Yu stopped herself from striking a pose as Midoriya circled her, taking pictures on her phone. "Damn you, muscle memory…" She was in her new costume after a decent amount of tailoring. "It's definitely a different feeling…" She wiggled her fingers and balled her hand into a fist. "My original costume was a lot lighter than this one, but…" Once Midoriya was done taking pictures, she stepped towards the work table alongside him. "I can definitely throw a punch without crying about busting my own knuckle…" It certainly shared a design philosophy with the original. The tan bodysuit was the base, the orange patterns remained, and the purple areas were expanded across her limbs and were padded up - segmented like armor.

"Ready to try on the mask?" he asked.

After Midoriya handed her phone back, she checked the time. "How about some other time?" She shrugged, "It's getting kind of late."

"It is?" He took out his own phone. "Oh, wow, I'm surprised Mr. Abraham never swung by."

"Well, he is at work," she said.

He shrugged, "Yeah, true…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Let me clean up here." He gestured with his chin. "As to your costume, I'm sure your Support Company can take it from there, if you want any more tweaks or changes."

"I'm happy with it," she assured. "Feel all safe and snug."

He started to clear his workspace. "Well, you should probably get out of it." He shrugged, "Most students have probably already left the grounds, and the teachers are probably having their end-of-day meeting… Maybe. So, you should be clear to get changed without a bodyguard."

Yu put her hands on her hips. "Eh, I'll just get changed back at the agency." She scratched her nose. "And, hey… since your costume is all sorted out, why don't you dress up?" She crossed her arms. "It'll probably be the last time you'll wear it in a while."

Midoriya spared a glance at his distant costume case. "Um… uh…" He wiped his cheek. "Yeah, yeah… I guess I could."

Though, in spite of saying that, he didn't budge from his table, focusing on cleaning up. "Here, let me. Get changed."

"Hm, yeah…" he said, offering the grip of a soldering tool. However, when she took it, his grip didn't budge. When she looked at his face, she saw a smile or a smirk really. "Do you know where anything goes?" It was asked with a mark of genuineness, but it was oozing smugness.

"Uh…" She slowly let go. "No."

He twirled the tool between his fingers. "I'll get changed in a bit, okay?"

She nodded, "Fine…" She wagged her finger as she sat upon a stool. "I was just trying to be nice~."

Midoriya chuckled, "Yes, it was very nice."

The heavy doors groaned as they opened; followed by an older man's head popping into the room. "Hello! Apologies! I just got out of our meeting…"

"For shame, Midoriya," Yu mockingly scolded. "I would've needed a bodyguard."

"Yes, yes, sorry." He turned around. "Welcome back, Mr. Abraham."

"Thank you." The teacher stepped into the room and his eyes landed on Yu. "Now, that looks rather interesting. May I?"

She felt a bit of discomfort. "He's his teacher… probably wouldn't leer…" She stood up from the stool. "Sure." Then, she did a single spin before standing still. "Ta-da?"

Mr. Abraham didn't step any closer, but he did put on a set of glasses. "You layered the material to act as body armor, and hid the segments under another thickened layer." He sniffed the air. "You chemically treated it?"

"Just the air…? Can he smell it from there…? Or… Is the workshop stunk up and my nose just got used to it…?"

"To be fire retardant," explained Midoriya as he stepped over, "-and there's also a layer of rubber intertwined with the bodysuit."

"To diffuse electrical currents." He tapped his chin. "Rubber layer atop of the soles?"

"Yep."

Mr. Abraham hummed, "Hm…"

"Wow… I've been gawked at before… but this…" She considered, "This feels like I'm being dissected… Well, the costume, at least… Almost a nicer feeling, actually…"

"You kept aspects of her original costume, too."

"Yes, sir," said Midoriya. "Didn't want to depart too far from what was originally desired."

"How does it feel, ma'am?"

Yu nodded to the teacher. "Takeyama, please. With a Ms., if you need it." She relaxed her stance, crossing her arms. "And, I like it. I feel pretty safe in this. Definitely more than my old one."

"That's good."

She added, "It still needs to be broken in, though. I'll wear it on the way back."

