Author's Note: Uh oh, I might be running low on content to write. I definitely do still have some content ready, it's getting them all together into a chapter of any meaningful length that is the problem.

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or MHA.

Beta-read by Iowaman24.

A Crack in the Doorway

0948 Hours, Sunday, 2526(2126)-03-05 (US Military Calendar),

Mustafu, Japan,

PO2 034, Samuel,

Current cover: SGT Mendez, Samuel, C.,

Five days since the UA Entrance Exam,

…[]

It has been almost a week since the exam. By now, the results had been released and to no surprise, all four of them passed. Predictably, Mirio and Nejire wanted to hang out while Sam and Tamaki wanted to stay at home. That's another thing, Mirio wanted Sam and Tamaki to address each other by first names in the hopes of familiarizing Tamaki into the group. Their requests to go out turned into demands when they found out that Sam had scored first on the exam. The final tally was at a solid ninety-eight points; thirty-three of them were from villain takedowns and the rest were from rescue points.

When Mirio and Nejire found out, they politely requested they all celebrate. Mirio went as far as going to Sam's apartment and literally dragging him out. Sam chose not to resist as he didn't have anything important planned today, so their invitation was rather convenient.

Nejire got first pick that was how they ended up in an American style diner since it was Nejire's favorite restaurant. The staff immediately recognized her when they arrived and led the party to one of the larger tables instead of a booth. Some of the wait staff could be heard talking amongst themselves about needing more room.

"Okay here we are," the waitress arrives with a tray of their drinks.

A glass of orange juice was slid over to Mirio, Nejire got a lemonade, Tamaki got a glass of milk, and Sam got a glass of chocolate milk. Nejire was practically salivating while looking over the pictures on the menu. They had already ordered so she was looking at the menu just because she wanted to. At the same time, Mirio was attempting to pass the time with small talk as they waited for their orders. Tamaki would nervously shift his gaze towards the table in an attempt to draw his mind away from well…anything else. Lastly, Sam was keeping a keen eye on all the exits and entrances, conspicuously watching everyone who entered and left like some paranoid spy.

"Nejire-san…"

"Hm?"

Taking a page from Mirio, Sam turns and faces her while wearing a deadpan expression.

"How…."

His eyes trail up a blue sign and stop at the bold white letters which spelled out "IHOP."

"..…was your run this morning?" he murmurs.

Having recently been made aware of the girl's apparent sweet tooth, this restaurant being one of her favorites really didn't surprise him.

"Oh, thank you for asking!" she cheerfully chirps, "It went really well, I made a new PR on my 10k!"

"Oh? What was it?" Sam asks while taking a sip from his glass.

"50:42," she replied, never once looking up from her menu.

Mirio, who was impressed by the time, whistled "Dang, that's pretty good."

"How about you guys?" she asks in return.

"Sam benched two-thirds of a ton(metric) today," bragged Mirio.

Her eyes shot open in awe, she turns to Sam for his confirmation. He simply nodded.

Mirio smiles and proudly boasts "That's right, 685 kilos, raw…without a bench press shirt."

Tamaki spotted their waitress heading their way with a tray of food.

He meekly announces "Food's here."

Being that the four of them were incredibly active athletes, they would require a caloric heavy diet to fuel them. Sam personally maintained an average daily caloric intake of 4700 calories. He didn't have to be picky as his enhanced metabolism was 100% efficient which allowed him to maximize the amount of nutrients he could extract from anything he ate. He could literally sustain himself at a mission capable level by just eating tree bark and grass if he really needed to.

Each of their orders seemed to reflect their respective personalities. Sam himself had ordered a rather beefy looking beef omelet, pun intended. He had also ordered two eggs cooked sunny side up, two jumbo sized smoked sausages, and some hash browns with a side of brioche French toast. Mirio and Tamaki weren't too different in that they also tended to lean towards a high calorie and high protein diet, but their meal compositions were a bit different.

While Sam counted his calories and kept track of his diet, Mirio took it to another level. This is a given because of his significantly lower metabolism on top of his lower body fat percentage compared to Sam. The blonde tends to stay somewhere between 10-12% body fat at any given time. While that is generally sustainable year round, even Mirio with his better than average genetics still has to put in serious work at both the gym and more importantly, the kitchen. His order reflects this with a plate of sirloin steak tips, egg whites, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a side plate of multigrain toast.

Given the nature of Tamaki's quirk, it was required that his diet be more varied compared to Sam or Mirio's. This meant he would actually eat a little more than Mirio. He ordered a plate of scrambled eggs, a t-bone steak, an extra four pork sausage links on the side, and three protein pancakes topped with strawberries and bananas. Tamaki's quirk also gifted him with a very high metabolism which explained why he manages to stay so lean.

