My Hero Academia: Dynamite And A Laserbeam (Definitive Edition)

by DeathlyJazzHands55

Musutafu. The place where it all began. The place where Japan's greatest hero was born, and where his backstory took place. This was the place where the future number-one pro hero was born. But this isn't about him. This is about someone who just wanted to live a normal life and got dragged into this mess. That is Yoshihara Kira's story. (Definitive Edition of MHA: DLB)

8. Ch 7: Our Mission, Let's Be Heroes (2)

A throbbing, almost unbearable headache thumped against Kyoka's skull as she groaned. There was nothing more painful in the world than waking up with the headache equivalent of a borderline migraine. Essentially, it was a hangover. Not that she would personally know what being hungover felt like, but considering how it had been described to her, she'd have to imagine that this was similar.

Her face felt unbearably hot, her vision was about as blurry as an unfocused camera. She felt the cold winds of a fan blowing on her at high speeds, and with each passing second the headache got worse and worse. She felt like she was going to collapse and die on the spot due to the amount of pain that she had felt.

Until suddenly, it all went away. It was the sharpest switch-up she had ever felt in her life, only trumped by that one time she fell down the stairs, felt as if she had broken her neck, and then suddenly felt as if that hadn't been the case and being able to get up go do something else.

Her vision had finally cleared up, and when it did, a bout of confusion came over her. Why? Well, it had to do with where she currently was. Kyoka had found herself in what appeared to be a dirty apartment and not one that she was familiar with. Looking down at herself, she was still dressed in the outfit that she had been in when she… When she….

"When I what?" Kyoka squinted, clasping her forehead as she struggled to remember why she had gotten out of bed today. She knew that she had placed an order at Beelz's store, but she never remembered going. The last thing she remembered was taking those pills that her mother prescribed her with.

The gap in her memory was frustrating her. The only thing that she remembered was that she woke up, got dressed, told her parents that she was going out for the day, was told to take her pills which she did, and then… what? It was as if someone had taken that part of her life directly out of her brain, and tossed it out. As if it was completely and totally unnecessary for her to function.

But why? What happened in between the time she had left her house, and now, where she was in some stranger's apartment? Speaking of the apartment, the first thing that she noticed upon finally becoming completely conscious was the faint smell of someone smoking weed. Whereas most people would probably shrivel their nose in disgust at the rank smell, Kyoka didn't really care all that much. It wasn't as if she hadn't smoked before, even if it was rare.

The only time Kyoka smoked was when it was offered to her by the few friends she had at school, and even then, it had to be clean. There was only one time she had laced weed, and it fucked her up big time.

It had been at one of her friend's older siblings' parties, and she had been completely absorbed by the atmosphere. But after that party, she never went to another one ever again. Not to mention the fact that it took her a week to trust anyone after that experience. That was a year ago, though, so it was in the past.

That little memory aside, the rest of the apartment was pretty boring and screamed poverty. Across from her, there was a box TV sitting on a hollow sliding glass drawer and inside the drawer was a basket filled with dirty laundry. Behind the box TV was a small kitchenette. From what she could see through the gap in the wall, there was a microwave and a stovetop. But, aside from that and the few cabinets she had been able to make out, there wasn't much else there.

Across from the kitchenette was a door that she had to assume was a bathroom, which was next to the entrance of what Kyoka could only describe as a studio apartment. Off to the right of the black leather couch she was sitting on was a single-sized mattress, and across from the bed was a sliding glass patio door.

The early morning sun peaked through the crack in the blackout curtains, and next to the patio door was a clock that blinked "6:30 am", which told her just how early in the morning it had been. It was then that the sliding patio door opened, causing Kyoka's fight or flight instinct to kick in as she prepared to attack whoever walked out…

Only for said person to be Beelz, which had caused her to stop immediately, her jacks resting back over her shoulders, confusion dressing her face as she observed him. He was dressed in a white sleeveless undershirt and a pair of black baggy pants along with a pair of pink bunny slippers. His mandibles clicked in what she assumed to be a yawn.

His bug-like eyes glimmered in the sun, as he rubbed the left one with his wrist. That was when he finally seemed to notice her being awake, and when he did, his head sharply turned to face her. Without any warning, he strode across the room over to her and smiled.

"You're awake! Haha! I knew you'd be alright, Kyo!" Beelz said as Kyoka raised an eyebrow, her expression silently asking the question "What the hell is going on" which Beelz was able to pick up on rather quickly. "Ah, Meu erro, amigo. I'll explain the best I can, but, uh, you may not like what I have to say. It's pretty bad…" Beelz said, taking a step back.

And that was exactly what he did. Beelz retold the entire conversation that he had with her yesterday at his store, context and all. All the while Kyoka sat in stunned silence, eyes wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, mostly because it sounded outrageous. Her parents had bought and had been continuously buying a drug from the Shie Hassaikai of all people, with said drug supposed to be a roofie drug. The kind that was used to rape women at bars.

That would explain why she couldn't remember damn near anything from the day before she took those pills. But, if that was true, then that meant that she was forgetting other things. No wonder why she was doing so poorly in school! She couldn't remember a damn thing half the time!

But even so, the why was starting to get to her.

It didn't make a lick of sense. Why would her parents do that!? What reason could possibly have to do any of this? She usually was able to remember enough to get through the day, but this time was different. She had been the ones to take the pills, so it wasn't like her parents forced them on her.

So why would she forget everything this time? That wasn't normal, even for her. That alone made her want to discredit everything that Beelz was saying. But, with how he was talking, and with how sure of himself he sounded, she couldn't help but believe him. And besides, Beelz didn't have anything to gain by lying to her like that.

"But… Why?" Kyoka muttered, disbelief in her voice as Beelz sighed, crossing his arms. He was standing across from her, leaning against the corner of his kitchen wall, his expression downcast.

"Dunno. But, it gets worse. This part especially, I'm betting on the fact that your parents don't know about, because if they did, then I wouldn't have just called CPS like I did last night—"

"You what?!" Kyoka interrupted, staring at Beelzebub, who raised an eyebrow.

"I called CPS. Kyo, Pelo amor de Deus, they're drugging you with illegal, off-the-market, brain-altering drugs. If you think for even a moment I wouldn't do that, you're insane. Not to mention what it did to you last night, I'd be irresponsible to just let you go back to them," Beelz stated, leaving no room for argument as Kyoka set her jaw in such a way that showed frustration.

She couldn't believe that he'd do that. She felt like he had overstepped a boundary, but, while what he had said about what he did, about him calling CPS, was already something that worried her it was the other thing that he said that bothered her more. "What do you mean the part my parents don't know about the drug?"

"Well, let's start with the fact that when I rushed you to the hospital, the doctors had to pump your stomach because you had overdosed. And, even worse, it caused slight brain bleeding. The fact you didn't slip into a coma or worse, lose some motor function of some kind, is a damn miracle. Graças a Deus for modern medical and Quirk science. If this was even five years ago, you'd be a cripple for life."

"But how is that their fault?!" Kyoka exclaimed whilst Beelz clicked his mandibles together.

"Because you shouldn't even be taking those pills in the first place, Kyo," Beelz rebutted, his voice calm as Kyoka faltered. "Tell me something, and be honest with me. Do they force you to take those pills? Do they not let you leave the house without taking them? And don't lie to me, because I'll know if you do. Fly's have excellent hearing, you know. The heart stutters when someone lies. It's how I report thieves that come into my shop."

Kyoka's jaw set, unsure how to answer. She knew Beelz long enough to know that he wasn't lying to her. But still, the last thing that she wanted to do was to admit that truth. There was a rule in her house and one that her mother kept to regardless of what she wanted. She was never allowed to leave the house unless she took her pills.

For the longest time, she wondered why that was the case. Why she wasn't allowed to leave her house unless she took the pills "prescribed" to her. Now, she knew the truth. Well, some of the truth. She didn't know all of it, but she would take what she could get. And if this was all she could get, then so be it.

She looked at Beelz, and stared into his insectoid eyes, his wings fluttering every few seconds. It was hard to get a read on what he was thinking due to how unemotional his face usually was. The only real way to tell was to look at the shape of his elongated mouth, and even then, with it being in a neutral line, there was no way for her to tell.

