"…omi…itomi…Hitomi-san?"

"Ye…Yes, Detective, I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to tell you! I was on my way to the train station after my last class at the university and then I was in the middle of the street, dizzy and confused. I've never heard of this All for One you keep asking about and until one came to see what was going on, I didn't know what a pro hero was either!"

The dog-headed detective, introduced to Hitomi as Kenji Tsuragamae, sat across from her, the two sitting at a simple desk in what could only be an interrogation room and continued to look skeptical. Scanning over the report again as Hitomi squirmed, Kenji asked, an edge of accusation in his gruff voice "So you want me to believe that only a few weeks after one of our greatest rescue heroes had his quirk stolen that you appear, using that same quirk, and you have no idea how? That you were just whisked away from some completely isolated part of Japan that neither has nor has heard of quirks?"

Raising her voice in her defense, Hitomi countered "That's not what I said! You're putting words in my mouth! I was in Tokyo! I never said I was in some isolated place, it's just that where I'm from there aren't quirks, that's all!"

Titling his head the way a dog does when it hears a new sound, Kenji somehow made the gesture look far more menacing. After a moment, the dog-headed man's expression changed, giving one the impression he was tired of this shit as he said "Where you're from? Do you have any idea what you are suggesting, Kanzaki-san?" The dog man sighed "All I have is the evidence in front of me. I have someone transported using a stolen warping quirk, who has a fake ID and that the Japanese government has no record of. For all intents and purposes, you are a ghost. There is literally no way for me to even confirm your name. Sounds like a great way to sneak drugs, or assassins or any number of horrible, unsavory things into my country and my city! I will have none of it and if you will not cooperate with me 'Hitomi Kanzaki', third year psychology student' then you better get used to the number the prison guards will be calling you for a long, long time! Take her away!"

Panic in her eyes, Hitomi shot up to her feet, reaching out to the detective as he, too, stood up and was turning to leave "WHAT!? NO! You don't understand! Please, this isn't the first time this has happened to me! Please listen! Get-Get off of me!"

Two officers had seized the young woman and began forcing handcuffs on her, tears streaming down her eyes as she continued to call and plead for understanding. Neither were forth coming.

As it turned out, not existing didn't just make Hitomi highly suspicious, it also made it very hard to prosecute her. Not being a citizen, of Japan or anywhere else in the world that the police could find, made it a challenge to decide how to proceed. In those months, Hitomi languished away in the depths of prison, hidden away from the world and left only with the cloths on her back and the pendant on her neck.

Over those months, the young woman would see many people share her cell with her. At first, Hitomi welcomed the company, eager to share her plight with anyone, even if those people may be criminals. Most just laughed her off. One woman, upon hearing the story, came to the conclusion that Hitomi was the reason she was hearing the 'voices' and attacked her then and there. Another wanted to know what it would be like to 'be' with someone from another world and again Hitomi found herself fighting off an assailant. After that, the displaced young woman saw fit to keep her origins to herself, avoiding talking about herself at all costs. Instead, she began to listen to those who came and went in her cell. Some were irredeemable bastards where others were just misunderstood and it was with these souls that Hitomi found a way to keep her spirits up, waiting for any sign, any indication that she may leave that damned lifeless cell.

It's entirely possible that Hitomi may have been left there forever for all that she knew. The guards never told her anything and no lawyer ever came to see her. She didn't have any amazing powers like some of the people she shared time with. Even with the small measure of fulfillment listening and helping with other inmates brough her, Hitomi was only human and the toll of the silence, the not knowing what was going to happen to her was beginning to weigh on her. Her thoughts sometimes turned dark, especially in the periods when she had no one in her cell with her.

It was one of these moments that a ragged silver-haired man came to meet her. When the door had been opened and she brought her eyes up to see who had come to see her, she was greeted by a gaunt man, with disheveled silver hair and a stubble about his face. He looked as though he could be sixty just as well as the thirty, he actually was for all the wear and pain etched on his face. His eyes though, when they first met, the man had a burning fire in those sunken eyes. Hitomi hadn't seen hated directed at her like that since her days on Gaea and she began to wonder if this was going to be the end, finally. After all the suffering, loneliness, and silence, had this man come to take the last thing she had?

Yet, as the two meet gazes, the hate in the siler-haired man's eyes seemed to melt away, replaced by confusion and curiosity. Starting to grow exhausted from the stress, weary and getting a little creeped out, Hitomi finally spoke up, her voice defiant, even after so much time imprisoned "What? What is it? You don't look like a cop and you're not in handcuffs so you're not a prisoner. Who are you?"

The older man glanced away, pondering the question he really should have had an answer for right away. After a moment, when his eyes locked on her again, Hitomi could see what seemed like shame as he spoke "I…came to yell at you. To blame you for the loss of my quirk, my family. But…looking at you now, I can't-I can't see you having anything to do with it."

Leaning forward, Hitomi lowered her head, taking in what she'd just heard. So, this was the hero the detective had mentioned and he said he lost his family…was that why he looked so awful?

Leaning forward had caused Hitomi's pendent to fall forward in clear view of the older man, who noticed it immediately but said nothing of it, at first anyway. Instead, he spoke more personally "I've…been told I should move on…to let go of what I've lost but I couldn't do it, I needed a face, someone to blame and since I can't get at the one truly responsible, I came to you. May I ask, that pendent of yours, where did you get it?"

Sitting up ramrod straight and clasping her tiny pendent in her right hand, Hitomi narrowed her eyes "Why? What business is it to you? I don't even know your name!"

A bit of light seemed to return to those sunken eyes as the silver-haired man put both his hands behind his back, bowing before he spoke "Ah, yes, my apologies. I used to be the rescue hero Luminaire but now I am simply Jun. Jun Sanada." Then, pointing to Hitomi's clasped hand, said "I read your file before coming here, about how you claimed to be from another world. I was prepared to come here and tell you how delusional you were and how sad it was that that was the best you could come up with to escape responsbilty for working with that man. Seeing that stone on your neck though, Kanzaki-san, I think that may be the proof you need to get you out of here. If what you say is true…then it means that I wasn't just wrong to blame you for the loss of my power, but in fact you are a victim of that power and it is I who should be helping you. Take heart and please have a bit more patience, I'll be back soon."

