Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a few manga volumes. Maybe to learn what the One Piece is. Instead, I found myself in a world that I recognised, a story I had read and what's worse was that it was a story I had no interest in wanting to involve myself in! Then and again, the offer to become a Hero is far too tempting...

38. Issue 37

Bleach opening 5 - Rolling Star by Yui

Sorry for the late upload, I'll explain at the end of the chapter.

---

Tomura Shigaraki POV

Tomura Shigaraki was furious.

"And the news is just in folks! The villain All Might was fighting just an hour ago has been confirmed dead! We at the Daily Japan Times are relieved to hear that our Symbol of Peace and Justice won another fight! Moving on to other news, the next general election is coming very soon! Only two months left, so start to register in order for your votes to be counted! Leading the part rankings today, Hachi Yamaguchi has somehow managed to find herself at the top of the rankings-,"

He threw the TV remote at the screen, breaking it upon impact.

'Sensei was… sensei was…'

Dead.

All For One was dead.

"Tomura boy, you shouldn't look so downtrodden!" Garaki tried to cheer him up, "Our master might have died, but his will lives on. Through you-," His sentence was cut off as a sword was pointed at his throat, drawing a small amount of blood from the doctor.

"Shigaraki is his own person. Leave, or else I'll kill you." Shigaraki had never seen Zero lose his temper like that, no it was more accurate to say that Zero was in a bad mood already and he was taking it out on Garaki. And that made Shigaraki even more furious.

"You dare?" His temper flared as he stood up to face Zero. "Sensei is dead, you said he would win! You should be the one to leave! Go, before I kill you!"

"That's right, Tomura. Master only wanted the best for you, and I have just the thing to make you even stronger to get back at All Might-,"

Zero didn't drop his sword, instead, he moved it closer to Garaki's throat. He wasn't playing around. "Shigaraki, my information is exactly that - Information. Your sensei didn't use my information properly, he grew complacent. I tried everything to ensure he would live, but he didn't follow my instructions. Garaki here will lead you to your subsequent failure as well, so I have a proposition here. Let me kill him and destroy all his research."

"Now, now," Mr Compress stood up, "Cutting off a valuable member like Garaki is going to cause us more damage in the long run. It's not a good decision-,"

"I disagree," Dabi interjected, "I say kill the doctor. But keep his research, you never know when we might need it. But he reminds me of a weasel, someone that would rat us out for his own safety."

Shigaraki stared at Garaki, who was creating more and more excuses by the second. It was pathetic, like watching a child cling to a broken toy. But sensei trusted Garaki, and so would he.

"If you kill Garaki, consider the deal you had with sensei to be invalid. Do you really think you'll escape this room while trying to fight all of us? You're stuck here with us. Think, Zero, do you really think you can win?"

But Zero merely laughed underneath his mask, annoying Shigaraki even more.

"That's where you're mistaken. I'm not stuck here with you, you're stuck in here with me. You can invalidate the deal if you'd like, I'll kill you all in response. I don't care whether I live or not, winning or losing doesn't mean anything at the end of the day. Death means nothing to me. But if you'd like to see your 'sensei' then I'll send you to him. Listen to me Shigaraki, I just want you to succeed. Getting rid of Garaki is that first step."

"Tomura, don't listen to the poison this boy is feeding you! Master chose me to help you, and that's all I want to do! This boy will lead to your death, just as he led master to his demise! He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, his olive branch will most surely lead to our defeat. You must get rid of him, don't listen to a single word he's saying!" Garaki shouted, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Shut up!" Shigaraki yelled in anger, scratching his neck angrily. Look at what they made him do. "The both of you, just shut up. Sensei is dead. All Might needs to die. I want to kill him with my own hands, but bickering like this annoys me. We aren't solving anything by standing around! We need to fight back!" Tomura Shigaraki was going to kill All Might, he was going to brutalise him. Tear him apart, piece by piece.

He was going to get his revenge.

"If you want revenge, then you should listen to me," Zero replied, "All For One had an empire. But his empire fell around him, you can make another empire. One to not only challenge All Might but society itself. If you listen to me-,"

"No," Shigaraki was done listening to him. "Leave. I don't trust a single thing you say."

"Go ahead and make a foolish decision!" Zero yelled, pointing his sword towards Shigaraki's throat. "If you want revenge, ignoring me isn't going to help you at all. I'm your biggest weapon, if you want to win then you'll come to me. Information is the strongest weapon in this age, and I'm offering it to you. Your goals will never be achieved without my help, you'll fail just like you master. I'll give you three months to do whatever it is you want. I'll only complete any tasks you give me, but once those months are up, once you see how much you need me I'll be right here, waiting."

"I don't need you. I've never needed you!" He screamed at the masked man, only to get no response.

"You think that you don't need me, but I'm a necessary evil if you want to succeed. You may not like me, you may wish that I shut my mouth up or that you kill me, but the fact is that I have the knowledge that you need in order to win. Personally, I don't care whether you take my advice or not - I can achieve my goals in many different ways. This may be the fastest, but I'm a patient man. Just as the world needs heroes to survive, the world also needs villains to balance it out. That's the status quo, but if you want to chsnge it, be my guest. I'll remain here, waiting for your answer."

Zero then walked out of the room calmly, which only annoyed Shigaraki even more.

Who does he think he is?!

'I'll show him. I don't need his help.'

---

DECIDE 2

'Under the Sky So Blue'

---

"Moving on to other news, the next general election is coming very soon! Only two months left, so start to register in order for your votes to be counted! Leading the part rankings today, Hachi Yamaguchi has somehow managed to find herself at the top of the rankings while Daisuke Ryuichi has fallen down by two ranks! This could be due to his recent controversial comments over the Kamino Ward debacle earlier this week. Here is the following excerpt from his outburst!"

I turned my head to face my monitor.

"Winners? Losers? Our nation is crying in pain, ten innocent people died due to the carelessness of the heroes! And yet you want me to cheer for them? All Might casually murdered a human on live TV! Sure, they were a villain, but the fact is that the youth of this nation is celebrating a loss of life! What happened to rehabilitation? Since when were the heroes that we look up Judge, Jury and Executioners? I will not stand for this!"

Huh.

"What do you think?" I swing my chair around to face Jiro, who was sitting on my bed. "Like, who do you want to win? Ryuichi or Yamaguchi? I don't really care either way."

"Yamaguchi. She said she wants to help others, plus I feel like she genuinely wants to help our country. Ryuichi's ideas and stuff just feels out of place, you know what I mean?"

I nodded at her, leaning back on my chair. "Yeah, sorta. He sounds like a guy from like one hundred years ago at least, maybe more. Wouldn't be surprised if he was a closeted racist or something, he's pretty strongly anti-foreigner. Well, he's a strong advocate for anti-western policies on our 'great country.' I don't like him one bit, but not like Yamaguchi is any better. Her policies, more like suggestions, are really stupid. Making heroes tell everyone their real name to 'build trust is something I'd hate to do."

"Yeah, having fans call you by your real name just makes me anxious. That sounds like a recipe for disaster." She replied, "But enough about politics. How do you feel after, uhm, you know?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." All For One was dead. I couldn't believe it at the time, but the longer I stared at his dead body, the more it began to sink in. I would never be able to tell anyone the truth myself. I still didn't know how to feel, and that was primarily due to Jiro visiting me every day until U.A reached out and told us what would happen to our class. Even Aizawa had been silent, despite my numerous calls, which made me anxious even more.

I remember there being talks on what to do with 1A, perhaps to even disband us. Everyone in the class had gone back home, even Uraraka with her expensive train journey courtesy of U.A. But all of us were waiting with bated breath on what would happen to our class. Naturally, I felt guilty because this whole thing wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone with the villains or had made a different deal with Zero, but Jiro was surprisingly stubborn.

"If you blame yourself for what's happening, I'll punch you in the arm." She told me, almost as if she were a psychic and could read my mind.

"I'm not! I'm just thinking about how beautiful you look today." I replied, grinning at her as she blushed heavily, burying her face into her knees. She wore a denim skirt up to her knees and an oversized white t-shirt from some random band that she had tucked in. She was even wearing earrings, and gold studs at that, along with some light makeup which made her look even better. Ever since I kissed her… well things were 'progressing.' By that I mean she was being more open to me, and I with her, but neither of us really had the courage to bring up the incident.

"Are you trying to be smooth?"

"Oi, I am smooth. Natural charisma right here, I can make any girl I talk to laugh."

"I promise you, they aren't laughing with you, they are laughing at you."

"Meanie!" I yelled, throwing the pillow I was sitting on at her. "Take that back."

"Never." Jiro replied, throwing the cushion right back at me. I deftly dodged it by pushing my chair out of the way, before I ended up on my bed… pinning her down to it. I didn't dare move for a second, but it wasn't like Jiro wanted me to get off her either - If anything she wanted me to do this as she smiled at me. Did she want me to kiss her? Did she want me to hug her? Just what the hell did she want me to do-,

"Oh my god," I jumped off my bed and onto the floor, leaving Jiro flustered as I turned towards my door. Miwa was standing there, her mouth wide open from shock. No, that was from excitement, wasn't it? Especially as she began to jump up and down on the ground like a child, before throwing a box at me. I managed to catch it in time, which deserved some praise because that throw was horrible before I read what the box actually said which froze the blood around my body.

Condoms.

"I-, You-," I threw the box right at Miwa's head, refusing to look at either her or Jiro in embarrassment. What. The. Fuck. Actually no, don't even think of the word 'fuck' after that, because naturally, my thoughts were going to go towards-,

Nope.

Nope.

"I just thought you wanted a little present. Since Mum and I are going out to do some shopping for you, and Gekko is buying us all takeout, this is your chance to score it big with your girlfriend. The both of you are of legal age to fuck anyways, so be sure to be extra loud so the neighbours complain, 'kay?"

"Girlfriend? I never said she was my girlfriend," I then turned to look at Jiro, who deflated at that slightly, she was even pouting. "Okay, maybe she's sorta my girlfriend, but nothing is official yet. Like, we haven't talked about it."

"Perfect. You can have sexual intercourse with each other, exploring each other's body wherever you can."

"H-hold up! How the hell did you find out about Jiro being my… Who told you?!"

"Mina." Miwa replied as it was the most obvious thing ever.

"And why do you message Mina? In fact, how the hell did Mina find out?!" Oh man, no wonder she was trying to message me more suggestively lately. She was trying to find out if Jiro and I were official yet!

"Uhm, well, we were sorta talking and one thing led to another, so…" Jiro stammered out, refusing to look at my eyes. "Surprise?"

"Surprise," I repeated, sarcastically. "Okay, whatever. But no. Jiro-, Er, Kyoka and I will not be having sex. Not now!" I then paused to think about what I said, before quickly backtracking. "N-not to say I don't want to have sex with her, it's just that. Uhm..."

"The timing isn't right?" Jiro asked, and I clicked my fingers at that answer.

"Yes! You know, we still haven't figured things out. So, we can't do it yet. Yeah," This was so fucking - for fucks sake- awkward. "Miwa, just leave. And take the box with you, or else I'll throw it at your head again. You… stupid sibling."

"Stupid sibling? Is that it? Really? Is your girlfriend making your insults more retarded or what? You really were dropped on the head as a kid or something. But whatever you say, my blue-haired dildo of a brother. I hope you enjoy your 'alone time' together!" Miwa then slammed the door shut, making sure to throw the box right back at me before she did so. I then heard her run towards the front door, rushing to put on her shoes, before she slammed that shut as well, leaving only Jiro, me and a box of condoms in the house. All alone.

"Well, that just happened." I quipped, hoping to make Jiro laugh.

She didn't laugh.

That made me panic.

Jiro didn't speak for about a minute after Miwa left the house, but that minute of silence felt like an hour. Even two hours! I opened my window, chucking the box of condoms out the window before I closed it, hoping to never see that box ever again. I then sat down on my bed, next to Jiro, waiting for when she decided to start a conversation with me again. Or was I supposed to initiate the conversation? Fuck me, love really is war. I cleared my throat, opening my mouth to speak.

"So, Sora, about us I-, Wait, you go first."

"No, no, you go first. I insist."

"You were going to talk before I interrupted you. It's only fair."

"Yeah, but you were speaking first."

The two of us entered a staring competition, before giggling at our antics. I didn't know if she was laughing at us, at me, or just at the situation. So I just went along with her laughter, hoping that it would make her feel more comfortable. Or something.

"About us," Jiro began once again, taking my hand into hers. Holy shit, my hands were sweating immensely, more so than usual. "Sora, did you really mean what you said?"

"Yeah," I answered, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I ain't messing about, or lying, Kyoka I do want to be with you. Only if you want to be with me that is, and even if you reject me it'll be no hard feelings. Honest." Please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me, please don't reject me.

"Idiot," She replied, punching me lightly in the shoulder, "Putting pressure on me like that isn't cool."

"Huh? I'm putting pressure on you?"

"You-, Argh. You're so frustrating in the worst ways possible," Huh? What was she talking about? "Sora, just listen to me. I, well, I like you as well." Huh?!

"So you'll go out with me?" Holy shit-,

Jiro shook her head, dashing my hopes to the floor, trampling them, setting them on fire before finishing them by blowing them up with a missile strike. "It's not that I don't want to date you, I do. But, I don't want to lose my best friend either," She explained. Ah. That made much more sense. "I don't want things between us to go to the point that it'll be weird forever. Is it bad for me to feel this way?"

"Nah," I replied, scratching my head relieved. "I get that. We're young, so no need to rush things. How about we remain as friends, only with extra benefits? Like ya' know, stuff only we can do with each other."

"Yeah! Like, uhm, holding hands together? Wait no, that's childish…"

"Nu-uh. I want to do that." I replied.

"Really? Okay. We can hold hands all you want. Hugs? But we already hug each other. Oh, how about kisses? We can kiss each other! Right?" I nodded at that.

"Sure. Wanna kiss?"

"L-like right now?"

"Only if you want."

Jiro nodded, smiling as she leaned over towards me, closing her eyes as she kissed me on the lips briefly, before pulling away in embarrassment.

"H-how was that? It was bad, wasn't it?"

I shook my head at that. "Bad? That was the best kiss I've ever had in my life!" …it was the only kiss I'd had in my entire life, but it's not like I'd tell her that. She was already nervous from just doing this, if I told her this, well the results wouldn't be pretty.

"Oh and no dating anyone else!" She added.

"Yeah, but I thought that was obvious. Well, I'm glad we sorted this out. It's around eight PM, want me to drive you home? Since you're my friend with extra benefits, I'll allow you to hold onto me extra tighter if you want," Please Jiro, hold onto me harder. Please. "I'll even let you drive my bike for a bit if you want, only if you want to of course!"

"Fine, but I don't care about driving," Jiro straightened out her skirt. "I'll probably crash your bike because I don't know how to drive. Why would you even offer that to me? Do you want me to kill you?"

I grinned at that, getting up from my bed, and extending my right hand towards her. "I shall lead you to our carriage, mademoiselle," I said in a weird accent. "I shall take you to the moon and back."

"Just take me to my house instead."

"Your wish is my command."

I grabbed the keys to my bike from the kitchen counter, before putting my shoes on, slamming the door shut as I held Jiro's hand and walked towards my bike. I gave her my helmet, before turning the bike on and getting on it. Jiro sat behind me, snugly wrapping her arms around my waist, which definitely didn't make me blush. Nope. Not at all.

"Make sure to go slow, okay? I don't like it when you try to go fast and drift around corners."

"Anything for you, mademoiselle." I tried not to sound too dejected at that, but if that was her wish then oh well. That doesn't mean that on the return journey I couldn't drift around the corners or drive fast. Luckily, traffic wasn't too bad as I drove Jiro to her house, which unlike the flat I lived in was an actual house. Although, it was near the outskirts of Musutafu, which made it cheaper overall. Unlike me, where the nearest train station was ten minutes away from my house, she had to take two buses to get to hers. Despite the two of us getting the same train and getting off at the same station, she had a long journey to get home compared to me.

Which made it all the funnier that I was late compared to her nine times out of ten.

The sun was beginning to set, and I looked at the time on my bike. Nine PM. Guess traffic had slowed me down more than I thought, even if it was tamer than the usual city traffic I had grown accustomed to. Sadly, I couldn't even drive myself to school because of the traffic. Not to say that I would, but picking up Jiro in the mornings and driving together to school would be...

"You know, watching you drive is really cool." She whispered in my ear.

I grinned at that, revving the engine as I moved into the right lane to overtake other cars.

Sadly, after a few minutes, I had to turn left in order to reach Jiro's house. I tried not to look too dejected at that, there would be plenty of chances in the future to show my driving skills off, but our time was cut short today. Eventually, we arrived at Jiro's house in one piece, just a little over half past nine. Not before I managed to park from a drift, leaving tire marks on the ground below. She got off the bike, clearly flustered, and she punched me in the arm angrily.

No, to say she was angry was an understatement.

She was pissed.

"I told you not to do that!" Jiro yelled at me angrily, "And the first thing you do after agreeing not to drift is to do exactly that!"

"But, you can admit that it was cool, right?"

"Well, sorta. I suppose," Jiro answered, "But only because you did it. I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it other than you, I wasn't afraid that you'd crash or anything. I was just afraid that someone driving opposite us wouldn't look carefully or something."

I grinned at that.

Jiro trusted my driving.

I was such a manly man that I'd even make Kirishima proud once he heard what she said to me.

"Alright then, I'm gonna go. But before I go, want to give me a reward?" I asked, grinning at Jiro who simply rolled her eyes at me. You know, I realised I was the type of boy that a girl's parents hated. The type of boy that fathers would get angry with if their daughter brought them home, which was why when she kissed me once again, I laughed as Kyotoku Jiro, her father, opened the upstairs window and threw a roll of paper at me.

"Not my daughter, you son of a bitch!" He yelled angrily.

I saluted him, which only infuriated him even more.

"Sorry, Kyotoku, looks like I defiled your precious daughter. You'll never guess what her breath smells like. Or her hair. Or the colours of her panties." I said that line a little too loud as Kyotoku grew even more enraged at me, and so did Jiro who punched me in the shoulder once more, this time with a little more force. But even Kyotoko couldn't help but grin at the two of us.