"I…" Kyoka began, as she glanced at the floor, rubbing the back of her neck. She didn't know why she felt this immense pressure on her shoulders. If she told the truth, she would be essentially condemning her parents to jail. Unless… "If I tell you, you can't tell the authorities."

"You have my word," Beelz said, as Kyoka nodded.

"Right. Then yeah, they do. My mom's the one who enforces it. My Dad, on the other hand, lets her do it," Kyoka answered as Beelz closed his eyes, and breathed in deep. She could tell he wasn't happy due to how his wings buzzed. There were certain signs to tell when Beelz was mad, and one of those signs was that his wings would buzz.

"Essa puta de merda," Beelz hissed, venom lacing his words. "Your father should know about this shit! We smuggled this shit around until we left The Yakuza! The Kyotoko I knew would've never let Mika do this!" Beelz spat, turning to face away from Kyoka. Rather than continue the conversation, he walked out toward the balcony and slammed the sliding door shut.

Kyoka didn't know what to do. Did she stay here, or did she go home? It was clear Beelz didn't trust her parents, but, at the same time, what was she supposed to do? As much as she liked Beelz, and respected him far more than she did anyone else in her life, she didn't want to burden him by staying here.

She got up from the couch and walked over to the patio door, peeking through the curtains as he flipped over the table that was out there, stomping on it in a rage. That was another thing about Beelz. He had quite a temper once he got worked up. It was something that he took from his mother back in Brazil.

She could faintly hear him rambling in his native tongue. A lot of curse words, and a lot of horrible things directed toward her mother. She didn't even want to think about what he was saying.

Slowly, Kyoka slid open the door, which caught Beelz's attention. He seemed to calm down relatively quickly after she stepped out, which prompted him to speak. "Oh, uh… you should probably go home. I'll, uh… order an Uber for you. While you wait, feel free to take whatever you want from the fridge. My door's always open if you need a place to stay. Está bem?"

"Oh, uh… shoot what was the word again? Agradecimentos?" Kyoka stumbled over the word, trying to pronounce it properly, earning a chuckle from Beelz, who ruffled her hair in response. Something that made her shrink into herself out of embarrassment. She had the innate sensation to jab him with her earphone jacks, but she respected him too much for that.

"Your pronunciation is a little off, but I know what ya mean," Beelz said, taking his hand away, before frowning. "But, Kyo. Be safe, please. Stop taking those pills, no matter what your mother says to you, understand? And if she makes you take them, just go to your room and dump them out of a window or down a vent. I mean it, they're dangerous."

"Okay, okay. I promise," Kyoka said as Beelz nodded, before turning his back on her, looking out toward the city. Kyoka stepped back and silently closed the patio behind him. When she turned around, after a few seconds, she could hear him start to get angry again, most likely about what she had told him earlier.

There was a bag next to the entrance of the apartment, and upon looking in it, she found the vinyl that she had ordered. Beelz said that it was hers and that it was on the house. She was glad for that. It made her shitty day even better than it was before. She still couldn't believe he somehow got an original, signed copy of The Beatle's first album. It must've been worth a fortune.

As she exited his apartment, Kyoka couldn't help but feel bad. But, bad for what? Honestly, she didn't know. All she knew was that it was probably going to be like that for the next little while. That was just the type of person Beelz was. Once he got angry, he didn't calm down for a long time.

In silence, Kyoka walked out of Beelz's apartment building, and a few minutes later, an Uber came to pick her up to take her back home. On the ride home, she thought about what to tell her parents. She was going to keep her word and not blow up on them when she got home, or at least she would try to.

When she got home, her driver assured her that the person who ordered it already paid for it in full. She thanked them and stepped out of their car, which drove away not even a second later. Kyoka turned to face her home and sighed.

The Jirou family wasn't exactly the richest family in Japan, nor were they the poorest. They were the definition of "middle class," and their house was proof of it. Their house was built completely on the ground level, with white-painted brick walls, a triangular brown shingle roof, and a brick chimney. There was a slight canopy jutting out from the entrance, with a small front door porch. Three stairs led up to the porch and the front door, and flanking the front door was a large open-faced window, the interior of which was covered by bright red curtains.

The house was built on a slight incline, meaning that leading up to the house, you are at an angle, which allowed everyone to see the kickball that had been stuck up there for at least three years now.

She walked up to the front door, before looking over to her driveway, her eyebrow raised. Aside from her dad's Jeep, there was a black 2009 convertible car that she didn't recognize parked behind it, which confused her. She knew that Beelz had called CPS, but didn't they arrive in less… personal vehicles?

"Strange," Kyoka thought, as she approached the entrance of the house. Just for safety reasons, Kyoka put one of her jacks to the door and listened carefully. She could make out a polite conversation being made between her parents and a voice that she didn't recognize, which more than likely belonged to the CPS agent.

Retracting her jack, Kyoka took in a deep breath and prepared herself to enter her home. "Remember, when the agent leaves, do not blow up on your parents. Restraint is key. Do not overreact and most importantly, do not tell your parents where you were." And with that, Kyoka opened the door and stepped inside.

When she entered her home and did a quick sweep of the area, she saw her parents sitting across from someone that she did not recognize. A stranger, to be frank. That explained the car, but he definitely didn't look like a CPS agent.

The stranger in question was a large, tall, broad-looking man. He was dressed in a bright orange suit with black stripes going through it. On the table across from himself and her parents in the center of the table was his hat, which was the same colour as his suit. He had ear-length matte-black hair. From the angle that she was looking at him, she could see that he had deep purple eyes and slightly tanned skin.

After a few seconds of staring at his back, she instantly recognized the man, and it nearly caused her to drop her bagged vinyl. It wasn't uncommon for Child Protective Services to call in a hero to do a check-in, but never a hero as prominent as someone who was in the top 20. The hero in question who was sitting at their dining table was the Rank 11 Hero, Blackwell.

Why was his name Blackwell? No one knew. But, seeing as his Quirk was a complete mystery, people assumed that it was because of his Quirk. Those who've encountered him and lived to tell the tale—mostly because he had a serious "kill all villains" policy, provided that they weren't petty thugs or robbers—said that it was as if in one moment, they could move freely, and in the next, they couldn't do anything.

That made her wonder why CPS sent Blackwell of all heroes to her doorstep. Did they really think the situation was that bad? Sure, now that she had a chance to think about it, the situation was very fucked up. But, it wasn't nearly as bad as the types of things she'd seen on TV. Maybe it was because the potential case was so open and shut they believed that sending Blackwell would send that message as clear as day.

There was also the chance that Blackwell was interested in her situation, which while relieving, was a little weird. For all intents and purposes, Kyoka was a nobody. So what would interest Blackwell so much about her that he would take time out of his day to see her?

"You two are aware that this drug has been blacklisted from the market, correct?" Blackwell's deep, foreboding voice that was eerily similar to that of All Might's, rumbled, with clear annoyance and disappointment in his voice as Mika, her mother froze where she sat.

To describe her mother would be to describe an older version of Kyoka. The only major difference was their sense of fashion and the fact that Mika wore glasses. Mika Jirou wore a pink tanktop, with black leggings. Her hair was what one would typically imagine a desk worker to have their hair styled, slicked back with the fringe swept to the right. Aside from that, Mika looked like Kyoka down to the same skin colour to the same Quirk. Even their eyes were the exact same.

"Well, n-no, we didn't know. We were told it would help with our daughter's… condition," Mika explained as Blackwell crossed his arms, frowning.

"Condition? From the medical records we have on file about your daughter, she has a complete bill of health. She has no mental health issues, has a perfectly functioning Quirk with no real drawbacks other than sensitivity to loud noises, and while she was born a little bit smaller than most, she has no birth defects," Blackwell replied as Mika's jawset.

"And how do you know about all of that?" Mika asked, causing Blackwell to raise an eyebrow.

"Do you think that CPS just… sends people over? We get an overview of the person we're checking in on. All hospitals that she was checked into are legally mandated to hand over any legal documents regarding potential health concerns. That's why I know," Blackwell explained as her mother and father looked at one another.

