Kamui Woods' agency calls as I'm getting dressed for Hitoshi's party.

"Your internship is scheduled to begin Wednesday night," the secretary on the other line says succinctly the moment I answer, not bothering to waste time with pleasantries. "You'll be expected to meet Nishiya-san at the same park as previously. Please wear your hero gear. The patrol begins at 1700 and ends 200. As a reminder, you will be the image of our agency and so therefore should demonstrate personability and respect when interacting with civilians and the media. Do you have any further questions?"

I blink, half-dressed, and try to think past the strange numbness that suddenly creeps across my chest. Wednesday.

One step closer to taking down the Owl.

And Kaito…

"Ah… no ma'am…"

I've never seen the secretary, but the way she clicks her tongue makes me less and less interested.

"Very well," the woman on the other side acknowledges. "Good evening."

She hangs up before I can even get the phone from my face.

Wednesday.

After school and into Thursday morning. I slide on a flowing white shirt, simple blue shorts, and the pretty purple headband Sensei had given me a few days before. I don't know how to feel. I'd purposefully not thought about the hero as much as possible, and the reminder that he was taking me out of some sense of… of requirement still stung.

"Later," I grumble, shoving away the thoughts and heading to the bathroom. I fix my hairband in front of the mirror, and narrow my eyes, examining the outfit. It's cute, and I'm pretty sure Uncle Zashi picked it out. Pretty in its simplicity. I look nearly unrecognizable in it, completely different from the girl I'd been only a year ago in the group home. It's like looking at a stranger, warm dark eyes with full dark hair hanging loose at her chin. I smile, liking the way it seems to fit.

That and the lack of my mother staring back.

You could not go.

The thought sounds oddly like Sensei's, making my smile disappears.

You could give up. Mineta did. You could be more like Ryu-nii, he certainly looked happier for it. Let Kaito go. Get an internship with someone else, let Sensei and the police deal with the Owl.

But what about the others?

The quirkless, Kagura, the others…

I straighten, chin jutting obstinately. The girl in the mirror stares back proudly, lips thin and expression set. A hero.

"I'll stop them both," I whisper to the mirror, the words a promise. "I will stop Kaito, he won't hurt anyone else. And I'll help stop the Owl!"

The front door rattles, the sound of keys in the lock, and I blink before checking the time.

Sensei's early.

Usually, he didn't get back this early unless he was taking Hitoshi on patrols. I poke my head out the bathroom, feeling my skin brighten at Sensei's familiar mop of dark hair. He doesn't immediately notice, scratching his head and pausing long enough to remove his capture weapon and keys.

I smile warmly, stepping out to greet him.

"Hi!"

He blinks, keys jingling as they fall against the counter, and his capture weapon heavily slumping on one arm. He takes in my new outfit with a raised brow.

"Going to 1B?"

I nod, following him as he drops the capture weapon on the couch and shuffles into the kitchen.

"I made the cupcakes last night," I tell him, skirting around his dark form to collect his glass and quickly filling it with ice. He pauses, hands stuffed into his pants as I move immediately to fill the cup with water. "They're vanilla lemon! Satou-kun helped me with the filling and mixing together the icing. Did you know Hitoshi-kun's favorite color is gray? I hope he likes them… Kirishima-kun was our taste-tester, but he always says he likes everything. I tried to get Bakugou-kun to try one, but he started ranting about calories and gains and so it was kinda a lost cause… Oh! Sensei! Kamui Wood's secretary lady called."

"Did she give you a schedule?" he asks, plucking the glass from my hand with a gruff thanks and tilting it back to take a long sip.

"Yes, sir. Wednesday evening, I finish at two."

Sensei frowns, lowering the glass long enough to give me a dark look.

"That's late," he grumbles before tilting the cup back and draining the glass. I shake my head, invading his space and pressing close for a hug. He wraps the arm around my shoulders automatically, head leaning forward and the rough hairs of his chin scraping against my face. "Don't stay out late tonight, you still have school in the morning."

"Will you be home when I get back?" I ask, curious as I breathe the comforting scent of that familiar detergent.

"Probably," he huffs, squeezing once before letting go. Reluctantly, I lean back, letting him step away. "Unless I get called for an emergency, I'm supposed to be teaching some remedial classes. Hopefully your classmates will figure out something regarding the festival with who's left."

"Or else you'll lecture?" I tease, amused. "That sounds like a logical rouse."

Sensei smirks and doesn't answer, walking back to his room.

