Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"They say that the true measure of a person is when they are at their lowest, when everything has been stripped away from them…That is a sentiment I very much agree with. Would you not agree, doctor?"

(X)

Night had fallen on the city of beastmen, Anima City. Once the lone bastion of safety for this separate species of transforming humans, it had recently opened for normal humans to come and visit, live or do business should they choose.

Some humans did indeed accept the invitation. Others…had less savory plans. Anima City was home to rich and poor beastmen alike and that presented many opportunities for the unscrupulous. Thus, two figures had just left city hall after a chat with the mayor of their proud city, engaged in a rather animated discussion.

The younger of the pair, a girl, ran out front of the other, a taller man, before turning and flinging her arms out wide for emphasis "Come on, Shirou! You know I prefer staying like this!"

The man, older by centuries but by appearance no more than his mid-twenties and featuring pale skin, silver hair and a trench coat with a collar around his neck stopped in his tracks as he sighed, long and hard. Michiru had proven herself passionate, reliable and selfless…but she was also stubborn as hell. The ancient protector of Anima City regarded his partner with exacerbation as he looked her up and down, a tanuki beastman with light brown fur except her forearms and near her feet and around her eyes which were a darker brown. Her short, fluffy tail matched her hair, mostly dark blue and near black at the tips. Her ears were also black and her eyes had the odd feature of being two toned, mostly teal with pink in the lower quarter of her irises. Whatever their color, Shirou could see that same stubborn determination in those eyes when she was set on something. Great.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Shirou coolly answered his partner's plea "Damnit Michiru, we already went over this with the mayor. We, and that includes you by the way, agreed to this plan. We are not backing out of it just because you don't like to be in your human form."

Shirou raised an eyebrow before he added with a hint of accusation "Unless there is something else? I don't suppose this plan…scares you, Michiru?"

At that, the young woman puffed her cheeks in indignation as she darted right up into Shirou's face, a finger pointed right between his eyes "Whats that supposed to mean, huh? Yeah, I agreed to the plan but that doesn't mean there isn't a better way! And where do you get off saying I'm scared after everything we've done, huh!"

Her partner, however, was unfazed and drily responded with the finger still in his face "You have a better way then?"

All of Michiru's bluster left her as she cringed backward "Well…that is to say…look, just because I haven't found it yet, doesn't mean it isn't there!"

"Right…" the silver-haired man responded as he began walking again "Well then, in the meantime, I need you in human form, as we discussed, to be our bait for the traffickers."

The tanuki girl's shoulders slumped as Shirou walked past her "Yeah, yeah, fine but I'm going to keep thinking! Hold on a second…"

True to her word, Michiru began shifting back into the form she had spent the first seventeen years of her life. Shirou caught the sparkle out of the corner of his eye and turned to see her finish the change. He had seen pictures of her in her human form, but this was, in fact, the first time he was seeing her like this in all the time he had known her. Beyond that, he couldn't help but notice the sparking affect that accompanied her change. When beastmen shifted from human to beast form and back again, it was quick and with no fanfare. Michiru was not naturally a beastman and that point was driven home for Shirou that much more as the transformation finished.

Now a normal looking eighteen-year-old girl with black hair in a bob cut with notably uneven bangs and brown eyes stood there, a sour look on her face "What are you starring at? Is it really that strange to see me like this?"

Shirou scoffed as he turned back forward and began walking again. "Don't be ridiculous, beastmen spend most of their day in their human form, why should you be any different?"

Michiru, who had begun walking to catch up to her partner, stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the rhetorical question, her eyes wide. She thought back to when Shirou, at the time a massive silver wolf, howled in an attempt to break the people of Anima City out of a berserk rage. The young tanuki remembered how she and her best friend Nezuna alone did not respond to Shirou's mournful calls. Micjhiru remembered how, in that moment, she knew that even if she looked to all the world like a beastman, that in reality she wasn't one of them and never could be.

Expecting a retort, Shirou stopped and turned in surprise when he heard her answer, pain clearly in her voice "Because, Shirou…I'm…"

Then, everything stopped.

The world seemed to freeze as Michiru and Shirou stood there, mid conversation. They were not alone, cars in the street, other people walking along the sidewalks, everything had frozen in place. As everything remained motionless, a pillar of light reached down from the heavens, engulfing Michiru. Another moment and the pillar was gone, the tanuki girl along with it. As the light faded away, everything resumed as if nothing had happened.

For Shirou though, it was as if Michiru has simply vanished. One moment she stood before him, clearly upset by his off hand question and about to say…something. Then, she wasn't.

A creeping fear told hold of the man, suddenly alone on the street. Had he blacked out and Michiru had run to get help? No, that didn't make any sense. There were wisps of light for just a moment though…

The protector of Anima City shifted into his beastman form, a humanoid silver and white wolfman and sniffed the air. To his horror, his gut was correct. Michiru's scent, her very essence, was gone. If she had been kidnapped, run off or even killed, he still would be able to detect her. This though…this was impossible. Shifting back into human form, panic clearly written on the normally stoic man's face, Shirou rushed back to City Hall, in the vain hope he could get help looking for his friend.

(X)

Summer had arrived in Musutafu. School was out, which meant more people than normal were out working, having fun or just relaxing. All three could be had at the massive Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. One of the premiere places to shop for all shapes and sizes, the mall was four stories tall, open down the middle with many bridges connecting the two sides on each floor. After running straight for a quarter of a mile, the structure turned right at a forty five degree angle for another thousand feet where it was left open, just like the entrance.

Patrons to the mall that day weren't just being treated to a wide selection, great customer service and good food because at the far end a concert was going on for Japan's newest idol, Franchouchou. Hundreds were there filling the middle portion of the mall while others hung banners along the handrails of the upper stories as they cheered the newest sensation in the idol world with her deathly green skin and auburn hair as she sang and danced.

This wonderfully idyllic summer day was interrupted when a pillar of light seemed to pierce the sky, splitting the few clouds there were overhead, forming a ring around the luminous projection. The beam made contact with the ground right at the angle of the shopping mall, startling anyone who saw it even as no sound accompanied it. Many in the nearby concert crowd turned to see what was causing the flash but Franchouchou herself kept singing, doing her best to be unfazed by the sudden distraction.

After just a few moments the pillar of light receded back into the sky, leaving a girl wearing a red jacket with white pinstripes down the arms over a white tank top with dark blue shorts accented with neon green highlights. Michiru blurted out "I'M NOT LIKE…" before she cut herself off. Her mouth left agape, she slowly straightened up from the bent posture she had taken as she was calling out to Shirou, her eyes slowly scanning about her as stunned onlookers starred right back at her.

As Michiru stood there, in stunned silence, a crowd of onlookers began to gather. A young man who had been nearby with his friends stepped forward into the impromptu circle that had formed around the girl and asked "Miss…are you alright? Was…was that your quirk just now?"

Still stunned, Michiru didn't even seem to hear the question as she drew her focus from her new surroundings to the teenager "Where the hell am I? It, it was night a second ago…" then Michiru realized something and her focus on the young man turned more intense "Where’s Shirou? What happened?"

The concerned teenager wilted under Michiru's gaze and took a few steps back, answering nervously "Uh, this is Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, Miss. I don't know a Shirou! Honest! There was a beam of light from the sky and there you were…"

A beam of light? Michiru glanced up at the sky, seeing nothing but the clouds and the upper floors a massive mall. Then, something else the boy said brought her attention back to him "Kiyashi Ward? Where the hell is that?"

The boy looked surprised by the question and was about to respond when an older man in what appeared to be a police or security uniform pushed his way into the circle "OK! Whats going on here! Who the hell used their quirk in public like that?"

Quirk? What the hell was he talking about? And Kiyashi Ward? Michiru has a flood of questions and no answers. The thought had occurred to her that she was pretty familiar with all the wards in Japan, even if she missed her senior year of high school and there was now Kiyashi Ward. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t in Anima City, and meant if they found out she wasn’t a human…

Fear creeping into her mind, Michiru began to backpedal under the man's scrutiny as he barked at her "Was it you, girl? That why everyone's looking at you?"

Just as Michiru was about to turn and run for it, another figure forced his way into the circle whose appearance was enough to keep Michiru in place for now. The newcomer was an older man, a bit on the shorter side, no taller than Michiru herself and featured balding dirty blond hair and his face protruded just enough to suggest a snout. Beyond all that however, the old man had a massive tortoise shell over his entire torso, itself covered by a finely tailored suit, a sight Michiru couldn't help but think a bit silly. Said turtle man looked less than pleased as he snapped at the other gentleman "Damnit Keima! I told you to leave this to the heroes, you have no idea what you could be rushing into!"

"Hey, I'm head of security here, Caraprince! I won't have hired guns like you boss me around, ya hear!" came the man's response having turned his back to Michiru to respond.

The shelled old man was about to outright order the over-zealous security guard back to his post when an eager "Where’s the villains!" from behind him caused his shoulders to slump.

Now Michiru caught sight of a girl, near her age she guessed but given the way the girl looked, it was hard to tell. This new girl had an extra pair of arms, that were pointed instead of having hands, large compound eyes that still had green irises despite being made up of many small lenes, as well as four translucent wings on her back. Two yellow antennae raised above brown hair kept in a ponytail about six inches and bent forward at ninty degrees added to her insect-like appearance. The insect girl wore what looked like body armor that was black over her midsection and amber over the chest and shoulders with pants that were also black save for two yellow squares on either pant leg. Thinking on it, Michiru had never seen an insect themed beastman before, which was odd the more she thought on it. Now though, with these two on the scene and arguing with the security, the tanuki girl’s earlier worry began to fade as the bickering continued without her.

"Damnit it Formidable, I told you to stay and keep watch of the concert in case this was a distraction!" the old man bellowed as he, too, turned to face the newest comer to the party, apparently deciding that discipline was more important than getting to the bottom of the situation.

"Come on old man, I want to be where the action is!" The ant-girl exclaimed, pumping the fists of her upper limbs. "Now where is the villain?"

Suddenly feeling his age, the turtle hero retorted, pointing back at Michiru "We don't know if shes a villain, or if she is even responsible! Now get back to the stage, ya hear!"

The ant girl pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes but did indeed turn, making her way back to the stage, grumbling all the way. Michiru could only stand there, feeling very much as if she had been completely forgotten as this played out before her. As Formidable stomped off Michiru took the opportunity to re-insert herself back into the conversation, waving at the turtle man and security guard "Um, yeah, I have no idea whats going on. It was nighttime a second ago and I was on the street in front of city hall. I'm…still not sure where I am or how I got here."

Caraprince was about to respond, telling her that could all be sorted out at the station when three more people made their way into the circle, which itself was starting to dissipate since it was becoming clear a hero had things under control. The lead woman of the trio, perhaps thirty, spoke up, her hand to her chest and a smile of her face "I think I can answer your questions miss, if Caraprince-san would be willing?"

Michiru turned to see who had spoke. The woman in front of the other two had light brown hair that was cut short, just around her ears and had kind green eyes. She was dressed casually, a simple white top with floral patterns and pink shorts, as if she was out shopping for the day. Her two companions, about ten years younger, were also dressed for a day at the mall. The girl had deep green hair kept in a high ponytail and blue eyes that betrayed deep concern. She was wearing a simple red top, white pants and a violet sash around her waist. The young man was wearing a black t-shirt with brown cargo pants and no shoes for some reason. His hair was black and short cut but his red eyes and sharp pointy teeth he was baring as he smiled was a bit disconcerting.

Desperate for answers, Michiru wasted no time running up to the woman, noting how weird it felt to do it as a human after being a tanuki for so long. "What happened?! Please tell me, miss?"

The woman smiled, and placed her hand on Michiru's shoulder, calming her with the warmth in the older woman's eyes "Hitomi Kanzaki and not here, its probably best if we sit down for this." Hitomi motioned for them to move toward a bench nearby. Michiru nodded and started walking with the other three behind her.

The turtle hero needed more than someone's word however before he let someone wander off with a potential suspect "Actually, Kanzaki-san, there was clearly unauthorized quirk usage, I'm going to need to know who you are before I let ya do anything with this girl." The security guard, arms crossed over his chest, nodded in agreement.

Hitomi motioned for her two charges to continue to lead Michiru as she deeply bowed to Caraprince "I'm so sorry, of course, my ID."

As she was walking away, Michiru glanced back to see the shock written on the old turtle's face as he looked at the card Hitomi had showed him. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder. What was even on that card? The turtle man turned, grabbing the security guard, who only seemed confused by whatever was on the ID, and the two began heading back to the concert, Caraprince calling for any other gawkers to break it up.

Once they reached the bench, in front a fountain, Michiru noted, she and the other two sat down. Hitomi was only a few moments later, squatting down to look Michiru in the eye before she said "Before we get started, lets introduce ourselves." Michiru nodded and Hitomi motioned to the girl on Michiru's left "You already know me of course but allow me to introduce Terra Branford." Said girl gently bowed and smiled before Hitomi continued "And on your right is Shinra Kusakabe." To which Shinra grinned and gave a thumbs up. Finally, Hitomi asked "Now that you know who we are, may I know your name?"

Michiru glanced to her right and left, finding a mix of reassurance and expectation on Terra and Shinra's faces. Impatience was starting to bubble up in the displaced girl as she settled back into looking at the still smiling Hitomi "Kagemori, Michiru Kagemori. Nice to meet you. Now…now would you please tell me whats going on? I've already figured out I'm not in Anima City so where am I?"

Hitomi placed her hand on Michiru's, which had become tightly clasped on her lap when the answer came "Michiru, I am sorry to tell you this, but you are in Musutafu, Japan, a large city west of Yokohama."

When Hitomi's hand touched hers, Michiru couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. When the answer came, that fear was replaced by confusion. Musutafu? West of Yokohama? There was no such city in Japan! A sinking feeling was developing in the pit of her stomach and even though she feared she knew the answer, Michiru also whispered back "And what about Anima City? Can I…can I go back?"

Hitomi seemed to be fighting to hold her composure herself as she responded, "I'm sorry Michiru but here, there is no Anima City."

No Anima City? What did she mean by 'here'? Confusion again gripped Michiru as she looked again at the two people seated on either side of her, pleading for something, anything to explain this. What Michiru found in their eyes was pity as each tried to offer reassuring smiles of their own. This was unacceptable. Michiru bolted up, looking down at the pained woman in front of her "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Huh? What happened to Anima City? What happened to me?"

Hitomi stood up, her face again the picture of warmth and comfort "Nothing happened it, Kagemori-san, but you've been taken…taken from your world. This isn't the Japan you know. It, it isn't the world you know."

Michiru's eyes widened as she plopped back down on the bench, stunned. She didn’t understand. This couldn’t be real! This couldn't be right…Michiru continued to sit there limp, as though the air had been knocked out of her as she tried to wrap her mind around such a revelation. After a few moments, Terra finally spoke "I know its a lot to take in Kagemori-san, but it'll be ok. It happened to both myself and Shinra-san. Kanzaki-sensei has been here for both of us."

Shinra jumped in as well, pumping his fist "Yeah! And Luminaire-san too! It’s a lot to take in at first but you'll be fine, I promise! This world's actually pretty cool!"

A lot to take in? That was one hell of an understatement. If what Kanzaki-san said was true then…then it was all gone. Her family, Nezuna, Shirou, those helpless bears, that damn weasel. Everyone she’d ever known, it was all gone. How was she supposed to handle that? What was she supposed to do about it? Wait…

The three surrounding Michiru had began to worry as the silence from the displaced girl dragged on for an uncomfortably long time. Finally, as the faces starring at her had begun to show concern, Michiru broke out of her own thoughts and spoke "So…how many times has this happened if you two went through this too? And for that matter, how'd you even know to be here?"

Shinra and Terra looked at each other before turning to Hitomi, deferring to her. Michiru followed suit as Hitomi answered "You're the tenth person to be kidnapped like this that we are aware of. As for knowing you'd be here…we didn't." At this point Hitomi's smile turned sheepish "We were just shopping and checking out the concert when the beam of light appeared and dropped you here."

At that, Michiru snapped her fingers "Oh yeah, the boy from earlier said something about a beam of light too, whats up with that?"

"That, yes" Hitomi responded, bending down again "Someone's been using it to somehow bring people to this world, though the story we tell the public is you've just been transported from far away, not another world."

At this point, Shinra shoved his phone in Michiru's face with an article on the screen from some hero website and excitedly continued the explanation "Yeah, and because we appear in that beam of light, people call us lighters!"

Hitomi gently placed her hand on Shinra's phone and moved his arms back out of Michiru's face before continuing "This is the first time someone has appeared near other lighters. It’s always seemed pretty random where someone will appear, though it’s always been in Honshu and its always been roughly a year apart."

Looking down Michiru thought for a second "So if I'm the tenth and it’s been ten years, it’s been one person each year?"

Michiru looked back up and over when Terra responded "That's right, Kagemori-san. There has never been more than one a year since it started, so on the plus side, it'll be…a..nother…."

The green-haired young woman lost all train of thought as her gaze turned from Michiru up and beyond Hitomi. Michiru and Shinra quickly followed Terra's gaze, followed by Hitomi turning around as well. There, where Michiru had first appeared, was another pillar of light, its silent beauty the harbinger of another lost soul. All three on the bench stood up and Hitomi could be heard saying under her breath "No..its not possible…."

As the light began to fade, Hitomi steeled herself, speaking as clearly and confidently as a commander to her troops "Terra, Shinra, get over there and see who it is, I need to call Luminaire, I feel something very, very wrong is about to happen." That last part caused the two to pause a moment before nodding and dashing forward.

Michiru stepped up beside the older woman as the other two ran off "What about me? I want to help to!"

Hitomi shook her head as she scrolled through her contacts on her phone "You've been through so much already, don't you think? Let us take care of it." Michiru frowned as Hitomi put the phone to her ear "Hello, Sanada-san, you won't believe this, but…Michiru? Where are you going!?"

Michiru had darted off as soon as Hitomi started speaking. She was not going to sit idly by and do nothing. Not this time! She was done sitting in her room feeling sorry for herself!

As Michiru caught up to Terra and Shinra, she was greeted with a sight she hadn't altogether expected to see. There, sitting on the ground with a sketch pad in one hand and a pencil in another, sat another young woman. Even for someone use to living around people who routinely transformed into animals, this newcomer was exotic looking. Her hair was green but unlike Terra's deep forest shade, this woman's was pale like jade and flowed wildly down to the middle of her back. Her skin had an orange hue, and her eyes were of amber. She had a large tan scarf that wrapped loosely around her neck as it flowed down either shoulder, held in place by large clamps on each of those shoulders. She appeared to be wearing a red, loose fitting and short-sleeved top that exposed her mid-riff along with a short skirt of the same color and a pair of large black with yellow trimmed boots.

Like Michiru, the girl was looking around in confusion but unlike last time, people didn't seem to be as phased by it. Michiru could hear people wondering if this was a stunt for the concert where others were wondering if it was a rescue gone wrong. What kind of world was this that it only took people a few minutes to get use to something like this?

Then again, Shinra wasn't giving them the chance, walking about and telling people it was alright and not to worry as Terra went over and knelt down in front of the displaced woman "Are you ok? Can I help you up?"

The woman simply nodded as she placed her pencil in the spine of her sketchpad and reached out, taking Terra's offered hand. The girl didn't seem to be betraying any sense of unease as she stood up, coolly taking in her surroundings. By this point Michiru was standing beside them and glanced at the pad, caught by mountain scene sketched on it. It was so detailed, aside from the lack of color, Michiru thought it could be a photo. With nothing else coming to mind and wanting to ease any fear the other girl was feeling, Michiru blurted out "That's a really good drawing! Is that where you just were?"

The girl glanced down at her pad, almost as if she was just remembering it was there and regarded it for a second before answering, still looking down at it "Yes…it was. Emer…I was taking a break in the Nisan Mountains just a moment ago." Rasing her head once more, the girl scanned the mall and its inhabitants "This doesn't look like anywhere I've ever been…though it reminds me of Solaris. But…it was destroyed. Everything was destroyed. This…isn't right."

Terra opened her mouth, about to try to explain when she was cut off by Michiru "The same thing just happened to me! One minute I was in Anima City, minding my own business and next, I'm being yelled at by security guards and told I'm in another world!"

Terra couldn't help but put her hand in her face and shake her head at Michiru's bluntness. This wasn't really something you just casually drop on someone. Still, what was done, was done and Terra put on the most comforting smile she could muster and tried to salvage the situation as the new girl's eyes looked like they might pop out of her head "I'm sorry but it’s true. The tactless one here is Michiru and I'm Terra, may I ask who you are?"

The question seemed to work, getting the other greenette to come back into focus at the question. It took her a moment but she finally answered, softly, as if saying it was somehow the worst thing she could utter "Emeralda Kasim."

It was an interesting name to be sure, though Terra was struck at the way it was conveyed. Michiru, though either didn't notice or didn't care because the next thing anyone knew, the girl had slapped her arm around Emeralda. This caused the newest arrival to jump slightly as Michiru declared "Hey Emeralda, its great to meet you!"

Michiru then gently spun around, taking Emeralda along with her before saying "Come on, I have no idea whats going on, but theres this Hitomi woman who seems to know! We were just talking when you got here so I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it."

Terra at first was horrified by Michiru's forwardness and indeed there was shock on Emerald's face as well when she was first touched. After glancing down at Michiru's hand though, Emeralda then looked over at the other girl's beaming smile. It was almost infectious and after just a moment, a small smile touched Emeralda's lips.

Terra relaxed a bit at the sight and waved Shinra over, who had finally gotten the crowds to stop forming. The black-haired young man quickly introduced himself and got a nod from Emeralda in return. This caught Shinra off guard but he shrugged it off as the four made their way back to the bench where Hitomi was standing, her back turned and still on the phone.

The group of displaced souls had barely made it a few steps when behind them yet again, a pillar of light cut through the heavens, illuminating the area behind them. The four quickly turned, eyes wide with shock. Michiru couldn't help but think how eerie and otherworldly it felt being so close to it.

Before the light could even disperse however, something shot straight at them. Before anyone else could react, Emeralda stepped forward, throwing her arms up. Before anyone else could say or do anything…some…thing had crashed into the girl. Michiru expected to see Emeralda tumble backwards but instead was greeted with the sound of clanging metal.

Michiru starred in horrified fascination at the…thing that had attacked them. It could best be described as a full sized vaguely female manakin, only it featured six arms and three sets of glowing yellow eyes with what looked like red stitch-marks under each of them. The creature was wielding a sword in two of its hands that were being held in check by Emeralda, whose forearms now looked like a pair of shields. It was a strange sight and as Michiru starred on, her two eyes met the creature's eight. Without irises or pupils, there was nothing for the girl to see but it was enough for the mannikin to open its mouth and let loose a piercing scream.

Emeralda gritted her teeth, refusing to yield as others covered their ears in response to the horrible shriek. With all the strength she had, the greenette forced the creature backward.

If people hadn't been aware of what was going on before, the scream had awoken them to the danger. People began screaming in fear and panic as many turned and ran for the only open part of the mall with the concert stage blocking the other end. The blade-wielding mannikin seemed to be weighing its options as the sea of humanity streamed past it.

In the meantime, Michiru, Terra and Shinra had recovered as well, moving to stand side by side with Emeralda. As Emeralda's arms shifted back to normal, Michiru glanced over at Terra and Shinra, who didn't seem terribly surprised but were instead focused ahead of them. Emeralda almost looked disappointed in herself but also kept her focus ahead. Flames suddenly shot out of the bottom of Shinra's feet as he rose above the ground and said "Terra and I will handle that thing, you two should get out of here, we'll hold them off!"

Neither girl moved, however. Shinra tried again "Seriously, we're heroes in training (well, I've always been a hero), we can handle this till help arrives!"

"Oh no! I'm not going anywhere! I can help and that's what I'm going to do!" Michiru declared as sparks formed around her. Fur covered her body while her other animistic traits returned as she smirked "Lets do this!" More sparks caused her arms to explode in size to that of a massive gorilla, her hands balled up into massive fists.

Emeralda said nothing, instead answering with her own arms forming into blades and her face hardening for the task at hand.

Shinra's grin, almost demonic with his sharp teeth and red eyes, only grew bigger "Fair enough, but I'm not going to be the one getting in trouble for using my powers!"

That brought Michiru up short "Wait, what does that mean!?" It was too late for an answer though as the mannikin had finished observing and, seeing the threat the four posed, charged forward again.

Shinra exploded forward first and fully expected to be the first to make contact but was shocked to see Emeralda beat him to it, her blade-like arms clanging against the creature's own. The red-eyed young man was undeterred however and took the opening, spinning in mid-air into a flame powered kick that slammed into the mannikin's side.

The mannikin reared back but kept its guard up as Emeralda pressed it as it fell back. Held in place again by the greenette, Michiru was able to catch up as well, coming in from the left, her massive arm reared back. As she swung though the mannikin broke off and leapt back just in time to avoid being crushed. Michiru's fist had impacted with the concrete hard enough to leave a large crater that had required Emeralda to leap back from herself to avoid losing her footing.

In the meantime, Terra had stayed back and began to run in a wide arc, calling out to the mass of people rushing away to stay calm and keep heading away. By the time the mannikin had dodged Michiru's punch, Terra was behind it, between the monster and the throng of people rushing for safety. Raising her hand at the creature, a series of fire balls appeared out of her hand and shot forward. The mannikin seemed to sense this and leapt clear up in the air, leaving the fiery projectiles heading right for Shinra.

Shinra had been prepared for exactly this, however and as the fire balls neared him, he kicked each up, straight at the mannikin. Unfortunately, creature seemed prepared for that as well. With its head still fixed and looking down at them, the rest of its body began spinning rapidly, dispersing the flames.

Just as the mannikin finished spinning, Michiru smashed into it from above, having transformed her massive arms into wings, she had flown up past the creature as it was distracted. Despite the heavy impact, Michiru had to leap off as the mannikin began getting up like the attack had been nothing, using its extra limbs to push itself upright again.

Emeralda took that moment to rush inside the creature's guard and slice at it, only able to take off one of its right lower arms as it shifted away and swung with its left blade. Emeralda was ready, having already shifted her left arm into a shield, blocking the thrust. The creature’s attack was strong enough to send Emeralda flying backwards into Shinra however and the two tumbled to the ground in a heap. With Michiru still airborne and looking for another chance to strike, suddenly, the mannikin had an open lane to attack others or flee.

It chose to attack, charging a group of teenagers clearly dressed for the concert and were just now making it past the melee, having been at the front of the stage when the fight started. Michiru saw the mannikin's assault and dove to intercept but she quickly realized she wasn't going to make it. All she could do was watch in horror as this nightmare creature swung its blade down on the terrified fans.

That horror turned to relief and again to shock as another young woman pushed them out of the way, only to be decapitated herself. The new girl's red-haired head fell off to the side and rolled twenty feet away as her body crumbled to the ground.

That had done it. Before another victim could be claimed, Michiru torn into the mannikin's back and sending it face first into the ground, her feet having shifted into talons. Tears streamed down Michiru's face and rage etched into her features. She looked up at the shocked and terrified girls and screamed "GO!"

The girls complied and darted off. Just as they were out of the way, Michiru heard a voice yell "Clear out, girl!"

Michiru did so, leaping off once more, holes left from her talons in the back of the mannikin as she did so. As Michiru released, the Mannikin darted back up on two feet, just as a giant turtle shell smashed into the creature, sending it spinning out of control up and toward Shinra, who had recovered from Emeralda landing on him. As the mannikin tumbled toward him, Shinra yelled "TERRA!"

The green-haired girl called back "READY!" just as Shinra caught the monster in the midsection with another powerful flaming kick, again sending it skyward. Before it ever had a chance to recover, a fireball much larger than the one's Terra had shot earlier smashed into the mannikin, hitting it square in the mid-section. The impact blew several of the monster's remaining limbs clean off as it flew higher into the air. When the mannikin finally crashed back down to earth, its remaining limbs shattered, leaving it immobile and squirming on its back.

Emeralda stepped up to the smoldering puppet and starred down at its head. The jade-haired girl glanced over at the decapitated body only a short distance away before coolly returning her gaze to this…thing. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she screamed in rage, rearing her head back as her hair twisted and shifted into a massive hammer, which she swung as her head came back around in a head-banging motion. The hammer swung forward with immense force, smashing mannikin's head to pieces just as it was about to scream again. Returning to her full height as her hair returned to normal, Emeralda glared down at the remnants of the monster's hollow head as the rest of it became motionless.

Shinra and Terra had been rushing over to stop her but came up short when they saw the head had been hollow. Terra glanced up at her fellow greenette and saw tears streaming down the other girl’s otherwise emotionless face. Terra could only imagine what was going through Emeralda's head to do such a thing.

Michiru, meanwhile, had landed beside the head of the girl she had failed to protect. Her limbs returned to normal arms as she knelt down, entirely missing the lack of blood from the wayward head. To herself as much as the dead girl she whispered, "I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry."

Michiru nearly jumped out of her fur when the head spoke back, cheerily "Its ok! If you really do feel sorry, I'd appreciate it if you took me back to my body!"

The tanuki girl frantically looked side to side before responding, clearly unnerved "Wha, wha, what the hell! How can you still be alive?!"

"Because I'm not alive, silly! But let’s just call it my quirk! Now, would you mind?" the dismembered head replied, motioning toward her body with her eyes.

Slowly, tentatively, Michiru approached the dis-embodied head and very gently picked it up. As she turned it around to see the girl's face, Michiru got a good look at the "victim." Indeed, the talking head's skin had a deathly green pallor to it and was very dark around the eyes, as if she had been dead for much longer than the few minutes Michiru had perceived. Again, the head spoke "I'm Sakura Minamoto, by the way or Franchouchou as I'm known on stage!"

"On stage?" said Michiru as she looked up from the talking head and focused past the group gathering around the headless body to the large stage down at the end of the mall. By this point it had been totally vacated, various bits of trash strewn about as people had rushed away. Come to think of it, Michiru did hear a song being sung when she first got here…and that meant "Wait, you're an idol?!"

"Yep!" Sakura responded, no small amount of pride in her smile. Then she lowered he voice to add "and I'm a lighter, too, just like you. You can trust Hitomi-san, she'll help any way she can."

The tanuki girl nodded "Thanks Minamoto-san, and I'm Michiru Kagemori, by the way."

As the two approached, Caraprince, who had come out of his shell, was holding up Sakura's body, awaiting her head's return. With Shinra, Terra and Emeralda gathered as well, a toothy grin played across his face "I'm very impressed with ya all! These two tell me the four of you have never even meet! HA! If I didn't know any better, I'd a thought you all had been a team for years!"

Emeralda simply nodded and Michiru resisted the urge to scratch the back of her head as she sheepishly laughed, unsure how to take the praise. She was just doing whatever she could to help in the end and holding a talking head reminded her that she could have done better. Her thoughts were interrupted when Sakura chirped "You can just stick my head back on, Kagemori-san!"

Michiru complied and sure enough, once the head was back on, Sakura started walking about like nothing head ever been wrong. Glancing around, Michiru thought to ask, "Why does everyone seem fine with the whole decapitation thing?"

Caraprince answered, his arms folded across his armored chest "It was in the job briefing for me about Minamoto-san's quirk, Zombie. Any part of her body can be removed and reattached without issue. I filled these three in while ya were collecting her head." Emeralda nodded in agreement while Shinra just smiled, and Terra gave her a wink.

Michiru slowly nodded, no less weirded out by the explanation than by the fact itself. Looking around, this place was definitely Japan, and yet, it clearly wasn't anything like her home. People were shooting fireballs and literally losing their heads but no one was batting an eye. Michiru herself looked like some weird cross between a human and a racoon who could morph herself into parts of other animals yet no one was questioning her on it. She glanced over at Emeralda, the other girl calmly watching Shinra as he began asking the old turtle a question and couldn't help but wonder what she made of all this madness.

Shinra's excitement brought Michiru out of her thoughts as he asked the veteran hero "That was a cool move with your shell back there! How did you get that kind of speed and momentum going?"

A smirk played across Caraprince's lips as he pointed behind everyone "In my old days I could’a pulled that move off myself but now I need a little help. I had my intern over there give me a good kick!"

Sure enough, the ant girl, Formidable, was approaching the group, Hitomi in toe. "It looks like just about all civilians are out of the area, boss!" the ant girl reported with a wave.

As the two got closer Hitomi added "I'm sorry we got separated like that, with everything going on, I called for help and then started to assist with the evacuation." She turned to Terra and Shinra and added, "You two did wonderful! Not bad for having just got your provisional licenses!"

Terra blushed at the praise and Shinra was beaming, arms crossed over his chest. The way the young man stood, one could just imagine a cape billowing out behind him as he declared "It’s all in a day’s work for a hero like me! But thanks, Kanzaki-sensei."

Hitomi chuckled at Shinra's bravado before she continued "The police and some other heroes should be here any minute. Kagemori-san, Kasim-san, thank you for helping with that attack, you helped save so many people today."

Emeralda offered a weak nod but would not meet Hitomi's kind smile, preferring to look at the floor. Michiru, on the other hand, glowed with the kind words "Aw, don't mention it! Just glad to help, you know?"

Some of the glow lost its luster as Hitomi continued "However, I need you two to know that here, it’s against the law to use your powers if you're not a trained and licensed hero. Given the circumstances, you'll be forgiven this time but that's something we'll need to talk about when Luminaire gets here."

By the time Hitomi had finished, Michiru's shoulders had slumped, and her ears had drooped. Michiru's face took on a sour look when Formidable spoke up in a condescending tone "Of course you need a license, what idiot doesn't know that?"

Michiru wasted no time responding to the insult pointing to Emeralda, "Hey! We just got here, alright! How the hell are we supposed to know about your stupid rules when we're not even from this world, huh?" Emeralda simply raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

With her eyes closed and a smug look on her face, Formidable thought she had a retort ready and started saying "Whatever, unless you two were living under a…wait, what did you just say?"

Michiru took a challenging step forward "I said-"

Before Michiru could finish, Hitomi stepped in between the two of them, laughing nervously "Now now, you two, you just saved a whole mall's worth of people, let’s just leave it at that, okay?"

At this point the ant hero-in-training was more confused than anything but wasn't about to let it go "Yeah, but she said-"

The conversation died there when in front of them, a final pillar of light burst down upon them. All went silent, a variety of emotions playing on the gathered group's faces. Hitomi appeared horrified that such a thing could happen yet again while Michiru, Terra and Emeralda looked on with a mixture of awe at the sight and fear for what was about to come. Shinra and Formidable looked like they were ready to fight whatever was about to appear while Caraprince stoically looked on.

After a few moments the light faded and there stood not one but two people. Well, one was standing and the other was being held up by the other in front of him by his shirt. That stopped as the two of them realized something was terribly wrong and the taller one let go of the other, turning to face the group. The taller one was wearing a tan outfit featuring plain pants and a long-sleeved top, covered by a hooded cape of the same color. A black belt held a European style sword hanging off to his left. His features were what really stood out though, his skin was blue, his ears pointed, and his hair was a deeper cobalt blue with a sheen to it, almost like metal. Not to mention he had what appeared to be rocks on his chin, up his jaw line and around parts of his eyes.

This first newcomer glanced around, shock momentarily on his face before he spun back to face his companion, barking in anger "Xellos! What the hell did you do?"

This Xellos put one hand up defensively, the other hand holding what looked be a large cane or wand. "Now, now Mr. Zelgadis, I had nothing to do with this and I'm hurt you would even think that I had!" The shorter of the two featured a much more normal, if androgynous face, featuring purple hair in a bowl cut down to his shoulders. He wore a bright smile that kept his eyes nearly shut, making it hard to tell what color they were. Xellos also wore a cape, though his was black, lacked a hood and had yellow trim with imbedded red rectangles. The cape was held in place low his neck by clamps that looked kind of like three playing cards. He had black pants and a tan, long-sleeved shirt along with grey gloves and a satchel across his body.

Neither of the two newcomers had the chance to continue their discussion however as screams of pain rang out, drawing everyone's attention to Terra, who had doubled over and was clutching her head. Shinra and Emeralda, the two closest to her, tried to see what was wrong but Terra called out "STAY BACK! I…NO! NOT…NOT AGAIN!" The green-haired girl's head shot up and looked right at the purple-haired one, her eyes wide as the pain, fear and anger washed over her. In her last moments in control of herself, Terra could see the smile on Xellos' face grow wider and his eyes open more fully to reveal purple irises. She couldn't help but think there was malice in those eyes, the last thought she had before her world exploded.

Blasts of energy sent everyone flying backward as cries of pain rung in their ears. When Michiru sat back up, in Terra's place stood a creature covered in pink fur, not a shred of clothes on her and not a hint of the girl who was there a moment before. The fur grew darker towards Terra's now clawed feet and hands. Her once green hair had doubled in length and volume having taken on the same color as her fur with purple tips, running wild down her back. The transformed girl was holding her head and writhing about, intense pain evident on her decidedly beast like features. A faint glow of energy seemed to be surrounding her. Michiru couldn't help but think the sight before her was as much amazing as it was incredibly dangerous.

As everyone began getting to their feet, Terra reared up toward the sky and let out a bestial scream. Though no one dared approach her, Hitomi mustered the courage to call out "Terra! TERRA! Whatever it is, we'll help! Please, whats wrong!"

Hitomi's cries only seemed to focus the maddened young woman because now Terra turned to look right at her. Their eyes met and Hitomi could find no hint of the kind person she had grown to know in this monster's violet, shimmering eyes. Undaunted, Hitomi stood firm "Terra, I don't know whats happened but we'll help you!"

The creature's only response was to snarl and charge forward.

(X)

Hello all. If you’re still reading then I assume I've at least not made a complete fool of myself. I appreciate your interest in this story, I felt compelled to write it for nearly a year before it was ready to share. It’s taken many a rewrite and modification but I finally got to where I was happy.

Now I must admit I am a busy man. Full time job, field guides I'm writing, and a young child do add up. But if you've come this far, perhaps you'll be willing to join me for the rest of this trip. This story has been regularly published over on FF.net for over two years now, once a month. Here, though, I’ll post a chapter a week until both sites are caught up

Having been posting on FF.net, I wanted to see if anyone over here had any interest in this story. If I get any response at all, I will continue to post chapters until you’re all caught up as I said above. I’ve also taken the time to clean this chapter up with minor fixes, spelling and grammar issues and the like so this is the better, cleaner version of the chapter. That would be one incentive to reading here as I would like to post the cleaned up and cleaner versions of the og chapters here.

Please feel free to comment and review, I’m usually pretty quick to respond. That being said, if you have suggestions as to where the story should go or the like, know that I’m 32 chapters and 324k words in so not much is changing until we’re all caught up.

Again, thank you for checking this out, and take care out there.

Chapter Text

UA High School was widely considered the preeminent school for training heroes in Japan, if not all of eastern Asia. Its halls had seen many of the countries top heroes come though its halls over the years, including the very symbol of peace himself, All Might. Such prestige didn't come with taking breaks just because students were off for their summer break, however. So it was that the school's most illustrious graduate, now a teacher at his alma mater, found himself sitting across from the school's principal, reviewing lesson plans.

Nezu, one of the world's only animals to have expressed a quirk, one of extreme intelligence, appeared to be some odd cross between a bear and a mouse. Dressed in his traditional black double-breasted waistcoat and pants, he sat reading over All Might's proposed plans as he sipped from a cup of tea. The great hero himself to all appearances hardly gave the impression of the nation's top hero. No, Yagi Toshinori instead looked much like a shadow of a person. He was gaunt, eyes sunken and looked like a stiff breeze would knock him clean out of his chair. He appeared to be swimming in the yellow pin-striped suit he wore, an outfit he favored while teaching. The great hero sat nervously, fidgeting with his thumbs in front of the principal, knowing his past lesson plans often required revision. As the minutes ticked by, All Might's apprehension got the best of him, and he moved ask the principal's thoughts.

Before the question could pass by his lips however, the unknowable animal finished reading. Nezu raised his head as he took one more long sip of his tea, a content smile on his face. A sense of relief washed over the hero turned teacher as he sat back in his chair, the tension leaving his shoulders, now much more comfortable in asking "So the plans look alright, Principal?"

A warm smile graced the small white mammal's face as he jovially responded "Oh no, its awful! I was just enjoying the last of this wonderful tea!"

The emaciated man looked like he'd just been told someone shot his puppy as he hung his head in shame "I'm…sorry, Principal. I know I'm not nearly as experienced with this sort of thing as the rest of the faculty, but I will improve. Before long, none of my fellow teachers will worry about their student's education! Because..." leaping up, the skeleton of a man suddenly bulked up in a massive hulk of muscle, filling out his suit to the point of strain, a massive grin on his face "...I AM HERE!"

The bear-mouse remained entirely unfazed by the great hero's display of confidence, appearing quite placid, his hands folded on the desk before him. "Be that as it may, you're not there yet. Perhaps you should seek the help of another teacher this time?"

Deflated by his attempts to ease his boss's less than glowing appraisal, All Might literally deflated in a cloud of steam back into his shrunken state as he plopped back into his chair. "Oh? Another teacher? Who did you have in mind? Several are out with their classes for summer camp after all."

"Oh, I thought that perhaps Sanada-san would be able to give you a hand. He is one of our most experienced teachers after all and he has had to come up with some…unique lesson plans over the years. I'm sure he could lend a hand!" Nezu responded.

All Might raised an eyebrow "Sanada-san? Are you sure? I'd hate to bother him, after all, I-"

A knock at the door interrupted the symbol of peace as a muffled voice came through "I'm sorry to bother you Principal."

Cheerfully, Nezu rose his voice to be heard through the door "Ah, yes! Its quite alright, Luminaire! Please, please, come in!"

With that, the door opened and in stepped a middle-aged man of forty, arms kept behind his back as he came to stand beside the seated All Might. The new arrival had vibrant silver hair that flowed back from his forehead like a wave crashing just below his ears. He was of a slender build, accented by the three-piece blue suit he wore, the jacket of which continued to flow past his waist in back to the middle of his legs. He also wore a pure white scarf loosely around his neck, one long tail of which flowed over his right shoulder. There was a certain Victorian sensibility to the whole attire that gave a bit of flare to his otherwise business-like appearance. His expression was neutral, but his hazel eyes betrayed a kindness that shown through his otherwise serious demeanor. The lines under those eyes also spoke to his years of worry that were starting to add up.

After acknowledging All Might with a nod, which was returned, Luminaire regarded the principal "I'm sorry to bother the two of you. I wanted to let you know I just got off the phone with Kanzaki-san. She and two of my students are at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall and just witnessed a pillar of light."

All Might sat up in his chair upon hearing that, his beaty, sunken eyes widening a bit at the news. Nezu's demeanor took on a more serious note as he motioned for Luminaire to continue "She reports no panic from people, thankfully. Herself, Branford-san and Kusakabe-san were two floors up and are headed down to intercept the new arrival however."

Nezu nodded "Shall I contact the detective then, Luminaire-san?"

On hearing his hero name, the silver-haired man perched his lips, a hint of annoyance dancing across his features but just as quickly leaving them "Yes. If you could have him and his unit meet me there, I would greatly appreciate it, thank you."

The blonde-haired skeleton of a man interjected before Luminaire could turn to leave "Sanada-san, would you like me to come along? It's the least I could do."

Luminaire had already turned to leave but twisted his head back to reply, smiling and said, "Thank you All Might, but no. It doesn't sound like things are urgent." All Might moved to counter but was cut off "Besides, this is my responsibility, after all."

As the silver-haired man started to walk away, the symbol of peace was left feeling helpless, not because his offer had been turned down, but by just how hollow Luminaire's smile had been. As he opened the door, Luminaire called back just as Nezu was reaching for his cell phone "Also, principal, I would ask that once again, you stop using my hero name. Please, Sanada-san would be much more appropriate."

Pausing in his scrolling through his contacts, Nezu smirked as he replied "As long as you are still saving people, I will continue to use your hero name. Good luck, Luminaire-san." That last part said with as much sincerity as the little fuzzy mammal could muster.

Sanada's eyes narrowed as a scowl formed on his face "I wouldn't call it saving anyone…just cleaning up my own mess is all." With that, he exited the room, shutting the door a bit louder than was likely necessary.

As Nezu pressed Detective Naomasa's number on his phone and placed the device by his ear, All Might slumped his shoulders as he realized "I'm…not going to get his help any time soon, am I?"

Nezu wistfully chuckled "Oh goodness no! You know how he gets about his students. Oh! Hello Detective! I just heard from Sanada-san and…"

(X)

As he drove toward Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, Jun Sanada, formally the Lighting Fast Rescuer Luminaire, considered the situation. His other two students were off at martial arts training and would be there most of the day. He'd texted them to let them know what was going on and not moments later he'd heard back from Principal Nezu that Detective Naomasa was mobilizing his team via text as well. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, with the added bonus of actually having people at the arrival site, a first. It had never been so simple, but then again, the hard part was what came after. Jun clenched his hands on the steering wheel. This couldn’t keep happening! If it took all he had left to give, Jun vowed that that no more lived would be ruined like the previous nine had.

It was times like these that Jun thought back to all the other poor souls ripped away from their lives. All because he had been a fool. All because he had let his quirk get stolen and his family destroyed. Slamming his fist on the steering wheel, the former hero fought back tears, trying to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand. His right hand still on the wheel, he gently felt the fabric of the scarf on his neck with the other, his trademark as a hero and a gift from his wife when they were still dating. Jun narrowed his eyes. All he could do was atone the best he could, to do right by those harmed by his failure.

The sound of his phone ringing brought Jun out of his thoughts. Kanzaki-san again? That wasn’t a good sign. Tapping the speaker in his left ear, he answered "Everything ok Kanzaki-san?"

"Sanada-sensei! Theres another pillar!" came Hitomi's rather worried response.

"You mean after the first arrival, another one appeared there in the mall with someone else?" alarm starting to creep into his voice.

"Yes, I let Branford-san and Kusakabe-san head over. Its almost in the same exact spot as the last one…and the new girl followed after them."

"Wait, you let the new arrival go?"

Jun could hear a chuckle "She didn't really give me a chance to stop her, she just ran after them, saying she wanted to help. It didn't seem like she was going to take no for an answer."

The silver-haired teacher couldn't help but sigh "I suppose she could have turned out worse. Can you tell me what’s going on now?"

After a grunting sound, Hitomi answered "Yes, I've just stepped up on a bench and can see what looks like another girl in her late teens or early twenties. The three of them are helping her up, everything looks fine."

Relief began to wash over Jun as the light he had been waiting at turned green "So no villains appearing or widespread panic in the streets? I dare say we've dodged a bullet if the worst thing to happen is we got two instead of one."

"Yes, but its pretty worrying in and of itself that there were two though. It’s almost like he's trying to tell us something" came Hitomi's somber reply.

That was a good point, but still…"Perhaps, but that's not our priority right now, these two are. Did you get the name of the first one, and did you ask if she can use magic? Kanzaki-san?" Silence. "Kanzaki-san? You still there?"

After another prolonged silence, her answer finally came, grave and urgent "It happened again, Sanada-sensei...another pillar! Whatever came out of the light, it’s not human! It’s attacked the others! Get here as soon as you can, I need to help evacuate!"

Jun was left with the beeping of a disconnected line. Shit. Switching on his police dispatch radio, calls were already going out for units and heroes to be dispatched to the mall. Things had just gone from perfectly manageable to a complete mess. Short of him showing up, there wasn't much else that could happen at this point that would worry the former hero more than a public spectacle involving a lighter and people getting hurt. Jun sped up as fast as he felt he could get away with as the mall drew ever closer, unsure how how things could get any worse…

(X)

Things had definitely gotten worse.

Upon arriving at the Kiyashi Ward Mall, Jun found the main entrance swarming with evacuated people at the entrance, along the sidewalk and in the streets. The mall entrance itself was being blocked off by nothing more than simple wooden barriers set up by a few security guards. Police were just arriving to shore those guards up and organize the situation.

Pushing through the mass of bystanders, Jun flashed his hero license to the guards and police who waved him through. The sounds of battle could be heard as he dashed toward the bend in the mall's structure, a stray fireball darting into view and smashing into a storefront as he approached. Getting closer, Jun eyed what looked like the remains of a mannikin, burned and broken laying in a crater. Its head was smashed in, its six arms smashed along with legs missing and the remaining torso smoldering. Was this the monster Kanzaki-san mentioned? Then what the…hell…is…going on?

Turning the corner, Jun stopped dead in his tracks.

(X)

"Damn it, Form-a-doll, or whatever you call yourself, your just making things worse!" Michiru angrily yelled at the ant girl.

Formidable had had just about enough of this vigilante wannabe getting in the way of her time to shine "Listen here, trash panda! The only way this girl is going down is unconscious, I'm just doing whatever I can to get the job done!"

The two of them were hovering in place, Michiru sporting wings in place of her arms once again and Formidable her own insect-like wings. Zelgadis was keeping the transformed and berserk Terra at bay with a series of fireballs he was shooting at her that she kept deflecting, causing even more property damage. The two were supposed to be trying to come up with a plan but the two having different ideas of what the goal even was had made things a bit of a challenge. "Trash Panda? Hey, I'm not the one who just keeps making things worse by getting her angrier! We should be trying to calm her down!"

From the opposite side of Terra, Zelgadis called out, "Hey! What's the plan you two! I can't keep this up forever!"

Michiru glared at the hero-in-training, who glared right back. After a few more tense moments, the tanuki girl broke the stare-down and began surveying as Formidable smirked at the perceived victory. The weird rock man was right, Terra was floating closer and closer to him as he pelted her with balls of fire. Caraprince lay unconscious off to the side, having bore the brunt of Terra's counterattack earlier. When Terra had first charged, the stupid ant-girl had sucker-punched her so hard Terra had been knocked into the concert stage. Terra had come roaring back and the old hero had flung himself in front of them and took a nasty hit along with a series of slashes that cut right through his shell in addition to the blow from her charge.

Near the fallen hero Hitomi and Sakura were huddled over Shinra, who was also laid low with deep cuts across his chest thanks to Terra apparently being able to send out blades of energy from her hands at a distance that caught him off guard. Shinra kept his smile up while Sakura applied pressure to his wounds with the sleeves of her dress that she had torn off for the purpose. Emeralda stood between them and Terra, guarding them from further attack. Overall, things were looking grim and Michiru was starting to think the fire ant was right. The rest of them had been trying to talk to her or immobilize her and it just wasn't working. Poor Terra was nothing but a raging monster at the moment.

Michiru was looking frantically around for something, anything to form a plan around when she noticed that someone had stepped into view around the bend, behind Zelgadis. He looked to be some old guy in a stupid looking suit and a scarf. Was he another one of these 'heroes?' The tanuki girl hardly had time to think on it because when Terra realized the man was there, Michiru witnessed a whole new level of anger. The berserker stopped blocking Zelgadis' attacks altogether as she shrieked, the fireballs hitting her like they were nothing, her eyes wide with fury.

Hitomi, too, had looked over to see what had grabbed Terra's attention and as the berserker charged over Zelgadis' head toward the newcomer she called out to him "Sanada-san!"

Jun did manage to jump out of the way just as Terra crashed into the spot he had just vacated, tumbling to the ground as he was showered with bits of concrete. Terra stood up, snarling as she turned to face him. Jun felt the loss of his quirk nearly every moment of his life but it was times like these that he truly felt just how powerless, how useless he truly was. Without his assailant barreling toward him, he doubted he could dodge her again at this distance.

Luckily, he didn't have to as Formidable smashed into her. The two tumbled to the ground, wrestling about as Terra tried to get back up and Formidable tried to pin her down. "Goddamnit, where are you trash panda!?" Formidable angrily bellowed as Terra bit into her left lower arm, piercing its exoskeleton.

"Fuck! That HURTS!" Formidable yelled as she let go of Terra's left arm so she could punch with her right, creating some separation from the two. Just as Terra was pulling her mouth out to meet the incoming punch, Michiru came crashing down on top of her. Having flown above them, Michiru started diving down to build some speed. As she shot toward the two, she shifted her arms from wings to the same massive gorilla-like arms from their fight with the mannikin. Just missing Formidable, Michiru was able to pin Terra face first into the ground, each or her arms pinned in place by Michiru's.

Terra immediately tried to get her legs under her to get enough leverage to get Michiru off her, snarling and struggling the whole time. Formidable, having recovered from the shock of having a tanuki girl nearly smash her into the pavement, threw herself on the ground in an attempt to keep Terra’s legs from getting upright. The ant girl was able to pull Terra's legs out from under her again and get her flat on her stomach but got several swift kicks to the head from clawed feet for her trouble.

One last kick was enough to cause Formidable to lose her grip and she flew back a few feet, with several bleeding cuts across her face. Upon seeing the legs free again, Shinra yelled out "Emeralda! Get her before she's free!" Without a word, the greenette rushed in, sweeping her leg in the arch of Terra's body as she was again attempting to get up. The leg sweep caught both of Terra's legs, knocking her flat yet again. As Emeralda completed the motion with her leg, she was able to use the momentum of the sweep to swing around to face Terra's legs and moved to grab them. As Emeralda’s hands found their mark, they shifted into simple metal braces that smashed into the cement and locked Terra's legs in place.

With Terra secured for the moment, Michiru called out "Thanks Emeralda, that was awesome! Also, this is why we needed a plan!"

Sitting up, her face still dripping with blood, Formidable grunted out "Hey! If I didn't do something, Sanada-sensei here would be dead!"

Michiru had no come back to that, instead grumbling something about hot-headed ants.

Climbing to his feet, Jun dusted himself off and said, "It wasn't the best plan in the world but you did save me..Yoshimura-san? From Class 3-B? Aren't you supposed to be interning with Caraprince?"

Beaming, despite the stinging pain smiling caused her, Formidable stumbled to her feet "That's right, Sanada-sensei! He's over there" pointing near where Hitomi, Sakura and Shinra were. "Makes me pretty happy if even the substitute teacher knows who I am! Um, what are you doing?"

Jun had walked over to the hero-in-training and pulled off his white scarf and began cleaning the blood off her face, worry in his eyes even as he said nothing. With most of the blood cleaned up he pressed it against the deepest cut before saying "Just keep the pressure there. I expect that back as soon as possible though."

As Jun was cleaning up Formidable's face, Hitomi came dashing up, Sakura left to watch over the wounded. Terra continued to struggle against her confinement, Michiru having a hard time keeping the berserker at bay. Urgency in her voice, Michiru called out "Guys, what are we going to do about Terra, we can't keep her like this forever!"

"Wait, did you just say this was Terra?" Jun answered, twisting to look down at the three girls on the ground.

With a bit of hesitation, Hitomi answered "Yes, Sanada-san. After the blue skinned man and purple-haired one appeared, she started screaming in pain and then…this happened."

Taking a closer look at this pink fur-covered creature before him, Jun searched the face of the snarling beast, looking for any hint of the kind and thoughtful young woman he had come to know. There was none however. Instead Jun could see only a feral fury one sees in a caged animal. How? How was this possible? "I don't understand, but I suppose that's not the point now. Now we need to get her to a point she can be moved. If that means knocking her out, then…" He sighed "so be it."

Michiru shot her head up, a look of shock at hearing the suggestion again after just arguing with the ant girl about it. Before she could object though, Zelgadis stepped forward, having joined the group as well "Before it comes to that, let me try a sleep spell."

Jun's shoulders sagged upon hearing the request, a frown forming as he asked, rather dryly "You know magic?"

Raising an eyebrow, Zelgadis sounded a bit put off as he crossed his arms and answered "Yes…is that a problem?"

The former hero sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose "No, no. It just makes things more complicated every time a magic user shows up, that's all. Go ahead."

That answer did little to reassure the sorcerer who kept starring at the scarfed man as he knelt down by Terra's head. Zelgadis raised his hand, keeping just far enough away enough to keep from getting bitten. Returning his focus to Terra, Zelgadis called out "Sleep!" after which his hand glowed green. After a moment, Terra did start to calm and gradually her thrashing stopped as she rested her head on the cement. Everyone started to relax as the spell appeared to be working.

Terra had almost closed her eyes entirely when she caught sight of the same purple-haired man who had appeared with Zelgadis. He was standing some distance away, just beside a pillar so that only she could see him, that same menacing smile on his face. Seeing him, combined with the premature relaxing of Michiru's grip was all Terra needed to snap out of the sleep spell, violently flinging Michiru off her back as she pushed herself up.

With her arms free, Terra was able to aim a blade of energy from her claws at Emeralda. The greenette realized what was happening and was in the process of shifting her hair into a shield but wasn't quick enough. The blade of energy glanced her across her head and upper torso, knocking her off balance as she lost focus and her hands reverted back from clamps to normal, releasing Terra's legs. Freed, Terra shot back up into the sky, twisting back and getting ready to let loose a barrage of energy.

Before the berserker had a chance to get a shot off however, a massive gust of wind sent her barreling into a store front on the third floor, courtesy of Zelgadis, who had quickly cast what he called a "Bomb de Wind."

Michiru and Emeralda had barely had a chance to get back on their feet before Terra burst out of the store. Cloaked in purple magical energy, Terra starred down at them, clearly ready to attack yet again. By no means out of the fight but weary of having to try and take a girl above them down again, Michiru stepped in front of Jun and Hitomi, a look of steely resolve on her face "You three ready?"

Formidable, who had tied Jun's scarf around he face like a mask to keep the pressure on her wound, stepped beside Michiru "Always!"

Emeralda came up to Michiru's other side, starring upward, she almost whispered "I'm sorry I can't be more help while she is up there. I'll protect the others, like before."

Zelgadis drew his sword as he came up in line beside Emeralda, his own apology to give "Sorry the spell didn't work. I still have no idea what is going on but I'll see this through."

The two sides seemed to stare each other down for moments that stretched far longer than the actual time elapsed. In the distance, Michiru could hear the rising sound of people cheering and that seemed to be what broke the standoff. Michiru, her arms wings once more, shot upwards. Formidable and Zelgadis, who cast another spell apparently allowing him to fly, were right behind her.

Seeing Terra motion to attack with the energy blades, Michiru prepared to dodge, trusting Emeralda to defend their companions. It never came to that. As if shot out of a canon, a mountain of a man in a blue body suit trimmed in white and yellow with blonde hair came flying down from the roof of the mall. He smashed right into Terra, taking her straight into the ground with a crash, dust kicking up from the impact.

The three mid-air combatants were left stunned, their attention now turned landward at the dust cloud. After only a moment, a confident, if reassuring laugh could be heard coming from the dust that would be immediately familiar to any who called this world home. "HA HA! I'm sorry to have interfered, Sanada-san, but I couldn’t stand aside and do nothing! KNOW THAT I AM HERE! TO HELP!"

As the dust began to clear, Michiru could see the giant man was sitting on Terra, her arms pinned once again by the latecomer. The pink-furred berserker was still clearly trying to break free but this massive guy, who had a gigantic grin on his face, was having no trouble keeping her in place. Who the hell was he?

The three landed close by them as Jun, Hitomi and Emeralda also approached. Having been addressed a moment ago, Jun was first to speak "No, its ok All Might…If I had known this was happening, I would have taken you up on your offer earlier. Thank you."

Leaning in close, Michiru whispered to Formidable, who was clearly starstruck "Um, do you know who that guy is?"

Formidable looked like you'd just told her quirks weren't real "Where the hell have you been that you don't know who All Might, the greatest hero in the world, is?"

Not happy to hear that condescending tone return, Michiru turned away as she muttered "Anima City…" a sour look on her face. Neither noticed Zelgadis' eye twitched when the word hero was mentioned as he stood beside them, arms crossed.

The trio's attention was brought back to the matter at hand when Hitomi spoke up "All Might, the person you just subdued is one of our students. Something happened, we don't know what, but please try not to hurt her."

All Might's constant smile never left his face but hearing Hitomi’s words did concern him. He tried to know as many of the students at UA as possible, at least from the hero course and the lighters. He didn't recognize this one though. "I make no promises, Kanzaki-san, she doesn't seem to want to go quietly! May I ask who this is, I don't seem to recall her?"

"Its Terra Branford, she arrived here two years ago, if you’ll recall." Jun answered, still having a hard time believing it himself.

"This is Branford-san?" All Might replied, looking down at his still struggling prisoner "I thought she could shoot fire from her hands, not transform."

Hitomi again spoke up, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she struggled to share what she had promised to keep secret "You're right All Might, as long as shes been here that's all she could do. But during our first interview, I saw her like this. She said it was her esper form…but she told me she lost it years ago. It was something she was trying to forget; I think there was alot of pain she associated with it. She made me promise not to share it…"

Jun was less than pleased to hear his co-worker had withheld such important information for so long but seeing how pained she was, he decided now wasn't the time. Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he spoke softly and reassuringly "Its ok, Kanzaki-san. You did what you thought was best at the time. What matters is what we do now. I admit, I don't know what that is though."

"Then please, allow me to be of assistance!" came a voice right behind the assembled group.

Zelgadis recognized the voice immediately, his blood boiling just hearing it. As attention turned to the voice's owner, the rock-encrusted man hissed out "Xellos…and just where have you been this whole time, huh?"

The sorcerer swordsmen regretted asking the moment he finished speaking, knowing full well what the trickster 'priest' was going to say in response. Sure enough, Xellos bent slightly, placing a single finger in front of his own face, opening one eye wide enough to see the mischievous glint in his purple eye as he replied, "Now that, will have to wait!" Zelgadis nearly fell he was so stunned by the unexpected twist on the other man’s answer, his eyes bugging out of his head. As Xellos passed the chimera, he placed a hand on Zelgadis' shoulder and whispered, "You make it so easy, Mr. Zelgadis."

Leaving the stunned rock-encrusted man behind him, Xellos walked up to Terra and All Might "I believe the poor girl has absorbed far too much magic at once. I can stem the flow and that should calm her down. With your permission, Mr. All Might, was it?"

The mighty hero regarded the oddly dressed newcomer. There was something about his smile that screamed trusting him may be a costly mistake. Still, he was offering to help, and the purple-haired fellow had done nothing to warrant suspicion, so the great hero answered, “Yes, I will allow you to try, but please take care!"

Xellos' smile grew a bit wider as he rose the staff in his hand, pointing it at Terra "But of course! I am happy to help!"

Both Xellos and his staff began to glow a soft white as Terra began to do the same. After a few moments, Terra quickly calmed down. As she rested her head to the side, her eyes slowly drew closed, the glowing growing brighter. Before long she was enveloped by the light, blinding in its intensity, if only for a moment. Then, in a flash, the light was gone.

Michiru, who had raised her arms to block the sudden flash, saw the result as the light disappeared and excitedly exclaimed "It worked! She's back to normal!" Sure enough, Terra lay there, looking as she had before the transformation, clothes and all, unconscious as if nothing had happened at all.

Jun let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. New arrivals were almost always complicated and sometimes messy, but this, this was a wreck. The silver-haired former hero took a moment to take stock of the mall. The concert stage was little more than a pile of rubble, there were craters everywhere, and multiple stores had been destroyed. This was going to be a media nightmare. Oh, and the paperwork…so much paperwork. But that was for later as now, however, was clean up. "Kanzaki-san, could you stay here with everyone while I go get the police and paramedics? We'll do the formal introduction when things are a bit more under control."

Michiru and Zelgadis moved to protest, the tanuki girl first to speak "Hey, wait a minute! All Might still has Terra pinned and what about-"

Jun raised his hand as he cut off Michiru's questions "In due time, I promise. But for now, please have patience, there will be answers when I get back."

About to press further, Michiru was held back by Zelgadis "Fair enough, we'll wait but we do expect those answers, or we will find them ourselves."

The older man bowed, a hint of guilt on his face "That is all I ask. Now, if you'll excuse me."

With that, Jun turned and headed back to the barrier at the mall's entrance.

(X)

An hour passed. Police and paramedics came flooding in. Shinra and Caraprince had been carried away on stretchers right away. Terra had taken longer because it was felt she needed to be secured despite being unconscious, the main reason All Might remained in place on top of her until help arrived. Once Terra had been taken away, Hitomi and All Might had both left, All Might to wave to the cameras and Hitomi had insisted on being allowed to accompany Terra and Shinra to the hospital.

Police had collected the strange mannikin that had attacked them. Much to everyone's surprise, there was a living creature inside of it. A rather large, if normal looking spider had been in the mannikin's abdomen, somehow controlling the eight-limbed puppet.

The paramedics had come and checked on everyone else as well, taking vitals and checking for injuries. The fact that Xellos didn't seem to have a pulse or a heartbeat was at least of some concern to the poor guy who attempted to take the measurements but not as much as Michiru thought it should. Then again, she had already met a zombie today.

Formidable had been asked to file a report, something she openly whined about, complaining continuously to the officer who took her away. Right or wrong, Michiru already didn't like the brash ant girl and took a bit of pleasure seeing the other girl squirm about her responsibilities.

Now, though, Michiru found herself sitting on a bench that had somehow avoided being destroyed, sipping some lukewarm tea that a rather plain looking detective in a trench coat named Naomasa had given her after he had taken all their names. All the while the papamedics tended to the others. Emeralda sat passively beside her, completely unreadable but clearly watching everything going on around them with sharp eyes. The off-putting Xellos stood to her left, also sipping his own cup, that smile never leaving his face. Zelgadis stood on the opposite side of the bench, beside Emeralda, arms crossed and his hood up. He was keeping a strict eye on the man who had appeared with him, animosity radiating off of his hooded form. The purple haired man though was paying him no mind whatsoever.

With no weird puppets attacking, no one transforming into rage monsters and nothing else left to keep her attention anymore, Michiru was left with her thoughts and her exhaustion for the first time. It had been much harder to believe the fact that she was in another world before all this madness had happened. Still, knowing the fact wasn't the same thing as realizing all the implications the fact may mean. Was there a way back home? Did anyone back home know what had happened to her? What was going to happened to her? Where the hell was this Jun guy?

Michiru had finally made a life for myself in Anima City and now…and now what? The tanuki girl shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the what ifs. Best to focus on what could be done right now, and that was getting to know her fellow abductees!

Jumping up from the bench, Michiru spun around and clapped her hands together, trying to muster as much cheerfulness as she could "So everyone! I thought while we waited, we could get to know each other, what do you say!"

Michiru wasn't expecting everyone to burst into full blown life stories or anything but she was expecting a bit more than Xellos conveniently "sipping" from his tea continuously while Zelgadis rolled his eyes and grumbled out "Pass."

Somewhat wounded, the tanuki girl turned to Emeralda for any sign she would get anywhere with this idea. She was met with the other girl looking sheepish, trying desperately to avoid eye contact by looking at what had to be the most fascinating piece of cement of all time. "Oh, come on! Here, I'll go first. Um…ok, lets see. I'm eighteen, I help solve crimes with my friend Shirou, I love basketball and just recently I helped save an entire city of beastmen from being forcibly made human!"

"Yeah, I have no idea what basketball is." Zelgadis curtly replied "You want to talk, fine. We're not on a date, we don't need your whole life's story. Why don't we talk about something useful, like where here even is?"

"Oh yes, I would very much like to know as well!" Xellos piped in, doing a great job of ignoring the fact that Michiru looked like she was about to explode from Zelgadis' disparaging of her efforts at conversation.

Deciding it wouldn't do to murder anyone on her first day in a new world, the tanuki girl made sure to glare as hard as she could at the cross blue man as she thought back to her conversation before the madness started. After a moment she snapped her fingers "That's right, Kanzaki-san called this the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. I'd never heard of it before but aside from that, when I first got here I could have easily thought I was still in my own Japan. The name of this city wasn't familiar either, I think it was… Musutafu?"

Zelgadis was glad to finally get some useful information, even if he didn’t show it. The chimera was about to ask a follow-up but it was Xellos who asked the most obvious question "So this all looks familiar to you, Miss Michiru?"

Zelgadis followed up "Does that mean you can read all of the unusual script as well?"

That took the tanuki girl by surprise "Well, yeah, of course I can read Japanese. You mean to tell me you're speaking it but can't read it?"

"Don't be presumptuous. What you call Japanese is just what's referred to as the common human language for me. We use an entirely different alphabet for it. I guess we were lucky we at least speak the same language, all things considered." Zelgadis said, a hand placed on his chin as he spoke.

Annoyed at being called out by the rocky, blue-skinned guy, Michiru glanced over to Emeralda, noting she had remained quiet throughout. Time to change that. "Emeralda? What about you?" Michiru asked with a bright smile.

The greenette looked up, a bit surprised she was being addressed. She had been trying to avoid being included in the conversation at all partly because she wasn't one for it and partly because that would mean confronting reality. That, and she didn't think she had anything meaningful to add. Oh, how she wished her sketch pad hadn't been ruined in the fight. With nothing to draw attention away from herself, the tan girl was left to answer after an uncomfortably long pause, saying "Its…the same for me as well. Emeralda can't read it either, I'm sorry."

Michiru's reassuring smile crunched up in confusion "I don't understand, what are you apologizing for? And…did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

Emeralda's eyes widened as she turned her head away in embarrassment "I'm sorry, its an…old habit of mine. When I was younger, I spoke that way and I slip sometimes when I'm nervous."

Michiru smiled again and gave the quiet girl a light punch on the shoulder "Hey, nothing to worry about! You're a badass! What do you have to be worried about? You know, besides the whole ripped from your reality thing?"

"Real subtle" Zelgadis interjected, dripping with sarcasm. "Look, I know your trying to make us all feel better and all, but you're not doing a very good job plus we're getting side-tracked here."

Michiru’s temper flared as she was sure she was going to kill the hooded jerk as she snapped, "Hey jackass, at least I'm trying here! Keep up with that attitude and-"

"And you'll what? Not answer any more questions? Come on, I’m not threatened by you. Once that guy comes back, we're getting our answers one way or another. I was just trying to turn your little attempt at moral boasting into something useful." Zelgadis belted out, his voice rising higher than he had intended. As focused and cool as Zelgadis was, it was remarkable how slow he was to react to the fist that smashed into his face. Being partly made of rock, it didn't hurt Zelgadis, really, but it was surprising.

Michiru pulled her fist back, shaking her hand, not having expected it to hurt so much. There was a cold fury in her eyes as she spoke "You're a heartless asshole, aren't you? Yes, your right, we'll get our answers. It’s just…I don't know about you, but I have friends, family that I don't know if I'll ever get to see again! I've already gone through that once and I kind of figured you might be feeling the same way!"

"Michiru, I'm sorry, I just-"

"Its Kagemori-san. That's how you address someone in this country. You don't get to address someone by their name until you've earned it. Consider that the last thing I'll help you with."
With that, Michiru's arms morphed into wings and she shot up into the air, flying up to the fourth floor of the shops on their left. She changed her arms back and leaned with her back again the guard rail, starring up at the sky. She'd had enough for one day.

Emeralda watched the weird demi-human (or had she called herself a beastman?) fly off, concern playing across her exotic features.

Zelgadis just stood there, stunned at his own sheer callousness, unable to even watch as the girl flew off. Xellos, meanwhile felt this was the perfect time to comment on their tea "Not the best I've ever had, a bit bitter."

Looking away in shame, the chimera couldn't help but agree "Yes, very bitter."

(X)

"AH! There you two are!"

Standing at the entrance to the mall, Jun and Detective Naomasa turned to see the great titan of a man that was All Might approaching with a wave. The two had been comparing notes now that the crowd had dispersed, and the press has gotten the usual cover story about the lighters being saved by Jun with the twist that he had mistakenly brought that mannikin creature as well. They also pinned Terra losing control on the creature as well, saying the spider contained within the mannikin was an animal that had manifested a control quirk of some kind. It was a weak and flimsy story but the best the two could come up with on short notice.

Waving back to the number one hero, the detective replied, "how many villains did you stop this time?"

"I stopped three separate criminal acts and seven more villains won't be bothering anyone anymore!" All Might responded, giving a thumbs up.

"Getting pretty close to your limit then, aren't you? This is exactly why I refused your offer earlier, even if I turned out to be wrong. You still need to take it easy." Jun admonished.

All Might looked apologetic as he scratched the back of his head "Yes, I know. Principal Nezu keeps telling me the same thing. It’s just…it’s very hard not to help when I know I can!"

Jun let out a small laugh "Kanzaki-san mentioned Kagemori-san said something similar as she dashed away from her…I don't know about the rest of my new students but that one…Well, there’s already promise there." The former hero's continence turned more serious "For now though, the detective and I were just talking about the location of this latest arrival."

All Might tensed "Because this was the same place that Shigaraki had his 'talk' with young Midoriya, wasn't it?"

Detective Naomasa nodded "It was, yes. And there can be no denying the fact that four separate pillars were used, not just one like the past nine years."

Crossing his arms, Jun grimly added "The detective and I fear All for One is letting us know something big is coming and I shutter to think what that monster has planned."

"As do we all, Sanada-san. But that is for the detective and I to worry about! You should see to your newest young charges! It's a big world you have to show them, you should get to it!" All Might exclaimed, patting Jun on the shoulder, nearly toppling him over.

Regaining his balance, Jun took a long breath to ready himself before glancing back "I do indeed, All Might, I do indeed."

(X)

As Jun approached his new students, he noted the somber air of the three of them. Wait, three?

Zelgadis wasted no time getting to the point as soon as Jun was close enough not to yell "Well? You've been keeping us waiting long enough. What the hell is going on?" Both Xellos and Emeralda looked on expectantly as well.

Unfazed by their combined gaze, Jun looked about "I would prefer to speak to all of you at once. Where is Kagemori-san?"

Not wanting to get distracted (or think about her) Zelgadis curtly relied "She probably got tired of waiting for-"

"She got into a fight with Mr. Zel- Pardon me, Zelgadis-san here and is sulking up on the fourth floor!" Xellos cheerily interjected.

"I hate you…so much." Zelgadis growled out.

His arm behind his head, Xellos laughed it off "Oh, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Zelgadis-san! I was only trying to be helpful."

This…was going to be a challenge. "Thank you, Metallium-san. Just a moment." Jun put his hands up to his mouth before calling out "KAGEMORI-SAN! I'M SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! COULD YOU PLEASE COME BACK DOWN, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY BEFORE WE GET MOVING!"

Catching movement high above them, Jun caught a brief glimpse of light. A moment later, Michiru jumped up and over the guardrail, diving briefly before opening her wings to catch herself. A few moments later she had landed, changing her wings back to her normal arms. She said nothing at first but took the time to shoot a sideways glare at Zelgadis who couldn't meet her gaze. With that message delivered, she drew up straight, facing Jun and forcing a smile on her face as she spoke "Sorry 'bout that, what was it you wanted to say?"

Jun regarded the shorter tanuki girl for a moment. He had just got done talking to Naomasa and All Might about her potential and the last thing he wanted was for that to be tarnished by the circumstances he had brought upon her. Speaking of which. With everyone's attention of him, Jun started the speech that he had become far too familiar with. Standing with his head slightly titled and his hands outstretched Jun began to speak "Before we go any further, let me welcome you, I am Jun Sanada, formally a hero who specialized in rescue. As I am sure you are aware by now, you are no longer in your worlds. Indeed, you may not have even know there are other worlds, I certainly didn't a decade ago."

Jun paused to read his audience. Zelgadis looked impatient, no doubt wanting to get to the point while Xellos kept the same smiling façade. Emeralda, still sitting, kept a neutral expression but her eyes were wide, giving the impression she was hanging on his every word. Michiru's expression gave the impression she was bracing for news she knew was coming but didn't want to hear. Jun continued, his hands now held behind his back "This is the tenth time this has happened now and yours is the first to include multiple people. I wish I could tell you that we have a way to send you home, but we don't."

All four showed various levels of anguish at that, even Xellos, who let his smile slip slightly. "BUT!" Jun declared, bowing as low as his back would allow "What I can do is my very best to teach you about this world and help you find a place it. I do this because it’s my fault…my fault that you are all here and for that, I am so, so sorry."

(X)

Chapter Text

Just a few short hours ago, if Michiru had found herself in the back of a police car, she would have thought herself in a desperate situation. Outside of Anima City, beastmen carried away by the police often found themselves getting beaten for nothing more than tripping while walking down the street. In the worst cases, you could be left to the mercy of beastman hunters, who often took more…extreme measures.

The police of Anima City itself were notably less ruthless to beastmen, being beastmen themselves. Nonetheless, the city still had a healthy underworld and crossing the wrong cop could mean getting sold off out of the city if you weren't careful. It had been just such a ring that Michiru had been off to help break up before her…relocation.

Now, instead of finding herself concerned, Michiru was just annoyed. After Sanada-san's heartfelt admission of guilt and Zelgadis' subsequent explosion at him, they had been paraded out to waiting police who were going to take them to the station for processing. Michiru hoped that just meant paperwork and nothing more sinister. More than anything though, she wished Xellos would just shut the hell up.

Almost from the moment they were seated in the vehicle, Xellos had peppered Michiru with questions, mostly about the world around them. When Michiru pointed out that she wasn't from this world, he had been quick remind her that she had said that she had come from one that was similar. Michiru had just got done trying to explain the concept of the internet to the odd chatty man, the subject having been brought on when Michiru had foolishly pulled out her phone to see if she had a connection, which sadly, she didn't. With the explanation done, the odd purple-haired man turned his attention to their vehicle. "Kagemori-san?" Xellos asked, smiling right at her and completely ignoring the irritated look on her face.

"Yes, what is it now, Metallium-san?" Michiru grated out, almost in a growl.

"Oh my, no need to be so formal with me, Kagemori-san! Please, just call me Xellos!" the odd man beamed. If the caped fellow lighter was bothered by their shared predicament, you'd never know to look at him. That fact was annoying the hell out of Michiru. It was almost like every word and every movement Xellos engaged in was calculated to piss someone off.

Michiru looked skeptical at the request, annoyed this weirdo she had just met would even ask such a familiar question. Why did she get stuck with him again? Oh right, Zelgadis would have been arrested for murder if he and Xellos were together and she may have killed Zelgadis if they had ridden together.

After a moment's pause, Michiru relented "Fine, fine, I'll call you Xellos if you want, but-" pointing a finger at the odd man "I'm still Kagemori-san, got it?"

Holding his hands up in mock defense, Xellos replied "Oh, of course Kagemori-san! I would never dream of being so informal with you should you not wish it!" Putting his hands down he continued "Now, I'm curious about this vehicle."

"It’s called a car" Michiru interjected.

"Oh, yes, this car." Xellos looked about as if searching for something before settling on Michiru again "How does it run exactly? I can already tell magic isn't used. Is it that electricity thing you explained earlier?"

Michiru grumbled as she sat back against her seat, looking up at the car's ceiling, trying to think. "I'm not a mechanic or anything, you know, but no, the car doesn't run on electricity. Well, a lot of the stuff on the inside does but…its complicated." The tanuki girl began scratching the back of her head "but the car moves because it burns gas and the energy released is what moves it!" Michiru proudly exclaimed, quite pleased she was able to remember even that much.

It was at that point that the officer driving in the front seat, piped up, a bemused smirk on his face "Actually, ma'am, nowadays, most cars are electric! You have to pay a pretty penny to get your hands on one of those antique internal combustion cars!"

That took the wind right out of Michiru's sails, her whole being seeming to deflate as she muttered something about stupid alternate realities. Just as quickly though, her attention was drawn to the fact that having spoken, the cop had opened himself up to interrogation. No sooner had the officer stopped speaking did Xellos' attention fell squarely on him. "Oh really! It sounds like you can do almost anything with this marvelous electricity! Please, could you tell me…"

Grateful for the reprieve, Michiru began to toon out her extremely curious fellow lighter as she turned to stare out the window. This wasn't exactly what she had pictured was going to happen when Sanada-san had bowed almost comically low and professed his guilt at effectively kidnapping them. She had been shocked, of course, but Zelgadis had been livid. He'd pulled his sword on the spot and demanded to know what Sanada-san had meant by taking responsibility. She and Emeralda had to hold the rock-encrusted man back as Sanada-san kept his head low, almost encouraging a decapitation.

Michiru sighed at the memory, so fresh in her mind. She had had to yell at Sanada-san to raise his damn head and explain himself before she let Zelgadis go. Apparently having had enough of the verbal punishment being hurled at him from the restrained swordsmen, he did finally raise. He explained that in this world, over three quarters of the population was born with some sort of superpower, referred to as quirks. He further said that his had been stolen over a decade ago and had been used to bring people here ever since.

That had calmed Zelgadis down quite a bit, knowing the man before them had not directly caused this whole mess. Xellos had chimed in at that point to ask if he knew who had stolen his quirk. Sanada-san did but had declined to say who, appearing to not want to remember the event.

Michiru glanced back over at Xellos, still chatting up the cop before looking back out the window. This city looked so clean, so peaceful. Nothing like the rough and tumble streets of Anima City. It was so much like she remembered home was like before her change. Yet, as she saw people passing on the sidewalk as they sat at a light, it was striking how different everyone seemed to each other.

Everything from people with animal traits such as tails, wings or fur to one guy whose head looked like a round bubble of water. She watched as a mother and three children who looked like they were made of legos wait at the crosswalk. As interdimensional kidnappings went, Michiru supposed she could have ended up in a worse place. But it was a kidnapping. Michiru didn't want to be here, no matter how much she may fit in. Seeing the family pass almost made Michiru remember that her parents were finally going to come visit her soon…

Shaking her head to clear her head of thinking any more on the implications of her situation, Michiru then turned her attention back to her companions. The officer was in the middle of telling Xellos all about the command structure of the police. Michiru rolled her eyes as her mind became increasing filled with that must childhood of questions “Are…are we there yet?”

(X)

The answer, mercifully, was almost. Only a few minutes later the convoy of lighters arrived at Musutafu police headquarters. Glad to finally be out of that car with Xellos, Michiru stood up and looked over at the other car carrying Emeralda and Zelgadis. Noting that the latter had put his hood up, Michiru saw the distant look on the green-haired girl's face and moved to speak to her "That jackass wasn't mean on the way over, was he?' Michiru asked, catching Emeralda off guard.

Zelgadis' expression soured but didn't say anything as Jun signaled for them to start walking into the large if bland looking building. As they began walking Emeralda spoke, trying hard to keep her tone even "No, Kagemori-san. In fact, he said nothing. He kept starring out the window, looking at everything, like it was all new to him. I think…I think he comes from a world very different than mine or yours."

That was easily the most Emeralda had said all at once since they had met and Michiru was a bit surprised. It must have showed on her face because Emeralda blushed and turned away "I'm sorry, it isn't Emeralda's place to say."

There was that apologizing again. Moving to ease the other girl, Michiru quickly responded "No, no! Your probably right! It's a lot to take in, after all! It's probably pretty weird for you too, huh?"

Noting that this animal girl was almost exactly the same height as her for the first time, Emeralda caught the concern in Michiru's eyes. Emeralda's chest tightened as she struggled with how to answer that question. This situation was weird, terrifying even, but the last thing she wanted to do was tell Michiru that. And here was someone in the same situation as her trying to cheer her up and she couldn't bring herself to respond. It made Emeralda feel even worse as the other girl starred back at her, waiting for a response. Finally, Emeralda turned away again from Michiru's gaze, instead focusing on the doors they were quicky approaching and managed to say "Emeralda is ok. Thank you for asking, Kagemori-san."

If what Emeralda had said back at the mall about using the third person when she was nervous was true, Michiru knew the other girl's response was likely a lie. Still, there wasn't time to follow up as Detective Naomasa and Jun ushered the four of them into the building.

The group entered the reception room, a fairly small space only ten by twenty feet. Chairs lined one wall lengthwise with a few people sitting in them. The opposite wall had a door and a window beside it where a receptionist could be seen sitting on the other side of. As the group reached the door to the interior, which had an officer standing beside it, Jun turned to face the lighters. Addressing Zelgadis and Xellos specifically, Jun said "Before we proceed, I'm sorry but for the time being, we're going to need to hold your weapons."

Zelgadis looked aghast at the suggestion as the officer moved to accept Xellos' staff, which was offered with no fanfare. The rock-covered man wasn't going without more of a fight though, clutching his sword hanging from his waist "You're going to have to explain why you want us disarmed before I just hand you my sword" he growled.

Unfazed by Zelgadis' provocations, Jun calmly responded "We're about to enter the central hub where various villains are being processed, Greywards-san. They cannot, as a matter of policy, have armed individuals roaming about giving people the chance to take your weapon in an attempt to escape. Your sword will be returned to you once we leave. It’s not like you are defenseless without it, correct?"

The aggrieved look on Zelgadis' face didn't change but he did begin to unbuckle his sheath from his belt. Glaring at Jun, the sword was offered to the waiting officer, who bowed slightly upon receiving the sword and darting into a door after pressing a keycard on a pad beside it.

With the weapons issue taken care of, Jun addressed the group once again "Thank you, Greywards-san. It seems that sword is important to you so we'll take great care with it. Now, if you're going to live here, we're going to need to know who you are, your powers and the like. Every citizen of this nation has such records so please, don't feel you are being singled out, though your special circumstances will require some extra detail."

The explanation was received with nods from Emeralda and Michiru, the latter of which had become familiar with IDs and paperwork with her time in Anima City. Xellos continued to take everything in stride, also agreeing but once again, Zelgadis proved to be the thorn. His arms crossed and eyes narrowed, he'd spent a good part of the last few years of his life wondering the world and didn't much like the idea of being registered, leading him to ask, "What if we don't want to be 'on record?' What's keeping me from flying off right now and looking for my own way home?"

This had come up a few times over the years from previous lighters, so Jun wasn't exactly surprised by the question. Still, it could be tricky answering as respectfully as possible without being condescending. Bowing, Jun tried to strike just such a balance "That is a fair question and I'm sorry to have to ask it of you. You have to understand though, this isn't your world, here there are many with powers that can be very dangerous to public safety, so we need to have an idea of what people of capable of. Besides, this is a huge country, just to keep everything running smoothly, we need to know where everyone is to better serve them. This isn't some wild frontier, wondering off without doing this will mean you'll have a much harder time getting by anywhere you go. If seeking a way home is what you want, you can only do that with our help because here, taking things into your own hands will get you right back in this building as a prisoner, not a guest. On the other hand, registering allows you the option to pursue any life you wish, should you work toward it. Even though we haven't found a way home for lighters yet, it doesn't mean we aren't trying. In fact, there are other lighters doing just that."

Over the course of Jun's explanation, Zelgadis' expression softened, until the last part, which brought a questioning raised eyebrow from the blue-skinned man "So you would let us look for a way home then?"

It took a fair degree of self-control from the former hero not to smile at the question, managing to keep a straight face as he answered "Absolutely, in time. If that is what you want to do, you'll have to go through the same training as anyone else. Know our laws, demonstrate control of your powers. Work with others. If you can do all of that, then yes, you will have the chance to search for a way home."

Zelgadis couldn't help but feel like something was missing from that explanation, but he couldn't deny a sense of hope as he got his answer. Turning to glance at the other three, he could see they looked very excited, even the stoic Emeralda. "Alright then, let’s get this started" he finally said, unfolding his arms.

Jun nodded and Detective Naomasa opened the door, motioning for them to enter. It led into a corridor with adjoining rooms on either side that ran for about twenty feet before they reached another door. Coming up behind the four lighters, Jun began to open the next door as he said "We'll start the process through here. It's a bit busy in there so please stick close to the detective and myself."

The four entered and instead of another cramped space the narrow corridor implied, they were greeted by a massive room, the interior of which was quite the sight for any new to this world. The main hall the group had been ushered into was huge, with what seemed like an endless number of desks, each with its own computer. To Zelgadis and Xellos it was another sight that hammered home just how different this new world was from their own.

The place was bustling as uniformed officers did their work. Some on the phone, others typing away in front of their screens while still others passed with detained villains headed to one of the many adjoining rooms that lined either side of great space that would do the halls of the greatest kings shame. With everything going on and the eclectic nature of the people moving about, the group of lighters didn't really stand out much. Everyone was used to the often colorful and outlandish clothing worn by heroes and villains so two caped individuals didn't even register among the many people in the room. This didn't stop Zelgadis from keeping his hood up, his hands held tightly to it, trying to keep his head hidden as much as possible. All the while he kept muttering about people starring at him as the group walked.

Michiru gave the hooded blue man a side eye, almost embarrassed to be seen beside him with the way he was acting. After a few moments of this she finally muttered at him "Seriously? If anyone is starring it’s because of the way you're acting. You don't look any stranger than anyone else, in case you hadn't noticed."

This brought the hooded man up, stopping entirely and starred at Michiru's back as the rest kept walking. After a few paces, everyone else stopped and turned back to their blue-skinned companion. Zelgadis was looking around at the people moving about as if seeing them for the first time. When one officer passed by, whose head looked like it was as much broccoli as anything else and gave him a courteous nod as she passed, Zelgadis simply starred at her, dumbstruck.

Snapping out of it, Zelgadis caught the smug look on the tanuki girl's face when their eyes met. He looked away and sighed, saying nothing. After another moment, Jun inquired "Are you ok, Greywards-san?"

Quickly snapping out an answer, Zelgadis said "Yes, I'm fine" and started walking, his hood still up, but no longer clutching it with his hands. Jun looked a bit concerned but nodded as he turned to continue leading the group.

Finally reaching their destination, a room on the left side of the main one, about midway through. Once they got to the door, Jun again turned to address the group. As he was about to open his mouth, though, a faint buzzing could be heard from his pocket. Jun was tempted to ignore it but he was expecting to hear from Hitomi or Nezu. Turning to Detective Naomasa, the former hero looked apologetic as he stepped aside and pulled his phone out, walking some distance away. Not missing a beat, Naomasa stepped into his place and began speaking "Now we'll need to get photos of each of you, both for our records and for your IDs. Does everyone know what a camera is?"

Naomasa inwardly sighed when only two hands went up, Michiru and Emeralda. Having become part of the Lighters program as part of the wider investigation into All-For-One, the detective had come to learn not to take many things for granted. He had certainly learned to keep expectations low whenever a new lighter appeared but it could still be jarring to have things so common be unknown to these poor souls.

Glancing over to see Jun engaged in conversation on his phone, looking more than alittle distressed, Naomasa knew he was on his own for this one. Usually, Jun or Hitomi would handle introducing new lighters to this world and he would keep off to the side, getting a read on the new arrivals and assisting where needed. Now it seemed it was up to him to handle things directly and though he was qualified, this wasn't exactly something Naomasa had a lot of expertise with. With four sets of eyes watching him, expecting him to follow up he straightened up and smiled as he opened the door and motioned for the four lighters to enter as he spoke "Well then, let me explain what a camera is..."

(X)

"What do you mean their rooms aren't ready yet?" Jun icily spoke into his phone.

"I am sorry Luminaire-san, I've tried to get a hold of our contractor, but they are out of the office for the rest of the day. If it had been just one new arrival, I could have worked something out but on such short notice, it’s going to be another day." Nezu calmly explained on the other end of the line.

Taking a moment calm down and breath deeply, Jun responded much more evenly "What else can we do? Without the dorms, what else is there? We can't very well make them sleep here. What about a hotel for the night?"

"You know just as well as I do Luminaire-san that the commission wouldn't like that idea very much at all." Jun clinched his open hand as Nezu continued "You are free to ask, of course, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. They will likely see police headquarters as a much more secure location."

It was everything Jun could do just to keep his fury in check at this turn of events. Nothing upset him more than his own failure to do something, whether he had any control over it or not. After not getting a response and guessing why, Nezu decided to change the subject slightly, gently asking "How are your other two students?"

Like a switch had flipped, Jun's attention and mood swung right back into focus at the question "Oh, yes, I've been texting with Kanzaki-san. Recovery Girl was there to greet them so Kusakabe-san will make a full recovery after some rest."

"And what of Brandford-san?" Nezu asked.

Jun's face crunched up in pain as he answered "They say they can't find anything wrong with her. Recovery Girl thinks, hopes really, that its exhaustion. We won't know anything more until she wakes up."

"Don't worry, Luminaire-san, she'll be fine, I'm sure. She is in the best hands. Call the commission and tend to your new charges. I'll see if there is anything I can do to speed up getting their rooms ready. Take care." Nezu replied, his tone carrying more authority than was his norm.

Jun frowned, annoyed he would have to rely on the detective for a bit longer. Scrolling through his phone, Jun found the number for the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission. Before dialing, the silver-haired former hero looked for and found an empty interrogation room. This wasn't going to be easy.

(X)

After a lengthy and awkward explanation on what a camera was, made worse by constant interruptions from Xellos seeking clarification, Naomasa was ready to move on to actually taking everyone's photos. The room itself was a stark white, rectangular in shape and only about half as big as the reception room they had first entered from earlier. A small digital camera was set up on a tripod on one end and the opposite wall featured a wall length panel with markings for height on it. A large black X marked the spot on the floor where the subject should stand.

After moving behind the camera, Naomasa motioned for one of them to step forward to the large 'X' on the floor. Zelgadis, Xellos and Emeralda didn't move, none wanting to be the first. Michiru rolled her eyes as she started over to the marking on the floor, making a show of it to try and relieve the others fears with a confident stride. As she reached it and turned to the camera, Naomasa spoke up again "Oh, I meant to ask sooner, do any of you have any other forms? We'll need photos of them as well."

Zelgadis looked very annoyed at the question but shook his head. He raised an eyebrow however when Xellos cheerily volunteered "Not anymore!" Emeralda also shook her head in the negative.

Michiru though lost the confidence that she had tried to display just a moment eariler, shrinking a bit as she spoke up "Yeah, I do have a human form." As she glanced back at the others, Michiru noticed that Zelgadis' lips perched, and his eyes widened. Was he angry? Then again, when hadn't he been angry since she met him? Michiru decided there was no sense wasting time on it, since she had a question of her own and asked, "Why do you ask, Detective? Is it a common thing for people here to have more than one form?

His head bent to look through the camera's screen, Naomasa casually answered "It’s not exactly common but morphing quirks do exist. Plus a few other lighters have other forms."

"Huh, well I guess we'll see the others for ourselves then, won't we? Detective, do you want this form or my human form first?" Michiru answered, noting the daggers still being leveled at her from Zelgadis.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, Kagemori-san, whichever. Oh, and you can smile if you want, this isn't exactly a mug shot." Naomasa answered, giving a thumbs up and immediately wondering if that gesture had the same meaning for him as it did them.

Michiru wasn’t sure there was much to smile about in this situation but if it'll help the others... Michiru nodded to the detective and tried to put as genuine a smile as she could muster as the camera flashed. No sooner had the shot been taken did Michiru start to feel very self-conscious, and she wasn't sure why. Why should it matter if these people see her in human or beastman form? They didn't even have beastmen here after all. Realizing the detective was patiently waiting for her, Michiru blushed and said sheepishly "Sorry, just a second." With a flurry of small flashes of light, Michiru again returned to her birth form, feeling all the more exposed for it.

The smile that adorned Michiru's face this time was much more forced and disappeared the moment the photo was taken. Not a moment after, Michiru shifted back to her tanuki form and stepped away from the X, suddenly not willing to look anyone else in the eye. She could tell Zelgadis was still starring at her as she took the spot Emeralda vacated, the greenette moving to be photographed next. Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, the tanuki girl kept herself focused on an especially interesting spot on the ground.

After Emeralda's turn, the other two followed suit. It took some convincing from the detective to get Zelgadis to pull his hood down plus some passive aggressive prodding from Xellos. The purple-haired man had invoked several names that finally seemed to get the blue-skinned sorcerer to finally expose his head. Michiru wondered despite herself if Lina, Gourry and Amelia were his friends or family. Xellos' photo went quietly, much as Emeralda's had, and the detective announced they were heading to another room to do paperwork. Joy.

(X)

"Sanada-san, your request is completely out of the question." Came a professional, if slightly strained voice over Jun's phone.

After exchanging pleasantries and reporting the latest to the head of arguably the most powerful governmental body in the country, Jun had made his pitch to find appropriate lodging for the four new lighters. Hearing his request denied, Jun couldn't help but wonder if he would have been more successful if Hitomi had been making it with him. Still, he wasn't ready to give up. "President, we could bring heroes in to guard them. I'm sure we could-"

"Sanada-san, that is quite enough. I see no reason to go to such lengths to build a security infrastructure for one night when we already have it there at the station. It’s a waste of resources, frankly. I realize it’s not the best situation but you, yourself said their dorms should be ready tomorrow, correct? It’s one night, it isn't going to kill them." The voice finished, a hint of frustration starting to crack through at the end.

Knowing that exploding at the committee president would be…less than productive, Jun held back the simmering anger he was feeling, mostly at himself. She had a point, it was a lot to ask. Even if the these had been regular victims instead of interdimensional refugees it would have been a lot to ask. "Yes, Ma'am, I understand. Please forgive my unreasonable request." Jun managed to answer, as contritely as his could.

"There is one more thing, Sanada-san." The president responded, not even bothering to thank the former hero.

This didn't go unnoticed as Jun cautiously responded "Yes, what is it, Madam President?"

"It’s regarding one of your students, Branford-san. Given the events at the mall, we are rescinding her provisional hero license." The president calmly stated.

Again, a reasonable decision given Terra's sudden turn as a berserker. And yet, it pulled at Jun's sense of justice and his feeling of responsibility toward the lighters that Terra would have something she worked so hard to earn suddenly pulled away from her through no fault of her own.

The swirl of emotions within Jun almost pushed to the surface in those few moments after the president spoke. It would have been so easy to rail at the injustice of it, to scream that this was madness. But that wouldn't do Terra any good. Instead, swallowing the ball of emotion, Jun said the only thing that could help his student "Yes, president, given the circumstances, that is best. She will be devastated to hear it, of course."

"I am heartened to hear you say that Sanada-san. In the end, she is lucky she isn't being placed in custody, such an option was on the table but considering your track record thus far, we are trusting you." The president responded, a touch of appreciation in her voice.

Did that mean…"President, are you offering…"

"Yes, assuming she is herself when she awakens, she can re-apply if it can be proved whatever her outburst was, was the result of outside forces and that she can control herself." Responded the president.

That was unexpected, honestly. The commission was quite conservative, especially when protecting the image of itself and the hero society it upheld. It was entirely possible they were just as concerned about the implications behind the size of this latest lighter incident as he and Naomasa were. Still, it was more than he could have hoped for just a few moments ago. "Thank you, president, on behalf of Branford-san, it is greatly appreciated. I'll submit my full report on the latest arrivals once the interviews and evaluations are complete."

"I eagerly await your report, Sanada-san. Good luck." With that, the call ended, Jun not given the opportunity to reply, as was the president's way, never time for pleasantries. Checking his phone revealed a text from Nezu apologizing for not getting any further.

Sighing, the former hero realized Naomasa would have to be done with photos and was now having them handle their new arrival paperwork. Well, he'd already missed that much, what was a little more? Scrolling down, Jun pressed dial to call Hitomi, inwardly apologizing to his detective friend and thanking him for holding down the fort.

(X)

With photos taken and the camera's memory card handed off to an officer, Naomasa lead the four lighters a few doors down from the previous room. This door opened to a corridor connecting to several more rooms. After passing one set of doors, the detective led them through a door on the left into yet another featureless white room save for the wall length mirror that ran from the ceiling to waist height. There was a table at the center with four chairs and four stacks of paper. The others may not have realized where they were, but Michiru knew right away and turned back to Naomasa with a concerned look on her face as she said, "Detective, what are we doing here? Why are we in an interrogation room?"

The other three turned to look at the detective as well. Zelgadis asked, more forcefully than he intended, what was on the other's minds, "Did she say interrogation room? What the hell is the meaning of this, Detective?"

Naomasa raised his hands up defensively "Its ok, we're only here for privacy! It isn't common knowledge that you all are from other worlds, and we'd like to keep it that way."

