Yeah, it's been decided. I'll be taking a break with Emerald Furnace once I finish the Sports Festival for this, and the I-island Arc for Path of Storms so I can properly think on HOW I want things to progress as I have too many ideas, many of which would but heads with others so I need to better lay down the track.

However, I have a question for you all about the latest episode(that would be episode 14 at the time of writing this), did you enjoy it? I was like, 'Meh,' the entire time. Not because it wasn't as action-packed as the last but more because the entire conflict comes out of nowhere, and when you think about it, it really paints our heroes in a less-than-heroic light.

Chapter 36: Talking in the Green

"Well, we got our 3rd win," Kendo noted as Midoriya flashed a happy smile to the world for his win, Kirishima needed to be taken off the field by 2 robots and a stretcher not registering to Midoriya, though maybe he knew it wasn't that serious like they all assumed.

"That's one more over class A," Shishida replied, as that gave them a big advantage in the quarter-finals as including him, they'll be class B students in 3 of the matches, two of whom would put them against class A.

"True, I feel like that fight was merely an extended version of the last one," Honenuki added that while Midoriya was certainly a lot sportier about it, he still dominated that exchange. Even that early blow Kirishima landed didn't slow him down, but since they knew how his quirk worked, Honenuki wasn't surprised that mere broken bones didn't register to Midoriya as something serious.

"Yup, two people with defensive quirks and similar fighting styles going up against offensive power-houses. But Midoriya didn't try and roast him and half the field." Tokage finished as Midoriya left off the field, waving at them as he did, a gesture and others returned.

"He probably would have," Shiozaki started, recalling the USJ, and what Midoriya could be capable of. "If there weren't people in the way." But this wasn't the USJ, this wasn't an already on-fire test area, but a competition where the field was surrounded by tens of thousands of spectators. She couldn't fathom one of them, Midoriya being one of the least likely on that list, that would be so reckless.

"Yeah, that guy loves his fire," Kaibara added, as Midoriya didn't hide that fact about him. Even when he would be mumbling out thoughts, he could be heard talking about all things fire, from gathering kindling to enjoying the warmth of a well-fed fire, to spreading it. If he wasn't so damn wholesome, Kaibara would assume he was an arsonist in the making.

"It makes him great to hug, he's always so warm." Komori giggled, to which Kuroiro looked away.

"I don't like that."

"Don't act like you didn't hug him, too." Tsuburaba wrapped an arm around the dramatic shadow walker. "When Winter comes, I'm asking if Koharu can't hang off my neck, she beats any scarf out there." He chuckled, as he knew that Midoriya didn't feel the cold like they did, to make that guy shiver, you'll need to truly insane winter storm to, well do what Todoroki did earlier.

As class B discussed things, so did class A as Sero leaned back into his seat. "Well, there goes both tanks."

"You feel like that match order was deliberate?" Ashido asked as she was a little worried about her horn buddy, but he was a resilient guy. He'll be bummed out he lost, sure but he'll just take it as a message to train even harder. He might even ask Tsu if she couldn't convince Midoriya to be his sparring partner.

Bakugo didn't care for such things, as he relayed the fight in his head, going over how it went down, how Midoriya had moved and he could tell that he wasn't the same nerd as before. The one that watched pros fight and wrote it down like a creepy stalker, but someone that practiced what he saw, and practiced it well. 'What the hell? What wasn't just floundering, Deku has some moves, but where the hell did he pick them up?'

Was that where he vanished for months? To train? No, he was missing something, but much to his ire, he couldn't get the answers from the source. If they were in the same class, he would have known about that by now and demanded answers-answers he would get if Deku knew what was good for him. But they weren't and Eraser had already told him he wasn't allowed to 'pick fights' with class B was their homeroom teacher didn't appreciate Bakugo's visit.

