Binding the Galaxy Together

by AutoKnight01

A young survivor of Order 66 has crashed onto Earth completely by accident. Once she comes to she finds herself in the care of..a dragon and a rabbit? With little to no knowledge about what happened, a young Padawan now must struggle with fitting into an unknown society and dealing with the everyday life of U.A. High to try and be a hero. *StarWarsXover* *IzuOcha* *OCxOther later*

40. Chapter 40 - Weekday Prep

Happy belated new year to you all and welcome to the first update of 2025! Well….where to start?

Los Angeles caught fire. I live in Los Angeles. Thankfully I didn't need to evacuate but yeah send thoughts for everyone who had to and lost their home on top of it.

A close family member passed away.

Unexpected vehicle repair expenditures.

Friends are in the hospital due to underlying health issues.

…..so is anyone else convinced that 2020 just keeps reincarnating?

I know I shouldn't complain, I have a lot to be thankful for. But Jeez, the amount of stress that keeps piling on from every corner just gets heavier and heavier. I'm trying my damndest to keep up with writing this story, but some days I'm lucky to even get a sentence down. So thank you all who still read.

That said, let's begin.

Patterns of speech:

Normal – May the Plus Ultra be with you.

'Inner thoughts with single quote marks', "Radio speak, transmissions for double ones" – May the Plus Ultra be with you.

All Might – May the Plus Ultra be with you.

R3 – May the Plus Ultra be with you.

I only own my OC and the plot of this here story. All characters and locations in the MHA world are property of Kōhei Horikoshi. Star Wars is owned by Disney. Enjoy the new chapter!

Binding the Galaxy Together

Chapter 40: Weekday Prep

MONDAY

The void was as empty and mysterious as it ever was when it overtook her surroundings again. One figure changed. Then two. A third followed, and then finally six more figures total in the void illuminated and shifted into humanoid shapes, becoming identifiable by the multicolored light each of them had in their heart of a different color. Like the rest, all of them had their arms held out as if begging for a hand to take their own, making the total count now nineteen out of twenty. The vision shown was nearly complete, but its meaning wasn't any clearer.

Like a passing breeze, it was gone, and Camilla felt her weight return to her as her consciousness came back to the real world.

When her eyes opened, she looked down at her two hands clasping the six hands of her classmates. Hanta, Denki, Eijiro, Koji, Fumikage, and Rikido one by one, pulled their hands back as they looked at the girl, waiting for what she was going to say next.

"Just as I suspected. All of you were there," she clarified.

The six boys felt an odd mixture of interest yet weariness of the reveal.

"So, what does that mean?"

"Yeah, it's not every day we hear an alien's been seeing us in her head since before we even met."

Fumikage and Dark Shadow spoke the thoughts of honestly everyone in the class as they recalled the events that led to this moment. Hero training today was a lot less action packed than the previous week, by design of course. Since their first rescue training exercise was interrupted, they still needed to do it, but Thirteen was going to be out of commission for a short while longer. So until she was fully recovered, Aizawa and All Might had taken it upon themselves to rearrange some of the lessons around. So today was spent going over emergency procedures, evacuation protocols, and behaviors expected of them should this instance ever happen again in the future, no matter how unlikely it may be.

When the class was dismissed and the girls all grouped in the locker room to get dressed, Toru, out of curiosity, asked Camilla if she had been having any more visions of trouble coming. Camilla's response to her was, "No more than the one I can't get rid of." She had spoken it without thinking much of it. But the fearful responses of the other girls did make her regret wording it that way. So she explained in full what she meant. And that's how the rest of the girls learned that their Jedi classmate had apparently been seeing them all pop up in her head whenever she made physical contact with them for the first time, starting with Ochako around back when she first arrived on Earth. Odd as it was, Momo, Kyoka, Mina, Toru, and Tsuyu all took it pretty well. Now that the truth was out, anything involving the Force seemed to be small potatoes, something Camilla and Ochako were both happy about.

When they returned to the class, they relayed the info to the boys. Some felt a little off-put by it all, such as Yuga for example, while all the rest only felt more intrigued. The only two exceptions were, of course, Shoto and Katsuki. The former didn't really seem to care, while Katsuki just growled, seemingly angry that he was part of something bigger without wanting to be. Par for the course with him really. The other boys, who weren't revealed yet, all expressed interest in seeing if they would be, which led to them grouping their hands close enough together for Camilla to grasp them at once.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Camilla said with some frustration in her tone. "After all this time, I've yet to discover so much as a shred of clarity on what the whole thing means."

"Well, just as long as you're not seeing anything bad, it's OK, right?" Denki asked.

"Nothing bad, it's just…you were reaching out. I don't even know if it's me you're reaching to. There's so much of this that doesn't make sense."

"If only the Force could be as straightforward as our quirks," Fumikage mused. "I'd imagine a power such as yours would have its fair share of complexities."

"I think fair share is an understatement, Fumikage."

"Dark Shadow, don't start."

"No no, Dark Shadow has a point, Fumikage. The Jedi's knowledge about the Force has always been overshadowed by what we don't know about it," Camilla admitted, "but I'm not gonna let that deter me. I will find out what this vision means sooner or later."

"Well you know, we could find out right now if you'd stop being so stubborn."

…..oh right. That.

There was a reason Camilla only took hold of six hands instead of seven. And that reason was solely because of whom that seventh hand belonged to. Sighing, she looked over her shoulder and aimed her sight towards the sphere-headed pervert of class 1-A.

"I don't want to touch your hand, Minoru."

"Why not?"

"Because all the other girls have given me plenty of warning about where it's possibly been. So, no thanks."

Tsuyu especially was kind enough to go into detail about how Minoru groped her during the U.S.J. incident. Sure, it may have been the heat of the moment, but his behaviors and thoughts did not put him in a good light. From there, the other girls noted a few other times when he was caught leering at them or whispering lewd comments about their skirts and hero costumes. He knew how the girls felt, but he was persistent, one of his greatest strengths and annoyances.

"Aw come on! You said it'll only be for a few seconds, so what's the harm?"

"The harm is it's disgusting. Even the Jedi have rules about cleanliness, and I like to abide by those rules."

"Well, you need to see if I'm in that vision or not, and the only way you can do that is if our skin touches."

The thought itself was repulsive to the Padawan. So she laid out the only option she would give to this lecherous future hero.

"I will place one finger on your forehead. That will trigger the vision just fine if it happens, and you will not lay one of your tiny hands anywhere on my skin.

"Yeah yeah, fine."

Figuring it was the best she was ever gonna get with Minoru, Camilla held out her index finger and started to inch it slowly towards the diminutive boy. As Minoru watched the finger inch closer to him, a thought entered his brain. Would it be suicide? Most likely. But the moment of glory would be well worth it. Plus, she did kinda owe him for traumatizing him last week. So he figured he was merely taking what he believed he rightly deserved. His lustful senses pinged Camilla a little too late. Before she knew it, his head rushed forward and that wet grip around her finger sent her out of the classroom.

As the void rushed back into existence around her, so did the figures again, both solid and cloudlike. There was only one of the latter left. The smallest of the bunch glowed brightly from the center in a vibrant purple before shaping itself to resemble Minoru.

And that was it.

There was nothing else that happened. The vision was supposedly complete. All twenty figures had become clear, and they were all sharing the same pose with their arms outstretched for some unknown recipient to take. Her master's voice was still silent, which only made Camilla feel frustrated. The only thing new was the final cloud took on the shape of the boy, who was probably about to lose his life in a few moments if he did what Camilla thought he did.

Once she returned to reality, she found it to be much worse.

Camilla just thought Minoru had taken the chance to lap his disgusting tongue at her finger. Instead, she found the orb-headed dwarf hunched forward, and her finger was currently all the way in his mouth like a piece of candy, like he didn't have a care in the world. Momo had gotten to work creating a bottle of hand sanitizer and a small towel. Mina and Kyoka looked more ready to commit murder. Ochako, Tsuyu, and Toru, those three cautiously stared at Camilla wondering how she would take this.

Her Jedi training, the Gathering, the Clone Wars, all of those and then some were hellish trials that shaped Camilla into who she was. But at this moment, with her finger growing moist with Minoru's saliva, she had never felt more violated. Giving a screech that she never thought she could give, she yanked her finger out of Minoru's mouth, curled that finger up with the rest of them, and sent her fist flying back at Minoru's face, impacting it so hard he was sent straight into the wall.

Nobody spectating the event could tell if Camilla had the Force powering up that punch, or if it was just Minoru's small stature that made him indent into the wall. That thought was immediately pushed aside as the Padawan now looked at her own hand in horror, as if she had just touched the most revolting thing on the planet, which probably wasn't that big a stretch as far as she or anyone else witnessing was concerned. Momo gingerly took her wrist and began to pump string after string of sanitizer into her palm to rid Minoru's essence from her hand. Tsuyu had taken the towel and was wiping her alien friend's skin gently yet firm and making sure no one cell of her hand was left untouched by the sanitizer.

"I….I've never reacted like that to anything before," Camilla remarked. "Did I overstep-"

"Don't even fuckin think that," Kyoka said in a low voice. "The only one who overstepped is that little gremlin."

Every pair of eyes redirected back to the shortest member of their class and watched as he stirred from his daze and opened his eyes to find just about twenty pairs of angry eyes boring holes into him. Even Katsuki and Shoto, the two who were the most standoffish about Camilla, clearly weren't impressed with what they just saw.

"Mineta!"

Tenya was over him now, chopping his arms up and down furiously.

"Such an act towards a fellow classmate is absolutely reprehensible! Apologize to Camilla immediately!"

"Me apologize?! She's the one who clobbered me in the face!"

It was amazing really how pathetic it was to watch Minoru attempt to defend himself as he weakly rubbed his face, now sporting a red mark the size of Camilla's fist.

"You deserved it, you creep!"

"What is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me?! She's the one who….who….um…"

'Where's that boss music coming from?'

The answer to his mental quandary game not a moment later when another classmate approached him. Looking up, he saw that it was Izuku. At first, that didn't seem to scare Minoru, but then he noticed his face.

