Another month another chapter, how's it going everyone? I know I said that I'd be working on my other story, but, after the last chapter did so well, I thought I might as well stoke the flames a bit and move this chapter up my schedule. Got to keep that flame going strong, after all. Anyways, since you all seemed to like the italicized thoughts, I'm going to go ahead and keep those for now. Anyways, that's all for me, so let's get on with the story. Thank you to everyone who offered criticism and allowed me to arrive at this conclusion!

P.S. This chapter is a bit slow as well, sorry for the guys who are hungry for more action. I promise that its coming, but, to ensure proper pacing, I wanted to devote as much to this transitional chapter as possible since I do think it's important for the overall plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own -man or BNHA, all rights go to their respective owners.


Chapter Eighteen: The Most Valuable Things

Allen couldn't help but twitch the second he walked into the conference building. Just down the hallway was a room full of his classmates' families—who were no doubt already neck-deep into the afternoon's agenda—and he was running late. He had to sprint back to the dorm after class to feed Tim earlier, which only added to his already extreme tardiness. "It's just one slipup after another, isn't it?" he thought with a sigh as he nervously straightened his collar. "I've got all my documents in hand, right?" he continued as he checked his pockets. Since he was living by himself, after all, it was his obligation to oversee responsibilities that would normally be reserved for a student's parents. As that thought crossed his mind, Allen couldn't help but frown and pinch the bridge of his nose. "Come to think of it, I never told my teachers or fellow schoolmates that I'm an orphan." Whenever the topic came up, he always allowed it to silently slip under everyone's radar. He was already on bad terms with most of the people at this school, he didn't need any help making him even more of an outcast. "Damn," he whispered as he bit his lip and scratched his hair, "I guess I should've known that this day would come eventually." First that whole debacle with Chin-Mae and the innocence going berserk, and now this. "God has to be testing me," he thought as his gaze turned to a nearby window—the sunlight illuminating his silver, tired eyes. "I spent too much time thinking last night," he said out loud as he stretched his sore arms.

"Innocence acting on its own to protect its host? Preposterous! Such a thing has never been documented before," the words of a Black Order scientist from his days as an exorcist rang through his head. In the past, he'd experienced his innocence lashing out on its own to protect him firsthand. Be it against Eliade at Krory's mansion, or when it patched up his heart after Tyki poked a hole in it back in China. However, neither of those instances were anywhere near as extreme as what had transpired just a little while ago.

"It killed a man on its own," Allen mumbled to himself as his mind wandered back to that horrid afternoon. The stench of the gore still clung to his nostrils like clingwrap, ensuring that the image never truly left him. "What was truly strange about it was the timing," he continued with a frown. "Looking back on it now, there's a chance that the innocence reacted in response to something Chin-Mae did." Going off that hypothesis, he was able to come up with a few theories as to what specifically led to the killer's unfortunate fate. Before he fell into this time period, there were some documented cases of an apostle's innocence causing direct harm to nearby human beings. The most recent being, of course, Lenalee's. "I read a report that, during the journey to Japan, Lenalee's innocence suddenly crystallized. According to the record, any non-accommodator who got close experienced sudden and severe headaches." Innocence causing such a symptom was a concept that he was already quite familiar with. "If I concentrate Crown Clown's latent energy towards a normal person today, they'll experience a similar confliction and pass out." Could it be possible that the innocence killed Chin-Mae in order to protect him? That would make the most sense, but for its first reaction to be death... he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to that.

"You've got two demons inside of you, boy," he recalled Tyki's words from after his escape from the Order. Was this what he was talking about? Allen frowned as he grabbed his left arm, none of this situation sat well with him. If simple exposure could do this much, he hesitated to think about what would happen if he unleashed the full brunt of his innocence on a living being today.