Without the power to say or do anything else, Hitomi just nodded, dumbly saying "Ok, Sanada-san, thank you." At the time, Hitomi had little reason to hope that this pathetic looking man would either follow through or have any success even if he did. To her surprise though, he did come back to tell her he was looking into her case. Over the next couple of months, his appearance began to look healthier and after being willing to let her pendent go for study, Jun was able to secure her release. That first meeting had set things into motion that Hitomi could never had imagined possible just months earlier and led to things no one thought possible.

These days Hitomi didn't think about to how this whole thing started often. Standing in front of the lighter house as Jun and the four newest victims pulled up in a UA van though, she shouldn't help but think back to those dark first days. Recalling what she went through always helped the counselor remember why she did this and to think about all the amazing people she had met over the last ten years. Waving to the now parked vehicle, Hitomi couldn't help but smile as she walked up to formally meet the four.

(X)

Stepping out of the van, Jun gently nodded toward Hitomi, a soft smile on his face "Good day, Kanzaki-san, I'm glad to see you are well. How is Branford-san?"

The counselor's smile took on a wistful air as Hitomi answered "Still unconscious I'm afraid. Recovery Girl told me yesterday she had called on a friend of hers and hopefully, we'll know more soon." Then, perking up again, she added "Now, I'd love to meet everyone formally!"

After a moment, Michiru, Emeralda, Zelgadis and Xellos filed out of the van and came to stand in a line facing Hitomi, Sakon off to the side, standing beside Jun. The short-haired brunette wasted no time in introducing herself "Hello everyone, my name is Hitomi Kanzaki and much like Sanada-san I am here to help you get use to your new surroundings. I know this has all been very sudden and I know Sanada-san has thrown a lot at you already but we'll work through it together."

Not buying the 'here to help act', Zelgadis shot in, arms crossed "Yeah, you got the part about Sanada right. Does 'throwing stuff at us' include an assortment of actual weapons? Because it included an assortment of weapons."

At that, Hitomi's face turned sour as she shot a glare over at the former hero "You tested them already? Seriously, Jun you couldn't have waited a few days?"

Said silver-haired man was just then telling Sakon to report back tomorrow, only half listening. When Hitomi finished though, Jun at least had the good graces to look sheepish, but left out any attempt to defend himself. Seeing his tormentor taken down a peg earned Hitomi points in Zelgadis' book as he allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.

Recovering her kinder disposition, Hitomi returned her attention to the four in front of her "Well, I apologize. Normally we get the chance to talk a bit more and get to know each other before any testing goes on. That is as much my fault as Sanada-san's. I should have been here with you, helping you get settled and getting to know you all. I was too wrapped up in what happened to Terra, the girl your four met and fought the other day."

Impulsively, Michiru cut in to ask "How is she? Terra-san I mean. She helped me when I first appeared and seemed so nice before, well, you know…"

"Changed into a berserker with enough magic to put most mazuku to shame?" Zelgadis finished for the tanuki girl, earning him a glare.

With a raised eyebrow, Hitomi reasserted herself "I…don't know what a mazuku is but-"

"OH! OH! ME! I'm a mazuku!" Xellos declared, pointing to himself in a desperate cry for attention that belied the fancy outfit he wore.

With Xellos dancing about like an idiot and Michiru upset at Zelgadis, Hitomi spared a glance at Emeralda, who upon realizing the older woman's focus, just lightly shook her head. Hitomi got the impression the greenette was saying 'don't look at me, it's always like this.' It was becoming apparent why Jun had struggled a bit, four was a lot to handle at once. Still, there was much to catch up on. "Ok everyone, why don't you get all your new clothes and take them to your rooms. We'll meet again downstairs and you can tell me a bit more about yourselves, ok?"

That got everyone's attention again and the four went over to the back of the van to gather their various bags. In the meantime, Hitomi suggested that Jun must have a lot of paperwork to fill out with all the purchases he just made, a less than subtle way to ask him to wander off for a while.

(X)

Having finished putting all her new clothes away, Michiru headed downstairs, not entirely sure exactly how this was going to go. In the few days she had been in this world, Michiru and her three fellow displacees hadn't exactly been able to hold much in the way of polite conversation. Hitomi had apparently brewed some tea for them and was just pouring a cup for Xellos when the tanuki girl walked up. Michiru waved to Emeralda, who was sitting in a chair that had been arranged with several others into a circle. The amber-eyed girl nodded back as she sipped her own cup as Michiru greeted the older woman "Hello again Kanzaki-san, thanks for the tea!"

Beaming, the counselor answered back "Your welcome, Kagemori-san, but please just call me Hitomi! That goes for all of you, including you, Greywards-san!" Sure enough, the grumpy chimera had just reached the stairs landing and grunted in acknowledgement as he rested his sword against the couch before joining the group.

Sighing, the sorcerer-swordsmen took a cup as he spoke "Aside from Michiru, I'm pretty sure the rest of us would be more comfortable if you just stuck to our given names too, not exactly the custom for us to be so formal."

"Hey, just because I'm Japanese doesn't mean I don't want my friends to call me by my name and if Hitomi wants to go by given names then I'm all for it! Hmph!" the tanuki girl bit back, crossing her arms and practically throwing herself into the seat beside Emeralda.

Chuckling as she poured tea into Zelgadis' cup, Hitomi inquired "Does that mean you have a lot of friends, Michiru? Back home I mean?"

Surprised by the sudden change of subject, Michiru relaxed as she spoke, excitement plain on her face "Oh yes! There are my friends at the beastman co-op, the goofy bears baseball team I was apart of, my best friend Nazuna and even grumpy old man Shirou. I'm even friends with the mayor! That's just counting everyone I met since I…changed. I had a bunch of friends in my hometown I kind of had to leave behind after I became a beastman."