"Oh, yes!" Mr. Abraham nodded, "You two should be departing soon."

"Just after I finish cleaning up," said Midoriya as he returned to his workspace.

"And get dressed!"

Mr. Abraham turned to her. "Hm?"

Midoriya lifted his head. "Oh, uh…"

"Thought it'd be nice for him to be in costume for our last night," explained Yu.

"Oh! That would be!" Mr. Abraham turned to Midoriya. "After all, it will be the last time you wear it for a while."

"Yeah…", he said. He then gestured to the space before him. "After I'm done cleaning up."

Mr. Abraham then offered his hand. "Here, let me."

Yu slowly nodded before stepping forward. "Yeah, he actually knows where things go."

"I… I couldn't make you…"

"You're not making me do anything, Mr. Midoriya." He insisted, "Please."

Midoriya handed him the soldering tool. "Thanks."

Yu jerked her thumb over to his costume case. "Go get dressed." She fiddled with her phone. "I'll give Ichimoku a call for pick-up."

"Okay…" Midoriya slowly nodded, "I'll do that…" He walked up to his case and… picked it up after a moment or two. "I'll be back."

Both adults watched his departure, and as the door swung shut, Yu frowned. "Something's off…" Her jaw shifted back and forth before she shook her head and brought her phone to her ear, listening to the ringing.

-XXX-

Izuku pulled Orpheus onto his lap as the van jostled down the road. The back of the van was dark, but the orbs of his helmet illuminated the strings below. With the lightest touch on its neck, his thumb strummed them one-by-one, causing internal speakers to let out a building thrum. He then pressed some random assortment on the neck before strumming again.

"You know how to play?" asked Takeyama, looking over her seat's shoulder.

"No…" He shrugged, "My friend does, though."

"You should get them to teach you," said Ichimoku, peeking at Izuku through the rearview mirror. "Specifically, how to tune it - cause it's not."

"How?!" cried Izuku. "I'm pretty sure no one's even played it until now."

The driver shrugged before asking, "What is that even for?"

"It's a Support-Arm, a… taser-hammer of sorts?"

"What, you're just supposed to swing that guitar around?" Ichimoku shook his head. "That'll ruin it!"

Izuku turned his head. "It's built for–agh, I'm not having this conversation again, but with somebody else." He concluded, "It's fine."

Ichimoku poked at him through the mirror. "You should listen to whoever that was. They sound smart."

"Smarter than you," was muttered.

The driver let out a drawn out, "What?"

"Enough, Ichimoku," scolded Takeyama with a bemused smirk.

"Aw, we're just having a little bit of fun."

The van teetered and rumbled as it descended to the parking garage below Mount-Lady's agency. After it found a space and its engine was silenced, Izuku made his exit out the back while Ichimoku whispered something to Takeyama. She did make a confused noise as he closed the doors behind him.

"Alright," conceded Takeyama as she exited before waving at Izuku. "Hey, let's do a quick walk around - head upstairs later."

"Why?" he asked.

She shrugged, patting his shoulder. "No idea, but you should stretch your legs anyway."

"Okay…?" As they walked across the underground parking and up the inclined exit, Izuku strung Orpheus across his back.

"Why a guitar?"

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck as they reached street level. "Just… seemed like a neat idea, I guess. An axe that's an axe?" Then a shrug followed, "The person I made it for has sound-based attacks. Thought it'd go well with that."

"Didn't work out?"

"Yeah…" He shook his head. "I think I just built what I wanted, and didn't consider what she did…" His thumbs hooked onto his belt. "Turns out, she didn't want anything resembling a guitar in the first place."

"That's a bit of a shame. It's pretty neat." As they walked around her building, Takeyama asked, "What're you going to do with it?"

"I can probably rework the design. Keep the weapon, but remove the guitar?"

"Why bother…? Not like you'll be able to use it…"

Izuku let out a sigh.

Takeyama offered, "Hm?"

"Nothing…"

"You've been kinda off and on, today…" She asked with concern in her voice. "Everything okay?"

Without thinking, he just replied, "Yeah, of course."

