Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a few manga volumes. Maybe to learn what the One Piece is. Instead, I found myself in a world that I recognised, a story I had read and what's worse was that it was a story I had no interest in wanting to involve myself in! Then and again, the offer to become a Hero is far too tempting...

40. Issue 39

Ichirinnohana - HIGH and MIGHT Colour (Bleach opening 3)

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DECIDE

FOUR

'The Night Sky'

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"The past, the present, and most importantly - the future."

"Fuck is that supposed to mean?" I asked Yozoroa, my right hand relaxing on my sword which visibly made him smile. However, he wasn't focused on my left hand, slipping past my jacket and grabbing my knife.

"Ah, ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you."

As soon as I blinked, he was out of my sight and I instantly felt him standing behind me, a smug smirk on his face as he tormented me more and more.

Tch.

I lowered my left hand and turned to face Yozora, and tried to ignore the urge within me to start a fight with him. I wouldn't win, he could easily murder me right now. And that wouldn't solve anything, so the best thing I could do is hear him out.

"Smart decision," Yozora said, "It wouldn't be fun to eliminate you from our game already."

"All For One is dead. Whatever 'game' you're playing is something that doesn't involve me." Yozora laughed at that, patting me on the back as if I was some kid. It infuriated me even more, but I didn't say or do anything to aggravate the situation.

"My game has nothing to do with All For One, Sora. Of course, now that you know the truth, it makes me explaining my game much simpler," Yozora replied. "So many of us are still alive and kicking. Living. Zero and I, well we are the villains. Regarding Eight and Seven, you'll never guess where they are. And then we have you, Nanao and Tokage. The heroes. Three distinct groups, with everyone individually having separate goals. With or without the man that brought us here, all of us have changed this world."

"And what, you want us to all fight each other to the death? Is that it?"

"No, Sora. I don't want to kill any of you."

"Bullshit. Didn't you murder the Eleventh in cold blood?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Don't fuck with me."

Yozora's grin faded as he stared at me, I could see the curiosity in his eyes.

"I see. You're angrier now than when we first met… no, you were always angry. 'The eyes are the window to your soul.' William Shakespeare once said that, and you Sora, have always had the prettiest eyes. Anger. You have so much pent-up rage within you, perhaps it's from your life lived as Sora Yamazaki. Perhaps it stems from your previous life, or perhaps, that 'other side' of you is angry waiting to take control. But I wonder, how many 'other sides' do you have? How many will it take for you to accept-,"

"Shut up. Just get on with what you have to say and leave."

"My, my, I can just feel the bloodlust coming from you. You just want to murder me, don't you?"

"I'll never kill anyone," I replied. "So I don't know where you are getting this information from. If my eyes are a window to my soul, then go ahead and look all you want. I'll never kill anyone."

"Perhaps that may be the truth. But you'll often find that when pushed to their limits, humans become unrecognisable. I wonder, if I murder everyone you love will you still say the same thing?" My throat felt dry as he said that so nonchalantly. It was like he was listing off the items he was going to buy at a supermarket. "'Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters.' Stephen King was right when he wrote The Shining. After all, in your eyes, I'm a monster."

"How many people have you murdered? How many will you continue to murder?" I asked him angrily. "Yeah, no shit you're a monster in my eyes. And the eyes of every sane person on this fucking planet!" To his credit, Yozora didn't react at all to what I said. Not even a slight twitch. That was until he stepped forwards before I could even react, placing his hand right on top of my chest. Right, where my heart was.

Time seemed to slow down for me.

How does he move so quickly?

"I can almost reach your heart," Yozora told me smugly. "How does it feel?"

So, is this my death?

Damnit, I can't let it end here!

I won't let it end here!

Then we are in agreement…

I felt a sudden rush of power throughout my body as I took three steps backwards, pulling out my new sword and watching as it shone brightly under the moonlight. It was a half moon tonight, yet despite that, even Yozora seemed to be impressed by my sword. That or he was itching to fight me since he activated his Quirk. His eyes were no longer the same brown as my own eyes, one eye was blue while the other was yellow. Within seconds I felt like multiple heavy objects were dropped on me, but somehow I didn't collapse to the floor.

That made Yozora whistle in surprise.

You're welcome.

I don't need any power from you.

But you asked for it. You want to win, you don't want it to end here, and so I'm giving you my power.

I didn't ask for it.

But this is what you wanted.

It isn't what I want.

So you want to die?

No, but-,

Then why are you complaining?

I just-,

You just want to win against him. To kill him. That's what your soul is screaming out for, and that's what I'm helping you with.

As always, you two are brutes.

"Conversing with the demon that dwells within you in the middle of a fight?" Yozora called out amused, "Is that arrogance? Or a hint of carelessness?" He disappeared right before my eyes once again, but instinctively I knew where he was going to attack. Behind you! Pivoting on my foot, my sword clashed with his hand. Yet despite my sword having been crafted to be sharp enough to cut metal, I barely scratched Yozora.

Just what is the full extent of his Quirk?

His eyes had changed colours. From blue and yellow, they were now pure white with a purple cross sign in each eye as an iris.

Tch.

We need more to win.

I don't need your power to win.

You'll lose.

I just need to survive-,

Liar. You want to beat him.

I don't-,

I had to dodge what would have been a fatal blow to the chest, watching as his hand was lodged into the building that was behind me. Simply put, even with him helping me out, I was outmatched.

Give control to me.

No.

I can make us win!

You'll murder everyone in the vicinity!

I'm only doing what we want!

I don't want that!

You're a coward. You don't deserve to be in control.

I'm better than you!

It doesn't matter who's better than who! Stop arguing and start fighting-,

Shut up! The two of you, just shut up! This is my body!

I'm going to take control one day.

I won't let yo-,

Yozora's laugh interrupted my thoughts. He shook his head, unable to hold his laughter which only made me growl in response. But it was clear to see that I wouldn't be able to graze him, let alone beat him. Zero was more powerful than me, but he wasn't unreachable. I can beat Zero, I know I could. Yozora was someone I wouldn't be able to touch even with him mocking me by barely using his Quirk. It was like an infant trying to fight their father, they would never win. It was just a big joke.

And it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

With how I am now, my blade would never reach him.

I'd never reach him.

"Fine, fine. You win," I told him, lowering my sword. I wasn't stupid, I knew that it was futile for me to try and fight him. Not that he was going to fight back anyways, he really did want to 'chat' so to speak. So there was no point in trying to deny that from him. "What do you want to really talk about?"

"What were you and the other sides of you talking about inside that head of yours?"

Tch.

"It doesn't matter," I replied annoyed, "Just hurry the fuck up and say what ya' want to say."

"Patience, patience. It's a skill that you desperately need, Sora Yamazaki. You rushed to learn the truth without realising what it would mean for you, and it's broken you. Truly, compared to before, your eyes are weak. The spark of defiance that was there is now long gone… Replaced by anger and fear," Yozora pitied me, I could tell it from his voice alone. He slouched against the wall, shaking his head before he looked at me once more. "If you were patient, perhaps you wouldn't be in your current predicament."

"And what's that?"

"You're afraid of fighting. That 'other side' of you terrifies you, it keeps you awake at night, doesn't it? You'll put up an appearance, one that even fools those close to you. No, it's not an appearance. It's something that you want to desperately believe in. Your body might be fighting, but your mind has already given up. The truth you reached out for didn't just shatter you, no, it shattered everything else around you too. You're just a ticking time bomb now, ready to go off at any moment."

Wha-?

"Surprised that I know so much? Maa, maa, I'm simply a genius," Yozora boasted, sticking his tongue out at me playfully. "Do you read books, Sora? 'The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment - as well as prison.' Many people in our world would have called Dostoevsky's works pretentious. And to some extent, they are right. And yet, the book really is a nihilist's wet dream. Personally, I don't care for Dostoevsky's works, but Cime and Punishment is a work that I think fits this world perfectly."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the heroes in this world mirror the main character of Crime and Punishment. All Might, Endeavour, all those at the top believe that in the interest of the public, they have the moral right to do whatever it is they please. And the sheep of this world eat it all up. All Might caved a man's chest in on live TV, and no one bats an eye. Back in our world, entire nations would have been set on fire overnight. It would become impossible to escape the news covering it constantly, but here it's a fact of life." Yozora explained.

He stopped leaning against the wall and pointed at the sky above us.

"This world is entirely free from the politics of our world. For better or for worse, the existence of heroes and villains has made public morality black or white. Surely if you are a villain, you deserve to be wiped out. Like a black stain on a white shirt, the heroes will come in and either throw you in prison or kill you. Sure, the 'murder' of these villains is mostly kept under wraps, but the public knows. Yet, ignorance is bliss. So then, what is the problem that our society here faces?"

Yozora was asking me.

"...If heroes are justice, then isn't justice flawed? Because humans are flawed. Is that what you are trying to get at?"

"Right in one. Like how Crime and Punishment is a nihilist's wet dream, our world represents the fictional world that Dostoevsky wrote about. Idealism has become this world's biggest sin, it keeps us all trapped in our little 'prison' of safety. At least, that's what Stain sort of believes in. Well, he's not there yet, but I'll manage to convince him to believe in this soon. After all, even he was disappointed when All Might murdered someone on TV. And how the world has celebrated it… Stain's starting to realise the crux of the problem lies in our society itself." Yozora replied amused.

"So then what do you believe in?"

"I don't care about any of this. Sora, in my previous life I used to study psychology. I was very passionate about it, and the same with reading books. Why wouldn't I love it, I read books ranging from Crime and Punishment to High School DxD. Reading is fun. And, well, I'm a massive fan of 'Bleach.' Would it be possible for you to sign my copy of volume one?" Reaching into his pockets, Yozora pulled out the first volume of Bleach as well as a pen. "It would be an honour if you could sign it."

"Stop annoying me. Get back to what you were saying earlier."

"A bomb. As of now, that's what you are in my eyes. I don't need to speak to you regularly to know how you are feeling, you are an open book for anyone to read. No, the problem is in predicting your actions. Will you leave being a hero behind? Double down on your words. Or will you choose the third option? An option that no one could have foreseen, not even yourself. Isn't that interesting? Tick, tick, tick! I just want to know what type of bomb you'll be when you explode."

The way Yozora said all that made the hair on my arms stand up.

It made me want to crawl into a hole and ignore him.

It made me want to kill him.

"Will you be the bomb that fizzles out, ultimately hurting no one? Or will you be a bomb that's sabotaged at the last moment only causing you to be hurt? Or will you explode everywhere, causing mass destruction?"

"I'll decide on that," I answered him, watching as he clapped slowly in response. He wasn't surprised by my answer, he had already predicted what I was going to say, yet his smile unnerved me. "No one else but me."

"'Every decision you make, makes you. Never let other people choose who you're going to be.' I disagree, you can only make decisions based on what other people do to you. If I hurt you, you'll hurt me back. It makes you, well, you - But also it makes humans more interesting. We all react to things differently. Maybe one day you'll meet someone that pushed your buttons more than I do, and perhaps that will be the day you stop ticking. To say it's your decision is nothing but a lie, you don't have the detonator. There is none. It's just a good old-fashioned countdown."

I glared at Yozora, but I ultimately said nothing.

"You know, out of everyone I've met - It's you who's the most interesting, Sora," Yozora began. "Zero is… focused. A man that carries guilt within him and uses that guilt to help you, to help us, and also a man with selfish goals. He's interesting, and he's so much like us two. You fall under the same category as him, but you try to do better. Your selfish goals align with the interests of those around you, unlike Zero's. And then we have me, I won't bore you with any details, but let's assume that my goals are linked to how much 'fun' we all have."

"I'm nothing like you. Neither is Zero."

"Fiesty. And that is true, for what it's worth neither of you two is as handsome as I am," Yozora joked. "Well, I haven't seen Zero without his mask. But it doesn't matter, clearly, I'm better looking. But for real, you and Zero will never even hope to compare to me. In a fight to the death, perhaps you'd win." What was infuriating is as Yozora said that, it was obvious that he didn't mean what he said.

You and Zero are similair to me in a sense that the three of us have concrete goals that we are making strides in achieving. However, the both of you are so alike it astounds me. Like Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura, Naruto and Sasuke, Kiskue Urahara and Sosuke Aizen. You two are torn apart, destined to clash until one wins. Your goals directly oppose each other fundementally, yet despite that it's clear to see that the two of you have forged a strong bond. A good rivalry. I'm jealous."

"Shut up."

"Fine, fine, I get it! You're not in a joking mood," Yozora sighed, "The fact is that the more you repress and fear what's within you, the more powerful it becomes. Fear is a tool, but also a hindrance. Don't let your fear consume you, Sora."

"...Why are you helping me?"

Yozora grinned at that, winking at me as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not? You desperately wish for me to be the villain, mirroring this society's black-and-white view of everything. I'm not the monster you want me to be, or the monster Nanao tries to make me out to be."

"You killed the Eleventh!" I shouted at him. "How many more people did you kill just because? Don't make it sound like you have a greater purpose in life! All you want to do is cause chaos, you're a deranged psychopath!"

"And is that the impression you've gotten of me, or your pre-conceived idea of me thanks to what Nanao has told you?" Yozora asked me, all trace of humour in his voice long gone as he took a few steps towards me. "Go on, look into my eyes. I'll deactivate my Quirk, after all the eyes are the window to the soul. Tell me what you see, is it the eyes of a madman that Nanao is claiming? Or is it something else?"

I…

His eyes were normal.

If anything, looking at them reminded me of my own eyes.

We had the same colour of eyes after all.

Perhaps it was an act, perhaps I was fooled, but I couldn't see the madness Nanao was describing him with. All I saw was a sad and lonely man, a gaze that I was all too familiar with.

One you can't fake.

"Nanao didn't tell you the truth about what happened between us, did she?" Yozora asked me.

"She said you killed the Eleventh for whatever reason and fucked off," I replied. "And here you are. Causing chaos and she's left to chase you to bring you to justice."

"I see. So she lied to you then." Yozora shook his head. What?!

"Why the hell would she lie to me?"

"Why wouldn't she? Nanao doesn't care about you, she cares about me. I'm the target of her obsession, I'm the one she wants dead. After all, we both killed the Eleventh," Yozora laughed at that, but unlike his previous laughter, this time it had a touch of sadness buried within it. "Nanao just wants to get rid of me so she's the 'justice' in our situiation. She believes in the idea of victors justice, and so if she beats me, whatever she did that helped caused the Eleventh's death was erased. Nanao becomes 'just.' Fucked up, right?"

"What do you mean? How did she… How did Nanao kill the Eleventh?"

"It's simple, Sora," Yozora replied, pointing once again to the sky above us. "We were on the run from All For One after having escaped from him, thanks to your mother of course, but we'll get to that later. For three kids to survive, we had to do some shady shit. But the Eleventh, now they were a real child. Compared to me or Nanao, they loved My Hero Academia. Truly, their stories about this world made Nanao and I appreciate this world more. But they wanted to be a hero, to such a degree that they would sell Nanao and me out to get that chance."

"So you killed him?"

"Simply put, yes. If we were caught, word would find its way to All For One like it usually did. And Nanao and I would go back to being experimented on, day in and day out. So before the Eleventh's plan could go through, I killed him. Nanao was complacent, but the shock of allowing me to kill him, just a small kid two years younger than her… broke her. Nanao has always been righteous. I think even in her past life she was a detective, and so the fact that we killed for our own survival made her hate me. Hate what we did."

"If she was complacent, then why does she want to kill you so badly? To gain justice over you? Something doesn't add up!" If what Yozora was saying was true, then how come one piece was missing? There was something that neither he nor Nanao was telling me! Something else has to be driving Nanao forwards!

"Oh, that," I looked up at Yozora in surprise. Was he going to tell me? "I thought it was obvious, but I guess not. Sora, the relationship Nanao and I have… had, is complex. I wouldn't say we loved each other, but we cared for each other deeply. I'm sure a part of her wants to beat me, to show me who's really better. To put me away out of the care she has for the old, innocent me. Maybe for a reason that I know not, but that's the 'truth' from my side. Maybe Nanao will call me a liar, but since you're hunting me down you deserve to know some of the truth."

I…

He…

Nanao…

"Why tell me this?"

I wanted to know.

This changes everything.

It changes nothing.

"It was your decision to ask me about what happened to the Eleventh. Your curiosity got the better of you, so don't blame me. I only gave you what you wanted. If you aren't satisfied with the truth, with the outcome of your decisions, then that's not on me."

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up.

Shut up!

Shut up!

SHUT UP!

SHUT UP!

"Sora, why do you keep rejecting yourself?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed, pulling out my sword once more. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to completely kill him. I wanted there to be nothing left of his body! But Yozora shook his head, completely ignoring me. I lunged at him, ready to slit his throat, grinning as a small amount of blood was drawn-,

Poof.

"You know, you'll never beat me if I don't want you to," Yozora told me amused as he sat down on me, his eyes were now orange. "My clones are pretty cool, they always catch people off guard. But it doesn't matter, not when you tried to kill me. I saw that, Sora. I can't believe it, not when you just told me a few minutes ago that you'd never kill anyone. What do you have to say about this?"

"It wasn't-, I just-,"

"Tsk, tsk. It was you, Sora. Those other sides of you aren't just the spirit of 'Sora Yamazaki' or a fractured part of you, it's combined with you. It is you. It's not a different person, even if you want to believe it. But you'll never accept that fact. Because to accept a bloodthirsty monster that just tried to slit my throat would be the same as admitting you don't deserve to be loved and why would you do that? You truly are the most interesting, and most selfish person I've ever come across." Yozora smirked, before devolving into maniacal laughter.

"You're crazy. I'm going to murder you. I won't! I will!" I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth, and my head was in so much pain I wanted to smack it against the ground repeatedly to knock myself out.

ARGH!

GET OUT!

"Sora, you know what my dear old dad said to me once? 'What's the point of living if you can't enjoy risking your life.' He ended up passing away when I was eight, and along came his death were so many problems. You wouldn't understand even if I told you, but I never understood his advice. Not until after I had died myself, that's when it really hit me. In this world, in any world, men like us are always trapped. We can never be free, not until we break our chains. Not until we live the way we want to."