"I didn't think either of you would have the balls to date each other. Bah. My daughter's first boyfriend is the same boy that came to my house and asked me what a flute was. Then the bastard tried to say that hip-hop was the best thing music had ever produced and thought rock was for losers. I really am living in the worst timeline," He joked, "You better treat my daughter like a queen, or else I'll break your kneecaps. Hero or not."

"Yessir!" I saluted him once again.

Jiro giggled at that, watching as her dad shut the window, turning off the lights in the room he was in.

"Did you really have to do that?" She asked me, but even she couldn't deny that it was a funny situation.

"Well, what do ya want me to say."

"Nothing," Suddenly, Jiro's expression darkened as she stared directly into my eyes. "Do you still feel like a monster? Like you aren't deserving of this. Answer me honestly, Sora. You're a horrible liar."

"I know," I replied. Was I still a monster? Yeah, to some extent I was. But, when I was with Jiro, it didn't feel that way. Even though I still felt like I was underwater, being with her felt like everything was alright - like I wasn't the monster I thought I was. That I could get away with the guilt I felt. Or whatever this feeling was. But I couldn't be with Jiro all the time, and I had to face reality. Not everyone in 1A had even messaged me yet, a lot of them still ignored me. Or rather, they didn't want to speak to me. They were waiting for me to apologise to them. "It's a tough question to answer, I guess."

And I understood why.

I had hurt them.

So I was thankful that at least Jiro had forgiven me, at least she wasn't allowing me to wallow in self-pity and guilt. The others deserved to be mad at me, to not speak to me, I deserved it. This was probably why it felt like everything was alright when I was with Jiro. It's funny how these things go.

"Am I a monster? I don't know the answer to that question. It ain't as simple as I thought, and you helped me to see that." At the end of the day, I wasn't the one who abandoned me. No, I didn't even know why she left me. Was it because she couldn't stand to raise me, the object of all the suffering in her life? Was it because I replaced the child that she actually wanted? Was it because she hated me? I didn't know the answer to those questions, and I never would.

If I didn't go looking for Yukari Aotsuki.

"I see," Jiro replied, smiling at my answer. "Not exactly the answer I was looking for, but I'll let you off the hook this time. Drive home safely, okay? Message me when you get home, and maybe I'll give you another kiss. Maybe."

"Using kisses as a motivator? Not fair."

I couldn't help but grin at that.

What a wicked girl.

"Sora," Right before she left, she gave me a thumbs up. "I know things haven't exactly been good lately for either of us. Nearly dying, getting kidnapped by villains and learning harsh realities about ourselves. But the fact that you came back shows how strong you are, even if you don't believe it. But I also know that you keep your secrets close to your chest, so I won't push for answers. Even if I want to know more about Zero murdering your brother, whatever that means."

"Oh right. I forgot he said that while you were next to me."

Jiro smiled at that, rubbing her shoulder shyly.

"Yeah. Sort of careless of him, wasn't it? To say that I don't have theories as to why you went would be a lie, but you don't need to answer any of them. At least not right now. I care more about you than any feeling of satisfaction I would get from you telling me what you found out by hurting yourself so much," She paused, taking a deep breath as she refused to meet my gaze. "A-and that's why I admire you. More than you could ever know. I don't mind if you called me your girlfriend, Sora. And you can tell me whatever you want when you're ready for it."

...

Heh.

"What the hell did I ever do to deserve you?" I asked, grinning at her. She really was the best. It wasn't even a competition really, I was blessed to have her in my life, especially with how badly I can screw up sometimes. Jiro didn't reply as walked back to her house, and I smiled softly at the sight of her waving goodnight to me. I really was lucky to have her in my life. Perhaps all I needed in my old life was someone like Jiro, but I never got that.

I died, all alone.

Maybe if I had someone like her, I'd want to go back to my old life. Maybe Zero had someone like her? Someone that he truly loved.

I'm going to hurt her in the future.

Shut up.

Her life will be ruined because of me.

I ignored those thoughts as I switched the radio on.

"Breaking news! Our sources at various agencies have told us that the U.A student that was captured has multiple Quirks! One even being able to 'gaze at the future.' Naturally, you should take this with a grain of salt, but it would make sense as to why a group of villains captured them in the first place. Perhaps they thought that they could bolster their ranks with a powerful ally. No matter the cause, we at the Japan Times hope that whoever this student comes forward with their identity.

As of now, U.A has refused to comment on the student at hand going so far as to not even reveal their gender! However, our sources claim that the student is a boy. Yusei, what do you think of this?

Well Moto, I don't know what to make of this. Just how exactly has a student gained multiple Quirks? Last I checked that was impossible. I have to say that this new 'report' sounds fake.

Interesting take! Well, we will be right back after the break as we discuss this new development in more depth!"

Sighing, I turned the radio off and started the engine.

Everyone has a hardon for Aozora's heart...

But what about Sora's heart?!

---

"You want Sora to move into a dorm?!"

"Essentially," Aizawa replied calmly. "There were talks of shutting down 1A completely. But when those campaigning for that option realised it wasn't a feasible thing U.A could accomplish, the next best thing was a shared dorm for everyone in 1A. Of course, I'll be overseeing this dorm, and he will be able to still visit you all until curfew, which is ten PM. However, U.A needs to know your answer now. Declining the offer will result in Sora having to be moved down to the general population, purely as a safety concern."

So, it was either stay at the dorms or never be a hero again.

Hinata clicked her tongue annoyed at the ultimatum Aizawa gave her, Gekko comforted her by squeezing her arm lightly.

"Who's already accepted?" I asked him.

"Well, All Might and I are going around talking to everyone. So far fourteen of your classmates have accepted. All Might will handle the remaining five, while you are the last one on my list. So far everyone else has accepted."

"How is All Might by the way?" I was curious as to how he was faring after All For One's death. Being able to have finally gotten rid of his mortal enemy, the one person who had led to so much suffering in his life must have made him feel something. But it was the fact that it was publically televised, along with the fact that All Might couldn't be All Might anymore that really was interesting.

As well as the fact that while All Might effectively retiring was a big deal, the ending of All For One's regime of terror in the shadows was trending far more often. It made me wanna shout at those idiots on the internet that called him no better than a villain, especially when the man sacrificed so much for them. It was fucked up how he was being portrayed by both the media and the public.

"Officially, the school still stands behind All Might. Unofficially, he'll be taking a break from teaching to spend some time with his agency as well as sorting out the rest of his affairs, He won't be able to return to teaching until the beginning of the new year at the minimum. But don't worry, I'll be filling out his duties which means that you'll be seeing a lot more of me when school starts again."

I groaned at that.

He was just going to torture us some more and call it 'training.'

"So, as Sora's legal guardians, do you allow him to move into a dorm?"

"What do you want, Sora? It's your decision after all." Hinata asked me.

"You're allowing me to decide?" I was shocked at that. Usually, Hinata and Gekko made important decisions for me in these cases. It wasn't that I didn't want them to do them, in fact, I urged them to make them because I was so lazy, but in a matter like this, I thought the decision wouldn't even take my thoughts into consideration. They were my parents after all so they had to look out for my safety and health, especially because I sure as hell didn't.

"It's your future. And we wouldn't be good parents if we decided to act selfishly. Yes, what you did was wrong, but even a blind person could see how much you love being with your class. We won't stop you, because we don't have any right to do so. If the League of Villains start to target you even if you leave U.A, then if anything happened to you we would only be able to blame ourselves," Gekko answered, "Son, I really want you to think about this. It's your decision."

My decision.

I didn't even need to think about an answer for that long, because I already knew what I had to do.

"Do I get to bring my motorbike with me?"

"Yes," Aizawa answered. "You'll be able to park it right outside the dorm, next to my car and Kaminari's bike."

"You mean his shitty yellow moped." I corrected him.

"So then," Aizawa smiled at me, sipping more of the tea Hinata had made him. "I already think I know your answer, but I have to ask. Will you or will you not decide to live at the dorms on campus?"

"Hehe, I was sold when you said I'd live with my mates for a few years. You can count me in!" I gave a thumbs up at Aizawa.

"Great. The next term at U.A will start in a week's time, so we would appreciate it if you could move into the dorms by the end of this week. Sorry for the short-term notice, but I have been told that the school will reimburse any money that you spend in order to purchase necessary household items for Sora, items such as bed sheets, pans, etc. And of course, this goes without saying, but while relations with other students are accepted, sneaking into their room at night for 'fun time' is not permitted." I sighed at that, questioning if arguing back with him was even worth it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we educated our son to know that should 'fun time' happen, protection is a priority," Hinata added, making me even more embarrassed. Oh God, just kill me now. Please. End my suffering. "Isn't that right, Sora?"

"Glad we are all on the same page," Was he smirking at me? I feel like Aizawa thrives off my misfortune. What a horrible teacher. "That being said, I need to speak to Sora about something. Is there a place where I can speak to him privately? It won't take long, just a short conversation."

"Of course," Hinata kicked my leg 'lightly', "Your room is clean, right Sora?" Ow! Fucking hell, of course, it's clean! You forced me to clean it before Aizawa even came to our house!

"Y-yeah, it's clean."

"Amazing. Thank you for everything you've done Aizawa-sensei, I really cannot thank you enough for keeping my errant son in control," Hinata said, grabbing my head and forcibly making me bow it down to the ground. "Isn't there something you'd like to say to your teacher, Sora?"

"T-thanks I guess."

She forced my head even lower.

"Thank you very much!"

Aizawa stifled a laugh, which was odd for him. He shook his head, before bowing down his own head.

"If anything, I must be thanking you for allowing Sora to continue to walk his path even when it's clear to see that he has a lot of improvements to make until he becomes a good student, let alone a good hero," Aizawa said. "Thank you for allowing me into your house despite failing him as his teacher. I can't promise that Sora won't get into a situation like this again, but I can promise you that you'll never have to watch him suffer a fatal injury or worse. I'm not saying this as his teacher, but as a hero with my own pride, I'll make sure that your son will live to make you continuously proud."

I stared at him in shock.

Who knew he had it in him?

"Raise your head," Gekko replied. "You're a good man, so as long as you are in our presence you won't ever have to thank us. We know how Sora can be, and we appreciate you being there for him, Aizawa-sensei."

"Shota. You can call me Shota if you want."

"Great then!" Hinata hummed to herself as she walked over to our kitchen. "Shota, would you mind staying over for dinner? I'm sure since Sora's your last stop you are quite hungry, so it would be a pleasure to have you over. We could even discuss more of Sora's academic grades with you if possible. Since you are his home tutor, I'm sure that you have quite an in-depth understanding of how Sora's performing, right?"

"I couldn't possibly intrude-,"

"Nonsense. After everything you've done for us and Sora, we should be cooking you dinner every day until the day that we die," Hinata cut him off, smiling at him. "My husband and I can't promise that, but it would be an honour if you could come over for dinner with Sora more often. Not as his teacher, but as our family's friend." I watched as Aizawa's face was unreadable for a few seconds before he nodded, allowing a grin to take over his face.

"Thank you. I'll gladly take you up on your offer then."

I led Aizawa-sensei to my room, locking it when he told me to do so. This was the first time I had had a conversation with Aizawa all alone since camp… Which was why it was awkward as he rummaged through my things. He asked me if it was okay, and I just shrugged my shoulders in response. I guess he was curious as to what his students did in their rooms so he could accurately prepare our dorm for us.

"What's this?"

"My PSP."

"Why's it so small?"

"Cause it's portable."

"Hm. Consoles are supposed to be big, not whatever cheap plastic this junk is."

"Enough about the PSP, what do you want to speak to me about?" I offered him the main chair in my room as I sat down on my bed. "What's the big secret that you wanted to tell me? Something about the dorms?" I had my own secret to tell him of course. I was Oboro Shirakumo's son after all. Not only that, but he was alive and well - Or as well as he could be as the known villain, Kurogiri.

"The HPSC is gunning after you," He told me plainly. "It's as I said, once they caught wind of you having multiple Quirks, they started to try and find every single scrap of information they could about you. Luckily, Nezu had already foreseen their attempts at this and made sure to hide every trace of your existence as they search for Aozora's identity, even if they already know that you're Aozora they won't have proof. This means that for now, even if word of your Quirks reaches the public, your anonymity is assured. For now. But that doesn't mean that the HPSC doesn't want to nab you up."

"What do you mean?" I asked him, confused. What did the HPSC want from me?

"While term starts next week, it will mostly consist of train and very few classes. Actual classes are scheduled to return at the start of September. That's because we want to give you, the hero track at U.A, enough time to prepare for the Provisional License Exam. The HPSC holds this exam each year to provide students across the nation with provisional licenses, licenses which you'll be able to use hopefully at the start of your second year at U.A. However, the HPSC has accepted our request for everyone in 1A and 1B to attend the test, apart from one applicant. You."

Huh?

"They want to provide a 'special test' for you, which is the only way you'll be able to even take the test. I have no idea what the test will entail, only that a 'special hero' will make a guest appearance for your exam. It's the only way for you to take the provisional exam, and frankly, I don't know if-,"

"I'll do it." I interrupted him. If the HPSC wanted to test me, they could test me for all I cared about.

"Sora, this isn't something you can brute force your way out of. The HPSC aren't 'testing' you, they are evaluating your strengths. Your weaknesses. I'm sure you've heard the rumours floating around the HPSC, and whether they truly work to help make the public safer, or if they really just want to line their own pockets. Especially when it comes to heroes that they'll take out if they cause too much of a problem. Taking this test that they've set isn't just dangerous to you, it will set a dangerous precedent overall. You could always take the test next year-,"

"And how do you know that they won't make me take the exact same test next year?" I asked him. He didn't reply, because not even he knew. "Aizawa-sensei, I really respect you. I do. But even if the HPSC is corrupt, even if they are dirty underneath all the positivity they try to put out, I won't turn away from it. Isn't that against what being a hero is about-,"

Aizawa cut me off as he glared at me.

"Fighting back isn't going to solve anything, other than increasing your ego. Do you think this will help you with creating a 'carefree tomorrow?' No, it won't, this is just your selfishness talking. Your friends may have forgiven you after the stunt you just pulled, but I won't," Aizawa replied coldly, "I was the one consoling the people in this home. Don't ever forget the fact that you left, the fact that you put your life in danger. And for what? Just what exactly did you accomplish? You hurt the people you care about the most."

"I know that!" I yelled, "I know that, so top reminding me of the fact that I fucked up. I made the wrong decision, I know. Do you think I don't regret it? Because I do. I really do, but you're wrong. Not everyone has forgiven me, not yet, and I don't know if they will. I really did hurt them, and I can't even fix it."

"What do you mean?"

"I found out the truth. About me, about my Quirks. But I have a Quirk that's attached to me, making it so if I speak to others about the truth and they aren't already keyed into it - I'll die. But sir, I have a confession to make. I… well, the thing is. About my biological father..." Aizawa's eyes widened in surprise as he finished my sentence for me.

"He's Oboro Shirakumo," Aizawa whispered, laughing slightly. "Your biological father I mean."

"You knew?"

"I did a blood test. I just wanted to make sure. I didn't know how to break it to you, so I didn't. I tried to hide it while doing my own investigations, but nothing came up. Even if Oboro had a girlfriend at the time, the number of months from his death to your birth just doesn't add up. Eleven months. Something is up with that number. Is there anything you could shed light on?"

"Because it-,"

Fear.

Inescapable fear rose throughout my body, and I felt a hand grab my heart, squeezing it ever so slightly. No, it wasn't just my heart, it was my lungs as well. I couldn't breathe. It only lasted a few seconds, but those seconds had me gasping for air afterwards. Even after his death, the Quirk All For One had used on me was still in effect. And Aizawa guessed as much as he helped me up from the ground, a troubled and melancholic look on his face while doing so.

"You shouldn't risk your life to try and tell me something you can't," Aizawa told me. "I'm an adult. I've grieved for Oboro. I'll admit, looking at you now takes me back to simpler times. It also confuses me, because you and Oboro look and act so alike. I'm sorry, Sora. I can't help but want to make sure you aren't in danger, purely because I won't be able to look at Oboro's face ever again if you get hurt. He's dead, and yet I fear his judgement more than anything. Even if it's a selfish request."

"It ain't selfish, not one bit," I replied. I understood him completely. "I want that as well for everyone in 1A. I lied to them all because deep down, I thought I was protecting them. I knew they would try to help me in dangerous ways, so I kept everything to myself. In the end, my selfishness ruined our class. In the end, I tried to bring everyone together only to drive them all apart. I'm no better than you, sir."

I couldn't tell him about Kurogiri.

He was…

Aizawa was…

How could tell him that his best friend that he thought was dead the entire time was actually alive and was a villain? It was beyond cruel, even if it was the truth. But ignorance is bliss, no matter how much it hurt me - I couldn't.

I wouldn't.

I would.

But what if-,

He needs to know.

"Sensei, about Oboro," I couldn't hide it from him. Even if he was ignorant about Oboro right now, he deserved to know the truth. Just so I could put his mind at ease. "He's still alive." I watched Aizawa go through a range of emotions in a couple of seconds. From confusion, anger, sadness and finally acceptance. It was like he was secretly hoping he was alive all this time, after all the timeline didn't add up. Oboro's death happened eleven months before I was born, even Aizawa could add two and two together to figure out why.

"I see. Is he… doing well?"

"I guess so. Maybe. It's hard to say since I can't actually tell you anything without feeling like I'm about to die. But yeah, he's going down a different path than us. Then you. He's not the same Oboro you once knew, in fact, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have any memories of the time you spent with him. He told me he had no memories at all." I turned away from him guiltily, hoping that I didn't just fuck him up even more.

It was obvious for anyone to see that his death hurt Aizawa-sensei, and I hoped that I didn't reopen that wound and poured alcohol down it.

Aizawa didn't reply as he walked towards my door, unlocking it. I couldn't see his face, but judging by his posture he seemed to accept what I had to say. Even if it hurt him, he was able to accept the truth and move on with his life. Oboro would never be his friend again, it just wasn't possible. Yet Aizawa had the strength to move on despite that pain, it made me look up to him even more.

He really was a hero.

Not one of the generic idols who made adverts to promote their merchandise. A real hero that you'd look up to, one that inspires you. Hah, and here I thought those types of heroes didn't exist in this world.

"I assume judging by your words that Oboro is a villain. And the only one that really fits the bill, along with the villain that you have said acted weird around you before, is Kurogiri," I was surprised by how fast he managed to piece it together. Heh, that's a pro hero for you. "Either way, what happened between Oboro and I is in the past. I've moved on, and now I've found something else to protect."