"Well, sir, you must understand that it's the only thing that—"

"That what? That it helps with her non-existent Bipolar disorder? Let's suppose I'm as stupid as you believe I am, and that I believe you when it comes to your daughter's supposed condition, you are aware that the reason why this drug was pulled from the market was due to severe cases of brain bleeding, correct?" Blackwell interrupted her father, Kyotoko Jirou, who swallowed hard, no thanks in part to the obvious irritation in his voice.

Kyotoko Jirou was what one would typically envision to be what a stoner looked like, except for the fact that he didn't smoke pot. He had neck-length blond wavey hair, pale blue eyes and was a slightly darker shade of white than her mother. He was dressed in a white shirt with the left corner untucked, and a pair of blue jeans held up by a black belt with a golden buckle.

"Well, I—"

"Allow me to be frank with the two of you," Blackwell began, once again interrupting Kyotoko, as he leaned back into his chair, tilting his head to the side. His eyes glanced over to her, though he didn't bring that to anyone's attention. Her parents were focused on Blackwell moreso than anything else in the room. "I have half the mind to arrest the two of you for child endangerment. And it'd be pretty easy, too. I have all the proof I need in this little pill bottle here."

As Blackwell said that, he dug out the pill bottle that Kyoka had in her room from his chest pocket. Mika gasped, sitting up straight as soon as he pulled it out, all the while a sly smirk took up his visage, whilst Mika's eyebrows were furrowed in rage. "How did you get that?"

"Found it in your daughter's room on her shelf. Remember when I asked to search her room for a suspected illegal object in her position thanks to our anonymous tip? Yeah, that was what they told us to look for. And lo-and-behold, I found it." As Blackwell spoke, Mika went to say something, only to stop when Kyotoko put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

"The only reason why I don't do that is because I could not get into contact with any extended family that could potentially take care of her while you rot in a cell for the rest of your lives in Tartarus. Though, I suspect it's because your brother-in-law wants nothing to do with you. Either that or, considering just how busy of a man he is, he didn't have the time to speak to anyone. Which I find rather bizarre. But, he is American, and timezones are different, Though that's beside the point."

"Do not bring him up! He's the reason why my sister is dead!" Mika spat, as Blackwell smirked, scoffing as he sat up straight in his seat.

"Well, isn't that just dreadful? But, my point still stands," Blackwell said, before shaking the pill bottle in his hand and stuffing it back into his pocket. "I'm going to be taking this back with me as evidence. And then, I'm going to file all of this back to CPS. I'll make a special invoice to tell them not to separate you two and your daughter, but I am going to make sure that they send an agent and a police officer over every weekend to check in for the next two months."

Blackwell stood up from the chair at the table, took his hat and placed it back on his head, before walking over to the entrance, which finally drew her parent's attention over to her, their eyes wide after realizing that she had heard everything. Not that she didn't already know all of that information regarding the pills. But, to think that they'd lie to a pro hero…

"If you stay on your best behaviour, then the complaint will disappear, and we'll act as if this never happened. But, one mistake, and it's over. Understand?" Blackwell's voice drew her out of her thoughts, as he walked past her. He clapped her on the shoulder, giving her a stern look. "And you, don't be afraid to call either my agency or CPS if you think something bad is happening and you don't know how to handle it. Alright?"

Kyoka silently nodded, as Blackwell handed her a business card for his agency. She took it, before he turned to exit the house, tipping his hat to them all, before closing the door behind him as he left.

Mika stood up from the table and went to say something, only for Kyoka to speak before her. "No. Just no. I don't want to hear it. I already heard everything, so I don't need a twisted explanation from either of you." As Kyoka said that, she stormed away from the front entrance of their house and began to walk to her room. As she did, she muttered, "Come get me when supper's ready."

And with the slamming of her bedroom door, Kyoka stood at the doorway, before sliding down the door and burying her head in her arms.

What a shitty way to start a Sunday.

[XXXX]

Morning light leaked through Yoshihara's bedroom window as she dragged herself up from bed, her hair a total mess as she yawned. She glanced over at the time and frowned. 7:39 a.m. How wonderful, her sleep schedule was off by an hour and nine minutes. Although, it was Sunday, so she guessed it was allowed this once.

Yesterday was more than a bit hectic, to say the very least. From nearly dying at the hands of Midoriya's mother to finding out that Sayaka was badly hurt and potentially dead because of some freaky bullet that may or may not be involved with The Speedwagon Foundation, which Kujo and his girlfriend work for, might she add?`

And to top all of that off she was getting herself involved with it. Because, despite her brain screaming at her to stay away from it, the fact that the thing they're looking into potentially got one of her closest friends hurt to potentially having killed her was unacceptable. So, she was going to make it her problem. Not to mention, it was convenient, both in the sense that Kujo and Sakunami were both aiming to attend U.A. as she had been, and it allowed her to keep an eye on Kujo and Sakunami, who both were Stand Users.

Don't get her wrong, the idea of getting involved with any of this unnerved her. But, when looking at this situation from the perspective of a Stand User, which she was still getting used to, by the way, the idea of others getting Stands and becoming her problem sooner rather than later was something she did not want to have to deal with.

Ergo, helping the people who also want to stop it made sense. And that was the crux of the whole reason why she was doing this. Because it made sense. If it hadn't she wouldn't have bothered. She would've waved it away and ignored it. But because it made sense, and because it was a threat to her way of life, she would help them.

Was it very un-herolike to be helping others for the sake of making one's own life easier? Objectively and subjectively, yes. But since when did she care about what others thought? Especially in regards to her own choices?

Not to mention that having someone like Kujo, who had direct connections to The Speedwagon Foundation, as an acquaintance would do more than just be useful. He had contacts within the biggest government organization worldwide. Furthermore, his father, whoever that was, was the person who ran it! All he'd have to do was pull some strings and any legal obstacle that was in their way would suddenly disappear.

Was it wrong to see things like that? Probably. But it had its perks. Not that she was going to abuse it, mostly because she didn't see a reason to. It wasn't like she was going to try and abuse it. After all, that was just Bad Karma, and while she didn't believe in a lot of supernatural phenomena like fate and destiny and all of that jazz, Karma was something that she believed in. That and luck, as Luck had more than likely been the only thing that she was still alive to this day.

There was also the whole "him being an experienced Stand User" thing, and how beneficial that would be for training purposes, but she didn't care about that part. Yoshihara wasn't the type of person who cared about winning or losing. To her, the only time winning in anything mattered was if her life was on the line. And even then, she wouldn't be trying to get herself in those types of scenarios anyway. Not unless it was a situation like this, where she viewed as it making sense.

For example, if a little girl suddenly ran out of an alleyway and was in distress, she wouldn't exactly care for what happened to that little girl. Not unless it was obvious they were being hurt or in danger. Otherwise, if they were just running away from something, she'd leave it for those who were trained to do something about it.

Oh, sure, she was trained to fight. But she wasn't trained to deal with those kinds of situations. And for all she knew, this hypothetical little girl was running away from due punishment, so she wasn't exactly in the clear to judge that kind of situation.

On the other hand, should it be obvious that they were in danger or being hurt? Well, that was a different story altogether. There would be nothing stopping her from doing what she believed to be right in that situation. But, that was assuming it was a situation that would happen in the first place. It was just an example.

Another yawn slipped through her lips, covering her mouth in the process as she looked out of her bedroom window. The sun's rays shone through like a spotlight and landed on her dresser. As if the world was telling her to get out of bed and get dressed. Sunday was usually her lazy day, where she could lounge around and read Manga and watch Anime.

But, she had made arrangements with Kujo and Sakunami to meet up at the café across the street from Aldera. A part of her regretted arranging that meeting today. But, then again, there wasn't exactly a better time for it. Monday was also a day off, as it was "All Might Day" on Monday.

What was "All Might Day?" That was a good question because she didn't know the first thing about it until she looked it up yesterday after having gotten an email about it from the school. On that day, All Might began his hero career, and every year on that day schools were closed down for celebratory purposes.

It was a strange thing to do—to have a day in the year that is essentially a holiday for the creation of a super celebrity. But, then again, most holidays were essentially just excuses if one were to boil it all down. So there wasn't really a point in putting much thought behind the idea of a day where one was to celebrate All Might.