"If the normal population has grown this susceptible to innocence," he thought, "then how the hell am I going to go on living?" He couldn't walk around with a timebomb like this in good conscience, after all. "I guess I should just continue my training," he continued as he stared at his gloved palms. Hopefully, that way, he'd be able to stop the innocence before it did anything drastic. Sadly, he didn't have much time to contemplate this issue, as, before he knew it, he was standing before the conference room entrance. "Let's just get this over with," he mumbled to himself as he slowly opened the door and made his way into the meeting. As expected, the area was packed with his classmates and their parents. All over the staff were embroiled in their own conversations—some of which were more volatile than others. However, even though the tense air of an official gathering hung over them all, Allen couldn't help but detect an odd... warmth... emanating off every soul that was present. He wasn't sure what gave him this warm fuzzy feeling, be it the sight itself, or his classmates' faces, but, for some reason, he felt at peace. "Looking at this now, it really reminds me of how little family played a part at the Order." In that holy organization, most of the soldiers and personnel were orphans or had no kin. Everyone toiled away to ensure everyone on the outside could live to see tomorrow, but few spared any time for their own personal lives. Looking at it from that perspective, this very well could be the first time he was able to experience such a breadth of familial warmth on this scale.

"The people at the Order, they're my family now," Allen recalled Lenalee's words from way back when. He always found that that line resonated with him, in some small way, but this was... pleasantly different.

"I must be losing my mind," he mumbled to himself with a large grin. "If someone saw me smiling like this at such a gathering, they'd think I was some kind of weirdo." In the end, the human mind—and what it found pleasant—was probably something that he'd never fully understand. And so, not wanting to ruin this quaint moment, Allen silently made his way over to a nearby chair and got himself comfortable.

"Katsuki, you really should smile more! Hey, young man, don't you growl at me!" Allen heard one of the women say as he watched Bakugo get dragged over to one of the many awaiting teachers. Several of the students were enthralled in similar situations, while others—like Midoriya—were mostly progressing at a normal pace. As he surveyed this busy scene, eventually his gaze rested upon a familiar face.

"Metal Meister is here?" Allen thought as he raised an eyebrow. He knew that the man had ties to U.A., but to be at a parent teacher conference like this was simply bizarre—especially when he considered the fact that the man had no children. Or, if he did, none who went to this school. "I wonder what's going on," he mumbled to himself as he turned his attention back to his classmates. Like magic, his nervousness and woes seemed to fade away into nothing as he stared upon their happy faces. "To think, if the war had turned out differently, none of these people would be alive today." That history that the world had forgotten, what would happen if it ever came to light? As he sat there, pondering that question, Allen soon found himself staring off into space with an expression of pure bliss. However, this momentary happiness was short-lived, as it didn't take long before a few of the people in attendance noticed his presence.

"Ah, there you are, kid!" Metal Meister called out to him with a wave—garnering the attention of every person in the meeting hall. "Why didn't you speak up?" the corrupt hero continued as he walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that he was just trying to lighten the mood, sadly, all he managed to accomplish was thrusting Walker out into the open. "Oh," he started when he finally noticed what he'd done. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, it was bound to happen sooner or later," Allen responded with a nod as he gave the man a small thumbs up. After the two shared their little moment, Aizawa and All Might gathered their things and headed over to where Walker was sat. The entire point of this gathering was to quell the suspicions surrounding him, after all. "Ah," Allen started as he put on small smile and turned his head towards the approaching teachers, "Mr. Aizawa, Mr. All Might, how've you two been?" he asked.

"Just fine, Mr. Walker, thanks for asking," All Might responded as Aizawa took out his clipboard and frowned.

"That's odd," the man thought as he pursed his lips. "You'd assume that Walker's parents would arrive first." He knew for a fact that he requested the administration to send the boy's guardians an official notice. Was it possible that they didn't receive the message? "No," the man continued as he shook his head, "they most likely live overseas. The principal will probably show up in the next few minutes notifying us that Walker's kin will be attending virtually." Such a thing happening wasn't entirely unheard of, after all. Especially in today's hectic climate.

"It's quite packed, you two must be busy," Walker told them as he got up and gave the pair of teachers a curt bow. As usual, the boy's manners were right on the mark.