Yozora paused as his Quirk deactivated, and he pulled out a packet of cigarettes, putting not only one in his mouth but one in mine as well as he stood up.

"Do you smoke?"

"I'm sixteen."

"Who gives a shit," He replied, throwing me the whole packet as he lighted not just his, but my cigarette as well. "Take it. It's good stress relief, whenever you feel like murdering someone just light one up. It'll help a bit, but don't use it as a crutch. It's an invasion of your mind, of your senses, something only you can solve. Talking to your pretty girlfriend might help as well, Sora."

I took a drag myself and began coughing before I cleared my throat.

This tasted…

Awful.

But good at the same time.

"You know I can't talk about this with her."

Yozora shook his head as he took a long drag.

"Kyoka Jiro is already keyed in. Not only does she know about you having multiple Quirks, but she's already keyed into the fact that All For One must be related to your mother and the fact that she knows about your sibling. I don't know what goes on in that head of hers, but you can definitely talk to her about this. She's seen you lose control before, she knows that it's you. But if you don't want to talk to her about this, Tokage would help."

"You know Tokage-,"

"Of course," Yozora replied, amused. "Why wouldn't I know about the daughter of the woman that experimented on me every day for so many years? You know, when I heard she died, it did put a smile on my face. I hope that bitch is rotting in hell."

"If you even touch one hair on Tokage, I'll-,"

"Relax," Yozora interrupted me, putting his arms up in defence. "I didn't kill her mother, but my money's on All For One. And I won't harm Tokage for what her mother did, children should never be punished for the crimes their parents committed." His eyes gained a hard edge to them as he said that, which made me curious to press on, but I knew better than to do that.

"So what, are you trying to convince me that you're a good guy?"

Yozora scoffed.

"A good guy? Personally I don't give a shit. I understand that I'm wrong, that I'm evil. But I also know that I'm following in my ancestor's footsteps, in our ancestor's footsteps. Cavemen brutally murdered each other for fun, because no one could stop them. And no one can stop me. The reason I'm a 'villain' is because I can be. I don't care for a noble goal like changing society. Like saving everyone by becoming the bad guy they fear. Under this night sky, I'm free to do whatever I want. And I want others to join me in this fun."

What…?

"What would happen if others learned we died before? Wouldn't people be happy that death isn't the end? Would there still be any good in people, knowing that they can murder anyone and they'll be virtually free? That nothing would happen? What are humanity's base desires, that's what I want to find out! But that can only happen if everyone involved in our little game plays their part. It's fun, knowing that I'm risking my life with this game." Yozora threw his cigarette on the floor, stepping on it as he ruffled my hair.

"You're insane. I'll stop you, we all will."

"You'll stop me, hm? That's funny. Why are humans sane in the first place? Nothing matters really, society is man-made. It's not something this world created. What makes a hero a 'hero'? Their ability for compassion? Because that won't make you a hero, but you can save others. That, therefore, makes you a hero, but Stain will disagree with me on this. So then by this logic, why go and retaliate against me? Why try to stop me? Not everyone wants to stop me, I may be going against this society, but when have humans not gone against society?"

Yozora laughed as he pointed at the moon.

"That thing up in the sky, so beautiful. So… pure. Isn't it fate that the moon directly opposes the sun, the ying to its yang? I'm the sins of humanity, I'm the karma of our society itself. By going against me, someone who needed help and didn't get any, aren't you going against the society you're supposed to protect? All the history that society has, and the soil that was made because of the evil our society has created? You'll go against that? You're proving me completely right, that ultimately this is pointless. That we should just do what we want because that is fate. That is our truth."

"You aren't anything like that."

"Really? Do you think so? Because I know that I'm right, Nanao knows that I'm right on this. Zero, All For One, Tokage and her mother, and everyone involved with us know that it's true. Only you are the one opposing me, but you'll never be 'good'. Because a good person not only accepts themselves and is good, someone who accepts the sins of the past and still chooses to be good. You can't do that, because you actively look away from the past, and you don't accept yourself. And that in it itself is evil, humanity's base desire is being evil."

"What sort of twisted logic are you using?" I shouted at him, yet I couldn't bring myself to fight him. No, Yozora had no interest in fighting me. That was what was so annoying, so frustrating. That I couldn't do anything. I took another drag from the cigarette, letting the smoke fill my lungs before I released it, trying my hardest not to cough while doing so.

It helped.

It made it worse.

It's making me feel better.

I feel the same.

"Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, Sora. We started off from sin, and that in turn makes our very existence a sin itself. And our sins have borne fruit in me, the karma of humanity. Humans allowed me to be born and allowed me to turn out this way. No one stopped me from being evil, I knew I was evil, and I didn't stop. But what's worse, the kid that needs help and doesn't get it, or the adults that knew he was evil and didn't bother trying to help him? The adults that turned him down, over and over. The adults that made his life hell. Once again, humanity is at fault."

I couldn't reply.

It was more accurate to say that I didn't know how to respond to that.

"I don't expect you, or need you to understand. This game doesn't need that from you, all it needs is your participation - Which is guaranteed. By going after me, you are doing what you truly want. You're giving in to your base desires, and whatever the outcome of your actions will be is entirely, and unequivocally, you. Tick, tick, tick. Your decisions are so interesting because when you explode the fallout will be immense. Either you'll regret everything, or there won't be anyone left to have regrets for."

"I won't… That'll-,"

"Never happen? Perhaps so, perhaps you'll truly become 'good.' You can take me down, but you'll never defeat me. Because to defeat me is to accept the sins of our past, to accept yourself." I blinked and Yozora had disappeared from my sight, with him standing on top of the building in front of me.

"I don't have a lighter for these," I shouted, waving the packet of cigarettes around in the air. There was no point in chasing after him, especially now that I knew he could make clones.

I didn't want to chase after him.

"You don't need my lighter. Just go to a store and buy one, it's easy. Or rob it. But for now, I shall bid you adieu, the world keeps evolving with or without us after all. I don't know if you know Spinner, he's a lizard man that loves Stain. He's my personal assistant, and he was supposed to have called me by now, and usually, that doesn't bode well. He's an idiot, but he's a hard worker. Anyways, I'm going to go now. But you know," Yozora chuckled to himself, "If you want a name for your sword, Hangetsu would be good."

Half-moon?

"Why's that?"

"Apart from the shape of your blade, it's because of your heart. Half of it can be seen, and the other half is something you want to bury - Even if it exists and is part of you. But the name is up to you, it is your blade after all. But do make a good decision with the name, it would be a shame if you gave such a beautiful blade a bad name."

"Wait!" I yelled just before he left. I had to ask about her. "What about… what about my mother? What do you know about her?"

"Ah… Yukari Aotsuki. You know, I had a crush on her when I was younger. She always held a soft spot for us, even as she experimented on us for days on end," Yozora joked before he shrugged his shoulders. "She's alive and well. In fact, she even lives in this city. But you'll find her no problem, she looks the same as ever. But let's talk about a much more interesting subject. I assume Zero told you all about your sibling, did he?"

I gulped, before nodding.

"Great. You know, from what I saw of the kid, they looked a lot like your mother. Blonde hair, gold eyes. It's a shame what happened to them, really I do mean it. Another victim made by All For One's cruelty - And I'm including you and everyone else in this as well, we've all suffered under his rule. And now he's dead. I can't get my revenge on him anymore, but you can sure as hell bet that I'm going to dedicate this requiem to his rotting corpse!" Yozora yelled madly. "I'll destroy every single plan he ever had, I'll show him what he truly created!"

"What other plans? He's a corpse!"

"True, but All For One still lives on. Through Shigaraki. You might be friends with Zero now, but I don't care if I kill him to destroy Shigaraki," Yozora paused, his expression softening as he looked down upon me. "I feel sorry for you, Sora. Out of everyone here, you and Zero have had the hardest lives. I might not know who Zero really is, but I know enough about him. Even if you are a part of my game, you could always leave. That way you stay true to yourself, and you win the game. A storm is coming, one that'll test us all - And I'm sure you don't want anyone to be hurt by what's coming."

…

"I'll…"

Do I even have a right to say that?

Why not?

Do I even want to fight anymore?

I'm afraid.

I'm weak.

I ain't gonna give up.

I have no right in giving up.

"I'll protect everyone, the way I always have!" I shouted at Yozora, who smiled at me from his position on top of the building.

"Cute. Just don't get torn apart by the weather. It's a terrible time for rain… But you know, life doesn't always work that way," Yozora turned his back to me, and I could only faintly hear his voice. "Sometimes the way you do things doesn't work anymore, sometimes you have to change. I wonder, Sora Yamazaki, will you change, or will you resist it to your dying breath?"

And with that, Yozora disappeared once again.

I sighed, finishing off my cigarette as I waited outside the building.

What a prick.

Tell me about it.

...

Oi, stop thinking about his words.

How can I not?

Because he's a bastard.

He's also right.

In what way?!

You'll never understand because you don't want to understand.

You are your own worst enemy.

Eventually, Aizawa found his way to me, but not without looking at me curiously. He could smell the stench of cigarettes in the air, not to mention the fact that I was still holding the box of cigarettes in my hands. He didn't seem to particularly care, if he did he would have already taken them off my hands by now.

"Did you smoke?" He asked me, a small grin tugging on his face.

"Yeah," I replied tiredly. "I did."

"You know technically I could kick you out of U.A. for smoking."

"And technically, I could put you in prison for working with criminals as a hero."

"And what if you say you saw nothing? And what if I buy a lighter and it magically ends up in your pillow? Or Yaoyorozu is distracted with work, so your girlfriend can go spend a night in your room? Or I say that smoking helps your Quirk?"

I raised my eyebrows at that.

"Well, maybe I hit my head extremely hard on a wall and forgot all about today."

Aizawa sat down next to me, patting my back as he pulled out his own pack of cigarettes and started smoking next to me. At first, I wanted to protest, but honestly, I was so tired. Today had been eventful, to say the least, and even Aizawa looked to have aged a couple of years.

"Aizawa, I…"

"It's fine. I understand, I reacted the same way you did when my mentor showed me the fact that he worked with the Yakuza to catch criminals and get information. It's not right, it's a sin that our society allows in order to keep balance. I wish I could change it, I really do, but it's not up to me," He paused, turning around to point directly at me. "But you? You're entire generation? You can do it. So don't give up on hope, Sora. Because your eyes look more and more like mine with every passing second."

I…

"If I smoke in my room, will the fire alarms go off?"

"Yes, but if you do it in the kitchen you should be fine. It's a nasty habit, but one I've been indulging in for over a decade. You know, it was your father that introduced me to these. It's funny how now I'm the one encouraging you to smoke - if it's what you want to do of course. Considering you have a Quirk that heals you, I doubt that smoking will damage your lungs. Really, it's just the smell that's off-putting."

I laughed at that.

"So does that mean you'll buy me a packet, uncle?"

"I'll think about it."

---

Tokage sat beside me in the usual cafe where we met Nanao.

She was confused as to why I called for an emergency meeting and why I was currently smoking a cigarette in front of her. I was right, smoking doesn't leave a health impact on me, which was great. What wasn't great was the fact that I was down to my last three cigarettes only after a few days, so I savoured this 'ciggy' for as long as I could.

"So, you smoke now?"

"Drink too," I added. Bakugo and I were always trying to do shots while Yaoyorozu and Iida weren't looking… well, Iida usually joined us. But I wasn't going to tell Tokage that fact.

"And you don't invite me? You know, I'd love to get in a drinking competition with you."

"Sorry, I don't want to ruin my liver. Please, never drink with me. Ever." Knowing how competitive Tokage was, she probably would make the two of us ruin our livers. Well hers, mine would probably be fine. Hopefully.

"Why are we here today?"

It was a week and a half away from Halloween, September and basically, October had run past us. It had been a couple of weeks since I met Yozora, and I had finally gathered up the courage to ask for the three of us to meet. It wasn't like I believed what Yozora had said to me, but I had to ask for Nanao's story.

Hopefully, Yozora was lying to me and was banking on me not asking Nanao about it so our little group would break up, and he would be able to do as he pleased.

"Smoking at sixteen? You really are a 'bad boy' delinquent type, aren't you?" I heard Nanao joke as she sat down at our table. "Did you know smoking kills?"

"We are all gonna' die one day, so who cares," I replied. "And it looks cool."

"It doesn't look 'cool'. And while it's true we are all going to die one day, and considering our circumstances, I really don't think any of us sitting at this table is afraid of death." Nanao added.

"I don't know, Sora seems like he's afraid of dying without having sex. What a virgin, right Nanao?"

"Now, now, Tokage. It's not fair to blame Sora for being a virgin, we should be blaming the true issue here, his performance problems," Nanao smirked at me, before taking my cigarette from my mouth and placing it on the ashtray. "I hate smoking, so could you please not smoke in my presence? Thank you."

"I'll try not to next time."

Tokage sighed, pulling me in a headlock as she ruffled my hair. It took a lot of willpower from me not to snap and throw her off me, but then Tokage would probably try and force Nanao to arrest me for assault. And knowing Nanao, she'd probably go along with Tokage's 'prank'...

Do I know Nanao?

I frowned at that.

Of course, I do!

Do I know her? Or a front that she puts up?

I…

"Why the sour face?" Nanao asked me.

"I-, uh, well-,"

Just be truthful…

Shut up! What if she hates me for going straight to the point?!

As opposed to walking around it, going straight to the point makes it easier for everyone.

Fine, fine.

"I met Yozora three weeks ago," I told Nanao and Tokage, "And, well, he said a lot of things to me. About his goals, how he feels, and about you. About what happened between you two and the Eleventh."

"What… what did he say?"

"That you helped kill the eleventh. And that all this," I pointed at Tokage and myself, "Is just a way for you to feel less guilty about what happened. To wash your hands of the crimes you committed, the crimes you allowed him to commit. That perhaps, you're going after him because you love him."

Nanao didn't reply, she refused to make eye contact with me as she sighed heavily.

"Hold up, you're seriously going to trust what Yozora says?" Tokage asked me, confused. "Sora, he's a villain. He could be using you to break our group apart."

"I know that, but if he was going to do so, then why the hell would he tell me something so… Nanao, was he telling the truth? Did you help kill the Eleventh?" C'mon, Yozora had to be lying.

He just had to be!

"I didn't mean it," Nanao replied meekly, a far cry from her usual tone of voice. "It wasn't-, He was going to-, I just…"

"What do you mean 'you didn't mean it?'" Tokage asked her, confused. I saw that look in her eye - hurt - and tried to stop her from saying what she was about to say. But she brushed off my attempts, glaring at Nanao. "Oh I'm sorry, I forgot that you can murder people and get away with it because you 'didn't mean it.' I'm sure it'll hold up in a court of law, maybe you and your boyfriend will share a cell together. How romantic, it's making my heart swoon."

"He's not my boyfriend," Nanao nearly shouted at her. "And it was an accident! You weren't there, the Eleventh tried to do something stupid. I tried to stop him, but he didn't want to listen. That's when Yozora… It's complicated between me and him, alright? A little girl like you that knows nothing shouldn't even be speaking-,"

"Oh, I'm the little girl now?! Why don't you come over and say that to my face-,"

"Guys," I cut in, "Can we just relax for a moment? We are supposed to be helping-,"

"Has she been helping us? Or using us? Because Sora, I know that the reason this meeting is happening three weeks after you met Yozora again is that you've been asking yourself the same question," Tokage shook her head, not managing to hide her scoff. "What else have you been hiding? Go on, spill."

"Oh you have no idea, isn't that right Sora?" Nanao laughed at Tokage. I sighed, inevitably I would have been dragged into this - I regretted ever bringing Nanao and Tokage together. They were like oil and water, they simply couldn't mix.

"What's she talking about?"

"Nothing-," I tried lying to her, but Nanao ever being the hothead, clicked her tongue at me.

"Come on Sora, shouldn't we stop lying to her? Because if she wants the truth, then she needs to be prepared for the consequences, isn't that right?"

"What's she talking about? Sora? We're friends, right? I trust you, and you trust me, right?" Tokage asked me, and I could see how desperate she was. She wanted to believe that I was her friend.

It's a shame how I've acted, it only shows that I care for myself.

I don't care if my decisions impact others so long as

"The truth hurts. It can break you." Was my only reply, and I immediately felt guilty as Tokage's face dropped. Any hope she had in me disappeared when she realised that I was lying to her.

"Come on Sora, don't you think she deserves it?"

Once again, Tokage stared at me. Her eyes opened, hoping that I'd tell her the truth, but even I could see that she didn't believe that I'd do so. Tch. I glared at Nanao, refusing to answer.

Who the hell does she think she is?!

"No," Was my response. "But learning the truth can help people grow, right Nanao?"

What are you doing?

Who does Nanao think she's talking to?!

Sora, you need to stop before you-,

I can make my own damn decisions!

"Sora, you aren't planning on-," I cut Nanao off by turning to Tokage, and told her everything.

"Your mother wasn't a prisoner. She was one of the main doctors that experimented on all the other numbers along with my mother. They were partners. Your mother helped to bring us all into this world, she even experimented on her soon-to-be daughter. You. Your mother was probably murdered by All For One for being a loose end, or maybe because she was just flat-out insane."

I watched as Tokage went through a wide range of emotions.

Sadness, anger, disappointment and disgust.

"You lied to me. About this?"

"...yeah."

I didn't even flinch when Tokage slammed her hand against the table in anger. We were lucky we were sat in the corner of the cafe, where no one could hear us, our arguments or Tokage's outburst.

"I'm going now." She whispered.

"Wait, Tok-,"

"Don't," She cut me off coldly. "Just don't. You lied to me for months, I thought we were supposed to be friends. If this is what it means to be a part of your 'carefree tomorrow', I'd rather not be a part of it. You know something funny, out of everyone I know, I would never have thought that you would be the one to hurt me the most. I was right, you're just a fool with nothing special about you. Goodbye… Sora."