He tried to keep their pace, but Takeyama's hand landed on his shoulder. "Hey, I know a prepped response when I hear one." They came to a stop as she turned him around. "Look, I… I may not be the most reliable person–"

Izuku's orbs widened. "I didn't mean–"

"I know that isn't what you're saying. I'm saying it," she clarified. "I'm saying, in spite of that, I want you to know you can rely on me." Takeyama gestured to herself. "You can talk to me… about things…" Her face contorted as her head teetered. "I'm even willing to… entertain girl-talk… Or! Boy-talk, I don't judge."

"W-What?" He shook his head. "N-No, I don't–huh?"

"Oh, okay… Great." She let out a breath. "Cause… yeah, I wasn't actually ready to have that conversation with a teenager. It'd probably be best for you to chat with your mom or dad."

"Right…"

She pointed at him, "Wait." She tilted her head. "Is this a 'parent' problem? We can have that conversation."

"I'm…", he hesitated. "I… I wasn't completely honest with my Mom when I told her about this Internship… Or, rather, I just kinda… never told her how much I'd be involved, and I think she found out on her own…"

"Ooh, caught in a lie." She nodded, "That's always a mess." She put her hands on her hips while they started walking again. "Okay, what didn't you tell her or lie about?"

"W-Well, k-kinda… all of it…? I, uh… avoided talking about it by telling her that I'd be able to live at home while interning for you."

She dramatically gasped with a noticeable smirk. "You bad boy."

"Please don't say that," he frowned.

"I admit, I kinda thought you were more of a boy scout. But, look at you!" She waved her hand, shrugging, "I've done that."

"R-Really?"

"Well, not exactly like that…" Takeyama cleared her throat. "Once upon a time, I tried to impress an older boy and all my friends by hopping on his motorcycle for a late night joyride. I lied to my parents about where I was and low-and-behold, we got into an accident. My parents figured out my lie when the hospital called them. They were furious. I mean, they didn't walk into that hospital; they descended." She chuckled, "God, it was terrifying then, but nowadays? It's a story they tell everybody to show how out of control their daughter was before I was a Hero.

Now, why am I telling you this?" she asked as she gestured with her index finger. "My parents weren't angry at me just because I lied about what I was doing or who I was with. The main reason they were angry was because I got hurt."

He fidgeted with his hands. "What… What would you recommend?"

"Be honest," answered Takeyama. "Because… not knowing is what scares them the most, and most people can't control their fear. Anger? Frustration? A lot easier by comparison."

Izuku's face contorted under his visor as he rubbed his thumb into his palm. "There's not much else to it, huh?"

"Not everything in life can/should be complicated." She patted his shoulder. "Any better?"

"She's willing to tell you a lot, huh…? All to help you… Are you ever going to tell you how you planned to help her…?"

"There's…" He took a deep breath. "There's something else–"

As they stepped past the front doors of the agency, Ichimoku burst through. "Yo!" He grinned, "Got a presentation ready for you two." After a beat, he blinked, looking between the two. "Am I… interrupting something?"

There was something on his tongue, but something else came out. "No…" He deflated, "No."

Takeyama stepped forward, patting his shoulder. "You heard him." She and Izuku followed Ichimoku into the building as she said, "I don't know anything about a presentation… What's going on?"

"Well, we've put some serious thought into the kid's idea," said Ichimoku.

Izuku lifted his head. "Your idea…?"

"Why a presentation?" she asked.

As they loaded into the elevator, Ichimoku waved his hand. "Look, I get that we're a Hero Agency, but a lot of us have degrees in business and analysis and we don't get to use them very often. And you know, Akihito has that theater degree."

"There isn't a musical number involved, is there?"

"No." He then added, "He did try."

The elevator dinged and everyone in the office was there. There were chairs, a screen, and a projector were set up in the main area. The loungewear and cubicles were removed, and were set aside along the walls. The obvious question of why didn't they just use the conference room, but everyone shushed it out of existence.