Zelgadis relaxed his stance at hearing the detective's answer but in answering, another came to the forefront, voiced this time by Xellos "And just why is it kept a secret, if I may ask, detective?" Zelgadis couldn't help but roll his eyes at the irony of the secretive purple-haired man asking that question.

Naomasa took a moment to consider his answer. Settling on his response the detective said "The world saw a long period of strife and chaos when quirks first appeared and it took a lot of work to bring the relative peace you've witnessed on your trip over here. Introducing the reality that we are but one of many worlds where even magic is possible may well plunge us back into chaos. That is something the man who is responsible for all this may well be counting on to take advantage of, so please understand our want to keep this as quiet as possible."

Xellos' eyes crept open when the detective suggested he knew who was responsible for their kidnapping, the smile on his face disappearing as he replied "Oh? So you do know who did this? Sanada-san was less forthcoming, taking the blame himself and only saying his quirk was stolen."

Moving over to the table and picking up the stacks of paper, Naomasa didn't notice Xellos' change as he said "Oh yes, we've known since the beginning, its finding him that's the hard part. He was the leading figure in the underworld for a very long time, known as All-For-One."

When Naomasa turned to hand a stack to each person, Xellos' smile had returned and when he got his, Xellos cheerily responded "Oh really! How fascinating…Oh, I should probably point out Kagemori-san is the only one of us who can actually read your written language."

Naomasa's shoulders sunk as his eyes widened in realization "Oh, of course. I suppose I should have known, my apologies." Looking over at Michiru, who titled her head wondering what was going through the detective's head, Naomasa settled on a plan. "Kagemori-san, it seems you'll be the only one to fill out your own form, just ask if you've got any questions." The tanuki girl nodded as Naomasa moved to sit at the desk.

Setting the three stacks beside each other, the increasingly beleaguered detective looked up at the other three as Michiru sat across from him "I'll just have to ask you three each question and I'll have to fill them out for you. The questions aren't exactly private, so I hope you three don't mind?"

Xellos agreed immediately but Zelgadis and Emeralda were much less reluctant to give their ascent.

Michiru had been scanning over the forms and thought they looked pretty harmless to her. Seeing her two companion's apprehension, she spoke up "I haven't read everything but from what I've seen, they just want to know some basic stuff. You know, where you're from, your powers. I think it should be ok!" Flashing a thumbs up with far more enthusiasm and confidence than her words conveyed.

Zelgadis looked more annoyed than convinced but finally nodded. Emeralda continued to look very concerned but the building pressure she felt from everyone's eyes on her combined with the stress caused her to slowly nod as well.

"Wonderful!" the detective exclaimed, glad to be moving again "I have no idea how your names are written so for now I'm going to take my best guess and we'll adjust later, sound good?"

"What does that even mean? How can you not know how a name is written?" Zelgadis blurted out. Before Naomasa could begin to explain, though, the blue-skinned young man thought better of his question, cutting the detective off with a wave "Never mind…I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Go ahead with your questions when you're ready."

After taking a moment to fill out each lighter's name at the top of the three forms, Naomasa was ready. "Ok, I'm going to ask a question and I want each of you in turn to answer. Let's start simple, how old are each of you?"

"Twenty one" Zelgadis answered.

"Oh, I stopped counting after a thousand!" Xellos cheerily added.

Everyone but Zelgadis starred at the purple-haired man, including Michiru, who had stopping filling out her own form, frozen mid-writing.

Seeing confused and/or shocked looks, Xellos added "What? I use great moisturizer!"

"Right…" Naomasa drawled as he turned his attention to the last to be questioned, the pensive Emeralda. "How about yourself Kasim-san?"

It was a simple question, one the greenette knew was coming, and yet she hesitated, avoiding eye contact with the detective. Her wondering eyes settled on Michiru, who once again looked up to see why things had gone quiet. Finally, Emeralda firmly said "Eighteen. I'm eighteen." It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as anyone else in the room. An uneasy silence filled the room when it became clear that was all she was going to say.

"Ok, then, on to the next question then!" Naomasa blurted out trying to ease the tension. "Do you have family and if so who and how many?"

"Why does that matter, they're not here, now are they?" Zelgadis snapped.

"Oh, well it helps us to try and build a profile of lighters as a whole to see if there are any patterns that might help explain why each of you were taken." Naomasa answered as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

That did actually make sense, but Zelgadis didn't have to like it. Sighing when no one else spoke up he figured he was going to be first in line going forward "I had parents, but they died in an accident a long time ago. I had a Great Grandfather as well but…" as he paused, Zelgadis' fists clenched, and his features knotted up "…well he got what was coming to him. He's gone too."

Naomasa's features softened as he replied, writing down Zelgadis' answer "I'm very sorry to hear it Greywards-san."

Zelgadis waved him off and said, "Don't be, I wouldn't want them to see me as I am now anyway."

"Does that mean your parents didn't have similar features to you then?" Naomasa couldn't help but ask, his investigator's curiosity getting the better of him.

His eyes narrowing, Zelgadis coolly answered "No one shares my 'features' detective."

Trying to ignore the shift in tone, Naomasa attempted to move on by saying, "Well, that's getting ahead of ourselves anyway, we'll save that for later. How about yourself, Metallium-san?"

Xellos seemed to take a moment to consider the question before he snapped his fingers and declared "Nope! Can't say I've ever had family. Does a master count?"

Naomasa was starting to dread asking this guy anything, there was just something off about him and he suspected he knew why already. Keeping a smile on his face, the detective answered "yeah, no but I'll make a note and we can circle back to that later." Xellos shrugged as Naomasa came to the quietest member of the group "And you, Kasim-san? I know it may be hard to think about your loved ones but what about your family?"

With less hesitation this time but still clearly struggling, the tan girl softly answered "No…my parents…they died a long, long time ago. Emeralda may have…I may have a sibling but now, I may never know."

It was heartbreaking to listen to Emeralda speak and hearing it made Michiru want to get up and hug her. The tanuki girl was filling out her own form but it was hard to not listen to her fellow lighter’s answers, especially when they sounded as pained as Emeralda’s. Somehow though, Michiru got the impression Emeralda wasn't the hugging type and decided to stick with words "Are you ok? We don't have to continue if it’s going to be so hard, right detective?"

The Detective inwardly cursed as he wandered where Jun was. "Not at this exact moment, no. Though it will have to be completed sooner rather than later." Naomasa responded gently but firmly.

"NO!" Emeralda quickly called out before catching herself and drawing back a bit. "No…I agreed to do it and I will."

Michiru, taken a back, nodded slowly, wondering how true that was going to be going forward given some of the next few questions if something as straight forward as asking about family was so challenging for her.

Naomasa was thinking basically the same thing but pressed on, asking "If you wish, Kasim-san, we can continue. On that note, this question is related to the previous. Do you have a significant other? Children?"

A chorus of immediate no's caught the poor detective off guard and a bit flustered. With that answered so empathetically, the detective pressed on "Right, well that was…forceful. Moving on…this is one of the odder questions, but we've come to learn its less obvious than I use to think."

Zelgadis, who had a degree of sympathy himself for the struggling Emeralda, was nonetheless impatient to get this over with and snapped, "Just get on with it, detective."

"All right. Fine. Here we go…Are you human? If not, could you describe what you are?" Naomasa responded, unsure if the inquiry would be regarded as silly or insulting. He got his answer a moment later from the perpetually jovial purple-haired man.

"An absolutely fascinating question, detective! The very question implies either that this world has non-human sentient beings or that others like us are themselves not human. I wonder which it could be?" Xellos cordially asked, a finger on his chin to emphasize his thinking.

Relieved to have not had a more extreme response, Naomasa was glad to answer "The latter, actually. Several other lighters are what we consider of a supernatural origin, including a demon! That's why we ask. Almost anything can be explained away as a quirk but that only goes so far, especially when it comes to magic and the like because usually we end up having to ask lighters to limit what they can do."

Michiru was beginning to wonder if she'd ever get to finishing this damn form if she kept getting distracted by all she was learning from the other lighters. This situation was getting weirder with each passing question. Looking at Zelgadis and Emeralda, Michiru was getting the feeling they felt the same. Xellos was a different animal altogether. Like when she was in the police car with him earlier, Michiru could see a glee in his eye as answers kept opening up more for him to learn.

This continued to be the case when Xellos followed up the detective's answer with another query of his own, "Ah, so given the relative lack of magic here and what you just said detective, I take it this world of yours lacks such beings? No monsters, gods or the like?"

"Only in stories, religious dogma and fairytales, Metallium-san. Here there are no demons, no angels. Only humans, for better and worse." Naomasa responded firmly.

"Oh, that is absolutely interesting to hear, detective. You've given me a very good idea what my new home is like! Its greatly appreciated, thank you!" Xellos exclaimed so sweetly it bordered on saccharine.

Zelgadis watched the exchange with a creeping sense of dread that he did his upmost to keep hidden. Up till now he had felt his only real play given this insane situation was to keep an eye on the monster in human form that was Xellos. Now though, he was going to have to take the first chance he had to let these people know just what they had on their hands in private.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, Zelgadis had missed that Naomasa had been trying to get his attention and when he noticed, responded with, "I'm sorry, what did you say, Detective?"

"I just wanted your answer to the question, Greywards-san. Is everything alright?" Naomasa said, looking a bit worried.

Shaking his head, Zelgadis waved him off "No, no, I'm fine. I…just have a lot on my mind." Taking another moment, the rock-encrusted man gathered himself. He hated talking about his condition just about as much as he hated people's faces when they saw him for the first time. Breathing out slowly, Zelgadis answered "I'm a chimera. A fusion of three different kinds of creatures, namely human, golem and brow demon."

Naomasa raised his eyebrows at the chimera's answer "We'll that's different. I don't even know what a brow demon is."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, annoyed at having to explain it "Don't let the name fool you, they're basically just goblins that are good with magic."

Naomasa nodded, unsure that helped clarify anything and replied, "Huh, well very good then, that'll do, thank you."

Sitting in her chair, Michiru was staring at the same question on her form. She'd been listening in, curious about the others but as Zelgadis answered, she began to wonder just want to put down for herself. Sure, she could just put down beastman but would they want more of an explanation? Was it even true to call herself a beastman to begin with? Would it even matter to these people? It's not like they'd have a natural born beastman to call her out on it, right? A natural born beastman…Michiru’s thoughts turned toward Shirou, wondering just what he was doing at the moment? Probably worried sick. And Nezuna…Mom, Dad? Would they even know yet she was gone?

"Oh, I'm a Mazuku myself! Or at least I was, not sure at the moment though with what this little displacement has done to me!" Xellos exclaimed, almost laughing as he spoke, which brought Michiru out of her impromptu introspection. The distraction was welcome and Michiru watched on as everyone else in the room was once again spun for a loop by something the odd ‘man’ said.

Zelgadis, who by this point had taken up residence in a corner of the room with his arms crossed, once again lost his cool. "What the hell does that mean, Xellos! And don't you dare say it's a secret!"

Xellos turned to face his compatriot, a pouting expression etched on his face "Oh, you're no fun at all, Zelgadis-san. Fine, fine. I just mean that since we got here, this is all there is of me."

Naomasa looked very confused at this "I'm not sure what you mean, what else would there be?"

"Heh, well it's a bit complicated, really. How to put into words" Xellos responded, scratching the back of his head.

Zelgadis answered for him, his eyes wide in surprise "Wait, you mean to say you think this is the real you, not your usual astral projection?"

"Ah, very good, Zelgadis-san! That would be fair to say. You see, detective" Xellos flared his arms out to offer a whole view of his body "Where I and Zelgadis-san are from, beings such as myself exist on another plane of existence entirely and any form we take that humans can see is simply a projection that can interact on their plane of existence."

At this point, Naomasa begin to feel very much like the two males of this little group had completely forgotten about the rest of them as Zelgadis pushed himself off the wall, eyes narrowing and said "I take it that's why you made yourself scarce during Terra's rampage? Because now all of a sudden you could be hurt? Pretty cowardly. But then, that's exactly what I've come to expect from you."

Feigning insult, Xellos drew back "Come now, Zelgadis-san, I've been there when it counted! Why as I recall…umm, why are you walking toward me, Zelgadis-san?"

One word escaped the chimera's lips as he broke into a dash toward the mazuku "Payback." In moments, Zelgadis had closed the gap, thrown Xellos to the ground and began stomping on the smaller man. An almost mad glee could be seen in Zelgadis' eyes as he called out "That's for burning the Claire Bible pages! And that's for making me dress up as a bunny! And that's for-Hey, get your hands off me!"

At first shocked by the sudden assault, Emeralda had recovered quickly and dashed behind the enraged chimera, wrapping her arms around his waist. She was a solid eight inches shorter so grabbing him by his shoulders wasn't really an option but wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling at him while in mid-stomp threw him off balance for her to easily toss him aside. The tan girl didn't move to pin Zelgadis down, but fixed a challenging gaze on him, her arms shifting to blades.

Shocked at having so easily been tossed aside, Zelgadis starred wide-eyed up at the shorter girl's amber orbs, all the anxiety and doubt replaced with resolve as he reached for the sword that wasn't there. By this point Naomasa and Michiru had shot up from their chairs and came to Xellos' side, Michiru exclaiming "What the hell! Is that any way to treat a friend?"

From the floor, Zelgadis scoffed "He's no friend of mine. Or don't you recall what was happening when we first got here? This…thing is a horrible, horrible creature, not to be trusted! I've only ever been forced to tolerate his presence out of convenience and respect for the fact that he could have killed me any time it suited him!"

Before Xellos could answer the charge leveled against him, a panting Jun and a uniformed officer rushed into the doorway, trays of food in their hands "What the hell is going on here!?"

Not missing a beat, the scuffed up Xellos sat up, a dumb smile once again on his face as he answered "Paperwork!"

(X)

Chapter Text

"Paperwork!" Xellos cheerily exclaimed. Instantly all the tension in the room melted away as everyone turned, staring dumbstruck at the purple-haired victim.

"What…what's wrong with you?" Michiru croaked out, her eyebrow raised with a look of confusion and disgust on her face.

Zelgadis was already groaning and hiding his face with his hand as Xellos turned to the tanuki girl, a finger raised, a move that almost seemed to be on instinct as he spoke "Now that…is very rude, Kagemori-san. Are we not doing the paperwork that Tsukauchi-san asked us?"

Michiru's eye twitched slightly as she struggled with a response to the technically true statement. Zelgadis stole away Michiru's chance to counter when he sarcastically asked, starting to get off the floor "And you're all sure I can't kill him?"

"Yeah, no one is killing anyone, and we're clearly done with paperwork for now." Jun cut in, stepping forward with his tray and setting it on the table. "I thought that by now, the four of you may well be pretty hungry considering everything you've been through. It’s not much of a meal I admit but it should tide you over."

The other officer followed suit and brought his tray to the table as well. Each tray had two covered white bowls on them which Jun proceeded to place on the table in front of each of the four chairs as Naomasa got up with the collected paperwork. Steping back, the former hero smiled before adding "Please, sit. I'm sure your nerves will calm with a little food in your stomach."

With everything going on, Michiru hadn't really given much thought to eating up till now but with the smell of whatever Sanada-san was offering entering her nostrils, the urge hit her hard. Without a second thought, the tanuki girl practically jumped back into her chair and asked, "So what's on the menu?!"

Handing the hungry young woman a pair of chop sticks, Jun removed the domed top of the bowl, revealing its steaming hot contents "Nothing fancy, just katsudon."

A ravenous smile spread across Michiru's face as she snapped her simple wooden chop sticks apart "It looks great, thank you Sanada-san!" Just as she was about to dig in though she paused, realizing no one else had sat at the table yet. Looking around, and feeling suddenly self-conscious Michiru asked "What's wrong? Aren't any of you hungry?"

Zelgadis had a sour look on his face as he stood with his arms crossed, appearing to be arguing with himself. At Michiru's prompting he finally sighed as he stepped forward, sticking his hand out to take Jun's offered chopsticks. As he sat down diagonally from Michiru, the rock-encrusted man muttered "It couldn't hurt I suppose."

Emeralda, who had helped Xellos to his feet, was now more pensive, seeming to have completely switched from the cool, determined girl who rushed to defend the purple-haired mazuku. The green-haired girl stood unmoving and expressionless as Michiru sat down. The tanuki girl's guilt-ridden question brought a look of reluctance to Emeralda's face, however. Zelgadis walking past her and sitting took Emeralda off guard and she stared at the group gathering at the table as the blue-skinned man prepared to eat as well.

Emeralda jumped when Xellos patted her on the shoulder as he too made his way over to the table. Sitting down next to Michiru, Zelgadis narrowed his eyes at the loathsome purple-haired Xellos but said nothing. Looking over at Jun, the mazuku waved as he asked, "I don't suppose I could trouble you for some tea?"

Jun motioned for the other officer to head back out to get the tea they had already planned to serve, offering a nod to Xellos. Emeralda still looked uncertain but when she realized none of the other three had begun eating yet and were actually waiting for her, she blushed and slowly made her way across from Michiru and sat down, the two strands of her scarf piling up on the floor to either side of her as she sat.

With that, Michiru declared with a smile "LETS EAT!" and tore into her bowl of rice and pork cutlets. Zelgadis, despite his initial reluctance, didn't hold back either, eating with gusto. Emeralda watched the two eating with the unusual utensils and decided not to embarrass herself trying to use the wooden sticks, instead shifting one of her fingers into a fork and quietly started to eat as well. Xellos contented himself with the tea he was offered, not touching the meal. Jun patiently waited, leaning against the wall by the door as the four ate or drank, not a word being exchanged between anyone.

(X)

With four bowls of katsudon consumed (a minor staring contest between Zelgadis and Michiru decided who got Xellos' bowl, which was won thanks to Michiru's sudden changing into a weird lizard Zelgadis had never seen before and flicking him in the face with her tongue). Jun stepped forward to break the bad news he hoped might be softened by full stomachs.

"I'm glad most of you got a good meal, I trust it was adequate?" Jun asked. The satisfied look on everyone's faces told him all he needed to know however, so he pressed forward "I did tell you all that you were here for processing and that is true. Normally, we get lighters in and out and then you get to go to the dorm we have for new lighters on the campus of our nation's premier hero school, U.A."

By this point everyone at the table had focused their attention on the speaker, questioning looks appearing on Michiru and Zelgadis' faces. By now, it was clear who were the open books in this odd group of misfits and Jun had begun looking to these two first as he spoke to gauge how he was being received. Emeralda seemed to be naturally quiet on top of trying to hide her feelings where Xellos was just a brick wall with that smile of his.

Jun continued "It is from there that you four will live and decide your future in our world. For tonight, though, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here."

Michiru shot straight up out of her chair "What does that mean? Are you saying we're going to have to spend the night in jail?"

Jun motioned for the tanuki girl to calm herself as he responded "Because there are four of you, it's going to take longer to install all the security in each room and even though I argued against it, it was decided it would be best for you to stay here tonight. You will have to sleep in cells tonight, I'm sorry."

The mood in the room had clearly darkened, as Jun knew it would. He didn't like it but at this point, it was all he could do. Before anyone could speak up, Jun hastened to add "You won't be locked in, of course but you will be monitored."

Expecting an angry reaction, or any reaction at all, Jun found himself greeted with silence, much to his surprise. Each of his four new charges looked to be taking in this newest development and before long, the former hero felt compelled to follow up "Your thoughts everyone? "

Zelgadis then stood up, stretching and yawning at the same time before speaking "Is it ideal? No, but its been a weird, long day and I'm ready for some quiet time alone, so where are we headed?"

Guilt played on Jun's features as he averted his eyes when Zelgadis turned to look at him. The chimera didn't like that reaction one bit "We are getting our own cells, aren't we?"

"You saw how busy it was back there" Jun tried to start, still looking away from Zelgadis. Pausing a moment, Jun gathered himself before meeting the rock encrusted man in the eye once more and said, "Two cells were all they could spare, I'm afraid. Tomorrow you will have your own rooms going forward, of that I assure you. For tonight, it will have to do."

Glancing back at the three still seated at the table before looking back at Jun, Zelgadis asked, sure he wasn't going to like the answer "Who is staying with who then?"

Crossing his arms, a light smile passing his lips, Jun answered "I thought you four could figure that out. I can pick if you insist but I thought after your little tussle earlier, this might be better."

Before Zelgadis could object, Michiru raised her hand and declared "We'll take care of it, Sanada-san! We'll let you know what we decide."

Zelgadis twisted around to look at the tanuki girl, a andry look again on his face. Still, the chimera said nothing as Jun turned to exit the room, saying "Excellent, I thought I could trust you all to handle it. I'll be back in a few minutes, and we can head over."

With that, the silver-haired older man left, leaving the four lighters alone together for the first time since the aftermath of the battle with Terra.

Xellos, never one to let an awkward moment go to waste, chimed in "So, who wants to be my roomie?"

The silence that followed was almost enough to break even a heartless mazuku. Almost.

(X)

In the discussions that followed, Zelgadis made it very clear he wasn't going to spend a night in the same room as Xellos, to no one's surprise. That had only left Michiru and Emeralda as options to stay with the mazuku. The option of staying with the quiet tan girl eliminated, Michiru was having a hard time bringing herself to voluntarily stay with the chatty odd man after her experience on the way to the station in the police car.

Michiru was surprised when Emeralda had solved her internal debate by offering to be Xellos' roommate. That surprise had given way to relief, which in turn quickly turned to guilt at subjecting the apparently shy girl to the long night of questions she imagined. When Michiru had pulled Emeralda aside to warn her and to apologize, Emeralda simply told her it was ok and not to worry about it. Michiru had pressed, but Emeralda took Jun's return to change the subject by asking for a new sketch pad and pencil, ending Michiru's attempt to soften the experience and assuage her own guilt.

So it was that the two groups were taken to the minimum-security holding cells in the back of the station. Their cells were adjoining, simple affairs with beige walls and a door that featured a barred and glass window at eye level as the only way in or out. Each cell had two simple cots to sleep on and a small camera in a domed mount hung from the ceiling. Jun explained that their door would be closed but not locked and an officer would be on duty down the hall at all times if they needed anything. Bidding them all a good night, Jun excused himself after promising to return for them in the morning. Michiru couldn't help but wonder just how much sleep she would actually get.

(X)

The answer, perhaps predictably, was very little. Zelgadis had almost nothing to say to Michiru as the two took their cots, an air of hostility hanging over the chimera. With lights out and nothing but the darkness and a dour chimera to keep her company, Michiru was left with her thoughts again. She had been pretty good at keeping herself occupied throughout this strangest of days with everything going on, but now? This was what she had been dreading. Michiru cursed herself for not rooming with Xellos. She may not have been able to sleep but at least the tanuki girl wouldn't be stuck thinking of home.

Sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest, Michiru started to really consider that she was never going home again. At least when she had changed into a beastman, she could stay in the safe confines of her house, where her parents could tell her everything was ok and that they still loved her. Thinking back, her parents had been so understanding, doing all they could while letting her try to decide for herself what to do when she had changed.

It had been just as much about the guilt Michiru felt at being such a burden to her parents as it was looking for a place to be herself and safe that she had sought out Anima City to begin with. Michiru’s thoughts back then had begun to be consumed by what would happen to her parents if she had been discovered to now be a beastman. That thought had been, more than anything that drove the tanuki girl to run away, because she’d be damned if she let anything happen to her parents because of her.

Michiru had been truly looking forward to getting to see her parents again. To let them truly know she was ok and happy. She had wanted to introduce them to Shirou and the mayor and her hapless baseball team and so many others. She wanted her and Nazuna be a bridge between humans and beastman. She wanted to keep solving crimes with that mean old wolf…but…it was all gone now, her life stripped away from her a second time. This time replaced with a world of superpowers and magic and neither her parents nor her friends were there to provide Michiru with the time and support to figure things out.

Michiru glanced over at Zelgadis and saw he was resting on his side, facing the wall opposite of her, his hood drawn up over his head, possibly asleep. Good, then the light shouldn't bother him. Pulling out her cell phone, Michiru opened her gallery and started looking through her collection of memories since the Nirvasyl incident. Scrolling through, Michiru reflected on how serious Shirou always looked, never once posing for a shot, sometimes actively trying to block the picture from even being taken. The tanuki girl let out a soft chuckle at a shot that was mostly just Shirou's hand, leaving only his bird, Kuro on his shoulder in the corner of the frame.

There was a series of shots of Michiru and Nazuna before one of the former's concerts, the one by the docks if she remembered correctly. Michiru had pushed for a concert nearer to the poorest part of town, to make it easier on those like her bear teammates to attend.

So engrossed in drawing comfort in her memories, Michiru failed to notice that Zelgadis had, in fact, noticed her still awake and had been staring at her for a few minutes. Soon he spoke, his head propped up by his hand and his tone inquisitive. "Hey, what is that thing, by the way? I saw Sanada-san and the detective with one."

So startled by the question, Michiru lost her grip on the phone, comically juggling it several times before finally securing it, a blush on her face as she fumbled to turn it off. Embarrassed, the tanuki girl sent a glare across the room as she replied "Oh, done giving me the stink eye are you? If you must know, it’s called a cell phone. It lets you call other people, take photos, play games, go on the internet and a bunch of other cool stuff."

Zelgadis couldn't help but note the irony of the first part of his cellmate's statement as she glared at him. Still, all his abrasiveness aside, Zelgadis was one blessed with curiosity, always ready and willing to learn. If he was going to be kept up by some damn eerie blue light, he would at least like to know what was producing it. Sadly, Michiru's answer had been less than effective at this at the chimera drily replied "Yeah, I have no idea what you just said. What the hell is a phone?"

Michiru shook her head, her eyes narrowing "Oh no, I'm not answering any more questions until I get one from you. What was up with the death stares you kept giving me when we were getting our photos taken?"

That caught the chimera off guard, and it showed on his face, his eyes wide with surprise before they narrowed again. Sitting up, Zelgadis exclaimed, softer than normal knowing it was the middle of the night, "That's none of your business! You don't like the look I give you, too bad. You're just going to have to suck it up."

Michiru had to wonder how this asshole could be so unbelievably arrogant and stubborn. Swinging her legs over the edge of the cot to face the rock-encrusted man, Michiru responded, clearly annoyed by the brush off, "Excuse me? Didn't you hear what Sanada-san said earlier? We're going to be living together, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to be on good terms with the people I live with if I can!"

"Hey, its not like I choose to be here! I didn't choose to be stuck with you all!" Zelgadis countered, his voice raising more than he intended.

"News Flash Greywards-san! None of us choose to be here, alright! I was happy! I was going to get to see my parents again! After a year of living in fear that someone was going to kill me if I stepped outside, I had made a home where I could be me. Now? Now it looks like I get to start all over again!" Michiru retorted, her features contorting in anger and pain as she stared at her hands.

Zelgadis had been ready to yell back at the tanuki girl with his own retort but as Michiru went on, the fight left him, his anger succumbing to shame as her words sunk in. He wasn't the only one suffering, was he? Something else she said bothered him too and as the girl paused for breath he cut in, his voice suddenly much more even though with a hint of concern "Woah, woah, what was that about getting killed?"

Michiru froze, mouth caught open about to speak. Her eyes widened, unprepared for the sudden question. She looked off to the side, having lost everything she was about to say. Looking back up at Zelgadis as if seeing a whole new person sitting across from her, Michiru spoke "Oh, well where I'm from, beastmen are often hunted and killed by roaming bands of diluted humans."

The chimera raised an eyebrow "You looked human for one of your photos, right? Could you not have just done that and blended in?"

Michiru sighed, lifting her hand to one of her ears and feeling it before bringing it down across the side of her face, feeling the fur there "At the time, I couldn't. I didn't know how, sooo I just lived in my room for a year, feeling sorry for myself."

That confused Zelgadis, titling his head slightly as he asked "Wait, I'm missing something. If you couldn't look human, then why were you only hiding for a year and not your whole life?"

Snapping her fingers, Michiru responded "Oh, yeah, I haven't told any of you yet, have I? You see, beastmen and humans are separate species. Your one or the other, it’s not something you can just switch between or become. It’s what you are at birth. Me and my friend, we were the first that this wasn't true for…there was an accident and we got turned into beastmen. I wasn't born like this. One moment, I was just an average human and the next, I was something the world hated. Even saying that, among beastmen, we're pretty strange…Hey, are you alright?"

Zelgadis had gotten a strange look on his face, and for a second, Michiru thought he'd zoned out. Before long though, he responded to her question, speaking much softer than before "I'm sorry, Kagemori-san."

It was Michiru's turn to raise an eyebrow. This was already the most calm and reasonable this guy had been since she met him and now he was apologizing? Sitting back, resting against the wall, she crossed her arms "Oh? And just what are you apologizing for? I've lost count."

Zelgadis flinched at his cellmate's barb but met her eyes, trying to find the words "Fair point, I suppose. To start, I'm sorry I glared at you the way I did when these photos, as you call them, were being taken. I guess I…felt betrayed, I think, when I saw you change. You seemed embarrassed by it, looking human. That pissed me off, because you have something that I have tried desperately to try and get back for a long time and you were treating it as something to be ashamed of.”

A couple of dots connected for Michiru, taking a few moments to answer herself "I wondered, when you said you were a mix of some kind of demon and a golem, just what that meant. So, you were human once too?"

Looking back down, Zelgadis confirmed it, sounding wistful "Yes, like you, I was just a normal human, if one with dreams too outsized for his abilities."

Michiru placed her arms to either side of herself to support her leaning forward, her expression softening as she asked, "Why do I feel like this was more than just an accident?"

A bitter laugh escaped Zelgadis at the question before he replied, "You could say that, yes. I was an orphan by that point, trying my best to be strong for all the family I had left, my grandfather, the Great Sage Rezo." Zelgadis paused as he almost spat out his grandfather's name, his hands balling into fists "He was the one responsible for what I am today. The product of another one of his experiments to try and cure the blindness he had been cursed with since birth."

Michiru looked away "Wow…that's a lot to take in. I'm so sorry to hear it."

Zelgadis shook his head "No, I'm the one that needs to apologize. I've been trying to fix my condition for a long time and like I said before, now I have to find a way home before I can even resume my search. I've…been taking my anger out on pretty much everyone."

That admission stunned Michiru. Maybe it was because she had been hanging around a stoic and stubborn thousand-year old wolf for so long she had come to expect long drawn out arguments that rarely ended in an apology. Or maybe in the short time she had known him, Zelgadis had come off as someone used to getting his way and not fond of suffering fools and thus not likely to apologize. Either way, after a moment, the girl's surprised expression melted into a warm smile which was followed by an extended hand "Apology accepted! I know I can be pushy and stick my nose into others business, but I hope we can be friends!"

Zelgadis glanced down at the clawed and fur covered hand being offered. This girl was a strange one, like some weird fusion of the two women in his life back home. Glancing at his own hand, the chimera thought that was likely not a bad thing. With a half-smile, he took the hand offered and replied "I'll keep that in mind. Guess I'll take my chances, Kagemori-san."

After a firm shake, Michiru pulled away, wagging her finger "See, now this is where you can call me Michiru. Shall I call you Zelgadis?"

With a bit of playfulness in his voice, Zelgadis said simply "If you wish."

(X)

Emeralda had picked up on how uncomfortable Michiru was at the prospect of staying with the purple-haired mazuku as she had quietly listened to them talk. It had occurred to the tan girl that if this Xellos wasn't human, there was a possibility he may not need to sleep, at least not like Michiru and Zelgadis seemed to. Since being around chatty people was nothing new to her, Emeralda thought it was best if she was the one to spend the evening with the self-proclaimed mazuku since she, too, didn't really require as much sleep as others.

Despite Michiru's warning about her cellmate's loquacious nature, Emeralda had found Xellos to be very quiet since they had been roomed together. This made sense if what Emeralda suspected about her cellmate was correct; Xellos was gathering information. Michiru was from a world similar to this one, so it made sense if Emeralda was right that this most odd of men was playing up an outgoing personality to gathering information.

It made sense to learn as much as one could of their surroundings. Emeralda had been doing the same since her arrival, it was just that the two seemed to go about it differently. Emeralda preferred to watch. It kept her out of the way so people couldn't ask her too many questions. Just as importantly, it also meant that she wouldn't have to act until she was ready. Clearly her cellmate was an outgoing sort, always ready with a comment or quip to get a response, at least when he wanted it.

As it stood, said mazuku was content to sit on his cot, legs crossed in front of him, facing the green-haired girl. Having been granted a sketch pad and pencil, Emeralda had taken straight away to drawing. Every once in a while she would glance up at Xellos, who could have been watching her just as well as sleeping sitting up, it was hard to tell with the way he kept his eyes so nearly closed all the time. Even if the lights had still been on or in broad daylight, Emeralda had been unable to tell.

Returning to her work, Emeralda was glad to have illumination from a hallway light coming through their door window and onto her cot. She had excellent eyesight but even she couldn't draw in pitch darkness. Continuing her sketching, the tan girl decided to glance up at Xellos once more, only to be greeted with the odd man's face peering right down at her from beside her cot. Her only outward reaction to this was to furrow her brow slightly. Inwardly, it had scared the shit out of her. How had he moved without her noticing? And was he…looking at her pad?

Sure enough, Xellos was inspecting what Emeralda was drawing, a hand on his chin thoughtfully. After a few moments of awkward silence, Xellos finally spoke as inquisitive and friendly as ever, saying "Friends of yours?"

Glancing down at the pad, Emeralda sighed. Though she preferred nature subjects instead of people, she felt it was important to do a portrait of the people in her life back home, as a reminder so as to not forget them. Though she possessed photographic memory, she wanted something tangible to hold on to, something Xellos had clearly guessed. "Yes." Emeralda answered, a hint of sadness in her voice. "They are very important to me."

It was a motley crew depicted on the page. A burley, almost animalistic man stood beside a stoic robed young man with white hair along with a wild looking blond with an eye patch. A young woman with grey hair kept in ringlets and wearing goggles stood beside another woman in a silly orange outfit and holding an odd pink fluffy animal. A wise but kindly looking man wearing small, rounded glasses stood just off center of the two central figures. It was these two that caught Xellos' eye as he responded "These two in the middle…family of yours? Siblings perhaps?"

There was a long pause, far too long to be natural, before Emeralda simply said "No, they aren't."

Though it escaped Emeralda's notice, Xellos' smile turned more into a smirk as he spoke again "Oh? They aren't what, exactly? Siblings or family?"

The purple-haired mazuku was met with a glare as Emeralda looked back up at him. This prompted him to step back, hands raised as if to say 'what?' To this Emeralda bit out "I said no. They aren't siblings and they aren't family, but they are very important to me."

"Oh my, I do apologize Kasim-san. I just saw those two and thought they looked a lot like you. You can understand my mistake can you not?"

Softening, Emeralda replied "Yes, I suppose so. Please, though, don't bring it up again."

Sitting back down on his cot, Xellos rested his hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall and said with no small amount of mirth "So serious! You should really lighten up, you know. It would make when you lie much harder to notice."

Having started to work again on the piece, Emeralda slowly looked back up across the way and said, "Excuse me?"

Xellos continued "No need to hide it, Kasim-san. You were very tense when answering Sanada-san's questions earlier. I suspect it was plain to anyone present you were hiding something…."

Panic began to grip the young woman. Sure, she wasn't great at lying but no one had said anything before. There was no way they could know, could they? What if they did? She…she couldn't stand to have anyone else know what she truly was, to see her for what she was. Fear quickly turned to anger as Emeralda countered with the only thing that would come to her frustrated mind "What are you talking about!? I'm…I haven't lied!"

Xellos' smiled widened, though he didn't move from his position. "Oh, my dear Kasim-san, I am something of an accomplished liar. It’s an important skill in my line of work and I have to say, you are quite bad at it."

Emeralda sat dumbstruck. What was he talking about? How could he know? Was she really that bad at it? The calm and cool facade the young woman had been endeavoring to project continued to slip as fear shown through her amber eyes.

Sitting forward again, resting his hands folded at his knees, Xellos spoke again "I'm sorry to have brought you any distress Kasim-san, it's just that I had hoped to speak with Kagemori-san some more. You prevented that and at the very least I wanted to know a bit more about my quiet little obstacle. I must admit, though, even if you are less fun to play with, you are interesting in your own way. So tell me, how old are you really?"

At this point, Emeralda could clearly see that Xellos' eyes were fully open and what she saw terrified her. Instead of the barely perceivable eyes of obnoxious buffoon, Emeralda saw the cold calculating stare of someone who didn't even see her as human. Xellos’ eyes were just like Krelian's, the first person she had been met when she first truly awoke from her endless slumber. It was a gaze that she shrank from, so horrible were the memories that came rushing back upon meeting those cold eyes. Xellos continued to bare into Emeralda and she cracked, pressing her sketch pad to her chest as she brought her legs up to press against her and hide her face as she whispered "It…depends. You could say Emeralda is three thousand nine hundred and twenty…or you could say Emeralda is four."

"Ah, how fascinating, you’re older than me! And yet, I can't help but feel like that second number is closer to the mark…" Xellos quickly replied, throwing his hands up and slapping his leg, as if this was the most entertaining thing in the world to him.

Emeralda looked up, unsure how to respond to that. For a brief moment, Xellos’ jokester persona had reappeared and the distraught girl began hoping things would return to normal. Such hope was quickly dashed as Xellos settled back down as he stood up, looming over her as he spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice "Well that sounds like a story I'll have to come back to. Now I'd like to ask you something that was supposed to be answered earlier today, if you don't mind. What are you?"

With that, Emeralda sucked in a breath as her eyes widened and she dug her face into her knees again. She had indeed been dreading this question earlier. After all, she would have been next to answer that question at the interviews before the whole scuffle with Zelgadis saved her. Now, she had been struck with it again, seemingly out of the blue. For the first time, Emeralda began thinking seriously about bolting out the door. Glancing in that direction, then at the opposite wall, Emeralda wondered just how many walls she'd have to blow threw to get outside. However, the tan girl thought better of it, sure that wasn’t what Fei or Elly would do. They would face their problems, not run away.

With some resolve found, Emeralda moved her legs back down to a normal sitting position but kept her arms crossed and her head down as she asked "What do you mean? Isn't…Emeralda as she seems?"

Xellos was not impressed as he turned and walked over to the door's window and answered "I mean, Kasim-san, you don't feel human. You don't have the same…let’s call it the same taste as everyone else. On top of that, I can sense a hint of magic coming off you, almost like you were wearing unwashed clothes. There is just a hint of it wafting off you, and yet you don't seem to actually have any magic to speak of. I am left to conclude that you are something other than human and are trying to hide that fact. Please, tell me, am I wrong?" The mazuku turned his head back to look at the tan girl as he asked that last question, his cold eyes still wide open.

There it was, this…monster had some kind of extra sensory perception that was helping him to zero in on the fact that she was different, that she was, in fact, a thing. He wasn't there yet though, so hopefully his attention could be deflected. That line about her smelling of magic, hopefully that would work. Turning her head to meet that horrid gaze, Emeralda spoke "You are right. For a time, I could use what you would call magic. Where I am from, it was called ether and it varied from person to person because it was as much a reflection of their own will as anything. I, like my mother, used mostly elemental spells."

This definitely caught Xellos' attention, his eyes returning to normal as he spun around, replying eagerly "Oh? Do go on! What happened that you couldn't use it anymore?"

Calm began to settle back on Emeralda's face as she began to think her plan had worked "Citan explained it to me afterwards. He told me that all the ether in the world came solely from a connection to a special being that had been trapped on our planet for thousands of years. When we freed it, it left back home, and we lost those powers. At the same time, I lost my oldest friend too."

"Fascinating! Where I'm from, it’s usually when someone dies that magic is lost! Truly, our worlds are quite different, you and I, Kasim-san! This has been a truly enlightening talk!" Xellos exclaimed, clasping his hands together in front of him as he bent down and smiled at the tan girl, inches from her face.

Her calm façade restored; Emeralda met the mazuku's gaze. After a moment that seemed as much a battle of wills as anything, the greenette said "If that is all, I'd like to return to my work."

Straightening up, Xellos beamed "Of course! I thought I'd go talk to the guard anyway, so it works out."

Emeralda was extremely relieved to hear it. She had thought she had a good read on the situation going into this evening but had been horribly mistaken. Escaping without revealing any more was as much as she could ask for, but it had been…less than pleasant. Before starting again at her drawing, Emeralda said "Have a good chat."

As she began working again however, the young artist heard Xellos' voice in her ear when he bent down again and whispered "I haven't forgotten, Kasim-san. You can't hide forever. Oh, and please don't discuss our little conversation with the others. I wouldn't want to have to act any more than I have to."

When Emeralda shot her head up again, eyes wide, Xellos was gone. What did he mean? Was he threatening her? Sitting in silence, feeling more alone than she had in a very long time, the ancient and yet young woman resolved that this was something she would solve herself and that if it came to it, she would not hesitate to kill Xellos.

(X)

Chapter Text

BUZZZZZ BUZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ

In the dark, Jun began to stir at the sound of his phone going off. In his youth the former hero had been much more of a morning person, easily able shoot out of bed at a moment's notice, awake and aware. The year's since his forced retirement had made that habit harder and harder with each passing day. Slowly, the silver-haired man sat up in his king-sized bed, holding his head as he opened his eyes. As was his habit, he glanced to the empty right side of the bed before reaching for his phone, realizing it was Principal Nezu calling.

A bit of worry settling in his stomach, Jun touched answer before saying "Good Morning Principal, to what do I owe the honor of a 5:30 am wakeup call?"
The voice that answered was far more grave than Jun was used to, "Good morning, Luminaire-san. I wish I could be calling under less dire circumstances. I received word over night that our first-year students were attacked while at their summer training camp last evening."

That was chilling to hear. The whole point of taking those kids out to a remote location was to help avoid just such an event after they had been attacked while training earlier in the year. That would be for later, however. For now, there was the obvious question, "That's terrible, but how are they? Is anyone hurt?"
There was a pause on the other line, never a good sign. Jun knew all of those kids, stepping in for one teacher or another when they were out sick or away for a mission and the thought that something had happened to them sent all too familiar twinges of anger and sadness down his spine. "Several are injured I am afraid, and one has been kidnapped, Luminaire-san. I've called all faculty to an emergency meeting, please head to campus as soon as you can." Came Nezu's answer finally, with a reluctance Jun was not used to hearing from the small mammal.

"Yes, of course Principal. I can be there in half an hour. Thank you." With that, Nezu ended the call. Jun set the phone in his lap as he looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes after a moment. Before rushing off to get dressed and out the door, Jun gave himself just a moment to think about as many of those students as possible. So many faces and so much potential among those first years. Vlad never missed a chance to brag about his class but even Aizawa, a man very hard to please, privately had expressed how impressed he was with his kids.

They may not be his students, but they were still the future of this country, this world. They were still people. The last thing he wanted was for any of them to suffer for their choice to fight for a better future. Powerless as he was, all Jun could do was hope for their safety.
Slapping his face lightly with both hands, Jun slide out of bed and began rushing to leave for the meeting.

(X)

As expected, the mood for the meeting had been grim. Given the short notice of the gathering only a handful of the teachers were actually present, each siting at a large "U" shaped wooden desk. Nezu relayed the details that a portion of the League of Villains that had attacked their USJ training facility looking to kill All Might was behind the attack. Their goal was to secure the winner of the UA Sports Festival first year division, Katsuki Bakugo. Snipe, dressed in his stylized cowboy outfit with elongated gas mask that hid his face suggested the boy's extremely brash and aggressive behavior was what drew them to Bakugo. No one disagreed with the sentiment though none believed he could be turned. His will to be the best was far too strong for that.

Suggestions were made that this was also an attempt to further undermine hero society, an idea that Jun found pretty ridiculous and arrogant. Would this undermine the school? Absolutely. But UA was just one of many hero schools across the country and the idea that an attack on UA was an attack on the whole pillar on which society was on build was insane to Jun. Still, as a substitute teacher and head of a group that was little more than a burden to the school, he kept his mouth shut.
Present Mic, a rather slender man in a black leather outfit, a large, modified microphone attached to his neck, yellow sunglasses along with a thin blonde mustache to go along with his ridiculously tall tuft of blonde hair kept spiked, brought back up the idea of a traitor among the staff. This didn't sit well with anyone but without any evidence as to who it could be, it was agreed that baseless accusing of others would only destroy the school.

To bring things back to focus, Nezu had addressed Jun and the lighters. Given the circumstances, the principal asked Power Loader to assist the contractors to get the rooms ready as quickly as possible. In the meantime, Jun would retrieve his new students and inform Vlad King and Eraserhead of the meeting. Given the circumstances, Jun asked for a pro escort, which Nezu agreed to and would contact an agency once the meeting was over.

Nezu then kept the focus on the lighters, mentioning how successful having them live on campus was as he pulled open a folder he had in front of him when the meeting was interrupted by All Might's phone ringing. With some grumbling and apologies, the number one hero took his call outside.

In the meantime, Nezu mentioned that he asked Hitomi to journey out to check on the state of the students. Then Midnight, a voluptuous woman with black-blue hair all the way down her back and a simple red mask outlining her eyes to go with her dominatrix inspired tan leotard/black corset combo pointed out the crush of media at the front door and noted they couldn't go long before addressing this mess with a press conference.

The question of when was being debated when All Might, enlarged to his full form and determination burned into his face stepped back in. The great hero had just been on the phone with Detective Tsukauchi who, after interviewing Vlad and Eraserhead connected the dots from reports investigating the league a couple of weeks earlier.

Nodding to Jun, All Might relayed that thanks to officers under the detective’s command working with two underground heroes had found out where the leagues hideout was. After discussing the press conference a bit more, the meeting concluded so All Might could begin working on the raid to get their student back and the rest of the faculty could see to their own responsibilities.

Midnight had suggested taking a quick break for coffee before everyone really got going. Only Snipe and Present Mic took her up on the offer though. Jun, on the other hand had an abiding hatred of the stuff and wanted to get to police headquarters as soon as possible anyway. So, despite how antisocial it may have looked after all the talk of traitors, Jun begged off the invitation and headed for his car.

(X)

Getting out of UA would have been very difficult if Jun had tried to leave out the front, with its constant mob of reporters. Luckily the service entrance in back was much more difficult for the public to access and that, combined with it now being later in the morning meant traffic was lighter and the trip to police headquarters was quick and smooth.

Upon arriving, the former hero sought out the two teachers in charge of the first years, Eraserhead and Vlad King, to relay all that had transpired at the meeting. Once done, the three parted ways as the two left homeroom teachers and Jun headed down to the minimum-security wing to gather his new charges.
The guard on duty was talking to his replacement when Jun arrived, offering a wave to the two officers as he past. However, when the silver-haired man reached the two cells he left the lighters in the night before he found them decidedly empty. The officer who was being relieved noticed the panicked look on Jun's face as the silver-haired former hero looked about the hallway and called out "You looking for our guests?"

Turning, an incredulous expression on his face, Jun barked out "Yes, of course! Who else would I be here to see?"

Unfazed, the officer, decidedly ready to go home and running out of shits to give, simply pointed backward over his shoulder with his thumb as he spoke "Yeah, they said they needed some fresh air so I sent them up on the roof."

"Oh goddamnit" Jun muttered, not in the mood to go on a chase.

(X)

For such a boring looking building from the ground, Michiru thought its roof view of the city was excellent. With no skyscrapers neighboring the police headquarters, one could get a clear view of Musutafu as it had come to life with the rising of the sun. The breeze was nice too, comforting in a way. As the air brushed across her fur, Michiru couldn’t help but think back to her rooftop home at the Anima City Co-op and the view it had.

Before she could fall back into thinking about what she had lost, Michiru had her attention pulled back to the present when Zelgadis, in apparent awe, asked "Just how many people do you think live here? This city is massive…"

Michiru puzzled for a moment, stepping away from the fence that ran the perimeter of the roof before answering "You think so? It seems like any major city to me. If its anything like my world, Tokyo would be much larger than this and there are many cities like Tokyo all over the world."

The chimera turned to look at the tanuki girl, eyes wide in surprise "Seriously? How many people were in your word?"

Shrugging, Michiru answered matter-of-factly "I dunno, five or six billion? Hard to tell with beastmen in hiding a lot of the time."

Zelgadis rather dramatically fell forward, catching himself on the fence "Five or six billion! That's almost inconceivable…"

Choosing to ignore how surprised the rock-encrusted man was, Michiru turned to the ever-quiet Emeralda, who had been simply watching the cars go by below, and asked "What about you, Kasim-san? Does that surprise you?"

Emeralda had been listening, even if she made a show of ignoring her two, now much more cordial to each other, companions. While continuing to watch the world below, she answered evenly "That is a lot of people. Unlike Greywards-san though, I have been to large cities, some even in the sky. By the time I was brought here though, I don't know if there was enough people left to fill even one city."

That somber turn had quieted everyone for a moment. Not wanting to dive deeper into the clear implications of Emeralda's answer though, Michiru could said, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that…" followed awkward silence that quickly settled in only for Michiru to cross her arms and wonder aloud "Where the hell is Xellos with our coffee, anyway?"

The mere mention of the purple-haired mazuku was enough to annoy the blue chimera. Almost on instinct he gritted his teeth but after a moment took a deep breath to try and regain balance. Michiru didn't mean anything by it, she didn't know the trickster as Zelgadis did after all. Still, the tanuki girl was right, Xellos shouldn't have taken this long. Turning, Zelgadis called out to the officer assigned to keep watch over them, standing on guard at the door that led back downstairs "Hey! You think you could use that-“ Zelgadis paused to try and remember what Michiru had called the device before continuing, "-your radio to ask after the other one of us?"

The officer, a rather plain looking thirty-something man with short black hair and a brow seemingly permanently affixed in a scowl didn't appear to be listening to the chimera. Instead, he was focusing on the very radio he was being asked to use. After a moment, the officer realized he had been spoken to and responded "What? I'm sorry, I was trying to make sense of the garbled transmissions I'm getting, what did you-"

WHACK!

The door to the roof access flew open, smashing the poor officer in the face and knocking him flat on his back, unconscious. Three men rushed through the door, stopping when they realized they weren't alone on the roof. The sound of the door bursting open had alerted the three lighters to something wrong and had turned to see what the noise was. The two trios stood, each frozen by confusion before Michiru called out "What the hell is going on! Who are you?"

The man in front who was burly with short brown hair, a wild and full beard and featuring forearms that each looked like they had pistons sticking out of his elbows retorted, clearly frustrated "Us? None of your damn business! What are you supposed to be, some third-tier sidekicks waiting for your boss? Get out of the way, we don't have time this!"

As if to further answer Michiru's question, an alarm started ringing out from a speaker on the roof and from in the stairwell. That told Michiru all she needed to know. "A jailbreak? Seriously? We have the absolute worst luck…"

"More than you know" piston-man answered as he turned to the man on his right, a lanky fellow with green skin, a long lizard-like tail and what looked like large skin-flaps connecting his arms with his torso. Lizard man was also sporting a pistol, likely grabbed in their escape and when piston-man nodded, he aimed and fired at the tanuki girl.

Michiru didn't have time to react, caught up thinking what she should shift into to avoid being hit. Luckily for her, Zelgadis had been standing just beside her and was able to get in front of her, the bullet impacting with his rock-like body before losing almost all momentum and lightly bouncing off. Panicked, the lizard-man fired multiple more shots, until he had unloaded his lone clip of bullets.

Zelgadis grimaced, knowing those bullets were going to leave nasty bruises, a rare experience for the rock skinned chimera. Before he could turn to ask if Michiru was alright, the tanuki girl asked after him "Thanks, you alright?"

"Yes, just going to be sore in the morning" was all Zelgadis could get out as Emeralda charged past them, arms shifting into large hammers and a steely glint in her eye.

She didn't get far though because the third member of the escaping trio, himself a much more average looking young man with wild and unkept short blue hair, stepped up and took a deep breath before blowing as hard as he could.

The resulting gale stopped the charging greenette in her tracks, who leaned forward and shifed her right arm into a large shield to buffet herself from the heavy wind. Michiru and Zelgadis we're as lucky, both losing their footing and carried away toward the fence. With her shield up, Emeralda couldn't see piston man raise an arm, holding his hand outstretched. With a self-satisfied laugh, the escapee's piston fired, sending out a pulse that blew a hole in the fence as Michiru and Zelgadis fell through it and begun plunging to their deaths over the side of the building.

Emeralda stood in horror, powerless to do anything but watch as her companions fell from her sight. Emeralda’s mouth stretched to a thin line and her eyes filled with rage, the now lone girl was still pinned with the gale continuously raging around her. Without a second thought, her left hand shifted into a spike which she then plunged into the roof below her. Moments later, that same spike emerged in front of the escaped villain at an angle, extending until in pierced his chest.

Instantly, the winds stopped as the man producing them fell to his knees in pain, blood dripping on the ground in front of him. The other two looked on in shock as Emeralda shifted her limbs back to normal and rose again to her full height, her scarf whipping around her from the residual gusts of wind from the now wounded villain. She stood, saying nothing. Her eyes alone spoke, and the message was clear, they would pay.

The apparent leader of this little band with the piston arms unconsciously took a step back. Somehow, managing to kill two heroes didn't seem like such an accomplishment anymore and he began to wonder if he was better off running back downstairs and turning himself in. That doubt was only momentarily, however. If they wanted to get away, this was now the escapees’ only route. They had already killed the other two, they just needed to kill one more and they'd be scott free. Steeling himself, the leader called out to the other two "Come on, pull yourselves together! We can take her!"

That resolve began to melt away at the sound of flapping followed by two voices bickering, "See? Now we're even!" Michiru exclaimed, her arms now wings and Zelgadis carried in her feet turned talons below her.

Despite being held by his shoulders in the tanuki girl's talons, the blue chimera still seemed entirely nonchalant, his arms crossed and looking completely calm as he retorted sarcastically "You know I can fly, right?"

After a moment, the two were back on solid ground and as Michiru shifted back to normal, she caught the relief in Emeralda's eyes. The blue-haired tanuki smiled before noticing the wounded villain across from them and whistled before saying "Well, you didn't waste any time, huh, Emmy?"

Looking away in embarrassment, Emeralda whispered "I…was angry. I should have known you two would be fine…" then catching the last thing Michiru said, she whipped her head back over to the tanuki girl "Wait, did you just call me Emmy?"

Letting out a short laugh and putting her arm over and behind her head, Michiru responded "Yeah! I hope you don't mind…sorry if that was too informal."

"Guys? Sorry to interrupt but we still have these three to deal with." Zelgadis pointed out, his arm moving to draw the sword he was still missing on instinct. Feeling the absence of his blade, the blue-skinned man brought his arms up, ready to cast.

Pounding her fist into the open palm of her other hand, Michiru agreed, a smile creeping onto her face "That's right! Let’s do this!"

With that, the battle was joined once more with Zelgadis summoning a fireball and hurling it toward the large leader of the jailbroke villains. To the chimera's surprise, the piston man countered with another piston-powered blast from his hand, which managed to dissipate his spell.

With the air blower unable to stand up, Emeralda was free to charge in at the leader of the group, hoping to take advantage of the fact that he was focused on Zelgadis' fireball. Rushing in, the greenette leapt, hoping to get a clean shot at her target’s head to knock him out but the giant man was able to react, his arm already out from countering Zelgadis, allowing him to quickly swat at the greenette. The massive forearm caught her in the shoulder, sending her flying back. Able to get her feet under her though, Emeralda landed on her feet not far from Zelgadis.

"You alright?" Zelgadis asked, glancing to his right while continuing to face the villain.

Emeralda briefly rubbed her shoulder but nodded, lowering her stance, ready to charge forward again. She didn't get the chance as the piston-armed villain raised both his arms and with an ear-piercing smashing sound, both his pistons fired. Instead of being thrown off her feet though, Emeralda watched as a gale coming from Zelgadis' hands seemed to counter the blast. For a moment, the girl wondered if this was the same wind spell he had cast the day before when confronting the berserk Terra.

Whether the counter gale was the same as yesterday or not didn't matter, what did was that Emeralda saw another opening, and she took it, sprinting forward once more. The villain still had his arms outstretched and was confident whichever way she came in, he could counter. He wasn't prepared however when, several feet before Emeralda ever reached him, she lowered her body and whipped her head. Her hair extended forward, forming into a thick metal bar that swung in an arc along with the motion of her head. The bar impacted hard with his lower legs, sweeping them out from under him. The large man fell hard on his back and the wind knocked out of his lungs.

The villain leader down, Zelgadis called out "Freeze Arrow" and a frozen projectile formed in front of him and took flight. On hitting the piston-armed villain, instead of piecing him, he began to freeze over, up to his neck, trapping him.

Frozen in a block or ice and unable to move, the piston-armed man lay his head on the ground, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. Having watched the man freeze over, Emeralda turned and gave Zelgadis a grateful nod, which he returned in kind. With the leader taken care of, the two then looked over to see Michiru had just upper-cutted the lizard-man with one of her massive gorilla forearms, knocking him up in the air a few feet before landing in a heap on the ground.

Turning, Michiru saw she had an audience and after shrinking her limbs back to normal, flashed a victory sign along with a cheeky grin. Zelgadis rolled his eyes and Emeralda offered the slightest of smiles as the three came together.

Once the trio were at arm's length Michiru asked "What the hell was that all about? How the hell did they get out?"

Neither of her companions had a good answer, though Zelgadis shrugged and offered "Wrong place and the wrong time would be my guess. Kind of our luck so far, I'd say."

Just then the sound of more footsteps could be heard rushing up the stairwell through the still open door. The three turned, ready to face more escaped villains. Instead, they were greeted with an extremely worried Jun, who was followed by a couple of officers and a rather tall and round gentleman in an orange jacket that seemed to wrap around not just his body but his ovate head that featured a black mask over his eyes.

The three lighters dropped their guard seeing Jun in the lead but the former hero himself came to a sudden stop once he was able to take in the surroundings. After being told his new charges were on the roof he had begun making his way in that direction, a nagging fear at the back of his mind. That tiny voice exploded into a screaming siren of worry when captured villains burst into the main hall from the cells, an apparent escape attempt in progress.

Being quirkless, Jun had to rely on his martial arts training from one of the previous lighters and the officers to try and fend off the villains. Things hadn't been looking good until the hero Principal Nezu had sent as an escort, Fat Gum and his intern Suneater turned the tide. Having witnessed several villains making their way up the stairwell, Jun was stuck worrying as he continued to battle the escapees around him.

Now, seeing that Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda were safe, with three incapacitated villains and a chunk of the perimeter fence destroyed, Jun felt relief wash over him, his shoulders slumping as he weakly asked "You three OK?"

Zelgadis scoffed as he kicked the discarded gun on the ground, causing it to slide toward the newly arrived group as he said "If you call getting blown off a roof and shot at a few times OK, then yes, we're peachy."

Michiru, standing to the chimera's left, lightly punched him, hurting her hand and shaking it to relieve the pain as she added "Really, we're fine, Sanada-san. Don't let the grump here give you the wrong impression."

Having stopped the sliding gun with his foot, Jun nodded at Michiru's reassurance, suddenly feeling very tired as he said, "If you say so." Then, noticing that Emeralda was looking down at the villain who appeared to be gasping for air, the former hero reluctantly asked "Emeralda, is…is he ok? Are you ok?"

Without acknowledging the former hero, the green-haired girl softly answered "I punctured his lung, he will need medical attention."

Jun turned and nodded to one of the officers, who quickly left to get a gurney. Looking back over at the taciturn young woman, the silver-haired man noted she hadn't answered his other question and pressed "And what about you? I know it’s not always easy to hurt someone else, but he attacked you, didn't he?"

Emeralda nodded "He did. He also tried to kill Kagemori-san and Greywards-san. I was so angry that I missed."

Jun’s first thought was to wonder what she meant by ‘missed.” The thought quickly occurred to him that she likely meant something much more permanent, though he very much hoped he was wrong.

Jun was brought back from his thoughts when a gloved hand came down on his shoulder, giving the silver-haired man a friendly pat as the rotund man in the silly outfit stepped forward and said "I'm impressed! You three took these villains down?" the pro hero Fat Gum asked, his voice jovial, clearly tiring to lighten the mood.
"They got the jump on us, but once we got our bearings, it was fine. Honestly, with the look in Emeralda's eye when we got back to the roof, I think she could have taken all of them herself." Zelgadis answered coolly, as if what had just transpired had been no big deal.

The rotund hero let out a laugh as he turned to Jun "You hear that! And here you were worried for nothing Jun! Seems like combat won't be something you'll need to teach this bunch."

Jun rolled his eyes at the pro hero's dismissal of his perfectly legitimate concerns. Speaking of worrying, another thought occurred to the silver-haired ex hero and he asked, "Fat Gum, shouldn't that intern of yours be here by now? Xellos was only a few rooms down wasn't he?"

"Indeed I was!"

All eyes turned to see the narrow-eyed mazuku carrying a cup holder, four coffees filling all the slots and a big smile on his face. Behind him came a young man wrapped in a white cloak, gold markings adoring the top of the hood. Just visible were portions of dark blue hair and a face featuring a light purple mask over his eyes. The open portion of his cloak revealed a multitude of purple pockets strapped to his midsection. Most notably, the young man looked miserable, though whether that was because of his current company or some other reason, none of the lighters could tell.

Fat Gum, towering over the two new arrivals, asked "Suneater! What took so long? Any more escaped villains slow you down?"

Wincing, Suneater, or Amajiki Tamaki, refused to look up at his mentor as he answered, clearly afraid of having to explain "No…no villains. It’s just that…it’s just that this man insisted on finishing the coffee. I'm sorry, sir."

Despite, or perhaps because of, the looks ranging from disbelief to disgust, Xellos' demeanor only seemed to brighten as he clarified "I promised I would bring coffee, didn't I? I wasn't about to let any roaming bad guys stop me, even if I had to hide in a closet for awhile!"

Barely able to keep himself upright, so stunned was Jun that he looked like a stiff wind may blow him over. Not missing a beat, Xellos stepped up to the older looking man and cheerily offered, "Here, you look like you could use one. You can have Zelgadis'!"

"Hey!" the chimera indigently called out.

Without giving it a second thought, Jun took one of the cups and took a sip of the bitter fluid. Remembering why he hated the stuff, Jun immediately spit it out, nearly hitting Xellos' foot and causing the mazuku to fall back and spill the remaining three cups. Michiru groaned at the sight while Zelgadis stood stone-faced, glancing between the spilt coffee and his "teacher."

Now Jun was left with the awful aftertaste of the coffee to pair with that of the shame he felt. At the very least, the former hero did perk back up. Noting the odd looks and the death stare from Zelgadis, the silver-haired man tried to regain some of his dignity, standing at his full height, keeping his head up as he spoke "My apologies, I'll buy you all something on the way to UA."

A smile returned to Michiru's face, as she asked, "Does that mean our rooms are finished, Sanada-san?"

Jun shook his head "No, but we are hoping they will be done by the evening. It’s just that things have changed since last night."

Still angry at having lost his coffee, Zelgadis kept his arms crossed as he raised an eyebrow "Oh? Have anything to do with the fun we just had?"

"No, actually. The jail break appears to have been some bad luck. Actually, we got word that our first years were attacked while at a training camp. I've been asked to bring you back as soon as possible." Gesturing to Fat Gum and Suneater, Jun continued "Fat Gum here and his intern are here to be our escorts to the school and just so happened to arrive as the jail break got going. The two were extremely helpful in re-securing the building."

To that, Fat Gum gave a thumbs up and a toothy grin. Suneater, for the first time, took a good look at the newest trio of lighters he was to assist in escorting. As he nodded at the three, he couldn't help but linger on the green-haired girl. There was something different about her that seemed to captivate him. After a moment, said girl glanced his way, her amber orbs briefly meeting his and he quickly glanced away, ashamed of having been caught starring. For her part, Emeralda paid it no mind, turning and following the rest as they left the roof, the villains being attended to by several more officers that arrived to take them back.

(X)

When the four lighters got back to the large main room that had been a constant buzz of controlled chaos the day before, they were greeted with what looked more like a battlefield. Computers destroyed, papers and equipment strown about the floor and staff being tended to by emergency medical personnel. It was an unsettling sight for Michiru, who for all that she could say about the last twenty-four hours had at least felt safe in this place. The thought occurred to her that even the peaceful city they had traveled thru to get here wasn't immune to the darker side of humanity.

Jun had picked up on the subdued mood of the group as they passed by all of the damage the escaped villains had caused. As quickly as he could, he directed them to a transport vehicle they had been given access to. It was a large, boxy truck that allowed them all to sit facing each other in the spacious back section and was both more comfortable and yet still quite stifling for the group, not the least of which because Fat Gum took up more than his fair share of space.

Thus, they were finally on their way to this UA that Jun had promised would be their home away from home.

However, it wasn’t long before the friendly and outgoing Fat Gum attempted to strike up conversation, turning to the green-haired young woman in his care, a toothy grin plastered on his round face "So…Emeralda-san was it? Were you a hero where you're from? Whatever your quirk is, you seem to be pretty good at it and you didn't seem the least bit phased by defending yourself against those villains."

Jun raised an eyebrow. The general public and indeed most heroes were only aware that lighters were just displaced from somewhere else in the world, not from another world entirely. Based on what Naomasa said last night about the interviews, Jun got the impression Emeralda specifically may not be well suited to hiding her origins.

Under normal circumstances Jun or Hitomi or one of the UA faculty in the know would help escort a new lighter to campus. With last night’s attack, that wasn't an option which meant outside help, and Fat Gum happened to be available. So now Jun was stuck hoping that Naomasa was wrong and that Emeralda wouldn't make the rest of this ride a lot more awkward.

Michiru and Tamaki both turned to hear Emeralda's answer while Zelgadis kept his head down, arms crossed and hood once again up. Xellos kept his usual smile plastered on his face but didn't turn to witness the response, instead choosing to observe the others.

After a long moment, Emeralda finally spoke, soft but serious "No one has ever called me a hero before but I do have a great deal of combat experience."
"I'd say!" Fat Gum agreed, slapping his leg "you'd have to be pretty experienced to be able to precisely hit that guys lung like that in the heat of battle!"

Without missing a beat and just as serious as before, Emeralda volunteered "You are mistaken. I had not been aiming for his lung. I was going for his heart and if I hadn't been so angry, I would have."

Outside of Zelgadis and Xellos, the rest of the vehicle's occupants were taken aback by such a brazen admission. Michiru recovered first, blurting out "Are you serious? How could you even think that? Why would you try to kill him?"

Fat Gum narrowed his eyes, his jovial demeanor evaporating as he echoed the tanuki girl "Agreed. Killing should never be taken likely, young lady."

Emeralda grew worried at the reaction she was getting, clearly evident on her face as she whispered a response "Be…because I, I thought he had killed you two, Kagemori-san. I couldn't, I couldn't let them get away and do it again. And besides…they attacked us and meant to kill us."

There was logic to her words but to hear it, especially from someone so young, Fat Gum was as much saddened as shocked, glancing at his own intern to see Amajiki’s own appalled expression and glad the boy seemed to share in his distress.

Michiru was again was quick to reply "Even so, there was another way, you proved it when you missed! You should have-"

"Clearly, there is much to discuss and to teach, Kagemori-san. Rest assured this is something we'll address at UA." Jun cut in, raising his hand to draw attention to himself. Michiru slumped her shoulders and nodded and while everyone's attention was on him, the former hero continued "While we're on the subject, has anyone else found themselves in combat as Emeralda did?"

Xellos cheerily raised his hand as high as he could before speaking, quite eagerly "I've fought in a war!"

From the opposite corner of the vehicle Zelgadis huffed "That's putting it mildly. To this day he is respected and feared among his enemies for the scores he killed."

Lowering his arm to rest behind his head, Xellos let out a mild laugh as he confirmed the claim "Well, I was following orders, after all, but I suppose I do have a bit of a reputation back home."

With an eyebrow raised, Jun took note that this purple-haired…man was apparently some great warrior and yet in two encounters since arriving hadn't lifted so much as a finger in either fight. Very concerning indeed and something to be addressed sooner rather than later. As for now though, he turned back to Zelgadis "And what about you, Greywards-san? You were quick to talk about your fellow lighter but what of yourself?"

With his arms still crossed, all eyes turned to the chimera. After a moment, he sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned to face the doors to his right before answering "Yes, I have had to kill before. I can't speak for the rest of you but where Xellos and I are from, sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive."

"Oh ho! Is that what you told that bandit leader as you took his prized possession and cut him down?" Xellos accusatorily asked.

"WHAT?!" Michiru blurted out as the pervious inquisitive stares turned to shock and dismay.

A rare look of panic spread across the rock-encrusted young man's face as he frantically waved his hands in front of him "No no, I didn't mean to kill him, you know that Xellos! I struck him with the back of my sword to knock him out!"

Not missing a beat and completely dead pan, Emeralda spoke up "Is not your sword double-edged?"

Slumping in defeat and shame, his head now hanging low, Zelgadis grumbled out "...yes, it is. I, I forgot, ok!" Raising his head again, a fire in his eyes as he tried to defend himself, Zelgadis declared, "He raped and pillaged, ok! We're not talking about a nice guy here, you know! If I hadn't, Lina probably would have done it anyway. Even you have to admit that, Xellos!"

Sitting back, clearly pleased with himself, said mazuku simply replied "That is true, she most certainly would have!"

Luckily for Jun, the rest of the trip passed in relative silence. This group was already showing that this was going to be the greatest challenge of his career, all while in the mist of the greatest crisis that UA has ever faced.

(X)

Luckily for the vehicle's occupants, their police transport lacked windows because otherwise, they would have been treated to the sight of the front gates of UA absolutely flooded with reporters desperate to get in and ask questions of its administration and faculty or students for the disaster at the summer camp the night before.

As it was, with so much commotion, going through the main gate wasn't possible, so the officer driving took them around to a service entrance in back, leaving behind several curious reporters who attempted in follow the vehicle on foot as it passed by the front gate. Once inside the grounds, the vehicle came to a stop only a few feet from the gate. After a few moments, the officer got out and opened the transport’s back doors for its occupants.

Michiru and Zelgadis, closest to the doors, were first step out, which was followed by a moment’s blindness from the suddenly bright sun. Once their vision had adjusted they got their first look at the top hero academy in Japan. Before them stood a massive building with a traditional brick and mortar square shaped base on top of which stood four massive square towers. Each tower stood at least twelve stories above the base and each appeared to be made of glass, not unlike modern skyscrapers. Each tower had a enclosed bridge that connected to the neighboring tower, which made the building look like a massive letter "H" if looked at head on from any cardinal direction. It was an impressive sight, even for Michiru, who came from a world mostly contemporary to this one.

Zelgadis was completely taken with the academy's appearance, yet another in a long list of things new to him. Michiru began looking about the grounds, and saw just how massive the property really was, with vast open grounds, though a smaller structure not unlike a small apartment complex could be seen off to the side on a corner of the property. Out loud she wondered "This is a high school?"

Xellos and Emeralda got out and took in the scene as well, though with less fanfare. As Jun emerged, he answered Michiru's question when he stepped in front of the group, which now included Fat Gum and Suneater "This isn't just a high school, Kagemori-san. This is where the future of our hero society is raised. The greatest heroes of Japan come from this institution. Under less complicated circumstances, I would love to give you the tour but for now, let us head over to that smaller structure, that is the lighters residence hall, where you'll call home. With any luck your rooms will be ready and I can introduce you to your fellow lighters."

(X)

With that, the group made their way to the dormitory. As they walked, Michiru fell back to walk in line with Emeralda, who had kept to the back, clutching her sketch pad to her chest. The green-haired girl seemed caught off guard when Michiru asked "You ok?"

Briefly glancing at the tanuki girl before turning back, her face slighting down as she walked, Emeralda said "No, I don't think I am. I am still learning how and when to talk and clearly I said something wrong back in the vehicle."

Michiru couldn't deny that, and she briefly cringed when Emeralda pointed out her perceived error. Still, seeing the tan girl look so down was hard to see so Michiru resolved to cheer her up, saying "Yeah, I admit I was pretty surprised too. At the same time, we're all from different worlds and from different circumstances, right? Whats right in one may be wrong elsewhere, it’s just a matter of learning is all. I know in my heart you did what you thought was right and I'm glad you were so worried for me!"

A smile briefly played on the greenette's face before it sank back into a neutral expression "You are welcome, Kagemori-san. You were surprised like many of the others, maybe you can tell me why Suneater kept looking at me?"

Having caught the smile, Michiru flashed a big grin herself "Ah, no need to be formal, please just call me Michiru!"

Emeralda nodded "I can do that, and…please call me Emeralda, I'm not use to this world's customs anyway."

Michiru flashed a thumbs up before shifting into a thinking pose, her head moved up slightly, her index finger on her chin "As for your question, I noticed him looking at you to. Did you notice him doing it before the conversation with Fat Gum?"

Emeralda nodded again "Yes, the glances were brief and every time I noticed he would turn away."

A sly grin crept onto Michiru's face as she leaned in to make sure the hooded young man didn't hear "Well, Emeralda, I think it means he likes you."

Turning her head to face the tanuki girl, Emeralda looked very concerned at this input "I…see. I was afraid that was the case."

Michiru struggled to keep her voice down as she continued to lean in close "What do you mean! Shouldn't you be happy? You're pretty hot, after all. Didn't this happen in your world?"

The greenette's neutral expression folded into a frown at her companion's question "Several in my unit have acted as he did. At first, they would be friendly, but in turn, after each saw my abilities, they would grow cold and distant, some even hostile to me."

A flash of anger burned in Michiru's eyes as she pulled back to walk normally "What do you mean, hostile?"

"I…would be yelled at. Blamed for what happened to our world. Called names. That kind of thing."

"But, why? I don't understand, you’re clearly a badass but you seem like a quiet and caring person Emeralda." Michiru replied, her anger shifting to empathy.

"I'm…different. When people see my morphing ability, they think of those who brought our world to destruction. I understand why, so its ok. Besides, in a way, they aren't wrong. If I didn't exist, then things wouldn't have turned out the way they did." Emeralda explained, matter of factly.

Michiru couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had this girl really just blamed herself for a whole world's destruction? Michiru was sure that couldn't be right, and trying to cheer the tan girl, saying, "I may not know the details, but I think you're a great person Emeralda and neither I, nor I'm betting anyone else in this world cares about what you can do, so let’s make the best of it!"

Another smile spread on to the tan girl's face, even if her eyes betrayed a continued guilt. "Thank you, Michiru, I…I will try."

(X)

The dormitory was an interesting building. The first floor was white, with Greek inspired pillars lining the entire exterior. All the upper floors were brrick, though the middle of the structure only had one more level, to the right were the living quarters, four stories tall and four rooms deep, also brick. The left side was two stories shorter and wider, with far fewer windows. Above the doors, in white letters said in English "Lighters Hall" and parked in front was a large van with the name of a security services company branded across it. Several workers were loading up, as if to leave when the group walked up.

Waiting at the door was what appeared to be a slender young man with wild, spikey orange hair and disproportionally large hands, each finger of which was capped with a "L" shaped cap and was shirtless, wearing just a pair of blue jeans. "Ah, just in time, Sanada-san! Everything appears ready, I helped where I could to speed things along like Principal Nezu asked."

Still at the head of the group, Jun bowed as he responded "Thank you Power Loader, I greatly appreciate you taking the time. With all the security upgrades Principal Neu just ordered, I am sure you will be quite busy."

The head of costume and hero support equipment development grinned, crossing his arms in front of him "Your right about that! But hey, it’s for the students, right? Just let me know if you all need anything else, alright?"

As Power Loader made his way down the steps, he offered a wave to the rest of the group. Fat Gum took that as his cue to leave as well, along with Suneater. Wishing them luck, the two departed, their escort complete. Motioning for the rest to follow him in, Jun opened the door and stepped into the dormitory.

As the rest of the group followed, Michiru got her first look of the main room along with Emeralda, being the last two to enter. It was a huge room, with a TV to the side framed by several large couches and a large table behind them. The back lead to a kitchen and to the right were doors and a stairwell leading to the rooms. There was a hall to the left as well that curved to the right. What caught Michiru's eye though were a series of photos lined high against the back wall, a total of eight of them.

Michiru could hear Jun going over what was where, but her focus remained on the photos. It only took a few moments of looking for her to recognize Terra, Sakura and Shinra's photos. Several of the others looked like normal people, if a little young but one was wearing what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet with cat ears and another was orange, had long white hair and a long protruding beak for a mouth.

Just as Jun was finishing up explaining the kitchen, Michiru raised her hand "Sanada-san, are all the people pictured up here living here?"

The gathering looked up at the row of photos as Jun answered "Ah, no, Kagemori-san. Aside from yourselves, there are currently four residents here. That being said, everyone you see up there has lived here. These are all the lighters who came before you. You've met a few of them already and I imagine in a moment you'll meet two more."

Sure enough, moments later, two pairs of feet could be heard coming down the stairs. As the two reached the stairs landing, Jun offered "And here they are now, may I introduce Hina Yoshifumi and Shigeo Kageyama."

Both appeared to be teenagers about sixteen, the girl featuring dark blue hair hanging down above her shoulders, blue disinterested eyes and wearing a simple T-shirt with grey jogging pants. The boy had short bowl cut black hair and beaty black eyes, combined with a calm expression that gave the impression he couldn't care less about what was happening. He too wore a blank white T-shirt, but his pants were a simple pair of black slacks. It was he who spoke first "Wow, its true, there was more than one this time. These...are kind of weird, aren't they?"

The girl, Hina, rolled her eyes "Mob, as usual, your clueless. Hello, I'm Hina though you will address me as senpai, and this odd ball here is Shigeo but you can call him Mob. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

Neither Michiru nor Zelgadis liked the sense of superiority that this Hina girl seemed to carrying herself with. Michiru outright took offense at the sempai comment, being the only one who knew what it meant, though neither got the chance to express their displeasure before Xellos chimed in "Oh, what lovely young people you are! I look forward to everything you two have to teach us!"

That seemed to satisfy Hina, though Mob shied away from the ever-social mazuku. Jun stepped in to formally introduce the newest members of the dormitory seeing how nervous Mob was getting. With introductions done Jun talked a bit more about Hina and Mob "Yoshifumi-san has been here the longest since she was ten when she arrived. Kageyama-san was our second youngest at fourteen but since he got here four years ago he is actually the older of the two. Both are psychics, quite powerful ones too. I trust you two will give them the rest of the tour and show them to their rooms?"

Mob nodded automatically while Hina turned to stare at the group of four for a long moment before turning away "…fine, but you better bring back some fine caviar when you get back!"

"I think I can manage that." Jun said, smiling. Turning back to Michiru and company he added "I need to check in on Brandford-san but these two will take you to your rooms. Michiru, you're the most familiar with things in this world so help out if you can, ok?"

With a mock salute, the tanuki girl confirmed "You can count on me, Sanada-san!"

(X)

Chapter Text

It had been a long twenty-four hours for Hitomi Kanzaki. Sure, a world full of super-powerful heroes and villains would always have at least a hint of unpredictability to it. However, for someone whose job it was to consul and psychoanalyze heroes from a chair, things rarely got this chaotic and emotionally draining.

Hitomi had spent years telling heroes that accidents or deaths, that is, people they couldn't save, wasn't their fault. That they did their best and no one, including themselves, could fault them for that. Now, sitting in a chair next to the comatose Terra, all Hitomi could think about was how this was her fault. When Terra first arrived in this world, she had shared something with Hitomi and the counselor had decided to keep it secret. There was a procedure in place for a reason. When Hitomi did her arrival interviews with new lighters, she was supposed to report everything she saw and discussed with them. Everything. But she didn't. Not with Terra.

Terra had begged her not to share the other, lost part of herself, and Hitomi had agreed. Torn by the pain in the other woman's eyes, Hitomi had judged that it was better, just this once, to not follow protocol for the sake of someone in pain and confusion. Doing so meant that Hitomi had allowed this girl to go out and train to be a hero, to expose herself to the possibility of becoming an esper again, even if Terra herself had not believed it was possible.

They had gotten so very lucky at the mall. Things could have been so much worse. At least, that's what Hitomi tried to tell herself. Every time she looked over at Terra though, such delusions would melt away. This poor girl had come to her lost and afraid, ignorant of so much and when Terra needed a friend, someone to trust in, Hitomi gave in and agreed to keep secrets. Now Terra and many others had paid the price. This was very much her fault.

She wanted to stay, to watch over Terra until she awoke. Hitomi felt she owed at least that much to the green-haired girl. The brunette counselor also felt she should be the one to tell Terra what happened and the consequences. It wasn't to be however, duty called. Overnight, UA's two first year hero classes, 1-A and 1-B, had been attacked and Principal Nezu had asked that she visit the students and offer her services. The commission agreed and as soon as her replacement to keep watch arrived, she would be off.

A few more moments of watching Terra was all Hitomi had before the shark-toothed Shinra stepped into the room, a confident grin on his face. Hitomi turned, having heard him enter and tried her best to force a smile as she spoke "Hello Shinra, are you feeling better?"

The black-haired young man's smile widened as he pointed to himself with his thumb "You bet! That Recovery Girl fixed me right up!"

Hitomi giggled a bit despite herself, Shinra's enthusiasm having a certain infectious quality to it. Standing up and walking over to the former Fireforce member, Hitomi's smile grew genuine and warm "Thank you, Shinra. I'm so glad you’re better and thank you for watching over Terra while I'm out."

The older woman's praise combined with that smile gave Shinra pause as he bashfully looked away "Ah, don't worry about it, Kanzaki-san. You know I'd do anything to help out. What kind of hero would I be if I didn't, right?"

Stepping back and picking up her bag, Hitomi nodded "Yes, I know but still, it means a lot to me all the same. You'll call if anything changes, right?"

Recovering his bluster, Shinra flashed a thumbs up as he declared "Of course!" Just as quickly though, Shinra's expression turned to that of apprehension before adding, "Still, why is it you have to be the one to go? I'm sure there is someone closer who they could send?"

Hitomi had walked past the young man by this point and turned to answer, a wistful look on her face "I don't just work with the lighters Shinra. I've worked closely with UA for a long time now and I'm more familiar with these students than anyone they could send who is closer. Besides, if there is anything I can do to help, I will. Now, watch over Terra until I get back. Thanks again Shinra."

As Hitomi left, Shinra thought back to how depressed she looked when he had first stepped into the room. The brunette seemed like a completely different person as she left, radiating the warmth and confidence that she was known for among the lighters and students of UA. Shinra was sure that if their situations were reversed and they were in his world, Hitomi would have made a wonderful holy sister.

(X)

Meanwhile, in a dilapidated part of Kamino Ward in Yokohama, stood an old-looking unmarked building. Hidden within was a bar currently serving as the hideout for a lanky young man with an unkept mop of light blue hair, wearing a simple black t-shirt and black pants. Oddly though, he also wore a dismembered hand over his face, covering his red eyes and shriveled, perpetually cracked lips. Those lips wore a sadistic grin just now as the man looked at his prize.

Sitting unconscious, tied up and his mouth bound, was a teenaged boy with spiky, dirty blonde hair. The winner of the first-year division of UA's yearly sports festival, Katsuki Bakugo was arrogant, openly disdainful of those beneath him and showed to the world a degree of anger rare for any aspiring hero, let alone one from the top school in the country. Such traits had been very enticing to the lanky young man who sought to discredit a society so heavily dependent on heroes to keep the peace.

Indeed, Tomura Shigaraki had a great hatred for the world, so much so that discrediting society was little more than the first step in destroying it for him. A world of chaos where he was free to murder any who displeased him was his fondest wish, a sentiment fostered by the man on the other end of a blank TV screen that Tomura was currently speaking to. "Master, our attack is all over the news! It’s as if your latest experiment didn't even happen. Is that why you summoned more yesterday, because you knew our mission would drown attention out?"

The voice on the other end was deep, confident but calm "That was a factor, yes, Tomura. It never hurts to keep the other side guessing. Even with media coverage moving on to the next shiny object as a matter of course, inducing another dimensional pull adds a degree of confusion to the proceedings. I also wanted to have more pieces on the board and with any luck, one of those pieces may finally fall our way."

It was surprising for Tomura to hear his master leaving anything to chance. After all, he was the great mastermind of the underworld, nothing ever seemed to escape his notice and nothing was left unaccounted for. Tomura expressed his concern , saying "Master, you mean you don't know whats going to happen when those otherworldly losers show up each time?"

The only other person in the bar, literal dark mist in humanoid form wearing a white dress shirt/black tie combo and a grey vest along with black pants and a metal brace clamped around his "neck" and glowing yellow eyes stood behind the bar, cleaning shot glasses. At Tomura's question, the mist spoke, gently admonitive in tone "Shigaraki-san, you shouldn't question the master like that, it’s quite rude."

Under the large pale hand over his face, Tomura narrowed his eyes as his head turned sharply in the mist's direction "Quiet, Kurogiri! Don't ruin my good mood!"

The building tension vanished when hardy laughter could be heard from the monitor "No, no, it’s all right Kurogiri, it is a fair question, after all. Even I cannot know everything, most certainly not what may come from other worlds. That is part of what has made this little experiment so interesting. Just as you are attempting to recruit this young man, I, too, am ever hopeful one of these 'lighters' are enlightened enough to see things as we do."

The humanoid mist raised an eye higher than the other in a questioning manner as he asked, "And do you think you've found any among all the ones you pulled this time?"

Sounding contemplative, the monitor answered back "There have been ones in the past that I had hopes for only to have them dashed when they sided with the heroes. It has, to this point, been very disappointing. It would seem most of these four already seem to be the same."

Tomura picked up on his master's answer "Most? Does that mean one of those fools could be a party member?"

"As I said Tomura, I am unsure. I can tell you there was a mass escape attempt at Musutafu police headquarters where they stayed last night." The voice coyly replied.

"And you had nothing to do with it, Master?" Kurogiri asked.

"I did not. My sources haven't been able to confirm or deny if there is a connection but for the first time in years, I am excited to see if this experiment will bear more fruit than a simple distraction and calling card." Though there continued to be no image on the screen, both conscious occupants of the bar knew that the voice on the other end was smiling, a fact they relished.

(X)

"You can count on me, Sanada-san!" Michiru had said but as their guide left, Hina again looked them over, and it seemed clear she found her new housemates wanting.

"You, racoon, your Japanese?" the telekinetic girl contemptuously asked, crossing her arms.

Her fur bristling at the tone she was being addressed with, Michiru shot back "Hey, I have a name that you were just told!" Then stomping her foot, she added "And I'm a tanuki! Not a racoon!"

"Sure, whatever red panada, just answer the question." Hina coolly answered, clear unfazed by Michiru's indignation. Mob had begun to fidget nervously to the side as things seemed to escalate.

Grinding her teeth, Michiru took a moment to take a deep breath, deciding that having a fight the moment she'd stepped into her new home for the time being may not be the best way to start off. Slightly calmer, she finally said "Yes, I am but I'm the only one. I'll do my best to help the others, like I told Sanada-san."

Rolling her eyes as she turned to head back up the stairs, Hina said, dismissively "Well obviously you other three aren't, just look at you! Even heroes wouldn't be caught dead in such weird outfits."

Zelgadis, standing behind Michiru, frowned and narrowed his eyes but said nothing, refusing to raise to the bait while Emeralda self-consciously began glancing down at her modified uniform. Xellos, though, felt the need to chime in , saying playfully, "You may think my attire odd, Yoshifumi-san but where I am from, I am considered quite stylish!"

As Xellos beamed, Michiru turned and glanced up at Zelgadis for confirmation, only to be met by the chimera shaking his head slowly in disagreement, to which the tanuki girl let out a light giggle.

Starting to ascend the staircase, Hina called back "Be that as it may, you look like a fool now. Hopefully when Kanzaki-sensei gets back she can take you all shopping. For now, follow me. I'll take you to the rooms me and Mob had to endure being worked on all morning."

Doing as instructed, the four newest lighters followed behind Hina and Mob, who had sheepishly fallen in line behind her. Once they got to the top of the landing, what Michiru saw reminded her of a hotel hallway as the corridor extended for hundreds of feet, a red carpet covering the floor and stylish floral wallpaper lined the sides. Only one side of the hall had doors however, a dozen to be exact. With so many rooms, a question came to Zelgadis, who asked as they began walking forward "Just how many of you live here anyway?"

It was the timid looking young man who answered, surprising the new arrivals "Oh, um, right now there are four of us. Eight now that you're here. Hina was saying that would make the most in the house at once since it was built."

Michiru raised an eyebrow "Oh, and how would Hina know that?"

Annoyed at the question, Hina signed as she answered "Because, civet, I've lived here longer than anyone, a full seven years. So, when I say call me senpai, I mean it."

Leaning in, Xellos whispered to Michiru "Whats a senpai, Kagemori-san?"

Turning her head to whisper back, Michiru answered "Don't worry about it, I'll tell you later."

Finally, after passing six doors, Hina stopped and rose her arm to her side, gesturing at the next four doors "These next four rooms are yours, I don't care who takes which one, they're all the same. Your key card will be in the room, don't lose it!"

Michiru raised an eyebrow "Wait, that's it? Is there anything else we should know?"

Already turned to head back downstairs, the dark blue-haired telekinetic turned her head back to answer, her annoyance now clear on her face "Sanada-sensei asked me to show you to your rooms so I did. You can handle the rest, right squirrel?"

Michiru took a step forward with barely contained anger at yet another insult but held her tongue. Hina took her silence as ascent and resumed heading back before she added "Theres’s food downstairs if you’re hungry but try to be quiet about it. With Shinra still at the hospital, I intend to enjoy the peace and quiet as long as I can."

Mob had stayed behind, bowing to his new housemates "It’s been a pleasure to meet you all, I hope we can get along. I'll be making dinner later, does anyone not like anything in particular?"

Glancing at each other, none of the four newest residents of the house had anything to say so Michiru turned back to the young man and warmly responded "I'm sure anything you make will be just fine, thank you Kageyama-san."

A smile spread across the plain boy's face as he excitedly nodded "Thank you. That's very kind of you to say." He began to turn to leave before he stopped himself and faced the group again "Oh and please just call me Mob, if that's ok?"

"Sure, Mob it is, and you can call me Michiru if you want, ok Mob?"

"Sure, I'd like that, thank you Michiru, I'll see you all later! I hope you like your rooms!" the young psychic responded, waving as he left to go downstairs as well.

"Well, I guess I'll take this one. Emeralda, why don't you take the one beside me and you two decide who has to walk the furthest." Michiru said pointing to Zelgadis and Xellos.

The chimera left little for discussion, quicky saying "Oh the mazuku is definitely at the end."

"Now now, Mr. Zelgadis, no reason to be mean just because I can teleport." Xellos retorted with a pout.

A grumble was all the purple-haired mazuku got in response as they each moved to their respective doors. As Michiru opened hers she called out "If any of you have any questions, just ask, ok!"

The others nodded and the tanuki girl smiled and proceeded to open the door to her room, which was marked with a gold-colored metal "7" on an otherwise cherry colored wood finish. What greeted her on the other side was, relative to the single room she had been living in at the beastman co-op, nothing short of opulent. The space was fully furnished with a very comfortable looking full sized western style bed, with wooden headboard and footboards again in the same dark cherry color as the door. The bed was pressed in the back right corner of the room, directly across from it to her right was a door leading to a bathroom, in between was a window with tasteful blue curtains and a lacy edge. A mini fridge sat on the right wall along with a bookshelf that stood almost as tall as the ceiling and a large dresser. Finally, a desk set against the wall just to her left and in front of the bed.

Flipping the switch to her left turned on the light and activated the fan at the center of the ceiling. Michiru was in awe as she looked around. The room was bigger and better than her own that she grew up in and certainly better than most living in small apartments in Tokyo she had seen on TV. Considering she had spent the last night in a jail cell, Michiru couldn't imagine a better turn of luck if she tried.

Moving to sit on her new bed, which already had sheets, pillows and a comforter, Michiru was again surprised by how bouncy and soft it felt. This…was too much. How could this school afford this kind housing, especially for some random people who literally just appeared from the sky? Glancing down at her cloths, Michiru wondered if they were going to provide uniforms too, since none of them had money. There were just so many questions about this place. It seemed almost too good to be true, honestly.

Just as Michiru was thinking of checking out the view from the window, Xellos appeared at her door, a worried frown on his face "Kagemori-san, something is wrong with my room, it won't liiight uuup" he said, drawing his request out in a whine.

Her shoulders slumping as her features scrunched up in disbelief, Michiru seemed to drag herself off the bed as she spoke "Um, ok. We can fix that. Seriously, you couldn't find the light switch? Didn't we already talk about electricity and all that?"

"Well, yes, Kagemori-san but talking about it and using it yourself are two different things." Xellos responded, looking about the room. "I see you don't have one of those computers they had at the police headquarters either…a shame. Are computers things only they have?"

Stepping past the confused mazuku, Michiru said "If its anything like my world, computers are pretty common, at least in Japan. I'm sure we can ask Sanada-san about getting you one."

The two moved past Emeralda's room, the door of which was closed as Xellos thanked the tanuki girl "That's a wonderful idea! I very much hope you’re right."

As they passed Zelgadis' room though, the door was still open and an dim, slightly pulsating light was emanating from it. Peering in as the two stepped into the entry, the Chimera could be seen peering under the bed on three limbs, a ball of light floating in his right hand. Stopping, Michiru leaning in and flipped the switch beside the door, lighting up the room. Startled, Zelgadis jumped, banging his head on the bed's frame as he called out "What the hell!"

Michiru simply shook her head and returned to walking to the next room. Xellos though felt the need to poke at his fellow otherworlder, "Watch out for those monsters under the bed, Mr. Zelgadis!"

"I will murder you!” came the enraged chimera’s response

Satisfied, a giant grin on his face, Xellos stepped a bit faster to catch up with Michiru as they entered his room. Michiru stood just inside the door, a sour look on her face having heard the exchange behind her a moment ago. Xellos stood across from her, a look of eager anticipation on his face. As unceremoniously as possible, the tanuki girl raised her hand, flipped the switch on the wall down and the light/fan combo came on. "There, that's it, that's all there is to it. You think you can handle that or do I need to draw a diagram." Michiru drawled.

"No, that won't be necessary, Kagemori-san, thank you. I do have one more question though before you go. It’s about this 'key card' that Yoshifumi-san spoke of?" Xellos said, raising said card in front of him.

With a serious question she didn't have an exact answer to, Michiru's tone lost the sarcasm it had just had as she answered "Oh, yeah, that surprised me a bit too. I figured we would just have keys if we hand anything at all. A lot of houses don't even have locks on their interior doors. I didn't see a slot on the doors, but it looks like there is a circle just beside the handle. I think you just have to press the card against it to get in."

Tilting his head slightly, Xellos seemed to mull that over "Interesting. I am continuously fascinated by the technology of this world. I have so very much to learn. Well thank you Kagemori-san, I won't take up any more of your time, for now anyway!"

Inwardly glad to be free of the overly enthusiastic man, Michiru stepped out and headed back to her own room, noting that Zelgadis' door was also now closed. Probably for the best, she thought. Back in her room, the tanuki girl threw herself on the bed and stretched out, her arms resting behind her head as she starred at the ceiling.

Truly by herself for the first time since this whole madness started, the young woman's thoughts again turned to home. All the questions that had flooded her the night before came back as she pictured her friends and family in her mind. Turning her head to look the room over again, the thought occurred to her that as nice as this space was, it wasn't hers. This…world wasn't hers and she had no business in it. Sitting up, bringing her knees up her face, Michiru began to wonder if there even was a place for her or if some unknowable and spiteful god found pleasure in continuously taking her home from her. With no other distraction, the anger, the frustration, the loneliness finally became too much as tears welled up and Michiru began sobbing, doing all she could to keep the sounds of her mourning from being heard by her neighbor, unsure of just how thick the walls of this house were.

(X)

The hospital that the first-year students had been taken to was, luckily for Hitomi, only about halfway between where the attack happened up in the mountains and Musutafu. That meant with good traffic it only took her an hour to get there. She had been told there had been injuries but how many and to what extent she didn't know until she arrived.

As it turned out, things could have been worse. No one had had life-threatening wounds though a number were still unconscious from a poison gas, head trauma for one and in one nasty case, severe damage to the limbs. Hitomi knew that last student was one Izuku Midoriya. All Might had spoken highly of him and he had a quirk that was much too strong for his body, causing damage when he used it as often as not.

Izuku was still unconscious, but Hitomi knew that even if he was awake, she would have found him putting on a brave face and unwilling to talk. Being a psychiatrist for heroes was often much harder than with the average person. Heroes by and large were self-sacrificing and eager to help. Talking about, or even admitting to having issues was often seen as an admission of failure. Who could help others who couldn't help themselves, after all. Often heroes would just grin and bare it, internalizing the pain or waiting until they were alone to break down. Teenagers were often worse, in the mist of trying to prove themselves worthy to join the ranks of their idols while still not even sure what their own feelings were.

Often times, it was a win to just get one to talk. Burn out among heroes, especially young ones not used to the rigors of the job or suffering great failure was common, if tragically under reported.

Wasting no time, Hitomi went to work visiting as many of the students present and able to be spoken to as she could. As expected, most said they were fine and didn't need her services. The 1-B students appeared more shaken, on the whole compared to the 1-A kids, who had the experience of having been attacked earlier in the year. Even so, many 1-A students showed clear signs of post traumatic stress as well as worry for their missing classmate. These included the red-haired young man, Eijiro Kirishima and the class representative, Tenya Iida. Fumikage Tokoyami, the raven-headed student was clearly troubled about something but he, too, would not elaborate. With any luck, once there was time for the formal report to be written, she could come back around and try again with more information about the attack.

Hitomi was packing up her tablet when a nurse informed her one more student had awoken. Not expecting anything new from this last victim, Hitomi thanked the nurse and headed to the room. The young woman, Momo Yaoyorozu, looked exhausted, likely a combination of the last night and Recovery Girl's quirk.

When Hitomi entered, the young vice representative was struggling to keep herself sitting up. The young woaman’s long black hair, which was normally kept pinned against the back of her head, was unbound and flowing down her back which gave her a more disheveled look. With a measured degree of concern, Hitomi spoke, trying to draw the girl's attention to herself "Hello Yaoyorozu-san, how are you feeling?"

Momo's eyes began to focus as she turned her head to look at her guest. A long moment of silence followed and Hitomi began to wonder whether she should try again or just excuse herself from the clearly still ailing young woman. Before the counselor could come to a decision, Momo spoke, her tone hushed and groggy "Are...are you from UA? I…have something I have to tell All Might."

Stepping closer, concern evident on her face, Hitomi had to fight not to reach out and try to assist the girl in front of her as she answered "Yes, you may not remember me Yaoyorozu-san, but I am a counselor UA contracts. Whatever it is, I can pass it on to All Might, I promise."

By this point, the nurse who had told Hitomi about Momo waking up stepped in, concern also on her face, though she said nothing. Momo seemed to notice this and appeared to grow apprehensive, her answer now even softer than before "I know how to track those who perpetrated this attack. But…please have him come here, I'll explain the rest to him in person, please…"

Finishing her statement, Momo collapsed onto her back, breathing heavily. Hitomi stepped back as the nurse rushed over, telling the counselor she would have to come back later, if not tomorrow if she wanted to speak to her again. Nodding and telling the nurse she understood and thanking her, Hitomi took her leave, heading out of the hospital as quickly as she could. She had a phone call to make.

