"Rise and shine, Begone!"

Tenko jerked awake, the loving embrace of REM torn away. Sleep gripped at his eyelids, but his eyes themselves were cold with the icy shock of sudden adrenaline. He flung his blankets off him, jumping to his feet just as Jin flicked on the lights.

The flashbang of his overhead blinded him, the attached fan inching to life. A cool breeze rustled his bed-head as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stumbled around for his shoes.

"The fuck is going on!? Begone?" Tenko choked out as he almost tripped over his sneakers. Jamming his feet into them, he limped to his closet for his hoodie.

"We have a mission from Re-Destro—and Begone is your new codename. Don't forget." Jin said, before turning away.

Sleep-crust fell away from his eyes at last, granting his unfocused vision a vague glance at his alarm clock.

4:34 a.m.

"What the hell is wrong—"

Jin was already gone.

"—with you?"

Tenko looked down, blinking at his untied shoes and half-zipped hoodie. He'd forgotten to put on pants.

His steps came down heavy on the stairs, echoing around the house. The loft he slept in had an echo problem, but if Jin's dumbass was already up and about, he gave no fucks on keeping quiet. Tenko's fingertips—and the nub of his pinkie—trailed down the oak railing, noting how unfurnished it was, as if freshly built.

He turned the corner at the base of the stairs, peaking into the kitchen. Jin was already there, gnawing on an apple, dressed to go. Tenko slipped past him, bee-lining for the coffee machine. It was shit, in comparison to his shop's old beast, but it got the job done.

As the coffee was draining, Jin approached him from behind.

"Keep it snappy. This one is important—and timing is everything. I'm being slack 'cause it's your first mission, but next time, you're not gonna have time for coffee."

"I'd sooner gut you in your sleep. Keep being a dick about it, and this boiling cup is going in your eyes."

"Good morning to you too, bro."

When it finished draining, Tenko made sure to give it a good stir before pouring it into a cup—and realized he'd made too much. Jin's cups were fucking tiny.

Not one to waste good coffee, he grabbed a second cup and filled that one up too. His head tilted back and forth as he considered it, before deciding that yes, Jin was a bitch, and would want cream. Taking the sweetened drink in one hand, he shoved it into the man's arms before storming past him.

Tenko didn't wait to see if he liked it. Snatching his original cup, he marched out the door and hurried down the hall to the elevator.

He shuffled past the early-bird neighbors, all of whom seemed nonplussed by his appearance. Or they just didn't notice him. Most of them were zombies anyway.

Jin's car was mediocre, but easy on the eyes. Automatic, two seater, heated seats, but shit engine and running on unchanged oil. He made sure to kick his boots up on the dash while he waited on the man; for putting so much emphasis into punctuality, he was slow as hell.

"Feet off the dash, passenger princess. You don't want us getting pulled over, do ya?" He said, opening the door.

"Maybe I do, and I can finally see your ass taken off in chains."

"Switching sides on me already, are ya? Wow."

"Your first mistake was assuming I was ever on your side. I'm only here to "earn my keep" and shit. Apparently your boss is too cheap to let me just chill at base for free."

"Our boss. And don't lie—being at Detnerat is far less fun than the shit we get to do."

It took a few tries to start the car, but with a mighty wallop and an extravagant wiggling of the key, she sputtered to life.

"Coulda fooled me. And change your fuckin' oil."

"It's your first mission, so I can get the apprehension. But shit can be fun, I promise. I'll show ya."

Tenko turned to the passenger window, pulling his knees up to his chest. Lights were still bright this early in the morning, and he kept having to blink. LED headlights were a curse upon the earth.

The car ride was long, but Tenko struggled to imagine they went very far. Traffic was a nightmare, and Double a slow, careful driver. He tried to occupy himself with his phone, but the news was dry, and his app-games weren't scratching their old itch.

At some point, he slipped it back into his pocket and considered just falling asleep—but before he could, they came to a stop. He looked over to Jin as the engine went dead, their headlights going dim. The sun still hadn't risen, but the idea was on the horizon.

"Where the hell are we?" Tenko asked, pulling his phone back out to check the GPS. Before it could light up, however, Jin's arm snapped across the console, freezing his wrist.

"Turn your phone off. Hard-off. We're technically at a laundromat, but we're not here for clothes."

Tenko squinted. With only black and midnight blue highlights to describe the world, he was at a loss. He sniffed, hard.

"Maybe we should. You stink. When was the last time you washed that jacket?" Tenko muttered, holding the off-button for his phone.