Never did he think the cinnamon roll of 1-A could carry such murder in his eyes.

"M-M-M-M-Midoriya?"

"Deku? You alright?" Ochako asked with a different concern.

He seemed to ignore Ochako completely and proceeded to lean down over Minoru's cowering form, never easing up his expression.

"If you ever try anything like that again to Camilla, or anyone else on this planet, there is not a hero or villain alive that will stop me from dropping you at Mr. Aizawa's feet right after I break you apart with one smash. Do I make myself clear?"

Minoru had never nodded his head so swiftly in his life.

"Good."

His business concluded, Izuku turned around to approach Camilla and checked on her, but he made a gesture to his left as he did.

"But first, R3. Get him."

*ZAP!*

"Ow!"

*ZAP!*

"Gah! Why twice?!"

*ZAP!*

"OOOWWW!"

Three shocks was where it mercifully ended it. Everyone was so busy glaring down at Minoru that they didn't notice R3 had rolled over and unleashed his prod. Kyoka wished she had her phone out so she could record it, but that thought got shelved once Izuku had finished approaching and looked at Camilla's hand being wiped clean by Tsuyu.

"Are you alright?" he asked his friend.

"I'm fine, Izuku. Thank you. But you didn't need to threaten him."

"Sorry. You just don't deserve that."

Camilla took her dry hand back and placed it on Izuku's shoulder with a comforting nod. Her soft smile stayed on her face for only one more moment before it was replaced with one of confusion.

"What is it?" Izuku asked.

He didn't get a straight answer. The Jedi only looked away from him.

"What's happening outside?"

As she looked to the door, everyone else followed her movement. Being the nearest to the door, Eijiro reached over and slid it open. He stepped back from what he saw, shock on his face.

"Hey! Who are all you people?!"

It turned out what Camilla was sensing was an entire horde of other students huddled around the door to their classroom like they were looking into a museum exhibit.

"Um…hello there. Do you all have some sort of business with our class?" Tenya asked.

"They're here to scout the competition, morons."

Brash as he was, Camilla knew Katsuki was right. Through the cacophony of feelings outside the door, she was able to pick up a few similarities in thought patterns. Jealousy and envy was what made their desires more apparent. Great. This was not how she or anyone else wanted to cap off their day.

"We're the class who survived a villain attack. Of course, they'd want to see what to take a look before the competition begins." Katsuki approached the door and looked out into the crowd with his normal indifference. "Take a good look. This is what the future top hero looks like. Now get out of my way, you damn extras."

The rest of class A all had mixed reactions to that not-so-subtle insult to probably every classmate in their year from every course. Ochako sighed, Izuku pinched his nose, Camilla groaned, Tenya descended into another flurry of arm-chopping and berating, and so on.

"Why does he have to open his mouth to speak sometimes?" Rikido groused.

"So this is what the famous class 1-A consists of? A bunch of arrogant jerks like you?"

Everyone's heads perked up a bit, very little by the sound of a new voice, but more so being called an arrogant jerk by proxy to Katsuki. The explosive boy himself just looked only a smidge more annoyed than usual as he heard someone shuffling through the ground.

"You know, on my way over here, I wondered what the class who took on villains and won would be like. I gotta say, you don't leave a good first impression."

The boy talking finally got into view of Katsuki and his eyes beheld…someone who looked way too much like his hobo homeroom teacher to not be related, a thought that was shared by anyone who got a clear view of this guy. The only difference only seemed to be his lavender hair being shorter, but it was still a messy untamed bush, much like Aizawa's.

For Camilla, all she could make out was a boy with a messy head of hair like Izuku's, and a bright lavender light over his heart.

"I wanted to be in the hero course. But my quirk isn't suited to take on robots. So I failed the entrance exam. I had to settle for general education as a result. And I'm hardly the only one with that story." The boy glanced at the crowd behind him. "So many of us have to take the long way to become heroes. The sports fest is our chance to show the world what we can do, and if we perform good enough, they can promote us to the hero course. And of course, the opposite can be done for you."

He smirked as he realized some of the others from this cocky class were listening intently to his words now.

"If any of you underperform, they'll boot you out and let someone more deserving of it take your place. Consider this a declaration of war. If you class of egomaniacs think you can take it easy in the festival just because you beat some villains, then you better think-"

"War?"

The one word put a stop to the boy's speech. The one who spoke stepped forward, slinging her backpack around her shoulders and adjusting the sunglasses on her face. She too approached the door and stood apart from Katsuki as she made a show of looking this kid up and down from the top of his head to his shoes. The Force could only show her so much, but the sheer smugness of this kid was coming off him like an unpleasant odor.

"What's your name?" she asked.

The boy raised an eyebrow and shrugged, not knowing why she cared.

"Hitoshi Shinso, general education class 1-C."

"Alright, Hitoshi, let me ask you. Have you ever been shot at?"

The question made Hitoshi and a few others near him flinch. It surprised him so much he didn't even think to ask why she was using his given name rather than his surname.

"W-what?"

"Have you ever been shot at? Been hit by exploding acid? Nearly get your skull caved in by a hulking monster that's as strong as All Might himself?"

Not understanding why this girl was bringing those things up, Hitoshi kept his face as even as he could.

"No, I haven't."

"Then what do you get from insulting us for just surviving things like that?"

Suddenly, the tone in her voice sharpened. The sunglasses covered her eyes, but now her demeanor was much more obvious with that one question. It was enough to make Hitoshi step back before he realized he was doing it. The redhead stepped forward in kind, keeping her distance the same.

"If that's the kind of thing you think about people who you've never spoken to before, then I highly doubt you'll be someone who takes our place."

Hitoshi's glare returned, as did his previous thoughts about this class.

"Well, you're sure an arrogant one."

"Says the one here throwing out one baseless assumption after the other," Camilla cut him off before he could get another word out. "None of us asked to be attacked. No one wanted to fight for their lives. What happened was something I genuinely hope never happens again in our time as students. I'm actually going to therapy to try and get help with some of the things we went through. Is that something else you'd like to mock me for?"

The feeling of confidence Hitoshi had in his gut on his way over to this classroom, he could feel it start to drain out of his feet as the girl he didn't even know the name of kept talking. He wasn't even sure how to answer that last question, or if he even should. He didn't know that any of them were seeing the counselor over what happened. He just thought because they were hero course students, they would be just fine, like heroes are supposed to be.

After remaining silent for a few more seconds, she went on.

"You know, the last time I checked, heroes were supposed to be relied upon to give comfort to people who were just attacked. You claim to want to be in the hero course, and yet your first instinct upon learning my class and I had to fight for our lives was to come here, antagonize us, and then declare war on us? Name me one hero in the history of all heroes who ever did something like that."

She waited for ten whole seconds and got no answer. Just a harsh pang of regret shot out of the boy in front of her.

"That's what I figured. Now if you please, if you all please, let me pass. Recovery Girl is expecting me."

The girl made no motion on her own to move. It wasn't until Hitoshi moved aside that she finally advanced, her ruby hair swished by on her way past him. The other kids behind him did the same as she approached, and then stayed that way as a funny-looking robot made its way out, following her. He had no idea what the hell the robot was even for or why it was following, but Hitoshi really didn't care about that. He looked back to class A's room and took another look at the students in there behind the blonde jerk.

"Therapy? Really?"

"Dude, we both saw and did things none of us wanted to see or do. That shit sticks with you." Denki shrugged.

"I…I'm actually thinking about seeing Hound Dog myself a couple times if he has any openings," Koji admitted.

"Ribbit. Well, if we're admitting it, so am I."

Yeah. That self-righteousness was gone now and replaced with a feeling of shame. He was the ass here.

"Alright, fine. Maybe you do have sense."

"Don't lump me in with her, eyebags. I've got my own voice. And right now I believe it's telling you to get the hell out of my way before I show you just how I managed to get into the hero course on the first try."

Once again, Tenya was on Katsuki's back, admonishing his poor vernacular. This time, Momo was right next to him, having had enough of her explosive classmate's abhorrent behavior on his fellow classmates. But ultimately, it turned out it meant nothing to him, as he looked back and silenced them with a glare.

"I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to become the number one hero," he growled. "If you wanna aim for the top, you don't take shit from anyone. And if they literally ask for it like this guy is, you give it to them. At the festival, in front of the whole damn world."

Tired of waiting, he pushed his way past Hitoshi and the other's spread away.

"All of you are nothing but pebbles on my path."

With that final note, he walked away. And suddenly Hitoshi could feel a little bit of the spark he walked over here with re-ignite, though it was mostly focused on him.

"Is it at least alright if I don't like him?" he asked the rest of the class.

"Yes," was the unified answer from nearly everyone still in the classroom.

That reaction elicited a chuckle from the lavender haired boy.

"Alright then. Sorry about the assumptions. But everything else I said was true. I'm coming for the hero course with everything I've got. Hope you'll all be ready."

Afterhe finished saying his piece, Hitoshi turned and walked away from the room, causing the other kids, even the ones who probably wanted to say something after he did, to go their own way too. Once the crowd started breaking up, class A felt like a huge weight was removed from their shoulders, despite some lingering tension.

"First Camilla put the fuse out and then Bakugo just had to light it again," Mashirao lamented.

"Maybe, but I hate that it was such a manly exit!" Eijiro shook his fists.

"That wasn't 'manly', dude! That was rude as all hell!" Mina cried. "Now all the other classes are for sure gonna hate us!"

"Sounds about par for the course when it comes to Kacchan."

The class all looked at Izuku as he kept talking.

"He's always been like that. He's making himself a target too so he can up the intensity of the competition as best he can. It's how he gets fired up and motivated to do his best."

"Yeah well, his method of getting fired up is painting targets on our backs!" Denki shouted.

"We're already targets, Kaminari. Rude as he was, he was still right. We're not gonna be the only ones in the festival. Every first year at U.A. is participating. We can't afford to not take them seriously."

As much as they didn't want to admit it, Momo was right. The sports festival was gonna be their chance to shine, but there could still only be one winner. It could very well be one of them, but they didn't know who everyone else was or what they were capable of. That Shinso guy was one such example. Everyone wanted to shine here.