(X)

When Jun returned to the Lighters house having gotten an update on Terra from Shinra he found Mob starting to make dinner while Hina sat in front of the TV, a very unhappy look on her face as Xellos sat beside her looking like a very excited child watching their favorite show. The silver-haired ex-hero’s arrival brought the pair's attention to him and when Xellos saw Jun was carrying his staff, leapt up and bounded toward him. Jun did take notice of just how relieved Hina looked to be free of the mazuku's oppressive presence.

"Is that my staff, Sanada-san? Oh, and Zelgadis-san's sword too? How considerate of you! Shall I bring it up to him?" Xellos inquired as he moved to take his staff before Jun could offer it.

Frowning slightly at the very forward purple-haired mazuku, Jun turned to his left to avoid having the staff yanked from his hand. "Patience, Metalleum-san. Yes, I will give you back your staff but I wanted to ask a favor of you and your fellow new arrivals."

Nearly having fallen over in his missed attempt to get his staff back, Xellos pouted as he heard out Jun, before returning to his normal happy mask as he listened. When Jun was finished, Xellos again asked if he could head back up and get others, which Jun agreed. Xellos wasted no time making his way up the stairs, cape billowing as he ascended.

With Xellos out of earshot, Hina glanced over at her long-time teacher and asked with a half smile, "Going to test them, huh sensei?"

Nodding, the silver-haired older man turned to look at the telekinetic "Indeed. Reading about abilities is one thing, I need to see them in person. You'll help me, won't you?"

Dramatically rolling her eyes in time with her head, Hina drawled out "Do I haaave to? Can't Mob do it?"

Glancing over at Mob cutting vegetables, a bright pink apron over his uniform, Jun responded, his voice gentle but firm "Yes, Mob is quite capable, but he is clearly busy. Besides, neither of you got to go to the dojo today with the attack last night so you could use a little exercise, mental or otherwise."

Mulling it over for a moment, Hina seemed to accept Jun's logic, crossing her arms to show she still would rather be doing something else as she answered "Fine. I'll help. Whats up with that attack by the way, it’s been all over the news. Is it true those villains got away with that hot-headed jackass?" Just as she said it, Hina regretted the insult to a fellow UA student, even if it was true. The telekinetic saw Jun's narrowed eyes and the clear disappointment on his features. It only took a moment for Hina to look away ashamed before contritely adding, "I'm sorry, Sanada-sensei."

Letting out a sigh, Jun let his response carry some of the disappoint on his face "Perhaps you are sorry and perhaps you are right about him but you need to control your impulses, Hina-chan. That goes for what you say just as much as anything else, you know that."

The dark blue-haired young woman nodded, saying nothing, allowing for Jun to continue "Now about your question…from everything I know, it is pretty bad. They did capture Bakugo-san and injure many. Kanzaki-san was sent to talk to the first years."

Having the news confirmed for her, Hina looked back up at her teacher, a question forming in her mind. Jun seemed to sense it, answering before the telekinetic could speak, "No, I don't know how much this relates to yesterday. The attackers claimed to be part of the League of Villains which we know has All-for-One's backing. Whether or not yesterday was meant to throw us off leading up to last night or a signal of something bigger to come, is anyone's guess."

That wasn't the answer Hina had been hoping for, inwardly holding out hope that maybe there would be a clue in all of this that might lead to getting home. That hope having been dashed, the telekinetic opted for dismissal "Hmph, well, it’s not like it matters much to me, I'm perfectly happy here!"

The facade cracked as the dark blue-haired girl twitched at the sound of Xellos' obnoxious laughter coming down the stairs once again "As promised, here they are, Sanada-san!"

Sure enough, behind Xellos came his three fellow lighters, none of them looking especially excited to have been dragged from their rooms. Zelgadis though perked up when he saw his sword in Jun's right hand, stepping past the mazuku once he got to the base of the stairs and exclaiming "I can't believe it, for once you actually told the truth, Xellos."

Looking as if someone had just kicked his puppy, Xellos feigned as much indignation as he could "Such a rude thing to say, and here I just wanted to help, Mr. Zelgadis!"

Zelgadis began to turn and face his tormentor, a low growl emanating from him just as Jun placed a hand on his shoulder in an effort to diffuse things, and said "Please, not now, I have a few things I wanted to show you all before you ate. You four think you're up to it?"

Turning back to face the former hero, Zelgadis and the other three nodded, though Jun couldn't help but notice the decided absence of enthusiasm from Michiru, whose eyes looked more than a little bloodshot. Making sure to take note of that, the silver-haired man turned to Emeralda "I'd like to take you on a little tour of the rest of the house and I was hoping you might show off some of your talents, but first, Kasim-san, I procured some materials you may find useful from the main campus. Here." With that, Jun handed the surprised looking greenette a box he had be keeping under the same arm he carried the sword with.

The box was a simple looking rectangular affair, the top of which came off to reveal an assortment of pencils, as well as ink pens, and colored pencils. Emeralda's amber eyes lit up at the sight and for the first time since arriving, the quiet young woman broke out into a large, warm smile.

Looking a bit embarrassed by the response, Jun felt the need to say "It’s not much, I know. There are far better supplies we can get you but it was the best I could throw together on short notice."

Closing the box and clutching it to her chest, Emeralda shook her head, fighting back tears "No…this is wonderful. Where I am from, such supplies are very rare. This was very, very kind of you, Sanada-san."

Nodding in acknowledgment of Emeralda's words, Jun added "It was the least I could do, think nothing of it. Now, if you'll follow me, everyone?"

Leading the group, Jun took the four newest additions of the house to the other wing of the building, Hina trailing several feet behind the group. Entering first through an unassuming door on the far side of the common area, it led down a hallway that turned at a ninety-degree angle and continued, widening considerably. Fifty feet down the hall was a pair of large doors that caught the eye of the four lighters. However, it was the large door on the left wall halfway to the others that Jun took the group.

Sliding the door open, Jun stepped inside and quickly moved to the side, allowing everyone behind him to fill into the room and get a good look around. To Michiru's eyes the room appeared to be a really fancy looking classroom, though much more like a college one than a high school. Instead of rows of desks, there were levels of seating in ascending height with a single continuous desk running the length of each level. A bit confused, Michiru turned to Jun, who had been content to let the group take in the space and asked "Why is there a classroom here? I thought the school was that weird glass building we passed?"

A knowing smile passed over the silver-haired man's face as he answered "Remember that the world at large doesn't know you are from other worlds. If I was going to teach you about this one, the safest thing to do would be to keep those lessons as separate from the rest of UA and the world as possible."

That caused Zelgadis to raise an eyebrow before he spoke up as well "You mean to keep us separate from the rest of the student body? Then what the hell is even the point of us being at a school we're kept separate from?"

Raising his hand to stroke his face as if thinking, a gesture that made Emeralda think of her tutor, Dr. Uzuki, Jun answered the chimera "That is a fair point, Greywards-san. The truth is you are only here for instruction on this world. Whatever additional education you seek that UA can offer, however, would take place on the main campus. By that I mean that if you so choose and have passed an entrance exam, you could take classes in the hero course and become a licensed pro. Given your lack of knowledge of our written language though, it may take a while before you could specialize like that."

The rock encrusted sorcerer-swordsmen narrowed his eyes as Jun walked over to the rather large desk at the front of the room and said "That's assuming I would even want to be one of your…heroes." That last word was almost spat, more than a little distain in the chimera's voice.

Jun chuckled at that, pulling open a drawer and pulling out several books as he replied "Be that as it may, you will want to do something with yourself, yes? Mob for example isn't training to be a hero, he wants to be an accountant. Whatever you decide, you'll be starting here." As Jun finished, he tossed several of books to the blue-skinned young man, who caught them, a bit surprised.

"What are these?" Zelgadis asked, actually curious.

"Introductions to Japanese. Since you already speak it, it won't be as hard to pick up writing it, at least relative to someone starting from scratch, though I would suggest you write your written language first to help the transition. All three of you will."

Nodding, Emeralda softy volunteered "I have already begun to memorize characters and believe I've begun to make some helpful associations but thank you, Sanada-san."

Bowing his head slighting Jun corrected "Sensei. You should start referring to me as Sanada-sensei, a term we use for teacher."

After another nod from the amber-eyed young woman, Xellos blurt out "I know several languages already, this should be easy!"

"Only one way to find out, Metallium-san. I look forward to seeing your progress." With Xellos beaming with confidence, Jun turned to Michiru, who looked a bit left out in the proceedings "Kagemori-san?"

Caught off guard being addressed, Michiru responded meeker than the others were used to "Y-yes, Sanada-san?"

"Sanada-sensei and I am sorry. I have brought gifts for the others and gave them somewhere to start but I feel I have neglected you. In fact, there is something I need you to do for me that is very important." The tanuki girl's confused look was all Jun needed to continue "I need you to help them start to learn the language. You have a great advantage already being from Japan, albeit a different one and I think it would help if someone they knew could help them out. What do you say?"

Instantly, the odd funk that Michiru had settled into since Jun's return melted away as a determined glint shown in her eye as she smiled "You can count on me, Sanada-sensei, I even have some experience teaching kids how to read! I'll do my best!"

Inwardly satisfied, Jun returned the girl's enthusiastic response with a small smile of his own "Thank you Kagemori-san, I know you will. Now, on to what will likely prove to be more exciting affairs."

Leading once more, Jun took the group back into the hallway and down to the large double doors. As before, he stepped in first and to the side to let the others come in. As they entered, Jun took the opportunity to read their faces. Although Zelgadis did look pretty surprised by the space, it was Michiru who lit up like a light bulb. The tanuki girl's eyes glittered in excitement, her mouth agape in surprised anticipation of all she saw before her, her modest fangs plainly visible. Emeralda looked around with interest but was otherwise unchanged while Xellos was unreadable, no change in his expression whatsoever. Hina had slid in behind the group and leaned again the wall, her arms crossed.

The group found themselves in a large gymnasium with all sorts of equipment and tools as well as targets, dummies, punching bags and pretty much anything else one could think of to train. One portion of the floor was lined with padding where another had finished wood one usually found in gyms plus a set of basketball hoops on either end. Another portion seemed to be simple concrete and it was here that large storage lockers lined one wall.

Waving his free hand for emphasis while the other held the door, Jun spoke with the welcoming authority of a practiced tour guide "This is the training hall. There are many spread across the UA campus and you are welcome to use any of them, just as all UA students can. This one though is for you to use any time, day or night and for those lighters with abilities that don't really fit nicely into this world's definition of ‘quirks’ and still practice without drawing attention from the outside world. Other students or guests can only be here with my approval, remember that."

Ever studious and attentive, Zelgadis picked up on the qualifier in Jun's explanation, and asked "What do you mean by abilities that don't fit? From what I've gathered so far, there almost seems to be no end to the variation of these 'quirks' of yours?"

With everyone fully inside the training hall, Jun let go of the door and again stepped in front of the others, taking a moment to wave his hand in front of the star-struck Michiru, who may or not have blinked since she stepped inside the gym. Snapping out of her daze, the tanuki girl had the good grace to look embarrassed.

With everyone's eyes now firmly on him, Jun answered with practiced ease "Though there are indeed a wide variety of quirks in the world, with few exceptions, each quirk has a singular characteristic. One can control fire or shrink things or they can fly. Perhaps they have the characteristics of a given animal. Some have physical characteristics that are out of the norm but don't directly affect their quirk. One student in the first years has the head of a crow but his quirk is that he manifests a shadow being from his body. Dual or fusion quirks are very rare so if a lighter happens to have disparate abilities we can't easily explain with a quirk then that lighter will need to hold back from using one or more of their skills."

"This has happened before. Otherwise, you would not have such a policy." Emeralda pointed out, stating it as fact instead of a question.

Jun nodded as he said "Indeed, Kasim-san. One of our lighters has an involuntary shape-shifting ability that in no way meshed with his impressive combat skills. We had to ask him to refrain from using those unique combat techniques in public, something he was less than happy about."

Zelgadis mulled over the former hero's explanation, seeming to accept it without comment. When it was clear that was as far as the subject was going to go, Jun motioned for the group to follow him as they began touring the hall. As they walked Jun took note of the formally entranced young woman and stepped over to ask her "Is it all too much or did something in particular catch your eye?"

Michiru almost hopped as she walked, she was so excited "Basketball! I can't believe I'm going to have my own basketball court here!"

Tilting his head, Jun quickly replied "Basketball? Is that a game you play in your world? Here we play bouceball. Do you also have to kick the ball into the hoop in basketball?"

The tanuki girl looked mortified as her eyes bulged out of her head. That quickly turned to frustrated indignation when Jun waved his hand, a guilty smile on his face "Sorry, Kagemori-san, a bad joke. I'm told my sense of humor can be a bit mean-spirited. It is indeed basketball we play here, and odds are its not much different than yours back home."

Michiru didn't think her new teacher's joke was very funny and neither did Emeralda or Zelgadis by appearances. Xellos thought it was hilarious though and kept laughing through at least a couple of the explanations Jun gave for other aspects of the hall as they walked, much to the group’s annoyance.

Finally having come to the back portion of the hall with the concrete floor, Jun pointed to the large lockers lining the walls "And here you'll find a wide assortment of weapons and the like to either practice with or against. There are also robots that can serve as opponents. They aren't as good as the real thing, but they are better than nothing."

That last term confused the blue-skinned chimera, calling out "What, exactly is a robot? I haven't heard that term yet."

Glancing away as he thought how to word his answer, Jun replied "You mentioned you are part rock golem in your paperwork, yes? Robots are kind of like golems, soulless automatons that do as we design them."

Zelgadis nodded, seeming to understand "I think I get it…also, why are you backing away?"

It was true, Jun had been slowly putting some distance between himself and the group as the exchange took place. Having been discovered, the former hero picked up his pace but remained calm as he answered "Ah, that would be because Hina tends to have a hard time holding back…"

Moments later, several punching bags came crashing into the space the group had just been standing, the four of them dodging out of the way just in time, scattering in different directions. Wide-eyed but still calm and on one knee, Michiru called out to their new teacher, now a safe distance away "Sanada-sensei, whats going on?"

Zelgadis called out as well, though he sounded far less happy about the sudden attack "Yeah, what the hell is the meaning of this!"

Jun bowed in apology before calling out his response "My apologies, a bad habit I picked up from another teacher! I haven't had a chance to see and gauge your abilities and surprises are a good way to see how one handles and responses to pressure! I promise Hina won't push you too hard!"

"Damnit! Didn't he just say that girl had a hard time holding back!" Zelgadis asked to no one in particular as he unsheathed his sword, tossing the books Jun had given him to the ground. It was just in time for the swordsman to step into one of the punching bags that had risen and flown at him, sword at the ready. The cut was swift and clean, ripping the bag in two, though the cloud of dust got in the chimera's face, blinding him.

Michiru, mean time, had also had a punching bag hurling toward her. As it was about to hit her, for the first time since becoming a beastman, instead of morphing her limbs, the tanuki girl's torso swelled and hardened into a turtle shell, not unlike the hero they had seen yesterday, though not as large. A good thing to because her cloths were straining at the change. Leaning into the bag, it impacted with Michiru's new carapace and ricocheted sideways into the ground. Without missing a beat, Michiru belted a battle cry as her torso shrank back and she raised her fist high. Her arm expanded into a massive gorilla fist and she smashed down, crushing the sandbag. Her enlarged fist kept the sand from escaping in a cloud as it just had with Zelgadis, having pressed it into the ground.

Being near Zelgadis, Michiru was able to see what happened to the chimera and while he struggled to see his surroundings, two more bags came hurling toward him. Acting quickly, having shrunk her other arm back to normal, Michiru threw out her other arm, which began to narrow and extend much like rope, wrapping itself around Zelgadis' torso. With a hard yank, Michiru was able to pull the blinded sorcerer-swordsman out of the way just in time. Landing with a thud in front of her, Michiru's arm retracted back to normal as she asked, "You ok, Zel?"

"Peachy" came the chimera's dry response as he struggled to get the dust out of his eyes. "Thanks, by the way."

Meanwhile, Emeralda had managed to deflect the first bag thrust at her, having shifted her arms into a single large shield. Unfortunately for her, Xellos' means of avoiding a hit was to simply teleport a short distance away, causing the bag meant for him to continue forward, right into the tan-skinned girl's back, knocking her off her feet. Rolling onto her back, the greenette could see the bag that hit her and the one she had deflected had both risen and were fast approaching her. At the last moment, she rolled hard as the two bags hit the ground she had just occupied. Using her momentum as she rolled, Emeralda pushed herself up onto her feet just as the bags began moving toward her again. Spinning in a circle, the tails of her scarf spinning about her, Emeralda shifted her hair into a massive hammer that came around just as the bags came near, smashing them both hard as she came around. Both punching bags beelined straight into the opposite wall of the training hall, each exploding into a cloud on impact.

Having finally regained some of his sight, Zelgadis decided not to swing his sword so close to Michiru as the final two bags were fast approaching. Instead, he held out his hands as though to shoot a bow and arrow, calling out "Freeze Arrow!" In quick succession, two arrows of ice formed from his hands and shot forward. Each impacted a punching bag, freezing them instantly.

Unfortunately, since their momentum was that of Hina's telekinesis, all Zelgadis managed to do was make the projectiles colder and harder. With mere moments to spare, the chimera placed both hands out, palms open and called out "Bomb Di Wind!" A massive blast of air burst from his hands and for a moment, the magical air held even against the Hina's power, keeping the bags suspended in mid air. Finally, the wind won out and the last bags went flying back, arching backwards and shattering on impact with the ground.

(X)

"Yes, thank you Kanzaki-san. The detective and I will go to visit young Yaoyorozu as soon as we get word that she is awake tomorrow. Thank you so much for passing her message along. Goodbye." The number one hero ended his call with the counselor sent to check on the first-year students attacked the night before. Turning, All Might regarded Detective Tsukauchi, who had been beside him listening to the call.

Nodding, the detective spoke what he was thinking "If your student does have a way of tracking the attackers, at worst it'll confirm the intel that Gargoyle and Shadow Rider gave us. At best…"

"At best, they'll lead us to wherever those Nomu are being created or to my old nemesis himself!" All Might declared, pumping his fist, his face chiseled with determination.

The decidedly calmer Naomasa pulled out his own phone and started scrolling through his contacts. As he looked, the detective brought those goals back to earth "One way or the other, we're going to need at least enough heroes for one raid team, possibly two. We have the element of surprise and I think we can strengthen that advantage if UA agrees to my idea about their upcoming press conference."

Shrinking down to his weakened form, All Might gave his old friend a half smile "I have no doubt that Principal Nezu will agree to your plan, you don't have to worry about that."

"Good" Naomasa said, taking mental notes of who would be nearby enough for this operation before adding "I have several heavy hitters in mind, but do you have any suggestions of who should be in on this, All Might?"

Without hesitation, the greatest hero of them all answered "I do! I can think of nothing more fitting than if the two who brought us that intel being apart of this. Not just because they helped make it possible, but because this is what they've been striving for."

Pausing in his thoughts, Naomasa looked up from his phone, concern on his face "Are you sure? You don't think they may be emotionally comprised?"

"They're trained heroes! I have every confidence they will do what is right and professional in the moment. Please, I think it is only right." The skeletal blonde pleaded.

The detective seemed to mull it over for a moment before nodding firmly "Alight, they're in. Go ahead and call them while I finalize the list."

Chuckling, All Might pulled out his phone again "Well, its still too early to call one but I'm sure Shadow Rider can pass along the message."

With that, the number one hero found the contact and hit call.

(X)

Breathing heavily from the adrenaline, Zelgadis glanced about, seeing that all the punching bags were down. His guard still up, he called out "Everyone ok?"

"Yep!" Michiru replied.

Emeralda calmly answered "Yes."

Xellos appeared beside the chimera, leaning in sideways to touch shoulder to shoulder "I'm great too, Mr. Zelgadis!

Stepping back quickly to cause the annoying mazuku to lose his balance and fall sideways, Zelgadis called out "What the hell was that!? I thought you were here to help us?"

Still some distance away, Jun answered as apologetically as calling out from the other side of gym would allow "Indeed! But I can't help you if I don't know about you! As to what that was, the answer is, round 1!"

Michiru's eyes widened when Jun finished that sentence and she looked over to Hina, still near the doors they had entered. Even as far away as she was, the tanuki girl could pick up the smile spread across the telekinetic’ s face. Suddenly, the lockers lining the wall near the group flung open, revealing a wide assortment of weapons from broadswords to katana, knives to spears and even simple bats with nails in them.

"Brace yourselves, everyone!" was all Michiru could get out before the various weapons came flying at them.

Emeralda shifted one forearm into a blade and the other into a rounded shield while Zelgadis brought his sword up to defend himself. Michiru shifted her arms into that of a bear, and with a yell and even more sparking, the claws on her new paws expanded and sharpened to a foot long each. Xellos just stood there, seemingly unfazed by anything going on.

As the weapons approached, some veered off to either side. As weapons began making contact with their targets, Zelgadis realized as he deflected a sword and two smaller knives that the other weapons were spinning around them in a circle, most likely to keep them in place. Before he could think of a way out though he sensed something behind him and managed to turn and knock away a blade that he realized had been meant for Xellos, who had just reappeared to the opposite side of him.

Michiru and Emeralda meanwhile had backed up against each other and were doing their best to deflect the weapons down and way so as to avoid anyone else getting hit on a bounce. Unlike before with the massive sandbags, it was all they could do to avoid being hit. Worse, after being deflected, the various tools of death would simply rise and return to circling with the rest.

Starting to worry that there was no end in sight, Michiru called out "Any bright ideas anyone?" as she caught a broadsword in between her claws. With a quick flick of her wrist, she was able to snap the blade in two. Before she could celebrate even that small victory however, the two halves of the sword simply flew back into the circle, effectively now two weapons instead of one. "Seriously?! Come ON!" the tanuki girl wailed impudently.

After dodging another weapon, a glaive this time, meant for Xellos again, the rock-encrusted swordsmen called out "Everyone on me!"

In just a few moments, the others had gathered on the chimera, who sheathed his sword, held out his hands and called out "Windy Shield!" A moment later a translucent bubble-shaped barrier suddenly formed around the four of them, just in time for several blades to slam into it, each clanging and bouncing off.

Sighing in relief Michiru smiled up at Zelgadis, who kept his hands up "Thanks, Zel! How long can you keep that up?"

Without looking at the tanuki girl, Zelgadis answered "Depends on how much pressure is applied. Right now, long enough to come up with a plan. Any ideas?"

"Can't you use that wind spell like before?" Michiru asked.

"It’s not omni-directional, besides, I don't know how effective it'll be against more aerodynamic objects like these. I have other spells that would do the trick but they may well take the building down along with the weapons."

After that there were several moments of silence, punctuated by the increasing sound of metal clanging against the barrier. With no one else offering a suggestion, Emeralda glanced at the other three, expecting one of them to speak up and offer a plan. When no one did, she frowned slightly, knowing she was going to have to speak. When she did, it was just one word, "Hina."

"Hina? What about her, Emeralda?" Michiru asked, a bit confused.

"Ah, going for the head, Kasim-san?" Xellos asked, finally deciding to contribute something to this whole exercise.

"A light going off in her head, Michiru clarified "You think we need to go after Hina-san to stop the blades?"

"Ah yes" Zelgadis added, his voice sounding more strained with the increasing pressure from more hits to his barrier, "I had started thinking along those same lines, Kasim-san. We'll need to get at her before she can bring those weapons to bare though."

"I could fly! Look, she's left the area above us open! If this is a test, that may be our opening!" Michiru suggested, pumping her fist for emphasis.

Inwardly surprised everyone ran with her barely expressed idea, Emeralda still maintained her emotionless expression as she pointed out an even better idea "Metallium-san, could just teleport over and knock her out." It was so obvious and simple and delivered with so little enthusiasm that it took the wind right out of Michiru's sails.

Waving the tan girl's suggestion off, Xellos was dismissive while still sounding excited "I could, I suppose, but that wouldn't be much fun, would it? I'd love to see Kagemori-san's plan!"

Michiru just starred dumbly at her purple-haired compatriot. If you looked closely, you could see Emeralda's eyes narrow ever so slightly in annoyance. Zelgadis mean time was starting to struggle more, adding as he raised his voice "Whatever you do, do it sooner rather than later, I can't hold this forever!"

"Right. Emeralda, is there any way you could give me a boast" Michiru asked, not even bothering to look at the continuously useless mazuku.

Pursing her lips as she thought for a moment, Emeralda nodded then proceeded to lay on the ground. Raising an eyebrow, Michiru was about to ask when the greenette raised her arms as they shifted into two coiled springs. "Will this do, Michiru?"

A nervous smile crossed the tanuki girl's lips "Yeah, I think I can make that work but this shield will have to come down for me to jump, right Zel?"

"It…gaah…it will. But at least so far, Hina hasn't shown she can change the weapons direction quickly, I think we can dodge if we time it right." Zelgadis answered, having a harder and harder time maintaining the barrier.

Pointing to himself, Xellos asked with a pout "What about me? What should I do?"

With venom in her voice, Michiru quickly answered "Take care of yourself. You seem pretty good at that."

Whether the mazuku was actually hurt by the retort or not, no one could tell but he made a show of it, slumping his shoulders and turning away.

Wasting no time to worry about Xellos' feelings, Michiru locked eyes with Emeralda and Zelgadis "Ready?" Her question was met with two firm nods "Alright, lets do this!" Her legs shifting into those of a kangaroo and Michiru leapt up coming down directly on Emeralda's springs. Just as she made contact and began pressing down, Zelgadis broke his spell.

With their protection gone, the weapons pressed forward from all sides. Zelgadis dove forward, hitting the ground and rolling under one side of the swirling weapons. As soon as Michiru shot up, Emeralda began shifting her arms back as she too rolled, bumping into Xellos' legs and grabbing on just as he teleported away, taking her with him unwittingly.

As the others avoided evisceration, Michiru rose like a rocket shifting her body around to hit the ceiling of the hall with her feet. Making contact with the tips of her kangaroo feet, she was able to angle herself toward Hina, who was just realizing what was happening, and pressed hard, shooting toward the telekinetic. As soon as her feet left the ceiling, Michiru changed her body again, this time her arms into wings and feet into talons. The addition of feathers and tucking her wings tight, allowed the tanuki girl to gain even more speed as she cut through the air toward the stunned telekinetic.

As Michiru neared Hina, she shifted her arms into their gorilla form, aiming to knock her assailant out in one shot. Meer inches away from knocking Hina out cold though, the tanuki girl's massive fist instead smashed into an invisible wall of psychic energy, which cracked, before giving way and shattering. This slowed the girl's momentum enough that when Michiru came into contact with Hina's face, it was only enough to stagger her, though Michiru tumbling into her did finally bring her off her feet.

As the tanuki girl motioned to pin the other girl down, she was greeted with a laugh, bringing the Michiru up short. Finally, Hina regained enough composure to speak "Not bad! Even though it was four, ok, three and a quarter, against one, that wasn't bad at all!"

Titling her head like a confused puppy, Michiru asked as she released the other girls' arms "That's it? We won?"

"Woah there, I wouldn't go that far. You just did what you needed to do to end the test, that's all." Then, pointing her finger at Michiru she added "Now get off me." Moving her finger slightly to the left, Michiru suddenly went flying sideways, tumbling in a heap a few feet away.

As Hina got up, rubbing the side of her face Michiru had made contact, Emeralda and Zelgadis came running up to the downed tanuki girl. The greenette reached out, concern all over her normally stoic face "Are you ok, Michiru?"

Rolling over, Michiru groaned, her eyes still shut "Yeah, I feel like a truck just hit me, that's all. Just…let me lay here for a minute and I'll be fine, thank you Emmy."

Looking relieved himself, Zelgadis noted their 'teacher' walking up. At least the guy didn't look pleased with himself. Regardless, the chimera's relief quickly shifted to anger as he grabbed Jun by the front of his shirt and got right in the older man’s face as he bellowed "THAT WAS A TEST!? You had her trying to kill us, what the hell is wrong with you!?"

Trying to maintain his composure and only partially succeeding in concealing his guilt, Jun answered "Hina is quite skilled, she never aimed to inflict a mortal blow, I assure you. I am sorry, truly, but it is as I said, the best tests are unexpected ones. Not only do I have a better feel for your abilities, but I also have a sense of how you work with others."

Clearly not convinced, Zelgadis did not let go, and in fact tightened his grip "One wrong or unexpected move and one of us could have died, you realize that, right!? We get ripped away from our worlds, we trust you and you try to kill us! How is that right, how is that FAIR!?"

At that, Jun's own hold on his temper slipped and the normally calm and steady trainer of heroes and displaced souls snapped back "LIFE ISN"T FAIR, ZELGADIS!"

So stunned by the passion and anger in the retort, the sorcerer-swordsmen let go of his grip, his eyes wide. Stepping back and adjusting his shirt as he calmed himself again, Jun continued "I'm sure that sword of yours isn't for show, Greywards-san. Every time you draw it, you go into the unknown, you take a risk that you may not survive the next fight, correct? My job is to help you. It is, in fact, all that matters to me. That doesn't mean I hold your hand because sometimes it’s going to be hard. No matter what you do, what you choose, I have to be sure you are ready to face it and before I can do that, I have to know where to start. Now, I do. Again, I am sorry I betrayed your trust and I hope you will forgive me but whether you do or don't, won't change that I will still do my best. For what it’s worth, I was very impressed with you."

As Jun spoke, Zelgadis trembled in anger, his face turned to the side, unable to look the silver-haired older man in the face. The rest listened intently, upset but not nearly as enraged as Zelgadis had become.

Finally, when Jun had concluded, the chimera narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Jun, his stare affixed in cold fury before he quickly turned and walked out. As he did, Michiru finally got to her feet, her mood also subdued, but willing to try to lighten the heavy mood that had settled among them, asking "So…anyone think dinner is ready?"

(X)

As the sun neared the edge of the horizon a lone figure walked down the hallway of the top floor of a rather bland looking apartment complex. The figure, clearly a woman to any who had eyes, was clad in a skintight black jumpsuit wrapped in a flowing black cape that came down to behind her knees. In this age of heroes that wasn't an unusual sight. The fact that this woman's head was completely concealed by a black motorcycle helmet with prominent car ears part of its form, however, was quite odd. If one looked closely, a black choker with a black heart in the middle rested on the woman's throat. One might also wonder how she was able to see where she was going with the helmet's shield down as she walked, assuming they weren't distracted by her impressive figure, anyway.

The woman clad in black reached her destination, an apartment door that had several more locks on it than normal and on close inspection, was thicker and heavier than one would expect from such an otherwise unnoteworthy housing complex. Fishing a small set of keys with a key card also attached from a pocket, the woman made her way through the various locks before inputting the code on the keypad attached to the door handle and turning it.

The apartment was spacious though sparsely decorated and furnished. A simple round table with two chairs and a laptop closed sitting on top, a brown three-seat sofa in front of a smallish flatscreen TV and a wall hiding the kitchenette on the other side. There were three other rooms though, one the bathroom, while the other two were certainly meant as bedrooms. It was the closer of these two rooms the woman was interested in, stepping in as the sun was about to set.

Inside, the room was completely bare. No furniture, no pictures on the bare white walls, nothing. Except for the very conspicuous stone statue at the center. The statue depicted a winged humanoid, his arms crossed and wings resting out behind his back and a tail running down to the ground and bent back toward the figure. His head featured two small, rounded horns on the top of his head between which hair flowed between and down to the base of his neck. His ears were long and pointed and his face was elongated about six inches out into a somewhat rounded beak. Despite this, the statue appeared contemplative, as though considering some great question.

Finally, the sun set, and everything changed. The eyes of the statue began to glow white before cracks began forming all over the figure. Then the whole of the stone seemed to writhe and ripple before exploding outward, bits of stone bouncing off the walls and crocheting off the ceiling. The woman didn't seem to mind being pelted with bits of rock, seeming to be impatient for this whole event to be over.

Sure enough, with all the rock gone, the once motionless, lifeless piece of carved rock was now a living, breathing gargoyle, with orange skin, white hair and wearing a leather armored jacket and black pants over his perpetually bent legs.

The dramatic explosion of rock moments earlier was belied by the yawn that followed it from the creature as he scratched the back of his head. Turning, he noticed his guest and asked, his speech accented, hinting at his English-speaking origins "It's a bit early, isn't it Celty? Whats up?"

The black clad Celty took a moment to remove her helmet, revealing no head at all. Instead, a black miasma seemed to be emanating from her neck. Despite the lack of a mouth, a response could be heard, the voice perfectly normal if grave "This is it, Brooklyn. They think that bar we scoped out a couple of weeks ago belongs to All for One and All Might wants us in on the raid to get a UA student back tomorrow night. You ready?"

The gargoyle's eyes narrowed, and his beaked mouth twisted into a predatory grin "I've been ready since the moment that asshole dumped me here."

(X)

Chapter Text

It had been a long, boring day for Shinra Kusukabe. Once a rookie in the esteemed Fireforce back home, well on his way to being the hero he promised he would be, the pyrokinetic found himself practically alone in a hospital room. With only his comatose classmate, the occasional visit by a nurse and the constant hum and beeping of monitors keeping the young man company, Shinra waited for Hitomi to return from her trip to consul the first-year students attacked overnight.

Shinra was always willing to help and part of being a hero in this world was knowing how to help victims, to reassure them and let them know things would be ok. So Shinra was perfectly fine with staying behind to watch over Terra in case she woke up. Still, the sharp-toothed hero-in-training was a man of action, ready and willing to dive into a fight to save someone. Sitting still for long periods of time without even a person to talk to was borderline torture for him.

Standing up from his folding chair for what felt like the millionth time, Shinra paced about the room, stopping to stare at the artwork on one of the walls, a depiction of butterflies flying in a group toward the sun, appearing to turn into rays of light. There was just so much to get used to in this world. After having spent his life in a world swallowed by fire, something as simple as a butterfly, a creature these people saw every day and took for granted, for him was the realization of something only read about in history books back home. It was so jarring how much the people of this world had. Yet even more disconcerting though was how so many people who could want to take it all away.

Shinra's home may have been hell but it was his home. Things were simpler there and he still had his brother to save. He'd be damned if he didn't do all he could to get back to his own world. Turning to look back at the green-haired woman in bed, Shinra frowned, sure than that she didn't feel the way he did. For as long as he had been here, Shinra had felt how happy Terra was, living here. Contrasted with the way Hina had described Terra when she first arrived and the former fireforce member was sure that his fellow provisional hero felt more at home here than he did.

Sighing, the black-haired young man stepped over to the bed, his hands clenched hard on the bed’s side rails. He'd promised to do it but the last thing he wanted to be was the one to tell Terra what had happened at the shopping mall. It would break her heart to know all the damage she'd caused and the people she'd hurt. But he would do it. As a hero, as a friend, he would do it.

Luckily, though, after hearing a brief exchange on the other side of the door, it opened to reveal a tired looking Hitomi. Shinra knew the older woman had to drive a distance away and that she hadn't gotten much sleep since yesterday. All and all, she looked weary and worn. It was a hard sight to bare, so as he released his grip on the bed's guardrails and turned to face the lighters counselor, Shinra asked "Are…you ok, Kanzaki-san? You look a little tired."

Upon hearing Shinra's question, the green-eyed brunette's posture straightened, and her eyes became more alert, realizing the act had to go on. Forcing a smile on her face, Hitomi titled her head and waved her hand dismissively "Yes, of course Shinra, I'm fine! It was just a long drive. I just need some coffee and I'll be good as new!"

Shinra looked unconvinced and decided to say so, "Kanzaki-san, you've pushed yourself pretty hard. I can stay here tonight if you need to sleep in your own bed?" As he finished, he flashed a confident smile to drive his suggestion home, despite even another hour in the hospital being…less than desirable for the pyrokinetic.

Placing her bag beside the chair, Hitomi's smile grew warmer and more genuine "That's very sweet Shinra but…no, I think you should head back yourself. I'm sure you'd like to stay in your own bed as well. Besides, you have new housemates to meet, don't you?"

Frowning in disappointment at being rebuffed, another idea shot into Shinra's head "What about dinner? Can I at least get you something to eat? Unless I miss my guess, you didn't stop to eat, did you?"

The young man had tensed as he spoke, clenching his fists as he attempted to be of use. When he finished though, Hitomi gently placed a hand on his shoulder, that kind smile of hers radiating the happiness she felt for his consideration "Its ok, Shinra. I know you're worried about me but its ok. I'll be here for Terra just the same as I would for any of the rest of you. Thank you so much for your concern, I'll be sure to get something to eat soon, ok?"

Completely disarmed by the older woman's reassurance, Shinra smiled back, nodding "Ok, if that's what you want, Kanzaki-san, I'll head out. But you better eat, or I'll be very upset at you!"

Moving to sit down, Hitomi waved at the young man "I will, now have a great night Shinra."

With one last glance back, Shinra began to feel he had failed miserably but suspected things would get heated if he had pushed harder. With a wave, he left, shutting the door behind him. So absorbed in his thoughts, Shinra entirely missed the short figure with an oversized syringe in her grey hair standing between one of the two guards at the room's entrance.

Ostensibly alone, Hitomi slumped back in her chair as much as its meager support would allow. It was going to be another long night, though at least she could spend the time filing her report from her visit with the first years. Before she could reach for her bag to retrieve her tablet however, the door flew open, a very angry looking older woman, shrunken with age, her grey hair held tight in a bun held in place with a syringe to match her cane. Her stylized white doctor's outfit and eye shield held in place by large pink braces on either side of her head marked her as the renowned Recovery Girl, or Chiyo Shuzenji, and she was none to pleased at the sight in front of her.

Hitomi shot up in her chair ramrod straight, turning in surprise as the old hero barked "What the hell was that just now!"

The younger woman struggled to form a coherent answer under such an intimidating presence bearing down on her and all Hitomi could manage was a babbling "Wah, wah, what do you mean?"

"You need rest, Kanzaki-san and that nice young man was offering it to you, and you turned it down. Why?" Chiyo clarified, her voice softer but her tone no less reproachful.

Regaining her bearing a bit, Hitomi couldn't bare the intense gaze of the much shorter and older woman, turning to look at Terra instead "This is my responsibility, not his. If anyone should be here for Terra, it should be me. Shinra…needs his rest, it’s been a long couple of days for him too."

"That's it?" the healing hero retorted, her voice dripping with condescension "You feel responsible, so you need to suffer for this poor girl's sake? What would she say if she knew you were running yourself into the ground, hmm girl?"

"I…"

"You nothing! If you made a mistake, that means you need to do better next time, not wallow in self-pity! What kind of counselor are you? Last time I checked, you were responsible for more than just this one girl, right?" Chiyo continued, pointing at the sleeping Terra.

Trying to gain a footing against the verbal onslaught, Hitomi tried again to explain "Y-Yes, that's true, it’s just when she wakes up-"

"Kanzaki-san, dear, I've used my quirk on her, we've been monitoring her since she came in and at this point, there is nothing wrong with her that we can detect. If she hasn't woken up yet, I don't know that she will any time soon." The wizened old healer finished, her tone now softer, as she sought to reassure the younger woman. When she saw the concern still in Hitomi's face, Chiyo added "I've called in a friend of mine, her quirk lets her diagnose anyone with a touch. Whatever is wrong with her, we'll find out, I promise."

Guilt at her failure rapidly being replaced with the shame of her selfish train of thought threatened to overwhelm the exhausted counselor as she put her face in her hands. It took everything she had to fight back the tears. Satisfied she had got her point across, Chiyo approached and gently placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder "You have four people who undoubtedly feel lost right now. Go home, get some rest and help them as you have helped so many others, ok Hitomi?"

Hearing Recovery Girl call her by her given name, the brunette looked up, tears having forced their way to the edges of her eyes as she looked on in shock "Your…your right, Shuzenji-san. I'm so sorry."

A smile gracing her wrinkled face, Chiyo took a step back as she said "Nothing to be sorry for. It can be hard to see your own failings when you’re busy helping everyone else with theirs. Just head home and rest up, that's all the thanks I need. I'll call you when I have a diagnosis."

Standing up rather shakily, Hitomi nodded, trying to force a smile and failing miserably. Grabbing her bag, she walked past the tiny old hero, stopping a few feet past. Taking a moment to look back one last time at the comatose greenette, Hitomi clasped the small red pendent dangling from her neck, before letting out a long sigh. Finally, she turned to leave.

Chiyo watched her go, satisfied she had gotten through. She did, however, lament that she didn't feel half as confident about finding out what was wrong with Terra as she sounded just moment earlier.

(X)

Mob did, in fact, have dinner ready when everyone returned from the "tour" Jun had just led them on. Knowing full well his presence would not be welcome, the silver-haired former hero excused himself. As he did so though, he let everyone know that he would be holding an introduction class the next morning at nine before taking everyone out to get some clothes.

Zelgadis, still very upset with their unannounced test in the training hall, grabbed some food and excused himself to his room with hardly a word, a bowl of food in one hand and his Japanese book in the other. Poor Mob thought he had done something wrong. It was only after some reassurance from Michiru that Mob calmed down. Once everyone actually got to eating, the meal passed quietly, an awkward silence hanging over the table, only broken by Xellos' occasional attempt at poor humor.

After Michiru offered to help clean up and getting gently told it was better to rest by the quiet member of the telekinetic duo, the tanuki girl joined Emeralda and Xellos in retiring to their rooms. Michiru was glad to see the other two members of the group each brought their own copy of the language of this new land.

Laying on her bed, having just got back from a nice and long bath and re-dressed herself, Michiru heard a gentle knock on her door. The exhaustion of the day starting to catch up with her, the tanuki girl dragged herself off the increasingly inviting comfort of her new bed to stumble over to the door "Yes?" she tiredly asked.

There was a moment of silence after she had asked where Michiru thought the knocker had decided she was asleep and walked off, making her feel a bit guilty. After a moment though, the soft and unsure voice of Emeralda came back "Michiru, could you come downstairs?"

Opening the door, as much confusion as concern on her furry features, Michiru asked the greenette "Um, sure Emeralda, is everything ok?"

The tan young woman seemed unfazed either by the look on Michiru's face or by her question as she answered "Greywards-san wishes to talk and asked me to come get you is all."

Oh, now the sourpuss wanted to talk. Well, so much for sleep. Slapping her face a couple of times to wake up, an action that earned a raised eyebrow from her companion, Michiru stepped forward and past Emeralda. "Ok, sure, let’s see what Zelgadis has to say."

The two proceeded wordlessly down the hall and descended the stairs to find the chimera looking through his Japanese book, a sour look on his face. Unsure of what this whole meetup was about, Michiru smiled and asked as she approached "Hey Zelgadis, studying hard?"

The rock-encrusted man's frown only deepened at the question as he set the book down and grumbled "I've learned magic, I've deciphered ancient runes. I've mastered swordsmanship, I'm a decent shot with a gun, I can even play guitar." The tanuki girl only looked confused, sitting down as the chimera continued "But your written language, Michiru, may be the most frustrating thing I've taken up."

Immediately insulted, Michiru only dared raise her voice an octave or two so as to not disturb anyone trying to sleep "Seriously?! Come on, children learn this just fine! Besides, you've just started learning basic words, right?" Looking annoyed, the tanuki girl turned to the now also seated Emeralda "Come on, it can't be that bad, right?"

Michiru seemed to be pleading desperately with the tan girl but as much as Emeralda wanted to be nice and agree, she averted her gaze, answering "It…is not simple."

Collapsing forward, her head on the table and arms sprayed out, Michiru was at a loss for words. They didn't even know about the different alphabets yet either…

After a few moments of that dramatic display, Zelgadis cleared his throat, causing the tanuki girl to sit back up as he spoke "Our challenges with learning to read aside, I asked you two here because this is the first real chance we've had to talk without someone over our shoulder."

"What of Metallium-san?" Emeralda immediately asked, though with a hint of distain in her voice.

The chimera's eyes narrowed as he brought his hands up, locking them together as his elbows rested on the table "Xellos can't be trusted. He’s a mazuku, he isn't human. The less he's involved, the better off we'll all be, trust me."

"So what if he's not human? Technically I'm not human either, since beastmen are a different species than normal humans." Michiru pointed out. Emeralda remained silent, though she did appear less comfortable.

Bringing one hand to his chest, Zelgadis countered "And I'm only technically a third human. That's not my point. Mazuku are beings of pure magic, born of the sea of chaos and whose sole purpose in life is to bring an end to all life. To return it all to the sea of chaos. He may play the clown but if he willed it, this whole world could be laid to ruin at his feet."

Picturing said mazuku trying to flip a light switch and failing, Michiru appeared skeptical "Are we talking about the same guy here? I mean, all he seems good at is dodging, asking questions and being as annoying as possible."

Throwing the hand that was on his chest against the table, much louder than he intended, Zelgadis shot back "You're not listening! I don't know what game he is playing at, but make no mistake, Xellos is very dangerous!"

"And I think you're being paranoid! I haven't forgotten you were the one holding him up and yelling at him when you first got here!" Michiru countered, both hands on the table as she shot out of her seat.

"That was-"

"Michiru. Greywards-san. Please." It wasn't much but Emeralda's sudden interjection, even and calm, was all that was needed to bring the other two up short. After a moment of tense silence, Michiru sat back down and Zelgadis laid back in his chair.

"Sorry, Emeralda." Michiru said, her checks red in embarrassment despite her fur.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Zelgadis added "Right, sorry." Before adding "Oh and please just call me Zelgadis. None of that formal stuff."

The tan girl nodded as she too spoke "Then please also call me Emeralda." Then, remembering earlier in the training hall, she turned to the tanuki girl "You called me Emmy earlier, why?"

A look of recognition appeared on Zelgadis' face "Yeah, that's right and you called me Zel, Michiru. Only Lina ever called me that…"

"Heh, sorry guys, it was the heat of the moment, so I just sort of shortened your names, I hope you don't mind?" Michiru rather meekly explained, scratching the back of her head.

Glancing away, a half-smile on his face, Zelgadis responded "It’s not that I don't mind, it’s just…nostalgic, I guess. Yes, it's fine."

"Ki-, I mean Fei would sometimes call me Emmy as well. You may use it too Michiru." Emeralda added, her amber eyes softer even if her expression remained even.

"Anyway." Zelgadis interjected "Doesn't this all seem off to either of you?"

Titling her head slightly, the tanuki girl answered back "What do you mean all of this? You mean this house? Sanada-sensei? Or this world? You'll have to be more specific because this whole kidnapped to another world thing is pretty off to me."

"Right, sorry. I mean, this all seems too good to be true. I feel like they're holding something back from us. Why the hell can't we just go out and find the one who brought us here and send us back? Why do we have to go to school, of all things? Why did we have to be 'tested' like that?" Zelgadis elaborated.

Raising her hands, palms open in a stop motion, Michiru quickly countered "Woah, woah there Zel. Yeah, it does kind of feel like we're just being lead around and expected to just take everyone's word but at the same time, if we're not the first to have this happen to them, it'd make sense they'd have all this set up, right?"

"Refugees."

"What was that, Emeralda?" the rock-encrusted swordsmen asked, tilting his pointed ear slightly in her direction.

"Back home. When refugees came to Nisan, there was a system to find out who they were and where they could stay. This is like that, I think." The tan girl pointed out, keeping her head down and focused on the table instead of making eye contact.

"This seems like a pretty big step up from hordes of dispossessed being cared for in a church though, wouldn't you say?" was the chimera's dry response, even if inwardly he could see the logic in the comparison.

Emeralda seemed to shrink from the scrutiny, prompting Michiru to shoot back "But they said so themselves, there have only been nine others before us! Wouldn't it be easier to care for nine people than thousands?"

"Yeah, but why?" Zelgadis pressed, his voice rising again. "It seems to me they are either trying to keep us away from the outside or the rest of the world away from us. I don't know about you two but I'm about ready to just fly out of here-"

"Boy, you really don't know anything do you?" came a voice from the door, causing the three at the table to all turn to see who had spoken.

Walking toward them was a grim looking Shinra. The pyrokinetic appeared worn, in the same clothes he had been wearing at the mall the previous day and was clearly not in the best of moods. He was, however, ready to pick a fight. "Your wrong, stony. These people, Sanada-sensei and especially Kanzaki-san, they care about us! This world, it wasn't always like this, and these people went through a lot to get to the peace they have today! All they want is for it to remain that way and to keep you from doing something stupid!"

Unconvinced, his eyes narrowing at the challenging tone from the other young man, Zelgadis asked "Oh? And just what would be 'something stupid?' No offense, but I can do just fine fending for myself, I don't need Sanada-san's little kiddy lessons."

His already low tolerance for shit having be reached, Shinra's stride doubled as he marched right up to the chimera and yanked him up by the front of his top with one hand, rearing to punch with the other, his sharp teeth bared. Instead of swinging though, Shinra spat out as Zelgadis calmly looked on "You idiot! I know because I tried! When I first got here, I thought I could just rush off and find the bad guy and get the hell out of here! It doesn't work that way. This world is complicated, at best you'll just get the authorities after you. At worst, you could get someone killed!"

By now, Emeralda and Michiru had rushed over and had grabbed at the black-haired young man, trying to pull him away. His point made, he relented, letting the two girls drag him away. Zelgadis plopped back in his seat, a scowl on his face as Shinra continued to stare him down from the ground where Michiru and Emeralda had thrown him. Huffing, Zelgadis turned away, sliding out of the chair and moving to go upstairs as he spoke, distain clear in his voice "It seems we're not going to get anything else discussed tonight. I'll see you two in the morning."

With the chimera out of the room, Michiru and Emeralda were left to glare down at the former fireforce member. "I get that Zel can be prickly but that was overboard!" the tanuki girl admonished, her hands on her hips.

Picking himself up, Shinra did not look apologetic as he said "He’s angry and confused. Worse, he’s naïve. For his sake and ours, you two better hope he wakes up to reality. Hopefully Sanada-sensei and Kanzaki-san can help you, but you have to let them. Try to have a good night, ladies."

Putting his hands in his pockets, Shinra went up the stairs as well. The two remaining lighters were left in the main hall, a place that suddenly felt much larger and darker than the well-lit space actually was. Hanging her head, Emeralda grit her teeth, her amber eyes hidden under her pale green hair. Slowly, she put her hand into a well concealed pocket in her skirt, pulling out a necklace. Glancing over, Michiru could see the other girl clutching what looked like a cross, its points of equal length. Each of the four ends widening out from the center with a smaller point emerging from the flattened ends. The center was adorned with a red diamond-shaped jewel and four additional smaller points radiated from the center in the gaps formed by the larger four points. Pressing the cross to her chest, her voice weak and pleading, almost like a child, Emeralda spoke "Michiru, I want to go home."

Pulling her eyes away from her new friend Michiru looked up, as if pleading with the heavens as she agreed "Me too, Emmy. Me too."

(X)

The next morning found Michiru sitting in the middle row of the house's classroom, Emeralda to her left and Xellos on the top level, in the far corner, sitting back and resting his feet on the desk. Zelgadis had yet to appear and the tanuki girl feared that the chimera had made good on his suggestion and fled in the night. Especially since he didn't show up for breakfast earlier.

A few minutes before nine, the door opened and after perking up, Michiru's ears slumped abit when it was Jun backing into the room, his arms full with books and what looked like a tray of cups. It only took a moment for the aroma to reveal the cups contained coffee. Setting his burdens down on his desk, the former hero looked up to find only three of his four new students. Raising an eyebrow, Jun asked "Was Greywards-san not with you for breakfast this morning everyone?"

Three heads shook in the negative and the lighter's teacher furrowed his brow for a moment before following up "Did anyone check on him? I don't think he has a watch, is it possible he doesn't know what time it is?"

Calling out from the corner, Xellos answered, snark clear in his voice "Zelgadis-san saw the sun come up, if he really wanted to be here, he would be, don't you think?"

Before anyone could counter the mazuku, the door swung open to reveal the rock-encrusted sorcerer-swordsmen himself, his face even and emotionless and his sword on his waist. Stepping in to allow the door to shut, Zelgadis glanced toward Jun's desk, then without a word turned, walked over, and grabbed one of the cups. Wise enough not to react, Jun just watched as his fourth new student proceeded to take the end seat on the second row with Emeralda and Michiru. Once everyone was settled, Jun spoke "Does anyone else wish to have a cup?"

"Oh! I'm game!" Xellos called, disappearing, then appearing in front of the desk, coffee in hand before teleporting back to his seat.

Shrugging, Michiru raised her hand and when Jun nodded, the tanki girl lowered her hand and then reached out. As she did so, her arm began to extend to cartoonish proportions, out to the needed twenty feet, before pulling back with the cup in hand. Aghast at the sight, Zelgadis asked "Did…did you just follow Xellos' example?"

Playfully sticking her tongue out in response, the chimera just grumbled and returned to sipping the hot bitter fluid.

With everyone quiet, Jun took the opportunity to get started, clearing his throat first as he stepped out from behind his desk, his arms behind his back "Please don't expect the coffee every day. I promised you all coffee yesterday and much as I'm sure you disagree; I do my best to keep my word."

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes at that and half wondered if the coffee itself had been spiked. Whatever was actually in it, this may have been the best coffee he'd ever had, but he'd be damned if he gave that silver-haired bastard the satisfaction.

"First things first" Jun continued "You've heard before, but I want to make clear the kind of world you find yourselves in. Until seven generations ago, humans in this world were normal, we could only advance and improve ourselves through knowledge, experience and new technologies. Since then, roughly eighty percent of all humans born in this world you are now in expresses some sort of power that we have come to refer to as quirks."

Raising a hand, Michiru waited to be called. When Jun nodded in her direction she asked, "We've only been here a couple of days and I've already seen some wild 'quirks.' Is there any kind of limit to them?"

Raising an eyebrow and looking up and away as he thought for a moment, Jun responded "If you mean is there a limit on what can be expressed as a quirk, then not really. People can have flaming hair, look like squid or even control people with their voice. There is, however, a limit to one’s ability to use ones quirk. It is, after all, a physical ability. One can grow tired using it just the same as a person tires when running. Then again, if that person trains, they can run faster and longer, correct? Well, the same can be said for quirks, sometimes with amazing results, part of the reason schools like this exist."

Michiru raised her hand again, this time not even waiting for Jun's acknowledgment before blurting out her question, concern etched on her face "You said eighty percent have quirks? What about the other twenty percent? They're…they're not, you know, treated differently, are they?"

A light smile played on the older man's face as he saw the look in the tanuki girl's face, glad that she seemed so concerned with others. "People without quirks are commonly referred to as quirkless and in the past they have been victimized and exploited as the majority of the population expressed quirks." At that, Michiru's eyes started to show a fire in them, something else Jun noted as he continued "This is part of the reason we have quirk laws today which limits the use of one's quirk in public, so that everyone can be seen and treated equally. It is true that quirkless people can still be looked down upon and bullied, especially when young, but they very much can, and do, live full and happy lives like anyone else."

Taking a moment to read the room, Jun found Xellos barely seemed to be paying attention at all, another worrying sign where Michiru was now looking relived after her earlier concern. Emeralda showed no emotion the former hero could see but she was clearly attentive and Zelgadis looked skeptical, seemingly his default state, but was at least paying attention. Well, no sense in not pushing forward "We did not get here without sacrifice, however. Many years of confusion, strife and bloodshed led us to our modern society, one that puts strict limits on one’s quirk usage, and that includes your powers now that you are here." Jun finished gravely.

"SO!" the former hero shouted, suddenly clapping his hands in front of him, causing Michiru to jump in her seat. "Here’s the deal!" Jun called, focusing his gaze on Zelgadis specifically "Does it suck that you're stuck here? Yes. Is it fair? Not even close. But you are here and that means, whatever amazing thing you can do, you can't just walk down the street and throw a fireball or fly among the clouds. You want to do that, it needs to be in service to the people, as pro heroes. You want to find a way home, you can. But it will be on our terms. That means being a law enforcement officer or again, a pro hero. Or you can wander off and become a poet or a politician or whatever makes you happy. But-"

Then sweeping his head across the room, making sure to look all four of the new lighters in the eye. "Before you can do any of that though, you need to know this world's laws, its history, its culture. That is what we are here for, to prepare you for whatever life you want to lead, as repreparations for what this world has done to you."

As he finished, Jun settled again on Zelgadis, knowing full well turning the most vocal skeptic of the group would ensure they all agreed. What the former hero got was pursed lips and a long sigh from the chimera. It was neither a rebuff nor an affirmation, but Jun would take it as a start.

Turning and moving back behind his desk, Jun spoke again, more cordially this time "You'll have some time to decide what path you want to take and you can always change it later but the sooner we get started, the sooner you'll be able to move about this world more freely. Oh, and you all better get used to having your powers referred to as quirks so practice using the term." Then snapping his fingers, the classroom's door opened, with Hina and Mob walked in to stand by the former hero's desk, as Jun continued "We'll need to get you each fitted for the official UA uniform and get you a few sets of clothes. While we're out, I think we'll eat as well."

Michiru, having wondered what, if any, uniform might look like at this school, finally got her answer. Both the men's and women's uniform featured a white collared shirt and red tie over which a grey blazer was worn. The blazer had dark blue stripes on the arms by the hands as well as on the open flaps above the gold buttons pinning the jacket closed as well as dark blue epaulets. The only real difference between the two genders was the women's featured a dark blue skirt versus the pants for the men. All and all, Michiru thought they were classy, if less flashy than she expected.

Michiru was snapped out of her thoughts when Hina turned to Jun, her features turning from excitement to disgust at some realization "Wait, when you mean eat out, you don't mean…McGonalds, do you?"

Jun answered with a knowing smile "I do indeed, Hina-chan. Sorry, no expensive caviar this time."

Crossing her arms and huffing, the telekinetic turned away, confusing the four seated lighters watching and prompting Michiru to ask "Is…there something wrong with McGonalds, Yoshifumi-san?"

Her nose upturned and her eyes closed, Hina refused to look at the tanuki girl as she cut back "I told you to call me senpai!"

Leaning over to Michiru, Emeralda whispered "What does that mean? I don't want to be rude."

Checking to make sure Hina still had her eyes closed, the tanuki girl whispered back, her clawed hand over her mouth "Yeah, no, there’s no way we're calling her that."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Michiru felt as though she'd been slapped clean across the face as her head spun sideways. Shooting out of her seat, one hand on her sore check and the other raised in a fist, shaking indigently, Michiru shouted "HEY! What the hell was that for!"

Hina, having not moved a muscle, haughtily answered "I have no idea what you're talking about tanuki, perhaps your fur is sensitive to pressure changes?"

As Emeralda rose and held Michiru back from jumping the desk, Mob turned and uttered "Hina…" somehow sounding reproachful and pathetic all at the same time.

Rolling her eyes, Hina turned to leave "Yes, yes, Mob, I get it. We're leaving Sanada-sensei, have fun at McGonald's."

As the two telekinetics left, Michiru calmed down enough for Emeralda to let her go. Jun cleared his throat to get focus back on him and when all eyes were his, the silver-haired former hero pulled out a small rectangular object from his pocket, saying "Kagemori-san, you know what this is, yes?"

A bit surprised by the seemingly simple question as she sat back down, the tanuki girl paused for a moment before answering, wondering if it was a trick question "It's a cell phone, isn't it, Sanada-sensei?"

Stepping around the desk again and walking up to press against the lower-level desk, a bit of relief on his face, Jun stretched his hand out to his fur covered new student and replied "Indeed it is, sorry for the question but I've learned to not assume everyone comes from the same level of technological advancement. Here, I want you to have it."

Leaning forward reluctantly, Michiru gently took the offered smartphone, still looking confused "Are you sure? I…I can't pay you or anything." Then glancing at Emeralda and Zelgadis, added "…and what about the others?"

Chuckling as he pulled back his now empty hand, Jun responded "Aside from the language barrier, I'm not sure I could trust an expensive smartphone to people who needed help figuring out a light switch yesterday."

Grumbling from the side, Zelgadis almost spat "I'd like to see you shoot a fireball from your hand…"

Ignoring the ornery chimera, Jun added "You are the only one who knows how to use one or read in this group. I'm giving you the responsibility of being the contact for everyone should we get separated, at least until they can have their own. Besides, I'm sure you're eager to get on facespace or mybook or whatever social media kids these days are using."

Clutching her new phone to her chest, happy to have a working one again and proud of the trust placed in her, Michiru said "Thank you, sensei, I won't let you down!"

Nodding, Jun took a couple of steps back before he spoke again "Very good, thank you Kagemori-san. Now, we are adjourned for half an hour. I need to make sure our hero escort is here, and I'll be back with the car. See you then."

(X)

"Are preparations complete, Dr. Garaki?"

Sitting in a massive modified chair, a seemingly confused array of machines interlaced with each other built into and towering over the throne-like seat was All for One, for decades the head of the criminal underworld of Japan. Once a man of imposing stature and possessing of dashing good looks to go along with his charismatic personality, the fallen shadow leader now sat, nearly confined to his seat. His heavily disfigured face covered by a life supporting mask, All for One addressed the man who had been his friend and partner in crime for many years.

The doctor, an older appearing man in a lab coat, eyes covered by goggles, lacked a single hair on his head. This lack of hair was somewhat made up for by his rather bushy and unkept mustache, however. Despite his eyes being obscured, his scrunched features betrayed that he was clearly displeased "Yes, the Nomu have been prepped and can be awakened for deployment any time, master. Still, if I may. Do you truly think Shigaraki is ready?"

If All for One was annoyed at being questioned, it didn't come through in his voice, instead sounding more patronizing "My good doctor, its exactly because he isn't ready that I encouraged him to take action. He will never be ready if we hold his hand forever. Tomura needs to be able to make his own decisions and see them through, come what may. If he thinks kidnapping a hot-headed aspiring hero will further the cause, then he needs to try."

One of the doctor's bushy eyebrows raised at that assertion "But clearly you do not think it is wise, otherwise you wouldn't have had me prep all these Nomu and had me move my precious one so soon after his exertion."

A knowing smile graced the villain mastermind's mouth, his only remaining discernible facial feature "Yes, it was a foolish choice, certain to bring the heroes wrath down upon him for such a high-profile kidnapping."

The mad doctor took a moment to consider that admission before he realized "You…want them to come, I see. So, this really is it then." Then heaving a long sigh, the doctor continued "I hope that you're right. I can continue my research without you of course, but I will miss our conversations, master."

His smile fading as he rested his hands in his lap, All for One replied "Dr. Garaki, I will admit that without you I would have had a much harder time recovering from All Might's assault, but it has been your company that has kept me sane during my convalescence. I do, however, think it’s time for a measure of revenge on the symbol of peace before I take a nice, long vacation. I trust that you will keep our little experiment safe along with your high-ends?"

Bowing in response to his master's kind words, the goggled madman answered, reverence clear in his voice "Of course, master. Even if you hadn't ordered it, the last thing I would want would be to lose possibly my greatest success. He will be safe for whenever you decide you are ready to return."

A smile returning to his face, the former overlord of the underworld locked his hands in front of him "Very good. Now, we wait. I trust All Might and whichever fools he gets to follow him will be along presently."

(X)

Arriving back in front of the lighter house with a UA van, and leaving their hero escort waiting inside it, Jun opened the door to his four newest charges sitting on the furniture in front of the TV, apparently engaged in an animated discussion. "This whole 'show' as you call it is completely stupid and unrealistic! Never mind it’s all just a bunch of drawings strung together, by your own admission, but the story is infuriating!" Zelgadis charged, his voice raised and passion evident in his voice.

"Whats your problem? It’s just supposed to be fun! Realism has nothing to do with it!" Michiru countered, raising to face the annoyed chimera. "Besides, it’s not like the people who wrote it knew that getting sent to another world is an actual thing!"

Refusing to raise himself to meet the tanuki girl’s unspoken challenge, Zelgadis crossed his arms instead and said with annoying calm "I'm just saying getting summoned by some goddess and being given some super special powers just so some women can fawn over you is insulting. After what we went through, this dumbass should have had to at least fill out one piece of paperwork…"

Rolling her eyes, Michiru met arm cross with arm cross ad countered "Please, what're you talking about, you can't read, you didn't actually fill out any of that paperwork out yourself now did you?"

All the while, Xellos sat in a large comfortable looking chair, clearly enjoying the show the other two were providing him much more than anything on screen. Emeralda, mean time, seemed to be completely tuning out the "discussion" taking place and continued to watch the anime.

Jun, meantime had to wonder why it had to be four? The thought occurred to him that he was getting too old for this. Since the sound of the door shutting behind him didn't get anyone's attention, Jun loudly cleared his throat while standing patiently, arms behind his back. That did the trick as all commotion stopped, everyone turning to the former hero. "Right. Though I'm sure you're discussing a very important subject, it’s time we headed out."

Looking a bit embarrassed, Michiru grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, causing Emeralda to look slightly annoyed though it went unnoticed as the tanuki girl turned and called out "It was nothing, really, Sanada-sensei. We're ready to go."

Without much more fanfare, the four followed Jun out of the house and filed into the van, Michiru and Zelgadis on the windows with Emeralda in the middle of the first set of seats and Xellos by himself the row behind that, no one in the mood to have their ear talked off by the purple-haired mazuku.

Having walked around the back of the vehicle, no one took note of the hero sitting in the front passenger seat until Zelgadis asked "Why are we buying clothes anyway, whats wrong with what we have now?"

Expecting Jun to answer, it was instead the passenger, a very familiar looking ant girl, who turned to respond, a smug look on her face "Because at least two of you look like your dressed like heroes." Then, making sure to look Michiru in the eye, added "And others could pass for hobos!"

As Emeralda completely missed the ant hero-in-training's intent and self-consciously looked down at her outfit, Michiru glared daggers "You! What the hell are you doing here? Sanada-sensei?"

Before their escort could counter with another insult, Jun cut in "The hero Yoshimura-san was interning with is still recovering from the incident at the mall and it was suggested she could stand in for this assignment since I was having trouble coming up with a pro on such short notice. Please, I expect professional behavior from an aspiring pro, Formidable."

Turning back in her seat, clearly displeased at the scolding, Sakon Yoshimura of UA's class 3-B and the self-styled fourth member of the big three of class 3-A, huffed "Whatever, I'm just baby-sitting some lost puppies anyway…"

Making a mental note to have a word with her homeroom teacher and Caraprince later, Jun continued to address the other four in the vehicle, saying "Formidable's point is taken, despite her delivery. Greyswards-san and Metallium-san, your attire may be standard where you are from but here it is not casual and could easily be seen as a hero costume. The same may be said for you, Kasim-san. Besides, do you all not have other things to wear back home?"

Michiru, who had calmed down after watching the ant girl gets reprimanded, was first to answer "I never really got the chance to get other cloths since I left home, honestly. Besides, this is very comfortable."

"Where Xellos and I are from, you have to be pretty rich to have multiple outfits. Besides, I was always traveling anyway so there wasn't really a need for anything else." Zelgadis answered, making sure to speak for he and the mazuku lest the talkative Xellos give something away.

Finally, Emeralda volunteered after she felt eyes on her "Clothes are a rare thing back home for me as well. Sorry, Sanada-sensei."

Taking on a more jovial tone to try and make them feel better after such admissions, Jun responded "Well regardless, people displaced like you don't usually have extra clothes just lying around anyway. We do this with everyone so don't worry."

The rest of the trip to the shopping arcade passed without much more conversation, the four lighters taken to observing their surroundings. They arrived across the street from a train station, which had a series of shops on the opposite side. After unloading, Jun rushed them into the men's apparel store closest to where they had parked.

The rather odd-looking group was greeted upon entry by an attractive young woman with what looked like gills on her neck, who said, bowing "Welcome, I would be glad to assist you all today!" Raising though, the employee got a better look at her prospective customers and added, a bit surprised "Oh my! Do we have some heroes here for some off duty shopping? My apologies, none of you really look familiar…"

With a rather forced smile, Jun stepped in front, waving the attentive employee off "Oh no, just a handful of trainees, miss. We'll be going on a trip and these two will be in need of some causal wear. We'll come find you if we need anything."

Bowing again slightly, the attendant excused herself. Turning back to the group, Jun spoke again "Ok, I want you two to choose a week's worth of clothes and nightwear. Since this is your first trip, you can pick what you want, I'll worry about the cost. Then change into an outfit as you'll be wearing it the rest of the day. Kagemori-san and Kasim-san will get your chance afterwards."

So it was that the two male lighters went about selecting their clothes with Jun aided them while Michiru, Emeralda and Sakon watched on. It wasn't long, however, before the hero-in-training started to get bored just standing around and decided to have some fun with her charges, a mischievous grin on her face "So, tanuki, you think those rocks are all over his body?"

Looking more annoyed than flustered, Michiru glanced over at the ant girl, saying "Really? I thought you were supposed to be our escort, not some stalker pervert."

Sagging in response, Sakon replied "Oh come on! Your no fun at all!" Then, leaning back and looking past Michiru to Emeralda, the brash ant asked "Hey, what about you, mighty morphin’ tan girl?"

Without turning to address Sakon, Emeralda answered, entirely neutral and clearly missing the subtext "I see no reason why there would not be more rocks across the rest of his body. I don't understand the point of the question, do you want me to ask him?"

Blinking as she starred, dumbfounded by the response, the ant girl couldn't believe what she just heard. Turning back to look at the three on the other side of the store discussing a very flamboyant looking pair of pants, Sakon let out a long sigh "Wow, that was somehow an even less interesting answer then miss holier-than-thou over here. God, this really is a boring assignment."

Before long, the boys were done and after getting their measurements for their uniforms, Zelgadis and Xellos were ready to go. Zelgadis went with a blue pair of slacks, a white tee over which he wore a black hoodie that he kept up to hide as much of his face as he could. Xellos, on the other hand, went far classier, wearing a black three-piece suit with a white dress shirt, purple tie and vest. If one didn't know better, the mazuku could be mistaken for a sophisticated young businessman.

After the rather substantial bill was paid, the group headed a few doors down to a women's store. Neither Michiru nor Emeralda seemed to have a taste for more feminine fashion. After finding the store's options for skirts entirely unsuitable for combat, Emeralda had been forced to choose loose fitting shorts after a rather confused attendant ran through the store's selection. In the end, neither looked to different than they did before, with Emeralda now sporting a simple red top and black shorts, though she insisted on keeping her odd shoulder braces and scarf on.
Michiru…had damn near the exact same thing on as before, just in different colors. Her shorts were now a solid navy blue and far more accommodating of her tail, her shirt was now black to hide her sports bra and her jacket was red but lacked the white stripes on the arms and instead had white wings printed on the back.

With everyone in new, far less conspicuous clothing, unless you were Xellos, the group headed for McGonald's, just a few doors down from the other shops. As they approached, Jun addressed the group "You'll recall that I said becoming a hero was just one option open to you? Well, the manager of this McGonald's is a lighter as well. I wanted you all to meet him just so you could see for yourself, since I know my word doesn't currently hold a whole lot of weight at the moment."

"You can say that again…" Zelgadis muttered under his breath from the back.

As soon as the group entered, they were assaulted with the sights and smells of a bustling fast-food restaurant. A line of guests stood in front of a large counter, behind which stood two employees in red uniforms, each in front of a register, taking orders. Others sat at tables, either talking, eating or being served food by employees. All the while, the smell of fried potatoes and searing meat filled the whole place. Everything seemed to be moving smoothly and everyone appeared to be happy, the model chain restaurant.

Jun motioned for them the join the line, though they were only there for a few moments when a man in his twenties stepped through a door beside the counter with a tray in his hands. The man had black, somewhat spikey unkept hair, in between which sat a red McGonald's visor and red eyes that lit up in recognition when he saw the group. After he delivered the order he was carrying, he quickly made his way over to everyone, a warm smile on his face as he exclaimed "Sanada-sensei! I was wondering how long I was going to have to wait before you brought all the new faces! Welcome, welcome everyone, I am Sadao Maou, manager of this fine establishment! Please sit and I'll take care of anything you want, the least I could do for my fellow lighters!"

Though several looked apprehensive and Sakon outright looked repulsed, Jun accepted the offer, and they were lead to a large crescent-shaped booth in a corner. Xellos sat on the far end, Emeralda beside him, followed by Zelgadis, Michiru, then Sakon and Jun on the opposite end. Sadao stood in front of them, gesturing to the menu displayed on the wall nearby. Sadou kindly offered "What'll you have? Just let me know and I'll get it taken care of for you all personally."

Wasting no time to even look at the menu, Sakon blurted out "A triple deluxe for me, with a large fry and cookies and cream milkshake!" This earned stares from nearly everyone else at the table. Refusing to be shamed, the ant girl crossed her arms, a proud smile on her face "Ants like sugar, sue me."

Rolling her eyes, Michiru leaned over to Zelgadis and whispered "Just tell me which picture is the one you want and I'll tell you what it’s called. Tell the others too."

Nodding, the chimera passed the message on and after a few moments of whispering back and forth, everyone ordered. With everyone's order in his head, Sadao told them "Great, thanks. I'll go get everything started and be back in a minute, I'd love to talk to everyone!"

As Sadou left, Zelgadis turned to Jun, his eyebrow raised skeptically "So you mean to tell me that moron got sent here like the rest of us?"

"Yeah" Michiru added "Who wants to be in charge of a McDonald's knockoff?"

As soon as the tanuki girl said it, Jun shoot her a glare as Sakon looked at her, confused "What do ya mean, knock off? What the hell is a McDonald's?"

Realizing her mistake, Michiru fumbled to recover, glancing about, as she spoke "Oh…um, its just…back in my hometown, we had McDonald's! It’s just so similar, I kind of just assumed this was the knock off, heh, heh."

"What a stupidly oblivious knockoff name for a burger restaurant, McDonald's! What kind of backwater town are you from, anyway?" The question was meant much more as an insult than an actual inquiry and Michiru once again wondered how this girl could actually be training to be a hero.

Jun covered for Michiru regardless, a reproachful frown on his face as he said "Formidable, that is hardly an appropriate question to ask someone you are supposed to be keeping safe, isn't it?"

Looking less than sorry, Sakon forced out an apology "Yes, your right Sanada-sensei, I'm sorry."

Before anyone else could add anything, Sadao returned, his shining smile almost enough to blind the cynical Zelgadis. "So! How has life been-"

The McGonald's manager stopped short when he noticed everyone at the table looking past him. Through the store window, a mugger with multiple arms, armed with multiple knives had just held up a couple, making off with their purse and wallet. The couple had begun calling for help as the villain made a run for it.

Her eyes wide in anticipation, Sakon turned to Jun "Can I take him down, Sensei?"

Looking over at Sadao, Jun pleaded "I know you have a store to run but could you please watch over everyone? As her supervisor, I need to be with her."

Beaming, his thumb raised in the affirmative, Sadao said "Of course, I have the best staff in the country, they can handle things without me for a bit. Get that villain!"

With a nod, Sakon bolted out of the booth, Jun right behind as they rushed out the door and down the street. Sliding into the vacated space at the end, Sadao put his arm up on the table and rested his head on it as he looked the four lighters over. As he met their eyes in turn, his bright smile twisted into a much more insidious one before he said "So, which one of you is the demon?"

(X)

One of the advantages to being an underground hero who worked at night was you were mostly free to act as you saw fit to get the job done. A lot of sneaking around, long stakeouts, subterfuge and undercover work. Large planning sessions with the police and a small army of heroes not so much. Thus, it was little surprise that Celty came fashionably late to the meeting to plan their raid to reclaim the kidnapped UA student.

Entering the meeting room in the bowels of police headquarters, the dullahan noted the cops gathered to one side and the heroes the other, each milling about, talking to one another. Well, until she stepped in anyway. Her arrival cut short all the conversation she was hearing as she had approached the door a moment earlier, with pretty much everyone in the room placing their attention on her. Trying to hide her discomfort at the attention, a feat made immeasurably easier by the combination of her helmet and complete lack of a head, Celty called out as confidently as she could muster "Shadow Rider, reporting as requested All Might."

A number of glares were shot her way, most notably from the number two hero, Endeavor, a towering man in a blue skin-tight suit accented by flames that he produced, some covering his face like facial hair. One not glaring at her though was the number one hero himself as All Might stepped forward from the head detective, Naomasa Tsukauchi as she recalled, and spoke "Yes, welcome Shadow Rider, I'm pleased you could make it! I couldn't help but notice that Gargoyle is not with you, is everything alright?"

Celty lamented how it was so much easier to lie when communicating by text or phone…"Y-Yes, All Might, it’s just Gargoyle's quirk requires him to sleep a great deal. I'll relay the plan when he wakes up this evening." It was mostly true, it just left out the fact that when he was sleeping, Brooklyn was a literal stone statue. That and it wasn't his quirk, it was just that he was an actual gargoyle from another world.

The perpetual smile on the number one hero's face seemed to falter a bit at the news that one of the raid team would not be present for the briefing. It only lasted a moment though, as All Might recovered himself and answered "Very good, Shadow Rider! We will be trusting you to convey the plan then! Please, join your fellow heroes and we shall get started."

Nodding, Celty stepped past All Might and went over toward the gathered heroes. As she passed the hulking flame hero, he grumbled "How can I be expected to work with someone who hides their face?" In addition to causing Edgeshot, another hero nearby whose nose and mouth were covered by a mask, to raise an eyebrow, Endeavor's words caused Celty to stop as well. Without further prompting, she turned her ‘head’ and took her helmet off. The shocked, bulging eyes of the towering red-head was everything the dullahan could hope for. Satisfied, Celty continued walking, coming to stand by the rookie Mt. Lady, a blonde-haired young woman in a white and blue body suit, blue mask over her eyes and fake blue horns on her head. The blonde also seemed a bit nervous, standing by a headless woman with little more than a black miasma puffing from her neck to glance at.

With no one else slated to arrive, All Might and Detective Tsukauchi began the briefing. They revealed that after a tip yesterday, they traveled to see one of Class 1-A student’s, a Momo Yaoyorozu. She told them she had managed to place a tracking device on one of the villains who assaulted them. With a corresponding receiver she created, it was confirmed that there was at least one more location the villains were gathering beyond the bar previously discovered. Thus, the raid team would be broken into two. Celty and Brooklyn were assigned to the second team, along with Best Jeanist, Gang Orca, Tiger and Mt. Lady.

This second team's job would be to secure any Nomu assumed to be kept there and capture any villains present, ensuring no one could move to support those at the bar being assaulted at the same time. They would attack after sundown, about halfway through the press conference U.A. would be holding on the subject of the kidnapping, expected to draw national attention. With the details hammered out and starting points assigned, the meeting broke up.

Celty was elated. Finally, after years of searching, this was the closest they had gotten to potentially finding All for One and forcing him to send all the lighters back home. No doubt that was why All Might had assigned her and Brooklyn to the second team, though not having to work with Endeavor was also a relief.

Celty, a bit too focused on the possibility of getting home to her love, completely missed Best Jeanist come up beside her and place a hand on her shoulder. The sudden touch startled her, made obvious by the miasma coming from her neck briefly forming into an explanation point. The denim hero clearly picked up on the reaction he'd caused and pulled his hand away "Ah, my apologies, Shadow Rider. I didn't mean to startle you, you just seemed to be focused elsewhere."

Recovered, if still embarrassed, Celty turned and replied "N-No, think nothing of it. I just had something on my mind, sorry."

His right eye, the only part of his face not obscured by his exaggerated denim jacket's collar or his blonde hair, turned grim "I just wanted to say I was looking forward to working with you for the first time. I sincerely hope you won't be this distracted out in the field."

Celty's miasma began to narrow toward the top of the plume, as though to symbolize her focus as she replied, a hard edge to her voice "There is nothing in this world that could distract me from this mission. There is nothing I want more than to succeed here. You have my word on that."

Seemingly satisfied with her resolve, the denim hero nodded "That's what I want to hear. I expect only the best, Shadow Rider. Make sure you make everything perfectly clear to Gargoyle, and I'll see you in Kamino."

Placing her helmet back on her head, the dullahan nodded, more confident than ever that this would be it, the lighters ticket home.

(X)

As soon as the words left Sadou's lips, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda tensed, ready to act as a feeling of intense malice seemed to radiate from the fast-food manager. "Oh, that would be me!" Xellos called out, raising his hand like he didn't have a care in the world. Then, bringing his hand down to his mouth, added "Though we like to be referred to as mazuku or the monster race. The term demon just sounds so…derogatory."

And just like that, the tension that had suddenly appeared was gone. Zelgadis nearly slammed his head on the table at the ridiculousness of it all. Sadao seemed to take it in stride though, his smile relaxing to its more amiable appearance as he said "Ah, my apologies. I gotta say, you're something else mister-"

"Xellos, and whatever do you mean? Don't I look the part of a humble lost human?" the mazuku answered, continuing to act dumb even though everyone at the table clearly knew better.

"Heh, yeah, no. You might say it takes one to know one. I could sense you the moment you were summoned to this world and I gotta admit, I've been at least as much scared to meet you as excited."

Waving his hand, Xellos replied coyly "Oh stop it, you flatter me Maou-san!"

Glancing between the two as they spoke, Michiru was getting lost and slammed her hands on the table "Hey, what the hell are you two talking about! Maou-san, who are you?"

"Yes." Zelgadis agreed, arms crossed "Clearly you're some sort of demon yourself. What are you doing selling food?"

Pointing a thumb back at himself, the McGonald's manager proudly answered, "I'm not just 'some sort of demon,' I'm the Demon King Satan himself! And the job…yeah, this isn't my first rodeo getting stuck in another world. I actually do like humans, so I figured while I try to find a way home, I'd stick to what I'm good at."

"And how, exactly, does managing a restaurant help you in finding a way home? Didn't buy into all of Sanada's talk about a hero being the best route to that?" Zelgadis answered, less than sold by the demon king's explanation.

"Oh no, Sanada-sensei is sincere and totally believes that's the best way. Several other lighters have followed that route, but I could never live down working as a hero…it’s kind of a long story. It’s just that I find running a place like this is pretty rewarding and is great cover for the evenings when I try finding my way back home." Sadao replied, occasionally looking about the store to make sure everything was moving smoothly.

At that, Xellos leaned forward, one eye conspicuously open "You can cross into other worlds?"

Noting the other demon's countenance change to a more serious one, Sadao leaned back, sighing "In the past I've had no trouble crossing into other worlds but in the years since I got here, its proven much more difficult."

"You've been trying for years!?" Michiru blurted out, a bit too loudly, causing her to cover her mouth and for Sadao to look around for a moment, worry etched on his face.

Convinced no one else seemed to notice or be paying attention, the demon king continued "Well, yeah. Magic hasn't been easy to come by, unlike some of us at this table, I have to have a sizable number of people get pretty scared before I can get up enough magic to really power up and give it a go."

Picking up on the implication, Emeralda put in a rare contribution, stating as much as asking "And Metallium-san doesn't have that limitation."

"That's right miss, you're a sharp one! Yes, if I'm a sponge that can take in human fear to use magic, this guy sitting here is a magic power plant. He is constantly taking in negative emotions and just pumping magic out into the world constantly. It’s like he’s pure magic himself!"

Michiru and even Emeralda looked surprised by the McGonald manager's description of the odd man they had been stuck with the past few days. Said mazuku though was ready to move on "Be that as it may, Maou-san, I am very eager to get home. What more can you tell me about your attempts to leave here?"

Scratching the back of his head, Sadao replied "Yeah, I get it, you just got here, and it hasn't really settled in yet. All you can think about is going home. Sorry but over the years I've come to realize the reason I had so little trouble jumping between worlds before was that I wasn't really jumping at all."

At that, both of Xellos' eyes opened, clear menace shining through his purple orbs as he coolly said "Explain."

Putting his hands up defensively, Sadao continued "Whoa, whoa, I was getting to that. All I mean is that I was actually in the same plane of existence when I went from one 'world' to another. I didn't actually move into another world, more like just passed into another room in the house. It turns out various worlds, or universes really, layer on top of each other, in a constant flux, a swirling mass of chaos running parallel to each other. Each time I try to break through, it’s like getting caught up in a heavy current, and I get thrown back here. I'm still trying but I can't say I've made much headway. Sorry to say but I don't see my trial-and-error approach being a quick way back."

With that admission, Zelgadis lay back against the cushioned crescent-shaped seat they shared, letting go of a breath he hadn't known he was holding, disappointment on his face. Even Xellos looked frustrated, a rare show of genuine emotion. Michiru and Emeralda both seemed to be down as well.

Observing the gloom that had settled on the table, a pit began to form in Sadao's stomach. He knew how they felt, it was an awful feeling the first days and weeks struggling to come to grips with the reality of being stuck here. If the news report from their arrival was anything to go by, they could handle themselves in a fight. Maybe they didn't have to stay too long after all… "Hey" Sadao said, his voice the most serious it had sounded since meeting the group. "It’s probably a stupid thing I'm about to do but there is a chance we could have a lead on getting home."

Four sets of eyes shot up and focused on the demon king, eagerness and hope reflecting back on the red eyes of the store manager. After a long sigh, he pulled out his phone and spoke "I mentioned a couple of us became heroes, right?" after four heads nodded, he continued "Well I got a call from one of them, it seems they have been called in on a rescue mission that they think involves the one who brought us here. If they are lucky, they might find the one responsible and find a way to get us home. If you want, I can give you her GPS tracking number, maybe help out, get in on the ground floor to getting home?"

Speaking for the group, Michiru answered immediately "If there is anything we can do to get home, we'll do it! Here's the phone Sanada-sensei gave me!"

Slowly reaching out, Sadao spoke again, his voice even more grave than before "Guys, this is a pretty big risk, they don't take too kindly to breaking the rules here so I want you to think hard before you go running off. This world's actually pretty dangerous, especially for people who have only been here a couple of days."

His voice bitter, Zelgadis leaned forward again, his hands clinched "Yeah, we already got that. We'll…keep your warning in mind."

After again looking each of the four in the eyes, Sadao nodded and put the number into Michiru's phone. "The raid is supposed to happen tomorrow evening, during the UA press conference. It’s supposed to be in Kamino Ward southwest from here, so if you go, plan to travel."

A thought occurred to Michiru as she took her phone back "Why aren't you going Maou-san?"

"It's the hero thing. Me and heroes just don't mix. I'll trust Celty and Brooklyn to take care of business. Now, let me go get your order, I'm sure its ready to go by now!" Standing up and flashy the group a smile, Sadao left them with much to consider.

Sadao returned with their meals just in time for Jun and Sakon to return, the former hero giving the ant girl a lecture on the importance of avoiding collateral damage when pursing a villain.

As they ate, Zelgadis complained about how salty and greasy the food was, which everyone else thought was funny considering he ate every last bite. As they got up to leave, Sadao returned to bid them goodbye. Waving to the group, the demon king called out "Make sure to say hello to Kanzaki-san! I'm sorry I missed her and remember what I said earlier!"

Looking back at Sadao, only Michiru had any semblance of recognition on her face at the name he had spoken. Emeralda, Zelgadis and Xellos just looked on blankly. Picking up on the lack of recognition the McGonald's manager looked disappointed "You guys haven't met her yet? Don't worry, she'll take care of you, right Sanada-sensei?"

Waving, Jun agreed "I believe you're right, Maou-san. Take care and I'll see you again soon, unless you get promoted up to corporate anyway." Sadao broke into a cocky smile, waving at the group as they left. With new outfits, lunch and a villain captured, it was definitely time to head back.

On the trip back, Michiru was excited that she'd finally have some time to head to the training hall and shot some hoops. Sakon was eager to take her on, but Jun reminded the ant girl that she had to report to her agency and unsurprisingly, neither Xellos nor Zelgadis showed any interest in the game. In desperation, the tanuki girl turned to the greenette, who had remained silent to that point and tentatively asked "I know you probably don't want to since you haven't said anything Emmy, but you wanna play with me?"

Looking down as she spoke, her voice carrying the weight of embarrassment and shame, the amber-eyed girl said "I'm sorry Michiru, you didn't ask me before. I have never played before so I-I don't know."

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that, Emmy! I get the feeling you'll be a natural at it. If you wanted to, you could have spoken up, its fine!" Michiru replied, her eyes shining with excitement.

"R-Right, I'm sorry. I'll do that. Thank you, Michiru." The tan girl stuttered out "I'll do my best."

"Don't be silly, I just want you to-What the hell is going on out there?" As the van pulled up to the lighter house, the occupants looked out toward the vast green lawn to the side of the structure.

Teams of people could be seen dotted across the great grassy field, many with instruments either in their hands or mounted on tripods. Others appeared to be spray-painting markings or symbols on the ground or placing flags into the earth here and there. After a moment of everyone watching, Zelgadis spoke up, curious "Sanada-san, what are those people doing?"

After a pause so he could watch them for a few more moments, Jun answered cautiously "I can't be completely sure, but it looks like they are surveyors."

Despite being from a comparable world, Michiru found herself confused by the answer "Surveyors? I don't understand, what for?"

"Well," Jun answered, more confidently "It looks like they are laying out the locations for new buildings. Strange, I don't recall Principal Nezu mentioning anything about new infrastructure."

With the distraction of everything going on beside the house, no one noticed the figure standing in front of it. That was, until Emeralda spotted the woman in the tan and brown business suit "Sanada-sensei, there is someone-"

"Its Kanzaki-san, everyone." Jun quickly answered, a wave of relief he was careful not to express washing over him as she approached "She has been part of the lighters program since its beginning." The two had always been there together to work with new arrivals, he on the logistics and she on supporting them through the transition to this new world. Having her away while he worked with not one, but four new lighters had been more of a burden than Jun could rightly handle, something he only truly began to appreciate seeing her in this moment. Glancing back at the group, Jun added "I'm sorry, Kagemori-san, basketball may have to wait awhile."

(X)

Chapter Text

"…omi…itomi…Hitomi-san?"

"Ye…Yes, Detective, I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to tell you! I was on my way to the train station after my last class at the university and then I was in the middle of the street, dizzy and confused. I've never heard of this All for One you keep asking about and until one came to see what was going on, I didn't know what a pro hero was either!"

The dog-headed detective, introduced to Hitomi as Kenji Tsuragamae, sat across from her, the two sitting at a simple desk in what could only be an interrogation room and continued to look skeptical. Scanning over the report again as Hitomi squirmed, Kenji asked, an edge of accusation in his gruff voice "So you want me to believe that only a few weeks after one of our greatest rescue heroes had his quirk stolen that you appear, using that same quirk, and you have no idea how? That you were just whisked away from some completely isolated part of Japan that neither has nor has heard of quirks?"

Raising her voice in her defense, Hitomi countered "That's not what I said! You’re putting words in my mouth! I was in Tokyo! I never said I was in some isolated place, it’s just that where I'm from there aren't quirks, that's all!"

Titling his head the way a dog does when it hears a new sound, Kenji somehow made the gesture look far more menacing. After a moment, the dog-headed man’s expression changed, giving one the impression he was tired of this shit as he said "Where you’re from? Do you have any idea what you are suggesting, Kanzaki-san?" The dog man sighed "All I have is the evidence in front of me. I have someone transported using a stolen warping quirk, who has a fake ID and that the Japanese government has no record of. For all intents and purposes, you are a ghost. There is literally no way for me to even confirm your name. Sounds like a great way to sneak drugs, or assassins or any number of horrible, unsavory things into my country and my city! I will have none of it and if you will not cooperate with me 'Hitomi Kanzaki’, third year psychology student' then you better get used to the number the prison guards will be calling you for a long, long time! Take her away!"

Panic in her eyes, Hitomi shot up to her feet, reaching out to the detective as he, too, stood up and was turning to leave "WHAT!? NO! You don't understand! Please, this isn't the first time this has happened to me! Please listen! Get-Get off of me!"

Two officers had seized the young woman and began forcing handcuffs on her, tears streaming down her eyes as she continued to call and plead for understanding. Neither were forth coming.

As it turned out, not existing didn't just make Hitomi highly suspicious, it also made it very hard to prosecute her. Not being a citizen, of Japan or anywhere else in the world that the police could find, made it a challenge to decide how to proceed. In those months, Hitomi languished away in the depths of prison, hidden away from the world and left only with the cloths on her back and the pendant on her neck.

Over those months, the young woman would see many people share her cell with her. At first, Hitomi welcomed the company, eager to share her plight with anyone, even if those people may be criminals. Most just laughed her off. One woman, upon hearing the story, came to the conclusion that Hitomi was the reason she was hearing the 'voices' and attacked her then and there. Another wanted to know what it would be like to 'be' with someone from another world and again Hitomi found herself fighting off an assailant. After that, the displaced young woman saw fit to keep her origins to herself, avoiding talking about herself at all costs. Instead, she began to listen to those who came and went in her cell. Some were irredeemable bastards where others were just misunderstood and it was with these souls that Hitomi found a way to keep her spirits up, waiting for any sign, any indication that she may leave that damned lifeless cell.

It’s entirely possible that Hitomi may have been left there forever for all that she knew. The guards never told her anything and no lawyer ever came to see her. She didn't have any amazing powers like some of the people she shared time with. Even with the small measure of fulfillment listening and helping with other inmates brough her, Hitomi was only human and the toll of the silence, the not knowing what was going to happen to her was beginning to weigh on her. Her thoughts sometimes turned dark, especially in the periods when she had no one in her cell with her.

It was one of these moments that a ragged silver-haired man came to meet her. When the door had been opened and she brought her eyes up to see who had come to see her, she was greeted by a gaunt man, with disheveled silver hair and a stubble about his face. He looked as though he could be sixty just as well as the thirty, he actually was for all the wear and pain etched on his face. His eyes though, when they first met, the man had a burning fire in those sunken eyes. Hitomi hadn't seen hated directed at her like that since her days on Gaea and she began to wonder if this was going to be the end, finally. After all the suffering, loneliness, and silence, had this man come to take the last thing she had?

Yet, as the two meet gazes, the hate in the siler-haired man's eyes seemed to melt away, replaced by confusion and curiosity. Starting to grow exhausted from the stress, weary and getting a little creeped out, Hitomi finally spoke up, her voice defiant, even after so much time imprisoned "What? What is it? You don't look like a cop and you're not in handcuffs so you're not a prisoner. Who are you?"

The older man glanced away, pondering the question he really should have had an answer for right away. After a moment, when his eyes locked on her again, Hitomi could see what seemed like shame as he spoke "I…came to yell at you. To blame you for the loss of my quirk, my family. But…looking at you now, I can't-I can't see you having anything to do with it."

Leaning forward, Hitomi lowered her head, taking in what she'd just heard. So, this was the hero the detective had mentioned and he said he lost his family…was that why he looked so awful?

Leaning forward had caused Hitomi's pendent to fall forward in clear view of the older man, who noticed it immediately but said nothing of it, at first anyway. Instead, he spoke more personally "I've…been told I should move on…to let go of what I've lost but I couldn't do it, I needed a face, someone to blame and since I can't get at the one truly responsible, I came to you. May I ask, that pendent of yours, where did you get it?"

Sitting up ramrod straight and clasping her tiny pendent in her right hand, Hitomi narrowed her eyes "Why? What business is it to you? I don't even know your name!"

A bit of light seemed to return to those sunken eyes as the silver-haired man put both his hands behind his back, bowing before he spoke "Ah, yes, my apologies. I used to be the rescue hero Luminaire but now I am simply Jun. Jun Sanada." Then, pointing to Hitomi's clasped hand, said "I read your file before coming here, about how you claimed to be from another world. I was prepared to come here and tell you how delusional you were and how sad it was that that was the best you could come up with to escape responsbilty for working with that man. Seeing that stone on your neck though, Kanzaki-san, I think that may be the proof you need to get you out of here. If what you say is true…then it means that I wasn't just wrong to blame you for the loss of my power, but in fact you are a victim of that power and it is I who should be helping you. Take heart and please have a bit more patience, I'll be back soon."

Without the power to say or do anything else, Hitomi just nodded, dumbly saying "Ok, Sanada-san, thank you." At the time, Hitomi had little reason to hope that this pathetic looking man would either follow through or have any success even if he did. To her surprise though, he did come back to tell her he was looking into her case. Over the next couple of months, his appearance began to look healthier and after being willing to let her pendent go for study, Jun was able to secure her release. That first meeting had set things into motion that Hitomi could never had imagined possible just months earlier and led to things no one thought possible.

These days Hitomi didn't think about to how this whole thing started often. Standing in front of the lighter house as Jun and the four newest victims pulled up in a UA van though, she shouldn't help but think back to those dark first days. Recalling what she went through always helped the counselor remember why she did this and to think about all the amazing people she had met over the last ten years. Waving to the now parked vehicle, Hitomi couldn't help but smile as she walked up to formally meet the four.

(X)

Stepping out of the van, Jun gently nodded toward Hitomi, a soft smile on his face "Good day, Kanzaki-san, I'm glad to see you are well. How is Branford-san?"

The counselor's smile took on a wistful air as Hitomi answered "Still unconscious I'm afraid. Recovery Girl told me yesterday she had called on a friend of hers and hopefully, we'll know more soon." Then, perking up again, she added "Now, I'd love to meet everyone formally!"

After a moment, Michiru, Emeralda, Zelgadis and Xellos filed out of the van and came to stand in a line facing Hitomi, Sakon off to the side, standing beside Jun. The short-haired brunette wasted no time in introducing herself "Hello everyone, my name is Hitomi Kanzaki and much like Sanada-san I am here to help you get use to your new surroundings. I know this has all been very sudden and I know Sanada-san has thrown a lot at you already but we'll work through it together."

Not buying the 'here to help act', Zelgadis shot in, arms crossed "Yeah, you got the part about Sanada right. Does 'throwing stuff at us' include an assortment of actual weapons? Because it included an assortment of weapons."

At that, Hitomi's face turned sour as she shot a glare over at the former hero "You tested them already? Seriously, Jun you couldn't have waited a few days?"

Said silver-haired man was just then telling Sakon to report back tomorrow, only half listening. When Hitomi finished though, Jun at least had the good graces to look sheepish, but left out any attempt to defend himself. Seeing his tormentor taken down a peg earned Hitomi points in Zelgadis' book as he allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.

Recovering her kinder disposition, Hitomi returned her attention to the four in front of her "Well, I apologize. Normally we get the chance to talk a bit more and get to know each other before any testing goes on. That is as much my fault as Sanada-san's. I should have been here with you, helping you get settled and getting to know you all. I was too wrapped up in what happened to Terra, the girl your four met and fought the other day."

Impulsively, Michiru cut in to ask "How is she? Terra-san I mean. She helped me when I first appeared and seemed so nice before, well, you know…"

"Changed into a berserker with enough magic to put most mazuku to shame?" Zelgadis finished for the tanuki girl, earning him a glare.

With a raised eyebrow, Hitomi reasserted herself "I…don't know what a mazuku is but-"

"OH! OH! ME! I'm a mazuku!" Xellos declared, pointing to himself in a desperate cry for attention that belied the fancy outfit he wore.

With Xellos dancing about like an idiot and Michiru upset at Zelgadis, Hitomi spared a glance at Emeralda, who upon realizing the older woman's focus, just lightly shook her head. Hitomi got the impression the greenette was saying 'don't look at me, it’s always like this.' It was becoming apparent why Jun had struggled a bit, four was a lot to handle at once. Still, there was much to catch up on. "Ok everyone, why don't you get all your new clothes and take them to your rooms. We'll meet again downstairs and you can tell me a bit more about yourselves, ok?"

That got everyone's attention again and the four went over to the back of the van to gather their various bags. In the meantime, Hitomi suggested that Jun must have a lot of paperwork to fill out with all the purchases he just made, a less than subtle way to ask him to wander off for a while.

