The smile on Roy's face vanished after hearing the last sentence Takeshi spoke, you could tell how bitter he felt by his body language. As if he needed someone else to protect him. The boy balled up the blankets and cocked his arm back before launching the blanket back at Takeshi with an added boost from his quirk. Shortly Roy succumbed to the repercussion of overexerting himself as he made a painful expression.

"Thanks for the apology but no thanks, I didn't purposely retaliate expecting for you to come protect me and I am pretty sure neither did Reina. Sure we got battered and beaten, some more than others. With the scenario we were in none of us should even be alive. It'd have been better if you kept that thought to yourself like the rest of us who are pros or are training to become one you selfish bastard.

It was a bit out of character for him to say what he did but at this point he didn't care, as if he was about to be pitied by a guy who lost his own arm. From the depths of his blind rage, Roy managed to plant his feet firmly on the frigid hospital floor as he faced Takeshi. The boy held a hand up to his chest, "You don't think any of us wished we could have protected one another a little better?!?Reduce at least one scratch?! Take away one more bruise?! The boy's legs trembled as he moved forward closer and closer to Takeshi until they were face to face.



The blonde took a deep breath before taking a few steps back, he was pretty sure anyone even remotely close to the room heard what he just shouted but at this point he really didn't give a damn. He decided to just stop talking for now as the more he spoke the more agitated he just became...soon enough an awkward silence filled not only the hospital room but the hospital corridor.

@Aerandir@Conscripts@Riegal

After Tomoe had introduced herself to silver hair chan the girl happily replied back. Tomoe found her to be full of energy and very social and cutesy. The girl had greeted her in english at first. Was she from english origin perhaps? Tomoe could not tell if she was bad ot not in english. Tomoe awkwardly bowed once more honestlt not knowing how to reply back in english. Oh well she wasn't gonna get out of the country anyhow.

Shortly after the girl had introduced herself once more but this time in japanese Tomoe was starting to get a little nervous. D-diva? She did look like a future idol so perhaps she was really good in singing? Tomoe gulped as she replied back to the girl.



Tomoe was visibly shaking. The white hat spoke aloud to the performers letting them know about how the competition was gonna be. Seiko was gonna go as first so Tomoe still had some time to relax before the big show. They could chose any song they wanted that was available. There were a lot... Tomoe knew that fast or energetic songs wouldn't cut it for her at this stride... She could sing but with those types of songs you would mess up more often.

Tomoe sat back down besides Tomoe to watch the performance of Seiko. It was super fun to watch Seiko jump around and dance, she even got the crowd to cheer with her! What an amazing person Seiko was. Tomoe even did in on the fun herself. She had never been to a live performance before. It was pretty dangerous if she would fall asleep during performances. Random people could rob her or do awful things to her. Tomoe held onto Hitomi her arm unknowingly. She had grown fond of hugging and snuggling the girl without even noticing her own actions.

Seiko was done performing and stepped off stage. Tomoe made sure to speed up next to her and tell her right into her face how amazing her performance was.



Tomoe watched up at her for a moment longer with stars in her eyes as if she had just met her biggest idol. Tomoe grinned at the idol for a moment feeling somewhat hyped herself. She held the microphone high up to her mouth as she clicked it on posing in cute fashion.



Tomoe ran up stage and quickly turned around, she flashed a smile to the audience as she told to input the song she wanted to sing. Off course she wasn't gonna dance or do anything really well but this was karaoke! That is what the effort was gonna go in to! She chose a song from her favorite anime.

---

The indian originated girl started yelling at her when Nia mentioned that she thought she scared the girl. Obviously that was not the case and only worsened the situation as of now. Nia her eyes teared up as she shakingly looked up at the indian. Did she mess up? Why was this girl so mad at her. She thought she did the right thing by leaving her plant behind. Nia sniffed her nose as she tried her hardest not to cry in front of this person. She tensed up for a little why before she brushed the tears away with het sleeves and glared back up at the person in sad manner. Nia really was bad at making friends. She tried so hard but in the end it looked more like she was gonna get an enemy.

When they both turned silent again the tribal girl spoke up and explained about her situation and why she found it hard to explain things in words. Nia could understand. She wasn't good with words either. Usually she would end up in worse situations then before even though if she was trying to help. Nia her fruits would cheer up anyone so it was a beautiful gift to help others in her own way. But once even her fruits don't help the situation she is lost and finds it hard to move on. Her mind goes blank when that happens.

The music girl had gotten out her instrument, Nia had never seen or heard antone play on the violin before so it was bound to be pretty special. Her mood had already bettered from seeing the girl do something she loved.

After the song was finished Nia was visibly shaking. What was that! That music was way too extreme for her. Nia blankly gazed at Vae as she tried thinking of words. She softly spoke her words as if she didn't want to mess up with Vae anymore. She did feel like the song gave her some meaning however. It was a very vicious but depressing song. Did she have some past traumas recently that made her this way? It certainly didn't look like this girl was emotionally ready for this school but maybe there was no other way then for her to learn via school how to cheer up and smile.

Aurelia only nodded as she silently agreed with him. It was not something to be obligated. They're both professional heroes after all. It is their duty to help each other out and keep each other, and those who couldn't protect themselves, alive for another day. Although she still should make everybody known that she is appreciative of him saving her life there, but she ought not to make this something to be bothering with her work and all.

But then the blonde boy suddenly explode in anger. His rage echoed throughout the entire quiet room, rocking the whole hospital in tremor. Both siblings were in panic. This is a hospital for fuck's sake. There are other people who desperately needed some peace and quiet here.

Aurelia immediately rushed for the door, expecting nurses or doctors to swarm around the room to see what was going on. And damn him if he was wrong...

"It's nothing doctor. Nothing..."

As she tried to drive the curious, and not so friendly, eyes of the doctors and patients away, Acion was also a little angry and panicking at how such mindless act for a split second could affect everyone around. But it wasn't entirely his fault though. Acion was also in that mood a bit while ago. Too he realized how pretentious and arrogant he had been. He couldn't blame his frustration for having to deal with such attitude all the time. But the sudden outburst of emotions were too much here.

"Jesus guys. This is a hospital you know. Everybody needs a rest as much as you do." He said, to Roy mostly trying to break in between the two of them, encouraging each to settle down. "He has a point." He looked over to Roy. "Look at me. Now. I'm not going to lie. I too wished that I had the power to fight them back, so that I did not run away like a little coward back then." He continued, pointing at himself, now looking at everybody else. "Say whatever you want, but I'm not my sister. We're not my sister. Yet. So instead of making yourself looking like someone you are not yet, let's just appreciate that we are alive after all of those predicaments."

He sighed at the end. It was not an easy feeling getting to admit one's own limitations and swallow his own pride. But it is the hard truth. He had two choices: Adapt or die.

His sighs matched exactly his sister's, as she walked back in wiping a sweat off her face. "You guys better behave yourself. I'm not gonna be able to protect you again if you don't." She said before sliding down onto a chair. "Now that you've heard what these two have said, what are you going to do from now on?"

@Aerandir@Riegal@pkken

Jean-luc had a hint of a smirk on his face when he noticed her slight blush. He cocked his head to the side when she said that her hairs grown… among other things. That he did notice but he closed his eyes as she didn’t get that he meant she looked more beautiful even just from ten minutes ago. But he let it go, it would only ruin it if he tried to explain his complement. He chuckled when she compared him to a rugged boss.

He folded his hands in his lap and leaned his elbow on the arm of the chair between the two of them, leaning in slightly with his confident smile. [color=fff200]” Thank you... Its the tie, took me twenty years to find the right length to pull it down to make this work.“[/coIor] He said while fiddling with his tie and glancing it it. After a moment he looked back her and continued, ” I don’t think it was the hair though…. Or the other things ….It's most definitely that smile, so perfect that nothing can ever compare to it. ”

Glancing down at her left hand he then added. “ My question is though… is how you went from Madame Obsidian master theif who stole hearts among money, to secretary/ teacher at a hero school? I thought for sure when you got out you would make another splash.”

He rested his chin on his hand, showing he was really intrigued by what she might say.

She was finally starting to relax. It wasn’t difficult anymore. She could really… She could really afford to be herself. She didn’t have to worry about what he’d think, or what he’d say. Everything was going to be alright. She could finally tell him the truth, and then… No matter what he might say, she swore she wouldn’t regret it. IT would be difficult, but... It was the least she could do to be honest now after hiding so much for so long.