.

.

.

"Hitoshi-kun!"

Struggling with the cupcakes and 1B's lobby door, I brighten instantly at the sight of the purple-haired boy, and giggle at his exasperation. He sighs, shoving open the door and grabbing for two of the four boxes of desserts I'd been balancing precariously in my arms.

"You have a problem," he deadpans, looking absolutely done as he props open the door with one foot. "Why are there always cupcakes? You know they have careers for this, right? And why are there so many?"

I snort, already opening my mouth to retort, only to be cut off by the arrival of 1B's class president, Kendo-chan. Dressed casually in a teal shirt with blue jean shorts, she immediately reaches for the rest of the cupcakes with a friendly grin.

"Hoki-chan? You made it! Oh, I'm so glad!"

"Ah…"

"Were you the one that suggested all of this?" Hitoshi asks, eyes narrowing at the redhead. "I told you this wasn't a big deal."

"And I told you that we're not making one," Kendo huffs, throwing me a quick, reassuring grin as she leads the both of us past the lobby full of balloons and a sign. 'Congratulations Shinsou!' hangs rather contrarily, full of glitter and large letters. Following behind them both, I can see the red spreading across Hitoshi's ears. I should get a picture. "We're celebrating your accomplishment just like we would anyone else because you're one of us Shinsou-kun!"

"Tch."

I snicker, only to duck my head at Hitoshi's look of annoyance and Kendo's expression of triumph.

"Hoki-chan, by the way, I know it's not your first time here, but have you met the others?"

Shaking my head, Kendo-chan brightens immediately. Quickly putting away the rest of the desserts, she captures my arm and pulls almost excitedly, heading back into the lobby. She kind of reminds me of Mina in that aspect, or maybe a cross between her and Toru.

"Oh good! I'll go introduce you! Shinsou-kun! Since we're not making a big deal out of things, could you unpackage all of that? We'll be right back!"

Hitoshi makes a rude gesture, one Kendo completely ignores, and the next moment she's pulling me into a group of strangers. A familiar boy with gray hair that I'm fairly sure hangs out with Kirishima on occasion and a dark-haired boy wearing a thick headband look over curiously. Beside them, a girl in possibly the ugliest, frilliest pink dress I've ever seen bounces in place excitedly.

"Guys, this is Hoki Rin-"

"Hi!" the frilly girl interrupts, not bothering to let the class president finish. "I'm Komori Kinoko, 'shrooms! Hi! Do you like mushrooms? Hey Kendo-chan! Kendo-chan! Doesn't she look like Yui-chan?"

The silver-haired one holding his chin squints, leaning forward with interest.

"Hmm… Now that you mention it…"

"Guys, introductions," Kendo sighs, waving their attention back, and the frilly-girl blushes brightly.

"Sorry!"

"Tch. We were getting to it!"

I squint back and forth at the volley of conversation, unable to help it as the silver-haired boy bows suddenly.

"Name's Testsutetsu! Kirishima-kun says you're super cool, so I'm glad to meet yah!"

"That block head?" the dark-haired boy huffs, folding his arms and smirking boldly. "Like that means much. Doesn't he hang out with that explosive fucker, the blonde angry guy? Keh. I'm Awase Yosetsu, by the way."

"Hoki Rin," I nod back, amused at his description of Bakugou. "Nice to meet you."

"But guys! Guys! She looks like Yui-chan, right? Right? 'Shrooms!"

"Komori-chan," Kendo chides lightly.

"Eh?" the dark-haired one—Awase—says, leaning back and making a face. "She kinda does. Yo! Kodai? Oi! Anyone seen Kodai?"

My face heats brightly when the idiot starts looking around shouting, and only warms more when a dark-haired girl reluctantly stands, rubbing her head and making a face.

"Jeez," the person who must be Kodai sighs loudly. I blink as she steps closer, surprised the frilly dressed girl is correct. We do look alike. The dark-haired girl, with hair cut a little longer and to her shoulders, frowns as she notices as well. "Oh… Hi…"

Realizing I'm staring like an idiot, I quickly drop into a bow, face warming at the realization she's pretty.

"I- I'm Hoki Rin, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Kodai Yui," the other girl says, her voice soft and clear. I straighten, feeling an odd energy between us before Kodai turns towards headband and silver, giving both boys a weird look. "Awase-kun, did you need something?"

"Wha… Oh! That! We were-"

"Yui-chan! Yui-chan! Don't you think you and Hoki-chan look alike, 'shrooms?"