"They must be really proud of it…"

"Or really bored…"

Izuku was prompted to sit beside Takeyama in the center of the crowd. As he moved to his seat, he remembered pats on his back and many greetings from people he was almost certain he hadn't properly met. They were all shushed and the presentation started with Ichimoku and Kaguya hosting. The presentation was a financial breakdown of what it would take to change Mount-Lady's image. It was all well thought out and incredibly detailed, but it was hard to focus on.

"Why do they keep staring at me…?" He felt grateful for the visor hiding his face and static across his shoulders. "Is it because the idea started with me…?" As he adjusted in the seat, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Do they want my approval…?" His gloved fingers pressed against his clammy skin. "Why would they even need it…?"

"And, this is all well and good," concluded Ichimoku. "But, we could always use an extra hand…" He pointed to his boss. "With Mount-Lady's approval?" She smiled lightly before nodding. "We wanted to offer an official invitation for you to come back next semester. After everything you've done for Mount-Lady, and everything you've been through…"

"Everything you caused…"

He stood before Izuku, not realizing that his voice was growing more and more distant in the boy's mind. "It only feels right to have you around, kid."

"They don't know… How could they genuinely feel that…?"

"What do you say?" Ichimoku's smile was warm and kind, but Izuku couldn't quite see it as the edge of his vision blurred.

"You have to say something… You need to say something…"

Ichimoku offered his hand. "Are you okay with swinging our way in a couple of months?"

The gazes of the other office workers began to burn patches into his skin across his shoulders and back. Its sizzling shifted to a boiling, consuming his mind in a haze. His clasped hands tightened; his fingers pressed harder and harder into the spaces between his knuckles. And then, there was a cough from someone… The space between Ichimoku's question and Izuku's answer had droned on, beyond expectation. However, most importantly, it was silent - awkward, but it would have to do.

Izuku's head turned to Mount-Lady. "I need to talk to you."

-XXX-

Hitoshi's gaze was drawn to a movie poster as they walked past a theater. It was of a masked man with a tree sprouting from his back; titled, "Our Roots Together Join". His eyes shifted over Ashido and back onto Woods. The sky above them was cast in an assortment of vibrant colors as the sun was setting. However, in the distance, there were some approaching clouds that probably weren't going to really arrive until nightfall.

Ashido raised her hand - even though she was standing behind the Hero with Hitoshi. "Hey, when's your movie coming out?"

"The trailer releases this August. The movie itself is set for next year, September," answered Woods.

"What's that like? Having a whole movie made about you?" asked Hitoshi.

"Humbling…" he said. "Concerning." When Hitoshi echoed the word as a question, Woods elaborated, "Well, I just hope people take a good meaning from my life's story." He put his hands on his hips. "I hope that it teaches people to condemn the behaviors that deserve condemnation, and I hope it uplifts the people who I'm trying to reach."

"Who're you trying to reach?" asked Ashido.

"Those who live outside of the city… Who suffer the ignorance of those who refuse to understand…" He trailed off before sighing and simply saying, "People who look like me…"

"What do you mean?" asked Hitoshi.

Woods' hand rose to touch his mask. "Let's just say… I have a good reason for wearing this."

Ashido slid up to the Hero's side, peeking at the man's covered face. "Do we get to see?"

He chuckled at her. "We're not quite there yet."

She came to a stop as he kept walking. "Aw…" Once Hitoshi was walking past her, she started to match his pace.

"You may see it in-person one day, or you could just watch the movie," offered Woods.

Ashido groaned dramatically, "But that's not until next year!"

He chuckled again with a shrug, nonchalantly saying, "Oh well."

"Boo!" she cried, signifying it with a thumbs-down.

The conversation from there trailed off as they all lulled into silence. Eventually, as the sky began to darken, they found their way into Woods' agency. When Hitoshi held the door open, he asked Ashido. "Hey, did you say if you were gonna stay at the Midoriyas tonight?"

She hummed, "I think I'm just gonna head home and spend some time with my family before we all head back to Shiketsu."

"Did you tell them that?"

As the doors swung shut behind them, she realized, "Oh… No." She put her hands on her hips. "Uh… I'll call Midori and his mom before we leave for the night."

"We'll miss you both here," said Woods.