All anyone could do was train their asses to the bone and hope it's enough.

---

So that was…an interaction.

The young exile certainly had no intention of telling off a ton of other kids in her year off today. When that Hitoshi guy started running his mouth, her first thought was to just merely ignore him and walk out of the room without so much as acknowledging him and leaving him to his own assumptions. But she just had to be trained with a power that let her sense the feelings of those around her. The more Hitoshi talked, the more uncomfortable the majority of her classmates felt. Frustration, anxiety, and fear all prevailed in their heads the more he went on. The least she could do for them was make him stop talking and at least try to set the record straight. She wasn't quite sure how well a job she did and quite frankly, she wasn't in a mood to care. Having heard Katsuki's egotistical speech to them first and feeling Minoru suck her finger like it was candy, the mood she approached the door with, admittedly, was not the best.

At least she was out the door now. Whatever actions that would result from her words would have to wait. All she had to do now was have a quick chat with Recovery Girl and then another yummy meal courtesy from Mrs. Midoriya was in her future. With that goal in her mind, she quickened her pace just a bit to get to Recovery Girl's office.

"So this is what you're like at school. A far cry from the days at the temple."

Camilla said nothing back to him and kept on walking.

"So I was thinking. From now on, whenever we're in class I want you to call me, Mr. R3. I mean, it's only fair, right? You call all the other teacher's Mister or Miss. Now that I technically outrank you as a staff member here, I think a nice change of pace between you and me would be, well, quite hilarious."

She could tell he was joking, but boy did Camilla kind of wanna smack the imaginary smirk the droid would have most definitely been wearing if he had a face right now.

"Those are some nice dreams to have, R3. Too bad that's all they shall remain."

The droid continued to complain his case as he rolled alongside her towards their destination. It was only a minute more before they came upon the door of Recovery Girl's infirmary. Sensing the nurse was on the other side and no one else, she brought her knuckles to the wood.

"Recovery Girl, may I come in?"

"Yes please do, dearie."

Permission granted, Camilla opened the door and let R3 roll himself in first before following and shutting the door again. Due to the nature of the conversation about to be had, she waved her hand and a nudge of the Force locked the door.

"Hello, Sharro."

Recovery Girl was seated at her computer.

"Please, call me Camilla," the Padawan politely requested.

"Alright then, Camilla. If you don't mind me asking, did you have a good first day back?"

"For the most part, yes. Thank you. And yourself?"

"Well nowadays, any day I don't have to treat Midoriya for broken bones is a good day." The nurse sighed. "But enough about that. Did you bring what I asked for?"

Another nod, and Camilla slipped her backpack off and undid the zipper. She dug her hand past her cloak and belt and felt the case holding her bacta vials at her fingertips. As she brought her hand back out, she grabbed hold of the case using the Force and out it came, untouched by her grasp and floating above her backpack. It wasn't until after Camilla set her backpack down that she grabbed the case with her hands and opened it up. She plucked a single vial from the batch and closed it again before approaching Recovery Girl, who she could now sense was exuding an aura of eagerness, determination, and excitement all rolled into one.

Finally, Recovery Girl finally had her hands on the substance that saved Aizawa from permanent damage. It looked so unassuming, just a blue gel in a vial. But knowing what was behind the glass, and seeing it up close, Recovery Girl could feel that excitement inside her swell to a level she had not experienced in years.

"Thank you for this," she said. "It means a lot to me."

"Would you mind if I ask why?" Camilla asked with obvious curiosity.

Recovery Girl was more than happy to answer, as it was something she thought about constantly.

"Simply put, I'm old," she bluntly said. "My quirk is the only thing that keeps some of the tests used at this academy from being outright banned thanks to the sheer level of danger they present. Healing quirks as potent as mine are a rare find. Truth be told, I've been trying to look for someone to take my place for a long time now. I don't want this school or its students to suffer after I'm gone. Then I heard about this. A substance that can rapidly heal injuries is nothing short of a miracle in this world. Only quirks were capable of such feats for the longest time. If you'll allow me to study this and attempt to replicate it, then I can, at the very least, retire with peace of mind for the future generations."

It was a nice thought. And Camilla agreed with everything Recovery Girl said. Having a reliable means of healing a wide variety of injuries was a must for a school like this. If the heroine was nearing her twilight as she said, then it only made sense that she would want bacta to be a candidate to assist her, if not outright replace her someday. But that came with a plethora of problems. If Recovery Girl wanted to replicate it, she was going to find soon that there could be some problems with that. The substance was of herbal origins. Herbs that were found only on planets in her galaxy. She was not aware if there were any plants on earth that could mimic the effect of those needed to produce even the most mild variation of bacta.

"And…in the event that replication is impossible?"

"Then I guess the search continues," Recovery Girl answered. "New heroes are being made every day. One of them is bound to have a quirk that can replace mine. But until then, I'll put as much effort as I can into this."

The nurse clenched her fingers around the vial as if it were a precious thing.

"Such potent healing inside one little container. I heard about how grizzly Aizawa's wounds are from the other students. It's astounding to know how rapidly it worked and how thorough it was."

"It'll be able to do a lot more should you be successful," Camilla added. "These little shots alone heal wounds that could take even the toughest of soldiers out of the fight forever. So many men have screamed from blaster wounds, shrapnel, and even horrible burns. But one or two injections and boom, they're back on their feet and blasting back at the enemy like it never even happened. If they suffered something worse, bacta tanks were there for that. A lot of good troops and Jedi were saved thanks to that gel. I don't know where my galaxy would be without it."

Thinking back to her home was starting to make her eyes feel misty. Shaking her head and hoping Recovery Girl didn't notice, Camilla felt now would probably be a good time to head for dinner at Izuku's.

"I hope studying it is everything you're looking forward to." The Padawan bowed her head. "We'll take our leave now. Come along, R3."

Beckoning her droid, Camilla slid her sunglasses back on before opening the door. She clasped the knob, but she didn't turn it. Right as she was about to, her mind made her stop and direct herself back to the school nurse.

"Is something the matter?"

"Hm? What now, dear?"

"Forgive me, Recovery Girl. But I sensed your worry."

Briefly, Recovery Girl felt silly for letting that tidbit slip from her mind. But she remained calm.

"You needn't worry about me. I promise you, I'll be fine."

"It isn't that, dearie. I know you're strong, and what you've been through is the reason for that. But…you shouldn't have had to go through it." The sadness in Recovery Girl's voice was now much more obvious to the ear. "You talk about the men you fought with, the screams you heard, the firefights...and you're only fifteen."

Suddenly, Camilla identified this office as the last place she wanted to be.

"I…guess we can just chalk that up to cultural differences. Kids here are raised one way, while I was raised another. And that's something I'm alright with."

"Perhaps. But I can't in good conscience think that you were raised the way a young girl should have been."

"And I suppose I shouldn't try to make you," Camilla flatly said back. "But if it's any consolation, I treasure the childhood I had."

It wasn't the easing of the mind she was hoping it would be, but Camilla didn't know what else to say.

"Have a good night, Recovery Girl." She opted for a goodbye.

"Good night, Camilla." And thankfully, Recovery Girl was willing to leave it at that.

Collected, the Padawan remained as the door was opened yet again, and she and R3 exited the office to make for the exit. Alone in her office, Recovery Girl looked at the gifted vial once more as she tried to think more about the possibilities she could unlock, rather than a girl's past she couldn't change. A lot more effort went into that first option as she hopped off her chair and looked for a safe place to store the bacta shot, somewhere no one could accidentally discover it.

"With all the stress Toshinori and Midoriya are already giving me, it's a wonder I'm alive even today."

---

TUESDAY

Since R3 was given a map of the school to memorize and save to his database, he and his Jedi owner were both being given a throwback to the old days as the droid guided Camilla through the school towards Hound Dog's office. The redhead insisted she could find her way there herself, but R3 wasn't gonna have it. Some things never changed. Even when she was just a youngling with better control of her sight, she insisted even then she didn't need his help getting around. Only for her to change her mind a few minutes later when she got turned around for the fourth or fifth time. Powerful in the Force she might be, but help was something everyone needed from time to time, even the Jedi. Although they could be stubborn to admit it at times. R3 knew that well in his years with his blind master.

So after classes ended today, it was a nice little turnaround to have R3 lead the way for once, at least he found it amusing. A few long hallways and a short elevator ride brought the journey from the 1-A classroom to Hound Dog's office near the top floor of the building. Camilla reached for the doorknob, but the droid bleeped at her to not go in yet.

"Why not?" she asked.

As it turned out, there was another reason to be thankful for R3's assistance. Nezu had apparently given the droid a heads-up about Hound Dog's office. Right outside the door, there was a small red light that would be lit up if there was a session currently in progress. It was indeed lit, something Camilla couldn't make out through the Force. So she took a seat, and R3 retracted his middle leg as they waited.

It was a few minutes before the light shut off and the door opened. A student walked out.

R3's optical sensor saw a girl with a slight forward lean in her posture, similar to how that frog girl stood. She was even holding out her hands in front of her like Tsuyu as well. That was where the similarities ended, however. This girl had chin length white hair with half her face hidden behind a large bang. The eye that was still visible was a pale blue, pale enough that R3 could swear it was identical to the blue of a lightsaber. His focus stayed on her eye a little longer when he noticed the dark circle underneath it and slight amount of red puffiness around it. Was this girl crying recently?

Those thoughts were being mirrored by Camilla, who could pick up some of the girl's emotions but didn't want to pry too deeply into them. She couldn't see her colors or features, but her vision made out a figure with a slouch and a neon purple light over her heart, showing her unique Force connection. Back to feelings, this girl was obviously going through her own issues if her sadness was anything to go by, and Camilla did not think it was her place to ask. As she stood up to go into Hound Dog's office, the other girl began to walk by her, only to catch her foot on R3's leg and stumble to the ground. Upon hearing her thud to the floor, Camilla turned around and went down to her knees to help her up.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she offered her hand.