The dark-haired boy, apparently not fond of being interrupted, reaches out and pushes on the short, frilly-girl's head. Kirishima's friend, clearly not one to be left out, immediately intervenes, only for Kendo to step in, her tone sour as she immediately starts harping about guests and being kind and-.

I ignore the chaos with practiced ease from living in 1A and instead turn to Kodai—only to find her already heading back.

And feeling rather awkward, just standing there as the four break off into what looks like a rather common argument, I wander quickly after her. She sits with a very hairy, man-sized guy who looks curiously up with a pair of glasses perched on his nose from what looks like a book of Shakespeare.

"Ah, Hoki-chan?"

I nod, unsurprised when I glance backwards to find the frilly-dress girl teasing the dark-haired boy relentlessly behind Kendo's back as the redhead again tries to intervene.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shishida Jurota. How are you enjoying the evening so far?"

I let out a relieved sigh when the larger boy quietly gestures towards the sofa next to him with a very hairy hand. I wonder if he has some sort of bear quirk.

"It's… ah… fine."

Glancing back towards the kitchen, I wonder silently what's taking Hitoshi so long.

Though knowing him, he might just be in there wasting time for the sole purpose of getting me back.

I hang my head.

Socializing is so awkward…

Letting out a deep rumble of amusement, the furry-boy turns instead to my look-alike, grumbling out something about what the others wanted.

"They were making comments about Hoki-chan and my looks," Kodai says, voice flat, and when I glance in her direction, I'm surprised to find her reaching for a plate of what looks like carrots and celery. As if the entire ordeal had been a mild inconvenience, she waves the carrot lazily. "I suppose we're similar, but besides our hair and eye color, the foundational structures of our faces are completely different."

The fur-covered boy removes his glasses, wiping them with a cloth he produces from one of his pockets, then squints and puts them back on.

"Ah… Yeah, I see what you mean. At first glance you two do look very familiar though. Perhaps we can borrow her for the play to be your double as a ghost?"

I blink.

Play?

Ghost?

Are they talking about the festival?

"Does… Does that mean your class decided on what to do?" I ask, curious.

Both teenagers give me a strange look.

"Has your class not?" Kodai asks, brow rising like she's surprised. "Vlad-sensei mentioned it a week ago. I thought the deadline for the decisions was Wednesday…"

I can feel the sweat drop, eye twitching.

Ugh… Sensei!

"Ah… no," I sigh, feeling idiotic. "Sensei—I mean, uh, Aizawa-sensei didn't tell us until today."

"Oh."

I can feel my skin warm, and hurriedly focus on my annoyance with Sensei—and more currently, Hitoshi. What the hell was taking him so long?

This is so awkward…

"We're doing a play," the hairy guy whose name I've already forgotten says kindly. He raises the book in his hand and gestures to the papers spread across the coffee table in front of him. "I'm rereading Romeo and Juliet though because we're hoping to pull ideas from-"

"Excuse me? Shishida-kun? Oh… I'm sorry! I hadn't realized I was interrupting! My apologies!"

I look up and blink at the green, plant-haired girl that blinks curiously back down. Vaguely, I remember her from the sports festival and maybe in passing at the training camp from this summer. Though why, I'm not particularly sure. She blushes nervously under everyone's attention, and I notice her hair, which I at first had thought of as braids, I realize quickly are actually thorns.

I wonder if I can turn mine into shadows thorns…

That sounded kinda cool…

I wonder if her hair actually blooms…

Would it be weird to ask that? Doesn't it prick her when she's sleeping? Does that mean she has extra thick skin?

"Ah…"

"Oh. My apologies for my rudeness," the plant-haired girl says, eyes going wide as she quickly leans forward, hands pressing together as if in prayer. "I'm Shiozaki Ibara. Many blessings upon you. I… I am curious, are you Shinsou-kun's friend? The Hoki Rin that he speaks of often?"

For a second, my thoughts just kind of trainwreck.

The Hoki Rin that he speaks of often?

Hitoshi talks about me?

At my dumbfounded nod, the plant-haired girl's smile becomes more serene and I'm surprised when she reaches out, a hand pressing quite forwardly against my shoulder and squeezing lightly.

"Then I am very thankful to have finally met you. I won't interrupt any further, but please, next time you come to visit, you should stop by my room. I live directly over Shinsou-kun, and I'd love to have tea."

Then, as if done with her message, the girl smiles warmly and sort of sways away.