Ha, as if that was anything to write home about. If that was enough to make those whiny cry-babies bring in their teacher, then his respect for them, however low it might have been, had to dig to go lower. But respect or not, and he very much didn't, Eraser wasn't like his old teachers who talked out their ass without any bite. That man would carry through with his threats.

So, Bakugo would need to get creative.

His machinations were interrupted by a pest sticking his head over the boundary wall. "Oh, would you look at that, our Midoriya didn't need to use something as cheap as overwhelming force in his fight, but skill and strategy to come out on top. Meanwhile, didn't Todoroki create an iceberg's worth of ice and still fail to stop Tetsutetsu? If I'm not mistaken, they'll be each other's opponent's next, so-!"

Whatever more Monoma wanted to say was cut when Kendo approached and chopped his neck, with him falling into a sack of potatoes for her to collect.

"Sorry about that, he couldn't help himself." She peaked over the wall to apologize, before returning to their seats, class A finding the entire thing pretty stage, but then again, this was the same class where every boy willingly cosplayed as cheerleaders.

"Big talk for a guy that lost in the first round to someone from general studies," Kaminari muttered.

When Midoriya returned, he was in good spirits. Not only had he managed to take home a win for his class and friends, but he had even managed to luck out and talk with Shishida on his way to get ready, allowing him the chance to wish him luck before his match, though they both felt like it was un-needed.

"Welcome back, man. You killed it in the field earlier." Tokage greeted him as Midoriya entered their area, taking his seat next to Shiozaki who gave him a hug of congratulations, one he was more than happy to lean into.

"Kirishima wasn't a bad opponent, he could really take a beating, kinda like Tetsutetsu," Midoriya replied, still leaning into Shiozaki who didn't break their connection as like Komori said earlier, he was warm and while it was the middle of spring, and warm enough, there was something about him that made his warmth better.

"Oh, don't go comparing us to!" Tetsutetsu begged, getting some laughs from his classmates as Midoriya nodded at him.

"Well, you have time to plan your next fight," Kendo stated, to which Tsunotori nodded.

"Yeah, firestorms and glaciers, like Norse Gods. You will need be careful, and punch Todoroki in the face." Tsunotori replied, though Midoriya wasn't so keen on punching Todoroki in the face, he was more than happy to prove that his flames were superior to Todoroki's ice.

Let's cheer for Shishida, even if we know he's gonna win." Shiozaki spoke up, the class agreeing with her as they turned their attention to the field. Right as they did so, the bonfire pits came alive as Present Mic spoke up.

" And we've entered the second round of the finals, the quarter-finals, all my listeners, so let's hear you make some noise!" To that, the spectators cheered even louder, which was music to Present Mic's ears.

" Noice."

" Just use the actual word, Mic," Vlad told him, but Present Mic only laughed it off.

" Let's get things kicked off with our first match, yeah?" The screens switched from the match board to the photos of the two fighters, said fighters were already making their way onto the field and up the stairs to the arena.

" Through his beastly strength and animal instincts, he managed to overcome his previous opponent, but can he do it again? From the hero course, it's Shishida Jurota!" Shishida calmly walked up the steps, eyes squarely on his foe with a frown, as he knew how this would go, but he didn't have to like it.

" Versus-He's a real dark horse in this race, having pulled what I'm pretty sure was a hat trick in that last match, let's see if lightning strikes twice! From the general studies course, it's Shinso Hitoshi!" Shinso for his part, was also calm, but not the same kind of Shishida as he matched up the stairs. He had a little sweat on his brow, and he had a smile of a man that knew what awaited him, and that he couldn't stop it, so he merely accepted it.

"I wouldn't call my win a hat trick, wouldn't you say?" Shinso asked Shishida, but the taller boy remained silent, to which Shinso sighed. "Yeah, I figured but it was worth a shot."

'Shinso, you and I both know I know what your quirk is, that you'll try and provoke me into replying.' Shishida thought to himself, watching his opponent and waiting for the start.