Having finished with the chimera's tea and poured her own cup, Hitomi sat down on the other side of Emeralda, prompting Xellos and Zelgadis to sit as well. When Michiru finished, Hitomi nodded and asked "So you weren't always a, what was it? A tanuki?"

Looking a bit more pensive, Michiru answered "Well, no. A pharmaceutical company that was doing research into beastmen messed up and I got blood with beastman DNA reagents after I saved my friend from getting hit by a car. That changed me into a beastman and is what lets me change parts of me into other animals, something other beastmen can't do."

Picking up on the girl's change in tone, Hitomi followed up after taking a sip "It sounds like what you can do is pretty amazing. So…why did you sound less excited talking about it than you did about your friends?"

Glancing off to the side, one arm crossed her chest and rubbing her other arm, the tanuki girl answered "Well…in my world, beastmen are a different species from humans and they are heavily discriminated against. They can be attacked and even killed by humans. Becoming one changed my life completely. I…hid in my room my senior year so no one would know my parents had a beastman for a kid. I didn't want anyone to think they were beastmen as well."

"That's…terrible, Michiru, I'm so sorry. I don't quite understand though, if your parents still looked human, why would people think they were beastmen because of you?" Hitomi asked, clear concern on her face.

The tanuki girl looked confused for a moment when she snapped her fingers "Oh yeah, that's right, you don't know since I'm the only beastman here!" With an electric popping and sparkle, Michiru changed into her original human form, to the counselor's surprise "Beastmen have a human form and a beast form so if people saw me, they may have thought my parents were hiding as humans. When I first changed, I didn't know how to change back to my human form, so after I learned of Anima City, I thought the best thing to do was to run away and live with other beastmen. It didn't exactly go as planned, 'cause it kind of turned out I didn't really know anything about beastmen at all! But, in the end, it worked out!"

Dampening the tanuki girl's enthusiasm immediately, Hitomi followed up with "And…do you miss it? Anima City, your friends, everything you left behind?"

Having heard a lot of this already back in the jail cell and content to listen till now, Zelgadis cut in at the obvious and insensitive question "Hey! What kind of question is that? Of course, she does! Weren't you listening?"

Without missing a beat and maintaining a gentle tone, though it was now lined with a firmness to it, Hitomi pressed forward "I know it's hard, but Michiru, all of you, have just experienced profound loss. The only way to begin to heal, to move forward, is to talk about what you've lost, acknowledge it and move on, Zelgadis. It may seem cruel, it may be hard but in the long run, it's something you all need to do."

Those words did not sit well with the four seated around the counselor. Emeralda seemed to shrink in on herself, trying to hide part of her face behind her scarf. Michiru looked like a deer (or tanuki, since she had changed back) in the headlights, eyes wide at the harsh reality Hitomi was presenting. Xellos had lost his perpetual smile, though no one knew as he kept his cup held in front of his face. Zelgadis, as usual, lashed out "And just what the hell do you know? Talking down to us like you have any idea what any of us is going through! You're worse than Sanada! At least he's open about talking down to us!"

Hitomi was unfazed by the accusation, keeping that gentle smile on her face as the chimera ranted on, letting him get it out of his system. Zelgadis had gone too far for Michiru though, who snapped out of her daze and countered "Hey, Zel! She's just trying to help, lay off for once, ok!?"

Raising a hand to cut off Michiru, Hitomi spoke up before the two made things worse "No, it's ok Michiru, Zelgadis is angry, its entirely understandable. No one wants to be taken against their will to some weird land with no way home."

"Whatever, lady! You-" Zelgadis started but was cut off by just like Michiru.

As the counselor spoke, her voice was much firmer than before "To answer your question, Zelgadis, I know because I am the very first lighter. Just like all of you, I was taken from my world and I've been here for an entire decade now. I imagine at this point my family and friends think I'm long dead. I've been here far longer than the first time it happened to me, after all. So yes, I do know how it feels and you can trust me when it comes to dealing with it all."

The chimera sat speechless, at first staring right at Hitomi before turning away, whether in shock or shame, the counselor couldn't tell. As an uncomfortable silence settled on the room, Michiru spoke up, softly at first "I…do miss my home. For all its faults, it's where my friends, my family are. There, there hasn't been a night since I got here I haven't cried about it…" Then, bringing her legs up onto the seat, the tanuki girl wrapped her arms around them, cradling herself as she added "…it's not fair, Hitomi. I just want to go home, ya know? It hurts so much thinking about it."

"I know, Michiru, I know. I'm proud of you though, it's not easy to admit your hurting. Just like I'm sure you all are." Hitomi said, her voice reassuring and sweet. Looking at the others, the brunette counselor noticed how quiet the tan young woman was through it all. "What about you, Emeralda? You haven't said anything since we met. How are you holding up?"

Glancing about, the greenette tried to steel herself, unwilling or unable to make the kind of admission her new friend just had. Finally, Emeralda quietly said "I am ok. There has just been so much that is new. Its…a lot to take in."

The poor girl was easy to read, despite the stoic front she was presenting. She clearly wasn't alright, but Hitomi knew better than to press, at least not yet. Nodding, Hitomi said "Its ok if you don't have anything to share but I want you to know I'm here whenever you want to talk, ok Emeralda?"

Michiru, though, wasn't ready to let it go, remembering their mutual confession just the evening before after their confrontation with Shinra, blurting out "That's not true Emmy! You told me yesterday that you wanted to go home too! And you brought out that pendent when you said it! Did…someone give that to you?"

Her expression somewhere between dismay and utter frustration at having been called out, Emeralda turned to Hitomi, as if expecting to be scolded. Instead, the greenette was met with empathic eyes and a welcoming smile "You know, Emeralda. I have a special pendant too." Pulling her necklace from under her top, Hitomi cupped the small pink jewel held at the end "This stone is neither from this world nor my own. It's very special to me and reminds me of home more than anything. If it's ok, would you mind showing us yours?"