I just sort of blink in her wake, wondering if that's normal…

Hitoshi…

Where is he?

Kendo, apparently done with her discussion as well, marches over just as the plant-haired girl sort of glides off, except the redhead looks far more annoyed, pinching the bridge of her nose much like Iida (and sometimes even Sensei) does when frustrated with our classmates.

"Sorry Hoki-chan," the redhead sighs, stepping closer and slipping into the space directly beside the hairy guy, and across from my look-alike. "I see you've met Shishida-kun, Kodai-chan, and Shiozaki-chan. Besides them, there's also Tokage-chan, she's the green-haired girl over there, one of our recommendation students, and she's super competitive, so we may wait to speak with her unless you want to be roped into some sort of contest… Oh, and over there, the guy with the gray-blonde hair and exposed teeth, that's Honenuki-kun, he's our other recommendation. He's incredibly smart, but also really friendly. Momo-chan reminds me a lot of him. Oh Rin-kun! Do you see that guy over there? The one with the braid? You may have heard about him as well, him and Shinsou-kun are seatmates and between him and Tsubauraba-kun, they tend to hang out and group up pretty often. Of course, there's also Bondo-kun, he has the yellow head, don't be scared, he's really friendly! Kamakiri-kun, with the green hair and fangs, is a lot like Tokage-chan, and gets really competitive. Yanagi-chan, she's super quiet, the girl over there with the gray-hair and pale skin—I'll introduce you two for sure, she's a great friend. Oh and the dark-haired boy beside her, that's Kaibara, and the one with the shadow-skin, that's Kuroiro and-"

I feel my lips twist down into a scowl as a familiar, annoying blonde crosses his arms and saunters across the lobby.

"Seriously? Ugh… Who invited her?"

"Monoma," Kendo frowns, cutting off her information dump of names to eye the blonde warily. Standing, she crosses her arms and spears the other boy with a particularly sour glare. "You promised."

"You didn't say anything about 1A being here! Especially her! She's always coming over! How do you know she's not here to spy on our festival idea? They already think they're so much better!"

"Monoma!"

I glower, rising immediately to my feet, but Kendo is already handling it. With a few sharp, whispered words, she's forcefully pushing the blond towards the stairs and before I can decide if I want to follow them, move, or just go find out whatever the hell Hitoshi is doing, except Hitoshi is suddenly there leaning forward lazily as if he'd been there the entire time. He raises a brow, lip twitching up as I gape at him.

"Well that was awkward."

I scowl, smacking the purple-haired boy's chest and giving him a sour look.

"Seriously?" I grumble, wrinkling my nose at him. "Where have you been?"

Hitoshi's smirk is full of teeth.

"The kitchen, or did you forget I was left in charge of your never ending boxes of cupcakes. Rin, there are enough cupcakes to feed an army."

"Don't be dramatic," I huff, pursing my lips. "There's only 54."

He rolls his eyes.

"Only? And you didn't think that was excessive?"

Rude.

Crossing my arms, I scowl, annoyed when the other boy just looks amused.

"C'mon," he snorts, nodding towards a corner to where several of the boys had gathered together around a green-haired girl I'm pretty sure Kendo suggested I avoid. "Tokage-chan is in one of her moods, wanna watch her thrash some idiots?"

I grin.

"Will it include the blonde one?"

"Monoma?" Hitoshi asks, one brow rising. "Maybe. Probably if you join in."

I glow.

.

.

.

What starts as an arm-wrestling contest quickly devolves into actual wrestling while Kendo's gone. I join in excitedly, more than happy to shove Kirishima's silver-haired friend into mat and declare my manliness. Hitoshi, red-eared again, grumbles something about spending too much time with weirdoes.

Of course, this leads to some sort of bracket challenge like the sports festival and the blonde idiot does join in. Unfortunately, I don't get a chance to face him. The dark-haired boy, A-something, knocks him out the second round, and somehow, I get paired against my look-a-like, who has no problem using my distraction to toss me out the ring.

In the end, what should have been a final battle with the Tokage girl and insect-looking guy, really becomes Vlad-sensei pulling a surprise attack.

"WHAT IS THIS? IS THAT AN ILLEGAL FIGHT RING?!"

Even knowing he's a pro-hero, I hadn't realized quite how strong he was…

.

.

.

Sensei is in fact waiting for me when I get home.

Sprawled across the couch with Miska stretched against his chest, he looks curiously over from whatever he's reading only to blink at my… disheveled appearance.