"And what's that?"

Aizawa turned around to smile at me, not a fake smile. A real genuine smile tugged at his lips.

"The next generation of heroes that will surpass us in every way," Aizawa answered. "If you want to take the exam the HPSC has made for you, then I won't stop you. I'll help you wherever I can, not just because you are Oboro's last physical link to this world, but because I believe you can do so. Of course, I expect you to give it your all. I have a lot of ideas that could be beneficial for you, so expect a lot more training sessions. You won't surpass me by skipping out on training, will you now?"

I groaned at that.

"Really? You just had to go there."

Aizawa laughed at that. "You know, Oboro complained about training just like you. He was also extremely late, I remember one time he got changed into his school uniform in our classroom because he was that late. Would you like to hear more about him?"

Would I…?

I didn't know him.

But he was my biological father, even if he was Kurogiri currently. Even if he was the villain, I couldn't help but feel bad for Kurogiri. In a sense, he was like me, another toy All For One used for his own amusement. But I knew I couldn't save Kurogiri, it wasn't that he was far too gone, it was because I didn't know him. I wouldn't be able to 'bring him back' not just because perhaps it was impossible, but because Oboro never met me. Technically, I'm a bastard with a villain as a father.

"Sure," I replied. "I'd love that."

I didn't care for Kurogiri, not really.

But Oboro Shirakumo was an entirely different story.

"Sora, I hope you know that if you pass the provisional exam, I'll be inviting you to do a Hero work-study with me. You can choose if you want to accept it or not, but if you're serious about becoming a hero, I can give you valuable experience on how the underground scene works. Plus, since we still haven't found your biological mother, it could turn up some leads."

"I-, About her. I think she's..." I couldn't finish my sentence as I thought about her. Zero had told me her name, but I had no way of ever finding her - At least not the way I was right now. Not if I wanted answers that only she could give me. Aizawa nodded at me, even if I didn't say it, he understood me clearly. It put my mind at ease as he closed the door of my room.

"It's fine, Sora. We'll search for her together.

Yukari Aotsuki…

I had to find her.

---

Heights Alliance.

It was a mansion, and as I pulled my luggage behind me I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of the building. I was supposed to live here?! I mean the apartment I lived in was quite big, but what the hell! This was fucking huge! What was even worse was that as I stepped into the dorm, I was greeted by Kaminari who was sitting on the couch with his feet up.

"Yo! Sora, get your fat ass over here!"

"Why?"

"This couch is squishy!"

I rolled my eyes, dropping my luggage on the floor as I jumped over the couch, landing on Kaminari who groaned in pain.

"What the fuck was that for?!"

"I sat on the couch, dumbass."

"No! You sat on me!"

"Why the fuck would I want to sit on you?"

"Because you're gay! You like men!"

"I've kissed a girl."

"Jiro doesn't count!"

"Yes she does-, Wait," I punched him in the leg for that comment. "Who told you about Jiro and I kissing?"

"Hehe, who says anyone told me?" Kaminari replied, smirking smugly. I kicked him in the arm. Hard. "Ow! Fuck you! Why do you always want to punch or kick me? Fine, fine. Mina told me. You happy now?"

"Yeah." I replied, jumping up and down on the couch.

"It's squishy, right?"

"Yeah Kaminari, really squishy," I answered sarcastically. "Anyways, what room are you in?"

"Floor three. I'm next to Iida and Koda, so I don't think I'll be able to play games with you late at night anymore. Wait… we can now play matches using LAN! Holy-fucking-shit dude, we can have whole-class tournaments for games! Oh, and Jiro is on my floor as well. It's a shame you're on floor five."

Floor… five.

But that was the highest floor?!

"I-is there a lift at least?"

"Yeah, next to the stairs. Don't worry, you won't have to walk all the way up the stairs. Anyway, what's new? Are you and Jiro officially dating?" He asked me, bouncing around excitedly on the couch.

"Why does everyone think that?"

"You kissed her."

"So? We just kissed once. Or twice. Three times-, You know what, it doesn't matter. We aren't dating, but we aren't still friends. We are like… in between? Friends with very vanilla benefits? Yeah, I like that term. Well she told me I could call her my girlfriend, but I don't want it to be like I call her my girlfriend and she calls me her best friend that she is extremely close to. Not that I think she would do that, but for simplicity let's just say that she's my girlfriend."

Kaminari laughed at that, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as he grinned at me.

"Who the hell cares? I'm just glad that you're back," He shouted, "Next time if you're going to pull a stunt like that again, I'll definitely come with you. Just so you know."

"Why?"

"Dude, you're like my best friend. Actually, more like a brother to be honest. If you're in trouble, I'll be there to help you. Ain't no one stopping me from saving your ass, not even God himself. In fact, I'll reject any God that prevents me from beating you in CoD. Anyways, let's go set up your room."

"You want to help me?"

"Hehe, I got you a present," Kaminari handed me a small package all wrapped up. "It ain't much. It was supposed to be for your birthday, but I didn't know how to get everyone to do it. Luckily, the problem was solved. So, uh, late happy birthday? You know what, scratch the birthday part. Congrats on coming back to us, ya' big doofus." He smiled like an absolute idiot.

I tried to open the gift he gave me, but he shook his head.

"Not now. Open it when your room is fully set up."

"Fine," I replied, looking around the empty dorm. "Where is everyone? Is it just you and me here?"

"Sorta. Yaoyorozu was here with a bunch of cute maids, but her wardrobe was too big so they all went to go to buy another one. Smaller I think, but who knows with her? Oh and that bastard Mineta's here as well, but he's in his room. Wanna go and piss him off?"

I shook my head.

Mineta still wasn't speaking to anyone.

Tch, how troublesome.

"Instead of pissing him off, let's go get our friend back." I replied, making Kaminari grin in response.

"Oh man, hearing you say that makes me get pumped! So, what's your plan? Gonna kick his door down and give a passionate speech about friendship and bonds that would make any shonen main character cry? Or are you going to have a fight with him to the death to prove a point? Are you going to remind him of a mysterious character from his past in a flashback only visible to him, that will later appear as a bad guy?"

"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? Life isn't a manga."

"Feels like it at times."

"Whatever." I ignored him for a few seconds as I pulled my luggage over to the side, making sure it wasn't obscuring the main entrance before I looked at the room plan. Mineta was on the second floor, his room right next to Midoriya's. Huh. Neat. I walked up the stairs, Kaminari and I racing each other to see who could reach the top first. Naturally, I won.

"Hey! You cheated! You tripped me up!"

"Fuck you! You pushed me!"

"Only after you stuck your leg out!"

"That's because you punched me in the back! Kaminari, I swear to god if you punch me again I'll break your kneecaps."

"Go ahead and try! I'll fuck your sister."

"Oh? Go ahead, Miwa would beat the shit out of you better than me."

"And what if I'm into that?"

I stared at Kaminari, confused.

"What? It's not my fault my kink is girls degrading me."

"Dude. What the fuck are you on about?"

"I did this online kink test. I got like, uhm, ninety-per cent submissive. So like, yeah, I want your sister to beat me up."

"...do you enjoy it when I beat you up?"

"Huh? No! Only when a cute girl does it!" Kaminari answered, sighing while doing so. "Jeez, don't get the wrong idea. Unlike you, I'm not into men."

"Funny you say that, what about all the gay porn I saw in your history?"

"And what about the furry porn on your phone?" Kaminari asked me smugly.

"Nice comeback."

"I'd 'cum back' in your sister."

We reached Mineta's room, which was completely shut. It was as Kaminari had said, Mineta had completely shut himself off from the world. I clicked my tongue in frustration, before loudly knocking on his door.

"Mineta, open up. This is the police, and we have come to review the illegal material on your computer!" I yelled in a deep voice.

No response.

Kaminari snickered at that, pushing me aside to knock on the door himself.

"Mineta! Midnight is wearing a swimsuit costume! You're going to miss it!"

No response yet again.

I sighed in response, knocking on his door much harder this time. I didn't stop knocking until he opened the door slightly, to glare at both Kaminari and me. I couldn't help but grin at Mineta opening the door for us, especially when the two of us forced his door completely open, shoving Mineta aside as we walked around his room. It was huge. Bigger than the living room at my apartment, which was already pretty big. Just how much did U.A spend on making this dorm for us?!

"What do you two want?" Mineta asked us angrily. "I'm busy."

I glanced over at his desk, he was reading a maths book. Huh.

"You're revising?"

"Yeah, unlike you I don't want to end up a disappointment," Mineta replied with some venom in his voice, "Nor do I want to be as thick in the head as Kaminari over there." Behind us, Kaminari was playing around with some of Mineta's figures before he dropped all of them over the floor. He then tried to pick them back up, only for the rest of Mineta's figures to fall on the floor.

"Mate, I can only handle one of him. If you were as stupid as him, I'd consider jumping off a bridge." I cringed as Kaminari whistled innocently as if Mineta and I hadn't seen him struggle to pick things up on the floor.

"Sora, please, just take the blond bimbo and leave."

"Not until you tell me why you feel like I'm not your friend," I replied, "Not until you tell me what happened during camp. Then, and only then, will I leave you to revise all alone. It's a good deal, right?"

"It sounds horrible. Get out of my room now."

"Nah, I like it here." I jumped on his bed, a single bed with a blue cover over it. He didn't have much in his room, just a desk, wardrobe, bed and a few shelves where he kept his books. On top of his desk, he had a monitor with his computer and PS wired under it. He also had a chair that he could spin around on, one similar to mine back home but in purple. It was a cosy room, and he even had a few lewd figures and a poster of a few models on a beach hung up on his wall.

"Sora, please."

"Hey Kaminari, want to play some games on Mineta's PS? Didn't he buy a new game recently?"

"Oh yeah, didn't he say he got that new visual novel? I wonder if it's any good."

"GUYS!" Mineta snapped, "Please, just get out. If you were real friends-,"

"No, you don't get to pull that card," I cut him off, shoving him against the wall. "If you want to call me a bad friend, go ahead. I am a bad friend. But Kaminari? Fuck off, Mineta, don't you dare say a bad thing about him. He's been trying to help you all this time, but you keep pushing him away. Listen, I understand. If you feel like you don't deserve us, I understand. I really do. I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that. But Kaminari doesn't deserve this. So if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me, not at Kaminari. Not at anyone else, you can just blame me."

Mineta shoved me in response, scowling at the two of us.

"Fuck you, Sora. You always want to 'help us' only when it hurts your feelings! Just leave me alone already! Go hang out with your League of Villain friends, I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back!" Mineta shouted at me angrily. Tch.

"Fine, suit yourself," I replied, grabbing Kaminari as we left his room. "You told me that you were alone, but that's a lie Mineta. You don't know what it's like to be alone." I slammed his door shut, before kicking the wall next to us in anger. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Why?!

Why the hell does he have to be so difficult?!

I just want to help him!

How dare he think he knows what being lonely is like?!

Why doesn't he want me to help him?

How dare he think he's suffering more than me?!

What can I do to help him?

What can I do to show him who suffers more here so he'll understand?!

"Hey, Sora, are you alright? You seem out of it." Kaminari asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'm fine." I replied, walking back down the stairs.

I was fine.

I feel like I'm drowning.

---

I had placed my luggage in my room on the fifth floor. As expected, it was a pretty big room.

All things considered, I had a pretty good floor. Sure it was the highest floor, but the room next to mine was inhabited by Todoroki which was cool. Sero and Tsuyu were also on my floor, which meant that they were going to be pretty chill overall, I wouldn't be woken up at night from 'weird noises' or them doing dumb shit. The only real negative to so speak was that Yaoyorozu was on the fifth floor as well, and she took her role as 'class president' extremely seriously. But oh well.

At least I had access to the roof.

"Sora! Get down here!" I heard Kaminari shout from the comms. Sadly, there were speakers in the hallways that we could use to communicate with others on the different floors. It would also be used as a wakeup call. I sighed at that, it would seem that my streak of coming late to lessons would be ending soon. If morning roll call didn't wake me up, Yaoyorozu would.

I used the lift to get down to the ground floor, and props to U.A, the lift was pretty quick. Seemingly everyone was on the ground floor, which was why I waved at them all, sitting next to Kaminari on one of the couches. Jiro wasn't here yet. Well, she was still 'setting up her room' or something, so I decided to leave that task for later. It's not like I had much to set up anyways, my bed and wardrobe had already been set up. Literally, all that was left was to sort out where I would put all my books, games, TV, computer and consoles.

Which I'm sure the desk I got would be able to hold them all.

It even came with a wooden board I could use to stick things on!

"So, whaddya' think so far? It's pretty rad, right?"

"Kaminari, no one uses the word rad."

"But I just did?"

"Yeah, as I said, no one."

Despite Kaminari and I goofing around, nearly everyone else tried to ignore me. No, that wasn't right. It's not like they could ignore me, rather they didn't want to initiate a conversation with me first. From Kirishima's eyes glancing every now and then to meet with my own, or Hagakure's uncomfortable body posture as she sat down next to me, it was clear that they simply didn't know what to say to me. I couldn't say that it didn't hurt me, but it wasn't exactly unexpected.

Kaminari asked me some more questions as I replied to them numbly, even though he eventually picked up that I wasn't in the mood to talk. How could I apologise? Was an apology even enough? Yaoyorozu, Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, Aoyama, Bakugo and Kaminari were all fine speaking to me normally, even Mina and Tsuyu to some extent. Jiro, Mineta and Tokoyami were still in their rooms, but Tokoyami seemed fine when I spoke to him just an hour ago.

"Oi, shithead, I made good on my promise," Bakugo yelled, pulling out a bottle from his bag. Five hundred millilitres of Captain Morgan's spiced gold. To say that I was surprised that Bakugo managed to get a bottle of rum would be a lie. "Let's see who's going to pass out now, or are you going to pussy out?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"You're on, asshole!" I replied, grabbing two cups from the kitchen. Everyone in the living room looked at us in disbelief as we opened the bottle and began pouring it into them, the smell of the drink enticing me even more. Especially as Bakugo also put some coke on the table, but I wasn't going to dilute my cup with coke like a little bitch. Not yet at least.

"Bottoms up."

Our glasses were half full as the two of us downed them, slamming our empty glasses on the table. Jeez. That tasted real nice.

"You ready for round two?"

"Absolutely not!" Yaoyorozu replied, grabbing the bottle away from us. "Underage drinking is not permitted in our dorm!"

"Tch, as if that will stop me." Bakugo replied, his words slurring slightly. Wait… was Bakugo tipsy already? Pfft hahaha.

"The hell are you laughing at?"

"You're about to be drunk after only one glass of alcohol. You're a fucking lightweight!" Bakugo growled at me, snatching the bottle from Yaoyorozu as he poured the two of us even more alcohol.

"I'll show you lightweight, asshole."

"Go ahead and try."

Despite Yaoyorozu berating us, we drank the second glass of rum with no problems. However, when Kaminari and Seto sat on the kitchen counter and demanded that we poured them a glass, things became more interesting.

"No. Absolutely not, I will not allow even more people to fall for this foolishness-,"

"Yaomomo, relax, it's just a bit of fun," Mina cut her off, grabbing a cup and walking over towards us. "Pour me a glass, won't you?"

"Mina, you-,"

"It's fine," Iida calmed Yaoyorozu down, smiling at us as he grabbed another glass for himself. "I'll join them to make sure that they don't go overboard, alright? That being said, this is just a bit of fun. An ice breaker if you will, especially considering what happened during camp."

Yaoyorozu bit the inside of her cheek in response, throwing her hands up in the air as she sat down on the couch and tried to ignore us. More and more students joined us, with Hagakure and Uraraka being the most curious about what it tasted like… only for them to spit the drink back out all over the floor.

"Ew, that's way too strong."

"Yuck."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, if you ladies would prefer something a little less strong, I could make you a cocktail. Actually, I don't know how to make a cocktail. So… Yeah." I drank my third glass of rum straight, although this time I definitely felt a little lightheaded. Was that bad? No, that was normal. Unlike Bakugo who was trying his hardest to sit up straight, I was faring much better than him.

"You gonna chicken out?"

"Stop yapping already, you shitty cloud watcher," Bakugo replied, pouring us a fourth glass. "I'll beat the shit out of you if you don't drink this. We are going to finish the whole bottle, so my parents won't beat the shit out of me first for 'borrowing' their bottle."

"Haha, funny, I doubt you'll reach a quarter of the bottle without passing out."

"Say that again and I'll shove this bottle up your arse."

"Why don't you twist it while you're at it? I bet you enjoy shoving things up other boys' arses, don't you?" He angrily drank his fourth glass, which made it all the funnier as he began to choke on the drink. I patted his back, hard, as he glared at me for doing so. I drank my fourth glass quickly, and the two of us moved on to our fifth. Kaminari and Sero were on their third, while Iida was sipping his first glass slowly. Ha, who knew underage drinking could be so fun?

"What the fuck is going on here?" I heard Jiro yell from the stairs. "Is that alcohol?"

"Yeah, you want some?" I asked her, drinking my fifth glass. Okay. Wow. That's strong. Really, really strong. I was still fine, but Bakugo was sweating immensely now. No, he was trying his hardest not to fall asleep. Ha.

He really was a lightweight.

Five full glasses of spiced rum straight. No, it wasn't even from a glass, it was from a mug. The bottle was nearly empty and that made me sad. I wish we had another to drink from, but if that happened I'm sure that Yaoyorozu would have a fit.

"Nu-uh, she can't join," Bakugo slurred out, pointing in the wrong direction, before glaring at her. "Your girlfriend can't join."

"Why not? Afraid she'll outdrink you?"

"Pfft. Fine then, you can join. But you better keep up, or else your boyfriend here isn't going to look like an idiot."

"You wish I was an idiot."

"You didn't deny that she was your girlfriend this time."

"She's… yeah."

"Huh?"

"My girlfriend. Now hurry up and pour the sixth glass." Unfortunately, Jiro took my empty glass from me before Bakugo could pour me another.

"Really? I expected better." She wasn't glaring at me, but at the same time, she wasn't exactly happy with me. And everyone else? They looked at me with so much sadness in their eyes. You'd think that I murdered their pet or something, but I didn't. I know that what I did was wrong, and I know that they didn't know what to say to me, but I'd much rather them antagonise me than just stare at me like that.