Slowly, Emeralda nodded, disarmed by Hitomi sharing something precious to her. After a moment, the greenette pulled out her own necklace, holding her hand out and letting the odd cross dangle so everyone could get a good look at it. None of the others save Michiru had seen anything like it and they all looked intently as Emeralda spoke "This belonged to the great mother of Nisan and was given to me when…when I was told I was going to be a big sister."

Standing up and walking over, Hitomi leaned forward to look closely at the cross as she said "Great mother? So, this is a religious symbol in your world?"

Reluctantly, and clearly not comfortable with the attention, Emeralda confirmed "Yes, though it's more of a philosophy now after we killed god."

That surprised everyone, though Hitomi was so surprised by how casually that sentence was said, she wasn't paying attention to how close she had reached her hand out to the cross and accidently touched it as she rose to look at Emeralda. The moment she touched the cross, a torrent of images and memories came flooding into her mind. Emeralda seemed to sense something was wrong and pulled away, just as Hitomi fell to her knees, her eyes wide with panic.

For Hitomi, mere moments stretched into minutes as scenes played out in her mind's eye. A girl, perhaps eight or nine, floated in a large tube, with the same distinctive light green hair as Emeralda. A man, his hair in a ponytail and wearing a lab coat stood looking in, his hand gently touching the glass. Then, there was darkness that seemed to stretch on forever as Hitomi felt an intense loneliness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Just as she felt like she was about to scream, there was a flash of light and the counselor found herself in a cold, sterile room surrounded by metal walls, a large bed at the center with an arm standing beside it, on which was attached a large metal cylinder that was slowly moving across the bed, scanning its occupant, the same little girl. She was naked, her eyes dead as she stared at the ceiling. Before long a man in black with cream and yellow highlighted robes stepped into the room. His hair was long, just past his shoulders and sandy blonde, an unusual band on his forehead. What struck Hitomi most about this man though was his blue eyes. They were so very cold, so dispassionate it was unsettling. Glancing at the read out on a panel beside the bed, the man stepped up to the head of the bed, looking down at the girl. Gently caressing the girl's cheek, the man spoke "Perfection. With this, I have everything I need."

Behind them, someone entered the room, a soldier by the way he was dressed. Speaking over his shoulder, the blonde-haired man said, "I'm curious to see what else it can do, take it to the wells lab."

Saluting, the soldier said "Yes, Krelian, as you wish."

Another flash of light and the girl was now at least wearing some cloths, an oversized red and black uniform. However, the girl appeared to be locked in a room, surrounded by what looked to Hitomi like either mutated humans or zombies. As she lay cowering in the corner, the wall beside her seemed to slide open, a man in a biohazard suit standing there. As the girl stood to try and escape, the larger adult simply pushed her back into the room without a word. As she lay there, terror etched on her young face, the man threw two metal objects on the ground in front of her. Looking down at them, then up at the man, the towering adult pointed to his own upper arms before pointing back at the objects.

Desperate for anything, the girl reached for the braces, placing one on each of her arms just below the shoulder. The objects each latched onto her when they made contact and for a moment the girl seemed to shake, holding her arms out in front of her and staring in fear at her hands as they pulsed. By this point the door had slid closed again and the monstrosities inched ever closer. Suddenly, the girl's arms began to shift into weapons, one a blade, the other a hammer. Faced with no other choice, the girl did what she had to do to fend off the monsters. By the end, her clothing in tatters from all the changing her body had done over the course of defending herself as she sat, surrounded by blood and death.

In another flash, Hitomi found herself staring up at a massive robot over fifty feet tall. The mecha was elegant and slender, primarily white with a gold breastplate. Oddly though, the machine lacked arms, but had two massive pale green wings protruding from its head. Hitomi couldn't help but feel nostalgic at the sight, the towering robot reminding her of the massive robots she had encountered on Gaea.

The moment was fleeting, however as a second later the counselor was seeing the young girl, now also wearing a large scarf, though it looked far too big on her small frame, hiding part of her face. The girl was in a room that kind of looked like a bar as she desperately hugged a young man, a smile on her face with tears streaming down her face as she called "KIM! KIM!" The man, who looked very much like a younger version of the apparent scientist who had been staring at the girl in the tube before, looked very comfortable at the attention. The others gathered had a mix of reactions, from bemusement to possessive anger.

After that came a long series of moments watching the girl fight everything from humans to monsters, both hand-to-hand and in the large robot of hers. Before Hitomi knew it, the girl and the young man stood at a balcony, looking out on an empty and dead cityscape. Unable to hear what was being said, the counselor watched on as the girl embraced the ponytailed man and began to glow. Moments later, the girl grew into the Emeralda Hitomi knew.

From there another flash took Hitomi to an open field, where many mecha seemed to be strewn about, some standing, others lay prone on the ground and others in a heap. Turning, Hitomi saw Emeralda standing at the base of her great machine as it sat kneeling and its massive wings laying limp to either side, as if protecting her. The tan girl had her head resting against one of its long legs, her hand pressed against its surface and tears streaming down her eyes.

Finally, Hitomi watched as the same young man in the ponytail now stood in front of the greenette, a woman with auburn hair to his side. The other woman had her hand on her belly and Emeralda seemed to be stunned as what was being said. Then the man pulled the cross from his pocket and held it out. It was only with reluctance that Emeralda took it but when she did, the couple facing her smiled brightly at her but it was clear to Hitomi that Emeralda's smile was a forced one.

Looking at the cross, the red jewel at the center seemed to sparkle before it flashed and like that, it was over. Hitomi looked up to see the concerned faces of Emeralda, Michiru and Zelgadis. As the tanuki girl moved to help Hitomi up, the brunette locked eyes with the tan-skinned girl, speaking in hushed tones "Emeralda…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to see it but I think I just saw some of your past."