Well, perhaps not everything. There was still the matter of her greatest lie to set straight… And when that particular truth came to light, everything would have to change. But if she was hated, then it was no more than she deserved, anyway.

She sighed. Why was she thinking about this now? Even if that was the real reason why she’d allowed herself to be dragged along... No, no. This wouldn’t do. As a certain friend of hers would say, “A computer works best addressing one problem at a time.” There was still time before she’d have to tell the truth, so for now… couldn’t she be at least a little selfish? Couldn’t she enjoy this moment a little while longer?

No. No she could not. She stared in disbelief as Jett cheerfully denied her heartfelt request, throwing her own words back into her face. Was he… was he really still angry at her? Had he just been waiting all this time for her to let her guard down so he could hit her where it hurt? While she couldn’t claim that his pettiness was unjustified, still… How could he be so heartless? She opened her mouth, spluttering wordlessly as she tried to muster some kind of response, but he just grinned and laughed it off as a joke. Why… How... What… She gritted her teeth, her brow furrowing in a firm frown as her lips pursed themselves resolutely into an angry pout.

”You jerk…!” She tried to sound angry, but honestly, she was so relieved that her momentary fears had been unfounded that it was difficult to sound at all authoritative. And then he followed it up by saying such a stupidly earnest thing, and giving that damned smile like he always did… She made a herculean effort not to blush. This wasn’t good… He’d see right through her for sure.

“Even though I was being serious… Why can’t you just answer normally?” She grumbled, but he didn’t seem overly inclined to listen, and suggested that they go back. She supposed that was the reason why she’d come here… There wasn’t that much time left before school would be starting back home, and before they could return, she had wanted to spend at least one free day hanging out with Fumika. It was the best thing she could think of to encourage her, not even to mention…

One thing at a time.

“Fine… Let’s- Hey, what are you doing…?!”

Really, she should have known better, but when he’d simply taken her hand, she hadn’t actually felt that inclined to resist. After all, he wasn’t putting that much force on it. He wasn’t taking pity on her. To be sure, it was unexpected, but, honestly, she’d been elated for the small fraction of a second before he just as suddenly placed it upon his arm as a support… then snatched her crutch away right when she was distracted. Tugging on his arm, she tried to reach to grab it, but his arms were a great deal longer than hers, and he was at least a head taller, which would have make it difficult to reach even if she didn’t have to lean on him to keep her stupid fake leg from losing balance and letting her fall flat on her face. And to top it all off, why did he have to be so close?! Clinging to him like this was the last thing she wanted! ...Well, maybe not the last thing but- No, that wasn’t the point! Not like this! Definitely not like this!

“What the hell is your problem!? Give that back! I swear, I’m gonna friggin’ kick you if you keep this up!” She glared up at him, her eyes flashing with an impotent rage. “S… Stop grinning like that! This isn’t funny, Jett! Give me back my crutch!” Unable to reach around him, she gave up on the endeavor, and instead settled for unleashing a rain of rather feeble punches upon his head. In all honesty, she was still so weak from her hospitalization that they were probably little more than a mild inconvenience to him, but the resistance was gratifying to her in her present situation nevertheless.

Jett was expecting this type of reaction, and it was what he was hoping for, her slight flush covered up with an attempt to be angry at him, which turned into some weak punches upon his head. But it was all cute to him. He simply stood there and took it for a moment. ”I’m not laughing at your situation. I’m trying to help. But your little outburst is cute. It's hard not to smile at that.” He said as he held the crutch out to his side.

To be honest there was multiple reasons he did this, but he couldn’t share all of them. He rested the crutch to his right, out of her reach and raised his hand up to block her punches. You wanted to walk right?!” He asked very seriously as he looked at her with narrowed eyes feinting wincing at her blows. Then walk. Let me help you when you need it, but this crutch...is uh...a crutch in your development. He said, knowing it sounded stupid. Duh it was a crutch. So he added to his explanation. ”It’s been six months, since you lost your leg right? I’ve heard people where walking on their own in 3 or so. I know you can do it without it. So walk with me. He said with a warm smile, trying to show he was being as serious and supportive as he could.

Haruka slowly lowered her upraised fist. “...Didn’t you hear me before?” She asked quietly. “I wanted to walk on my own. Without troubling anybody else. If you’re going to be my support, then you might as well just teleport us both there, or get me a wheelchair and push. Leaning on you like this isn’t getting me anywhere.” She sighed, the fight gone from her voice. Now that he’d deigned to be serious, it would just be childish to continue bickering. “Besides, it’s not that simple. Do you know how many of these legs I’ve gone through? This one’s my fourth. It’s because every time I try to walk without a crutch, I get a little too used to it and stop holding back. If I put even the slightest amount of weight on this and let my Quirk slip even a little… You know how it is. Either I’m not using it at all, or it all comes out full blast. If I tried to go faster than tiptoeing, I’d overbalance myself, and that’s if I was lucky, not even to mention...”

Jett raised his hand to stop her. ”I understand, But if you want to walk again without any support, you’re going to have to sacrifice more legs. You’re going to have to learn how to regulate your quirk more, and that doesn’t come from relying on a crutch. Knowing you will be safe by not breaking your leg. Four legs or Four Hundred, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you don’t become reliant on this crutch. Yeah you’re going to fall a lot, and you’re going to have to rely on others for support, but it’s not weakness if you keep on pushing yourself till you don't fall, or rely on others. That’s strength. That’s the strength I always saw in you Haruka, that strength I admired since I met you.”

He took a few steps away, picking up the crutch as he did. He looked back to her expectantly. Well? Shall we? Just to the dorm building, then I'll give your crutch back.

Haruka let go of his sleeve as he pulled away and sighed. “...Please give it back to me.” She was no longer pleading or yelling at him, merely making a polite request. Her expression seemed slightly downcast… or was she angry? She was biting the inside of her lip, and looked grave.

Jett looked at her long and hard for a moment. Before allowing his head to fall with his own sigh...perhaps he pushed a little too much. Trying to make up for the last six months in the last six minutes. He slowly moved back to her and set it just infront of her, not looking at her in the eye. Haruka nodded, took hold of it… and then promptly let it go. It clattered to the ground between them, and she stepped gingerly, cautiously over it. Her footing was unsteady, but as she teetered on the verge of stumbling, she turned around, and supported herself by leaning directly against him without any apparent hesitation.

“Hold me up for a sec, will ya?”

His eyes shot open with surprise when she allowed it to fall, he watched as she slowly stepped over it and turned her back to him. He resisted the urge to reach out and stop her from falling, but she then leaned back against his chest, causing his face to somehow get really warm.

When she asked for him to hold her up for a second, he immediately complied. Placing his hands on both of her arms. Wondering what she was trying to do. He received an answer a moment later as, the joints of her artificial leg clattering slightly with the strain suddenly placed upon it, she raised her foot up and brought it down on the crutch. The wood gave way in an instant, and it snapped like a twig as a crack spread out beneath it in the pavement. She looked up at him, the lines of energy created by her Quirk glowing a pale gray as they ran up her cheeks and framed her burning amber eyes. She stuck out her tongue and grinned cheekily.

“Idioooot~! You thought I was gonna chicken out, didn’tcha!” She jeered in a sing-song voice, relishing at the chance to finally turn the tables on him. That disappointed look on his face, and now that disbelieving stare he was giving her… She’d repaid him in full for his teasing earlier!

“It’s my policy to never half-ass anything. If it’s in my way, then I’ll just break it to bits and figure my own path out later.” Saying that much was easy, but really, there still was a problem to be accounted for here. As her Quirk’s energy faded out once more, she turned slightly, placing a hand on his sleeve and speaking in a slightly softer voice.

“And… I guess… I don’t mind being helped a little bit, if it’s you.” She stared him seriously in the face. ”But you’re the one who asked for this, so don’t you dare back down on your offer, alright?”

Jett was definitely quite surprised when she snapped her own crutch in half. As she looked at him and stuck her tongue at him, he couldn’t help but smile. There she was. He simply nodded as she jeered at him.

He watched as she took his sleeve and turned slightly towards him. He didn’t realize his face was still red from having her so close to him, especially when she looked up at him with her head against his chest.

