For the first time in a while, nothing of significance had happened for Mirio all afternoon and night. There was tense small talk with Dabi, T.V., dinner, and eventually, slightly more friendly talk as the other man had eased into the prospect of coming around. By the time night had fallen and Rizumu had returned to the apartment, Mirio and Dabi had seemingly repaired their relationship… whatever that may have been to begin with. Though Mirio was skeptical about Dabi's ability to change his mind and forgive so easily after making literal death threats less than a day prior, he was indeed grateful for the reprieve.

As Mirio sank into the couch cushions to try to get some sleep, he committed to making a plan for the following morning. Simply staying above the club and waiting on Arowana to make a decision about his future didn't sit well with him at all, nor did the prospect of being away from Tamaki and Nejire for so long. He stared at the ceiling of the living room for a long while, simply thinking through the proper steps to insure his own safety as well as that of his friends. After what felt like hours of puzzling through the tangle of problems, Mirio eventually drifted off to sleep without an answer.

The following morning started just as uneventfully. Breakfast with his hosts and some more small talk with the couple playing host to him eventually led to Mirio standing in the kitchen and taking care of the dishes as Rizumu got dressed for work and Dabi tended to something on a tablet while lounging on the couch. Mirio had his phone on the kitchen island as he scrubbed away at a plate, occasionally turning around to look at the screen between dishes and replying to Nejire as she updated him on her trip to Bubble Girl's house with Katsuki. Every buzz against the countertop was a reassurance, until suddenly, one wasn't. Upon seeing the message onscreen, Mirio dropped the plate in his hands, causing it to shatter against the tile floor before he could manage to save it.

"Fuckin' seriously?" Dabi asked as he turned his head to look over the back of the couch. When he saw the look upon Mirio's face as the other man held the phone, however, his tone softened ever so slightly. "Togata…?"

Mirio's cheeks had drained of color as he read and reread the text. The phone was shaking in his hand as he swallowed hard, trying to process the information.

Keigo Takami, 6:34 AM

Rumi was attacked by a villain with some kind of rifle-based Quirk last night. I'm in the Emergency Room with her and she's stable, but she's in a lot of pain and has a pretty bad gunshot wound. All Might's here too, and he told the two of us about his condition, that All for One bastard, and Izuku Midoriya. Get here as quick as you can and bring Amajiki and Hado. We need to talk and Rumi could use a friendly face.

"Is everything alright?" Rizumu asked as she peeked her head around the wall, her hair wet as she ruffled it with a towel. "What happened?"

Mirio finally managed to peel his eyes from his phone before looking back and forth between Dabi and Rizumu. For a moment, he wrestled with what to even say and what he should, or could tell them. As his pulse quickened, though, he decided that the only thing that mattered with Rumi Usagiyama's safety and finding out exactly what happened.

"My… m-my friend got shot," Mirio said in a shaky voice. "She's in the hospital, a-and sh-"

"And your car's at U.A.," Rizumu interrupted. "Fuck. Dabi, take my car and get him there."

Mirio watched with confusion as a pair of keys flew through the air and into Dabi's scarred hand. The man rose from the couch without hesitation and offered his partner a nod before heading straight for the door leading downstairs.

"You got directions?"

"I…" Mirio hesitated, not even having realized that he didn't have his vehicle with him. Seeing Dabi and Rizumu snap into action so quickly filled him with a certainty about their standing with him that he could no longer deny, and the notion gave him a full-body chill. No matter whether they were heroes, villains, or something in between, they were absolutely, undoubtedly his friends. "I can get them. You're sure you c-"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Dabi snapped as Mirio followed him out of the room. "Your friend's in the hospital, and you're wondering about whether or not this is going to upset my day? I don't care what you think of me, to be completely honest, but I'm not the kind of guy who would leave someone I don't hate high and dry. Follow me and get in the goddamned car."

Mirio reviewed Dabi's choice of words in his mind several times as they descended the steps together. The pounding in his chest was soon matched by one just as intense in his head, and it was then that Mirio decided to just stop thinking and let his body and mind run on autopilot.

"…you're right. Thanks. I mean it, Dabi," Mirio insisted as he began to text Tamaki and Nejire. "I've really put you and Rizumu out the past couple days…"

"Weeks," Dabi corrected. "Months. Who even knows, anymore? Just forget about it. And before you ask- we're still helping you because… well, I'm still helping you because I know what it's like to just have an endless run of shit smeared in you face without having a chance to come up for air. As much as you're an asshole sometimes, you don't deserve to have to deal with all of this at once. I'll help you out of the fire, but you owe me."

"I do," Mirio agreed as he followed Dabi through the empty kitchen and out past the unoccupied bar. "And I'll do whatever I have to in order to make this all up to you. You've had some bad runs of luck too, huh?"

Mirio knew that the question wasn't one he should have asked the moment it left his mouth. He half expected Dabi to turn and incinerate him on the spot, but instead, the charred man just kept jogging toward the parking lot.

"…now's not the time. In fact, the time might be never. Don't worry about it."

"Gotcha," Mirio replied as he climbed into the vehicle. "Again, thanks…"

Dabi spared Mirio an annoyed look as he put the key in the ignition. With a roll of his eyes, he turned his attention to the road and pulled out of the parking lot.

"…oh, shut up. This isn't that big of a deal."