'But since he knows my game, I could insult anything and everything he holds dear and all that would do is make me come off as a bitter asshole.' Shinso thought to himself angry that he didn't have the means to win this, not with his quirk. Hell, even if he wanted to fight the guy without it, Shishida, as he was now, could fold him, but in that beast mode? He'll have better luck fighting the grizzly bear at the local zoo.

" Now-Shinso vs Shishida! Start!" Shishida yelled at Present Mic kicked things off, the boy activating his quirk, increasing his size and power, his fangs growing more prominent, his yell turning into a growl as he rushed Shinso who couldn't react in time. The wide-eyed general studies student was grabbed by his shirt and slammed into the ground hard enough to drive the air from his chest.

When he looked up, Shishida was standing over him, his hand so large that just placing it on Shinso's chest his thumb and fingers could still touch the floor beneath him. His other hand was held up, ready to strike as the furry teen barred his teeth at his pinned foe.

"Do you yield?" Shishida kept it short, Shinso breathing uneasily for a moment as the last couple of seconds caught up with him. And when he did, he took a breath and relaxed.

"Yeah." Midnight blinked at such a quick take-down, but she nevertheless smiled as she whipped her hand out. "Shinso has surrendered! Shishida moves onto the semi-finals!"

" Holy cow, that might just have been the fastest victory I've ever seen at the Sports Festival! Sure, as heck faster than any of the previous matches!" Present Mic called out as Shishida helped his defeated for to his feet, the two sharing a small conversation.

" Shinso recognized that he had been up against an opponent that was a terrible match for him, so he made the smart choice to give up before he was hurt," Vlad replied, as he guessed this would happen after reading the boy's record.

" Yeah, thems how the cookie crumbles but I have a feeling if he tried to fight Shishida, he would have better luck collecting water with a bucket with holes in it." Present Mic added as the two made their way off the field, leaving it in perfect condition, unlike the last 2 matches.

"Damn, that was quick!" Kaminari whistled.

"No kidding, but any clue why it was a poor match-up? He didn't even try to use his quirk." Sato asked as it looked like Shinso had just stood there, waiting for the end.

"His quirk is like a brainwashing type, I don't remember much but he looked at us and tapped his chest to use it. But Shishida was on his team, so he would know more about it." Jiro replied, a little salty about their loss in the second event.

"And because he knew the trick, he could avoid being caught in it, yes that makes sense." Aoyama agreed with her.

"But wait, that doesn't make sense." They turned to Mineta, the short boy finding holes in that explanation. "If he just needs to look at you and tap his chest, then it wouldn't matter if you knew or not, it'll be like being caught in Aizawa-sensei's gaze." Wait, that made sense. Especially in a match like this where you'll be at a distance from your opponent and looking right at them.

Even if Shishida was faster, it would just take a single command from Shinso to stop him in his tracks.

"So maybe it's direct eye contact?" Hagakure suggested to try and account for this as Shoji looked toward Jiro and Aoyama.

"Did you all look him in the eye?" He asked the two.

"I mean, I think-but I can't recall." Jiro shook her head.

"It was quite hectic in that last event, so such details have been lost," Aoyama replied, but Ashido spoke up, as she had also been caught in whatever brainwashing quirk Shinso had.

"I didn't look him in the eye, he just insulted and Bakugo yelled back at him." She stated that Yaoyorozu started to put the pieces together.

"Maybe it's not that at all, it could have been a diversion from the real activation requirements, requirements that he couldn't reach in that match like he did against Monoma." She stated, that it would be a good ploy to use against the hero course, as even if they didn't know what their sister class could do all that well, they were used to being able to tell quirks with little difficulty, and freely talked about them.

"(Kero), now that I think about it, he tapped his chest when fighting us, but he didn't when he fought Monoma. The only thing they did was talk, though it looked like Monoma was doing most of that." Asui noted, with that observation being the last nail that Momo needed.