Once Yoshihara got out of bed, she sent a text to Midoriya, telling him that both he and his mother had to go to the café near Aldrea Junior High. Midoriya asked why, to which Yoshihara simply replied that it was important and it was regarding an aspect of being a Hero. The moment he saw that, he jumped at it like a rabid dog who hadn't eaten in weeks.

She wasn't exactly lying either, though in a way she was. Technically she was lying, but if one were to break it down, she wasn't lying at all. She was telling the truth because this was an important aspect of heroism. This was technically like a first mission. Whether or not that mission would be complete soon, she didn't know.

After she had sent the text, the next thing she did was get dressed for the day. A part of her wanted to go full punk. She had the clothing for it, she knew she rocked it, but at the same time, it wasn't exactly something she was up for doing, doubly so given the context of the meet-up. So, instead, she went for something more casual.

After snooping around her drawers, she was able to throw together a decent-looking outfit. It consisted of a pink V-neck shirt with two white stripes going horizontally through the center of her shirt with long sleeves that covered up to her wrists. Paired with it was a light blue pair of pants, specifically men's pants, moreso for the pockets than anything else, and a pair of black socks.

Yoshihara looked down at her hands, and frowned. She was going to have to cut her nails at some point today. She wasn't the girly type to paint her nails. She always found it beyond her, even when Sayaka had painted her nails that one time after a date with Otoshi. She painted them rainbow, which even now she looked back on fondly.

All of that aside, one would think that being dressed in clothing that didn't allow for breathability in the springtime would be kind of foolish. However, one of the problems with Japan, specifically with its more eastern side where Musutafu was located, while it was true that it got extremely hot during the summer months, the opposite could be said for the winter and spring months.

From November to early April, it was freakishly cold from the mornings to the beginning of the afternoon. It was only in mid-April that such a thing stopped. Anyone who said otherwise was lying through their teeth, or had a high heat tolerance either thanks to a Quirk or having been born in the Springtime, neither of which she had the luxury of.

Yoshihara had been born in October, so she was more used to cold climates yes, but not so cold that the tips of one's hair would begin to freeze and stick together. Hence long-sleeved and mostly covering clothing—ignoring the personal aspect to it, at least.

When Yoshihara finished getting dressed, and before she left her room, she grabbed a bag from her bedside table, stuffed it into one of her pant pockets, then walked out of her room and into the bathroom. When she entered the room, she immediately got to work brushing her hair. It was a mess, and the last thing she wanted to do was look like a slob.

After exiting the bathroom, she made her way downstairs, and when she did, she was greeted by Kayama-san sitting in the hot tub, relaxing in a corner, facing away from the banister. Yoshihara frowned, walking down the stairs as she shook her head. "Good morning, Kayama-san," Yoshihara called out as Kayama looked over her shoulder, and up at Yoshihara.

"Good morning, Yoshi-chan!"

"Skinny dipping in the hot tub again, I assume?" Yoshihara asked, getting off the stairs and turning the corner into the miniature kitchenette. The first thing she did was open up the cabinet with the dry foods, reaching for one of the many Cup Ramen's that Kayama-san had gotten in bulk from the General Store a few blocks away from the hotel.

"What can I say? It's good for relaxing the muscles. I have the special steam cranked up so it covers me before you ask. I know it makes you uncomfortable and all, but I needed this after last night," Kayama-san replied as Yoshihara glanced over her shoulder. Sure enough, she was telling the truth.

There was a special setting on the Hot Tub that allowed for thick, artificial steam to pump out of the vents that would hover just above the surface of the water. It not only trapped the heat, but it also had air-based muscle relaxants. It was meant for those who got extreme muscle pain, which Kayama-san often got due to her job.

"As long as I don't have to see anything, I don't care. Out of sight, out of mind," Yoshihara muttered as she grabbed the kettle from beside the stove, filled a portion of it up with water, and put it on the first element to her right, turning it on to begin the boiling process. While that happened, Yoshihara prepared the cup noodles by taking off the seal and pouring the mix over top of the noodles.

The brand of Cup Noodles was Fat Gum's Protein Dense, Salt and additive-free Ramen Noodle Cup. Despite the long name, and despite the claim that it was salt-free, it still had MSG Salt in it that gave the noodles their special taste. The specific flavour pack that this one came with was Chicken, which was Yoshihara's least favourite. Although it was too early in the morning for her to care, so she just went with it.

"So, Yoshi-chan—"

"I told you to stop calling me that," Yoshihara interrupted as Kayama-san frowned.

"Anyway, that Kujo boy was over here. He didn't hurt you did he?" Kayama-san asked as Yoshihara sighed.

"No, he didn't. He helped me, remember? The whole panic attack thing?"

"Oh! Right, my bad. I was still a little tipsy when I read that note, so I may have forgotten a few things. Do you know what happened to cause it?" Kayama-san questioned, while at the same time, the water on the element began to boil. Taking off the kettle from the element and turning said element off, Yoshihara added the water to the cup, resealed it, and waited for it to "cook" in the cup.

"Not particularly. The most I remember from that was waking up in my bed. Kujo's girlfriend—"

"Oh, he's already dating? Darn, guess I have to strike that one off the list," Kayama joked, causing Yoshihara to inhale sharply, narrowing her eyes at Kayama, who snorted, stifling a laugh. "What? Ever heard of Enemies To Lovers before? You sure are bland, you know?"

"I'm not dull, Kayama-san. I know what that is. And even then, I'd soon rather date Midoriya than Kujo. He's not my type anyway," Yoshihara replied as Kayama grinned.

"Not your type, then? What is your type, Yoshi-chan~?" Kayama teased as Yoshihara's jaw set, a faint blush taking up her cheeks as she turned away from Kayama, who cackled. She shouldn't have opened her mouth. "Oh, c'mon, I'm just joking."

"Shut. Up." As Yoshihara said that, she checked on her noodles. They were done. Good. Yoshihara walked over to the utensil drawer, pulled out a pair of chopsticks, and began to have her breakfast.

"Anyways, what were you going to say?" Kayama said as Yoshihara grumbled, swallowing the noodles in her mouth before sighing.

"Fine. Anyways, Kujo's Girlfriend, Sakunami, mentioned her hometown. It's a place I have very, very bad memories with, and it often makes me relive something I don't want to relive. Because of that, I freaked out and had a panic attack. She apologized once I woke up, and she knows now never to say it again in my presence."

"And Kujo?" Kayama asked, her eyebrow raised.

"He knows, obviously He was in the room when I told them about it," Yoshihara said as Kayama nodded, turning back to face the window that outlooked the entire city. Afterward, Yoshihara finished her cup of noodles, and when she looked at the time, it was already 8:20 a.m. So, to pass the time, she decided to go back up to her room and catch up on One Piece.

It had been something that she had picked up after she finished her first read of Soul Eater. She had just started Sabody, and she had to admit, when she first started One Piece, she never envisioned herself getting past episode 40.

Now, she was on episode 385. Her least favourite Straw Hat was Sanji, and her favourite Straw Hat was Nami. Her favourite Villain up to that point was Crocodile, and her least favourite villain was Spandem. She was indifferent about everyone else, although for a while Luffy had held the "Least Favourite Straw Hat" spot until Sanji showed up.

She ended up watching five episodes, before exiting her room and turning off her TV and walking downstairs again. By the time she had come out of her room, Kayama-san had left, more than likely to go to that meeting she had that she had mentioned when she was in the middle of Episode 387, leaving her by her lonesome.

Yoshihara walked over to the coat hanger, threw on her leather jacket, and slipped on her black runners, tying them up before turning back around and heading back upstairs to go back into her room. She had forgotten her wallet, which had her debit card in it. She was going to need it if she was going to get something at the café.

Once she grabbed her wallet, and once she entered the elevator, when Yoshihara pulled out her phone to check the time, she was more than a little shocked. It was already 10:30 a.m., which had shocked her because she could've sworn that only around about half an hour passed when she had her breakfast.

Then again, she had watched five episodes of One Piece, so maybe that had something to do with the fact that it was already 10:30. Not that it mattered, seeing as the meet-up was scheduled closer to the afternoon. It would take about an hour to walk to the café, and a part of her wanted to take the train to get to the location in question, but she ultimately decided against it. After all, she needed the time to clear her head and think. And getting on a busy train would not do her any favours.