"That must've scored him a few points," All Might wondered as he stealthily glanced over at some of the onlooking parents. He knew that most of them meant well, and didn't want to cause any trouble, but it was simply impossible for none of them to have any concerns over Walker's attendance. Killing a person like he did at his age... such a monumental occurrence wasn't something that could be taken lightly.

"Mr. All Might, are you okay?" the boy asked him as he raised a concerned eyebrow. Snapped out of his thoughts, All Might immediately shifted his focus back to the task at hand and grinned.

"Oh, yes, sorry about that," he started as he handed Walker a small stack of documents. "Those are the papers you have to fill out as a transfer student. When you get the chance, go ahead and give your parents a call—I'm certain they'll be happy to help you with them." At the man's words, for obvious reasons, Allen couldn't help but frown. Without saying a word, he nodded and took the documents.

"Ah hell," Metal Meister thought as he stared at the boy. "I knew it," he continued as he pinched the bridge of his nose. After spending so much time with Walker, he was able to pick up on a few of the kid's tics. And what he just saw was one of them. "Then again, since I'm the one who got him his fake passports and such, maybe I shouldn't be surprised." And so, without making a sound, the corrupt hero hurried to Walker's side and leaned over. "You know, kid," he whispered, "if you can't contact your parents—or if they're dead—you should go ahead and list the name of a faux guardian or something. I'll think up some excuse," he continued. However, that only seemed to make Walker's mood even worse.

"Damn," the boy thought as he let out a breath through his nostrils, "this is tough." In the face of all this genuine family, he was honestly struggling to keep up. Could he really continue an act when he knew for a fact that he was surrounded by the real deal?

"Walker?" Metal Meister started as he lightly patted his shoulder. "Are you okay, boy?" he asked.

"Me?" Walker responded as he tried his best to keep his composure. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine." In the end, all he had to do was slip on his mask. Like a puppet out of a play, his tragedy would be hidden under a veil of jovial glee. Sometimes, his skill for acting was so great that it even scared himself, as Metal Meister fell for his ploy hook, line, and sinker.

"Well, if you say so," the man conceded as he took a step back. In the end, Walker's life wasn't something he could lead along like some shepherd. "Go and get 'em, tiger," he mumbled with a smile. As this happened, Walker's classmates slowly made their way over to the boy. A strange stillness hung in the air—almost as if a depressing aura was lingering in all of their lungs. "You've got to be shitting me," Metal Meister thought as he bit his lip. "If they're going to try bullying him again, I swear to God that—"

"Alright, that's enough!" Aizawa called out, cutting the corrupt hero's train of thought short. "Now that Walker's arrived, we can finally start this meeting in earnest," he thought with a sigh. "Parents, you know the drill, at the end of the session—after you fill out your questionnaire—please leave your paperwork on the desk near the front of the room. Walker, when your parents get here, I'd like you to tell them to do the same."

"I—" Walker started, struggling to fill the crushing uneasiness that filled his soul. "Got it," he finished as he smiled and gave his teachers a small bow. As usual, Aizawa and All Might both smiled and returned the gesture. It was strange, but in this atmosphere which warmed him down to the bone, Allen just couldn't find it in himself to reach out to anyone. If he did, somehow, he felt that it would be similar to intruding on their quaint lives. And so, he opted to retreat back to his previous seat. "These people are truly blessed," he thought to himself as he watched the meeting begin to toil and churn. Meanwhile, on the other end of the conference hall, Midoriya and the rest of his classmates were starting to gather.

"Well here we are," Kaminari started as he turned to Uraraka and Midoriya. "So, which one of us is going to go on over and apologize?" he asked. As expected, this statement was immediately met with an awkward silence. After all, at their age, admitting one's faults wasn't something that was easily accomplished. Especially when it came to such heavy topics. However, this class was no stranger to adversity, and it didn't take long for one of them to step up to the challenge.