"It is to me," Mirio said quietly as the car tore off onto the road and he raised his phone to watch the onscreen GPS. "Says a lot more about you than you know."

Katsuki had laid into the heavy bag harder than ever before, nearly tearing a hole in the material with his punches. Though he had held back from powering the blows with explosions, his anger and frustration had gotten the better of him, and he had spent the last several attacks yelling as he wailed on the dangling target. With one final, exhausting punch, the boy nearly fell into the bag and braced himself against it, sweating and breathing hard. Though he did feel better and he was thankful that no one else was down in the space so early on a Sunday morning to see him taking out his emotions on the heavy bag, a dark cloud still loomed in his mind. There was no escaping the guilt or the phone call until it was made, and though he would usually find a private space first, Katsuki was completely out of patience or the ability to care anymore.

With heavy footfalls, Katsuki stomped his way over to the cushioned bench where he had set down his phone and water bottle. Though he knew it was quite early in the morning to be calling home, he also knew that his mother wouldn't have gotten any sleep due to worry. He hastily tapped through the options to reach his contacts and make the call. As the other line rang, he closed his eyes and focused on settling his breathing while wiping sweat away from his forehead with a small towel. It didn't take long for his mother's voice to come over the line, and the lack of expected annoyance in her tone came as quite the surprise.

"Katsuki… are you alright?"

"I'm…" Katsuki paused, his voice devoid of anger. "…I'm not hurt or in trouble or anything like that. There's just…"

"A lot going on?" Mitsuki guessed. "I kind of assumed. Moving to U.A. is a big change, and I'm sure that your involvement with All Might in terms of whatever it is the two of you have been doing only complicates things."

"No, it's not…" Katsuki started, opening his eyes as he tried to figure out what he could and couldn't tell his mother. "…it's just everything. Things are moving too fast, and… you know what, forget it. I'm sorry I didn't call, alright? I got sidetracked. Nothing personal."

"I wouldn't blame you if it was personal," Mitsuki offered. "As glad as I am to hear it isn't… you need to slow down, Katsuki."

"What?" Katsuki asked, somewhat unable to believe what he was hearing. "But you've always pushed me to go as hard as possible and confront shit head-on. No excuses."

"And look what it's done to you."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki snapped.

"Katsuki… are you happy?"

No response came to him bar hovering his thumb over the red End Call button. As much as he wanted to push it and escape, Katsuki couldn't bring himself to do it as Mitsuki let out a weary sigh.

"I mean it. Are you happy? This has been your dream since you were a little boy, and the entire time leading up to moving in- packing, planning, signing up for classes… you've just seemed miserable and angry. That isn't your fault, even if you think it is. There's nothing wrong with you and what you're doing that didn't stem from your father and I. Even if you don't believe it, I don't want to see you so stressed and upset, especially when you should be having the time of your life in college. I fucked up, Katsuki… and now, I'm telling you to rethink what I've taught you. Take it slow."

"…what if… what if I don't know how to take it slow?" Katsuki asked. "What if I don't want to? What if all of the people trying to get to know me, causing stupid drama, and making things needlessly difficult just seem like a big waste of time?"

"What if getting involved in all of that is something that's been missing from your life?" Mitsuki countered. "Getting through high school with honors is one thing- getting through college alive and sane is another entirely. I didn't do a good job of preparing you for it, but… college is hard, Katsuki. You're going to need friends to get through it, and you're going to need to socialize a bit. Hang out with Midoriya, or branch out and meet new people, or both…"

"There are… a few people I don't hate here," Katsuki admitted, choosing to ignore the remark about Izuku. "I was expecting this call to go differently. I don't like this."

"That's not surprising. I'll run by tonight and drop off the things you forgot. If things are busy, don't make a trip out to the house for me- I'll catch you next weekend, or the weekend after. Focus on yourself, and what you want to do rather than just what you have to. Do that for me. Please?"

Katsuki took a long, deep breath and rubbed at his temples with his unoccupied hand.

"…fine. I'll… fine. I'll come back next weekend," Katsuki resolved. "But I can't promise I'll just… assimilate into the crowd of fucking morons on my floor immediately, or go out and party, or…"

"Katsuki," Mitsuki interrupted. "Just be yourself- who you want to be, and people will gravitate toward you. Try to let some of your anger for me and your father go, and when you feel like lashing out, try to focus on the positives. You're at U.A.- a place other heroes in training would kill to get into."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Katsuki dared to ask. "Where was all of this sagely advice for my entire childhood?"

"Muddled by substance abuse," Mitsuki answered immediately. "I medicated with alcohol. You medicate with anger. We can both do better."

"…yeah, maybe. I'll see you later today, I guess?"

"You will. Love you, Katsuki."

"…yeah."

Katsuki ended the call with a nervous sigh before tossing his phone back onto the bench. He cast the heavy bag another glance, feeling as though he should just go back to beating on it to deal with his awkwardness and discomfort. Despite the instinct, it wasn't at all what he wanted to do, and the answer as to what that might be was clear. Instead of launching another assault, Katsuki retrieved the phone he had just tossed away and sent a text as he exited the gym.

You available? We should finish talking now.

It took only a few seconds for a reply to come through, and Katsuki nodded as he read the text.

Lizard, 7:08 AM

Can do. Let's find a quiet place to meet up.

Author's Note:

Big things brewing. Chapter 100 approaches.

-RD