Yoshihara stared at the group of four before her, annoyance strewn on her face. Out of all of the things she could've let slip out, she let it slip that she had been abused. Not even Izuku had known that, and she had done her damndest to keep it to herself. No one needed to know her problems from the past. Those were her demons to deal with and no one else.

She didn't want to burden anyone with her issues.

"Yoshihara?" Johnny asked, concern bleeding into his voice. He looked over to Josuke, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me. A concerned parent from Morioh Elementary called the police station and reported that a child, whom I am now assuming to be Yoshihara, appeared to be extremely malnourished and had a bruise on the back of her neck," Josuke said, a "tsk" following after he spoke. "I shouldn't have turned a blind eye to it. I should've gone myself. But that's in the past."

"Wait a minute… so that was you!" Joseph exclaimed, looking at Yoshihara, who flinched. "I knew you looked slightly familiar! You only went to school for a day, but… Mrs. Fungami, my old Kindergarten teacher… she was concerned about you. She even pulled you to the side and asked if you were okay. You never said a word in any of the classes. All you'd do is stare…"

Yoshihara didn't say a word. She just looked at the floor. With each passing second, she was growing uncomfortable. Gyro noticed the discomfort in her eyes, a frown taking up his visage.

"Hey, kiddo. Do you need some space?" Gyro spoke up as Yoshihara glanced up at him. She wanted to blame him for pointing out what she said, but she couldn't. "You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to."

Without another word, Yoshihara walked off back to the elevator at the end of the hall, leaving Josuke, Gyro, Johnny and Joseph. After a moment of silence, Johnny finally spoke. "She's Yoshikawa's daughter, right?" Johnny muttered as Josuke nodded.

"Yeah, she is. Now do you get what I was trying to—"

Without warning, a dark pink aura flared around Johnny. A large, bulky, square-shaped robotic humanoid Stand appeared behind him. It was bubblegum pink in colour, with dark purple shoulder pads and golden stars atop those shoulder pads. It had smaller golden star vestiges sprinkled around its arms, and its hands were a deep blue.

Its legs were thick, and it appeared to be wearing boots—or at least the feet of the Stand appeared to be like those of boots. On its knees and further down the lower leg, it had more golden star vestiges dotting around. From the bottom of its chest down to its ankles hung a vestment comprising strings of vertical ellipses.

Finally, its head was mounted on the front of its chest, its eye sockets shaped like stars with golden pinprick pupils. On its forehead was a golden horseshoe, mimicking that of the horseshoe motifs that Johnny typically wore.

The Stand punched a hole into the closest wall, causing the rest of the room to shake. Everyone eyed Johnny, but Gyro moreso than anyone else. "Johnny…"

"No. Just…" Johnny breathed out a sigh filled with nothing but annoyance and barely contained rage. "I should've listened. I should've just fucking—"

"Stop it," Josuke interrupted, crossing his arms as Johnny looked back at him. Not a single word was said, but Josuke already knew what was on Johnny's mind. "You have no fault in any of this. You stuck by the side of someone who you thought you knew because you were close friends with them. You thought you were helping a grieving mother who had lost their child. The only thing you're guilty of is being a good friend."

As Josuke said that, he rubbed at the side of his temples. "I failed to do my job. I failed to investigate the claims more seriously. I brushed them off, and because of my gross negligence, I failed someone. I did the one thing that I vowed not to do. But neither you nor I are at fault for whatever evil befell Yoshihara Kira. The only person who is at fault for that is currently dead."

A heavy silence cascaded over the living area. A few seconds turned into a whole two minutes as the weight of what had been revealed settled. It was only when Johnny put Tusk away that he finally spoke up. "I'm calling it quits for the day. I need to go do some thinking. Joseph, show Josuke to a guest room or—"

"Nah, I've got a hotel booked. You don't need to worry about me," Josuke said, walking over to him and patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for the offer, though."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I don't want to invade your personal space any more than I already am. Just call me when dinner's ready, and I'll be over. That, and I have a call I need to make to Deputy Chief Nijimura," Josuke said as Johnny hummed.

"All right," Johnny said before shooting a glance over at Gyro. "You should probably go check on Yoshihara. I think it's about time you did that doctor's check-up."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Gyro asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, she's already in a vulnerable state right now."

"It's better to get it over and done with rather than dragging it out for any longer than it needs to be," Johnny said, turning to make his way to the elevator. "It's up to you, but personally, I wouldn't wait for too much longer. I doubt Nedzu or Eraserhead want to wait any longer than they already have."