"Yeah I'm fine," the girl responded flatly as she reached to take it.

With their hands clasped, Camilla helped the other girl up to her feet.

"Apologies for that. My droid here is a bit wider than he thinks he is sometimes."

The bleeps seemed to shriek out of the droid at that comment, making the redhead roll her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I was calling you fat. Calm down."

"I'm sorry. Did that thing just say words just now?"

"Him, not thing," Camilla firmly said. "But yes, I know it's odd, but I can understand him."

"Oh."

The other girl really didn't know what else to say here. A weird girl with sunglasses who could understand this funny looking robot? Maybe it was a quirk thing or something. Either way she wanted to leave, but something was keeping her from doing that.

"So, I'd like to go home now," she said. "Could you let go of my hands?"

"Hm?"

It only now dawned on Camilla that she still had this girl's hands clasped in her own. Like a flash, she let go and wrapped her arms around her back.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized.

Nothing more was spoken. The silver haired girl just turned to walk out.

"Wait."

Only to be stopped at the door. Her hand was hovering right over the knob, as if begging to grab it and turn it, but instead, the girl pulled her hand back and turned to face her schoolmate again.

"Yes?"

"Um…I'm sorry if this seems out of nowhere," the redhead started talking while she gestured back to the other door. "But what's it like in there?"

It wasn't intentional, but Camilla did end up sounding a little more nervous than she meant to. She knew there wasn't much to be nervous about in so many ways. But in others, like her fundamental Jedi teachings, she was still weary. She just hoped this other girl didn't pick up on that.

"First time with therapy?"

Hopes were dashed that day. The redhead just nodded meekly.

"You have no idea what to expect, right? You don't understand how just talking to someone can make all your pain go away?"

Another nod. The other girl noticed how surprised she looked by her guesses.

"Trust me, you're not the only one who feels that way," the silver-haired girl said as she stepped away from the door. "Truth be told, I'm still a little skeptical about it myself."

"Really? How long have you been a patient?" the Padawan asked.

"Just a few months. But to answer your question, it's kinda like putting a puzzle together."

"...huh?"

"You have all these pieces in front of you, and you're trying your best to put them together so you can see the clear picture, right? Well, every time you hit a bump and get stuck, someone's there to guide you through how to understand the problem, and the puzzle gets a little more complete. You following this?"

"I suppose." Camilla rubbed her chin. "Still doesn't make me any less off put."

"I kinda knew it wouldn't help. It was the same thing my dad told me when I started. It did nothing for me."

"Well, then why did you try it with me?"

"Wanted to see if it could work on someone else. Now I know it doesn't. Shame."

As she spoke, Camilla couldn't help but feel this odd sense of fascination with how this girl spoke.

"Reiko Yanagi, class 1-B."

And now she knew her name.

"Camilla Sharro. Class 1-A," she replied. "So you're a hero course student too?"

"Yeah. And your class is pretty much the talk of the school. But just from me, I'm sorry you guys got attacked. It couldn't have been easy."

'Oh thank the Force. This girl is sensible.'

"Thank you for that, Reiko."

Reiko perked her head up just a bit as she was referred to by her first name. But rather than comment on that, she decided to bring up something else, something she felt would be inevitable.

"Also, I think I should give you another apology ahead of time for one of my classmates. Monoma, he's a well-meaning guy…I think. But he's kinda gotten it into his head that the attack made you all arrogant egomaniacs who just want attention."

"I can assure you, neither I, nor any of my classmates carry such thoughts."

"I know that. The rest of my class knows that. But he just wants to stay in his world of 'he's right and everyone else is wrong'."

"Wow. Sorry you have to deal with that."

"Eh, it's not too bad," Reiko said. "If anything, it's a little fun to watch my class rep knock him out every time he gets lippy."

"Ah good, you're on time. Come on in."

The sound of Hound Dog's voice drew Camilla's attention back to the door where the bestial guidance counselor was waiting for her. Before she went in, she turned back.

"It was nice meeting you, Reiko."

"See you around, Sharro."

The two girls turned back from each other and walked through their respective doors. R3 followed Camilla into the office, and Hound Dog shut the door behind them. Upon entering, she took in her view of the room. The layout she could sense was very spacious. A large couch was pressed against the wall in the far corner, and a single reclining chair sat a few meters away from it.

"Take a seat." Hound Dog gestured to the corner.

The girl and her droid walked over while Hound Dog closed the door, locked it, and turned the light outside back on. When he looked back, he saw Camilla sitting in his chair rather than the couch like normal.

"Uh, you actually sit on the couch, Sharro."

The young Jedi turned to the hero confused, which only confused him in return.

"But this is your office. Is the bigger seat not meant for you?"

"In this case, the couch is meant for the patient, ergo, you, so you can be as comfortable as possible. You can either sit straight or lie down on it. Whichever you want is fine."

It was odd seeing something so simple throw this girl for a loop. Nevertheless, she complied and changed seats from the chair to the couch. Her droid shifted places as well, taking his place by her side. When Hound Dog sat, he looked to his side and plucked a notepad and a pen off the table to the side.

"So, uh….where does this even begin?" Camilla asked before he could say anything.

"Well, how about we start simple?" Hound Dog suggested calmly. "How are you?"

Really simple by the looks of it.

"I'm well today, thank you."

"That's good. That's honestly really good to hear," Hound Dog nodded and wrote a note down on his pad. "Are you getting along with your classmates?"

To that, Camilla nodded back.

"Yes I am…" Then her confidence in her answer wavered a bit. "…for the most part."

Hound Dog remained calm. It was to be expected that she wouldn't be on everyone's good side after she revealed her secret.

"Who are you having trouble with?"

As Camilla sighed, she leaned back into the couch without realizing it.

"Shoto, Minoru, and Katsuki," she answered. "Well, Katsuki has been kind of a pain since before U.A. Minoru is quickly becoming a pain among the females of my class. As for Shoto, he and I were getting along. But after I told the truth, he wasn't thrilled that I lied to him."

Hound Dog made a note of Minoru and intended to circle back to him in time. But the way she sounded so despondent about Shoto made him want to start there.

"That so? Why do you suppose that is?"

Briefly, Camilla considered telling Hound Dog what was going on with Shoto's home life, but it was gone in an instant. His problems weren't hers to divulge, and she did promise to keep it secret. It wasn't like Hound Dog would tell him thanks to that confidentiality he spoke of, but still, it wouldn't feel right to breach his trust, regardless of whether it was broken or not.

"It doesn't matter," she stated. "Whatever the reason, I just hope he and I can talk soon. I don't want things to remain as they are between us."

It wasn't that hard to spot that she was holding something back there. Hound Dog just didn't know if it was something about herself or the Todoroki kid that was being kept from him. Silently, he decided to save that for later and focus on what she did say.

"It's good that you want to fix things. Just go at the pace Todoroki wants to go when it comes to you and him. I don't know what's eating him, but if you want things to be mended, then you can't force him. I know it's literally the name of your power, but maybe coming back to that later is for the best."

"I'm not quite sure I agree. If we are to be allies in the field one day, would it not be prudent to mend bridges rather than allow them to decay?"

"That's a very wise way of looking at it." Hound Dog nodded. "But bridges between people have to be mended from both sides, not just one. You can build your half, but you gotta let Todoroki build his own half, if and when he decides to do it."

The analogy wasn't lost on the girl. The canine hero could see that. But it definitely looked like she wasn't exactly taking the idea so lightly. It made sense. Alien as she was, she was still a human. Most human kids had this instinct to want to be on everyone's good side, to not do anything that would cause anyone distress. The truth was, albeit, far from what they wanted it to be. They mess up, sometimes in ways that can't be fixed. But trying to fix it all by themselves, more often than not, just makes things even worse.

"It is a principle of the Jedi to end conflict wherever they find it, be it physical or emotional. They never instigate. Shoto is in turmoil right now and…I feel responsible."

Hound Dog mentally noted the wisdom in her tone as she talked more about the core belief of her kind. The more he learned, the better.

"Has it reached a level of harassment?" he asked.

Camilla quickly shook her head.

"No. He refuses to look at me, let alone speak to me. He won't even acknowledge me in training sessions."

"That could still be problematic," Hound Dog said. "Have you notified Aizawa or All Might about that? It could lead to trouble if he refuses to work with you in training."

The look on her face was enough of an answer to Hound Dog.

"It hadn't occurred to me. No," was the verbal response he expected, and he returned it with a nod and another scribble on his pad.

"If I were you, I'd let them know ASAP, if anything, just as a precaution."

Camilla made a mental note to get to school a little early tomorrow so she could do that. To Hound Dog, she nodded her head again and adjusted herself on the couch a small bit.

A few short trills from R3 then sounded out. Camilla turned to the metal being and sighed.

"We've only just started, R3. Stop it."

"What did he say?" Hound Dog asked.

"Oh, he's just being a stickler. He's scared that me trying to go through with this therapy thing is going against a lot of what I was taught when I was younger," Camilla explained. "Which, I guess, does have some truth to it. But I'm doing the best I can to adapt."

"What, the Jedi never talked about their feelings?" Hound Dog asked, knowing his question was half a joke.

"Not really. It wasn't something often done."

…..OK that's concerning.

"There's a lot about this school and this world that I'm not used to, even after living here for a year. It feels like my head is spinning sometimes, and I don't know which way is up or down. Which I guess is on par for me considering." The young girl gestured to her eyes.

The canine hero wrote more as Camilla talked and silently hoped she wouldn't pick up on his concern about her upbringing. He wanted to press more about it, but he didn't want to feel too intrusive. A bit of aggression on the wrong thing and this girl would probably stay closed off. She did agree to the sessions, but now it was Hound Dog's job to make her feel as comfortable as possible. Abnormal issues or not, she was still his patient now, just like any other kid who ever sat on that couch

"Getting back on track, you not being used to this, is something that I wish to understand. I don't know anything about how the Jedi raised you or others like you."

Suddenly, an idea came to his head.