It made me feel-,

"I aim to disappoint," I replied, leaning back on my chair. "But I suppose the party's over. Well, it was good while it lasted. Night everyone." I was suffocating. Drowning. It felt like I was deep underwater. Focusing on the drinking competition with Bakugo made me more open, no, it made me happier. I didn't need to think about what I had done, or what I was feeling, I suppose I had to thank Bakugo for that. Maybe it was just an unintended accident, but if he did all this to try and make everything less awkward, I had to commend him for it.

Not even someone like him enjoyed awkward situations.

Without saying a word, or even looking in anyone else's direction, I stuffed my hands into my pockets and made my way to the elevator, pressing the fifth-floor button as the door shut. The entire dorm's presence was suffocating me, the constant pressure to 'be better' - To be a hero. I wasn't a hero. I thought that going along with Jiro and everyone else would make me feel better and that I wouldn't feel like a monster. I was wrong. Just being in the same room as they made me feel much worse.

It made me feel like I was alone.

Seeing them all talk to each other, laugh at each other's jokes, and reminisce about things that happened to them recently. I wanted that. So badly. But watching them have fun made me realise that it could have happened to me. But I did mess things up. It was my guilt that was suffocating me and just had to run away from it. It was dragging me further and further away from them, further down into an ocean.

I walked past my room, walking up the stairs to the roof of the building.

Even with fresh air, I still felt like I was underwater. It's not like I hadn't dissapointed them before, I had. But it never got to the point where they had no idea what to even say to me, it was like they just couldn't understand me anymore. Stars illuminated the dark sky, and the glow of the moon in tandem with the city lights created such a relaxing vibe as I leaned against the railing, gazing at the distant cars passing by.

Could I be better?

Better for who?

For everyone.

What about yourself?

...What have I done? I'm just going to help ruin Jiro's happiness, even more than I already have, all because of my selfishness. I shouldn't have been brash and kissed her right away, I should have just ignored my feelings. That way she'd be happier in the future. I couldn't be better for myself, let alone be better for the girl that I loved. Tsk. Why was this so annoying?

I sighed heavily at that.

Happiness?

As if I could answer that question for her.

Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero.

What was he doing right now?

What were his plans?

How did he kill All For One?

I wasn't an idiot. Zero must have had something to do with All For One's death, and yet I couldn't explain it. No, there wasn't a way for me to explain it. His death was so perfectly executed, it was planned to absolute perfection, that Zero made sure that there would be no chance he would be implicated in the murder. He could manipulate Shigaraki and the League of Villains freely. Zero was currently the only person on this Earth that was a threat.

I don't know how he did it, nor do I know the true extent of his plans.

He is an unknown variable.

He was a ruthless villain with an obsession that enabled him to commit terrible crimes.

I have to kill him.

The sky was so peaceful to look at. You wouldn't think that a week ago I was kidnapped by villains and learned the worst truth of my life, that wouldn't even be on the bingo cards for it. I thought back to Zero... he made a promise with my older sibling. Yukari's child, the one she wanted. No wonder she abandoned me, I was forced onto her and her other child was taken away from her.

Who was Zero?

He's a mirror of myself.

Zero must be stopped. He's still the villain.

I want to fight him until either one of us dies.

Shut up. I don't want that.

I do.

How can I fight him?

Tch. I ignored the voices in my head, instead laying down on the floor to stare at the stars dancing around in the sky. I wasn't much of a star person, I thought they looked cool, but I wasn't interested in learning the star names or constellations. The only thing missing that would make my night better was a cigarette or something, only because I'd never had one before. Plus, I wanted to know if smoking them would hurt me considering my healing Quirk existed.

I wish I could go and walk around the city at night. Just me, my headphones and whatever music Jiro's added to her playlist that I secretly listen to. But it's not like anyone would let me walk around at night, which was a shame. I also wanted to have a car so I'd be able to drive around at night, and perhaps get into a race or two. But if I wanted to do that, I'd have better luck going to a mountain pass, more people raced downhill over there rather than in the cities.

"I thought you'd be up here."

Even though I was laying down on the ground, my feet up on the rails, Jiro stood over me with a frown on her face.

"I can see the colour of your panties by the way." I pointed out, grinning as she stepped on my stomach in response.

"Don't look then."

"I can't help but look at them. Who woulda thought you wore lacey red? Who are you trying to impress? You got a boyfriend or someone else?"

Jiro didn't reply as she sat down next to me, crossing her legs this time. The two of us stared into the night sky for what seemed like hours on end, but even I knew that she was just trying to think of what to say to me. That I should try to apologise to everyone, to make things less awkward, and that it would take time for things to get back to how they used to be.

But that never came.

"Bakugo, Kaminari and Sero finished the bottle. Sero in particular was vomiting all over the floor, it was disgusting. Bakugo tried to fight Kirishima, actually, he tried to fight everyone at once. And Kaminari just fell asleep. You missed out on some fun."

"Sounds like it."

Jiro poked at my ribs.

"You could sound like you care."

"I do care."

"In your own way, yeah. We all know that. You show your love towards us by helping us wherever you can, even going so far as to risk your mind and body for us as a sign of 'love.' And then you'll act withdrawn like this, you'll try to make things go back to how they were. Sora, I don't think you like change. Not in middle school, and especially not now."

"Jiro, I've changed from the person I was in middle school. Or, at least I think I have. Nowadays I don't know if I've ever moved on from acting selfishly like I was back then. It feels like I've looped around, back in the same position where I started. Back at being someone, I detest."

"We've had this conversation before! Sora, you aren't-,"

"A monster," I finished her sentence. "I know. Logically speaking, you're right. But in my heart, I can't help but feel like I am one. Sitting downstairs with everyone else made me realise how suffocating our class is. I mean you lot are all good people, honest and noble. I ain't either of that, at the end of the day if I'm told to decide on whether to choose between saving an innocent kid or my friend, I already know my answer." Everyone else would save both.

I'd save my friend.

"So then why did you save that kid during the Hosu incident? That was a decision you made, no one else. You weren't forced into it. You did it all by yourself, Iida told us all about it. How instead of chasing him you went and saved a child in a burning building, all by yourself. So no, I don't think you know your answer. You're a better person than you think."

"Can't argue with that logic." I replied, yawning slightly as I closed my eyes for a bit.

"Are you tired?"

I hummed in response. Damn, my room wasn't even fully set up yet. I had a bunch of things still left to do, and there was no way in hell that I wasn't going to try and play games with Kaminari tonight. I don't care how tipsy he is, I'd slap him silly if he didn't at least log on and form a party chat with me. Maybe I could ask Todoroki if he wanted to play a game or two. He was my neighbour after all. Ha, neighbour.

"Sora, did you have to drink tonight?"

"Why not? It was my decision. I enjoyed it."

"I could see it in your eyes, you'd rather drink than try to apologise." What was left unsaid was how unhealthy it was for me to not even try to apologise. To bury everything deep down, like it was a coping mehcnaism. But a coping mechanism for what? I'm fine.

Why the hell should I apologise to a bunch of fucking pansies? I made my own decision, so don't get hurt by it you dumb fucks.

That's childish.

No, it's not! Why the hell do they care about what I do?

"Perhaps so, but so what? I was drinking just so I could get my confidence up and eventually apologise."

Jiro snorted at that.

"Oh please, you already have enough of an ego. You strut around like you own the place, at times it feels like you have more confidence than our resident Queen Bakugo." I laughed at that, Queen Bakugo. I was definitely going to call him that just to piss him off, I bet it'll be super effective.

It's always about annoying others with you. No wonder you're a mess.

I'm perfectly fine.

You're a bad liar.

"Are you spacing out on me? Hello?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

Jiro poked me in the rips once again, pouting slightly.

"I was just asking if you were hungry. But if you want to ignore me, I guess I won't be cooking for you."

"You want to cook for me?"

"I-, Well I thought it would be nice. You know. Because you and I are, you know," Ah, Jiro's blush was always so cute. "I was thinking of making some katsudon for us."

"Katsudon? Is my name Midoriya?"

"No. Fine, fine. Aizawa-sensei said we could order food for free today if we want since it's the first day. I'm sure I can convince everyone to order pizzas, does that sound like a good plan to you?"

"I'd love that. You really are the perfect girlfriend."

"We aren't dating yet. Well, like we haven't gone on a date yet."

"Key word: yet."

"...I won't let you eat your food out here though."

"Huh? Why not?"

"If you are going to eat pizza, it will be inside with everyone else. A perfect chance for you to make things right."

"I'm too tired to get up. Can you tell everyone to come upstairs?"

"I will punch you in the balls."

"Already reaching for my private parts, you really are making our relationship move fast." I was proud of the comment, especially as she blushed even harder.

"No as in-, You absolute-, Argh," Jiro sighed in response, "You're the worst."

"And yet, you still love me."

"Barely."

"Now that's a lie, you just admitted that you couldn't keep your hands off me!"

"I will seriously punch you down there."

"Fine, fine," I replied, getting up from the floor. "You go order the pizzas. Remember, extra cheese and pepperoni for me. With olives. Also, get the cookies from Dominoes, they are pretty nice."

"Will you give me one?"

"I'll give you two."

"Deal!"

Jiro got up from the ground, before hugging me tightly. I was stunned as she held on to me, burying her head into my chest. I didn't want this to end. I felt guilty for even thinking about ditching Jiro. I don't deserve this. I sighed, even when she did a thing like that I was still such an idiot. There really was no pleasing me, and that was what made this worse.

This happiness won't last.

I don't deserve to be happy.

"Sora, I know you don't like change," Jiro eventually said, "But after what happened, our class has to change. We can't go back to the way things used to be, but that isn't a bad thing. Change is necessary. But you still didn't answer my question, why did you save that kid in Hosu?"

Why?

"I don't…"

"It's because you're a hero. You care about others as well, even if you don't want to admit it. You're just as much of an altruist as the rest of us, idiot." And with that, Jiro gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around and walking back inside the building, leaving me all alone on the roof.

Why did I save that kid?

Why did I only save that kid?

Maybe I am a hero.

I saved that kid because it made me feel good about myself, because just like Iida I ran past a lot of victims that night too. I let him blame himself so I can feel less guilty about it.

That's the 'hero' I am.

I followed Jiro, trying to calm my nerves as I walked down the stairs. Okay. Okay. How would I apologise to them all? Should I just bow my head down right away and say sorry? Should I speak to everyone individually and apologise? Argh, why was this so hard? For fucks sake. Even Mineta was downstairs, ordering whatever pizza he wanted, before sitting down on the kitchen counter. I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of a good way to deal with the situation before I tripped up over my shoe laces and fell down the last remaining slight of stairs.

…

FUCK! THAT HURT!

"Pfft."

"Did he just…?"

"Is he alright?"

"Haha, what a fucking idiot."

"Holy shit, I recorded all that!"

"Why where you recording in the first place?"

"Why are we all standing here? Shouldn't we go check if he's alright? What if he broke a bone?"

"Are you serious? It's Sora, if he broke a bone the entire world would have heard by now. His swearing would have reached Brazil."

"True. I wonder how many curse words he knows?"

"Is that really an important question right now?"

"Do you think I'll be able to eat his pizza now?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"No one is eating anyone's pizza! I can't believe I actually said that…"

"Way to go class prez! You really are making sure we don't break the rules!"

"I didn't know eating someone else's pizza was against the rules."

"...I just want to go back to my room."

"The two hath met while playing on the sand. N'rth winds bringeth colds and fev'rs"

"Are you reading a book out loud?"

"Maybe I should ask my parrot to help comfort him."

I heard Jiro sigh as she threw a spoon at my head.

"Get up from the floor. Stop pretending like you're dead, you overdramatic drama queen."

I didn't reply.

This wasn't how I wanted my apology to go.

Should I run back up the stairs and forget this ever happened? No, they would never agree to do something like that. I was going to be reminded of this blunder until the day I died-, No, something like this would haunt me even after death. That was just how 1A was, they'd never let me forget about this moment. Ever.

"Fine," I sighed, getting up from the floor, "You know that really hurt."

"Want me to call an ambulance?" Kaminari joked.

"Yeah, call one for you," I replied, picking up the spoon off the floor and throwing it at him. I grinned at the therapeutic sound the spoon made as it connected with his forehead. Serves him right for recording me falling down the stairs. Actually, how did that idiot even know to record me?! Wait... That utter bastard! He was going to record my apology so he could make fun of it!

Fucking cunt.

I then turned to the rest of 1A, trying my hardest not to turn away in embarrassment as I cleared my throat. Here goes nothing I suppose.

"I'm… sorry."

Silence.

"Why are you apologising?" Kirishima asked me, confused.

"For everything. Being a bad friend, not telling you all about certain things and trying to brush them off."

And for still not telling you certain things.

Kirishima snorted at that, walking forwards to put me in a head lock.

"Dude, haven't you realised it? We've forgiven you already. Is your head that far up your ass that you weren't paying attention?"

Huh?

"But I-, You guys-,"

Mina kicked me in the ankles.

"Are you drunk? I feel like you're drunk. We all know that deep down you care. Seriously dude, when it comes to these things, don't worry about if we've forgiven you," Mina replied, "Just focus on forgiving yourself. Cause' we'll always forgive you, that's why we are friends."

"But I hurt you all-,"

"True," Hagakure interrupted me, "But you hurt yourself even more. Plus, Jiro kind of already explained everything to us. You can't tell us whatever you're hiding because you have a Quirk put on you that stops it, right? So don't worry about it. There's nothing you can do about it, so why would we hold it against you? Stop thinking so much about the little details, it makes my head hurt."

I…

Hah.

What a fool I've been.

I deserve this.

So why did I feel like I was sinking deeper?

---

I yawned.

Tokage and Nanao were sitting at my table, with the two of them ordering an iced latte and americano respectively. Yet here I was drinking my canned coke. At least the situation wasn't as awkward as it was when the three of us first met. Compared to back then, it felt like all three of us had gone on a journey. Well, to some extent, we had. Nanao helped Jiro and everyone else steel themselves to save me, I had found the truth, and Tokage… well, Tokage was a bit nicer.

"What are you thinking about? How great I would look naked? Don't you have a girlfriend? What would happen if I told her that you were thinking these naughty things?"

I take that back.

Tokage was still the same bitch she always was.

"First of all, who told you that I had a girlfriend," I started annoyed, "Secondly, even if I didn't have a girlfriend, which doesn't confirm that I have one, that doesn't mean that I'd ever want to think of you naked. Sure, you don't stick it in crazy. But another rule is that you don't stick it in bitchy, and Tokage you are the biggest bitch I've ever met." She smiled at that, drinking her iced latte smugly.

"Your sister told me."

And Miwa was told by Mina.

And Jiro told Mina.

For fucks sake.

"Okay. Maybe, just maybe, I have a girlfriend. But what's it to you?"" I told Tokage, who merely snorted in response. She didn't believe a single word I had said.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night, you big virgin. I bet you don't even have one," Tokage replied, before turning to face Nanao. "So, what were your thoughts on our illustrious 1A?"

"The two of you were right. They truly are strong, stronger than I ever could have anticipated," Nanao answered honestly. "That Jiro has some real backbone. I'll definitely be watching her with great interest, but that's beside the point. You learned the truth, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, I did."

Tokage waited for me to explain everything, but it was Nanao's reaction that interested me the most. Anxious. She knew about the truth, but she couldn't explain anything to us because the Quirk All For One had not only placed on me but on her as well. We were all under the Quirk, even Tokage. This meant that the person that had killed Tokage's mum-, Tokage's mum…

I widened my eyes as I realised what I was going to reveal.

It was no secret that Tokage looked up to her biological mother. So how could I shatter that by telling her that her mother was a scientist that experimented on children? I picked up on Nanao's nervousness because even she knew that there would be a shitstorm if I handled it poorly. Shit. Just what was I supposed to do?

"Hey Tokage, do you mind if I speak to Nanao all alone for a few minutes? It's not about this, it's just about what she did with 1A. It'll be quick." I lied to her, getting up from my seat as Nanao followed me from behind. We walked into the toilet, luckily the cafe only had one toilet that was a room big enough for the two of us to talk inside. Shit. I closed the door behind us, before turning to pull on the knob from the sink, water coming from the faucet to ensure that we wouldn't be overheard.

"How much do you know?" Nanao asked me, her voice wavering slightly.

"All of it. From Tokage's mother being a scientist to All For One wanting the experiments to happen. And how Yukari Aotsuki helped you escape," I didn't dare mention the truth about me, because Nanao had no way of knowing. And I didn't want to repeat it. I wasn't a monster. I was a monster. I wasn't. I was. "There is no way we can let Tokage know the truth about her mother, it would break her."

"It would also put her in even more danger than before. Yozoroa… I think he's the one who killed Tokage's mother."

What?

"All my knowledge from the 'truth' comes from what Yozoroa told me and the eleventh all those years ago, Sora. I was far too young to remember much of the experimentation, but Yozora was old enough. I mentioned that the 'pianist' affected all of us, but that was a lie. I know that now because I tried to play the piano, and nothing happened. I think Yozora has much closer ties to All For One than we previously thought, and now that he's dead, he's a loose canon."

Tch.

"Why do you think Yozora killed Tokage's mother?" I asked her.

"It's simple, Yozoroa hated her. She experimented on him every day, I think he still suffers from it. I think that's why his 'fun' involves a lot of pain, he's still suffering from that trauma. But this is just my theory, and I could be wrong. No, I probably am wrong. But I do think that Yozora is petty enough to get revenge on Tokage's mother, and I know that if he ever finds out that Tokage is her daughter that he'll try to kill her."

"I won't let that happen."

Nanao snorted at that. "You can try. Yozora is powerful, he's been gifted with a Quirk that allows him to play God. And he's psychotic enough to push it to the limit, to know how to destroy others. He's a criminal, but more then that, he enjoys inflicting pain upon others. If he finds out about Tokage, he'd want you to try and stop him. That's the type of person he is, always seeking the next thrill. Even if he could die while doing so."

"So what? Yozora might know more than he lets on, he may have fed you false information for shits and giggles, and he could get revenge on Tokage. That still hasn't solved the problem of what we will tell her."

"You have to lie, Sora."

"Excuse me? I've lied enough to my friends already-,"

"Lie again," Nanao cut me off, poking her finger into my chest. "Do you want a carefree tomorrow, or what? If so, then you'll have to lie to Tokage. Because telling her won't just potentially put a target on her back, it'll also ruin her. I don't think that either of us is under any illusion that Tokage is mature enough to handle this truth, which is what I'm even more worried about here. If we tell he the truth about her mother, just what will be her next action? She's already unpredictable as is, which is why I don't trust her all that much."