Gyro sighed, adjusting his hat. "All right, I'll come with you. I need to stop in my office on the fifth floor to grab my supplies anyway." With that, Johnny led the way to the elevator while, at the same time, Josuke left the building.

Joseph was left alone, standing in the foyer as he looked down at the floor. He couldn't help but feel more clueless than he was before. None of this made a lick of sense to him. He knew that Yoshihara had some kind of troubled past, and he knew it was linked to Morioh. But, to think, he had already met her before, and to think that she had been abused….

"That probably explains why she's so reserved all the time…" Joseph thought, clenching his right hand into a fist. It only made the grief that she was getting for killing her mother all that more infuriating. Knowing what he knew now and knowing just how much flack she had been getting from those in their class….

A sigh of defeat forced itself out of his mouth as he looked up at the living room. There was nothing that he could do about it. He couldn't tell anyone because that was for Yoshihara to do, and given most of their class's opinion of her, they probably wouldn't take her for her word. That was how poisoned their view of her had become.

Or, at least, Yaoyorozu had been anyway. He didn't know much about Tokoyami or Sato, but what he did know was that her reputation wasn't particularly great. That, and holding on to something like that for so long… she probably didn't want anyone to know about it.

Resigning himself from his thoughts, Joseph walked over to the nearest couch, took a seat, and grabbed the TV remote. He had a few shows he wanted to catch up on, and seeing as everyone was off doing their own thing, he decided that now would be the perfect time to do so.

Maybe he'd check out that one show Kirishima recommended to him. Something called Kenshin Ashura….

[XXXX]

"Damnit…" Yoshihara thought as she buried her face into her pillow. Why did she have to open her big mouth? Out of all the things that needed to be exposed, that was the last thing that she wanted anyone to know about.

It didn't help that she had just… said it. Granted, she didn't say what it was that happened, only alluding to the fact that she had been abused. But that was all that was needed for people to start asking questions. Questions eventually led to answers, and she didn't want to answer anything.

She always held a deep resentment toward herself for what happened to her. She knew it wasn't her fault that it had happened, but somewhere deep inside, a nagging voice in the back of her mind told her that she had done it to herself.

If Yoshihara had just behaved… Then maybe she wouldn't have been made to do all of those things. Maybe she wouldn't have had all of those men touch her in places that she didn't want them to. Maybe she wouldn't have to endure the days upon days of adult men taking advantage of her.

Of course, she knew it wasn't her fault.

She knew that it was Yoshikawa's fault.

She knew that it was no one else's fault but that bitches.

"So then, why do I feel like it's my fault?" Yoshihara thought, turning to lie on her back as she looked up at the ceiling. Her first mistake was being born Quirkless, something that she couldn't have controlled. That was what started the worst of the abuse. Once she was considered useless, Yoshikawa viewed her as nothing more than her own personal toy to fuck with.

For the longest time, she had night terrors of being dragged up to that stupid fucking bedroom. Where those men would do horrible, unspeakable things to her. Where they disgraced her with their mere existence.

All of it was orchestrated by Yoshikawa. Someone who was supposed to love her unconditionally. Except, all she ever did was hate her unconditionally. For what? For living? For existing? What was it about her that made Yoshikawa hate her?

Was it really because she had been born Quirkless, or was it something else?

Regardless of whatever Yoshikawa's reasoning had been for hating Yoshihara, the only thing that mattered now was that she had killed her. That should've been when her life took a turn for the better. When that fucking cunt died.

So then, why did it only make her life worse?

Killing Yoshikawa had only made her quality of life go down the drain. Sure, she could look at the positives, but the negatives outweighed them by a millionfold. Everyone at U.A. hated her guts, and even with Aizawa-sensei clearing the air, more than a handful of people still wanted her dead.

What infuriated her the most about the whole situation was that Yoshikawa was the one who was viewed as the victim. Not her. Not the obvious victim of attempted murder. Not the person who had been struggling to keep herself alive while she bled out in the foyer of Love Love Deluxe.

No, it was clearly that fucking cow. Clearly, it was the bitch who walked out of the place where Yoshihara had been actively dying. The security footage spoke for itself, so why did no one watch it when it was right fucking there?!

WHY WAS SHE THE ONE WHO EVERYONE HATED?! WHAT HAD SHE DONE TO DESERVE THAT!? WASN'T IT ENOUGH THAT THE WORLD HAD ALREADY DRAGGED HER THROUGH THE MUD AND FORCED HER TO DO THINGS THAT NO CHILD SHOULD HAVE TO DO?!