Despite being in a bit of a rush, she enjoyed the times she got to walk around the city. While she didn't do it often, namely because she found herself busy with other things, she found it to be peaceful. While the air certainly wasn't the freshest and the noise was sometimes annoying, she had to admit that despite all of that, out here, she could focus on her thoughts.

And more importantly, she could practice keeping her darker thoughts and feelings in check. To practice keeping her intrusive thoughts at bay. To practice making sure and double-checking with herself that her actions had consequences.

There were times when her mind would go to dark places. Murderous places. Places where they shouldn't be. When one had a mind like hers and a power like hers, the idea of getting away with murder came frequently. And the scary part was that she could. And the even scarier part is that she had. Numerous times. Need she be reminded of that one man at the convenience store?

Why, just the other day, the family of that man was still looking for him. Apparently, he had a daughter Six years old, with her birthday having passed recently. There was an entire news segment on how she wished her father would come home. So that they could play princess again.

When she saw that news story, a part of Yoshihara kicked herself for her actions. For having killed the man. But, at the same time, what he had said to her. What he had said he was going to do to her once he caught her…

Could she really be faulted for fight-or-flight instincts to have kicked in? Most criminals had families. They all did, and that caused problems when they were killed. But in the case of that man. In the case of Watanabe Isshin, while Yoshihara had felt slightly guilty for what she had done, if she hadn't done it, then if not her who else would he have preyed on?

Did it suck for that girl to have lose her father? Absolutely. She would grow up without a parental figure. It was just a shame that the parental figure in question was a rancid piece of shit. Frankly, she believed herself to have done a good deed.

There was also the fact that the clerk at the store had kept his word, even after all this time. The security footage had more than likely been long since scrubbed, but the fact that he had kept her actions under wraps was a good thing. Because even though she believed that she had done the right thing, the Law would've torn her apart.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you viewed the whole situation, that would never happen. The man was missing, and while they were now searching for a body, a body would never be found thanks to Killer Queen's power. His family would never know closure, yes. But it was a price to pay for a scumbag like him to be no longer on the streets.

That wasn't to say she would go out of her way to hunt those kinds of people down. As noted previously, she was the type of person to try and keep herself out of those situations. Had Watanabe not come after her for any reason, he would still be alive today. His family wouldn't be grieving, and nothing would've changed in the grand scheme of things.

As she rounded the corner to the café, Yoshihara caught a glimpse of the Midoriya's crossing the street and making their way to the meeting location. Looking down at her phone, she noted the time as being 11:30 a.m., which was about fifteen minutes before the scheduled meeting time. It was a good thing because it gave her a chance to give the other two a debriefing before Kujo and Sakunami got there. Or, at least somewhat of a debriefing, because she didn't know all of the details.

That wasn't to mention that this was also her chance to make sure Inko would keep up her end of the bargain. Not that she was going to do anything if she didn't. After giving it some time to rest, and after thinking the whole situation through, Yoshihara understood why she did what she did. Still didn't give her an excuse for it—far from it. But at least she could understand. Even if what she had said she was trying to do was somewhat twisted.

Once Yoshihara made it to the café, she found an empty five-seated table, and pulled out one of the five chairs for herself, before sitting down. As she sat down, she watched as Inko and Midoriya made their way to the café. Midoriya saw them, waving at her as she waved back.

The pair picked up the pace, getting to the café a few moments after having spotted her and when they got to the table, Inko used Fly, Fly Away to pull out two chairs, once for herself and the other for Midoriya. The two sat next to one another, opposite Yoshihara, who had a small smile on her face.

"Thank you two for coming on such short notice," Yoshihara began as Midoriya chuckled nervously.

"W-Well, it wasn't that big of an issue, really. I had no plans, and neither did Mom, so…" Midoriya answered, glancing over at Inko, who smiled.

"Good morning, Kira-san, how've you been?" Inko asked as Yoshihara shrugged before rubbing at her left shoulder, the muscle tensing for some reason.

"Could be better, but also could be worse. I'd say I'm doing fine overall. How about you two? Given the whole incident, I'm assuming things have been tense lately?" Yoshihara said, shooting a glance over at Inko, whose smile faltered if only slightly. Midoriya didn't seem to notice it, which was good.

"Well, M-Medi-Lady's pills have helped me heal my ribs f-far faster than I ever thought possible. I-I've almost made a full r-recovery," Midoriya said, his stammer still there as Yoshihara snickered.

"You're still stammering, huh, Midoriya?"

"I-I—"

"Is it because you're talking to a girl?" Yoshihara teased as Midoriya's face went beet red. Inko stifled a laugh at her son's expense, as Yoshihara reclined in her chair. "You're really easy to tease, you know that, Midoriya?"

"W-Well, I-I guess…" Midoriya muttered, the red in his face clearing to just his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "S-So, I know the m-meeting's about something to do with heroics, b-but what exactly are we t-talking about here?"

"Well, we have to wait for two other individuals to show up, but that won't be for another ten minutes. So, to speed things up a little bit, I'd like to show you two something. Do keep in mind that what I'm about to tell you is more than likely top secret, so when I show you this, you cannot tell anyone else about this. Am I clear?" Yoshihara began as both Inko and Midoriya looked at one another, confused looks on both of their faces.

"I don't get it… why would something about heroism be top secret?" Inko asked as Yoshihara shrugged.

"It has to do with something massive. I believe it has something to do with a criminal organization, and the other two individuals are spearheading a charge into this. For reasons unknown to me, they've decided to wrangle me into this, and so I'm doing the same with you two. You're free to leave now if you wish. I have no qualms with it. But, if you're still interested, we can keep going. If not, then take your leave now. I'm warning you though, once you see this item, you're locking yourself into this, and considering what this thing is, backing out will not be an option."

As Yoshihara spoke, Inko crossed her arms. Just by looking at her eyes, Yoshihara knew that she didn't know what to do. On one hand, there was upholding their agreement. On the other hand, there was protecting her want and need to protect her son. The two's eyes met, and for a brief second, Inko shuttered.

She was more than likely still unnerved about Killer Queen's ability, and with how she was looking around, she was more than likely trying to see if it had already touched something or not. Not as if Killer Queen left anything behind when it did touch something, but that was beside the point.

"Well…" Inko began, as she glanced over to Midoriya. "What do you think, Izuku?"

"I…" Midoriya trailed off, looking at the floor. Yoshihara simply stared at the two of them, not indicating her feelings on anything. She simply sat in her chair, slightly reclined with her hands on her lap, waiting patiently for a response. After a few moments passed, Izuku breathed in, before exhaling, looking up at Yoshihara with a look in his eyes that Yoshihara quite frankly wasn't expecting.

Rather than seeing indecisiveness like she had been expecting, she saw resolve. The way his eyes were solidified, shining with light and determination made her heart skip a beat, and she didn't know why. It was the type of look that someone who was already a hero would give to a citizen who needed reassurance. The type of stare that would only be given to someone who was in peril.

This was not one of those situations. Yet, despite its displacement without the context, it was still there. He still stared at her with that look on his face.

And she didn't care one bit. Frankly, it was a look that suited him. At least, in her opinion anyway.

"I'll stay. I want to be a hero, no ifs or ands about it. If this will help me toward the path of a hero, regardless of what it is, I'll stay," Izuku said, bravado in his voice as Inko flinched. She looked conflicted with his choice, but if she disagreed with it, she didn't say anything.

"If my son is willing to stay, then I will too," Inko answered, turning to look at Yoshihara, who nodded.

"Very well," Yoshihara said, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the baggy that she had taken from her bedroom. Inside the baggy was the Stand Bullet, which Kujo had either mistakenly left in her room, and did so on purpose. Though she was more inclined to believe that it was an accident. She placed it in the center of the table, before looking the two of them dead in the eyes. "This is what I'm talking about."

"W-What is this, Kira-san?" Midoriya asked, faltering slightly as Yoshihara leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, rolling her neck from side to side as she spoke.