"You don't wash leather, moron; you scrub it. In anycase, keep a low profile. In about half an hour, three medium-sized trucks are gonna come by here and unload into the building behind us. Crow. We're here to watch, report, and escape unnoticed."

He raised an eyebrow, hearing that.

"Didn't know you and that bastard Nighteye were like that. Tight."

"It's not foresight, it's intel."

"From who?"

"A spy. Get used to it—it's how we found out about you, after all."

"Sure, sure, whatever. What are we looking for? And why go off the grid?"

"We used to have that technological edge on them—our trackers were better, as were our data specialists and hackers, but we might've tipped our hand when we raided their trucks. Since then, Crow personnel are hypersensitive to our signal. Same shit with the car—another reason she's off."

"So… what? We just sit here? I thought you said this would be fun."

"Any time with me is time well spent, in my opinion. Sit tight; we'll be here till noon at least."

They talked, after that. Even as the indicated trucks came and went, they spoke. Though there were notable, pregnant lulls in their discussion, they conversed more than they did not. Hours spent alone in a car with your roommate—especially without your phone—would've otherwise been intolerable.

Much of it was banter—and Tenko began to catch himself smiling every once in a while. Jin was a catch; a clean bastard and a lapdog to a billionaire, but he was raw. There was something offensive in him that drew Tenko in, something familiar.

It was as Jin said. Three trucks came, unloaded shit, and drove off. Tenko didn't see much of what their operations were, but Jin seemed content with events.

"Well, that was a waste of my six hours. Let's head back and let me catch back up on sleep." Tenko said, scowling as the burning air conditioning of the newly started car hit his face.

"Huh?" Jin said, looking over. "Now we report. In-person. And if Re-Destro has another mission, we do that. You can sleep after."

"Ugh. Can't we call him? Ain't no way he doesn't have a secure line."

"No can do. He's not a tech guy, and his new secretary doesn't have high enough clearance yet. Plus, he'll want to see how you did for your first day."

"Goodie. Wake me up when we hit base."

With that, he turned away from the driver's seat and leaned his face against the cool window. His forehead bounced a little as the car drove over bumps in the concrete, but they weren't bothersome enough to speak up.

He didn't end up sleeping; instead, he focused on staying calm. Seeing the boss? Right now? It was like a bad joke—there was no chance this would go over well, not after last time. Speaking to the man would be hard enough, but looking him in the eye as well?

A huff sent his bangs out of his eyes, but Jin paid him no mind.

It was like he'd swallowed down an entire hand, and the nails were clawing at his inner intestine. Hot fingers drummed against his insides, burning where they feathered against his stomach.

His thumb rubbed circles over the rough, puckered skin of his pinkie.

Decay was a five-point activation quirk. Everyone who worked with him, lived with him, or fought him found that out one way… or another. It could've been anyone, really; the suspect list for who mulated him was quite long. It wasn't that his power was a secret; hell, Jin had known before Tenko even met him.

But even as he thought of who could've cut off his pinkie—the Doctor, a nomu, Gigantomachia, any influential pawn in Master's organization really—he knew the truth. An ugly one, hazed by hardship and frustration, one born on the night of his Master's death.

The burning, curious hand in his gut quivered. What lay deep within him snorted at his feelings, exasperated by his discipline. The Tomura within laughed, thinking of the tantrum his name invoked.

He forced his eyes closed, but it did the opposite of help. The fearful faces of Jin and Re-Destro painted the back of his eyelids, all five of his fingers gripping the billionaire's desk. The rage that had consumed him had dulled in the intermediate weeks, but the memory of it was as fresh as fruit in a garden.

"Tomura Shigaraki." He whispered, his soft, hoarse voice lost to the hum of the engine.

Of course it all came back to him—the monster, the prince. Of course he'd been a fool to think Re-Destro might've wanted him for anything other than what he'd rather not be.

He was the man's stolen key, kept in a gilded drawer.

"Begone." Jin said.

And then there was Jin, his brother on paper. It was odd to have another sibling. He didn't remember much of Hana, and that left a small ache in his chest. If he was honest, he didn't remember much of anything from before Tomura—all he had left were silhouettes and… hands...

…Where were Hana's hands? His father's? Chizuo's? Grandma's?

"Begone!"

Did someone take them? Did a hero steal his family heirlooms the same way one stole his Master?

…For the best. Hopefully, they were returned to their rightful graves—and on that thought, where were they buried? Were they buried?