Bitter tears fell from her eyes as she sat up, hunched over the side of her bed, and quietly wept to herself. She hated feeling like this—weak. She hated feeling like she was some fragile little glass china doll. She hated reflecting on her childhood because all it did was reopen old wounds.

Everyone else she knew lived a golden life compared to her. She'd gladly take Izuku's childhood over her own. She'd gladly be a victim of bullying. She'd rather than then having been raped repeatedly and without pause for years on end. She'd rather that when having a psychotic bitch of a supposed mother carving lines in her back for "misbehaving."

She wanted to lash out at the world. A deep, hateful part of herself wanted to make the world feel even a sliver of the pain that she had felt. She wanted everyone to know exactly what it felt like to have been forced to live the kind of life she had been made to endure.

She wanted to make the world pay for casting her aside.

But, then, all she would be doing was making things worse. She wouldn't be fixing anything. Doing that would betray everything that she currently stood for. Yoshihara wanted to be a hero for the people who went unnoticed. While all of the big-time heroes saved people from burning buildings and massive villains who threatened the whole world, all Yoshihara strived to do was be there for those who suffered like her.

She wanted to be the shoulder that a little girl could cry on when she was saved from something awful. She wanted to help those who had been swept up in trafficking rings and guide them back to their families.

She wanted to save the people who were ignored by the system, just like she had been, and she was going to do so regardless of the hate she received for her actions. She didn't care if she was labelled as a villain or as a hero. All she cared about was making sure that no one, and she meant no one, ever had to endure even an eighth of the hell she had.

Yoshihara let out a tired sigh as she laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. A wave of exhaustion breezed over her as she groaned. She looked over at the small alarm clock that had been placed on the desk in her room. It was only 4:35 pm, and it was still considered Saturday here.

Back in Japan, it was 5:35, and it was Sunday.

"Time zones suck…" Yoshihara thought, closing her eyes. She was going to go insane if she didn't get a decent night's sleep. The headaches didn't help anything either, nor did it help that for the last half an hour or so, she felt as if her bladder was going to burst, despite the fact that she hadn't even drank anything aside from that tampered orange juice.

She looked over at her suitcase and frowned. "That stupid test is in there…" Yoshihara's frown deepened slightly. She wanted to throw the damn thing out. What was the point in having something that she wasn't even going to use?

Just as Yoshihara was about to get up, a series of knocks echoed at the door. "Who is it?" Yoshihara called out, staring at the door.

"It's Dr. Zeppelli. Can I come in?"

"I thought Uncle Jojo said that was after supper?" Yoshihara thought before sighing. "Oh well, I guess not." "Yeah, all right. Come in," Yoshihara said as she stayed seated on her bed. The door opened, and Gyro walked in. She hadn't gotten a proper look at him before, but now she had been able to.

Gyro was tall—easily six feet tall if just a little bit more than that. His hair reached down past his shoulders; it was a brilliant silver, greyish colour. He was dressed in a white doctor lab coat, a dark green and black plaid shirt, dark brown slacks, and a pair of cowboy boots.

His green eyes looked Yoshihara up and down before he grabbed the chair from her desk, turned it to face her, and sat down in it. He held a clipboard in his right hand and a pen in his left. "I know we were supposed to do this after supper, but Johnny wants this out of the way now."

"I don't know why this even matters. I'm fine."

"Well, I don't know about you, but being as pale as you are doesn't tell me you're exactly fine to me," Gyro retorted. "Now, tell me, what's been bothering you? I already know the backstory as to why Eraserhead is breathing down your neck, so let's just get this over with."

Yoshihara pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is completely unnecessary…"

"Not really. Eraserhead has every reason to be concerned," Gyro said as he leaned back in his chair. "You're young, and you have your whole future ahead of you. You did something stupid, and there are real consequences for it."

"It was after my period, so I should be fine! Right?" Yoshihara hissed as Gyro scoffed.

"Ha! No. What, did you think that because you weren't on your period, you'd be safe? If anything, that just makes things worse. You do know why women have periods, right?" Gyro asked, his tone incredulous as Yoshihara frowned.

"It has something to do with preparing the body for child-rearing. What about it?" Yoshihara bit out, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"You do know it's a constant cycle, right? Once you have your period, your body starts it up again immediately after, give or take a few hours. The cycle repeats every 14 days and continues to do so until you hit menopause in your late 60s. Actually, it's widely believed that if you're trying to have a kid, the best time to have sex is just after your period. If anything, Kira, you made things worse for yourself," Gyro said as Yoshihara's eyes widened.