"If I do this, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Nanao shook her head in response.

"If you don't lie to her now, she could end up dead. It's your decision, would you rather save your friend or kill them."

It wasn't that simple.

And yet… Nanao was right. Tokage wasn't like Aizawa where he could handle the truth about Kurogiri. Tokage was like me in a sense, she wasn't well-adjusted. Even still she deserved to know the truth. But even still, I could tell her when she was ready for it.

Who am I to decide when she's ready?

Yeah, that seems like a good plan.

It's terrible, it's going to lead her to never speak to me again.

I believed that Tokage was going to be capable of handling the truth in the future.

Another selfish decision.

I gave Aizawa the knowledge.

So why can't I do the same with Tokage?

"Nanao, I can't-, What if she-,"

"You have to. I'm not telling you to lie to her forever, but she's not mature enough yet to know. Just look at you, the 'truth' you were searching for nearly took control of your life and ruined it for you. You nearly left U.A. Imagine what she would do knowing that her mother was a sick and twisted individual that experimented on children? That even had a child to experiment on her? That her mother was murdered for knowing too much? I'm not telling you not to tell her about the experiments, just don't mention her mother. Lie if you have to, say she escaped the experiments which led to her murder. But if you tell Tokage that the reason she, and I, as well as everyone, exists in this world is because of her mother, you will regret it."

Tch.

I ignored Nanao as I opened the door, walking over to the table before I sat down and drank the rest of my coke angrily.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, throwing my empty can of coke in the bin. "Tokage, I… About the truth. Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah." She replied.

Another selfish decision.

I had to protect Tokage, even if she hated me for it.

You're a liar.

I'm not protecting her at all, I'm protecting myself.

"There was a scientist that worked with All For One to create soldiers. She worked alone, and she achieved what All For One wanted from the experiments." I paused, looking at Nanao who nodded at me.

"What was her name?"

"Yukari Aotsuki, my biological mother."

---

I wiped some sweat off my brow.

"Come on, it's just training." Shinso tried to say, but he looked even worse than I did. He had a cut on his cheek, with some blood dripping down on to the floor. Aizawa stood opposite us, using a staff to 'make sure the lesson stuck.'

"Training my ass," I replied, standing up straight. "This is torture."

Aizawa lunged at me for that comment, and I barely had enough time to catch the staff before it smacked me in the chest.

"Good, you managed to catch it this time," Aizawa smirked, before swiping my legs out from under me, and then using the staff to hit me in the stomach. "But you forgot to keep an eye out for a second attack. Don't get lazy because you managed to stop one attack, a villain could use that against you in a real fight."

I responded by coughing in his face, before trying to wrestle the staff off him…

Predictably, I failed.

I growled in response. This wasn't going well. We were supposed to beat Aizawa without using our Quirks, but with each passing second that became more and more impossible. How the hell was he this strong without even using his main weapon?! Just what breakfast does he have?! How hard does he train every day?! What's his workout playlist to get him this fucking pumped up?!

Tch, guess I was going to have to cheat.

"Distract him for me," I yelled at Shinso, "I'm going to try and find something to use against him." Training Gym Alpha wasn't anything special. It was just a large room with a bunch of shit inside, it functioned more as a storage room than a training ground, but I recognised the lesson Aizawa was trying to teach us. To use our surroundings and gain an upper hand when we can't beat an opponent using our Quirks or bodies. For Shinso, this was some good training, but for me, it was a vital form of revision for the Provisional License exam in three weeks.

However, I watched as Shinso was knocked flat on his arse, the staff whacking him across the face.

Ouch.

That must hurt.

"Are you trying to run away?" Aizawa asked me.

"Not really," I replied, grabbing a… was that a rapier? Sure, whatever. "I'm going to fight you with a weapon of my own." I rushed him, trying my luck with a flying kick, only for him to try and kick me in the stomach. I grinned as aimed my rapier to stab him in the leg, watching as he lowered his leg instantly, twisting his body around to avoid my stab attack. "Who's the one running away now?"

"So you got a weapon, but I have to ask, what will you do with it?"

"It's a sword, so I'm going to use it the way I use my actual weapons! To rip you to shreds!" I charged at him again, swinging the rapier down to cut his staff, only to watch it backfire on me. Instead of my sword cutting his staff in half, the rapier broke into multiple pieces, leaving me confused before I had to narrowly dodge another attack. What the fuck just happened?

"Confused, right? You shouldn't have treated the rapier as if it were your normal sword, it pierces opponents instead of cutting them."

"How was I supposed to know that?!" I angrily yelled, throwing the handle of the broken rapier on the ground, before bending my knees slightly to try and catch his staff once again. Tch. If only I had my actual weapon with me, the Kazekiri would have cut his puny little staff into small pieces. However, before he could attack me, the timer ran out signalling the ending of our training session.

I almost had him as well!

He threw a water bottle at me and Shinso, the latter trying to desperately stay awake after the beating he had just got.

"Shinso, your mistake was going along with Sora's plans. By no means was it a bad plan, but you should know that not every plan that comes your way will be achievable by you. However, your form is looking good. Not only that, but your stamina has increased from what I can tell. You managed to last a full half-hour session today, which is impressive in its own right. Keep up the good work." Shinso looked proud at that, even if he was slightly disappointed that we didn't win.

Aizawa then turned to glare at me.

"Sora… the only positive thing I can say about your performance today is that you didn't give up. Not only were you forcing Shinso around to do what you wanted, but you also rushed the execution of your final plan that forced you to pick a weapon you were unfamiliar with, which nearly led to your defeat. In total, you acted arrogant and bossy, and if Shinso wasn't as nice to you as he is, you two would have fought on more than one occasion. But by far the worst mistake you made was using that rapier without understanding how it works. If this was a real fight, that would have cost you your life."

"Fine then, I'll pick up a weapon I know how to use next time."

"Will you?" Aizawa asked me.

"Yeah, I'll use my Kazekiri or something."

"But do you know how to even swing a sword?"

I…

"No," I replied. I didn't know, because I was never trained. I didn't know how to swing a sword properly, I just used it wherever I could. My sword skills couldn't hope to match up to Zero's, who was trained in it since he was a kid. He said so himself. "I don't. You are right."

"Then you know what you need to work on," Aizawa replied, "You have a great tool in your Kazekiri. Last time I heard, Hatsume was nearly finished with the revision of the weapon for you, just in time for your exam."

"Oh, sir, also I forgot to mention that I'm changing my hero costume." Somehow the rumour of a male student in 1A having multiple Quirks had surfaced. While I still haven't told 1A about it, Jiro calmed me down saying I didn't need to tell them if I didn't feel comfortable yet. Despite all that, I needed to prepare for the worse. I was going to have to change my costume to keep my identity a secret because my current costume simply wasn't cutting it.

Plus, I had to redesign it anyways for the Kazekiri.

"I see. Then you should go and finish that before the exam. Also, we have class training tomorrow at Gym Gamma. It'll be continuing on from our last training session, creating your ultimate move." I sighed at that. Ultimate moves. I was stuck when it came to figuring out mine. Although to be fair, the idea of an 'ultimate move' that I yelled really loudly didn't appeal to me at all.

"Alright. See ya' later, Shinso."

"Right. Wait Sora, before you go, do you mind messaging me later? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"No problem, I'll send you a message before I go to bed."

"...Please don't send one at three in the morning."

"Hehe, I'll try not to do so."

The halls were empty as I walked around U.A. Not even our illustrious third years brightened these empty halls, then and again it was summer. I'm sure that any third year would want to spend their final summer in high-school having fun with their friends instead of staying inside. I took the lift to the third floor of block one, before using the different bridges connecting to the four blocks of U.A to get to the support department building. But standing on one of the bridges, all alone, was Tokoyami.

"Yo," I greeted him. "What ya' doing up here all alone? I thought you'd be at the dorm or something."

"I'm… in deep thought."

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked him, going over to a nearby vending machine and ordering two packs of sweets. One for him, and one for me. U.A having vending machines on each floor for food and drinks was a blessing, and easily was the school's best feature in my opinion. Everything was just so convenient!

"Are you sure you want to listen to me rambling?" I frowned at that. Tokoyami wasn't his usual self, and that was reflected in the way he talked. He didn't speak Shakespearean English because he thought it was cool, I got the impression that he enjoyed speaking like that. The fact that he broke character meant that something serious was up.

"Mate, I could listen to you ramble for hours," I replied, sitting down on the floor opposite him. "Even if you don't want to talk about what's bothering you, we can talk about other things to distract your mind."

"Sora, about the series we are writing. Do you think that our protagonist is a monster?"

"Hm? I don't think Ichigo is a monster."

"But he caused his mother to die, didn't he? His own actions caused a loved one of his to be hurt, to die. Isn't that an unforgivable sin?"

"Sure, when you look at it from that angle he's a monster," I replied, "But Ichigo didn't have anything to do with his mother's death. I mean the Hollow that killed his mother, Grand Fisher, is the one at fault here. Masaki just defended her son, as any good mother would do. Calling Ichigo a monster for something he had no control over is wrong. But then and again, Ichigo's actions did result in his mothers' death."

"Do you think that hurting others close to you makes you a monster?"

There it was.

The one question I wanted to avoid.

"It depends," I answered, "If you deliberately hurt those that you care about, no matter the reason, sure you're a 'monster.' But what kind of monster are we talking about? One that's a curse upon others, or a monster that doesn't care about others? Either way, the worst monster is the one that hurts others without realising it in my opinion. A monster that lives in their hypocrisy, unaware of being able to change a thing in their life." I was that monster.

"I disagree," Tokoyami replied, "At least the monster that hurts others unknowingly has the chance of learning, the chance of growth. The monster that hurts others knowingly will never change because it's their choice. The best they can do is simply run away and isolate themselves so that they can't hurt anyone ever again. But life isn't that simple, is it? I heard from the others that you were convinced you were a monster for not being able to tell us the truth you've been seeking for so long. Sora, you aren't a monster."

I smiled at that.

"I appreciate it, but it's as you said. Life ain't so simple. In everyone else's eyes, I'm not a monster, I wasn't aware that my actions were hurting everyone else. But I suppose that's a lie, of course, I knew that my lies were hurting everyone. I just chose to ignore them because I wanted to not feel guilty. In a way, I wanted to be ignorant because if I wasn't I wouldn't be able to find out what I wanted. Not that what I found was worth it anyways, if I could trade it all to go back to how things where I'd do so in a heartbeat." Tokoyami nodded at that.

"We are alike in that way," He whispered, "We've both hurt those close to us, lying to ourselves to try and prove that we aren't the monsters we don't want to be. But in the end, we are who we are. 'It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account, we shall be more attached to one another.' Personally, I find this untrue. We deserve no attachments, and no sympathy for our actions. We are monsters, and in that regard, all we know is how to spread our pain onto others."

"Yeah but isolating yourself from everyone ain't a solution. No one can be lonely forever, humans are social creatures by nature. We want to be around others to some extent, even if we prefer to be alone."

"I joined U.A not to make friends or find a place in this class, but to absolve myself from the sins I've committed. To ensure that the monster that I have changed the world for the better, that instead of being a curse I could aspire to do some good in this world. To make up for all the pain and suffering I've caused."

"Tokoyami, you're what, fifteen? If you feel guilty about something you've done, I won't laugh at you for it. No one will. But I don't think holding that guilt for something you've done is healthy."

"The same way you still believe that you've ruined our class? Kirishima and the others may have accepted you back into our class with their arms wide open, but I will not. I never opened my arms in the first place," Tokoyami said, opening the pack of sweets I bought for him and began to eat them slowly. "Logically, we both aren't monsters. We are like Ichigo where our actions are excused, yet we cannot help but blame ourselves. We've written Ichigo in a way where his mother's death, and the guilt behind it, affect his actions to this day. And the same thing can be said to both of us."

"Fair point," I replied, "Sure I believe that I've ruined our class. I also believe that I'm stuck in a cycle where I'll only hurt everyone around me. It's only thanks to Kyoka that I came back, but what's your excuse? What's been driving you up the wall all this time? Why do you believe you're a monster?"

"It's a simple story," Tokoyami smiled bitterly at that. "It's common in many households across the world. My story is nothing special, and it never will be. I was born different compared to the rest of my family, and I was treated differently because of it. My parents love me, they really do, but compared to my older sister who was 'normal' it's obvious why they spent more time with her then they did with me. She's smart, athletic, and she looks normal."

"Huh, I didn't know you had a sister."

Tokoyami nodded. "Biwako Tokoyami. She's named after our grandmother. But that's beside the point. I was lonely, and all I had was Dark Shadow to comfort me. My parents spent more and more time with my sister, and kid me couldn't take it. I was but a mere child. I didn't understand that applying to university was a long process, and that it was so important. That my sister playing sports was her only way of getting into it. I got angry, and one day an accident happened. Dark Shadow tore one of my sisters' arms to shreds, and suddenly she can't play sports again. My parents and my sister forgave me right away, they said it was my Quirk's fault - not mine. But I can't help but feel like I'm the monster."

I didn't say anything as I nodded at what he said. To some extent, he was right, but at the same time it's no wonder he asked me if I thought Ichigo was a 'monster.' Tokoyami couldn't help but feel like he was Ichigo in the same situation, but he was overlooking a major fact.

"Tokoyami, your sister's still alive. Ichigo's mother will never come back. You say you're a monster, and I'm not denying how you feel, but the only thing you can do to 'absolve your guilt' isn't just to become a hero and save others. It's to be on good terms with your sister and help her where you can, not out of guilt, but because she's your sister. Because you love her," I told him. "I hurt my sister a long time ago as well. I pushed her away, but now I'd rather die than do so again. So I get what you are feeling sorta, but trust me. The only way to move forwards is to face the music."

"And what if… what if I still feel like a monster? What if you'll never move on from feeling like you'll always hurt everyone in 1A? Then what?"

I shrugged my shoulders at that.

"Once a monster, always a monster. You quoted Frankenstein, right? Well 'once you gaze into the abyss for too long, it will eventually start to gaze back right at ya'. I forgot what old bastard wrote it, but it's always stuck with me for some reason. It's as you said, logically speaking we aren't monsters - We only feel this way. So long as we believe we are one, we will always be one. It's our decision to remain feeling this way. Either we can sulk and never move on, always be reminded of our guilt, or move on. But nothing in life is easy, and moving on isn't a simple task like clicking your fingers."

Tokoyami chuckled at that.

"You can say that again."

The two of us stared outside the walkway we were on, gazing at the sun beginning to set.

"What does Ichigo's dad say again? Right, you're not old enough for the cool, tortured look. I guess we are both idiots in our own right, using our own series to write out how we feel in life. But that look on your face doesn't suit you, Tokoyami. It doesn't suit me either. So let's stop sulking about how we really feel. Jiro gave me a chance at this, so I'm giving you a chance as well. Let's both get strong enough to defeat the monsters within us, it makes us sounds like manga protagonists but who cares. They are cool, right?"

Tokoyami's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly, even if he didn't want to show it.

"You know, despite looking like a punk you really do say some really cool things sometimes," Tokoyami replied. "Thanketh thee for speaking to me liketh this. I very much did need this."

"Don't mention it," I replied, getting up from the floor, grinning as Tokoyami was back to his usual self. We both hid our pain, I now knew that he used his weird way of speaking to show it whereas I acted like a punk, as he said. "We're friends. And we have a lot more in common than I realised, so sorry for not talking to you about this issue earlier. I suppose you could call me a bad friend, but oh well. What's done is done, the only thing you can do is move forwards."

"Thou art very much valorous at giving counsel, but something tells me thee findeth hard to followeth counsel you've given out to others"

I grinned at that.

"Hehe, ya' got me. I'm a hypocrite with a capital 'H'. Anyways, I gotta go. I got to meet with a pink-haired demon in disguise as a human, so I'll catch ya' latter."

---

"What the hell did you do to my sword?!"

I stared at my Kazekiri, completely and utterly destroyed. I then glared at Mei Hatsume, the one who destroyed the sword in the first place. How the hell did she do this?! She was supposed to repair it, not break it to the point of no return?! She simply laughed like a lunatic in response, waving a wrench around in the air.

"Well, I shouldn't have added a tracking function in the sword! I think that was the reason why it blew up."

"You think?!"

"Well, it's either that or the laser charging button. Maybe the speakers? No, I'm pretty sure the speakers were wired correctly. Wait, maybe it was the vibrators?"

The what!?

I stared at her in disbelief.

Luckily, Power Loader came to my rescue.

"Hatsume, what did I tell you about messing about with other people's equipment?"

"To do so out of sight?"

"No."

"Oh, it was not to get caught, right?"

Power Loader sighed in response. Hatsume then turned to me in confusion, asking me if I knew what he meant. I shrugged my shoulders in response, looking back at my broken Kazekiri. There was no way this was going to be ready for the Provisional License exam. Hell, I'd be happy if it was even fixed by the end of the year considering how swamped Hatsume, and everyone in the support department, actually were. And here I thought the hero track was bad, these fuckers had it way worse.

Working long and gruelling shifts to build something that some dickhead requested to scratch his back.

It could never be me, that's for damn sure.

"Anyways, what brings you here?" Power Loader asked me, forcing Hatsume to go work on another project as he cleaned up the remaining parts of my sword. "You should come here more often, Yamazaki. You, hero students, are all so shy, it won't hurt if you say hello every now and again. I promise you, we don't bite."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time. But I'm here to improve my costume, or rather make changes to it. Didn't Aizawa-sensei mention it to you? He said he would." Power Loader hummed, before nodding at me.

"Aye, I do recall him mentioning something along those lines. Well, I'm free so let's pop over to my office and we can discuss this at more length." I followed him as he lead me to his office, which was a pretty large room with a big desk and multiple shelves, all filled to the brim with different designs and paperwork. Power Loader cleared some of the paperwork on his desk, his solution was to throw it all on the floor, before he motioned for me to sit down on any seat I wanted.

"So, how can I help you?"

"I want to change my costume."

Power Loader nodded at that, pulling out a sheet from under his desk. My original costume design.