(X)

Having finished putting all her new clothes away, Michiru headed downstairs, not entirely sure exactly how this was going to go. In the few days she had been in this world, Michiru and her three fellow displacees hadn't exactly been able to hold much in the way of polite conversation. Hitomi had apparently brewed some tea for them and was just pouring a cup for Xellos when the tanuki girl walked up. Michiru waved to Emeralda, who was sitting in a chair that had been arranged with several others into a circle. The amber-eyed girl nodded back as she sipped her own cup as Michiru greeted the older woman "Hello again Kanzaki-san, thanks for the tea!"

Beaming, the counselor answered back "Your welcome, Kagemori-san, but please just call me Hitomi! That goes for all of you, including you, Greywards-san!" Sure enough, the grumpy chimera had just reached the stairs landing and grunted in acknowledgement as he rested his sword against the couch before joining the group.

Sighing, the sorcerer-swordsmen took a cup as he spoke "Aside from Michiru, I'm pretty sure the rest of us would be more comfortable if you just stuck to our given names too, not exactly the custom for us to be so formal."

"Hey, just because I'm Japanese doesn't mean I don't want my friends to call me by my name and if Hitomi wants to go by given names then I'm all for it! Hmph!" the tanuki girl bit back, crossing her arms and practically throwing herself into the seat beside Emeralda.

Chuckling as she poured tea into Zelgadis' cup, Hitomi inquired "Does that mean you have a lot of friends, Michiru? Back home I mean?"

Surprised by the sudden change of subject, Michiru relaxed as she spoke, excitement plain on her face "Oh yes! There are my friends at the beastman co-op, the goofy bears baseball team I was apart of, my best friend Nazuna and even grumpy old man Shirou. I’m even friends with the mayor! That's just counting everyone I met since I…changed. I had a bunch of friends in my hometown I kind of had to leave behind after I became a beastman."

Having finished with the chimera's tea and poured her own cup, Hitomi sat down on the other side of Emeralda, prompting Xellos and Zelgadis to sit as well. When Michiru finished, Hitomi nodded and asked "So you weren't always a, what was it? A tanuki?"

Looking a bit more pensive, Michiru answered "Well, no. A pharmaceutical company that was doing research into beastmen messed up and I got blood with beastman DNA reagents after I saved my friend from getting hit by a car. That changed me into a beastman and is what lets me change parts of me into other animals, something other beastmen can't do."

Picking up on the girl's change in tone, Hitomi followed up after taking a sip "It sounds like what you can do is pretty amazing. So…why did you sound less excited talking about it than you did about your friends?"

Glancing off to the side, one arm crossed her chest and rubbing her other arm, the tanuki girl answered "Well…in my world, beastmen are a different species from humans and they are heavily discriminated against. They can be attacked and even killed by humans. Becoming one changed my life completely. I…hid in my room my senior year so no one would know my parents had a beastman for a kid. I didn't want anyone to think they were beastmen as well."

"That's…terrible, Michiru, I'm so sorry. I don't quite understand though, if your parents still looked human, why would people think they were beastmen because of you?" Hitomi asked, clear concern on her face.

The tanuki girl looked confused for a moment when she snapped her fingers "Oh yeah, that's right, you don't know since I'm the only beastman here!" With an electric popping and sparkle, Michiru changed into her original human form, to the counselor's surprise "Beastmen have a human form and a beast form so if people saw me, they may have thought my parents were hiding as humans. When I first changed, I didn't know how to change back to my human form, so after I learned of Anima City, I thought the best thing to do was to run away and live with other beastmen. It didn't exactly go as planned, 'cause it kind of turned out I didn't really know anything about beastmen at all! But, in the end, it worked out!"

Dampening the tanuki girl's enthusiasm immediately, Hitomi followed up with "And…do you miss it? Anima City, your friends, everything you left behind?"

Having heard a lot of this already back in the jail cell and content to listen till now, Zelgadis cut in at the obvious and insensitive question "Hey! What kind of question is that? Of course, she does! Weren't you listening?"

Without missing a beat and maintaining a gentle tone, though it was now lined with a firmness to it, Hitomi pressed forward "I know it’s hard, but Michiru, all of you, have just experienced profound loss. The only way to begin to heal, to move forward, is to talk about what you've lost, acknowledge it and move on, Zelgadis. It may seem cruel, it may be hard but in the long run, it’s something you all need to do."

Those words did not sit well with the four seated around the counselor. Emeralda seemed to shrink in on herself, trying to hide part of her face behind her scarf. Michiru looked like a deer (or tanuki, since she had changed back) in the headlights, eyes wide at the harsh reality Hitomi was presenting. Xellos had lost his perpetual smile, though no one knew as he kept his cup held in front of his face. Zelgadis, as usual, lashed out "And just what the hell do you know? Talking down to us like you have any idea what any of us is going through! You’re worse than Sanada! At least he's open about talking down to us!"

Hitomi was unfazed by the accusation, keeping that gentle smile on her face as the chimera ranted on, letting him get it out of his system. Zelgadis had gone too far for Michiru though, who snapped out of her daze and countered "Hey, Zel! She's just trying to help, lay off for once, ok!?"

Raising a hand to cut off Michiru, Hitomi spoke up before the two made things worse "No, it’s ok Michiru, Zelgadis is angry, its entirely understandable. No one wants to be taken against their will to some weird land with no way home."

"Whatever, lady! You-" Zelgadis started but was cut off by just like Michiru.

As the counselor spoke, her voice was much firmer than before "To answer your question, Zelgadis, I know because I am the very first lighter. Just like all of you, I was taken from my world and I've been here for an entire decade now. I imagine at this point my family and friends think I'm long dead. I've been here far longer than the first time it happened to me, after all. So yes, I do know how it feels and you can trust me when it comes to dealing with it all."

The chimera sat speechless, at first staring right at Hitomi before turning away, whether in shock or shame, the counselor couldn't tell. As an uncomfortable silence settled on the room, Michiru spoke up, softly at first "I…do miss my home. For all its faults, it’s where my friends, my family are. There, there hasn't been a night since I got here I haven't cried about it…" Then, bringing her legs up onto the seat, the tanuki girl wrapped her arms around them, cradling herself as she added "…it’s not fair, Hitomi. I just want to go home, ya know? It hurts so much thinking about it."

"I know, Michiru, I know. I'm proud of you though, it’s not easy to admit your hurting. Just like I'm sure you all are." Hitomi said, her voice reassuring and sweet. Looking at the others, the brunette counselor noticed how quiet the tan young woman was through it all. "What about you, Emeralda? You haven't said anything since we met. How are you holding up?"

Glancing about, the greenette tried to steel herself, unwilling or unable to make the kind of admission her new friend just had. Finally, Emeralda quietly said "I am ok. There has just been so much that is new. Its…a lot to take in."

The poor girl was easy to read, despite the stoic front she was presenting. She clearly wasn't alright, but Hitomi knew better than to press, at least not yet. Nodding, Hitomi said "Its ok if you don't have anything to share but I want you to know I'm here whenever you want to talk, ok Emeralda?"

Michiru, though, wasn't ready to let it go, remembering their mutual confession just the evening before after their confrontation with Shinra, blurting out "That's not true Emmy! You told me yesterday that you wanted to go home too! And you brought out that pendent when you said it! Did…someone give that to you?"

Her expression somewhere between dismay and utter frustration at having been called out, Emeralda turned to Hitomi, as if expecting to be scolded. Instead, the greenette was met with empathic eyes and a welcoming smile "You know, Emeralda. I have a special pendant too." Pulling her necklace from under her top, Hitomi cupped the small pink jewel held at the end "This stone is neither from this world nor my own. It’s very special to me and reminds me of home more than anything. If it’s ok, would you mind showing us yours?"

Slowly, Emeralda nodded, disarmed by Hitomi sharing something precious to her. After a moment, the greenette pulled out her own necklace, holding her hand out and letting the odd cross dangle so everyone could get a good look at it. None of the others save Michiru had seen anything like it and they all looked intently as Emeralda spoke "This belonged to the great mother of Nisan and was given to me when…when I was told I was going to be a big sister."

Standing up and walking over, Hitomi leaned forward to look closely at the cross as she said "Great mother? So, this is a religious symbol in your world?"

Reluctantly, and clearly not comfortable with the attention, Emeralda confirmed "Yes, though it’s more of a philosophy now after we killed god."

That surprised everyone, though Hitomi was so surprised by how casually that sentence was said, she wasn't paying attention to how close she had reached her hand out to the cross and accidently touched it as she rose to look at Emeralda. The moment she touched the cross, a torrent of images and memories came flooding into her mind. Emeralda seemed to sense something was wrong and pulled away, just as Hitomi fell to her knees, her eyes wide with panic.

For Hitomi, mere moments stretched into minutes as scenes played out in her mind's eye. A girl, perhaps eight or nine, floated in a large tube, with the same distinctive light green hair as Emeralda. A man, his hair in a ponytail and wearing a lab coat stood looking in, his hand gently touching the glass. Then, there was darkness that seemed to stretch on forever as Hitomi felt an intense loneliness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Just as she felt like she was about to scream, there was a flash of light and the counselor found herself in a cold, sterile room surrounded by metal walls, a large bed at the center with an arm standing beside it, on which was attached a large metal cylinder that was slowly moving across the bed, scanning its occupant, the same little girl. She was naked, her eyes dead as she stared at the ceiling. Before long a man in black with cream and yellow highlighted robes stepped into the room. His hair was long, just past his shoulders and sandy blonde, an unusual band on his forehead. What struck Hitomi most about this man though was his blue eyes. They were so very cold, so dispassionate it was unsettling. Glancing at the read out on a panel beside the bed, the man stepped up to the head of the bed, looking down at the girl. Gently caressing the girl's cheek, the man spoke "Perfection. With this, I have everything I need."

Behind them, someone entered the room, a soldier by the way he was dressed. Speaking over his shoulder, the blonde-haired man said, "I'm curious to see what else it can do, take it to the wells lab."

Saluting, the soldier said "Yes, Krelian, as you wish."

Another flash of light and the girl was now at least wearing some cloths, an oversized red and black uniform. However, the girl appeared to be locked in a room, surrounded by what looked to Hitomi like either mutated humans or zombies. As she lay cowering in the corner, the wall beside her seemed to slide open, a man in a biohazard suit standing there. As the girl stood to try and escape, the larger adult simply pushed her back into the room without a word. As she lay there, terror etched on her young face, the man threw two metal objects on the ground in front of her. Looking down at them, then up at the man, the towering adult pointed to his own upper arms before pointing back at the objects.

Desperate for anything, the girl reached for the braces, placing one on each of her arms just below the shoulder. The objects each latched onto her when they made contact and for a moment the girl seemed to shake, holding her arms out in front of her and staring in fear at her hands as they pulsed. By this point the door had slid closed again and the monstrosities inched ever closer. Suddenly, the girl's arms began to shift into weapons, one a blade, the other a hammer. Faced with no other choice, the girl did what she had to do to fend off the monsters. By the end, her clothing in tatters from all the changing her body had done over the course of defending herself as she sat, surrounded by blood and death.

In another flash, Hitomi found herself staring up at a massive robot over fifty feet tall. The mecha was elegant and slender, primarily white with a gold breastplate. Oddly though, the machine lacked arms, but had two massive pale green wings protruding from its head. Hitomi couldn't help but feel nostalgic at the sight, the towering robot reminding her of the massive robots she had encountered on Gaea.

The moment was fleeting, however as a second later the counselor was seeing the young girl, now also wearing a large scarf, though it looked far too big on her small frame, hiding part of her face. The girl was in a room that kind of looked like a bar as she desperately hugged a young man, a smile on her face with tears streaming down her face as she called "KIM! KIM!" The man, who looked very much like a younger version of the apparent scientist who had been staring at the girl in the tube before, looked very comfortable at the attention. The others gathered had a mix of reactions, from bemusement to possessive anger.

After that came a long series of moments watching the girl fight everything from humans to monsters, both hand-to-hand and in the large robot of hers. Before Hitomi knew it, the girl and the young man stood at a balcony, looking out on an empty and dead cityscape. Unable to hear what was being said, the counselor watched on as the girl embraced the ponytailed man and began to glow. Moments later, the girl grew into the Emeralda Hitomi knew.

From there another flash took Hitomi to an open field, where many mecha seemed to be strewn about, some standing, others lay prone on the ground and others in a heap. Turning, Hitomi saw Emeralda standing at the base of her great machine as it sat kneeling and its massive wings laying limp to either side, as if protecting her. The tan girl had her head resting against one of its long legs, her hand pressed against its surface and tears streaming down her eyes.

Finally, Hitomi watched as the same young man in the ponytail now stood in front of the greenette, a woman with auburn hair to his side. The other woman had her hand on her belly and Emeralda seemed to be stunned as what was being said. Then the man pulled the cross from his pocket and held it out. It was only with reluctance that Emeralda took it but when she did, the couple facing her smiled brightly at her but it was clear to Hitomi that Emeralda's smile was a forced one.

Looking at the cross, the red jewel at the center seemed to sparkle before it flashed and like that, it was over. Hitomi looked up to see the concerned faces of Emeralda, Michiru and Zelgadis. As the tanuki girl moved to help Hitomi up, the brunette locked eyes with the tan-skinned girl, speaking in hushed tones "Emeralda…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to see it but I think I just saw some of your past."

Said girl froze immediately at those words, her amber eyes going wide and her limbs going limp, the necklace dangling in her hand as she took several steps back. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Getting back to her feet with Michiru's help, as the tanuki girl looked on clearly concerned for her new friend, Hitomi said "It's a power I have, my quirk if you will. I can see a person's past, as well as see the unseen…but I've been able to control it all the years I've been here. I'm so sorry Emeralda. This is the first time I lost control of it like that since I left Gaea, I never meant to see those memories."

Hitomi's explanation did nothing to dispel the horror in Emeralda's eyes, however. The girl began looking about, as if she was a cornered and frightened animal. Her breathing became heavy as she struggled to keep her composure with all eyes on her. When she spoke, it was broken, as if the words themselves were what scared her "Wha…what…you…see?"

This was a much stronger reaction than Hitomi was expecting. Sure, she had inadvertently invaded Emeralda's privacy but some of the things she saw she couldn't just ignore. As the suddenly trauma stricken young woman starred on, waiting for Hitomi to answer, the brunette ran through what she had seen, desperate to find what could cause Emeralda to act this way. There was too much and not enough all at the same time and she needed to say something. Meanwhile, Michiru was already moving to try and comfort the other girl. Hitomi would just have to guess and began speaking as gently as she could "Emeralda, I'm sorry…its ok. If there is anything you don't want me to share, I can do that."

As Hitomi spoke, the tan girl visibly calmed. The panic in Emeralda's amber eyes began to fade, replaced by the quivering lip of someone trying desperately to hold back tears. When Michiru reached her and tried to embrace her, Emeralda pressed her arms against her own chest and stepped back, shying away from the contact. The tanuki girl reached her hand out but didn't step any closer, her eyes pleading for the other girl to let her comfort her.

This wasn't right. This girl needed help and even if Hitomi had just said she wouldn't without permission she felt she needed pull the door that Emeralda had clearly been keeping shut open, if even just a little bit. Stepping up beside the fur-covered lighter, Hitomi asked, reluctantly "Emeralda, I know it’s hard to talk about but I really think you need to acknowledge what’s bothering you. I'm not sure, there was a lot to take in, but in that lab, with Krelian…were you…experimented on?"

At the mention of that man's name, Emeralda paled, her hands clenching as her eyes widened. "No…" she whispered, backing up further. "How could you? You said not share! STAY AWAY!" the greenette screamed, tears now streaming down her face as she turned and bolted up the stairs almost too fast for any of them to see.

Before running after her, Michiru made sure to turn and give the counselor a hard glare, made all the more gut wrenching by the tears threatening to fall from the tanuki girl as well.

Silent till now, Zelgadis spoke up, not at all happy with what had just happened "I think that perhaps you should go now Hitomi, you are not welcome here at the moment."

Silently nodding, Hitomi turned to leave, but not before Zelgadis caught her shoulder with his hand, his voice much chillier than a moment before "I don't care if what you just did was an accident, you better not do that to anyone of us again, you hear me?" As he finished speaking, the chimera made sure the counselor could see he was once again brandishing his sword.

In an odd display of solidarity, Xellos added "You really terrified her, Kanzaki-san. Probably for the best that she left because she clearly couldn't bring herself to tell you the truth and I can promise you she is a terrible liar."

Brushing off the odd purple-haired man, Hitomi addressed the chimera firmly "You'll have nothing to worry about then, I never planned and never will do that without anyone's permission."

Unimpressed, Zelgadis retorted "You say that and yet here we are. If this is the kind of help you and Sanada are offering, I want none of it. Hmph, I'm going up stairs."

"Fair enough, but it’s sweet that you care Zelgadis. Take care you two, and even if you don't believe me, I am sorry and I will do all I can to help." Hitomi said, stepping out of the house.

The moment the door shut, however, the counselor fell backwards against the door, sliding down to sit with her knees up in front of her. Her hands on her face, it took everything Hitomi had to keep from breaking down. She was here to help these people and she had just invaded and violated the deepest privacy of one. How could she recover from that violation of trust?

After what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, Hitomi collected herself and decided she needed to go find Jun and let him know what just happened.

Meanwhile, Zelgadis acted as though he hadn't heard Hitomi's last words and continued upstairs. Xellos, meanwhile, flung himself onto the couch and grabbed the remote, pleased to have the TV to himself.

(X)

"Emmy, can I come in?" Michiru asked behind the greenette's door. With no response, Michiru thought for a moment then, shifting her ears out to those of a rabbit, pressing her head against the door. The enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up on the soft, muffled sobs of someone with their face in a pillow. As she was becoming practiced in that very activity, Michiru had little trouble figuring out that's exactly what was happening.

After more calls to get Emeralda to talk failed, Michiru decided to just check to see if the door was even locked. After all, when as distraught as Emeralda seemed to be, it could be easy to miss a detail like that. Sure enough, the door handle pressed down and Michiru decided it was better to risk going against Emeralda's wishes if it meant she could help her.

Stepping inside, Michiru found Emeralda did indeed have her face in her pillow, though instead of laying flat, face first in the pillow as Michiru imagined, the greenette was curled up into as tight a ball as she could manage. When she saw the tanuki girl had stepped inside, she exposed enough of her face to speak "Leave Emeralda alone!"

Instead, Michiru moved forward and sat at the foot of the bed, waiting a moment for Emeralda to protest. When the greenette said nothing, again returning her face to the pillow, Michiru took that as permission to stay. After several extremely long minutes, Emeralda choked out "Did….did she tell?"

Having been admiring Emeralda's sketches, Michiru turned her head to face her distraught friend as she answered as reassuringly as she could "No. Whatever she saw, she didn't explain. Honestly, I didn't really give her the chance before I came up after you, heh heh."

After a grunt of acknowledgement from the sobbing girl, Michiru dared to ask, "I'm sure whatever it is Hitomi saw was awful Emmy but I don't understand, why don't you want us to know?"

Upon hearing the question, Michiru could hear Emeralda sigh, her exhaling labored and broken as the girl fought to bring herself back to a place where she could answer. Michiru patiently waited for her companion to finish composing herself and finally, Emeralda uncoiled her legs and sat up, the pillow still tightly held to her chest. Refusing to meet Michiru's empathic gaze, Emeralda stared forward at the floor as she spoke "If you all knew, then none of you would look at me the same again. Emera…I would lose you. I have already lost so much, I don't want anyone else to know about me Michiru, I'm sorry."

Putting a fur-covered arm around her friend and half expecting the other girl to shrug it off, Michiru tried to reassure her "You don't know that! I already think you’re pretty amazing Emmy. I already know you've fought and killed in battle and I'm still here. You fought selflessly to defeat that spider thing and help stop Terra when you didn't have to! What makes you think if I knew this horrible secret that I'd hate you or whatever?"

Holding her pillow a bit tighter, her voice breaking and threatening to lose her composure again, Emeralda answered "Because…that’s what, that's what everyone else did back home. Once anyone learned about me, they would say the worst things after having been so friendly before, or they would just stop talking to me entirely."

Looking at the faces in Emeralda's sketches lying about her desk, Michiru pointed at them and said "What about these people? Did they know? Did they treat you differently?"

After a sniffle, Emeralda answered "No…they were my…friends, we fought together."

"So…why did everyone else treat you different then? What did your friends have to say about all the others?" Michiru pressed, hoping the greenette would finally admit what was really bothering her.

"My friends, they rescued me and I kind of just forced myself on them." Looking up and over at the drawings herself, Emeralda focused on the young man with the ponytail "I was so…childish back then. Still, I wanted to help, and they let me because I could. After it was over…those who didn't fight, they didn't know what we had done, not really. All the survivors could think about was what they had lost and how I represented that loss to them. Everyone was just trying to get by after so much had been destroyed. Besides, I…never told my friends how I was being treated."

"What? Why, Emmy? Couldn't they have helped you?" said Michiru, trying hard to keep any frustration or desperation from seeping into her voice.

"Because…because they were all so busy. Everyone had found a place for themselves, helping wherever they could. I…didn't want to burden them. It was a promise I made when I grew up, that I wouldn't be any trouble for them anymore." Emeralda said, tears beginning to well up in her amber eyes again and her lip beginning to quiver. Michiru tightened her grip on her friend, tears threatening to form in her eyes as well as Emeralda continued, each word a struggle "But…I can't…I can't keep that promise. I can't see them anymore and…I can't keep that promise. I've tried! I've tried so hard but I…I don't know what I'm doing! I feel so…broken! I…I was supposed to be humanity's hope! I'm nothing, I’m just…just a thing…."

Suddenly, Emeralda felt the stinging pain of a slap across her face from the tanuki girl, who had shot up and struck her quicker than the greenette had thought possible. Emeralda hadn't a moment to react when Michiru verbally tore into her "What are you talking about? I may not know your past, and sure, I may have only known you for a few days, but Emmy, what you’re saying, it’s crazy! You make it sound like you're supposed to be perfect! Well, you're not! No one is! Sure, it sounds like you've made a mistake or two and you've had some hard times, I don't know since you won't tell me but that doesn't matter!

Laughing bitterly, Emeralda turned away, almost whispering "That's easy to say…"

Grabbing the other girl by the shoulders, not made easy by the odd braces Emeralda wore on her upper arms, Michiru almost shook her as she said "How else are you going to hear it? Emeralda, I'm not the brightest, I've made plenty of mistakes too, but I keep trying! I don't know if we can get back home but I'll try my best, not just for me but for you too! It sounds like you have a lot to tell your friends."

Finally looking up at Michiru, something even a slap couldn't bring her to do, some of the sorrow left the greenette as her eyes softened. Wiping a tear away, Emeralda even managed a half smile "Maybe…maybe your right Michiru. Then again, you could be wrong. I don't know, and that's part of my problem. I try so hard to know what is right, how I'm supposed to act and it seems like all I can do is make it look like I have it all together. I'll tell you one day Michiru but for now, I just want to be comfortable knowing I'm in a place where my powers don't seem to upset anyone. Also, did you know you have bunny ears right now?"

Blushing as she stood back up, taking her arms off Emeralda, the tanuki girl shifted her ears back, giggling as she did so. "Sorry about that, sometimes I lose track of when I do that, heh heh!"

Just outside the door, Zelgadis unfolded his arms as he turned and headed back to his room, more sure than ever they needed to get home as soon as possible.

(X)

Hitomi did indeed find Jun in the teacher's lunge, filling out expense reports for the shopping trip earlier in the day. Finding the older man slumped slightly at his computer, the counselor immediately caught sight of something different about the former hero "I see you got your scarf back, Sanada-san. I'm glad to see it."

Sitting straight up and absent-mindedly brushing the white cloth with his hand, Jun replied "Indeed, Yoshimura brought it to me before she left, said she got a friend of hers to use their quirk to get the blood out. I admit, I wasn't sure I'd ever get to wear it again. That girl can be very sweet when she wants to be under that brash exterior of hers. Anyway, everything alright? I didn't expect to see you so soon, honestly."

Nervously clasping her hands in front of her, Hitomi took a deep breath before she answered "Yeah…about that. It looks like I haven't done much better for them than you have."

Jun raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?"

"Well…things were going well enough, Michiru had opened up a bit and that was helping to get the others to share as well when…my power went off out of my control. I don't know if it was the stress I've been under with Terra or something else but one moment I was looking at Emeralda's pendant and the next, I was seeing moments of her past. It…wasn't exactly the happiest life from what I saw."

Jun frowned and looked to the side, almost relucent to ask "And…you are ok with telling me what you saw?"

"Honestly, no. But after what happened to Terra, I know I can't keep that confidence anymore." Hitomi answered, clearly unhappy with herself having to admit it.

Nodding, Jun said "I know it’s not easy and I imagine this will be hard to hear but go ahead, tell me and we can go from there."

So, Hitomi did, recounting as best she could her visions and the ensuing exchange that followed. When she was done, Jun rose from his seat and walked over to a nearby desk. After glancing about to make sure they were alone, the former hero pulled open one of the lower and deeper drawers, pulling out what looked like a bottle of sake and a couple of shot glasses.

Aghast at what she was seeing, Hitomi called out "Why would a UA teacher have alcohol in their desk? Whose desk is that, anyway?"

"Vlad King's. Something about celebrating when his class finally beat Aizawa's 1-A. I'll be sure to replace it later, I think we could use it more right now, frankly." Jun answered, a wry smile on his face that wasn't reflected in his worn out eyes.

"But, Sanada-san, you don't drink. Not since you recovered from your loss…is it ok for you to do this?" Hitomi asked, her concern for her companion far outweighing any want to take the edge off.

Sighing as he handed the original lighter a glass, Jun said "I did drink a lot back then, its true but I was never addicted. Once I found something to give me purpose again, I had no need for it. I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine."

After opening the bottle and pouring two shots, the two downed their glasses. Setting his down, Jun started again "So you think Emeralda was experimented on? It would go a long way to explaining why she is so stand-offish. Still, I hope you'll excuse me if I say that I hope your visions were off."

Offering her glass for another shot, Hitomi narrowed her eyes "You know as well as anyone that my visions have never been wrong. Incomplete, sure, but never wrong."

Pouring another round, Jun sighed "Yeah, I know. I just…don't want it to be true, you know?" The two took another shot before the slightly inebriated man asked, "You plan to give it another go tomorrow?"

Starring at the empty glass, Hitomi replied "Maybe in the afternoon, if they'll have me. I need to head back out to check on the first years I didn't get to speak to yesterday. Are you going to be at the press conference tomorrow night?"

Jun raised the bottle again, which Hitomi responded with a pinching motion. Jun poured about a third as much as last time before filling his again and taking another shot "I'll be in the room, yes but not on stage. They want the event to be about the attack and kidnapping, not the incident at the mall. I'll be there if anyone brings it up but that's it."

A long silence then settled between the two long-time partners, during which Jun took a couple more drinks of sake. As Hitomi watched, the expression on Jun's face turned wistful as he looked out the window "Hey. We've been through a lot, haven't we, Hitomi?"

Despite herself, Hitomi smiled "Yes, Jun, we have. I never thought when you came to yell at me all those years ago, we'd be helping out demon kings, zombies and gargoyles."

A single laugh escaped the silver-haired teacher's lips "And you're just talking about the lighters. What about all the others?"

Rolling her eyes, Hitomi was forced to recall some of the other extra dimensional visitors they had encountered "You just had to bring them up, didn't you? I still think that weirdo with his blue phone booth was flirting with me…"

Turning back to look at the brunette, an uncharacteristic half smile on his face, Jun added "Hey, at least he saved all those children! What about those four oddballs chasing a feather? I was so happy when they left after all the property damage. Oh, what about the time that elf escaped from the restaurant?"

"Ugghh, yes! The Nekoya! I still can't believe they called us in on that one! That whole mess has been around since long before I got here, but they made us track down that poor lady anyway! Still, at least the master chef let us eat for free…" Hitomi said, her mouth beginning to water just thinking about her last meal there.

"Tell me about it! Everything I get there is amazing, I can't pick a favorite! Maybe once all this recent madness has calmed down, we can head over for a meal. I hear the chef has been trying out new curries." Jun answered, his enthusiasm notably disproportionate to the subject at hand as he reached again for the bottle.

Seeing where this was going, Hitomi beat her friend and mentor to the punch, grabbing the bottle and redirecting the conversation, asking "Curry is great, but where were you going with this stroll down memory lane?"

Disappointment briefly flashing on his face at having lost the sake, Jun sat back in his chair, raising his voice a bit louder than he needed to "The point! The point…Hitomi, the point was that we've seen a lot of crazy nonsense and we've come through it alright. Don't, don't beat yourself up about it…"

Hitomi frowned, annoyed that it was ok for Jun to beat himself up but not herself. Clearly, it was time to wrap this up, so Hitomi said "I'll do my best, thanks Jun. Now, about tomorrow, what’s your plan with everything that’s gone on?"

"AH! Tomorrow…tomorrow…A lecture on the basics of society, I think! I want to see if they have been studying their Japanese at all too! Gotta get them moving if they want to adapt after all." Jun answered, his eyes less focused as he spoke.

Standing up, a bit too fast Hitomi realized, the counselor grabbed the bottle's top, and sealed it again before she slid the sake bottle into her bag as Jun looked on with a look of even more disappointment. Stepping over to the former hero, Hitomi gently put her hand on the older man's shoulder and said "I think I'm going to call for a ride home. I think you better do the same as well, Jun. Don't want to find you under that desk tomorrow morning."

A smirk coming to his face, Jun asked "Is that what you've foreseen, Hitomi?"

Stepping back and nearly losing her balance in the process, Hitomi huffed "You know damn well I don't look into the future! I'm taking the bottle and you're going home, that's your future, jackass!"

His shoulders sagging in shame at the unnecessarily harsh rebuff, Jun grabbed his phone "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Good luck tomorrow, Hitomi!"

"You too, Sanada-san. Good night."

(X)

"Why are we here again tonight, Zel?" Michiru asked, sitting at the same table as the previous night, clearly annoyed and exhausted. Once again, Zelgadis had called Michiru and Emeralda to discuss things. This time though Xellos had joined them, much to the chimera's annoyance.

"Because, Michiru, that weird restaurant demon gave us a way of possibly finding the guy who brought us here, remember?" Zelgadis stated, before pointing at her "And he gave it to you. You're the most familiar with this world too so if we do this it needs to be your call. I don't think I'm alone when I say I've had enough of this place." As he finished, the chimera settled his gaze on Emeralda, who nodded.

Looking at the other three, Michiru was having trouble summoning up the same level of determination, feeling the need to point out the other thing Sadou had said "Yes, he did but at the same time he also thought it was a bad idea. I don't know, seems like if this 'All for One' can drag people from across dimensions, he might be pretty strong. Shouldn't we, ya know, let the professionals handle this?"

It was Xellos, completely straight faced and dead serious who answered, drawing everyone's attention with the novelty of his attitude "Kagemori-san, are you saying we should leave our fate to others who know nothing of us? We know as little about these 'professionals' as we do our target. Remember, we are strangers in this world, who’s to say we together can't handle our kidnapper, hmm?"

Michiru still looked undecided and voiced that indecision when she said "I don't know, how are we even going to get there? We need a plan. Yokohama isn't exactly around the block and even if Zel and I carried you two, someone would notice us."

The room went silent as the four of them considered the issue. As the quiet dragged on, it was broken by an exacerbated voice from the stairs "Oh, come ooooon! You losers aren't going to give up already, are you?" Hina taunted as she stood leaning against the stairwell wall.

"If you have a better idea, lets here it." Zelgadis replied, a hard edge to his voice as his patience was very thin at this point.

"Wait, how long have you been there?" Michiru also asked, a bit embarrassed at having been caught.

Stepping forward fully off the stairs, her arms crossed and a smug look on her face, Hina replied "You guys aren't exactly subtle and the walls are only so thick. I heard everything last night, plus your little exchange with Hitomi. After that, I knew I just had to follow you this time to see what nonsense you'd be up to. Turns out I found out something interesting. So Sadou told you they may have found All for One?"

"That's right, what of it?" the chimera challenged, his hand on his sword.

"Calm down, rocky, I'm not going to stop you, even if it is crazy." Then, a thought seemed to occur to the telekinetic because her smile took on a mischievous air before she continued "Actually, this might be fun. Honestly, whether I get home or not doesn't really matter. I like this world, even if it would be nice to get back to where I came from. You four though, you really want to get back, don't you? Tell you what, Mob and I have our martial arts training tomorrow and it just so happens to be in Yokohama. I could ask Sanada-sensei if you could join us. Would that solve your little problem?"

Feeling eyes on her, Michiru turned from looking at Hina to the others at the table, all of them bearing down on her with expectant gazes. The look in their eyes seemed to steel the tanuki girl's resolve before she spoke "Yes. If you can get us there, we just need to sneak out and get the rest of the way on foot."

"Great, I'll text him!" Hina replied, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically as she pulled out her phone.

While they were waiting for an answer, Michiru looked to flesh things out a bit more "Any suggestions how we're sneaking out? Should we use a distraction, something like that?"

Waving his hand dismissively, Xellos piped up cheerfully "Oh, I can just put everyone to sleep, that way no one will follow us for a while. Sound good?"

The rest nodded as Hina's voice could be heard from the side "Huh, that's weird."

The four seated lighters turned again to the telekinetic "What is?" Michiru asked for all of them.

Looking up from her phone, Hina looked confused as she replied "Sanada-sensei's answer…he said yes, it’s just the way he said it." When everyone else just stared back at her with their own confused looks, Hina read it aloud "SURE! A field trip sounds fun! No one wants to listen to me talk anyway."

Now Michiru hadn't known Jun for long but from what she had gathered, he seemed serious and professional. This response definitely seemed weird. Still, she'd take it. "Alright then, it looks like we're doing this. Hina, you know anything about this One for All?"

Still concerned with the tone of her long-time teacher's response, none of Hina's usual sass was present when she answered "Stories, mostly. Sanada-sensei says he’s extremely dangerous and has the ability to steal quirks from others, so he could have a bunch of abilities, but who knows?"

"What do you mean 'who knows?'" Zelgadis asked, annoyance again carrying on his voice.

A frown appeared on Hina's face and for a moment she considered not answering but decided they could use as much info as they could if they were going to try this stunt "I mean, All Might took him on a few years ago and apparently messed him up pretty bad. He pretty much went into hiding and the only way we know he’s still around is because new lighters keep showing up. Whether he is out of commission or biding his time, who knows? I just know that you guys are insane. I'm here for it but it is still crazy."

"But you're still helping us?" said Michiru skeptically.

"Like I said, it might be fun to see what happens. Besides" Hina started as she looked toward Emeralda "I have a heart. I heard what happened earlier. Just, don't get yourselves killed, alright?"

"Can't get home if we're dead." Zelgadis dryly pointed out before adding "What about the other two, Shinra and Mob?"

"Shinra will be out training and Mob…is a terrible liar. Besides, trust me, you don't want him tagging along and getting worked up. It could…end poorly. So, we'll just keep him out of the loop on this one."

"Fair enough." Zelgadis replied, willing to trust the girl without whose help this plan entirely stood upon. Speaking of that plan, the chimera then turned to the tanuki girl "Satisfied, Michiru? We'll have to play things from there as they come, without knowing more."

All eyes on her again, Michiru slowly nodded "On one condition: When we get there, we don't act until we know what’s going on. We won't be the only ones there and if they don't need our help, great and if they do, we'll do the best we can. Deal?"

"Deal." Zelgadis confirmed, followed by nods from Emeralda and Xellos.

"Sweet! We usually head over after lunch, at one though we'll need to take the van since you don't have train passes yet so I'm not sure how long it’s going to take. Be dressed to work out and have a change of clothes with you. Our sensei doesn't hold back so be prepared to sweat!"

Realizing they would likely have to participate if only to kill time before the raid after nightfall, three of the four at the table suddenly looked a little less excited about their plan.

(X)

Chapter Text

After another evening spent struggling to cope with everything that had happened to her, Michiru had found it very difficult getting to sleep. Her brain just wouldn't shut up about everything that had happened with Emeralda or their impending attempt to capture this All for One. Would he even be there? Could they take him? What if they failed? What if it turned out they were stuck here, or worse, what if something happened to one of them in the attempt? Ultimately, she was the one who decided to try, and she wasn't sure she was ready to handle the responsibility if it did all go wrong.

It was during one of these fits of worry that Michiru remembered she had an actual working cell phone and even though she didn't have social media set up or even knew if the same websites existed in this world, she figured she could at least get caught up on the news in the hopes that some reading would help put her to sleep.
Typing "news" into the phone's search engine was all it took to get all the news sites Michiru could ask for. It didn't seem to matter too much which one she picked though because all of them seemed to be focused on the same thing: The attack on first-year UA students and the kidnapping of one of those students. The more she scrolled, the more she started to get into sites talking about conspiracies or the fall of hero society though. So instead, she went back up and started reading up on the kidnapped student since she was staying at UA herself. What she saw …wasn't flattering. Apparently, this Katsuki Bakugo was very talented, having won a sports festival of some kind but the video of the awards ceremony had him restrained like a serial killer on the winner's pedestal as he thrashed about like a rapid dog. Michiru couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with the kid. Was it this kind of crazed aggression that caught the kidnapper’s attention or was it revenge?

Hadn't that restaurant demon Sadou said something about the mission they were about to crash being a rescue? Could this foaming nut job be the one they were sending heroes out to save? It was pretty high profile from all the media coverage so it made sense and it could be they were after a bigger fish, not just Bakugo. Sadou did say there was a good chance of running into this One for All. Backing out of her browser, Michiru opened up her GPS and zoomed out to find the tag Sadou had given her. Sure enough, it was already in Yokohama. Laying there, Michiru wished there had been more time to have been given at least the name of the hero they were cyber-stalking. At least all the web browsing did it’s job because as she wondered, sleep finally claimed her.

(X)

Camino Ward, Yokohama\

Brooklyn hated nights like this, warm and sticky with nary a breeze to cool the skin or to glide on. Sure New York had its hot, muggy nights too but were there as many? A sure sign that the gargoyle had been here too long was that he wasn't sure anymore, and that angered him to no end. One thing was for sure, his native Scotland almost never had nights like this.

Brooklyn was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Celty approaching from behind. As he stood staring out across the city from the roof of the building he had spent the day in, the winged hero kept his focus out on the city's skyline as he spoke "So, which one is it? Where is that bastard hiding?"

Pointing to a small, two- or three-story structure, the dullahan answered "That one. It doesn't look like much but that's where the signal is coming from."

"Tch, you can say that again, that building looks condemned. Not the worst place to hide. How the hell have we missed it for so long?" Brooklyn commented, clearly upset at their years of failure in their search for All for One.

Patting her partner's leather covered shoulder, Celty said firmly "Hey, don't beat yourself up, ok? We did the best we could. Clearly All for One keeps his organization very disciplined and lips sealed. Besides, we had a lot to learn at the beginning about this world, it’s not like we knew everything about this Japan from the start. We're here now, just keep focused on the goal and before long, we'll have him and hopefully our ticket home."

Not looking at all convinced, the beaked gargoyle let out a mirthless laugh as he dryly added "Hopefully…"

Pulling her arm away before lightly punching Brooklyn in the arm, Celty tried again to be encouraging "I've been alive a long time, and not just sleeping for a millennium like a certain someone on this rooftop." That got Brooklyn to crack a smile "We've done our best, we've been patient. We'll get to see our loved ones again, I promise. You remember the plan?"

Folding his arms and finally looking over at Celty, his eyes meeting her helmet where her eyes would be if she had them, and sounding more confident, Brooklyn said "Yeah, I got it, just make sure you're here when I wake up, you know how I hate to wake up to surprises."

Waving her hand dismissively, the helmet-clad dullahan cheekily replied "I'll be here all day, I promise! If anything happens, I'll draw attention away until sunset, just like last time, scaredy-cat."

Rolling his eyes, Brooklyn wasn't buying his partner's bluster "Yeah, what about that time with the smugglers? You know what it’s like to wake up in a crate full of those damn Styrofoam peanuts?!"

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Celty replied as she threw her legs over the roof's stone ledge and sat down.

"Maybe if I knew I could stuff one of those horrible things down your throat so you could taste one, maybe. Guess we're both stuck with memories we won't soon forget, aren't we?" Brooklyn answered, a playful glint in his eye.

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a while before Celty pulled her helmet off and almost whispered "Brooklyn…do you think we'll forget all this when we get back home?"

The gargoyle's lips puckered on his elongated beak as he thought it over "As much as I'd love to see Lexington and Broadway's faces when I told them all the stories I have, I hope not." Glancing at his companion, it was times like these he really wished he could see and read Celty face, instead met with that same plume of black mist emanating from her neck. When there wasn't a response, Brooklyn continued "As dangerous and crazy as my home is, this place is so much more complicated and as much as they try to hide it, there is so much darkness here. No offense but all things considered, I would be very happy not remembering this little trip of ours. What about you?"

"I think I'm still the same person who came all those years ago. I dare say I'm a stronger person now. I can't say that if I forgot my time here. And you’re right, there is much darkness in this world but I've met so many amazing people too and it makes me so happy to think there are people like that out there despite it all. No, as much as I can't wait to see Shinra again, I don't want to forget even a minute of my time here." Celty replied, dangling her legs like a carefree child.

"Even the peanuts?"

"Damnit, yes, even the peanuts, Brooklyn."

(X)

The next morning saw Michiru finally getting the chance to shoot some hoops in the training hall. She'd dragged poor Emeralda along with her, who agreed only to watch and see how it was played. The tan girl had been firm about not trying until she knew what she was doing. It seemed to Michiru that you did that by playing and figuring it out but to each their own, as it were.

In a simple white tank top and red gym shorts, Michiru stood bouncing the ball up and down with her hand "and this is called dribbling. You can move around as long as you are doing this with the ball but once you stop, you have to either shoot the ball or pass it to someone else. Got it, Emmy?"

As she finished explaining, Michiru passed the ball over to Emeralda, who was also wearing a light red tank top with black gym shorts but was still adorned with her arm braces and scarf, making her look a bit silly. Catching the ball, the greenette blankly stared at the odd rubber sphere before looking back at her companion, asking seemingly out of the blue "Michiru, you said you were born a human and have gained the ability to change back into your human form. Is there a reason you don't stay human? Do all beastmen stay in their beast forms like you do?"

The question, naturally, caught the tanuki girl completely off guard and she stood there, staring, her arms still held out to receive the ball back that never came. With no answer seemingly coming, Emeralda turned away, beginning to sense she had asked something much too private. "I'm…sorry Michiru. I'm not very good with such things. I…I know I have no right to ask you after I would not answer you last night. I, I just-"

'Its…ok Emmy, really. Honestly, I'm happy you reached out at all. But of all things to ask me, why that?" Michiru said as she walked over to the amber-eyed girl and gently took the ball back in her hands.

Emeralda spared a look at her fur-covered friend's eyes before turning away as she spoke "It’s something I've been thinking about for a while. Back home there are people who look like animals or have animalistic traits referred to as demi-humans."

Putting the ball under her arm, Michiru looked put off as she cut in "Well that's a horrible name if I do say so myself."

A pained expression flashed briefly across Emeralda's face before she continued "Yes…you're very right about that. But the point I was getting to is that many of them wish more than anything to look human. You can do just that but don't, even though in your world it is dangerous to do so."

The tanuki girl was struck again by this quiet but clearly perceptive girl. It hadn't been the first time Michiru had been asked why she stayed this way. Back then her answer had simply been that she felt more comfortable as a beastman, like a comfortable pair of shoes. But that wasn't really it, was it? After looking down and to the side to think on Emeralda's question a moment, Michiru answered "I guess…the easiest part to answer is that when I first got to Anima City, there was a festival, and everyone was in their beast form. I couldn't have been happier. It was like I had finally come to a place where I didn't have to hide anymore. Buuuttt I quickly realized that was for a special occasion. Even in Anima City, beastmen stayed in their human forms most of the time. Usually someone would only change when they were angry or trying to intimidate someone and walking around in beast form usually meant you were trying to start a fight." Scratching the back of her head with her free hand, Michiru laughed nervously before adding "It got me in trouble once or twice not being able to change back to my human form."

Emeralda listened calmly but intently and when Michiru finished, she raised an eyebrow "I am sorry but that confuses me more, Michiru. Beastmen normally stay human and yet…"

"I stay looking like a weird racoon girl?" The tanuki girl finished.

"Yes." The greenette bluntly confirmed.

"Well, I'm not exactly a normal beastman, for one. I can't do this when I'm human!" Michiru exclaimed as she pulled the ball out from under her arm, turned, then reared back before launching her arm forward. Instead of letting go of the ball for a shot, the arm just extended to impossible lengths, until finally slamming the ball in the hoop some fifty feet away.

Pulling her arm back to normal size, a big grin on her face, Michiru turned to face her friend, expecting to see a look of adulation or excitement. That had been naively optimistic. Instead, Emeralda stood stone-faced and after a moment of silence that saw Michiru lose all her bluster, the tan-skinned girl finally said "So, even among beastmen you are unique?"

Moving to retort, Michiru froze as she was about to speak, mouth already open as she thought about it. Closing her mouth, she looked away, stuck thinking back to the moment when her partner back home, Shirou, howled into the sky to bring crazed and berserk beastmen across Anima City back to their senses. As beautiful and haunting as the sound had been, it clearly didn't affect her or her friend the way it affected naturally born beastmen and that…was a lonely feeling. Knowing she wasn't human but could never truly be a beastman either, it had been a terrible thought. The tanuki girl did all she could to push that feeling deep down and instead focus on all they had just done in saving the city.

Having that moment brought back again was the last thing Michiru wanted to deal with right now which meant one thing: misdirection. Forcing a smile and crossing her arms confidently, the tanuki girl proclaimed "What’s it matter? Here we're all unique, aren't we? It doesn't matter what I look like, right? Here people can look like anything!"

Crunching her face in concern, Emeralda took no time in pointing out the contradiction "But aren't we trying to get back home tonight?"

The sad thing was, looking at the other girl, Michiru was sure Emeralda wasn't even trying to back her into the corner she found herself in. As such Michiru countered with "Ummm."

Then, before the poor fur-covered girl could be subjected any more to Emeralda's innocently logical questioning, the doors flew open and a familiar boisterous voice echoed across the large training hall "What’s up lighters!? Am I missing a good…game?"

Turning to face the ant hero-in-training, Michiru somehow managed to look equal parts relieved and annoyed as she answered "Hey, Yoshimura-san, your early."

Looking put off, the ant girl noticed the ball on the ground near the hoop before looking back and crossing her many arms "Ya know, you can call me Sakon if ya want and what gives? When the others told me you two were here, I was expecting to see what you could do, tanuki! Not walk in on some heart-to-heart!"

While Michiru fumed at being told to call the ant girl by her first name without using hers, Emeralda seemed to miss the veiled insult and began answering "I'm not sure what you mean by heart-to-heart, Sakon,. Michiru and I were just discussing why she-"

"WE WERE TALKING because Emmy here has never played basketball before, right Emmy?" Michiru cut in, elbowing the other girl in the side.

Her head turning immediately to look down at the offending elbow before quickly looking up at Michiru's narrowed eyes, Emeralda at least understood to drop the subject, even if she didn't know why. Turning back to face Sakon, she confirmed "…Yes, Michiru had been showing me how to play and I had some questions."

Narrowing her own multi-lensed eyes, Sakon decided to let whatever had just passed between the other two go and said "Whatever! I'm just pissed I didn't get here earlier so the two of us could see who was better! You still owe me a game, Michiru!"

Waving her hand dismissively as she walked over to get the ball, Michiru responded "Yeah, yeah, maybe next time call, ok? If you were going to get here earlier, what took you?"

"Oh, since you all made a last-minute request to go to Yokohama, Sanada-sensei had to scramble to get another hero to be your escort and the new guy wanted to get lunch for everyone so we just had to stop first." Sakon complained, holding out an arm for Michiru to pass her the ball.

All of a sudden aware of just how hungry she was, Michiru was overcome with excitement at the prospect as she called out "There’s food!" just as she was passing the ball, woefully overshooting her target.

Without batting an eye, the ant girl leapt the ten feet needed to catch the errant pass. As she landed, Sakon met Michiru's sheepish look with a raised eyebrow "You sure you want to take me on? Come on, let’s eat."

(X)

On her way back to see the first-year students of UA still recovering from the villain attack, Hitomi found herself utterly annoyed. She'd just gotten off the phone with Jun, who had told her he had agreed to let the newest lighters join Hina and Mob at martial arts practice while he was still, let's say, impaired from the night before. Apparently, he had to dig pretty deep to get anyone willing to chaperone the group since he was both recovering from the hangover and prepping for the news conference later in the day.

As she drove down the scenic mountain road, the counselor couldn't help but feel a sense of vindication. She had warned her mentor and even if Jun had succeeded in getting her mind off yesterday's disaster, it still didn't justify the trouble now. Hopefully Hina and Mob could help the new arrivals. Then again, knowing Hina and how standoffish Mob tended to be…well there was a chance, right? Maybe this trip would be good for all of them to bond, because so far, this whole transition had been a mess at just about every step.

As Hitomi parked at the rural hospital, a sense of foreboding began to creep into her heart. Something didn't feel right. Thinking back to the way Yaoyorozu-san seemed afraid of sharing information publicly, a pit began to form in her stomach. Her pace quickened and as she approached the main entrance, she saw it. Off to the side, at the bus stop, was a large group of Class 1-A students, varying degrees of worry splashed across many of their faces.
Hitomi couldn't help but note Yaoyorozu-san was not among them.

As she approached, several of the teens noticed her and turned their faces away, as if to avoid eye contact. Warning bells were exploding in her head when Hitomi got close enough to speak "Hello students…it’s always good to come visit your classmates in the hospital but none of you look terribly happy. Has something happened?"

At first, no one spoke as glances were exchanged and several clenched their teeth. Finally, Tsuyu Asui, a girl with long sea-green hair tied in a bow at her lower back, a larger than normal mouth and eyes to go with her larger hands spoke up "No, Kanzaki-san, everything is not fine, ribbit."

The older woman started to feel a sense of dread as she looked around at the students faces "What do you mean, what’s going on?"

It was the blonde-haired young man, Denki Kaminari if Hitomi remembered, who responded, before Tsuyu could reply "It’s just that, it’s hard to see our classmates injured, you know?"

Several of the students turned to look at the blonde when he said that and Hitomi picked up on the subtle nod the red-haired Eijiro Kirishima gave Denki. It was painfully obvious the kids were holding something back but when no one else offered further explanation, Hitomi knew pushing it would likely just get her more stonewalling. Smiling reassuringly, Hitomi said "I know how you all feel. This isn't something first-year students like you should really have to deal with, especially after having already been attacked at the USJ. You’re all really strong and should be proud of how you've handled things."

Several, including the tall bi-speckled Tenya Iida appeared to cringe at the counselor's words. Not the reaction Hitomi was hoping for, and was further evidence something was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu would be more willing to shed light on whatever they weren't tell her. Waving to the group, Hitomi excused herself and headed inside the hospital, a new sense of urgency to her task.

(X)

Michiru hadn't known what to expect from the hero who was their assigned protector for the day. She'd met several over the last few days, but none were as flamboyantly dressed as the gentleman serving lunch was. The tallest person in the room by a few inches, even before you factored in his silly large hat, the hero turned to greet Michiru and Emeralda as they approached the table where Zelgadis, Xellos, Mob and Hina were.

The hero was wearing a simple black pair of pants and long-sleeved shirt with large grey boots. Over it all, however, the newcomer had a green sash, pale orange shawl, a completely circular grey collar up to his mouth, a blindfold that was white with black lines on it, an oversized scarlet sorcerer's hat on which was wrapped with a bandana featuring a black and white zig-zag/triangle pattern on it. All of this left just a hint of blonde hair to be seen on a face that also featured a thin mustache and a beard that looked like it had been added by pencil, it was so thin.

Michiru also blanched when the hero offered an exaggerated bow before standing straight and offering a lop-sided smile "Hello, young ladies! It is a pleasure to meet you, the hero Majestic, at your service."

As Majestic finished his introduction, Michiru glanced over to the table and saw Hina just shaking her head while Zelgadis rolled his eyes and Mob offered an apologetic look. Wait, was Mr. ‘Don't Look At Me’ wearing tennis shorts and a t-shirt? Michiru was definitely going to make fun of the chimera for that later.
Returning her attention to the man in front of her, Michiru forced a weak smile as she bowed in return "It’s nice to meet you Majestic, I'm Michiru Kagemori, thank you for watching over us today."

Just behind her, Emeralda had watched her friend's greeting and tried to match the gesture, bowing as well and adding "Likewise, I am Emeralda Kasim, thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, introductions over, can we get to eating now?" Sakon whined, making her way to the others seated.

"My, you are as brash and impatient as Sanada-san said, Formidable. The food isn't going anywhere. Besides, we are their guardians today, perhaps let them partake first?" Majestic said, catching the ant girl on her shoulder as she passed.

"Yes yes, fine, whatever you say." Sakon answered, exasperation clear in her voice.

"Sir."

Sakon froze "What?"

"It’s yes yes, whatever you say, sir, Yoshinori-san." The crimson-hatted man gently but firmly replied. The fact that he hadn't used her hero name wasn't lost on the third-year student.

While that exchange went on, the other two girls had passed by and sat down. After that, the meal went on until it was finished, and everyone gathered their bags for the trip. As they were filing out the door, Zelgadis was stopped by their hero escort "Pardon me, young man, but what do you think you're doing?"

The chimera being at the back of the line, everyone else turned to see what was up and several knew right away. Zelgadis, though, hadn't picked up on the oddly-dressed man's meaning, dryly answering "Going for a picnic. What do you think, I'm going with everyone else."

Despite the rude response, the blind-folded man smirked "No no, good sir, I was referring to your sword. You cannot take it with you."

The chimera's shoulders slumped visibly as he turned to face Majestic "This again? Look, I'm a swordsman, this is my sword, it’s very important to me and I am not parting with it again."

"Son, you need to have a hero license to carry a sword around in public. In private you are free to do whatever you want but I will not tolerate you flaunting the law like that in my care." The taller man responded, a hint of condescension in his voice.

Zelgadis gritted his teeth as he turned to look at the others. If all went well, they would never return to this place. If he left his sword, Zelgadis would very well be leaving it behind. Plus, what he said was true though, that sword was very important to him. The anxious looks he got in return from Michiru and Emeralda especially told the rock-encrusted young man all he needed though as he stood, very conflicted.

Gritting his teeth and refusing to look the apparently sightless hero in the face, Zelgadis rushed back upstairs and returned without his sword. As he passed, he spat "Happy?"

Beaming, Majestic replied "Quite so! Onward then!"

(X)

Hitomi had gone to see Momo Yaoyorozu first, to see how she was doing but also now very much hoping she might be able to shed some light on the uneasy exchange the counselor had just had with the other 1-A students. It was not to be however. Momo had been very guarded when the young woman thanked Hitomi for passing on her message to All Might. However, when Hitomi had probed for more, asking about why Momo had seemed so nervous when last they met, Momo had explained only that after the attack she was unsure who to trust, who might be listening. Understandable but clearly not the info Hitomi was looking for right now.

That only left Izuku Midoriya, class 1-A's resident glass cannon. The poor boy had a truly good heart and great power, but he had gained a reputation among the UA staff for aways managing to cripple himself in just about every training or fight in his time at the school. This latest incident had been no different as the first-year hero-in-training had managed to seriously damage his arms defending a young boy from one of the assaulting villains. If Hitomi couldn't get answers from Momo, then maybe this Izuku would give up what she was looking for.

Hitomi found the dark green-haired young man in his room resting in bed, looking out the window, a serious expression on his face. No wanting to sneak up on the kid, Hitomi gently knocked on the door frame she stood by. Izuku appeared to jump slightly as he turned his head, eyes wide in surprise. Waving, an apologetic smile on her face, the counselor said "Hello Midoriya-san. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Hitomi Kanzaki, I'm a counselor contracted to UA. We briefly spoke after the USJ incident?"

Relaxing visibly, Izuku tried to force a smile as he replied "Oh, yes! I think I remember you Kanzaki-san. What brings you all the way out here?"

Chancing a step forward, her eyes focused on the bed-bound young man, Hitomi started walking with more confidence once Izuku nodded to the unspoken question of her coming in. As she got closer, the brunette's smile took on a warm and reassuring quality as she said "Why, to see you, of course. You were involved in another villain attack after all. It’s only right that we make sure you're ok."

Starting to fidget with his hands, Izuku had trouble meeting the older woman's gaze, managing to stutter out "O-Oh, really? Well t-that's very nice of you and all, Kanzaki-san, but the doctor says I can leave today."

Hitomi had to keep from rolling her eyes. A painfully typical answer from a hero, or hero-in-training here, and it never got any less annoying or painful to hear. Leaning forward, that same smile on her face, Hitomi pressed "Nice try, young man but that's not what I was talking about. I wanted to know how you're feeling mentally. Are you doing ok? You looked like you were in serious thought when I walked in."

Izuku visibly cringed at that last part. Struggling to respond, Hitomi let him gather his thoughts, inwardly surprised he hadn't immediately denied it. After a moment, the young man finally met the counselor's eyes, speaking almost wistfully "Its Kachan…I mean Bakugo. I was thinking of him. I was so close, but I couldn't stop him from being taken. We grew up together, you know? I…just keep thinking what I could have done. What did I miss at that last moment."

As Izuku finished, Hitomi let her smile slip as she lingered on the boy's face, searching for signs of insincerity. As Izuku started to look nervous, a hint of red starting to form on his cheeks, Hitomi relented and straightened back up to her full height as she spoke gently "You're a great classmate to worry so much for your fellow student, Midoriya-san."

Izuku looked up at the counselor, pleading in his eyes "But, Kanzaki-san, I-"

"No no, Midoriya, please let me stop you there. Of course, you wanted to help, you're in the hero course, aren't you? It's only natural. What I need you to do is answer me this: What else could you have done? Was there anything else you were physically capable of doing?" Seeing Izuku's mouth open and close without a response leaving his lips, Hitomi continued "The fact that you are here, in this bed, the last of your class to wake up tells me all I need to know. You fought to the point of breaking again, didn't you, Midoriya-san?"

"I could still move! If I had just thought of SOMETHING! Then, maybe…" came Izuku's impassioned response, his hands clinched tight.

Putting her hand on the bed-bound young man's fists, Hitomi tried to calm him "Midoriya…Izuku, its ok. Being able to move and being able to fight aren't the same things. We can't be everywhere and do everything. Even All Might can't save everyone all the time. Pushing yourself to try and save everyone will lead you to burn out. Trust me, I've seen it more times than I can count. Most importantly, you can't save anyone if your dead. Ok, Midoriya-san?"

Izuku seemed to consider the counselor's words, staring down at his hands that he unclenched when Hitomi moved her hand away. Maybe she was right about what happened at the training camp but that wasn't now. He could still do something and he meant to, just as soon as he was discharged. For now, though, the hero-in-training nodded, looking at Hitomi with determination "Ok, Kanzaki-san, I understand. I know being a hero puts you in a position to make really hard decisions and I'll do my best to keep my, and everyone else's spirits up!

Smiling, Hitomi replied "That's a relief to hear! Though I have to admit, having run into your classmates before I came to see you, I was afraid I would find you crippled or snuck out on some crazy attempt to play vigilante or something!"

Izuku froze, his determined gaze slipping into a nervous blank stare. Noticing this, Hitomi cocked her head "Midoriya-san, are you ok?"

Izuku began to laugh nervously as he stuttered out an answer "Heh, heh, y-yeah, sorry, j-just when you brought up my c-classmates, it made me think of how upset we all are they we lost one of our classmates, t-that's all!"

That…was an odd response. "Are you sure that's all? If there's something else going on, I'm here to listen, Midoriya-san."

"No no, that's all there is to it, I promise! We were all talking about how angry we were that we lost Bakugo, honest!" Izuku said, his voice a notch higher than before as he frantically waved his hands in front of him.

Hitomi's smile briefly flashed a small frown before a smile came back, a bit more forced than before. Now, the counselor was quite aware she was being stonewalled again. Hitomi stepped back from Midoriya's bed as she said "Well, if you say so, Midoriya-san, then I will take your word for it. I'm glad we were able to talk a bit and I hope that you consider my words as you continue your training and step into the professional world. Take care!"

Glad to have had one of the first years open up to her about themselves even a little bit, Hitomi was still annoyed at herself for failing again to find out what was really bothering those kids. As she checked out of the hospital, the counselor hoped fervently that it wasn't something serious.

Getting back in her car, Hitomi looked at the time. Mid-afternoon. Hitomi knew the new lighters would be on their way to Ranma's dojo by now. If she hurried, she might just catch them while they're there. Hitomi knew they may still want nothing to do with her but she couldn’t just let things fester. She wanted them to know that she was there for them, whether they liked it or not.

Pulling out, again hopeful she might salvage yesterday's minor disaster, Hitomi began driving to Camino Ward.

(X)

The trip to Yokohama wasn't a short one, which meant it was going to be impossible for eight people to sit in silence, no matter how much Emeralda or especially Zelgadis wanted to. The brooding chimera again found himself sitting in the first row of back seats along with Michiru and Emeralda. Hina and Mob had elected to sit with Xellos in the second row, clearly out of ignorance. Mob was thus subjected to near constant inquiries from the purple-haired mazuku, most of which were just to mess with the poor, sweet, but very naïve young man.

To everyone's surprise, except Sakon, it was the blindfolded hero Majestic who drove the van with the ant girl in the front passenger's seat. When Michiru had inquired about it, the oddly dressed older man had cryptically said he was able to do it thanks to "Magic" as he smiled.

That had drawn the attention of the two actual magic users in the vehicle, but it was the telekinetic Hina who called bullshit when she dryly said "Its see-through isn't it?" After denying it and a brief stare down via the rear-view mirror, Majestic relented and admitted the blindfold was indeed a special fabric to allow him to do just that.

Still beaming at her little victory, Hina tapped Michiru's shoulder, and rather curtly whispered "Hey, give me your phone." souring the smile on the tanuki girl's face.
Raising an eyebrow, Michiru pulled her phone out of her bag whispering back "What for, everything ok?"

Quickly snatching it away, the blue-haired telekinetic whispered again "Just in case things don't go exactly to plan, I'm giving you a few other numbers, ok."

"Um…ok?" was all Michiru could muster as she waited for the other girl to finish.

"Here, all done." Hina said, handing the device back.

Taking her phone back, Michiru whispered a thank you before putting it back and leaning forward, looking over at Zelgadis since Emeralda was sitting between them. After a few moments of staring, the chimera furrowed his brow and after a few more moments turned and barked out "WHAT! What is it, Michiru?!"

Anything else being said stopped in an instant and all eyes focused on the rock-encrusted young man, except poor Emeralda, who had ducked her head and covered her ears. Zelgadis shrunk back as much he could as he hung his head and apologized, all the while Michiru grinning away. With the chimera's head still low, the tanuki girl asked, a mirthful air to her tone "Ya know, Zel. For someone who doesn't want anyone to look at them, you sure are showing a lot of rock, aren't you?"

Slowly, Zelgadis turned his head from the same hanging position. He was frowning but combined with the confused furrowed brow almost made it look like a pout and Michiru thought it was the funniest thing in the world as she burst out laughing. "That…HAHAHAHA…that was totally worth it, HAHAHA!"

Trying to hold on to even a scrap of dignity, Zelgadis straightened up, crossed his arms and went ahead answering the tanuki girl's earlier question as if she wasn't laughing at all. "I may hate people looking at me, but I'll wear something like this if it brings me closer to my goal."

From the seat behind them, Xellos piped in "Oh, like the time we all dressed as women to get into that town, Mr. Zelgadis?"

Growling, the chimera bit back "You mean the one you tricked us all into? How could I forget, you conniving bastard…"

"You dressed in drag!" Sakon and Hina blurted out in unison.

Not wanting to recount the tale, the blue-skinned young man made a sour face and just looked to the side as he blushed. Trying not to picture the stoic and serious Zelgadis dressed as an overly done up drag queen, Michiru again broke out in uncontrolled fits of laughter. With Hina, Sakon and even Mob asking Xellos for more details, the chimera sought to try and change the subject. Zelgadis saw his chance in their oddly dressed escort, raising his voice to drown out all the chatter around him "So, Majestic, I was curious about your…quirk? I can't figure it out from your costume."

Much to his internal joy, Zelgadis' plan worked. The older man, who not only insisted on wearing his blindfold while driving but his giant scarlet hat too, which blocked Michiru's forward view entirely, responded with gutso. Silencing everyone else with his energic voice, Majestic answered "AH! I was wondering when one of you would ask! I didn't think it'd be as a distraction tactic mind you so well played, Greywards-san! Anyway, my quirk is called Magic!"

That raised the chimera's eyebrows and even got a surprised look out of the mazuku in the back seat. Naturally, the sorcerer-swordsmen wanted to know more and followed up with "Oh really? I take it that means you can throw magic spells around then?"

To the two magic-users disappointment, the pro hero laughed heartily at Zelgadis' query. Calming, Majestic said "I get that a lot whenever I tell someone the name of my quirk. I assure you, my young charges however, it's just that: A name. I can't actually use magic, my apologies. Besides, you should know there's no such thing as magic, child!"

Stung by the condescending tone the hero's answer had ended on, Zelgadis swallowed his annoyance and asked, "Well then, what can you do that justifies the name?"

"Well, I won't go into too much detail, of course but I can create glowing circles inside which I can make anything levitate, which is still pretty cool, thank you very much!"

Sure that their escort was a charlatan and a pompous ass, Zelgadis struggled to keep his thoughts internal. "It certainly sounds useful, yes. Thank you for asking my question, Majestic." Zelgadis managed to answer, as respectfully as his embittered inner thoughts would allow. All the while Zelgadis hoped thoughts of his more embarrassing exploits had been forgotten.

Until, not a few moments later, Xellos spoke up "So have I told you all about the time I got Mr. Zelgadis to dress as a bunny?"

With no other defense, Zelgadis leaned against the window and tried to drown out a heavily modified version of that horrible day Xellos began to tell, all the finally thinking just how much he hated that mazuku. Indeed, they couldn't get to this this so-called dojo fast enough.

(X)

Standing in front of the gate to what looked like a massive traditional Japanese estate, the lighters and their hero escorts took a moment to admire the size of the dojo they had come to. After a moment, the group began heading through the large main gwooden gate, the sign proudly displayed to the side. As she passed, Michiru read aloud the dojo's name "Anything Goes School of Marital Arts? What kind of name for a school is that?"

Looking absolutely pumped beside her, Sakon eagerly answered "The name of the school of martial arts for heroes! Anyone whose anyone has trained here! In the last five years, this dojo has become the best place for heroes to hone their hand-to-hand combat skills! I can't wait!"

Bringing up the rear, Majestic wagged his finger "Now now, Formidable, we didn't come here to train ourselves. Remember your place, we are but escorts for these fine young men and women!"

Crossing her many arms, the ant girl huffed, getting tired of never have any fun and completely forgetting she got to catch a villain just the day before.

Taking the lead, Hina lead the group to the main training hall on the left side of the compound. As they approached, the sounds of fighting could be heard from the entrance they approached. As several entered, Emeralda called out "WATCH OUT!" and everyone jumped to either side of the door as a young man in a white gi went flying out the space they had all just occupied. Moments later, the man landed with a splash in the koi pond along the ten-foot wall that lined the property's perimeter.

As the disoriented poor young man rose up in the water, everyone back at the dojo's entrance stared at him before turning in unison to look inside. What they found was a very well-built man in his late twenties, also in a white gi and black belt to go with his black hair that was held in a short pigtail behind him. He was also wearing an incredibly confident smile on his face as he rose from the stance he had been holding since he sent his opponent flying.

Ignoring his new guests for the moment, the cocky apparent master called out after the young man "And that's what happens when you rely too much on your quirk! Talk to my secretary on the way out and we'll slot you into the beginner's course next week!" A weak thumbs up from the still pond bound young man was all that was received.

As everyone regained their composure and actually entered the large room, the pig-tailed martial artist grabbed a towel to clean some sweat off his brow as he stepped over to greet the group "Hey Hina-chan, Mob-kun, your late! Are all these others with you the reason?"

"Y, yes, Saotome-sensei. These are the new lighters. They wanted to come see us train, if that's alright?" Mob nervously answered.

"I thought some of you looked familiar, I saw some of you on the news a few days ago! Welcome! I'm Ranma Saotome, master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts!" the young man warmly said, holding his arms out wide to emphasize the large room that was his dojo.

Bowing, Michiru introduced herself and she motioned for the other three to do the same, which they did. Michiru further explained how interested they were to come check out the place where their fellow lighters came to train. Looking the four over, Ranma looked skeptical, asking "So you're here to watch? Or would ya four like a little work out yourselves?"

Zelgadis tried to hide the sigh he reflectively let out as he looked over at Michiru, who mustered as much confidence as she could, punching her fist into her hand "Yeah! We'd all stand a much better chance at becoming heroes if we could learn a thing or two from you, sensei!"

It took everything Zelgadis had to keep from blanching at his furry companion's little lie about becoming heroes but the pigtailed young man seemed to buy it. His eyes glimmering with excitement, Ranma nodded as he looked the four over again "I'm a pretty busy guy, you know, not just anyone can ask for my help. Tell ya what, I'll show you all a thing or two if you let me see what you got! Whaddya say?"

Michiru, like the other three, had come here expecting to practice some punches and kicks, pass the time and then bolt once enough time had passed, not get into a fight with an actual master. Looking at the clock high on the wall behind Ranma, then at the other three, Michiru firmly nodded when no one objected and said "Okay, we'll do it!"

"Today just got a whole lot more interesting! I look forward to it!" Ranma exclaimed.

As Ranma finished talking, Emeralda couldn't help but notice the master's gaze linger on her for just a moment before Ranma turned his attention to the last two standing off to the side of the lighters, saying "And you two must be the escorts. A shame Sanada-sensei couldn't be the one to come, no offense."

Majestic theatrically took off his crimson wizard's hat and bowed, saying “Enma Kannagi, the Magic Hero Majestic, at your service. None taken, I realize I am a last-minute substitute so it's to be expected. I will fulfill my duties regardless." Then motioning to Sakon, Enma said "And this is third year UA student-"

"Sakon Yoshimura! The Ant Hero Formidable, sensei! I am SO excited to meet you! Please let me spar with you!" Sakon eagerly said, fidgeting like a hyperactive fangirl.

His cocky smirk shifting into something of a genuine smile, Ranma patted the girl on the head "Its pretty rare to meet someone so excited about martial arts, especially at your age. Sure, once we've warmed up and I've put my students through some practice and I've worked out with those four, we'll see what you can do."

Almost whimpering with joy, the normally brash ant girl nodded furiously as she said "Thank you so much sensei! I won't let you down!"

"See that you don't, future hero!" Ranma responded with a wink before turning to the others "Alright, lets warm up first! I want to see twenty laps around the dojo, go!"

Hina and Mob, already expecting the instruction, darted off to begin their laps, the other four taking a few more moments to pick up on what was going on. By the time they were all done, Xellos came up walking limp, complaining about his ankle and asking to be excused. Ranma gave him a long hard look before reluctantly agreeing to let the purple-haired mazuku take a seat beside the standing Enma and Sakon against the wall by the doorway.

After setting Mob and Hina to practicing katas, Ranma had the three remaining healthy newcomers line up in front of him in the far corner of the dojo. As they stood there, Michiru looked about at how empty the place looked with just them there, prompting her to ask the master "Don't you usually have more students than this, Saotome-sensei? As well known as Sakon made it sound, it made me think this place would be jumping, you know?"

"Heh, fair point! Truth is, I am pretty busy but when Hina-chan told me the new lighters were coming, I cleared out most of my schedule for ya!" Ranma answered, his voice a bit softer than his earlier bravado.

"But why? What makes us any different?" said Michiru, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"Because" Zelgadis answered for the pig-tailed martial artist "He knows." Crossing his arms, the chimera ventured a guess "Your lighter too, aren't you, Ranma?"

The girl's eyes shot from the chimera to the tall handsome master, who just grinned "Ya got me! Yeah, it’s true, I got whisked away just like you all. Whenever new ones come by, I like to size them up and help out any way I can, ya know? The least I can do for all Sanada-sensei has done for me!"

Looking around again, seeing the large property in a new light, Michiru gasped "Sanada-sensei did all this for you!?"

Zelgadis scoffed at the notion "Not that manipulative prick…"

"Hey now! The guys not the warmest you'll ever meet but he does care!" Ranma shot back, a bit louder than he intended, before dropping his voice again "And he did help me get started once I was done at UA, it's true, but I did the rest myself! It was pretty easy, really. Martial arts in this world has been dying for awhile with quirks and all. Didn't take long for me to establish myself as the greatest around!"

For the first time since arriving, Emeralda spoke up "So then, what is your assessment of us, Saotome-sensei?"

"Heh, straight to the point, aren't ya, Kasim-san?" Pausing to take one last look, his hand cupping his chin as he pondered, Ranma answered moments later "Let’s see, I can tell that Greywards-san here fights with a weapon, probably a sword if I were to guess."

The chimera just hmphed and glanced away as the martial artist continued "You two though, not so much, no weapons for you. You each have seen combat but it’s like night and day."

"Wha, what does that mean?" Michiru asked, afraid of where this was going.

"Well, without knowing what abilities you have, I can't be much more specific but Kasim-san here, I can tell she's been in a lot more fights than you have Kagemori-san." As Michiru slumped her shoulders at being called out, Ranma added, a tinge of excitement in his voice "And, am I right in guessing you've been trained in the art, Kasim-san?"

Michiru and Zelgadis both looked at the greenette in the middle, though it was the furry one who spoke "Is that true, Emmy?"

Nodding, but keeping her focus on the smiling pig-tailed master in front of her, Emeralda explained "Yes, I was taught by my…friend. I asked him to teach me his style so I could hide my abilities."

Ranma's smile grew as Emeralda spoke, his excitement palpable. When she was done, he pounded his fist into his other hand "Alright! Let me see some of your abilities, all three of you. Then, I can really show you the value of my training!"

Sensing the want to fight practically radiating off the martial artist, Zelgadis skeptically asked "You have any idea what we can do? This place looks so nice, you sure you want to ruin it?"

Cracking his knuckles, his spirit not at all dampened by Zelgadis' attempt at a reality check, Ranma answered dismissively "Man, I train heroes. Collateral damage is part of the game. Just know that I don't plan to seriously injure any of you! Now, show me what you've got!"

(X)

"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" Jun asked, annoyance and surprise clear in his voice as he spoke into his phone "Hitomi, they're going to be going live soon, I can't just pull Aizawa aside now and tell him you have quote a bad feeling about his students unquote. You know how he is; he hates talking to the media and telling him something so vague will just piss him off." Said Jun, standing in the hallway adjunct the reception hall where the press conference was about to take place.

"I know! I'm sorry! It’s just…something is really off and I wish had something more concrete for you, just please try to tell him as soon as you can, ok?" came Hitomi's pleading, almost panicked voice through the phone.

Poking his head into the hall and seeing all the press already assembled, it didn't look very likely to the former rescue hero that he'd be able to fulfill the request. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything."

"That's all I can ask, thank you, Jun. Good luck out there!"

Sighing, Jun closed his eyes as he rubbed his still throbbing head with his free hand. "You too, Hitomi. These four new ones seem pretty stubborn. But if anyone can reach them, it’s you."

"Heh, we'll find out soon enough. Bye, Jun."

"Take care, Hitomi."

(X)

Dropping into a defensive stance, Ranma beckoned the three lighters with his outstretched hand. Michiru took a moment to glance at the clock on the wall above the entrance. Still early afternoon, which meant they still needed to kill more time. Looking back at Emeralda and Zelgadis, who each nodded, the tanuki girl balled her hands into fists to steel herself. "Alright! You want us, you got us!" She yelled as she leapt forward.

As the tanuki girl drew closer, she enlarged her reared back fist at the last moment, hoping to catch the pig-tailed martial artist off guard. She had no such luck. The master fighter had remained perfectly still as the massive arm flew ever closer to his still grinning face. Then, in one smooth motion, Ranma grabbed hold of Michiru's gigantic arm, and shifted his center of gravity forward, as he spun around. This turned the furry girl's attack into a throw that sent Michiru flying in the air, arcing back into the ground, where she smashed hard on her back. The tanuki girl's arm shrunk back to normal as she gasped for breath, the air completely knocked out of her.

With Michiru on her back, it gave Zelgadis a clear shot with the Freeze Arrow he'd cast and was holding for the chance to shot. With Ranma's back to him, it seemed like the perfect chance fire. Letting loose the icy projectile, the chimera frowned as he watched Ranma already leaping to the right to avoid the spell, which hit the wall, freezing a portion of it on impact.

Sensing a counterattack, Zelgadis watched as Ranma hit the ground rolling, using his momentum to quickly pivot to face the chimera and launch right at him. Falling backward, the rock encrusted sorcerer-swordsmen let loose a weak wind spell he had begun casting as Ranma recovered. The attack caught the master martial artist square in the torso, inflicting no damage but did send him flying backward into the air.

Emeralda took this chance to shift her legs into springs, shooting herself at the airborne Ranma. Shifting her arms into metal rods, the greenette had planned to clothline their opponent to knock the wind out of him just as had happened to Michiru. Instead, to her shock, Ranma was able to catch her arms despite the speed she approached him at, using them to spin himself around and above her like a gymnast. As Ranma completed the spin, he stretched out his leg just as his momentum was at its strongest, catching Emeralda in the middle of her back and sending her crashing hard to the floor, stomach first.

The impact stung hard, but Emeralda could still move, and she rolled to the side as Ranma landed in the space she had just occupied, his cocky smirk appearing even larger. Zelgadis again had a spell ready, but Ranma was having none of it this time. Before the chimera could release the weak lightning spell he had conjured, the pig-tailed master had closed the gap between them and punched him square in the gut. Zelgadis doubled over, falling to the side as he, too gasped for air, out of the fight.

Bringing himself back up to his full height and turning, Ranma could see Michiru was slow to get up and Emeralda was up on one knee, her face twisted in pain but a fire still burning in her amber orbs. In that moment, the two locked eyes. The grimace on the greenette vanished, replaced with a thin line of determination. As the girl brought herself up to a standing position, the smirk on the martial artist's face disappeared as he settled into an open attack stance, his face now focused.

Still on one knee, and wholly embarrassed by the quick defeat, Michiru looked up to see Ranma and Emeralda now facing off. Staring in utter fascination, the tanuki girl watched her friend crossed her arms over her chest. As the greenette did so, the clamps on her arms unlocked and fell to the ground. In one smooth motion, Emeralda threw off her scarf and settled into a stance of her own, one arm out front, hand open and loose while the other raised behind her in a fist as she began lightly bouncing forward and backward on her feet.

By this point everyone in the room had their attention on the impending fight. Zelgadis was able to watch, if still having a hard time breathing. Hina and Mob had stopped practicing their forms and were enthralled not to mention Enma, Sakon and even Xellos had hobbled over to watch. The two seemed to be waiting for a sign to start and after a few more moments of building tension, got it in the form of a sneeze from the purple-haired mazuku.

Before Xellos had finished the involuntary action, the two combatants had charged at one another. Much to Ranma's shock, it was Emeralda who was upon him much quicker than he expected, unleashing a flurry of kicks and short jabs he was having trouble keeping up with. The blows were much heavier than the short girl's frame would imply as well, which worried Ranma somewhat when she went in for a headbutt. Emeralda had left herself open as she went for the attack though and the master martial artist used it to get a few quick jabs to her mid-section, causing her to abort the headbutt and fall back to create some separation between them.

Now in a defensive stance as he and Emeralda began circling one another, Ranma took the breather to compliment his opponent "Impressive! I admit you caught me off guard. I underestimated you, Kasim-san! I won't do it again!" With that, the pig-tailed master pulled out a small flask he had kept tied to his belt. Everyone but Hina and Mob looked very confused as Ranma popped the corked top and poured the contents over his head.

Even the stoic Emeralda couldn't hide her shock at what happened to her opponent. Several others gasped and Michiru called out "What the hell!?" Instead of the tall, muscular black-haired martial artist, Ranma now appeared to be a much shorter, busty red-headed woman.

The smirk briefly returning to the now female Ranma, she spoke in a much higher voice "What ‘cha think of my quirk? May not look like much but I'm a lot faster like this!"

To the side, Sakon could be heard muttering as she starred below Ranma’s neck "Sure as hell looks like a lot to me…" A comment that elicited some rather awkward expressions from those within earshot.

Emeralda, for her part, had recovered quickly from the unexpected change in her opponent and much to Ranma's disappointment, offered no verbal response to her proclamation of greater speed. Instead, Emeralda offered another charge, wanting to keep the initiative in the fight. However, Ranma wasn't going to be surprised twice, moving to counter by shifting to the side and sweeping her leg forward.

Emeralda was able to leap over and forward to avoid the sweep. As she landed, she twisted back toward Ranma, spinning several times before striking with a back-handed fist with all the momentum she had built up. Unfortunately for her, Ranma had had time to turn to meet the counterattack and was able to block the blow. The next thing Emeralda knew, she was under a constant barrage of rapid-fire punches that now found Emeralda on the defensive, and not at all succeeding in blocking all the blows.

To try and get away from the assault, Emeralda leap back, high in the air, planning to land at an angle to shoot forward for another attack. Instead, the tan-skinned girl found herself beset by Ranma again, who had matched the greenette's jump with one of her own. Ranma's however, had much more forward momentum, which let her close in fast and was able to catch Emeralda's arms. This time though, Ranma used her grip to leverage her feet forward into Emeralda's midsection. Ranma then let go of her opponent's arms as she pushed off with her feet, sending Emeralda straight up into the air and smashing into the ceiling as Ranma spun in midair to land on her feet.

As Emeralda came falling herself, she was too shocked from the upward impact to guard from Ranma's punch that came from her position on the ground. The master martial artist swung up and caught his green-haired opponent square in the gut, and finally, like Zelgadis and Michiru before her, Emeralda had the wind knocked out of her as her body briefly lifted up again from the impact before completely her descent to the ground with a heavy thud.

Immediately, the defeated Emeralda curled in a ball as she struggled for breath, Michiru rushing over to her to see if she was alright. A clapping could be heard as Enma stepped forward "Your reputation is well earned, Saotome-san, I must say! Three opponents using their quirks and you took them down barely breaking a sweat!"

Zelgadis was less impressed, glancing down at the still struggling greenette before looking back at Ranma, a burning anger in his eyes as he gritted out "I hope your satisfied…"

Entirely unfazed by the venom in the chimera's words, Ranma never lost his smirk as he proudly replied "I am, actually! I learned a lot from you three! And don't worry about Kasim-san, she's pretty damn tough." Then, seeing said girl had managed to sit up with Michiru's help, inquired "How long have ya been studying anyway?"

"I've *cough* *cough* been practicing for a little over a *cough* a year now." Emeralda managed to wheeze out.

"Ha! Really? Just a year? Now I really am impressed! Ya got a lot of potential, and I like your style! You'll have to teach me some day." Ranma eagerly responded, pumping her fist. Ranma's words surprised the tan-skinned girl, whose eyes widened at the praise and simply nodded at the dojo master's request dumbly.

As Sakon ran up to congratulate Ranma, Michiru whispered to Emeralda "You ok? You hit the ceiling pretty hard, you good to keep going?"

Zelgadis was now hovering over the two of them, clearly listening in as the greenette looked up and nodded at the two of them. As her breathing returned to normal, Emeralda quietly reassured her companions "Do not worry, I have had worse, and I heal quickly. I will be ready for later."

The three lighters' attention was drawn to the figures a few feet away as Sakon finished her plea "…so, is it my turn now? I'm sure I'll give you a better fight than those three! Unlike them, I've integrated my quirk into my martial arts! I'm ready!"

Ignoring the death glares she could feel baring down on the two of them, Ranma laughed as she rubbed the back of her head "Yeah, yeah, I can see what ya got, just give me a minute to change back, ok?"

As Ranma turned to head to a nearby restroom down the way from the dojo's entrance, Sakon began pouting "Aww, why can't you fight me like that? You fought Emeralda as a girl!"

Halfway out the entrance, Ranma called back "Simple! I don't need to!"

Turning away in a huff, Sakon began grumbling to herself as Mob, flanked by Hina, came up to the now standing trio of lighters, an admiring smile of his face "That was great, Kasim-san!"

Emeralda raised a questioning eyebrow at the plain young man's enthusiasm. Zelgadis picked up on the greenette's confusion and asked in her place "What do you mean? The fight didn't last long at all."

"You don't understand, Greywards-san! We've been coming to the dojo for a couple of years now, we've seen a lot of challengers and potential students come and fight the master. Only one or two have lasted as long as she did!" Mob gushed, much to Emeralda's embarrassment.

"He's saying you did ok" Hina rather curtly clarified, managing to compliment the green-haired girl while still sounding wholly unimpressed.

"Gee, thanks." Michiru answered dryly "Shouldn't you two be training or something?"

A smirk played on the blue-haired telekinetic's face as she glanced up at the clock "Yeah, I suppose we should be. If you all are done though, you should probably go get changed." As she finished her thought, Hina focused back on the three in front of her, offering a wink.

With a now male again Ranma re-entering the dojo, Michiru responded, a bit louder than was necessary "Yeah, your right Hina, we would like to get changed after a fight like that!"

Sakon and Ranma both paused to glance over, confused looks on their faces as Sakon started stretching. More importantly, it drew Xellos' attention and having gotten it, Zelgadis let out a rather pronounced yawn, apologizing afterward for again drawing attention from others in the room. After getting a nod from the purple-haired mazuku, the three gathered their bags and stepped out of the dojo to change.

After a few moments, as Enma watched Ranma and Sakon getting into position to square off, he noticed them start to sway before each outright fell to the matted floor, out cold. Two more thuds informed the pro hero that Hina and Mob had also fallen unconscious. Starting to feel drowsy himself, the pro hero stumbled forward, trying to keep his mind clear enough to figure out what was going on. Then, turning, the magic hero saw the "injured" Xellos on his feet and walking with ease up to him. Struggling to stay awake, Enma slapped himself in the face, allowing himself to focus enough to ask, "What are you doing?"

A predatory smile spread across the mazuku's face as he said, "Normally I'd tell you that was a secret but for you…" then, leaning in to whisper in the blindfolded hero's ear "For you, Majestic, I think I can let it slip that you've just had a little taste of real magic. Sweet dreams."

When Xellos pulled back, he was treated to the clear shock on Enma's face despite his eyes being concealed. The moment was fleeting however, because a moment later, the pro, too, had succumb to the sleep spell and had fallen to the ground in a deep slumber.

A few minutes later, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda appeared back in the dojo, dressed as they first did when they arrived in this world. After giving Xellos a few minutes to change himself and a profuse apology from Michiru that fell on sleeping ears, the group departed into the city, visions of home dancing in their heads.

(X)

Standing in front of the Anything Goes main entrance, Hitomi thought she was ready for whatever greeted her when she got here. The whole trip the counselor had been going through scenarios in her head and she felt pretty confident she was ready for most situations she may encounter upon her arrival. She was wrong.
Having been to the dojo to check in on Ranma many times before, Hitomi was quite familiar with the grounds so knew where to go to get to the dojo itself. The fact that she heard nothing at all as she approached was her first sign something was off.

Entering the dojo, Hitomi found all its occupants laying on the ground, eyes closed and unmoving. Her mind rushing to the worst possible conclusion, if briefly, Hitomi ran over to the closest body, an oddly dressed man with a blindfold. Surely the hero Jun had procured for the lighter’s escort. It only took a moment for Hitomi to check and find the man was breathing, allowing her to calm down a bit.

Checking others, it seemed they were all sleeping. When the counselor approached Mob and Hina, she noticed the dark-blue haired girl starting to stir. Rushing to her side, Hitomi brought the girl's head up to rest in her lap as she called out "Hina-chan! Are you alright? What happened! Who did this to you!"

Raising her arm to block the light as she slowly opened her eyes, Hina sounded less than pleased when she said "Not so loud, Hitomi! Its ok, calm down." Then, opening her eyes enough to see the extremely worried state Hitomi was in, mellowed her tone as she continued, "Don't worry, everyone is just asleep, they'll wake up soon if I am."

Looking only slightly relived but still on the verge of tears, Hitomi asked again "But who would put you all to sleep, Hina-chan? How do you know everything's fine?"
Guilt began to rake the telekinetic and she decided to come clean "It was Xellos, he put us to sleep so all the newbies could go out and try and catch All for One. I…may have helped them."

Upon hearing Hina's words, Hitomi slowly looked up, a horrified look on her face. After a few moments of silence, Hina became increasingly worried. Finally, just as Hina was about to ask if she was ok, Hitomi uttered words the teenaged telekinetic had never heard her say before. "Oh shit."

(X)

Unfortunately for the four rogue lighters, they may have been in the right city but Yokohama wasn't exactly a small town. With no money or ID's, the only way they were going to get anywhere without drawing attention to themselves using their abilities was to move on foot. Even walking, the four of them still drew a fair number of stares for the very hero-like dress several of them were in.

Michiru tried her best to take less populated routes when navigating the city but it slowed them down even more as they meandered their way into Camino Ward. The sun had set awhile ago and only the fact that the person they were following hadn't moved in a while told the tanuki girl that the show hadn't started yet. As the group drew close to their target, they were passing behind some buildings to keep out of sight when Michiru's ear twitched as she heard voices coming from the narrow path between what looked like an abandoned warehouses. "No one will see us from back here. There! We should be able to get a look through that window." A male voice was heard.

After abruptly stopping, the other three passed Michiru before coming to a stop themselves, Zelgadis turning, annoyance in his voice as he said, "What the hell are you doing Michiru? We're almost there, aren't we?"

A confused look played on the furry member of the quartet as she replied, "Didn't the rest of you hear that just now?"

"Hear what?" Xellos questioned back.

"Shhh! Wait a sec!" Michiru quickly answered, her ears lengthening to those of a rabbit.

"One second, I'll make a night vision scope." Michiru heard a feminine voice say.

"Something's going on down that narrow alleyway. I think we should check it out." Michiru reported, some urgency to her voice.

Zelgadis was having none of it, a scowl on his face "What are you talking about? Isn't our target still a few blocks away? We need to move!"

"The hero we're tracking is a few blocks away, that doesn't mean the guy we're after is! How do we know this isn't where they are going?" Michiru shot back.
"How do we know it is? I agree with Zelgadis." Emeralda said evenly.

"They were talking about a night-vision scope! They're clearly prepping for something! Please, just give me a moment!" Michiru pleaded.

The mention of the scope surprised Emeralda, making her friend's suggestion more plausible. "If that's true, then maybe it is worth checking, Michiru."

Sighing, the chimera frowned as he said "Fine, but you're not going alone, it’s all or nothing, right?" As he finished Zelgadis turned to face Emeralda and Xellos, the former nodding and the ladder shrugging his shoulders.

"Thanks, guys, let’s go!" the tanuki girl exclaimed as the group moved to enter the narrow path between the buildings.

With Michiru in the lead, Zelgadis behind her, Emeralda in third and Xellos bringing up the rear, the four began squeezing their way forward single file down the alley. As they approached, the voices Michiru had heard earlier became clear to the rest as more talking could be heard.

"Hold steady!" one male said.

"Don't lean forward too much. We may have to run at a moment's notice." Another said.

After that a third voice said "Iida, can you move back alittle?"

The second, sterner voice, presumably this Iida, replied "Tell us what you see inside. Quickly. And be quiet!"

The third voice, sounding abit annoyed, replied "Got it." Then after a brief pause, spoke again "The place is pretty trashed. Doesn't look like…Uh…Ahaha!"

The first voice, concerned, said "Hey, are you ok?"

A fourth male voice called out "What's wrong? You weren't spotted, were you?"

Before an answer could be spoken by any of those scouting, Michiru, now close enough to see the four teenage boys and one teenage girl cut in "Yes, yes you were. Mind telling us what you're looking at?"

The young man with unkept dark green hair and a clearly fake small black beard, standing on top of another teen seemed to panic and almost lost his balance, yelping in surprise. The young man wearing a poorly placed black wig and featuring a scar around his left eye supporting the jittery shorter one kept his cool, turning his head to face the new arrivals. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the scarred guy finally said "Who are you? You're not villains, you would have just attacked us. Heroes?"

Before Michiru could answer, Zelgadis shot back "Hey, she asked you a question first! And no, we're not…heroes." That last word spoken with a good deal of venom.

"Vigilantes then?" The girl standing past the second two boys suggested.

"Damnit, we don't have time for this, guys!" the red-haired young man with the spikey teeth frantically blurted out. "Midoriya, look inside! I think there are Nomus in there!"

"Hey, don't ignore us! What the hell are No-" Zelgadis challenged before being cut off by the booming sound of a massive hole being smashed into the front of the building the teenagers were trying to spy on.

A flurry of activity could be heard through the dust and debris from the building's partial demolition. Looking down at her phone, Michiru saw that the hero they were tracking was now effectively right on top of them. "Heh, looks like I was right Zelgadis." Michiru boasted despite the destruction.

Letting out a low growl in response, the chimera looked past his furry compatriot and called out "Hey, kid, whats going on over there, can you see anything?"

The green-haired Midoriya turned back to look through the window of the damaged warehouse. It was still a bit hazy from the dust in the air but he could clearly make out the huge form of the rookie hero Mt. Lady, whom even while on all fours was as tall as the multi-story building, a weird person with an exposed brain squirming in her hand. On the ground in front of her, several other heroes could be seen by Midoriya, who excitedly called out "They're heroes! Theres Mt. Lady, and Gang Orca, Tiger, plus Best Jeanist and... oh my gosh, I think I see two underground heroes, Gargoyle and Shadow Rider!"

Helping the red-head down from his shoulders, the tall stern-looking young man said "If the heroes are here, then they clearly had a plan ahead of time and have things well in hand. We needn't have worried about the situation!" Then turning to face the four who had caught them "You on the other hand, if you're not heroes, villains or vigilantes, who are you?"

As Midoriya got down from the other young man's shoulders, Michiru thought about how to answer that question, looking back at the other three behind her before turning back, a determined look on her face "People here call us lighters. We're here looking for someone."

"Lighters?" Midoriya questioned "You mean the people Luminaire saves? Wouldn't that mean you live at UA? I thought I knew all the lighters…"

"Oh yes, you may have missed it since you were unconscious until today." Iida replied with confidence "Apparently while we were off at training camp, there was another lighters incident and four people appeared at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. Am I to assume then that you four are those four poor souls?"

Michiru nodded and the red head said "Man, that's crazy! Who the hell are you looking for that would bring you all the way out here?"

Anger dripping from his voice, Zelgadis answered "The one who is truly responsible for us being here. We were told his name is All for One."

Midoriya’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head upon hearing that name. Before he could respond though, Michiru spoke up in hushed tones "I hear footsteps! There is someone in that building!"

A conversation among the heroes was interrupted when the new arrival began to speak, his words smooth, and confident, as if no one in the world could touch him. As he spoke, the lighters, students and heroes alike could hear him say "I'm sorry Tiger. But Ragdoll's Quirk was so useful. I just had to take it. How could I not?"

The nine lighters and students froze in place as the heroes called for a light before the voice continued "Since my body was mostly destroyed, I haven't been able to stock up on quirks."

A moment later, the speaker had stepped into the light. Tall and imposing, wearing a business suit and with a large black helmet replete with various tubes completely covering his head, stood a man few had laid eyes on in five years. The veterans among the heroes sensed the danger, Best Jeanist immediately acting, wrapping the newcomer completely in threads from his clothes.

The rookie Mt. Lady, unaware of just how dangerous the man before them was, attempted to berate her unit's leader "What are you doing Best Jeanist? He could be a civilian!"

"NO!" Gargoyle angrily called out as he stepped forward baring his claws and his eyes glowing white "Your wrong Mt. Lady! That's no civilian! He’s the worst of the worst and I've been looking for him for a long time…That's All for One!"

Hearing those hate filled words from the alleyway, the dark green-haired Midoriya tensed up as the color drained out of his face upon hearing the underground hero. The boy with the scar around his eye caught the terrified look on Midoriya's face as he asked "Midoriya…is everything ok?" Then the same young man looked past his classmate to see the four who had joined them in the alleyway.

What he saw was the opposite to his mortified classmate, the four lighters appearing to steel themselves. The rock-encrusted one especially looked like he was ready to tear someone's head off and sounded like it when he declared "Its him! He’s here! I'll make him pay for dumping us in the crazy damned place!"

Pushing past Michiru, Midoriya and the scarred one it was Iida that grabbed the chimera as he said "Are you crazy! We can't go out there, let the heroes take care of it!"

Struggling to push off the stern looking boy wrapped around his waist, Zelgadis yelled down at him "I will not leave to others what I can do myself! Come on guys!"

Michiru, Emeralda and Xellos began to move forward when everyone's attention was drawn skyward as everything suddenly became bright as day. A concussive forced followed, blowing everyone to the ground as more of the building they had been peering through collapsed along with parts of the alleyway. The sounds of unmitigated destruction with nearby buildings completely leveled filled the nine people's ears. Then, the light faded away, replaced by what seemed to Michiru the darkest night sky she had ever seen as the dust clouded the stars on an already moonless night. Seeing bodies lying around her, unmoving, the tanuki girl began to comprehend that maybe they had made the gravest of mistakes coming to Camino Ward this night.

(X)

Chapter Text

It was…a disaster.

Everything seemed to be going well enough. The lab had been raided, many of those horrible Nomu captured, even if no signs of her true target had been found, and no one had so much as broken a sweat.

Now? Now Celty, the highly regarded underground hero Shadow Rider, found herself prone on the ground, her body screaming at her in pain. Being a supernatural being of ancient lore, she didn't wound easily and when she did, she also recovered much quicker than humans. So, this pain was a rare sensation for the dullahan. Regardless of the novelty, what she was feeling was all because she hadn't acted fast enough. It turned out the man she and her partner had been searching for had been here after all; All for One, the greatest villain Japan had ever seen.

Because Celty hadn't acted soon enough, even when Best Jeanist had constrained the mask wearing master of evil, it was all she could do to use her shadows to pull the other heroes out of the direct line of the massive blast All for One unleashed when he revealed himself. The shadow hero strained to look around, able to see Mt. Lady lying unconscious but breathing some distance away in a pile of rumble. Hopefully she wasn't the only survivor because as she searched, Celty could see a massive trail of destruction around and for a great distance behind her, with buildings torn asunder and fires beginning to rage.

Then, the true gravity of the situation made himself known once more as Celty heard footsteps making their way toward her. At once, a flood of emotions filled the dullahan, fear being one of the strongest among them. True, heart-gripping fear. Not just for her but for her fellow heroes and any poor soul caught in this mess. Then there was shame. Shame at having been laid so low when only a moment before all was well. Then, when All For One came into view, so too came the rage. Burning, unbridled rage, constrained only by the limits of her broken body.

There he stood, the source of all those emotions, seeming to lord over her. Even with a mask covering his entire face and head, All For One looked smug and certainly sounded it when he spoke "I'm impressed, Celty Sturluson. Oh, I'm sorry, Shadow Rider."

A short distance away, the nine students and lighters had already recovered from the blast, mostly shielded by the building and wall between them and all that was transpiring beyond. The five UA students seemed completely mortified by the mere presence of the masked man a short distance away. The four lighters, though, were ready to join the fray, their eyes hard and focused. It was only when Iida again reached out to restrain the leading two, Zelgadis and Emeralda, that the four stopped as the stern-looking young man whispered with urgency "Are you mad! You can't go out there, he'll kill you!"