Huh?

Goodbye?

"What do you mean by that?"

She didn't reply.

"Tokage? Tokage?! What do you mean by that?"

No response.

"Tokage-,"

I tried to get up from the table and follow after her, but Nanao stopped me. Shaking her head, she grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to my chair. I stared at her incredulously, why couldn't I go after her?!

"Sora… she said goodbye. You know what that means, right?"

What?

"No, she's just joking. I know her, she wouldn't-, I mean it happened so fast-, She can't have made that decision," I smiled at Nanao for worrying me like that. "Everything's fine-,"

"Stop acting like a bumbling idiot for a second. Drop your act, because you aren't fooling anyone. Not even yourself. Just give her some space for a week or two, and then everything will be cleared up."

"You think it's that easy?"

"It was your decision, Yamazaki. To not only lie to her, but to tell her the truth as well. This is on you, not me!" Nanao's temper flared as she scoffed at me. "What else did Yozora say?"

"Nothing." I lied to her.

"Yamazaki, I'm not kidding around anymore. He's a dangerous psychopath-,"

"He's also someone that's been hurt. I saw it in his eyes, Nanao, I saw how lonely and hurt he was." It was the exact same eyes I saw whenever I looked in the mirror, and it scared me.

"He's lying and manipulating you-,"

"Like you are with me?" I cut her off, annoyed.

How dare she?

Sora… relax for a second before you do something that you regret-,

"You're the reason why Tokage's hurt right now! My decisions? You forced me to make them, it's not my fault at all! I'm the innocent one here! Not only that, but you lied to us about the truth as to why you even want us to beat Yozora. Justice? Tch, what a fucking lie. You were just using us for your own satisfaction. Just leave me alone, I never want to see you ever again."

I'm done.

Sora-,

I said I'm done.

I ignored Nanao's attempts to try and speak to me, I ignored her pleas and cries that she needed me, and I was done.

That's my decision.

My decision to continue sinking further and further into the abyss.

---

"Sora, stop smoking in the kitchen!" Yaoyorozu shouted at me.

"It's for my Quirk." I replied, hiding my grin as she threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"It's not good for you!"

I took a drag from my cigarette, smoke filled my lungs for a few seconds before I exhaled it all in her face. It was sort of cute how she started to cough immediately and glared at me so coldly I swore that it almost felt like killing intent. Almost.

"Yaomomo, it's no use arguing with him," Mina said from beside her. "Plus, don't you think smoking looks good on men? Like it adds a certain aesthetic, don't you think?"

"No, I don't! Smoking is extremely harmful to the body, with substances that Sora definitely doesn't recognise, not to mention the effects it has and the people around them commonly referred to as second-hand smokers-,"

"It's for my Quirk." I repeated once more, causing Yaoyorozu to just sigh in response. She had given up on trying to reason with me. It reminded me of…

Tokage and I.

I frowned at just thinking about her, and Yaoyorozu and Mina realised that I wasn't in the mood to talk as they walked over to the couch and discussed our homework due in for next week. I opened up my phone, hoping to see a message from her, but there was none. She had blocked me on everything, and she was avoiding me completely in school. Even Monoma was trying his hardest to help me patch things back up with her, but it wasn't helping at all. No matter how many times I tried to talk to her, nothing was working… I sighed, shaking my head as I grabbed my keys sitting on the counter.

"Where are you going?"

I didn't face whoever asked me that question as I pointed at the door. Maybe I'd see her if I walked near her dorms. Wait, isn't that just harassment? I sighed, tucking my hands into my pockets as I walked around campus with a cigarette in my mouth. I really had to hand it to Aizawa, he actually did tell all the teachers it was for my Quirk, something about 'controlling' it or whatever.

And he did buy me a lighter.

I think it was because he really did feel bad about what happened.

And do you feel bad about what happened with Tokage?

I… yeah, I did. But it was also Nanao's fault-,

You don't understand, do you?

I kicked a pebble in front of me in anger. It was always 'you don't understand and never actually told me what was the problem.

"Sora?"

I turned around to face Jiro, she was holding a few AEON bags filled to the brim with food. Uraraka and Midoriya were trailing behind her, holding a few more bags. Huh. They had done the food shopping for the entire house for the next two weeks, or what would probably last a single week before we all begged Aizawa to order us takeaway for the next week before everyone went back home for the weekend only for us to repeat the same cycle once more.

"Yo." I waved at them.

"What did I say about doing this?" Before I could reply, Jiro plucked my cigarette from my mouth and threw it on the floor, stepping on it for good measure. I silently lamented the loss of my precious death stick, realising I only had one left from the packet Yozora gave me. "Smoking is a bad habit!"

"Yeah, yeah," Maybe Aizawa would buy me another pack if I asked nicely. "You got it, boss. I'll stop doing the bad habit right away!" There was no way in hell that I was going to stop, and Jiro knew it as her eyes softened.

"Hey, can you guys give me a few moments alone with him?" She turned around and asked Midoriya and Uraraka, who nodded readily. They even took Jiro's bags off her which was nice. "Thanks. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Hey! I last a lot longer than that!" I joked, causing her to elbow me in the ribs.

"Idiot. Don't joke about something like that!" She was flustered by my comment, but she was also trying her hardest not to laugh at how red Uraraka and Midoriya were by that comment. After they left, the two of us walked around until we found an empty bench and sat down on it. "What's been bugging you lately, Sora?"

"You know, this and that," I replied. "But it's fine, honestly. No need to worry about it."

"Really? You're going to try that trick on me?"

"Well you already know, don't you? Considering Kaminari couldn't keep his big mouth shut, everyone in the school knows that Tokage is not talking to me anymore. There really isn't anything else to add to it, especially considering you've probably figured out why she isn't speaking to me anymore."

"Why would I have figured it out already?"

"Because you're like the smartest person I know… behind Yaoyorozu, Midoriya and myself of course." I grinned at her expression, I knew just what buttons to push. "Nah but for real, it's because you're the only one that knows. Jiro, I… I've di-,"

No.

I stopped myself before I could finish the sentence.

It wasn't a Quirk, it wasn't anything that All For One had put on me.

Yozora was right, Jiro was keyed into the secret somehow.

And yet I still couldn't tell her the truth.

"Sora?"

"Tokage and I were working together. To find out the truth behind our births, as to why I have more than one, you know, and the truth broke me," Jiro squeezed my hand, an oddly comforting action. "I didn't want it to break her too. So Nanao convinced me to lie to her, but I couldn't. I told Tokage the truth, and now I'm the bad guy."

"You sound like you don't think you're in the wrong here."

I'm not.

I am.

"It's Nanao's fault, not mine," I mumbled. "She forced me to do it."

"Really now? I mean that's fair enough, but it was still your decision. Either way, you still feel guilty right? That you hurt Tokage's feelings." I didn't reply, and I didn't need to. The silence was my answer, and she knew it as she leaned her head on my shoulder whilst humming softly. It was soothing, and she knew it worked as she laughed softly. "Just give her space. You two are good friends, you clearly trust each other a lot. She's just hurt right now. But I thought you learnt your lesson, Sora."

"Not to lie to others I call friends?"

She shook her head.

"Not to make decisions when it concerns other people's best interests. You thought it was in your best interest not to tell us about the attack on our summer camp until it happened, and look at what happened! You tried to leave 1A without telling all of us in the class first, and look at how that turned out! And now you tried to lie to Tokage to protect her, but you only hurt her. I think you underestimate your friends-, No, that's not right. You want to protect us so much that it eventually suffocates us."

Just like how I'm suffocating, drowning in the endless abyss.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked her.

"Well, for some people it can be cosy, for others, it can be annoying. We aren't made of glass, but at the same time, we are heroes. I have no doubt that soon we'll all be thrust into situations that we weren't prepared for, and we'll have to rely on each other to get by. Like we've always done. Having you around to always help us is good, but it can lead to someone over-relying on you. To someone wanting you to solve their every problem while still being weak, and that only hurts you."

"Why do you sound so bitter when saying that?"

"Because that's exactly what happened to me," Jiro answered. "I've always thought I wasn't good enough. But with you around, I used you as a crutch to make my own problems disappear. My own self-doubts. But I see what I have to do now, to really become a better version of myself."

"And what's that?" I asked her, curious.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

"Stop being a tease and tell me."

"Nope!" Jiro replied, flicking my nose.

"Ow!" Bloody fucking hell, that hurt like a bitch-,

"Oh, and since we are, you know, uhm… are you free this Wednesday?"

Huh?

"Uh, yeah?" I think so.

God, I hope so.

"So I was thinking, maybe you and I could, you know, go do something together."

"Like a date?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Sweet! I'm in!"

Jiro beamed at that.

"Great. It's a date."

---

I sighed.

October Thirty First.

The worst day of the year.

And it wasn't because I forgot to get a Halloween costume. Well, partly, but it was also because everyone wanted to have a party for Halloween. And Sero, being the idiot he is, invited everyone in our year group to our house. Thank fuck I was on the top floor because if someone was going to vomit in a toilet, it wasn't going to be mine. Well, every floor had two toilets.

One for all the boys on the floor, and one for all the girls.

It was extremely massive, almost as large as a bedroom. It had one super large sink, multiple cupboards, a big toilet, a shower and a bathtub. I was lucky that I shared it with Todoroki and Sero who were super clean, especially considering Kamainari couldn't piss straight it meant that our bathroom never had any problems. Plus, I always had a shower at like two in the morning so I didn't have to worry about Todoroki or Sero wanting to go in.

And the best part was that even if someone was going to vomit, they would vomit on the first floor!

No wonder Mineta looked like he wanted to jump off a bridge.

As for my costume for this shitty night, I was wearing a simple white checkered shirt, black trousers and my trainers. It didn't seem like much, and it wasn't, but Jiro told me I could use her fake blood and pretend I was a vampire. I still had no idea what she was going to dress up as. A part of me wanted her to wear something… revealing, purely so I could show her off to Mineta, Kaminari and any fuck who was looking to make move on her tonight.

I was impatient, however.

I walked up to the third floor and knocked on Jiro's door. I could hear chatter inside, so maybe Hagakure was over? I knocked once more. And again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.

"What do you want?!" Mina popped her head out ever so slightly, her head was tilted upwards so her face sheets wouldn't slide off her face onto the ground. "Oh, it's just you. Come on in!" Before I could even reply, Mina grabbed my arm and whisked me inside Jiro's room.

Every girl in the house was in the room, getting ready for our party.

Well, no one was in costume yet.

Mina was still in her pyjamas as she squeezed herself between Yaoyorozu and Jiro, taking the best place in the room. Her bed. I clicked my teeth in annoyance, but at least I got to sit on the spinny chair in Jiro's room, as everyone else was sitting on the floor.

All of the other girls were also wearing face sheets, which sort of did creep me out.

"Sora! My honey boo! What's been going on in your life?" Mina asked me very loudly. I helped myself to one of the coke cans on Jiro's desk, along with a pack of sweets that I had brought her earlier this day.

You snooze, you lose.

"We spoke today in maths? Don't you remember?"

"Nope."

I sighed.

"I don't have a Halloween costume."

"How horrible!" Mina yelled dramatically.

"Blasphemous!" Hagakure added.

"We did warn you in advance…" Uraraka told me.

"I asked if you wanted to borrow my Jason mask and you said no, kero." Tsuyu said.

"I think that what Sora should take away from this conversation is that he should not procrastinate-," Yaoyorozu was interrupted as Jiro pressed play on her phone, and her speakers started to blast rock music very loudly. It was sorta funny in a slapstick way, with Mina and Jiro wrestling over control of the music. Eventually, Mina pinched Jiro in the arse which made her squeal and which made me very interested, causing her to win control over the phone.

"Haha! I win! Now let's change this shit to good music!"

"Mina, you will not play R&B in my room!" Jiro yelled fiercely.

"Why not?"

"I was corrupting Momo with The Pillows-,"

"I'd hardly call it 'corrupting' you know," Yaoyorozu interjected, "I'm merely broadening my musical palette. All I've known for the majority of my life is classical music after all."

Mina and Hagakure sighed.

"That's exactly why I have to broaden it! Not with Jiro's devil music, not with Sora's gangsta rap which by the way sounds terrible. Honestly, it's sad that you and Kaminari know the full lyrics to so many rap songs."

"Oi! I'll have you know that if ya' don't come from the lifestyle, ya' can't comment on it! Beeeeech!" We all laughed at how stupid I sounded. But personally, trying to do a really shit English accent was harder than it actually sounded, especially if you spoke it fluently like I did.

"There is no way we are playing rap or rock at the party. EDM and R&B only, because I know for a fact that outside of Hagakure and I, you all have never been to a house party before." I opened my mouth to try and protest before I realised how futile it actually was.

"What song is this?" Yaoyorozu asked Mina, who smirked at Jiro as she replied.

"Starman by the Weekday-, Wait, Sora do you know all the lyrics for this song?!"

Shit.

She caught me…

"Uh, yeah?" Jumping up from her seat, Mina forced me to stand up and gave me a fake microphone.

"Sing! Sing! Sing!" She said, jumping up and down like a child on Christmas day.

"I'm good thanks."

"No, you have to sing! If you don't, then you have to drink that!" She pointed to an open bottle of vodka with a few shot glasses next to it. "And if you don't sing it properly, then we decide that you have to drink a shot!"

I turned to look at Jiro, only for me to realise that she was drunk. She was swaying left and right, not to mention she attempted to sing the song with me, only she butchered it completely slurring all the words.

"Just how much have you had to drink?" I asked Uraraka, who raised up two fingers.

"Two shots?!"

Tsuyu shook her head, pointing to one empty bottle next to Jiro's bin.

Oh.

Oh.

"Alright, get ready," I replied, grabbing the bottle as well as the speaker and Jiro's phone, despite the girl's complaints. "Shut up already. I'm just taking this downstairs so everyone can start drinking. Sero and Kaminari managed to steal one of Aizawa's beers and gave everyone a quarter of a cup thinking it would be enough to get us drunk if we drank it very slowly. We need this. Anyways, how the hell did you manage to bring two bottles of vodka to our dorm?!"

"It's three actually," Hagakure replied. "There's another unopened one in my room. I can go get it for you since I'm basically ready. And so is Tsuyu. It's only Mina, Ochako and Kyoka that need to get ready, but even then it'll only take like twenty minutes. Just go get my bottle in my room and head downstairs, I'll help them out to get changed. Unless you want to help your girlfriend get changed?"

I didn't reply.

God damn it.

If Jiro wasn't drunk, I'd totally take her up on that offer!

But I'm a man!

A real man!

---

Dates.

I was so anxious about my first date with Jiro that I was currently on the phone with my father.

"Sora, just be yourself. That's how it went with Hinata and me, and look at us. Seventeen years of marriage. Listen, I've met Jiro so many times before, you don't have to do anything extra! Just be the same as always, maybe tone it down on the number of unfunny jokes you make, put some nice clothes and cologne on and maybe pay for the bill. If it's cheap pay for it, and I'll give you the money for it. If not, just split it. Oh and do not look at other girls!"

"Gee, thanks for the advice, Sherlock," I grumbled sarcastically. "Ugh, how do I tie a tie again? Wait, I got it!" My hands were getting clammy, and my room was suddenly getting hotter by the second. Was my window open? Maybe my radiator was turned on? I sighed, gulping down my last remaining one-point-five-litre water bottle, before turning back to face my phone.

"You know if she saw you like this, she'd laugh at you."

"No need to remind me."

"Your mother is out with her friends, and Miwa's not coming back until next Monday. So our house is free, you know, you two can stay over if you don't want to go back to the dorms."

"I have school tomorrow."

"And if you and Jiro are sick? Well, I can't allow two teenagers in my care to go to school if they are violently vomiting, now can I?"

"Shut up you old geezer! You just want to call your work and say you can't come in today because your son is sick!" I yelled at him, but it did help me calm down. "Tch, I'll think about it. But there is no way Jiro and I are sleeping in the same room!"

"Why not?"

"Dad?! Are you stupid? You are going to let two teenagers who are dating sleep in the same room without any guidence?!" Sure, Jiro and I have had sleepovers before, even after we moved into the dorm, but we knew full well that nothing would happen. Purely because of the fact that if we were loud, everyone would hear. And also the fact that the two of us weren't ready for 'it' yet!

"You are far too afraid to make the first move, and Jiro will never make it so I don't see the harm in it," Gekko grinned at the expression on my face. "Oh come on Sora, admit it won't you? You are afraid of making the first move."

"Am not!"

"You are. Remember, I basically raised you. Plus, I was too scared to make the first move as well. If it wasn't for Hinata basically telling me specifically what was going to happen, then we would never have dated in the first place." Ha. That reminded me of a certain green-haired girl… "Oh no, I know that look! Sora! Stop thinking of other girls thirty minutes before your date!"

"I wasn't-, How do you-, Piss off old man! Go watch some TV or something!"

"Haha. You have the same expression on your face as I do, you shitty brat. You're so lazy you even have to copy an old man! How un-creative are you? You know I'm surprised you can even write a manga like Bleach. At times I wonder how you of all people can create something like it."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't underestimate your son!"

"I wasn't underestimating you. I was overestimating how stupid you are to actually try and write a manga! I just didn't expect it to be a smash hit, despite its low quality." Huh?

"You think my manga isn't good?"

Gekko shook his head.

"I didn't say that. I said it's of low quality, for what I expect from you anyways. It's a brilliant manga, and props to your friend doing the artwork as it's really impressive. It's just, I don't know, some of the ideas that you had when you were younger, felt more creative. Maybe it's just me, but compared to your juvenile ideas when you were a child, Bleach just lacks the spark that makes it your story. But maybe that's just me." Gekko explained, shrugging his shoulders.

To be fair to him, Bleach wasn't my story.

"You liked the stories I tried to write when I was a kid?" I asked him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? A story about a wondering priest that can use magic with a haunting past which had the religion he follows basically train him up to be a child soldier was unique, even if it was disturbing. Not to mention it taking place in a continent that you created, with its own magic school that he'd eventually attend. You totally should have won that competition Hinata and I put you in by the way. I have no idea how some girl called Yui Kazuma could have won! She just wrote a shitty poem where she looked at a computer!"