"That's it, he needs to get you to talk to him. Maybe having a conversation was the requirement." She theorized, as it would fit both situations where the quirk was used, and would explain why Shinso spent a considerable amount of time talking with Monoma before the match.

"Was that why he insulted us? Because he needed a response?" Mina asked, to which Bakugo growled as he now knew that he was played by that sleep-deprived extra.

"If that is truly the case, then it would explain why his teammate would know to remain silent and take him down as quickly as he did," Tokoyami stated, though it didn't matter much now as with Shinso eliminated, it was back to thinking about quirks that they could accurately study and plan around.

" Well, that last match ended real fast but that's okay because we have another lined up which is sure to be entertaining! That's cause it pits two hero course students against one another!" Present Mic stated, that the crowds were quite pleased with that as they had been robbed of that in the last match.

" In the one corner, we have someone who has proven to be explosive, decisive, and driven. He yearns for true gender equality, from the hero course, it Bakugo Katsuki!" Bakugo didn't look as thuggish as he did from the last round, but he was just as disinterested in it, something that his opponent took great offense to.

" Versus, he didn't have a chance to really show off in the last round, but that just means he has even more to prove now! From the hero course, it's Iida Tenya!" Iida flinched at that reminder, but he couldn't do anything about it now. All he could was ensure that he made a good impression, and if that also meant schooling his class's resident troublemaker, well that was just good fortune.

"Well, that's one way to introduce him." Midoriya scratched his forehead at that, as it seemed a little mean.

"But not in an inaccurate way. Any thoughts on who's going to win?" Tokage replied, turning it into a question for the class to think about.

"Iida's probably the faster of the two, but only on the ground. Bakugo's quick gives him greater mobility as he can take to the air." Honenuki theorized that this seemed like a battle between people of two similar, but different talents.

"Iida's probably going to try to take him out in a single kick, or drag him out of bounds," Tsuburaba added but Kaibara didn't agree with that.

"Thing is, would that last part even work? We saw with Tsunotori's match that so long as you don't touch the ground, you're still in. Bakugo could just fly with his explosions if Iida tried to just throw him out." The horned girl in question nodded her head.

"The winner would be the one that's the most innovative." Kendo guessed though she didn't think it would be Iida, he wasn't a bad student, but he was a rigged one. He didn't strike her as the type to be able to pull off surprise moves with limited resources, certainly not if that surprise required one to think outside the box.

"So Kacchan's taking it," Midoriya said the quiet part out for her, as he might not like Bakugo all that much, to some level, he was still terrified of him, but he knew that Bakugo was nothing if not talented and hard working. Adaptable as well, as he might prefer to smash through an obstacle, but that didn't mean he couldn't think of ways around it instead.

" Ready? Start!" They didn't have much more time to ponder as the match started, and Iida immediately took for towards Bakugo, who responded by blasting himself into the air, avoiding the kick and launching a counter, but Iida saw it coming and leaned forward, avoiding the worst of the blast. Skidding to a stop, he took off again, running in a circle as Bakugo gave chase, if only for a moment before he backtracked.

Iida turned around and charged him again, but he didn't move in a straight line this time, but rather he zig-zagged, at least he tried to zig-zag as Iida had to slow down. 'Is his quirk not good when it needs to turn?' Midoriya thought to himself as Bakugo launched himself back, but Iida surprised him when he crouched low and with a fiery blast from his exhausts leaped towards Bakugo.

"Nice, he's using his momentum to get himself some airtime." Tetsutetsu started, but if Bakugo was surprised by this, it didn't slow him down as he fired off a blast to his side, sending him out of the way of Iida's jump. More than then, Midoriya saw him adjust his arms, firing off a couple more blasts to spin around Iida, lining up for a perfect shot at the speedster's back.

Iida didn't just let it happen, as while his propulsion came primarily from his legs and was best used for running, it wasn't useless mid-air as he swung his legs, firing off his quirk at the same time, which resulted in him bending while in the air, meeting Bakugo's blast to his chest with a kick to his foe's side. The result of this sent them both off.