Said girl froze immediately at those words, her amber eyes going wide and her limbs going limp, the necklace dangling in her hand as she took several steps back. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Getting back to her feet with Michiru's help, as the tanuki girl looked on clearly concerned for her new friend, Hitomi said "It's a power I have, my quirk if you will. I can see a person's past, as well as see the unseen…but I've been able to control it all the years I've been here. I'm so sorry Emeralda. This is the first time I lost control of it like that since I left Gaea, I never meant to see those memories."

Hitomi's explanation did nothing to dispel the horror in Emeralda's eyes, however. The girl began looking about, as if she was a cornered and frightened animal. Her breathing became heavy as she struggled to keep her composure with all eyes on her. When she spoke, it was broken, as if the words themselves were what scared her "Wha…what…you…see?"

This was a much stronger reaction than Hitomi was expecting. Sure, she had inadvertently invaded Emeralda's privacy but some of the things she saw she couldn't just ignore. As the suddenly trauma stricken young woman starred on, waiting for Hitomi to answer, the brunette ran through what she had seen, desperate to find what could cause Emeralda to act this way. There was too much and not enough all at the same time and she needed to say something. Meanwhile, Michiru was already moving to try and comfort the other girl. Hitomi would just have to guess and began speaking as gently as she could "Emeralda, I'm sorry…its ok. If there is anything you don't want me to share, I can do that."

As Hitomi spoke, the tan girl visibly calmed. The panic in Emeralda's amber eyes began to fade, replaced by the quivering lip of someone trying desperately to hold back tears. When Michiru reached her and tried to embrace her, Emeralda pressed her arms against her own chest and stepped back, shying away from the contact. The tanuki girl reached her hand out but didn't step any closer, her eyes pleading for the other girl to let her comfort her.

This wasn't right. This girl needed help and even if Hitomi had just said she wouldn't without permission she felt she needed pull the door that Emeralda had clearly been keeping shut open, if even just a little bit. Stepping up beside the fur-covered lighter, Hitomi asked, reluctantly "Emeralda, I know it's hard to talk about but I really think you need to acknowledge what's bothering you. I'm not sure, there was a lot to take in, but in that lab, with Krelian…were you…experimented on?"

At the mention of that man's name, Emeralda paled, her hands clenching as her eyes widened. "No…" she whispered, backing up further. "How could you? You said not share! STAY AWAY!" the greenette screamed, tears now streaming down her face as she turned and bolted up the stairs almost too fast for any of them to see.

Before running after her, Michiru made sure to turn and give the counselor a hard glare, made all the more gut wrenching by the tears threatening to fall from the tanuki girl as well.

Silent till now, Zelgadis spoke up, not at all happy with what had just happened "I think that perhaps you should go now Hitomi, you are not welcome here at the moment."

Silently nodding, Hitomi turned to leave, but not before Zelgadis caught her shoulder with his hand, his voice much chillier than a moment before "I don't care if what you just did was an accident, you better not do that to anyone of us again, you hear me?" As he finished speaking, the chimera made sure the counselor could see he was once again brandishing his sword.

In an odd display of solidarity, Xellos added "You really terrified her, Kanzaki-san. Probably for the best that she left because she clearly couldn't bring herself to tell you the truth and I can promise you she is a terrible liar."

Brushing off the odd purple-haired man, Hitomi addressed the chimera firmly "You'll have nothing to worry about then, I never planned and never will do that without anyone's permission."

Unimpressed, Zelgadis retorted "You say that and yet here we are. If this is the kind of help you and Sanada are offering, I want none of it. Hmph, I'm going up stairs."

"Fair enough, but it's sweet that you care Zelgadis. Take care you two, and even if you don't believe me, I am sorry and I will do all I can to help." Hitomi said, stepping out of the house.

The moment the door shut, however, the counselor fell backwards against the door, sliding down to sit with her knees up in front of her. Her hands on her face, it took everything Hitomi had to keep from breaking down. She was here to help these people and she had just invaded and violated the deepest privacy of one. How could she recover from that violation of trust?

After what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, Hitomi collected herself and decided she needed to go find Jun and let him know what just happened.

Meanwhile, Zelgadis acted as though he hadn't heard Hitomi's last words and continued upstairs. Xellos, meanwhile, flung himself onto the couch and grabbed the remote, pleased to have the TV to himself.

(X)

"Emmy, can I come in?" Michiru asked behind the greenette's door. With no response, Michiru thought for a moment then, shifting her ears out to those of a rabbit, pressing her head against the door. The enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up on the soft, muffled sobs of someone with their face in a pillow. As she was becoming practiced in that very activity, Michiru had little trouble figuring out that's exactly what was happening.

After more calls to get Emeralda to talk failed, Michiru decided to just check to see if the door was even locked. After all, when as distraught as Emeralda seemed to be, it could be easy to miss a detail like that. Sure enough, the door handle pressed down and Michiru decided it was better to risk going against Emeralda's wishes if it meant she could help her.

Stepping inside, Michiru found Emeralda did indeed have her face in her pillow, though instead of laying flat, face first in the pillow as Michiru imagined, the greenette was curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage. When she saw the tanuki girl had stepped inside, she exposed enough of her face to speak "Leave Emeralda alone!"

Instead, Michiru moved forward and sat at the foot of the bed, waiting a moment for Emeralda to protest. When the greenette said nothing, again returning her face to the pillow, Michiru took that as permission to stay. After several extremely long minutes, Emeralda choked out "Did….did she tell?"

Having been admiring Emeralda's sketches, Michiru turned her head to face her distraught friend as she answered as reassuringly as she could "No. Whatever she saw, she didn't explain. Honestly, I didn't really give her the chance before I came up after you, heh heh."

After a grunt of acknowledgement from the sobbing girl, Michiru dared to ask, "I'm sure whatever it is Hitomi saw was awful Emmy but I don't understand, why don't you want us to know?"

Upon hearing the question, Michiru could hear Emeralda sigh, her exhaling labored and broken as the girl fought to bring herself back to a place where she could answer. Michiru patiently waited for her companion to finish composing herself and finally, Emeralda uncoiled her legs and sat up, the pillow still tightly held to her chest. Refusing to meet Michiru's empathic gaze, Emeralda stared forward at the floor as she spoke "If you all knew, then none of you would look at me the same again. Emera…I would lose you. I have already lost so much, I don't want anyone else to know about me Michiru, I'm sorry."