I giggled at his antics.

"How can you remember something that happened eight years ago?"

"Why wouldn't I? You nearly won a national competition. I'm still proud of you either way for getting close enough, but you should have won. There was no other kid that wrote something as good as your short story."

"Bias much?"

"Not at all, I just see it how I see it," Gekko replied. "Anyways, I'm going to go now. Have fun with your date tonight, and you should definitely come over and stay the night. If not, call me and your mum tomorrow. We want to hear the details," He then gave me a thumbs-up. "Good night, boss! Love you!"

"Love you too dad, good night."

I ended the call, throwing my stupid tie to the floor.

There wasn't a need for a tie!

I was wearing a blue pair of jeans, and a grey shirt that was untucked along with the top button being undone. I grabbed my phone, keys and some chewing gum before heading out to my door and putting on my cleanest trainers. I was set for my date with Jiro. I closed my door, choosing to walk over to Sero's room and knock on his door loudly, before hiding behind the wall as I saw him open the door in confusion.

"Huh? Sora is that you? Fuck you, bastard!" He then slammed his door shut in anger, which was always great.

Wait, was I forgetting something?

Oh right!

I went back to my room and chose the most expensive perfume I had and used it twenty times on my top, and my neck. I then grabbed my lighter, even though I wasn't going to bring my one remaining cigarette with me, I still wanted to have it on me. Just in case. I then made my way downstairs, I still had around twenty-ish minutes before Jiro was supposed to come downstairs and meet with me. Then we would head out for whatever she had planned for us.

"Oh, there you are."

Coming up the stairs, Aizawa waved at me.

"Yo. Are you looking for me?"

"Here," Aizawa threw me something. It was a brand-new pack of cigarettes. "Don't smoke all of them in a week. I won't buy you another. Oh, and good luck with your date. Protection is the most important thing after all!" He sang, smiling as I glared at him.

Tch.

By the time I reached the kitchen, Jiro was already there. Wow. She wore trainers, black cargo trousers, a white top that I bought her ages ago, along with a black puffer jacket. I could even see that she did some makeup.

Simply put, she was stunning.

"W-what?"

"You look great," I told her. "Like really fucking good."

"You look good too."

"Just good?"

"You know what I mean," Jiro replied, "Stop being so pedantic."

"Fuck is that? A disease or something?"

"No. Just no."

She led the way as we left the dorm, the two of us waving at Bakugo and Midoriya as we saw them come back from a 'sparring' session. I didn't know how they did it, but they somehow had regular spars with the two of them actually acting like friends at times. Maybe I had more of an impact on their friendship than I thought.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked Jiro.

"Karaoke then food."

It was six, so we had time to do both.

"Which karaoke place? And what food?"

Jiro poked my cheeks in annoyance.

"Stop asking questions. I have everything planned, so don't worry your pretty little head about it, Sora."

"Why'd you plan everything? I could have helped."

"That would ruin the entire point of this date," She sighed. "Sora, you try to care of everything yourself. It's great, I love that. But there are times when I'm going to be the one to take care of you, alright? And this is one of these times. So just kick your feet up and relax, can you do that?"

Heh.

"Oh, one hundred per cent!" Without thinking, I opened the box Aizawa gave me. I also didn't miss the dirty look Jiro gave me, but she didn't say anything as I put a cigarette in my mouth and used my lighter on it. "Want to try it?" I asked her, amused by the look on her face.

"Will I die if I smoke it once?"

"Nah, you'll be fine."

Reluctantly, she took the cigarette off me and took a long drag from it. I was going to warn her, but she decided to be an idiot and rush straight ahead into doing it for the first time. Thus, it wasn't surprising when she started to cough violently, and I admit it was rather amusing for the first few seconds until she dropped the cigarette on the floor.

"Ah."

I dropped down to one knee, lamenting the loss of a brand-new cigarette. Fuck. No wonder I went through that many cigarettes in just a few weeks, especially when people like Jiro dropped them.

"Aren't you worried about me?!" Jiro asked me between her coughing fit.

"I'm more worried about what excuse I'm going to give Aizawa-sensei when I tell him I need another pack by the end of this week," I replied, putting another cigarette in my mouth and lighting it up. "These death sticks aren't cheap you know."

"How can you stand it?"

"To be honest, it's an acquired taste. Plus, I do look sorta cool while doing it."

"You really don't."

"I do."

"You look like a generic delinquent. Dyed hair, smoking cigarettes, and you've even roped an innocent girl like me to be swept up by you."

"Keep your Shojo romance manga dreams away from me, please. First of all, I wish my hair was dyed, secondly, cigars are way cooler than cigarettes but I haven't convinced Aizawa to buy me them yet. A good cigar whilst wearing a nice suit is like a combo you can't beat. And thirdly, I was swept up by you. You are the one that manipulated me into being your little boy toy-, Not that I'm little or anything!"

"Stop being so defensive about your height! It's not that bad."

Huh?

Jiro giggled at the expression on my face, which I'm pretty sure was shock.

"So you don't want a six-foot-tall guy?"

"Not really. I'm short, so the height difference would be a pain. You're like the perfect height for me, honestly."

"Why didn't you say that to me before?!"

"Because it's funny how you always make jokes about your height," Jiro replied, "And your hair colour."

"It's a tacky colour."

"It looks good on you. I can't imagine you with a different hair colour, but that's because I've known you for a long time."

"Two years and five months," I told her. "Give or take a month or two."

"How do you remember that?" She asked me, impressed as she took my hand into hers while we walked around campus. Even though November had just started, it felt like December was here. It wasn't just the cold either, it was the Christmas lights that were beginning to be set up as well as adverts for charity events U.A would be holding for the homeless over the coming weeks.

"How could I ever forget the day I met an angel that fell from Heaven?" I sarcastically replied, earning an elbow in the ribs for the comment. "Come on! What did I do that time?!"

"You were cheesy."

"You don't want me to be cheesy?"

"No, I'd rather you remain the same. So long as you don't change, neither will I. Well since we are dating, if you changed that would be annoying," I grinned at that, causing Jiro to pout at me. "What's so funny?"

"You just admitted that we're dating."

She blinked once.

Then twice.

"Huh. I guess I did," She replied, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Ready for our first date, Sora?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Kyoka."

---

The city at night had a different vibe entirely. It was uncanny and slightly creeped me out. Maybe it was because I was so used to seeing the city in daylight as a kid, I wasn't the type to sneak out at night to meet with others. Sure I worked a few part-time jobs every now and then, but even then Gekko would come to pick me up at the nearest train station in the family car so it wasn't that bad. I wasn't used to seeing all the imperfections that this city, or even this country, had that were buried beneath the surface.

"Eyes up, Aozora," Aizawa warned me, pointing at a building opposite ours. A drug deal between gangs. "Word on the street is that the Shie Hassaikai's going to make an appearance in the deal tonight. That's when we strike."

I nodded at him, turning back to the building. Some of the people there looked no older than me, but they were selling dangerous substances.

It was my job to stop them.

Even if the intel came from a Yakuza.

Aizawa was right. The fact was that even if the intel came from a criminal, neither of us would be here right now to stop the spread of drugs that would then be sold to kids my age. Ever since that night, Aizawa took me out for patrol more frequently. Perhaps it was so I would get used to the idea of patrol, and maybe some of it was so that I could see how getting intel really worked.

Even if I didn't like it, I couldn't deny how effective it was.

"Mind if I smoke?" I asked my teacher, taking the packet he bought me a couple of days ago out of my pocket.

"The Shie Hassaikai could appear at any moment."

"And until then, I can have a quick ciggy. What do ya say?"

"...Hurry up. If I hear you complaining about the fact that you didn't finish it on time, I'm leaving you here for the night." I grinned at him, before placing a cigarette in my mouth, and lighting it up with my lighter.

I didn't think it would take me this long to start doing it daily. I thought I'd never smoke, but here I was. It felt good. Maybe that was because I had never done anything like this before, it was slightly addicting. The thrill of smoking…

It was always the cool characters that smoked.

Maybe I was cool in my own way?

I finished my cigarette, before putting it out and focusing back on the drug deal. The Shie Hassaikai still hadn't shown up, and the rest of the gangs were getting twitchy.

"Why are the Shie Hassaikai such a big deal anyways?" I asked Aizawa.

"Ever since the advent of Heroes, the influence and power Yakuza groups held diminished rapidly. The Tojo Groups, Omi Alliances, Yamaguchi-Gumi and Awakusu-Kai have long been reduced to mere biker gangs. Public nuisances if you will. It's no different with the Shie Hassaikai, the only issue is that they are still around, desperately vying for more power than they can get."

"So they are a relic of their time?"

"In a sense. But that's what specifically makes the Shie Hassaikai so dangerous. Other groups have adapted to modern times, if they can't bribe officials, then they'll work with the heroes to keep any rival gangs from getting too powerful in any area. They've mostly gone from starting gang wars to hiding in the shadows. Getting a conviction for any Yakuza group these days is hard, you'd follow the money back in the day but now you need to catch them in action to even have a chance, and even then it's slim."

"Because of people like us?"

Aizawa nodded.

"All Might or Endeavour can't capture Ryutaro because that would put my operation at risk, but more importantly cause a scandal. The only way for Ryutaro to be brought to justice would be for me to capture him doing something illegal, and then bring him in. That way I'll be able to cover my tracks and it wouldn't cause a scandal. That's why the term 'underground hero' even came about - For those in the limelight to not go around and start poking at the shadows."

"I see," I replied, deflating a bit. "That makes a lot more sense."

"But back to the Shie Hassaikai, they haven't adapted. They don't want to. If it means causing a gang war that would leave hundreds of innocents injured, they wouldn't even bat an eye. Fearless about the consequences to a dangerous degree… does that remind you of anyone?"

I scowled at him.

"I'm nothing like a bunch of criminals."

"I never said you were."

"Yeah, whatever."

Ignoring Aizawa, I stared more intently at the deal about to go down. What was our plan? To just swoop down, catch them off guard and arrest them? No, there was a hidden mission. There had to be. There was something about this deal that Aizawa wasn't telling me, that or he didn't know which was why we were waiting. Wait, was it about that Shie Hassaikai member we saw the other week?

The one who we gave to Ryutaro?

"So you figured it out," Aizawa grinned at me proudly. "We want the Shie Hassaikai to show up, just like how one of their foot soldiers, Minazuki, did last time. Maybe you don't remember what happened, however, Minazuki injected himself with a drug. Not just any drug, one that gives a boost to an individual's Quirk, simultaneously weakening their sense of reason - Trigger."

"Trigger?" That name sounded familiar.

"It's an old drug, one that's illegal in many countries. The fact is that more and more cases are popping up around the country, even Kirishima had to fight against someone using Trigger. Not only is Ryutaro interested in it, but so are other heroes. It's quickly turning into a shitshow, which means the Shie Hassaikai need to be taken care of quickly. This deal that's about to go down is important, if we can catch the Shie Hassaikai members in action, we can bring this case to a close."

I nodded at him.

That made sense. The more I thought about the Shie Hassaikai, the more I had flashes of a distant memory involving them, or rather their leader fighting Midoriya. Of a small girl that needed to be saved.

A young girl experimented on, just like everyone else All For One brought to this world.

Despite Yozora's words that Yukari Aotsuki was living in the same city as me, I couldn't find even a trace of information on where she lived. It was obvious that All For One had done a splendid job in covering his tracks, in most public records she was dead. Even Aizawa was stumped, but we still kept on trying to find her. I had to find her. I needed to hear it from her.

Am I a monster in her eyes?

The child she never wanted?

The reason why her only child was experimented on?

A devil that ruined her life?

I'm not a monster.

I never claimed that I was.

So then what are you claiming?

The fact that you still can't admit the truth is sad.

What the hell are you talking about now-,

"Eyes up, Aozora," Ignoring him for the time being, I looked at the deal. Two men had entered the fray, one was a jumpy boy that looked familiar wearing a crumpled-up suit that was a few sizes bigger than him while holding a briefcase tightly, almost as if his life depended on it. The other man was a stereotypical Yakuza, tall and muscular with shadowy eyes and a shaved head. Even if he was wearing a suit, and more oddly a surgical mask, just a singular glance could tell you all you needed to know about the man.

He was a real monster.

It made my skin crawl watching him dart around the room, effectively changing the course of the meeting. He was prepared to slaughter everyone in the room at a moment's notice, and even Aizawa was worried as he moved a little closer to the edge of the building so he could get a better view.

"On the count of three, I need you to create a platform that we can jump on and fly over to the meeting. Got it?"

I nodded at him, gulping as the multiple different gangs traded briefcases.

A briefcase filled with drugs, the other filled with stacks of money.

"One."

The hulking man laughed as I watched him grab a gangster closest to him and fling him out of the window. Fuck. My body moved instinctively, jumping after the gangster before making a cloud that I could ride on, managing to grab him right before the fell to the floor. Fuck, that was close. After making sure that the gangster was tied up, I flew up to where Aizawa was, ignoring the sound of gunshots ripping through the air. This is going to get messy.

Aizawa didn't say anything to me as he jumped on top of my cloud, and I flew the two of us into the abandoned building's roof, where all the commotion was taking place. It was a sorry sight to watch, one man had his spine ripped out of his body while the other lay in a pool of blood. Somehow the bullets from his gun had been deflected back at him, and even as he died the shock on his face didn't fade.

I feel sorry for them. They didn't deserve this.

They're yakuza, they would gladly do this to Jiro and everyone else that I love if they had a chance to make money.

They are human too.

"Hn, what did you expect trying to rip off the Shie Hassaikai?" The man who had thrown that criminal off the building had now sprouted crystals from all parts of his body, some even having been bloodied by the dead corpses surrounding him. His partner, a meek boy that looked eerily familiar was clutching the suitcase holding the money tightly, whispering a prayer that everyone could hear. "Denji, get up. We have two 'guests' that need to be taught the price of eavesdropping." He then glared at Aizawa and me.

Narukami…

That name…

As the boy stood up from the ground, allowing me to get a better look at his face, my blood ran cold. Time had slowed down completely as a tuft of nostalgic black hair greeted me, along with blue eyes that I remember had warmth and excitement in them - Not fear and disgust. I couldn't believe it, what was he doing here?!

"Denji? Denji Narukami?!" I yelled in surprise, startling my old friend. Even if I was wearing a mask, and had my voice under a modifier, I saw Denji's eyes light up in recognition as he saw my hair. I hadn't seen him in months, since he couldn't come to watch me in the Sports Festival live due to a family emergency, but even then I had messaged him and everyone else in our middle school group every now and then. I wasn't mistaken. The boy in a suit way too big for him in front of me was the same boy I spent my days with along with everyone else back in middle school!

What was he doing in a place like this?

"Do you know him?" The man asked Denji, and I had to bite my tongue from shouting that I was his friend. Glancing guiltily at me, Denji shook his head.

"Never seen him before in my life."

"Hn. Take the money and hand it over to Tabe in the car outside. I'll handle this," He then ripped the top half of his suit off, revealing an imposing figure that made me take a few steps backwards. Scars covered his torso, grisly ones. I tried to walk around him to get to Denji, but the man charged me like a bull causing me to hang back and watch my friend run down the stairs in a hurry. "Do you think a kid like you can get to him without getting through to me?"

Tch.

"I don't have time to deal with you!" I shouted, summoning a fox and two crows before pulling out my 'Hangetsu' and charging him with my blade raised high. My opponent snorted, using his Quirk to form crystals around his body, however, I could see the fear in his eyes when nothing happened. Aizawa was standing behind me, his Quirk in full effect as I cut a deep gash in the man's chest. He fell to the floor, in surprise at being best, and I couldn't help but feel smug about it.

Who's the kid now?!

"Aozora," Aizawa began confused as to what happened between me and Denji. "Do you know the boy that was just here?"

"Yeah… he's a friend," I replied, feeling numb. "I knew him for a while.

Denji didn't mention helping a notorious Yakuza out last time we spoke?!

He didn't mention anything out of the ordinary the last time I met him?!

How the hell could I have missed this?!

"A friend?" Before Aizawa could turn his Quirk on, a piece of crystal impaled him in the arm. "So Denji's the rat all along. Should have known that a kid like him wouldn't have the balls to be a Yakuza, guess I'll have to teach him a lesson-," Before the man could finish his sentence, I sent out a Truth Seeking Orb aimed at his jaw. Even if his entire body was crystalised, I grinned underneath my mask as I made a small crack appear.

"Do you think an asshole like you can get to him without getting through to me?" I retorted cockily, watching the man spit out a mouthful of blood. Aizawa gritted his teeth as he grabbed the piece of crystal lodged into his arm and pulled it out with all of his might, his blood spraying the floor as he got back up clutching his bleeding left arm.

"Smartass kids like you are fun to break. They all end up begging for mercy right before I put a bullet in their skulls," Cracking his neck, the huge Yakuza member actually chuckled at me. "Before I kill you and your mentor, it would be better if you know the name of the man that's going to be the last thing you see. Yu Hojo, one of the Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai."

I pointed my new sword directly at where his throat was lined up to be.

"Oh yeah?" I scoffed behind my mask.

The fucking nerve of him!

Oi, calm down before you-,

Shut the fuck up already!

"I couldn't care less as to what your fucking name is, the only thing I'll be seeing after tonight is gonna be you locked up in jail. And maybe my girlfriend's happy face when I kiss her, but with your ugly mug I bet you've never even felt the breath of a woman before." I watched as Yu Hojo laughed at my jokes before his dark eyes focused on glaring sinisterly at me - And for the briefest moment, I couldn't move.

Fear?

No.

No.

Stop.

This wasn't fear.

This was…

Hey, I said stop already!

"Are we going to fight, or what?" I grinned at him, resting my sword on my shoulder, taunting him. "Yakuza my skinny arse, I bet you're just a two-bit thug pretending to be a hotshot. I bet your boss is some loser that-,"

Dodge!