"Damn, if you guys want to waste time being moody, I'll go ahead and get this headache over with now," Bakugo—who had somehow broken away from his parents—growled as he scratched the back of his head. "It ain't like you all beat him up or anything like that, an issue on this level should be easy to resolve," he continued as he crossed his arms and scowled.

"He's really grown," Midoriya thought with a smile as he listened to his old schoolyard bully. He was still rough around the edges, but that whole mix up at Kamino Ward really changed the boy for the better—even if it was only a slight improvement. "Maybe that's why his mom has been so energetic lately." He heard the stories of how explosive Mrs. Bakugo was, but, based on what he was seeing now, the woman was anything but that. Sure, she was loud and frequently yelled at her son, but there was a distinct sense of pride wafting off her being whenever she walked by. And her son's growth, in his opinion, was the most likely cause of this.

"No offense, man, but I don't think that's a good idea," Kirishima added as he jabbed a thumb in Midoriya's direction. "Personally, I think someone like Midoriya or Uraraka would be a better fit. I mean... we're trying to build bridges, not burn them down." At his friend's statement, all Bakguo could do was frown and grind his teeth. For, as annoyed as the boy was, he knew that Kirishima was right.

"That's a good point," Iida and Yaoyorozu both chimed in. "Midoriya's probably our best bet when it comes to things like this," Iida continued as he grinned and nodded at the boy. After all, whenever their class hit a low point, Midoriya was always there to cheer them all up. He just gave off an air of serenity when he was in the room. And, especially after their chaotic internships, that drive seemed to resonate with each and every one of them. If he put in the work, there was no doubt that they'd be able to properly convey their feelings to their mistreated classmate.

"Well then, if everyone's okay with that, Midoriya, it looks like you've got a job to do!" Yaoyorozu announced as she clapped her hands together and lightly pushed the boy in Walker's direction. "You don't have to be too forward," she said, "just act natural and we'll take it from there." They might've been adolescents, but they were heroes in training, a paltry issue like this could be easily overcome if they just put in the effort. And so, even though he was nervous, Midoriya understood why he was chosen and accepted his role without complaint.

"Okay," he thought to himself as he nervously swallowed a mouthful of his own saliva, "let's get this over with." With fire in his belly, All Might's apprentice perked up and—after a quick jaunt over to his mother to ensure there were no other questions that required his immediate input—headed off to heal the festering wound which had long afflicted their class. The closer he got to the boy, the heavier his footsteps felt, and soon it was almost as if every step was a trial in and of itself. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm so nervous," Midoriya pondered with a sigh. All his life, he had been the victim of bullying. And, even though he didn't physically do anything to Walker, he knew quite well that this intentional neglect must've weighed heavy on his classmate's heart. The image of him rushing to and from the cafeteria during break hours would be seared into his retinas for ages to come. However, even though this situation scared him, he knew exactly what he had to do. "Hey, man, how's it going?" he started—his tone so quiet it was almost a whisper—as he made his way up to where the boy was sitting.

"Oh, Midoriya," Walker started as his gaze suddenly snapped to his unexpected visitor. It appeared that he had been busy pondering something. "What's up? Did Mr. Aizawa call for me?" there was a slight hint of confusion laced within Walker's tone—no doubt a result of his shock of actually being approached by one of his comrades—but Midoriya purposefully ignored it. At this point, this situation was already too awkward for him to bear. Adding more onto that by offering needless explanations would only hamper the goal of this little outing.

"Uh, no, actually," Midoriya mumbled, stuttering over every word, as he hastily took a seat in a chair neighboring Walker's.

"What in the world is he doing?" Allen thought as he watched Midoriya fidget every which way. He wanted to ask him what was wrong, but, before he had the chance, Midoriya spoke up.

"I... I don't know what to say," he started as he nervously jabbed a finger over in the direction of the rest of Class 1-A. "I guess I'm supposed to be an ambassador of sorts, but, to be honest, figuring out where to even begin is tough." With a sigh, Midoriya put his hands on his knees and turned his torso to Walker—giving his classmate a curt bow with the top half of his body. "The only real option I have to start with this," he thought as he bit his lip. "So, um, allow me to say that we're sorry!" he continued, completely catching Allen and Metal Meister—who was eavesdropping from a nearby table—off guard.