"Wait… so—"

"Yeah…" Gyro said dryly. Yoshihara looked at him before looking back down at the floor, covering her mouth as it slowly dawned on her that there was an actual chance that Aizawa-sensei might've been right. "So, those symptoms. Mind running those off for me?" Gyro said as Yoshihara swallowed down whatever fear had been building up in her chest.

"Uh… Restlessness. I've been getting frequent headaches, and I've had to use the bathroom more often than normal…" Yoshihara muttered as Gyro wrote them down. Once he was done, he looked back up at Yoshihara.

"All right. Now, strange question, and feel free to not answer, but have your breasts at all felt tender or sensitive? Like, say, when you're putting on your bra in the morning it feels strange?" Gyro asked as Yoshihara shrunk into herself, clearly embarrassed.

"Um…. Yeah…"

"I see," Gyro wrote that down as well, before looking back up at Yoshihara. "Go take that test, then report back to me once you have," Gyro continued before standing up and heading for the door. Just before he left, he looked over at Yoshihara, his gaze unreadable. "If you are… I'm sorry, kid."

When he left, Yoshihara looked over at the suitcase. A wave of nausea hit her like a tidal wave. What if it came out positive? What if she was pregnant? What would she do? What could she do? She didn't want this. She couldn't do this.

Yoshihara breathed out a shaky sigh, closing her eyes. Steeling her nerves, she stared at the suitcase, narrowing her eyes. "There's only one way to find out…"

[XXXX]

If there was one thing that Joseph could wholeheartedly agree on, it was that his father's burgers were the best. In fact, he was eating one right now! Everyone, except Yoshihara, was sitting down and eating dinner. Despite having texted Yoshihara on numerous occasions, she didn't reply. It had been a couple of hours since she disappeared to her room, and even though he did try and get her attention, she was completely unresponsive.

Joseph was a little worried, namely because the last time she was this unresponsive was when she had a panic attack and passed out for hours on end. The last time she had a panic attack was this morning during that battle with Outrunning Karma and that assassin. And if she had another one while everyone was preoccupied with dinner, then sitting around here, doing nothing, seemed like a very scummy thing to do.

But, then again, if Yoshihara did have a panic attack, she would've done so in the living room when confronting Josuke. Both Yoshihara and Josuke said Morioh, and she didn't break down. Then again, according to Karera, Morioh was slowly not having an effect on her. Maybe actually going there, even if it wasn't really Morioh, might've helped with that.

That being said, he was still worried about her. Maybe she went down for another nap? That was always a possibility. Yoshihara had been pretty tired, and a two-hour nap wouldn't fix jet lag, sleep deprivation, or whatever else was making sleeping difficult for her.

Joseph looked around the table as Johnny reclined his seat having just finished his burger, a content grin on his face. "Yup, that hit the spot. Especially after not eating all day…"

"You idiot, I thought I told you to keep up your calorie intake. You do want to keep up that stature of yours, don't you?" Gyro chided as Johnny huffed.

"What are you, my doctor?"

"Yes, I am," Gyro deadpanned as Johnny sighed.

"Oh, right," Johnny grumbled, sitting up straight. "Well, Josuke? What do you think?" He asked, looking over to Josuke, who swallowed another bite of the burger that was on his plate. All of them had been loaded. A thick round beef and pork patty, marble cheese, a few leaves of lettuce, thinly sliced tomato, ketchup, mayo, and relish were what comprised the burger. Oh, and one simply couldn't forget the bacon that the meat patty itself sat on.

"It's good, but I feel if I eat any more, I'll miraculously gain thirty pounds," Josuke snarked, earning a laugh from Johnny.

"Well, I never said it was healthy. Welcome to America, the land of the diabetics," Johnny joked as Josuke sighed.

"Yeah, yeah…" As Josuke said that he looked over to Joseph, who was staring at the empty seat where Yoshihara was supposed to have been. Her food was still waiting there, getting colder by the second. "You okay, Joseph?"

"Yeah, I'm just concerned. I've texted Yoshihara several times, and she hasn't come down to eat. I'm starting to get worried…" Joseph said as Johnny hummed.

"Yeah, that is weird. Hey, Gyro, do you know what's up with my niece?" Johnny asked as Gyro shrugged, gulping down some water before putting his glass down.

"Dunno yet. I'm still waiting to hear back from her about that," Gyro said as Johnny nodded.