I narrowly missed a jab from a sword that he had crystalised that definitely would have pierced my heart. And if it wasn't for Aizawa activating his Quirk and pinning Hojo to the ground using his scarf, I would most likely have had my throat slit. And yet despite his Quirk being completely restrained, the Yakuza member simply wouldn't stop. It was terrifying in its own right as the man snarled and tried to stand up to continue with the fight.

But what neither Aizawa nor I expected was for him to reach into his pocket and inject himself with something. I couldn't even see what happened as, within seconds, the binding that had been pinning him down was completely torn to shreds, and Aizawa was flung across the roof of the building, smacking into the entrance of the staircase.

Huh?

DODGE!

I had to jump to the floor to avoid a large fist that would have flattened me in one go. Compared to before, Yu Hojo's blue crystals had turned far more jagged and dangerous compared to before, not to mention that his surgical mask was torn to shreds revealing fangs made of ice that made him look more like a bloodthirsty monster than a person. Not only that, but his crystals had turned a dark shade of purple as he walked towards me slowly.

I sent out a wolf to try and keep him at bay, but Hojo had spiked my Nimbus construction into tiny pieces.

"Did you think that would work?" He asked me. "I assure you, none of your attacks will work on me anymore. Look, not even you're mentor over there can nullify my Quirk anymore." I turned around to stare at Aizawa who wiped a bit of blood away from his mouth, but even I could see his floating hair and red eyes as well as the confusion that was etched upon his face.

"You did Trigger just to beat us? I'm flattered." I replied, standing in front of the only path for him to get to Aizawa. I'd buy some time for Aizawa to figure something out against this guy, and then we'd win!

Don't be a fool! You won't win with the way you are! This is a stupid decision-,

"Trigger? Hah, you wish. Trigger is only reserved for the scum of this Earth. Those that crave power to have their way with a girl they like but don't give them the time of day. A power that can topple entire societies, this is far more than that measly drug. The Shie Hassaikai's true masterpiece; is liquid luck itself. Felix Felicis. Trigger only boosts your Quirk, even then my Quirk would still be erased by your friend over there. This is more than that - But that's enough questions from you, boy!"

He charged at me once again, and this time I couldn't avoid him grabbing me by the leg and tossing me off the building roof. If it wasn't for the fact that I could construct a Nimbus cloud to make me land safely in the air and fly back towards him, I would have been a goner. Both Scatter and Kamui would hinder me in this fight, and there was no way I was going to ask for power.

I charged a Rasengan in my hand.

"Guess who's back?" I taunted, facing off against Hojo once again, launching myself at him as I drilled into his skin. But even then, his boosted Quirk made it so I barely damaged him. Tsk. I tried a Chidori, and yet the response was the same. Over and over, my attacks were just nullified.

If we go for the kill-,

Restrain yourself!

I needed to think of a way to buy Aizawa enough time to think of something! There was no way that this 'Felix Felicis' nullified his Quirk! There had to be something different about it! I then turned back to Aizawa, who pointed at his bleeding right eye. Then it clicked. The reason why it wasn't working was that Aizawa couldn't open both of his eyes properly, thus his Quirk couldn't work at all.

Hojo didn't know about that, he assumed that the drug he had taken made him invincible.

That would be his downfall.

The only problem was how I'd get the big brute to go down hard. Sure the building was empty, but the other buildings around us weren't. I couldn't take this fight to the streets because that would bring way too much attention, unwarranted at that. If someone tried recording the fight, I don't know if I'd be able to protect them from dying and make it out alive myself. That meant I had to stall him long enough for Aizawa to be able to use his Quirk once again while keeping him stuck in this building.

Tch.

I had to dodge another hit that would have killed me as I flew over Hojo, trying to think of another way to win. I sent a few more Truth Seeking Orbs at him, even sending a wave of Nimbus at him to try and slow him down. But he was far too strong for me to handle, even if Midoriya and Bakugo teamed up it would be difficult for them to win against Hojo and the drug he had just taken.

"Why are you such an annoying bastard?" I asked him, jumping down from my cloud to face him once more. I gripped my sword tightly, ignoring the trembles I had. Were they from fear or excitement? It didn't matter. None of it mattered. All I had to do was beat my opponent to the ground.

But I wasn't strong enough to cut him.

Nor was I skilled enough to trap him.

So how was I going to be able to stall him?!

The only way I would be able to do that is if I-,

Don't you remember Aizawa's lessons?

Huh?

If you are fighting an opponent stronger than you, use that strength against them. He's a lumbering fool, you could easily get him to use his brute strength to punch a hole in the floor and get him to fall all the way to the bottom of the building. Even if he can crystalise enough to stop him from getting cut, nothing can stop him from hitting the floor. The bigger the target-,

The harder the fall.

I laughed under my mask, shaking my head as I charged Hojo, deftly dodging his left arm as I jumped on the man's back, jamming my sword in his back and not letting go. Even if he crystalised on his back, trying to get me off him, he couldn't shake me off. I ignored the pain as multiple crystals stabbed my stomach, but thankfully my costume protected me from even more damage.

"GET OFF ME!" Hojo roared as he tried to throw me off him, but nothing was working. But still, I wasn't able to get him to punch the floor which made me click my teeth in annoyance.

There was only one way to solve this.

With a mighty roar, he managed to get both me and my sword off him. But not before I sacrificed my arm in mid-air. It hurt, just like before, but the sensation of power that flowed through my veins was different. It felt almost euphoric, and that was what was so bad.

So bad that I lost control.

---

Shota Aizawa POV

He couldn't believe his eyes.

A laugh that haunted him pierced his heart as he watched his student fight against his opponent. If it wasn't for his right eye, the fight would be over! It was frustrating as Aizawa watched his student struggle to fight against an opponent that simply outclassed him with pure brute force. But whatever happening in front of him was making his hair stick up, he could feel the bile in his throat as his mouth felt completely dry.

Sora Yamazaki was insane.

It wasn't just a statement as he watched his student break his arm, only for it to heal right afterwards. The pain tolerance he must have-, No, Aizawa scoffed to himself as he tried to get up and prevent what was going to happen. It wasn't Sora he was afraid of getting hurt anymore, it was the opponent he was facing. At that very moment, Aizawa didn't care about Hojo, the Shie Hassaikai, or even about being a hero.

He just didn't want to see his best friends' son murder someone in cold blood.

Especially when something foreign had taken control of said son.

He watched as Sora made a skeletal figure, laughing manically as he punched Hojo through the floor which broke another of his arms. The blood. It made Aizawa want to vomit as Sora laughed more and more, his blood painting the floor (or what remained of it) below the boy. His own blood.

Without even thinking he used the Quirk on the boy, knowing it was the only way to get him out of the mess.

'Sorry, Sora. But you aren't ready yet. I'm so sorry.' Aizawa thought to himself as the boy's powers vanished and he fell to the floor in exhaustion.

---

Huh?

Why was there a massive hole in the floor?!

The familiar aches of using that Quirk returned, and I felt the need to bash my head against a wall in frustration. I lost control once again. Despite everything I've been through, I couldn't even hold myself together for even one fight. I let him take control, and Aizawa was forced to step in and take control. It didn't feel good, but there was nothing I could do about it apart from making sure it didn't happen again.

I can barely keep myself sane, let alone stop it from happening again.

Shut up.

You can pretend to be all 'macho', but I know the truth. You're terrified.

I can handle it.

You can't lie to me - I AM you.

I know the truth.

You AREN'T me, and you never WILL be.

So just shut up already!

Ignoring Aizawa's worried look, I made a cloud construct and flew to the bottom of the building where Hojo was laying down on his back, blood all over his body. I cringed at the scene, he had tried to crystalise to break his fall but all it did was push the crystals back into his body. I almost felt bad for him, if not for the fact that he grabbed a pistol that was strapped to his trousers and aimed it right at my head. Even if I was in pain, I made my own construct.

A bow and arrow.

"What is this, the wild west?" I asked him.

"You have no idea what trouble you're in for now," Hojo replied. His surgical mask was completely ripped, and I could see the man smile at me. "Do you think the Shie Hassaikai will take this disrespect? I'm one of the Eight Bullets, one of the damned leaders in this diseased world! You have no idea what kind of shitstorm you've started! One of the Eight Bullets dead, and don't think I didn't see you save that one weasel. You've started a gang war, one between the other Yakuza but also you heroes."

"We aren't a gang," I replied. "That's insulting."

"Really? You patrol the streets flaunting your power over the people, anyone who disagrees gets caught up in a world of pain. You say that the public looks up to you, but how much of that is from fear? A fear that one day you'll snap and turn into a villain? Times may change, and society may progress, but gangs will always be the same. And from my eyes, you clowns are just yakuza in costumes. Heh, isn't that funny? Here we are, in a standoff like two yakuza."

"I ain't a criminal."

"Really? From what I saw you lost yourself to your own senses and tried to kill me-,"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled loudly, firing an arrow at Hojo. His pistol was whacked out of his hands and he groaned, pulling an arrow out of his hand.

"Young and inexperienced. You must be a kid, right? Sixteen or seventeen. You have no idea how this world works, Nah, you have no idea what being an adult really means. Your friend, Denji, is a wimp but he understands better than you do. Not all yakuza are criminals, some of us just want to protect whatever we can."

"By hurting others?"

Hojo gave me a toothy grin.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out here. Your teacher is already in it, and so's your friend. But you still hesitate to join it, out of fear maybe? You should have put me out of my misery by now, after all, I'm going to die anyways."

Huh?!

"Did you think that the drug I took was going to make me live after this? Trigger is one thing, but Felix Felicis is something entirely else. That bastard Azrael really made us a hell of a product. Only eight - now seven - people even hold it, a last-ditch drug that heightens our Quirk to the point of destroying our bodies. And even if I did live, my wounds here would kill me. And even if I managed to survive that, then my own clan would kill me for failing to kill you, your teacher and that damned weasel that survived because of you. I'm dead either way."

"You can still live-,

"Save your youthful optimism for someone else. Denji's the same age as you, but he has what it takes to mercilessly kill - To take someone's life for survival. Not out of enjoyment, he does it in an honourable way. Like the wild west. But you are far too hesitant to even consider being a hero in my eyes, with the way you are now you'll achieve nothing. You won't even be able to save your friend. It's kill or be killed in our reality, so stop trying to avoid it and accept it for what it is."

"But I don't understand death-,"

"No one does," Hojo laughed out, "Kid, no one understands death. Not even someone like me who's taken dozens of lives without even batting an eye. In fact, even on my own deathbed, I think I'm finally starting to understand the truth. It's clearer to see than ever before."

I didn't reply as Hojo reached for his pockets, lighting a cigarette before putting it in his mouth.

"You-,"

"Shut up," Hojo cut me off, staring adrift in the sky above us. "Just let me die in peace. Until you join us in the true man's world, I don't want to hear another damned word coming from your mouth. Just let me enjoy my final moments in peace if you aren't going to have the guts to make my death painless and merciful."

I sighed, turning my back on Hojo as Aizawa walked past me and picked up the gun. I knew what was going to happen, just judging from the hard look on Aizawa's face I knew that it had to be done. But even still, I couldn't look at it.

Averting your eyes from reality won't make it not happen.

You're just a coward-,

Bang.

My shoulders sagged as Yu Hojo died.

Even if he was a 'villain', I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I barely knew anything about him, but the fact that he felt like our world was one in which you either had to kill or be killed was sad. What like must he have led before I met him for that philosophy to have been rooted in his mind? For him to think that Denji was like him? He didn't deserve to die, but here we were.

"Why'd you kill him?" I asked Aizawa, refusing to look back at the corpse.

"I didn't kill him. I saved a civilian from even more pain. It's one of the few times we can save others, Sora. Someone was in pain, and I saved them from being in pain any longer. It was what he wanted in the end."

"He still… he still could have lived…"

"You can't even convince yourself of that. Either way," Aizawa sighed as he walked me outside of the building. The yakuza that I had saved had somehow escaped, which only made me even sadder. "A war's coming to our streets. No one is going to take the attempt the Shie Hassaikai just made laying down, no if anything you've just awakened the beast. Countless people are going to die now."

"But-,"

"It's not your fault," Aizawa interjected, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You're just a kid, you aren't ready for this. You aren't me. You can't close off your heart to all this, which makes you stronger than me already. You couldn't even face Hojo in his dying breaths, but you should know he had a sad look on his face. I think he pitied you, for being put in a position like this so young."

Pity, huh?

I ain't gonna let anyone pity me!

Where is this bastard so I can ressurrect him and kill him again?!

Quiet down.

Why would he pity me?

What was I, some child?!

You know exactly why.

Don't lie to yourself again-,

"So what? I'm just supposed to accept this?!"

"You can accept whatever you'd like. You're not an adult yet, so you don't have to deal with this - Not alone. Not that it's even healthy to deal with this alone, even though I speak to others about this. And if you don't want to speak to me about this, you have a whole class waiting for you, friends that will listen. And a special someone that would go through hell and back for you. So don't run away from this, Sora."

"Don't run away?"

"You always try to handle things by yourself. You'll never change, it's just who you are. But unlike Midoriya, you don't nearly have enough boundless optimism to beat whatever it is you have going on inside you. Unfortunately, what Hojo said was true. Even if you don't understand death, there will be a time when you have to wake up and mercilessly kill someone. Maybe it's putting them out of their misery, maybe it's to protect those that you care about. It's unavoidable for you, and for the path you've taken."

The sirens in the distance grew closer and closer.

"Is our world really fucked up?"

"You can either accept it for what it is or try to change it for the better. Knowing you, I think I already know the answer. You and the rest of your class can be troubling you know. Do you know how much paperwork I have to do just to keep all of you out of trouble?! And now this! You should be thanking me! I'm saving you from doing your own paperwork!"

"Wow, really breaking your back with this aren't you." I sarcastically replied.

"The nerve. Oh well, I'll just take it out on your next science test. Perhaps your paper will get 'lost' and so you'll have to retake a much harder test." I snorted at that. I knew what Aizawa was trying to do, distract my mind from what just happened. And I thanked him for it, which made him grin as he pointed to his phone. The lock screen was the picture that we had taken all together during our camping trip, right before all hell broke loose.

"You'll never have to face this alone, Sora."

"Yeah, I know," I replied, smiling at the picture. "I don't have to be reminded of it every day."

"Sora, do you know what's the difference between a good life and a happy life?" Aizawa asked me.

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Perhaps. But I'll let you figure that out in your own time. The point is that even you have to grow up into an adult one day. Being an adult isn't necessarily doing all this, it's living knowing that this happens. Moving forward with the knowledge that the world can be a dark place, but still trying your hardest to change it for the better. My generation is filled with tragedies, but you can be better. You will be better."

I found that oddly comforting.

"Yeah. We will."

They will.

I know.

I could never be better than them, especially as I'm sinking even further than before.

---

"Sora."

"Yeah?" I looked up from my bed to see Jiro in her school uniform standing at my door. "What's up?"

"You haven't been to school for a week. What's wrong?"

Everything.

"Nothing. I'm just… sick."

She raised her eyebrows at that, clearly, she didn't believe me.

"You've been sick for a whole week?"

"Yes. Now go away, I don't want you to get a disease." Jiro sighed in frustration, ignoring what I said as she sat down on my bed. Ever since I saw Denji, I just couldn't go to school, not that I could message him either. I was just stuck in my room, ordering takeaway because I didn't want to go downstairs and cook. Aizawa had given me a week off, which was fine since apparently, he had joined a 'special task force' or something. But it was the news that distracted me the most.

Seventeen people had died these past few days.

It wasn't a 'gang war' it was a massacre.

More heroes were being brought in from outside Musatafu because of the threat.

And yet despite that, all I could think about was my friend. I was waiting any day now for his face to appear on the news, 'teenage yakuza member found murdered in home' was the title I couldn't help but think about. But whenever I tried to type a message to send to him, I couldn't go through with it. Not only that, but it reminded me of everything that was going on between Tokage and me which only annoyed me even more.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, and pigs can fly. Listen, I'm going to class in fifteen minutes. Now you can either stay in bed and watch me drag you to class in your PJs, get embarrassed and go through the day wearing them or you can get dressed and be late to school."

"How about option three?"

"What's that?"

"You skip school and spend the whole day here with me."

Jiro blushed at that.

"We have an exam today."

"I didn't revise for it."

"You don't revise for anything."

Fair point.

"Listen, I just don't want to go. I promise you, I'll go tomorrow, okay?" I wasn't going to go tomorrow, but she didn't know that.

"Fine. But skipping school isn't good, Sora. It's like you don't even want to be a hero anymore."

"Absurd. I'm just feeling a little shit right now, I swear by the end of the week I'll be back up!"

Liar.

"Fine, fine. I believe you. But I'm serious, everyone is worried for you, and hiding in your room all day isn't going to help. Even if you don't want to worry everyone else, don't you think at least I deserve to know what's going on with you?"

I…

'You can definitely talk to her about this.'

'Kyoka Jiro is already keyed in.'

I thought about Yozora's words, and for a second I thought about telling her everything. About me, about Yukari Aotsuki and everything All For One did. About Yozora, Nanao and even Tokage. About my old life. Even if the Quirk that All For One used on me wouldn't work anymore as long as I only told Jiro, who would then be able to tell everyone else with no consequences, no sound came out of my mouth. I didn't even want to tell her about Denji because I already knew how she would react.

I just nodded and watched her leave my room all alone.

…

"I'm a mess."

---

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

This wasn't going well.

"Yukari Aotsuki for all intents and purposes doesn't exist," Ryutaro explained slowly, pulling out old documents from underneath his desk. "It's like she was erased from existence. These documents will go for a hefty price you know. While I appreciate you coming here without Eraserhead, I've held up my end of the bargain."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." I replied, tossing him a bag of money on the table. "Fifty-thousand Yen, straight from my account just as promised. Just give me the damn documents, and I'll be out of your hair."

Ryutaro pushed the papers across the table.