Finally there was Nejire, her choices left Sam dumbfounded and yet totally unsurprised all at the same time. Rather than order any of the combos like they had, she ordered four separate plates. They followed one after another: a short-stack of buttermilk pancakes, a plate of strawberry and cream crepes, one Belgian waffle, and two pieces of French toast. Sam wasn't alone either, both Tamaki and Mirio also had perplexed looks as they watched her dig in.

Noticing the stares, she looks up and innocently asks "What?"

Mirio and Tamaki immediately sputter and apologize and look away and started digging in themselves. Sam, on the other hand, was caught in deep thought.

"Sam," a voice broke out.

He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes wander around the room at the office and land on the only other person in the room who was sitting across from him.

Date and time undisclosed,

U.A., Hound Dog's office,

PO2 034, Samuel,

20 hours prior,

….[]

"Sorry," he quietly mumbles as he turns his attention back to the other person.

Dr. Nezu had scheduled psychiatric evaluations and therapy sessions with the resident school psychologist, Hound Dog. It was decided that given Sam's current situation and all he's been through, the headmaster had decided it was for the best until he could get properly integrated into this new world. Sam heavily disagreed, but he wasn't about to question subject matter experts in their own field, and if they believed he wasn't fit for duty, then that was something Sam would have to rectify.

"Lost in your thoughts again?" Hound Dog curiously asks.

Sam quietly nods at him. Though he wasn't in his costume at the moment, Hound Dog had insisted that Sam try and remain informal around him. For now, the best Sam could do was Dr. Inui, with the occasional "Sir" thrown in there.

He takes a deep breath and reports "It's nothing."

He quietly brushed it off for now as it wasn't technically anything to be concerned about….yet. Dr. Inui narrowed his eyes and focused on Sam's subtle changes in his demeanor and made a mental note to expand on that subject later.

"Mendez-san, this isn't an evaluation, and you're not being judged on whether you're fit for duty or not," he calmly informed. He smiles and adds "You gotta loosen up a little."

There was a pause where Sam looked as if he wanted to protest, he instead slowly nodded and deflated slightly into his seat.

"The exam results were just released yesterday, did you get a chance to look at them yet?"

Sam nodded and replied "I scored the highest."

With a wide and proud smile, Hound Dog replies "I know. Most students don't normally confront the 0-pointer, and on the rare occasion they do, they tend to destroy it. I don't think I've ever seen someone lure it away before," he said with a thoughtful look.

"Well, when operating in an urban environment, collateral damage needs to be avoided or else minimized as much as possible," he plainly stated. "That means no unnecessary damage to property and…civilian casualties are to be avoided as much as possible."

His gaze lowered and his eyes narrowed as he said that last bit.

"Aizawa said something similar when grading you," the therapist muses. He noticed the slight pause from Sam and decided to bookmark it for now and instead asks "Do you have any plans?"

Sam gave a slow nod and softly said "I told my friends my score, and they wanted to put together an outing to celebrate."

"Friends?"

"That's what they would call me," Sam deflected.

Hound Dog pushes through, asking "But what about you? What do you call them?"

"They would expect me to refer to them as friends as well."

Hound Dog's eyebrow quirks up. It was clear that the young Spartan was dodging the question.

"And do you?" Hound Dog presses.

Sam didn't speak for a moment. What would he consider them, both Togata and Hado-san? They've become an increasingly common presence in his life over the course of his stay in this world. Enough so that he came to expect them seeing them regularly throughout his weekly routine.

They would never replace his Blue Team, but he could almost see his own team in them and it honestly scared him. It wasn't a perfect fit, but he definitely saw bits and pieces of both John and Kelly in Togata and Hado-san respectively. These similarities were a substantial contribution in why he was as friendly as he was to them compared to the others he had met since his arrival into this dimension. They were also a large factor into why he even opened up to them in the first place.

After what felt like forever, Sam silently came to a decision and said "Yes, I would consider them friends."

There was no other word Sam could think of, they were way too close to be just associates or acquaintances. Hound Dog donns an inquisitive look and he quickly jots something down into his notebook. Next to his notebook was a manilla folder which contained a summarized profile of one Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel 034.

While certain information such as names and dates had been censored by black ink, the evaluations and detailed profile were left mostly untouched. While glancing through, Hound Dog's eyes briefly give a passing glance at a page which had a notation that read "Displays mild sociopathic tendencies" and made an annotation for future review.

