Once again, Katsuki knew what kind of look Nejire was giving him from her side of the vehicle. There was an awkward pause during which he wondered if the call had been dropped. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mitsuki Bakugo answered her son's question with a weary sigh.

"…is this a bad time?"

It was Katsuki's turn to sigh as he closed his eyes, trying his best to imagine that Nejire wasn't listening to his every word with a judgmental ear.

"…no. Things are just…"

"Fucked up right now," Mitsuki finished for him. "I had a feeling. That's why I called. I just wanted to know that you're okay, and… if you want to come home until classes start up to get away from all of the news and the general vibe that must be hanging over U.A. right now, you're always welcome back here. You could even bring a friend, if that would help."

"Mom, I…" Katsuki began, wrinkling his nose. "…look, I appreciate the offer, but I can't run away every time things get like this. Heroes are gonna die. Probably some people I go to university with, before this is all over or shortly after graduation. I have to just deal with it, as much as it sucks ass. I'm fine."

"If you're sure," Mitsuki replied, her disappointment clear in her tone. "I'll let you go…"

Katsuki balled a fist and drove it slowly into his seat in an effort to diffuse some of his frustration down into the leather. It didn't work.

"You don't… you don't have to," Katsuki reassured. "I doubt you just called for that, so what else did you want to say? I'm not even on campus right now. I've got time."

"You're sure?" Mitsuki asked before immediately correcting herself. "In that case… how did moving in go?"

"Moving in?" Katsuki asked rhetorically, only to jump as he felt an unfamiliar sensation.

His eyes shot open as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he gave Nejire an annoyed look. The older girl was giving his shoulder a gentle, reassuring rub- a sensation that he wasn't sure he had ever felt before. As much as he wanted to shrug her off or push the hand away, he didn't want to risk distracting the driver. At least, that was the reasoning he decided to go with before turning his attention back to the phone call.

"Moving in was… fine, I guess?" Katsuki considered. "One asshole didn't show up to help, so some of us helped her roommate get all her shit upstairs. Nothing else really eventful. We ended up just hanging around in her room for a while afterward."

"That was nice of you," Mitsuki praised. "What do you think of your classmates so far?"

"Better than high school," Katsuki answered as Nejire let her hand slip from his shoulder and brought it back to the wheel. "I've got… probably two people I'd call 'friends' right now."

"Oh, good. They must be worth something if you're that quick to let them in. Is your roommate one of them?"

"No, he was too concerned with getting his dick wet to realize he kicked someone else out of their room. I ended up hosting his girlfriend's roommate because of it. Fucking annoying."

Nejire wiped a hand down her face, looking almost secondhandedly embarrassed as she listened to the tale.

"…wonderful. If he ends up being a total prick, just ignore him, I guess," Mitsuki advised. "But people do deserve a second chance. Sometimes, they don't even realize what they're doing, especially after some kind of big change…"

"…yeah. Maybe. Listen, I gotta go," Katsuki warned as the car finally pulled up to the driveway of a modestly sized apartment complex. "I'm on a mission with an upperclassman, and we just got to where we're going."

"Already taking on work?" Mitsuki asked. "I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. One more quick thing- you forgot a few things at home, including your drum pad."

"Shit," Katsuki cursed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll… I'll stop by at some point and pick them up. I'm gonna need that…"

"If you need to drop by your house, we could go after we're done with Kaoruko," Nejire offered as she guided the vehicle into a parking space and pushed the shift stick forward. "I don't mind."

Katsuki gave her a quick nod. Something about the offer felt right.

"I'll come by tonight. I'll bring… a friend."

Again, Katsuki thought that the line might have disconnected as it fell silent for just a moment too long. The only sound was that of the car's engine turning off until Mitsuki suddenly spoke again.

"…thanks, Katsuki. I already miss you, despite everything. Just let me know when you're on your way."

"Yeah," Katsuki answered before disconnecting the call.

With a weighty thump, he let the back of his head impact the headrest as he closed his eyes again and stuffed his phone into his pocket.

"…I get it," Nejire said quietly. "Family's… not easy, sometimes. You're a good guy for picking up and indulging her. Even though I don't know your situation, I can tell it's painful."

"It's a long-ass story that I don't feel like getting into, and probably won't feel like getting into anytime soon," Katsuki warned. "But everything's just… I'm still trying to figure out how much I want her in my life. I can't shut her out entirely, even though I want to, sometimes. I can't just drop her like that."

"And you shouldn't," Nejire replied. "Not unless she does something completely unforgivable. I know what it's like to have to decide whether or not to cut family out of your life. It's… not an easy or pleasant one."

"What did you end up doing?" Katsuki asked as he turned to face her.

Nejire met Katsuki's eyes for a moment, and then shook her head before pushing the car door open and swinging a leg out to the pavement.

"I don't want to influence you in either direction. This is something you have to confront yourself, over time. I can help you, but I don't want you following my example."

Katsuki followed suit and exited the car before shoving the door shut and looking up at the apartment building. A light rain was still falling, and it began to flatten out his messily spiked hair.