Bakugo managed to recover faster, firing out some explosions to his rear to slow him down and allow him to land on his feet whereas Iida rolled with his fall, coming to a stop in a kneeling position akin to what runners would take at the start of a race.

'As I thought, his battle instincts are too sharp for me to try and overwhelm him with raw speed. Should I use Recipro Burst? No, I can't maintain it, if I miss or run out of time, I'll be a sitting duck.' Iida thought to himself, gearing up for another exchange, but Bakugo beat him to it, launching himself into the air before diving towards Iida.

Iida was easily able to move out of the way, but when he moved to strike, Bakugo twisted his body around and held his hands out, palms facing one another as sparks started to build.

" Stun Grenade!" Bakugo unleashed a bright explosion, blinding Iida as the boy cried out in shock and pain as his vision went white. With his eyes off the table, and ears ringing, Iida was a prime target for an explosion to his chest, followed by one to his shoulder, arms, and even face as Bakugo went to work, striking him in rapid succession before with a fierce cry, he gave him an explosive uppercut, sending Ida flying and landed on his back.

Coughing to clear the bile from his throat, and get air into his lungs, Iida blinked to clear his vision, seeing Bakugo holding his hand to his face, ready to fire off another explosion should he need to. "Give up." Bakugo didn't ask, he never asked.

Iida wanted to refuse if only to spite his rebellious and rude classmate, but he knew it would be futile, Bakugo might have looked disinterested in the fight, but his looks could be deceiving, his eyes were keeping an eye on his legs as well as his face, if he even thought about using his Recipro Burst, he'll eat an explosion for it.

"I," Iida started before he swallowed his pride. "Concede."

"Iida has surrendered! Bakugo moves onto the semi-finals!" Midnight declared, to the cheers of the spectators.

"Not even 2 full minutes and Bakugo does it without Iida landing a single blow," Kaibara noted as Bakugo walked off the stage, Iida took a little longer to pick himself up and leave, no doubt in his mind that the speedster was angry with his loss.

"While the fight didn't go in the direction he planned, he at least got the chance to show off his skills," Yanagi noted as short it might have been, it was fast-paced and both combatants had not been weak by any means. It was merely a case of one being the stronger of the two, more flexible.

"Well, that means that my foe in the next round has been decided," Shishida stated in thought. "If I'm not wrong, he's not physically the strongest, but his explosions do give him incredible speed and mobility on top of attack power."

"True, and something tells my Blasty won't hold back against you. Hell, since he knows what your quirk is, he'll probably hit you even harder cause he knows you can take it." Tokage looked towards her classmate, a little worried for his chances as Bakugo was nothing if not competent.

"Kacchan's always been pretty observant, and his quirk only gets stronger the longer he fights," Midoriya replied, recalling something that made his face twist before he abruptly stood. "Excuse me… I'd like to get ready for my match."

"Oh, yeah-good luck." Tokage felt like there was something more there, was it the topic of discussion?

"I'll be leaving as well; my time will be here soon." Shiozaki got up as well, but she was as calm as ever.

"Make tape boy pay for me, Shiozaki!" Tsunotori told her, getting a smile from her as she bowed towards her classmate and friend.

"I will try my best to defeat him." She stated as she and Midoriya made their way down to the waiting rooms. For a while, they didn't speak, with Midoriya's face clouded while Shiozaki thought about how she'd confront Sero, but it became too great for her to ignore.

"Midoriya, might I ask a question?" She spoke up, the two finding themselves alone as they walked through the halls of the stadium's interior.

Midoriya jolted as if he had been deep in thought and forgotten that she was there. "What is it, Shiozaki?"

She pursed her lips, wondering how she should word it. "What is your…history with Bakugo. You two seem to know each other, but it doesn't seem to be a…cordial affair." Midoriya looked away when she asked them, as he didn't like talking about it, though he suspected that Hado told some of them something as it was slight, but after their first day, his group treated him differently, not bad just…different.