"Begone!" Jin shouted, jarring him. Tenko whipped around, looking between him and the windshield for danger.

"To where!?"

Jin face palmed.

"Your name! I told you not to forget the code! You're Begone like how I'm Double!"

Tenko blinked. They were in the Detnerat parking garage.

"Oh. Let's get this over with."

It was a tall building, and had a proportionally long elevator ride. The music was dull beyond compare, and couldn't grab his already loose attention. He spent the time trying to crush the scorching butterflies in his stomach and failing.

He'd almost lost it, but Re-Destro was still re-inviting him to his office. There was no doubt in his mind that the tension he'd first left the office lingered, but the uncertainty bothered him more than anything. Though he'd destroyed the man's desk and almost killed him, their farewell ended in diplomacy.

In the end, he'd agreed to his terms, but there was no true way to come back from threatening a life. It left a mark, no matter how much you amended.

"...Double." Tenko asked, the elevator coming to a stop. "You think he's still peeved about the table?"

Stepping out into the hall, a stinging wave of sterile air slammed into Tenko's nose. The ventilation in these office buildings burned his nose, even as indoor plants decorated the hall by the dozens. No amount of nature could hide the scent of a rat.

"Re-Destro? He's impossible to peeve. The only time I've ever even seen him annoyed is when he talks about the Crow. It's a part of his quirk."

"Mm. And yours? Is it your quirk that keeps you so damn cocky? What even is it?"

"It's a secret, but I'll tell you this: it's more than you think. Now—shoulders back, eyes forward, and give me your best smile. Let's impress boss."

A moment passed where all Tenko did was stare at him. Slowly, he pulled his cheeks up enough to bare his fangs and strain his cracked lips, never breaking eye contact. Jin worked his jaw, inspecting him with a curled lip. After a moment, he grabbed Re-Destro's doorknob and knocked three times.

"Yeah, skip the smile. Just be you."

"I'm sure that's the opposite of what he wants."

[x]

"See," Jin said, wiping the blood from his knuckles. "This is how to properly knock out someone when they're tied up. Give it a try."

He took a step back, giving Tenko a perfect view of the other hostage. The unconscious man leant forward in his bindings, blood dripping from his bottom lip. Man #2 on the other hand was shoving his shoulders back into his chair, shaking his head like a madman. His eyes were alive and wild, unable to settle on either of his kidnappers.

The back of Tenko's palm itched, but he turned away.

"Your knuckles are already dirty. Finish him yourself."

"Suit yourself."

Tenko turned fully away then, heading over to a nearby cabinet filled with supplies. He ignored the wet impact of knuckles on cheek, instead directing his attention to the bottommost shelf—red hand towels were a must, he'd learned. That and first aid.

Stepping over a rotten gap in the floorboards, he snagged one. He was careful where he stepped; when they came here, Jin's muscle memory kept him safe, but Tenko'd only been visiting this abandoned building for the last two months. It'd take more than a handful of visits to master the treacherous infrastructure. On the other hand, the more he visited, the less he was inclined to learn—their visits weren't exactly pleasant, after all.

When he rejoined Jin, he handed him the towel.

"Thanks. Wouldn't need it if you just did the dirty work yourself, though."

"I've told you a million times. I'll help yer ass out, but my hands stay clean. I'm no one's pet killer."

"Yeah, yeah, but you know that can't last. One day shit's gonna be too much for me and you're gonna have to jump in."

"You're gonna have to start bein' real damn polite if you want me to risk my skin for yours."

"You love me."

"Kill yourself."

Cleanup was otherwise quiet. By now, Tenko'd grown accustomed to this routine—while not every job required a kidnapping and an interrogation, more often than not they still had bodies to move.

Not that these men were dead—just concussed and hog-tied. Tenko carried one body like a hand purse while Jin slung one over his shoulder. Together, they stacked them carefully in Jin's trunk, and from there they shipped them out to a Meta facility. 'Destro had hooked agents Double and Begone up with a memory-erasing Soldier, and once these folks had a chat with said lady, she'd cut them loose. At this point, it was just routine.

"Y'know, the interrogation would've gone smoother if ya used yer quirk. Not on them obviously, but on like, their jacket." Jin said as they dropped off the bodies. Tenko slipped back into the passenger seat with ease, one ankle over his knee.

"I don't use it like that, man. I draw the line at psychological torture. Plus, that'd require us stripping them, which is another boundary I'd rather not jump. If you wanna use quirk torture on them that badly, do it yourself—oh wait, you can't, because that'd tip your hand to me. You know I could just ask 'Destro what your quirk is if I really wanted to know, right? Or that lobster fucker you go drinking with."