"You're... sorry?" Walker mumbled as his cheeks turned red. "Wait," he continued, "what's this all about?" At his words, Midoriya frowned and stared at his friends. They, too, were having a hard time keeping their composure.

"Ah," Midoriya thought as he gave Uraraka a nod. "It's exactly as it sounds," he told the boy as he scratched the back of his neck. "Me, and the rest of our class, want to apologize for... y'know... ignoring you ever since you killed that villain. I know it may not sound genuine, since I'm the only one apologizing right now, but we all thought that this would be the best method to get through to you. Especially after we purposefully left you out of our class' party back during the cultural festival." Like a snake's venom, that underlying sense of neglect had slowly ate through their hearts ever since that day. It was easy to simply ignore a person, but, after the party, they were all forced to recognize the reality of their actions. "Behavior like that is unbecoming of U.A.'s future heroes," he said, "and we all completely understand if you decide not to forgive us. You're a transfer student, after all, this was supposed to be one of the coolest experiences of your life and we—"

"Stop," Walker cut him off as the initial expression of shock slowly vanished from his face. Truth be told, he didn't really know how to process this. Just a few moments earlier he was in the middle of a mental crisis, and now here he was on the receiving end of an apology that he never thought he'd obtain. How was one supposed to respond to such a thing? Normally, he'd assume that it was only natural to accept his classmates' olive branch. However, the second that thought crossed his mind, the image of Chin-Mae's dead body came screaming back to the surface. "No," he finally spoke after what seemed like minutes of awkward silence, "you all were right to do what you did. We may still be in school, but this institution is a famous one, I understand that none of you want to risk your careers by hanging out with a killer like me." His retort surprised Midoriya, but, at the same time, the boy wasn't exactly shook by this turn of events.

"I never realized before now, Walker, but you're too hard on yourself," Midoriya said as he watched a bird fly past one of the windows. "I'm sure you had good reasons for killing that villain. Maybe you thought about doing something like immobilizing his arm, but, in that moment, I'm certain your mind simply resorted to the simplest option it had available." If he was being honest with himself, Midoriya knew that he—and the rest of his classmates—were still disturbed by that incident. However, continuing to uphold this maddening status quo simply wasn't an option anymore. "We've all got to learn to be more truthful to ourselves if we want to become the best heroes we can be," he continued with a smile. Yet again, his words brought Walker into another state of deep thought. "Well... if you want to or not, it's entirely up to you. Give it some thought, and, if you choose to forgive us, you're welcome to join us in the lobby after this meeting is over. Kaminari brought down a few games, I'm sure it'll be a blast." With that, Midoriya gave his pondering classmate a small wave goodbye before hopping up and hurrying to his mom—who was in the middle of an important talk with All Might.

"Being more truthful... to myself, huh?" Walker thought as he balled his hands up into a fist. "I've lived as a performer all my life, doing something like that isn't so easy," he continued. "However, I can't just sit here stuck in the same spot. I've got to keep moving forward, no matter what it takes." In the end, no matter how much encouragement another gave, the act of change all came down to an individual's own will. "If those guys, who live with such warm families, can swallow their pride and accept me as one of their own. Then I must be willing to extend to them the same courtesy." If that was the case, then he couldn't afford to waste time sitting here wallowing in his own self pity. They say that every journey begins with the first step, and—if he truly wanted to stand alongside his fellows—he'd have to take it.

"Are you okay, kid?" Metal Meister thought as he stared at the boy. He didn't hear everything that Midoriya told him, but what little information he did gleam from their short conversation was... encouraging... to say the least. "You've got that fire in your eyes again, Allen Walker." It had been a long time since he'd seen the boy so motivated. Whatever happened, he could tell that it must've been exactly what he needed. "Oh, what's this?" Metal Meister whispered to himself as he watched Walker stand up and make his way to the center of the hall—where Aizawa and All Might were sat. "Let's hope that you know what you're doing," he finished with a grin.