"Huh?" Both Josuke and Joseph asked simultaneously as Gyro shook his head.

"None of your business. Teacher, doctor, and patient/student confidentiality. When Yoshihara's ready to talk about it, she can talk about it. Until then, neither of you need to worry about it," Gyro stated, his tone firm as Joseph frowned.

All that did was make him worry more. If it was something that needed to be kept confidential, then clearly, it was beyond him. "Will she be okay?"

"Depends. But, again, you don't need to worry about it," Gyro replied, crossing his arms. "On another note, did you do your upper body training, Jojo? I know Johnny said to call it quits for today, but still, you need to keep up on your training," Gyro asked as Joseph nodded.

"Yeah, my arms are really sore, as are my shoulders. I added an extra 50 pounds to the triceps machine, so I'm gonna pay for it in the morning," Joseph said, rolling his right shoulder as Gyro nodded.

"Good. That means it's working. Now—"

A pair of footsteps interrupted the conversation as Yoshihara walked out of the hallway. She wasn't in her school uniform anymore, but rather a black baggy shirt with Monkey D. Luffy on the front, a pair of white jeans, and was barefoot. Giving her a once over, Joseph realized that she was a little bit pale—even more so than usual as of the last few days—and had a very, very conflicted look on her face.

"Kira?" Gyro spoke up, the look in his eyes conveying some kind of question. A question that Yoshihara seemed to pick up on, and all she did in response was nod, and Gyro sighed. "Do you wish to speak about it in private later?" Once again, she nodded. Gyro nodded as well. "Okay then. Johnny, we'll need to talk about this after dinner."

Joseph watched the whole conversation with a skeptical gleam in his eye, glancing over at Josuke, trying to gauge if he knew anything. But based on his confused expression, he was just as clueless as him. Joseph watched as Yoshihara sat down next to him, looking at her plate of food.

"Um…" Joseph began as Yoshihara glanced over at him. Her eyes were red as if she had just finished crying. "Are you… okay?"

"No," Yoshihara replied bluntly. "No, I'm not." Her tone carried a heavy weight behind it, and the conflicted look in her eyes was hard to look at. She looked back at her burger, picked it up, and took a bite out of it. After swallowing, she looked back at Johnny. "It's good. Thank you…"

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it," Johnny said as Yoshihara ate her food in silence. It wasn't too long after Yoshihara showed up that everyone finished their dinner. Yoshihara only ate half of her burger, muttering something about how she had "lost her appetite," and not too long afterward, Gyro, Johnny, and Yoshihara excused themselves.

Joseph was concerned. He watched all three of them go down the hallway in silence. Not long after dinner, Josuke left for his hotel, and Joseph made his way to his on-site bedroom. When he got there, he lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He missed Karera. They had never been apart before, so now that they had to be apart for two weeks, it was more than a little strange. He considered calling her, but he changed his mind when he looked at the time on his phone, which was still set to JST. It showed that, at least in Musutafu, it was 7:30 a.m. in Japan, making it Sunday for them, while it was currently Saturday for him.

"Heh, this is so damn confusing…" Joseph thought to himself. "Still, I wonder what they're up to?" Joseph sighed, closing his eyes. He needed to get some rest.

[XXXX]

To say Izuku was a bit conflicted was an understatement. Sunday is usually a day off from school, but today was a bit of an exception. Why? Today was the official start of Internships. It was a last-minute change, and it primarily had to do with a few students of Class 1 – A going to their internships early. Aizawa-sensei didn't want them to have a head start, so he shifted the schedule a little bit.

Needless to say, it caused a bit of a stir. No one wanted to be at school, mainly because they had made plans for the weekend, himself included. But, then again, Aizawa-sensei had said that U.A. was going to put them through the wringer.

He remembered this morning and how chaotic it had been…. It was also when he found out that Jirou-san wasn't the only one who got to start their internships early.

[Earlier this morning – Homeroom, U.A.]

Izuku walked into class, still frazzled by the sudden shift in schedule. He had hoped to sleep in a little this morning after his early morning run, but he supposed life had other plans for him, it seemed.

He was joined by Uraraka and Ida, as per usual. Well, he'd say per usual, but one person was missing from their little friend group, that being Yoshihara. She'd usually join up with them at the front gate, but she was surprisingly late for once, something that Ida was quick to catch on to and admonish.