"As you two are both acutely aware, we were attacked by a Stand User yesterday. I was able to drive them off, and we were able to come to an understanding. They will not be bothering us anymore, so we won't have to deal with them. That aside, while I won't be bringing them up further than that, I believe it's still important that I mention it, as it is somewhat related to this. Maybe not completely, but it is," Yoshihara began as she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Inko had flinched.

"Okay. I still think they should be behind bars, though. You know, considering they tried to kill you and all," Midoriya said as Yoshihara waved off his concern.

"It's fine. Everything is alright, so we can move on from it. However, the same thing cannot be said about what transpired afterward. But, for some context, before being attacked by the last Stand User we faced, I was attacked by another one two days before. This Stand User has since become my ally, and has provided me with this bullet last night," Yoshihara continued as Inko raised an eyebrow.

"Hold on, what?" Inko asked as Yoshihara gestured for her to continue. "If I might ask, why did they give you that bullet?" Inko continued as she gazed toward the bullet in the bag. For a split second, and only for a split second, a gleam of recognition appeared in her eyes. While she didn't show it, Yoshihara was taken aback by that.

Did Inko perhaps know about this bullet? If so, how? She was an experienced Stand User, but at the same time, maybe she could've fallen victim to this bullet, albeit not specifically that one, in the past. If her theory about how Inko's potential Quirk evolved into her Fly, Fly Away, then maybe that was why she knew about the bullet. Otherwise, it implied that she knew far more about the bullet than she was letting on.

For the sake of not starting anything, Yoshihara decided to move on "The Stand User in question gave this bullet to me because it directly links towards the numerous amount of Stand Users cropping up in Japan. Furthermore, the group who are looking into this happens to be The Speedwagon Foundation, and from what little I know of them, this seems to be up their alley. The Stand User who gave this bullet to me works with The Speedwagon Foundation. How they acquired it, I don't know."

"So an American-based Organization comes to Japan for some reason with a bullet that has an unknown paranormal aspect to it. I don't mean to sound rude, but what does that have to do with us? Better yet, what does that have to do with Heroism?" Inko questioned as Yoshihara frowned.

"Because, Midorya-san, this bullet creates Stand Users."

As soon as those words fell out of Yoshihara's lips, both Inko and Midoriya's eyes widened. Yoshihara slipped the bag with the bullet in it back into her pocket as she crossed her arms, staring the two down.

"According to the Stand User who gave me the bullet, through some means that they are not entirely aware of yet, once this bullet comes into contact with someone it erases the Quirk within someone's body, and then immediately afterward, it dumps some kind of virus into their system. This virus, once injected, does something to the body that gives the victim a Stand. But, nine times out of ten, the victim dies before this can ever happen. But, on the off chance it works, then a Stand User is born. Does that answer your question?" Yoshihara asked as she looked over to Inko, who nodded silently.

"T-That's awful!" Izuku exclaimed, distress clear on his face as Yoshihara hummed.

"Very much so. As a matter of fact, not too long ago, some unnamed group carried out an attack in Downtown Musutafu which resulted in over 200 dead, and only a handful of survivors. Some of which are in comas, and it's all thanks to the type of bullet you just saw," Yoshihara continued, a frown taking up her visage. Myself, The Stand User who gave me this bullet, and a confidant of theirs intend on researching as much as we can into this bullet and track down whoever is making it to permanently shut down the process."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Inko asked as Yoshihara raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You heard me. How do you plan to do that?" Inko asked again, her hands politely folded over her lap as she spoke. "As you said, an organization is behind this. No doubt an extremely powerful one, at that. While I don't mean to doubt you, are you sure you're not in over your head? From what I'm hearing, you don't have a plan. The only thing you have is a single bullet casing with, from what I saw, Latin script etched into it."

"We've only just discovered this information. How are we supposed to have a plan if we are still learning information about something we know next to nothing about?" Yoshihara replied as Inko's eyes narrowed. If she wasn't sure about Inko knowing something before, she more than certainly did now.

However, before she was about to ask what it was she knew, a voice spoke up. A familiar one, at that. "Kira's right, ma'am. We know next to nothing, so it's kind of impossible to have a plan about something we know, as I said, next to nothing about," Kujo Josefumi said as he approached the table, pulling out the chair next to Yoshihara, and the chair next to that one for Sakunami Karera, who swiftly sat down with a faint and polite smile on her face.

Inko stared at him, eyes slightly wide, before they returned to normal. Yoshihara, for her part, bit her tongue to keep herself from speaking. Now that Kujo was here, she definitely couldn't question Inko. Otherwise, it would start an uproar.

"Sorry for the abrupt statement, I got ahead of myself. My name is Kujo Josefumi, and this," Josefumi paused, gesturing to Sakunami, "is my Girlfriend Sakunami Karera. We're both Kira's friends and allies. It's a pleasure to meet you two, Midoriya Inko, and Midoriya Izuku," Josefumi said as Sakunami smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you two!" She said as Inko chuckled to herself.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sakunami-san, Kujo-san. I take it that one of you is with The Speedwagon Foundation?" Inko asked as Josefumi huffed.

"Well, in actuality, the both of us are. Karera and I are members of the foundation. To continue with what Kira had said, it's hard for us to come up with a plan to go up against an organization we know nothing about. But I think that if we had four stand users on our side, along with a genius like Izuku, I believe given enough time, we should be able to stomp this out without at least a year, give or take, with support from The Speedwagon Foundation and their resources. Whaddya say?" Kujo said as Midoriya raised an eyebrow.

"Four Stand Users?" Midoriya asked, blinking. "Aren't the only Stand Users here you two and Kira? Where's the fourth?"

"Right here," Inko said, catching Midoriya off guard.

"M-Mom, what—!"

"I'll explain when we get home, sweety. For now, let's move on. I don't want to take up these people's time with dramatics, seeing as they're clearly busy people," Inko said as Midoriya pursed his lips before nodding. "Thank you. As for your answer, Kujo-san, myself and my son have already said we'd help after Kira told us the gravity of the situation."

"Well, that's good. For a moment I was worried we'd have to convince you guys, but if you're willing to jump in head first, then be my guest!" Kujo said, his tone carrying a hint of a shocked laugh to it. "In that case, we'll need your contact information then. Yours too, Kira. That way I don't have to physically show up at your house to talk to you."

And with that, they all exchanged contact info. Yoshihara got Sakunami's and Kujo's, as did Inko and Midoriya, whilst Kujo and Sakunami received Midoriya's because Inko didn't have a personal phone, and they needed to get a new home phone due to an "incident" that Yoshihara had been familiar with, considering the aforementioned incident was her fight with Inko.

The rest of the get-together went about just as a normal teen get-together would be like, with the added effect of having a middle-aged woman tag along who didn't seem to care all that much aside about what the teens talked about. In the back of her mind, she noted that it felt good to talk to people who were her age.

Social interaction, as she found it to be right now, was pretty good. Something that she had been sorely lacking for a long time now. Yoshihara had to admit that she liked it. She was almost willing to call everyone around the table friends. Midoriya was the only one there that she whole-heartedly considered a friend, whereas Sakunami and Kujo were allies. Inko was a former adversary, and not much more than that.

That aside, it was still good to talk to others. For the longest time, she had isolated herself. Allowed herself to be alone, and not bother anyone else. Until she had the courage to find Midoriya, she had kept to herself since the day she started her training with Kayama-san, only interacting with her when it couldn't be avoided or during training.

But now, things had changed.

Now, she had friends, even if she didn't consider two of them friends fully, and one of them was nowhere near close. But, it was a start.

A part of her believed that maybe, just maybe, she could move on. That maybe, if she just reached out at some point, maybe they'd be willing to help her with her problems.

Maybe, just maybe, she could finally start to live her life, rather than be chained down by her past. To be stuck in the grip of her.

"No. It's best to not burden them with that. They don't need to worry about your problems. They are yours and yours alone. You've been dealing with them by yourself since you came to this city, so you can continue to do that now. Besides, why bother them with that information? All it will do is cast a shameful light on you, and everything you say and do. Keep it bottled, as it should be. Like everything should be." Yoshihara chastised herself as she frowned.