As he stepped into the lobby, a black-haired and dark-eyed office worker stepped forward, offering a file. "Sir, the patrol report for the week."

"Thank you." Woods looked the man up and down. "You don't look dressed to leave, Nakai."

"Yeah… there's a few extra reports to clear up. I'm helping Shinoda and Yukimura with them, so we'll be out late." He was about to walk away, but paused to turn back. "Oh, and… it may not be anything serious, but, um… You remember those people you picked up earlier this week?"

"The ones in the QCC?"

"Yeah, they might've gotten lost in the system?"

"Lost?" Woods fully turned to the Nakai. "Define 'lost'."

"The officer looking into it… Masami?" The man checked a memo pad before looking back up. "Yeah, Masami, he said there wasn't any evidence of a breakout or anything like that. Probably just a mix-up and they're sitting in the wrong cell somewhere. He thought you might want to know, and he'll update us once he knows more."

Woods slowly nodded, "Okay… Good." He asked, "Thank him for me?"

"Already did," chuckled Nakai.

The Hero paused, "Oh, and give Mount-Lady's agency a call, they should know, too. Just in case." He looked over his shoulder at his sidekicks. "Why don't you two get changed? And I'll walk you both back to the station as a… final farewell."

"And a safety precaution?" offered Hitoshi with a raised brow.

Woods replied, "Yes."

As the pair of them started towards the separate locker rooms, Hitoshi loudly whispered, "I think he does like us."

"I know!" gasped Ashido. "It's so sweet."

Woods chuckled, waving his hand. "Get going!"

-XXX-

"Okay… You're really not reacting the way I thought you would," said Midoriya.

"Well… I'm just confused," admitted Yu. "It's a lot to take in." After awkwardly shuffling from the presentation area to Ichimoku's office, Midoriya sat in Ichimoku's chair and she was pacing before him. "I mean…" She pulled over a spare chair from the corner of the room, ignoring the window panes to the rest of the office that was very much filled with the curious eyes of her employees. "Alright, one—one more time…

The Hero Killer uses media appearances to choose who he attacks," she started after waving her employees away.

He leaned forward, emphasizing with his uncovered face and hands. "Yes."

"We're gonna skip over how he even figured that out…" She brought her hands together. "And… you wanted to use me to get to him."

"Yes."

"Okay, and how were you gonna do that?" she questioned.

Midoriya's head fell. "The article—"

"No, before that." She shook her head. "You couldn't have known that was gonna happen." She rephrased, "So, when you applied to intern for me, what was the plan?"

"I…" He considered it for a moment. "I—I was gonna improvise."

"Hm… Okay." Her finger rubbed her temple. "So, the article then… You were going to improvise from there?"

"If I let it go up, it could've gotten the Hero Killer's attention," he explained.

"Right." She took a breath. "But you didn't."

"Y-Yes…"

"Why?"

A quick response followed, "I couldn't let it…" He sat up, shaking his head. "I saw how much it was upsetting you, and I knew I could help… I couldn't just… do nothing."

Yu leaned back in her seat, letting a breath pass. "Okay…" She then pushed herself onto her feet. "So, any little plans after that?" she asked as she walked over to him.

His head slowly lowered as his shoulders scrunched inwards. "No… I haven't come up with anything…"

"You sure?" After leaning on the desk beside him, she smirked, "That Spike-Mouth guy wasn't your doing was it?"

"No!" he exclaimed. "How could I even—" His head finally rose high enough to see her face, and considering it probably lacked even a hint of betrayal, he deflated. "I feel like we're still not on the same page on this."

She shook her head. "No~."

Midoriya deflated into his seat. "I don't understand." He shook his head, leaning forward. "How—How?"

"I mean…" Her head teetered, "Is it… weird? Yes, pretty weird." Her shoulders rose, "Is it discomforting? Yes, it is." She shrugged, "But… I've been through worse. Spike-Mouth comes to mind."

"I've betrayed your trust!" he cried.

Yu shook her head. "To be honest, I didn't trust you until after the whole 'article' thing."