"These last two matches, whenever Bakugo used his quirk, I noticed you flinch." Shiozaki had been seated next to him the entire time, it was hard not to notice, though she just assumed he didn't like the sounds of the explosion, but something about it rubbed her the wrong way. However, she didn't act on it at the time, as she didn't draw attention to it at the time to him a semi-public space.

"Maybe we should prepare for our matches, our opponents aren't going to make this easy," Midoriya suggested, but she frowned at the poor dodge of her question.

"Midoriya, are we friends?" Midoriya came to a halt at her question.

"Excuse me?" When he turned, he saw that she too had stopped, and was looking at him with a frown, but steel in her eyes.

"Are we friends?" She repeated the question, which made him flustered but also sowed dread into him. He…he was loving his time at U.A. He was making friends, wasn't he? It couldn't be a lie, it just couldn't.

"O-of course we are, at least I think we are…" He lost most of his strength at the hand, wringing his hands together as he looked at the floor. "Right?"

Shiozaki gave him a smile that alleviated some of his worries, as she grasped his hands into her own. Moving her thumb over the back of his hand. "I like to think that too, you're someone that I get along with swimmingly," He could smile back at that, as he also liked spending time with her, especially after they teamed up earlier.

However, her smile dimmed as she got back to the heart of things. "And that's why I'm worried. As when friends see another in pain, they help."

He…didn't have much to say against that, as he could recall how his therapist mentioned this more than once, opening up to his friends but hearing it was one thing, doing it was very much another. Like someone telling you it was easy to jump over a divide, but not telling you it would seem like a canyon. "It's not an issue anymore, things are different now."

"Things of yesterday can affect today and tomorrow." Shiozaki quoted something her priest liked to say. "Please talk to me, Midoriya. I can't help you if you don't let me in." Looking at her, he saw into her those dark green eyes, they looked different than his own, then his mother's but…they were soft, they were kind. Just like with Ryukyu, Hado, and everyone else that helped him.

Maybe…maybe he should try and jump that divide. "Well, it started when turned 4 and my quirk didn't appear…"

"And…now we're here. I know are different, that he was in the wrong, and that our middle school was also wrong for not doing anything. I know U.A.'s different but…it's hard to remember that sometimes." Midoriya finished, feeling a strange mix of relief, but also stress, fear, and calm. Emotions were weird like that, but the good parts seemed to outweigh the bad.

The two had decided against speaking in the open hall and instead had moved to the waiting room, lucky for them, they weren't interrupted so it seemed that they had been assigned the same one, but that was far from Shiozaki's mind as she sat next to Midoriya and listened to his story, his issues. And he had some issues to unpack, a lot more than what he expected as once he started, he hadn't stopped and she didn't try, else he might clam up.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through with that, with any of it. I'm so incensed with such sinful, self-serving behavior from people that would dare to call themselves educators that I feel like I should discipline them myself." Shiozaki said, her vines vibrating and writhing, ready to lash out any anything, thorns covering every space of them.

"Please don't, Ryukyu said that she's already taking care of it." Midoriya tried to calm her, as Ryukyu had known about this, same as Hado-sempai and both were promised that they would make things right, though they didn't give him details, he trusted that they knew what they were doing. Besides, he didn't feel comfortable having to go back there.

She wished to disagree, as such wicked corrupt behavior couldn't be allowed to go unpunished, but that wouldn't be what Midoriya needed so she took a breath, and her vines ceased their frenzy, retreating to their regular length.

"I can't be sure if they were fools, or cruel but I do know this; you're not a bad person, Midoriya. I don't think you ever were." She told him, her words nothing but honesty.

"I…I'm not so sure about that." When Midoriya tried to look away, she redirected his gaze to hers, and again, he saw that her eyes were soft, they were kind, they were warm in ways he couldn't quite understand, but hoped he never grew tired of seeing.