It was weird, seeing as Yoshihara was always on time, so for her not to be here made Izuku worry a little bit more than usual. Nevertheless, they entered the school, figuring that Yoshihara would catch up eventually. When they got to the classroom, and ten minutes went by with neither Yoshihara nor Josefumi walking to the classroom, so to say Izuku was a little more than just worried was an understatement.

He wasn't the only one to notice both of their absences, either. Surprisingly enough, he was approached by Bakugo about it. "Oi, Deku, where's that shitty girlfriend of yours?"

When Bakugo asked that, Izuku nearly jumped out of his seat in shock. "A-Ah, Kacchan! W-What're y-you—"

"Shut up, nerd. It's fucking obvious, and you know it," Bakugo sneered, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, not the point. The point is, where the fuck is Blondie? Isn't she always on time or some shit?" Bakugo asked, tapping his foot against the floor impatiently. "Same with Pompadork, he's not here either. He's usually on time, as well," Bakugo grumbled as Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.

"A-Ah, well, I don't know about Fumi-kun, but I know Yoshihara was in pain yesterday. Maybe she took the day off?" Izuku theorized as Ashido spoke up.

"Yeah, Kira-chan could barely walk yesterday, let alone stand up straight without leaning on something. Did she get into an accident the day prior or something?" Ashido asked as Bakugo snorted.

"You fuckin' kidding? You saw just how badly Deku beat the snot out of her with those punches of his. She was probably still recovering from that!" Bakugo quipped as Izuku let out a quiet nervous chuckle, gaining Bakugo's attention. "The fuck you laughing for, huh?! You saying I'm wrong, Deku?!"

"W-Wha— No! Kacchan! You're not wrong," Izuku replied as Bakugo clicked his tongue.

"Tch, whatever."

One after the other, everyone else walked into class and took their seats, followed by a tired Aizawa-Sensei, which was the usual, to be completely fair. "All right, class. Before we begin homeroom, let's address the elephant in the room. I'm sure someone has figured it out by now, but for those who haven't—"

Unsurprisingly, a hand shot up. It was Ida. Aizawa sighed before calling out the boy to the class. "Yes, Ida?"

"Aizawa-sensei! Does this have to do with Kira-san's, Jirou-san's and Kujo-kun's absences?" Ida asked as a few murmurs rippled throughout the classroom. Apparently, not everyone had noticed the two empty desks, which, to be fair, was kind of hard not to.

Those two were so quiet during classes and serious about getting work done, that they just faded into the background. Even during downtime, Kujo was probably studying, and Yoshihara was usually reading Manga, rather than socializing.

Izuku knew that Jirou had started her internship with Blackwell early. That still rocked his world. For Jirou to get an internship with someone as high up on the rankings as Blackwell while not having placed all that far in The Sports Festival was beyond impressive.

"Yes, that would be correct, Ida. You see, they've started their internships early, Jirou with Blackwell, and Kira and Kujo abroad in America."

When that was mentioned, a bunch of people practically jumped up from their seats with alarm and confusion. Aizawa was able to get everyone to settle down as he massaged the sides of his head, muttering something unintelligible. That was when Kaminari spoke up.

"Who's Kira and Kujo interning with to have them go overseas?" Kaminari questioned as Aizawa sighed.

"Normally, I wouldn't answer that, but seeing as it's on topic, both Kujo and Kira are interning with Joekid, America's second most ranked pro hero and head of The Speedwagon Foundation, one of U.A.'s top investors and known confidants. I can't disclose why, but what I said is more than enough information."

And once again, the class erupted into chaos, and once again, Aizawa was able to calm everyone down. "That's enough! Sheesh, you kids are annoying sometimes…. Now, as I was saying…."

[Present Day]

Izuku shivered at the memory. He wasn't one to complain about noisiness, at least, usually. "Maybe Yoshihara is rubbing off on me a bit more than I imagined…." Izuku thought as he walked down to the location where his internship was supposed to take place. It was located on the outskirts of Hosu, bordering between Musutafu and Hosu city.

But who was he interning with, exactly? Well, none other than All Might's former teacher, Gran Torino. He remembered All Might's conversation with him about Gran Torino, and just by talking about him alone, Izuku understood something vital about this "Gran Torino."

Gran Torino scared the socks off of All Might.

"A hero who scares the pants off All Might… Gran Torino, hmm? I've never heard of him, but if he was able to scare All Might, then he's gotta be one awesome guy!" Izuku thought, rounding the street corner to the address provided to him.

What he came across was an old, rundown apartment complex. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to all the other advanced buildings surrounding it, which, in Izuku's eyes, made it look like an eyesore.