"In fact, why don't we go down that route? Let's put U.A. aside for now. If you don't mind telling me, what was your upbringing like? You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to, but just know I'm only asking to try and get to know your headspace a little better."

The young Jedi only seemed to take a moment to think about it before shrugging nonchalantly. Now that he thought about it, Hound Dog surmised she had probably been used to talking about that sort of thing to her friends by now.

"Understandable, I suppose," she said. "There's not really a lot to tell, at least in my opinion that is. Growing up on Coruscant as a youngling in the Jedi temple was…well it was all I knew for the longest time. It was where I lived, slept, ate, and learned. I had my routine that gradually changed with age. I had my friends…and my teachers. One in particular…who ended up becoming my sworn mentor."

Hound Dog watched as the girl started to grow misty-eyed at the mentioning of her mentor. He then recalled the knowledge that this man was now deceased. Judging by the way she was reacting to recalling that, this mentor must have meant a great deal to her.

"Do you think he was a good teacher?"

A small sniffle came from Camilla's nose before she answered.

"He was the best," she said.

"Well, I guess every student has favorite teachers in other galaxies."

"It was a little more than a case of a favorite teacher." Camilla's tone grew informative. "You see, this teacher, Larek Morlev, was his name. I was his personal apprentice. When a Jedi youngling attracts the attention of a knight or master in the order, they have a chance to become their Padawan when they come of age. That was what happened with me and him. He looked out for me when I was inducted into the order, and he helped train me with the Force, my saber skills, and so much else. When I was made his Padawan, our bond only strengthened, both off and on the battlefield. He was more than a teacher to me. He was the closest thing I ever had to a father."

Hound Dog made another note about that as soon as he heard it. Establishing who her most personal relationships were with back in those days could be extremely helpful. R3 was already a clear one, now this master Larek Morlev could go next to his name. A quick spark from his memory brought the recollection that she had a brother. Would she include him in that list?

"You must miss him a great deal, along with everyone else you lost," Hound Dog gently said.

Slowly, Camilla's bottom lip tucked in and her face tensed as it seemed a slew of memories had just dumped into her head.

"I do…but I know I mustn't."

That…didn't sound right.

"What do you mean, you mustn't? Mustn't what?"

"I mustn't miss them," Camilla started, with Hound Dog listening carefully. "I was taught that death is a natural part of life. And because of that, I must not mourn those who pass, for they have become one with the netherworld of the Force."

Hound Dog had a lot he wanted to say already on thoughts like that, but Camilla wasn't done.

"Training ourselves to let go of all we fear to lose, it's an important step in upholding the Jedi code. There is no emotion. There is peace. That's the first line of our mantra."

Suddenly, the pen in the counselor's hand was being squeezed a lot tighter than usual.

"Your master…taught you to look at death like that?"

"Well, not exactly."

The grip eased up, but only by the smallest percent.

"Oh?"

"You see, the lessons I repeated back to you were mostly taught and enforced by most high ranking masters on the Jedi Council. But master Larek, he was more lax in the emotional department. He always said he got it from an old friend of his named Qui-Gon Jinn. He always tried to instill in me a different approach to death and how to feel about it. He said being honest with my emotions rather than suppressing them like the council taught instills balance a lot more."

That did succeed in getting Hound Dog to calm down a little bit more, but not all the way.

'These people literally just told her to push her feelings down and try her best not to experience them? At least her master had a bit more of a screwed on head than the rest of these idiots!'

It was probably a bad idea to think of the dead in such a way, especially given the possibly gruesome end they all met given Camilla's recollections, but Hound Dog couldn't let this slide. Kids need to let off some steam every once in a while. Especially kids who have gone through some form of horrible trauma with undesirable consequences. How long had Camilla been keeping this up for? The whole year she's been here?

"Would you say maybe you've been forgetting to try things a little differently, like your master suggested?"

"Of course I haven't!" Camilla said a bit louder than she meant to. Honestly, she was a little insulted that anyone would ever insinuate she didn't take to heart what her dear master taught her. Still, she reigned herself in quickly and bowed her head to the hero before her. "Apologies."

"Not necessary. You hold your master in high regard. It's commendable, actually."

"Thank you. But…it's hard for me. I miss him. But part of me still thinks that I shouldn't. It's not that I don't want to believe what my master taught me, but years before I was made his Padawan, I was taught one way. And then he tried to teach me another way while we were at war. It was hard."

"I can imagine. Having to be taught with all of that going on probably wasn't what a Jedi your age is supposed to be taught, right?"

"Correct. But I still did my best."

"It shows, Sharro. Really it does. I know we just started, but from what I've already heard, you got a good head on your shoulders. And this Jedi stuff, can't say I agree with everything you've told me so far, but, I'm open to understanding more as we go. But I can only understand what you'll let me understand. Get it?"

Camilla considered his words carefully. She was already here, as her agreement stated, and Hound Dog's intentions here definitely were not malicious. She could sense his genuine care from him and his desire to help her. There was a brief spike of anger just a few minutes ago, but it surprisingly didn't concern her. After all, it was just talking, and again, that confidentiality thing was in play. So much of this process felt so against what the Jedi instilled into her, but if this was what it took to get her lightsabers back and her head back on somewhat straight, then the sacrifice would be worth it.

"I understand."

From there, the session continued. By the time the clock struck an hour, Hound Dog had finished with a couple full pages of notes. After bidding good night, Camilla left with her droid in tow. Alone in his office, the bestial man leaned back in his chair, eying the notes he took in thought. He hoped more and more that this wouldn't be something beyond his control, and it wasn't looking like it would be. Thankful as he was for that, he was still in for a rough time. Those thoughts the girl was raised with, to think such a way of death and the people around you, it felt cruel in a sense. It almost sounded like she was taught just to not care about it in the slightest. To her, it sounded like death was a great honor, but it was still death. Losing her entire order like that did obviously screw her up, but, how could Hound Dog help her see it another way? To help her let it all loose? Every single time he tried to prod at her a bit, to get her to respond emotionally to something, he was met with a brick wall. He knew this was gonna be an uphill battle, but now he was feeling like he should've packed some rock climbing gear.

But that was Thursday's problem. After putting his notes away and locking his office, Hound Dog followed in his latest patient's example, and headed home.

---

WEDNESDAY

Monday was Recovery Girl. Tuesday was session one with Hound Dog. Wednesday was reserved for Power Loader in the support lab. The excavation hero had made sure the lab would be clear of all his students after classes were over, so conversing with the Jedi learner could be done without danger. All his students obeyed the demand, but his one hell of a student this year put up a fight, begging to be allotted more time to make more gear so she could shine in the sports festival. Power Loader all but had to push her out the door himself in order to make her leave. The girl was brilliant, but damn was she more than a handful.

After a lengthy discussion peppered with a threat of banning from the lab if she didn't comply, the said student finally relented and went home, leaving only Power Loader himself. Not long after, the door opened up and footsteps mixed in with a robot's motor were heard coming in.

"Uh…I thought it was just gonna be you and R3."

Power Loader's sentiment was shared by Camilla as she stepped further into the support lab to make room for some others who followed. Apparently not only did Izuku, Ochako and Tenya come along, but also Momo, Mezo, Eijiro, Mina, Denki, Kyoka, and Tsuyu had all decided to tag along with Camilla to the development studio, adding up to half of class A in total.

"Sorry for the small crowd. But they wanted to come," Camilla said.

"We can leave if we're taking up too much space, ribbit," Tsuyu stated.

"No no, that's not a problem. This place is meant to be big enough for a whole class. Half of one is fine," Power Loader assured. "Just curious as to why you all wanted to join her."

"It's just…well…now that we know a little more of what Camilla's lightsabers are, a few of us wanted to learn a bit more about them. Myself included," Momo sheepishly admitted.

Tsuyu, Denki, and Kyoka, all nodded agreeing with Momo. Tenya's firm nod confirmed her words, and then he added in his own peace, while chopping his arms like it was his nature.

"Given our position, I find it prudent to learn all there is to learn about my classmate's Jedi culture whenever the opportunity presents itself. And she has gone on record saying her lightsabers are an important part of her culture."

Power Loader shrugged. It was good enough for him.

"And you, Shoji?"

The multi-armed giant looked down at Izuku with an expression that was hard to read due to the mask over his mouth.

"I took a look at that notebook you've been writing on Jedi lifestyle after Yaoyorozu finished it. I myself don't live with the impression that possessing much is a necessity of life. It turns out the Jedi had a similar mindset. I felt sort of a kinship, I guess. This felt like a good opportunity to learn more about it, if that's alright, of course."

The blind redhead turned to ensure her classmate could see her smile.

"I don't mind at all, Mezo. I'm happy to share."

The multi-armed boy nodded in return, while Power Loader looked at Eijiro and Mina.

"And you two?"

"It's real alien tech!" Mina excitedly proclaimed. "No way am I gonna miss out on this!"

"Yeah pretty much the same." Eijiro agreed. "This is kinda too cool to pass up."

The blind girl chuckled softly as she listened to her two classmates enthusiastically proclaim their desire to learn more about her technology. It actually threw her for a small loop. Even after living on Earth for a year, Camilla was still astounded by how excited and thrilled they were to see something from another world. Thanks to constant hyperspace travel, that novelty was lost on the Jedi. So to see it here in her new friends, it was endearing.

Her thoughts on the matter were broken as a loud thud drew hers and her classmates' attention. Power Loader had set a briefcase on the workbench before him and undid the locks on it. When the clasps unlatched, the top of the case swung open automatically, revealing two familiar weapons being carried within. They lay on a bed of protective foam, which also lined the inside of the top of the case as well.

As Camilla approached, most of the kids stood around her to get a better look at what they first thought were mere support items.

"You know, it's weird. I was a little nervous about seeing these things again. But learning where they come from and what they mean, it kinda cancels a few things out," Mezo explained.

Thankfully, it was a sentiment shared by the rest of the present classmates. Raising her hand and pulling with the Force, Camilla summoned her personal weapon to her palm, the feeling of dolovite against her skin again felt like a happy reunion.

"I haven't explained to you fully what they mean," Camilla said. "But I'd be more than happy to."