"Well, I am." She replied. Bringing him into a hug, one where even her vines, now thornless joined in to wrap them both up. "Despite all that, and having every reason to distaste Bakugo for all he's done to you when he was in trouble, your first instinct was to help him. You were told that your God-given gift was a curse, and through your actions, told the world that they were wrong."

She didn't think that would be enough, but she did have a means to seal the deal. "Midoriya, did you ever wonder why I applied to U.A.? Why I didn't try and become something else?" She asked, and Midoriya bit his lip as he thought about it, as Shiozaki was amazing in just about every way, and had some of the best grades in class, especially when it came to English and math.

"Well, I didn't want to assume but you seem like you would…"

"But better suited to be a nun?" She smiled and let out a soft laugh at that, he liked hearing it. She waved off any offense she might have taken. "It's fine, I'm not mad about it. I'm someone that puts great value on my faith, and if things had turned out differently, I would have gladly given myself solely to it."

"So, what did happen to make you choose heroic?" Midoriya asked, as while he didn't think it often, he did find himself wondering how Shiozaki would fit her hair into that nun…thing they wore on their heads.

Shiozaki paused, taking a second to organize her memories into something she could convey. "I was around 12, and one day I realized that trying to pursue a career in the church wouldn't save everyone." She started with the painful part, admitting that. "There was this lady at my church, she was similar to you, now that I've heard your story, Midoriya."

"Her quirk made her obsessed with plants, which as you can imagine, meant that she enjoyed spending time with him. But her quirk and her general appearance made her an outcast outside the walls of the house of the Lord." She was older than her by 5 years, so she had been in high school by then.

Shiozaki had thought her pretty, not despite her green skin and purple and blue hair and eyes, but because of it. As she seemed like a plant-given form, the two would often just sit out on the steps of the church, soaking up sunlight as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind, no topic too dull for them. Oftentimes, mother members of the congregation like to joke that they had to be siblings, and seeing how both were orphans abandoned on the church steps, it wasn't impossible, even if they had been abandoned as infants.

But, then as always, when she recalled the good memories, so too did the bad. "I…I didn't know the truth, the whole truth back then, but her life was a hard one, one where people seemed to wish to hurt her anyway they could, through their words or their cruel actions, if they acknowledged her at all."

She had already brushed it off when she asked, downplayed it, or just changed the topic. She didn't know better at the time, she wished she did, that she pushed her as she learned too late that the people 'giving her the cold shoulder' would act like she was a house plant, that 'harmless' pranks could be people pouring their drinks on her head to water her.

The teachers being 'strict and trying to toughen her up' were them being the precursors to the filth that Midoriya dealt with. All she knew was that her big sister, someone who always had a smile for her, a glass of flavored water, and a hug waiting for her was always the calmest in church, with her and everyone else who treated her with the dignity and love she was owned.

But one safe harbor in a sea of hate can sometimes…prove insufficient. "She came in one day, I was there early helping to clean up for a meeting that evening. She said that she had run into a hero, but she never said who or how."

"It…it was a good encounter, right?" Midoriya asked her, though he thought back to that day when even All Might was afraid of him, and how it destroyed him, how it still hurt. "Right?"

Shiozaki gave him a melancholic and bitter smile, as that was the only thing she could do. "They told her that she could get further in life if she didn't act so weird." Such a simple thing, something that most who easily fit into society would think little of. But for Midoriya, it pierced him to his core, his memories of the day he ran getting stronger.

He couldn't believe that a hero would ever say something so cruel, but at the same time, he could believe it, because he saw that pros could just be like everyone else, predisposition about what was normal acceptable behavior and all. That meant that he didn't need to see the encounter, but he could picture it in his mind, from the excitement of meeting a pro, the shyness that came with working up the nerve to speak to them, the gathering of the confidence to ask them a crucial question.

And the shattering grief that came from hearing something you dreaded leaving their lips.