"You know, fifty-thousand doesn't seem enough for all the effort and trouble I went through to procure these for you," Ryutaro started, "Maybe you should-,"

"Maybe you should keep quiet before I murder you, everyone in your gang and your family." I snapped back at him, causing the Yakuza boss to openly gape at me. Shit. I lost control yet again…

"That's not something a hero should say."

"If you think you can blackmail me into doing what you want because I went behind Eraserhead's back to use you for information, you have another thing coming." No matter what Aizawa and I tried, we couldn't find even a speck of evidence proving that Yukari Aotsuki was even alive. Maybe I shouldn't trust the words that came from All For One or Yozora, but they weren't the type to lie about this. Why send me on a wild goose chase if it leads to nothing? They clearly want me to meet with Yukari for a reason.

Which was why I had to use Ryutaro.

Sure, I was going against everything I wanted to do. But this was more important than any morals I had.

"You're not someone who others can take advantage of, I like that," Ryutaro smirked at me, taking the bag of money I gave to him and placing it underneath his desk. "Do you know how much of a fucking mess we are in?" He asked me, snapping his fingers as one of his guards came up and bowed before him, giving him a cigar before walking out of the room leaving only the two of us in his office.

I didn't reply as he lit his cigar, taking a massive drag out of it before smirking at me.

"Musutafu is in Shizouka, but you already know this. Tell me, do you know anything about the old conflicts between yakuza groups? Back in the old days, way before either of our births," I shook my head in response. "Historically, there's always been a divide between the east and the west. Now Shizouka is in the Chūbu region, central Japan, which means that our cities were used as battlegrounds for many clans and groups to fight control over. That was until we created our own groups and fought back for our own pride. Nowadays, the east, west and central tolerate each other, a far cry from the olden days."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"I was getting there," Ryutaro pointed at multiple pictures hung up in frames behind him. "Our clan, the Take Borei Ikka, were one of the first gangs established here in Shizouka. Along with another gang, the Shie Hassaikai. See the patriarchs before myself must be rolling in their graves, after all, I left the Shie Hassaikai alone for so many years that it's bitten me in the arse. The east and the west don't really care about taking over Japan anymore, the time for yakuza to remain in power has long gone - But no one is foolish enough to pass on this opportunity."

"You mean the gang war that's started?"

Ryutaro nodded at that.

"Bingo. I had to bury two of my men yesterday, one was filled with enough bullets to fill up an entire mag for an AR while the other had his toes and fingers crushed, along with his eyes plucked out," I winced at that. "Haven't had to bury anyone working for me since… well ever really. You see while we may fight against each other, we do love our city. We want it to prosper, and we don't want those dogs from the east or the west to come over and take control of our land. It's not right. So it's really fucking annoying that the Shie Hassaikai thinks that they can tread over their brothers and sisters and think they can get away with it."

"You planning on taking them down?" I asked him.

"Do you think that I have that kind of power? The answer is no. The Take Borei Ikka is weak, not to mention that old fart Hayate from the Sakurai-sōke doesn't want to get his hands dirty with the Shie Hassaikai, it means that the only thing we can do is defend ourselves from Overhaul's attacks. Not that I mind, I don't want to bring in even more innocents to our war than we already have. Things are getting messy, and with more gangs trying to get involved who knows what will happen." Ryutaro explained to me.

"So that's it? There's nothing you can do."

"Disappointing, isn't it? Maybe if you dogs of the governments weren't ready to bite at us at every turn, we would be able to do more to help."

"Help?" I scoffed at him. Was he being for real? "You're a criminal, you can't help anyone but yourself. Maybe if you stopped breaking the law for your own gain, you'd be better for it. Instead, all you do is invite kids to join your cursed way of living, leeching off all the life you can before you die yourself."

Denji…

Ryutaro barked in laughter, shaking his head as he pointed at me.

"You're interesting. Very interesting, you still don't understand why most criminals commit a crime. It's not because we want to, it's because we can't do anything but do it. You think a hero would come to save you, but they never do. None of you cares about the little guys struggling at the bottom, and that's where we come in. We give people jobs, family, and a reason to live - But you just take all of that away. A cursed way of living? You couldn't be more wrong."

"Whatever. I'm going to go now," I tucked my hands into my pockets, clutching the papers he had given me tightly. "Thanks for getting the papers for me."

"Who is Yukari Aotsuki? And why do you want to find her so much?"

"Did I pay you to ask questions or to get me what I want?" The more words that came out of his mouth, the more I just wanted to lock him up for good. But Ryutaro merely laughed at me, opening a window to throw his cigar out of it.

"You know kid, the more I meet you the more I'm convinced you and I are cut from the same cloth. You'd make a really good leader for a gang." I ignored him, slamming his door shut as I walked to the exit of the building, ignoring any other fucker that dared to look at me. I left the building, sighing to myself as I pulled out the papers that I had given all my savings towards.

Was it worth it?

Yeah, it was.

"Yukari Ryuichi nee Aotsuki: Alive," I read out loud as I flipped through the papers. "Last medical check-up, Musutafu General Hospital a month ago. One doctor Aobi recommended that they go through surgery to remove their gallstones. Their residence is Tomitsukacho, Musutafu, Shizouka prefecture 432-8002 apartment number fifteen, fourth floor." That's not far U.A, maybe a twenty-minute walk. Wait no, that was in the rich area of town. I'd have to take my bike to get to her.

Attached with that document was the most recent picture that Ryutaro could find of her.

I recognised her face instantly.

We had the same brown eyes, not to mention our face shape was similar. Even if her blond hair had been changed to a normal black, the fact was that I still recognised her as the woman that gave birth to me. In the photo that Ryutaro had given me, she was doing her grocery shopping. For some reason, her medical records and address came from the Shizouka prefectural government office and weren't supposed to be read by anyone.

Still, I knew where she was.

I was one step closer to meeting her.

And what about Aizawa?

What about him?

When are you going to tell him that you found Yukari?

I…

I'll tell him about her after I've spoken to her. I didn't get a response, nor did I necessarily need one. Yukari was my biological mother, no matter how many questions Aizawa had for her I deserved to get my chance to meet with her alone first.

That was my decision.

---

"You can't do this!" I yelled, slamming my hand against the table in front of me. "I'm your student! You're supposed to be my mentor, why the hell would you not let me join in on a raid against the Shie Hassaikai?! This involves me as much as it involves you!"

Aizawa didn't say anything, instead, the man behind him did all the talking instead.

"It wasn't Eraserhead that made the decision, it was I," Sir Nighteye replied coldly. "Clearly judging from your reaction, you aren't ready for the responsibility of this raid. You'd only get in our way, so be a good little boy and stand down."

Tch.

"And what about Midoriya?! How the hell is he ready for the responsibility of the raid but I'm not? Aren't you just using your position as the one in charge of this raid to let anyone you like join? Isn't this just fucking nepotism!" To the side of me, Midoriya tried calming me down, but it wasn't working. "Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what I can and can't do? You ain't my fucking boss or my teacher, so you can go fuck yourself."

"Perhaps if you respected me, I'd reconsider my-,"

I leaned across the table to try and grab him by the collar, but Midoriya managed to drag me back to my seat.

"Respect? Oh man, you wanna' talk about respect?! How about you respect the fact that I need to be on this fucking raid!" Denji. I had to save Denji. I still hadn't messaged him since I last met him, but I couldn't just let some random asshole arrest my friend! I could save him! Not to mention Aizawa and Midoriya were going to be involved, as well as Kirishima, Uraraka and more from our class! I couldn't just let them go off on their own!

I had to be a part of the raid!

"Why do you need to be a part of the raid on the Shie Hassaikai? How can I know that if I allow you to join the raid you won't be impulsive and make a grave mistake? Because from what your teacher and what your friend has told me about you, that seems like it would be impossible for you to achieve," Sir Nighteye explained, "And judging you from your actions just now, I don't need to use my Quirk to see that you are volatile, highly emotional and a risk to everyone involved. I'd rather not have the deaths of my comrades on my hands because you couldn't control yourself and challenged the wrong person to a fight."

"That won't happen-,"

"S-Sora, please calm down!" Midoriya interrupted me. "Acting like this isn't going to convince him to let you join in on the raid. Please." Tch. I clicked my tongue in annoyance but sat back down. Mirio came a few seconds later, holding two trays of food for us. For whatever reason, Nighteye had decided that meeting in MacDonaldo's was a good idea for us. Mirio sat down next to me as took his hamburger and fries and started to eat them, glancing between his mentor and me after every bite.

"What the hell can I do to convince you that I won't ruin the raid?" I asked him.

"Admittedly, there is nothing you can do. The raid is happening in a week, and I was already on the fence about you, Aozora," Nighteye answered, pausing only to drink his banana milkshake. "Just as the future is set in stone-,"

"The future is not set in stone. I've changed it more times than I can count, and I'll continue to change it till my last breath! So don't you fucking dare say that, just cause you lost hope in the future doesn't mean I will." This asshole. How dare he fucking say that to me?!

"Mirio, Midoriya, please could you order another two milkshakes for me," Nighteye casually said, passing a few notes to them. Midoriya gave me a sad look as he left the table, but I kept on glaring at Nighteye. "It's most curious that you and I have similar Quirks, but that we have both come to wildly different conclusions. I won't try to dissuade you from your views, after all, I held them when I was young as well, but I can show you that there will be times when the future is unavoidable. This is one of these cases, just give up and eat your food-,"

"No," Before he could get started on his second milkshake, I grabbed it and threw it across the floor. Nighteye seemed shocked for a few seconds while Aizawa sighed at my actions. "You don't get to decide anything for me! I choose my own battlefields, and if anyone gets in my way then fuck them! Joining that raid means I can protect what's important to me, so even if you say that I can't go do you think I'm just going to stand down? I'll fight to protect who I want even if it means fighting against you!"

Sir Nighteye didn't say anything for a few seconds. He merely stared into my soul, as if he was judging me before a small smile broke out on his lips. That smile then turned into laughter, uncontrollable laughter that made me nervous.

"I see. You were right, Eraserhead, he really is funny."

"I wasn't joking, you bastard!"

"I know," Nighteye replied, "That's why it's funny. Hilarious even. Do you know how many people have been in your position? Even a long time ago, I was like you until I got put in a position where there was nothing I could do but pick up my things and go. But you… you have something that none of us ever did. You just admitted that you'd break the law to join in on the raid, and you completely meant it. What would you do if I had you locked up until the raid was finished?"

"I'd escape."

"Even Tartarus?"

"You wanna' try me bitch?" I asked him. "I have something important to do during the raid, and there is no way in hell you are going to stop me. I ain't scared of you, you could bring every hero in Japan and I'd still fight to join the raid!"

"Yamazaki, you do realise that this is a test, right?" Aizawa asked me. "If you checked your email, you'd know that you were already a part of the raid. I vouched for you. This was just to test if you really had the capacity to be my student. From one friend to another, Nighteye was simply testing you." Huh? I turned back to Sir Nighteye, who was actually smirking at me. The fucking nerve of this motherfu-,

"I'll admit, I was a bit curious as to who Eraserhead had chosen to mentor. It's not every day that a student can worm their way into his life, but after meeting you I can see how it happened. Maybe it's arrogance, maybe it's not wanting to give up, or perhaps it's a mixture of the two - The point is that you don't remind me of a hero. Certainly not of All Might, in fact, you are the polar opposite of your classmate. But that's what makes you similar, your unyielding nature to never give up. Most intriguing. I look forward to seeing your report on the raid."

Yes!

"Oh, and just as a reminder," Nighteye added, "Aizawa told me about the personal stake you have in this case. While that happens from time to time, helping them out because they are your friend is a crime. You are a hero, and you will uphold the law. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I replied. "Also, uh, sorry about your milkshake."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Good riddance. I asked them for a chocolate milkshake, not a banana one."

Oh.

"Yeah, banana sucks massively. Personally, I'm more of a fan of strawberry milkshakes."

---

I stared at the vending machine in front of me.

'DECLINED! PLEASE TRY AGAIN!'

I felt my brow twitch as I pressed number twenty-four, the pack of skittles with lemon and strawberry inside, and used my phone to pay for it. But once again, the payment was declined.

That was the tenth time in the last three minutes…

It was only two hundred Yen!

How the hell did I not even have that much in my account?! I sighed, kicking the vending machine in frustration. Wait! Aha! I grinned to myself as I dropped to the floor, holding the flap of the vending machine open with my left hand as I used my right hand to enter the machine and try to grab the skittles without paying! Luckily for me, the skittles were right at the bottom so it wouldn't be that hard…

Maybe my hand wouldn't get stuck this time?

"Ahem," SHIT! I was caught! I knew that disapproving tone of voice anywhere! "What exactly are you doing?" Yaoyorozu asked me, her hands on her hips as she stared down at me. Sero was standing right next to her, trying his hardest not to laugh but still failing miserably. At this position, a lesser man (Kaminari) would have scooted little forwards to get a glimpse of her undies. But I was in a committed relationship and would never do such a despicable thing!

Grabbing the packet that I wanted, along with a couple of spares, I grinned to myself as I pulled down on the row. But to my dismay, the whole vending machine shook. Luckily I managed to free my hand right before most of the products on offer came tumbling down, I tossed a bag of skittles at Yaoyorozu who simply stared at the machine in shock.

"You broke it…"

"Nope," I opened the skittles pack I had wanted and tossed a lemon one in my mouth. "I performed surgery on it, and from the looks of it, I saved his life. Thank you, thank you, no need to thank me for my stellar service-," I was cut off as Sero pushed past Yaoyorozu and me to open the flap of the vending machine, stuffing his pockets with whatever he could fit while laughing like a lunatic.

"Hahahaha! Free food! Hahahahaha!" I found myself laughing along with Sero, the two of us grabbing as many snacks and drinks as we could before Yaoyorozu grabbed us by our collars and dragged us away from the vending machine.

"Wait! I wasn't done yet!" Sero cried. "This will only last me three days!"

"Yeah, what he said! Have a heart Yaomomo! When Todoroki and I are awake and in each other's rooms, this dumbass comes barreling in and asking us for food! You and Tsuyu on the other side of our floor will never know how Sero can be."

"Why haven't you come and asked me for help?"

"Because then the idiot will start demanding more!" I punched Sero in the shoulder as he tried to steal some watermelon sweets I had stashed in my pockets. Bad Sero! They were for my girlfriend!

"Do you not eat anything during the day?" She asked Sero, who shook his head in response.

"I don't know how to cook. Too lazy to learn, plus I don't have the money for takeout. So living on crips and chocolate is pretty good!"

…

If it wasn't for my own shock at his words, I would have felt Yaoyorozu drop the two of us and stare at Sero in horror. How the hell did he manage to live?! Scratch that, no wonder he was always so hungry! Now that I realise it, I had never seen Sero actually try to cook in the kitchen before.

"We've been here since August."

"So?"

"We are halfway through November." Yaoyorozu's tone of voice made me flinch.

"Oh, yeah. But at least Sora and Todoroki give me food when I'm in their rooms! Sora always kicks and screams, but he lets me have half of his pizza and Todoroki just has a bunch of instant-ramen packets in his room that he does for me. So at least I'm eating solid food every day!"

"That-That's-," I cringed as she grabbed him by the collar, she wasn't even trying to hide her anger anymore. "How brainless can you be?! Sero, why didn't you tell anyone about this? I promise you at least you would have been fed, and that's the bare minimum! I don't mind sharing my ingredients with you, I have a surplus amount of them, or I could cook for the two of us! There is no need for you to starve yourself."

"Hahaha," Sero rubbed the pack of his in embarrassment as he chuckled nervously. "It's, uh, fine? Really, I'm used to this."

…

"What do you mean 'used to this'? Sero, what the fuck does that mean?" I asked the boy, who shrugged his shoulders in response. "Man, I swear to fucking God, if you don't explain I will go into your room and mess everything up."

"Jeez, alright I get it," Sero raised his hands up. "You know how it is. There are some days when you forget to feed yourself. Standard stuff."

"I've never starved myself," Yaoyorozu replied. "I don't think anyone in our class does that.

"And I'm not the child of people running one of the largest companies in the world," Sero bit back. "Look, you'll never understand Momo. We had two wildly different backgrounds. You didn't have to watch your parents starve themselves so you could eat, and you didn't do stupid dares in middle school to try and get more food from others for free. Honestly, after the second day, it's not that bad."

Yaoyorozu stared at him in horror.

I'm sure she was thinking something along the lines of 'how has this happened?!' I suppose Sero was right, she would never understand. It's not like I had the same experiences while growing up, Hinata and Gekko fed Miwa and me three times a day. Sure, the orphanages weren't the same, but they were over a decade ago. They won't ever be a problem I'll have to face ever again, but judging from the look on Sero's face the wounds were still fresh.

I frowned at him.

"Still, do you think we'd turn you away for being poor? It's fine if you want to be a hero for money, to pay back your parents, Uraraka has the same goal. We aren't so shallow that we would turn you away for that."

"Pay back my parents? I became a hero for me. Heroes are rich, I want to be rich. It has nothing to do with my parents."

"But from what you told us it seems like they sacrificed themselves for you," Yaoyorozu said, which made Sero glare at her. It was unpleasant to look at, especially since Sero never glared. "Don't you want to pay them back?

"How the hell can pay back people that did that? Especially when one's dead and the other can barely live without a caretaker?" She deflated at that, her eyes glued to the floor as he tried to push past her.

If it wasn't for my hand on his shoulder.

"Apologise," I said to him. "She didn't know your life story. Was she a bit insensitive? Sure, but acting like a dickhead is doing you no favours." Sero sneered at me, but he didn't reply. He then turned back to look at Yaoyorozu, and his glare completely disappeared. Hm? I watched as she fell to the floor, tears coming from her eyes that weren't stopping no matter how many times she tried to wipe them away.

Oh…

"Momo-, I didn't-,"

"Sero, we'll speak to you later," I cut him off, giving him a thumbs up. "It's fine honestly, but let me handle her. Don't worry about it, man." Sero nodded at me, giving one final nervous glance at Yaoyorozu, before walking down the corridor and eventually vanishing from our sight. I then turned to look at Yaoyorozu, sighing as I sat down on the cold floor next to her.