"Sure you could, but then that'd ruin the fun. How long will it take you to put the clues together, or will I be forced to use it before that happens?"

"One day, they'll slip up, you know. They'll just mention it off-handedly, and then your stupid ass game will end."

"No shot. They… aren't exactly a fan. I think they're happier now that I avoid using it. Before you came along, I slung that shit around like I had the biggest cajones in the game. They never really appreciated it."

"You're weird, but I can get behind that. Decaying shit isn't exactly a party trick."

"More of a funeral parlor trick, maybe."

"Watch yourself."

"Peace, peace. Anyways, can you clean my shirt when we get back? It's my last nice one and I won't have time to do it myself before I go back out tonight."

"Once again, let me propose a better idea: kill yourself."

[x]

"Hey, uh, what's that smell?" Jin asked, looking around. Tenko paused, his knife half-way through an onion. A thick sniff reminded him of burnt popcorn and smoke—but given the fire alarm hadn't gone off, it probably was coming from somewhere else.

"Hopefully your funeral pyre."

Jin snorted, and Tenko could practically hear his eyes rolling in their sockets.

"I'm not dead, fucker."

"Yet. I skipped out on the ship, though. Couldn't afford it on your salary, and I certainly wasn't gonna fork it over myself."

He went back to dicing his onion down to tiny squares, filing away the smell as a neighbor's apartment burning down.

Tenko was halfway through pouring his onion squares into his frying pan before it clicked.

"Oh shit! Your shirt!" He said, before tearing off his apron and racing to the closet. A wave of warmth blasted him as he opened the door, heat-inducing tears blurring his vision. Holding his breath, he stepped inside and tore the plug out of the wall. Coughing, he cleared the smoke with a wave, revealing the damage..

Jin's formerly pristine dress shirt now sported a blackened triangle that smelt and looked like ash. Footsteps approached him from behind, Jin's head peeking around the threshold.

"What's the damage, captain?"

"FUBAR, lieutenant."

"Ah, oh well. Thanks for trying."

"Fuck."

[x]

"So…" Jin said, harsh pants dividing his words. "Any more tricks?"

In his hand was a gun, and he aimed straight down—directly at the burly woman collapsed below him. All she had to say in response was to hack a loogie onto his pant cuffs. Sprawled around him were six other people; and despite each man being far different from the other, they all sported a matching bruise to their face.

An elbow slammed into Tenko's ribs, but he bit down without crying out. Instead, he squeezed his bicep even tighter, forcing out the last scraps of air his captee had left in him. The pinned man's struggling turned sluggish without air, and within seconds he was out.

Bar tables were flipped, and shattered beer mugs lay scattered across the room like shrapnel. Jin was barely standing, sporting blood on his knuckles and face alike. Even from here, Tenko could hear the wet raggedness of his breath.

"G-good," he said, cocking the pistol. "Now who the hell told you we were coming? Or do you jump every god-loving customer that wants a fuckin' martini?"

"Like'd I'd ever spill… to a quirked bastard like you…" The behemoth of a woman said, her words thick with blood and mucus. Tenko shoved the man he choked out off him as Jin grit his teeth.

"Aw fuck… a purist, right? What's your boonie ass doin' here in the big city? Couldn't find any swine to mate with out there? Eh, bitch? Speak up! Who's your informant!?"

Jin fired, adjusting his aim to poke holes in the floorboards beside the woman's fat head. She only spat in response. Behind Jin, a shape in the shade—revealing something shiny.

"We're just here to relax, have a good time, and leav e here drunker than we came! But now that you've got your asses handed to you, you might as well spill the beans—"

"Double!" Tenko yelled, recognizing the shadowy figure's gun. He didn't think; he didn't need to. His fingers found the knife strapped to his victim's belt, pulled it out, and flung it point-first into the shadows.

A wet squelch met his ears, followed by the clattering of a dropped firearm.

Jin staggered to the side, almost tripping over the woman in his haste to avoid the shot that would never come. Tenko stumbled to his feet, trampling over broken glass and bodies as he rushed to the stabbed man.

He pulled the man into the light by his ankles with ease, his exhaustion forgotten. His eyes devoured the man's form, straining over every detail as he looked for the knife as the light revealed more and more of the man's form. Tenko's heart was in his ears as he failed to find the knife stuck in the man's legs, then his waist, and when it wasn't through his forearms he nearly threw up.