"Huh…. Not what I was expecting…." Izuku muttered. Walking up to the front door of the rundown building, Izuku gently opened the door and peeked inside. Surprisingly, the inside of the building was rather clean, though it was pretty dark and hard to see the inside of. "Uh… Gran Torino, Sir? My name is Izuku Midoriya, and I come from the U.A. It's a pleasure to meet…!" Before Izuku could finish his sentence, he bore witness to a rather perturbing site.

His eyes cast down to the floor and saw a small, old man in a bright yellow and grey hero costume, surrounded in what appeared to be the colour of blood and his intestines hanging out. Just as Izuku was about to shout, he sniffed the air and got the distinct smell of Ketchup.

Running inside, he closed the door behind him and knelt to the old man, which he assumed was Gran Torino, given that he was dressed in a hero costume, who groaned. "Ugh…" Without hesitation, Izuku helped Gran Torino up as he adjusted himself with his cane. "Thank you, Sonny. And to think I'd slip and fall on my lunch, what a waste…." He drawled as Izuku dusted his hands off. "So, who are you?" Gran Torino asked as Izuku raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… I'm Izuku Midoriya, the boy who you—"

"No, I said, who are you, boy," Gran Torino repeated as Izuku was beginning to get a tad bit annoyed. He didn't have time to play games with an old man. It was only after a few seconds that he caught on to what the man was saying as he mouthed an "oh" sound.

"Ah, I'm Dekiru, Gran Torino, Sir," Izuku said as Gran Torino smirked.

"Good, you caught on sooner than I thought. Dekiru, huh…? "I can do it." Quite the claim, Sonny. We'll see soon enough. Now, get your hero costume on, and fire off an attack on me. I want to see just how much control you have over One For All."

Izuku nodded, looking over to his suitcase. "Right away, sir!" Something told Izuku that he was going to be in a long internship, but not a painful one.

[XXXX]

To say Karera had been excited to work with Eraserhead was a bit of an overstatement. Don't get her wrong, Aizawa, or she guessed it was going to be Eraserhead-sensei for the next two weeks, was a nice person, but he was also a grouch. He was a total contrast to Sekijiro-Sensei, who was upbeat, bombastic, and all for competition.

Karera had heard horror stories from Josefumi about just how much Aizawa pushed them during Hero 101 courses. There was a time when Aizawa had caused one of the people in his class to faint of exhaustion because he wouldn't allow for any breaks in between exercises.

Now, granted, it was the type of thing that needed to be overcome when it came to hero work; quite often, someone would have to go from call to call without a break, so increasing one's energy and fighting against exhaustion was key.

However, to get to that point was a bit much, actually, no scratch that, fucking ridiculous. Even so, Josefumi liked his teacher, as did a majority of those in Class 1 – A. Sure, he was tough on them, but it was for a good reason. You didn't become a hero by faffing around and goofing off. She would admit that Sekijiro-Sensei gave them a bit more lenient time-tables, and also gave them more breaks so that they could relax.

In comparison to Class 1 – A, they were ahead of schedule, yes, but they had more hands-on experience than them. Not of their own volition, of course, but that wasn't how most of Class 1 – B saw it.

Still, when Eraserhead approached her after school and asked for her to work with him over the internship, Karera, of course, accepted, though, as previously mentioned, she wasn't too thrilled about it. She had actually planned to work with Fatgum and reach out to him.

So, if that was the case, why ultimately pick Eraserhead?

Simple, he was an underground hero. That meant he dealt with back alley criminals. That also meant that there was a chance he could have a chance encounter with the people who dish out the Stand Bullets, or as the media was calling them, The Yellow Bullets.

It was a boring title to call them, but seeing as the world at large was still blind to Stand's existence as a whole, she guessed it made sense. That, and if the media started calling them Quirk Evolving Bullets, that would make the drug more sought after, and that was no good.

And seeing as Josefumi wouldn't be able to do much of anything regarding the Stand Bullets, what with him being in America with Kira, that meant that she and the Midoriya's would have to pick up the slack. Though granted, Inko had her hands tied behind her back at the moment, so in reality, it was just Izuku and her. Of course, Karera didn't mind, hence why she chose to work with Eraserhead.

Most people never gave her enough credit. She was smart when she needed to be, damnit!

Standing outside of an alleyway in Hosu, i.e., the meetup location, Karera was decked out in her hero costume. It was a rather simple, stretchy black leotard, along with a black shoulder vest with a fluffy black interior.