"Hey, All Might," Aizawa mumbled as he hastily got the hero's attention. "You might want to finish up that conversation you're having," he said—jabbing a thumb in Walker's direction.

"Oh, I see," All Might nodded as he clapped his hands together and turned around. "Mr. Walker," he started with a slight chortle, "did you finally manage to contact your parents?" he asked as his eyes darted down to the boy's side—where he was holding a small stack of documents. "Did you finish the paperwork already?" he continued, his eyes wide, as Walker nodded and handed the pair the bundle of papers.

"Yeah, thanks to my circumstances, they didn't take too long," he said as All Might hastily started to flip through some of the forms. Most of them were parental approval slips for future trips and activities. One of the focal points of these conferences were ironing out any worries that families may have—such as the dangers of internships and whatnot—and that usually took quite a bit of time.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Walker, most of these are blank," All Might started with a frown as he attempted to hand the documents back to him. "We can't accept these without your parents' signatures. If they're busy, can you call them and have them fill out a digital form? We have a printer here, so it shouldn't be a problem." At first, the two teachers simply chalked Walker's strange actions up to a simple result of miscommunication, he was a foreigner, after all. There was a chance that he simply didn't understand some of the questions, but, after their eyes met with the boy's, they both knew that that wasn't the case.

"About that," Allen started as he—in an attempt to relieve some of the tension in the air—gave them a warm smile, "I wanted to ask you guys, but what do I do if I don't have anyone who can fill out the forms?" His question was delivered in such a well-intentioned tone that it took the pair of heroes a few moments to process what the student was trying to say. Like the professional he was, Aizawa immediately spoke up.

"If you don't have any typical kin, or if you were originally an orphan, you can just go ahead and list the names of your guardians or orphanage," he responded in a dry, almost bureaucratic, manner. Truth be told, the boy's teacher was currently speaking on autopilot. With this bombshell dropped in his lap—especially when he considered that meeting Walker's parents was the entire reason for this conference—it completely threw him off-balance. However, even though he and All Might were both startled by this sudden upset, neither of them knew that it was about to get much worse.

"Hah, well that's going to be a problem," Allen continued. "I'd rather not tell them about Mana right now," he thought. "If I told them about him, that would just lead to more questions." In that case, he'd have to layer on lie after lie to avoid telling them about his true nature. And, for obvious reasons, he couldn't take that risk. "The truth is, I actually grew up on the streets for most of my life." When it came down to it, telling them the truth was really his only option. "I've always been alone, so I don't have anyone besides myself to list." Yet again, his gleeful tone masked the heavy nature of what he was telling the two teachers. And, as hard as he tried, Allen couldn't stop his ploy from at least partially backfiring.

"You've got to be joking," All Might thought as he slowly stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What... how in the world... what do we do now?" This news truly knocked the wind out of him. However, before he got the chance to ask Walker to evaluate, someone else cut him off.

"Walker," Bakugo spoke up—his eyes wide—as he stared at the boy, "you're an orphan?" he asked. Of course, out of all the students who could've overheard them, it had to be him.

"Shit," Aizawa thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose. There was nothing he could do to stop this now. No matter how hard he tried, this news would spread throughout the room like wildfire. "Crap," he continued as the rest of the students started to take notice, "everything is about to spiral out of control."


Author's Note

Well another day another chapter, huh? Thankfully this one didn't take too long. I finally finished editing my first large novel, and it's been sent off for beta reading, so I suddenly have a ton more time to write these stories. So look forward to more frequent releases for the next few months, just know that it won't last forever. The reason I release a chapter a month, after all, is due to that other project—so when I get the draft back it'll be back to the regular grind. But that's our future selves' problem. For now, let's just get on with this story, shall we? Again, thank you so much for all the support, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A Tale of Two Endlings!

Chapter Nineteen: True Warmth