stupid transition and maybe I should have just left.

He looks up before I can run though.

Wide, red-rimmed eyes rising to meet mine, exposing wet patches.

I try not to stare.

"Y-Young R-Rin," he stutters, hands spasming. He wipes quickly at his face as if hoping to hide the evidence. "You're- What- How are you-"

"I came to see Aizawa-sensei," I interrupt. I press my fingers together only to separate them and pull at the knuckles at the awkwardness of all this. "I… You looked sad and- and Yamada-sensei said… he said someone died."

The blonde turns away and winces.

"Ah… Yeah…"

If anything, he just kind of droops lower.

Crap.

This isn't working.

"I—My mom died," I spit out, grasping for my first thought. The blue-eyed man blinks and turns back, looking just as startled as I feel. "She… She died while I was in foster care. Nobody… Nobody told me, and I was… I was really sad and kinda angry and it hurt and-and…"

I trail off as the blonde just stares.

Glancing down at my fingers, I wiggle them randomly, trying to get rid of the electric feeling starting to buzz under my skin. I suck in a deep breath.

"And Sensei says you should talk about your feelings."

I wait.

Wait for what, I dunno.

The hand that settles on my shoulder nearly makes me jump though.

"Young Rin, I'm so sorry you went through that," he says, and to make it worse, he looks every bit sorry. And I scowl because- because that's- that's not-

"That's not the point!" I growl, eyes narrowing. "You're supposed to talk about you."

The hand jerks back as if burnt.

He waves and sinks and-

"I… Ah, that is… I'm- I'll be fine-"

I glower. Annoyed at him and myself.

He scrunches his shoulders, looking even more cowed, and I wonder sourly why I even bothered.

Stupid words.

"When I tell you something personal, it's so you can—so you can share next," I try again, nose wrinkling. "I didn't tell you cause I—I'm—You weren't fine. I wasn't- I… Ugh! These stupid words, they won't come out right! What… What I'm trying to say is if you care about someone and they die you aren't fine. So don't lie."

Don't be a liar.

I scowl and look away.

All Might.

I swallow down the bile.

I wish he was just Toshinori-san.

"Ah…" he says, and he sounds thoughtful, regretful… sad. I glance over, but he doesn't meet my eye, staring distantly instead. It takes a moment, but eventually, he speaks. "Sir Nighteye… he was a good friend."

I stare at the floor, thinking of my classmates.

The thought of losing one...

It makes me feel blue.

"We… We didn't agree, not… not on a lot of things, especially in the end. I let it break our friendship. But he was, Mirai was a great man. He was always loyal, and I'll… I'll miss him," Toshinori-san whispers, voice cracking as the tears leak out again. "The world is just a little darker without him."

I swallow.

Remembering the way Aunt Nemuri had cracked.

Remembering Uncle Zashi's sad face.

Remembering Yui-san's hollow wide eyes.

I lean a little closer, bumping my shoulder against the thin, seemingly frail one.

And then, because it's only too easy to pretend he isn't All Might, especially with the harsh lights and soft clammer of nurses and the echoing click of doctor's heels, I lean my head against his shoulder and sigh. He still feels the same.

Safe.

Kind.

"Does it ever stop feeling hollow?" I ask, quietly.

"Not really," he admits. A bony arm wraps against my shoulder comfortingly. "I guess you just learn how to adjust. It's not really something you forget, but you keep moving forward, and you learn to smile."

"Sometimes, Rin-chan, people want more. More power, more respect, more attention… just more. So they take it. They do things to hurt you to take it, they make you want to cry, to break you, to win."

"No more crying."

"Cause crying gives them power?" I repeat, remembering her words from what feels like lifetimes ago.

Toshinori-san jerks, his head twisting towards me in surprise.

"W-What? No!" He makes a face, and I can't help the little smile at his sudden enthusiasm. "Smiling isn't about power, it's about helping! Smiling reassures others! It makes them feel better; it protects their heart!"

I blink.

Protects their… heart?

"A true hero," Toshinori-san says, arms moving to make his point, "is someone who sacrifices everything to save others. It's never about taking power. It's about making a difference!"

I think of Kaito, of Kagura, of the people in that building.

"She said she didn't have one yet," the woman says. "But name or not, she's our hero."

I nod.

Then, glancing back towards the main hall, I check to see if Yamada-sensei is back.

He isn't.

But Aizawa-sensei is there.

My breath catches in my throat.

Sensei…

He smiles, hands in his pocket and back against a wall. His dark hair falls in unkempt waves onto the black base of his uniform. It looks weirdly casual without his capture weapon, especially with the overgrown hairs on his chin, nearly long enough to be a small beard. And there are hints of bandages peaking out from behind his collar and-

And-

The tears come unbidden.

He raises an eyebrow, cocking his head slightly. He looks fond.

I rise automatically, trembling. I'm moving before I even comprehend it, across the waiting area and into the hall before I can even breathe.

He opens his arms.

I crash into him bonelessly.

"Sensei!" I whisper, too many emotions packed into that one word. Belated, I realize my skin is glowing, that there are cat ears on my head. I can feel the weight of his chin against my head, the scratch of his facial hair, the warmth of his presence. "Sensei! Sensei! You're here!"

"Hey Rin," he chuckles, and there are calloused fingers at the back of my head and another against my shoulders. "Hey. Don't cry, I'm right here. I've got you."

I lean against him and laugh.

"S-Sensei!"

He smells like hospital, like fight and smoke and the underlying scent of that familiar detergent.

Like safety and home and love.

Do you need daily affirmation?

"I missed you!" I whine, smiling into his shirt despite the streaming tears.

"Yeah, me too," he admits, brushing back my hair softly. I giggle and shiver and squeeze him tightly, not wanting to let go. "I don't think a raid has ever been more stressful. I spent most of the time ready to get back to you. I'm glad your safe."

I wiggle, electricity buzzing beneath my skin as blue liquid blossoms and disappears across my skin. The light swirls and I can feel the shadows merging in with them, swirling.

"Sensei!"

He doesn't refute it, doesn't push me away. He just stands there; arms loosely wrapped and lets me cling.

"Ah, Aizawa-kun… You two look cute."

"Hmmm," Sensei says, almost in agreement. Then leaning forward, he presses a light kiss against my head. It bristles, the dark hairs rough against my forehead.

"Do you need a minute?"

To get your emotions in control, is unspoken. Probably.

I don't want to control them though.

I just…

I missed this, missed him. I don't know how I'm gonna survive three days of this.

"No," I mumble, letting go to stare up at him wide-eyed. But when he stares down pointedly at my wild quirk, I duck down again. "Fine... maybe."

"Hmm."

I reattach myself and breathe.

And when I can finally reign in my quirk, he offers that tiny smile usually reserved for home with a little pat on the back.

"Good job."