His face contorted in guilt. "This was a big deal…" Though, that slowly began to fade away as his eyes drifted from her. "To… to just me…"

"A little, yeah…"

His head hung over his lap as his hand rose to his forehead. "It's all so stupid…" A desperate chuckle escaped from his lips. "I'm just… no good at this…" Yu's face contorted for a moment before her hand reached over and raked through his hair. "H-Hey…"

Yu stepped forward, crouching into his view. "I don't agree with you." His eyes met hers. "I think your mind might've been in the wrong place, but your heart was in the right one." She noticed a hitch in his breath and a growing glint in his eyes. "In the end, in spite of yourself, you did the right thing. I think that counts for something."

Midoriya sniffled as he slowly sat up with Yu rising back to her feet. "I… I-I…" Tears rolled down his cheeks before his hand wiped them away. "Thanks…"

"Thank you." She countered, causing him to look up in confusion. "Proving that you are a genuinely nice kid, making me a great judge of character." She clapped, "Go me."

Midoriya snorted as he shook his head. It almost started as a wheeze, but then, what rolled out of his mouth was laughter. In between breaths, he sniffled as he wiped away the tears. "T-That's so stupid…"

"Stupider than trying to make off with just a concept of a plan?"

Another sniffle from his nose followed before he said, "M-Maybe…" His hands came up to his face as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "Gosh…" His nose scrunched up as it and his eyes reddened. "I-I guess it's been a while…" His breath caught in his throat. "I… I can't s-stop…"

She smiled as her hand meddled with his hair. "It's okay…"

"U-Uh, um…" He sniffled, "If…", then coughed. "If my Mom lets me…" His voice was just shy of a whisper; broken up by a few breaths. "I'd… I'd like to come back."

Yu nodded, softly replying, "And we'd be lucky to have you…"

Her gaze incidentally shifted, and she had to check twice for Ichimoku's face in the window. What she presumed was a warm look flattened into an incredulous gaze before her eyes rolled and she gave him a thumbs-up. He returned it and refocused on the office behind him.

-XXX-

"Thanks for walking us down the street," joked Shinso.

Woods shrugged as he stopped behind his sidekicks. "Just rather be safe than sorry." Night had fallen and they found a safe place to stand under a streetlamp below the station above.

Mina and Shinso bid farewell to their mentor as she finished out her phone.

As Woods departed back down the road towards his agency, Shinso asked, "You're calling them now?"

Mina found Midoriya's contact in her phone before tapping on him. "Train won't be in a minute or two anyway." She held it up to her ear as it rang. "Shouldn't be too long of a conversation anyway."

As she watched Woods departing back, Shinso turned to the station. "Takes at least a minute to climb the staircase."

"If you aren't fit, sure," she teased.

"Oi."

After a ring or two, Midoriya answered, "H-Hey…"

"Hey…" He sounded off so she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, just…" He sniffled, "Working through some stuff." He coughed, "Everything okay?"

Mina offered, "Detroit?"

"I'm fine, really. A—A bit relieved, honestly…"

Mina's eyes absentmindedly landed on Woods. "Okay… I just wanted to, uh…" She noticed for the first time that someone was walking towards the Hero. They were wearing a dark long coat and hood, and so, every time they stepped out of a bulb's light, they almost completely disappeared from view. "Hey, Shinso…"

He turned, "Yeah?", and followed her gaze. "I see 'em."

Midoriya offered, "Ashido?"

She shook her head. "Yeah, hey, sorry, um—"

Then, as the stranger walked alongside the Hero, the once dark street was alight in blue as a roaring flame erupted where they stood.

"What the fuck!?" shouted Shinso.

Mina gasped, "Oh my god!"

"Ashido!?" cried Midoriya, but his voice grew quieter as her phone smacked against the sidewalk.

Shinso and Mina sprinted down the street as clouds curled before the moon.

-\ XXX /-

AN: So, I'm not taking a break this holiday. Instead, here's a bi-weekly-ish upload schedule for a limited time only. Kinda - I'll get into that more at a later date.

With that said, thank you all for reading and criticize away!

Update Window: December 4th - 11th

Intended Due Date: December 5th