"I'm just glad you're finally here. I've been itching for the chance to look these things over," Power Loader said as he stood aside. "They're nice to look at, but without a proper diagram, I'm afraid to touch them. I don't want to break them."

It was nice that Power Loader felt that way about her treasured weapons, Camilla thought. Being a lover of tech himself, obviously the support hero would know how to treat it right.

"R3 has one," she replied to him. "The professor who helped me build my saber saved one to his memory in case it needed repairs."

The mentioned droid rolled over and from the nozzle on the front of his face, light projected and an image of Camilla's lightsaber showed up on a hologram, viewable by everyone except the owner of the weapon herself.

Finally, the blueprints for such a beautiful piece of tech were right in front of him. Power Loader felt himself grow giddy like a child as the plans rotated slowly. Immediately the support hero could make out a few similarities that he was sure he understood, such as the way the internal wiring was done. It looked so simple, but he knew it couldn't be. He was good with tech, but this one lightsaber was made of materials not found anywhere on earth. The conducting material inside the wires could be completely different. The metal on the hilt was obviously resilient if it was able to withstand whatever was happening inside it to make the blade stable. But which components performed what function? What made it extend and retract? What was the blade itself made from?

So many of these questions and then some ran through Power Loader's head as he studied the schematic up and down. Then his eyes fell on something that seemed out of place.

"Wait a minute. What's this?"

"What's what?"

"This."

Power Loader pointed towards the center of the hologram. He could make out wires and nodes in seconds. But the jagged edged unknown object dead in the center of this thing, he wasn't sure of. Everything else was smooth and looked like it was where it was meant to be. This thing didn't look at all like it belonged there. He hoped whatever R3 was chirping to Camilla would help relay his confusion.

"Oh that." A smile grew on her face as she rested a hand on R3's head. "That is the power source. Without it, the hilt would just be a fancy hunk of metal."

"What is it exactly?" Tenya asked, ever so curious.

At first, it looked as if Camilla was ignoring the question as she walked straight through the hologram and to the workbench where her sabers rested. As R3 shut the projection off, the young Padawan raised her hand. With a twitch of her fingers, her personal hilt floated above her palm. Then she waved her hand slowly across the length of her hilt. No one watching could tell what she was doing, but they got their answer a moment later when the top part of Camilla's lightsaber came apart from the rest of its body and rested down on the table. One by one, another piece of the hilt was detached and set down until there was nothing left but a few of the saber's inner workings.

In the center of it all was something glowing a familiar green.

Placing the final piece down with the Force, another tug pulled the tiny object from its home and fully into her grasp. Then, with a soft smile on her face, and with a tender grasp as if she were carrying a precious object, she approached her classmates and held up the object so they could see it better. Resting in her hands was what looked to be an unrefined and unshaped gemstone glowing the same green as they had seen on the blade of her saber.

"It's beautiful."

Momo's sentiment was shared by everyone gazing upon the small green rock.

"This, my friends, is a kyber crystal. It is the heart of every lightsaber ever made."

Another step forward, and the redhead gently grasped Ochako's wrist and pulled it up so she could open her palm. When it was, she placed the crystal in Ochako's hand, and the gravity girl immediately got entranced with the thing. Tenya looked over her left shoulder, Izuku was over her right, and everyone else made a chain as they leaned in to get a closer view.

"The power source for your lightsaber is a crystal?" Eijiro asked, clearly not expecting it.

"How could such a tiny thing make a blade like what we've seen?" Tenya's curiosity was shared by the whole group.

Even Izuku and Ochako never heard the full story behind her saber's internal workings. They were aware of the kyber crystal and Camilla told them it's what powered her saber, but she never went into much detail about it. This was actually the first time they had ever seen it outside its metal home.

"Izuku."

The green haired boy perked up at his name.

"You got that notebook?"

"Uh huh."

"You might wanna get it out now."

Faster than anyone thought possible, Izuku had said notebook in his hands and his pen ready to scribble down whatever Camilla was going to say next. The mere act made the Padawan herself chuckle. Then she looked down to Ochako's hands and gently swept her own over them. With a little nudge from the Force, the green glowing stone levitated off her friend's palms and hovered steadily a few inches away from her own.

"For a Jedi, finding a kyber crystal and building their lightsaber for the first time is a very treasured tradition dating back to the very beginning of the order itself. When a clan of initiates reaches the proper age, they are taken by a master to a remote planet of ice and snow called Ilum. This planet is extremely sacred to the Jedi Order and for centuries has been the traditional location for a rite of passage called, the Gathering."

"The Jedi temple located on Ilum holds the entrance to a labyrinth of caves that the younglings must enter in order to find a kyber crystal that will power their lightsabers. But it is not as simple as walking in and plucking the first crystal you see from the wall. No. A Jedi does not choose their crystal, but the crystal in fact does the choosing."

"The crystal chooses?" Ochako repeated, awestruck at the fact.

"Does that mean it's…alive?" Mezo wondered.

The first part of his answer was a small nod before more words followed it, words that now he and the other ten Earthlings in this room were hanging off of.

"These crystals are more than just shiny rocks. They are alive in a sense. They carry a consciousness that allows them to communicate and bond to a chosen individual all thanks to a very unique attunement through the Force. That is how I found this one here. When I first entered the cave, I heard it call out to me."

The disassembled pieces of her hilt lifted off the table and began to orbit the crystal like a system of planets around a sun.

"Anyone else getting a 'wand chooses the wizard' kinda vibe here?" Denki quietly muttered.

Kyoka just rolled her eyes and elbowed the electrical teen in his side before turning her ears back to Camilla. Though dammit all now if she wasn't thinking about the similarity.

"The trial of seeking a crystal is meant to make us feel fear. The Force showed myself, and my fellow younglings visions of our fears. It was our duty to push through them and claim the crystal. Once we did, we were ushered back to the ship and returned to Coruscant for the construction process under the guidance of Professor Huyang."

Now, there was a new curiosity about who this Huyang person was. However, that was overshadowed as everyone just kept their eyes on the crystal, now fully reinserted into its housing and becoming concealed by the separate pieces of the hilt putting themselves back together. A few clicks and latching noises later, the reassembly was complete and Camilla took a grip on her weapon once more.

"Once complete, the focusing chamber housing the crystal amplifies its energy upon activation, allowing for it to be expressed in a colorful blade."

*PSSSSHHHHEEEEW!*

A few of the students were startled a bit at the unexpected snap of the lightsaber's activation noise. The abrupt sound then dulled into the low and smooth hum the verdant bar of energy emanated normally. For everyone there that wasn't Izuku or Ochako, looking at the saber and its hilt felt a bit heavier for a moment. At the start, they figured it was just a really intricate support item developed by some high-end company, same as the other one she carried. But no. They both looked so alien in design because, well, they literally were, like something out of the old sci-fi movies come to life. Hearing that these weapons and the crystals inside them had a lore as engaging as the Jedi Order itself, only served to add fuel to the flaming curiosity within.

The humming of the blade grew louder as Camilla began to move it. A few light flourishes of her weapon were displayed before she spun it with her one hand and held it at her center with her other hand behind her back, like a knight would hold their trusty weapon.

"Every lightsaber is an extension of the Jedi wielding it. Apart, we are still capable of great things. But together, with proper technique and training, no enemy is unbeatable."

*Ssshhhhhhhhp!*

Izuku was still writing like a madman and muttering something about how deep the sentience a crystal can go as Camilla set her saber down. Through scribbles and the muttering storm he had devolved into, Power Loader kept his focus on the object while confliction entered his mind. The way the Jedi spoke about her weapon just now was with that reverence. The very same reverence she used when she spoke of her power and its nature back when she revealed who she was. Even if he didn't buy into it on the same level she did, it did spring thoughts that perhaps fiddling with these things may not be the wisest idea. At first, he was more than giddy internally about potentially taking one apart. But the way Camilla spoke about these things and what they meant to her kind, the mere thought of touching them felt like he was touching museum pieces worth millions.

"Wow…" Mina said in awe as her eyes remained glued on the weapon.

"Amazing," Momo also commented. "The way you hold it, it looks like it's as light as a feather."

"Yeah, how come it's so heavy when other people use it? Uraraka told us how it felt when she used one at the U.S.J.," Eijiro said.

As the others nodded, Camilla turned back to the case and held her free hand out. Swiftly, the second hilt jumped from the cushion to her grip. As the leather wrapped grip registered in her palm, she stared down at the hilt, affectionately rubbing at the weapon of her dear mentor.

"That's how it feels when one wields a saber with a non-attuned crystal. It resists the user and the weight increases, making it more difficult to use proficiently."

That definitely rang true in Ochako's ears as she recalled how much of an effort it was to look like she had a solid grip on that weapon. The relief of that battle only lasting a matter of seconds was still being felt.

"That's so frickin cool," Denki commented.

Mezo agreed, but he noticed something he wanted an answer to.

"Why are the two of them so differently designed? Was that on purpose?"

Eight of the ten present students, plus the support class teacher, gained a little confusion when Camilla's face dropped a bit as she looked closer at the silver plated hilt.

"Actually…I didn't build this one," she answered with a hint of sadness in her tone. "This lightsaber was my master's."

"…oh."

That little "oh" from the tentacle-armed teen was mirrored by the others as they learned more about the lightsaber in question, the glaring difference in look now obvious.

"I'm sorry," Mezo sheepishly apologized.

But Camilla shook his apology off.

"No, no. It's alright. I've never really told you about him."

"Still, we're all sorry. Ribbit," Tsuyu said. "Honestly, I can't believe we didn't realize it earlier. Even the blade is a different color."

Since she had already ignited her own in the room, Camilla felt it was safe to do so with her master's. Raising the tip, she thumbed the power switch.

*PSSSSHHHHEEEEW!*

The roar of ignition was ignored as the familiar warm blue glow made the Padawan smile briefly before she looked back to Tsu.

"Me and him were different in a lot of ways, as such is the relationship with most masters and their apprentices at the start. But he was a good teacher, an outstanding master…and a truly wonderful Jedi." Dammit, this wasn't supposed to be a wistful event, but Camilla couldn't help herself.