They've had these sessions once a week, for a little over three months. It was enough for Hound Dog to pick up on some of the spartan's habits and unconscious actions. What he noticed was that Sam very rarely let anyone know if something was troubling him. His emotions were mostly buried under his ice cold, stoic, military professionalism. Hound Dog was in fact one of the few people who have gotten the privilege of getting to know the more relaxed side of Sam.

As their sessions progressed, Sam began to slowly open up and look at his therapist as an actual colleague thus allowing him to open up more even if it was just a crack. What Hound Dog noticed was that when something was truly bothering Sam, he would tend to tense up and crawl back into his military persona. These past couple of sessions were different, there was now a subtle hesitation and look of concern peeking out from the corner of the young man's eyes.

The hero leans forward a little and comfortingly asks "It's been a while since I've asked this, how has it been since your recovery?"

The questions about Sam's recovery had pretty much died down after essentially just a day of bedrest. As the counseling sessions progressed, Hound Dog was also keeping an eye out for if the events of that night had left any lasting impact on Sam's psych. Sam would open his mouth as if to say something only for nothing to come out.

"Just take your time," he reminded.

Sam nervously shifts his eyes to the floor before murmuring "No, it's just that…" He looks back up at the counselor. "It's just something from that night."

Hound Dog remained silent and was adamantly listening to Sam's story.

"I remember everything up until I lost consciousness, I just remember closing my eyes and then…"

Hound Dog had recalled the event from reading the medical report. The spartan was left in critical condition as a result of his injuries from the battle. Upon arrival at the school, he went into cardiac arrest as he was brought into the operating room

"I was told after that I had flatlined and was technically dead for a total of sixty seconds. During that time, I had this dream that I still have no idea what to make of. I tried to just move one but I keep coming back to it."

Sam sits back up and looks back to his therapist.

"I'm worried they may negatively affect my performance in the field."

"People tend to see things when having near-death experiences," Hound Dog reasons. "They don't always have to mean something important, do you remember what you saw?"

"Vividly."

Sam reclined back in his seat as he began recalling his dream.

"There was this hill with this great oak on top of it…" he began. "It was sunny, I'd give it roughly noon based on the sun's position in the sky and my shadow's on the ground. I proceeded to walk up the hill and when I reached the top, I saw a boy on a swing hanging from the tree."

There was a glance back at Hound Dog who remained expressionless for the time being.

"He couldn't have been more than six years old. For some reason he felt so familiar to me. It felt like I should know who he is despite never seeing him before in my life."

"What can you tell me about him?" Hound Dog curiously asks.

Sam inhales and exhales slowly as a mix of different emotions flooded his senses. Confusion, curiosity, uneasiness, caution…and for some reason comfort and content filled his mind. The boy was practically a young version of himself save for two things: the boy's bright blue eyes and light blue hair.

"He…" Sam, looking rather perplexed, replies "Despite his eye and hair color, he looked like me."

"Did he say anything to you?"

Sam shook his head and says "And then I woke up."

There wasn't a response from Hound Dog as he too was mentally hypothesizing what that dream could mean.

While mulling over his thoughts, he met the hero's eyes and says "I don't know what I saw."

Sam's gaze sinks to the floor.

He whispers to himself one last time, "I don't know what I saw."

Author's Note: This was a bit of a shorter chapter, I needed to buy a little time until I figure out what to do for the next chapter. Either I try and work out the next chapter, or I instead work on a different story for a bit. I hope I figure it out and produce something with a decent amount of content. This chapter is here to hopefully give a decent peak into Sam's mind. Not too deep though, it's too early for a character dissection at the moment.

A random side retcon, I'm gonna edit the shotgun so it's a gas operated weapon rather than a recoil operated one. I'll go back and edit the previous chapter when I get around to it.

Anyways, thank you for reaching the end, thank you for staying, and also thank you if you still want to keep reading. Please follow if you haven't and want to see more, please leave a review if you have anything I can use to improve my story.

Review Responses:(order of appearance)

xXKnow1NosXx: I am aware of that. In order to make it work for my story, I had Sam meet her early on. It was him that unintentionally ended up getting her to open up. He as well as Mirio and Tamaki only see her how she is currently. He has no idea what she is like whenever she isn't around him.

Guest: No spoilers.

Azure Sky Dance: Thank you for reading. Heroes dealing with him is an inevitability.

xXKnow1NosXx: I am also tracking Sam's tvtropes page. The only thing I'm not doing is making him a flat out sociopath as I don't know how to do that. I am going to address his detachment though, as that is unavoidable.

Chadbunger & Gwynx: Thank you for reading, I appreciate you guys too.