He nodded and said, ”I wouldn’t have offered If I wasn’t totally serious about it.” He said with a confident smile.

“Good.” She nodded, evidently having gotten over her earlier trepidation, and feeling quite satisfied with herself. “Then your first task for helping me is to pick those pieces up, because…” Haruka gave a sheepish grin. “I don’t think I can stoop that far without falling on my face, and I just… kind of realized I have no idea where the nearest trash can is.”

Jett laughed, I’m half tempted to see you try... he said as he bent down next to her, picking up the pieces. ”How is it I’m always the one to clean up your messes? he added with a joking tone as he stood back up after picking up all the pieces.

Haruka frowned for a moment, but then seemed to brighten and shot him a sly grin in return. “Don’t even get started on that,” She said with an oddly smug tone. “I can think of plenty of times where you were the one dragging me head-first into trouble. For example, I seem to remember this one incident… Something about a car?”

He simply narrowed his eyes at her as she brought up a car. He didn’t say anything as he took a deep breath and slipped some of the smaller pieces into his pockets and shifted it around so he could hold all the pieces in one bundle. ”Ready then...General?”

“Indeed!” She responded with gusto, standing a bit more rigidly upright and giving a rather bombastic laugh. However, after this show of bravado in response to her old title, she stopped suddenly, and seemed to think about it for a moment. “Although, I guess there’s no real point in me holding onto that stupid title anymore, is there? Even if I did become a hero, ‘General of Spring Winds’ would make a pretty stupid name. Man, what was I even thinking?” She gave a slight laugh, and seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, but thought better of it and shook her head.

“Well, whatever. Fumi’s probably waiting, so let’s head over and say hi.” She shrugged, then blinked. “Actually, that raises a different question. How do you know Fumi so well, anyway?” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me… you weren’t hitting on her, were you?”

Jett pulled his head back, clearly hurt by her statement… I NEV…. He thought back to all their encounters. Putting his finger to his lips as he racked his brain. Then nodding once he confirmed with himself. I’ve never! Flirted with Fumika. She’s just like a little sister ya know? She’s in my class, That’s how I know her.

“Like a little sister, huh?” Haruka gave a slightly wry smile. “I think I know what you mean.” She shook her head slightly. “Well, I’m glad. How has she been doing? With everyone, I mean. It seemed fine when we were at dinner, but… She’s been properly getting along with everyone, hasn’t she? She hasn’t gotten into any fights, or ignored anyone - anything like that?” Her questions came one right after the other, spoken in the tone of a voice one might expect a concerned mother to use.

He smiled as he looked at her in a new light. I don’t know exactly, I’ve been busy with other stuff. All I know is that the entire class respects her, she put up a hell of a fight in the two exams we had so far. I think she might have a little thing for Takeshi Yashiro, she’s been his shadow for a bit. But it seems he enjoys her company… Sadly I’ve been dealing with my own things and havent’ really had the chance to really hang out with her as much as I wanted to.” He said contemplating. She's an adorable tough cookie…

Haruka squinted at him a bit, seeming a bit skeptical, then shrugged somewhat dismissively. “I think you may be exaggerating a bit. It’s probably just because she doesn’t like stepping out of her comfort zone, so she prefers to stay in people’s shadows, as you put it. Still… That’s good to know.” She smiled again. “So she’s been working just as hard as ever, then... I’m proud of her. Under different circumstances… I think she’d have been a great addition to our team, y’know?” She grinned, raising a hand and cracking her knuckles. “‘I ask of you: What is a Hero?!’” She recited in a suitably dramatic voice, only to cut herself off as her balance began to wobble slightly, and she swiftly dropped her posturing and caught herself on Jett’s sleeve once again.

“Actually, I taught her our whole routine. The poses, speeches… everything we came up with as kids. We trained together, and she said one day she was going to be my sidekick, once we made our break as heroes together. And when the accident happened, the very first thing she said to me was that she’d become a hero in my place.” She sighed quietly. “She’s a good girl. But, you know, her saying that made me want to slap her across the face. Like, ‘If you don’t want to do it, then don’t! Don’t become a hero if your heart’s not in it.’ Something like… like that.” She trailed off, giving an awkward chuckle. “I don’t know. I was never good at telling her the things I think now, looking back, she really needed to hear. Guess I’m a pretty terrible role model, huh?”

Jett raised an eyebrow when she mentioned she would have would have been a great addition to the team, glancing at her as she shifted and started to go into the embarrassing monologue that she forced him to memorize. He grimaced at the thought of having to do it here, but she was cut off by her balance. Which he sighed inwardly in relief. He always found it so embarrassing to do..and only did it to stop her from nagging him. She was being generous with the ‘everything we came up with as kids.’ almost all of it was her. He smiled at the memories even though they hurt mentally.

But then she mentioned she taught Fumika all those lines and poses. And he just couldn’t see it. Maybe a little but the thought was funny. He looked to her as she mentioned she was a terrible role model. He thought for a moment to find the right thing to say. He shrugged. “I agree… terrible. Breaking into schools and skipping class and sleeping in a bush… “ He said with a smirk before adding. “ I think you taking her under your wing and teaching her those embarrassing poses and speeches is what made you a terrible role model. But that aside, she seems to be doing awesome here… even if she’s an odd duck, you might have put her on the path she needed to be on. Nothing wrong with that…”

Haruka didn’t respond immediately, and her eyes seemed suddenly fixated once more on the ground beneath her as she walked. For a moment, the air between them was as tense as it was silent, before she finally spoke in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. “I’m not so sure about that.” She sighed quietly. “Don’t you think it’s strange?” She asked at last, looking up to Jett with a surprisingly earnest expression. “You’ve hung out together with her a lot, right? But… have you ever seen her actually doing anything outside of classes? I’ve been keeping in touch with her constantly myself, and she hasn’t told me about anything except her training, what projects she’s been working on, the things she’s learned in class… That sort of stuff.” She seemed to be anticipating some kind of response, but evidently didn’t get the reaction she’d been hoping for, as a moment later she sighed once again and lowered her head. “I don’t know. I just worry about her, because I… I got her into all this, right? Even I can’t really tell what she’s thinking, or what she wants… If she’s just doing all this for me, then I...” She trailed off again. “Never mind.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her when she said she didn’t know about that. Before he could ask what she meant she went on to explain. He tried to think of things she did outside of class...admittedly he wasn’t really looking for her as he had his own quirk issue dragging on his mind. But he couldn’t really think of anything off the top of his head. His lips twisted to the side of his face as he realized somewhat of what she was saying.

He looked over to Haruka for a moment. It was nice to see her like this, worried about someone like this. She seemed to have matured….Perhaps only a little… but still it put a dorky smile on his face. He reached up and flicked her pigtail gently, something he always did to get her attention… and he really enjoyed flicking them just because. “Well why don’t you ask her then? She seems to be one who will give you a straight answer. Though… sometimes…” He trailed off as he looked into Haruka’s eyes. “Sometimes we do stuff for someone else. Because we want to in our hearts.”

He thought back to all those things they did together as kids. All those embarrassing moments and new things he tried. Was to make her happy...which...in turn made him happy. He turned red slightly and rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know… But what I do know, is if you just taaaalk to her about it.” He said poking her side gently. “You don’t have to worry as much about her.”

Haruka nudged him back, grumbling under her breath, but then nodded. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I know that much already,” She said with a sigh. “I guess I just… don’t really know how to break it to her that I’m not the kind of person she thinks I am.” She lowered her shoulders with a slight shrug, but forced a smile and kept on walking toward the dorms, side by side with her old friend. “I guess there’s no point worrying about it now. There’s still time for that. For now, I just want to make sure she’s happy. Making up for the things I did and didn’t say can come later.”

Jett when she nudged him back, he allowed himself to almost be pushed over, exaggerating the amount of push she gave him. Then slowly tilted back onto both feet after a moment. He then straightened his back and shoulders when she said he was right. In a joking smug face of, ‘of course i’m right.’ though it went away when she added that she should tell her how she really was He cocked his head to the side… perhaps Fumika took it quite literal when Haruka acted like a dork with her moves and stances. Was it that she was referring too? Did she not have a tsundre side while dealing with Fumika? Would make sense as she was a fluff of tough cookies. Few could actually handle Haruka’s real personality… well… to his knowledge, only he could. But he didn’t know how much Fumika witnessed.