Putting a fur-covered arm around her friend and half expecting the other girl to shrug it off, Michiru tried to reassure her "You don't know that! I already think you're pretty amazing Emmy. I already know you've fought and killed in battle and I'm still here. You fought selflessly to defeat that spider thing and help stop Terra when you didn't have to! What makes you think if I knew this horrible secret that I'd hate you or whatever?"

Holding her pillow a bit tighter, her voice breaking and threatening to lose her composure again, Emeralda answered "Because…that's what, that's what everyone else did back home. Once anyone learned about me, they would say the worst things after having been so friendly before, or they would just stop talking to me entirely."

Looking at the faces in Emeralda's sketches lying about her desk, Michiru pointed at them and said "What about these people? Did they know? Did they treat you differently?"

After a sniffle, Emeralda answered "No…they were my…friends, we fought together."

"So…why did everyone else treat you different then? What did your friends have to say about all the others?" Michiru pressed, hoping the greenette would finally admit what was really bothering her.

"My friends, they rescued me and I kind of just forced myself on them." Looking up and over at the drawings herself, Emeralda focused on the young man with the ponytail "I was so…childish back then. Still, I wanted to help, and they let me because I could. After it was over…those who didn't fight, they didn't know what we had done, not really. All the survivors could think about was what they had lost and how I represented that loss to them. Everyone was just trying to get by after so much had been destroyed. Besides, I…never told my friends how I was being treated."

"What? Why, Emmy? Couldn't they have helped you?" said Michiru, trying hard to keep any frustration or desperation from seeping into her voice.

"Because…because they were all so busy. Everyone had found a place for themselves, helping wherever they could. I…didn't want to burden them. It was a promise I made when I grew up, that I wouldn't be any trouble for them anymore." Emeralda said, tears beginning to well up in her amber eyes again and her lip beginning to quiver. Michiru tightened her grip on her friend, tears threatening to form in her eyes as well as Emeralda continued, each word a struggle "But…I can't…I can't keep that promise. I can't see them anymore and…I can't keep that promise. I've tried! I've tried so hard but I…I don't know what I'm doing! I feel so…broken! I…I was supposed to be humanity's hope! I'm nothing, I'm just…just a thing…."

Suddenly, Emeralda felt the stinging pain of a slap across her face from the tanuki girl, who had shot up and struck her quicker than the greenette had thought possible. Emeralda hadn't a moment to react when Michiru verbally tore into her "What are you talking about? I may not know your past, and sure, I may have only known you for a few days, but Emmy, what you're saying, it's crazy! You make it sound like you're supposed to be perfect! Well, you're not! No one is! Sure, it sounds like you've made a mistake or two and you've had some hard times, I don't know since you won't tell me but that doesn't matter!

Laughing bitterly, Emeralda turned away, almost whispering "That's easy to say…"

Grabbing the other girl by the shoulders, not made easy by the odd braces Emeralda wore on her upper arms, Michiru almost shook her as she said "How else are you going to hear it? Emeralda, I'm not the brightest, I've made plenty of mistakes too, but I keep trying! I don't know if we can get back home but I'll try my best, not just for me but for you too! It sounds like you have a lot to tell your friends."

Finally looking up at Michiru, something even a slap couldn't bring her to do, some of the sorrow left the greenette as her eyes softened. Wiping a tear away, Emeralda even managed a half smile "Maybe…maybe your right Michiru. Then again, you could be wrong. I don't know, and that's part of my problem. I try so hard to know what is right, how I'm supposed to act and it seems like all I can do is make it look like I have it all together. I'll tell you one day Michiru but for now, I just want to be comfortable knowing I'm in a place where my powers don't seem to upset anyone. Also, did you know you have bunny ears right now?"

Blushing as she stood back up, taking her arms off Emeralda, the tanuki girl shifted her ears back, giggling as she did so. "Sorry about that, sometimes I lose track of when I do that, heh heh!"

Just outside the door, Zelgadis unfolded his arms as he turned and headed back to his room, more sure than ever they needed to get home as soon as possible.

(X)

Hitomi did indeed find Jun in the teacher's lunge, filling out expense reports for the shopping trip earlier in the day. Finding the older man slumped slightly at his computer, the counselor immediately caught sight of something different about the former hero "I see you got your scarf back, Sanada-san. I'm glad to see it."

Sitting straight up and absent-mindedly brushing the white cloth with his hand, Jun replied "Indeed, Yoshimura brought it to me before she left, said she got a friend of hers to use their quirk to get the blood out. I admit, I wasn't sure I'd ever get to wear it again. That girl can be very sweet when she wants to be under that brash exterior of hers. Anyway, everything alright? I didn't expect to see you so soon, honestly."

Nervously clasping her hands in front of her, Hitomi took a deep breath before she answered "Yeah…about that. It looks like I haven't done much better for them than you have."

Jun raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"Well…things were going well enough, Michiru had opened up a bit and that was helping to get the others to share as well when…my power went off out of my control. I don't know if it was the stress I've been under with Terra or something else but one moment I was looking at Emeralda's pendant and the next, I was seeing moments of her past. It…wasn't exactly the happiest life from what I saw."

Jun frowned and looked to the side, almost relucent to ask "And…you are ok with telling me what you saw?"

"Honestly, no. But after what happened to Terra, I know I can't keep that confidence anymore." Hitomi answered, clearly unhappy with herself having to admit it.

Nodding, Jun said "I know it's not easy and I imagine this will be hard to hear but go ahead, tell me and we can go from there."

So, Hitomi did, recounting as best she could her visions and the ensuing exchange that followed. When she was done, Jun rose from his seat and walked over to a nearby desk. After glancing about to make sure they were alone, the former hero pulled open one of the lower and deeper drawers, pulling out what looked like a bottle of sake and a couple of shot glasses.