It took every once of courage Izuku had but he mustered enough to add "W-we need to wait, see what happens. M-more heroes are bound to s-show up after that blast."

While the two were speaking, Zelgadis stared at the hand that held him, sure that if he had his sword, he'd have cut it off. He was done with dancing around this world's rules, not when their ticket home was right in front of him. Looking up at the younger man holding him, a steely gaze meant to bore right into the boy, the chimera said "You five can stay here and whimper if you want, but we're here for him." Then, pointing in the masked man's direction, began to add "I don't know what you five were doing here and I don't-"

Zelgadis stopped talking when the object of his scorn began talking himself and all conversation ended to listen in.

"…You have a strong, let’s call it a quirk, Celty. Unlike that fabric wielding fool over there, whose quirk's strength comes from training, yours is naturally quite strong. I've yet to have the chance to steal the quirk of a lighter. I'll be honest though; I have my doubts as to whether or not I can."

If Celty had a mouth, she would have spat on him. Then the meaning of his words sank in and Celty's anger abated enough for her to ask, her voice breaking as the device on her neck that allowed her to speak was damaged "Ho *rizz* how do *crack* ou know *rizz* that?"

"Come now, Celty, I may have been driven underground but I've always kept my information network active. I know a great deal about you and your fellow lighters." The master of evil responded, placing a hand on his chest. "For instance, I know that you would very much like to get home to see, oh what was his name again? Oh yes, Shinra, I do believe."

In an instant, Celty's fury exploded again, her heart screaming with rage, only able to be expressed through the electric popping and fizzing of her failing voice box as blades of shadow shot forward.

The deadly wisps never reached their target. Instead, the blades disappeared inches from the masked man's face as Celty lay unconscious from a blast to her chest that All For One shot from his hand even as he was finishing speaking, sure of the reaction his words would have.

Back behind the wall, things weren't going a lot better as Zelgadis snarled "Is that the kind of information we were looking for, huh? For all we know, he just killed that woman while we just stood here. You all proud of yourselves, whoever the hell you all are!"

Iida tightened his grip on Zelgadis and Emeralda as he reiterated, his voice laced with pain at the very possibility the chimera had just voiced "I-I will not let go! None of us are heroes, we've no right to act!"

The spikey red-haired guy spoke up as well "Come on, man! Keep it down! We want to help, too, but it'd be crazy to just rush in like that."

"Oh? Are you suggesting you'd help if there was a plan then?" Xellos coolly countered.

"Not with the fighting." Izuku shakily answered, drawing attention to him.

Her eyebrow raised, Michiru asked as she kept glancing out toward the prone form of the shadow-wielding woman "What do you mean 'not with the fighting?' Who are you all anyway?"

"We're-"

"Midoriya, no!" Momo implored.

"We're first year UA students. Several of us have already been involved in unauthorized quirk use against a villain. If we do it again, our futures as heroes are most likely over. But that doesn't mean we can't rescue Shadow Rider! After all, we came here looking to save our classmate in the first place!" Izuku continued, unabated, his voice growing more confident as he spoke.

"Midoriya, man, what're you doing? Telling them could be just as bad!" the red-headed Eijiro softly barked.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes "We don't care about you all getting in trouble so don't worry about it, we just want to get out there and take that prick down. If all goes well, we won't be aro-"

"You're all here to save that feral-looking Bakugo guy, aren't you?" Michiru suddenly cut in, as the dots connected for her.

Silent to this point, the boy with the terrible wig hair spoke up "That was the plan but he doesn’t appear to be here. Frankly, the smart thing now would be to retreat. Things have gotten way out of hand and if Bakugo isn't here then-"

The young man's comment was cut off by the somewhat disconcerting sound of splashing water and disgusted grunts on the other side of the wall. The group shifted their attention once more to the other side as voices began to be heard again.

Indeed, nine swirling portals of what looked like the nastiest, dirtiest water one could image had appeared between the wall that hid the group and All For One. Moments later, each portal produced a body, two of which fell to the ground, unconscious. The first to speak was instantly recognizable to the five UA students as an angry voice coughed, then said "Damn it. The hell!? *cough* *cough*"

The tall, mask-covered man standing before Katsuki spoke, his voice now recognizable to the dirty blonde as the voice on the TV screen at the bar "My apologies, Bakugo."

This confused the explosion-wielding student, as he turned about wondering what was going on, audibly asking no one in particular "Huh?"

The villains who had been imprisoning him in that run-down old bar just attacked by the other hero unit were gasping and gagging at their own entrance onto the scene. The knife wielding blonde Himiko Toga, in the simple schoolgirl outfit that looked a bit too big for her whined as she held her nose "That was so gross!?"

An oddly dressed man, Double, in a black bodysuit with a grey line pattern running from his legs, chest and shoulders and a mask that covered his whole head that was black from the nose down and grey up was rest added "This black stuff reeks! I love it."

Three others didn't speak at all, the lizard-like Spinner who had both a red scarf and a cloth mask over his eyes, the extra length of which also billowed down the back of his head. Mr. Compress had a black top hat, and a signature head covering mask the was black with prominent white markings over the face. Magne was the most casual of the lot, wearing blue jeans, a white V-neck and orange shirt over it. Her defining features being her muscular build, pronounced lips and red-magenta hair.

On the ground lay Dabi, a young man with black hair and much of his body horribly scarred and stitched. The other was the misty Kurogiri.

Last was the leader of this little group and All For One's prized apprentice, Tomura, a single dismembered hand still covering his face as he sat knelling when he said "Master." In acknowledgement of his great benefactor.

A bit of exacerbation in his voice, All for One spoke now that everyone had gathered "So. You've failed once more, Tomura." Then, as he began walking between the assembled villains, he spoke again "But you must not be discouraged. You'll try again. That's why I brought your associates back with you. Even this child, because you judged that he was an important piece on your game board."

Finally stopping directly in front the young man he had been shaping for years, the mastermind offered his hand and said, his voice sounding as encouraging as a father "Start over as many times as it takes. I am here to provide you with help. All of this is for you."

Tomura sat dead still, his lone exposed eye wide in awe at the love and care his master was demonstrating, even in the face of another failure.

Back behind the wall, the dynamics had shifted drastically. With their classmate now on the scene, Izuku was overwhelmed with the sense to act. This was it, this was his chance to make up for his failure at the training camp, to finally make up for his missed chance. The lighters, on the other hand, were now less sure about charging in, now that another hostage had been added to the mix and six more combatants stood in their way.

Luckily for Iida, he felt the resistance from Zelgadis and Emeralda slacken just when he felt the need to let go and turn his attention to Izuku and Shoto while Momo grabbed hold of Eijiro. Before either students or lighters could act though, All For One's voice again drew all the proceedings back to him as he casually spoke "Ah. There you are."

Not a moment later, the still lingering dust cloud that continued to obscure the sky was pierced and dissipated by the rocketing form of the greatest hero of Japan barreling right for the master of evil. All Might smashed into All For One, the latter able to catch and hold the fists of the former in a struggle for dominance as All Might exclaimed "I'll have you return my student, All For One!"

If All For One was struggling onllokers would never know. With the mask hiding his face, only his voice could have betrayed such labors. Instead, just as casually as before, the symbol of evil replied, "Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?"

The two continued to push into one another, each putting more and more power trying to subdue the other. After another moment, All For One was able to force All Might's fists down just enough that All For One could force the two of them to throw their arms to the ground, breaking the stalemate and creating a massive shockwave, knocking the league of villains and their hostage to the ground and causing the nine behind the wall to duck to the ground to avoid a repeat of the last blast.

Before the dust could settle, All For One's menacingly calm voice could be heard calling out to his nemesis "It took you long enough to find us. It’s only five kilometers from the bar to here. It took you far too long to arrive after I sent those Nomus that you arrived. You've gotten weaker, All Might."

The two were revealed to a few yards apart, All For One shaking the stinging sensation out of his right hand while All Might was crouched down on one knee, ready to strike back. Before he did though, All Might responded to his nemesis' barb with one of his own "You're one to talk, it’s kind of difficult to ignore that fancy life-support mask you've got on. Aren't you overexerting yourself?" All Might finished as he stood.

Back behind the wall, Zelgadis and Izuku had taken up watching what was going on from a hole in the wall when Michiru asked "Zel, was that the guy who stopped Terra the other day?"

"The blowhard blonde? Yeah, it’s him and he looks pissed." The rock-encrusted swordsmen replied sardonically.

Izuku was mortified that his idol, the greatest hero of them all, had just been called a blowhard. It took everything in him to not turn and debate the clearly baseless slander then and there. Far, far more important things lay before them and though the green-haired hero-in-training was glad to know his mentor had arrived, he knew things still looked grim. It was this same All For One who had permanently injured the great warrior of justice five years earlier after all.

Hopping up on one foot as though warming up, All Might continued the verbal sparring from before "I won't repeat the same mistake I made five years ago." Then, firmly placing both his feet and clinching his left fist, he added "You hear me? I will take Young Bakugo back and I will make certain you're locked up for the rest of your sad life. RIGHT ALONG WITH YOUR DESPICABLE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!" As he finished his declaration, the massive hero charged forward again.

As All Might surged forward, All For One rose his left arm, the entire extremity bulging well beyond normal proportions as he said "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. This will be hard for us both."

Just as All Might was about to smash into All For One's open palm, a massive blast of wind far stronger than any wind spell Zelgadis had ever seen exploded forth. The Symbol of Peace was blown back whole city blocks away, buildings tumbling as he shot by until he came to rest smashing into another high rise, well out of everyone's sight.

All For One was left standing there, looking at the hand that had just sent his great rival tumbling away, admiring the combination of quirks that had made his air cannon so effective. After the UA student Tomura had kidnapped called out for his downed teacher, All For One took the moment to move things along, addressing both the UA student and his apprentice "It'll take more than that to kill him. Get off the battlefield, Tomura, take that child with you and if you would be so kind as to take this lighter as well? The good doctor has been eager to study one for some time."

Then, All For One raised his right hand, his digits beginning to turn black with glowing red lines before they shot forward. The fingers extended forward piercing the body of the unconscious mist villain as the master of evil commanded "Kurogiri, warp them away."

Magne stepped forward to caution, concern for her teammate in her voice "Careful. One of the heroes messed with him and he's unconscious. I'm not sure what's going on but if you can teleport, why don't you get us out of here?"

Despite the disrespect the question offered, All For One respected Tomura's pieces and took the time to explain that the teleporting quirk he had used to get them all there was still new to him so the most he could do was move people to or from his location, and even then, just a short distance. It was far better to force the other, more effective teleport quirk's usage.

Sure enough, as All For One retracted his finger's extensions, Kurogiri's quirk activated and a large black portal opened up above his prone body. With an escape for his apprentice secured, All For One told Tomura to leave, to which the hand-wearing villain worriedly asked "What about you?"

Tomura's answer came in the form of the recovering All Might, who had just shot out of the rubble and was barreling toward them again. Levitating into the air, All For One felt the need for one more lesson for his apprentice "You’re not thinking, Tomura. There remains much room for you to grow."

Tomura had a moment to let that sink in before All Might smashed into his master and the two again began their struggle. Mr. Compress touched the unconscious Dabi, changing him into a small ball for easy transport as he said to his leader "Let's go, Shigaraki, while our masked lead is keeping All Might entertained. Claim your and your master's prize."

With that, the six villains turned their attention to the surrounded Katsuki Bakugo and the seriously injured and knocked out Celty that lay beyond him. The sports festival champion couldn't help but smirk at the challenge.

Meanwhile, Izuku had watched everything and the chaos beginning to unfold. All Might's successor felt he had a plan that could work and keep everyone out of trouble, more or less. Moving away from the hole he and Zelgadis and been using to spy on the situation, the freckled boy addressed the group with as much confidence as he could muster "Guys, I think we can do this. I think we can save Bakugo and Shadow Rider!"

The proclamation was met with a mix of surprise and skepticism, though Zelgadis was well past skepticism as he rather angrily asked "And who are you to think you can decide what we're going to do! We just met, kid!"

To the chimera's surprise, Izuku didn't back down, meeting the rock-encrusted swordsmen with determination, reflected in his voice when he countered "I know a lot of us are scared and I know if we go out there in fight, the least that's going to happen to us is we get kicked out of UA. I know we've just met and, yeah, I have no idea what your quirks are but at least hear me out. All Might is taking care of All For One so this is our chance to save those two!"

Izuku's fellow UA students only took a moment to put their faith in their classmate, each nodding, ready to hear what he had in mind. Not as much for the lighters, at least not all of them. Zelgadis was clearly not sold but Michiru stepped forward, looking a bit pensive at first as she said "Zel…that hero out there, she’s a lighter, just like we are. She must be the one we've been following. That means she’s been one of the people looking for this All For One for a long time. As, as much as we want to get home, as much as we want to get this guy, don't you think we owe her something? They want to take her! We can't let that happen!"

Zelgadis' expression went from an angry scowl to an annoyed frown as he pursed his lips and crossed his arms, unwilling to admit the point. In his mind, this was the perfect time to hit All For One, while he was distracted. The chimera's posturing was cut short, however when Emeralda flatly stated "We're going. Michiru is right. I may want to go home but not at others expense."

Just to pile on, Xellos added, a bit of glee in his mostly closed eye "You never could say no once Miss Lina and Miss Amelia had their minds set on something, could you, Zelgadis-san? Why should this be any different, hmm?"

The sorcerer-swordsmen grumbled as he almost comically slumped his shoulders "Fine! I'm in, you happy? Just makes me wish I had my sword even more…"

From the UA group, Momo perked up at hearing Zelgadis' bemoanment and stepped away from Izuku having just finished telling them his plan for them. Crazy as her classmate's plan was, it didn't really include her, so she was determined to be of some use in this mess. Still clearly disturbed by the events transpiring mere meters away, 1-A's vice class rep came off meeker than usual when she sheepishly said "I…couldn't help but overhear you lacking a sword?"

Having recovered from his cowing by his follow lighters, Zelgadis now regarded this oddly dressed young woman wearily as he replied rather sharply "Yes? What of it?"

Momo shrank a bit at the harsh tone of the chimera's voice but spoke again despite it "My quirk, I can make most any inanimate object if I know how it works…a sword would be pretty simple. I just need to know the specifics."

By this point Izuku and the rest of the UA students had turned, ready to relay their plan but waited for Momo and Zelgadis to finish. After glancing at Izuku for confirmation and getting nods from him and the other students, the swordsmen described a simple steel double-bladed broadsword at a length he was comfortable with. Momo set to work making the weapon as Izuku relayed his plan to the lighters.

"Wait, that's it?" Michiru said, a bit surprised when he was done.

"Yeah, well, I left out the finer details of how we're going to go about it, but yeah. Since I don't know about your quirks, I'll leave the how up to you on your end." Izuku replied, eager to get started before Katsuki was overwhelmed by the villains.

As Tenya, Izuku and Eijiro got into position, Zelgadis wanted to ask one more thing before everything truly went to hell "You all seem to have some experience with these guys, any tips?"

The five UA students looked at each other, flashes of shared memories of being attacked by several of those just on the other side of that wall. After a moment Izuku answered, a nervous edge to his voice "Yeah, I can do that. The one with the hand on his face, if all five of his fingers touch you at once, he can make you turn to dust. You'll want to avoid the one in the top hat touching you too. If he does, he can turn you into a small ball he can just pocket and there won't be a thing you can do."

Zelgadis gave the freckled student a nod but Michiru decided to be more appreciative, running up beside Zelgadis and giving a thumbs up as she said "Thanks guys! Good luck, and if this doesn't work, maybe we can hang out back at UA sometime!"

That last part made absolutely no sense to any of the five students but now wasn't the time to question it so after shaking the confused look on his face, Izuku replied "Um, ok? Thanks Michiru-san. Good luck to you, too!"

"Here is your sword, I hope it is an adequate replacement." Momo added, handing a simple three-foot sword to the rock-encrusted chimera before stepping away to stay out of the action.

Taking the blade in his right hand, Zelgadis felt its weight and after a couple of swings, felt satisfied and bowed slightly to the young woman "Thank you, I'll be sure to make use of it."

With everyone in position, it was time to start turning the tide of the evening. Tenya and Izuku held onto Eijiro, who used his quirk to harden his body. Izuku's super strength pushed them forward and the three crashed through the wall they had been hiding in. The six villains and their UA target all turned to see a massive ice ramp form as Tenya activated the engines in his legs to further propel the three up and off the ramp and into the air, far above the reach of any of the villains save All For One.

The master villain did try to reach out for them but was kept in check by All Might, just as had been the case a moment earlier when All Might tried to reach Katsuki. It was the spikey red-haired Eijiro, the only one of them who had a repour with the wild student bomber who called out to him. Sure enough, as Tomura reached out for his prized UA student, the dirty blonde smirked as he let lose a massive explosion from his hands, sending him skyward toward his classmates.

Katsuki's outreached hand was caught by his friend and the four continued to sail away from the action, removing one of the obstacles from All Might being able to switch to the offensive.

Just as Izuku predicted, the six members of the league of villains all were scrambling to do something to reverse their sudden turn of fortune. Watching the four UA students continue their getaway, Michiru turned to Shoto and Momo "Alight guys, now it’s our turn, you two go ahead and take off, we've got this!"

Said teens nodded and took off running for their agreed upon rendezvous point. Looking at the others, Zelgadis had his sword at the ready as he said, "Whose ready to save a hero and get home?"

Meanwhile, Magne had pulled Mr. Compress and Spinner in front of her, magnetizing them in an attempt to send the former barreling up in the air to compress the students. She had just begun the process when the wall behind them exploded from a fireball Zelgadis had sent out, a few feet away from where the others had burst forth. This time though, the interlopers who surged onto the battlefield weren't going to be playing it soft.

Emeralda came in hard, her left arm a massive hammer that she used to smash Magne's face, knocking her out cold. This wasn't enough to completely stop her intended shooting of Mr. Compress but instead of soring into the air, he only shot up about ten feet before landing twenty or so feet away, flat on his face and in a fair amount of pain.

Spinner barely had moment to register what was happening when Zelgadis blasted him with a fireball, sending him through the air and rolling to a stop not too far off from Mr. Compress, though much worse off as smoke rose from his unconscious body.

With the way cleared, Michiru, her legs and tail shifted to that of a cheetah, shot forward in a beeline for the downed Celty. Xellos had moved up over the wall and was behind Zelgadis and Emeralda to support as needed. So far, things looked good. They had evened the odds a bit more with two of the villains six out with their surprise attack and Michiru was picking up their target at that moment.

What they hadn't counted on was one of the villains being able to make more villains. Coming to face the trio was the man in the black and grey body suit. Within moments there were six instead of one, five of which then began charging forward. Several deft sword slashes from the chimera and greenette however revealed these doubles were all the man was capable of, which meant numbers was his only strength.

As Michiru finished getting Celty on her shoulders, however, Mr. Compress had recovered from his shortened trip and knew if one prize was gone, he better not let the other slip away. Michiru heard the top-hatted villain approach but with her burden, wasn't able to do anything to avoid the threat. As he surged forward, hand outstretched, Mr. Compress called out "Going somewhere, young lady? I believe that belongs to us!"

Michiru briefly thought that if she dropped the hero she could dodge and counter but if this guy touched this woman and made her into a sphere, then they would surely lose her. As it was, all the tanuki girl could think was that she was sorry for messing up.

Just as Mr. Compress was about to make contact, Emeralda came barreling into the villain's side, sending him tumbling forward in a heap. With the doubles weaker than at first feared, Zelgadis had things under control, which let the greenette dart forward when she saw Michiru in trouble. The wall of Doubles, had, unfortunately, also served as a screen for the other two villains as well so Emeralda was caught off guard when Himiko Toga came at her right on Mr. Compress' heels.

Emeralda had enough time to turn to face her assailant but not enough to dodge the attack and the murderous high-schooler's blade found its way into the greenette's right eye. Screaming in rage and pain as Toga cackled with glee, Emeralda's hair formed into a hammer and she swung her head wildly, catching the blonde in her side and knocking her way.

Emeralda fell to her knees, blood running uncontrollably down her face as she held her hands in front of her, desperate to do something to stop the pain but afraid to touch the wound. Both girls were in shock at what had just happened, paralyzed and unable to act when Michiru noticed the pale and sickly hand-wearing Tomura looming over her friend. It was all Michiru could do to call out Emeralda’s name as she reached out, her arm starting the stretch.

"I don't know who you are, but if I can't have those UA brats, you losers will have to take their place!" Tomura manically screamed as his hand reached out for Emeralda's head.

"NO, PLEASE! EMERALDA, GET UP, NOW!" Michiru desperately called as her arm began to lengthen in hopes of shoving the other girl out of harm’s way, if even for just a moment.

However, it wasn't going to be ienough. Michiru's arm wouldn't get there in time, so when Tomura's hand made contact, and all five of his fingers clenched down, it shocked everyone when it wasn't onto hair, but onto a clothed forearm. The forearm of one purple-haired mazuku who had seemed to appear out of nowhere. When his arm started to turn grey and crumble though, Xellos looked down at his limb and said simply, "Oh, my."

That distinctive, nasally voice brought Emeralda back to the moment, as she rose her head to see that the mazuku had turned to face her. Her lone good eye screamed the only question that could be asked. Xellos seemed to remain calm as his body continued to decay and blow away. Seeing the girl who couldn't seem to tell a lie to save her life desperate to know why he had done it, Xellos could think of only one thing to say, his eyes opening fully as he said "Come now, Emeralda-san, I couldn't tell you why, it's a secret!"

Within moments, the fourth member of their group was nothing more than dust in the wind, and Emeralda was left with the euphoric gaze of the man who had just killed him. Despite the almost unbearable pain, Emeralda brought herself to her feet as Tomura began laughing. Seeing as the madman wasn't going to attack again for the moment, she screamed as she yanked the knife out of her eye, fresh blood coming from the socket.

That got Tomura's attention as he stopped laughing, raising both his hands as he spoke "Come on now, girl, you don't think you have any more fight left in you? Just be a good girl and let me send you to meet your friend. That way, I can at least take that hero back to my master after I dust the racoon."

That was all Emeralda needed to hear to send her over the edge. Her lip quivering in rage, she said nothing, made no sound whatsoever. Instead, she let her rage fuel her focus and a moment later, her entire body had broken down to her very cells. To Tomura, she appeared to pixelate before his eyes and a moment later, he was powerless as the broken down cluster of cells approached him like a wave. Tomura could feel her pass right through him, washing through his very being, and it hurt. A lot.

Behind Tomura, Emeralda reassembled herself and for a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, Tomura collapsed to his knees as small spurts of blood erupted from a thousand points all across his body. The emaciated leader of the League of Villains was still conscious, but he sat stunned in immense pain.

Michiru had watched all of this unfold, her extended arm laying limp on the ground near where Emeralda had stood before attacking Tomura, horrified at what had happened to Xellos. Seeing the leader of the League of Villains brought low, stained with his own blood snapped the tanuki girl out of her daze however. Driven by worry for her friend, Michiru finally managed to get up on two feet with Celty held on her back and ran over to where the one-eyed greenette still stood, taking the time to kick Tomura in the side to send him to the ground as he gasped for air.

When the tanuki girl wheeled about to look her friend in the face, calling out her name, what she saw almost unnerved her. Emeralda's face was a mess, the right side of her face covered in blood that had stained parts of her top, scarf and hair. Her good left eye was wide and her expression blank.

When the greenette didn't respond the first time, Michiru got up close and asked again, more frantic this time "Emeralda! Emmy, are you ok? Please say something!"

Meanwhile, Zelgadis had finally finished dealing with Double, having cut down the last of the seemingly endless horde as Xellos met his end. Whether the last one was the real one, he had no idea but he'd managed to cut, freeze, burn or electrocute more than he cared to count. In the moment Xellos turned to dust though, it didn't matter to the chimera. Something he thought impossible had just happened before his eyes and he was stunned, watching dumbly as Emeralda affected her counter. Michiru's cries brought Zelgadis back to reality and he made his way over to his remaining comrades, asking worriedly "What happened? Did…did Xellos actually…Emeralda, your eye!"

Finally, the injured young woman spoke, her voice low and hard to hear among the battle of titans raging nearby "I…will be fine. Xellos, Xellos is gone. I wasn't fast enough. I was…too distracted."

Before anyone could debate the greenette on her assertion, several of the black and red tendrils from All For One came snaking toward them, forcing the three lighters to dodge out of the way. The attack smashed into the ground they had just occupied before retracting back, announcing the arrival of All For One, who floated down in front of his apprentice, having once again managed to knock All Might away long enough to save the hand-wearing murderer.

Glancing over past Tomura, All For One called out to the boy's remaining compatriots "Mr. Compress, please take Tomura and get out of here. There is clearly nothing left to be gained at this point."

Doing as he was told, the top-hatted villain moved to compress Magne and Spinner. When Mr. Compress got to his leader, Tomura was only able to utter a weak "nooo…massstterr…" before he, too, was compressed into a ball. Then, as All For One turned back to face the remaining lighters, Himiko limped into the misty portal followed by the real Double, who had hid by some rubble, then Mr. Compress tossed Kurojiri in before jumping in himself, the portal vanishing behind him.

Finally, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda faced off with the one responsible for each of them being pulled away from all they knew. With Michiru burdened with Celty and Emeralda having lost an eye, and Xellos dead, they were worse for wear, and they knew it. That didn't stop the three of them from offering a defiant front when the master villain spoke again, casual and calm as ever "It won't be long before All Might ruins our little chat so let me say this: Whatever you may think of me, know that it was nothing personal. If anything, you being here is a miracle onto itself that I have made possible. Know that the only way you may be granted another miracle, dear lighters, is through me."

Looking about the destruction around them, Michiru wasn't buying what this asshole was selling as she countered "You call all of this a miracle? What makes you think being here is any better or worse than where we were? You had no right!"

Zelgadis seconded his furry companion's thoughts as he stepped forward, his sword at the ready "Thats right! It wasn't personal? What’s more personal than having your entire world ripped from you? You’re right about one thing though, we're definitely going through you!" As he finished, Michiru gently set Celty down behind Zelgadis.

Emeralda said nothing, as her face twisted into a scowl and her arms extended into blades.

Releasing a sigh, All For One rose his left hand "Here a few days and already sounding like the rest of those sanctimonious fools. Such a shame." As he finished, he let loose another, albeit weaker, blast from his air cannon.

Ready for it, Zelgadis had a barrier spell ready, calling it out just in time for the blast to smash into it, nearly sending the chimera off his feet instantly. With the attack blocked, Emeralda charged forward to the right while Michiru came forward from the left. Each arrived on either side of All For One, one swinging with a massive fist, the other a bladed arm. Neither hit their mark.

Despite all the force Michiru brought to bear when she swung her massive arm, All For One blocked it with his own like it was nothing. With her momentum lost, the masked master of evil brought his arm down quickly and grabbed the tanuki girl's leg and swung her toward his left where he had managed to catch one of Emeralda's blades and was using Michiru to give the greenette pause with her other bladed arm.

That pause saved Michiru from being stabbed but it meant the two collided when All For One smashed the two together, momentum carrying the two a few feet away, though each were able to land on their feet.

With All For One distracted, Zelgadis charged forward, intent on taking the taller man's right arm off while it was still extended from throwing Michiru into Emeralda. The chimera had gotten close enough to strike with his sword but mid-swing the blade was caught by those black and red tendrils that had once again extended from All For One's fingers. Zelgadis struggled to pull the blade away but moments later his sword, only a few minutes old, shattered from the pressure the tendrils had placed on it at multiple points. The rock-encrusted sorcerer lost his balance from trying the pull on the blade, which gave All For one the opening to swing with his left arm, catching the chimera square in the face, and sending him flying backwards and landing only a couple of feet from Celty.

Turning to face the female lighters, All For One raised his hand as he said "I am sorry ladies, but this dance is over." As the symbol of evil let lose another shot from his air canon, a yellow dart shot in and delivered a blow to All For One's head, causing him to stagger and sending the blast harmlessly up and into the night sky.

Landing in front of Michiru and Emeralda was a very old and very short man with a narrow black mask over his eyes, short grey hair and goatee along with a simple yellow costume and cape. The old man called out to them, anger clear in his voice "What the hell are ya doin' here! This is All Might's fight, you need to clear out of here, now!"

At the same time, an orange winged man with a beak and wearing black leather landed beside Zelgadis and Celty, a mix of concern and distain on his face. As the winged newcomer gently picked up his partner he snapped at Zelgadis "How could you leave her behind like that! What's wrong with you!?"

Still reeling from the hit he took from All For One, Zelgadis took a moment to respond as he shook his head "If…it wasn't for us, they'd of gotten away with her already. Who the hell are you?"

Lifting the swordless swordsmen up to his feet, Brooklyn quickly said "No time for that, we need to get you all out of here and let All Might handle things here."

As All Might himself appeared on the scene once more, landing near All For One, declaring nothing else would stand in his way, Zelgadis knew in his clouded mind that their gambit had failed. Unable to hide his deep disappointment, the defeated chimera bitterly called out to his companions "Michiru, Emeralda, let's go!"

"Where?" Michiru called back.

"Follow me!" Brooklyn answered, leaping off multiple damaged walls to get enough air to start gliding away.

After invoking his flight spell, Raywing, Zelgadis called again "You got Emeralda, Michiru?"

"Yeah, no problem, Zel, we're right behind you, right Emmy?" Michiru replied back as she shifted her arms to a pair of wings and talons for feet. Emeralda could only bring herself to nod as Michiru grabbed her by the shoulders and took off after the other two, leaving the symbol of peace to do battle with his nemesis for what he hoped would be the last time.

(X)

Brooklyn guided the surviving three lighters to a recovery zone at the edge of the destroyed part of Camino ward. People who had suffered injuries large and small had been brought here where emergency medical personnel were doing their best to triage even as many watched from their phones the unfolding battle only a short distance away.

Although Celty had suffered a grievous wound, by the time she had been brought to the medics, she was already healing. Being assured she would be ok, Brooklyn had left to continue rescue efforts with the other heroes on the scene.

Emeralda had had her eye cleaned and was given a compress to make sure the bleeding stopped and reduce swelling. Since the wound wasn't immediately life threatening, the greenette was sent to rest with Zelgadis, who had suffered a concussion from All For One's last blow and Michiru, who only had some minor cuts and bruises. The three of them sat quietly for a time as they listened and watched the battle unfold between the great hero and villain of the age from the phone of others next to them.

Before long, Michiru realized the whole camp was riveted to the battle, save for those engaged in life saving work. The mood and comments of those around them rose and fell as All Might and All For One did battle, as if the fate of the very world hung in the balance in those city ruins.

Finally, just when all did seem lost and All Might appeared to have lost all his mighty power, a literal shell of his former self and everyone around them shouting words of encouragement at their screens, it was over. All Might had summoned enough strength to deliver one more mighty blow and through guile and sheer will had managed to defeat the titan of evil that the three of them couldn't even lay a finger on.

The camp, the city, the whole country seemed to erupt in jubilant cries of triumph then. People were delirious with joy, released from the stress and worry of possibly watching their greatest fall. As Michiru listened, she focused just a little bit and could hear the cheering from the populated unharmed parts of Yokohama beyond.

It was then, as she sat there covered in a simple blanket a medic had given her that Michiru felt it again. That same feeling she had when the beastmen of Anima City howled into the night sky. Michiru looked into the relived eyes of the people around her and the same loneliness enveloped her. Despite how welcoming, how diverse and open-minded the people of this world had seemed, Michiru knew that she wasn't apart of this world. Finding no comfort in her comrades as she glanced at their faces, Emeralda almost looking ashamed as she held the compress over the right side of her face and Zelgadis trembling with impudent anger. Michiru felt as alone as ever.

Pulling the blanket closer, all Michiru could think was that maybe there wasn't really a home for her anywhere. She wasn't human, she wasn't really a beastman and she clearly wasn't a hero. Not by this world's standards anyway.

For a time, the three continued to sit in silence as the world around them celebrated. Eventually, one of the medics came by to check on them, a kindly middle-aged man with a receding hairline "Hello you three, I wanted to check on the young woman's eye. You doing ok miss?"

Briefly removing the compress to allow the man to look at it, the medic nodded and said "It looks like the bleeding has stopped so that's good but you’re going to need to go to a hospital to get it treated properly. Before I send for an ambulance, you three have your ID's on you?"

Zelgadis and Emeralda turned to look at Michiru, who had been only half paying attention to this point. Realizing what was being asked and the attention on her, the tanuki girl fumbled for an answer as she said "Oh? Uhhh, our ID's? Weee lost them! In the chaos of all the fighting, we lost them in the attack!"

The middle-aged medic raised an eyebrow but didn't challenge Michiru, instead erring on the side of compassion "Oh, well that's ok, miss, you aren't the only ones to lose something important back there. We can work on that at the hospital, if you could just-"

"I am fine" Emeralda said simply, cutting off the medic as she focused down and away with her good eye.

Receiving a worried look from the medic, Michiru put her hand on her green-haired friend's shoulder as she pleaded "Emmy, he's only trying to help. This is a serious injury…maybe we should listen to him?"

Looking up when Michiru touched her, Emeralda was unfazed by her words as she refused again "No, thank you Michiru. I…am aware this is a serious injury but…" Then the tan girl sighed heavily before continuing "…but before long, I will be fine. Please, trust me."

The middle-aged man raised his hands as he stood up, shaking his head "I can see I'm not going to convince you. I can't force you to accept treatment, just know I advise seriously against it." Putting his hands down as he glanced between the three, another thought occurred to him "You three have a place to stay? Did you live here?"

Shaking her head, Michiru struggled to bring the words to her mouth because she knew saying them would make it that much more real for the other two, but she pushed on, finally managing "No, sir. We, we live in Musutafu."

Zelgadis, who had been staring off into the distance after his furry companion had taken over answering for them, suddenly turned and starred right at her. Emeralda was watching out of the corner of her good eye, her head still hung low. The medic seemed to miss the reactions, to wrapped up in his own as he blurted out with some shock "Musutafu!? You three are pretty far from home, aren't you? You have anywhere to stay tonight? Someone you can call?"

With everything going on, it had slipped Michiru's mind but at the medic's words the tanuki girl remembered that Hina had stored several numbers in her phone. Said medic remained silent, seeing the look of realization on Michiru's face as she went digging for her phone in her jacket's pockets. By some miracle, Michiru's phone had survived the night, minor cracks in the screen notwithstanding.

Looking in her contacts, Michiru saw Hina's, Mob's, Jun's and Hitomi's numbers. Michiru had no idea if Hina and Mob were still in Yokohama and even if they were, would Majestic even be willing to take them after the stunt they pulled? On a hunch, Michiru pulled up Hitomi and saw she could track her just like they had with Shadow Rider. To her surprise, Hitomi appeared to be in Camino Ward, not far away from where they were.

Looking up at the medic, a small smile on her face, Michiru thanked him for the idea. Nodding sagely, the middle-aged man turned to check up on someone else as he said "No thanks needed, young lady. It can be easy to forget things during a traumatic event. Just glad to help. Come find me if things fall through, alright?"

With a wave and a nod, Michiru turned her attention back to the phone. Noting that Zelgadis and Emeralda were looking at her, the tanuki girl closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before she said "Alright! Let’s hope she picks up!" and pressed the call button.

(X)

After Hina revealed what had happened, Hitomi used her power, with permission, to see what exactly had happened in the dojo. Unfortunately, aside from learning a bit more about Emeralda, Hitomi didn't get any clues as to where, exactly the four wayward lighters were headed. With Sadou not picking up his phone, Hitomi was forced to call Jun as she raced back to her car.

When Jun picked up, Hitomi's voice was strained as she ran "Jun, do you know of an operation to rescue Katsuki Bakugo?"

On the other end of the line, Jun was caught off guard by the way Hitomi sounded "You ok? You sound like you’re running?"

"They’re gone, Jun! Emeralda, Michiru, Zelgadis and Xellos put everyone at the dojo to sleep and bolted! Hina said Sadou told them about a rescue mission and hinted that All For One would be there and they left Jun!" came Hitomi's increasingly frantic response.

Jun was at a complete loss for words. This was an absolute disaster. Still, he couldn't just sit there dumbstruck and leave Hitomi with silence. After a moment, the former hero recovered himself and responded with as much reassurance as he could muster "I'll get an answer, just leave it to me, Hitomi. Just stay where you are and try to stay calm, I'll find out what’s going on."

Having gotten back to her car, Hitomi was left to her thoughts as she sat there in the driver's seat, her head forward, resting on the steering wheel along with her arms. How was she supposed to remain calm when they could be out there getting themselves killed?

With the press conference over, Jun had little trouble meeting up with Principal Nezu. After catching the small fuzzy mammal up on what was happening, Jun was able to convince him to reveal that their press conference had indeed been partially designed to be a distraction for a rescue mission that was likely going to begin any moment in Camino Ward.

Relaying the information to Hitomi, the counselor set off for that part of Yokohama, happy to have narrowed her search but still utterly desperate to avoid some horrible outcome. Unfortunately for her, as she was searching among the crowds of people on a busy street, the explosions started. She now knew where to go but also knew she was too late. If the newest lighters were there, she was now powerless to stop whatever came next.

Before long, the news cameras were broadcasting the great battle taking place not far away and Hitomi, too, couldn't help but feel the unease and subsequent relief as the battle went back and forth before ultimately ended with All Might's final victory.

Realizing it was likely now safer to approach the battlefield to search for her lost fellow lighters, Hitomi began working through the crowd, only to bump into none other than Izuku Midoriya and…was that Katsuki Bakugo? Had they…been there at the rescue? "Midoriya-san? Bakugo-san? Iida?" Plus several other 1-A students but Hitomi was so surprised to see them she didn't get to mention them.

For his part, Izuku looked like a deer in the headlights when he had been caught and while Shoto, Tenya and Momo looked wholly embarrassed, Eijiro stepped up to defend them "Kanzaki-san! We didn't break the law, we rescued Bakugo without attacking anyone! So could you let us off, just this one time?"

Katsuki, almost involuntarily felt the need to add "I would'a gotten outta there myself! I didn't need your damn help!"

Hitomi, for her part, wasn't really interested in turning the five students in, much as she likely should have. Instead, she asked "Have any of you seen a group of four, two men and two women. One of the girls looks a bit like a tanuki and the other is tan with pale green hair. One of the guys is blue skinned with rocks set in it?"

Without hesitation, Shoto answered "We did. They were with us back at the battlefield."

Hitomi's eyes went wide as she followed up with "Were they ok? What happened to them?"

It was Momo who answered this time "They…wanted to attack that man…but first they stayed to recue an injured hero. We went in first to get Bakugo-san and they were to follow up, using our action as a distraction to act. We left before they moved in. We're sorry, Kanzaki-san but we don't know what happened after that."

At least she knew where they were just a little while ago. Hitomi thanked the UA students before renewing her effort to get to the epicenter of the night's events.

Hitomi had just failed to convince a police officer to let her cross his perimeter to get closer when her phone rang with an unknown number. Briefly, the brunette thought this wasn't the time to take a phone call, but then the thought occurred to her that given everything going on, it may well be important. She was glad she did. Finally pressing the answer button Hitomi tried to stay as calmly as possible "Hello?"

For a moment, Hitomi was overjoyed when she heard "Hitomi? This…is Michiru." That excitement though was tempered when she heard the tone the tanuki girl was using. The poor girl sounded…regretful? Remorseful? Clearly, something had happened.

Trying to remain sounding positive, the counselor replied "Yes, Michiru, its Hitomi. I'm so glad to hear from you! You had me worried sick!"

There was a pause before Michiru said "Oh? You…were worried about us? Sorry about that. We…we kind of messed up. We're at the recovery station they set up on the east side of the battle zone. Do…you think you might be able to come pick us up?"

Yeah, they had fucked up alright, but that would be for later. Now getting them back to UA safely was what mattered. Hitomi warmly answered "Of course I can come get you, it'll just take a few minutes for me to get back to my car and get over there. It'll be a tight fit, but I should be able to get all four of you in just fine."

There was another long pause. For a moment, Hitomi thought the call had dropped and was about to pull the phone away from her ear to check when Michiru finally answered, her voice full of sorrow "Actually, Hitomi, you'll only be picking up three."

(X)

Chapter Text

The trip back to Musutafu may have been the longest stretch of awkward silence in Michiru's life. For a person who spent a year hiding from the world in her room, that was saying something. Despite Hitomi trying to engage them in conversation, whether to make them feel better or to even get a better idea of what had even gone on was consistently met with either no answer at all or halfhearted grunts of acknowledgement.

When Hitomi had arrived to pick Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis, she had tried her best to be warm and supportive. That was what Michiru was hoping for in this moment of abject loss and failure. Yet, when Michiru actually saw the counselor's face, she could see the strain, the worry and concern that Hitomi was struggling to conceal behind a mask. All Michiru could think was that their actions had burdened someone else, likely many others, and it drove her to sit as quietly as her companions.

The EMT who had helped earlier had come back to properly bandage Emeralda's lost eye with wrapping covering a good portion of the right side of her head, covering some of her hair as well since she had too much to simply pull to one side. He had also given her a simple round black eyepatch to wear once the swelling had gone down some more. When Hitomi had asked what happened, Emeralda simply said, "I was careless" and would say nothing more on that, or any other subject.

It was late in the night when the four made it back to UA. As they got closer, Michiru had begun to worry their late arrival would wake other occupants of the dorm but to her surprise, there were lights still on in the building as they pulled up.

Hungry but more than anything exhausted, the three trudged forward, Hitomi bringing up the rear, long ago having given up trying to speak to any of them. Slowly, deliberately, Michiru pulled open the front door after Hitomi lent the tanuki girl her key card, the others having discarded them with their changes of cloths back at the dojo.

The exhaustion instantly left Michiru the moment a pillow smashed into her face, however, causing her to stop in her tracks which made Emeralda and Zelgadis bump into her, nearly causing all three to fall over. Shaking her head, the fur on her tail on edge, Michiru turned to look at her attacker as she exclaimed "What the hell!?"

Any anger left the tanuki girl as she saw Hina standing up from the couch in a simple light blue night gown, tears in her eyes as she yelled back "I, I told you assholes to be careful! Instead…instead, look at you! Theres…theres only three of you! And Emeralda, look at you! How could you let this happen?!"

Zelgadis looked like he was about to explode in an angry retort but before any words could leave his mouth, he just turned away. Emeralda kept her head down, noticeably shifting back and behind her furry companion. Michiru though, wasn't going to just take it, hands balled into fists at her side as she hotly said "You think Emmy wanted that to happen? You think we wanted this to happen?! All we wanted to do was get home! At least we tried! You could have come with us if you really cared so much!"

At that, there was a flash of anger on Hina's face that was accompanied by the neighboring loveseat exploding into bits of wood shards and cushion stuffing. Without another word, the telekinetic turned and marched upstairs, not to be seen again the rest of the night.

Having watched the exchange from the doorway, Hitomi broke the silence that followed, saying "Michiru, I know Hina can be brash but she did help you to get there, didn't she? I think she may feel responsible for what happened to you, so perhaps when you see her next you could be a little less harsh?"

Turning back to face the counselor, her shoulders already slumped in regret, the tanuki girl replied "I know, I know. I guess I'm, I mean we, are all tired. I don't know whats going to happen now but it can wait until morning, right?"

At that, a throat could be heard clearing, bringing the four new arrivals attention to the table. There, sat Jun, Ranma, Majestic, Principal Nezu and a large-framed police officer Michiru didn't recognize. How a full table of people went completely un-noticed through the prior exchange, Michiru didn't know but she at least looked contrite when she turned to face them along with her companions.

With attention finally on them, Jun spoke, his voice grave "I'm afraid there is still much to discuss tonight, lighters."

The fuzzy Nezu, his seat supplemented with two cushions to make him tall enough to sit at the table and drink the tea that sat in front of him, added "I don't think you three realize the ramifications of what you've done this evening. You've not just betrayed the trust of your mentor, this school and the government of Japan but you've put a spotlight on every other lighter that exists here."

Never one to have authority talk down to him, Zelgadis finally stepped forward to speak, his seething self-loathing set aside for the moment "And just what the hell does that mean? It’s like Michiru said, we just wanted to go home, and we weren't about to just sit here and let you screw it up!"

It was the officer's turn to answer, standing up to impose his full burley six-foot five frame over the half a foot shorter chimera. With everything going on with All-For-One, Naomasa had detailed one of his lieutenants, Officer Ken Katsuragi, who at this point was less than pleased he was held back to deal with this instead of being with the rest of team. With derision in his voice, the officer answered as he lorded over Zelgadis "It means there is evidence to suggest collusion between lighters to break our laws and engage in vigilantism, putting the public at serious risk. You lighters have been treated as guests and victims of our world until now but if we find that good will has been taken advantage of, you will all find yourselves in a…less accommodating situation."

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes, starring up at the officer but saying nothing. Instead, he glanced over at their scarf-wearing 'mentor'. To the chimera's surprise, the older man was looking right at him, a haggard and worn look on his face. He looked absolutely awful, as if his whole family had just been killed right in front of him. As the two locked eyes for a moment, the silver-haired man finally spoke, his voice a bit horse "Did…did he have any family?"

The question confused Zelgadis, as he answered "Who?"

Sighing as he closed his eyes, Jun spoke again "Xellos. Was there anyone important to him back home?"

Before he could check himself, Zelgadis chuckled at the question. This earned the chimera a reproachful glare from Michiru as those at the table showed varying degrees of shock at the reaction. Deciding he was already in deep and might as well go all the way, the chimera countered with scorn as he answered "Family? No, he had no family as you or I know it. I've said it before, he was a mazuku. A monster. He was created by his master, the one and only being he respected and served unquestionably. He was a being feared by most every living creature in my world. Tch, family…."

Then, the rock-encrusted sorcerer put his hand in his face as he looked down, trying to contain his bitter laughter as he continued "I'm shocked at him being dead, but only because I never thought I would see the day that it would actually happen. Make no mistake, if Beastmaster Zelas had ordered it, that monster would have killed me and my friends in our sleep without a second thought and with little effort."

Everyone in the room stood stunned, not just by Zelgadis' callousness of his companion's death but also by his explanation for it. For Michiru, as for most others, it raised so many questions. Questions that would have to go unanswered because now Zelgadis' blood was up and he shoot back at Jun "Why do you even care? He was just one more plaything, was he not?"

Those in the room who knew Jun best: Hitomi, Ranma and Nezu cringed at the chimera's words. The former hero's eyes narrowed as his brow hardened and he stood up, the hallow look suddenly gone. Walking up to the rock-encrusted sorcerer, he trembled as he spoke, his voice low and hard "I told you that I was responsible for you all. You may not like how I do things but then, you hardly gave me the chance to do them, now did you? You ran off like you were the only one’s suffering, the only ones who had the answers. Now I've lost someone else to HIM! ALL I EVER WANTED TO DO WAS HELP!"

The silver-haired former hero was outright screaming now in Zelgadis' face, shocking the chimera, who just stood there, eyes wide. When he was done, Jun seemed to deflate, slumping his shoulders and seeming to age ten years right in front of everyone. Turning, the lighter's mentor stumbled to the couch and avoiding the loveseat’s debris, sitting down like a sack of rocks as he mumbled "…I just wanted to make it better. It was all…all I could do."

Hitomi rushed over to the man, kneeling in front of him and trying her best to consul the once great hero. Watching the two, Michiru was awash in a maelstrom of emotions, no doubt aided by the fatigue that threatened to envelop her at any moment. Still, with all the raw feelings, all the uncertainty, there was one thing the tanuki girl felt she could and should do.

Stepping past the still stunned Zelgadis and taciturn Emeralda, Michiru approached the table, making sure to give meaningful looks at Ranma and Majestic before she bowed low. A light smirk played across the hero's face, but Ranma looked around in confusion. Still prostate, the tanuki girl raised her head to speak, her voice full of conviction "I am so sorry for what we did to you two! Of the four of us, it was my decision to go off on our own. Which means it’s my responsibility for putting you two to sleep and leaving you vulnerable and unable to act during the attack. I am so sorry!"

Standing up and taking a few steps forward, close enough to rustle the furry girl's hair, Majestic laughed as he spoke "No need to worry on my account, young lady! Sure, you all caught me off guard but hey, I got a good nap out of it and thanks to you, I've been let into a very exclusive club that has expanded what I knew to be true beyond my wildest dreams!"

Michiru stopped bowing, confusion playing on her face "Wait, you're not mad?"

Moving to step past the tanuki girl, Majestic turned his head as he answered, saying "I can only speak for myself, of course, but I'm content to know you're remorseful for what you've done." Then, raising a hand to wave as the pro hero began walking to the door, he added "That being said, I've done my part, the police can take over guard duty from here and I’m exhausted. Take care, lighters."

Ranma spoke next, though he remained seated "Can't say I'm too happy being knocked out in my own dojo like that, 'pecially not if there wasn't a good fight first but I'm more pissed at what you did afterward. Ya know you've just made it harder for the rest of us, right?" Then, almost as an afterthought, the sex-changing martial artist added "Besides, you've got one more to apologize to, since you're in the mood."

Still looking confused, Michiru looked about the table again, noticing the tiny unidentifiable mammal sipping tea. Raising an eyebrow, Michiru asked "Umm, I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure we've never met so I'm alittle lost."

Setting his cup of tea down, Nezu hopped out of his elevated seat to bow slightly, one hand down across his mid-section as he said "Quite right, Kagemori-san, we haven't been introduced. My name is Nezu and I serve as principal of this school the lighters have been calling home for almost a decade. Under normal circumstances, we'd be meeting more formally, with more pomp and the like but I am afraid that is not to be the case."

Michiru starred down at the odd little creature perhaps a second longer than was polite as she tried to decide just what the little guy even was. Zelgadis' clearing of his throat brought the tanuki girl back to the present as she shook her head and bowed again "I am so sorry Principal, we…we took for granted your hospitality and didn't think how what we did would reflect on you and your school. I, no, we are very sorry!"

As Michiru remained bowing, Nezu's beady little black eyes shifted past the tanuki girl to look at the chimera, who in turn glanced over at Jun before looking back at the small mammal. After a moment, Zelgadis frowned, closed his eyes and bobbed his head up and down in affirmation of Michiru's words. Feeling one more eye on him, Nezu then shifted his attention to Emeralda, who upon meeting his gaze turned away, her hair and bandages hiding most of her face. Still, it was clear to see the regret in the features he did see.

These exchanges only took a moment and Nezu responded to Michiru quick enough for her to miss them entirely. "It is heartening to hear your words, Kagemori-san. I suspect that mere words will not blunt any repercussions you three may face, however. There will be much to discuss tomorrow. Its late, get some sleep and we'll talk again in the morning."

As Officer Katsuragi headed to the door, he said to the three "Until our investigation concludes, you three and Hina are under house arrest. Leave without permission and escort and the full weight of the law will come down on you. Good night."

Nezu also took his leave while Ranma declared he was going to crashed in one of the spare rooms upstairs. Michiru helped Emeralda up the stairs, Zelgadis trailing behind. All three glanced at their broken would-be mentor and Hitomi as they passed. None of them knew how much longer the two stayed there before they, too, retired for the night.

Once Michiru was sure Emeralda was alright and bedded down, she went to her own room, a place she had hoped to never see again. Now though, it was a refuge that many of the people back in Camino Ward didn't have. She knew the three of them had been incredibly lucky this night, despite the loss of Xellos. Even with so much weighing on her mind and her stomach reminding her she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before, Michiru was lost in sleep the moment her head hit the pillow. It was well she did, otherwise the sobbing a room away may have kept her up longer still.

(X)

There had been many times in Emeralda's "short" life that not needing a lot of sleep had been very useful. Being ready at a moment's notice to spring into action or being able to serve as the night watch for her squad had been very helpful. It did, however, often leave her alone with her thoughts. When she was young this wasn't a problem. It was easy to push away the darkness with happy thoughts of Fei's Kim and her new friends.

That had been a time in her life far too short and more than most, the amber-eyed girl had grown up much too fast. Her thoughts became much more self-reflective and self-critical, made all the worse after the defeat of Deus when reminders of the fall of civilization such as herself became shunned. This, combined with her promise that she wouldn't be a burden anymore, allowed a energic and inquisitive girl to quickly become a quiet and reserved young woman much more comfortable out doing what she knew best than being around people and getting outside her comfort zone.

Now, after spending the waning hours of one of the worst nights of her life alone crying as quietly as she could while she played the events in Camino in her head over and over again, Emeralda left her room. The clothes they had all left behind at Ranma's dojo had been returned so Emeralda was sporting the same simple workout attire she had then. As early as it was, it seemed no one else was up yet, which suited the greenette just fine. Heading downstairs, Emeralda went to the training hall, hoping to practice her forms and maybe start to think about what Ranma had said about integrating her abilities into her martial arts. It seemed like a good way to focus on something other than the tortured thoughts that plagued her.

Emeralda's hopes were dashed however when she entered the hall, only to find the master martial artist himself in the middle of a kata. Turning to leave, the tan-skinned girl cringed when Ranma called out "Where ya goin'? You just got here!"

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Emeralda turned back to respond "My apologies, I didn't realize anyone else was awake yet. I don't wish to disturb you. I'll go elsewhere."

After several short jabs, Ranma launched himself in the air, performing several kicks and a flurry of punches before landing a few feet from the taciturn girl. Seeing no reaction from the straight-faced young woman, Ranma didn't even try his usual bravado when he spoke "Actually, I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you before I headed back home."

Emeralda raised a light green eyebrow "Oh? O-Ok, what did you wish to discuss?"

A small smirk played on the pig-tailed martial artist's face as he said, "the Art, mostly, but honestly, anything you wanted to talk about, I'd be happy to listen."

Glancing away, the greenette calmly replied "I…have nothing to discuss but if you want to talk about combat, I would do so."

Taking a closer look at Emeralda's face while she looked away, Ranma's smirk grew larger "You look pretty good for someone who just lost an eye, Kasim-san. Already sporting that eye patch instead of the bandages. Hell, if it wasn't for the eyepatch, no one would be able to tell you were hurt at all! That's some quick healing! A guy could be excused for thinking you'd be up for a fight."

The greenette's eye widened at that as she faced him again, seeing that confident smirk plastered over his face. Though she didn’t show it, Emeralda was very annoyed that this man didn’t seem to notice that she wanted to be alone. In hopes of getting what she wanted, Emeralda replied meekly "I'm…sorry, Saotome-sensei. Do you really think that's wise? I am still healing after all."

"Oh, come on, you didn't come in here to meditate, now did ya? Tell you what, you can practice what we talked about yesterday and I'll go easy on ya, whatcha say?" Ranma confidently offered, a knowing look on his face.

Ranma was right, of course. Somehow, even with her usual lack of outward expression, this man had read her like a book. It was impressive and very, very annoying. Still, it was a fair offer and her only other real option was to head back to her room, a prospect that for the moment was very unappealing. Reluctantly, the tan-skinned girl nodded and said, "Fine. However, given my lack of depth perception, I will avoid using bladed or piercing weapons."

His eyes dancing with excitement, Ranma exclaimed "Fair enough! Now get in your stance because here I come!"

(X)

Sometime later Michiru awoke to what was becoming the familiar sound of a very empty stomach. Without giving any thought to the kind of bed hair someone covered in fur could have, the tanuki girl stumbled her way downstairs and made for the refrigerator. So absorbed was the starving girl in rummaging for food that she completely missed Zelgadis having made his way to the kitchen as well, in a groggy fog of his own. At the sound of footsteps behind her, Michiru shot up, her hands full of snacks and a riceball already stuffed in her mouth with her hair and fur a complete mess.

Zelgadis, for his part, hadn't even noticed anyone in the room as he searched for some coffee. At seeing a furry creature rear its head out from the weird ever cold box, the chimera most intelligently said as he shot backwards "What the actual fuck! Freeze Arr-"

Frantic waving and the muffled but frenzied attempts to speak with a mouth full of rice was enough to stay the sorcerer's hand as he realized who it actually was. Relaxing as he put a hand on his head from the sudden headache the whole situation was bringing on, Zelgadis spoke again "Geez Michiru, you looked like a wild raccoon or something. Think you could take it down a notch next time?"

"Sawee Zel!" came the tanuki girl's response, as she continued to chew, albeit a more apologetic chewing.

After a few minutes of Michiru brewing up a cup of coffee for the chimera, the two sat together as Michiru continued to munch on random food she was sure was Hina's because that would be her luck. After a few minutes of silence, Michiru thought to ask "So…you have raccoons in your world too?"

Taking another sip of the bitter liquid Zelgadis answered with a rather dry rational response "We certainly have creatures we call raccoons back home. Whether they are anything like what you may be picturing from your world, I couldn't tell you."

The gluttonous tanuki responded between bites "Fair enough. Luckily, we have the power of the internet!" With that, food still in one hand, Michiru pulled out her cell phone and searched raccoons, bringing up some photos for the chimera to see.

Marveling at the sheer amount of knowledge that little rectangle had to impart, the rock-encrusted swordsmen looked over the offered photos and nodded in the affirmative "Sure enough, they look about the same. I guess some things stay pretty similar matter where you go. Is…that what you are, Michiru? I never thought to ask when we were in the cell together the other night."

A bit surprised by the question, Michiru looked over at her blue-skinned companion, his cup held up near his face as he sat with one leg crossed over the other. Seeing he was genuinely curious, Michiru looked wistful as she replied "It’s funny. When I first changed, I kept telling myself, and anyone who said otherwise, that I was a raccoon."

"I…take it you're not then?" Zelgadis deduced, eyebrow raised.

"No, I think I've said it once or twice but I'm a tanuki." Came Michiru's response, after which she met Zelgadis' eyes, trying to read his reaction. Seeing none she followed up with "You have no idea what a tanuki is, do you?"

Shrugging, Zelgadis said "Nope, sorry. Never heard of anything like that back home. You'll have to fill me in. Clearly theres a negative connotation associated with them since you tried to deny being one, right?"

Sitting back in her chair, the tanuki girl leaned back, briefly focusing on the ceiling as she replied "Theres not really anything wrong with tanuki, its mostly cultural. Tanuki's are often depicted as mischievous creatures in our stories. Often, they are thought to be able to transform, allowing them to get into even more trouble with humans."

"So, what? You didn't want to be associated with pranksters? Or the transforming?" Zelgadis asked, feeling like he was missing something.

Caught being asked a follow-up after taking another big bite, it was a few seconds before Michiru could respond. "Oh it was totally the being associated with mischievous yokai thing. That…and some memories of a friend of mine when I was a kid being called tanuki face by the neighborhood boys because they thought she was ugly. The transforming thing didn't start happening for awhile but I'm told me and my friend are the only ones who can do it."

"Wait, so you're telling me your transforming ability is independent of the fact that you became an animal that just so happens to have a cultural history of transforming? Zelgadis asked, a bit of skepticism in his voice.

"Yes?" came Michiru's weak reply, shrugging.

Almost afraid to ask, the chimera pressed on after rolling his eyes at his companion's answer with "And was your friend a tanuki too, then?"

"Nazuna? Oh no, she was a fox!" Michiru quickly answered, happy to think about her best friend.

Narrowing his eyes, Zelgadis asked in a low, annoyed tone “Let me guess? Foxes can transform in Japanese folklore too?"

Almost reveling in Zelgadis' apparent annoyance at the irony that was her and her friend's condition, Michiru answered with an excited "Yep! You got it! And she's better at it than I am, too! She could grow wings on her back and double her size. I got started with it a lot later than she did."

The conversation was interrupted when an excited Mob clapped from the base of the staircase before he came up to the table saying "I'd very much love to see you transform, Kagemori-san! Hina told me about it, but it sounds pretty amazing, even if you don't think you're the best at it!"

Rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, Michiru glanced down at the mess of packaging that was the snack binge she had just been on "Oh Mob, I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't eat anything you were saving or anything! I…hadn't eaten in a while and…I'm so sorry!"

The plain-looking young man took a look at Michiru's devastation and instead of the justified anger she was expecting, got a beaming smile from Mob, who replied "Oh, I'm just glad you could enjoy it all! I was worried last night when everything happened. You all sneaking off, then Sanada-sensei and the principal came and…well seeing you hungry and well just makes me happy is all."

"Your very kind Mob but I was still wrong. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" Michiru offered as she began to clean up her mess.

Blushing and suddenly very self-conscious, the meek telekinetic stuttered out "H-How are y-you in the kitchen?"

Dumping the remnants of her destruction in the trash, Michiru enthusiastically answered "I'm no you, Mob, but I'll gladly help!"

Annoyed at how cheery the mood had suddenly become, Zelgadis sat by quietly, continuously cursing this world's strange written language. A more dour distraction made herself known when Hina came stumbling down. The blue-haired girl seemed to completely ignore everyone around her as she made a beeline for the refrigerator. Michiru and Mob stopped in their tracks to watch her, Michiru only realizing at the last moment what she was after when Hina opened the door and a moment later yelled "Seriously! Where is all the fucking food! There were a dozen rice balls alone last night!"

Michiru was about to sheepishly speak up and confess when Hina's eyes went wide in realization "Ranma! Ranma is here, isn't he! That sex-changing bottomless pit! I'm going to slap that smug asshole so hard he won't be able to eat for a week!"

Michiru tried to cut her off as she pleaded "Wait! Hina, you need to calm down, it was-"

"Oh no, fuzzy tail, this one's been a long time coming! Stay out of my way! Why don't you wonder off and get someone else killed, huh?!" The hangry telekinetic bit back, storming out of the kitchen and down the left wing of the house.

Michiru stood there, stunned by Hina's cutting reference to the previous night. Neither she nor Zelgadis had said a word about the previous night, trying to ignore what had happened. Until now. Now she was seeing it all over again. Looking out to the table, Michiru could see Zelgadis' eyes expressing a similar feeling.

A moment later though, Mob came to stand just behind the tanuki girl and said softly "Hina can be…harsh but she does care. A lot. She feels just as responsible as you two do, she just…lashes out to express it. Please don't think too lowly of her! Now, I could really use a hand. If Saotome-sensei is still here, we're going to need to have a lot on offer."

A soft smile returned to Michiru's face as she turned to face the bowl-haired young man, glad for the distraction as she said "Yes! Let's get to work!"

(X)

Hina had expected to see that muscle-headed jackass practicing by himself in the training hall, it was what he always did when he visited, after all. Instead of storming through the doors and tearing into the master martial artist though, the sounds of actual fighting brought her up short. Listening for a moment, she opened one of the doors as discreetly as she could and slid into the gymnasium, guessing whoever was fighting would be too busy to notice her.

Sure enough it was Ranma and…Emeralda? Hadn't she lost an eye, like, last night? As she hoped, neither of the combatants seemed to notice her at they exchanged blows. It didn't take long for Hina to notice that the cycloptic girl was being pushed back, closer and closer to a wall. The bluette also noted there was talking and if she focused, Hina could hear what Ranma was saying. The conversation seemed about as one-sided as the fight, which wasn't surprising considering the two involved.

"Come on, I know you're better than this! You're holding back Emeralda! Why?" Came the pig-tailed martial artist voice as he continued his unrelenting offensive.

A simple, but forceful "I am not!" was the only retort Ranma received.

This sense of holding back had prevailed the whole of the spare and thinking back, Ranma realized it was present even the day before at the dojo. It was less evident then, sure, but now it was painfully obvious to Ranma and he had spent the whole spare trying to snap it out of the amber-eyed girl to no avail. Clearly taunts of her weren't going to cut it so instead, as the two approached the wall, Ranma called out "If this is really the best you've got then clearly, you must have learned from a truly pathetic master! Especially one to have picked someone as weak-willed as you as a student!"

That did it. Within her one good eye, Ranma could see a fire lit as his opponent's mouth twisted in anger. In one of the few moments he let up in his assault, Emeralda stopped simply reacting and went on the offensive, a basic right hook delivered right at Ranma's face. The punch was coming in hard and fast but was painfully predictable, very easy for Ranma to block and counter. Instead, as her fist was about to make contact with Ranma's blocking forearm, Emeralda's arms suddenly shifted into a swirling pair of cables that proceeded to wrap around and bind the martial artist's arm.

For the briefest of moments, Ranma was surprised but just as quickly, he used his superior upper body strength to leverage the binding cables and Emeralda's own momentum to swing her clean over his head. At best, she'd land hard and the match would be over. At worst, his follow up leg sweep would do the same thing if she landed on her feet. Ranma was partially right.

Emeralda did land on her feet, but instead of being caught off guard and taking the sweep, she immediately lunged forward, her free left arm shifting into a two-pronged fork that extended forward. The fork caught Ranma in the neck, smashing him into the wall as the two points impacted behind him, pinning the pig-tailed man against it.

Ranma let his surprise show this time, his eyes wide as he struggled for breath. His opponent, mean time, looked almost feral as she growled out "Don't…*huff* *huff* Don't ever…*huff* insult Fei again *huff* You hear me?!"

Raising his hands to signal he had lost, Ranma slumped to the ground holding his throat once Emeralda retracted and shifted back her limps. Running up to the pair, her grudge temporarily forgotten, Hina blurted out "She beat you! I…didn't think anyone could beat you…"

Still sitting and after a few coughs, Ranma felt well enough to respond, speaking hoarsely "Come on, Hina-chan, I've lost plenty of times before." Then, looking up to meet Emeralda's still angry gaze, continued "It’s how you bounce back from a lost that counts. Now that Emeralda here has decided to let loose a little, I'll be sure not to pull my punches anymore, ya hear?"

Emeralda picked up on the message, her features softening as she stepped away to give Ranma enough space to get up. Hopping up to show he was fine, the pig-tailed man immediately found himself smashed against the wall, after which he comically twitched before falling flat on the ground. With Emeralda watching on in shock, Hina turned to leave "That's for eating every snack in the house!"

Satisfied, the blue-haired telekinetic left.

Hina was already too far away to hear the master martial artist weakly protest "But…I haven't eaten anything…"

(X)

Hina told Mob to call for her when breakfast was ready and went back upstairs. When she knocked on Shinra's door and asked if he was going to eat, all she got was the flame-footed hero-in-training roundly refusing to sit at a table with those "idiots." Soon the meal was ready and with Emeralda and Ranma joining them, the three newcomers got to see firsthand why Hina had assumed the sex changer had been the one to eat all the food.

It would have been a thing of beauty if it wasn't so annoying. Ranma ate like a man possessed, quickly and nimbly eating everything in front of him and within his reach. Michiru could swear she had put some fish on her plate only for it to disappear the moment she turned away. This was only confirmed when Emeralda's quick reflexes caught the martial artist red-handed. After Hina threatened to wall smash him a second time, Ranma relented, and he stuck to just inhaling whatever was left in the middle of the table.

It was only as everyone was cleaning up that there came a knock on the door. Excusing herself, Michiru rushed over calling out "Coming!" When she pulled open the door, the tanuki girl was greeted with the sight of a man who looked like the very personification of exhaustion. With long, unkept black hair, baggy and tired eyes on a head framed by a large scarf around his neck was one Shouta Aizawa. Sounding as tired as he looked, the underground hero and UA teacher addressed the person in front of him "Michiru Kagemori, I presume?"

Given the appearance of the guy in front of her, Michiru could be forgiven for thinking the villains from last night had sent a desperate hobo after them. Brushing the thought out of her head, the tanuki girl finally answered, a bit reluctantly "…yes? Can I…help you?"

Heaving an exacerbated sigh, Shota replied "I'm Aizawa-sensei, a teacher here at UA. I've been sent to take you lighters to meet with the faculty and principal. We have some things to discuss. Please don't dawdle."

(X)

Earlier, UA Faculty Room

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have two subjects of immediate importance before us." Principal Nezu declared at the head of the large U-shaped table that now had all of UA's faculty save for the recovering All Might. "The first, and more straight forward, is what to do about the flagging confidence the public has in our ability to keep our students safe."

There was some scattered chatter that this opening declaration by UA's leader which ended when the bear-like mouse continued "Some have been pointing out that our troubles began when All Might began teaching at this school. This is, of course, flawed logic but the fact remains that the Symbol of Peace can no longer protect our students if they get caught in the crossfire again."

The assembled teachers were clearly growing unsettled by the tone Nezu was setting. Still, the mouse-like dog pressed forward "It is a delicate situation. Nevertheless, I believe I know what we need to do to ease the concerns the public has expressed. We must strengthen the faith in the heroes that we have left."

The unease seemed to even out with those last words and Nezu was pleased to see it, his own confidence in his words growing as he continued "It’s true the threat we face is still troubling, but we will protect and train with more focus and diligence than ever before. That is why I believe it is time we implement a plan I've had in mind for a while."

Now Nezu could see the raised spirits across his team of teachers, excepting the ever-stoic Aizawa. With his audience roused, the bear-dog pulled out a folder he had stored in his desk and opened it as he said "The solution will be to house our students here on campus. This isn't a foreign concept for us, we have housed the lighters for years now and I believe, with a modification of their home design, we can use the space beside their building to erect enough housing for the student body."

The response was quite positive from the faculty, even if poor Hound Dog would have greater pressure put on him to keep the grounds safe. After agreeing that in person visits with home room teachers and a second faculty member, the letters to the parents were finalized and set to be mailed out.

With the first subject of the meeting addressed, the meeting could turn to thornier issues. The tired looking Shouta was first to bring it up "You mentioned the lighters earlier. Let me guess, they're the other subject of today's meeting?"

"Very astute of you, Aizawa-san." Nezu confirmed "The actions of the four, now three, newest lighters were reckless at best and puts this school in an even harder position with authorities. Are we, in fact, doing our jobs if we let them wonder the streets and inserting themselves into highly sensitive rescue missions? Are we not liable for such a failure? The question before us is whether to end the lighter program and if we decide to continue, what discipline shall they face? I already know what you're going to say Luminaire-san, but please go ahead."

Immediately, UA's resident substitute teacher and founder of the lighters program stood. The silver-haired former hero had mostly recovered from his emotional breakdown the night before, the deep bags under his eyes the only evidence anything had been amiss. Given that society itself had just been dealt a serious blow, none of those assembled took special note however as many others had less than full nights rest themselves.

Before saying anything, Jun bowed deeply before his assembled coworkers. After a few moments of awkward silence, the lighters mentor spoke, his voice contrite and grave "I must apologize for my students’ actions. All of their faults are mine. I would implore you to consider that as people brought here and kept against their will, they perceived a way home and took it. Tell me any one of you wouldn't do the same?"

"Come on man, laying it on a little thick, don't you think?" Hizashi Yamada also known as Present Mic replied a bit sarcastically to try and lighten things up. This also brought attention to him, an opportunity he didn't waste as he continued speaking "These kids have been here less than a week, right? We haven't even gotten them their IDs yet. Of course they don't appreciate the way things work here yet, am I right?"

"Perhaps, but this isn't this groups first incident, is it? They've already had one very public fight at the mall and then there was the trouble at the police station. Given the lighters origin isn't public knowledge, can we really just chop it up to circumstance?" the cement-like hero Ken Ishiyama or Cementoss questioned gravely.

"It’s not like this is the first time a newly arrived lighter has been a troublemaker. There is precedent for this sort of thing after all. I think we can weather any public backlash. Besides, it'll all be lost in the media storm that is the loss of All Might anyway." The R-Rated Hero Nemuri Kayama or Midnight added.

"It doesn't matter whether the public cares or not." Shouta quickly bit out. "The truth is these newest lighters have proven themselves reckless which means there is a high probability it will happen again without intervention."

This had not been unexpected from the erasure hero and Jun began to grow uneasy as the ragged man spoke. This could go poorly if he didn't bring context to the other teacher's words. Cutting in before Shouta could continue, Jun said "You've never been comfortable with the lighters program, Aizawa. I do hope no personal bias clouds any suggestions you may make."

His eyes narrowing slightly, Shouta took the accusation and deftly turned it to his advantage "On the contrary, Sanada-san. My unease is borne from rational thought. Lighters represent, in my mind, far too many unaccounted-for variables, too many unknowns. As such, I find their presence here to be a danger to our students. I hardly think one could find bias in such a line of thinking, don't you?"

As expected from one as cold and calculating as Shouta Aizawa. Unfortunately for Jun, the erasure hero's words seemed to be gaining traction. Before he could mount a retort though it was the rescue hero, Thirteen, her domed helmet missing from her bulky spacesuit-like costume who spoke first "Then wouldn't it follow, Aizawa-san, then that if we were simply to reduce those unknows then we would also reduce the risk?"

Grumbling, Shouta knew that question could go one of two ways, but knowing Anan Kurose, he knew which way that was.

The underground hero's concern was confirmed when Anan continued "Isn't that what Sanada-san has been doing in teaching and exposing new lighters to our world? We've never had more than one at once before, right? It seems to me that with a bit more reigning in and some help, such concern as Aizawa-san has expressed can be addressed."

Snipe, who unlike Thirteen, refused to take his mask off, nevertheless agreed "That makes sense to me. Reckless and ignorant these youngins may be but it looks like they're good fighters. Maybe some community service for their UA home could be in order?"

"Along with stronger restrictions on their movements would be fair." Sekijiro Kan or Vlad King added.

"Well" Nezu said in a raised voice to bring his faculty's attention back to him "It sounds like at least the majority has agreed that we should continue to allow the lighters to live and learn at this institution. Now, let us settle on the details, should they not be charged by the police, that is!"

(X)

It took the various occupants of the house a few minutes to change from what each had slept/fought in. The wait was interminable for Shouta, a man who valued efficiency highly. Clearly his co-workers thought it was hilarious that Nezu choose him to be the one to fetch their otherworldly guests. It’s possible the fuzzy little leader of UA thought his zero tolerance for screwing around would get them there quicker but for the underground hero, it was an exercise in a waste of his time. With their other decision, he was going to have to start planning home visits after all.

His internal moaning notwithstanding, all of the lighters, Ranma included, were back and ready to meet their fate before long. Shouta noted that Hina, Mob and Shinra were all in their UA uniforms but the newcomers were in much more casual attire. Likely, their original clothing they had worn last night was no longer fit to wear. Ranma wore the same red Chinese style top and pants Shouta always saw him in from his visits to the other man's dojo.

There was a tension in the air among the group and the erasure hero wasn't sure if it was because of what was to come or because of what had just happened the night before. Given the sharp looks Shinra kept giving the new three, it was likely a bit of both. At least everyone seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and Shouta could at least appreciate the silence that accompanied them on their way to the faculty room.

Coming to a large set of double doors, Shouta spoke without turning to address the group "We're here. I expect you all to conduct yourselves appropriately."

Knocking on the left door, the group was greeted with a cheery "Come in!" from the principal, causing the dreary underground hero to internally cringe as the grave atmosphere he had cultivated was instantly undermined by his superior.

Swallowing his annoyance, the chronically exhausted hero pushed the door open and lead the group forward. When everyone had entered and lined up in front of the waiting faculty, Shouta announced, as disinterested as possible "Here they are, the lighters, as you requested."

Most of the assembled group bowed respectfully, though Emeralda only followed suit after seeing the others do so. Zelgadis remained standing, arms crossed and a sour look on his face. Taking note of the martial artist in their ranks, Nezu addressed him first "Ranma! It has been a long time. I trust business has been good! May I ask why you've accompanied the others? It’s been some time since you've traveled these halls after all."

After the greeting, Ranma had adapted a much more casual posture, and his response was equally so "Hiya Principal! Yeah, you keep sending me plenty of clients after all so I'm busy as ever!" Then, looking a bit embarrassed and scratching the back of his head, the pig-tailed man continued "I'm a lighter too, after all and I kinda figured you'd be considering expulsion and all. I wanted ta be here in case the kids needed some place to go, ya know?"

The three lighters who had been living on campus frantically turned their attention from Ranma back to the assembled teachers, fear in their eyes. Their concern as voiced by Hina, easily the longest tenured member of the group "You…you can't! What about Mob and Shinra, they've done nothing wrong! And...and Terra, shes still in a coma at the hospital! Would you leave her with no home to come back to?!"

Staying calm and cordial, Nezu spoke before passions got out of hand "Yoshifumi-san, please calm yourself. It is admirable that you would be so concerned for your fellow lighters."

The principal's kind words brought the blue-haired telekinetic up short and she appeared to calm a bit, allowing the little mammal to continue "Before I share with you our decision, I want you all to know that we are very distressed that we have even been put in this position. Though housing you lighters has come with a not insubstantial stipend from the Japanese government, this institution's first mission and duty is to train the next generation of heroes that will defend this nation's peace. Anything that you do that could jeopardize that mission is unacceptable. Do I make myself clear?"

The air in the room had become heavy, at least for those standing in front of the long table. Several among the lighters were becoming visibly nervous, well aware they could all be thrown out on the street this very moment, or worse. After a few seconds had passed to let things sink in where even the dismissive Zelgadis had begun to look contrite, Nezu continued "That being said, we have decided to allow the lighters to remain on campus."

A collective sigh of relief went out among most of the lighters at those words, almost all of them appearing more relaxed. Emeralda, who had remained emotionless throughout and Ranma, who at least looked calm were the exceptions. The assembled other-worlders snapped back to attention when Nezu continued though "Of course, there will be consequences to your actions, assuming the police don't charge any of you that is."

Unease began to return to the group as Hina looked to Jun for reassurance. The silver-haired mentor offered a nod but little else in comfort as Nezu spoke again "For the time being, Michiru Kagemori, Zelgadis Greywards and Emeralda Kasim are to remain on campus and confined to the lighter house for the duration of the construction of the new dorms being built next to you."

That seemed fair to the aforementioned three, given they had just wandered off. The next part didn't sit well with Zelgadis specifically. Nezu continued "As it is clear Luminaire with Kanzaki-san's assistance isn't enough to integrate the three of you into our society, other faculty will be assisting in your education and training. Furthermore, upon request, the three of you are to assist in the training of other students as we see fit going forward."

"Wait a damn minute!" Zelgadis snapped "We're not your slaves, we don't have to do a damn thing you say! Besides, hasn't All-for-One been captured? Why would we want to try to integrate when we're going home as soon as that bastard coughs up how to send us home?"

"It’s not that simple, kid" Hound Dog snarled.

"He’s right." Shouta coolly added. "If All-For-One had that world crossing quirk, don't you think he would have used it last night? No, we know he can, and has made modified humans with combined quirks. It stands to reason you were all brought here by one of these Nomu, as they’re called."

"So?" Zelgadis bit back "That just means we know what information we need from him, right?"

"All-For-One will not be speaking for awhile, Greywards-san." Nezu interjected "All Might hit him pretty hard and he will need time to heal since we dare not let anyone with a healing quirk touch him. Even then, He is extremely dangerous and charismatic, as well as highly intelligent. It will take a great deal of time to even begin to interrogate him. Which means…"

"We are at square one." Emeralda quietly finished for the principal.

"Precisely!" Nezu confirmed, snapping his fingers "Before, the search was for All-For-One himself. Now it will be for the remnants of his empire. We believe it is there the Nomu who brought you all here can be found. If you wish to help, you'll need to be heroes yourselves."

As the words left the weird dog-rodent's mouth, Zelgadis groaned, bringing several dirty looks down upon him from both the table and among the lighters. Feeling the pressure of the combined gazes, the rock-encrusted chimera looked away and said nothing further.

Stepping forward, her fist clenched in front of her, Michiru met the judging gazes of the UA faculty with determination as she spoke "We'll do it! Whatever we have to do to make up for our mistake, we'll do it. We'll do whatever it takes to find our way home and if that means becoming heroes, we'll do it! I, I can't thank you all enough for giving us this second chance, we won't let you down!"

A number of the gathered teachers seemed quite satisfied with the declaration but it was Nezu that kept everything grounded when he replied cordially "I certainly expect you won't! Now we just have to see whether or not the police have a different opinion of events. Thank you all for coming today, I hope the next few days of construction aren't too disruptive."

After bowing again, the group turned to leave with Shouta again leading them when Nezu called out again "Oh! And Yoshifumi-san, your stipend will be suspended for one month!"

Hina's shoulders slumped, as she had begun to think her little role in this whole incident may have been forgotten. Mob patted her on the back and offered a sympathetic glance while Shinra snickered.

(X)

As the group made their way back to the lighter house, Zelgadis came up beside Michiru, his expression more subdued than normal and a heavy contrast from his argumentative state a few minutes prior. When the tanuki girl noticed him, she raised a questioning eyebrow as she said "Everything ok Zel? You…look like you have something on your mind."

For a moment after being asked the question, Zelgadis studied the corridor they were walking down. Like everything else in this school, it was clean, it was neat, it was sterile. The place seemed so lifeless and empty to him. Still, he could see how such a place could offer a sense of stability, of safety. Sighing, the chimera turned to look down at the expectant furry girl as he asked "Did…you really mean what you said back there?"

That was an unexpected question, one that worried Michiru. The worry was plain to see on her face as she replied, belying her positive response "Yes, of course I meant it. We screwed up and now we have no idea how much longer we're stuck here. We need to help, right Emmy?"

Said greenette had been listening in as she had been trailing Michiru while they walked back. Her tone even as always, Emeralda replied more personally than either Zelgadis or Michiru imagined when she said "I've already waited a long time to be with my family…I can wait a bit longer. I will do my part."

Both Michiru and Zelgadis waited for more detail but when none came, the two briefly starred at each other before Michiru said "Well, there you have it, Zel. I know you're angry but remember, it’s not any of those people's fault either. They're just trying to do the best they can."

"The best they can…" Zelgadis repeated as he looked away. None of the trio seemed to be aware that Shinra, too, had been listening, his face doing a poor job of containing the seething contempt he felt at that moment.

(X)

Later on, Jun went to check on everyone to see how they were fairing with everything going on. First among them the sour chimera that had been the most resistant to everything they were trying to do almost from the moment he had been brought here. Knocking on Zelgadis' door, Jun at least expected the rock-encrusted man to at least ask who it was. Instead, he heard “Come in. It’s not locked."

Stepping into the room, Jun could see the Japanese language book open on the desk but the chimera himself had taken the chair and was sitting out on the balcony, looking out into the distance. The former hero followed suit, stepping out onto the balcony as well, standing beside the forlorn, blue-skinned lighter. After a few moments of contemplative starring out at the trees that seemed to surround this part of UA's campus Jun spoke "There have been many mistakes made these last few days. I account for my fair share and for them, I apologize. It’s easy to fall into complacency when you've done something long enough. Even if I've done a poor job of it, I still want you to know that I do absolutely what to get you home and to make your time here the best it can be."

Halfway through the silver-haired man's speech, Zelgadis had turned to look up at him, his face even, not wanting to betray any emotion. When Jun was done, the chimera returned to looking out at the trees as he replied softly "You don't have to be so hard on yourself. You were…doing your best, after all."

That had been damn near the last thing Jun had expected his cantankerous charge to say and it caught him off guard. When nothing else was said and Zelgadis continued looking away, the former hero regained his composure and said as he turned to leave "That's…all I wanted to say. I'll see you later, Greywards-san."

"I'll…do it." Zelgadis almost croaked out.

Jun stopped, turning to face the chimera "Hmm? I'm sorry, I don't understand. Do want?"

"What Michiru said. I'll…do what I have to, to help. Even if that means becoming a, a hero." Zelgadis forced himself to say.

Despite himself, Jun smiled. Perhaps he hadn't failed as much as he thought he had.

(X)

Chapter Text

Three days didn't sound like a long time. In the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't. However, if one was to be foolish enough to walk up and tell one Michiru Kagemori that, they were sure to get punched in the face. For three days and nights the sounds of building construction had been non-stop, and as the tanuki girl lay in her bed, awoken by the resumption of hammering, trucks backing up and cranes, she resolved to never take even an off-hand comment made by the principal of this school lightly ever again.

The only time any of the remaining residents of the lighter house could find any peace and quiet was when construction of the new student dorms stopped for breaks or building inspections or the like. These breaks were always far too short and made life for Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda a living hell. As the only three under house arrest, they were the only ones not allowed to find other accommodations while the new buildings were being erected.

Hina and Mob had gladly gone off with Ranma, fully aware that whatever training he had in store for them would pale in comparison to the suffering wrought on them if they stayed. Shinra had opted to stay at the hospital and kept Terra company during the day and stayed with a friend at night. The only one to share in their pain was Jun, who came by to give lessons as best he could, the classroom on the far side of the house being the "quietest" in the building.

Just now though it was still well before dawn and Michiru decided to try and drown out the noise with a shower. Feeling slightly refreshed, Michiru had just put on a new set of clothes when there came a knock at the door. Her hair still wet, she called out "Hold on!"

The person on the other side of the door, Zelgadis, heard something else entirely and he proceeded to open the door. The sight that greeted him gave him pause, as he stared at the girl across from him, a towel over her head. Her human head. "Michiru…do you shower as a human?" Zelgadis finally managed to say.

Frowning as she took the towel, bunched it up and threw it at the chimera, she angrily replied "Damn it Zel, I said hold on!"

Pulling the damp cloth off his head and unceremoniously dumping it on the ground beside him, an annoyed look on his rock encrusted face, Zelgadis answered "Geez, I'm sorry, I thought you said come in, alright? I just had a question about this character is all."

Taking a breath to calm herself, her hair dry enough, with a series of sparks, the girl once again took on her beastman form. Seeing the questioning gaze return to her companion, she glanced away and said, a bit embarrassed "What? I always bathe as a human…it doesn't clog the drain if I'm not covered in fur, ok!?"

Already well into regretting ever knocking on the tanuki girl's door, Zelgadis threw his hands up "Yes, I get it, makes sense, sorry I even asked! I'll be down in the classroom when you get a chance to answer my question, ok?"

Starting to feel guilty herself at her self-conscious reaction, Michiru called after Zelgadis as he turned to leave "Why don't you ask Emmy? She's been picking things up so fast it seems unreal."

Grumbling, the chimera stopped to answer but didn't turn around "Because it’s about context. Emeralda has been learning very fast but you're the one who was raised with this. A lot of the nuance and subtlety isn't as easily memorized out of a textbook, you know?"

"Right, sorry, I'll help you Zel. I'm sure we can see what's got you stuck...again." Michiru replied cheekily.

Rolling his eyes, the chimera led the way across the house. As the two walked, the sound of heavy trucks coming and going and the distant sound of orders being barked was unavoidable. The view that Zelgadis had enjoyed just a few days earlier had been first marred by the construction and then removed completely as the new structures rose to block it entirely. Not that anyone would want to be outside anyway with all the noise and terrible smells the vehicles expelled along with the smoking of the workers themselves.

The two housemates bore it, any speculation as to when it would end having gotten stale after the first day. Zelgadis had taken to cursing Principal Nezu however and Michiru hoped her rocky companion could let go of the grudge once this hell ended. As the two neared the classroom, the tanuki girl asked the obvious and yet rhetorical question "So…I haven't seen Emmy yet. Is she?"

"In the training hall? Yes, as usual she's training." Zelgadis finished, a hint of concern in his voice that Michiru picked up on.

"You’re worried about her?"

"Well, I've only known her for a week so I can't really say I know her enough to say if this is normal. That being said, she's been very distant." Zelgadis answered as he held the door to the classroom open for Michiru.

"Maybe she's just trying to drown out all the noise?" Michiru offered as the two sat down.

"Perhaps. I will say I thought that losing Xellos may have been what was bothering her so last night I tried to tell her just how much he deserved it. She didn't take it well."

"Zelgadis! You didn't!" Michiru exclaimed, disappointed.

Confusion claimed the chimeras face as he looked up from the page he was about to point out and tried to defend himself, "What? It’s true! I thought it would make her feel better to know the world was a better place with that monster out of it."

Michiru sighed as she looked down at where she thought Zelgadis was stuck "You know, for someone who claims to have learned magic, and swordsmanship and researched gunpowder and astronomy, your kind of an idiot."

Glancing away, the rock-encrusted man grumbled "No, it’s just people are too damn complicated…"

"Look, jackass, you want my help or not?" Michiru countered, starting to get annoyed.

"Yes, sorry. The sooner I can get to reading again, the better."

(X)

Sometime later Jun approached the lighter house, his white scarf trailing behind him as he watched the construction in the distance. A briefcase in one hand, a large bag full of groceries in the other, the former hero looked over at the work being done on the new dorms. It was a marvel that Principal Nezu had pulled everything together necessary to get so much done so quickly. Sure, there were still teams working and massive trucks still parked about in front of the structure to obscure a lot of his view but it was clear to see the progress. The area had been landscaped and even if the lower floors were hard to see, the upper ones looked as near to complete as his vantage point could allow.

Still, Jun was sure his charges wouldn't really appreciate the engineering and logistical feat that was being performed here just outside their door. It had to be miserable having to put up with all the noise, the massive lights they turned on to keep working at night and the terrible smells that were inescapable even with all the windows closed. It had certainly made his lessons the past three days more challenging.

The three had come a long way already, which was good because things were about to change quite a bit again on the three poor displaced souls. After a curtesy knock, the silver-haired man let himself in. Seeing no one was in the common area, Jun put the food in the refrigerator and headed to the education wing, guessing all three were up and doing something to take their minds off the noise.

Sure enough, the former rescue hero saw Michiru and Zelgadis working at language in the classroom which meant Emeralda was in the training hall. Jun was eager to get Hitomi back into the house to talk to the three, most especially the distant tan girl. Leaving the other two for the moment, Jun headed to the gym-like room and sure enough, before him, covered in sweat and working through a kata she likely picked up from Ranma was the eye-patched girl herself.

Emeralda was focused, an extremely hard worker and clearly very intelligent but very closed off. Jun worried about her the most since the few words she did speak made it clear to him she blamed herself for the loss of Xellos and her eye. Unfortunately, there was only so much time in the day and Jun had other matters to attend to. Waving his free hand, the silver-haired mentor called out "Kasim-san! Please join myself and the others in the classroom, I have something to share with you all!"

Instantly, the greenette stopped her training. Turning, with a quick bow, Emeralda called back stoically "Yes, sensei."

Returning the bow with a nod, Jun left the girl to clean herself up a bit as he headed back to the classroom. Stepping inside and heading to the lecturer's desk, Jun set his briefcase upon it as he spoke "Glad to see you two at it so early. Zelgadis, you've shown great improvement already and I am sure that is at least in part due to Michiru's help. Thank you both for working so hard."

Though Zelgadis and Jun had more or less reconciled, the chimera was still not one to be talked down to or take compliments, so without looking up, answered back "Back home I was an avid reader, I'm just doing what I can to regain a favorite past time, that's all."

Michiru, ever the optimist, frowned in annoyance at her eternally grumpy housemate before brightening as she added "Thank you Sanada-sensei, but don't let Zel fool you, he's pretty stubborn!"

Chuckling a bit as Zelgadis made a sour face at the tanuki girl's comment, an act that only seemed to brighten her smile, Jun choose to bring things back to business, clicking open his briefcase, saying "Be that as it may, once Kasim-san arrives, I have some things to discuss with the three of you."

Michiru and Zelgadis both became more serious at that statement, and the three of them didn't need to wait but a few moments before Emeralda entered, nodded to her housemates and took a seat to the chimera's right, her features still showing the signs of exertion.

"Right. With all three of you here, I wanted to give you these." Jun started, pulling out three small envelopes and holding them up for the lighters to see.

Michiru was the first to comprehend what was likely contained in those envelopes, voicing her thoughts as she asked "Are those?"

"Your IDs? Yes, they are. It’s taken longer than usual given the circumstances, but you three are now formally citizens of Japan and these are your IDs and seals." Jun answered, delivering the good news with a graveness that belied the supposed positive nature of the news.

That graveness was lost of Michiru, who sat up, an excited smile on her face as she asked, "So does that mean we've been cleared with the police?"

That excitement faded quickly when Jun quickly replied "No, it does not. These are two different matters. If anything, now being formally on the books would make it easier to put you through the justice system."

A frown having never left his face, Zelgadis, with his arms crossed as he sat back in his seat, dryly asked "Then there isn't anything to report on that front. More time sitting here then. Wonderful."

At that, Jun put his hands behind his back as he briefly looked up and coyly said "I didn't say that either, Zelgadis. I just said that the receiving of ID's was not itself an indicator of any change in the investigation you three are under."

All three lighters looked surprised at that bit of news and it was Emeralda who quietly spoke first "So then, what is there to report, Sanada-sensei?"

A ghost of a smile played on Jun's lips as he began to recall the meeting he had just come back from…

(X)

An hour ago, Hero Public Safety Commission HQ

Jun stood at attention facing the president of the HPSC at her desk, Detective Tsukauchi standing to her right. The president didn't look especially perturbed but then, she usually kept a neutral expression, so it was hard for Jun to tell. It was, however, rather odd to be called into HPSC headquarters so early in the morning.

After presenting himself and greeting the two of them, the president got right to the point, saying "Sanada-san, Detective Tsukauchi has concluded his team's investigation into your lighters little foray into a major rescue mission."

Those words were meant to be an admonishment, her words cold with a hint of disapproval. Jun made sure to slightly move his head down and avert his eyes to express his contrition without being so rude as to interrupt with an apology. This seemed to please the ash blonde head of the HPSC, who motioned for the detective to begin his report.

Pulling out a small, folded stack of papers from his coat, the detective began reading allowed "My team and I have come to the conclusion that the events leading up to the lighters presence in Camino Ward were not the result of coordinated conspiracy. Instead, this appears to be the result of taking advantage of happenstance by multiple lighters for different reasons and no specific central goal in mind."

A wave of relief washed over the silver-haired former hero, though he dared not show it, knowing that he was still responsible for these events happening even if there were to be no serious charges. Bowing, Jun thanked the detective "That must have been a great deal of work to get your report done so quickly, thank you Detective."

Said detective let the professional image slip a little as he sighed before offering "You're right, it wasn't easy. That fast food manager was especially hard to get a hold of. Apparently, he had run off to a leadership training camp in Hokkaido."

Noting that the president herself looked interested, Jun ventured "Is that so? How did you get him to cooperate then? He has been known to talk his way out of trouble before."

"Oh, we just threatened to fine his restaurant out of existence. He wouldn't be able to so much as flip a burger in this country once word got out about putting that much heat on his company, I assure you." The detective explained, a proud smile gracing his rather plain features.

Her focus returning to Jun, the president spoke again "Sadou Maou will still be facing fines for his role in getting those kids the info they needed to act on their impulse to go home. We also have other plans regarding Maou-san but that will be for later. I am also seeing to it that Yoshifumi and Shadow Rider offer community service as well."

Noting that the president hadn't gotten to the perpetrators themselves, Jun realized she was waiting for him to ask and after a moment of silence, obliged her "You have yet to mention Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda. What of them President?"

Instead of answering, the middle-aged woman opened a folder on her desk and looked at the paper contained therein before speaking "I've read your latest report, Sanada-san. You say that the three of them are committed to serving the public, as heroes if possible. Was this something you suggested to them?"

Shaking his head immediately, Jun replied emphatically "No, President! This was something they determined themselves. My impression is that they had planned, hoped really, that what they were doing wouldn't harm anyone and they felt they could correct that wrong."

"So, you’re saying they have the makings of good heroes then?" The president pressed, her expression hard, trying to bore into the man before her.

"I do, without question. They have the skills, and it seems the experience to take on our greatest threat without batting an eye. With polish, they would be a great help." Jun continued, his speech more impassioned than before.

Holding her gaze a few more moments, Jun was pleased when the president broke and glanced down, signaling he had convinced her, before she surprised him by saying "Would you concur with your employee, Principal Nezu?"

The familiar sound of the cordial white mammal that was Jun’s boss boss came over the speaker of the phone on the president's desk "Oh yes, I very much agree with Luminaire's assessment! As far as their ability to handle deadly situations and combat, they show great promise!"

It shouldn't have been surprising to Jun that Nezu had been included in this meeting. Still, one could tell how the woman before him had risen to her station. She wasn't afraid to mislead and put people on the spot. Clearly it was wise to either be very good at playing the political game with her, or to be as honest as possible. Politics had never been Jun's strong suit.

"So then, you intend them to become heroes under the commission's eye, ma'am?" Jun ventured.

"So long as we can have them, yes, Sanada-san. We have just lost our greatest asset in keeping crime and villainy down, Jun. Frankly, we need every tool we can get. So long as these three keep their noses clean, we want them out there making a difference. If they can do that, then we can overlook this second...indiscretion."

Jun smiled despite himself but quickly regained himself before responding "I'll do my best to get them ready as soon as possible, President. What kind of timetable are we talking here if I may ask?"

It was his fuzzy employer than responded "Pending a test I plan to have them take a in few days, they are to join 1-A in two weeks to test for their provisional hero licenses."

Jun had trouble containing his surprise, blurting out "Two weeks?! Students don't usually take the provisional exam until their second year, and you want them there less than a month after getting ripped from their own worlds?"

Unfazed by the break in Jun's composure, the president coolly replied "And if their internships go well, I want them out in the field by the end of the year. Given your assessment and their apparent eagerness to help and, likely, to get home, I think the sooner they can be out, the better. Make no mistake, we have no intention of allowing lighters to continue to come to this world, Sanada-san. I want these three to be the last and I want them out of our hair, understand? We have enough trouble with our own problems let alone taking care of interdimensional kidnapping victims."

Taken aback by the president's blunt feelings on his charges, Jun nonetheless nodded as he replied "Yes, Madam President. I understand."

"Good. You are dismissed. Thank you for your time, Sanada-san. I trust there will be no more alcohol induced slips in judgement on your part going forward."

Those last words were delivered as a clear threat. There was no kindness, no warmth in that comment. If anything like this happened again, the consequences for all involved would be dire.

(X)

"So let me get this straight." Zelgadis incredulously attempted to summarize "Our punishment is to do what we were already going to do? You'll have to excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe."

"Well, it’s not like with other citizens who become heroes, where if they fail or decide to retire, they can. You three have no choice here and can't step away until your term is up or you get home, whichever comes first." Jun clarified.

"Will our training count toward that term?" Emeralda astutely inquired.

"Detective Tsukauchi clarified that for me afterward that it would, but again, you are being put on an extremely fast track so don't expect that to be much of a reprieve. I texted the principal afterward to find out more about the test you'll have tomorrow and was told the proctor would be around later today to give you the details." Jun explained.

Trying to cut off Jun before he hit them with one of the many questions on this society he had been peppering them with the past three days, Zelgadis hastily blurted out "Texting. A form of instantaneous text-based communication. Like an instant letter."

Michiru, very much a child of a more modern world, chuckled at his enthusiasm and patted the chimera on the head in as patronizing a way possible. She was rewarded with a growl and getting poked by the chimera's metal-like hair which brought a satisfied smile to Zelgadis himself.

Jun, for his part let the two goof off. He knew they were sleep deprived and had done well in their studies regardless. "Correct Zelgadis, I appreciate you anticipating my question but please raise your hand beforehand. Remember that respect is treated quite seriously here in Japan so try to restrain yourself as much as possible. Now, before I hand you your ID's, please recite you're your cover stories. Michiru?"

Standing, the tanuki girl briefly flashed back to her days as a student, raising to answer a question for the teacher. Before her change into a beastman anyway. The pause left everyone else wondering if she had somehow forgotten her story but then she spoke, confidently and clearly "Michiru Kagemori, age eighteen, from the town of Jedetsu, Japan. I was kidnapped by a quirk trafficking ring a year ago. My quirk is Animorph, which lets me modify parts of my body, usually into other animals. No living relatives. Oh, and I'm a late bloomer, my quirk not coming in until a year and a half ago."

Nodding, Jun smiled and held out the envelope "Well done, Michiru. Please continue to be a mentor for these two." Said tanuki girl beamed and as she had some days earlier, extended her arm to impossible lengths to grab the card.