Shiozaki tracked his thoughts through his eyes and expression, as Midoriya was never good at hiding his feelings. And unlike others that said they sympathized; she could see clear as day that he understood what she said on a fundamental level.

"She acted like everything was normal, but something seemed off about her," Shiozaki ground her teeth together, frustration and grief that she thought she had gotten through flowing close to the surface. "But I didn't push things, I just thought 'Oh, she had a bad day, but that's sadly normal. Come Sunday service, she'll be back and I can help make her feel better.'"

She had been such an innocent child. Such a foolish child. "Sunday service came, and she didn't show up. Nor did she appear once during the week. I asked about it since people around me were sad, they told me her family moved to another city." She hadn't realized that they were in mourning, as she had never attended a funeral or memorial in the time she had been living with the priest. "But really, the day I saw her, she went home…and took her own life."

Midoriya gasped, his hands going to cover his mouth. His heart beat faster as...as that wasn't something he liked to think about. It was an option that once upon a time, he had considered to be the last option. But thankfully, he had never been pushed to that extreme, and he had found the temple, had been able to express himself, and break from the conventions that made him feel like he was defective.

But, it would seem that Shiozaki's friend wasn't fortunate enough to do the same. "The pressure of trying so hard to be something you're not, of trying to fit it even when so many around you do nothing but remind you that you never will…it got too much for her," Shiozaki recalled how…empty she had been when her priest adopted father sat her down, and explained to her.

She couldn't understand why someone would ever do something like that, why someone would defy the good book by taking their life like that. Why her big sister didn't just talk to her? Truly, she had been a mess then, as things like the memorial and then funeral were like a haze in her mind, as she wasn't really there, not wholly as in body, she was but in spirit, she was lost.

"After some soul searching, and comforting words from my father, I learned to accept it, to mourn her loss, pray that she found relief in the arms of my God, and move on. But I didn't couldn't stop thinking about it. Maybe there was more, and maybe it wouldn't have mattered but, if she had met a hero that could have told her she was perfect the way she was, that the lord loved her just as…maybe I'll still have a sister." Shiozaki uttered the last bit.

"That's why I want to become a hero, so I can be that person to someone, even just one person. I want to use that title to save people from disasters and villains, but also save their hearts and souls, and show them that no matter how dark it can seem, that there is hope, that there is someone that cares." She finished, turning to Midoriya and seeing him openly crying.

Sniffing, he latched onto her like a baby koala. "That was the most heroic thing I've ever heard. I'm sure that she's looking down at you and is super proud." Midoriya hugged her as tightly as he dared without hurting her, his temperature rising as Shiozaki returned the gesture, the rest of the world falling away in the moment.

"I just wish to do that I can, but that means so should you and that means embracing everything there is about yourself, Midoriya. Bakugo, your old school-or anyone else, they were wrong about you." She repeated, but her words carried even more weight than before.

"And please, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always ready to lend an ear and a shoulder." She pleaded with him, as she didn't wish to live through that again, though she did slip in a little joke. "So long as you don't mind me talking about a few bible stories and what we can learn from them."

Midoriya couldn't help himself, he laughed, wiping away tears from his eyes. "I will, and I won't mind at you, not if you come with me to the temple over the weekend. I have a shrine in my apartment, but it's just not the same as going there yourself."

"Agreed."

And done! That last pit was a bit tricky, but I'm happy with how it came out, as I wanted to give more depth to characters in class B. So far, we got some stuff with Monoma and now we've got Shiozaki. Also, we get some stuff hinting at heteromorph discrimination early and not just thrown in at the last minute. No shade on Hori, man did what would sell but since it did add that element, why not expand on it along with other stuff? Not like I'll be worried as much for say, the Todoroki or even OFA stuff as for the record, I haven't even decided who WILL have OFA because it's not important to the narrative.

Next chapter should be out on Setember 10th.

Special thanks to my Patrons(s):

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