"Great. Just another thing to think about…"

Tsuyu Asui had always appreciated having time alone to think, especially when situations got tough and she needed time to work through her personal feelings. When she herself was the cause of said struggle, the need to just retreat to her room or one of her many quiet, secret spots around town intensified greatly. Unfortunately for her, at U.A., she had no 'secret spots'… and her room was anything but private with Toru's ability to be literally anywhere at any time.

And so it was that Tsuyu had taken to hiding in a bathroom stall and sitting upon one of the girls' toilets just to be alone, her legs tucked up atop the seat so as not to be visible from outside the stall. An uncertain amount of time passed before one of the bathroom doors opened and footsteps echoed throughout the mostly empty room. Tsuyu remained perfectly still as she waited for something, anything to happen, and for a while, nothing did. After what seemed like too long of a wait, one of the doors a few stalls over opened, and Tsuyu decided that she needed to leave while she still had the chance to do so without confrontation.

With a quick and unnecessary flush to avoid arousing suspicion, Tsuyu slipped off the covered toilet and made her way out of the stall. She moved to the sinks to wash her hands, wracking her brain for some idea of where to go next to be alone with her thoughts. With a sigh, she headed toward the exit door to the bathroom and emerged into the empty lobby.

Seeing the vacant couches and the unoccupied balcony caused Tsuyu to have second thoughts, and the upset, twisting feeling in her stomach to intensify. The lobby didn't quite feel lonely so much as dead. It was a sensation she certainly didn't need while already feeling so hollow.

Tsuyu wiped at her eyes as she took out her phone and considered her options. There had to be someone she could visit to begin to feel better, or at least someone who wouldn't mind her simply sitting around and keeping to herself. About halfway down the list of U.A. contacts, she found what she was looking for and began to tap out a text.

10:32 AM

Are you in your room? I could use some company if the offer still stands.

Tsuyu wasn't sure why she was surprised to see a bubble pop up indicating that a response was being composed almost immediately. Perhaps she had just grown used to disappointment no matter how likely the opposite seemed.

Amaya Kan, 10:32 AM

Yeah. Daisuke's here, and we're just on the couch. Come hang out.

As pathetic as the notion sounded in her head, being around two people seemed like a little much to Tsuyu. The vague phrasing of 'on the couch' caused her imagination to run wild with possibilities that she was honestly ashamed of even proposing as imagined scenarios. Tsuyu briefly wondered if there was a graceful way to decline the offer, but instead settled for resigning herself to finding out what exactly Amaya and Daisuke were doing.

Besides- it wasn't like she could quell her curiosity without seeing it herself, even if that same curiosity had led to her feeling so awful in the first place.

The trek to Amaya's dorm room was a short one and didn't provide enough time for Tsuyu to properly speculate on what she was about to see. Hesitantly, she opened the door and stepped inside to a dark room that seemed vacant for a moment. As she closed the door behind herself, a pierced wing raised itself over the back of the couch and waved softly back and forth, signaling her closer.

"C'mon. Plenty of room for three."

Tsuyu slowly walked around the couch, navigating by the light of the television before it that was showing some sort of fabricated superhero show. There upon the cushions were Amaya and Daisuke, their bodies intertwined in a most interesting fashion. Daisuke was sitting up and leaning back at an angle with one elbow atop the armrest at the far side of the couch. Amaya was laying upon her back, her head and shoulders in his lap and feet crossed upon the cushions. Daisuke's heavy lizard tail was atop her stomach, and her arms were rested gently atop it. Though their positioning was unconventional due to Amaya's massive wings getting in the way, the two of them looked rather comfortable in each other's company.

"Hey there," Daisuke offered with a lazy wave. "Looking for some garbage advice, or just looking to join the tangle?"

"…advice would be fine," Tsuyu said hesitantly as she sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "I don't want to intrude…"

"Pff, get in here," Amaya commanded as she made a beckoning motion with one of her arms. "Only way to break the ice for real is to get all touchy-feely. Besides- he's surprisingly warm, for a lizard."

"…I'm good," Tsuyu resisted as she folded her hands in her lap. "Thank you, though. Maybe another time…"

"Fine," Amaya said disappointedly. "What's on your mind? No one's really in a great place right now after the Nighteye news, but maybe we can at least relate?"

"It's not entirely about that," Tsuyu admitted. "Not directly, anyway. I made a mistake poking my nose where it didn't belong, and I made Midoriya's situation more stressful and awkward without knowing it. I put some pressure on him that he doesn't need right now, and it ties in to the Nighteye situation. Midoriya ended up having to explain his connection to Nighteye to a few of us, and I could tell he wasn't happy about it. I feel terrible…"

"Well, why were you getting involved in the first place?" Daisuke asked, his voice free of malice. "To try to help him with something? Out of worry?"

Tsuyu knew that she could have lied and gotten away with it. She also knew that doing so would only serve to make her feel worse.

She had no idea what admitting the truth to two people she barely knew could do to their perception of her, or their futures at the Academy. She also didn't want the reputation of being a conspiracy nutjob that she had earned back in high school…

…until she had ended up being right.

"Not… exactly," Tsuyu said slowly. "I did it out of sheer curiosity… and because I think there's more to it than what Midoriya's telling us. Something's going on behind the scenes, and I can't shake the feeling that he called us together to explain the situation away and get me to drop it. I feel like he's still hiding something, and he knows that I know it…"

Author's Note:

Tsu is a true believer.

-RD