Aghast at what she was seeing, Hitomi called out "Why would a UA teacher have alcohol in their desk? Whose desk is that, anyway?"

"Vlad King's. Something about celebrating when his class finally beat Aizawa's 1-A. I'll be sure to replace it later, I think we could use it more right now, frankly." Jun answered, a wry smile on his face that wasn't reflected in his worn out eyes.

"But, Sanada-san, you don't drink. Not since you recovered from your loss…is it ok for you to do this?" Hitomi asked, her concern for her companion far outweighing any want to take the edge off.

Sighing as he handed the original lighter a glass, Jun said "I did drink a lot back then, its true but I was never addicted. Once I found something to give me purpose again, I had no need for it. I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."

After opening the bottle and pouring two shots, the two downed their glasses. Setting his down, Jun started again "So you think Emeralda was experimented on? It would go a long way to explaining why she is so stand-offish. Still, I hope you'll excuse me if I say that I hope your visions were off."

Offering her glass for another shot, Hitomi narrowed her eyes "You know as well as anyone that my visions have never been wrong. Incomplete, sure, but never wrong."

Pouring another round, Jun sighed "Yeah, I know. I just…don't want it to be true, you know?" The two took another shot before the slightly inebriated man asked, "You plan to give it another go tomorrow?"

Starring at the empty glass, Hitomi replied "Maybe in the afternoon, if they'll have me. I need to head back out to check on the first years I didn't get to speak to yesterday. Are you going to be at the press conference tomorrow night?"

Jun raised the bottle again, which Hitomi responded with a pinching motion. Jun poured about a third as much as last time before filling his again and taking another shot "I'll be in the room, yes but not on stage. They want the event to be about the attack and kidnapping, not the incident at the mall. I'll be there if anyone brings it up but that's it."

A long silence then settled between the two long-time partners, during which Jun took a couple more drinks of sake. As Hitomi watched, the expression on Jun's face turned wistful as he looked out the window "Hey. We've been through a lot, haven't we, Hitomi?"

Despite herself, Hitomi smiled "Yes, Jun, we have. I never thought when you came to yell at me all those years ago, we'd be helping out demon kings, zombies and gargoyles."

A single laugh escaped the silver-haired teacher's lips "And you're just talking about the lighters. What about all the others?"

Rolling her eyes, Hitomi was forced to recall some of the other extra dimensional visitors they had encountered "You just had to bring them up, didn't you? I still think that weirdo with his blue phone booth was flirting with me…"

Turning back to look at the brunette, an uncharacteristic half smile on his face, Jun added "Hey, at least he saved all those children! What about those four oddballs chasing a feather? I was so happy when they left after all the property damage. Oh, what about the time that elf escaped from the restaurant?"

"Ugghh, yes! The Nekoya! I still can't believe they called us in on that one! That whole mess has been around since long before I got here, but they made us track down that poor lady anyway! Still, at least the master chef let us eat for free…" Hitomi said, her mouth beginning to water just thinking about her last meal there.

"Tell me about it! Everything I get there is amazing, I can't pick a favorite! Maybe once all this recent madness has calmed down, we can head over for a meal. I hear the chef has been trying out new curries." Jun answered, his enthusiasm notably disproportionate to the subject at hand as he reached again for the bottle.

Seeing where this was going, Hitomi beat her friend and mentor to the punch, grabbing the bottle and redirecting the conversation, asking "Curry is great, but where were you going with this stroll down memory lane?"

Disappointment briefly flashing on his face at having lost the sake, Jun sat back in his chair, raising his voice a bit louder than he needed to "The point! The point…Hitomi, the point was that we've seen a lot of crazy nonsense and we've come through it alright. Don't, don't beat yourself up about it…"

Hitomi frowned, annoyed that it was ok for Jun to beat himself up but not herself. Clearly, it was time to wrap this up, so Hitomi said "I'll do my best, thanks Jun. Now, about tomorrow, what's your plan with everything that's gone on?"

"AH! Tomorrow…tomorrow…A lecture on the basics of society, I think! I want to see if they have been studying their Japanese at all too! Gotta get them moving if they want to adapt after all." Jun answered, his eyes less focused as he spoke.

Standing up, a bit too fast Hitomi realized, the counselor grabbed the bottle's top, and sealed it again before she slid the sake bottle into her bag as Jun looked on with a look of even more disappointment. Stepping over to the former hero, Hitomi gently put her hand on the older man's shoulder and said "I think I'm going to call for a ride home. I think you better do the same as well, Jun. Don't want to find you under that desk tomorrow morning."

A smirk coming to his face, Jun asked "Is that what you've foreseen, Hitomi?"

Stepping back and nearly losing her balance in the process, Hitomi huffed "You know damn well I don't look into the future! I'm taking the bottle and you're going home, that's your future, jackass!"

His shoulders sagging in shame at the unnecessarily harsh rebuff, Jun grabbed his phone "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Good luck tomorrow, Hitomi!"

"You too, Sanada-san. Good night."

(X)

"Why are we here again tonight, Zel?" Michiru asked, sitting at the same table as the previous night, clearly annoyed and exhausted. Once again, Zelgadis had called Michiru and Emeralda to discuss things. This time though Xellos had joined them, much to the chimera's annoyance.

"Because, Michiru, that weird restaurant demon gave us a way of possibly finding the guy who brought us here, remember?" Zelgadis stated, before pointing at her "And he gave it to you. You're the most familiar with this world too so if we do this it needs to be your call. I don't think I'm alone when I say I've had enough of this place." As he finished, the chimera settled his gaze on Emeralda, who nodded.

Looking at the other three, Michiru was having trouble summoning up the same level of determination, feeling the need to point out the other thing Sadou had said "Yes, he did but at the same time he also thought it was a bad idea. I don't know, seems like if this 'All for One' can drag people from across dimensions, he might be pretty strong. Shouldn't we, ya know, let the professionals handle this?"