"Did you go to a party or a dog fight?" he snorts, before turning back to his book and marking the page.

"Both," I admit, glowing brightly and not waiting for him to sit up. Instead, I lift his legs, slide under them, and steal the spot underneath before dropping them back where they were. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't immediately move, so I lean against the legs, dropping my elbows on them and grinning in excitement. "It was fun, but super awkward at first! Hitoshi-kun apparently didn't want to make a big deal about getting his license, but Kendo-chan said she really wanted to make him feel welcome, cause apparently the other hero student that got the spot quit already! And Hitoshi-kun wouldn't tell me why, but that might have been because he said I embarrassed him with all of the cupcakes. And, really Sensei, why would cupcakes be embarrassing?"

My dark-haired guardian laughs, the sound low and gruff, and I smile as he twists over to set the book on the ground.

Talk with Her: A Dad's essential guide to raising healthy, confident, and capable daughters gleams on the front of the cover, and I can feel my entire body go red.

"Sensei," I whine, leaning forward and shoving my head against his knees. "What are you reading?"

"A book."

I groan, seeing the bright red of my quirk even through my closed eyes.

He snorts, and a moment later a comforting weight presses against my head. I blink up, only to find Sensei's arm stretched out, fingers combing through my hair.

"It's just a book Rin, now what do you want to know? Why cupcakes are embarrassing?"

Peeking around the appendage, I flush an even brighter red at Miska's judgmental gaze. I shove my face back into his knees.

"Right…" he says, the words slow as if waiting for me to sit up. I defiantly don't. Ugh. Why is he reading that? Was that for me?! He lets out an exasperated sigh, retracting the hand. "I doubt it's the cupcakes that Hitoshi found embarrassing, just like I doubt it's the book that's bothering you right now. If I had to guess, it's probably the fact that he wasn't expecting anything and everyone went out of their way to support him."

I sit up, the heat in my cheeks cooling.

"He… He didn't expect anyone to care?" I ask, unable to keep the horror from my tone. "Sensei… what? Why not? But he's my best friend-"

"Rin," Sensei sighs, sitting up as well and dropping an irritated Miska onto the rug below. "That's not what I'm saying."

He moves to remove his legs, but I hold on tightly—not wanting to let go.

He makes a face, but reluctantly leaves them. I'm glad, the weight oddly grounding.

"Look, when Hitoshi was chosen from the applicants to replace Tsunotori Pony and Fukidashi Manga, the atmosphere wasn't like it was in ours. Out of your entire class, you and maybe Asui were some of the few to actually miss Mineta. Because of that, Koda's acceptance into our class was fairly seamless with you being the main obstacle. Koda was able to quickly make friends, and while it took you a while to come around, you were still reasonably polite. Hitoshi has not had the same benefit. Tsunotori and Fukidashi were well liked and deeply missed when their seats were replaced. Kan has struggled with the class dynamic since, including passive-aggressive comments and an overall lack of empathy. Did you not wonder why he continues to sit with his old classmates at lunch in stead of his new ones?"

I stare.

Sensei raises a brow and cocks his head.

"I… I thought he just missed them, since- since they weren't in any more of his classes."

Sensei's smile is small and proud, and I can't help the hot flash of warmth that reverberates in my chest.

"Well, at least you considered it," he shrugs, folding his arms behind his head with a shrug. "The problem with Hitoshi is that he's so used to that treatment, he's resigned himself to it and his classmates, who have grown to respect him didn't know how else to explain it."

"They couldn't have used words?" I ask, lips pursing in annoyance. "You're supposed to apologize when you treat others badly."

"Have you apologized to Koda?" Sensei asks flatly, and I flush before crossing my arms.

"Yes!"

"Hn," Sensei smirks, not looking at all repentant. "Good."

Making a noise, I give up on sitting still and quickly crawl over Sensei, ignoring his surprise, and flopping against his chest like a much bigger Miska before wiggling into the space between him and the couch.

"Really?"

I smile up at him, amused at his ridiculous pout and burying my face in his chest. The feeling of his strong arm against my back more comforting than anything I can remember.

"I love you."

He blinks, looking entirely frozen.

"You're supposed to say it back," I whisper, grinning when two pink spots of color appear on his cheek. He shoves my head down, forcing me away from his face, and I giggle, arms reaching up and swatting away from it.

"S-Sensei!"

"I love you too," he huffs. Then, releasing his hand, drops a warm kiss across my head. "Now tell me the rest?"