"Begone!"

So focused on searching the man, he didn't even notice another man trying to stab him in the back until a gunshot went off. The second man collapsed into him like a potato sack, crushing him under his body weight. Iron saturated his nostrils as he rolled the man off him, the shot through his chest covering Tenko in blood. He couldn't afford to think of anything except saving this man, or he'd crack.

In one last desperate haul, he pulled the rest of the stabbed man into the light. A sigh of relief depressurized the fear in his chest. The flung knife had stuck an inch into the man, but the tip was buried into a rib, rather than an organ.

As that realization calmed him, however, another brought him back to reality. Slowly, he turned to Jin, still pointing his pistol at the shot man—dead, by now.

"You… saved me…" He whispered, glancing at the dead man. Something in his gut shifted, and the following feelings felt so foreign that he couldn't bother with juggling them. Jin's dry lips just slapped together, breathless and full of the same silent energy that'd infused Tenko's bones.

"Double that, Begone. Let's fuckin' bounce."

"D-double that."

[x]

Stepping back into their apartment felt odd, after their barfight. Like someone sold and replaced each piece of furniture with exact copeies; nothing felt the same, and yet nothing had changed.

He walked past the stairs to his loft, his fingers trailing against the still-unrefurbished wood.

"Did… you build this yourself?" Tenko asked, turning to Jin as he put his coat on the rack. His head turn was sluggish, and he blinked twice before he even thought to speak.

"Uh… yeah. When Boss asked me to take you in, the only way to get into the loft was by a ladder. Figured that wouldn't fly since you had two broken legs at the time."

"...Thanks. A drink?"

"Juice, please. I'm sick of beer."

"Gotcha."

He made them both a full cranberry glass and made his way over to the couch. Jin turned on the TV while Tenko just sunk into the cushions, exhausted. A few tentative sips eased the lingering stress in his muscles, but the bitterness kept him from falling asleep.

They decided on a Godzilla movie. The original.

Both men paid rapt attention to how the titan crashed powerlines, destroyed cities, and sank beneath the waves to do it all again another day. Words were few between them, but when they did speak, it was inane observations of the ancient film's production.

When the credits rolled on the king of the monsters, Jin turned to him.

"Why don't you kill?"

Where once that question might have sent him on a furious tantrum, now he could only muster the slightest nausea.

"It's… not worth it, I think. The universe needs balance, I guess—when most people kill, there's a proportional price. Fuckers will go through hell and back to kill someone, and they'll lose a piece of themselves in the process. But when it's as easy as it is for me, things are different. The price is… steeper. Just a touch. That's all it takes, really, to kill someone. To kill me."

"You… don't want to lose Tenko Shimura, do you? If you kill again, that's your price, isn't it?"

Tenko turned his face ever so slightly upwards, to keep the tears in his eyes.

"You know my story—at least in part. All for One took me in. Taught me to harness my strengths, taught me to hate, taught me to be like him. He gave me that name, you know. Shigaraki. It was his. He forced his name down my throat the same way he forced down his passions. I bought it—all of it. I hated everything, and he helped me channel it all into a single hatred of All Might."

"...How'd he manage to convince you to hate All Might? I'm not exactly a fan, but I'm struggling to see how he fits into the puzzle."

Tenko ran a tongue over his lips, wetting them as he considered his reply.

"I was born Tenko Shimura. It was the name he took from me—the one I gave up, the day my quirk awakened. Look, Jin, I didn't know it was going to happen; my quirk was nothing like my family's—it was a total freak accident, but I ended up—"

"You killed someone, right? A sibling? Your folks?"

"...Among others. My grandparents, parents… Hana… All for One took all of," Tenko paused here, raising his hands as if holding a bowling ball, "that, and focused it towards him. Hating All Might was the only way to cope; it still is, really. So when they killed each other… I just snapped. Left his compound behind, forgot his name, ran away. He took my only solace, Jin… and I can't forgive that."

His mind recalled the dream of the man he'd had, but he shoved the memory away, slamming it under lock and key. Even thinking about it was dangerous. Jin didn't interrupt, absorbing the information at his own pace.

"...Tomura… Shigaraki… and I are different. I think. With him, all I could ever think about was hate. Fury. Wrath. It was more vital to him than blood, more precious than oxygen. He needed it to live. But without a goal to focus that fury… I don't know who came first, really. Tenko or Tomura. I don't know if the Tenko I used to be is the same Tenko that I am today, or if I'm even really all that different from either—but I do know something. I don't want to be Tomura. I want to be a stronger, better person, and that means keeping Tenko's hands clean. I don't want to fall backwards."