"What was his name?" Power Loader asked.

"Morlev. His name was Larek Morlev," Camilla answered as she deactivated the saber.

That cemented it for Power Loader. He definitely shouldn't touch these things. Not if they meant this much to her and one of them was her departed master's. He'd bring it up with Nezu the first chance he got. For now, there were still some other things to go over before he sent these kids home.

"Alright. So, let's table the lightsabers for now," Power Loader suggested. "Just having diagrams of yours is already more than I could ask for. There is something else Nezu asked me to remind you of. Your ship is gonna be moved here within the week."

The announcement drew the immediate attention of the Jedi, as well as the other students and the lone astromech.

"Here? You're bringing her ship here?" Mina was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"Where do you plan on keeping it, inside one of the gyms or something?" Denki wondered.

Power Loader shook his head and went over to his computer. After typing a few strokes at the keyboard, images popped up on the screen that the Earth-born students could recognize as blueprints.

"Cementoss and I got to work on that issue days ago. Bringing an alien ship here means we obviously can't hide it in a facility that's out in the open. Since you kids already signed that NDA, you can know about this. But again, don't go blabbing about it."

Nodding to the excavation hero, the kids all leaned in to take a look at what was being shown to them. Unfortunately, most of them couldn't really make heads or tails of the architectural readouts of the proposed structure. Thankfully, though, their two class reps could.

"Ingenious. So you're going to build an all new section of the academy underground and away from prying eyes," Tenya deduced.

"Really is the best place to put it, so long as no one happens to stumble in by accident," Izuku stated.

"That's something that'll be brought up with you and the rest of your class once construction is done and the wreckage is fully here. The security measures that we'll be putting in place around it are gonna be state of the art to ensure the wrong person doesn't come near it. So be ready for that."

A chime of "Yes sir" came from the class, and Power Loader nodded.

"Alright. When the ship gets here, there are a few things that need to be done first before we can even begin attempting repairs. First thing we gotta do is find a way to plug R3 here into our computers."

"Plug him in? Why would you want to do that?" Ochako asked, confused.

Power Loader looked at her for a moment and then locked his gaze onto the dome-headed droid.

"Well, you heard what Sharro said before, right? All the plans to her ship are stored inside R3's memory. Projections are helpful, but in order to be more thorough, I gotta find a way to translate his code in our computers so we can transfer a few things over, and that means I gotta find a way to build an entirely new input plug that fits whatever he's got in him."

Oh, yeah. That was a problem. R3 was sophisticated, but he didn't have any way to connect to a computer that was wireless. He required a socket to plug into, a socket type that didn't exist in this world, save for one place now.

"There are fittings like that in the droid port on my fighter's wing. From what I can remember, it's still intact and should be functional if power can be restored."

"Then that's where I'll start. But I gotta warn you about this, Sharro. As smart as I am, I'm still only one guy. One guy who's not only a teacher, but a pro hero. The time I'm gonna have to mess with your ship is gonna be limited. So I hope you don't mind if it takes me a while to make some headway."

Camilla merely nodded, showing her calm to the support teacher.

"I fully understand, Power Loader. There's no rush to this," Camilla assured him.

"Besides, Power Loader is the best mech we got in this school. Who else here could possibly have the brains to help him rebuild a spaceship?" Denki wondered aloud.

Suddenly, the door to the lab flew open and slammed into the wall, causing everyone inside the lab to jump at the noise.

"Sorry I-HAH?! Potential clients?!"

None of them had time to recover as a blur sporting pink dreadlocks atop her head suddenly rushed into the room and got in Izuku's face first. And boy, did Ochako notice how quickly his face turned red when this girl's shirt jiggled.
"Are these the hero course students that I'm gonna make babies with?!"

Suddenly, every circuit inside Izuku's brain got fried and smoke billowed out of his ears. The sound of his body slumping made this girl back off not even a bit.

"Deku?! Deku, wake up!" When shaking him awake didn't work, Ochako threw his arm over her shoulder and hoisted him back up to his feet. "Who are you?!" she shouted at the girl.

"The name's Mei Hatsume! Future support gear queen at your service!"

As this Mei person rambled on, Camilla slowly backed away with her hilts hidden behind her back. Sensing when she was close enough, she let go of the hilts and used the Force to levitate them the rest of the way to the case Power Loader was holding them in before. When they were in reach, the pro hero grabbed them, set them inside, then closed and locked the case. Only when that lock was done did both he and the Padawan take a sigh of relief. Of course now he had an all new headache to deal with.

"Will you please stop invading my classmates' personal space?!" Tenya cried as his arms chopped like crazy. "I insist that as a fellow U.A. student, you act with decorum!"

"Well uh…you know, this isn't exactly all bad," Denki said as Mei leaned further into him, curious about his quirk.

His perfect view only lasted until Kyoka dug her jack into his ear, jolting him out of his stupor.

"Forgive him, for he knows not what he says is stupid," Kyoka sighed.

Mei just tilted her head, absolutely unaware of what she meant.

"Hatsume, I told you there would be no after school lab hours today!" Power Loader shouted, finally getting her attention.

"I know! I know! I just left my sketchbook behind! I'll grab it and I'll-"

Whatever Mei was about to say came to a halt when her crosshair-styled eyes honed in on the only being in this room who wasn't lined with flesh. The way the light shone on his beautiful yellow and silver body, the way his perfectly shaped dome head turned, and his one big optic met with hers, the way he began to somewhat tremble at the mere sight of her…

Mei Hatsume was not expecting to fall in love today, yet here she was. Faster than anyone could perceive, she shot over to the droid and began to rub her fingers over the surface of his body.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! Look at you! I don't know who put you together but bless them whoever they are! So many hatches and flaps on your body and head all point to being doors housing who knows what inside! Are they tools? Weapons? I need to know what's in that body of yours! Show me!"

On reflex, R3's wheels spun, and he backed off as fast as he could before spitting out his prod and sparking it at Mei's shoulder.

"Yikes! That was awesome! Show me more!"

"What is wrong with you?!"

Deeming this no longer worth his time, R3 shot his middle wheel out, turned around, and sped out of the room as fast as he could with Mei hot on his tail, and Camilla on hers.

"Come back, you beautiful yellow baby!"

"You leave my droid alone!"

"Yeah! He's our classroom assistant, and Mr. Aizawa will kill us if you take him apart!" Denki fearfully cried.

The other students piled out of the room to take chase as well. As soon as Ochako was out the door with Izuku still around her arm, Power Loader closed the door and made sure it was locked this time, deeming himself absolutely done for the day.

On the other side, it looked like Camilla had caught up to Mei not too far down the hallway and was holding her up with the Force. The mechanic girl still kept trying to run despite her legs being off the ground, apparently not even noticing she was floating or that Camilla was yelling at her. The other kids were trying to calm her down or admonish Mei for her behavior. The sight alone was enough to make Ochako start laughing at the scene. She decided she and Izuku should probably get in there to help smooth things over.

She walked only one step forward until she stopped.

Ochako couldn't describe it, but she definitely felt something. A feeling in her head that felt like it was trying to tug her back in the direction of the support studio. Her eyes looked back to the door, and the feeling was now doubled, this feeling that something in that room wanted her to go back in. It almost felt like she couldn't ignore it.

"…..aka? Uraraka, you alright?"

"Huh?"

But Izuku's voice brought her out of it.

"I think I'm good to walk on my own now," he nervously chuckled.

"….."

It took Ochako three more seconds to realize just how close together her body was to Izuku's. Immediately, her complexion changed to a shade of red that could give Camilla's hair a run for its money.

"S-sorry!" She threw her arm off him and turned away.

"N-no. It's alright. That other girl just took me by surprise."

Ochako audibly huffed and tried to push that image out of her mind. Taking a moment, she steadied her breathing and calmed down enough to where her natural skin tone had almost fully returned.

"Hey uh, Deku, did you happen to hear anything just a second ago?"

Izuku's own blush went away as he looked at his friend with curiosity.

"You mean other than that over there?"

He gestured down the hall to the cacophony of noise made by their classmates. Ochako chuckled but shook her head.

"Yeah other than that."

Her response was merely a shrug from the green haired boy.

"Didn't hear anything else. Why? Did you?"

Before she replied, Ochako took one more glance at the support lab door. Whatever she was feeling wasn't there anymore. Was it just a fluke?

"I…I don't really know."

Izuku wanted to press more, but the manic cries of that Hatsume girl wanting to get her hands on R3 drew his attention more.

"We should probably get in there before Camilla decides to throw her out the window or something," Izuku suggested.

Ochako laughed at the mental image and joined Izuku in his approach to the group.

Her mind was on that feeling for the rest of the day.

---

THURSDAY

While Camilla remained behind for the second time that week for her session, out in the city of Mustafu, two pro heroines had their first coinciding day off. Originally, one of them was going to spend it by herself working out. But she was strong-armed by her draconic friend into spending some time together. It started with a simple lunch where the two talked about their most recent exploits in the field and some working cases. Then it moved onto where they had just exited after a three and a half hour visit.

The Bogano Resort was famous for not only their five-star service but also their high class clientele. Ryukyu had added a signed photo to the wall some time ago. Today, Mirko reluctantly added her own. Of all the places she was expecting her old friend to take her, it wasn't here. The last time the two of them went to an onsen together was years ago, and a massage parlor never. She always thought the décor of places like this was too often lined with celebrity recognition with those photos. It was tacky. This place, though, they managed to not make it look too bad. The scent helped a bit too. Not that she would ever admit that out loud.

Out the two stepped into the fresh air, back in their clothes. Mirko was wearing dark blue jeans, black boots, and a white crop top with short sleeves, accessorized with a black vest with a couple of bunny ears embroidered on the right side. Ryukyu had on some blue jeans of her own that only went down to her calves, white strappy sandals, and a wine colored button up blouse. Half her head was covered by her blonde bangs and a green headband was wrapped around her head. The finishing touch for her was the red nail polish on her fingers and toes.