After a few more hours of discussion about random things, and after they had ordered lunch from the café, everyone began to head back home. Before Yoshihara had departed, she gave the bullet back to Kujo, who was grateful to have it back, thinking that he might have lost it. When he left, it was 3:30 p.m., and at that time, she had gotten a text from Kayama-san that she was currently visiting a friend's place and that she wouldn't be back until 7:00.

It wasn't ideal, but she wasn't going to complain. It wasn't often that Kayama-san went to a friend's house, so she was glad that she was enjoying herself.

As Yoshihara walked home, by the time she got to the halfway point, a strange feeling crawled down her spine. She looked over her shoulder to check behind her, and the only thing she saw was a bunch of people making their way too and from work, and or heading to local hang-out spots.

She frowned, before walking away. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't important. And if it was, then she'd deal with it when it became a problem. After all, there wasn't a reason to go looking for trouble if it could be helped.

Besides, it wasn't like it was anything important. If it was, something would've happened already. And considering it didn't, then why on Earth would she need to do anything? All she wanted to do was go home and watch more One Piece. Tomorrow was going to be busy anyway, and with that in mind, she continued her commute back home.

[XXXX]

If Nemuri were to be honest with herself, which she usually never was, Aizawa Shouta and Hizashi Yamada were the most uncanny pair of individuals she ever had the pleasure of becoming friends with. Namely due to their dynamic and because of just how well they bounced off of one another. It honestly felt like she was a third wheel at times, but that was beside the point.

Right now, Nemuri was at the two's apartment. The pair lived together and unbeknownst to the rest of the staff at U.A. had been dating since high school. They were practically married, though they hadn't written it down and made it official. Shouta's reasoning for it was because it wouldn't be practical, which Hizashi agreed with.

And while being homosexual was a normal thing in the wider parts of the world, it was still considered taboo in Japan. At least between men, anyway. For some stupid, and probably sexist reason, it was perfectly fine for two lesbians to get married. But two gay men? Well, suddenly it was an issue.

It was partly why Hawks wasn't any higher on the Hero Charts past No. 4. It was because he was an openly gay man who had been apparently dating someone in the background. Who that person was, no one knew, and it was part of an ongoing mystery that hadn't been solved on forums—which was creepy, but that was beside the point.

The point was that being an openly gay man tanked someone's career. And the only reason why it hadn't really affected Hawks was because, well, he was Hawks. It didn't matter what anyone said about him, he was the coolest hero of the younger generation. And honestly, Nemuri couldn't blame the young ones for thinking about that. Gay or not, Hawks was extremely attractive.

That aside, if there was one way to describe the dynamic duo that was Hizashi Yamada and Shouta Aizawa, it was that they were complete and total opposites of one another, and it showed even in how they dressed.

Hizashi wore a yellow plaid button-up shirt, black skinny jeans, and brown slippers. His hair was done up in a ponytail, and the frames of his glasses were an electric yellow. To top it all off, he had a two-twin-pointed mustache. If you could even call it that thing on his upper lip, a mustache. All and all, it was a pretty exaggerated get-up for a small get-together.

Then, there was Shouta, who wore the exact opposite in terms of theming. While Hizashi wore a bunch of bright and "in your face" colours, Shouta wore all muted colours. He was dressed in a grey short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black baggy pants. His hair was all over the place and drooped down to his shoulders, along with the scraggly beard that he had been starting to grow, not to mention he was barefoot.

The term "homeless" worked best to describe Shouta, which was something he took with stride. The bags under his eyes didn't help things, either. He really, truly did look homeless. The only thing that didn't make it seem as if he was homeless was the fact that not but half an hour ago he had just gotten out of the shower, which was why his hair was all over the place.

Finally, there was Nemuri. Out of the two of them, she dressed in an in-between, with both muted and vibrant colours. She was dressed in a light purple button-up short-sleeve shirt, thigh-high light brown shorts with a white belt to keep them in place, and a pair of white slipper socks. Her hair was undone, allowing it to flow down her back like a waterfall, and her eyes were focused on the cards that were in her hand. Cards that belonged to a game of Uno, which she was winning.

The reason why they were playing Uno was because it was one of Hizashi's favourite games to play while she was over, seeing as it didn't involve direct teasing, or being rude to one another—the less they spoke of the Mario Party 20 incident, the better.

She had never seen Shouta so angry before. She saw a new side to Shouta that she never thought possible: Furiosity the likes of which could only be calmed by a blow dart. Or, in this case, smothering him with a cloth containing her Quirk.

She shuttered just thinking about it. "Never again… never again."

"DRAW 4!" Hizashi shouted, pointing at Aizawa for dramatic flair. Almost immediately, Shouta countered with a plus 2, and before it could affect Nemuri, she put down another plus 2, which shoved a whole eight cards onto Hizashi, causing him to pout. "Drat…"

"Shouldn't have been obvious, Hizashi. You need to practice on your poker face," Aizawa said as Hizashi drew eight cards, grumbling to himself.

"Honestly you two, I'm starting to think you're more than just friends from the way you two talk to one another," Nemuri said, a scandalous tone in her voice as Hizashi nearly fell out of his chair, while Aizawa merely shrugged.

"Well, you'll never know, that's for sure, Nemuri," Aizawa said, his voice dry as he took a sip of his fifth-afternoon coffee. "Besides, the less you know about my love life, the better. I don't need you trying to pair me up with people I have no interest in. Nakamura was the last blind date you sent me on, and because of that I have an irrational fear of lemonade," Aizawa said, glancing over to Hizashi, who had picked himself up from his annoyed stupor.

"Yeah! Besides, don't you have anything else to worry about? Like, I don't know, your adopted daughter?" Hizashi pointed out as Nemuri gave a dismissive wave of the hand in response.

"I don't have to worry about her. She's fine, she can take care of herself. Plus, I get the feeling that she's a bit uncomfortable around me in the first place," Nemuri said as Aizawa shook his head.

"If I had to guess, it's because you tease her constantly, don't you?" Aizawa said, causing Nemuri to stammer.

"W-Well, er, okay fine, yes I do. I bit too often if she had anything to say about it. But come on! Her face is so precious when she gets flustered, can you blame me? It gets me kind of…" Before that train of thought went anyway Nemuri slapped herself on the cheek, a frown taking up her visage.

"Damnit! Why now of all times!" Nemuri thought, grimacing. "Ugh, I need to take my medication, I'll be back, touch my cards and I strangle you," Nemuri said, placing her cards face down as she dug around in her pocket for the bottle. As she made her way down the hall, she could hear the pair talking about something, which frankly she held no interest in.

When she entered the bathroom, she pulled out the bottle of pills that she had brought out, before popping one of them in her mouth, letting it dissolve on her tongue for a quicker effect. For a split second, she had to force herself not to gag and puke, which she managed very easily by gritting her teeth together and pressing her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

She hated the way they tasted, but it was for the greater good of her career. The quicker she got her impulses under control, the better. That wasn't even mentioning the new batch of first years coming in about a month, and while the main, public exam was four days away, the recommendation exam was four days away. And while she wouldn't be present for it, it was still something she needed to keep track of. After all, Yoshihara was going to that one, and she needed all of the support she could get for it.

All of that aside, if she didn't get these stupid, repulsive, disgusting urges down and away forever, she'd have to deal with it while at school—the last thing she wanted was the reputation of the pill-popping teacher—and that was an outcome that was coming closer to reality as the days came closer.

There was also another thing she was afraid of. And that was the fact that she, unfortunately, whether she wanted to be or not, was a pedophile. Not an offending pedophile, but a pedophile regardless. More specifically, she had pedophilic tendencies, thanks in part to her Quirk. And while she has never, nor will she ever abuse a child, the mere fact alone that she had thoughts that she had labelled her as one.

She had been extremely good at keeping it a secret, with the only two who knew about her need for medication being Shouta and Hizashi, both of whom watched her like a hawk for when something bad happened. Because she had never done anything, they hadn't distanced themselves from her. But as the years went on, and as it got worse and worse, they became a lot more distant from her.

It was part of the reason why she had been going to therapy for the last few years, and why she was taking a stronger medication. To get herself under control. However, the next year, after this new batch of students moved on to the second year, she was going to resign from working at U.A. It was starting to get to the point where she was unsure she could fully control herself. The only reason why she didn't do it sooner was because she had been contractually obligated to work four years at U.A., with this one being her fourth and final year.