Once she sat, Zelgadis rose, following Michiru's lead, standing straight and speaking clearly and without the sarcastic edge his speech often carried "Zelgadis Greywards, twenty one, from the Netherlands. I, too, was kidnapped while studying at Tokyo University, having put my hero training on hold to study finance abroad. My quirk is Elements, which allows me to manipulate any of the four elements; Earth, air, fire and water when I am in close proximity to them (Which is stupid and annoying by the way). No living relatives."

Jun's smile this time was a bit strained as he said "You're opining aside, well done Zelgadis. I am sorry we had to saddle you with a language so different than the one you're learning now but since you didn't want to change your name and we already have French and English speakers on campus, it was the best we could do."

Glancing at Michiru with a bit of a scowl, Zelgadis got up and went down to actually take his own envelope. Recalling their exchange days earlier, the chimera went back to his seat and plopped back down grumbling about not showing off.

Finally, it was Emeralda's turn and the other three in the room all had varying degrees of concern, not for her ability to memorize the material, she was by far the best out of all of them in that regard. No, it was her quiet demeanor that gave them pause in their confidence of her delivery.

They need not have worried becasue the tan young woman rose and began speaking loud and clear, if stiffly "Emeralda Kasim, age eighteen, from Italy. I, too, was visiting Japan to see its famous heroes up close when I was kidnapped as well. My quirk is Cell Manipulation and allows me to shape my body into any inanimate object I can conceive of. I grew up in an orphanage but developed a fondness for Japanese culture. Because of poor connections I was never able to get into one of the few hero schools back home."

Jun nodded, his smile this time as warm and encouraging as he could muster as he spoke "Very good, Emeralda. You need to work on eye contact and with practice, your delivery will be smoother but I'm proud nonetheless. Please take your envelope."

To the surprise of everyone in the room, Emeralda raised her arm, shifting it into an extended metal claw that plucked the package out of their teacher's hand. With her prize in hand, the greenette took a moment to look straight at Zelgadis before the tiniest of smiles briefly flashed across her face. The chimera, who up till that moment looked as surprised as anyone, immediately shifted to an annoyed frown, which in turn got Michiru to burst out laughing.

Waiting a moment to let the moment play out, Jun brought his three newest students back to reality as he raised his voice to draw their attention "If you three are quite done, I have one more small piece of news that may be of interest. The principal also wanted me to tell you that with no formal charges pending, he is reducing your confinement to the campus grounds. You are no longer stuck in this house."

Relief became immediately apparent on all three lighters, Michiru going so far as to pump her fist after shooting up out of her chair and exclaiming "YES!"

As the moment passed and silence settled in the room, Michiru suddenly realized something. Looking at the others in the room, she asked "You guys hear that?"

"Here what?" Zelgadis replied, a bit confused.

"That's just it! I don't hear anything!" A bunny leg enhanced jump later and Michiru was on the ground level of the room and rushing out the door.

The others, Jun included, followed suit, trying to keep up with the furry member of their odd little troupe. They caught up to her standing outside and starring off to the side of the house. When the others caught up, they turned to follow where she was looking. All there was to see was a line of well landscaped buildings and nothing else. No mixing trucks. No semi-trucks. No endless teams of foul talking and chain-smoking construction workers. It was over. The nightmare was finally over.

For a moment, the group was once again overcome with joy. That was until Zelgadis realized it, clenching his fists and looking up at the sky as he exclaimed "That damn mouse only let us off now that the construction's over! DAMN THAT BEATY-EYED RODENT!"

Said "rodent" at that very moment was enjoying his morning tea, perhaps a bit more smugly than normal.

(X)

Later that afternoon, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda sat watching TV, an exercise that Zelgadis found tedious. It was, however, one required of him by Jun as a quick way to get pointers on culture and technology. Michiru had been left with a list of show types they were supposed to watch and specific points to keep an eye out for. She was also suppose to point out something if the other two missed something she felt was important.

The group had just begun watching the news after the sorcerer-swordsmen had declared he'd had enough of talk shows. The anchor on the TV spoke as a photo of a store came up over her shoulder "…In other news, yet another convenience store in Musutafu has been robbed. The MO fits the previous robberies that have been plaguing local clerks each of the last four days. As before, no one was hurt, and eyewitnesses took note of how cordial the robber was. Heroes showed up too late to catch the perpetrator in the act and he remains at large. For more on this, we turn to our own former hero…"

"Geez, I guess crime really has started raising since that night in Camino ward, huh?" Michiru asked out loud to no one in particular.

"A question for Sanada-sensei." Emeralda quietly replied.

"Huh?" was Michiru's intelligent reply.

"She means that without knowing how crime was beforehand, we can't really make that kind of judgement, unlike those idiots we were watching before, so we should ask someone like Sanada." Zelgadis clarified.

"Right, right, of course! I knew that, I just-" *KNOCK KNOCK*

All three turned their attention to the door before Michiru leapt up, glad for the distraction and declared "I'll get it!"

The tanuki girl wasn't sure who to expect. Jun had told them the other lighters would start to return now that construction was over but they wouldn't need to knock on their own door. Maybe one of their new neighbors? Pulling the door open, Michiru's warm smile faltered a bit at the sight of the disheveled and disinterested vestige of Shouta Aizawa. His greeting was as bored and bland as he looked, saying "Hello again Michiru Kagemori. May I come in?"

Stepping out of the way, Michiru replied "Um, sure Aizawa-san. Is…there anything I can get for you?"

The other two had at first only starred but Emeralda quickly grabbed the remote and muted the sound before the exhausted looking man stepped in and glanced over and spoke, a subtle difference in his voice denoting disapproval as he said "You’re watching TV? Not a very productive use of your time."

"Tell me about it!" Zelgadis quickly called out before anyone else could speak.

Briefly glaring at the chimera, Michiru explained "It’s an assignment from Sanada-sensei. It’s supposed to be a way to help us acclimate to this world."

If the UA teacher disapproved, Michiru couldn't see it. After a moment, the odd man said "I suppose there is some sense to that. Anyway, I'm here to let you know that I'll be your proctor for your test tomorrow. You'll be working as a team in a simulated villain attack. Being a test, know that there will be surprises, just like any encounter in real life. Just be prepared for combat. I'll have some UA gym cloths for you upon my arrival tomorrow. Any questions?"

"I thought Sanada-sensei said we couldn't leave campus. It kind of sounds like we're being tested off campus?" Michiru hazarded despite the intimidating aura the disinterested man was projecting.

"The test site is also a part of campus. Don't jump out of the car on the way there and you'll be fine. Any other questions?" Shouta dryly replied.

"That's it? You can't tell us anything else?" Zelgadis grumbled.

Somehow looking more annoyed, the underground hero countered "This is meant to be as real as possible. Often times, especially when first on the scene, you'll have precious little intel to go on. You didn't think we were going to let you take the provisional exam as representatives of our school without proper vetting, now did you?"

The chimera frowned but couldn't find fault in such reasoning and opted to look away. With the lull in conversation, the erasure hero felt the need to address the feeling of being watched he'd had for a while now when he turned to look at the third, far quieter member of this otherworldly trio. Indeed, Emeralda seemed to be outright glaring at the disheveled older man, doing nothing to mask the hostility she seemed to be radiating.

After a moment of the two locking gazes, Shouta frowned and finally spoke "Is there a problem, Kasim-san? I don't recall having done anything to earn such a scornful look. Care to elaborate?"

Letting out a breath, the greenette briefly closed her eyes in an effort to calm herself before she finally answered, her voice far calmer than her expression conveyed "No, Aizawa-sensei. You have done nothing wrong. I…apologize. It will not happen again."

With an affirmative grunt, Shouta turned away, addressing the trio one more time "I'll come get you after I've greeted your soon-to-be neighbors."

At the mention of neighbors, Michiru perked back up after looking concerned for Emeralda in the recent exchange and asked "If the façade on the building is true, that'll be class 1-A, right Aizawa-sensei?"

"Yes, they're my class, so don't cause them any problems, understand? They're a handful but there is a lot of potential among them. I expect you all to get along."

Looking a bit sheepish, the tanuki girl replied "We've…actually already meet several of them, in Camino."

"Yes, I'm aware of it. I will be addressing that with the class. I would advise you to see to them about it. It will be important that you all be on the same page pending the results of your exam. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap."

Watching their proctor unceremoniously pivot, put his hands in his pockets and begin walking away, Michiru called out "Just you watch! We'll ace your exam!"

In response, Shouta only seemed to slump further as he walked. Mentally though he was cursing how kids could be so damn annoying, no matter what universe they came from.

(X)

With word getting out from Jun that construction was complete, the veteran lighters started making their way back to their home. Mob and Hina were the first to arrive, despite coming all the way from Yokohama. The two approached the front steps of the house to find Zelgadis studying his Japanese text slumped forward, his head in the book.

Knowing full well the reception she would get, Hina bounded up before coming to a stop to the chimera's side and leaning in, a cheery smile on her face as she exclaimed "Aren't you the studious one! Did you miss me my little kohai?"

The rock-encrusted sorcerer at first didn't react at all but when Hina didn't move, refusing to leave without a reaction, Zelgadis finally turned to glare at her as hard as he possibly could. The showdown was interrupted by the oblivious, or well-timed, insertion of Mob into the conflict as he waved and kindly asked "Hello Greywards-san! Are you doing alright with everything that went on the last few days?"

Deciding the whole exchange was childish, Zelgadis broke away his stare-down with Hina and addressed the plain telekinetic "It was as miserable as you can imagine. Thank you for asking, though Mob. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my room for some privacy."

As the chimera retreated into the house, Hina looked very satisfied with herself, even as her ever present friend gently chided her "That wasn't very nice, Hina"

"Maybe not, but he's just so damn teasable! He's so serious all the time, it’s great!" Hina explain in between giggles.

Being as quiet as he was, Mob couldn't bring himself to voice his opinion that it was this same attitude that had soured Shinra on Hina. Instead, the accountant-in-training said nothing and followed his fellow telekinetic into the house, finding Michiru at the table, showing Emeralda videos of previous UA sports festivals on her phone.

Seeing Mob and Hina enter, Michiru's face soured as she said dryly "Oh. Well, that explains it."

Before she could repeat her cutey act, Hina was struck with indignance at the tanuki girl's comment, storming up to her "And what is that supposed to mean!?"

Turning her attention back to the video, Michiru responded matter-of-factly "Zelgadis. He had gone outside to enjoy being outdoors and he came storming in a minute ago without a word. Should have known it was you."

At that, Hina puffed her cheeks but was able to calm herself after a moment. Clearly the tanuki was a lost cause. That left one more to try and convert. Adapting a sweet disposition again, the blue-haired telekinetic stepped over to Emeralda's side and said "Clearly the furry one doesn't appreciate the other members of this house. What about you Emeralda, my quiet kohai? Did you miss me?"

Touching the screen of the phone to pause the video, the tan-skinned girl looked up at Hina's expectant face and explained "I am now aware of what the terms senpai and kohai mean, Yoshifumi-san."

Hina wasn't liking where this was going but still felt compelled to ask. "If that's true then you'll start calling me senpai then?"

Emeralda's emotionless expression didn't change when she replied, "Though you are technically correct to use these terms in reference to our different arrivals in this world, no, I will not be using that term, nor will I respond when addressed as you suggest."

Genuinely annoyed, Hina stomped her foot and had to push back the urge to knock this near mute through the wall. Perhaps sensing a tantrum coming on, Mob again stepped forward to redirect the conversation "What are you two watching? It sounded like a fight."

Grateful for the change in subject, Michiru quickly jumped in, cheerfully saying "Oh yeah! We've been watching old videos of previous UA sports festivals!"

Curiosity seemed to knock the fight out of Hina as her attention turned back to the small screen of the phone, asking, "The sports festivals, huh? What for? Want to get to know the students that'll be living nearby?"

"We're scouting potential opponents." Emeralda said, blandly.

Hina looked confused as she asked "Opponents for what? Did the principal already assign you to some job helping other students?"

Waving the blue-haired girl off, Michiru clarified "Nah, turns out our probation for our stunt in Camino is to get fast-tracked to being heroes and before they send us out to get our provisional licenses in a couple weeks, we're getting evaluated tomorrow. Emeralda and Zelgadis think they're going to use students to serve as villains."

"It’s only logical." The greenette added.

"Well, that sounds like it’s going to be a challenge. Who's running the test?" Mob asked as he too moved to look at the phone.

"The hobo-looking one who brought us to the teachers a few days ago. That Aizawa guy." Michiru answered, a finger to her mouth as she looked up thinking about the odd man.

The two telekinetics looked at each other, concern evident on their faces. "What? What's with those looks?" Michiru nervously asked.

"It’s just that…" Mob started

"…that guys got a reputation for being pretty harsh." Hina finished as the two of them looked at the tanuki girl.

Alarmed, Michiru's eyes widened slightly when she thought back to their earlier encounter "Emmy…you were glaring at him pretty hard. I hope he didn't take it personally."

"What!" Hina blurted out. "From everything I've heard about the guy, it’s best not to piss him off and you were giving him the evil eye? You have any idea what he'll do to you?"

"Nothing" was Emeralda's simple and cold response.

"Excuse me?" Hina replied, as confused as annoyed by the other girl's quick dismissal.

"Aizawa-sensei is a calculating, rational person. He doesn't let emotions get in the way if he can in his decision-making. If anything, he would be trying to figure out why I did it. As to why I did it, it was his eyes. I've…seen those kinds of eyes before. I…dislike people like him."

Crossing her arms, Hina smugly said "Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

Looking down, the greenette took a long breath, trying to calm the tumult of emotions that comment stirred. After a moment of awkward silence that featured Michiru glaring at Hina, Emeralda spoke, almost too soft to hear "Its…not that I don't want to be more expressive. I'm…just not very good at it. Sorry."

That made Hina feel terrible immediately and she looked away herself, rubbing her arm in embarrassment, which surprised Michiru. After a moment, Hina spoke, her voice contrite "Oh, well then, I'm sorry too. Kinda hard to tell, you know, since you don't talk much. Listen, we'll go get unpacked. Sorry to bother you. Seriously though, good luck."

Standing in stunned silence as the blue-haired telekinetic spoke, Michiru broke into a warm smile as Hina finished and did her best not to spoil the moment as she said, "Thank you Hina."

Emeralda ventured looking up at Hina as well, and nodded, a tiny smile briefly appearing on her lips.

With that, Mob and Hina left the girls to their research. Eventually, Michiru and Emeralda left too as the day grew long. Eventually, Shinra arrived at the house as well, glad his waiting to come home meant he didn't have to see the faces of those damn new lighters.

(X)

Even as he starred up at the large building that would be his home while he studied at UA, Izuku was still having a hard time believing this structure didn't exist a few days ago. The level of planning and logistical coordination had to have been staggering! But then, given how intelligent their principal was, it shouldn't have been surprising.

The building itself looked inviting without standing out and had a personal touch, as each dorm had its own name emblazoned above the entrance, theirs being Alliance with 1-A above that. Still, as the freckled boy admired his new home surrounded by his fellow classmates, his attention wondered off to the left where, through the trees, he could make out the lighters home. With everything going on convincing his mom to continue allow him to study at UA and All Might and Kacchan, there had barely been any time to think about those four people he had encountered that night in Camino.

Had they rescued Shadow Rider? Were they ok? All Might had said it wasn't his place to say and now it was nagging at the young hero-in-training, the urge to walk over and find out growing with each pasting moment. Well, it was, until he realized Aizawa-sensei had been trying to get his attention.

"Midoriya! Pay attention!" The perpetually grumpy underground hero snapped.

"Ekk! I'm sorry Aizawa-sensei!" the inheritor of All Might's power squeaked out, about facing and standing at attention as several in the class giggled.

Pursing his lips in annoyance, Shouta started again "As I was saying, given everything that has happened, I'm glad we were able to bring class 1-A back together."

At that point, several of Izuku's classmates chimed in about how glad they were they could come back as well but the freckled young man's mind had again returned to that night in Camino. As Aizawa began explaining why he thought the faulty was allowed back as well, the thought occurred to Izuku to simply ask his teacher about what had happened. After all, the lighters already lived on campus so the teachers should know what's going on with them, right? The more Izuku thought about his interaction with those four, it occurred to him how some of the things they said were very strange. It was almost as if…

"…Midoriya. Iida. You five are the ones that broke the rules and went to rescue Bakugo that night." Shouta spoke gravely, bringing Izuku back from his speculation and into the ire of his teacher.

After a moment of awkward silence, their teacher continued "Based on your reactions, I assume the rest of you were at least aware of their plan. I'm going to set aside several issues and just say this: If it weren't for All Might's retirement from the hero scene, I would expel everyone here except Bakugo, Jiro and Hagakure."

Izuku tensed up. Aizawa was right to be angry and the thought occurred to the freckled greenette that teaching a class he felt that way about could present issues, wouldn't it? That train of thought died though when Shouta continued "The five of you who went, of course. But also, the remaining twelve who didn't stop them. You betrayed our trust. Even if it was to keep your friends from getting into trouble. In order to regain our confidence, you will need obey every rule to the letter, and live as model students."

Having said all that, building pressure on the gathered students with his overbearing presence and threatening overtones, the shaggy excuse for a hero then simply turned and said with about as much cheer as his dour personality could muster "Now. Look alive. Enjoy your new home."

The gathered students stood there, any and all enthusiasm for their new home sapped from them. Sensing the mood, it was the fiery Bakugo, of all people, who brought life back to the class by dragging away their electric wielding classmate and forcing him to discharge so much power it triggered the side-effect of his quirk: making him a walking, drooling moron.

As the rest of the class's mood lightened at the blonde's display of idiocy, Izuku saw a chance to ask their teacher if he knew anything about the group he had met that night in Yokohama.

"Excuse me, Aizawa-sensei, I had a question." Izuku managed to get out as he approached the slumped form of his instructor.

Pausing and visibly sighing, the exhausted older man didn't turn when he spoke "Yes, Midoriya? I would have thought after what you pulled you may want to keep a low profile for at least a little while. What do you want?"

That comment stung the hero-in-training, a sign that his teacher really was upset at him for what he and the others had done. It may not be wise to bring more attention to the events of that night, but he had to know. "Aizawa-sensei! When we were in Camino Ward, we ran into some people who said they were lighters. They stayed behind to rescue a downed hero while we rescued Kacchan. Do you…know how they are?"

A deep frown stretched across Shouta's face. The main reason he had not turned to face his student was he feared this may be what he wanted to talk about. The boy was always sticking his nose in if he thought he could help. It was his best and his worst trait. Still, he was going to find out eventually, might as well tell him now. "I'm going to see them now, actually. I'm supposed to proctor an evaluation exam for them before I double back to check on you all."

That was a relief for Izuku to hear. Clearly, they couldn't have been too bad off if they were taking an exam, right? His voice much lighter, Izuku said "That's good! I'm glad to know all four of them are doing ok!"

"Three."

"Ex…cuse me?" Izuku suddenly croaked, a weight suddenly pressing on his chest.

"I'm only evaluating three lighters. That's all that came back from Camino. Frankly, I find the whole exercise infuriating. My expectations for them aren't especially high. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment to keep. Have fun moving in."

Izuku was so stunned by the implication of his teacher's words that he entirely missed the older man once again leaving on such a non sequitur. It was going to be very hard to focus on moving after that.

(X)

Emeralda and Zelgadis stood by quietly waiting for Michiru to step back in the house to announce Aizawa's arrival. Each wore some of the casual wear Jun had purchased for them, their own original cloths showing too much wear and tear. Zelgadis especially disliked not having his cape and kept his hood up despite knowing it was going to be hot day.

The silence between the two was a pleasant one, both content with the others presence when the tanuki girl burst in, waving her hands about "He's on his way! I just saw him with our new neighbors so get ready!"

Emeralda firmly nodded and the chimera grabbed his sword belt and strapped it on, half expecting to be told he couldn't have it, even on private grounds.

As the trio waited for the knock on the door, a curt "Hey" could be heard as the shark toothed Shinra stepped into the room. Michiru and Emeralda regarded the young man neutrally, but Zelgadis wore a scowl as the pyrokinetic spoke again, less sharply but an edge still present in his voice "I heard you got Aizawa-sensei for this little test of yours."

"Yeah, whats it to you?" Zelgadis shot back, his arms crossed.

"Hey, no reason to get defensive man, I just thought I should warn you, he's pretty harsh."

"Yes, that was the impression we got from Hina and Mob. Do you have anything else to add?" Emeralda spoke coolly to the usually abrasive former fire solider.

Frustrated at the lack of reception, Shinra pursed his lips and looked away as he took a breath before again focusing on the three as he said "Yeah, unlike those two, I've actually had him as a teacher. He's infamous for lying to his students to get the best results. I'm just sayin' that whatever he tells you, there's going to be more to it."

Raising an eyebrow as confusion played on her furry face, Michiru spoke next "Why are you helping us? I kind of got the impression you hated us, Shinra."

The words had barely left Michiru's mouth before Shinra defensively answered "I don't hate you! I barely know you! I'm just pissed you didn't listen to me and made things harder, that's all!" Then, looking down and away, embarrassed, the flame user added "And I still am, but if you're going to make up for it, then I figure it's the heroic thing to do to help the best I can."

That brought a smile to the tanuki girl's face, and she was about to thank him, knowing neither Zelgadis nor Emeralda would likely do it, when the much anticipated knock on the door came. Not in the mood the see the dreary underground hero, Shinra retreated upstairs as the remaining three went to answer the door.

The underground hero was greeted by the trio but before he could hand over the standard issue UA gym uniforms, Shouta noticed Zelgadis' sword and flatly refused to let him take it. At the very least, Shouta let Zelgadis know that if he really wanted to use it going forward, it was going to need to be blunted. Now with one less sword, the group changed and headed over to Ground Beta, the urban training center often used for training exercises.

Waiting for them was Jun and Hitomi, who looked less than excited to be there. The five greeted each other, all while the three new lighters took in the simulated cityscape that was to be their testing grounds. Michiru was just about to make a comment about the insane wealth of the school to have even more property when their proctor snapped them to attention when he spoke, his voice dead serious "Pay attention, I'm only going to say this once. We don't just let anyone take the provisional license exam. Usually, second year students take it and rarely first years given special circumstances. To let people who haven't set foot in a hero classroom is unheard of, so you'll have to clear a pretty high bar."

Seeing no hesitation in the eyes of the three before him, Shouta noted just how hardened Zelgadis and Emeralda looked, as though they had seen their share of shit. Michiru looked determined too, but it was clear whatever she had been through before her arrival hadn't brought quite the same level despair as the other two. Shouta continued "One of the most dangerous parts of being a hero is to be the first responder in a crisis. Can anyone tell me why?"

"Lack of information." Emeralda answered simply.

Mildly impressed, the eraser hero had to fight back a smirk as he confirmed the greenette's answer "Correct. The less you know going into a situation, the less prepared you can be. Sometimes even the best heroes can prove ineffective going into a situation they don't have the quirk to handle. That is what we will be testing today. The three of you will be responding to a villain attack as the first on the scene with no other information other than that it is happening. You have one hour to bring order to the situation. Jun will give you each headsets so you can communicate with each other and us should the situation require it. Good luck."

Without waiting for questions, the shaggy-haired teacher turned and walked away, willfully ignorant of the sour looks his back was getting from the three test takers. After a moment, Michiru turned to Jun and sarcastically remarked "Is he always a ray of sunshine like that?"

Glancing at his retreating colleague, Jun replied diplomatically "He's…never been one for the niceties of life. Even as a student, he was distant and serious. It’s just his way, even if it seems like he is being a bit shorter with you three. You did run off after all."

Michiru sighed as she took the headset and capture tape Jun offered her, commenting "We've got a lot to make up for and I don't care what that grump throws at us. You two ready?"

Zelgadis and Emeralda nodded, having watched Michiru put on the headset to be sure they had it right before the blue-skinned swordsmen looked over at the silent counselor "Hitomi, is everything OK? You look concerned."

Startled a bit at being mentioned, Hitomi forced a smile as she stumbled to answer "O, Oh, yes, Zelgadis, I'm fine! I'm just not very fond of watching anyone hurt each other is all. Sorry if I worried you!"

Coming from someone who worked for an institution devoted to teaching people to fight, this seemed like an odd sentiment to have but it at least meant the older woman cared and that was enough for Zelgadis to nod and Michiru to smile, Emeralda doing neither since she was already looking out to the testing zone, focused.

"Good luck everyone. The test will start when you hear the siren." Jun explained as he and Hitomi turned and walked the same direction as Shouta did. As they walked off, Jun and Hitomi turned and waved one more time even though they knew it wouldn't be seen by the trio.

(X)

As the three stood waiting for the siren to sound, Zelgadis bitterly complained "He really didn't give us much, did he? We don't know the lay out, we don't know how many there are, we don't know anything about them, what they're objective even is and they fucking TOOK MY SWORD AGAIN!"

Looking ever so slightly annoyed, Emeralda chimed in "This is a test, likely against students. It wouldn't be wise to use lethal force in such circumstances."

"Damnit, I know! I just hate the idea of having to dull my sword to even use it anymore. This world is awful."

Unfazed by the gloomy chimera, Michiru cheerfully said "Aww, it’s not so bad Zel! Bet you don't have these fancy pieces of tech that let us talk even when separated back home!"

Grudgingly, Zelgadis admitted the tanuki girl was right "OK, yes, the technology here is impressive but unless it can make me human again, it doesn't matter."

"Zel…" was all Michiru could get out before the long-awaited siren blared into their ears. The three dropped any wandering thoughts they had and braced themselves. No sooner had the alarm stopped did a series of explosions go off in the distance.

With nothing else to go on, the three charged forward, Michiru on point with her enhanced hearing and smell. At first the morphing beastman wanted to take flight to get a better view but Zelgadis shot it down as to risky since he couldn't protect her with his barrier magic from up there. Before long, after taking cautious stock at every intersection they came to, the trio came to one where Michiru could hear an odd whirling sound.

The three pressed against the side of the building at the edge of the intersection, Emeralda now in front. Coming to the edge, the greenette shifted her arm into a metal pole with an angled mirror at the edge. Slowly, she slid her arm out, allowing the three of them to see their opponent.

A block away, at the next intersection, a young woman could be seen floating there. The girl was wearing a blue skintight suit with lighter shades of blue on the chest and arms which matched her light blue hair that ran almost to her feet and had two bangs that swirled upwards like horns above her head . The girl appeared to be emanating swirling yellow energy from her feet and her arms, which also had aqua colored wrappings on the forearms.

The girl was also attempting to laugh manically as she sent blasts of that swirling energy from her arms into some unseen structure that caused another explosion. Pulling her arm back, Emeralda looked over at her teammates, who had pressed uncomfortably close to her to get a better look at the mirror. Frowning at the contact, the other two took a step back and Emeralda calmly asked "Thoughts?"

"This looks too easy." Zelgadis quickly assessed. "Just one person, out in the open, attacking? It's a trap."

"Agreed" Emeralda replied. After a moment of silence, the two turned to look at Michiru, expectantly.

Seeing her teammates eyes on her, the tanuki girl shrunk under their gaze "What? Why are you two looking at me like that?"

Deflating a bit, Zelgadis quickly snapped back "What do you mean, what? What do you think? Do you agree? Do you have a plan?"

Her eyes growing wide as she unconsciously took a step back, Michiru replied confused, "Do I have a plan? Why would I have a plan?"

The other two briefly looked at each other before again looking at the tanuki girl, Emeralda responding plainly "Because you're the leader."

"Wait, wait, when did I become the leader here? Aren't all three of us being tested?" Michiru quickly and desperately responded.

Zelgadis put his hand in his face as he grumbled "Well…you lead us in Camino and it was you who so passionately declared that we would make up for our mistakes, right?" Emeralda quietly but vigorously nodded in agreement.

Throwing her arms up in exacerbation, the tanuki girl declared "Alight, fine! I'll be the damn leader! But I think you two have more experience fighting, so tell me what you think, ok?"

Chuckling, Zelgadis crossed his arms, looking more than a little satisfied "Fair enough. I think two of us head out there and take her on. We'll still have the numerical advantage while allowing us to keep one in reserve for when the trap is sprung."

Pressing her hand to her chin thoughtfully, Michiru agreed "Makes sense, but which two should go?"

"I would be best suited for the reserve position." Emeralda answered, without further explanation.

"Um, ok? Is it because you can't fly?" Michiru chanced and her fellow morpher nodded.

"Well, alright then! Let’s do this!" Michiru declared, pumping her fist.

(X)

"Huh" Shouta said as he stood in the control room with Jun and Hitomi, watching the three on the monitors.

A knowing smile gracing his lips, Jun felt the need to ask anyway "Something surprise you, Aizawa-san?"

"I'll admit I expected your students to just rush in, quirks blazing, given their little stunt a few days ago." Shouta answered, his attention still focused on the monitors.

"I've only known them for a little while, Aizawa-san but I'll tell you, rough as their start has been, these three have great potential." Jun explained as he glanced at the perpetually worried looking Hitomi, who sat by, watching nervously.

Sparing a moment to glance at his former teacher, Shouta simply grunted affirmatively as he returned his attention to the monitors. It seemed they had decided to split up. It wasn't a bad plan. But then, a plan was only good until everything blows up around you.

(X)

Nejire Hado, one of the top three students in U.A.'s senior class, dubbed the Big Three, was curious, energetic, outgoing and cheerful. One thing she wasn't was a villain. Yet, as one of the top students at the school, when she wasn't off working at her internship, she and her two classmates sometimes found themselves serving as the bad guys in mock battles against underclassmen. This one had been unusual for several reasons, not the least of which was the suddenness of the request. It was also still summer break and it was against just three people, and they were lighters no less.

Nejire had met other lighters before and was especially fond of the sweet and warm Terra. She didn't know these three new ones though. All she knew was what Aizawa-sensei had provided info about new lighters quirks and instructed them not to hold back. It all seemed odd to the periwinkle-haired young woman as she tried her best to sound menacing as she blew up another car down the street.

Nejire was just beginning to wonder if her opponents would even show up when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught the glimmer of an arrow of flame heading right for her. Quickly dodging, the top hero-in-training twisted toward the arrow's origin, sending a swirling blast in that direction.

The space where her opponent had stood exploded in brick and mortar debris as the blue-skinned guy she had been told was named Zelgadis had already begun running down the length of the building's roof away from her, some energy gathering in his hands. Getting a good look at her attacker, Nejire got excited since he looked all dark and moody, just like a certain fellow Big Three member she knew! Still, she knew she couldn't let him get off whatever he was about to shoot at her!

With both arms pointed at the rock-encrusted cutie, Nejire was about to send him out of commission when she was caught from behind and above by a pair of talons that latched onto her shoulders and began driving her to the ground. After sparing a moment to confirm it was the shape-shifting Michiru that had caught her off guard, Nejire winked and declared "Not bad!" as she re-doubled the swirling power keeping her aloft to slow her decent to the ground.

"Oh, no you don't!" Michiru declared as the two slowed down. When the combatants were about to touch the ground, Michiru used what little momentum she had left to fling herself forward, bringing Nejire along with her. Caught off guard and disoriented as she swung in an arc upside down, the periwinkle-haired fake villain smashed into the ground back first.

Stunned, the fake villain found herself unable to resist as Michiru, now joined by Zelgadis, put the capture tape on her. Looking down at the girl, Zelgadis had a look of pity as he asked "Hey, you going to be ok? That looked like it hurt."

Taking a moment to let the pain subside a bit more, Nejire giggled as she replied "Hehe, that was so cool, you two! I have, like, so many questions! But I don't think you'll have time for them!"

Helping the third-year student to sit upright, Michiru looked confused for a second before her ear's twitched and she heard footsteps "She's right, two more are coming!"

Turning to face back toward the intersection Nejire had just been attacking, Michiru and Zelgadis saw the young man who had been with Fat Gum on their trip from Police Headquarters walking toward them with a girl he had wrapped up in what looked like octopus tentacles?

The girl in question had a two toned green skin-tight costume herself, mostly obscured by the tentacles but her huge head of brown-grey hair couldn't be missed. Though her mouth was covered, she looked scared and was trying to call out, muffled sounds being all that could be heard. Instead, the two lighters were treated to the saddest excuse for acting either had seen as Tamaki stuttered out "Y, you two! If…If you know what's g, good for YOU…Let h, her go! Or…or I hurt this girl!"

Michiru and Zelgadis looked less than convinced as the two briefly exchanged glances. With a nod from the chimera, the tanuki girl replied, "What guarantee do we have that you'll release her if we let your friend go, huh?"

Looking a bit flustered under his hood, Tamaki bit his lip and looked about as if he was trying to remember what he was supposed to say. Finally, the unsure kidnapper answered "Th, the only thing I can…can guarantee is…I will hurt this girl if you don't listen!"

Turning back to Zelgadis, Michiru whispered "Somethings wrong here…you know, besides this guy's ability to say a line."

"Agreed. The hostage is dressed like a hero but we were explicitly told we were the first responders. Let’s do this but I'll be ready to blow them back if something goes wrong. I don't think we can stall them long enough for Emeralda to swing around behind them." Zelgadis answered back.

"Got it." was Michiru's response as she walked back over to Nejire and helped her to her feet. With the smiling fake villain in front of her, Michiru called out "Alight, let’s do this! On three!"

After the countdown, the two prisoners began walking forward. As the two came close to each other, the green clade girl suddenly pulled a knife from her belt and called out "NOW!" as she cut Nejire's tape and started furiously shaking her head.

Large tuffs of her hair started raining down, but by this point Zelgadis had seen all he needed to and called out a wind spell, blasting the three back with a wall of wind. Tamaki braced himself by latching onto a signpost with his suction-cupped tentacles from one arm, catching the large-haired girl with the other. Poor Nejire though was sent tumbling down the street, coming to a stop several blocks away and again left lying on the ground stunned.

The blast of air was enough to stun the three villains but many of the tuffs of hair simply blew upward before gently falling to the ground again. Once they did, in a puff of smoke, each turned into mini versions of the now revealed to be villainous green-clad girl. In a disarmingly cute voice, each yelled "Charge!"

Both Michiru and Zelgadis took a few steps back as a horde of chibi girls flooded toward them. "Michiru! Take to the air, I'm going to try and knock them all out at once and I'm not sure if it'll cause the buildings to collapse! Emeralda! Are you still on standby?"

"No, I heard your talk of another surprise attack and have swung around the block to attack the en-" The greenette explained over the headset before she was cut off.

"Emmy! Are you ok?" Michiru called to no response. Worry clear on her face, Michiru instructed Zelgadis "I'm betting Aizawa-sensei doesn't want us to cause any more damage than we have to, so do your best, Zel. I'm off to see what happened to Emmy!"

Looking apprehensive, the swordless swordsmen shot back "Michiru, if you leave its one against three, plus these…things. I don't know if I can hold them for long!"

"I'll hurry, Zel, I promise!" Michiru responded, her arms becoming wings before she shot up into the air.

"We'll see." Zelgadis grumbled before he threw his hand to the ground and called "Dug Wave!" A fissure began to form in the earth in front of the chimera and expanded forward down the street, shooting earth and debris everywhere as the tiny doppelgangers were thrown about, exploding into puffs of smoke.

The main thrust of the attack centered on where the three villains were still recovering from Zelgadis' blast of wind. Nejire had just managed to rejoin the other two when the fissure formed under them. Nejire shot up into the air and Tamaki grabbed the green-clad girl and swung up onto a nearby rooftop as the ground where they had just stood exploded.

Zelgadis flew up to an opposite rooftop and looked across the urban chasm at his opponents. He now had at least some idea of what the three could do. As long as he kept his distance, he could keep them at bay for awhile. How long? Only one way to find out.

(X)

Meanwhile, moments earlier

Running down the sidewalk alongside the far side of the building to Michiru and Zelgadis' left, Emeralda moved as fast as she could. The greenette moved in hopes of taking the villains off guard while they were focused on her friends. In the back of her mind Emeralda knew she should have told her teammates what she was doing but she rationalized that away by telling herself that Zelgadis' lament that she wouldn't make it in time to affect the exchange had been indirect instruction to do just that. Barring any other surprises, it was a sound move even if circumstances had changed once she got there. Naturally, though, a surprise did, in fact come.

Just as she was explaining what she was doing to her teammates over the headset, a very naked man literally came through the wall and attempted to clothsline her. Though she was caught off guard, Emeralda did have the presence of mind to throw herself out into the street to avoid the attack. The sudden change in direction and change in momentum made for a very ungraceful landing, the greenette tumbling several times before coming to rest on one knee and facing her opponent.

Said opponent stood clothes less but otherwise made for an imposing figure with his broad shoulders and muscular body. Along with his shining blue eyes and short blonde hair and a tuft pointing upward in front, the young man stood confidently as he declared "Wow! I'm impressed! You're not even phased, are you! Well, second times the charm!"

With that, the young man began charging at Emeralda before he seemed to disappear. The Amber-eyed girl only took a moment to wonder what had just happened before she went back to considering where he was coming from next. Emeralda knew he had failed at a side attack so it is either her blind spot on her left or behind. Odds were... "Behind!" the greenette declared as she turned just as the blonde came barreling toward her. With enough time to get her arms up to defend herself, the naked villain feinted for her head before swinging for her mid-section.

Emeralda had just enough time to shift her left hand into a shield to block the punch but when his arm simply phased through it, she panicked and threw herself backwards again.

Not letting the amber-eyed girl get her bearings though, the blonde charged forward again, this time angling toward Emeralda's blind spot. As he did so, he called out "Not bad, but not good enough to save the hostages!" before he disappeared again.

“Hostages? Aizawa made no mention of-” The distraction had worked as the cloths less villain appeared to Emeralda's left and took another swing, this time connecting and sending her to the ground sideways. This clearly wasn't working for the greenette. The blonde attacker kept catching her off guard but now she knew he was focused on surprise attacks. Now Emeralda asked herself if the assailant could hit what he couldn’t catch?

As the blonde disappeared again, Emeralda took off down the road toward the direction of the other villains, and sure enough, the naked guy appeared where she had been just moments earlier. That was useful information indeed. Unfortunately, things got complicated when Michiru came flying in, talons bared as she dove feet first at the naked blonde, yelling "Put some clothes on weirdo!"

The morphing tanuki girl hit only asphalt as the odd young man had disappeared again and Emeralda knew exactly what was coming, calling out as she shot forward "Michiru! Get out of the way!"

Still confused as to what had just happened, Michiru only had time to turn and face toward her friend before the blonde appeared again. Emeralda flung herself forward in time to take the hit, which sent her falling into her fur covered leader.

The two landed in a heap but Emeralda pushed herself up immediately, despite the pain in her face. The naked villain for once just stood there, taking a moment to finally introduce himself "You're a tough one, Kasim-san! The name's Lemillion and I gotta say, it’s been awhile since anyone has lasted this long against me like this! Congrats!" he finished earnestly as he gave her a thumbs up.

Standing firm, her eye narrowing, the greenette replied coolly, her scarf's two tails billowing in a sudden gust "I have no intention of simply lasting, Lemillion. I intend to defeat you." Then, Emeralda reached up and yanked her eyepatch off, surprising Michiru, who was just now getting back to her feet.

"Emmy…your, your eye! It’s completely healed! How?" Michiru exclaimed, suddenly oblivious to their situation.

Keeping her eyes focused on the naked Lemillion, Emeralda replied "Now is not the time Michiru. He can phase through matter, but he can't fly. I think I can handle him, please head back and help Zelgadis. It seems there are hostages we must also find."

A bit hurt at the dismissal and fully expecting that answer, the tanuki girl nodded, shifted her arms back to wings and took off, a few feathers left behind, falling between the two combatants as each starred the other down.

"A bit of a lone wolf, aren't you, Kasim-san? A shame. The best heroes know how to work together!" Lemillion declared as he disappeared again.

Despite knowing that her opponent likely could only attack where she currently was, Emeralda stood still, waiting for the attack to come. When it did, again from behind, she was ready. Glancing behind her to confirm her attacker was there, as she had against Tomura, the amber-eyed girl focused and her whole body began to pixelate. As Lemillion swung his fist, he passed right through Emeralda, various tiny cuts and punctures left wherever his body had passed through. This time it was the blonde's turn to be surprised and in that split second, Emeralda's arm became a mallet that she sent flying into her opponent's midsection, sending the naked blonde tumbling sideways until he hit the wall.

"You misunderstand. Against another opponent, I would gladly welcome Michiru's help. It’s just in this case, I was better suited to taking you on alone." Emeralda finally answered as her opponent stood back up, his body showing signs of road burn in addition to his injures from his failed attack.

As he phased into the ground below him, Lemillion spoke one last time "I guess we'll find out if that's true soon enough! That was a great fight, Kasim-san! I can see why Tamaki keeps talking about you! I look forward to our next fight!"

(X)

"She beat Mirio. Not bad, hmm, Aizawa-san?" Jun stated the obvious, a hint of pride in his voice as he nudged the disheveled younger man.

Taking a step away to avoid the contact, Shouta refused to look his former teacher in the face as he begrudgingly agreed "She did. No simple feat I will admit, though she failed to capture him, if we're giving an honest assessment."

"True." Jun conceded as his smile widened "But the test isn't over yet, now is it?"

Ignoring the question, the underground hero posed his own to the third member of their little watch party "What about you, Kanzaki-san? I'm curious to know what you've thought of things so far?"

Jumping a bit at having been addressed when she was sure she was being left on her own, Hitomi took a moment to gather herself before answering "They seem to be handling everything well enough, though the way Emeralda threw herself at Mirio's attack…the look on her face, it was like she didn't even care what happened to her..."

Dryly, Shouta replied "Well, she did just regrow an eye. Regeneration wasn't in the information you provided in your report, Sanada-sensei. It seems we still have some unanswered questions."

Focusing on a monitor showing Emeralda rushing toward the others, Hitomi almost whispered "Yes, we most certainly do."

(X)

By the time Emeralda got close to her teammates, Zelgadis had been keeping the other villains at bay by staying in the air to neutralize the green-clad girl's quirk and was keeping them more or less pinned to the rooftop with a constant barrage of wind and fire spells. Michiru swooped down and picked the greenette up to take her to a rooftop to avoid attacks by the three villains. As she carried her friend, Michiru felt the need to say, "I always forget how much heavier you are than you look, Emmy!"

Embarrassed, all the amber-eyed girl could manage as she was set on the rooftop was a subdued "sorry" as she focused down below.

Realizing how rude that had sounded, Michiru quickly added, "Oh, no, I didn't mean anything by it, Emmy! I just meant I was surprised is all! Your very fit, after all!" When she only got a nod in return, Michiru felt even worse.

The morphing tanuki girl was brought back to the moment when Zelgadis called out from above "We doing this or what! I can't keep up forever!"

"Right, right, sorry!" Michiru called back as she flew over to where the chimera floated. After a firm nod, Zelgadis stopped his attacks and Michiru called down "We know about the hostages! Make this easy for all of us and tell us where they are, and no one has to get hurt!"

Glad for a moment to breath, the three villains, now joined by a clothed Lemillion, or Mirio Togata, took a moment to talk amongst themselves. The heroes didn't know what they were talking about but whatever the blonde said had the cloaked Tamaki blushing furiously. After a moment, Nejire floated up, closing half the distance between the villains and heroes when she replied "Like, we'll never tell you where they and the bomb are!"

From down below Tamaki could be heard yelling in frustration "Hado! They didn't know about the bomb!"

"Wait, there's a bomb too!" Michiru blurted out, quickly looking at her teammates, panic briefly flashing in her eyes.

"Michiru, we already have our hands full with the four of them, how are we supposed to find hostages and a bomb too?" Zelgadis questioned, as he readied another blast of magic in case any of them tried anything.

No obvious answer was coming to the newly minted leader of the heroes. Looking around, hoping something, anything would come to her, Michiru struggled to answer "I…I don't…"

Then, over the headset a familiar, if irritating voice could be heard "With the best back-up you could ask for, of course!"

Michiru's eyes went wide at the realization, wishing she could pinch the bridge of her nose with her wings. A moment later, the sound of walls being smashed in the distance could be heard as someone approached. As it stood, all Michiru could do was lament "Don't tell me…"

"That's right, baby, Formidable's here and it’s time to get antsy!"

(X)

Chapter Text

"That's right, baby, Formidable's here and it’s time to get antsy!"

As the wrecking ball of an ant girl rapidly approached the battle, Michiru almost screamed into the headset "Aizawa! What the hell! We're supposed to be the ones getting tested, aren't we!"

Entirely unfazed by the tanuki girl's impassioned queries, Shouta calmly explained "Part of being a hero is working with other heroes that may approach the job differently. Besides, as first responders, it was your duty to report what you were encountering. If you had done so, maybe your backup would be better prepared. Now you'll have to deal with it."

"That's it!?" Zelgadis angrily cut in.

"That's it." Shouta answered simply.

"You son-of-a-"

"Ending transmission"

"Why is everyone in this school an asshole?!" the chimera called out to no one in particular.

Ignoring her eternally bitter teammate for the time being, Michiru called out to her fellow morpher "Emmy! Intercept Formidable and explain in person what's going on. I get the impression she isn't going to listen over the headset."

Nodding, Emeralda turned and dashed to the far end of the roof before leaping off. Though unseen by her teammates, the greenette briefly shifted most of her body into a spherical shape and bounced on impact with the ground before returning to normal and dashing toward the mobile disaster that was their back up.

Had she stayed a moment longer, Emeralda would have seen Michiru and Zelgadis caught off guard as the villains attacked once more.

Apparently, while the flying duo had been distracted, Tamaki and sprouted his own pair of wings, allowing him to get close enough to catch Michiru in one of his tentacles while Nejire had carried Mirio up above Zelgadis and dropped him at the unsuspecting sorcerer.

As Tamaki descended, he brought the struggling tanuki girl with him, until he managed to smash her hard into the ground. Dazed but not out, Michiru may have thought her vison had blurred from the impact because she was seeing multiples of those chibi things again heading right for her. In a moment they had piled on top of her and began pummeling her with everything they had as Tamaki let go to avoid getting entangled in the assault.

Meanwhile, Zelgadis saw the muscular blonde descending on him from on high, fist raised and had enough time to counterattack with a blast of air. Much to the chimera's surprise though, all the attack seemed to do was blow the guy's cloths clean off of him, leaving Zelgadis to exclaim "Oh what the hell is this bullsh-!" just as he was smashed hard in the face, sending him crashing to the ground himself. His assailant seemed to disappear into the ground instead of hitting it before reappearing a few feet away, completely unscathed.

Laying there, his whole body screaming in pain, Zelgadis managed to look over at Mirio, not far off and knew if he didn't do something, he was done for. With considerable effort, the blue-skinned sorcerer lifted his arms and focused to bring the spell forth. Then he pressed his hand to the ground and croaked out "Dill Brand…"

Where Mirio stood, a red circle formed around him and though the blonde looked about and was clearly aware something was happening, he just stood there. A moment later, everything in the circle exploded upward as chunks of rock, asphalt and dust flew in all directions. And though the attack's resulting shrapnel was enough to keep Nejire from approaching, when the dust cleared, the very naked Mirio was still there, though now standing in a crater several feet deep. When he realized the attack had been ineffective, Zelgadis knew he was in deep trouble. Somehow his attacks weren't touching this guy and the girl had him covered from above. There didn't seem to be a way out of this one.

Not far off, Tamaki glanced at his green-clad teammate "You've, uh, really improved your quirk, Butakusa-san."

"Hey, call me Ragweed, we're on a mission, remember!" the girl with the mass of curled dusty hair reminded her teammate, slightly annoyed. She was a second-year, sure, but she wanted to prove she was good enough to hang with the Big Three and expected to be treated with respect here. Crossing her arms, she proudly added "And yes, I have! Even if one isn't very strong, my little dust-bunnies can still pack a punch in large numbers!"

The cloaked shy upperclassmen was about to reply when he saw the pile of chibi Ragweeds press outward, before exploding away as a huge ball of fur expanded outward from where Michiru had been. The mini Ragweeds disappeared in puffs of smoke from the force of the expulsion as if small fireworks had just gone off. This caused the two false villains to be on their guard when the huge fur ball dissipated back down to Michiru's normal tail. Said tanuki girl looked a bit rougher for wear, her cloths torn in places but otherwise was fine, though she looked pissed.

Tamaki didn't want to give his opponent the initiative and attacked with his tentacles, hoping to ensnare the fur-covered girl again. Instead, Michiru's arms enlarged to ridiculous proportions, massive and muscular as she grabbed both of the incoming appendages. Smirking, Michiru called out "Now it’s my turn!"

Tamaki's eyes went wide as Michiru pulled him to one side before yanking back and throwing him hard at the unsuspecting Nejire. The periwinkle-haired girl had just then been about to launch a knockout blow on the pinned Zelgadis when Tamaki crashed into her and the two tumbled down hard.

Seeing his teammates crash in a heap, Mirio was distracted enough to give Zelgadis the opening he needed to cast Raywing and take to the sky once more, out of the blonde's reach and free of assault from Nejire. Looking over at Michiru, Zelgadis saw she was waving him over as she said over the headset "Lets regroup! We need to hide in one of these buildings. Emmy, have you met up with Formidable yet?"

"I have. She was…disappointed when I asked her to follow me." Emeralda explained.

"That's one way of putting it, you robot! Just let me at those villains and I'll finish this fight in no time!" Sakon interjected with way too much enthusiasm.

Rolling her eyes, Michiru replied dismissively "Great, whatever, just keep heading toward that red building around the corner. Zel, can you screen us?"

"Way ahead of you Michiru!" the rock-encrusted sorcerer answered as he found what he was looking for. One more Dill Brand later and a fire hydrant on the corner of the street exploded upward, followed by a stream of water. With the right element in play, Zelgadis held out his hand and called "Dark Mist!" A thick dark fog suddenly descended on the street around the recovering false villains and the heroes made their escape.

Moments later, the four heroes found themselves in the interior, windowless room of one of the rundown buildings. The first thing Sakon did when she entered the room with Emeralda was to punch Michiru and Zelgadis in the arm. Hard. "Hey, what the hell was that for!" came the tanuki girl's indignant response.

"For putting me to sleep and leaving me behind at the dojo, you jackasses!" Sakon shot back, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Rubbing her sore arm, Michiru narrowed her eyes as she complained "Why didn't you punch Emmy? Afraid she'd dodge it?"

The ant hero-in-training narrowed her multi-lensed eyes as well, about to respond when Emeralda calmly interjected "She punched me when we first crossed paths."

Nodding and looking calmer, Sakon added "Yeah, and I got one more for the purple-haired weirdo, where is he?"

Any feelings of animosity or annoyance in the air died instantly as everyone went quiet. After a moment, Sakon looked around, confused 'What? What'd I miss?"

Finally, Zelgadis answered for the group, as he said ruefully "He's gone. We tried to take on a bunch of villains inCamino and he was killed. Happy?"

Realizing the landmine she had stepped on, Sakon looked away, regretting she had even asked. Seeing the mood everyone was in though, gloomy and unfocused, the ant girl pumped several of her fists into their opposite hands and exclaimed "So what’s the plan? I'm so stoked to take on those Big Three showoffs!"

Shaking her head at the sound of Sakon's fists, Michiru forced herself back to the here and now, the fire returning to her eyes as she said "Right! So here is what I'm thinking. We need to get the hostages and take care of that bomb first, then we'll be free to really let loose on the bad guys!"

"Fair enough." Zelgadis acknowledged but added "How do we do that though. The villains gave us no clues, how are we supposed to find them?"

Crossing her arms and smirking confidently, Michiru answered "I've got a trick up my sleeve! I think I can handle it, I just need a minute to focus. As long as we're not-"

"There! There! I found them!" came the high-pitched voice of one of Ragweed's mini clones.

"-found out…Shit! I need you three to buy me some time while I find them!" the tanuki girl finished as the four of them rushed out of the building chasing after the hair clone in the hopes of catching her before she revealed their location.

Unfortunately for the heroes, though the clone had sounded the alarm and alerted all the other clones nearby, and there were a lot of them. But the villains weren't laying in ambush. It only took a few moments though before the four heroes were surrounded by an army of little Ragweeds with the villains not far behind, Nejire the first to be seen flying toward them. As the horde approached to assault them, Michiru turned to Zelgadis, and called out "Zel, we need a barrier, now!"

With less time to conjure the spell, the chimeric sorcerer actually had to say the spell's name, calling out "Windy Shield!" just as the front ranks of tiny girls pounced forward. The little girls slammed into the wind barrier, each making a disturbingly cute squeaking sound as their faces impacted the magically wall of wind.

Sakon could only watch their attackers try futilely to break in for a few moments before she declared "This is stupid! If we just sit here and let them pound on us, we'll never get anything done! Let me at 'em!"

As the ant girl took a step forward, intending to charge into the mass of little girls, she was stopped by Emeralda, who held her arm in front of the ant girl. An incredulous look on her face, Sakon turned to protest but was cut off by Emeralda's authoritative words. "Wait. Give Michiru a chance."

Stunned by the assertiveness of the quiet girl, Sakon followed Emeralda's gaze over to their furry leader, who had morphed from a tanuki girl into a wolf girl. Her battle lust momentarily forgotten, Sakon excitedly said "I didn't know you could change your whole body! That's so cool!" entirely missing that Michiru had her eyes closed and snout angled upward and was clearly trying to concentrate.

The now wolf girl visibly struggled to focus with the distracting question, her eyelids twitching. After a few more moments to try and regain her focus, Michiru gave up and opened her eyes as she cursed "Damn it! This barrier is a double-edged sword! All the wind is making it impossible for me to get the scent!"

Looking a bit crestfallen, Zelgadis turned and despaired "Seriously? It couldn't be easy for once, could it. That means we're going to have to buy you time the old-fashioned way, aren't we?"

Looking apologetic, Michiru answered meekly "Just a few minutes, I promise."

"All right! That's all I needed to hear! I'm coming for you all!" Sakon declared, leaning forward and balling her hands into fists.

"If it makes you feel any better, Zelgadis, that blonde man approaching can phase through matter, so I doubt your barrier would have been of any use for much longer." Emeralda explained, as she, too, readied to return to the fray.

"Alright, I'll need to take on that flying woman, so it’s up to you two to protect Michiru!" Zelgadis explained. With nods from Emeralda and Sakon, the sorcerer waited for a brief window in the attacks to dispel his barrier. When he saw it, Zelgadis shouted "NOW!" and when the barrier came down, he shot up into the air, right for Nejire, who was ready for him this time. The two quickly became locked in exchanging long distance blasts at each other.

Back on the ground Sakon let out a mighty yell and charged forward, punching anything and everything she could, clones disbursing into puffs of dusty hair left and right. Emeralda, for her part morphed her arms into long spears that allowed her to take out wide swaths of clones at once. It only took the greenette a few moments to clear away her side of the horde and standing beyond them was Tamaki and Mirio, a confident smile on the latter and an extremely nervous, maybe even embarrassed look on the former. Emeralda had a pretty good idea what the two were going to try and do given their quirks and she wasn't sure how long she could hold out given their restrictions on this being a mock battle. Hopefully Michiru found the hostages quickly.

Indeed, Michiru was having luck. The air now cleared of the wind barrier, the moment Michiru closed her eyes and focused again, she could begin to discern the various scents around her. Once she locked on the villains, she was able to track back, just as if she was seeing where they had been and what they had done. Then, shifting back to her tanuki form, Michiru called out "I found it!"

Michiru's teammates were locked in battle however, leaving no one to acknowledge the feat. Looking about, Michiru saw that Nejire was closest to the building they needed to get to, so she headed that way to help Zelgadis, opting to stay on the ground, charging in fast on cheetah legs. As the furry morpher got close, Zelgadis saw her and hoped he knew what she was going to do, sending a valley of fireballs to distract his periwinkle-haired opponent.

It worked, as the poor female member of the Big Three never saw the arms that reached around her and entangled her like rope. Desperate to escape, Nejire put more power into the vortexes keeping her aloft, trying to drag Michiru with her into the air. All this did was leave her open for Zelgadis to sweep in and deliver a hard punch to the gut, just as Ranma had done to him days earlier, knocking the wind out of Nejire.

Bringing their opponent down to the ground and again securing her with capture tape, Michiru told Zelgadis she knew where the bomb and hostages were and was heading there. With a nod, the chimera headed in the opposite direction to assist Emeralda and Sakon.

That help couldn't come soon enough.

Things hadn't gone as smoothly for the two heroes, in no small part because Sakon, eager to avenge having gone from winning the sports festival the previous year to a laughing stock now, thanks in no small part to Mirio's rise, decided she was going to take him on one on one.

Mirio gladly accepted, charging forward. As the blonde did so, Emeralda called out to her ant girl teammate to keep moving to avoid his quirk. Smirking, Sakon countered "I know all about LeMillion's quirk, ya mute! I know what I'm doing!"

Knowing apparently meant doing nothing at all. The ant girl stood there and let arguably the best student at UA take his best shot at her. As Mirio punched the ant girl in the face, hard, Sakon stood her ground, ready to counter with her own attack. She was partially successful, able to land a hit, though Mirio started phasing as she made contact, as though he was now expecting just such a counter.

So it went as the two more or less kept repeating slight variations of this pattern, each time Sakon came out the worst of the two and whatever advantage she had from the damage Emeralda had dealt Miro earlier had rapidly been made up for.

Emeralda's struggle was of a different sort. Tamaki seemed to be refusing to attack her while she, unwilling to use lethal force, was having trouble landing a hit on him as he kept his distance with his tentacles and wings. Emeralda was sure he was stalling long enough for his fellow villain to join him. The greenette could not, for the life of her, figure out how he was able to keep up when his face was as red as it was. Surely, he was getting winded if he looked like that, right?

Zelgadis showing up broke both impasses quickly. Seeing the ant girl staggering from repeated blows to the head, the rock-encrusted sorcerer lifted the poor girl up in the air with a levitation spell before laying down a hail of fireballs down on Tamaki, who retreated down an alleyway that was immediately blocked up by a literal wall of Ragweed clones.

Guessing that Zelgadis couldn't attack without also hitting Emeralda, Mirio choose to engage her once again, keeping himself close and attacking with a flurry of feints and misdirected attacks. Emeralda, a trained martial artist and very quick, was able to avoid most of Mirio's tricks but the constant pressure was making it hard for her to focus enough to use the same trick she had used to beat him before. At least Zelgadis was wisely keeping to the sky to avoid becoming a target.

Then an explosion could be heard from the direction Michiru had headed. That fact was enough to distract Emeralda long enough for Mirio to take advantage, landing several powerful blows on the greenette. It was only when the morpher's hair suddenly shot out forming a mace of spikes around her head that Mirio pulled back as he was swinging for her face.

Before any of the heroes could truly start worrying about their leader, Michiru came sprinting up with a large metal object shaped like a rod. Breathing hard, the tanuki girl declared "I did it, I rescued the hostages!"

Confused as to how the little thing in Michiru's hands could mean the hostages were safe, Zelgadis still smirked. Now he could let loose and finish this thing. Eyeing an electric sign above a door flickering the word "BAR" with parts of the kanji missing the chimera knew exactly what he wanted to do. Yelling, Zelgadis ordered "Emeralda, get back!"

The greenette did as she was told, bounding back behind where the chimera floated above her with Mirio keeping his distance, waiting to counter whatever was coming next. The blonde was surprised when the next attack didn't come in his direction but was instead an icicle bound for the sign on the building to their sides. The impact caused sparks to fly however and with that, Zelgadis raised his hand above his head and called "ARC BRASS!"

Instantly, bolts of lightning began raining down in front of the chimera in an area that encompassed several blocks in front of him. Though Mirio could phase through lightning, he simply wasn't fast enough to do it and he, along with Tamaki and Susuki (and her clones) were left paralyzed on the ground.

Though Emeralda seemed unfazed by such a display of power, Michiru and Sakon were left speechless. It was in this moment of calm that Shouta's bored sounding voice came over their headsets "Well, I guess that's it. I'm sending medbots to recover the villains. You three report to the observation room for debrief and medical attention."

Zelgadis landed next to Emeralda, a satisfied look on his face as the two nodded to each other. Though the two of them would have been quite happy to continue basking silently, Michiru came bounding up and threw herself at them and drawing them into a group hug, a giant smile on her face. "See, I told you we'd show'em!" she happily declared. Emeralda and Zelgadis, despite themselves, smiled too.

(X)

As the three made their way to the observation area via Shouta's instructions, Zelgadis glanced over at Michiru, who walked between himself and Emeralda. The tanuki girl was still carrying the long metal ovoid shaped object and now that the test was over, he could ask just what the hell it was. "Michiru, what did you mean you saved the hostages? What is that thing?"

Beaming, Michiru held out the foot long object and explained "I meant what I said! This thing is the hostages!" Then, the fur covered girl pressed a button on the object which caused a projection of a group of people to appear in front of them. They appeared distraught and pleading before flicking out of existence again when Michiru pressed the button a second time.

Realizing the gist of what happened, Zelgadis clarified "So there never were real hostages? We just had to get this thing?"

Cradling the object in one hand, Michiru offered a thumbs up with the other "You got it!"

"Fascinating." The blue-skinned sorcerer replied.

After that, the group fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Zelgadis decided to give voice to another object of interest, turning to Emeralda and casually asking "So, grew back the eye?"

Continuing to look forward, the greenette simply replied "I did."

"Glad to hear it" came the chimera's nonchalant reply as he again looked forward.

Michiru, meanwhile, had kept looking between the two as they talked since she was between them and her eyes got wider with each exchange. When it became clear neither of the other two intended to say anything else on the matter, the tanuki girl couldn't contain her frustration and curiosity, calling out "Oh come on! Zel, Emmy regrows an eye and that's all you have to say!?"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, a look of annoyance appearing on his face. "Look, someone growing back an eye after a week isn't even close to the weirdest thing I've seen. Besides, it’s none of my business outside the fact that now she can see better and is more capable in a fight. Is there anything else that matters here?"

After first feeling put off by the sorcerer-swordsmen's dismissal, a mischievous smile appeared on Michiru's animalistic features as she drawled out "OOHHH reeaallly Zel? That wasn't exactly the feeling I got when you saw me just after I got out of the shower…"

His face flushing, Zelgadis turned away in a huff as he stuttered out "Do, don't make it sound more scandalous than it was! You were clothed! I just was surprised to see you human, that's all!"

"But you entered after Michiru got out of the shower?" Emeralda asked, her voice nominally the same but Zelgadis couldn't help but detect a hint of malice under her monotone voice.

Looking over at his amber-eyed companion, Zelgadis saw nothing out of place on Emeralda's face but out of the corner of his eye he caught that her left hand was sliding into the shape of a hammer. With flashes of being sent into the sky by a pissed off draconic former traveling companion, Zelgadis quickly stammered out a response "I-I misheard when I asked if I could come in is all, I didn't intend on anything other than getting language help!"

"You know we can still hear you…" came the dry and disinterested voice of their proctor.

When the trio went utterly silent, Shouta continued, sounding more annoyed and tired than ever "Just get over here, we've got a lot to discuss."

The rest of the walk went without another word between them.

Before long, the three stood lined up in front of Shouta, Jun and Hitomi. The counselor stood by a reassuring smile on her face while Jun was looking pretty smug behind the underground hero who decided to get right to the point "So what did you three do wrong?"

Confusion played on the three test-takers’ faces as each struggled to come to grips with the question. Michiru was the first to abandon that mental struggle and indignantly asked "What do you mean, did wrong? We won, didn't we? We beat the villains and saved the hostages, didn't we?"

"If it were that simple, you wouldn't need a proctor, now would you? I decide who passes and who fails, understand?" Shouta snapped back, quieting the tanuki girl, who shrank back a bit at the response.

Seeing the defiant look in both Michiru and Zelgadis' eyes, Shouta turned to Emeralda, who would not meet his gaze, looking disappointed more than anything "You have something to share, Kasim?" Shouta asked, doing his best to pressure the young woman.

Looking at the disheveled underground hero but focusing below his head, Emeralda quietly replied "No, Aizawa-san, I don't."

"Exactly. Kasim, you appear to be highly competent in close combat and a quick thinker, but your communication is awful. You left yourself isolated and worse, led your teammate into a situation that you should have warned her about instead of having to throw yourself in front of a punch to protect her. Get better."

Taking a long, deep breath to calm herself, Emeralda forced herself to say simply "…yes" before looking away once more. Despite her misgivings with the man in front of her, the greenette was well aware of her shortcomings in talking to others and having it pointed out made her feel worse about it than she already did.

"Kagemori."

"Y-yes, Aizawa-san?" the tanuki girl answered almost on reflex after watching her friend get dressed down. The eraser hero didn't disappoint.

Shouta continued "You took on the mantle of leader and almost immediately rushed off with no other information besides knowing your teammate may be in trouble. That could easily get you killed. Try to reestablish communication, scout first, then act."

"Aizawa-san, I know it was stup-"

"I'm not finished. You willingly gave away a captured villain instead of considering the facts in front of you. That goes for you, too, Greywards. You were lucky one of the villains even let slip there was a bomb in this scenario, you could have easily gotten the hostages killed by your ignorance. All of this without even going into your failure to report back the situation to dispatching authorities. Clearly, you three have a long way to go." Shouta finally finished, pausing to let his words sink in.

The three gathered test-takers by this point were feeling as though the air had been let out of them, their previous high at having completed the mission all but crushed. Zelgadis seethed, his fists clenched as he thought of all the ways the exam wasn't fair and Emeralda continued to beat herself up at her taciturn nature. Turning to face the other two, Michiru steadied her quivering jaw, as she began to apologize "Guys, this is all my-"

"All of that being said, you three passed. Congratulations. Work on everything we talked about and you'll do fine. Make sure to see Recovery Girl before you leave. I'll see you in training. Sanada-sensei, Kanzaki-san." Then, turning, hands in his pockets, Shouta just walked away.

Finally, still facing her friends, though now looking completely dumb struck, her shoulders slumped, all Michiru could manage was "…huh?"

"He said you three passed, Michiru." Jun jovially declared. "Don't mind Aizawa-san, that's just his way. You three should be proud, you actually impressed him a little and you even beat the Big Three! I admit when I heard they were being brought in for your test, I thought you were being set up to fail."

Standing at attention, Emeralda stiffly replied "We only did what was asked of us, even if we were not perfect."

Zelgadis, who was waving a hand in front of the still stunned Michiru, added "What do you mean by Big Three? Were those four we faced special?"

It was Hitomi who answered this time "Three of them are, yes. The blue-haired girl, the cloaked young man and the enthusiastic blonde make up what is known at UA as the Big Three, widely considered the top students currently in the school."

Finally shaking free of her daze, Michiru joined in after shooting the chimera a dirty look for waving in her face "Wait, we just took on the best students at UA? But Emmy and I watched the last few sports festivals and none of them made the finals."

Motioning for the group to follow him as he turned to head for their car, Jun explained "Quite a bit can change in a year. Those three trained hard and gained mastery over their quirks. That allowed them to reach the top. The blonde, Mirio Togata especially went from a laughing stock to one of the most promising aspiring heroes we've had in a long time. Emeralda, you actually beat him! That was quite the feat!"

"I've fought god before. I will not be intimidated by a streaker." the greenette blandly replied.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Michiru ventured to ask "Emmy…was that a joke or a statement of fact?"

"...yes."

That got a smirk out of Zelgadis but no one else seemed to take the green-haired morpher's attempt at humor to be terribly successful. Clearing his threat, Jun decided to press on "To celebrate, I'm taking you all out to eat!"

"Aren't we not allowed stray off UA property?" Michiru asked, confused but still hopeful.

"Yes, we'll have to eat in the car, of course but it still counts, right?" Jun answered, doing a wonderful job of covering for the fact that he had forgotten that little detail in his exuberance.

After seeing Recovery Girl, who was on site and tending to the other combatants, the victorious trio were led back to the car that brought them to the testing site before Jun took them to have a well-deserved meal.

(X)

The last few decades had not been kind to the Yakuza. Really, the decline had started with the advent of quirks themselves which made it harder and harder to maintain power with the nuance and unseen hand that such criminal empires required. In a world increasingly filled with bombastic powers and huge personalities, the Yakuza found themselves being squeezed out more and more. Then came All Might and his crusade to rid the country of all crime, both in the daylight and in the shadows.

There was almost nothing left of the various Yakuza families that used to litter Japan. One particular one still existed though, the Shie Hassaikai. For many years, this Yakuza group's boss had been content to bide his time. The leader preferred to do things the "right" way, acting with honor as they struggled to stay relevant with the ever-watchful eye of hero society glaring down on them.

All who followed the Shie Hassaikai boss revered him, many having been taken in when no one else would, including a young man named Kai Chisaki. Kai, a sociopathic and twisted soul, showed his appreciation by putting his boss in a coma and taking his benefactor's place as head of the family. That's what most in the group thought anyway. That's certainly what Kobe, a man in his twenties who had been in the group since his mid-teens a decade ago thought as he entered his new boss's room.

Kobe had the unfortunate job of being the bearer of bad news to the odd but very dangerous young man he now answered to. The gruff looking underling found Kai discussing something with several members of his inner circle, a group he referred to as his "Bullets" and all, like Kai himself, wore a variation on a medieval European plague mask.

Not foolish enough to disturb his leader, Kobe waited silently for Kai to notice him. Eventually the short-haired redhead did and turned to face the unremarkable grunt before him. Kai's yellow eyes had an intensity about them that seemed to bore into Kobe and the underling instinctively tensed at the gaze. This fear was at odds with the calm and collected, if muffled, voice that emanated from behind his boss's mask "Ah, Kobe, I did not mean to keep you waiting. Please, what did you learn about our next target?"

This was it. Kobe had heard what had happened to others that had displeased his new leader, and the thought made the poor man's lips quiver as he summoned the courage to speak. Finally, trying, and failing to sound confident, Kobe's voice broke as he said "B-Boss…its, it’s too late. They've already, uh, been robbed. If we hit them now, they would have nothin'. I'm sorry boss!"

Kobe's attempt to placate the young leader of the Shie Hassaikai fell on deaf ears and the masked Kai's eyes narrowed as he calmly closed the rather large gap between them. When the two faced each other, Kobe realized the two men were about the same height and yet, he felt cowed before the intense gaze now inches from his face.

Then, in a flash, Kai's gloved hand was on his underling's head and Kobe felt it. The feeling of his entire body breaking down, piece by piece until he had been completely deconstructed, cell by cell. The pain was indescribable. Yet, moments later, the grunt was standing there again, as though nothing had ever happened. Despite looking to all the world like everything was fine, Kobe trembled, and the poor man fell to his knees, his body shaking at the prospect of that experience a second time. His anger satiated, Kai spoke again, just as calm as before "Now, tell me, who has stolen the money rightfully meant for us?"

Kobe couldn't bring himself to look up at his leader as he struggled to keep tears from streaming down his face. Only the promise of more pain compelled Kobe to croak out "I-it's the same guy! The one on the news! The nice guy robber!"

After grunting an acknowledgement, Kai turned to the Bullet members who had observed the exchange from a distance. An exchange of nods was all that was needed to communicate what action needed to be taken before the leader of the Shie Hassaikai turned back to face his underling. Placing his hand on the now prostrate Kobe's head, the grunt broke down crying outright. It was unwarranted as Kai spoke "Thank you for informing me, now that we know, we can deal with the situation appropriately."

Kobe took that as his sign to leave and he stumbled to his feet, never raising his head as he turned and made his way out of the room, equal parts relieved and terrified. Kobe was more sure than ever that what happened to the old boss was no accident but he was equally sure he would keep his mouth shut about it.

(X)

Despite lunch being eaten in a car, the meal turned out to be very productive for Jun. While the group ate, the lighters mentor had managed to convince Zelgadis to see Power Loader about dulling his blade so he could legally use it in combat going forward. Not only that but Hitomi had got Michiru to perk up after an unusually quiet car ride for the young tanuki girl. No one was sure what had been wrong but whispered concerns had been shared early on in the meal that let the former rescue hero know something was up.

If this kept up, there might even be the possibility the three would let Hitomi actually have a sit down with each of them for a proper evaluation. For now, though, Jun let the trio know that he had got word their uniforms were ready. This news wasn't received with much excitement, but it had to be done, so off they went to the shop they had visited days earlier. Hitomi was the one to actually retrieve the uniforms, despite the owner being apprehensive about letting them go without them being tried on. With their last stop completed, the group headed back to UA's main campus.

It was during this final stretch that Jun told Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis that they would need to come up with hero costumes and names before the exam and he'd have a couple of experts swing by to help them. This news absolutely excited the tanuki girl, who began bouncing in her seat at the thought. Emeralda, as usual, looked fairly indifferent and Zelgadis looked absolutely mortified. When Hitomi explained the outfit could be whatever they wanted and pointed to the wild differences between All Might and their recent proctor, the chimera calmed down considerably, at least until Michiru made fun of his cross-dressing.

Once the car had calmed down from Michiru's prodding, Jun suggested that the three of them head over to the 1-A dorms and introduce themselves to their new neighbors sometime soon. Michiru showed decidedly less enthusiasm about this compared to the costumes and names but still took the lead and agreed to go before helping to secure a very reluctant agreement from Zelgadis and Emeralda.

It was just in time too, because it wasn't long at all before they arrived back at the school. With everything going on, the day had reached late afternoon when the lighter trio got out of the car. Jun and Hitomi congratulated them again before letting them know they'd have a day off before training started. With a wave from the car, Jun and Hitomi departed, leaving the three displaced souls to mingle with their new neighbors.

As the three made their way slowly to their home, Zelgadis furrowed his brow and wondered out loud "Didn't they drop us off further away from the house than was necessary? Why are we so far away?"

Looking sideways, a teasing smirk on her face, Michiru replied "What, use a little too much magic back during the test, oh powerful sorcerer? I could carry you if you want!"

The rock-encrusted chimera turned to counter, annoyance clear on his features when a new voice caught the their attention "HEY! OMG, are you three actual lighters!?"

The three watched as a teenager with pink skin and slightly darker pink hair came bounding toward them from 1-A's dorm. As the enthusiastic girl approached them, it dawned on Zelgadis they had been dumped away from the house for this exact reason. The chimera clenched his fist, knowing that despite all the progress he and Jun had made, it was clear the older man was still not above some manipulation. Something else occurred to the blue-skinned swordsmen as he turned to Emeralda "You…knew she was there, didn't you?"

Holding her usual calm visage, the greenette simply confirmed "I did, yes."

"And you didn't say anything?" Michiru added.

"You two were engaged. I didn't want to be rude." came the amber-eyed girl's response as the pink girl got close enough to talk normally.

The student's arrival cut any further discussion of the merits of communication short as the girl, dressed in a simple cream t-shirt and UA standard gym pants came to a stop in front of them at a hop and spread her arms wide as she continued from before "You are lighters, aren't you? You must be since your headed to the lighters dorm, right? I'm Mina Ashido of class 1-A, you should totally come over and say hi!"

Michiru found herself taken with Mina's positive energy and also took note of her tiny bent horns and eyes that featured black sclera and yellow irises. Glancing at Zelgadis though, the tanuki girl could tell he was overwhelmed and had pulled up his hood, despite the fact that the girl arguably looked odder than him. Emmy, as usual, seemed to be taking everything in stride. That meant it was up to her to lead, as usual. "Hello Ashido-san! I'm Michiru Kagemori and this is Zelgadis Greywards and Emeralda Kasim. Your right, we are lighters and it looks like we'll be neighbors going forward." Then glancing at her teammates, the tanuki girl decided that even if this sounded like fun, the other two were probably ready to rest "I'm sorry but we just got back from training and we're ready to clean up and rest. Maybe tomorrow?"

Crestfallen, Mina actually appeared to pout as she responded pathetically "O, oh, right, of course...I should have known people as cool as you would be out training! Sorry to have bothered you…"

The sorry sight melted Michiru’s heart and she turned to look at the frowning Zelgadis, her eyes seemingly larger than before (and given her morphing ability, the chimera couldn't rule out the possibility that they were, in fact, bigger) and with a pleading voice said "Zel, I think we should go…"

Having had enough nonsense and drama for one day, the blue-skinned sorcerer scoffed as he turned away "Tch, do what you want. The last thing I want to do today is listen to a bunch of teenagers prattle on." Then walked off without another word.

Mina tilted her head in confusion at first, thinking the taller (and handsome) boy seemed like a teenager to her but instead focused on the positive as she leaped for joy "Yay, does that mean you'll come over, Kagemori-san?"

Smiling warmly, the furry lighter replied "Oh, you can just call me Michiru and yeah, I'd love to stop by and say hi to everyone!"

Then, seeming to notice the unmoving and stoic greenette to her side now that Zelgadis was gone, Mina added with a hint of pleading still in her voice "And what about you, Kasim-san? You want to come too?"

Emeralda appeared unfazed by the pink girl's theatrics but did look to Michiru as if asking permission to join. Puzzled briefly by the look her tan-skinned friend was giving her, Michiru finally said "I think it'll be fun and I'd love for you to join us if you want, Emmy!"

Nodding, Emeralda quickly replied "Then I will do so." Before turning back to face Mina and stiffly bowing as she said "Thank you for inviting me Ashido-san. I look forward to seeing your home."

Nervously waving her hands in front of her, Mina responded to the needlessly formal acceptance with a quick "It, it’s nothing, really! Thanks for coming!"

As the three girls made their way over to the 1-A dorm, Mina moved to walk beside Michiru with Emeralda behind as they passed the large pile of moving boxes that Mina had been outside adding to when the pink girl whispered, "Is your friend always so serious?"

Stifling a chuckle, the tanuki girl answered just as softly "Yeah, she is. Quiet too, but she is very nice, even if she has a hard time showing it."

That brought a smile to Mina's face and a slight skip to her step as they continued toward the brand-new building.

The new denizens of the house were spread about as some sat resting on a couch while others moved about with boxes empty or full. One thing the house was, was quiet as everyone went about their business. That was, until the door slammed open and Mina excitedly called out "HEY GUYS! LOOK WHO I FOUND!"

Everything stopped. The soft conversations on the couch, everyone walking by, they all paused at the sudden intrusion. One short guy with balls for hair outright dropped the box he was carrying as his mouth hung agape. Mina didn't seem to notice, or she didn't care as she stepped in to reveal a suddenly very sheepish looking Michiru and confused Emeralda. With everyone in the dorm's spacious common area eyeing them, Michiru raised a hand and offered a tiny wave as she said meekly "Uh…hi?"

"Woah, are those two who I think they are?" called Kyoka Jiro, a dark purple haired girl with earphone jacks dangling from her ears as she turned from her seat on the couch.

"Yep! These are two of our new lighter neighbors!" Mina explained as she grabbed Michiru's and Emeralda's hands, dragging them into the house from the doorway.

As the three came to a stop, a sweet looking girl with brown shoulder-length hair came up, smiling and said "Welcome! I'm Ochaco Uraraka! I remember seeing the news, you two just got here, didn't you?"

Returning the smile from the round-faced girl, Michiru started to answer "Yeah, heh, it’s been a pretty bumpy week, but I hear-"

"Hey! I remember you two! You really took it to that weird spider thing at the mall, didn't you?" came the excited voice of Denki Kaminari as he appeared to the other side of the girls.

Before either Michiru or Emeralda could answer though, the short grape-haired Minoru Mineta, just to Denki's side spoke up, his voice dripping with perverted excitement "if your lighters, that means your far from home...does that…make you available?"

Reflectively taking a step back in disgust, Michiru bumped into Emeralda, who had narrowed her eyes dangerously at the creepy gnome of a teenager. Before the tanuki girl could get her bearings though, another question came, seemingly from nowhere "Just ignore Mineta, he’s the worst! Seriously, though, did you get in trouble for using your quirks in public like that without being heroes?"

Michiru finally realized the voice was coming from what appeared to be floating cloths and that this girl, Toru Hagakure, was invisible. The two lighters were effectively surrounded, being bombarded with questions and not a moment to get in an answer in edgewise. Michiru was about give up and just puff her tail out into a huge ball to get everyone away when another, familiar and stern voice joined in from down the hall "What is the meaning of this! Some of your classmates and fellow dormmates are still unpacking! It is unbecoming to block the common area with such commotion, what is going on?!"

The assembled group around the lighters stopped their mobbing and turned to face their class rep, accompanied by the shorter, green-haired Izuku, both of which were carrying stacks of boxes. It was Mina who spoke for the group "Sorry, Iida, it’s just we have our first guests! This is Michiru and Emeralda from the lighters dorm next door!"

Hearing that, the two boys stopped dead in their tracks and moved their heads enough to see past their cardboard burden and realized who they were looking at, Iida exclaiming "You! What are you two doing in this honorable house!"

Looks of confusion played across the assembled 1-A students around Michiru and Emeralda before the frog-like Tsuyu Asui asked from the couch "What do you mean, Iida-kun? Do you know these two?"

Setting his boxes down and sternly walking toward the two lighters as Izuku stood still stunned to see the two, Iida clarified "I do indeed! These two were among the group of vigilantes we encountered in Camino Ward while rescuing Bakugo-san! I would not have such reckless criminals in our vaunted home of learning!"

Bristling, her fur standing on end, Michiru stepped forward to defend herself and her friends "Hey, we weren't exactly the only ones out there, now were we, you self-righteous stick-in-the-mud!"

His posture somehow managing to stand even stiffer at the tanuki girl's words, Iida shot back "We were there to save a classmate and we didn't break the law, now did we? Can you say the same?"

Before Michiru could retort, Izuku appeared beside the bespeckled teen, placing a hand on the taller teen's shoulder "Iida, its ok. After all, you aren't exactly innocent of running out on your own to take the law into your own hands, now are you?"

That seemed to take much of the steam out of the bi-speckled class rep as he turned his head to meet his friend’s gaze. That didn't stop Michiru from shooting back though "Hey, we know we screwed up, OK? I don't need you to tell me we were wrong…we've paid the price, so just back off!"

That caught Izuku's attention and he met the furry girl's eyes, which were now filled with determination and…loss? That was all the confirmation the freckled hero-in-training needed as he almost whispered "So it’s true? One of you…didn't make it make, did they?"

Several of the gathered students gasped at the question, Ochaco covering her mouth as she looked at the two lighters with concern. The truth out in the open, Emeralda hung her head, refusing to look anyone in the eye. Michiru, too, had looked away as she fought to keep the still fresh loss from overtaking her again. As the long moments dragged on though, the tanuki girl let out a long sigh and finally confirmed it "Yeah, that's right. It was Xellos, the purple-haired one. He died saving us because we were too arrogant." Then, bringing herself up to her full height she added "All we can do is try our best to try and make up for it! This school is giving us that chance and we'll do our best to become heroes, right alongside you!"

Though her head was still down, Emeralda smiled lightly before returning to her stoic self as she too stood tall. Most of the gathered 1-A students let out a cheer, but the ever-serious Iida cut through it with a question "As Midoriya has pointed out, I am in no position to judge you but what do you mean you'll be right beside us?"

With everyone's curious eyes turning back to Michiru, the tanuki girl confidently crossed her arms and declared "That's where we just came back from! We just earned the right to take the provisional license exam as part of your class so we'll be seeing a lot of each other the next couple of weeks!"

Again an explosion of commotion seemed to engulf the two girls the moment the words left Michiru's mouth.

"Are you joining the class permanently?"

"What's your quirks?"

"Did you see All Might fight All for One in person?"

"Aren't you a little old to be first years?"

"What's your measurements?"

The flood of questions stopped when a new arrival spoke loud enough to cut through the chatter while still sounding respectful and graceful at the same time "My goodness, what is going on out here? Todoroki and I could hear you from upstairs."

After a loud smack and a whining sound from the short grape-haired pervert, Mina ran over to the voice's owner, the tall and picturesque Momo Yaoyorozu and spoke to her out of everyone's earshot just as Momo's eyes dawned with recognition. Meanwhile, Shoto walked up to the group and greeted the two lighters with a nod before saying "I hear you saved Shadow Rider. Impressive. Also, your stunt in Camino pissed off my old man when he heard about it."

Without another word, the scarred young man walked off like he had said nothing at all. Starring after him with a confused look on her face, Michiru muttered "Uh…thank you?"

"Ah, don't take offense, Michiru-san, that's just how Todoroki is. Actually, for someone he's barely met, that was surprisingly chatty of him." Explained Hanta Sero, a young man with black hair halfway down his neck and distinct rounded elbows.

As the group began splintering and conversations started anew, Ochako noticed Emeralda had pretty much stood in the same place, looking about but not engaging anyone. Thinking about it, the gravity-defying girl couldn't recall the greenette having said anything at all. Also taking note of the leering the poor girl was getting from Minoru, the brunette thought she better do something. "Uh, hi, Emeralda-san. Is…everything ok? You haven't really said anything and I was wondering if anything was wrong?" Ochaco asked as she intentionally stood in the grape-haired boy’s line of sight.

Having seen the sweet-looking girl approach out of the corner of her eye, Emeralda had turned to face Ochaco before the other girl had even started talking. When Ochaco finished speaking, the greenette wasn't exactly sure what to say so that's exactly what she said "I am sorry if I worried you. I just don't know what to say to anyone. Michiru is much better at this than I am. Though…." With a quick glance in the direction of the short boy trying to hide his lecherous gaze as he moved around Ochaco, she added "If that one keeps looking at me, I will not hesitate to force him to stop."

As Emeralda finished speaking, her left hand shifted into a blade that she moved about menacingly to make sure the short boy saw it. Gulping, Minoru darted off to join the quieter members of 1-A on the other side of the room. His presence was not welcome as evidenced by the glare from the raven-headed Fumikage Tokoyami that was shot his way.

Ochaco scratched the back of her head nervously and replied, "heh heh, well, that kind of answers what your quirk is…Sorry if our class comes off as a bit much, we mean well!"

Nodding, Emeralda offered what came off as a pretty forced smile as she replied "You do not need to apologize, Uraraka-san. There is nothing wrong with you or most of your classmates. Thank you for trying to speak to me, even if I am not worth talking to."

Ochaco picked up on what she thought was a pretty self-depreciating way of putting an end to a conversation but didn't get the chance to follow up because Mina cut in to make an announcement. "Hey everyone! Since we're pretty much done moving in, we thought it would be fun to check each other's rooms to see who has the best!"

The pink girl's proclamation garnered mixed reactions, from excitement to outright dread. Izuku, who had wanted to approach the quiet Emeralda but became too nervous to do it after Ochaco beat him to it became a worried mess. Others seemed to welcome the thought, like the deprived Minoru and the sparkling Yuga Aoyama.

As the commotion died down, Mina continued "At first we thought it would just be the boys but that didn't seem very fair so we're going all in! Everyone who wants to can show off their room and to make it fair and impartial, we want our two guests to be the judges! What do you say Michiru and Emeralda!"

Michiru was stunned as the group of 1-A students cheered on the idea around her and Emeralda. On the one hand, it was great these guys were so open and welcoming, on the other, wasn't it kind of weird to have two people you just met check out your room? Looking at Emmy didn't help because the amber-eyed girl was offering neither comfort, nor concern. Someone saw the look on Michiru's face because a deep, serious voice came from the corner of the room "Do you not think it inconsiderate to ask people who have almost nothing of their own to look at and judge how well we have decorated?"

Looking over at the voice's owner, Michiru saw a guy who looked normal save for his raven-like head. Fumikage was leaning against a wall, appearing to brood and had misunderstood the concern on Michiru’s face but the tanuki girl was appreciative of it all the same, offering a smile. After her gesture was returned with a nod, Michiru decided she was already deep into this whole mess. "Alright, if you’re ok with having us, I'll do it! Emmy?"

"I will judge to the best of my ability. By what criteria am I judging?" came the greenette's resolute and far too serious answer.

An invisible arm plopped on Emeralda's shoulder as Toru's cheery voice said, "By which one you like best, silly!"

The tan-skinned girl furrowed her brow as she considered this before answering with more determination "I understand. I will do my best."

To their side, Kyoka noted sarcastically "Geez, it’s like we got a female Todoroki over here…"

"Be nice, Jiro! Emeralda-san could just be shy!" Ochaco admonished.

"Alright everyone, let’s get started! To Midoriya's room!" Mina declared as said freckled hero-in-training let out an embarrassed squeak.

So it was that one by one, the two lighters were led to each 1-A student's room who was willing. Izuku's was as much a shrine to All Might as it was a bedroom, something Michiru found off-putting and Emeralda thought illogical. Others made more sense to the greenette, such as Iida's and Mashirao's rooms and Koji got a bonus for his cute bunny, at least from Michiru. Yuga's room was…too much and was shot down out right for being far too ostentatious. This stood in stark contrast with the dark and brooding atmosphere that was Fumikage's room, which Michiru gave credit for creativity but that was about it. Eijiro's room certainly spoke to his character but was a bit too much for the two judges as well.

Shoto's room got high marks for how Japanese it felt to Michiru while still being practical for Emeralda. Minoru tried desperately to get everyone to check out his room but gave up when he was threatened with bodily harm. Denki's room didn't really stand out and neither did Rikido's, especially since several complained when he tried to feed the judges, thinking he was trying to bribe them. Hanta was up there as well, being pretty unique but still practical. The multi-armed Mezo had almost literally nothing in his room and even the ever-serious Emeralda thought that wasn't an efficient use of space.

The girl's side showed a bit more diversity even if there were fewer of them to start plus Tsuyu didn't want to take part, just like Katsuki didn't for the guys. That left things getting started in the rather plain room that was Ochaco's. This, compared to Kyoka's, which had far more character but Emeralda just couldn't understand why all the instruments were needed. Toru's was the pinkest of the bunch and given neither judge was partially feminine in their fashion, the invisible girl didn't leave a great impression. The same could be said for Mina's bold choices. Her room was definitely hers, but it was only hers, and neither Michiru nor Emeralda could appreciate it. Finally, Momo lost major points from Michiru for how lavish the room was and from Emeralda for having a bed far too big for the room.

In the end, to the surprise of many, Hanta took home the prize, which was tentatively a home cooked meal by the lighters resident cook in Mob (pending his agreement of course). It was late and everyone involved was tired. Still Izuku had walked out with Michiru and Emeralda in hopes of taking to them, only to find Tsuyu, and the others who participated in the Camino Ward rescue waiting. Iida asked that the lighters take their leave as this was a private matter and the two agreed, finally heading home.

To Michiru's surprise, Zelgadis was in the common area, appearing to be reading what looked like a manga? When the two approached, the rock-encrusted chimera set the book down as if the sight was a normal one and calmly asked "How did it go? I was beginning to get worried."

At first eyeing the manga before bringing her attention to her housemate, Michiru smiled brightly "It was a lot of fun! There was some tension when we ran into the guys we saw in Camino but after that we were judges in a room decorating contest!"

"You would have hated it." Emeralda flatly stated.

"No doubt." Zelgadis drawled.

"So, Zel, where'd you get the manga? Didn't think you'd gotten far enough to read something like that yet." Michiru asked a bit coyly as if Zelgadis had been hiding it, trying to somehow embarrass him.

It didn't work. Bringing the illustrated work back up, the blue-skinned swordsmen explained "I'm not, not really, but Shinra suggested it since it’s not heavy on text and he had it laying around. I haven't caught everything and the story is terrible but it's a start."

Her plans foiled, the tanuki girl offered a smile instead "Well, I'm glad for you, Zel! You'll have to tell me about it tomorrow, cause it’s late and I'm going to bed!"

Michiru started walking to the stairs, Emeralda following as she, too, offered a "Good night." Zelgadis was left alone once again, a confused look on his face he was glad no one else was around to see.

(X)

Chapter Text

Despite Jun telling his charges that they had the day off to rest and relax, none of the three found themselves able to do so. It seemed that none of the trio found doing nothing particularly relaxing. Somehow, Ranma had gotten word that it was a free day for them and had showed up in the morning to work with Emeralda, claiming she was the only one recently to give him a good warm up.

Zelgadis had wanted to get straight to having his blade blunted as soon as possible. Jun suggested taking it to Power loader over at the support items workshop. The former hero gave directions on how to get there and the chimera was eager to get started.

Of course, this whole conversation had taken place with Michiru serving as intermediary since it was her phone that was being used for the text conversation. The tanuki girl had wanted to spend some time thinking about her costume and hero name but figured that could wait until she helped make sure her cantankerous friend made it to his destination. Besides, Jun had told her she could get advice for her costume from Power Loader as well.

So it was that Zelgadis and Michiru found themselves standing in front of the rather large and imposing steel doors to the Development Studio. Michiru was about to knock when what seemed like an explosion rocked the walls and traces of smoke began leaking from the door’s frame. Eyes wide, Michiru slowly turned her head to address the sorcerer “A, are we sure we have the right place?”

To Michiru’s shock, Zelgadis seemed completely unfazed by the chaotic sounds that continued to emanate from the supposed lab. Looking annoyed by his furry companion’s hesitation, the rock-encrusted swordsmen said “What? Mages routinely experiment with the results often being less than calm. Research can be messy, isn’t this why those doors look reinforced?”

“You mean this is normal where you’re from? No wonder your so pissed all the time…” Michiru cheekily shot back, still parked in front of the smoking door.

“Damnit, you know full well why I’m…You know what, just knock on the door, we’re not getting anywhere like this.” Zelgadis snapped, turning his head away, clearly flustered.

Taking a moment to stare after her blue-skinned companion’s odd behavior, Michiru went to finally knock, only for one of the doors to swing open suddenly, smashing the poor tanuki girl in the face as an angry sounding man yelled back into the room “Damnit, Hatsume, if you’re going to flood the studio with smoke, at least open the door!”

Michiru fell back from the sudden assault on her face, unable to even brace her fall with her tail, it was so sudden. As the tanuki girl covered her aching snout, Zelgadis first looked to her and seeing she was only slightly hurt but otherwise ok, turned to the offending shirtless older man, who had apparently not even seen what happened. Clenching his fists, the chimera shouted “Hey, what the hell is wrong with you! You just hit someone with your damn door!”

Higari Maijima or Power Loader as he was professionally known, turned back, eyes wide, though you’d be hard pressed to see them given the outlandishly large excavator claw-like helmet he was wearing. Still, he sounded genuinely concerned as he rushed over to Michiru “Oh, I’m so sorry…Kagemori-san was it? I guess I got a little worked up! Are you ok?”

Zelgadis had moved to check on Michiru as well but was brought up short by the sudden appearance of a girl standing at the entrance, some odd binocular-like contraption over her eyes and a wild grin to go with her pink dreadlocks and full figure. Between her mad smile, the ocular gear and the smoke framing her, the chimera wasn’t sure if he should be worried or terrified. The answer would soon be revealed to be yes.

“Wow, sensei, and here you were just saying how dangerous my babies were, and you’re taking people out with doors!” the previously named Hatsume half cackled.

Seeing the look in Zelgadis’ face, Higari countered “Back off Mei, you’re scarring the normies!”

Watching Michiru get back to her feet with her teacher’s aid, Mei huffed “Its not my fault if they can’t recognize genius!” Then realization donned on the dreadlocked inventor “Oh! Are you two here to request equipment? I have so many babies to show off!”

Seeing his student was clearly making the two guests rethink their choice to come here, the claw helmeted red head tried to reassure them, saying “Please don’t worry about my student, she is brilliant but harmless, mostly. If she’s right and you’re here to see us, please step inside so we can talk.”

Recovering from her sudden blow and the shock that was Mei Hatsume, Michiru tried to put on as cheerful a face as she could and forced out “Right, we’ll do just that, right Zel?”

As Michiru glanced at her companion to confirm he would be following her, he frantically shook his head no, his previous nonchalance completely vanished, replaced by an ever-growing fear of the madness that lay within. Grabbing the sorcerer’s hand, Michiru admonished “Come on you big baby, you heard Power Loader, it’ll be fine!”

Zelgadis did resist, forcing Michiru to enlarge an arm and drag the poor chimera inside. Once there though, the place looked fairly calm, aside from one corner that almost looked like a mechanic hoarder’s junk yard. There were work benches with seating set along the side, which is where Michiru and Zelgadis sat, turned to face Higari, who was seated at a computer monitor. There were actually a row of computers, likely for designing and it was one of these others that Mei also took a seat, though she was moving about so much, one was left to wonder why she bothered to sit at all.

When at first no one spoke, Michiru had to elbow Zelgadis to get him started, as he seemed entranced by the all of the technology he had never conceived of before not to mention the pile of odd contraptions lying about in a heap, all so new to him. The poke worked, even if the chimera’s hard skin hurt Michiru a bit. Zelgadis brought his attention to the two denizens of the studio when he spoke “Right, sorry. I was told by our…mentor, Jun Sanada that you may be able to blunt my sword for me.” As he spoke, the swordsmen unhooked his sheathed blade from his belt and held it aloft in his hands.

“Huh, gotta say, I’ve never got a request like that before.” Higari mused as he took the offered weapon and unsheathed it before examining the blade.

“Does that mean you can’t do it?” Zelgadis replied, his voice a bit accusatory.

“No no, I can do it, it’s not really that hard or anything, it’s just…I’ve never seen a metal like this before.” The support teacher explained.

“Oh! Oh! Let me see!” Mei excitedly injected, shoving herself into Higari’s personal space to get a close look. “It…looks like metal.” Mei added once she stared at the sword, having removed her apparatus to reveal yellow eyes that appeared to have crosshairs in them.

Taking a step back to regain some separation from his student, Higari finally got a moment to look at the sword more closely “Hmm…I’ve never seen anything like this alloy before. That the reason you want it dulled instead of just using another weapon?”

“Yes” Zelgadis replied, as Mei looked between the two, clearly confused “This sword was crafted so it could react to my…quirk. A replacement would be, a world away, let’s say.”

A knowing smirk played on the older man’s features as he asked “I assume at some point you’ll have it sharpened again? “

“You got it,” the sorcerer-swordsmen confirmed “When I go home, that is the plan, so please don’t dull it any more than you have to.”

Higari nodded as he placed the sword back in its sheath and held it by his side “Consider it done. I’ll just need to get the right tool out from storage and I can knock it out right away.”

Never one to miss a chance to see a new piece of equipment, Mei shook in place as she begged “One of your babies? I’d love to see it sensei!”

With a sigh that was equal parts exhausted as it was proud, Higari added “We usually save metallurgy for third years who are interested but if you want, you’re welcome Hatsume. Here.” Then, throwing the dread-locked pinkette a set of keys, the support teacher added “It’ll be in the second basement locker, X-42. Bring a cart.”

Eagerly catching the keys, Mei offered a mock salute as she called out, already turning to leave “Got it, sensei!”

As Mei left, Higari turned back to his guests and asked “So, was there anything else you needed? Kagemori-san, did you just come to keep Greywards-san company?”

Michiru, who had kept quiet during the exchange about Zelgaidis’ sword with nothing to really add, beamed when she was addressed. “Yes, Power Loader! Sanada-sensei said we needed to start thinking about hero names and costumes! He said you might be able to help with costuming?”

“Ah, yes, I am licensed to design costumes, though usually students have their own designs, can’t say I’m always up with the trends, you know?” Higari explained, wondering if she wanted design help or another request altogether.

Pulling out a note pad she had been keeping tucked behind her and hidden by her jacket, Michiru proudly displayed her painfully crude drawing of her in her proposed costume as she exclaimed “Oh, you don’t have to worry about the design, I got that down! It’s great, right?”

Higari and Zelgadis peered at the…design and the veteran crafter struggled to offer a reassuring smile but mostly succeeded in cringing. Zelgadis wasn’t even trying to hide his unfavorable reaction as he struggled to make out what the squiggles were trying to convey. After a few moments of silence, Michiru asked, disappointment in her voice “You…don’t like it?”