It was Xellos, completely straight faced and dead serious who answered, drawing everyone's attention with the novelty of his attitude "Kagemori-san, are you saying we should leave our fate to others who know nothing of us? We know as little about these 'professionals' as we do our target. Remember, we are strangers in this world, who's to say we together can't handle our kidnapper, hmm?"

Michiru still looked undecided and voiced that indecision when she said "I don't know, how are we even going to get there? We need a plan. Yokohama isn't exactly around the block and even if Zel and I carried you two, someone would notice us."

The room went silent as the four of them considered the issue. As the quiet dragged on, it was broken by an exacerbated voice from the stairs "Oh, come ooooon! You losers aren't going to give up already, are you?" Hina taunted as she stood leaning against the stairwell wall.

"If you have a better idea, lets here it." Zelgadis replied, a hard edge to his voice as his patience was very thin at this point.

"Wait, how long have you been there?" Michiru also asked, a bit embarrassed at having been caught.

Stepping forward fully off the stairs, her arms crossed and a smug look on her face, Hina replied "You guys aren't exactly subtle and the walls are only so thick. I heard everything last night, plus your little exchange with Hitomi. After that, I knew I just had to follow you this time to see what nonsense you'd be up to. Turns out I found out something interesting. So Sadou told you they may have found All for One?"

"That's right, what of it?" the chimera challenged, his hand on his sword.

"Calm down, rocky, I'm not going to stop you, even if it is crazy." Then, a thought seemed to occur to the telekinetic because her smile took on a mischievous air before she continued "Actually, this might be fun. Honestly, whether I get home or not doesn't really matter. I like this world, even if it would be nice to get back to where I came from. You four though, you really want to get back, don't you? Tell you what, Mob and I have our martial arts training tomorrow and it just so happens to be in Yokohama. I could ask Sanada-sensei if you could join us. Would that solve your little problem?"

Feeling eyes on her, Michiru turned from looking at Hina to the others at the table, all of them bearing down on her with expectant gazes. The look in their eyes seemed to steel the tanuki girl's resolve before she spoke "Yes. If you can get us there, we just need to sneak out and get the rest of the way on foot."

"Great, I'll text him!" Hina replied, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically as she pulled out her phone.

While they were waiting for an answer, Michiru looked to flesh things out a bit more "Any suggestions how we're sneaking out? Should we use a distraction, something like that?"

Waving his hand dismissively, Xellos piped up cheerfully "Oh, I can just put everyone to sleep, that way no one will follow us for a while. Sound good?"

The rest nodded as Hina's voice could be heard from the side "Huh, that's weird."

The four seated lighters turned again to the telekinetic "What is?" Michiru asked for all of them.

Looking up from her phone, Hina looked confused as she replied "Sanada-sensei's answer…he said yes, it's just the way he said it." When everyone else just stared back at her with their own confused looks, Hina read it aloud "SURE! A field trip sounds fun! No one wants to listen to me talk anyway."

Now Michiru hadn't known Jun for long but from what she had gathered, he seemed serious and professional. This response definitely seemed weird. Still, she'd take it. "Alright then, it looks like we're doing this. Hina, you know anything about this One for All?"

Still concerned with the tone of her long-time teacher's response, none of Hina's usual sass was present when she answered "Stories, mostly. Sanada-sensei says he's extremely dangerous and has the ability to steal quirks from others, so he could have a bunch of abilities, but who knows?"

"What do you mean 'who knows?'" Zelgadis asked, annoyance again carrying on his voice.

A frown appeared on Hina's face and for a moment she considered not answering but decided they could use as much info as they could if they were going to try this stunt "I mean, All Might took him on a few years ago and apparently messed him up pretty bad. He pretty much went into hiding and the only way we know he's still around is because new lighters keep showing up. Whether he is out of commission or biding his time, who knows? I just know that you guys are insane. I'm here for it but it is still crazy."

"But you're still helping us?" said Michiru skeptically.

"Like I said, it might be fun to see what happens. Besides" Hina started as she looked toward Emeralda "I have a heart. I heard what happened earlier. Just, don't get yourselves killed, alright?"

"Can't get home if we're dead." Zelgadis dryly pointed out before adding "What about the other two, Shinra and Mob?"

"Shinra will be out training and Mob…is a terrible liar. Besides, trust me, you don't want him tagging along and getting worked up. It could…end poorly. So, we'll just keep him out of the loop on this one."

"Fair enough." Zelgadis replied, willing to trust the girl without whose help this plan entirely stood upon. Speaking of that plan, the chimera then turned to the tanuki girl "Satisfied, Michiru? We'll have to play things from there as they come, without knowing more."

All eyes on her again, Michiru slowly nodded "On one condition: When we get there, we don't act until we know what's going on. We won't be the only ones there and if they don't need our help, great and if they do, we'll do the best we can. Deal?"

"Deal." Zelgadis confirmed, followed by nods from Emeralda and Xellos.

"Sweet! We usually head over after lunch, at one though we'll need to take the van since you don't have train passes yet so I'm not sure how long it's going to take. Be dressed to work out and have a change of clothes with you. Our sensei doesn't hold back so be prepared to sweat!"

Realizing they would likely have to participate if only to kill time before the raid after nightfall, three of the four at the table suddenly looked a little less excited about their plan.

(X)

Not the most action-oriented of chapters, I know. I was able to write this chapter pretty quickly, honestly. The trick was refining it. All the beats were there but I spent a good amount of time tweaking moments to make sure they landed the way I wanted them to. They still may not but know that I tried my best, for what its worth. I promise by the end of next chapter we'll finally be connecting into the main cannon instead of a bunch of OCs and out of universe characters upsetting each other all the time. I wish that I could bring you more of this story more often (a refrain you will hear again). I can't tell you all how surprised and grateful I am every time I see someone has taken time to read this little project of mine. Thank you for sticking around so far, as always and know that if you are willing, this story will keep going to its end for you to indulge. I hope those of you whom celebrate have had a wonderful holiday season and beginning to the year. May this new year be better than the last and I hope to share it with you. Thank you.