"It looks very samurai-like, doesn't it? That was your inspiration, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there isn't much to improve here. So if you want to change your costume, we are going to have to change it completely. Are you okay with that? Luckily, you aren't a popular hero with merchandise and whatnot yet so changing your costume is fine and won't impact you, but you do know what you are asking of us, right?"

"I know. And I'm fine with it changing completely, in fact, I think it needs to change. I made this costume while I was still a kid, not to say I'm still not a kid. But I've grown I think, and my view on being a hero has changed. A samurai protects, and that's what I thought being a hero was. A way for me to protect what I wanted, but I'm not so sure about that anymore." Power Loader accepted that answer as he scrunched up my old costume design into a ball and threw it in the bin.

"Alright then, that makes everything easier. At least I know what you want to accomplish by changing your costume. I'm sure Midnight has already told you this, but your hero name represents your ideals. It represents everything you believe in. A hero's costume functions the same way, so working with me will make this process a lot smoother. Now then, what do you think a hero is?"

I smiled at that question, it was rather easy for me to answer. Yaoyorozu had asked me a similar question just a few weeks ago during our summer camp in Hell, right before everything turned to shit.

"In my opinion, a hero is someone that chooses a path for themself. A thorny path, one that isn't easy, but a path that walks on anyways. They'll endure the pain thrown their way because they have a goal that they are willing to achieve, no matter the cost." Power Loader whistled at that.

"Wow. That's… interesting to say the least."

"Why is it interesting?"

"Because what you described sounded more like a villain rather than a hero," He replied, "The only path a hero takes is serving the public and their country. That's all being a hero is, nothing more and nothing less." I frowned at that.

"But sir, what about the heroes that want to change the system?"

Power Loader laughed at that.

"Kid, I'm a teacher. I know what our society does, it fills youths' heads with grand ideas. That you can change the system if you try hard enough, that you'll be able to enact actual change. I was once in your position too, so I understand. But our system doesn't change, it can't change, we are the heroes and we fight villains. Our goals can only be to make sure the system's flaws don't damage the system as a whole too much. As an inventor, making something from scratch is hard. Taking something that already exists and putting a new coat of paint on it is easier, but also the far better option overall."

"And what if the system is damaged beyond repair?" I questioned him. Power Loader merely shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I'm not saying you are wrong, nor am I saying that I'm right. I've been in this profession long enough to know the flaws of our system, and how serving the public results in you being a slave to them. I've been in many positions where the 'villains' I faced were nothing more than scared and hurt kids who wanted change, and I've faced villains who were psychopaths. Our system is flawed, that is true, but what other alternative do we have? Change for the sake of change will just make us loop back to how we currently are because society cannot progress further than it already has. A good inventor might try and build something new. A great inventor knows when to cut their losses and move on."

Tch.

That was certainly an opinion.

"Yamazaki, you're young. You don't know how the world really works, and that's okay. I don't know how it works either, and I've been a hero for twenty years. I like my safety bubble here at U.A, it allows me to work as an inventor. But don't let grand ideas lead you down a dark path, I've seen many heroes like you walk these halls thinking they could enact change, yet in the face of our system then be branded as a vigilante, or worse, a villain. Don't walk down the same path they did, because a hero is someone that protects that flawed, and broken system." He explained.

"You think I'd become a villain?" I asked him curiously.

"Not really, I think you have a good head on your shoulders. But some of the other staff here do think that you have a darker side to you, an untamed side that could cause a lot of destruction if unchecked," He replied, "It's not like it could only happen to you. It could happen to anyone in your class. It's why we are here, to assure you that being a hero isn't all gloomy. Our system may be flawed, but it's the only way to help others. It does its job, and for that alone it means we have to protect it. Yet ignoring that flaw is also incredibly arrogant and wrong. In a sense, I pity you and everyone in your class."

"Why's that?"

"Twenty years ago, the world was a cheerier place. Nowadays it's all doom and gloom, all you youngsters are trying to change the world for the better instead of living out your lives the way we did. The system of being a hero and serving the public hasn't changed at all, so don't worry about it too much. Focus on being a good hero first, you can worry about anything else later when you have the time. Now, back to your costume, I feel like if we swapped your colour palette from white to grey, that would suit you better, no?"

I nodded at that.

"Yeah, the white doesn't feel right. Maybe add some more black or navy blue to it? I don't want it to stick out too much. But still include some white! It wouldn't be right to just delete it from existence."

He nodded at that.

"Right. By the way, I have to ask, what sort of hero do you want to be? A popular one, a rescue hero, etc."

"Underground hero," I replied. It wasn't just because Aizawa-sensei was one, it was because it was the best way for me to understand what Zero was doing. Of finding out about his plans, knowing what he's planning on doing with the League. He was already in the darkness, and if I wanted to beat, to kill, him I needed to understand that world. I needed to live in it.

Power Loader grinned at that.

"Somehow, your class just keeps on surprising me. I have an idea for your suit already if you'll allow me to explain it to you."

"I don't mind."

"Well, you based your first suit after a samurai. Let's name that suit number 'one'. You said that the suit was designed when you were more ignorant about heroes, and now that you've been training to become one your opinion of them has darkened. Well, not darkened, but changed. You recognise the inherit 'flaws' we have. So much so that you want to become an underground hero, one that works in the shadows. So what if we stick with your traditional theme, but instead of a samurai go for a ninja instead."

I snorted at that.

"Er, I'll get back to you on that idea," Fuck no, that sounded so bad. "How about we just darken the colours of my original costume and add a coat on top of it."

"Like a trench coat?"

"That's way too edgy for my liking. No like, I don't know, an overcoat? Like, how about replacing the top half of my costume with it, providing extra pouches and shit so I can stick some equipment inside. Also, more padding, since I use a sword I'll be hit a lot since I fight at the close range most of the time. Plus, I need a mask."

"You want a mask?"

"Yeah. I want to go underground, so for that, I'm going to need to hide my identity. It's not like there are a lot of blue-haired boys at U.A, so I don't want to be easily recognisable. I don't mind about the hair all that much, I'd much rather not wear a full-on mask that covers everything, just one that hides my face. A sturdy one. And one that's easy to carry around with me."

"Like a Kabuki mask?"

"Sorta. More like a pierrot mask really, but maybe mix both of them? Oh, and I want it to be white, even if my costume is a little darker with the colours, I want the mask to be white," In my head, it just looked cool. Or it sounded cool. "Also, uh, is it possible to add a pattern or something on the mask? Like a blue cloud or something, actually scratch that. That sounds stupid."

"I'll make two versions of the mask for you. One with a design, and one without a design, how does that sound?"

"Thanks."

Power Loader grinned at that, cracking his knuckles as he yawned. He was tired, that much was clear. Working in this environment must be hard, especially if he had to look after Hatsume constantly.

"I have a rough idea of your new costume. It'll be done by the end of this week, so don't worry about it. All I need you to do as hand over your original costume, and sign some papers and that's all."

I nodded at that.

"Cool. Can I go then?"

"Yeah. Oh and about your sword, I'll try to fix it up. But I don't know what junk Hatsume added, so I might work with her to build it from scratch." As expected.

"Alright then. Thanks, Power Loader."

"Call me Majima-sensei. I'm a teacher after all."

---

I drank my glass of cola sitting in my chair, my monitor being the only thing the lit my room in the dead of night. I adjusted my headset, making sure that Kaminari could hear me as I whispered into the microphone.

"Fucking hell, it's four AM already."

"So? We wake up at two PM anyways."

"Yeah, but don't we always complain about our sleeping patterns?"

"True. One more strike then we'll log off for the night. Oh, run Outbreak Perfected won't you? I'm using Witherhoard so you don't need to worry about my DPS."

"Idiot. I told you my Outbreak Perfected is on my Warlock, and I'm not bothered to get my phone to transfer it to my Hunter. I'm using Izanagi's anyways, so it doesn't matter. Let's just play a crucible match, I'm tired of doing nightfalls."

"Is it because you constantly die?"

"It's because you kill more enemies than actually do the objectives."

"Isn't killing enemies the point of the game?"

"Really? I didn't know that in a first-person-shooter game you would kill enemies, what a great observation Kaminari. Jeez, if you hadn't said that I would have stuck to my tactic of hugging the enemies to death. You really are a life saver man! I don't know what I'd do without you!" I replied sarcastically.

"Haha, I'll always help correct you when you don't know what to do. No wonder you kept on dying and had barely kills!" Oh, he thought I was being serious.

"Kaminari, you should take Outbreak Perfected and direct a burst shot at your skull. Goodnight." I then turned off the console, laughing as I faintly heard Kaminari throw his controller across the room in anger.

I yawned, it was a long day. We had even more ultimate move training, but I still hadn't made any progress. I just didn't know what 'ultimate move' to do. Massive Rasengan? Gear Fourth? True Bankai? Here comes rock? Paper? Scissors? Summon a sword of light and name it 'God Slayer'? No, no, no, definitely not, and that last one sounded awful - Even for me!

I finished my glass of coke, before putting on my slippers and leaving my room. I didn't want to use the elevator since it would wake the others up, so I used the stairs as quietly as I could to go downstairs and place my empty cup in the kitchen. But as I reached the ground floor, I saw that the lights were on, extremely dimmed, but on nonetheless. Sitting on the kitchen counter, drinking some hot chocolate, was Hagakure.

She barely even realised that I was in the kitchen, which was when I took a good look at her. Was she… crying?

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just… I'm fine. Don't worry about me, you can go back to bed. Sorry for waking you up."

"We aren't even on the same floor."

"Oh…" Hagakure replied. She didn't say anything as she drank more of her hot chocolate, every now and then her tears falling down from her face to mix with her drink. "Sorry, I'm just… Yeah. Emotional."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Fair enough," I replied, yawning. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I fell asleep on the couch? I don't snore, so it shouldn't be a problem. But just in case."

"What about your room?"

"It's on the fifth floor. It's four in the morning. I'm tired."

"Fair enough," Hagakure replied, sipping her hot chocolate slowly. "I assume you've been awake up till now?"

"Yeah, I was playing online with Kaminari."

"That sounds nice."

"Yeah, especially when I told him to shoot himself in the head. But I'm worried that the idiot will actually do something stupid like that, so I'd prefer it if you forgot that I said that. Just to make sure I don't get arrested or something." Hagakure giggled at that comment.

"My lips are sealed," she replied. "Not that they'd believe me anyways."

"Why not?"

"I'm invisible."

"So?"

"I'm forgettable."

"Just because you are invisible? That's silly."

"I know, but that doesn't change a thing. I am invisible, and while it makes me unique, doesn't it also make me invisible to everyone else? I'm an invisible girl, but it's not like I can turn it off. It's not that the police wouldn't care, they'd just forget about me. I'm invisible after all."

"Is that why you are drinking hot chocolate at four in the morning?"

"No, don't be silly, I had a nightmare."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly. It's girl stuff, you wouldn't be interested."

"My best friend is a girl, well two of them are if you count my sister. I'm used to 'girl stuff' in that sense. Hearing my sister complain about one of her friends being a bitch by wearing the same clothes as her when they went out, or whatever has trained me up nicely." Hagakure giggled at that.

"You're lucky Jiro isn't a girly girl like me or Mina. I reckon you'd actually hurt yourself if she was."

"Oi, I'm not that weak."

"But it's not like you would like it if we forced you to wear a branded facial sheet mask. Or put cucumbers on top of your eyes."

"You know I've always wondered, can I eat the cucumbers afterwards or no? Like, what if I'm hungry?"

"I suppose. I don't know, you should ask Mina for an answer."

"Want me to make you another hot chocolate? I'll even add marshmallows for you, pink ones at that."

"I didn't know we had marshmallows?!"

"Top drawer on the left, behind the cereal. So, you want one?"

Hagakure nodded at that.

Her mood had brightened considerably, making me happier as I got to work making her another hot chocolate, this time with cream and pink marshmallows on top. I hummed to myself, singing a random song from a recent anime I was watching, before I gave her the freshly made hot chocolate, taking her empty cup and placing it in the sink.

"Bon Appetit." I joked, opening another drawer to get a pack of sour sweets.

"You're eating sweets at four in the morning?"

"Better late than never."

"Isn't it you know, unhealthy?"

"Sure. But l don't care."

"I think you're a sugar addict."

"If you think of hiding my snacks, I'll punch you really hard. I'm not joking, Hagakure."

"You'd punch me? I thought we were friends!"

"Anyone who gets in the way between me and my snacks is my sworn enemy."

"Even Jiro?" She teased me.

"...She's the only one allowed. In fact, I share my sweets with her."

"Aww, that's so cute! That reminds me of what I used to do with my boyfriend before I came to U.A."

"You had a boyfriend?"

"Why do you sound surprised?"

"Well, you know. You were complaining that you were invisible. That's all."

"Using my own words against me? You're mean. I hope you get kicked in the shins, Sora. Actually, can I kick you in the shins?"

"No. If you try to kick me in the shins, I'll kick you in the face."

Hagakure, presumably, flipped me off.

"You wouldn't dare to harm my beautiful, invisible face! I'd kill you if you did so. I may be invisible, but that just means I can live in your room without you noticing. And then when you go to sleep, I'll suffocate you with a pillow."

"I think you applied for the wrong job, Hagakure. You'd make a great assassin."

"You think?"

"An invisible assassin that can kill you while you sleep? You'd be unstoppable. Like they wouldn't be able to see it coming!"

"True. Well while our conversation was fun, I'm tired."

"Same here. Do you think if I use the lift I'll wake Bakugo up? His room is the closest to the lift."

"Do you like to annoy him?"

"Yeah, it's pretty funny. Plus he tries to annoy me back, so it's fair. We have a rivalry I think, whoever can piss each other off the most without resorting to pure violence or breaking any rules. It's fun."

"I see." I could tell that Hagakure couldn't actually see why the two of us had a rivalry like that, but she didn't really care for it that much to understand it either.

"You know, our conversations are really fun sometimes. Like it's four in the morning, and yet here we are."

"I know right? It just feels so random! Sora, you know sometimes you can be a really good guy. I'd put you in my top five most dateable guys in 1A."

"I'm taken."

"I know, I'm just saying that you are sweet. Even if you're a little short, and you constantly either frown or smirk like you have something evil planned, you always eat unhealthy food and you encourage others to jump off buildings a lot - You are a sweet person that cheers me up when I feel bad. Jiro's lucky to have someone like you."

"Mina said the same thing."

"She's right. Any girl, or boy, would be lucky to have you. But at the same time, I hope you know that I'd never go out with you."

Hm?

"Why's that?"

"Well, that's a secret."

"Hagakure, you can be so annoying at times."

"Pot calling kettle?"

"I've never been annoying in my entire life."

"Liar!"

"You're right, that was a pretty bad lie."

Hagakure finished her second cup of hot chocolate, and I took it from her placing it in the sink. By the time I woke up, they'd probably be put in the dishwasher, but even if they weren't I'd be able to do it myself.

"Sora… do you forget that I exist sometimes?"

"Not really."

"Do you wonder what I actually look like?"

"Sure, but what's the point of asking me all this?"

"My parents work in the fashion industry. They're busy a lot because of their work, but they do love me. Even if they're halfway across the world visiting a different continent, and sometimes… I have nightmares often. I woke up and I'd become completely invisible to the world, everyone forgets about me. You, everyone in our class, and even my parents. I know it's silly, but being invisible sucks. I hate my Quirk sometimes." Hagakure vented angrily, tapping her fingers against the counter nervously.

"You don't have to worry about that," I replied, "Ain't no way I'm gonna forget about you. Especially considering we have weird and funny conversations all the time. And if I ever forget about you, I give you permission to kick me in the balls."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. Just make sure not to kick too hard, it hurts after all."

"Duly noted."

---

While everyone else was figuring out their ultimate moves, I was doing a 'twenty-kilometre run' which amounted to me skipping the session entirely. I still hadn't figured out what my ultimate move should be, so I didn't think that attending the class was a good way to spend my time. All I'd be doing would be watching others figure out what they want to do before I even had an idea of my attack.

And so, I skipped it.

It's not like I was going to get an idea by watching others.

But I wasn't skipping the lesson to just mess about. Well, not really, I was sort of goofing about, but it was for a good reason! I took Aizawa's advice and began to practice kendo, while it wasn't going to help me all that much, it would make me train in swinging my sword around properly. That was better than swinging it around hoping for it to connect like I had been doing before, plus it would hopefully make my swings harder on impact. I couldn't wait to knock Zero's mask right off the next time we met!

…that or he's beat me, once again.

As I walked over to an empty training room, dragging my bokuto behind me, I saw Uraraka sitting all alone.

What was she doing here?

"Yo."

Uraraka ignored me.

"Are you good?"

She ignored me again.

I walked up to her, only to realise she was sleeping. Deeply. Uh… I was lost for words. Luckily, Midoriya came to my rescue, sighing as he looked at her sleeping on the floor.

"Oh, Sora, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing much. I just found her sleeping out here, do you know what's up?"

"Ah, I think she took some of the wrong pills this morning… sleeping ones at that. I wonder who brought sleeping pills with them to our dorm? Or who left them in the kitchen in the snack drawer? Uraraka-san thought they were tic-tacs."

Pfft.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be laughing but that's fucking hilarious," I replied, "Anyways, do you need help in carrying her back to our dorm? If someone saw you carrying an unconscious Uraraka, they might get the wrong impression."

Izuku shook his head at that, rapidly turning red.

"S-Sora, please stop! That's not funny."

"Yeah, you're right. Anyways, you need some help?"

"O-okay."

"Cool, I'll grab her arms, you grab her legs."

"...I don't think you are supposed to carry someone like that, Sora."

"But that's how they carry dead bodies in mafia movies?"

"I'll carry Uraraka-san, you can just sit and… watch."

"Sassy. Did fighting Muscular give you some sass? If I had known that, I would have told you to stay put. I don't need you and Bakugo teaming up to get lippy with me now, because then the world would actually end!"

"Why would it end?" Izuku asked me, he was tired of my act.

"Because you and Bakugo are obviously rivals, and you must kiss only when one of you is about to die-," Izuku glared at me, shutting me up. "I mean you and Bakugo are like oil and water, haha, obviously if you two work together it would be to beat a villain."

"And are you not a villain?" He joked.

"Oi, all I did was steal some food from the kitchen. If that makes me a villain, then I'd say you kidnapping Uraraka makes you a villain as well."