Unable to look the tanuki girl in the eye, Higari tried to let her down gently “Its…a good start. Why don’t we get you in touch with a sketch artist or someone who is a professional designer?”

For a moment, Michiru looked absolutely dejected before an idea popped into her head “Hey, Emmy is a great artist, I’ll ask her! While I’m at it, I can see if she’s thought of her own design yet. What about you, Zel? You thought about your costume?”

Scoffing, Zelgadis folded his arms and frowned, still finding the idea of being a hero distasteful but replied “I don’t see anything wrong with what I was wearing when I got here. Just do that.”

“Ah, you’re no fun at all, Zel! Fine then, Power Loader, while I work on the design, I had a question about clothing specifically.”

“Sure, kid, shoot.”

“My, um, quirk, lets me morph parts of my body into other animals and after watching other heroes on the internet, I saw some that had costumes that could change when they did. Mt. Lady, for example.”

Nodding, the crane-helmeted man confirmed “Yeah, with gigantification quirks and transformation quirks that conform to a set shape we can make materials that can shrink and expand to those perimeters. Yours would be tricker since you said it could be any animal, right?”

Slipping off her shoes, Michiru explained “I’m mostly talking about my shoes, I’d love not to shred them every time I go all bird.” Then, to demonstrate, the tanuki girl shifted her feet into talons “The only other form I usually take with my feet are cheetah legs for speed and the different shape causes my shoes to slip off. If I only had two or three forms I usually took, could you do something like that?”

Higari didn’t look optimistic as he thought. After a moment, he replied “That would be tricky. Shoes need to be much more supportive than clothes that just covered the body. I would need to call a colleague or two and see what I can do.”

Again looking disappointed, Michiru answered in frustration “Oh, come on, you guys have all these cool robots and you can’t come up with form fitting shoes? Don’t you have, like, tiny robots that can do it?”

“Ha! You’re talking about nanomachines? That’s still the stuff of science fiction, kid. We’re nowhere near that kind of miniaturization yet!” Higari mirthfully explained.

“Did someone say nanomachines! I could make so many babies if I had my hands on some nano tech!” Mei interjected as she pushed a chart with a large table-mounted instrument on it.

Waving off his student, Higari explained “No, Hatsume, Kagemori-san here was just letting something she saw in an anime or something get the better of her imagination. Be back tomorrow for the sword and if you bring along costume designs, I’ll see about getting them fast-tracked, say three or four days? Deal?”

Still abit miffed at being patronized, Michiru forced a smile as she replied “Great! We’ll see if Emmy is up for some brain-storming tonight, thanks!”

Offering a nod, Zelgadis added “Yes, thank you Power Loader, I look forward to having my sword back.”

The two lighters turned to leave only to have Mei call after them “Are you sure you don’t want one of my babies? Swords are so boring and low tech, can’t I add a laser to it or something?”

The chimera’s shoulders slumped as he stopped, only to have Higari cover Mei’s mouth with his hand adding, “Don’t mind my over eager student, Greywards-san, we’ll take good care of your sword, I promise!”

Having turned his head to listen, Zelgadis looked less than assured as he nodded, Michiru offering a reassuring pat on the back as the two resumed their exit out of, what seemed to the sorcerer, a den of madness.

(X)

Meanwhile, back at the lighter’s training hall, Emeralda and Ranma were already well into a spar that saw the greenette attempting to use her morphing abilities more and more in her martial arts. Ranma had just managed to sneak through the amber-eyed girl’s attempt to sweep him away with polearms and was about to strike her hard in the head. Just like the day before with Mirio though, Emeralda shifted her hair into a ball of spikes that caused the formally smirking master martial artist to fall back out of the morpher’s reach.

The two stood locked in their stances for a moment before Emeralda uncharacteristically spoke “Saotome-sensei, I have a question.”

Shifting into a more defensive stance and motioning for Emeralda to attack, Ranma replied “Ok, shoot. Whats botherin’ ya?”

Before asking, the amber-eyed girl charged forward. Closing half the distance between them, Emeralda reared an arm back as it shifted into a chain with a weight at the end that she then flung forward at Ranma. The pig-tailed master was surprised as the chain caught his forearm and wrapped around it tight. He wasn’t, however, surprised enough to not have the presence of mind to grab hold of the chain and yank hard to pull his opponent off balance.

Instead, Emeralda stood firmly in place. Glancing downward, Ranma saw why; Emeralda had also shifted her toes into rebar she had thrust into the ground, ruining her shoes but keeping her firmly in place. Locked in a stalemate, Emeralda asked her question, her voice straining as she struggled with Ranma “I was in combat with a young man during our test yesterday. Despite his role as a villain, he seemed to refuse to attack me.”

Once again surprised by the strength of this newest arrival to this world, Ranma knew that if he wanted to, he could overpower her but was content to struggle with her while this played out, looking thoughtful as he answered “That is strange, I gotta admit. Was there anything else odd about this guy?”

Her face contorting into a frown, Emeralda replied “Yes…despite the hood he wore, I could see his face was red. At first, I thought he was out of breath, but he continued to avoid my attacks despite what I perceived as fatigue.”

The smirk returning to his face, Ranma had to hold back a laugh at his apparently oblivious sparring partner “Sounds like he has a crush on you! Is it love at first sight? Oh Emeralda, I’m so sorry!”

The greenette’s frown deepened, partly from the response and partly because Ranma appeared to let go of the chain, keeping the chain tight with his raised forearm as he pointed his open palm at her. Still, the girl felt the need to answer, her voice carrying a touch of despondency “I was afraid you were going to say that, Saotome-sensei, though this is not the first time we have met, he acted strangely then too.”

“That’s a weird reaction to have to finding out someone likes you, Emeralda. I’ve known many girls your age that would be happy to hear someone likes them. Something you’re not telling me? Also, Mōko Takabisha!”

A yellow sphere of energy emanated from Ranma’s hand much to Emeralda’s shock. The tan-skinned girl had just enough time to shift her free arm into a shield which was enough to protect her from the full brunt of the attack but she struggled to keep upright between being blasted backward and being pulled by Ranma.

Unluckily for Emeralda, she didn’t need to worry about it anymore as the attack had served its purpose in distracting her long enough for Ranma to move in and hit the poor girl hard with a series of strikes too fast for her to see.

Doubling over, Emeralda held out a hand to yield as she recovered from the blows. Ranma went over and got a towel while the tan girl calmed her breathing and the pain subsided. Setting an extra towel beside her, Ranma plopped down beside the amber-eyed girl and waited for her to speak. When Emeralda did, there was annoyance in her voice “You…can do more than change sex…they made you hide it, didn’t they?”

A shit-eating grin on his face, the older man replied “Yep! That whole one quirk per person thing meant I was stuck picking the sex-changing or my home world’s martial arts techniques. My curse’s bad habit of getting me wet even when I don’t want to didn’t really make it much a of a choice. I only get to use techniques like that with other lighters or people who know about us. Now that you’re pushing me, I thought it was time to get serious, so great job Emeralda!”

Rubbing her sore mid-section, the displaced morpher looked less than appreciative as Ranma continued “Still, you didn’t answer my question.”

Annoyed that her change of subject had not worked and still not feeling well enough to just stand up and leave, Emeralda finally answered, refusing to look at her new master in the eye “I am hardly like other girls. Besides, it’s not like this is the first time this has happened, I just…it doesn’t feel right.”

That was a new one for the sex-changing martial artist. Still, he had drawn this out, he needed to follow through and asked “What do you mean, it doesn’t feel right? In what way?”

Not used to speaking about herself or how she felt, the amber-eyed girl struggled to think of the words, taking several moments looking about the training hall in hopes she could articulate her thoughts. Finally, slowly, she said “It’s just that…I do not feel myself to be…attractive?”

Seeing Ranma neither question nor condemn her comment and in fact, the older man motioned for her to continue, she spoke again “I realize that others see me that way. Michiru called me hot a few days ago and…back home several boys approached me, but I…I have yet to really see myself that way. I know that I am…different and…and I…”

“Emeralda, its ok. We’re all a little different here. I only started having this sex changing curse when I was sixteen, and let me tell ya, the next few years of my life were a ride!” Ranma cut in, sounding more supportive than his overconfident jock-ish exterior would imply. “Besides, when you are ready, if you are ready, you’ll still have an easier time than your friends will.”

Glad to switch her focus from herself to her friends, Emeralda quickly asked, concerned “What do you mean, sensei?”

Realizing he may have overstepped a bit, Ranma rubbed the back of his head and nervously laughed as he saw the worry in the girl’s now completely healed eyes as he said “It’s just, ya know, I don’t know how things were in their own worlds but here, they’re seen as having mutant quirks and sometimes that can make life hard for folks like that.”

There was a lot said and left unsaid with Ranma’s words and Emeralda took a moment to consider them. Looking no less concerned, the greenette said “Michiru has told me people like her in the world she is from are hated and even hunted. Yet she chooses to stay as a tanuki when she could look human. Zelgadis very clearly hates how he looks and always speaks of looking for a way to be fully human again. What…what can I do to help them, sensei?”

Standing up and holding his hand out to his newest student, Ranma knew he didn’t have all the answers. No one did, really, but he knew who could help and said as much, “That’s more than I can answer, Emeralda. I’m sorry but I can tell you who helped me when I first got here and was still struggling with my unique problem.”

Taking the offered hand and standing up, the tan girl suspected she knew whom her master spoke of and voiced it “You mean Hitomi? She has tried to help but she apparently…saw things about me I am uncomfortable with. Is there anyone else?”

“Ah, come on, she hasn’t exactly been going around and sharing your secrets, now has she? Emeralda, I really think you, more than the other two, should take the time to talk to Hitomi. She wants to help and she’s pretty good at it too.” Ranma firmly stated as he moved to get into position for another spar.

Moving to resume, Emeralda sighed, unable to look the pig-tailed martial artist master in the eye again, stating “Thank you for your advice master, I will try.”

“That’s all I ask Emeralda, now prepare yourself because I’m not holding back this time!”

“I am ready.”

(X)

Michiru and Zelgadis returned home in time for lunch, Emeralda and Ranma having finished sparring and cleaned up not long before. The sex-switching martial artist could have left then, and given his long commute back to his dojo, he should have. However, Ranma never could let something like a long trip home get between him and a good meal.

It was a rare moment that everyone currently living in the house was seated at the same time, enjoying Mob’s meal. The relative quiet of everyone eating was broken though when Ranma, in between stuffing his face (something Zelgadis was all too familiar with back home) blurted out “Hina-chan, it’s been a while now, don’t ya think we should have the party soon?”

The three newest lighters stopped eating, looking confused as they turned their attention to the blue-haired telekinetic. For her part, Hina had actually frozen mid bite, her chopsticks held midway to her mouth in front of her. With most of the table’s attention bearing down on her, the usually confident girl could only manage a worried “Umm…”

Seeing his senpai’s distress, Mob interjected “It, it just didn’t seem like the right time, with everything going on, master. We’re sorry”

“Aw, come on, we’ve never waited this long before and if we wait too much longer, it’ll seem weird.” Ranma bemoaned.

Hina tried to let the older man down gently as she replied “Master, I really don’t think-”

The telekinetic was cut off by a fist slamming on the table as Shinra shot up, his sharp teeth showing as he grit them in anger before shouting “We can’t have it because one of us is still in the hospital, you big oaf! Or did you forget about Terra!?”

Clearly not happy at being challenged, Ranma stood up as well (though he continued to stuff his face, showing things weren’t yet too serious) “Shinra, I know it sucks but we don’t know when she’s going to wake up, we can’t wait forever! Besides, it’ll give us an excuse to do it again when she does regain consciousness, right?”

The former fire soldier looked mortified “Is, is that all that matters to you? A party? What, so you can eat more of someone else’s food? I don’t know why everyone thinks you’re so great! Your just some gluttonous moocher who knows how to throw a punch!”

In an instant, Ranma was around the table and gripping the younger man’s shirt, lifting him slightly off the ground “I am nothing like that! I earn my keep, you hear me!”

The two guys glared at each other for another moment when, in an effort to defuse the situation a bit, Michiru waved her hand “Uh, excuse me, but what party? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned this before?”

With the moment passed, Ranma quickly came to his senses, releasing the shorter young man and returning to his seat, a frown still etched on his face. As he was returning, Hina began explaining “Its…something we normally do every time a new lighter appears. The rest of us gather to welcome them, impart wisdom, and let them know they aren’t alone. Nothing about this time has been normal though and with Terra still at the hospital and Xellos gone, it just didn’t feel right, you know?”

Michiru was surprised that the haughty Hina could once again show so much empathy and was beginning to wonder why the blue-haired girl seemed to hide under all the bluster.

Much calmer now, Ranma, almost in a pout, interjected “You know that Terra wouldn’t want us to stop on her account…”

“That’s not the point, and you know it!” Shinra shot back, arms crossed.

As the arguing began to heat back up again, Michiru thought back to that fateful day when she first arrived in this crazy world. Terra had been kind and sweet, and when things got bad, she did what she could to help others just as much as fight. Michiru believed that whatever had happened to the poor girl after Zelgadis and Xellos had arrived, it wasn’t Terra’s fault she had turned into a glowing pink rage monster. Coming out of her thoughts, completely ignoring the insults being hurled, the tanuki girl just blurted out “Hey Shinra, can we visit Terra some time?”

Instantly, Ranma and Shinra froze before turning to the tanuki girl, each confused and wide-eyed. Zelgadis leaned over and whispered, “You’re doing it again, speaking for all of us, you know.”

Suddenly, extremely embarrassed, Michiru blushed and looked down. Seeing the furry girl’s expression seemed to knock Shinra out of his daze, pointing a thumb at himself as he declared with no small degree of satisfaction “Yeah! I can take you over to see her. I think Terra would be very happy to have you!”

With that decided, Emeralda pointed out what the others seemed to be forgetting “Unless the hospital is owned by UA, are we not allowed to leave the premises? That is, unless someone plans to get injured?”

There was a short pause before Michiru said, slowly and an eyebrow raised “Was, was that a joke Emmy?”

Turning to face her friend, though her expression was still flat, Emeralda replied “Did you think it was funny?”

Unprepared for the answer, Michiru answered honestly “Umm, no, not really.”

“Then no.” the greenette quickly answered back.

Hina, a smirk on her face from the exchange, offered “Well, we can always ask Sanada-sensei and see what he thinks and get his help. I’m willing to bet they’d make an exception for something like this. Here, I’ll take care of it.”

As Hina excused herself to make the phone call, Ranma moved to help Mob clean up, leaving Shinra to say “Seriously, thank you guys. Even if they say no...its cool you want to visit her.”

Offering a warm smile, Michiru replied “Of course! I thought Terra was very nice! It’s the least we could do!” Then, turning to Emeralda, Michiru thought to ask, “Hey Emmy, if you’ve got time later, can I ask you a favor?”

Nodding, while also looking a bit surprised, the amber-eyed girl replied “Of course, Michiru. How may I help?”

Sounding a bit sheepish to start, Michiru asked “Well, remember that Sanada-sensei told us to think about our costumes, right? Well, I drew up one for me and showed it to Power Loader and…he thought it was a little rough. I thought since you’re an artist and all, that maybe you could make a better sketch I can take to him tomorrow. We could do yours too while we’re at it!”

A hint of excitement seemed to shine in the tan girl’s eyes at the prospect just offered her and Emeralda said with a light smile “Of course Michiru, I would be glad to help. Though I don’t have any plans myself to wear anything different than something like my uniform I had on when I got here.”

Rolling her eyes, Michiru groaned “Oh, not you too, Emmy! Come on, we’ll see if we can’t come up with something you’ll like and still be different, ok?”

“Fair enough” Emeralda responded.

With that settled, Hina arrived back to say that Jun had thought it was a great idea and would lobby with the principal and police to make sure everyone was on board and would likely happen in a few days. After that, everyone helped finish cleaning and Ranma headed back to his dojo in Yokohama while the rest of the lighters split up.

(X)

In the days since the Camino incident, Emeralda had asked Jun for more sketchbooks and colored pencils to allow her to do more detailed work on her portraits of everyone back home. Along with martial arts, it had become her favorite past time, being the two things that most closely tied her to home, and to Fei. Little did Emeralda know that her hobby would be called on to help others. After all, back home it was Fei’s work that everyone praised and his skill that people sought. Hers was a pale shadow of his work, after all since she was just copying him.

Still, Michiru had asked, Emeralda would do her best for her friend. Spending the intervening hours cleaning and organizing her work as well as actually taking some time think about her own costume, the greenette actually found herself a bit excited to sketch for her fellow lighters. As she stared at a blank sheet, several previous attempts having been balled up and tossed in the garbage can beside the desk, the long-expected knock on the door finally came.

Standing up and walking to the door, Emeralda quietly answered “You may enter.”

“Thanks, Emmy! Thank you for having us!” Michiru replied as she entered, followed by Zelgadis, who offered a courteous nod. All three of the room’s inhabitants were wearing a basic shirt and shorts combos for casual sleeping wear with only Emeralda standing out for still sporting her long scarf, now wrapped loosely around her neck, her arm clamps resting on the desk.

Emeralda offered her guests spots on her bed as she sat back down in her chair, having turned it to face the others. Properly seated, Zelgadis and Michiru had a chance to glance about. Being standard rooms, the layout was exactly the same as each of theirs except this room was now adorned with portraits of many people, several of which the two recognized. Jun and Hitomi stood out right away, beside which was a work that depicted Ranma back-to-back with his female form, each cockily smiling at the viewer. Almost everyone the trio had met so far in this world was up there, including the two of them. Michiru even had several works depicting several of her forms, including her human one. One notable omission was Xellos, Michiru realized and part of her wanted to ask her tan friend about it, along with why her human form was up there.

Then there was the section with people Michiru didn’t know and were no doubt from Emeralda’s world. There was a cute little pink creature, a giant of a man with green skin and orange hair, likely one of the demi-humans the greenette had spoken of. Then there was what looked like a gun-wielding priest with white, bowl-cut hair, and a man with long black hair and glasses that seemed to have a wisdom about him. A brash looking blonde with tan skin and an eye patch as well as a girl maybe a few years younger than them with silver hair adorned in ringlets. Finally, there was the young man and woman that seemed to be the center of the whole collage of portraits. A strong looking young man with black hair held in a long ponytail and an auburn-haired beauty of grace and pose. Both seemed to be smiling at the two viewers fondly and Michiru couldn’t help but wonder if they were related to Emeralda. Something else to ask later.

Realizing Emeralda was waiting on them, Michiru tore herself away from all the people on the wall and got to business “So Emmy, should I just tell you what I had in mind?”

Taking a moment to think, the tan artist replied “Do you have your original sketch? It may make things easier for me to visualize what you have in mind than just describing it to me.”

Before the tanuki girl could answer, Zelgadis spoke up “Trust me, it wouldn’t help. You’re better off starting from scratch, I promise.”

After glaring at the rock-encrusted sorcerer, Michiru turned back, a light blush on her face as she admitted “No…after how everyone reacted earlier today, I sorta threw it out. Sorry Emmy!”

Despite herself, Emeralda sighed. She’d only been drawing for a couple of years now, so she didn’t exactly have extensive experience and almost none working with others so she was beginning to get nervous that she’d be able to meet expectations. “That…is fine, Michiru. I will do my best. Please tell me what you want and I’ll start. Please go ahead.”

Smiling from ear to ear, Michiru eagerly started describing her concept, almost too fast to follow “OK! So lets go with a black, skin-tight one piece jumpsuit that’s sleeve-less and ends mid-thigh! I was thinking of having two silver bands running up the front of the suit, twisting like a double helix across the front and back! Make sure those bands cross between my boobs, I don’t want them going over them and highlighting them, I’m not going for sexy here!”

As Michiru broke to take a breath, Zelgadis added “I’ve noticed how many of the female heroes here seem to wear more revealing outfits. I take it you have your powers in mind more than anything, right?”

“You got it, Zel! How’s it looking, Emmy?” Michiru excitedly asked, leaning over to look at the work. The sketch was still mostly that, just a rough sketch, lacking any detail and no head as yet. Still, it looked worlds better than anything Michiru could do. “You want me to keep going, or you need a minute, Emmy?”

“I will, by necessity, be a bit behind anything you tell me, Michiru but I am fully capable of remembering anything else you wish to tell me.” Came the amber-eyed artist’s response.

Nodding, Michiru continued “If you could put two narrowed, mean looking eyes embedded in the loop formed by the cross across my chest, just below my collarbone, that would be perfect, and make them completely red. I figure that’ll be my symbol! Plus, give me a utility belt with pouches to round out the base look!”

“The base look?” Zelgadis questioned, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah! I want a red, short-sleeved jacket to wear over everything, ideally with some pockets to keep projectiles for me to throw!” Michiru answered, finishing with a pumped fist, showing just how much she was into this.

Not terribly impressed with the tanuki girl's enthusiasm, Zelgadis crossed his arms and reaffirmed “Well you may want a makeover, Michiru but aside from switching to full gloves and some of these fancy shoes, I'm perfectly happy with my look. Though the cloth itself could be more durable.”

“Ohhh? Is that right, Zel? And here I thought you were all about wanting to find a way to become human again?” Michiru teased, though when she saw the perched lips and furrowed brow of the chimera next to her, she knew she had crossed a line.

Refusing to look his furry companion in the eye, Zelgadis looked up, eyes unfocused as he sighed, as if the anger was just leaving him, an exhausted husk being all that was left. That husk finally spoke, his voice wistful “I can see why it’s something you might joke about, I keep getting so much further from the possibility of being human again that it is laughable....”

“Zel...I'm so sorry. We all want to get home too, but, but there’s nothing wrong with taking some joy from our time here, right?” Michiru gently countered.

Zelgadis turned to answer, at first annoyance on his face but his features softened as he was about to speak, only to be cut off by Emeralda “I've completed the base design, please tell me what you think Michiru.”

Zelgadis and Michiru both eagerly looked over at the completed sketch, glad for a distraction. Michiru, though, was extra pleased because she loved what she saw. Her head was still missing, to be added later, Emeralda assured her, but what was there was standing with arms outreached to either side and the outfit looked absolutely great. Though the jacket was by itself to the side. Emeralda then confirmed that she'd do a sketch with the complete look later.

With her own costume done and Zelgadis being stubborn about his, Michiru hoped to get Emeralda in on the fun as she said “Emmy, you can’t be like this stick in the mud! There’s got to be something we can do for your costume!”

To the tanuki girl’s surprise, Emeralda actually had a ready answer to the question as she nodded, pulling out her necklace from under her shirt “Actually, at the bare minimum, I want this design included in my outfit. After doing your costume, I think I’ll use a sleeveless style as well but otherwise, aside from some minor changes, I will stick fairly close to my uniform.”

Michiru sighed as she stood up “I guess that’s the best I can hope for but if you ever want to change it, promise you’ll come to me first, ok!”

A soft smile on her face, Emeralda nodded, taking note that Michiru had drifted over to the portraits of herself and was looking at them. After a moment, Michiru asked “Mind if I have the one of me as a human Emmy?”

Raising an eyebrow and responding slowly, the amber-eyed girl said “You may, but why Michiru? Did I do a poor job recreating the look?”

Turning and waving her hands defensively, Michiru quickly replied “No! No! You did an excellent job, looks just like me! That’s…kind of the problem, actually…”

Now Zelgadis was growing concerned and the two locked eyes briefly before Michiru turned away as the chimera said “What’s wrong Michiru? I didn’t take you being the type to be bashful.”

“It’s just, it’s not me, you know? I’m super happy the way I am now and now that I’m in a world where looking like this doesn’t matter, I’d rather not think about my human form is all!” Michiru explained, rolling up the picture.

Immediately, Emeralda thought back to Ranma’s words from earlier in the day. The greenette wanted to share that warning but found she didn’t have the words. Looking at Michiru and how sure she was that she was in a better place, Emeralda didn’t know how to tell her otherwise. And so, she didn’t, looking away in shame at herself and hoping everything would be fine.

Zelgadis was trying to tell Michiru she didn’t have to act that way for his benefit and Emeralda could feel the two about to bicker once more so instead she interjected “I’ll have all three of our costumes done by morning so you can take them to Power Loader. Is there anything else I can do before we part ways?”

With the other two lighters attention brought back to the reason they had gathered, fight avoided, Zelgadis shook his head that he didn’t have anything else. Michiru though, pointed to the two portraits so warmly portrayed and asked “Could I ask about these two Emmy? I can’t help but see a resemblance between you and them, are they siblings of yours?”

Again, Emeralda flashed back to their first night in the police cells. To Xellos basically asking her the same exact question and then, again, to the odd man’s death, ultimately because of her own failure. For a moment, the tan morpher lost her composure, a haunted look playing on her face. After a moment of silence that felt far longer, Emeralda replied “No, I’m not related to these two, but I guess they are the closest thing to my father and mother that I could have had.”

Michiru had noticed the change in expression in her friend, but she was sure it was because it was hard for Emeralda to think about her lost friends and family. The tanuki girl was mildly surprised to hear these two weren’t related at all. Given their ages as depicted, it felt like a stretch to think of them as parents. Still, Michiru was glad Emeralda had answered at all and decided not to press further, at least for today. With contraband in hand and answer received, Michiru waved as she moved toward the door “Thank you so much Emmy, I own you one! As soon as we can leave and I have some money, I’ll take you for ice cream!”

Smiling again, Emeralda waved and returned Zelgadis’ nod as he too made his exit. Again, the greenette was alone, left to work and to wonder exactly why Michiru really wanted that picture. More and more Emeralda was beginning to think that maybe talking to Hitomi wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

(X)

Later that evening, in a back alley in a shadier part of town, two well dressed, and yet very threatening looking young men stepped out from the back door of a building. Both wore suits, though upon close inspection one may notice they were ill-fitting and both wore them with simple white undershirts and the jacket open. One wore a pale blue jacket, the other lavender, though both were adorned with cheap gold-colored jewelry to go along with their slicked back black hair and sunglasses, worn despite the sun having already set.

The blue-suited one, Kiyanon, carelessly thumbed the wad of cash in his hand as he exclaimed “What a score, bro! All we have to do is kill one bed-bound girl and we’re set for a long, long time!”

The lavender-suited one, Shiryou, slightly more reasonable, replied, a sly smirk on his face “Yeah, it’s a little weird the guy wanted us to do it if it’s so easy but with a payout this high, it was hard to say no.”

Kiyanon scoffed at his partner’s concern “You saw the guy, he looked as soft as it gets. Probably couldn’t bring himself to get his hands dirty. You know how rich pretty-boy types like him can be, even if he was alittle handsy.”

Shiryou’s worry, what little there was of it, disappeared as his smirk turned into a full-on grin “That’s true! He even got us set up as attendants at the hospital, I can’t imagine an easier job! We just slip in, get her alittle too much face time with a pillow and slip out again and we’re rolling in the money!”

“Heh, heh, in just a few days we’ll be living the high life, I can’t wait!” Kiyanon exclaimed, as the two left the alleyway, off to gamble away the advance their benefactor had just given them.

(X)

Chapter Text

The next day would be Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda's first day of training with Class 1-A. Before they made their first appearance though, the trio made first for the design studio to pick up Zelgadis' sword and deliver their costume designs. After that Jun would take them to the 1-A classroom for introductions.

Despite Zelgadis and Michiru's eagerness to get their goals accomplished that morning, it was Emeralda who led, the other two uncharacteristically subdued. When they reached the large metal double doors of the studio, Emeralda reached for one of the large handles before pausing to look back, noting her two companions seemed to have stopped a good six feet away. The tan girl's raised eyebrow was met with nervous smiles and a weak wave from Michiru.

More confused than ever, Emeralda pulled the doors open as the two behind her cringed. When nothing happened, Emeralda was sure she heard the two behind her let out audible breaths. Very strange. All three then entered hearing only the sounds of various monitors humming until they found Higari typing away on a computer. Stepping forward, glancing about as if on guard for an attack, Zelgadis greeted the crane-helmeted hero "Good Morning Power loader, I trust my sword is ready?"

Spinning around in his chair, the shirtless man smiled as he greeted the group "Good morning! Yes, I have your sword, Greywards-san." Then noting the uneasy look on two of the three lighters faces, added "If you're wondering where Hatsume is, she went for coffee, your safe."

Zelgadis and Michiru sighed in relief, Emeralda glancing between them in confusion once more. Chuckling to himself, Higari took a moment to greet Emeralda "Hello young lady! You the talented artist Kagemori-san mentioned yesterday?"

Raising an eyebrow and glancing at Michiru, who offered a smiling nod, Emeralda replied "I did what I could. I hope they are of some use to you."

Taken off guard by the cool answer from the greenette, Higari drawled out "Oookkkaayy, well, in the end, I'll be the judge so let’s see what you got, Kasim-san."

Nodding, the tan girl offered the sketchbook she had been carrying under her arm. The red-haired teacher took the book and immediately opened it up and began thumbing through. It only took a few moments for Higari to whistle in appreciation, a smirk playing on his face. Their curiosity piqued, Michiru and Zelgadis walked over to stand over Higari's shoulders to look at the work. Both their eyes bugged out of their heads.

What had been just one sketch of Michiru the night before was now a whole series of detailed sketches of all three of them, with notes about the kind of material to use down to the fine details of the pockets on Michiru's jacket. Wholly shocked, Michiru quickly came to a realization as she called out "Emmy! When did you have the time to do all of this? It’s amazing!"

Shrugging as she tried to ignore the accusing stares of her friends, Emeralda simply stated "I recall saying I don't need much sleep. It’s ok, it helps pass the time."

"Well, considering the sleep deprived ball of energy I call my student, I'm hardly one to talk about getting enough sleep." Higari started, his smirk having progressed to an impressed smile "What I will say though, Kasim-san, is that this work is damn impressive. Usually for students we get drawings a few notches above Kagemori over here, better if the student has some skill at drawing." Then turning and holding open a page detailing the design of the pendent design for Emeralda's costume, Higari added "This is professional level Kasim-san. We should have no trouble getting these produced for you in no time at all!"

Michiru followed up with a beaming smile and added "You've done an amazing job, thanks Emmy!" Zelgadis too offered an appreciative nod that Emeralda returned, a small smile threatening to make an appearance on her face.

Then, with a pat on his bare back, Michiru glanced at Higari and jokingly asked "So, did you find out anything about those nanomachines for the shoes I asked for?"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, and knowing he would be out of the conversation, wandered off to look for his sword. Higari, for his part, took the comment for what it was and laughed before answering "No, no, sorry Kagemori-san, no science fiction today. I did make some calls though and I think we can work something out. It'll take longer than the rest of your costume and we'll need to scan the forms you want but yeah, I think we can do it."

"Sweet! That's awesome, thanks Power Loader!" Michiru exclaimed as she turned to address her artistic friend "Emmy, that means we…can…Emmy? Are you ok?"

Said girl, whom only a few moments ago had been edging on happy now looked absolutely mortified, her hands held tightly in front of her. When she realized Michiru was talking to her, the greenette snapped to attention, her face going as emotionless as the tanuki girl had ever seen it. Before another word could be spoken by Higari or Michiru, Emeralda choked out "I…I am fine. I'm sorry to worry you. I, I just, I just get nervous when others see my work."

That was the worst lie Michiru had ever heard. Emeralda had been fine just a moment ago when they were admiring the sketchbook and the greenette had no issues the night before as she showed them her first draft. Something was seriously wrong, and Michiru was sure she looked as worried as she sounded when she reached out and nervously spoke "Emmy…"

The other girl was having none of it though, turning away as though the concerned tanuki girl and worried teacher didn't even exist. Instead, Emeralda opted for deflection, moving toward Zelgadis and asking "Have you found your sword yet, Zelgadis?"

Turning from a storage bin along the wall, entirely ignorant of what had just transpired, the chimera replied, a hint of frustration in his voice "No, not yet, you seen it Emeralda?"

Meanwhile, Michiru's concerned expression had turned to hurt as she watched her friend walk away from her. When a hand touched her shoulder, the tanuki girl turned to see Higari shaking his head as he spoke "I saw it too, kid. Try not to take it personally though, ok? Clearly something happened but if she isn't ready to talk, it’s best not to try and force it, ok? Best to be as supportive as you can."

Fighting to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from spilling over onto her furry cheeks, Michiru nodded as she turned back to watch the other two lighters continue the search. With Michiru's shaky agreement, Higari removed his hand and called out playfully "Oh, you were looking for the sword? Yeah, I got it over here in a secure unit behind me! Sorry about that."

The support gear teacher turned and input a code on a keypad behind him as Zelgadis grumbled as he stalked back over and snapped "How long were you going to let me dig around this madhouse?"

As he pulled out the sword from the locker that opened up from the wall, Higari replied "Yeah, sorry about that. Should have known that's what you were doing. Anyway, here it is. You shouldn't have any trouble sharpening it again whenever you get home, as promised."

Taking the offered weapon, Zelgadis pulled it from its scabbard and briefly examined it. Apparently pleased with the work, the sorcerer-swordsmen nodded as he offered "And I will get home, I promise you that. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. Now shoo, before Hatsume gets back." Higari offered with a satisfied smile.

The trio needed no further prodding to take their leave and meet up with Jun at the front of the school.

(X)

Slumped forward in a show of exhaustion that was the underground hero's perpetual state of being, Shouta addressed Class 1-A as they sat at their desks "You'll recall that your main focus this summer is obtaining provisional hero licenses."

There was a chorus of "Yes sir!" from the class.

Then, resting his hands at the edges of his lectern and leaning forward for emphasis, Shouta continued "Do not take this lightly. A hero license means that you're responsible for human lives. You can imagine that the exam to receive one is very difficult, with only about fifty percent passing the test each year."

The grape-headed boy, Minoru, worriedly asked "It’s that hard to get a provisional license?"

In response, Shouta narrowed his eyes as he continued "In order to prepare, today you'll concentrate on creating something new." Then, the door to the classroom slid open, revealing three other teachers, Cementoss, Midnight and Ectoplasm as Shouta finished "Two ultimate moves."

Several of the students made excited comments about how exams are usually boring schoolwork, but this being hero work. Others kept silent but smiled with anticipation as well.

As the trio of teachers stepped into the classroom proper, Ectoplasm began to explain what they meant "When we say 'ultimate,' we mean a move that will ensure you win against your opponent."

Cementoss continued, one hand held up and a finger pointed upward to draw attention "An action so unique to your identity that no other person can hope to copy it. Simply put, you must learn to lean into your strengths."

Midnight finished explaining, one arm held above her head and the other pretending to frame her mask in an attempt to look dramatic "Your moves represent who you are. These days, most pro heroes have an ultimate move."

"This may sound abstract," Shouta said "but we'll explain more as the day goes on. In a moment, change into your costumes and meet in Gym Gamma."

Then, openly and heavily sighing, the eraser hero added "But first," then motioning at the door, it slid open again and the three lighters, followed by Jun stepped into the room and lined up in front of the three teachers, who had stepped back. "Most of you are aware at this point that the three newest lighters will be joining you not just for your training these next two weeks but also for the exam itself."

Several smiles and waves were exchanged between Michiru and several of the class as she stood alongside her friends. Emeralda got some waves as well, but the quiet girl stood still, unmoving. After a moment, Shouta spoke again "I know that several of you have met before but for everyone's benefit, I'd like each of you three to introduce yourself, then we can get moving."

Michiru was the first to step forward, bowing slightly before looking over the faces of 1-A, noting a mix of excitement and indifference to the outright hostility from the dirty blonde she realized was the wild boy from the festival the others had saved in Camino. Smiling, the tanuki girl introduced herself "I'm Michiru Kagemori! Please just call me Michiru! I'm very excited to get to work with you all!"

Zelgadis was next, stepping forward with his arms crossed, not bothering to bow. Sounding like he wasn't in the least bit excited to be there, the chimera said "Zelgadis Greywards. Zelgadis is fine. I'm not here to make friends, just to get the job done." When he stepped back in line, Michiru couldn't help but glare at the chimera, who was doing his best to ignore the stares he was getting.

Several in the class were experiencing a sense of déjà vu about having another taciturn jackass in their class to fill the void Shoto had left when he calmed down after the sports festival.

Finally, Emeralda stepped forward, avoiding eye contact with the gathered students as she took a long breath to steady herself, something that didn't go unnoticed by the majority of the class. When she did speak, the tan girl was clear and loud enough but sounded very wooden as she said "I am Emeralda Kasim. I wish to be called Emeralda. I…will do the best I can. Thank you." Then, stepping back, Emeralda could tell all eyes were still on her and she did her best to look away.

Some eyes were less innocent than others, Minoru chief among them, unable to contain himself, the boy said under his breath "Oh man, she's exotic and shy…awesome!" The comment drew glares from Fumikage, Momo and Hanta as well as nervous worry from Izuku right in front of the grape-haired boy.

Other students had more wholesome questions and proceeded to blurt them out, Mina first as she raised her hand "Oh, oh! What are your quirks? You didn't tell us when you were over!"

Toru followed up with "And what about hero names! Or are we going to just use your names in the exam?"

The flamboyant Yuga also offered "And what about your costumes? Surely you don't have anything to compare to my radiance?"

Raising his hand, Shouta instantly quieted his students as he firmly said "We don't have time for any of this nonsense. You'll see their quirks in training. Their names and costumes are irrelevant to the training."

At that point Jun felt the need to interject, waving his hands apologetically "So sorry, Aizawa-san. I just thought I would mention that the three did, in fact, turn in their costume designs in before we came here. They'll be wearing them in a few days. For now, it'll be gym outfits."

Shouta nodded and was about to dismiss everyone when Midnight spoke up, causing the eraser hero to cringe in annoyance as she said "What about hero names? Those are at least as important as your costume!"

The trio exchanged glances, Zelgadis and Emeralda shaking their heads in the negative, but Michiru offered "I…was thinking something like Anima. Something like the Fauna Hero: Anima!"

There was some murmuring amongst the class before Mashirao spoke up "Isn't that Koda's hero name?"

All eyes seemed to turn to the quiet Koji Koda, who shrank at the attention but managed to nod that Anima was indeed his chosen hero name.

Her ears sagging along with her shoulders in disappointment, Michiru glanced down for a moment before she looked up again, another idea popping into her head "What about Animalia then? Is that taken?"

Midnight put a hand on the tanuki girl's shoulder, which caused Michiru to look back at the X-rated hero as the older woman said approvingly "It's a fine name, Kagemori. I'll check to be sure it’s not in use, but I think you've got a winner!"

Michiru beamed a smile at the art history teacher before Shouta loudly reasserted control as he said "if you're all quite finished, dismissed! You've got training to do!"

"Yes, sir!"

(X)

Michiru was feeling alittle under dressed compared to her new classmates, all decked out in their chosen hero costumes. If the other two lighters felt the same, they weren't showing it as they stood among the group of students gathered in the large Gym Gamma.

Cementoss proceeded to create various terrains and structures for the students to train in as they saw fit, the whole facility being his idea. Iida took the opportunity to ask what the advantage of having ultimate moves for the exam even was, a question Zelgadis couldn't help but feel could have been asked sooner.

Shouta, though, took the question in stride and explained the license exam would evaluate everything from combat prowess to information gathering, decision making, communication, co-operation and leadership. But while all of that was important, none of it would be of any use if you couldn't win a fight, which ultimate moves would greatly help with.

Ectoplasm further explained that an ultimate move didn't have to be an attack, using Iida's own Reciproburst, a sudden burst of speed from his leg engines, as an example. The stiff bi-speckled boy glowed with joy at being told he had been using an ultimate move all along.

With that answered, Shouta further explained the training the class had been doing when they were attacked up in the mountains was meant to prep them for this training. The students were also told they were encouraged to modify their costumes now that they had a stronger understanding of their quirks.

Finally, the eraser hero finished by challenging his class "I expect each of you to go Plus Ultra. Do you have it in you?"

The students, clearly hyped up, responded with a firm "Yes, sir!"

Denki adding "I am so charged up for this!"

The lighters, standing toward the back and far too new to this world to be aware of the phrase, missed the cue and said nothing. Instead, Zelgadis whispered to Michiru "What the hell is 'Plus Ultra'?" which earned a giggle from Toru, who was standing nearby.

As the various members of 1-A began to scatter and find spots suited to their training, the lighters began to do the same when Shouta grabbed Michiru by the shoulder and called out "Wait you three."

Zelgadis and Emeralda, having not been grabbed, pulled up short and turned to face their one-time proctor, confused. With the trio's attention, the shaggy-haired teacher, with Ectoplasm by his side said "Ectoplasm here will be serving as training partner for each of you. I've told him what I know of your powers." A hard glance over at Emeralda to remind her about her unexplained healing ability was met by a cold glare of her own before he continued "But he will need you to show him a bit of what you can do before you can progress in your training. I expect you to work just as hard as my students."

It seemed reasonable enough to Zelgadis, who nodded and said "Makes sense. Though beyond using some of my stronger spells, I can't really come up with an 'ultimate move' as you describe. I would like to work with my sword though if that's ok?"

Shouta grumbled before answering "Fine, that will work for now but we'll re-evaluate as we go along.”

Emeralda only stared at the teacher, before turning way and nodding, saying nothing. Michiru, on the other hand, eagerly exclaimed "I don't mind showing off what I can do! Let’s do this!"

(X)

Ectoplasm almost seemed tailor-made for serving as a training dummy and mentor for quirk development. Each student got their own Ectoplasm clone to offer suggestions and to be defeated as the student saw fit. Some were asking questions and taking advice, like Mina, who learned to shoot what had been a weak fountain of acid more like a hose with a suggestion from the cloning hero. Others, like the fiery Katsuki, were more than happy to go all out and use the clone as a practice dummy for moves he was testing out.

Most, however, took a moment or two to glance at the three temporary newcomers to their ranks. From Minoru's leers to curious glances from the likes of Iida, Kyoka and Momo, most everyone in the class wanted to know what the lighters could do. Midoriya, known for his obsession with quirks, was intensely curious, which torn at the poor boy as he struggled to decide how he was even going to train at the same time.

The lighter trio did not disappoint. Ectoplasm put each of them through their paces, as each showed off their "quirks" and gave the rather creepy looking hero a good sense of what they could do. With a baseline set, each of the three could begin training in earnest.

For Zelgadis, this meant practicing channeling spells into his sword and practicing his swordsmanship with an eye toward a more non-lethal style. It…wasn't going well. Although the infusion of magic into his sword seemed to work well enough, the chimera was having a hard time not killing his clone. After his fifth lethal blow, the next clone suggested with a sigh that Zelgadis was trying too hard and needed to go back to basics. There were few swordsmen out there for him to fight so it made more sense to think about what it’s like to attack someone who was unarmed or using a gun. After a couple more murders, the rock-encrusted sorcerer was able to focus on blows to the hands and legs without crippling his opponent.

With a wide array of spells of varying strength at his disposal, Zelgadis felt he already had what the teachers deemed an "ultimate move" so instead, when he wasn't working with his sword, the chimera spent time practicing rapid casting, reducing time to cast and how long he could hold a spell, like his wind barriers.

Michiru was another story. Having less combat experience and less time with her powers than the other two, she was closer to the 1-A students in terms of learning what she could do. At least she had an ultimate move down, being able to take any of her transformations up to eleven if she pushed them. When Ectoplasm asked for a demonstration, Michiru had at first shifted her arms into those of a gorilla before focusing and yelling as she enlarged the arms to truly insane proportions, larger than her own body before proceeding to crush the poor clone with her two massive fists.

The crushing attack had also caused a considerable impact crater, sending debris everywhere, and unfortunately, some of the chucks flew Katsuki's way, pelleting the dirty blonde with pebbles and dust. Incensed, the grenade-gauntleted boy turned and snarled "HEY! Flea-bag! Watch it over there or I'll call animal control!"

Michiru was completely stunned by the insults hurled at her as her limbs returned to normal. Her eyes wide, she looked about to see if anyone else heard what was just said. With everyone else training, and with various loud sounds from attacks all around, the tanuki girl couldn't even be sure if anyone else could have heard it. One thing was for sure, no one acted on what was said, including Ectoplasm, or at least his clone, which was still forming from silver goo as the exchange took place. Not getting a reaction from Michiru, Katsuki just grunted and returned to attacking his own Ectoplasm clone.

When Michiru's Ectoplasm clone fully formed, he saw the look of hurt and confusion on her face and immediately asked "Is everything ok, Kagemori-san? Did you injure yourself in that last attack?"

Realizing no one else witnessed/cared what had just happened, Michiru tried to shake the distressed look from her face as she replied "No, I'm fine Ectoplasm! I think I just went alittle overboard, that's all!"

If the clone doubted her explanation, there was no way to know as the cloning hero's face was unmoving and impossible to read. After a pause, Ectoplasm spoke again "Fair enough, it may be a good idea in the coming days to practice that to refine your control. Before that though, I'm curious, have you ever tried holding multiple forms at once?"

Arching an eyebrow in confusion, the tanuki girl replied "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you tried expressing characteristics from different animals at the same time? Like your enlarged arms along with claws or something like that?" the cloaked cloner suggested.

Taking a moment to think on the question, Michiru answered "Honestly, no, I haven't. I always just went to the form I needed at the time." Thinking back, Nezuna, who Michiru thought was better at morphing than she was, had been able to grow wings from her back instead of shifting her arms. The fox girl was even able to change into a smaller copy of the silver wolf! One thing Michiru's best friend had never tried to do though, was combining like Ectoplasm was suggesting.

"Well then," said the clone "I think we have a goal in mind. It looks like you can shift from one form to another quickly so aside from the control I mentioned earlier, I think you should try to see if you can fuse some of your forms."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks Ectoplasm!" Michiru replied, mustering as much enthusiasm as she could.

Meanwhile, Emeralda found herself with a teacher who seemed to have little to teach. Ectoplasm was having a hard time finding something to critique with the tan girl. Emeralda displayed excellent control, a diverse use of her quirk and had a skill set she could use outside of her powers as well as incorporating those skills in the form of her martial arts. When the cloning hero had challenged her to come up with longer range applications of her skills, Emeralda had demonstrated what she called her Grand Arm technique that she had used on those escaped villains at the police headquarters rooftop. The sudden piercing stab from below caught the poor clone completely by surprise before he turned to goo.

In the end, all Ectoplasm could do regarding combat was suggest Emeralda try thinking of new forms to morph into, both to expand her combat effectiveness and help in rescue. It was on the subject of recues that Ectoplasm warned that her cold and distant barring would hurt her in the coming exam. When the green-haired morpher sought clarification, the trenchcoated clone explained the value of being comforting in a tense situation. Emeralda was…less than confident in her ability to do so.

Among those 1-A students who took the time to study the lighters as they trained, the tailed Mashirao took perhaps the most interest in Emeralda. His classmates may not have noticed or cared but the blonde martial artist knew a true practitioner of the art when he saw one and he was determined to talk to her about it at the end of the session.

(X)

As it turned out, Gym Gamma was being shared between the two first year classes at UA. Class 1-B also intended to take the license exam as their homeroom teacher Vlad King was determined that his class stay on par with Shouta's 1-A. As such, 1-A would get the gym in the morning and 1-B in the afternoon. So it was that while training was still in full swing, Vlad burst into the gym, his students in tow, demanding to be allowed to start since it was their turn.

Sounding slightly exacerbated, Shouta turned to meet his co-worker, explosions and other loud noises still filling the air around them "Vlad, your early. We'll use this space until it’s our actual time to leave."

So, with 1-B filing in and watching, 1-A finished up their training for the day, the two classes having a moment to interact before switching. It was a smug looking blond boy in what looked to be a double-breasted, long tailed combat dress suit that was the first to speak, loud enough to be heard by all "I see Class 1-A has a few new faces. Were you so unsure you would pass that you needed some ringers? After all, the exam has a fifty percent pass rate. That means your entire class may fail! HAHAHAHA!"

Michiru, like the rest of 1-A, was left to stare at what seemed to her to be a pointlessly mean comment from a follow hero-in-training. As the spiteful boy continued laughing, the tanuki girl turned and asked the nearest non-lighter, the freckled Midoriya "Hey, what's up with this guy? He kinda seems to hate you."

A bit nervous at the close proximity of the furry girl, Midoriya nonetheless answered "It's a rivalry thing. Vlad King-sensei has nurtured a rivalry between the first-year classes and Monoma-san here really, um, takes it seriously."

This was the first time the two classes were seeing each other in their hero costumes and the electricity using Denki couldn't help but ask, stifling a giggle "Wait. Is that his hero costume?"

The other members of 1-B had already started moving further into the gym and had begun mingling with 1-A so the rival class's rep, the orange-haired Itsuka Kendo explained "Well, since his quirk is Copy, he said he didn't need anything too eccentric. Just that."

Denki replied, echoing pretty much everyone else's thought "That's him toned down?"

As 1-B's resident instigator finally began winding down, Fumikage felt the need to point out grimly, "Unfortunately, Monoma's observations are correct. If we're taking the same exam, then we'll crush each other. That's the hand fate has dealt us."

The bird-headed boy's observation gave Shouta an opportunity to point out as Vlad King approached him "And that is why we won't be in the same location. Our classes applied to different spots." Monoma, finally finishing his laughter, seemed to look relieved at that news.

His teacher continued after Shouta, saying "There are two test dates. In June and in September. And each time the tests are held in three different places. We don't want students from the same place fighting so we split you up. Each school has at most one class at a single location."

With the details explained, the dress-suited boy turned on a dime and exclaimed "How sad we won't be able to face each other directly!" Before launching into another round of manic laughter.

His arms crossed, Zelgadis had already seen enough from the blonde, declaring "This guy is clearly insane. How did he make it among your ranks, exactly?"

A young man with light green skin, darker green mohawked hair and two hooked blades protruding from his head and extending in front of his mouth and wearing a tattered looking dark green top simply explained "The same way most of us did. He passed the exam. Togaru Kamakiri by the way."

"Zelgadis Greywards. And Fair enough, I suppose. But still…" the chimera finished, his eyebrows arched in concern at the mentality of a supposed hero to be.

Rolling his shoulder to try and get the tightness out from constantly using his tape quirk, Hanta added to the larger conversation "If we're not going up against each other than we'll be going up against a bunch of other schools then, won't we?"

That's right." Shouta answered, reasserting control of the discussion. "You'll be going up against students from many other schools, most of which will have another year of experience than you all. Expect to encounter powerful quirks as well that you'll know nothing about. So be ready."

"Aaannndddd…" Michiru prodded when their dower teacher didn't say anything else.

When the students looked between the tanuki girl and their teacher, Shouta felt compelled despite himself to ask "And what? You have something to add, Kagemori?"

The combined gazes of all of UA's first year hero students then fell upon Michiru, and she almost took a step back from the weight of it. She didn't, however, back down, confidently replying "Aaannnddd that won't be true for the other students, right?"

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, a bit of worry creeping into her voice.

Midoriya's eyes, in the meantime, began to widen as he realized what the tanuki girl was saying. The freckled boy began to tremble at the prospect and a few beads of sweat formed on his brow as he whispered "Oh, no…"

"Well," Michiru answered her pink classmate "You've all been on TV, haven't you? In the Sports Festival? Wouldn't that mean everyone else has a much higher chance of knowing what you can do even as you know nothing of them?"

Almost as one, the two classes cried "WHAAATTT!?" followed by a wave of accusatory stares being leveled at the two homeroom teachers. The tension was palpable for the three otherworlders, though especially for the accidental instigator herself. Michiru could feel Shouta's ire burning into her when he briefly glanced her way.

After a few more moments of glaring, students began pelting the two instructors with cries of "How could you?" and "When were you going to tell us?"

However, aside from his glare at Michiru, Shouta showed no signs of being bothered by his class's or 1-B's righteous indignation. Instead, the dower teacher calmly, if louder to get attention, explained "We didn't tell you because, frankly, we didn't think it mattered. You all have training, it’s true but you have something far more valuable: experience. You’re ready for everything those other schools have to throw at you. Or at least you will once you've developed your ultimate moves."

The silence that fell in the gym at Shouta's honest admission spoke volumes. It was so rare to get any praise from the exhausted teacher that to hear such an appraisal left everyone speechless. It was left to Vlad King to shock the first years back to reality as he bellowed "NOW GET MOVING! We're wasting precious training time! 1-A, get out of here!"

That got everyone moving in a hurried frenzy, students darting in opposite directions, 1-A finally making their way out of the gym. Before Michiru could exit though, a firm hand landed on her shoulder as a chilling voice whispered in her ear "Don't you dare ever make me do that again, you understand?"

Stiffing, her fur standing on end, Michiru slowly nodded, not caring to look back at what was surely a pair of blood shot daggers boring into her. The voice continued "Good. Now that we understand each other, enjoy the evening, I'll see you tomorrow."

The hand now gone; Michiru couldn't have moved faster out of the door short of morphing her legs if she tried.

(X)

Turns out that, aside from their teachers shocking admission a moment ago, the lighters were the talk of the class. It seemed like almost everyone was either talking about or talking to one of the three newcomers to 1-A. It was hard not to hear the conversations as the group of students made their way back to the locker rooms. Michiru, flanked by Mina and Ochaco was being pressed for more details about her quirk. Mina exclaiming "So you can transform parts of your body into other animals?! That's so cool!"

"I'm so jealous" Ochaco added excitedly "I saw you flying when I was practicing my floating. I can make anything weightless, but I can't actually fly! It must feel amazing!"

Nervously laughing at the attention, Michiru replied with a blush of embarrassment "Yeah, flying is kind of the best. But you two are really cool too! I can't shoot acid or make anything I touch defy gravity!"

As the three girls continued to chat and laugh, Ochaco came around to asking about the other female lighter in the class "Hey Michiru, can you tell me a little about Emeralda? When I talked to her the other night, she seemed kinda down on herself."

Glancing over at her tan fellow morpher, Michiru watched as Emeralda walked alone, off and to the side of everyone else, her signature scarf flowing behind her, an ill match for her UA gym uniform. It made sense. Not only did Emeralda clearly have many friends she was missing back home but she also bore the perceived failure at Camino and loss of Xellos. The greenette was so much different than Michiru that the tanuki girl sometimes had a hard time figuring her out. Indeed, in this moment there was no telling if leaving her alone was best or if reaching out with more people would help her more?

As Michiru's contemplation drew out, the other two girls grew concerned, Mina going so far as to say "Michiru? You still there?"

Pulling her attention back to her new friends, Michiru smiled apologetically "Sorry, you’re right Uraraka. Emeralda's on the quiet side and she was hit pretty hard being away from her home and our screw up in Camino. Sorry if she worried you."

Ochaco nodded in sympathy, asking "Is there anything we can do to help? What about you, Michiru, I didn't think to ask how you're holding up."

Michiru waved the brunnette's concerns off "I'm fine. Honestly, I love it here, aside from what that spikey-haired jackass said to me earlier…"

The other two girls followed Michiru's gaze over to the strutting Katsuki, Eijiro talking with him to his side. Neither girl was surprised, and Mina quickly understood, saying "Ah, already had your first run in with Mr. Personality over there, huh? Sorry about Bakugo, he's-"

"An asshole?" Michiru helpfully finished.

The two 1-A students burst out in giggles at their new friends blunt, if accurate, assessment of the fiery dirty blonde. Michiru's worry about the name calling began to fade away as the laughter continued, as she came to realize she was hardly alone in Katsuki's harassment.

Once the laughter died down, Mina brought things back to Emeralda, saying "We should totally have a girl's night and include Emeralda! What do you think, Michiru?"

The tanuki girl looked skeptical as she replied "I don't know…I did say she's pretty quiet. I don't know that she really likes to be around a lot of people."

Her excitement building with each passing step, Mina quickly answered "Oh, come on, it'll only be us and the other girls of 1-A! That can't be too many people, can it?"

Sighing, Michiru partly relented, answering "I guess there's only one way to find out. Let's ask her." Then, looking over at her fellow lighter again, Michiru was shocked to see the blonde tailed boy, Mashirao, approaching Emeralda.

As Mashirao got near the contemplative greenette, he waved, calling out "Kasim-san? Mind if I speak to you?"

That act brought the attention of many in the class to the pair. Eijiro, apparently forgetting who he was talking to, blurted out "Check out Ojiro!"

Denki looked crestfallen as he lamented "I can't believe I didn't go over and talk to her first…"

Toru giggled and jabbed her invisible elbow into poor Kyoka's ribcage as Momo said "Oh my…" as she covered he hand with her mouth.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and muttered "Idiots."

The commotion caught Iida's attention as he walked with Midoriya. When the stern looking boy glanced over and saw what all the commotion was, he was torn between intervening and letting the two speak. Before the bi-spectacled class rep could turn to move though, Midoriya caught him still facing forward as the freckled boy said "Let them go Iida, let them talk."

All of this went completely missed by the two objects of most everyone else's attention as Mashirao caught up and starting walking beside Emeralda. The greenette glanced over and addressed the taller blonde "Was there something I could help with Oijiro-san?"

His nervousness plain on his face as he scratched the back of his head, Mashirao replied "You remembered my name? Wow, um, yeah Kasim-san. I couldn't help but notice in training today you were using some pretty advanced martial arts. I was wondering how long you've been training?"

The amber-eyed girl regarded her gi-wearing temporary classmate with curiosity. His dress would suggest he practiced the art as well but his demeanor was uncomfortably familiar. Trying to ignore the warning signs, Emeralda replied honestly "A little over a year."

That caused Mashirao to sputter out as he stopped walking "A, A year!? I've been training my whole life and I can't pull off some of what I saw you do today. Who is your master?"

Stopping a few feet ahead and looking back at the blonde boy, her hair and scarf briefly caught in the wind, Emeralda answered vaguely "Someone I'm close to but while I'm here he is out of my reach. I recently was accepted by another master while I am here in Japan."

Caught by the beauty of the gurl before him, despite her stoic bearing, Mashirao struggled to start walking again, but with some effort, he was able to put one foot in front of the other as he asked "Who is your new master? I probably know them, I'm pretty familiar with the martial arts scene in Japan."

Once the tailed martial artist caught up to her, Emeralda resumed walking as she answered simply "Ranma Saotome-sensei."

"Saotome-sensei!?" Mashirao repeated, utter shock in his voice as his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. "Trainer of heroes, Ranma Saotome? Considered far and wide to be the best martial artist the world over. That Ranma Saotome?"

"I don't understand, is there another Ranma out there whom practices martial arts?" The greenette replied, missing the blonde's questioning as just shock at the news.

Regaining his composure, Mashirao clarified "It’s just that, the guy's a legend to people like me is all. He was the only student at UA to ever make it to the finals of the sports festival from the business course. And he did it with nothing but the art, since his sex-changing quirk was mostly of no help in combat."

"He is notably faster in his feminine form" Emeralda pointed out.

"Really? Man, I'd love to meet him!" Mashirao answered excitedly, his tail starting to wag a bit despite himself. Clenching his fists, the blonde martial artist jumped in front of Emeralda and bowed, deeply, bringing the girl up short as he pleaded "Please, it would be an honor to train with you, Kasim-san!"

A slight frown played on the tan girl's lips as she starred down at the prostrate form in front of her. It was at that moment the girl became aware of the nagging feeling of being watched and shot her head up to look about. Despite her speed, Emeralda missed pretty much everyone swerving their heads away to look literally anywhere else, except Katsuki and Shoto who weren't watching to begin with.

After a few more glances about to be sure she hadn't missed something, Emeralda finally replied "I could do that. Saotome-sensei can only visit so often, a sparring partner would be appropriate."

Standing up, Mashirao smiled briefly before his face took on a more somber tone when he saw Emeralda's. Bowing again, this time only slightly, the blonde replied respectfully "I'm honored that you would have me, Kasim-san. I hope I can be worth your time in our training together. I usually train after dinner each night. Would…seven, in front of the 1-A dorms work for you?"

"It would. Also, if I know Saotome-sensei will be visiting, I will endeavor to let you know. I can't promise he will be willing to take you on but you can at least meet him." Emeralda said, her voice betraying no emotion but there was a hint of excitement in her amber orbs.

"Thank you again, Kasim-san. After all the pointers Ectoplasm gave me today, I really need to train! I'll see you tonight!" With a wave, the tailed boy bounded ahead, an uncharacteristically large smile on his face.

Minoru, who had learned to keep his distance from the shy emerald-haired beauty from two nights prior, watched in astonishment as the strait-laced Mashirao appeared to have just successfully asked Emeralda out on a date. Desperate to know for sure, the grape-haired pervert ran after the blonde as fast as his tiny little legs could carry him.

Minoru caught up once they had each entered the locker rooms, followed by several other guys from the class. Panting heavily, the sticky-haired hero-in-training belted out as if declaring one of the great injustices in the world "HOW!? HOW OJIRO?! How could you do that!"

Surprised, and possibly a bit terrified, the tailed blonde turned to meet his accuser "Wha, what are you talking about Mineta?"

As the exchange was heating up, Zelgadis made his way into the room, followed behind by Fumikage. The two moved to the side and silently watched as the weird little boy continued.

Pointing back toward the door, Minoru wailed "The tan goddess! You totally asked her out, didn't you? Didn't even give any of the rest of us a chance! That whole honorable martial artist schtick just an angle you were waiting to spring on someone?"

With a raised eyebrow, the raven-headed Fumikage turned and looked at the only lighter in the room and asked "Seriously? You think Mineta's right?"

The rock-encrusted chimera wasted no time in denying Minoru's account "Hardly. Emeralda is just as focused on our goal as myself or Michiru. I seriously doubt she'd entertain such an idea."

Realizing the attention of every other male in the room was on the two of them, Mashirao connected the dots and knew that he had had an audience when he was speaking to Emeralda earlier and began to blush hard. Minoru saw it immediately and turned his accusing digit squarely on the other boy "There! Caught red-faced! It’s true, don't try to deny your theft!"

Zelgadis couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"No!" Mashirao finally shot back, some of the red fading away as he turned his focus to explaining "A, all I did was ask her to train with me! She's an amazing martial artist, or didn't any of you notice?"

Mashirao's answer seemed to deflate Minoru as the small pervert froze in response to the rebuttal. The pause was enough for Iida to step forward "I see! Kasim-san did indeed display superb martial prowess today! I am relieved to hear you've sought to improve yourself! This can only strengthen our bonds for the exam as well! I apologize as I, too, assumed you were engaging in propositioning Kasim-san."

Several in the now crowded boy's locker room wondered to themselves who still used 'propositioning' when asking for a date?

Giving the blonde boy a friendly jab in the arm, Eijiro said with a toothy grin "Good on you man! It’s cool you have someone else to practice with!"

Clearly embarrassed by the whole misunderstanding, Mashirao nervously laughed as he rubbed the back of his head "Yeah, I honestly can't believe she said yes. She seems so cold and distant, but you can't know unless you ask, right?"

Off to the side, Midoriya heard those words and began to wonder about the night he met his new temporary classmates. Some of the things they said didn't make a lot of sense and the way Zelgadis had just spoken seemed off as well. Why didn't he just say being heroes instead of goal? Silently, the freckled successor to the number one hero swore he would ask them as he stared at the blue lighter out of the corner of his eye.

(X)

Over on the girl's side, there was notably less drama as Michiru came up to Emeralda, Ochaco and Mina in tow, to ask her friend what she already suspected "So, Emmy, did that tailed guy ask you to train with him?"

Immediately, the girls of 1-A all at once looked deflated as Mina blurted out "Seriously? That's what that whole thing was about? Training? How BORING!"

Toru's gloved hand patted the pink girl's shoulder, trying to consul her "Its ok Mina, we all thought it was juicer too…"

Having raised an eyebrow at the dramatic response, Emeralda turned back to Michiru and said "You are correct. Did you use your enhanced hearing to listen in?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Michiru replied, a hint of pride in her voice "When we were training, I saw him doing some martial arts from my bird's eye view up high. When we met a couple of days ago he seemed like the serious type so I already had a pretty good idea before he talked to you. Watching your reaction, I was sure. So, he coming to the training hall?"

"No, I will be meeting him outside of the 1-A dorms, though we could use the hall at a later date." Emeralda replied.

"There! She said date!" Mina injected jokingly.

"Ashido, please…" Momo admonished.

Mina briefly stuck out her tongue before offering an apology "Right, sorry Emeralda!"

The tan girl accepted with a simple nod as they all began to get back into their uniforms to head home for the day.

As Michiru walked back to the dorm wing of UA, she watched as the other students talked and joked with each other. Emeralda had someone other than lighters to talk to as she walked with the tailed boy and even grumpy Zelgadis was talking with the guy with the bird head. Even though it was a hot sunny day, the fur covered tanuki girl had a big smile on her face as she thought about the costumes they'd get soon along with getting to see Terra in a day or two. There was even going to be a party coming up! With the license exam around the corner, for the first time since coming here, Michiru truly felt like she was in a good place, heading in the right direction.

Fate had thrown so much their way, Michiru felt the universe owned them a break, at least for a little while.

(X)

Chapter Text

"Hello Ms. Kanzaki…I mean, Kanzaki-san. I was told…you could help me?"

Looking up from her desk, Hitomi saw standing before her desk a lovely young woman, her soft features framed by lovely dark green hair held in a high ponytail highlighted by a pair of caring blue eyes. The girl's outfit was less than conventual, a short red dress, red bracers and boots accented by a light purple sash and shoulder pads. Honestly, if they had been on Gaia, no one would have given the girl a second glance.

As attention grabbing as the girl's appearance was, Hitomi noted it was marred by worry. The poor girl in front of her was nervous, scared even. It showed in how the girl stood, her shoulders sunk and one hand holding the upper arm of the other protectively.

It was exactly as Hitomi imagined she had looked when she had first been brought to this world.

Standing, Hitomi gently replied "Yes, that's right. Here." Then stepping around her desk, Hitomi stood in front of the newest lighter and without permission, wrapped her arms around the greenette, embracing the other girl with all the warmth she could muster as she whispered "It'll be alright. I'm here for you…"

After a moment of surprise, the other girl at first relaxed the tension in her body before returning the embrace as she began to sob. Moving a hand up to the younger woman's head, Hitomi gently stroked the other's head as the tears began to stain her business suit's top. After what seemed like an hour but was really only a few minutes of crying, the other girl began to quiet. Hitomi took that as a chance to ask, "May I ask your name?"

Sniffling, the greenette took a moment to gather herself but did not let go as she answered, her voice hoarse and broken "T, Terra. My n, name is…Terra Branford."

"Well, Terra, you're safe now." Hitomi assured the poor displaced girl "We'll take care of you and help you any way we can."

"Thank…"

"…you…."

"Hitomi…"

"…Hitomi…"

"Hitomi?"

"Yes!? I'm so sorry Terra, what were you saying?" The brunette counselor said jumping a bit as if she had just spaced out. The two of them were walking along the sidewalk, coming to an intersection on Terra's first day out on the town since coming to this world.

A light giggle escaping Terra's lips as she briefly held her hand up to hide it before she repeated "its ok Hitomi, I was just saying how amazing this place is. I remember visiting the capital of the empire, the most advanced city in the world, covered in iron, nothing green anywhere in sight. I remember thinking how empty, how cold it was. As though people had everything they needed but nothing they wanted. It felt…hollow. Not here though. This place is so vibrant. So diverse. So ALIVE. Heh, you must think me pretty silly. Sorry Hitomi."

Hitomi listened, a smile growing as her charge spoke, each word seeming to confirm just how much of a kindred spirit the greenette truly was. When Terra was finished, Hitomi waved off the apology, answering "No need to apologize Terra. It’s funny you should say that actually. I once had a very similar experience as I escaped the capital of Zaibach. It was actually pretty similar to the-TERRA? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

In the middle of their conversation, stopped now at the intersection, Terra had suddenly darted out into the street at oncoming traffic. Hitomi had been so wrapped up in her own nostalgia that she had missed entirely that a young boy had tripped and fallen in the street, a large truck heading straight for him, seemingly unaware of the child or the need to stop.

Before Hitomi knew it, Terra had thrown herself forward, cradling the child and rolling just as the truck blew past them, honking its horn in frustration or surprise, no one knew. As soon as it was safe, Hitomi dashed across the crosswalk to the gathering crowd that had formed around the two. Terra had just handed the child off to his shocked and extremely grateful mother when the counselor called out "Terra! I…I can't believe it, you, you saved that boy. I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention."

The green-haired young woman, now with a number of scrapes, several bleeding, simply smiled as she watched the reunited family thank her one more time as they walked away. Returning the wave, Terra turned back to Hitomi and replied "Its ok Hitomi. I can't imagine this kind of thing happens all the time, I was just the first to see him, that's all. I did what needed to be done, that's all."

Partly from shock and partly from awe of the younger woman's bravery, Hitomi was left staring at the previously gentle looking girl, now dirtied and bleeding. Finally, Hitomi said "Terra, you're a h…"

"You're a…"

"You're a…"

"You're an esper? I'm sorry Terra, I'm not sure what you mean." Hitomi asked as she sat in her traditional seat across from Terra, in her session room.

The poor girl looked like she had just admitted her deepest, darkest secret, her lower lip trembling as she fidgeted with her hands, unable to look Hitomi in the eye. The counselor patiently waited for Terra to answer. This was the greenette's evaluation session after all, so it was important to be especially patient. Finally, Terra steadied herself enough to continue "Well, I'm technically half-esper. Or, at least, I was."

"That still doesn't really answer my question." Hitomi gently reminded her patient.

Taking a deep breath, Terra began again "I'm sorry Hitomi, your, your right. In my world, espers were beings of pure magic and since I am half-esper, I can naturally use magic, that's where my fire comes from. Then, I later learned I could transform into another form entirely, my esper form. It was powerful, dangerous and at first I couldn't control it."

"I couldn't help but notice you using the past tense there, Terra. What happened?" Hitomi pointed out, her curiosity quickly building inside her.

Continuing to fidget, Terra answered with a sense of trepidation "Y, yes. Magic itself was lost and with it, my esper form. It had been so hard coming to terms with what I was, Hitomi. Afraid of myself, pursued by others who feared me or wanted to use me…it was almost liberating when magic was gone and I remained. Now, I'm in a whole other world and there’s magic here. All the spells I could use have returned."

"And you think your esper form may return as well?" Hitomi ventured.

"No, there isn't nearly enough magic here to sustain that form. But Hitomi, I wanted to tell you because it’s been such a big part of my life. It's caused me to suffer and so I wanted you to know that if we're going to be having these talks. Please promise me you won't tell Jun, or anyone else. I want to keep that part of my life behind me. I…want to look forward."

That was a big ask. Hitomi was supposed to record and report just this sort of thing to Jun and the commission to help them assess any risk lighters might pose to the public safety. Still, Hitomi had quickly grown very close to Terra since they'd met. Seeing the pleading, pained look on the woman across from her, Hitomi did what may have been against her better judgement but in the moment felt like the right thing to do. Nodding, Hitomi slowly said "Yes. Ok Terra. I can do that for you. I will keep your confidence."

Some of the weight that seemed to be pressing on the greenette appeared to lift as Terra straightened her shoulders, a hopeful smile on her face. "Thank you, Hitomi. Truly, you don't know how much this means to me…"

Hitomi stood up to reach across the distance between them to offer comfort. Terra saw the gesture and reached out as well. As the two hands were about to meet, Terra suddenly pulled back, gripping her head, as if in pain. The greenette began to scream a horrifying, piercing scream that drowned out Hitomi's pleas to find out what was wrong.

Then, Terra looked up, her blue eyes wild with anger and pain as she yelled "WHY! WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN! I…I TRUSTED YOU HITOMI! AHHHH!"

Standing there powerless, Hitomi could only watch as first Terra's hair, followed by her whole head seemed to be lit ablaze in purple fire. As the former greenette thrashed about, her entire body was consumed by the eerie flames, her hands extending into claws that the monster Terra was becoming used to claw feverishly at the ground. The room slowly grew dark, until it was completely black and all that remained were the two of them. With no more ground to claw at, the burning creature that was once Terra screamed to the heavens, her claws slowly reaching up to her own neck.

Hitomi tried to reach out, tried to call out but found herself unable to move or speak. All she could do was watch on in horror. Hitomi's charge, her friend, had become consumed and transformed into the monster Hitomi had promised to hide from the world. Then, that same monster began to choke herself. Moments dragged on for what felt like eternity as the labored breaths of the purple flamed creature became broken and horse. Hitomi could see the life leaving her friend and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Finally, after trying over and over again to will her voice into existence, just as Hitomi could see Terra was about to snap her own neck, the councilor screamed "NNNOOOO!"

Shooting ramrod straight up in bed, her eyes wide, her brow covered in sweat, Hitomi starred forward at the opposite wall of her darkened room. Breathing heavily, the brunette began to look around to get her bearings. It had been a nightmare. Or perhaps a vision. It was rare that Hitomi had premonitions anymore since she avoided using her power to see the future. Even when it had happened, none had been so intense as this.

Today was the day the new lighters we going to see Terra at the hospital after training and the odds that this nightmare had happened just before that trip being a coincidence were…slim. Should she cancel the trip? Should she ask for extra security? Should she say nothing at all? Was this a vision at all, or just a expression of the guilt that still plagued her?

Looking at her phone, it was still early but not too early to call Jun. Saying nothing had been the wrong call before. She wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

(X)

"Thank you, please come again!"

Working at a convince store sucked. All sorts of weirdos came in for all sorts of things and most could barely be bothered to look you in the eye let alone use even a shred of common courtesy. As a new employee, Kazuomi, a twenty-two-year-old college drop out, had drawn the morning shift. This meant relieving the previous shift at the twenty-four hour store at an ungodly four in the morning. It was tedious. It was boring and just when you were ready to go home is when it really got busy. It sucked.

But the job was money in the bank and while Kazuomi tried to figure his life out, he could at least work up to a mid-afternoon shift, when all the cute high school girls came around. Kazuomi was occupied by that most mature of thoughts when a gentlemen in an impeccable purple suit appeared before him. The odd-looking guy (at least he thought it was a guy) didn't appear to have anything to buy so it wasn’t clear what he wanted. So, slightly confused, the young man asked, "Uh, good morning sir. Is…there something I can help you with?"

The purple-suited customer smiled the fakest smirk the convenience store worker had ever seen before the gentlemen answered "Oh my, yes! I would greatly appreciate it if I could have all the money in your till, if you please?"

Oh. Oh shit. The boss had warned him of this. There had been a string of robberies lately and Kazuomi honestly hadn't cared at all while his boss had explained. He had a morning shift. Nothing ever happened early in the morning, so why should he have to care? As the purple-suited robber raised his hand, his fingers up and held to look like a gun, the tip of which began glowing, Kazuomi very much cared.

As the terrified cashier began to open the register to empty its contents, three more men Kazuomi had somehow missed in the store before appeared behind the purple-suited assailant. Two of them grabbed the robber's arms, one to each arm, while the third spoke, calmly, though arrogantly "And just what do you think you're doing? We can't have you robbing this fine young man, now can we?"

Were…were these underground heroes? Was he saved? Had they known he was going to be here and just let him get threatened like this? Oh, it didn't matter now, did it? Relief clear in his voice Kazuomi exclaimed "Oh, thank you so much! I never thought heroes would be in my store like this! Your timing is perfect!"

Putting his no longer glowing hand down, the purple suited attempted robber smirked despite his circumstances and informed the employee "Oh my, no young man. You really should get out more if you think these three are heroes!"

His eyes going wide, Kazuomi could only manage a dumbfounded "What?"

Sure enough, the three men, now that Kazuomi got a good look at them all had a certain…thuggish quality to them, an image helped by the fact that they started chuckling. A moment later, the door chime sounded and as the automatic doors slid open, a most unusual figure stepped into the store. The young man featured short, dark red hair, white gloves and a long, stylized plaque mask. Flanked by two other equally oddly dressed people also in masks, the man came to stand behind the original three and stated matter-of-factly "So you're the one whose been hitting our targets before we could. I am, frankly, very displeased we had to put so much effort into catching you. You'll be coming with me, robber-san."

After the two thugs spun the would-be robber around to face their leader, the purple-suited gentleman calmly, almost cheerfully replied "Oh my, if it isn't the new leader of the Shie Hassaikai himself! Was little old me muscling into your territory? I'm terribly sorry about that."

Kai Chisaki's eyes narrowed but remained calm in the face of such disrespect. He knew full well he would need to keep things clean if he wanted to avoid close scrutiny from authorities. With a nudge of the crime lord's head, the two thugs nodded and began shoving their prisoner out of the store, eventually making their way to a nearby alleyway. The remaining thug made eye contact with his leader before nodding as well and turned back to the cashier.

Briefly optimistic he may get out of this, Kazuomi sagged his shoulders when the remaining thug pulled an actual gun on him. Residing himself to his fate, the dropout muttered "Yeah, yeah, I got it" as he moved to start handing all the money in the register to his newest robber.

In the meantime, Kai and his entourage left the store and made his way to the alleyway where his guest was waiting, a bit more rough for wear than before. As the red-haired leader of the Shie Hassaikai came to stand in front of the interloper, Kai noted that the purple-haired thief still had a smile on his blood-stained lips. When his prisoner looked up at him, the mask wearing yakuza was struck by his piercing purple eyes that appeared to cut right through him, despite the smile he still wore. Kai had been planning to simply kill his man right here, but now…now he was curious. "Tell me, robber-san, what do you think of this world of ours? This world of heroes?" he asked.

The two subordinates flanking Kai looked surprised by the question. To the yakuza leader's left stood Toya Setsuno, a tall, slender young man with blonde hair that ran long in the front and wearing a purple dress shirt and pink tie to go along with his narrow and arched mask raised an eyebrow. To the right stood Shin Nemoto, another slender man, though you'd be hard pressed to know that under the black cape and long black baggy pants he wore to go with the black bowler hat, goggles and fairly short plague mask, completely concealing the shock on his face.

The answer from the bruised and bleeding robber was labored but swift "This world has taken…everything from me. I loathe it."

The yakuza leader betrayed no reaction to the answer he received, though the fact that he asked another spoke volumes to those around him. "Interesting. You would see this world of ours torn down?"

Without hesitation, the beaten man spoke low but sure "It is my fondest wish. My reason for being."

Toya and Shin looked at each other as their leader continued to stare down at the loathsome excuse for a thief, knowing well where this was going. Finally, the signal came as Kai raised his right hand and snapped his gloved hand. Shin stepped forward as the masked red-head spoke evenly "You intrigue me, robber-san. How fortunate that we would cross paths, we who share a loathing of this twisted world of ours. Still, though I have decided not to kill you just yet, I have some questions I need answered. Your responses will determine your fate."

As Shin took another step forward to get close to the thief, the purple-suited prisoner's smile never waivered as Kai spoke one more time. "This is Shin, he is excellent at information gathering. I think you'll find his questions quite irresistible. Proceed."

With a nod, Shin began with one of several questions they had planned to ask before killing this fool originally. "Who have you been working for, thief?"

The answer was immediate, the beaten man spoke almost in a monotone, as if he was under some sort of mind control "I am my own master now. I work for no one but myself."

"Hmm, impressive, fool. Then, how is it you knew what stores we were planning to hit? It surely was no coincidence that you always beat us to it?" came Shin's response.

"After saving enough money from petty theft, I bought information. When that ran dry, I started bribing members of your group directly." The thief replied.

That was a revelation on several levels and the three masked men exchanged glances before Shin continued "Is that so? It almost sounds like you were courting our attention on purpose. Is that so?"

"I was. Once I had heard about your plans, what your mission was, I knew the Shie Hassaikai was where I wanted to be." Came the quirk induced answer from the robber.

Shin glanced again at his leader. This time though, the red-head was laser focused on this most odd man before them. Turning his focus back to the task at hand, Shin asked the last of the preplanned questions "And what of the money? If the robberies were to get our attention, you must still have it, yes?"

Despite the compulsion to answer induced by Shin's quirk, there was a glint in the purple-suited robber's eyes as he said "I still have some of it, but most is gone."

Frowning under his mask, Shin didn't dare look back at his master this time, instead opting to follow up with "And what, exactly, did you spend so much money on?"

"What I needed to survive in this world. A hotel room to live, this lovely suit and the like. I also put out a hit on someone. That wasn't cheap."

This time Shin could feel his master's gaze on him, likely his leader's impatient curiosity. It was no trouble at all to guess what question his master wanted asked. "You…put out a hit on someone? Who? Who did you mark for death that you wouldn't kill yourself?"

"One of the lighters. Terra Branford. You misunderstand. I didn't hire assassins because I didn't want to do it myself. It was just cleaner this way. I have already lost everything once, this way I won't risk my mission while also sending the message I wanted to. I do hope that was ok."

That was certainly a red flag. The lighters were well known in the media and the one he mentioned had been all over the news recently after she went on a berserk rampage in a shopping mall. Drawing unwanted attention just as they were beginning their plan would be unwise "You have to know how risky a move that was. You expect us to allow someone to join us that could bring unwanted scrutiny?"

"I expect you to let someone who has covered his tracks to join you. I have already seen to it that the two thugs I hired will be taken care of." came the honest reply of the would-be robber.

Such arrogance! "You expect me to believe that-" Shin started but was cut off when his master raised his hand, silencing his top subordinate.

As Shin stepped back, Kai motioned for the two lackeys to release the bloodied gentleman. Without prompting, the thief knelt on one knee before his new master as the yakuza leader spoke again "I have heard enough. I shall allow you into my family. See to it that you continue to earn your place in the home you seem to have worked so hard to enter. Do not disappoint me."

His head bowed, the newest member of the Shie Hassaikai replied with reverence in his voice "Yes, Chisaki-sama. I will not fail you. I will lend you my many talents in the destruction of this world."

(X)

For Michiru, the last few days had been, well, nice. The tanuki girl had had few of what she would consider good days in this world. Sure, there were moments here and there where she was happy but so often that happiness was tempered by threats on her life, stressful situations or just the near constant existential dread that came with wondering if she would ever make it back home.

Still, since beginning training for the provisional license exam, life had been busy and constant. Two things that, when paired together, worked wonders for keeping one occupied and giving one a sense of progress. All while distracting Michiru from the fact that not only were there other worlds out there, but that she was in one. One filled to the brim with people with strange and exciting powers, for better and for worse.

Each day started with training, which was fun and exciting, not to mention Michiru felt like she was getting close to something involving her powers. Whether or not it was possible to express two different animal characteristics at the same time, the tanuki girl didn't know. What Michiru did know was that Nazuna could, at the very least sprout wings from her back. And if her foxy friend could do it, that meant she could too! At the very least it would free up Michiru's hands while flying.

Then, after training, most everyone would go to the dining hall together to hang out, where Michiru got to know more members of 1-A. They were such an interesting and diverse group that had already seen their share of action Michiru came to learn. For the most part Michiru hung out with the girls of 1-A. Though none of them were quite as athletic as herself aside from Mina, it was clear they all wanted to be heroes, something Michiru appreciated greatly. Back home Nazuna would tell her she was just butting in whenever Michiru jumped in to help, an unwanted interloper. Here though, here she was among people who felt like she did, a bright spot in an otherwise seemingly impossible situation.

Michiru had also dragged Emeralda along with her, making sure the quiet girl wasn't eating by herself in the corner, left to be ogled by Minoru. The greenette never objected and would answer any question that came her way in her serious and straightforward way but otherwise kept to herself. Each day one girl or another would try to get Emeralda to come over for the girl's night Mina had suggested the first day, to no avail. Each time, the tan girl would decline, citing training with the tailed martial artist. Said blonde boy would be among the other classmates who would sit in among the group during lunch, along with Izuku and Tenya from time to time. Really, Michiru had gotten to talk to almost the entire class and she liked almost everyone, except that jackass Katsuki and the perv.

After lunch the lighters would part ways with 1-A for lectures from Jun in the afternoon, which wasn't the most exciting part of the day but was still important. Plus, it was fun watching the other two lighters learn more about this world that was so similar and yet so different from Michiru's own.

Afterwards was dinner, something they each now contributed to as part of a rotation with the other inhabitants of the lighter house. Zelgadis was surprisingly competent in the kitchen. Emeralda…was not. Once dinner was over, Emeralda would head off for her sparing with Mashirao, something that was still the subject of rumors among 1-A even though Michiru tried her best to assure the heroes-in-training it was just sparring. Just to be sure though, Michiru had dragged Zelgadis out to covertly watch over them the first night.

The nights…the nights were largely the same. Alone. With her thoughts. Always the night brought the thoughts of home. Of her parents, all her friends in Anima City…and that cure. Every time Shirou had asked about it, Michiru was adamant that she was happy the way she was, but that was so easy to say when the cure, the choice was right there at arm's reach. Here, it didn't matter what she looked like or what weird powers she had. Was it wrong to be happy about that? Could that happiness make up for the guilt…

Nighttime aside, today was set to be special. The lighters were going to get to leave UA property to visit a hospital, which admittedly wasn't Michiru’s favorite of places to visit but it was getting outside! That was for later though, because first thing in the morning, Power Loader delivered the lighter trio's new hero costumes. Michiru had nearly ripped the package away from the poor shirtless hero before he could hand it to her. Michiru offered a rushed if earnest thanks and rushed back to her room, dropping off Zelgadis' and Emeralda's packages along the way. The costume was amazing, conforming snugly to her form without any discomfort because of her fur. The red eye-like markings looked as cool as she thought with the silver swirls adding character to the otherwise black body-suit. With the red-short-sleeved jacket, Michiru felt ready to kick some villain ass!

When the trio met downstairs after breakfast, Michiru got her first look at the other two in their costumes. Zelgadis basically looked exactly as he did the day he arrived save for his more athletic, modern shoes and on close inspection, the cloth was some synthetic material surely less prone to damage than the simple woolen material the original was made of. The chimera was clearly pleased and at ease, back in his old attire. The grumpy chimera even took the time to thank Emeralda for helping in the recreation.

Speaking of her fellow morpher, Michiru was surprised that the greenette's costume was as much of a departure from her original outfit as it turned out to be. The same light red overall color was there but like Michiru, the outfit was now a one-piece jumpsuit, the legs ending midthigh, replacing her old skirt. In place of the black bar that ran up her old top, bisecting it was now the cross design from her pendent emblazoned on her chest in silver. Combined with the ever-present arm braces and scarf Emeralda struck a very heroic appearance. Michiru was impressed and just a little bit jealous at how cool her friend looked.

1-A seemed to think so too, showering the tan girl with compliments, even more so when Michiru let it slip Emeralda had also done the concept art for all three of their outfits. Michiru got compliments on her hero attire too, but she was happy to see her friend get told how awesome she was.

Zelgadis' outfit was met with less fanfare, since the chimera had done nothing to endear himself to most of the class. Denki did say out loud he thought the blue-skinned sorcerer looked more like he was ready for a Ren Faire than hero work. Michiru had to hold Zelgadis back from hitting the electric blonde with a fireball as she quietly explained what a Ren Faire was and how it was actually not far off the mark.

Now, though, Michiru sat still, cross-legged, her new red jacket off and eyes closed in an attempt to focus and see if she could, in fact, sprout wings from her back. Ectoplasm had suggested it since neither of them really knew how her powers truly worked. The trench-coated clone stood by as the tanuki girl struggled to keep her mind on the task at hand. The constant noise from the other students was making it very difficult for the poor girl to focus on anything at all though. Chief among the offenders was Katsuki, who kept boasting about being close to something as he kept trying to perfect some new attack he had been working on.

For the last few minutes though things had become relatively calm. With the quiet, Michiru began to relax and remember back to her home world, to the fox girl with the pink and white fur. A subtle smile played on the tanuki girl's lips as her thoughts turned not to her best friend's morphing but to all the pleasant memories thinking about her brought to the surface. This had been the problem Michiru was having, trying to think on and focus on what her lost friend could do without thinking about Nazuna herself. With the constant interruptions, this cycle just kept repeating, this time with Katsuki calling out from the pillar he was practicing on "Hey! Zooey! You taken a nap! If you're not up for training, you should turn tail and get the hell outta here!"

Ectoplasm whispered to Michiru "You should ignore him, Kagemori. I'm sure my other clone will calm him."

Michiru nodded, her eyes still closed though her expression had settled into a light frown upon the latest distraction. Unfortunately, her Ectoplasm clone couldn't be aware that Katsuki had defeated his own clone just a moment earlier and the fiery dirty blonde called out again, displeased at apparently being ignored "HEY! I'm talking to you, flea bag! You need to get in gear, ya hear me!"

That had done it. Michiru had survived hunters, slave traders, berserk beastmen, saved a city, been ripped from her world and faced off against this world's greatest villain and lived. She wasn't going to take being insulted by some hot-headed punk anymore! Balling her fists as she shot up and ran to the edge of her own pillar, Michiru angrily called back "HEY! Mind your own damn business! Maybe if you weren't so damn focused on other people, you wouldn't have had to be saved by your classmates!"

The Ectoplasm clone moved to interject but paused as he noted with each righteous word Michiru yelled back, two small bulges seem to appear and steadily grow larger on the girl's back. In the meantime, Katsuki became truly incensed at the reference to his kidnapping, raising his gauntleted arm, his fist shaking in anger "WHAT DID YOU SAY?! DAMN FLEA BAG! At least I wasn't stupid enough to fight a battle I couldn't win! At least I didn't get anyone killed!"

Fire burning in her eyes at the thought of their loss of Xellos, followed by the repeat of that same insult that Michiru was basically taking as a slur, the tanuki girl screamed "STOP. CALLING. ME. FLEA BAG!"

"KAGEMORI!"

Hearing her name called, Michiru calmed enough to realize Katsuki wasn't saying anything. The blonde bomber was staring at her, surprise on his face. Turning to look at her trench-coated tutor, the clone said nothing as Michiru noticed feathers gently falling around her. Eyes widening, the tanuki girl first looked down at her arms, confirming that they were still her normal limbs. Then, slowly, she turned her head and a smile spread across her face. She had done it! She had wings on her back!

At first gently flapping them, Michiru began jumping about in celebration, her spat with Katsuki now all but forgotten. Realizing he was again being ignored, the blonde dismissively waved his hand as he uttered "Whatever" and went back to his own training.

Meantime, the clone Ectoplasm caught the jubilant morpher by the shoulder as she continued to dance about and gently but firmly said "Congratulations, Kagemori-san. Still, I must remind you to refrain from arguing with the other students. It would seem your abilities respond more to stress than focus. Remember that. Now, want to give those new wings a try?"

Somehow, the already excited tanuki girl managed to smile even wider as she furiously nodded her head. When the ectoplasm clone nodded and removed his hand, Michiru shot up into the air with a sudden and powerful thrust from her wings, dust and feathers left in her wake. Now high above the action below, the sight that had been common for the winged tanuki girl for days now felt somehow exciting and new as the euphoria of accomplishment flowed through her.

Michiru had been flying about just long enough to wave at Ochaco, who was floating nearby when the stern voice of Shouta rung out from below "Kagemori! I have someone here who wants to see you! Kasim and Greywards, too!"

Rolling her eyes, Michiru had no idea who could want to see them during their training. Still, as much of a buzzkill though it may have been, the flying tanuki girl swung around and dove down toward where Eraserhead typically watched the students train. As she quickly approached, it was easy to make out the distinctive figures of her scarfed mentor in Jun and the skeletal man with the mop of wild blonde hair that was, until recently, the number one hero.

Slowing her decent twenty feet above the gathered teachers so as to not scare the hell out of them, Michiru noted Zelgadis floating in as well as Emeralda approaching from the ground. Michiru and Zelgadis ended up landing on either side of the tan greenette, who noted with a hint of satisfaction in her voice "You succeeded, Michiru. I am happy for you."

Zelgadis nodded in approval as well, adding "How'd you finally manage it? You whined about it after training all day yesterday."

Scrunching her face in annoyance at the way her chimeric friend phrased his question, Michiru nonetheless responded nonchalantly "Oh, it just turns out I need more of a push to really expand my abilities. You know, stress, life threatening situations and the like. I've never really been one for mediation anyway."

"Ahem."

"Hmm? Oh, right, sorry Aizawa-sensei, you wanted to see us?" Michiru spoke for the trio, a bit embarrassed, when the instructor drew them back to the fact that he was standing right in front of them.

Annoyed, Shouta bit out "Stop wasting my time. I called you three over because All Might here wanted to speak to you three. Be quick about it, you have work to do."

With that, Shouta stepped away. Michiru glanced over at Jun, who offered a reassuring nod before All Might…no, Toshinori Yagi spoke, his arm still in a sling from his epic final battle with All for One "It's been awhile you three. I haven't talked to you since the day you all came here. I know it’s been especially rough for you and for that I am deeply sorry." The former number one hero solemnly said.

The three lighters looked at one another but before any of them could acknowledge the apology, Toshinori continued "That being said, I know you were at Kamino. I know you saved Shadow Rider and I know that you choose to try and attack All for One. I…I can guess why you did it but I needed to tell you." The skeletal blonde paused, his voice breaking as his free hand balled into a fist before he continued "I needed to tell you…That WAS ONE OF THE STUIDEST THINGS YOU COULD HAVE EVER DONE! You needed to trust that we pros could do our jobs…"

Surprised by the sudden and passionate admonishment, none of the lighters were prepared when the dangerously thin man slapped each of them over the head with unexpected speed. Hitting Zelgadis last, Toshinori brought his arm back, pressing his aching hand to his chest as he indigently asked "Geez kid, what the hell are you made out of? Your head was so hard! Plus I think you hair poked me!"

A deadpan expression on his face, Zelgadis answered sarcastically "Rock. I'm made of rock, you damn oaf."

Looking a bit hurt, the retired blonde wouldn't let it go "And the hair?"

Rolling his eyes and getting annoyed at having to explain his body to another idiot "Wire, ok? Can we drop it?"

Michiru couldn't help but giggle abit at the exchange, as much to relieve the stress from just being yelled at as much as anything else. Emeralda offered a light smile herself. None of the people gathered, however, was paying attention as high above, Katsuki had just successfully executed his newest move, causing the top off a large rock to fall in the process. With their backs turned and distracted, none of the lighters saw the rock heading straight for the former number one hero and their mentor standing just next to him.

Between Katsuki calling for them to watch out, Shouta turning to warn them and the sudden surprise on Toshinori's face, the trio had only enough time to begin to turn and face whatever was happening. Then, a green clade flash seemed to shoot like a bullet right at the falling rock, before the word "SMMAASSHHH!" could be heard echoing across the gym as a mighty kick destroyed it.

As he landed, Izuku slid across the ground with his new reinforced shoes and was met with surprised looks from the lighters and Shouta, though his mentor had a satisfied smile despite the danger he was in just moments earlier. With the lighters looking on, Izuku stood up straight and began walking right to his mentor worriedly asking "You ok All Might? That was close."

All Might himself beamed with pride as he confirmed he was ok with a simple "Yeah" as Shouta looked on. A simple approving grunt the eraser hero's only acknowledgement of what had just transpired.

In the meantime, Denki and Eijiro had come over, curious to know what had just happened, the blonde electricity wielder asking, clearly impressed "Dude, Midoriya, what was that? You swooped in and wasted that rock!"

Eijiro adding with a grin "I always thought you were more of a puncher."

None of the three lighters had seen Izuku in a fight before as all three practiced out of sight of the freckled boy so none of them really had anything to add as they watched the conversation continue. With some excitement, likely from the adrenaline still pumping, Izuku answered "I am. Or, I was." Then, lifting up one of his feet, showing off the sole of his shoe, added "Its these new soles. Hatsume suggested them and I think they'll really up my game. Plus, Iida's been showing me how to use my body better, so my fighting style has changed. I've only just figured out which direction to go in. I still have a lot of work to do. Nothing I'd call an ultimate move yet."

Something the short greenette said, or didn't say, caught Emeralda's attention and felt compelled to ask "Does that mean you will continue to spy on Mashirao and I during our spars?"

Sputtering abit at the sudden charge, Izuku quickly began to turn red as he rubbed the back of his head, turning to face the tan girl "Oh! Heh, heh…you, uh, you noticed that huh? Yeah, I wanted to watch how actual martial artists kicked. S, sorry about that."

"It is fine." Emeralda coolly replied, then added "Besides, you are hardly alone in watching our bouts." As she said that, the amber-eyed girl made sure to look over at Denki, who suddenly jumped slightly before turning away, and innocently whistling. Then, looking out of the corner of her eye, Emeralda also added "Isn't that right, Michiru?"

Jun quickly called out a disappointed "Michiru, really?

With all eyes now on her, it was the tanuki girl's turn to look sheepish as she glanced away. Embarrassed, Michiru said "I'm sorry Emmy, I was just making sure everything was alright that first night. I didn't mean to insult you or anything!"

Looking to bring things back to the original subject, All Might interjected "spying on Young Kasim notwithstanding, I think that based on that kick, I'd say you're further along than you think, Young Midoriya. So, you should be ready for this test."

Izuku turned back to his mentor, pleased to hear such encouraging words as Shouta came over to Toshinori to warn him "Hey All Might, it’s dangerous in here, you should be careful."

Offering an apologetic wave with his good hand, the emaciated former number one hero then turned to look up at Katsuki, who had been watching the whole exchange from on high, distain on his face as All Might called out "Sorry for the scare Young Bakugo."

There was an odd moment of silence as the blonde bomber seemed to let his hero's words sink in before Katsuki's face turned into an angry snarl and he let loose an explosion as he called out "You watch yourself, All Might!"

As Toshinori began to contemplate the fact that he was now truly one of the weak, left to be protected by all those still capable of fighting, Jun came up behind him. As the blonde older man starred at his hand, Jun leaned in and whispered "I hear you've been to see him. Is…that true All Might?"

Stiffening as the subject of his nemesis was brought up, Toshinori didn't move as he quietly answered "I have. He was quite secure if that's what you're asking, Sanada-san."

Pulling back and moving to stand beside the great former hero, Jun replied "Although that is reassuring to hear, that isn't why I asked."

Turning his head to look at the lighters mentor, Toshinori saw it in the other man's eyes instantly and knew what was about to come out of the other man's mouth as Jun continued "I…wanted to know what you thought the chances were of me getting to see him."

Jun's eyes were filled with barely contained rage and Toshinori knew that even if he could arrange such a meeting, he absolutely wouldn't do it. Jun effectively had everything torn away from him by All for One, each new lighter a fresh reminder of the hell wrought on him a decade prior. There was no doubt in Toshinori's mind that talking would likely be the last thing Jun had in mind if he was allowed to visit the fiend.

Left with little other choice, Toshinori had to tell the tortured soul beside him what was basically true as he started slowly, trying to let the other man down easy "Sanada-san…Jun. I'm sorry but even with my sway, it was very hard for me to get in to talk to him for the brief time that I did. I honestly don't know if I could do it again for me, let alone anyone else."

The response that came was calm, but it was obvious much stronger emotions were being kept in check when the former rescue hero said "Is that so? That's too bad. I…had several things I wished to convey to him. Still, I should be happy to finally have him in custody for the rest of his miserable life."

"Agreed" was all Toshinori could muster as Jun quickly stepped forward to talk to his students. As the other man raised his hand to get the kids attention, the former Symbol of Peace couldn't help but notice Jun's hand had been set in a tight fist that had been shaking before he released his fingers. Clearly, time couldn't heal all wounds and the weakened blonde silently hoped that one day the silver-haired younger man could find true peace.

The students were engaged in talking about their costumes when Jun walked up, waving his hand to get their attention just as Zelgadis was pointing out "Michiru, you just got those clothes and you've already put two holes in the back. Power Loader is not going to be happy. You can forget me going back there with you to explain it."