Hmmm I don’t know… you’re not quite the same Haruka I remember…” he said with a smile in a casual voice. “Its kinda cute how you worry about Fumika, kinda like a big sister. I haven’t seen that side of you.” He looked at her and smiled even more. A genuine smile, which even his eyes joined in. ”I think you are just being too hard on yourself. No matter what you do, you seem to leave a lasting impression with those you befriend.”

Haruka frowned somewhat, and seemed torn, but if she had her doubts about what Jett said, she evidently decided not to elaborate upon them, answering only in a somewhat cryptic manner. “I guess so… I just hope that impression is a good one.” As usual, she’d ended up dancing around the thing she worried about most - even more than she’d worried about Jett ending up hating her. After all, only her feelings were at risk of being disappointed in that situation. She could live with that. Her problems had always been her own. It was best that way. But, if her own actions were to blame for Fumika’s problems, then that would be a different story. Of course, there was very little “if” about it. The girl thought the world of her - that much was obvious. But how much could she actually live up to that unrealistic opinion, when really, she’d just been-

No. Now wasn’t the time to worry about that. The truth could come later. Not yet. She wasn’t ready to risk her hatred, too. Just a little more time. She wanted to spend just a little more time being happy. Of course it was selfish, but when wasn’t she a selfish person? So, for just a little while longer, she pushed her fears out of her mind, hoped, and prayed for the best.

Reassured by Yoshida's answer, Fumika's slight frown softened back into her usual impassive expression, and the knot of hair atop her head slowly unwound itself once more into its usual crescent shape, bobbing back and forth as she contemplated his words. He seemed... happy. Her answer must have been a good one. She'd done it right after all, and hadn't been a nuisance. That was one weight off her shoulders. But then what did he mean about her comfort zone? True, she did feel a little less uneasy now, but that didn't really have anything to do with her. That was just because he was...

...Because of him? Now that she thought about it, that really was strange. If anyone else had been pressing her like this, she wouldn't have known what to do. If it had been Haruka, she'd probably just have given as simple an answer as possible and then quickly asked her something in return to bring the conversation back to something simpler. That was the simple solution - the path of least resistance. But she hadn't actually even considered doing that. Why was that? It wasn't like she'd come to talk to him specifically with the intention of telling him things that weren't relevant to him, that shouldn't have interested him, that, by all logical standards, should have just been bothersome to him. And yet, her first impulse when he'd asked her had been to tell him completely, despite all that. What was more bizarre, now that she'd said it and he'd smiled at her, she felt... happy? That smile. There was something contagious about it, and she'd begun mimicking it without even thinking. Because it was Yoshida - because he was smiling - because he was finally here, talking to her again... Something about all of that made her heart feel very warm.

Like an exceedingly fluffy mirror image of Yoshida himself, Fumika crossed her arms, and her head bobbed from one side to the other as he tilted his inquisitively to punctuate his question. She answered immediately, without any of the hesitation that had marked her earlier words.

"It was called Kamen Rider Wizard," She answered seriously, her choice of words making it rather obvious that she wasn't exactly as familiar with pop-culture as Yoshida himself. As she continued speaking, her unchanging tone of complete composure made it somewhat difficult to tell what exactly she'd thought of it. She rattled off a rather unexpected play-by-play analysis of what seemed to be the first episode she'd seen, her antenna twitching back and forth as she spoke with astonishing speed. It was a little hard to tell, given that her expression was a somewhat uncanny imitation of Kenichi's own, and her actual tone of speaking hadn't changed but... Whether she expressed it or not, she had been really into the show, hadn't she?

"The villains looked very strange, but it was still very cool. There was a a horned one, and his evil minions attacked the police in a big warehouse, but then this boy came in on a motorbike and sent them all flying, then fought back with a magic gun that shot silver bullets, so the horned one shot a fireball at him and there was a really big explosion, but then the boy sucked in all the fire with magic and came out in a hero costume and posed like - bam!" She struck a suitably flashy pose, sweeping out her left arm to one side, her hair fanning out behind her and curling to either side around her legs in what might have been her best attempt at imitating a coat fluttering dramatically in the wind. Slowly, she took a step forward, bringing her arm down before raising it slowly, deliberately, to one side of her face, and giving an icy, almost comically serious stare from behind it.

"'It's... showtime!'" She quoted, her voice low, each syllable emphasized to the extreme with an inflection that obviously wasn't her own.

...There was a prolonged silence. Her hair twitched uneasily back and forth. Her hand flopped anticlimactically down to her side and her intense expression immediately relaxed into a blank stare. She cleared her throat, and when she spoke, her voice was back to its calm, measured, methodical tones - just like always.

"Sorry. That was probably a very bad explanation. However, it was a very enjoyable show," She concluded earnestly.

@Zeroth

”It’s best you listen to her, especially after what she did today,” Roy said.

The girl kept the faintest smile to herself, holding back the first thing her mouth wanted to say in response. Saying she hadn't done enough would be bad, considering what Roy had said to her in Kaida's room. So she opted to stay quiet until Takeshi spoke.

”You should have just let me fall down. I don’t want to cause you more pain.”

The words gave her pause, her eyes widening ever-so-slightly while her mind tried to come up with a reply. Like with what Roy had said, she couldn't answer in the way she felt was truth. How could she ever begin to explain here that she deserved this pain? That it wasn't the worst she'd been put through, and it wasn't near what she'd done to others? She was paying her dues, but she was okay with that now. This whole incident had brought her to terms with that, and from the moment those dogs had been tearing into her, she'd changed that past from a total source of negativity into a source of admittedly twisted motivation as well. It was an improvement, but it'd be difficult to explain that that was the case.

Feeling Aurelia directing her away from the Takeshi, Reina settled on giving him another faint smile, a measure of sadness hidden poorly behind her eyes.

The girl wavered on her feet near the bed she had been gently pushed towards, ignoring it for now as she watched with tired eyes Aurelia thanking Takeshi. Her weary gaze shifted to Roy as he grew agitated, stepping onto his feet to approach and roar at Takeshi.

Reina stared at the boy's stump, remembering the battle, feeling the fury in the pit of her stomach begin to grow again.

I'll become stronger.

She almost said it out loud, but once again stopped herself. It didn't matter whether or not it was a thought she kept to herself. She would become strong. Enough to pay her dues. Enough to protect her new friends--the best people who had ever called her such. Enough to prevent any harm to anyone close to her. An arm was already far too much. She'd become strong enough that the only person who would suffer again would be herself.

Realizing her expression had morphed to one of dangerous determination during her thoughts, she let her face relax, glancing to Takeshi. With a small smile, she finally spoke.

"That'll take some getting used to..." she said, referring to his missing limb as politely as possible, while trying to keep her tone and mood light (at least for her). "If you ever need help... c-come to me... first..." Reina's voice became barely more than a whisper by the last word, her gaze slowly drifting away from the boy, but the message was clear enough. It wasn't a question, suggestion, or her simply making herself available. Takeshi was to ask her for anything he was going to be having trouble with.

Without allowing time for any response, she looked to Aurelia. "...could I get a doctor... or something?" she asked. Now that she knew everyone else was as alright as she could hope for, it was time to get herself taken care of, so she could begin training properly again as soon as possible. "...and I'll be staying in this room, if possible..."

The battered girl struggled to climb onto the bed, fighting back gasps once even that simple task had been accomplished. She sat in it, staring into her lap while she composed herself, fighting to stay conscious--if she fell asleep, her quirk would go to its default state of pulling, which would only hinder things. So she needed to stay awake, at least until her annoyance of a quirk was accounted for.

_{@Aerandir @pkken @Conscripts}

---

"Oh oh, I've seen that one!" Kenichi excitedly pointed as Fumika imitated the poses. "I mean, not all of it, but yeah! The Henshin belt has the little song, Sha Be Do Bi TOUCH Henshin!" He pantomimed the turning of Kamen Rider Wizard's belt buckle, then the pose he would make whenever he transformed. "And each element had its own little showtune! Flame, PLEASE! Hii, Hii, HIIHIIHII!" Then he kicked one leg out to the side, holding it in a perfect pose only someone with naturally high physical coordination would have been able to do without training--although, he immediately winced and felt his body tell him that he really shouldn't have done that. "Ugh--but, uh, his Rider Kick actually used the big mecha dragon as his BOOT!" He calmed himself down, slowly planting both feet on the ground in his usual confident stance as he shook his head. "But I don't wanna spoil it for you! Now that I think about it, I should probably pick it back up myself..."