"I'm not kidnapping her? Wait, does it look like I'm kidnapping her? Wait, is that what you meant when you said they might get the wrong impression? I thought you meant that people would take it as Uraraka-san and I being, well, you know. Wait, but if they see me carrying Uraraka-san, and they report me, what would then happen? Would I be expelled from U.A?"

"Nah mate, I think Nezu would publicly execute you using a guillotine."

"Really?!"

"Of course. He's an intelligent rat, I'm sure he enjoys torturing his students. I'm just waiting until he dresses up in a bear costume and makes us play a death game, although I suppose that would be too on the nose."

"I don't get it."

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, how is your ultimate move training going along?"

Midoriya grinned at me, he was clearly proud of his attack.

"I'm going to use my legs!"

I clapped slowly, making sure to make each clap as drawn out as possible.

"Wow! A man who's been walking for sixteen years finally discovers he has legs. I bet your mum must be so proud of you for that one! I know I would!" I replied sarcastically, making Midoriya laugh in response.

"That was funny."

"I'm a funny guy."

"Sometimes."

"What do you mean sometimes? Aren't I the class clown?"

"I thought it was Kaminari?"

That bastard!

"Remind me to beat up Kaminari later tonight," I wasn't jealous. I was simply taking back the title that deserved to be mine. That was all. "Anyways, do you think you can help me with my ultimate move?"

"Sure, what's your idea?"

"...I don't have one. That's why I need your help. Preferably one I can master before Bakugo completes his, just so I can rub it in his face. Maybe I should build a massive mecha using my Quirk? That would be cool, right? I could say 'Heed my call, Valimar the Ashen Knight!'" I then thrust my hand in the air, pointing at the sun, looking like a badass. Unfortunately, Midoriya didn't see what I was seeing as he laughed at me once more.

"That sounds silly."

"Oh shut up, you discovered you could kick people for the first time. What's next? That you can headbutt others as well?"

"I don't know how to help you, Sora. I don't think I'm very good at this sort of thing."

"But you helped me during camp? If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to do my cool hand-sign attacks! C'mon, just give me some more great ideas! Maybe not summoning a mech, but how about a huge canon? A million swords that track opponents? A ray gun? Give me ideas!" I was desperate to just get an ultimate attack. If I didn't, well I probably wouldn't pass the provisional exam.

"Uhm, well, your Quirk crates a cloud that you can control, right? Didn't you say that your Nimbus is like apart of your body or something? So why don't you try to become the Nimbus cloud itself?"

…oh.

Why didn't I think of that?

"Haha, I'm a fucking idiot. I would kiss you right now if I could, but I need to go! Good luck with carrying Uraraka, make sure you don't drop her or cop a feel 'accidentally' you beautiful, talented bastard!" I ran back towards the direction of gym Gamma, I couldn't wait to tell Aizawa-sensei about the idea I just got! Haha, I'm such a genius! How could I have not thought of it before?

It was perfect!

It would be like getting invulnerability frames in a fighting game! I'd be intangible for a moment, which fit my fighting style perfectly! My sword skills would never reach that of Zero's, but if he couldn't hit me then everything would be balanced!

This was my chance at victory!

I'd finally be able to kill him.

"W-wait! Sora!"

I turned around to face Midoriya, who looked at me in concern. Why was he looking at me like that?

"Are you okay after what happened?"

"Yeah, I'm fine-,"

"No, as in, after All For One…"

I didn't reply, partly because I didn't know how to reply. I don't want to reply. I didn't know how to feel after his death. I'm angry, I want to lash out. It was difficult to accept that he had died.

I couldn't kill him with my own hands.

I was still confused as to what happened. Zero did something. I wanted to find an answer, but… I'm afraid of reaching out to find another truth.

"I'm fine," I put on a fake smile, even if I had to lie to Midoriya and myself, there wasn't anything I could do. These feelings would just go away with time, so I really was fine. I would be fine. "I know I might not look it at times, but I really am fine. I'm better now then I was back then. I promise you, I won't leave 1A. I was just being an idiot and I didn't understand what I was saying anyways."

"I can't forgive you for saying that, even if you do regret it," I stared at Midoriya in surprise. "Everyone in this class cares for you, But you… you threw that to the side like it didn't matter. You probably already know this, but not everyone has forgiven you. While we may joke like before, and while things may feel like how they were, you broke our trust. Sora, I know you feel like your lies aren't a problem. You can put as many smiles on your face as you want, I can see right through them. We can all see how lost you are, even though you came back with us."

Midoroya walked forwards, carrying Uraraka bridal style as he left me alone in the corridor. "Lying to yourself is one thing, but lying to us when we are trying to help you is another thing. Even if you broke our trust, we still want to trust you. Please, don't break that as well. We all admire you, which is why we can't understand why you are acting like this. I'll be going now."

I-,

…

---

"Where are you going?" Yaoyorozu asked me.

"Out for a ride," I answered, twirling my motorbike keys around my finger. "Going to go visit my parents and Miwa. Want to come?"

"We have our provisional exam in a week. Shouldn't you be-,"

"Maa, maa. I'll be fine. It's just an exam, right? I'll cram the night before and hope for the best, it's worked for me thus far." Yaoyorozu frowned at that, but she didn't reply.

"You've been acting aloof to us all ever since you came back."

"I've been busy, I don't mean to push you all away."

That's a lie.

Shut up.

"Busy enough that you're leaving our dorm at six PM? Even after we all agreed to spend the evening together, we even rented a movie and ordered food for everyone. It's like you've been avoiding us."

I smiled at Yaoyorozu, putting my helmet on.

"I wouldn't dare ignore you guys. I'll be right back, it'll only take me like forty minutes to come back. I'm just picking something up." Yaoyorozu still didn't like it, but she didn't say anything else to me as I started the engine, slowly driving all the way to the school gates, before scanning my ID card and watching as the games fully opened. I had to be back by ten PM, but that wasn't too hard. I knew this city like the back of my hand, especially considering I've lived here my entire life.

I felt a little bad for lying to Yaoyorozu, the trip would take forty minutes, but I wasn't going to my parents at all. Instead, I was going to go meet with some of my old middle school friends. Mainly Shirou and Sakura, since they had an 'announcement' for me or something along those lines. Their father ran an electronics repair shop near the outskirts of the city, which was where I was going to meet them.

Even as the sun began to set, with the city lights illuminating the purple-ish sky, traffic was still a pain. Luckily where I was headed, traffic wasn't an issue, but I whistled at the amount of traffic on the other lane. Hopefully, by the time I came back to U.A, the traffic would have cleared, but I didn't have much hope for that. There was a gentle breeze that made driving at this time of day my preferred time, it was honestly relaxing.

Summer was nearing its end, and Autumn was starting to begin. The skies were no longer clear, and patches of dark grey clouds had begun to form, with more and more of them starting to breed. Even the bright trees had begun to wither, in a way the trees that had been growing since spring were now reacthing the end of their journeys. It was beautiful, melancholic for sure, but beautiful nonetheless. I couldn't help but feel sad for them, but at the same time, they'd eventually bloom once again when the time was right.

Their journey was over temporarily.

Despite the unbearable summer heat, it was starting to get cooler and cooler. I was even wearing a coat, which was funny since we hadn't even reached September yet. The city was quiet, there weren't many pedestrians walking around at this time. Apart from the odd couple or two, which made me slightly jealous. I was going to ask Jiro if she wanted to go on a date with me…

Eventually, I reached Shirou and Sakura's shop/flat. Well, their father owned the entire building, which consisted of two floors. The ground floor was used as their shop, while the second floor was where they lived. I parked my bike right outside, taking off my helmet as I knocked on the door of the shop/flat. I heard some movement behind the door before it was flung open right at my face. I had to take a few steps backwards so as not to be hit by it, as Sakura and Shirou Ikari both shoved each other to try and greet me first.

"He was my friend first!" Shirou shouted, "I have to greet him first!"

"You snooze, you lose. Get out of my way before I break your kneecaps."

"Go ahead and try, you whore."

"Did you call me a whore? You sad excuse of a virgin, I bet I'm the only woman that'll ever even speak to you."

I sighed at their exchange. They were the same as always, which was refreshing, to say the least. Even if I hadn't met with them since the sports festival back in May, the fact that they still acted like this made me happy. At least even if I changed, there were still some constants in my life. Sakura, who once had long pink hair, still had long hair like I remembered, only she had added black highlights to her hair. Shirou, the only other boy I knew who had a worse hair colour than me, had shaved his hair off going for a buzz-cut look.

"Yo." I waved at the two of them.

"Sup," Shirou nodded at me, trying to play it cool. "I heard you and Jiro got together. What happened to your 'we are never going to date' thing you two had going during middle school?"

"It just… happened." I answered.

"You mean, you leaned forward and kissed her," Sakura butted in, hugging me tightly. "It's been so long, you should visit more often. Even though we speak through messages every day, it's not the same you know? Anyway, you didn't bring Jiro, did you?" I shook my head in response. "Ah, great. Great. Well, come on in. Dad's at the hospital, so it'll just be us three tonight."

"Is your dad okay?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine," Shirou replied, taking my helmet and putting it on a nearby table, before he shut the door firmly, locking it for good measure. "You know how we said our dad couldn't walk properly? Well, he managed to get the back surgery that he needed, so he's just healing up at the hospital. Any day now he'll be back home in crutches, better than the wheelchair from before."

"Congrats, do you know when he gets back? I want to buy him a glass of wine. Just as a present."

"You don't have to do that, Sora."

"Nonsense. You're dad's always been nice to me, even if I've only met him a few times. It's the least I can do since he allowed you two idiots to be friends with an even bigger idiot like me." The two of them laughed at that.

"Who's more of an idiot? Sakura or me?"

"Sora, if you say that I'm more of an idiot I will castrate you."

I laughed at what she said, crossing my legs and sitting down on the floor as Shirou handed me a bowl of ramen. Huh, they had bought instant ramen, neat. I was a little hungry from the journey, so I ate right away.

"So, how's our resident hero?" Sakura asked me.

"I'm doing alright. I got my provisional license test coming up next week, so that's cool. Oh, I've been working on my ultimate move which has been going really well. I think I've nearly mastered it, but it's pretty weird. No, I will not use it here. Not that it would work anyway." I replied.

"And how's Jiro?" Shirou asked me, elbowing me in my side as he ate his food. "Is she still as cute as ever? You know, I always said this, but you two make a great couple. It's crazy how you and she got together. In fact, out of everyone in our old group, I think you and Jiro are the only ones that have gotten together. I mean like gotten a boyfriend or girlfriend if that makes sense."

"Didn't Saki say she was speaking to a guy?" I asked Sakura, who shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I don't really speak to Saki anymore. Even Keiko and I have stopped speaking slightly, but that's because the two of us have been busy. We still try to make time to go out every now and then, but she has her own friends and I have my own as well," She replied. "It's the same with how you two guys and Renji, Genji, Kenji and Denji don't speak that much anymore. Although to be fair, Denji's stopped speaking to the other three guys completely. It feels weird, we are all still friends, but we've sorta moved on. It makes me feel sad."

Shirou agreed with her sister. "Yeah, sometimes I'll look at old pictures of us and I feel really sad, but also happy. Like we can never make new memories like that ever again, but I'm glad we made those memories in the first place.."

"That's growing up for ya'," I said, drinking some green tea that Sakura had made for us. "We are all still friends, but we've grown up. We've parted ways a bit, but we'll always have a strong bond. To be honest, outside of you two, I don't really speak that much with the others. I try message them every now and then, or they'll message me, but it's as you said Sakura. We are all so busy living our own lives that it's sorta hard to keep track of everyone."

"I don't want to grow up!" Shirou complained, laying on the floor like a starfish. "I want to stay young with everyone forever! I want to have fun, chase girls, and bunk lessons with you all for the rest of my life! It's not fair! Why did we have to all go to different high schools?"

"Because we all have different plans in life," Sakura replied, kicking her brother's leg. "Speaking of. Shirou. Isn't there something you want to tell Sora?"

"Like, right now?"

I looked at the two of them, confused.

"Shirou brought you here today to tell you something." Sakura clarified for me, taking my empty bowl as well as hers, and taking it to the kitchen. She left Shirou and me to talk all alone, that much was obvious. I turned to face Shirou, who had a conflicted look on his face.

"You can tell me, anything. I promise I won't judge if you come out of the closet."

"Shut up!" Shirou shouted at me, but he was grinning while doing so. "Argh man, why are you making this so hard? I wanted to tell you this in person instead of a message, but this is way worse than I thought!"

"Just say it."

"Sora, you know my dream, right?"

"Er…"

"Don't tell me you forgot!"

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "Haha, sorry. I'm a bad friend, I know. But wasn't it something to do with engineering?" Shirou nodded.

"Yeah. I like engineering a lot. Mechanics has always interested me since I was a kid, and the two of us always spoke at length about cars. But, well, I got an offer to work at Toyota as an assistant engineer full-time." Oh. I grinned at that, pulling Shirou into a headlock, holy fucking shit!

"Dude, why didn't you say so earlier? Congrats man! Fucking hell, that sounds sick! I can't think of another person that doesn't deserve it more than you! When do you start?" Shirou's grin matched my own.

"Next week."

"Wait, but doesn't our school term start next week?" I asked him, confused.

"Yeah. I'm dropping out of high-school for this. It's an apprenticeship, plus after three years they'll sponsor me to go to university. I won't have to pay for anything, I just have to get good grades and work for them. It's a neat deal, right?"

"Man, fuck yeah! This is what I want to hear! Blowing me out of the water. I'm so happy for you right now, we should try and order some drinks! Do you know where your dad keeps his alcohol? Wait, I could probably convince my dad to buy us some beers. Let me call him-,"

"I'm going to have to move to Sendai."

What?

"Sendai? But that's-,"

"A seven-hour drive from here. Four hours by train. Even by plane, it's a minimum two-hour flight that doesn't fly often, and you'd have to travel to an airport an hour and a half away to even get it. I checked. But, well, I didn't want to take it at first. It was too far, but my dad and Sakura convinced me to go for it."

"Good," I replied, "You'll still be able to visit Musutafu every now and then, right? I mean your dad and Sakura are going to be here." Shirou winced at that, and I felt a deep pain in my chest as I realised what he was trying to say. "Your dad and Sakura are going with you, aren't they?" I tried not to sound hurt because I really was happy for Shirou. He deserved this chance, especially since he was smart and hardworking.

"Yeah. I go next week, but my dad and Sakura are moving in next month. It's why dad is in the hospital right now, so he can help move to Sendai easier. We've already sold this building, and we've bought a nice flat in Sendai. I'll show you the pictures of it later, it's sick! Like we even have a balcony and shit! Oh, our apartment also has a pool on the top floor as well!" Shirou told me, trying to lift my spirits up. I smiled weakly at his attempts, even if they weren't really working.

"Who else knows?"

"Just you. Sakura wants to tell everyone else after I leave, just so I don't have to deal with as many goodbyes. But we both wanted to tell you properly because, well, you deserve it. You're one of our closest friends, even if we haven't met up as much in recent months," Shirou replied, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me in for a one-armed hug. "Dude, you don't need to cry. I'll message you ever day! It's a promise!" Huh? I wiped my eyes, only to feel liquid. I'm crying? Wait! Why was there soy sacue on my eye?! Even Shirou looked confused, before shrugging his shoulders.

They weren't tears you bastard!

"I-, uh, sorry."

"Haha, it's no problem. I didn't see it properly myself. Anyway, sorry for springing this on you rather quickly. I only accepted it last week, so I've been spending this week packing and helping my dad and Sakura with the move. Luckily, the company wants to pay me a lot for it it since our dad is our only guardian, and cause of his issues. But yeah. I wanted to treat you nicely, but all we could afford was some instant ramen. But hey, at least you liked it. I know you deserve sirloin steak at least, so when we are a little older I'll take you to an expensive restaurant and let you order whatever you want. My treat."

"Y-you don't have to do that man, just being with you and Sakura is more than enough for me."

Shirou didn't reply as he got up from the floor and went to the kitchen. He came back a few seconds later, holding a massive bowl of sweets for the two of us to share.

"You're a kind person, Sora. Sakura and I don't have a mother. While we love our father, he can't always be there for us. So really Sakura only had me, and I only had her for a long time. We made a lot of mistakes, but we were kids, and you know how middle school is. If you stick out and do something unpopular, everyone turns against you. Your kindness in just being friends with us really did help us, and we will always be grateful to you. You saved us." He told me, eating some blue sweets.

"That may be true," I replied, picking out the cherry-flavoured sweets. "But you two saved me as well. I was… naive. Back then, and even now to some extent. I thought I was stronger than I was, that I was more important than I was, and that I was some kind of hero. Recently I thought I'd be able to see it all through to the end by myself, create a carefree tomorrow. Make it to the top all alone. But back then, I pushed everyone away because of it. I treated everyone differently, being a hypocrite because I too was just a nobody."

"And now?"

"Now? I thought I had overcome that, but lately, I feel like I've only been lying to myself, Shirou. Just being around everyone in 1A puts them in danger, the kind of danger that doesn't play around. But I still thought I could do it by myself, I'm so used to doing things on my own that I didn't realise - No, rather, I didn't want to accept that I was hurting everyone around me. And they've paid the price for my selfishness. The entire time I wanted to be a lone wolf, but I've had so many people save me. My teachers, Jiro, even you and Sakura. But being oblivious to all that, I guess now I'm finally paying the price." I took another handful of sweets, biting into them regretfully.

Even if I wasn't with 1A currently, I was still suffocated by their presence in my life.

"If I were in your position, I'd be doing anything in my power to use everyone around me. I'm a coward like that. It's how I was raised, to never put myself in danger because my family couldn't lose another person. But you never had a family to lose it, you gained one when you were older. The world gave birth to a gentle soul like you, but to also someone like me even though we live in the same city. You describe yourself as if you hate yourself, like all you do is make stupid mistakes. But honestly, I'd rather be an idiot like you than someone like me."

"Why's that?" I asked him.

"Because, at the end of the day, you aren't someone that's motivated by personal gain. We all know that, Sora. It's why we think the world of you, why we all admire you so much, the fact that you wouldn't sell anyone out for money or power. The fact that once you trust someone, you are able to do so blindly, and recklessly, ignoring whatever consequences come your way. That sort of person is rare, but the fact that you decided to become a hero makes it even rarer. You're a little too hard on yourself, especially when for every negative you list about yourself I can list two positives."