Together, the two walked down the entryway and began to head back towards the main part of the city.

"Alright, gotta admit, for people who are paid to be handsy, these guys aren't half bad," Mirko commented as she rolled her shoulder.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said about a massage parlor." Ryukyu smirked.

"Well too many of them in the city are pussies who don't know the meaning of the phrase, 'dig deeper'. I can barely feel a thing most of the time, but not here. Props where they're due. They aren't half-ass wimps."

"Well that would be an interesting comment to see in a review site."

The two women chuckled as they crossed the street and waved to a few fans who recognized them.

"So where are you dragging me off to now?" Mirko asked.

"I didn't really have anything else planned other than lunch and the visit to Bogano," Ryukyu answered. "If you wanna hop off now, you can."

"Nah. I have a few more hours before I can head back. Wanna go get a couple cocktails? There's a place not too far from here that actually looks like-"

*BZZZZT! BZZZZT! BZZZZT!*

Mirko's talking was cut short by the vibrations from her phone tickling her thigh. Swiftly, she pulled it out and answered the call.

"Yeah?... Oh, you're already done?... Nah, I'm out right now... Of course, bring me back a plate. I'd kick your ass if you didn't. What's she cooking anyway?... Look into the future and see!... Well, get to work on honing it so you can see!... yeah yeah whatever. I'll see you back there."

The brief conversation came to an end, and the phone slid back into the rabbit hero's pocket.

"Camilla's session ended?"

"Yeah, she's headed to green bean's house now for dinner."

"You wanna just skip the bar and join her? Inko does love it when we come by."

"And her cooking does put every other mother's to shame…" Mirko rubbed her chin, considering her idea more. "Sure why not?"

In agreement, the two changed their direction to head for Inko's house. They'd most likely need a cab, but they could catch one little down the street. Ryukyu wanted to talk a little more and felt they'd have more privacy outside a car rather than in one with a driver.

"So how is she doing? I've been so busy I haven't been able to talk with her this week."

"Better. Thank fuck for that. If her attitude over the weekend had gone on any longer, I probably would've thrown myself out the window."

"Oh stop exaggerating," Ryukyu scoffed. "You care for her and you know it. And I, for one, am proud of you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean come on, Rumi. It's no secret you're aloof to almost everyone you meet. The only reason you have so many exceptions now is, well, Camilla.

"Yeah, and not willingly either. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be just stuck with you."

Ryukyu just rolled her eyes.

"My point is, you've really come a long way this past year, whether you've noticed it or not. You're concerned and more attentive about her feelings, you make sure she's eating and sleeping right, and you encourage her. I've seen you do all three. Face it, Rumi. You're attached to her."

Sighing and growling together, Mirko worked hard to form a retort that would effectively deny everything her draconic friend said. A few laps around the track in her brain, and she found nothing. She looked back to Ryukyu with an irritated wrinkle in her nose.

"Alright, fine. I may have developed something of a connection to her. I mean…it's hard not to admire her a bit after all the shit she went through. I mean you and I take on villains day in and day out, and kids in hero school are mostly snot-nosed brats who think it's all gonna be about looking good and kicking ass. They don't really get it, but Cam does. It's refreshing to know a kid that I don't feel I have to talk down to."

Ryukyu could definitely understand that. If Camilla was anything in this world, grounded to reality was definitely it.

"I know what you mean," she said with a smile. "Some days in the first few months she was here, whenever she wasn't training, we'd share interesting conversations. She told me about the different places she went to. The planets she traveled to, the teachings she had, even though she couldn't paint me a visual picture, the heat she could remember, the sounds she could hear, and the smells she described were so fascinating. I miss those talks."

The smile grew, and then a laugh passed through it.

"How silly of me. I think I'm actually a little nostalgic for when she was living in my building and I saw her every day."

"Well if you liked having her around so much, why did you keep insisting that she live with me?"

"Rumi, we talked about this. She's better off with you. And with Midoriya being nearby, it's perfect. I practically live in my agency tower, but Camilla needed a real home. With you, she has that. It's good for her."

Ryukyu prepared herself for what was probably going to be the twentieth time she and Mirko had this same argument.

"It's just that?"

That response was not normally how the argument would proceed. Rather than the indignant tone that was trademark from Mirko by this point, she sounded like she was being cautious.

"Or…maybe it's something else?"

Now weary of Mirko's words, Ryukyu began to walk slower.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a much lower voice.

After a moment of silence that dragged on a bit too long, Mirko approached her friend with an uncharacteristic look of concern.

"You know…you never talked to me about it."

"About what?"

"Don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about."

Ryukyu's face suddenly grew more stern, and her mouth much straighter.

"A year ago is when you got the news. I know we weren't exactly close at that time but…I did reach out to you. Not something I normally do, but I did. Why didn't you ever come to me?"

"If this is just you trying to annoy me about that attentive comment, this isn't a fun way to do it."

"I'm not tryin to, Ryu. I'm just trying to get some simple answers. Did you even talk to anyone about it?"

The silence that hung between them said it all, and it only served to make Mirko angry and much, much louder.

"Oh no wonder it never came to your head to get Martian Girl into therapy! God forbid the number nine hero Ryukyu is seen as a huge hypocrite, right?!"

"Will you shush?!"

Harsher than usual, Ryukyu grabbed the rabbit woman's shoulder and brought both of them to a halt on the sidewalk.

"Look, I know what it looks like; I used Camilla and her situation as an excuse to distract myself. But let me assure you that is not the case, and has never been the case. Every ounce of care I have for Camilla is strictly that of a concerned friend and hopeful teacher for her. That's all. Now can we please move past it?"

…

…

…

…oh how badly Mirko wanted to believe her.

It was a known fact that out of the two of them, Ryukyu was obviously the more level-headed and collected one. But even she, someone as poised as her, had her tells, and the rabbit hero knew every one of them. The smile that was just a bit too wide, the way she would shake her hands as she tried to deflect the subject, and her eyes. The dragoon hero would probably deny it, but Mirko could tell. There was a pretty well-built dam in her eyes, blocking out the pain.

"Ryuko." Rare were the times Mirko would use first names, that's when Ryukyu started to grow concerned. "You know, I don't do all the mushy feely bullshit really well. But there are still times when I gotta try. You've been my best friend since middle school and stuck with me even when I got expelled. You're like a thorn in my ass that I'm happy to have along for the ride. I trust you. So…how come you didn't trust me with this?"

Out of all the things that could be talked about today between herself and her best friend, Ryukyu did not want this to be one of them. Bad memories and horrible scents of hospital rooms filled her head and nose as she tried once more to push them all out. Then came a brief but painful recollection of staying in her room and ignoring her phone vibrating like crazy as everyone and their mother called in to check on her. She definitely remembered Mirko being one of those people, and the voicemail she left expressing her rare showings of worry. As much as it served to remind her what a good friend she had in the rabbit hero, right now it was more of just dragging up a hurtful time that she worked her ass off to leave behind her.

As mindful as she could be of her own feelings and Mirko's, Ryukyu looked right into those piercing red eyes and spoke with as calm a demeanor as she could muster.

"Rumi, it had nothing to do with trust. It's just…I needed some time to process it. That's why I went dark for that whole week. I just needed some time. And I can assure you." The dragoon hero gently placed her hand on Mirko's shoulder and rubbed it affectionately. "I'm fine. More than fine, even. I'm great. I love my life. I love where I'm at. I love my friends. And as for Camilla, I'm honored to know her and to be her friend. Watching how far she's come since crashing here, helping her along the way, it's been a year of my life I consider well spent. And it's helped me realize that the way things turned out, ended up turning out for the best."

"Now please, can we put this conversation to rest, and get in a cab so we can eat? I have no idea what Inko could be cooking tonight, but I'm getting hungrier just thinking about it."

….yup. She was lying.

Ryukyu could put on a good mask but unfortunately for both her and Mirko, the latter knew her all too damn well. Those issues she claimed were buried and done with were still very much there. But Mirko also knew if she pushed too hard too fast, she'd close herself off again. So for now, she had to put this aside, but it was fine. The walls weren't down, but the grout between the bricks was cracking. That was a start.

"Alright. If that's what you want, you got it."

"Thank you."

Ryukyu leaned in for a small hug, and Mirko was caught off guard by the sudden PDA. Grumbling and rolling her eyes, the rabbit woman awkwardly put her hands around her best friend's back, and pat…more like drummed against Ryukyu's shoulder blades.

"What are you doing?" Ryukyu asked, confused as all hell.

"….hugging you?" Mirko asked like she wasn't sure.

"Well then hug me, not play me like a bongo."

Mirko pulled away and grew a smug looking smile.

"When's the last time someone played your bongo?"

"Oh dear god, that was horrible."

"I've heard and seen worse from you."

"Name one time!"

"I can name ten!"

The rabbit hero went down her list as she signalled a cab, and Ryukyu tried to pretend that all the repressed memories she had of the time she accidentally crushed the bike of a boy she had a crush on with her quirk in middle school, weren't actually real.

A/N

Writing a therapy scene is haaaaaaaard, bro! Like seriously!

That was only one of the reasons this chapter took a bit to get done. The other reasons were stated at the top. Life goes on. We woke up the next morning, and chapter 431 of My Hero Academia Vol 12 left me and a lot of other people EXTREMELY happy! XD.

Anyway, originally there was going to be a Friday scene in this chapter, but I decided to hold off until next chapter for that, and the original idea I had in mind for said scene is being swapped out with something new. The original scene will instead be pushed back to after internships/before finals.

Also there's some new art that's been shared over on the AO3 posting of this fic. If you wanna see it, head on over there. Also there's another new announcement. I have opened a thread on a Discord server that's a public invite to anyone who wishes to join and discuss the fic, give ideas, see snippets as I write and so on. If you wanna join then hehe, again, head to AO3. The link is over there.

Alrighty then! That will do it for this time! As always, follow on my socials, where I post snippets of chapters in progress every now and again. And don't forget an awesome human being made this story a TVtropes page! Link for it along with all my socials is again over on the AO3 page!

Stay healthy and see ya!