Jin sank into the cushions then, just as Tenko pulled himself out of them. A weight had disappeared from his shoulders, allowing him to sit straighter, lighter. He fumbled with his drink, unsure whether to drink it or not.

"...My folks hated me. Hated my power. Didn't trust me as far as they could throw me, and my mom was an amputee. Got mixed up in the wrong crowd, lost myself for a while. Folk's died young, and I went wild for a time. Killed some people. Beat on others. Bounced on and off drugs for a while. Then Re-Destro came." Jin said, drawing Tenko's surprised ear.

"If I'm honest…it wasn't too long before you joined. I know I act all high and mighty, but I'm only your senior by a handful of months. Time doesn't matter much when you're fucked in the head. The man gave me a place to stay, welcomed me into his circle—hell, he lets me babysit his niece on the weekends. I'd never even thought about quirks as a human right before he showed me the truth. He gave me a reason to love my power, even if others don't."

Tenko shifted over, giving him the whole floor. He threw an appreciative nod at him and continued.

"Thanks for telling me your story, kid. It clears some stuff up—so I want you to know something."

"Yea?"

"Listen to Re-Destro. He may act like a posh pussycat billionaire, but he cares about our plight as Meta's more than most. You… you hate your power. Or at least what it can do. I get that—at times, I feel the same. But you can never forget this: There are a million like us. Dangerous. Hated. Oppressed, even. It's his goal to open the world to us, to unclip our wings and let us breathe an easy breath. Even if you hate your power, do you hate everyone with a dangerous power?"

"...Just myself."

"Don't we all? …I for one hate myself. It's a sign of humility, in the end. A humanity that stays with us even after our most monstrous actions. A natural compassion for our fellow man that's crushed by the heavy-hand of the government. You don't have to love your power, but believe in it. It can take people like us on terrible, awful journeys, but our power is not who we are, deep down. Quirks are just tools. In the end, we are who we make ourselves to be, and I for one find satisfaction in helping that process along in others. That's the reason I follow Rikiya, even beyond all the charity he's shown me."

With that, Jin stood up, stretched, and cracked his back. Tenko stayed glued to the sofa, staring at his hands.

"I'm gonna hit the hay. Don't stay up too late. We've got an assignment tomorrow. G'night."

Tenko threw him a side-eye, acknowledging him, but didn't get up to follow. He flipped his palms downward, studying the skin on the back of his hands. Jin's footsteps grew faint as he turned the corner and slipped into his bedroom, closing the door behind him and leaving Tenko to his lonesome.

His eyes trailed from fingertip to fingertip—from his pinkie, to his ring, to his middle, and then to his forefinger and thumb. They jumped, then, hopping onto his other thumb, and working his way backwards until he landed on it. His half-pinkie, the one cut off at the last knuckle.

Today was a day for airing dirty laundry, and Tenko found he didn't want to hold this in any longer. He sat up straight, held his mutilated pinkie out to the empty room, and spoke.

"I cut off my own pinkie, in fear of what Tomura might do with two hands. I think you're right though, Jin. We are who we make ourselves. I shouldn't have cut it off. Now I only have one hand to fight back against Tomura with."

[x]

AN: This chapter, coming back to it after a few weeks of letting it simmer, was great. I barely felt the desire or need to edit it. It's fun, very fun, and I hope people don't skip it. I know some people are-as I said before, I'm afraid that people aren't going to take this part seriously. Someone in the replies told me that if I was worried about it, then I should know better than to post it in the first place (paraphrasing), but that just isn't reality. People tend to skim over non-main character based content in anything, and only come back to it later in rereads. It happened in Eragon. It happened in TBATE. It freaking happened in MHA! Reader retention in the beginning of the Shiggy-focused arcs was crazy low for a sec. So I'm not worried about the quality. I'm just sad because some people just refuse to read this stuff first time around.

In other news, I just finished chapter 38, and it freaking BANGS! I loved it. Honestly, with this chapter and that one coming up (and a very, very sweet review) I can say I'm somewhat enjoying writing this again. And, just for context, 38 will be the chapter Izuku has his retake :-)

The next chapter will put a close to Tenko month. For those of you who will refuse to read it for whatever reason, I'll be seeing you in two weeks. As for the rest of yas, I loves ya, and I'll see you next week.

Review!