It was also why she was heavily considering moving out of the suite and letting Yoshihara have it for herself and move in with her Grandpa. She knew that the girl had issues with some form of sexual abuse in the past. To what extent, she didn't know. All she knew was that the last thing she needed was for her to be there. She had already been secluding herself from Yoshihara to avoid any accidents, but just to be safe, she was going to move out next year.

As for why she had the thoughts that she had, as previously mentioned, it was all thanks to her Quirk, Somnambulist. Like all Quirks, hers altered the way she thought about sexual attraction for some bizarre and unexplainable reason that more than likely had to do with the fact that her body over-excreted pheromones for her Quirk to work.

Due to this over-excretion, and due to her past sexual trauma regarding her myriad of problems, her mind had been forever altered. And the worst part was that it was something she couldn't just "get over." It was a part of her she had to live with forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She hated herself for it. Hated the fact that she felt this way. Hated the fact that it was ruining her life. And more importantly, she hated the fact that it was getting worse. The more she used her Quirk, the worse it got. And because she was a hero, she had no choice but to use her Quirk.

If only she didn't have this Quirk. If only should just get rid of it.

She had heard rumours of a man who could get rid of Quirks with a single touch. She didn't believe them, but, if they were real, and if there was a possibility that such a man did exist, then maybe, just maybe, he could fix her.

Maybe then she would never have to deal with this curse of hers.

"Hey, Nemuri?" Hizashi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and it was also at this moment that she began to realize that she was crying, which she promptly put a stop to. "Are you okay in there?" Hizashi's voice spoke as she regained her composure.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute…." Nemuri replied, a pair of footsteps fading away, signalling to her that Hizashi had left. Letting out a shaky sigh before slapping herself on the cheeks with both hands, readying herself to finish the game of Uno she had started, Nemuri stepped out of the washroom, glancing into the living room. Making her way there, she sat across from them as Hizashi and Shouta were looking at her, hints of concern in their eyes as they stared.

"Nemuri, are you alright?" Shouta asked as the Nemuri smirked, waving off his concern.

"I'm fine, Shouta. Let's just get back to the game. last time I checked, I'm winning, so I'd like to finish it before I go back home to see if my darling daughter is home from hanging out with her friends. I know I said I was going to stay the night, but I think it would be better if I went home," Nemuri said, picking up her cards with a smile on her face.

Shouta and Hizashi glanced at each other, concern in their eyes. She knew why, and while Shouta was more concerned than Hizashi, the two silently nodded to one another, as Shouta spoke up. "Alright, I'll drive you home once this game is over. But, Nemuri, you really need to be careful. We can't keep this secret for you for much longer. You know that, right?"

"I know. Besides, you won't have to for much longer anyway. I'm quitting next year, entirely," Nemuri said as Hizashi blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. It's getting to the point where my Quirk is making my life worse. So, I'm going to quit, and see if I can't get the glands in my body removed that produce my Quirk. Then I can begin the process needed to fully move on and bury this part of me in the dirt for good. If it wasn't for my contractual agreement, I would've quit this year." As Nemuri said that, Shouta nodded.

"Good. Don't get me wrong, Nemuri, but I'm glad you're quitting. You've been getting pretty bad for the last little while. Even worse than usual. For your sake, that adoptive daughter of yours better not say anything to anyone about how you act, and that's even if she knows. And if you were smart, you'd hand her off to someone else," Shouta said as Nemuri frowned.

"No. That's the one thing I won't budge on," Nemuri said, crossing her arms, cards still in hand as Shouta raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because, aside from Tomodachi-kun and those who worked there, I've been the only adult in her life who hasn't treated her horribly. If I suddenly kicked her out with no explanation as to why, her trust in others would plummet entirely. She already knows of my affliction, and she hasn't had any real problems with it, at least not that she's voiced any. Besides, I keep myself in my room 90% of the time when I'm home, and the 10% I don't it's in the mornings, so we hardly interact anymore aside from when I was training her," Nemuri explained as Shouta sighed.

"Fine. Then that's that. Now, let's finish this," Shouta said as Hizashi smirked. In the end, Shouta won through sheer commitment, dubiousness, and a trick named the "+Plus Infinity and then Uno beatdown." Something that annoyed Hizashi to no end, because it wasn't fair.

[XXX]

Leaning against a brick wall within an alleyway, arms crossed and eyes vigilantly staring out into the streets, stood a teenager. The teen had short grey hair, styled in a crewcut. He wore a black denim jacket with a spiked collar around his neck, and a red V-neck shirt underneath. He also wore black pants with spiked cowboy boots and spiked cuffs around his wrists.

He was tall for a boy his age, taller than most. His most defined feature, though, had to be a toss-up between the fact that he was rather buff, sharing the same build as someone who had been body-building for years, and his deep orange eyes that reflected nothing but indifference and anger. That anger was building up, and frustration grew in his expression.

The teen was what you'd call a rather impatient person. Throughout all of his life, he had wanted to be famous. Each time he tried to get famous, however, he failed. Be it through stupid stunts, acts of vigilantism, or through Herotube. No matter what he did, though, his attempts were always met with failure.

But now, he had a chance. All he'd have to do was get through the recommendation exam, thanks to the Pro-Hero Death Arms endorsing him for a position. And while that was great and all, truly it was, he wanted to ensure he would get a spot. So, he decided to start to trim down the competition a little bit.

Thanks to his newfound, upgraded power, it had been going smoothly so far. Every year, 100 people were given recommendations for U.A.'s recommendation exam. This year, however, there would only be 81, or 80, given how this could go. He had already cut away 19 shrimps, so he was going to get rid of one more, just to be on the safe side, and luckily for him, it was going to be extremely easy. Not to mention, extremely satisfying.

One of the people who had been recommended by U.A. was by the one and only Midnight. It had been three years since she recommended someone and the last time she had, they were extremely weak and underqualified, so keeping in line with that assumption, this person also had to be weak and pathetic.

But, that wasn't all. The person whom Midnight had recommended, be it knowingly or not, had been the same person who had killed his uncle. And he knew that thanks to the person who had upgraded his Quirk into what it was now. He even gave him a picture of them to boot!

He would get vengeance for his uncle. Sure, his uncle wasn't a stand-up guy, and yeah he went after younger girls, but so what!? Who cares!? That was his business and his alone. No third party needed to get involved, and yet that bitch had. That stupid, annoying, piece of shit Kira Yoshihara!

But, it didn't matter. It didn't matter, because she was going to die.

And he was going to do her in. Just like he had told that man he would.

"I'm not gonna let some pathetic weakling ruin my chances at getting famous! Especially not some uppity bitch who killed my uncle!" The teen growled, a furious snarl on his face as a black, ominous aura began to form around his body, and as soon as it did, a humanoid figure began to manifest next to him.

Its body was lean and bony, its head having a bear-shaped skull with its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its eyes were a piercing red, and its head and back had purple spikes running across the top of its head down its back. Its hands were more like claws, and its skin looked almost leathery, like a corpse. It was hunched over, like a hunch back, and its ribcage was visibly poking out from its chest.

The teen's Stand was every bit as gross and deformed as his soul was. It reflected him as being a monster in human skin, and his petty drive to become a quote-on-quote hero reflected in that as well. A perfect, hideous match for someone as twisted as him.

The teen's eyes were transfixed on a photograph that had been given to him by that man. The photograph was of the blonde-haired girl walking out of a nightclub with the titular Pro Hero. His eyes wandered back to the street, and there, he saw that same girl walking into the Love Hotel, Love Deluxe, which had been owned by Midnight. They had the same body type, the same hairstyle and colour, and the same facial features.

A dark, foreboding smile crept up on the person's face as the teen watched her like a hawk.

"I'd attack you now, but there are too many people. I want to wait for a perfect opportunity. When you're all alone, and out of the way. That way, my Renegades can rip you to shreds!" The teen snarled, throwing the photograph into the air as Renegades pointed one of its index fingers forward, shooting a spinning spike out of its fingertip, completely ripping the photo into little shreds.

"Once I corner you, there will be nowhere left for you to hide, Kira Yoshihara."

-To Be Continued in - Renegades-