"I'm hard on myself, because if I'm not, then who will? I wasn't hard on myself before, and that lead me to make a bunch of mistakes that I regret. That makes me feel guilty even right now. That's why I'll never be able to really change because to change means to move on. But I'll never be able to move on from that guilt," The bowl had been emptied, and I leaned back against the wall, stretching my arms. "I came back to 1A wanting things to stay the same as they were. I treated everyone like nothing had happened, and while some accepted that, others can't. It made me realise that yeah, while I trust others without wavering, not everyone is like me. The only way to get that trust back, to make things how they were, is to move on. But I can't. I just… can't."

I knew I was being unfair to Shirou, unloading all of this onto him right before he went away. Not even Jiro knew I felt like this, and that's because I didn't want to worry her.

She wouldn't understand anyway.

Despite everything that's happened to me, I still don't want to drag others down with me to wherever I was headed. If I wanted things to return back to normal, I had to leave 1A. That was certainly one of the many paths open to me, but I couldn't leave 1A. I didn't want to leave 1A. I wanted to stay, Jiro was there. I didn't want to let them down. 1A is my home.

"You know what to do, yeah?" Shirou asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. Going back and forth on this drained me, but I finally felt free. Somewhat Like I finally had a clear plan of what I needed to do now. Of what I wanted to do. I can't be the lone wolf I've always wanted, I have to accept that 1A wants to help me. That my 'carefree tomorrow' isn't just a goal I share alone. The guilt I feel for treating others badly in the past is something I can overcome, not by myself, but with everyone else. In some ways, that's my answer.

That's my truth.

Even if it will take months or even years for me to accept that.

Even thought it felt like I was deep underwater, I felt like I could finally see the surface.

"Just know that if I ever see any Aozora merch in Sendai, I'll buy it right away! You'll sign them for me, won't you?"

"Of course," I replied, looking at the time as I panicked. "I-, er, I need to go. Sorry. I spent a lot of time here." It's already eight PM?! Oh, shit, shit!

"No worries, I still haven't finished packing up anyways." I got up from the floor as Shirou walked with me towards their front door, he handed over my helmet to me. Huh. This was the last time I was going to see this shop since after this it wasn't going to be owned by their dad anymore. I wouldn't ever meet with them here ever again, spend nights over, sneak into their windows, or even pick them up with my bike. This was… it.

"Sora!" I heard Sakura yell from one of the windows upstairs. "Don't sulk anymore, okay? If Jiro messages me once again saying you've made her sad, I'll come all the way back here to kick your scrawny arse!"

"Go ahead and try," I replied, flipping her off one last time. One last time. I wouldn't see Shirou and Sakura as much anymore, I'd be lucky to meet them once a year. Huh. I felt empty. Was this really it? A goodbye? I… hated this feeling. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it.

I got on my bike, putting my helmet on as I started the engine. Waving at Shirou and Sakura, before I turned around and began to drive, with each passing second the distance between us grew. Was this the end of our journey? I didn't want it to end. I never thought it would end. Only after half an hour, I made it back to U.A as I just sat on my motorbike, hearing 1A's laughter and screams as they watched a movie inside. I took off my helmet as I smiled sadly at the dorm.

I just wanted to be alone.

I was used to friends leaving. In my previous life, I had a lot of friends that left - We all went our own separate ways. None bothered that much to keep in contact with me, but it didn't hurt me back then. Maybe it was because I was too busy focusing on other things, but this time it hurt. I couldn't really describe it, other than it felt like a part of me had just vanished. It really hit me that the memories I made with Shirou and Sakura were exactly that, memories.

They were moving on with their life.

And I wanted to move on as well, but I simply didn't know how.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

"I hate this."

I hate myself.

Why did I have to fuck everything up?

Why couldn't I have made the right decision for once in my life?

I sighed, getting off my bike as I looked at the dorm once again. Everyone was still watching whatever movie they voted on, having fun, but here I was sulking.

That was all I was good at, being moody all alone.

"What are you doing all alone out here?"

I turned around to see Nejire walking nearby, along with a tall, familiar blonde boy.

"I'm just thinking."

"About what? The whether sure is lovely today, isn't it?"

"...it's dark outside."

"Silly kouhai, the whether doesn't depend on what the sky looks like! Mirio, tell him how wrong he is!" Mirio… Mirio? Wait, wasn't he Lemillion?! Mirio walked up to me with a cheerful smile on his face as he slapped me on the back.

"Come on Nejire, his mood has brightened as soon as we spoke to him! You shouldn't worry about our underclassman like that, he's perfectly fine!" Nejire, unfortunately, did not believe him as she poked my cheeks.

"I don't know, I feel like he's sulking."

"I am sulking," I snapped, slapping her hands away, "Stop annoying me, Nejp-, Nejire." God, she was grinning like a mad witch.

"You nearly called me Nejpai, didn't you?"

"No." I said that a little too forced.

"Yes, you did."

"I called you Nejire, which is your name, no?"

"Nope, it's Nejpai."

"Do you two know each other?"

"Yes, she stalks me. Please Mirio-senpai, get her the fuck away from me!"

"Language."

"What are you, a poster-boy? Just take her the fuck away, and then you won't have to complain about my language." I just wanted to be left alone, not annoyed! Why was that so hard to understand?!

"Fine, fine." Mirio started to drag Nejire away from me, thankfully, and after a few minutes, everything was quiet…

What was I thinking about again?

Something, something I'm moody, something, something I'm a stupid whiny pussy. Oh and something, something I can't move on.

Thanks for that.

Go fuck yourself.

The mood was ruined, and I felt very tired as I walked towards the dorm. At this point, I just wanted things to go back to the way they were. But they never would. Even if I didn't want to change, even if I hated change, everyone around me was changing. So the best I could do was at least keep up, bottle all my negative emotions and put on a smile. That was the best I could do in this situation. Then they could help me in whatever way they wanted. I used my keys to open the front door, and smiled as everyone had their eyes glued to the TV.

What were they watching, Star Hope Episode Fourteen: A New War?

God, what an awful movie.

"Hey, Sora's back!"

"Yo," I waved. "Enjoying your movie?"

"Yeah, it's great!"

"It's fucking shit, that's what it is."

"C'mon, stop ruining the fun. Let others have fun as well." Sero replied.

"My idea of fun is ruining other people's fun, asshole. So turn this shit off and play another movie. I'll watch it with you all, only if you put on a good ass movie. None of this bullshit, I'm talking about a horror classic." I plopped down next to Jiro, with her sitting on my right while Kaminari sat on my left.

"I can't believe you allowed these idiots to watch this shit." I told him.

"I warned them, but these idiots don't understand how great the prequel trilogy is. Fucking idiots, the lot of them."

"Fuck them, why didn't you vote for a good movie?"

"Well, it was just me and Jiro campaigning for a good movie. Oh, Bakugo as well. Only three of us, and Mina managed to convince the rest of the class to watch it or else they would be racist towards alien-looking people."

What?

"Is everyone that gullible?"

"Yeah. Sadly. I really wanted us to watch 'The Brown Bunny' but no one listened."

---

The fifth of September.

Provisional License exam day.

I yawned as we got off the bus. While everyone was joking around with a green-haired woman at Aizawa's expense, I was looking around and scouting the area. They were the ones taking the standard exam, while I had to wait with Aizawa-sensei until someone came to collect me. Then I'd be having my 'private exam' designed to 'test me' or something. I was only half-paying attention to what Aizawa told me about the procedure late last night.

"Sora! Aren't you going to come with us?"

"Uh, I'm going to have to pass on that." Hehe, I was going to surprise them. I wanted to get my provisional licence without doing their exam and confuse them-,

"Sora's been nominated to do a private exam. The HPSC wanted him to take it, and Sora accepted." Aizawa explained. Why did he have to spoil my fun?

"What he said. Good luck, although I doubt you'll need it."

"Ha, I bet you'll need some luck!" Kaminari yelled, causing Jiro to punch him in the arm. She then turned to give me a confident nod, and I winked at her in response. Ah, how incredible my youth is-,

"Okay, let's go now." Aizawa grabbed me by the collar as he dragged me away from Jiro before I could swoon over her some more, despite my protests. Beside us, the green-haired woman laughed at our exchange as Aizawa led us to some seats in the stands above the arena.

"Shota, who's this cute boy you brought with you? Your son?" She teased, making me blush.

"Nah, I'm not his son," I replied, "I am his nephew, however."

She squealed at that, glancing back and forth between Aizawa and me.

"I can see the resemblance," She eventually said, stroking her chin deep in through. "Shota, why didn't you tell me you had a nephew?"

"Because I don't have a nephew. You know that I don't have any siblings, so why are you entertaining his foolishness?" Oh shit, he was pissed. The woman simply laughed at him in response, which only made him more frosty towards her.

"Cheer up, stop being such a stick in the mud! It's just a joke."

"Jokes are supposed to be funny."

"I'm laughing, aren't I?"

"Emi, shut up."

"Okay," Emi then turned to me with a bright smile on her face. I could tell that she was used to how Aizawa treated her, if anything it reminded me of Bakugo and I's rivalry but way more developed. I was sorta jealous… "Heyo! I'm Ms Joke, but you can call me Emi. Especially since you really are Shota's nephew, I mean just look at the two of you! You even sit the same way!"

"I don't have any siblings." Aizawa said once again.

"And I have a sister." I added.

"Shota has a niece as well? How cute! Tell me, does he buy her gifts? What's the best gift he's ever given you?"

"Well, one time he punched me in the face during training. But this time it didn't break my nose, so that's a good gift, right?" Emi looked horrified at that, but even I could tell that she was playing along with my game.

"Shota! You should treat your nephew better than that!"

"He's also never wished me a happy birthday." I added, just to make Aizawa-sensei's life a little more worse. How fun.

"He hasn't wished me a happy birthday either…" I didn't know if she was joking or not, but Aizawa was doing his best not to strangle her to death. At least he was used to me, it seemed like he was actively trying to ignore Emi which was funny in its own way.

"Yamazaki, I think your test is ready," Aizawa said, pointing to a nearby exit where a familiar face stood, waving at me. Hawks stood there in his full costume, staring at me while I was wearing my school uniform. Oh shit. I turned to look back at Aizawa, who simply nodded at me. He was trusting me with this, to pass whatever exam the HPSC had set for me. It was only now that I truly realised the gravity of the situation, if they had sent their poster boy to test me, then what did they want from me?

"Here," Aizawa handed me my briefcase with my new costume inside. "You know what to do, right? Don't overexert yourself."

"Got it."

---

First of all, I want to apologise for the multiple-month delay!

If you couldn't tell, I was suffering from burnout. But I'm back, and I have brilliant news for you all!

I finished writing all of Part 1!

Starting from today, all the way to the 24th, I'll be uploading chapters daily until this story concludes its first third! I'm excited to show you all what I wrote while I was away. Because yes, even if I didn't upload anything, I was writing. It's 4am for me, but I'm going to edit the next chapter as well so I can upload it in like 15 ish hours.

As for how my life has been?

It's been great. Burnout for this was bad because the next few chapters focus heavily on interactions between everyone, as well as the plot slowly building up. This DECIDE arc is a character-focused arc, mostly centring on Sora. As I said in the last chapter, Sora will be faced with the impact of his decisions moving forward as well as what he did previously.

They'll be a lot of introspection, more so than usual, and I hope some of you can notice that what AFO told him has messed Sora up a lot.

Currently, the 'three voices' as I dub them are being used to show how broken he is.

Normal = normal Sora

Italics = Other Sora

Italics + Underline =Kurai

I trust that you, my audience, are intelligent enough to realise what Sora is going through without me spelling it out for you. I won't confirm nor deny anything, you should make up your own mind on what he's going through.

On the whole, this is a weird transition chapter. Sora's back at 1A but he acts as if nothing happened at first despite knowing something major did happen because of him. It's the wrong decision and backfires on him, because of course not everyone is going to accept him as if nothing happened. Even if they are friends, that's a toxic thing to do for both sides of the relationship.

Maybe it might seem a bit OOC for Midoriya to not forgive him, but I'll chalk that up to this Midoriya clearly having developed differently from canon. Because what Sora did was horrible to them. He basically signed them up to fight to the death and told no one, before eventually giving himself up without telling them all why.

Sora is in the wrong for that!

But that doesn't mean that the others in the class are right for acting this way!

Oh, and Sora and Jiro are finally dating!

Teenage relationships are weird and awkward, and that's what I want to write about. A weird and awkward relationship between the two with some cute moments.

And Shirou and Sakura have left the story. Perhaps you may have forgotten about them, I don't blame you. I always wanted them to exit the story at this point, as well as slowly break apart Sora's middle school friends because that's what happens in life. It's a process of growing up and learning to move on. As a reviewer said, you'd expect Sora to grow from chapter 1 but as of recently he's sort of regressed, and I wanted this chapter to touch on it. That scene is probably my favourite scene that I've written thus far because it made me sad writing it as well.

I've been left before, but I've also been the one leaving.

It's tough, and I hope that I captured that feeling correctly.

Everyone has people that have left their life, and Sora never dealt with that. Like him 'not understanding death' because he died at such a young age in his previous life, he's never had to really deal with this. With people that he cares so much about doing their own thing away from him, and I think that's a cool aspect that needs to be touched on for Sora.

Sora and Tokoyami's scene was really touching, and I 100% view Tokoyami as MHA's Spider-Man (Even if Horikoshi doesn't really expand on it.)With great power comes great responsibility is Tokoyami's reason for being a hero, and I think that's cool! Have I created a story of sorts for everyone in 1A? Yeah. Not all of them are tragedies, some like Mina's and Hagakure's are just simple ones. They don't fit society's standards for beauty/they are forgotten and becoming a hero helps stop that.

But Tokoyami, Ojiro, Sero and Koda are four characters that I want to give some spotlight to, purely because canon doesn't do so. Even if I have to fabricate a story for all of them (Some tragic, some just plain funny!) I think it adds to their interactions with Sora rather than just being the same people in canon who we know next to nothing about because of time restraints. Plus, it allows me to tackle more challenging stuff which is always fun.

Mineta's a special case where I want his story to be one that isn't resolved just yet (Not that everyone else's stories have been resolved either, I'm just setting up their character arcs for later). I'm mainly focusing on giving the lesser developed members of 1A a leg up so that everyone in 1A feels equal in terms of character development, but also that it feels like Sora is good friends with everyone (Which he is.)

Now, Sora not telling Tokage about her mother might be controversial. Good. It's a decision Sora made, and whatever the consequences are will not come into effect now, but will in the future. Simply put, that scene was a little seed that was planted that will grow into a nice tree soon. And that tree is going to lead to an arc that I cannot wait to tell.

Yes, this DECIDE arc is setting up the future of the story, as well as wrapping up Part 1's story. It's tough, but I think I managed to pull it off.

Aizawa and Sora's talk is fun because now both of them are linked. Sora being Aizawa's nephew was played off as a joke, but honestly, that's how I see their relationship moving forwards. I dislike Dadzawa, because he's just not father material. He's a cool uncle or the uncle that you don't meet often but really like.

Aizawa does care deeply for Sora, a lot more than anyone in 1A, and it is because he is Oboro's son. That's a fact. But he also sees Sora as his own person, and he has grown to like him for that as well and I hope you can see that.

Dadzawa won't be a thing, and that's because Sora already has a good father figure.

Ms Joke has always made me curious. She's two years younger than Aizawa, but it seems like she knows him well. I want to expand on that because it seems interesting as a concept. Not as a 'romance' or anything like that, more of a childhood friend that you don't keep up with often but has seen you through your worst. Even if you don't speak often, when you do speak again, it's like you met yesterday (even though it's been months/years.)

And finally, the most exciting part of this chapter.

Zero and Shigaraki.

Garaki is the only one stopping Shigaraki from coming under Zero's control completely, and how will Zero solve this? Well, Shigaraki will come into conflict with a certain Yakuza group. Perhaps the results of their confrontation with the heroes may, or may not, change the outcome of this situation for the better. Zero is a really important player moving forwards.

Sora, and you the audience, know that he wants to take control of the League. But why? Taking control of the League won't speed up the process of finding a Quirk for him to go home, in fact, a Quirk like that may never exist. So what is his actual purpose? Originally, talking about over a year ago before he was even introduced, Zero was never going to do this.

In fact, I just wanted him to be Sora's opposite in every way.

Arrogant, an asshole, a psychotic villain and a menace. I'm sure if you re-read the USJ arc, you can see some of that. Then I retconned that with Zero's mind control Quirk because I thought hey that would be a cool power to give to Zero. And now Zero's developed into someone where you can see the impact of how Sora rubs off people in a good way.

And that goes both ways.

A lot of characters have been calling out Sora's selfishness these past few chapters, and for good reason, it's a stark contrast from how he was at the start of U.A. And it makes sense considering everything Zero's done to Sora's life. Remember, at the start of Part 1 Sora didn't have a goal. He just went to U.A to be a hero because it would make Miwa, and everyone around him, happy.

Meeting Zero and seeing how someone with the knowledge and power to change things for the better made him look at his own decisions, and so he decided to change things for the 'better'. But he also developed a sort of fixation on him, that I would argue has now transformed into a full-on obsession. Sora is the only one that thinks that Zero had something to do with AFO's death, which is something I won't confirm nor deny.

I think the answer is obvious, so I'll let my writing do the talking for me.

That being said, Zero's impact on Sora is probably the most impact anyone has had on him. Zero is Sora's ultimate obstacle, he has to take him down. The final opponent for him, the one stopping him from achieving his goals, the one responsible for a lot of things in his life - It all relates back to Zero in one way or another.

It's funny, in all of Zero's appearances post the USJ he's helped Sora in one way or another, yet his presence is dragging Sora down into the abyss. Sora's mentality here is one that is black and white, where Zero is the villain and he is the hero. It's immature, in fact, I would compare it to a kid's viewpoint when watching a superhero movie.

The other Sora thinks of him as a parallel, someone so very similar to him that it's scary.

And Kurai just wants to fight him to the death.

Sora and Zero are ultimately two extremes of each other.

Both want to 'protect' something, but they both go about it in two vastly different ways, even if you might not understand what Zero wants to protect right now. It's not really a spoiler since I've hinted at it before.

But that's enough about Sora and Zero.

I was going to reply to a few reviews, but to be honest, I'm tired.

Maybe next chapter.