He chuckled, then folded both arms behind his head.

"I always liked Kamen Rider, even the really old ones. You can really see how imaginative they had to be back in the Pre-Quirk days. And now they make it interesting by replacing Quirks with magic, or "spiritual" stuff, or sci-fi." His eyes moved slightly as if he were looking towards the ceiling, the sign of a person recalling a memory. "And my dad was always showing me lots of different stuff, usually American movies, but they still seem to have the same idea, you know? What makes a Hero a Hero. Regardless of Quirks." He looked at Fumika again and although he definitely focused on her response and listened to her piece of the conversation, something nagged at the back of his mind.

He didn't really know what else to say, honestly. Not in terms of the conversation. They could probably talk for hours if they wanted, about movies or manga or classes or music. But...what else could he really say? He had wanted to come back here to see her again. To make sure she wasn't mad at him, to make sure they were still friends, to...to protect her? Maybe. To be rivals, or fellow classmates firing each other up...to be Heroes, together. Definitely. But...what else was there? He was back now. She didn't hate him. And...now what?

After what he had been through, it kind of seemed like...like there had been a driving force behind him. And he had won, in the end, even if it hurt and even if it left him feeling like he hadn't really won. But what...what was he getting out of it? And where did he go from here?

Well, he kind of knew the answer to that. He was going to learn martial arts from...somebody. Somewhere. And he was going to train more, train harder, be better. And of course there'd be so much more to do at school. So...why was he feeling so directionless all of a sudden? Why did he feel like there was something...missing between Fumika and himself?

Was it just that he didn't really want to leave? Was that weird to say? That he just wanted to...be here?

With her?

Roy was breathing heavily after he stood tall, it seems as though getting up on his own two feet was a bit premature right now. He was still furious as to why Takeshi was so adamant on throwing his life away to protect them all, it is simply not feasible. It seemed as though his uproar caused people to huddle at the door, curious to find out what was happening though thankfully Aurelia had that covered, Acion on the other stood in front of the two and attempted to quell the raw emotions being shared. Roy listened to what Acion had to say as he made a good point, they weren’t even close to heroes. They barely even started to be honest, even so this wasn’t a scenario that could easily be put down. By the way Takeshi spoke it was as though this was only the beginning.

“You’re right Acion, we aren’t pros yet...but I wouldn’t be able to call myself a hero if I just let Takeshi go and throw his life away.” Even Reina seemed to have added her own two cents, it seemed as though she was even agreeing with what Roy had to say in a way.

Roy looked shifted his body around Acions in order to look directly at Takeshi as he spoke, “Confrotation with those two is inevitable, you can wish all you want but you can’t protect all of us and that’s reality.”
Roy whipped his head around Acion as he stared boldly at Takeshi, his glare unwavering.

“We’re classmates, and brothers and sisters in arms now. If one of us bleeds then we all bleed. If you need help I will be there whether you want us to or not and that goes for everyone here, it’s what I signed up for.” Roy folded his arms to add emphasis on how stubborn he planned on being when it came to the situation they were in.



Shortly the door opened to the hospital room and in cane a familiar face aged face, ”You’d think that a couple of patients covered in heat to toe with bandages would be quietly resting but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now.”. Mr.Hisakawa said closing the door behind him, he could feel the tension in the air as he entered. ”You all should get some rest, even you Aurelia.” Mr.Hisakawa’s eyes made their way to Reina who was struggling to contain herself, he could tell that she was struggling to restrain her quirk.

”Release your quirk Reina, you’ll just end up hurting yourself even more. And why haven’t you been treated yet?” the man gripped the bridge of his nose as he shook his head in slight annoyance. ”For someone so timid you’re so stubborn and reckless. You and your cousin are going to give me an early grave.” It seemed as though the principal persona was gone and out came the worried grandfather.

Deep down he was somewhat proud of how much Reina progressed since joining the school she has finally begun to crack that shell of hers, soon enough she will eventually pass Amane and with enough nurturing even surpass the Gravity Yarl himself.

”The control you have over your quirk is very raw, and it seems as though you can only draw out your true potential only in critical moments.”

Mr.Hisakawa motioned his hands to the wheelchairs stored on the wall, pulling one off the wall with his quirk for Reina. ”We’re gonna go get you treated child.” With his quirk the man effortlessly lifted Reina into the and gently placed her in the wheel chair before taking her away to get treated.

@Aerandir@Riegal@Conscripts

Donny would soon awaken in the hospital with a renewed sense of vigor. And confusion. He had no idea how he got here, only vaguely remembered getting hospitalized for a fight. But he looked fine. He was wearing his meat sack... While stark nude. "O-O-Oh boy!" Donny covered himself up with a blanket and looked around. He was alone right now, as he often is. But as he was asleep a thought came to his mind. A power that he realized he had, but never really utilized until now. It was something he was always able to do but was too afraid to show it off. As Donny saw on this bed and coughed into his hands. This coughing became worse and more hoarse as blood came out, but he wasn't hurt. Soon Donny practically vomited out onto his hands black bile, blood, and his own beating heart. Two of them. It was grotesque and macabre. But it made Donny realize something.

Even if he didn't know how to fight, or ever become the strongest hero, he could still use his powers for good. Save people's lives. Give things they need. Like organs. Donny could start giving out his own organs, blood, parts of his normal body he never needed and seem to be able to produce at will. It was strange, but only here in the hospital did it ever occur to him that this horrifying power he loathed could be used like this. Also thanks to White Hat's lessons about applying one's powers outside of heroism. Though this was technically heroism. For what was more heroic than sacrifice?



After the two students finished singing, everyone in the room applauded their performance as many started to file out. "Now that both sides have preformed their songs, the judges shall remain here to determine the winner, who shall be announced after the third and final challenge. Now, if both sides could go back to the field were we held our first contest, we shall begin our final contest." Asahi went up to Tomoe and Hitomi, handing them both a bottle of soda and a smile. "Thanks for helping me, but this is where we part ways. I'll be doing this final challenge, the scavenger hunt, and unfortunately I'll have to do it alone. You two have been a great help but I'm sure neither of you want to stick around longer than you have to. Most of my guys need to head back to their dorms to study so in the end it'll just be me and Tori. I'll tell you how everything turned out maybe tomorrow" Asahi asked somewhat uncertainly. Almost as if he wasn't entirely certain he'd win.

@Silver Carrot@Liferusher

Seiko clapped and smiled when Tomoe finished, and approached her when she got off stage. "You were kawaii! I wouldn't even be too upset if I lost to you after that performance! Hey, you should join me and my friends at karaoke one day! Anyway, I'm heading to the field now. I need to root for my side! See you later!"

When Seiko left the room with the throng of students, Hitomi went over and hugged Tomoe, grinning. "That was amazing, Tomoe-chan! I didn't know you could sing like that!" she gleefully chimed, before turning to Asahi and taking her soda. "I'm sure you'll do just fine," Hitomi answered, nodding. "Please let us know how things go tomorrow. Sorry I can't stay and watch, but I have business of my own to take care of. Good luck!"

When Asahi left, Hitomi stopped smiling and turned to Tomoe. "Something my opponent in the first round said to me's been bothering me. They warned me about the rest of the pro-Collective, the 1B class. I hope my fears are entirely misguided, but...They are a bit of a clique, and they made that scene in the lunchroom on the first day. I don't know. I don't fully trust them."

@Lucius Cypher@liferusher

---

The compliment about her smile got another smile out of her. But no blush. This time she was ready. She was, however, glad when he changed tacks. There was only so long she could play the flirting game before she either lost or it remained a draw for so long to become awkward. "I felt I had done everything that could be done. I stole from some of the most secure places in all Japan and got away with it. The second time would have just been a disappointing sequel to my first run. Besides, I wasn't so young anymore. As you get older, you gravitate towards resting on your laurels and choosing an easier path. Working at a Hero School wasn't what I had in mind at first. I did want to become a secretary, simply because I knew for sure I'd be able to grab some headlines by choosing the most mundane career path I could think of. What surprised me was how much I enjoyed the work. Well, it's managing money. I used to have to do that a lot. Once you've successfully hidden and laundered millions of yen in stolen money for six years, keeping the books for a trading firm is child's play

When I was offered the job at this academy, I thought the headmaster was out of his mind and I definitely wasn't the only one, but you know me. I can't resist a headline. And...I can't tell you how much I love this job. I'm not even sure I could ever go back to Villainy now if it meant leaving what I have behind.