"Why did you stay?" She asked me in between sobs.

"I can't let ya' stay out here all alone," I replied. "Wanna' talk about it? I got time."

"What is there to talk about? For all my training and classes, I was still rude and insensitive. To a friend no less. How can I ever repay this to him?" I rolled my eyes at her words, was this truly how the others felt when I was about to leave U.A?

"Don't be stupid. We all make mistakes, and Sero doesn't need to be repaid. That would hurt him more than what just happened, you are his friend. Shit happens. Repaying him sends a completely different message, he knows that this was just a mistake. By the time you speak to him later today he's going to have already forgiven you, so don't worry about it."

"How can you be so sure?" Scared. I had seen Momo Yaoyorozu face villains before with fierce determination, scold Kaminari and me for doing something stupid, and chase me around the house in concern as I put a cigarette in my mouth in front of her for the first time. But I'd never seen the girl be scared before, maybe terrified for her and her friends' lives, but never scared. The smartest girl in our year group. I snorted, you'd never guess how smart, strong and reliable she was by looking at her now.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothin'," I replied, taking out another pack of sweets and opening them. Strawberry. Nice. "Just wonderin' how the smartest girl in our generation can be so dumb sometimes. I don't have to be sure when I know, especially considerin' half of the stunts I've pulled. Trust me, if you want to be on the class shitlist you'll have to try a little harder."

"Forgive me for acting this way, I… don't have much experience when it comes to socialising with others. All the 'friends' I made when I was younger were simply alliances my mother had forced me to put up with for the sake of the company. But ever since coming here to U.A, that's changed. Yet I still feel like I lack something compared to the rest of our class, perhaps the fact that I come from a different social stratum is a problem…"

I sighed, chopping her in the neck.

It was funny as she glared at me while rubbing the back of her neck.

"I hate acting like my girlfriend, especially when it'll give her an ego when she finds out, but stop being such an idiot. Sure you'll never understand what Sero went through because of your upbringing, but that doesn't mean you can't empathise. You, and all your influence, can actually make a change. Make sure another kid doesn't go through what Sero did, that's what it means to be a friend. If you really want to repay him, then do that. Seems like a waste of time to me though."

"Helping a friend is never a waste of time."

"Yea-,"

HOLD YOUR TONGUE!

Huh?

Idiot, use your brain for a second!

Then it hit me.

Oh, how devilish of me.

"Well, if you really mean that," I grinned at Yaoyorozu. If someone else was here, they'd say I looked like a shark about to eat good food tonight. "What if I told you I really need some help?"

---

A suit and tie were uncomfortable.

I knew that from our school uniform, but holy fucking shit, wearing it for work was an entirely different beast. I was running up and down the hall, carrying drinks and food which really wasn't good for my health considering the heating inside this fucking building was turned up to the max, I was wearing all black outside from my white vest, and I already sweat a lot.

I glared at the object of my misery.

Yaoyorozu, who was wearing an expensive and really fucking hot blue dress, pouted at me in response. If it wasn't for her lavish make-up, done-up hair and fucking tiara on her head, maybe I'd feel sad. She was sitting all alone at her table, so I took my chance to plop down next to her, stealing one of the fried calamari on her plate.

"I hate you," I told her. "I just want to shout at you."

"Why?"

"I asked for help."

"And I got you a job as a waiter for the biggest gala event the Yaoyorozu company holds every year. The pay is excellent. You said you had monetary issues, and here I am solving them for you." My eye twitched as she said that.

"I was thinking something more along the lines of 'anonymous donation' or an early Christmas present," I sighed. If only it were that easy… "I didn't think I'd be working from six PM to four AM on a school night for money. How you managed to convince Aizawa to excuse both yourself and me is insane."

"It was much harder to let you come along."

"I know. That's what I get for being his favourite."

She smirked at me.

"Regretting it now?"

"Oh please, as if I'm going to take shit from a teacher's pet. 'Please Ectoplasm! Pick me! Pick me!' You are so lucky that you stopped going out of your way to remind the teachers we had homework. I swear, the entire class would have turned on you by now if you kept on doing that."

"Homework is important."

"It's busywork designed to stop us from having fun. If homework was a person, I'd set them on fire, watch them burn to death, then set fire on the body just for extra measure." She rolled her eyes at my over-dramatic speech of me telling her how much I detest homework. Detest. Hehe. Her vocabulary was really starting to rub off me.

"Yamazaki-san," Someone hissed from behind me. Oh, it was the head butler. Fugaku or something, I sorta forgot his name while I was definitely NOT staring at all the very posh women in dresses that accented their… bodies. "Might I remind you as to what your job is for tonight?"

"Waiter?"

"Precisely. Bothering Yaoyorozu-sama with your incessant breathing is not delivering good service-,"

"Actually, Goda-san, would you mind if he stayed here with me? I require his assistance for the entire night." The man's face softened as he bowed to her.

"Very well, Yaoyorozu-sama. Yamazaki-san," The dude clearly didn't respect me. "Once you are done helping the heir to the Yaoyorozu company, please find me if you have a moment to spare. I have some work for you to do." I watched as he walked away, trying his hardest not to rage at anyone.

"Fucking wanker," I said, maybe a little too loudly considering the old grandpa the table over from us had a fit. That didn't stop Yaoyorozu from giggling, however. "Sorry, upper class and I don't mix very well. Apart from you. You're the exception."

"And why's that?"

"I'm a delinquent. I mean I got the basically dyed hair, I always skip school for fun, get in trouble, I have a motorbike and I smoke," She laughed at that. "What? Haven't you realised, I'm the 'bad boy' in our class? All I need to do is get a cool leather jacket, pierce one of my ears and I'm basically a gangster. Perhaps ya' need to cut me off for good before I ruin your reputation?"

"Perhaps so, but that's something I'll never do in a million years."

"What about a billion?" I asked her.

"Even then, I still wouldn't get rid of you. Well, maybe for a trillion, but that's beside the point," She motioned for me to look around her table. It was empty. "If you left then I'd be alone."

"Where is everyone else that's supposed to be sat at your table by the way?"

"...This table is reserved for me and me alone."

Oh.

Before I could ask why a woman standing on the stage cleared her throat. She wore a superb green dress that was simply crazy fucking hot. She looked like a boss bitch, and before now I didn't realise, but maybe I am into that? Not to mention she looked mature, but not like a granny. Like a MILF you'd see in a porno, but aged like fine fucking wine. Or maybe a really old malt or whisky bottle that was way out of my price range.

She also looked like a…

Like a…

I turned to look at Yaoyorozu.

Then back at the woman.

Then back at Yaoyorozu.

That's her mother?!

"Today I am gathered here for the annual Yaoyorozu Consolidated Christmas Gala. Gathered here today are people who I would call friends," She gave a toothy grin at that which unnerved me, to say the least. She did not mean that at all, and everyone knew it. "As such, I only have one request for you all. Please enjoy tonight as much as you can. Thank you." She then stepped off her podium and walked right past Yaoyorozu without even batting an eye.

If it wasn't for her kicking me underneath the table, I would have stood up and berated her for not even nodding towards her daughter.

"It's fine Sora, she's always like this."

"Yeah? And I'm always like this." I replied, cracking my knuckles as if I was preparing for a fight.

"It's fine-,"

"You shouldn't be alone, especially in a gala surrounded by hundreds of people," I told her plainly. "I thought your mum wanted you to take control of the company when you were older. How's this good for-,"

"Well, well, well," A snide voice interrupted me. A posh twat in a suit that probably cost more than the amount of money I had gotten so far in my entire life sneered at our table. "If it isn't the Ice Princess herself? A long with a new boy toy she must have gotten." The other posh twats around him laughed at that comment. Before I could reply, Yaoyorozu kicked me under the table and cleared her own throat.

"Fukuyama-san, how long has it been since we last met? Oh yes, it was when you lost to me in a mathematics competition and ran home with tears in your eyes. How have you been since then? Hopefully not failing other competitions?" The boy went quiet as he glared at Momo for that comment. But I was surprised, I didn't know my friend could be passive-aggressive.

"How's playing hero treating you? Having fun yet? To be honest, it seems like a waste of time to me since all you are doing is stalling after all. Too weak to take the reigns of the company from your mother despite her doing it at your age as well. Perhaps it's the fact that you are a woman and can't do the job properly. Or maybe it shows how incompetent you've become since you've whored your services out to U.A-,"

"Alright," Before he could finish his sentence, and before Yaoyorozu could reply or stop me, I stood up and squared up with the boy. Some of the tables around us went quiet as they watched the exchange, but the majority of the tables were unaware of what was going on. "Say another word and I'll beat the shit out of ya'."

To his credit, the boy puffed his chest up as if he were a proud animal, shoving me lightly.

"As if I'll ever listen to what a mere waiter has to say-,"

I decked him in the face.

Hard.

Hard enough to draw blood.

The boy ran around and screamed like a little girl as blood was pouring down from his nose.

"Y-you'll pay for this! Just wait until my father hears of this-,"

"You know what? No amount of money is worth this," I muttered to myself, tripping the boy up before I addressed the main hall. How many rich people were here? Oh well, they could all go fuck themselves. Was this what Momo had to deal with? She was far stronger than me considering she hadn't broken down in anger yet, unlike you. "Oi! Fuckheads! Listen I have a speech to make." I yelled loudly.

"Whoever helped to make this disappointment," I pointed at the boy crying like a little bitch on the floor in front of me. "Please take him the fuck away from me before I start throwing more punches and kicks. Now, all of you pricks need to listen to me for a second before I get thrown out by security for this. You are all spiteful bastards that will be going to hell for evading your taxes, and I promise you, in a couple of years when you will be carried into your grave your legacies will be defiled one by one. I don't think I need to say this, but I will anyway, I'm better than you all."

Many people bristled at that, while others looked at me with amusement.

"I ain't even in the same social class as you, but you really should start treating your kids better," I then glared at Yaoyorozu's mother who stared at me impassively. She, and a familiar woman sitting at her table, were the two people with who I couldn't read their emotions. "Isn't it embarrassing that a doctor and a teacher can raise two children better than you can? Oh well, most of you are useless without your money anyway. So, as a good friend of mine once said; go take a swan dive off the roof you motherfu-,"

I couldn't even finish my sentence as a man stomped over to where I was, checking on the idiot on the floor whose blood had stained my shoes.

"Did you do this to my boy?" He asked me.

"So you are the shitstain that sired this idiot," I grinned at him. "Pleasure to meet you, but I'm afraid my services are cheap. After all, I just taught your son a valuable lesson - Not to dismiss a waiter."

"Do you think you won't get arrested for this assault?"

I grinned at him.

Oh man, why the hell do I have to put up with you?

Admit it - You love this.

I love spending time all alone, not causing trouble like you.

Yeah, yeah. Whatever.

I pulled out my hero license.

"Actually sir, your son committed assault in front of me. Therefore I handled the situation appropriately," Technically, I was right since the boy did shove me. He started it, all I did was end it. "And my little speech is something known as a hero's warning. All I did was warn you that if something like that was to happen and you repeated the same mistake as your stupid son, the same would happen to you."

Sure, I took a lot of creative liberties here, but I was sure it would hold up in court.

Probably.

The man to his credit didn't blow up, even though it looked like he wanted to scream and shout at me right then and there. All he did was pick up his son from the ground and walk back to his table. Soon, everyone went back to their meals, but I could feel a few glances every now and then which did make me nervous. I turned around to see that Momo was livid. She had turned a ghostly pale-ish colour and looked like she was going to pass out any second now, especially when I sat back down at her table.

"S-Sora, you-, Why on Earth did you-,"

"He called you a whore. And questioned your competency," I interjected. "No one can insult my sister-in-all-but-blood like that and get away with it. Especially a snobby cunt that needed to be taken down a peg or two. Sorry, nee-chan, guess I'm an overprotective brother." Momo actually giggled at that.

"You sure know how to piss a bunch of stuffy people off," A voice came from behind us. It was the woman on Yaoyorozu's mothers' table that looked familiar. "Hachi Yamaguchi, a pleasure to meet ya'." She winked at us, sitting down next to me. Hachi Yamaguchi… the current leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party even though she was only twenty-six. If I was shocked to be meeting her, she didn't show it as she sipped on her champagne.

"You-, Holy fucking shit."

"Do you know how refreshing it is to hear someone finally fucking swear?" She asked me, a smile on her face. "Honestly, dealing with high society is a pain. But hearing you teach these stuffy peacocks a lesson made my day. Oh, your mother says your hair's a mess by the way Momo-chan."

Momo-chan?

"Hachi, you don't have to be mean," Momo pouted. "How's the campaign going? I see it all over the news, but I've been so busy so I haven't been able to speak to you lately."

"Wait Yaomomo, you know her?"

Yaoyrozu tilted her head slightly to the left.

"You didn't know?"

"You've never mentioned it."

"I'm sure I have somewhere. You know, the person that looked after me while my mother was running the company?"

I turned to look at Hachi who just seemed amused at all this.

"That was you?!"

"Yes. I was ten years old when Mebuki found me. Little Momo had just been born, and she wanted an assistant. I impressed her enough, so there I was looking after Momo-chan while Mebuki was busy. It was only a couple of years ago that I left Mebuki's side and became a politician, trying to use my voice for the good of this world."

"You know if I could vote, I'd vote for you." I told her.

"Oh? And why's that?"

"I get more bonuses as a hero."

Hachi giggled like a schoolgirl at that.

"I see. Well, I'm glad that you've made good friends with Sora-chan here. I was worried you weren't going to make many good friends at school." Yaoyorozu moaned at that, but I sat perfectly still at that.

How the hell did she know my name?!

I didn't introduce myself, nor did I have a nametag on me.

"Say, how do you know who I am?" I asked her.

"Ah, you see my friend Isshin from the HPSC talked about you recently. Called you a stubborn mule." I was wrong about Hachi Yamaguchi. She was a predator waiting to catch her prey in a trap.

"Is that so? So, where were you before you found Yaoyorozu's mum? Just curious since you never talk about your upbringing in your speeches."

"I'm an orphan. I never met my parents."

"Huh, fancy that. Same here."

What a fucking coincidence.

"S-Sora? Are you okay?" Yaoyorozu asked me.

"I'm fine. Do you mind if I talk to Hachi here in private? I promise you, it'll only take a minute." My friend glanced between myself and Hachi for a few seconds, before shrugging her shoulders as she stood up and started to speak to familiar faces sitting at the other tables. But Hachi's smile never left her face, not even when I slyly summoned my Nimbus underneath the table and made a knife construct, big enough so Hachi could see it but small enough so any passerby wouldn't be able to catch it.

"Oh? What's the plan here."

"Start talking or else you won't like what comes after," I growled. "I suggest you start talking fast."

"Talk about what?"

"You asked Isshin to invite me to the HPSC. Why?"

"You already have an answer, don't you?"

"I ain't playing games with you. If you think I won't get you arrested right here and now for some bullshit crime just to ruin your political campaign, think again." Hachi's smile disappeared from her face, but I could still see the mirth in her eyes.

"Interesting choice of tactics. I must admit, that would be quite a scare, so how about this - Any question I answer you must answer one from me. And do put away the knife, we both know you are far too afraid to go through with it."

"Do you think I won't-,"

I gasped as Hachi grabbed the knife with her left hand.

"Come on. Do it," She provoked me. "When you point a blade towards someone, you must be ready to strike. Don't hesitate. Isn't that what you are taught at U.A? If you think I'm your enemy, then go for it. If not, put the blade down, okay Sora-chan?" The smile came back on her face. I sighed, before forcing my Nimbus to disappear.

"Why are you so interested in me?" I asked her.

"As a future ruler of this country, why wouldn't I be interested in my subjects? Why did you come here tonight?"

"I needed money. Do you have any tattoos on your body?"

"No. But I do have a 'birthmark' on my left thigh. Now, why choose the name Aozora?"

"It means blue sky. Fits in with my theme of acting over the top. Do you hold any ill will towards Yaoyorozu? Either of them."

"None at all, they are like family to me. How many Quirks do you have?"

"Four. Is your 'birthmark' a number by any chance?"

"Yes, it is. What's working with the police been like? I mean the rookie detective that's been impressing everyone. Nanao Iori was it?"

"She's fine," I replied before pointing at her left thigh. "That 'birthmark'... is it a number eight by any chance?"

Hachi's eyes gave it away. No surprise or even amusement, but pride.

"Yes. Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, let me properly introduce myself," Hachi offered out her right hand. "Hachi Yamaguchi. You may know me as a politician, but truth be told I hate politics. If it wasn't a means to an end, I'd be looking after Momo-chan until I die. But you may know as the Eighth subject that All For One made in his experiments. A pleasure to finally be able to meet you without raising suspicion, Sora Yamazaki."

I took her hand and shook it.

"Why the hell are you here?"

"At the Gala? Well, Mebuki and the company are supporting me. This isn't a Gala, more so a political statement that I have their support for the election. And everyone in attendance here will now likely support me as well, many are people in powerful positions. Their influence is important for my success in the elections next month. As to why I'm sitting at this table? Well, my younger sibling was sitting alone with a boy, I just wanted to make sure nothing scandalous was happening."

"I have a girlfriend."

"I'm aware."

Tch.

"What do you want from me? Obviously, you tried to use Isshin as an angle to get me to join you as a hero, but showing up here and now means you want to offer me a deal personally. Am I right? Instead of throwing around your political weight, you want to do things personally."

"Exacta," Hachi clicked her fingers at me. "You're smart. Logical. I like that. Maybe it's because of our 'experiences' but you are almost as smart as Momo-chan. Almost. But that's beside the point, I need a hero I can trust. While my policies are decent, and I'm young and popular, I'm still missing someone that can be my partner. Not a politician, someone risking their life day in and day out."

"You need a hero to coast off from."