She had spiked cuffs on her wrists with fingerless gloves and stretchable over-the-knee-high slip-on boots. She also had a black eye mask just for shits and giggles. She blamed her recent Persona 5 binge playthrough over Saturday for that one.

The stretchy material allowed her more open movement options when in a close-quarters fight, and the same went with the leotard. It gave her the freedom to move around without having anything to get caught on.

The shoulder vest was there purely for the design. The all-black was so that she couldn't be seen easily at night, giving her that extra amount of camouflage. Since her hair was black, and Love Love Deluxe allowed her to manipulate her hair to the point of being as dense and as strong as metal, nightly ambushes would be easy in her costume.

Unlike Josefumi, who wanted to be like his dad and live up to the Joestar Family Legacy, Karera wanted to be an underground hero. She never really wanted fame, though a part of her couldn't lie and not say that it wouldn't have been cool to be seen all over the world as a bigshot hero.

That being said, however, she also didn't want to be seen in the same light as people like Mt. Lady, who seemingly became heroes just for the clout. She probably had her own reasons, though if Karera was being honest, she didn't quite care. She had already made waves with the public due to her first appearance, and it was all the worse when she practically took every sponsorship offered to her at once.

Not that she cared, but… it did seem kind of greedy.

"You're early. That's good. It means you're on top of your priorities." A sharp voice spoke out to Karera, breaking her from her thoughts as her head whipped around to see Eraserhead, decked out in his equipment, arms crossed and leaning up against one of the walls of the alleyway. He scanned her up and down and huffed with a glint of approval in his eyes.

"All black… good for hiding in the darkness and ambush maneuvers. I like the way you think, kid. That being said, lose the shoulder jacket next time we meet up, it can get caught on things and make fighting a pain."

Karera nodded, a small smile taking up her visage. "Maybe he's not so bad after all…!" Karera thought as Eraserhead grunted.

"Now, seeing as it's 10:45 am, and I haven't had my morning coffee, we'll stop by a coffee shop, and after that, we'll get to patrolling. That'll be from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. After that, we'll call it a night. Understood?" Eraserhead asked.

"Understood, Eraserhead-sensei!" Karera replied as the shaggy-haired man rolled his eyes a little bit.

"Calm it with the sensei crap. As far as I'm concerned, you're a sidekick. After all, you and Kujo are looking into those bullets with Kira and Midoriya, right?" Eraserhead asked as Karera nodded.

"Yes, sir. That's why Josefumi and I were sent to U.A.," Karera said as Eraserhead hummed.

"Well, normally, I would tell you to drop it. You're students, not heroes, and seeing as this can be counted as Vigilantism, I could technically report you to the school," Eraserhead started as Karera froze. "However, seeing as this is mutually beneficial to my own investigation, and seeing as you have backing from The Speedwagon Foundation, on a technical term, I can't do much of anything. All I can do is frown upon it."

Karera let out a sigh of relief as Eraserhead cleared his throat. "Now, let's go get that coffee. I'm not doing anything until I have caffeine in my system."

And with that, the two set off for the nearby coffee shop. Already, Karera had to say that this internship with Eraserhead was going to be a lot more interesting than she had initially believed. "I knew I made the right choice with Eraserhead!" Karera thought, following close behind him.

As they left, however, they failed to spot a man completely dressed in black, with a black mask covering his head. "Hmph, to think, Kujo's girlfriend would be here. No matter, she's not my target. Not until Ida Tenya meets his end," The man said, watching Eraserhead and Karera disappear down the street.

He could kill both of them—right here, right now—to save himself the extra effort. But where was the fun in that? Not to mention he'd have Kujo breathing down his neck and hunting him down. He was an assassin, not a murderer; there was a keen difference. One was sneaky and professional, while the other was doing it for the thrill.

The man slinked back into the shadows, disappearing into the dark.

He would bide his time and wait for the right moment. Eraserhead and Karera Sakunami were nothing to him at the moment. They did not pose a threat to Damnatio Ad Bestias nor to him. Their presence in Hosu, while annoying, wouldn't get in his way.

That just meant he needed to be extra careful. He had gone over 80 years being an assassin for those whom he deemed worthy and had been working with Damnatio Ad Bestias for well over 23 years. While his loyalties lied primarily to himself, that didn't mean he wanted to set off his Boss.

He had honed his craft for decades, bordering on a century.

Nothing would stop him from completing his mission.

Nothing would.

-To Be Continued in - Internships & Choices - Part 1-