What about you? To be honest, I know almost nothing about what you did back then and what you've done since. Let me hear some of your story."

@Heartfillia

@FamishedPants@Zeroth@Lucius Cypher@pkken


Class 1B had been a drag to say the least. Every bit of news, every spotlight, and every possible hero organization had their eyes on the heroes in class 1A, which Lysander managed to get removed from for slacking off so hard. So there he was, sitting in the perfect middle of the room instead of front and center with the best rejects the school had to offer, constantly ignored in favor of those like Acion or Jett. to make matters worse, he had to stare at the back of Amane's head. It was never brushed right, like he didn't even pretend cameras were on him at all times and it pissed him off. But now, his old class 1A friends were within his reach. He could make a change.

Lysander didn't think small. Nothing was worth doing unless it could be taken way too far and when it came to the spotlight stealer Amane, no revenge he could accomplish alone was sweet enough and the rejects of class 1B were too weak willed to be of any help. He needed help from the ambitious 1A hero course students. After the conclusion of the karaoke contest, he made his move. The crimson haired boy with the fake tattoo on his forearm took it upon himself to assert true dominance over the arguably most powerful kid in class and sought out minds he knew would be necessary. He had a small list of possible helpers to his cause and got them all into a group text.

Kenichi had the raw speed to get in and out faster than anyone, so he was an obvious choice. Mamoru was a good second choice since Amane had a tendency to hit back, so a person with a shield was a solid backup plan. Toru was plan c for defense and the fact he loved pranks more than Lysander, who was honestly new to the game. With their names entered into his phone he shot them the most important text he may ever write.

"Boy howdy old partners. I have a small request, and I know we haven't talked in forever but in order for me to truly shine in class 1B, I need a specialized team of operators for my plan. I call it "Fuck Amane." And I know, great name, great concept, it can't go wrong! Meet me outside the bathrooms so we can discuss logistics. I was thinking we could somehow punch him in the face as well without getting in trouble because we could provoke him or something so he hits Momoru first. Any ideas, save them for the meeting, I'm on my way there now."

He hit the send button, turning his phone off and smiling until he realized he got all of their numbers from other people. They just got a random text from an unknown number and most likely wouldn't show up which would probably ruin everything. He had to choose between praying that others hated Amane as much as he did, or... the easier option.

"Oh, this is Lysander, aka best wire quirk in the school." He smiled smugly at Amane as he hurried out of the room, blowing him a kiss with a wink as he walked out the door.

It hadn't exactly been too long since Toru had entered his dorm room. His roomie was nowhere to be found, which meant he had nobody to bug with pointless questions or jokes. How dull. What was the point of having a roommate if they weren't there at your beck and call? People these days...

"Ah, there's nothing to do in here but sleep!" Toru moaned. Something of note is that his body did not require rest, like other peoples. Like food, such an action was merely something he learned to appear more like an average human being. Plus, keeping himself occupied 24/7 was more or less impossible and waking people in the middle of the night because you're bored or because you want to screw with them was generally frowned upon. So he only did it occasionally.

Digression aside, Toru'd spent a fair amount of time in the locker resting his eyes. He really wasn't in the mood to do some more of that, at least not right now. As mentally exhausted as he may have been dealing with some of the unique individuals this school had to offer, sleep wasn't going to fix that. Suffering the impending boredom that the night would bring, Toru thought of ways to mess with the person who would eventually return to this room.

A standard whoopie cushsion was briefly considered, but Toru was a professional. Novice pranks like that were beneath him. He also considered a classic: placing a bucket filled with water above the door, but he recalled the last time he attempted such a prank. The person who triggered it had a quirk that did not react too kindly with the water, and Toru got into actual trouble. Plus, nobody laughed. No, he must go even further beyond the novice and the classic pranks! He must create a new, original prank that was sure to catch his prey by surprise! It'd have mustard, it'd have hotwheels, hell, it'd even have a machete. This idea he suddenly developed was perfect! Yes, he must---

*RING RING*

What the actual hell is this?

Ayanokoji would not classify what suddenly blared through the room as "music", but that was perhaps what it was trying to be. He jumped up, having been laying down on his bed as he was concocting a new prank, and quickly searched the room for the source of the noise. It did not take long and the culprit was a phone, his phone. "Oh, I forgot I picked this as a ringer. How obnoxious. I wonder if my roomie had to deal with this?" He flicked the back of his head as he realized, picking the phone up and glancing at the screen. Aside from enough missed calls to fill the memory card, there was one text:

"Boy howdy old partners. I have a small request, and I know we haven't talked in forever but in order for me to truly shine in class 1B, I need a specialized team of operators for my plan. I call it "Fuck Amane." And I know, great name, great concept, it can't go wrong! Meet me outside the bathrooms so we can discuss logistics. I was thinking we could somehow punch him in the face as well without getting in trouble because we could provoke him or something so he hits Momoru first. Any ideas, save them for the meeting, I'm on my way there now. Oh, this is Lysander, aka best wire quirk in the school." the text read.

Would this be his first text from someone who wasn't his mother? Perhaps. And as sad as that may have been, something else bugged him. "What kind of low-tier prank is this?" he thought to himself. Yet, he also recalled the situation he was in. He could go along with this 'prank', or he could hope boredom did not claim his unlife.

I suppose I'll take what I can get.

Toru left the room, walking past the group that had gathered in the dorm hall, even recognizing a couple. They seemed in a hurry, so he bothered not with greeting or otherwise interacting with them, instead passing them by and heading towards the bathrooms that this 'meeting' would apparently take place at. Hopefully, they'd end up doing something more 'prank-like' than baiting someone into attacking them. That actually sounded somewhat villain-like, now that he was concentrating on the subject. Yeah, they should do something cooler, less evil! Something like the prank he was just thinking about! Yeah, that's right they should...

...Oh shit, I forgot! I think it involved ketchup and legoes? No, that's not it...damnit! My magnum opus!

---

To be honest, Takeshi was not ready for Roy to stand up and Yell at him for saying what he did. He was confused for a moment and glanced over at Reina when he mentioned her. So he was getting angry for him saying the same thing they all would have thought? To protect each other? Sure they were training still and Roy saw him as another student. That was understandable, which is why he bit his tongue. He was trained how to fight… not like them. Any of them. He was taught to kill from a very young age. He didn’t have a childhood like the others. He lived with the knowledge his mistakes would leave a permanent reminder. All the scars on his body were testament to that training.

One of his brothers was missing two fingers since he was nine. A hard lesson their father taught him, the idea of losing pieces of one’s body was a given in his life. He looked down at his arm when Roy screamed in his face, mentioning his severed arm.

It didn’t hurt as bad as before to be honest… though he could have been in shock...or it was the medicine or what ever that womans quirk did. He swore he could still feel his hand resting on his leg...only to see for himself that it wasn’t there.

Takeshi looked over to Reina for a moment and noticed a look of determination in her eyes, which had changed from her somewhat sad smile. He wanted to speak to her more privately… while its true she held her own, and showed how truly powerful her quirk was...he did remember the look in her eyes near the end of the fight.

He looked her in the eye as she looked at him, mentioning that she wanted him to come to her if he needed help. He was lost for words for a bit before only nodding...despite thinking he would never try to burden her or anyone with his handicap now. That was not his way. That was not how he was raised.

He looked at Acion and listened to what he said...but again said nothing… Both of them saw only a normal student. He wasn’t them though… he wasn’t try to act like someone he wasn’t. He failed, he had more training...he KNEW his families tactics… he saw Rakasha in that bus but instead of telling them to run he assumed it was a trick of the heat.

He knew he should have pushed the group into the street, not let them fight in the ally to Hade’s strength. He left them to defend themselves knowing they could easily be killed.

He then looked up as the principle came in...taking Reina away to be treated. While he was glad she was being taken away he still kinda hoped...that she would have been treated there. Idiotic he knew but he shook his head.