"Not just any hero. And it's not coasting. I'm sure if I promise enough chances of fame to Endeavour he'd take it, or if I gave enough heroes a few 'donations' they'd support me as long as the money comes in. But everyone expects that. The forecasts are looking like I will be the one to win, Ryuichi has basically lost this election and he knows it. But he's banking on my inexperience with the public to backfire on me so he can call a vote of no-confidence on me and replace me soon, which is where you come in."

Huh?

"If I throw my hat with a relatively unknown and new hero. One that hasn't even graduated from school yet, it'll show that I'm banking on the next generation. Fitting with the themes of my political campaign, as well as what I want to achieve."

"Why not pick Momo?"

"You'd have me throw her to the wolves? I love her, but she's not ready. She's merely a child, and the same can be said for everyone else in your class. Apart from you. I've read all your reports, no matter how classified they are, and I'm impressed. How many teenagers can give themselves up to a group of villains to protect their friends without batting an eye? You have courage. You are true to yourself, and that's an angle I can use."

"Use huh? So I'm just a tool."

"It's not like you aren't going to benefit from this," She replied. "Think of all the fame you'll get. You'll be shot up through the hero ranks like no tomorrow. Who knows, maybe you'll be a part of the top twenty before you even graduate. So, what do you think?"

What do I think…?

Don't I want to be a underground hero?

Isn't this the antethesis of everything I want?

Sinking...

I keep on sinking.

"The hell's drivin' you do run for Prime Minister at twenty-six?"

Hachi smiled sadly at me.

"In both my previous life, and my current one, I've been weak. Even with a Quirk, I can do very little to change the world. But as the Prime Minister of a leading country in the world? Imagine how many people I can help, and the lives I can improve. What I'm doing is a hard job, one that might be impossible but I'm not willing to give it up. I want to build a better future for the next generation, and the generation after that. A world that isn't fractured, where its thorns hurt the people trying to live."

"Sounds nice."

She grinned at me.

"It does, doesn't it?"

She wasn't lying to me. I knew that much, no one could fake resolve like that. She truly meant her words, she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that the future would be better for us all. In a sense, she was similar to me, only not as selfish. While I wanted to make a future that was carefree for those that I cared about, Hachi Yamaguchi wanted to build a better tomorrow for everyone.

It was sort of childish.

Twenty-six and she was trying to change the world for the better.

I had to respect that.

"I don't know if I'll accept your offer. Give me until after the elections to give you a decision, but even if I say no if you ever need any help, just ask," I told her. "After all, Momo is like my sister. So anyone she thinks is cool must be someone that I have to help using everything I got."

Hachi grinned at that.

"Anyone who's a friend of Momo-chan's is a friend of mine. Anyways, look sharp, she's coming here after all." Huh? I turned around and watched as Momo sat back down at our table, only for someone else to join her. I gulped at the immense pressure that was immediately put on me by Mebuki Yaoyorozu, the current CEO of Yaoyorozu Consolidated.

"You have five minutes before I move on to the next table."

Of all the things I expected to come out of her mouth, that was not one of them.

"You've been 'socialising' all night. Can't you take a break for your daughters' sake?" Hachi pleaded with the older woman, but it fell on deaf ears.

"The company will not take a break, and so neither will I," Was her only response. "Despite that, your friend here took an interesting approach to introduce himself to high society tonight. A pleasure to finally meet one of my daughters' classmates, I believe you are Sora Yamazaki, correct?" It's not like she was asking, she already knew my name, she was just trying to be polite.

"Yeah. Why does everyone suddenly know my name?"

"I'm on the board of directors for U.A." She answered.

Oh.

That made a lot of sense.

Iida's parents, Yaoyorozu's mother, and probably Endeavour. Most likely a shit ton more people as well, all of which had some connections to the school.

"So, what has my wayward daughter done this time?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Mebuki rolled her eyes at me, glancing at Momo which made her eyes glued to the floor. She wasn't speaking, despite her mother's piercing look that demanded answers.

"Oh, you mean why I'm here? It's cause I'm broke and I need money."

With a snap of her fingers, the head butler, Goda (Not Fugaku) I remembered bowed towards her.

"What is it that you require, Mebuki-sama?"

"What's the standard pay for the boy?"

"Fifty-Thousand Yen."

"I see," She hummed to herself before staring directly into my eyes. "Add two extra zeroes to the end of his paycheck. If word comes to me that five-million Yen was not given to this young man, even if a single Yen is gone missing, you will be fired. Have I made myself clear?"

"Y-yes. I will do as you requested right away, Yaoyorozu-sama." Goda then scampered away like a little rat, which made me chuckle slightly.

"Cheers for that," I told my friend's mother. I tried to act cool on the outside but on the inside?!

Holy fucking shit.

I know right?!

She just… five-million Yen…

That's thirty-thousand pounds!

I'm rich!

"Don't mistake this as a gift," Mebuki interrupted my thoughts. "After your stunt I just want you to leave as quickly as possible. Think of it as payment for leaving the Gala early if you must."

"Don't worry, way ahead of you there," I told her. "I don't wanna stay a second longer in this hellhole." I'm sure if it were possible, my eyes would turn into Yen bills as I just thought of the possibilities of what I could buy. Obviously, I wouldn't spend all my money immediately, but I could buy everyone a nice Christmas gift.

"...There wasn't a need to do that, mother." Huh? I turned to look at Momo, who was glaring at her mother. Mebuki's lips only curled upwards in response.

"Oh? Are you finally deciding to show some backbone? Maybe you going to U.A is actually doing some good for you."

"You doubted that fact?"

"No," Mebuki answered sipping her glass of expensive wine. "I doubted that the very same daughter who went to U.A as a form of running away from me could actually try and fight back."

"Perhaps, if you weren't so focused on the company, you'd see that your daughter has grown up a bit," Momo replied angrily. I'd never seen her get like this before, not even when she caught me smoking for the first time. "But of course, that'll never happen."

"Well then if I'm so focused on the company, why don't you take it away from me? Maybe then I'd have more time for you."

"I'd rather not take your position. If anything, I'd rather do anything else."

"Then why criticise me for doing my job? I run the company, without me, it will fall apart. The company that my grandfather built when he was just a boy would come crashing down. I will not allow that to happen, do you understand? If you have serious concerns about what I do, then take the position away from me."

"After what you've done to the company?" I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Hachi had already left, not before passing me her number written on a napkin. "Mother, you turned our family company from a company that helps people to a weapons manufacturer. And you continue to march down on this path even after-,"

"Even after your father died? Yes, dear, I'm well aware of what I'm doing. I'm also well aware of the profits that have tripled within the last two years because of us being a 'weapons manufacturer'. Once again, if you have an objection then tell me that you can do better than me if you were in my position."

"I…"

"That's what I thought," Mebuki replied. "I understand that you cared for your father. I did too. But your father was an inventor, and I'm using his tech just as he wished. You may disagree with the company's direction, but at the end of the day you aren't the CEO-,"

"And what about grandfather?!" Momo's outburst was drawing the attention of a few nearby tables. "Did you think about him when you vetoed him out of the company? He was the CEO before you took him away from the company. When was the last time you even spoke to him? All you care about is the company. You didn't even wish me a happy birthday." Momo stood up from the table, running out of the hall as I could only sit down in my chair and say nothing.

I was just her friend…

This was something that didn't concern me.

But for the briefest of seconds, I could see the hurt in her mother's eyes. Even if it disappeared right after, gaining the same icy edge as before, it was obvious that she cared. Even if her own daughter couldn't see it. But then and again, I didn't know the full story.

"Yamazaki," Mebuki began as she stood up from our table. "Would it be too much for me to ask you to escort my daughter back to your dorms? If need be I could double the amount of money you are given before you leave for the inconvenience."

Double?!

"I mean I was going to do that anyways, but I ain't gonna complain about free money."

"Excellent."

She turned to walk away from me, but perhaps she turned a little too fast as she dropped something from her purse. It fell on the table and opened itself up. It was… a really old pocket watch. Hachi had already moved on, so it was just me and the watch. If I took it, how much money would I make off it?

And then I saw what was inside.

A small picture.

A much younger Mebuki, standing next to a man that was kissing her on the forehead as they both held a small baby girl in their hands.

Ah.

So much for 'company first.'

"Hey lady!" I yelled, grabbing the watch as Mebuki turned around to look at me curiously. "Ya' forgot something," I yelled, lobbing the watch over to her. She caught it with her left hand and looked down surprised. She was so busy with her 'meetings' that she forgot that she carried that watch with her at all times, and I didn't need to ask her to know that since I could read her face rather easily for the first time this evening.

"..."

"You forgot something important, so I thought I'd give it back to you before I left," I told her, waving goodbye as I turned around to walk towards the exit. "No need to thank me. But seriously, I wouldn't mind you triple my payment for this evening. See ya'!" Tucking my hands into my pockets, I nodded at all the rich pricks acting all snobbish toward me. Right before I left, Goda came up to me with an envelope.

"Fifteen million Yen, as Mebuki-sama requested." He said bitterly as he handed me the money.

"How the hell did you just get that out of an ATM?"

"We always have cash around just in case. Now please, just take the money and go. And never come back!" I snatched the envelope from the man, wondering whether it was worth it to trip him up.

What a spiteful bastard…

"Sora?"

I turned around to see Momo standing next to the exit. Thankfully she wasn't crying, but that didn't mean that she felt better either. She had gotten changed which meant the dress that she was wearing was gone sadly. And now she was wearing some normal clothes. Well normal for her, which consisted of a pink designer sweater, extremely expensive jeans and shoes that I had no hope of ever buying.

Well…

Not anymore judging from the money I made tonight.

Close to one-hundred thousand pounds.

I'm rich.

"Where are you going?" She asked me.

"Home. We are going to take the tube together, okay?" She nodded at me as the two of us exited the venue and made our way to the train station. It was a chilly night, but I didn't mind the cold.

"I'm sorry about earlier," She apologised as we entered the train station. "My outburst wasn't very…"

"It's alright. I don't mind."

"You didn't need to see that-,"

"We're friends, right?" I asked her. She nodded in response. "Close ones, right?" She nodded yet again. "Then don't worry about it. You've seen me at my lowest points, and I've seen you at yours. Don't worry about it."

"But I-," Momo paused as she stared at the ground guiltily. "My mother is right. I did come to U.A to try and run away from her. I… I'm worried about her. I thought maybe if I left, she'd check on me more than the company that's going to be the death of her one day. She barely sleeps, she barely eats, and she barely comes home. I understand not wanting the company to fail, but I don't want to lose another parent."

"Man, you and your mum are so similar it's annoying."

"Huh?"

"I ain't gonna spell it out for you. You're smart, so figure it out," I told her, "Smartest girl in our generation and yet she's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Come on, let's just go home before you sully the name of 1A any further-,"

"Ass…"

"What's that?" I grinned at her.

"I said you're an asshole!" She yelled at me. "You clearly know something that I don't, but instead of telling me, you are saying I should figure it out?! Gah, that's what I get for trusting in you of all people. I thought you'd understand, but maybe you aren't as reliable as I thought."

I smiled as I put a cigarette in my mouth, lighting it up with the lighter Aizawa gave me.

"As someone who I look up to immensely once said, if you want me to get you a rope to hang yourself you can forget it. But if you want me to get you a rope to drag you out of hell, I'll bring as many as you want."

Momo looked at me blankly.

"...What's that supposed to mean here?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I waited for the train to come.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just thought it sounded cool."

---

Snow.

I looked outside of my window and sighed.

Aizawa was not pleased with what happened at the Gala. While the idiot I beat up didn't press any charges, Aizawa did get a mouthy phone call that lasted a while. And as such, I was told to 'draft a report of what happened.' That wasn't too hard, the only problem was that the minimum word count was five-thousand words.

I was going to have to stretch the events out so much which would take a while.

I wished I could be outside playing in the snow.

Knock, knock.

"Come in," I said, yawning as I leaned back on my chair. "Leave your shoes by the door."

"You gonna come outside?" Kaminari asked me. He was wearing his coat and some gloves.

"I'm busy."

"We wanna do a snowball fight."

I looked at my half-written report. Then back at Kaminari.

"Give me one minute," I replied as I closed my laptop and put on my shoes, as well as grabbed my coat. A snowball fight? That was far more important than whatever Aizawa wanted me to do. I ran down the stairs excitedly, even jumping over the last two steps as I went down each floor. Oh man, I was going to throw so much-,

Duck.

I dived to the floor, narrowly missing a snowball that was aimed at my head.

"How the hell did you miss him?!" Bakugo growled.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not good at throwing!" Mineta shouted at him. "Maybe if you want to hit him, do it yourself!"

"Guys, we still failed to get him," Kaminari said. "He's still waiting to get a fistful of snow shoved down his throat for all the times he's annoyed us these past few months." The whole class was in agreement.

All I could do was stare at them in horror while I hugged the floor.

Was this pick-on-Sora-day?!

That being said, the idiots were too busy arguing with each other to notice me. I grinned to myself as I saw that they left the bi-fold doors to the garden open… and they were standing right in front of it. Now I could scream like an idiot and tackle Bakugo to the ground outside, then get pelted with snowballs.

Or, I could match their cunning plan to team up on me with my own.

No one said I couldn't use my Quirk.

It made me feel bad for them.

Almost.

Summoning a wall of Nimbus, I managed to push most of them outside the dorm and lock all the bifold doors before they managed to get back up from the snow. The only two people that didn't get pushed were Shoji and Jiro.

"You two weren't involved with the plan, right?"

Jiro shook her head.

"If you got sick then eventually I'd get it, then the whole class would get it. And a sick you is not a fun you. Seriously, the last time you had the flu you didn't speak to anyone for a week and whoever laughed when you sneezed got punched in the face." I cringed at that.

"That was two years ago."

"You broke someone's nose."

"Semantics," I then turned to Shoji. "Why were you not going to snowball me?"

"You've never actually annoyed me."

Huh?

"Wait, really?"

Shoji nodded.

"I've never asked about why you wear a mask?"

Shoji shook his head.

"Why is it that you wear a mask by the way? I mean it looks cool and all, I love masks, but don't you think wearing one constantly is annoying? Like dude, even if you have some scar or something that doesn't change anything." Shoji actually laughed at that.

"It's not because I have a scar or anything," He replied. "Back in my hometown, there aren't many people who are as accepting as everyone in 1A. People with Quirks that change their bodies outwardly as still seen as… not human."

"Man, that's some bullshit if I ever heard it," Even moving universes, you can't really escape prejudice. "I'll tell ya' what if anyone ever says something bad to you cause of what you look like come to me. I'll give em' a beating so good they'll travel back in time and stop themselves from saying whatever wack shit they said. Deal?"

"Using violence against the prejudice against heteromorphs isn't the solution, Sora. Many people have tried to solve this problem for the latter part of a century with no success," Despite his words, the hope in Shoji's eyes didn't falter whatsoever. "But despite that, I have faith that everyone in our class can do our part to do better."

Jiro and I nodded, and I gave him a thumbs up.

"Haha, that's good because I'm gonna help you in whatever way I can!"

Pfft.

A snowball crashed directly into my face.

Shoji grinned as he put his hands up innocently, but even then his eye smile gave it away.

"Sorry Sora, but you did annoy me. Five months ago when you and Kirishima went to the gym with me and spent more time talking about working out than actually working out."

I… see.

Jiro shrugged as she gave me the snowball she was holding, and I threw it directly at Shoji's head. Score. He rolled his eyes at my antics but said nothing as he opened up the bifold doors.

And that was when I was covered head to toe with snow,

"FOR FUCKS SAKE-,"

---

Another chapter done.

Close to 100k with these last 3 chapters.

Next one will be the final chapter before the raid and, well, it certainly wraps up this portion of Part 1.

mandvisahuxx111: Early in the story I didn't know how to make Japanese names for the OC's so I just ripped off characters that I knew from series I had seen. Very lazy, and eventually I incorperated that into Sora being a lazy manga writer. But seriously, whenever I introduce an OC now I thoroughly research a name that best suits them, as that's what Horikoshi does with canon (Kaminari means lightning, and look at his Quirk."

animeman309: Never doubt how lazy Sora is with naming his moves Xd. But Sora naming his ultimate Kamui and not being able to use it often is genuienly just a reference to Kakashi and his role in Naruto when it comes to his Sharingan. Doesn't work when it should, but when it does he can pull it off with no problems cuz story... Still love Kakashi though.

Oh, Obito too!

ArguableReader: Yep! Zero and Sora are so similar. Yozora touched upon it this chapter, but they really are destined to clash against each other because of their similarities but also because of their differences. Yet despite all that, they've formed a strong bond... Will this bond save them from what destiny has laid out for them, or will it shatter the chains of fate that bring them down? :)

And the five stages of grief... Interesting.

Apple89123: If you think Sora was a little bitch when reading, how do you think I felt when writing him out like that? But him having a lame backstory?! Uh... You'll never reach this since you gave up at chapter 2, but I purposefully didn't reveal Sora's backstory because then the big mystery for Part 1 would be revealed right away, then I wouldn't have a hook for you all.

(It's definitely not because I didn't plan out that plot point when writing chapter 1 and 2, but came later.)

Nirmtheworm14: Ah yes, the infamous FFN opt-in decision. I won't lie, when I came back to uploading new chapters a few days ago I knew this story would have less views and reviews than normal cause of the simple fact that it's been three months, but then I saw the stupid 'opt-in' message on my profile and sighed.

To be honest, the reviews I get from this story per chapter aren't that much. I don't take too much stock on reviews counts, rather the quality of reviews themselves. Usually I get either really short reviews or long descriptive ones, and I'm fine with that. If there are a lesser amount of them it won't change the fact that they are fun to read. But thanks for telling me anyways!

And if one 35k banger surprised you as my comeback chapter, what about three in a row?! Hell I can't believe I actually managed to do this. Anyways the next few chapters are from 12-22k words which is the usual length of my chapters, so it'l be considerably shorter. I've basically nearly everything I wanted to hit before the raid, and the next chapter will wrap up most of the loose ends.

...

Probably.

Anyways, I'll see you all soon!