Finally speaking after Aurellia asked what he planned to do. He looked at her with a slightly confused look. He was going to still fight of course. But the idea of ever giving up never crossed his mind. He would have to change his style for sure...but he was still aiming to destroy his family's legacy.

I’m still going to fight... He looked to Roy, ” Despite losing my arm... I grew up expecting there might be a day I might lose a limb. It is just apart of life… for how I was raised. He looked to Acion. Im not trying to pretend to be somene I’m not. I am not the same as you guys. I am not saying I’m better than any of you, but I should have be able to do more. Because of how I was trained.

His eyes rested upon Aurellia, “I’m not giving up if that is what you meant.

'Not the same?'

Normally he would scoff at him for acting all high and mighty, but this time...This time was a whole different story. The fact that his background was shady as hell that leaked out during the fight with these Shadow Clan people really put him in a strange spot. The similar quirk and several familiar traits and details revealed by these people put Acion at odds. Just like Kaida, maybe there is something secret behind Takeshi as well that really put him in a category completely different from the majority of other students.

Now that he mentioned it, there were actually a lot of people with different backgrounds coming into the Hero Course. A lot of unenviable backgrounds. That girl Dulga, who he did not know much but her always hostile attitude and strange clothing offered something sorrowful. The guy he fought at the auditorium the other day, Amane. Acion hated that ideal he held, but considering that not every criminals are rational decision makers, he probably was also a victim of something rough. Kaida, whom he knew was a daughter of some villains, had a rough background too if the premise is true. And then Takeshi, whom he suspected also wasn't any normal students. It really served to invalidate his immersion of the school life that he always imagined.

"Exactly what I meant." As her brother was reflecting silently in the background, Aurelia replied to Takeshi's vow, although it wasn't nearly as impressive as she'd imagined. "That's what a pro hero like you should be saying."

The statement caught Acion's attention, as he looked up at his older sis. No kidding. She didn't think Takeshi would be a pro? But didn't he just say it? That he wasn't trying to pretend differently from the students. The look on her face meant it. She was mistaking something here.

"Sis, he's not a pro." Acion quickly walked over to Aurelia, who was sitting in a chair, whispering quietly to her.

Her first reaction ever was a pair of widened eyes as she looked over. "Really?" She whispered back

"He's my classmate." He replied.

Her next reaction was just a frozen face. "You're serious?"

"Ask any of them if you want clarification." He concluded before straightening himself up.

The Sky Knight leader was in shock as she turned her eyes to Takeshi. Really. Someone who fought like that was actually within the rank of these hotshots. The next generation of heroes seemed to promise a lot. She'd be eager to see whoever she would be recruiting in the next few years.

"Acion, I'll need to talk to you about something." She said, turning to him.

"Then we can go outside. They need some rest." Acion replied, and they both stood up, getting ready to leave. "Alright guys, wishes you all the best. Heal fast." He said, as the two siblings left the hospital room altogether. But right before that, Acion casted a glance over to Roy, reminding him about the talk that he wished to have after all of this.

---

The endless sky was turning purple as the sun began to settle in after a day's work. Among the radiant violets, two white silhouette were on a beeline to their respective home. One silhouette with a pair of long white wings, while the others having shorter but tripled that number.

"So what do you wish to talk about earlier?" Seeing the right opportunity, Acion asked.

"About him." She said, meaning Takeshi. "I find it hard to believe that he is your classmate with that fighting ability."

"Believe me this class is crazy. Both in thoughts and power. God bless us getting past this schoolyear without any significant harm done." He shrugged his shoulders.

"But are you thinking like I'm thinking? About him?" She continued.

"Are you telling me about his shady background?" He replied.

"We're in the same wavelength. Yeah. There's no reason for them to target him, his sister and the students at all if he has absolutely no correlations with them." She stated.

"Some of my classmates are that kind of people, I theorize so. I find it weird for them to be joining the hero course."

Boy, her younger brother was still young and naïve...

"Well, if you look harder, you'll know that a lot of people don't always come from a pure white background." She said. "That guy was a special case, but as you interact more, you'll find that some people suffer more than we do to get to where they are now. I'm telling you that to make you realize how lucky we are."

The winged boy just nodded, as he closed his lips tight. And yet they were still striving for something unusual for them to. That said a lot of things.

"So you better become a great hero. Or else."

He chuckled in amusement.

"If you keep showering me with those lectures everyday until graduation, I'd become a great philosopher instead."

"I'm not joking!" She replied strongly before punching him in the hip. "Let me tell you I was one of Komei's top student by the time of graduation. You are gonna have to work twice as hard to be as good as me."

"Yeah sure." He shrugged again. "You're not addressing my argument though."

"Go home and sleep. You aren't becoming a good hero if you don't rest" She bluntly replied. "Oh and send the costume back to me whenever you're free."

"I will." He said as they began to part. "Bye sis."

---

Komei seemed to never end with activities even after class was done, though by the time Acion landed at the school's courtyard, things were already beginning to end for the day. Still, there were some people lingering around the area, apparently were busy at their own tasks.

"Hmm, seems like I'll have to wait longer till I can have the training area for myself."

As much as the gym was a good practicing place, he felt the old and traditional style of practice worked more effectively

@pkken@Aerandir

Reina looked to greatuncle when he entered, looking away towards her lap just as quickly. She smiled softly to herself hearing his worries. When he told her to release her quick, she fought back the urge to shake her head. There was too many things that could easily be knocked over by the pull. The girl did her best to at least comply a bit to help satisfy him, allowing her quirk to pull her surrounding very slightly--even that was relieving, to the point where letting her quirk completely go suddenly became more tempting.

”The control you have over your quirk is very raw, and it seems as though you can only draw out your true potential only in critical moments.”

Reina took a moment to glance at one of the orbs around her. "...Seems so..." she said softly with a faint shrug, though it bothered her far more than she let show. She chewed on her lip in quiet frustration.

The girl blinked when she felt herself lifted into the air, realizing after only a moment what was happening. The principle affirmed he was making sure she was taken care of. She glanced back for a split second towards Takeshi as her uncle set her down gently in a wheelchair, nodding her head. "...Okay."

As the pair went through the hallway, Reina found herself biting her lip again, yet another thing on her mind. She took a quiet breath, and though she avoided looking towards her uncle, she spoke to him.

"I'm sorry."

_{@pkken@Aerandir}

Location
Outskirt school



” Who hasn't hurt me?” She mumbled as her fingers played, what seemed like random notes. Though if one listened hard they would hear all the emotions she held. Pain, regret, sorrow, and anger lingering within her heart for years. Scars scattered her skin while playing the game of survival. Another few notes were played as thoughts rushed through the young woman's head.

”It started when I was a child. My father would harm my mother when she would refuse getting his drink. Granted the problem started heavily when I was born.” The girl whispered as more notes played. ”Funny thing is when they divorced I was beginning to think the harm would stop, than I met my mother's lover. The woman seemed to care for us. Mother was happy and at the time this was all I could ask for.”

The song slowly took a source tone as she stopped speaking, as if to gather the scattered thoughts inside her head. The girl blinked a few times while a wrong note screeched loudly. Yelling and screaming flooded her ears. A teacher, who preferred perfection in music, instead of knowing the person behind it, the one who mattered most. Nia would notice Vae restart from the start. Replaying each part about 3 times. As if to rememberize each section before playing the final piece for the audience.

”Her children blamed us for their parent's divorce. Their grandmother wanted her child to fall in love with a much better person. Talentless Native Americans being apart of a rich talent filled family. That was until she found out our talents. We were displayed for fun like living dolls. Do you know how that feels? How trapped one would be?”
@liferusher

As Dulga left the hospital she wandered off towards the train station deep in thought. She had been spending these past few days almost living a normal life beyond her usual lessons at Komei. While vengeance had always been lingering in her mind she honestly thought she'd have more time to train before she'd have to face Kensai. But to hear that he was here now, so soon, really made Dulga afraid. She knew that she wasn't strong enough right now. Even if she could set aside these terrifying rumors of his powerless, she hasn't really developed or improved since she arrived to Komei. She hasn't learned any new techniques nor has she improved her quirk's power or abilities. Frankly she's spent more time learning about how others use their powers over figuring out how to use hers beyond gun play. And it's the same as it's always been; utilize two rifles for different types of range engagement, keep hands free for quick loading, occasionally swap to pistols if combat gets too close.

And it was close quarters combat that Dulga knew she was weak at. Despite her massive super strength she knew anyone who was even mildly competent at hand-to-hand self-defense could out maneuver her. She's seen that with Mina. Dulga only knew how to throw a punch and throw a lot of them; nothing but sheer brute strength to win her the day. She thought about maybe picking up some lessons but shook those thoughts aside. "I don't have time to take martial arts lessons. I'm not going to be good enough to face someone who's has years of experience with only days of training. Instead of trying to focus on what I can't do, I should improve on what I can." And that was of course guns. Arguably her true quirk aside from her six arms. The great equalizer. Even if you can throw black holes around, fly at relativistic speeds, or withstand being inside a furnace, a bullet to the head puts them down all the same. Dulga just needed a big bullet and calm her nerves.

She already knew that even here in Komei, most people can dodge bullets. A fact she's taken for granted hunting beasts and animals. They never expect her so they can't dodge. And most are built for strength so even if they did know where she was, they wouldn't be faster than a bullet. But heroes and villains are different. Guns are a real threat to either and they have to prepare to face them accordingly. Doesn't mean her usual modus operandi is obsolete; she just has to get better. But there aren't any shooting ranges in Hosu. At least no legal ones. The only place she'd be able to shoot her rifles freely would be far away into the mountains where she used to live. While guns were still rare even there, hunters weren't, and hearing the occasional rifle shot is just part of course with the hunting done there. So Dulga brought a train ticket to Hokkido. It would be a long train ride but she could use that time to meditate on her thoughts and make a few phone calls.

Mamoru’s phone began to ring. She let it play for a few seconds before seeing what the text was about (She had a different ringtone for actual calls). Turns out it was her old classmate Lysander. She hadn’t seen him since day two of Komei, where he was one of the few survivors of the Zone B collapse. He’s since then traded with Roy to class 1B. Apparently he wanted to pull a prank on Amane that involves punching him, which involves having him punch Mamoru. She looked at her arms and figured that she may as well give it a shot; not like they could get any worse right?

So Mamoru did her best to dress herself somewhat decently and went to the meeting spot that Lysander said. Granted, she had no idea which bathroom he was talking about, so she just wandered around the campus in her casual clothes until she found him. Both her arms were still in slings as she walked up and playfully headbutted him, since she couldn’t just punch his shoulder. ”Wussup Lysanyo. Jokes on you, I already punched Amane, twice! Hence the slings.”

@Experiment 249

---

Donny managed to find some spare drab clothing that would fit him, as well as some slippers, as he leaves his room. Though still sore he wishes to try to help however he can right now as opposed to just being laid up in bed, though he’s also still slightly delirious due to the haze of his pain and the drugs he’s been injected with. He at least had the right idea of eating his heart, though this was mostly so it doesn’t drip everywhere. And so Donny was back to wandering around the hospital looking for a doctor to discuss the possibilities of him donating his own organs for those who need them.

---

Asahi and his crew would leave to face off against the Anti-Collective back out where they were herding cats. There White Hat announced the final contest; a Scavenger Hunt. ”Both teams will choose one representative in order to search for items given to them on their list. They are free to use whatever powers or resources they have, baring two exceptions: They may not gain assistance from anyone in their team, nor other students, teachers, or guests who are not directly involved in the challenge. Anyone caught intentionally seeking out or providing assistance will be disqualified, and automatically lose the challenge.” Asahi stepped up as the representative of the Pro-Collective, and appropriately Tori of the Anti-Collective also stepped foward. Both head reps of their respective sides. And appropriately enough, evenly matched in terms of their abilities.

Without uttering a word both had something huge and fast moving land right next to them. For Asahi it was his power armor; a hulking suit of metal and machines that increases his strength, durability, and speed to superhuman levels. He would even boast that it could match All Might in a contest of strength, though whether or not this was boasting or fact was untested. Tori summoned something different; it appeared to be a large metal briefcase, but when he opened it up it transformed into into a floating desk and computer, with at least five different drones flying around him. Tori’s quirk was an ability called “Charger”; an electrical quirk that lets him provide energy to his machines so long as he remains rooted to a single location. This quirk alone would make him a decent fighter as he could also use his powers to electrocute his enemies, but the fact that he couldn’t utilize his powers without standing in one spot severely cut his mobility, and thus he had to turn to the Support Class and his expertise in remote drone technology.

Before the challenge would start officially the two would spend a moment to banter, as heroes are want to do. Asahi opened the first slavo. ”Still playing with toys I see! I’m amazed that you find the time to have any friends considering how often you surround yourself with puppets and dolls.” Tori snarked right back. ”I guess some boys just can’t stop playing pretend. Seriously, a hulk buster style power armor? You must feel so small without it!” Asahi didn’t lose his cool though and just chuckled. ”What can I say, I dream big. Bigger than me, bigger than you, and much bigger than just this. I will create the Komei Collective, but that will just be the first step to my grand aspirations.” This got Tori to scowl at Asahi as he spoke loudly for everyone to hear.

”Your aspirations? Don’t you just mean Shiki’s? Move the wool from your face man, she’s got you wrapped around her fingers!” This made Asahi angry but he kept his rage a bay, less he do something stupid that would jeopardize his victory. Instead he took a deep breath, exhaled, and shook his head. ”It’s so sad to hear you say that Tori. Weren’t you the one who said that I should look to making more friends to help me on my journey? Weren’t you the one, since day one, to tell me that anything is possible with determination and teamwork? Or were those just lies you made up so I’d be dependant on you?” Tori didn’t respond, partly because he was thinking of what to say but mostly because Asahi cut him off. ”I’m thankful for your help Tori, and it’s not too late. We can still work together! This doesn’t have to be just my ambition. It can be ours!”

This however got Tori to stand up and slam his fists into his desks. ”Don’t you dare insult me with that drivel! You betrayed me! Took my trust and dedication so you could cozy up with that machiavellian slattern! She’s only getting away with any of this because no one bothers to police her, least of all the so-called heroes in 1B!” At this, White Hat interrupted. While he understood the benefits of trash talk to psyche out your opponent, he wasn’t going to allow it to devolve into loud slanderous shouting. ”Enough. This challenge will now begin. As per usual, you are not allowed to harm either one of the challengers during this contest, but you are free to impede their progress so long as you do not harm others or cause serious damage.” The two challengers took a sheet that noted all the things they needed to find while they still glared at one another.

”Goroshi Asahi versus Tetsuro Tori, you may now begin!”

The final round began.

@Lucius Cypher@FamishedPants


Lysander's eyes lit up when he got two quick responses, waiting for the third. He began typing a reply excitedly after hearing Mamoru already managed to punch Amane twice but ended up deleting the whole message as Toru approached. The prank gods seemed to smile upon him it seemed, as the zombie seemed a bit more lively than he had seen him most days in the hall. He was feeling confident. He had heard that Toru didn't need sleep and didn't eat and that he could breathe underwater, which meant that they had the power of unending versatility thanks to Toru, and it gave his overconfident self even more confidence in leading this team.

But a lot of that confidence left his body with a sigh. If you looked close enough, maybe a bit of his soul could be seen leaving his lungs along with 80% of the air in them. As Mamoru arrived with her arms both in slings he twisted his mouth a bit and stuck his tongue through his tightened lips, the ends of his chords unraveling a bit as he tensed up. An injured player wasn't ideal but with Amane already injured as well he had a good feeling that their little handicap would work itself out. He beckoned the group closer and put on his casual voice, cracking his neck.

"Ayyye if it isn't the guys from 1A! As you know, Amane is a menace to us all, and needs to be embarrassed in some way. Kinda like a bully the bully scenario, and taking his pants off is too small and beating him up is too big, so I call upon you and..." He looked around, pausing his speech to search the hallway, even going so far as to use the wires on his legs to lift himself into the air a good 3 feet to see over even Dulga should she be present. No sign of Kenichi. "Kenichi... should he show up, to crowd source me some ideas! I want it to be known that he got got, hm?"

*The redhead lowered himself down, his brown roots showing a bit as his hair swayed but he would deny any accusation that his rust colored hair was a dye job. He extended a closed fist to the two people, staring at Mamoru's arms and sighing. "Mamoru, just say the word rock, it'll be a metaphorical fist bump that says you're in."