Michiru gulped as she and the rest turned to face their mentor as Jun said "Alright, back to training everyone. You've still got an hour left before lunch. Don't take too long, we have a specific window to visit the hospital so don't be late."

Confused, Izuku turned to look at the lighter trio and asked "The hospital? Is everything alright?"

Smiling, Michiru cheerily replied "Yeah, we're just heading over to visit Terra! We wanted to say hi since she's been there since the day we got here to Musutafu."

A look of realization appeared on Izuku's face as he quickly answered "Yeah, that's right! Terra Branford! I remember seeing her in last year's sport's festival! I read she went through a quirk evolution after you all fought someone with a weird spider quirk and lost it at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall. Is…she ok?"

"She has been in a coma ever since. No one seems to know what's wrong with her but she's a fellow lighter and we thought it was the least we could do!" replied Michiru.

"Ok, come on, back to training everyone!" Jun admonished, causing the group to break up and return to their regimens.

(X)

"So…Emeralda, I just gotta know!' An excited Mina asked as she sat down with her meal at what had become the girl's usual table in the cafeteria.

Sitting quietly at the end of the table as the rest of the group chatted away, Emeralda peered up from her rather spartan meal to look at the pink girl with cordial annoyance. Mina was putting on what the greenette had quickly learned was the other girl's begging smile. That big fake smile you use when desperately trying to get something you want. Mina had used it several times already on herself and others to try and get what she wanted and Emeralda had a strong idea what the acid-shooting girl was after. "I am sorry, Mina. I still don't want to have a 'girl's night.' I still have much studying to do." The tan girl responded with practiced ease.

Mina's smile shifted, taking on a sly quality as she replied "Come on Emeralda! Just because we've asked every day doesn't mean that's what I was going to ask this time!"

By now, the other occupants of the table, Michiru, Tohru, Momo and Jiro had stopped talking and were focused on the two. This did not go unnoticed by the amber-eyed girl as she coolly said back "It was a logical assumption to make, given its all you've spoken to me about at each meal."

Crossing her arms and tilting her head forward abit, Mina sagely answered "That may be but what kind of hero would I be if I quit, huh?" Then, without waiting for a response, the pink girl dramatically pointed her finger at her temporary classmate and said "Besides! That wasn't what I was going to ask anyway!" before quietly adding "…yet."

Eyes widened by the over-the-top clarification, Emeralda was willing to give the bombastic girl the benefit of the doubt as she replied "I see. Well then, what is it you wish to know Mina?"

Settling down as Emeralda replied, Mina grabbed her chopsticks, getting ready to eat, before she asked "Actually, it’s about your costume. Michiru said you designed it? Does that mean you came up with the design on the front too? I've never seen anything like it before."

That was a surprise for Emeralda as she thought the next likely subject would have been her on-going sparring with Mashirao. At first, all the greenette could muster was "Oh, the symbol on my costume?" After an energetic nod from Mina, Emeralda turned and looked at the others at the table, getting a reassuring nod and smile from Michiru. Then, pulling out her concealed necklace from around her neck, Emeralda showed the cross off and explained "I cannot take credit for the design. This was given to me by someone very close to me. For him, it symbolized the woman he loves. He…wanted me to have it so that I would always remember him. I chose it to honor the two of them and everything they have fought for."

Having leaned forward to admire the cross, Mina stayed locked in the position, rapped by Emeralda's words. The usually stoic and distant newcomer had just delivered a heartfelt and genuine answer and for a moment after the greenette was done speaking, a pair of yellow irises encased in black simply starred at her in awe. The others at the table were equally moved by the explanation. After a another moment, Emeralda pulled the pendent back under her cloths as she looked away embarrassed and said "Sorry. I know it sounds weird. Looking at everyone else's costumes, most did not incorporate a symbol as I have."

Realizing what her starring had done, Mina frantically waved her hands apologetically as she sputtered out "N, No! Emeralda, that's really cool that you feel that way! I'm really jealous, I don't have a symbol because I don't have anything that really speaks to me like that cross does for you!"

Already having calmed herself to return to her normal neutral expression, Emeralda nonetheless seemed interested as Mina spoke. A moment later, Momo spoke up as well "It is true, Kasim-san. I, too, wish I had a symbol or design that encapsulated what I strive for as you do."

Tohru agreed but joked that not having something to show herself off was sort of her thing, getting laughs from the group. Before long, the whole table was agreeing and despite herself, a small smile crept onto the tan girl's face. As soon as the smile was big enough to see, Mina shot up from her chair, fist pumped high in the air as she declared "Yes, I made Emeralda smile!" This drew attention from other tables but the pink girl paid it no mind. Instead, Mina brought her fist down into another dramatic finger point and said "Now, will you have a girl's night with us!"

The whole cafeteria seemed to go silent as everyone within earshot waited on bated breath for the answer. When Emeralda answered with a meek "I…I don't know…" Everyone in the room seemed to let out a collective grown at the anticlimax.

Mina, for her part, threw her hands down on the table in exacerbation as she called out in a whine "Oh, come on! Why not! Didn't you just see how much fun it’s going to be?"

Her hands now held tightly in her lap and unable to look her accuser in the eye, Emeralda tried to explain "I…I've never done anything like that before. I don't know what to do and…and I don't think I would be very good at it is all."

"Emeralda, we're just going to be enjoying each other's company! Theres no right or wrong about it." Kyoka answered sympathetically.

"Wait." Ochaco interjected "It almost sounds like you haven't really had friends before Emeralda." The gravity defier said, concern in her voice.

"Its…its not that I haven't had friends. It’s just that none were really my age and with everyone so busy, I always thought I shouldn't be in anyone's way."

Watching on, Michiru was equal parts heartbroken by what she was hearing, and happy Emmy was finally opening up a bit. The tanuki girl knew if she alone kept prying and pestering her friend about spending time with the others that she would likely be stonewalled. Emeralda had done it before and in addition to being quiet, seemed to be very secretive about herself. As cool and confident as Emeralda seemed in combat, she was equally as aloof and awkward outside of it. Now Michiru was seeing why. Emeralda had a very low opinion of herself.

Michiru was shaken from her thoughts when the invisible Tohru declared "Oh, we definitely have to have the girl's night now!"

"Are you all still on about the girl's night? You should give poor Emeralda a break, ribbit." the frog-like Tsu said as she approached the table with her meal. The large-eyed girl had a quick visit to Recovery Girl after going a bit too hard in training and was late to the peer-pressure campaign currently being waged. Tsu liked Emeralda. The two seemed a lot alike, being more practically minded and serious than most others in the class. It hadn't taken long for the long-haired greenette to pick up on how quiet the classes' temporary new classmate was and tried to respect Emeralda's privacy.

Turning to face the frog-like girl, Emeralda offered a thankful nod. Mina, though, was having none of Tsu's shaming as she declared "Oh no, you didn't hear what Emeralda just said! It was the saddest thing ever! I really think we should do this, if only to let her know what she's missing out on." Then, a resolute glint in her black filled eyes, Mina pleaded "Listen Emeralda. All we want you to do is have fun. If that's not happening, we call it off, no questions asked and no hard feelings, ok?"

The others gathered at the table save for Michiru struggled not to add their own voices to the plea but managed to remain silent as the girl in question deliberated. Several, however, succumb to looking at the amber-eyed girl with hope filled eyes. Finally, Emeralda moved to speak, and the excitement became palpable as the gathered girls waited on bated breath. "I…" Emeralda started, unable to look the others in the eye "will give it a try."

A small explosion of celebratory cries rang out from the table, drawing the attention once again of everyone in the room as high-fives were exchanged amid whoops and hollers of success. As Emeralda shrank in on herself at all the attention, Tsu leaned in and whispered, "Its ok if you don't actually want to do it."

"No." Emeralda whispered back "I…I should try. I've never done it, so logically, I need to try to know one way or the other." The embarrassed morpher reasoned.

"Sure, that sounds good but you don't look very confident. Just promise you'll not force yourself, ok?" Tsu said, still at a whisper.

"Yes. I can do that. Thank you, Tsu." Emeralda replied, sounding abit more sure of herself.

"Don't mention it, ribbit."

No sooner had the table started to calm down that Izuku, Tenya and Eijiro approached, looking a bit confused. It was Tenya that spoke, motioning with his hands to get the groups attention with stiff, almost robotic like chops "And just what, may I ask, could have happened to cause all this ruckus while your fellow classmates attempt to enjoy their meals?" the class rep questioned.

"Yeah" Eijiro added "It was like you all had just been told you got your hero licenses or something!"

With most of the girls at the table still jubilant, Mina said with a knowing smile "Oh, you boys don't have to worry about it! Nothing to see here, right girls?"

A chorus of nods did nothing to quell the three boy's curiosity and Tenya looked unimpressed by the answer so Momo calmly added "It’s nothing to worry about, Iida-kun. I apologize for the outburst and promise it will not happen again."

Seemingly satisfied by the vice class rep's apology, Tenya nodded before pushing his glasses back up and said "Very well. With that settled, there was another matter we wished to discuss with you all."

Having stayed quiet for far too long, her excitement at Emeralda's acceptance notwithstanding, Michiru spoke before anyone else could "What do you mean, Iida-san?"

Stepping forward and pumping his fist with a big, sharp-toothed grin, Eijiro excitedly said "The exam! We got to talking and thought it would be a good idea to have a plan since we know we'll likely be the target of all the other schools!"

"That's a great idea! Was it your idea, Deku?" Ochako asked, causing the freckled boy to blush and fidget.

"N, no, actually, it was Tokoyami-san and Greywards-san that came up with the idea" Izuku explained, pointing back to the table the aforementioned classmates were seated. The two noticed the gesture and nodded.

A smirk on her lips, Michiru replied "Looks like our other planning will have to wait, girls. Let's strategize!"

Another cheer rang out, quickly hushed by Tenya before the present members of class 1-A, permanent or temporary alike, gathered to discuss a plan of attack.

(X)

Planning could only go on for so long since Jun had been adamant about leaving on time to go to the hospital to visit Terra. So before long, the three lighters had to excuse themselves, having gotten a solid basic plan started.

Now, though the trio of lighters were left waiting outside of their dorm, Jun yet to arrive with their usual vehicle. As they waited in their UA uniforms, per Jun's insistence, Zelgadis couldn't help but notice how the usually energic Michiru was looking a bit nervous. Cocking an eyebrow, the chimera inquired "Everything ok Michiru? You seem a bit twitchy."

Emeralda had been staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts when Zelgadis' words brought her attention to the tanuki girl as well. Michiru, though, was surprised by the sudden scrunty, her response reflecting her confusion. "Huh? What do you mean twitchy? I'm, I'm fine! I'm just excited to get off campus again, that's all. Heheheh" the tanuki girl finished with a nervous laugh.

The sorcerer swordsmen just narrowed his eyes and scowled as he crossed his arms. Throwing her arms up after only a few moments of the chimera's gaze, Michiru called out "Fine! I'm nervus about going to a hospital, ok? But it’s stupid so just drop it."

His expression softening into one of curiosity, Zelgadis still kept his arms crossed though as he replied "I don't understand, aren't hospitals places of healing? What could you have to worry about in such a place?"

"Well, let’s just say my last few visits to a hospital were…eventful." Michiru answered vaguely, hoping that was enough for the subject to be dropped.

"I don't understand either." Emeralda added "Hospitals were places of mercy in my world. The way you are acting Michiru…something happened, did it not?"

So much for evasion. "I'm mean, sure it was a hospital mistake that turned me into this and the hospital in Anima City turned out to be a front for an evil multinational pharmaceutical company bent on eliminating beastmen altogether where I nearly died, heh, heh…but I turned out fine, right?" Michiru replied with a dismissive wave as she glanced about like nothing was wrong at all.

The two other lighters stood at a loss for words, Zelgadis' head cocked to the side, his eyes comically large. Finally, when he realized Michiru wasn't turning to face them, the chimera ventured "Are…you sure you still want to go Michiru?"

Hearing the empathy in the normally dower sorcerer's voice, a smile came back to Michiru's face as she spun to face her friends "Yeah, like I said, it’s silly! No two hospitals are the same, right? Theres no reason to think anything will happen just because I've had some bad experiences, right? I mean, we're in another world all together, aren't we? Besides, I owe it to Terra to say hi, so I'm going!"

Michiru's resolution came at the perfect time, with their transportation arriving just moments later, three people already inside. The van's side door slid open to reveal Hitomi, who smiled and motioned for the trio to get in. Jun was at the wheel but the other passenger, their hero escort for the trip, was a face they knew but was definitely new to being their overseer. "Midnight? You're our escort?" Michiru asked as she sat down directly behind the X-rated hero.

Dressed in her normal skin tight costume, Nemuri Kayama or Midnight, turned her head and winked at the tanuki girl as she playfully replied "Ooohhh yes, my furry little lighter. Kanzaki-san here thinks something might happen so they wanted to make sure to send along someone who can non-lethally incapacitate someone in close quarters, and that's yours truly!"

As Zelgadis filed in with Emeralda into the third row of seats, he frowned and asked Hitomi "You think something might happen at the hospital?"

"Yes…" Hitomi answered worriedly "It was a dream I had last night. My dreams have often proven…prophetic." As the counselor answered, Zelgadis couldn't help but glance over at Michiru, worried this news might deter her. If it had, the chimera didn't see it as the tanuki girl’s attention was drawn to the next speaker.

"Just in case, there is going to be extra security and I made sure Mob and Hina are training with Ranma this afternoon." Jun explained as they began to drive off.

The car was silent for a moment as that sank in before Michiru spoke up and Zelgadis was sure the tanuki girl was going to share her apprehensions. Instead, the furry girl said "So, what did Power Loader say about my costume?"

Jun chuckled as he answered "Oh, he grumbled about transforming quirks as he snatched it away from me. He took one look at the holes and complained about wings before stalking off. Said he already knew what to do and it would be ready in a day."

The tanuki girl looked relieved as she heard the story, saying as much "That doesn't sound so bad! I was sure he would yell at you."

"Oh no, he's definitely pissed!" Nemuri gleefully said, bursting Michiru's bubble.

"Really?" Michiru groaned.

"Higari is usually pretty laid back. If that's how he reacted, then Kayama-san is probably right." Hitomi added, a hint of sympathy in her voice.

One day with an actual hero costume and Michiru had managed to damage it! It took all the tanuki girl's will power not to encase herself in a cocoon of her own enlarged tail she was so embarrassed. It made the rest of the drive to the hospital that much harder as Michiru remained quiet the rest of the way. Not even her normal favorite past time while in a car, people watching, could calm her.

The hospital itself was, much to Michiru's relief, pretty normal. Aside from the unusual appearance of some to the patients and staff, the only thing that was out of the ordinary were the number of security checkpoints the group had to go through to even get to Terra's room. Jun had said they had taken extra precautions but by the sixth one, it was feeling pretty excessive. At least it gave Zelgadis more time to marvel at all the sights being the only person among them from a medieval society.

Between all the checkpoints, the worry at being in a hospital again and the excitement to see Terra again, actually stepping into the girl's room was rather anticlimactic to Michiru. The room was ordinary, like any hospital room you could imagine when asked to. All that stood out were the room's inhabitants, Shinra, who had come ahead of time and Recovery Girl. Terra herself lay in a coma still, an IV drip attached to her arm and a heart monitor by her bed, beeping regularly.

Shinra stood to greet the new arrivals, a forced, toothly smile on his face as he bowed and greeted everyone "Thanks for coming, I was beginning to worry something had happened."

"It’s true!" Recovery Girl added, chuckling "The boy kept pacing back and forth! It was really very cute!" Shinra shot the old healing hero a dirty look as he tried, and failed, to hide a blush but said nothing.

Several in the arriving party laughed awkwardly as they practically filled the small room, the lighter trio coming to stand around the bed of the girl they had traveled to see. From the bunches of flowers and cards on a table across from the bed, it looked to Michiru that Terra was well liked, and she inwardly chided herself for not asking to stop to do the same.

Michiru was brought out of her thoughts by Zelgadis, who spoke with an air of reverence "It’s hard to believe, seeing her like this, that this is the same woman who nearly kill us."

"Hey!" Shinra retorted agitated but keeping his voice down out of respect "Terra's one of the sweetest people I've ever met, you take that back!"

"I only meant to praise how strong she was, that's all Shinra. I didn't mean to insult her." Zelgadis clarified.

With Recovery Girl in the room, Hitomi took the opportunity to inquire about her friend's condition "Shuzenji-san, has there been any change at all?"

Slowly shaking her head, Chiyo answered sadly "I'm afraid not. I'll say this for the benefit of everyone in the room since I know you are already aware Kanzaki-san. I had a friend come see her. Her quirk lets her diagnose anyone and even she couldn't find anything wrong with Terra."

"What do you mean, nothing wrong? She's been asleep for weeks, that sounds like something’s wrong to me!?" Michiru blurted out, a bit louder than she intended.

"I understand your frustration, Kagemori-san. I share it. This is my patient, and I can't seem to do anything for her. As someone whose dedicated her life to helping others, I'm ashamed to admit that I'm useless here. Given what you all reported in your fight with her, it sounds more like what is wrong with her could be tied to her, ahem, magical side. If that's the case, there truly is nothing I can do." Chiyo explained with a mix of anger and shame.

After that rosy explanation, the room fell silent as Recovery Girl's admission sank in. Then, the soft and somewhat meek voice of Emeralda spoke up "What…what is she like?"

"Determined and caring" Hitomi said without hesitation.

"She loves kids and is very sweet and caring! She's helped me a lot." Shinra added.

"Zelgadis, you actually have a lot in common with Terra. She, too is from a fairly medieval world where magic played a major role. She would have been very helpful in your adjusting to everything." Jun explained. "I'd also add that as strong and determined as Terra is, she never likes to fight. She always wants to find another way. Honestly, I was afraid she wouldn't pass the licensing exam because of it." Jun finished with a light chuckle.

The three lighters listened to the others describe the bed-bound woman before them silently, impressed by what they heard. It honestly made Michiru feel worse that they had tried to take this seemingly amazing person down when Terra went berserk. Looking at the sleeping figure, Michiru smiled softly and spoke herself, saying "When I first arrived here, it was you three; Hitomi, Shinra and Terra that greeted me after that old turtle guy showed up. I remember how concerned she was for me, a complete stranger…."

The others spent some time sharing stories of the comatose girl but before long, afternoon visiting hours were over as a knock on the door came. A nurse stepped in and let everyone know it was time for them to head out while normal duties were performed. As the group prepared to leave, Chiyo spoke up "Oh, I thought while everyone was here if you three would be ok with getting your physicals? We never got around to it with everything going on before."

"I'm not sure what you mean, what does a physical entail?" asked Zelgadis.

"Oh, they just take some measurements, like your height and weight." Michiru helpfully answered.

Chuckling, Chiyo clarified "Oh, ho ho! That's certainly part of it, youngin' but I'll want to check your vision, reflexes, get a blood sample and the like as well."

At that last part, Emeralda paled as she quickly asked, "Can I…not have the physical?"

The group had begun to file out of the room, Chiyo frowning at the request. As the veteran healing hero began to explain why it was important, Hitomi whispered to Jun "I…guess my dream was just that. I'm glad but I feel awful having worried you all."

"There are far worse things than hiring some extra security, don't worry about it." Jun whispered back.

As the group passed through the door, two rather burley looking men stood waiting by the door for them to go by. Once Chiyo had finished her explanation, the chimera glanced back at the two men as they moved to enter the room and he asked to no one in particular "Who were those two? They don't exactly look like the healing type."

Most everyone in the group took a moment to look back as well, only catching the two large men's backs as one pushed a cart inside and Chiyo answered "Oh those two are just part of the housekeeping staff. They handle cleaning the room, replacing sheets, and the like. I believe those two just started in this wing a few days ago though. Now, about those physicals…"

Though the two men seemed suspicious to him, Zelgadis' attention was pulled back into the 'getting a physical' question with Emeralda starting to really push back on the idea. The chimera himself wasn't opposed but wondered out loud how they would draw blood from his rock-hard skin. As the diminutive elderly hero explained special needles existed for just such issues, Zelgadis stopped paying attention backwards at all, missing that one of the two men stepped back outside and shut the door. The housekeeping staff just stood there, as if on watch.

As the group moved further and further away, Emeralda became more and more animated over the idea of the physical, blood drawing especially. With each passing step, that sense of dread Hitomi had felt in the morning began to make itself known, creeping ever so slowly into the forefront of her consciousness. Meantime, in the room itself, the second burly orderly pulled out a small device concealed under one of the bed sheets on his cart. The item looked little more than a music player, especially with the cable coming out of it. The orderly quickly pulled out the cable from the heart monitor that connected to the sensors on Terrra and replaced it with the one on the device, and the monitor continued picking up a heartbeat without alerting the staff.

With the threat of anyone being alerted to anything wrong taken care of, the orderly pulled a pillow off his cart and approached the comatose lighter, a satisfied grin on his face at a job all but completed. As Shiryou brought the pillow over the girl's face, he said quietly "Sorry girlie, but your pretty little head is just worth too much. Thems the breaks…" Then, without further delay, the large man proceeded to press the pillow over the girl's face. Unresponsive as she was, Terra simply lay there as she slowly suffocated to death, Shiryou putting a great deal of weight on the pillow over her head to ensure the deed was done.

Back outside, Hitomi was starting to become visibly disturbed and turned back to look down the hall. One of the housekeeping staff was outside Terra's room, appearing to be chatting it up with the two guards on duty. They seemed to be enjoying the conversation but why was the orderly even outside the room? Shouldn't he be helping inside? No. No no no no no no no!

"Jun! It’s Terra! Something's wrong!" Hitomi frantically screamed as she started to rush back to the room. As she got closer though, the counselor suddenly seemed to collapse, falling forward flat on her face. Several of the group had rushed after Hitomi, Shinra right behind her. When she fell, the shark-toothed young man nearly fell over her but managed to catch himself. Moving over to the brunette's side, Shinra worriedly called out "Hitomi? Hitomi! You ok?" With hospital staff looking on in shock, Shinra saw that the older woman was unconscious, unable to answer his calls. As several doctors approached, the flame-footed hero-in-training frantically looked about, trying to see if something had caused the collapse but saw nothing.

In that moment, Hitomi's cries about Terra had been forgotten as all the attention in the room was drawn to the woman who now lay unresponsive on the floor. This left plenty of time for Shiryou to do his work, which left Kiyanon doing his best to suppress a smirk, his distraction working like a charm. As the woman had approached, Kiyanon had availed himself of his quirk, shooting a small needle from his fingertip into the approaching woman's leg, sending her instantly into unconsciousness, no one the wiser. Feigning surprise and concern like everyone else, Kiyanon was sure everything was going to work to plan. Shiryou should be just about finished with the job by now.

Instead, a panicked scream pierced through the commotion surrounding Hitomi from behind the door Kiyanon was guarding. The hired assassin's eyes went wide and for a moment, was frozen, unsure if he should just run or try and see what was happening to his partner. Deciding their cover hadn't been blown quite yet, Kiyanon threw the door open, the guards right behind him as those not immediately tending to Hitomi looked on. Kiyanon only got a few steps into the room when he was confronted with his fellow assassin being held aloft at the side of the bed by his neck as he struggled to break free with his arms. That Shiryou was being choked to death was bad enough, but what was worse was the creature that was doing it to him. In the bed, seated where their target had been was a creature covered in pink fur and wild pink hair, cloaked in a terrifying aura.

When the…thing saw him though, it dropped Shiryou, who crumbled to the floor in a heap, rasping and coughing for air. Turning its gaze upon him, Kiyanon watched on in awe at the creature seemed to float off the bed and settle into a standing position as the two guards came up beside the assassin, their guns at the ready. One of them shouted "Stop right there!"

The aura covered monster seemed to acknowledge the officer, looking at him and not moving any further. For a moment, Kiyanon thought things might be under control. Then, to his surprise, it spoke, the voice was indeed feminine as the overall form of the creature was but it carried a weight that was undeniable "The one on the floor tried to kill me. I only acted in self-defense."

This was bad. Really bad. Even if he could paint her as a monster who was clearly trying to murder an innocent orderly now, he and Shiryou would be kept for questioning and their cover would be blown. But now it would be very hard to run with so many just outside thanks to his distraction. However, Kiyanon was ripped from his thoughts when the pink monstrosity spoke again, pointing right at the disguised assassin "He has his scent all over him, as you do. Were you here to kill me as well?"

She knew. Somehow, she knew! Panic setting in, Kiyanon's eyes grew wide as the two officers took a moment to glance his way. The pressure mounting and the sounds of more people coming from behind, Kiyanon rose his hand and shot a whole barrage of needles at the monster, screaming "Stay away!"

Terra simply batted way the incoming projectiles, which, unfortunately, sent several back, hitting both guards, sending them both down, just like Hitomi before them. When Kiyanon turned and attempted to run, he ran right into Zelgadis and Shinra, who had come to see what was going on. As the terrified attempted assassin tried to force his way past the two lighters, Shinra peered into the room and saw his transformed friend float over toward them, grabbing the panicked man by the back of his throat and throwing him backwards, causing him to crash into some equipment with a crash.

At the sight, Shinra hesitated for a moment before calling out "TERRA! Is that you!"

Zelgadis, meanwhile, called back "Michiru! Emeralda! Get ready! She's up and transformed again!" as he raised his hands, ready to cast a barrier at the slightest hint of an attack.

The two girls rose and stepped forward, each shifting their arms, ready to attack. Midnight, too joined them, whispering "I'll use my quirk if I have to but it’s fairly indiscriminate and will affect everyone around, so be prepared if it comes to it. Only use your abilities in self-defense, got it?"

The assembled lighters nodded, steeling themselves for what might come next. They need not have worried, for when Shinra called out to the pink-furred woman, it wasn't long before he got an answer "…Sh…Shinra?" Then, looking down at her clawed hand, Terra's features seemed to soften, from one of determined self-preservation to one of regret and shame before she continued "I…I can't believe this happened again…but I'm so glad to see you! Where am I? Why did that man try to kill me?"

After taking another moment to look Terra in the eye, and finding the confirmation that it was actually her, the flame-footed young man dash forward, hugging his wild-looking friend. Terra stiffened at the contact, unsure what to do as others began to gather around her, some familiar, some new to her. After releasing Terra, Shinra said, relief clear in his voice "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up!"

At hearing that, worry crept onto the girl's animalistic features as she looked about, recognizing Midnight right away before settling on the…was she a racoon? What was her name? "Michiru? I see you’re in a UA uniform…how long have I been out?"

With Hitomi being seen to by Chiyo, Jun stepped forward to answer before anyone else "Terra, you've been unconscious for over three weeks. Do…you remember what happened?"

Closing her eyes for a moment to think, Terra opened them again and spoke "I remember meeting Michiru…then there was a second beam…you with the light green hair and there was a six-armed creature. Then…another beam of light and two more figures…one of them almost seemed to be made of magic."

"Xellos…" Zelgadis almost growled.

"It was so overwhelming and painful, that man's presence, then…I feel like I blacked out after that." Terra said, once again looking herself over before she continued "But, seeing myself now, I can guess what happened. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble."

Several of those assembled choose to look away at that last comment before Jun explained "Well, there was some property damage but, in the end, no one was seriously hurt. By the way Terra, are you able to return to normal?"

Looking relieved to hear no one was hurt, Terra then looked abit embarrassed as she replied "OH! Right, of course I can, sorry…" And with that, lacking fanfare, Terra shifted back into a dark green haired young woman in a hospital gown.

Then, a weak voice could be heard calling out "Terra? Terra, is that your voice?"

Instantly recognizing her mentor and friend, the group gathered around Terra parted as she rushed forward to Hitomi, laying prone on a stretcher. Clamping the brunette's hand in her own, Terra answered, her voice breaking as she was near tears at the sight "Yes! Yes, Hitomi, it’s me! What happened? Are you ok?"

Holding up a small needle, Chiyo answered the formerly pink girl's question "I think poor Kanzaki-san here was drugged. Probably by the quirk of one of the two gentlemen you ruffed up, Branford-chan."

"Oh no, will she be alright!?" Terra worriedly asked.

"Won't know for sure until we've run some tests. The fact that she's awake now is a good sign though. We'll take good care of her, don't you worry!" Chiyo reassured the young lighter.

Terra reluctantly let go of Hitomi's hand when the counselor was carted off to be checked on. In the meantime, the two officers were also being treated along with the so-called housekeeping staff that Terra had claimed attacked her. Several more officers had appeared and instructed Terra to remain at her bed while everything was sorted out. As they waited, Shinra had to know and asked Terra "So…what happened in here? You said one of these guys tried to kill you?"

Looking at her handiwork, the two large 'housekeeping employees' now laid out and being cared for by hospital staff, Terra answered "The one over there, he was trying to smoother me with a pillow."

After several gasps from the gathered group, Shinra breathlessly asked "But you were in a coma for weeks, nothing seemed to wake you and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. You mean to say it took someone trying to kill you to wake you?"

AS she looked at Shinra Terra was unsure if she should answer, but when she saw the pleading in her friend’s eyes, she knew he deserved to know and said "...No. Honestly, if those two didn't have that smell, I'd likely have continued to lay there until he had killed me."

As the assembled group exchanged glances, Michiru, who had the best sense of smell of the whole of them, by far, asked "What smell, Terra? I hadn't noticed any change the whole time I've been here."

Pressing her lips together and glancing up at the ceiling, thinking of a response briefly, the dark-greenette replied "Yes, well smell isn't exactly it. I assume Sanada-sensei here has mentioned magic to you all?"

"I use magic myself." Zelgadis said with Michiru and Emeralda nodding along.

"Do you? Hmm, now that I look at you, there are traces but you clearly can't make magical energy, not like him." Terra said, almost spitting out the last word.

Instantly, the chimera knew exactly who the recently assaulted woman in front of him was talk about and his eyes widened in horrified realization. Michiru saw it right away, asking "Zel, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

At first, Zelgadis didn't seem to acknowledge the tanuki girl at all, starring out into nothing at all when he whispered "No…I, I should of known…" After Emeralda grabbed hold and shook the sorcerer-swordsmen, his head snapped up, alert once more as he surged forward and grabbed Terra by the arms and frantically asked "By him, you mean the one who arrived here with me, don't you?!"

Taking a moment to really stare at the rock-encrusted man bearing down on her, Terra slowly answered "You, you were the other one with him? Yes then, the other one who arrived with you that day that I lost my mind. He, he was a monster…sick, twisted magic made manifest and when he appeared, the gentle current of magic that had existed here before became a tsunami of malice that overwhelmed me and forcibly returned my esper form to me. The world is now awash with that magic but those two assassins seemed to be especially drenched in it. It’s as if that monster had rubbed himself all over those two. It’s nauseating and it was that which woke me."

Zelgadis let go of the poor woman before he took several steps back, that terrified look returning to his face. Looking both confused and more than a little worried, Michiru asked "But, she's talking about Xellos, isn't she? How could those two have his magical scent if he's dead?"

Hearing that, Terra interjected "Dead? No, there's no way that's true."

"Why?" Emeralda quickly shot back, her own stoic visage shaken by what was being implied.

"If, if he were dead, the flow of this horrible magic would have been stymied. It would still linger, sure but it’s still clearly being made, filling this world with its taint."

Falling to one knee and punching the floor, Zelgadis gritted out "I should have known! I can't believe I, of all people, took his word!"

Bending down to meet the shaken blue-skinned lighter, Jun nervously asked "Known what? What the hell is going on Zelgadis?"

"It means Xellos is alive! And he's loose on this world. Everyone in this world is in serious danger!"

(X)

"Metalium-san? Is something wrong?"

The newest member of the Shie Hassaikai had been in the mists of a tour of his new home when the purple-suited man had suddenly stopped and turned to look off at seemingly nothing. After a moment of awkward silence, he answered "No no, Kobe-san! I just got the feeling my most recent investment has come to an end is all! Oh, and please just call me Xellos! No reason to be so formal, we're all one big happy family now, aren't we?"

In spite of the odd behavior of the new recruit that he'd been asked to show around, Kobe was taking a liking to this Xellos fellow. There was a certain charisma the purple-haired man seemed to have. And he was so polite! After taking a moment to try and figure out what the other man meant by 'investment' Kobe answered "Yeah, sure, I can do that Xellos. All I really have left to show you is where you'll be stayn'"

Coming up to the veteran low-ranking grunt, Xellos threw his arm around the shorter man, a big smile on his face as he exclaimed "Wonderful! You're too kind Kobe-san! While we're on the way, you can tell me a bit about the former boss I heard the other members talking about!"

Yeah, there was something about this guy that made Kobe feel wanted and there was no other subject the grunt enjoyed talking about more as the two headed through the halls of the mansion.

(X)

Chapter Text

"It means Xellos is alive! And he's loose on this world. Everyone in this world is in serious danger!"

A silence filled the air after the chimera's declaration, a heavy weight seeming to settle in the room, its inhabitants glancing at each other. As everyone else looked pensive or dumbstruck, Jun's features hardened, thinking back to Zelgadis' previous comments about the purple-haired mazuku in his head. Finally, the former rescue hero broke the silence, gravely asking "What do you mean, Greywards-san? Please elaborate."

Looking up to meet the lighters' mentor in the eye as his fist remained firmly planted on the ground shaking, Zelgadis answered "Xellos…He's a mazuku. Beings of pure magic. They don't have physical bodies as we think of them, their real bodies exist in the astral plane. What we saw, what we interacted with was just a projection. That bastard said when we got here to this world that something was wrong, that his astral form was gone and with everything else going on, I just took it at face value. DAMNIT!"

"But what does that mean?" Michiru implored, confusion and a bit of fear creeping into her voice.

"It means he is effectively immortal. No matter what anyone does to that body we see, Xellos will be unhurt. That's why he just let that hand-wearing nut-job turn him to dust, he needed a way out!" Zelgadis nearly yelled back at Michiru, causing the tanuki girl to flinch.

Seeing this, Jun narrowed his eyes and asked again "Ok, that explains how he survived but how is he a threat? All he seemed to do was teleport away in fights."

Seeing the older man beginning to lose patience with the shaken sorcerer-swordsmen, Zelgadis looked away in frustration but answered all the same "You may think I'm pretty good in a fight with all the magic I can perform but in all honesty, though I am strong, I'm nothing compared to the likes of Lina, who was our group's leader. And Xellos? With Ruby Eyes broken and sealed and two of his subordinates dead, it’s safe to say Xellos is the third strongest being in my world. He slaughtered hundreds of the strongest dragons in an instant and he could burn this city to the ground in an instant if he so chose. That answer your question, Sanada!"

"And yet, here we stand." Emeralda said, drawing the chimera's gaze. The statement was as much a question as anything else and after the two locked eyes for a moment, Zelgadis turned away as he stood back up.

Taking a deep breath as the rest watched on, waiting for anything else to be said, the rock-encrusted man answered the question on everyone's mind "Among the mazuku, Xellos has always been an odd one. Always interested in humanity. That tricky bastard always seemed to prefer to watch and learn and let others do the dirty work for him. That's probably why he hasn't just started blowing things up, he's got a plan and his time with us was just the first part of it."

"Then…then why did he send those two to try and kill Terra! If he's so damn strong, why didn't he do it himself!" Shinra pointedly challenged the chimera.

"I don't know!" Zelgadis shot back, tensions in the room rising as the sorcerer continued "Weren't you listening? This is just like him to have someone else do his dirty work!"

"Yeah, but why?" Michiru quietly added, clearly unsettled by both the news and how upset Zelgadis was getting.

Frantically running his hands though his wire-like hair, Zelgadis shot a pointed glare over at target of the whole affair, his hair disheveled but serving to frame the almost desperate look in his eyes as he struggled to answer the simple question. Wilting under the intense gaze, Terra seemed to shrink in on herself and look away, as though ashamed. That act caused Zelgadis to break the glare before he asked "You…Terra. What is the source of your magic?"

Still unable to meet the chimera's intense look, the dark green-haired woman nonetheless began to look confused "My source? I'm not sure I understand?"

Rolling his head and sighing, the chimeric lighter's features began to soften as he began to explain "Where I and Xellos are from, there are three schools of magic, generally. There is white or holy magic employed by the shinzuku and their followers and draws from one's own spirit or inner light. Then there is shamanistic magic that I use, drawing from the elements and the astral plain where mazuku dwell. Finally, there is black magic, which draws from the mazuku themselves. The strongest spells draw from the strongest mazuku. So, I ask again, where do you draw your magic?"

Wishing desperately that Hitomi was here to support her, Terra summoned the courage to explain that which everyone else had already seen "Well, I'm a half esper. Where I come from, espers were also beings of pure magic, from a world where magic was part of the fabric of our world. I never really got to sit down and talk to my father or any of the other espers about the nature of our existence or anything like that before it all was gone so I can't say I draw magic from a source as you seem to be describing. My power is my own."

"And yet, it was Xellos' appearance that caused you to transform and lose control?" Jun gently asked.

Rubbing her arm nervously, Terra replied "Yes, well, I think it was kind of like a small flame suddenly having gas thrown on it. With the sudden surge of magic, it triggered my sudden return to my full original state of being and overwhelmed me. I'm so, so sorry…."

"Perhaps that’s it." Zelgadis began, drawing the others attention to him again "You are different, and possibly very strong in magic. Its possible Xellos feared you. You might be the only one who can hurt him. My guess is he sent those goons to avoid tipping us off if they failed. He may not have known you could sense him on their bodies." The chimera offered.

Another silence settled in the room before Jun spoke up "Be that as it may, the fact is he is out there. I need to let the authorities know. You all stay here until everything is sorted out, ok?"

With everyone agreeing, Jun and Nemuri stepped out to give the bad news.

(X)

After some questioning of everyone involved and a review of the video from a camera in Terra's room, the half esper was cleared of any potential wrongdoing and was cleared to leave after further tests showed she was healthy. Jun had Zelgadis explain everything he knew about Xellos while Hitomi was also cleared to leave once the tranquilizer had moved out of her system. The look of relieved happiness on the counselor's face as she stepped out of her room to be greeted by her dark green-haired friend was almost enough to make the others forget all that had transpired at the hospital that day.

Exhausted mentally, if not physically, the group made their way back to the UA campus, with one more than they had expected to have hours earlier. Hina and Mob were pleasantly surprised to see Terra return though their excitement was also tempered by the news of an attempt on her life and the likely implications that steamed from it. Hina had tried to lighten the mood with talk of the lighter party they could now have but no one was in the mood for such talk and after a muted dinner, most parted ways for the night, retiring to their rooms in the vein hope of getting some rest.

The next morning saw Jun once again in the office of the head of the Hero Public Safety Commission, his head bowed low though his face was held twisted into a hard frown. The former rescue hero held that pose as the president finally spoke, her voice barely holding back the disappointment and anger boiling within her. "So…let me get this straight. Some sort of high-ranking demon general who can teleport anywhere he wants, can lay waste to whole cities with magical blasts from his hand and at best there are two people in this world who are maybe capable of hurting him is now freely wandering about Japan?! Sanada-san, this is entirely unacceptable. We are charged with the public safely of the citizens of this nation and you just let such a powerful being drink coffee as he gathered intelligence!" That last bit was accompanied by a fist slam to the desk.

The impact caused the silver-haired man to cringe but despite the extreme shame he was feeling he straightened himself. Daring to look the president in the eye, he was meet with a pair of fierce, determined orbs that demanded answers. Answers Jun wished he had. Instead, all he could shield himself with were facts as Jun replied, "With all due respect president…even if I had known, given his powers, I am unsure what we could have done differently. We certainly couldn't have restrained him."

"If this Xellos is as curious about humanity as reported, you could have appealed to that curiosity, instead of treating him like another one of your lost puppies." The president bit back. Jun was half inclined to point out there was no way of knowing if such a tact would have been any more effective at preventing the mazuku from going AWOL. Instead, the president spoke again. "At this point, we only really have two options for resolving this. First is hope that Terra Branford is indeed strong enough to counter this Xellos, which is quite possible given the assassination attempt. Otherwise, our search to find the means by which these lighters were brought here takes on even more urgency. Assuming they can even be sent back home at all." Then, seemingly exhausted despite the mid-morning hour, the president slumped back in her chair, her previous fire and determination drained from her face as she rubbed her forehead.

Seeing the president's whole demeanor change, Jun relaxed a bit as well before he spoke again, "Detective Tsukauchi pulled together some recent reports and sent some of his men out to follow-up after I called him following the attack. He thinks that Xellos is actually the serial robber who has been hitting convenience stores across the city the past couple of weeks."

Her hand still on her head, the president spared a tired look at the former hero in front of her "Oh? Was that how he could afford a couple of hitmen? Heh, seems even demons need money sometimes…" she finished with a mirthless laugh.

"Indeed." Jun replied. "However…if the eye-witness account is to be believed, Xellos has made contact with the yakuza group, the Shie Hassaikai."

The president's hand fell to her side, revealing two wide eyes as she looked up "You're joking. Please tell me your joking?"

"I…wish I were, president. This just happened yesterday morning but the detective said he plans to keep a close eye on them." Jun explained, his body tensing again.

To his surprise, the president seemed to regain her composure as she leaned forward in her chair once more "Thank you for your report, Sanada-san. I'll take it from here. See to it Terra is protected and trained. We may need her. I revoked her provisional license and I stand by that. I want you to make sure she's ready to get it back as soon as possible, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good. You are dismissed. I have work to do." The president finished, not sparing another moment as she grabbed her phone and spun her chair around to look out at the city below.

Sparing a final glance at the chair, Jun couldn't help but wonder just how much longer he'd be allowed to keep mentoring the lighters. With an inward sigh, the former rescue hero offered a unseen bow and left.

(X)

"So, did something happen last night?"

The question seemed to come out of the blue but Michiru quickly realized her mind had been elsewhere as she walked with her friends, tray in hand, to their usual table. "Uh, sorry Mina, I didn't mean to space out on you like that."

"Ribbit, it's not just you, Michiru-chan. The way Emeralda and Zelgadis were behaving during training, something definitely feels off." Tsu commented.

"Yes" added Momo "I couldn't help but feel both Greywards-san and Emeralda were being especially brutal today with Ectoplasm-sensei's clones."

"Plus, you seem really distracted yourself Michiru." chimed Ochaco.

Glancing over at the stoic greenette and getting no reaction at all from Emeralda, Michiru sighed as the group began to seat themselves. Jun had told the three of them not to discuss Xellos with anyone outside of the house while the investigation was underway which meant there was only one thing the tanuki girl could share. "Yeah…it turns out the girl we went to see, right after we left her room, a couple of guys tried to kill her…"

A chorus of concerned questions at once flooded Michiru, the gathered girls wanting to know if the victim was alright as well as herself. Raising her hands in an attempt to get her temporary classmates to calm down a bit, Michiru nervously added "Guys, guys, its ok! Terra…she's fine. She actually managed to stop them herself. All we managed to do was watch Hitomi after she got attacked too."

"Kanzaki-san got attacked too?" the gravity defying girl asked with concern.

"None of this was on the news, anyone else find that strange?" Kyoka asked.

"Yeah, that totally is strange! I didn't see anything on social media either!" Mina said as she pulled out her phone to check to see if she had somehow missed it.

"I don't know what to tell you Mina but it did happen! Terra's even back at the house now." Michiru said.

"How is Terra holding up? For that matter, how are you doing Michiru? It sounds like a lot happened!" Ochaco inquired.

Trying to wave off her friends' concerns, Michiru tried to answer nonchalantly "I'm fine, nothing I haven't gone through before. And Terra…I don't really know her well enough to say. She at least seemed happy to be back around her friends at least."

While Michiru continued to try and assuage most of the other girls at the table, Tsu turned to address her fellow greenette, who had continued quietly eating during the whole exchange. "And how are you, Emeralda? You were there too, right, ribbit?"

The frog-like girl got her answer before a word of response could be uttered as Tsu noticed Emeralda's hand was shaking. A moment later, the tan girl's chopsticks snapped in her hands, causing everyone else to stop talking and look at her. The quiet girl looked over at everyone starring at her, her own eyes wide in surprise before she looked down at her own hand, with the splintered utensil resting in it still. After a moment, all Emeralda could think to say was "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to stop the conversation."

With an embarrassed flush to her face, Emeralda rose to leave, sure she had angered her companions. She didn't get the chance to step away before a call of "Wait!" brought her up short. It was Mina and now that she had the amber-eyed girl's attention, added "Its ok, Emeralda! We were just worried for you is all. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

Angry at herself for having caused a scene at all, Emeralda couldn't bring herself to face the energic the pink girl before she responded "Thank you for worrying but I…think I'm best alone for now. I know we were supposed to talk about your girl's night today but perhaps tomorrow. Goodbye."

All at the table were left dumbfounded and more than a little worried.

(X)

Things were no better in Jun's afternoon lecture, with Emeralda being even more distant than normal and evasive every time Michiru tried to ask her what was going on. The tanuki girl's last attempt as the two parted for their bedrooms was again stonewalled with Emeralda sying she had some drawings she wanted to focus on, shutting the door without so much as a good night.

Michiru stood outside the door, her head slightly downcast, a swirl of emotion engulfing her. Confusion, frustration and a touch of betrayal at not being trustworthy enough to be shared with filled the tanuki girl’s heart. The fur-covered lighter had no idea how long she stood there, fists tightly clenched to her sides when Zelgadis found her. It had been his turn to clean up after dinner and he had struck up a conversation with Terra about their two worlds that had kept him longer than he planned. So when he found Michiru just standing in front of Emeralda's door, a cloud figurately hanging over the normally positive tanuki girl, Zelgadis couldn't help but ask "Michiru? What the hell are you doing in front of Emeralda's door?"

Despite her enhanced animal senses, Michiru jumped with a start, her fur briefly standing on end. Quickly trying to dispel the frown on her face, Michiru turned to face her rocky housemate. "Oh, me? I was just worried about Emmy is all!"

Michiru's attempt to hide her mood did not go unnoticed by the chimera, who had spent quite a bit of time with someone who was a master at hiding behind a very cheery façade. Crossing his arms, his expression making it clear he wasn't buying it, Zelgadis asked skeptically "So you what? Stood in front of her door? To what end? Were you going to bore your way into her room with lasers from your eyes?"

Hitting Zelgadis with an overly-exaggerated slap on his back, an act she paid for with another sore hand, Michiru exclaimed "Look at you Zel! Knowing what lasers are! I'm so impressed!"

"Michiru." Zelgadis growled.

The tanuki girl flinched, her ears pressing down as she looked away. With the sorcerer-swordsmen looking on expectedly, Michiru withered under the scrutiny and said "Fine. I've just been worried about her and she keeps shutting me down. She is clearly upset, and I thought we were friends, you know? Why can't she tell me what's going on?"

Sighing, Zelgadis moved his hands to rest on his hips "Michiru, Emeralda isn't as outgoing as you are. You know that. It's not as easy for her to tell other people what she's feeling. Besides, it's not hard to tell she's been very upset about Xellos."

"About Xellos?" Michiru questioned, an eyebrow raised. "That's weird, I never pegged Emmy for being one to be scared about the potential destruction of the world."

"She's not." The chimera explained "Remember, she watched Xellos 'die' to protect her, and she blamed herself for his loss. Now, that sacrifice turned out to be nothing more than a farce."

Realization dawned on the tanuki girl as both her eyebrows raised this time, along with her tail perking up "Wait, so she's angry? About being played? About feeling so bad about her perceived failure? Or about not realizing it?"

"Can't say for sure but it’s likely a least a couple of those. Just give her some time, let her work it out in her own head and it'll be fine." Zelgadis responded, a sagely air about him.

A genuine smile returning to her face, Michiru offered a playful (and much lighter) punch to the chimera's arm "You're pretty wise for someone so grumpy. Thanks, Zel."

Zelgadis allowed himself a smirk but said nothing as he moved to head to his own room for the night. After a moment, a thought occurred to the tanuki girl, who turned back and called out "Hey Zel, it almost sounded like you were speaking from experience there."

The smirk slipping from his face, Zelgadis answered as he stepped though his door "I was."

As the chimera's door shut behind him, Michiru was left in the hallway, much more aware of her friend's feelings and yet, feeling much worse for it.

(X)

The next day Michiru gave Emeralda a wide birth, even if it went against all of her instincts to step in and help when she saw someone suffering. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she may have taken some of her own frustrations out on her poor Ectoplasm clones. On the plus side, Michiru had to admit she was getting pretty good at attacking with her fists now that she could fly without using her arms, darting around the clones in mid-air.

In fact, Michiru was getting so wrapped up in the training that she lost track of time entirely, until the session's end was called, much to her surprise. As had become custom at this point, Class 1-B was arriving just as 1-A was wrapping up. What Michiru wasn't expecting was to see was Terra among the second group of heroes-in-training. The young woman, more than a few years older than the first years that surrounded her, definitely stood out and she looked more than a little self-conscious when Neito Monoma began boasting "I see your surprised and jealous stares, 1-A! Yes, it’s true! We now have our own ringer for the license exam! And since she kicked all of your asses at the mall a few weeks back, I'd say having her alone more than makes up for the three you lowly 1-A fools have!"

"Wait…but wasn't he just telling us what an embarrassment it was that we needed help with extra students a few days ago?" Hanta observed over the obsessed blonde's cackling.

"I just try to ignore him." Denki replied as Neito was unceremoniously bonked on his head by his class rep's enlarged hand.

Still not used to the casual use of violence the class rep of 1-B employed, Izuku nervously asked to no one in particular "Didn't Branford-san already pass the license exam? What's she doing here?"

With things relatively quiet again, Michiru looked over at Zelgadis and asked, a hint of accusation in her voice "You knew she'd be here, didn't you?"

Raising an eyebrow, the chimera replied "She did mention it last night. I'm not sure what your problem is. What she does is her own business. If you hadn't of been so hung up on Emeralda, you could have just talked to her yourself."

Looking over, Michiru noticed several of her classmates had begun to gather around her fellow lighter and she became determined to follow Zelgadis' advice, leaving the rock-encrusted sorcerer behind. As the tanuki girl got closer, she could hear Terra already giving an explanation to Izuku, Momo and Tenya "…and because of my sudden, ahem, quirk evolution, I lost control of myself. So the commission stripped me of my provisional license until I can demonstrate control of my new form."

"And that's why you have joined 1-B as Kagemori-san, Greywards-san and Kasim-san have joined our class, to retake the exam?" Tenya clarified.

"That is most commendable of you to try again so soon after such an ordeal, Branford-san." Momo added.

Blushing at the praise, Terra shyly replied "Oh, you heard about that, did you? Well, I can't say it was a pleasant experience, but I didn't think just sitting around was going to fix anything and with Michiru here setting an example, I asked to do the same." Terra finished, acknowledging the tanuki girl.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Izuku had a hint of red himself as he nervously asked "Could…we see it? Your quirk I mean? If its ok?"

"Midoriya! Show some restraint!" Tenya scolded.

A hint of apprehension on her face, Terra nonetheless looked over at Vlad King "Would it be ok, sensei?"

Crossing his arms, a smug grin played on Vlad's face, showing off his prominent fanged teeth "Sure, why not?! You've got the principal's blessing so I'm fine with it!"

Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Terra's eyes took on a determined glint as she turned back and said "OK, I'll show it to you all, but I'd advise you to stand back abit."

Hearing that, Michiru couldn't help but feel a little nervous herself. Even with witnessing Terra's esper state completely under control at the hospital, memories of the fight at the mall couldn't help but force themselves to the fore of her mind as she took several steps back along with everyone else.

With no further preamble, Terra closed her eyes and arched her neck as she faced the ceiling. When she did so, a sudden burst of pink light engulfed her for a moment. When the cloak of energy cleared, Terra floated just above the ground, her form seemingly completely changed. The body covering pink fur and wild, almost feral appearance, cloaked in a similar colored energy made for an intimidating sight for those of both classes that had yet to see Terra's esper form.

With a number of the gathered heroes-in-training outright gawking, Terra rose high above them as she faced toward Cementoss' pillars. As the energy around her surged, Terra took two sudden swipes with her clawed hands in the pillar's direction. At each slash, pink blades of energy surged forth, smashing into two of the taller pillars, toppling them instantly, the rubble crashing down in a dusty cloud.

As she floated back down, those that had turned to watch the attack slowly and comically turned their heads back in unison, eyes wide. The awed silence was broken, of course, by Minoru when he shouted "Dude, she's totally naked!"

Mina and Kyoka proceeded to stomp on the tiny pervert while Terra somehow managed to blush despite already being covered in pink fur. Promptly returning to normal, Terra's clothes reappeared before she nervously said "Yes, well, Power Loader is still working on a work around for my clothes disappearing like that. Until then, I'll just put on some clothes once I've transformed since the principal didn't buy that my fur would be enough."

Shouta, who had been standing next to Vlad King, turned and drawled "I didn't take you for a pervert."

The hulking hero was unperturbed however, laughing the insult off "Ah, come on Eraser, she is covered up. Don't be jealous just because I bagged a strong one!"

"Hardly. Just don't come crying to me if she burns the whole testing site down." Shouta spat out before he turned back to face the students, yelling "Alright, 1-B has training! 1-A, hit the showers!"

Doing as instructed, the students of 1-A made their way out of the gym, the talk of the class being of just how strong Terra had appeared. Tohru went so far as to exclaim "Now that was one hell of a quirk!" None disputed the claim, though the three lighters in the class did share glances, the look of those who knew all too well the truth behind the power 1-B's newest member wielded.

(X)

Talk at lunch continued to be about the young woman who had been cloaked in pink energy and fur. Though Emeralda was usually the quiet one at the table, Michiru too had little to say as the comments and questions about their fellow lighter swirled around the tanuki girl. Michiru only really started paying attention when discussion somehow landed on their girl's night.

"We should totally invite her!" Mina said excitedly before turning to her fellow heteromorph "You live with her, don't you Michiru? It'd be easy for you to ask her, right?"

Michiru was hesitant to answer, still not sure how to feel about the half esper. Luckily, she didn't have to as Momo chimed in with a hint of admonishment in her voice "Now Mina, if we invited Branford-san, then we would have to invite all the girls from 1-B and though I have nothing against them, I do feel that would be far too many."

Crestfallen, the pink-skinned hero-in-training turned when Tsu added "Besides, ribbit, we still have to settle on when and where, don't we?" the frog-like girl said as she looked toward the stoic tan girl to her side.

The attention of the entire table seemed to fall to the greenette, a feeling she didn't much enjoy. There was a pressure settling on her chest and the last thing she wanted to do was to disappoint them while at the same time unsure why she was in this position at all. After a few long seconds, the amber-eyed girl moved to answer by asking to cancel but was beat out when Michiru rose her voice and suggested "Well, we're getting a break in training for the weekend, right Momo? Hadn't you suggested that before?"

Momo's gaze held on Emeralda for another moment before her focus came to the tanuki girl as she hesitantly said "Yes…I had indeed made the suggestion but I was unsure if anyone else had plans. I didn't want to speak for everyone when we weren't all here. Is that ok with everyone?"

There was a chorus of yeses, leaving Emeralda to give her ascent. Instead, the tan morpher was still recovering from having her words taken out of her mouth by her own friend. The truth was, Emeralda felt more and more this whole endeavor was as much for her as anyone and that thought angered her. They should do what they want, what makes them happy, not try to help her. She wasn't deserving of such consideration. After all, she was just a thing, not a real person. Still, Emeralda had agreed to go and even if she wouldn't add anything to the proceedings, she felt she couldn't back out now. Realizing everyone at the table was again starring at her, several of them with that worried expression again, Emeralda looked away and almost whispered "It is fine. As long as I know when to cancel my engagement with Ojiro-san."

"Awww" Mina teased "your engagement, Emeralda? I didn't realize the two of you had grown so close!"

Either ignoring or missing the pink girl's meaning, the tan girl calmly replied "we are no closer than we were at the beginning of our training. It is only appropriate that I inform him."

"Then the dates settled for Friday night but where to have it?" Ochaco said, trying to keep the conversation focused.

"We could have it at our dorm but it feels rude to ask all of you to come over to our place" Michiru said.

"That's a fair point." Kyoka conceded.

"On the other hand, we have far more housemates." Momo pointed out. "If we were to hold the festivities at the 1-A dorm, we would need consent from our male classmates."

"You need not worry about that!" Came an enthusiastically stern Tenya, who had appeared behind the black-haired creator. "We have already discussed amongst ourselves and are fine with your get together, so long as it falls within the realm of decency and good order."

Looks of excitement spread among the girls at the table though several were left wondering what the bi-speckled class rep meant with the last part of his comment. Joining Tenya was Izuku, who added "Yeah, we all decided we could be out doing our own things and the like."

A questioning smile appearing on her face, Mina asked the freckled boy "What, the boys didn't want to have their own night hanging out?"

Flinching, the nervous green-haired boy answered "No. We did try but it kinda fell apart when Ka-chan told me to go to hell when I asked him."

There were looks of sympathy and of anger from the gathered classmates as Michiru voiced the collective feeling when she spat "Typical asshole."

Everyone seemed to nod in response before Momo added "We'll handle food as well, Michiru. You and Emeralda need not worry about bringing anything besides yourselves and anything you might want to such as a game or the like."

The tanuki girl nervously rubbed the side of her fur covered face "Well, we don't exactly have a lot of possessions here after all and I doubt we'll be playing any basketball so I guess it'll just be the two of us."

The peppy floating set of clothes that was Tohru then turned to look over at the stoic greenette and suggested "If you don't have any board games, just think of a fun game from home and we can play that!"

Without hesitation, Emeralda replied flatly "I know of no games played from where I am from."

That brought the various 1-A student's attention back on the tan girl as Michiru cringed visibly, sure this could only lead to her fellow lighter having to poorly lie about her origin to their temporary classmates. A sympathetic Ochaco ventured "You don't know any games? What did you do with your friends, Emeralda?"

The amber-eyed girl moved to answer but was cut off by her furry friend again who said "Emmy just means there aren't any games she knows that aren't played here already!" There was an odd pause as the table's occupants turned their collective attention to Michiru and then back to Emeralda for conformation.

When said lighter silently nodded after her eyes locked with Michiru's, Mina chimed in as if to break the tension, saying "ALL RIGHT! It looks like its settled! I can't wait!" With a collective agreement from the girls, everyone began to drift into different conversations before moving on with their days.

(X)

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a concerned Zelgadis asked Michiru as she and Emeralda stood at the doorway about to leave for their girl's night over at the 1-A dorm a couple of nights later.

"Why Zel, are you jealous?" the tanuki girl teased as she reached for the door.

"Please. You've met our classmates. Half of them are annoying or should be locked up. One of them even makes Emeralda seem like an extrovert. I have no idea how these kids expect to not get themselves killed out there." The chimera countered, clearly not buying his friends ribbing.

"Always so serious. Well, I'd tell you to have fun but I know you're just going to read alone in your room." Michiru answered as she stepped out the door.

Bowing slightly, Emeralda felt the need to say as she too left "I see nothing wrong with reading. Enjoy your night Zelgadis." A statement that brought a small smile to the previously frowning chimera.

As the two walked the short distance over to the 1-A dorms, Michiru asked "What'd you say to Zel?"

"I simply affirmed his life choices..." came the greenette's somewhat cryptic response.

A knowing smile playing on her lips, Michiru spoke, as much to herself as to her companion "Bird's of a feather, huh…" When there was no response, the tanuki girl looked back to see a raised eyebrow but also noticed for the first time that Emeralda was carrying something. "Is that your sketch pad Emmy? Did one of the girls ask you to bring it?"

Glancing down at the pad under her arm, a hint of affection that Michiru had never seen on her friend's face graced Emeralda's features when the greenette answered "No, none of our classmates requested I draw anything for them."

Now it was Michiru's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow before asking "Then…why did you bring it?"

"A hunch." Was all the quiet girl would reveal as the two approached the 1-A dorms. Out front, Izuku and Mashirao were in the middle of practicing, the former having asked to train with the tailed martial artist in Emeralda's place.

As the two lighters approached, the boys saw them and stopped their spar, Izuku offering a friendly wave while Mashirao bowed respectfully to the girl he saw as his superior. The tailed boy's gesture caught Michiru off guard though and she nervously tried to wave him off while Emeralda responded with a light bow of her own. The whole exchange was witnessed by the 1-A girls watching from the window who giggled, unbeknownst to Michiru and Emeralda.

Mina was still giggling a bit when she answered the door before either of their guests could knock. Puffing her cheeks a bit, Michiru demanded "What's so damn funny!"

The tanuki girl's indigent question only brought a fresh round of laughter as several girl's lost their composure anew. Emeralda, for her part, didn't really see what was funny either but was glad to see everyone already enjoying themselves. On top of that, the quiet greenette had also been worried that her choice of dress, a simple red tank-top and black athletic shorts, would be out of place but seeing the other girl's more or less in the same kind of casual attire put her at ease.

Momo was first to regain her composure and welcomed the two morphers into the dorm. Apparently, since getting food delivered was considered too high a security risk, all the girls had pitched in to cook various finger foods for everyone to enjoy. It was the dinning area that the group was headed when the dis-embodied set of cloths that was Tohru leaned in toward Emeralda and exclaimed "Is that a sketch pad! Are we going to get to see some of Emeralda's awesome art?!"

A finger pressed to her wide lips, Tsu added "Is that true, Emeralda-chan? Did you bring that to show us some of your work?"

"I can do so if you wish but I had a feeling it might come up so if anyone wants me to produce something, I can do so if you would like." came the amber-eyed artist's response.

"Oh, is that what you had in mind Emmy? You guys are in for a treat, because Emmy here's work is top notch!" Michiru cheered.

"That's really cool Emeralda. Just don't let your drawing get in the way of having fun tonight, Ok?" Kyoka pointed out, making sure to look at Mina when she said it.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! I wasn't even going to ask for anything!" Mina whined.

As the chaos swirled around her, Emeralda couldn't help but smile herself, her lingering worries about coming begining to melt away. When they arrived at the dinning area there was quite the spread of food for everyone to enjoy. The group insisted that the guests get their food first, which they did, quickly followed by the rest. Once everyone was settled around the couches in the common area, their plates filled with food, everyone began chatting.

All except Emeralda, who quickly found herself quietly watching on, as though they were all back in the cafeteria, the only difference being she didn't have a table to set her food. Normally, the greenette would do her best to be attentive and listen to what was being said so she could learn about her classmates and this new world. This time however, this time felt…hollow. Empty. She was here to "have fun" and she was beginning to feel very left out despite telling herself it was at least as much her own doing as theirs that she sat by. Before long, Emeralda found herself entirely zoned out of the various conversations around her. So much so she actually missed it when someone spoke to her directly.

"Hey, Emeralda, you ok?" came the sweet and concerned voice of the round-faced Ochaco.

It took a moment for the tan girl to register that the question was indeed directed at her. When she did speak, Emeralda did her best to mask her thoughts as she said "Yes, I am fine. Please do not worry about me."

With that, Emeralda went back to idly watching the others, trying to ignore the fact that the gravity defying girl that now beside her continued to look at her. After several long seconds, Ochaco spoke again "You know…I'm kinda jealous."

The tan-skinned girl furrowed her brow as she considered that statement for a moment, unable to discern its meaning. "I…do not understand, Uraraka-san. Who are you jealous of?"

After a light giggle, the brunette replied "You, silly!"

Turning her head slightly, almost like a confused puppy, Emeralda asked "Of me? That doesn't make any sense. I am hardly worth such attention."

"What are you talking about! Emeralda, your calm, and cool, you have an amazing quirk and are a top-notch martial artist on top of that! And Michiru keeps saying how great an artist you are!" Ochaco exclaimed before looking down and fidgeting with her fingers. After a moment, she spoke again, notably softer "I wish I could be creative like you or Jiro or be super smart like Yaoyorozu, you know? Sometimes I feel like I'm just the average girl in the class…"

As Ochaco spoke, Emeralda's golden orbs widened at the other girl's admission and she felt compelled to say "No, you are wrong, Uraraka-san. It is you that I am jealous of. I have seen how open and friendly you are with the others in class. As I am sure you have noticed, that is something I…struggle with. You call me cool but really I am nothing more than a failure who is too afraid to say anything."

The brunette smiled, an expression that at first looked strained, as though she was struggling not to lose her composure. In a moment, it passed and a more genuine expression replaced it as Ochaco replied "Well, we can't be good at everything, right? I guess we each have things we're good at and all we can do is strive to improve ourselves!"

"Perhaps…" was all Emeralda could think to say, looking away, silence falling between the two girls.

After a moment, Ochaco noted the sketch pad Emeralda had tucked beside her in between some cushions of the couch. A bit hesitantly, the gravity defying girl asked, "Mind if I take a look at your work?"

Looking between Ochaco and the pad, Emeralda nodded, placing her now empty plate on the table in front of her before pulling out her pad. The moment Emeralda placed the sketch book on her lap, Mina noticed, calling out "Oh! Oh! Me too! I want to see!"

It didn't take long for everyone to gather around the greenette, save for Michiru, who was content to watch her friend be the center of attention from a few feet back, glad to see Emeralda get to open up a bit more. Opening the sketchbook to the back where more complete works were, the girls were impressed by how realistic Emeralda's work was. The first piece was of a landscape of the exterior of UA itself, followed by a beautiful mountain scene then a surprisingly detailed recreation of the mall that the three lighters had first appeared in. Then came portraits, first of some of their teachers like Aizawa and Cementoss and Midnight, for which Emeralda again received praise, something she tried to ignore or intentionally not acknowledge as she turned pages.

Then came the pages that had all of them, in their hero costumes, much to each subject's delight. Once they got past the 1-A students though, they came to a picture of a girl none of them had seen before though she looked very familiar. After a moment of starring, it was Tsu that said "Wait, ribbit. Is this Michiru-chan?"

All the gathered girls, as one starred hard at the drawing of the cute girl with the uneven bangs before turning to look at the tanuki girl. The furry girl in question had been spacing out at the moment but when she heard her name and everyone looking at her she realized her friend had done it again. Her eyes wide in surprise, Michiru called out "What? Don't tell me!" as she rushed over and muscled her way into the gathered girls to get a look. Sure enough, it was another portrait of her in her human form, similar to the one she had taken from Emeralda's room days earlier.

With everyone's expectant gaze upon her, Michiru dropped her hand and said, ashamed "Yes, that's me."

"Wait" said Mina "So does this mean you can look more human or that you were a late bloomer like Midoriya?"

Before the tanuki girl could answer though, Emeralda spoke "Michiru can shift into this form."

"It makes sense." Tsu speculated "Humans are animals too so if Michiru can take the form or characteristics of different animals, it would make sense that would include humans as well."

"We've never seen you like that, Michiru. There a reason why you never look human when you could?" Tohru asked.

Fuming that Emeralda would just answer for her and rob her of a way out, Michiru, a little too quickly, answered "Because! I-I feel more comfortable this way! This was the form I took when my quirk manifested! That's not who I am anymore!"

Despite what the tanuki girl just said, Mina couldn't help but ask "Could we see it? Your human form I mean?"

Seeing how uncomfortable Michiru was getting, Momo stepped in and offered a distraction, turning back to the tan girl "Emeralda, would it be too much trouble for me to ask you do a piece for me?"

Unsure exactly why Michiru was looking so flustered, Emeralda turned to face the raven-haired creator and replied "I could try. What do you have in mind?"

Letting out an audible but soft pout, Mina said "Aww, but I wanted to see…" as she turned her attention back to the emerald-haired artist.

"When I saw your portrait of Kyoka before, I felt like it was missing something. Do you think you could draw her playing her guitar?" Momo explained.

Glancing at the girl with the ear jack-like ear-lobs, Emeralda answered "I will do my best. I do not, however, know what a guitar is."

Any other conversation died off and the room went silent as Emeralda glanced about the others around her, slightly confused. After a moment, Kyoka said flatly "Did you seriously say you don't know what a guitar is?"

"Yeah" Mina added "Its kinda hard to not at least know what they are. Have you been living under a rock, Emeralda!?" the pink girl playfully added.

The rhetorical and joking question threw Emeralda off and she found herself answering seriously "I did spend a great deal of time underground…" before catching herself about to reveal more than she ever intended, clamping her mouth shut. When the greenette started getting weird looks from those around her, she quickly added, truthfully "I was never exposed to such things where I am from, my apologies."

An empathic "Oh" escaped Kyoka's lips before her face brightened before she stood up and said "Well, let’s fix that!" before she darted off for her room.

While the purple-haired musician/hero-in-training got her instrument the others set about cleaning up after themselves. It wasn't long before Kyoka returned with her purple guitar and presented it to the light green-haired artist "Here! This is my baby, my guitar!"

Emeralda regarded the instrument with curiosity, looking it over briefly before asking "So, it's a string instrument then?"

"Well" Kyoka began, her normally dour eyes lighting up "This girl's electric so to really get the best out of her, I'd need to plug it in. My dad got it for me when I got into UA. I'd love to play you something if it weren't so late already. Maybe you could come listen some time?"

"I would be interested in listening. Thank you, Jiro-san." Emeralda answered sincerely.

"I think we'd all love to hear you play Jiro!" Tohru enthusiastically added.

"Yes, I completely agree." Momo agreed before turning to look at the furry member of the group "Right, Michiru?"

Appearing somewhat distant, the tanuki girl seemed to snap back to her surroundings before weakly agreeing "Yeah. Right. That'd be fun."

Momo's gaze lingered on the tailed lighter for another moment before Emeralda's voice brought her attention back to the upcoming sketching. "You may not be able to play your…guitar but if you could pose for a moment as if you were, Jiro-san, I could begin."

"What, in these cloths? Won't that look kinda weird?" Kyoka asked, concerned.

"I had intended to have you in your hero outfit, if that was acceptable?" Emeralda answered simply.

"You can remember her costume well enough to do that?" Tsu asked, sounding impressed.

"I have a photographic memory." Was all Emeralda said in response before looking again over at Kyoka and asking "Is that the pose you want, Jiro-san?"

Kyoka was slightly bent forward, her right hand held on the strings, the guitar's neck pointed up at an angle, her other hand held across it. The pose conveyed a sense of intensity that was reflected in the musician's look on her face as she nodded. Emeralda wasted no time in sketching out the basics of her subject, working quickly and efficiently as the others looked on with awe. It wasn't long before the greenette told Kyoka she could relax with Emeralda continuing for a bit longer before declaring she had all she needed for the rough sketch and would finish it later unless anyone else wanted something else done.

And indeed Mina, eager to jump at the chance despite what she said earlier, asked to be drawn in one of her break-dancing poses. No one else really felt as strongly about the prospect so Ochaco suggested a group scene before Emeralda got started with Mina. So, Emeralda had everyone pile together in silly poses for her to do her work. While waiting for the tan girl to finish, Tsu thought to ask where Emeralda was planning to place herself in the work. Blinking, Emeralda answered "I had not even considered including myself, honestly."

That didn't sit well with anyone and it apparently showed enough for even Emeralda to notice as she ventured "I am sorry for the oversight. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

"I have an idea!" the invisible Tohru called out. Breaking pose and running over to the amber-eyed artist, the floating set of clothes whispered into Emeralda's ear.

A small smile played on the greenette's face as she nodded and replied "Yes, I think I can do that."

"Great!" was Tohru's excited response as she rushed back to her spot.

"What did you tell her Hagakure?" Ochaco asked.

"It's a surprise!" came the reply, which brought a playful frown to the gravity defying girl's face.

Before long Emeralda was far enough along for everyone to relax and several came over to see where Tohru had suggested the artist place herself. "Oh, that's perfect! Great idea Hagakure!" Mina declared. Looking at the work, Mina saw that Emeralda had inserted herself just as she was, off to the side, sketching them, effectively having drawn herself drawing herself.

With the last sketch far enough along for Emeralda to complete later, Mina announced what they'd be doing next, a game of Truth or Quirk! The rules were simple, everyone would draw lots to assign a number. Each person would go in order and spin a wheel with their numbers on it and whichever it landed on, the first person would ask truth or quirk. If the second person choose truth, they'd have to answer a question of the first person's choosing truthfully. If the second person choose quirk then they would have to perform some feat that involved their quirk chosen by the first person. The second person could decide not to do the quirk but would then have to answer a question or vice versa.

Momo created a custom wheel with 1 through 8 on it so they wouldn't have to worry about extra numbers and once everyone drew a number out of a hat, it was time to play.

Tsu got to go first and the arrow settled on Momo. The frog-like girl took the opportunity to ask the raven-haired creator to make her an extra pillow for her bed when Momo choose quirk, much to the mischievous Mina's disappointment.

Next up was Tohru, who, after she spun the wheel, turned to her victim, Ochaco. Tohru didn’t want to do the same as Momo before her and instead said truth. Glad no one could see her invisible smirk, Tohru proceeded to ask in a sing-song voice "So Uraraka, there anyone you crushing on?"

The question caught the round-faced girl completely off guard, and her eyes went wide as her face rapidly flushed red. Trying desperately to avoid eye contact with anyone, she directed her gaze out the large panel windows that lined the side of the room. Unfortunately for the poor girl, just then she caught a glimpse of the freckled hero-in-training that was the cause of her current predicament as he exchanged some kicks with Mashirao. With a high-pitched "Eep!" Ochaco looked back toward her friends, before she buried her face in the pillow she was holding before squeaking out "Quirk! I choose quirk!"

Tohru let out a disapointed "Aww" while Kyoka and Mina teased the poor brunette about just who had caught her eye, to no avail. Once it was clear no answer was forthcoming about who had been the cause of Ochaco's embarrassment, Tohru told her to roll into a ball and bounce herself of all four walls and the floor and ceiling of the room.

Ochaco complied and once she was done, it was Emeralda's turn and when she spun the arrow, it settled on Michiru. The tanuki girl had gone very quiet for the last stretch of the party, still thinking about how Emeralda had revealed her human form to everyone. The fact that the two of them had, in a way, switched places socially had gone un-noticed by the tanuki girl. So it was that Michiru wasn't really as aware as she should have been when she absentmindedly said "Quirk" thinking her friend would have her grow a shell and hide in it or something.

Instead, the tan girl, obvious of just how uncomfortable the subject was for her friend said to Michiru "Please show us your human form if you could, Michiru."

"Yes! Finally!" Mina blurted out, earning her a glare from Momo.

Emeralda though, missed the anger that flashed across the tanuki girl's face as Michiru turned away. After a pause, Michiru said, her voice low and twinged with barely contained frustration "Truth."

With Mina again sounding disappointed in the background and still not aware of what was building under the surface of her friend, Emeralda answered "Then please tell me Michiru, why do you not wish to share your human form with anyone?"

Michiru turned her head back to stare back at her friend, her eyes wide, her face no longer suppressing anger but instead showing shock and a hint of betrayal. Not understanding the expression, Emeralda looked confused herself as the two starred at each other. Emeralda began to grow worried when this stretched out for a very awkward few moments. Finally, Michiru stood up, making sure to keep her gaze on her fellow lighter. There was a series of sparks and what had been a tanuki girl now stood a human girl with brown eyes and brown hair that was noticeably longer on the right side of her head. Sighing heavily, Michiru finally said bitterly "There, I hope your happy."

Unfortunately for the former tanuki girl, Mina had been sitting on the opposite side and missed Michiru’s expression and what she had said as the pink girl bounded forward and excitedly embraced the transformed girl. "Look at you, your so cute, Michiru! You should totally do this more often!"

When Michiru didn't respond, didn't even look at the pink girl, Mina knew something was wrong. Letting go and steeping away, Mina worriedly asked "Michiru? Michiru, are you ok?"

Visibly shaking, the now human girl whirled around and angrily yelled "NO, I'M NOT ALRIGHT MINA! I'm not going to walk around like this either! I showed you for this stupid game! If I have any say in it, you'll never see me like this again!" Though she was still human, the rage in her eyes and the fervor that she spoke with made Michiru look more like an animal than she ever did while a tanuki.

Utterly shocked and more than a little hurt, Mina backed away and replied in a small voice "I'm…sorry. I just thought it was cool is all…"

Momo and Kyoka came to Mina's side, each offering a supporting embrace as the raven-haired creator shot back "Michiru! That was entirely uncalled for! What has come over you?"

Shifting back into her familiar tanuki form, Michiru met Momo’s questioning gaze with a steely one of her own as she pressed her hand to her chest and replied "THIS is who I am! What you just saw? She doesn't exist anymore and the last thing I wanted to do was to show you! But Emmy here couldn't take a hint!" Michiru's voice was starting to break now as her body trembled. She continued, everyone watching on now "And now…now I've ruined everything! I'm done. I just need to get out of here. I’m sorry"

Pushing her way past Emeralda, Michiru ran downstairs and rushed out the door, slamming it hard behind her, leaving silence in her wake.

(X)

Chapter Text

Zelgadis was a man of many tastes. The chimera may have been prickly and often distant but he craved knowledge of all sorts. It’s part of what drove him to learn about subjects such as astronomy and astral navigation as well as gunpowder and the guns that used them. It’s partly why, unlike Lina, who specialized in magic or Gourry's mastery of the sword, he alone in their group was great at both. Thinking on it, he feared that broad curiosity had been inherited from his accursed grandfather. Reading often provided the sorcerer-swordsmen with windows into all sorts of subjects and disciplines and it had been one of his little joys back home when he wasn't looking for a cure for his body or saving the world with his merry band of idiots.

So it was that Zelgadis had quickly grown tired of Shinra's manga collection, which tended to be pretty narrowly focused on straight forward hero fare. Still unable to leave campus or have any money to buy his own though, the sharp-toothed flame wielder had been his only source of reading material Zelgadis could handle however. That had all changed when Terra had returned to the lighter house a few days ago. In the course of one of their conversations, the dark greenette had let slip that she had her own collection, in part for the same reason he was reading them, as a teaching aid.

Thus it was Terra's room where Zelgadis had went to get the night's reading material when Michiru and Emeralda had left for their girl's night over at the 1-A dorm. The plan had been to get a few manga and head back to his room to read the night away. Instead, Terra had actually asked to join him since she hadn't really touched her collection in a while and wanted to be there if he had any questions. So, the two magic wielding lighters adjured back to the common area to enjoy their reading in comfortable silence.

Terra indeed had a wider palette for reading material than their self-proclaimed hero of a housemate, much to Zelgadis' delight. The rock-encrusted chimera wasn't surprised to find many of Terra's manga had a much more feminine vibe, with stories more focused on relationships or magically transforming heroes who struggled with the duality of their normal lives and their heroic alter egos.

This did mean, though, that Zelgadis was coming across new words or contexts that he hadn't encountered yet, leading to the questions his housemate had anticipated. Each time this would lead to a rather pleasant conversation on one subject or another before they would return to their respective books. Indeed, the grumpy chimera was quickly becoming fond of the gentle, subtlety confident young woman.

Eventually, Zelgadis found himself confused again, turning to look at the dark green-haired woman as she sat engrossed in her own book. Feeling a bit guilty for interpreting his companion, Zelgadis stared at her for a few moments, hoping she might come to a stopping point and notice his gaze. When that moment didn't come, Zelgadis decided it would be better to simply ask than to risk her thinking he was a creep and coughed. That did the trick as Terra's trance broke and she glanced in his direction. With an apologetic wave, Zelgadis said "Sorry to bother you Terra but I had another question."

For Terra's part, she had been especially wrapped up in her story. Had she not read it a million times before, she may have been annoyed at the interruption. However, since it had been her idea to read together specifically in case she could help, the half esper simply offered a warm smile as she responded "Yes, Zelgadis, what is it?"

Standing up and walking over to Terra's chair, Zelgadis leaned over and showed the offending page "I think I understand what is being said here but it doesn't make sense given what is going on in the page. What am I missing?"

Shifting from a slumped position to a more upright one in the comfortable, cushion laden chair, Terra gazed at the offending page. It only took a moment for the dark green-haired woman to understand Zelgadis' issue and it caused her to giggle. When she looked up, she was met with a questioning raised eyebrow and she couldn't help but let out another giggle. When the chimera pulled the book back, his expression slowly shifting into one of annoyance, Terra finally offered an explanation, her voice full of mirth "Zelgadis, silly, you've read the words just fine. In all your travels back in your world did you never come across any same sex couples?"

The blue-skinned young man went back to looking confused as he said to himself "Same sex couples…?" Then he looked back at the page and stared at it for a moment before his face turned bright red, his voice rising as he replied with scandalous shock "Wait, you don't mean!?"

Terra's playful smile grew wider as a laughing fit threatened to overtake her as she said "I do! Come on, Zelgadis, you should see your face! There's nothing wrong, I'm actually a little surprised this is your first exposure to yaoi."

In his mind, Zelgadis knew what Terra was saying was true but she was also right that such subjects were rarely touched on back in his world. The closest he ever came himself was when he developed a crush on a girl when he himself was cross-dressing to gain access to a woman-only village. It had been for the sake of possibly getting information about changing his body back to normal but that came crashing down when it was revealed the girl, along with most everyone else in the village, was also cross-dressing. The knowledge he sought had been another likely deliberate piece of misinformation from Xellos to either mislead or entertain the accursed mazuku.

His face still red from embarrassment, as much from his ignorance of the subject matter as the subject itself, Zelgadis was about to reply when the front door slammed open and a visibly angry Michiru stormed in. The two bibliophiles turned to see what the commotion was and Michiru glared over at the two of them as she stomped past. Seeing the flush combined with the surprised look on his face, Michiru snapped "Just a night of quiet reading huh? Sorry for interrupting your little date!"

The chimera's head jerked back in surprise at his friend's accusation, not to mention her entire attitude, so unlike the tanuki girl he knew. His blush gone as his mind raced to understand what was going on, Zelgadis called out, concern clear in his normally cynical voice "Michiru! What happened over there? Where is Emeralda?"

Almost to the stairwell, at the mention of the tan greenette's name, Michiru whirled around and for the first time Zelgadis could see the hurt mixed into the anger on the tanuki girl's face as she bitterly answered "Oh, you mean the girl who couldn't get a clue if it hit her in the face? Probably still over there giving away whatever other deep dark secrets she knows! I hope you didn't happen to tell her about your little crush here Zel!"

A sour look appeared on the chimera's face as she briefly turned to look at Terra, who looked very concerned at the scene before her but otherwise offered nothing. Zelgadis sighed as he turned back and began walking toward his fur-covered friend and said "Michiru, you’re angry, that's obvious and I'm sorry for whatever happened over there but you are quite wrong about Terra and I. I had just asked her a question about what I was reading, and the answer wasn't exactly what I had been expecting. That's all."

The tanuki girl rolled her eyes before she shot back "Whatever, Zel. I know what I saw. I should have known all that whining about getting your body back was just talk! You don't seem to have any trouble using your 'terrible appearance' to get the girl if it suits you." Just as she was finishing, Emeralda came through the door, worry evident in her eyes. Seeing her, Michiru turned away and muttered "…great, now she's caught up."

Zelgadis, however, had gone from calm worry to blazing rage in moments from Michiru's words, a line clearly having been crossed. If he was aware of Emeralda's arrival, he didn't show it as he responded, his voice dripping with seething anger "How dare you. I would stop at NOTHING to get my body back and if you think I care about making girls swoon over me then you're more self-centered and foolish than I ever thought possible. You, who has exactly what I have wished for, for so long and won't use it! For what? Is it pity? Or do you think yourself that much better as a tanuki?"

"Pity? FOR PITY? You think I walk around like this for pity?" Michiru asked, incredulously. Then, pressing a hand to her chest, she continued "I am better as a tanuki! I'm proud to be this way, even if it caused me all sorts of trouble. If you can't see that, you’re as dense as that robot of a girl over there!" Michiru finished, pointing at the shocked and now very hurt tan girl standing beside Terra.

Zelgadis turned around to see that Emeralda had entered without him even noticing. The look that greeted him though was both confusing and heart-breaking all at the same time. Emeralda stood there, a hand clenched to her chest, staring at Michiru like a deer in the headlights, complete terror playing on her exotic features. Michiru took a challenging step forward, barring her fangs, calling out "Well Emmy, you came back, what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you keep pressing to make me show them my human form even when I clearly didn't want to!?"

Even after having seen Michiru run out, even when the other girls encouraged her to follow and even as the enraged tanuki girl spelled it out for her, Emeralda struggled to understand why her friend was so upset. With those odd two-toned eyes boring down on her, Emeralda felt she needed to say something despite wanting to just disappear and hide away from this madness. When the tan girl did speak, her voice was at first soft and submissive "I-I'm sorry Michiru. I…I didn't know. I didn't understand. I still don't understand why you’re ashamed of that form."

The tanuki girl's rage appeared to calm, though it had in fact settled into a cold anger that appeared as frustration on her animalistic features as she replied "I swear Emmy, it’s like you have no idea how to interact with people. I like you Emmy, I really do, so I was willing to wait when you wouldn't tell me about yourself when I asked. I didn't press when you literally grew back an eye. I thought I could help you open up more, to be better." At that, Emeralda's eyes widened, and her mouth settled into a frown but she said nothing as Michiru continued "It’s been so frustrating trying to get you to open up! And what do I get in return? An oblivious robot of a person who couldn't see I was hurting! It’s...it’s like you just came out of the box."

Michiru was trembling now, silence settling on the four lighters with the tanuki girl boring into her friend with her anger fueled glare. Emeralda didn't see it, her head down and her face obscured by her pale green hair. Finally, the tense quiet was broken.

"A tube."

"What?" came Michiru's confused response. It had been said quietly but with her enhanced hearing, the tanuki girl heard it clearly.

"It wasn't a box, it was a tube!" Emeralda shouted as she looked up to meet her friend's eyes, her voice breaking as tears began to stream down her face. "Emeralda knows she…I know I am a, a thing! I've tried so, so hard to be the way I was meant to be! The way Kim wanted me to be! B-but I couldn't do it back home and I can't do it here! Just leave me be and I won't ruin anything else for you Michiru or anyone else!"

Michiru was completely dumbstruck. What did Emeralda mean when she said she was "a thing?" Had she actually been right and Emeralda really was a robot? So lost in her thoughts was the tanuki girl that she missed that Emeralda had begun dashing for the stairs herself, undoubtedly going for her room. When Michiru tried to stop her to get an explanation by grabbing the tan girl's arm as she passed, Emeralda whirled around and made a blade of her free hand, pointing it up toward Michiru's throat.

Letting go as she fell away to avoid the blade, Emeralda's limb returned to normal as she turned and ran upstairs and out of sight. Falling back and landing on her butt, Michiru sat there stunned for a few moments before she turned and looked up at the rock-encrusted sorcerer-swordsmen. Zelgadis stood over her, arms crossed and a very disappointed look on his his face. No words were needed to convey how each felt in that moment and without further incident, Michiru pulled herself up, glanced one last time over at the chimera before heading upstairs herself, her ears and tail slumped, just as her head was kept low.

After Zelgadis waited long enough for the tanuki girl to get up to her room, he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table he was now standing by. "Damnit it!" he cursed before turning to regard the silent half-esper who had borne witness to the entire seemingly unprovoked fight. "That, has never happened before. Michiru is a passionate person and until now she has managed to stay positive throughout this ordeal. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that passion and positivity can rebound from time to time. I am sorry you had had to see that."

Terra offered a reassuring smile, one that was betrayed by the worry still in her eyes as she replied "No, its ok. Being a lighter is especially hard in the beginning and honestly, you three have held up amazing well considering not just that but everything else you've already been through since arriving here."

Both of them knew that the dark greenette was in part referring to her own hand in those troubles, something she had already profusely apologized for. Zelgadis started to say as much "Hey, Terra, you don't have to-" when a knock at the front door brought him up short.

Zelgadis and Terra exchanged glances before the chimera stepped forward and cautiously opened the door. Before him was a very meek looking Mina, her arms behind her back.

The sorcerer-swordsmen offered a raised eyebrow at the sight but said nothing, no longer in the mood for pleasantries. "Uhh, hi, Greywards-san." The pink girl started after a moment of awkward silence. "I just wanted to apologize for what happened tonight. I kind of could tell Michiru wasn't exactly comfortable. Everyone did, aside from Emeralda. I...I didn't help. If I had eased up, Michiru probably wouldn't have exploded like that. I hope there wasn't too much trouble after she left?"

Mina's apology didn't tell Zelgadis much about what happened, but he could put two and two together. As the pink girl nervously awaited a response, the chimera sighed, finally saying "Her return wasn't exactly quiet. Let's leave it at that. I'll convey your apology when I get the chance, Ashido-san."

At hearing Zelgadis' hint that things didn't go smoothly here either, Mina cringed. And when he moved to close the door on her, Mina held her arm out to catch the door, surprising Zelgadis. "Here" she said, pulling her other arm out from behind her, revealing Emeralda's sketch pad "When we suggested to her that she should follow Michiru, Emeralda left this behind. Would…you return it to her?"

His features softening abit, Zelgadis reached out and accepted the pad, saying "Yeah, sure. Anything else?"

"Nope!" Mina replied, trying to force a smile as she backed away. "Thanks Zelgadis! Have, have a good night, ok?"

His frown deepening, the chimera offered a cursory wave before he shut the door. Turning back to walk back toward Terra, Zelgadis' curiosity got the better of him and he flipped through the pad to see the latest works. The sketches were rough but excellent all the same. The group shot was enduring but the one of Kyoka holding an instrument really caught his eye. Could it be?

As Terra typed away furiously on her phone, Zelgadis came up, holding up the sketch as he asked "Terra, is the object in the picture…a guitar?"

Pausing to look over, Terra smiled as she replied "Yeah, it is. I'm surprised, did you have these in your world?"

"Indeed. I used to dabble when I wasn't reading or sword training or practicing my magic." Zelgadis replied as he kept his eye on the sketch.

Terra chuckled, for a moment forgetting the fight she had witnessed minutes before and said "My, Zelgadis, you really do try everything, don't you? Maybe you should ask Jiro-san about it when you see her next?"

The chimera shook his head "I don't think it's something I should bring up anything soon but I think I will, eventually. There are other things to deal with for now."

"You're probably right. Headed in for the night then?" Terra asked, bringing her phone up again to continue whatever she was typing.

"Yes, after I return the pad. I'm sorry you had to witness that, Terra. Have a good evening." Zelgadis replied, waving before heading upstairs.

"Think nothing of it Zelgadis. Like I said, it's a stressful time. Try to get some rest yourself. Good night." As Zelgadis disappeared up the stairwell, Terra continued to convey what had happened to Jun and Hitomi, sure that if left unchecked, the three friends could rip themselves apart.

(X)

Kai sat in his private study, looking over the latest returns from the Shie Hassaikai's wave of robberies in the days since Xellos had joined them. The amount of capital seized was…impressive. In just a matter of days, they had not just made up for everything they had lost out on by the purple-haired thief's getting ahead of them, they had doubled it. The ever-smiling newest member of the family had proven well prepared, efficient and ruthless. It seemed very strange to the masked leader of the Shie Hassaikai that such a talented person could be left alone for so long. The new recruit was even impeccably dressed and very clean. Indeed, everything seemed almost too good to be true and despite how valuable this Xellos had proven to be so quickly, it would be a foolish mistake to trust him just yet.

Kai's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. His most trusted lieutenant, Shin, could be heard saying "Master, Metallium-san is here, as you requested."

With a quick check to make sure his mask was still tightly secured, Kai replied "Good, thank you, please let him in."

"As you wish, master." Shin replied as the purple-suited new recruit with the nearly shut eyes appeared before his new master.

As expected, the odd man was smiling as he respectfully bowed. Despite the fact that Xellos wasn't wearing a mask, Kai couldn't help but feel like this man was bereft of the germs that plagued his thoughts. It was almost an otherworldly feeling he got from the man bowing in front of him. However, such thoughts were not why he had summoned the smiling thief as Kai got to business, having turned to face Xellos, though he remained seated when he spoke "Hello Xellos. I wanted to discuss your work thus far for us."

Righting himself from his bow, Xellos raised an inquisitive eyebrow "Oh? Have you found my efforts lacking, Chisaki-sama?"

Keeping his arms crossed over his chest, Kai replied evenly "Just the opposite, in fact. You wasted no time in naming the members of our family who had betrayed me to sell you information. Which, though appreciated, raises the concern about how loyal you truly are if you were so quick to sell them out."

If Xellos was nervous or felt any sort of pressure from Kai's line of thought, the thief didn't show it, that placid smile entirely unchanged as Xellos replied "My goal was to join you after all, it's hardly my fault you had such fools working for you. Their loyalty should have been to you, not to making extra money. I feel I strengthened you by rooting them out. I suspect, however, that anything I say wouldn't be good enough for you, would it Chisaki-sama?"

"You catch on quick Xellos. You are correct, there is something else you could do to help reassure me of your intentions. You clearly did a great deal of research to have so many targets ready for us to hit once we recruited you. I doubt, however, you could have handled it all on your own, yes?" Kai asked, leaning forward, resting his chin on his arms, themselves set on his knees.

"Oh my, yes! That's part of what I bought with all my earnings, after all. Not to brag but I have a nice little information network set up if that's what you were insinuating." Xellos replied, bringing his right pointer finger up as he spoke in a somewhat braggadocios tone.

Kai frowned underneath his mask. As he suspected, but would someone so clearly proud of his work just throw it away? "Yes, that was what I had in mind, Xellos. Tell me, would you allow us to make use of your network? As a member of the family now, it's only right that we have use of all your resources, wouldn't you say?"

Without even a moment's hesitation, Xellos cheerily answered "Of course! What's mine is yours, after all! In fact, I can improve upon it as well! Anything to destroy this world of heroes, master."

Kai had to keep himself from looking as shocked as he felt to have his new subordinate so easily relinquish control of an information network like that without a second thought. Sitting back up Kai managed to hide his surprise in his voice when he spoke "Very good. I expect you to turn over your contacts to Shin by the end of the day. Continue the good work Xellos."

With another bow, Xellos replied "My pleasure, master. I will see to it." The purple-eyed thief then left, offering a nod to Shin as he left.

Once Xellos was down the hallway and out of sight, Shin stepped inside and waited patiently for his master to speak. The masked member of the Eight Bullets didn't have to wait long before Kai spoke a single word "Thoughts?"

"Without using my quirk, I can only guess so much master. He is a hard man to read. He has been exceedingly easy to work with and I am sure he would be just as helpful in connecting me to his information network."

"But" Kai floated, expecting more.

"But he is almost too nice. I can't help but feel a sense of unease around him. I will say, though, that the feeling seems to be absent among the rank-and-file." Shin dutifully answered.

That got the leader of the Shie Hassaikai to raise an eyebrow "Oh really? Explain."

"Well…" Shin started "the low-ranking members of the family seem to absolutely love him. In the short time he has been with us, from what I have seen and what I've been told, he has been attentive, friendly and helpful whenever possible. I am already planning to inquire with several of them to see if there is anything behind such behavior."

Kai narrowed his eyes as he replied "See that you do. I'll not be lured into a rebellion by a few measly yen. We have a much greater purpose. See to it that Xellos means what he says. Otherwise, his membership in this family will be historically short."

Shin bowed as he reverently said, "Of course my master, it will be done." After a nod from Kai, Sin also took his leave. Turning back to the notes on his desk, Kai began to think about the next phase of his plan. Information was certainly key but what good was it without manpower? The time would soon come that their little family would need outside help to move his plan to destroy quirks forward.

(X)

Hitomi frowned. This had been a long time coming. Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis had been here for weeks now. They'd had their lives threatened more than once, lied to, their strength tested, and had their hopes of a return home blow up in their faces. It was an absolute wonder none of them had broken down before now.

It was her own fault, Hitomi realized. She should have pushed for them to start sessions right away but after losing control of her power with Emeralda and everything else that had happened, Hitomi had fooled herself into thinking that the three of them supporting each other had served as a replacement for the guidance she was meant to provide. Talking to Terra last night and Zelgadis this morning, it was clear a breakdown had happened and with the individual she had least expected it from, the seemingly boundlessly optimistic tanuki girl herself.

Neither girl had come down for breakfast or to leave for their daily training with Class 1-A. Given everything that happened last night, Hitomi knew everything would be too raw for the two to sit down together, which meant one-on-ones with her first. That's what lead Hitomi to stand in front of the greenette morpher's door, having decided that having Emeralda's side first would better inform her for Michiru. Several knocks on the door without a response produced a pit in the counselor's stomach. After a few more moments, Hitomi spoke, gentle concern in her voice, "Emeralda? I'm, I'm coming in, ok?"

The door was unlocked and slowly, the brunette creaked the door open. Hitomi half expected the room to be empty, considering the idea that the quiet greenette had run away. The more hopeful options being she was sleeping or taking a shower. What Hitomi didn't expect, was to see the amber-eyed girl at her desk, drawing, apparently ignoring the counselor's attempts to get permission to enter. Briefly, Emeralda turned to look up at her, long enough to see how tired and tear-stained her face was.

The moment passed and the green-haired artist returned her focus to her work, ignoring her guest entirely. Rather than try to start a conversation, Hitomi stepped over to look over the other girl's shoulder and peer at what she was working on. The image being drawn was of a robot very much like the one Hitomi had seen in her accidental vision when she had first tried to talk to Emeralda. A slender machine, accented in emerald green, armless, with two massive green wings protruding from its head surrounded in what appeared to be an aquatic landscape.

Glancing around, Hitomi could see several other drawings depicting this same robot but the one being worked on now was by far the most intricate and appeared to be in an undersea environment, light filtering down through the water onto the machine. For awhile, Hitomi continued to stand there, as the tan girl continued her work, hoping the younger girl would grow comfortable with her presence. Eventually, when it became clear that she couldn't tell one way or the other if that plan had worked, Hitomi finally spoke "You know, where I'm from, there were giant robots too. There was one, called the Escaflowne, that whenever I saw it, I knew I was safe."

Emeralda stopped working, apparently now listening to the counselor. Having picked up on the change, Hitomi continued "I don't know how yours work but on Gaia, they were powered by drag-energists, which were born from the heart of a dragon. Escaflowne was piloted by the king of Fanelia and had the unique ability to transform into a dragon form itself and fly. Seeing your robot there brings back some fond memories. I…take it this one does the same for you?"

Hitomi was glad to be standing behind the other girl, lest Emeralda see how nervous she was. It could be very hard to connect with anyone, let alone someone as introverted and suffering trauma as this girl was. Just as the silence had dragged on enough for Hitomi to decide to try something else, the greenette spoke, her voice hoarse and weak, at least at first "For…a long time, Crescens was Emeralda's…my only friend. I would tell her everything when we were alone, which was often. Times like these would be when I would be alone in the cockpit, telling her how I felt."

Smiling but not daring to move from where she stood, Hitomi replied supportively "That's sweet, Emeralda. It sounds like this…Crescens is very special to you."

Hitomi wasn't prepared for the immediate bitter comeback as Emeralda bit out "It was childish and immature. Besides, she's been gone a long time. Long before I got stuck here. Getting home won't change that."

Crestfallen, the brunette counselor replied with sympathy "Oh, I'm sorry to hear it Emeralda. I wish I could help, I really do." After a few moments of silence, Hitomi continued "But you know, it’s important to express how you feel, even if it is to a giant robot that can't talk back. I mean, people are better to talk to but whatever works for you is what matters."

A bitter laugh that almost sounded like a sob escaped the greenette's mouth before she said "I've always tried to be strong. I never saw Fei or Citan break down like this. How can I be strong if I can't keep these feelings hidden?"

Noticing the seated girl's shoulders shaking, Hitomi dared to put her hands on top of them to steady the tan girl. Then, gently, Hitomi answered "Emeralda, I can't speak for the people in your life but I can tell you there is strength in sharing how you feel. It can be terrifying to open up but that is the only way you can get support from others and sometimes, you can get the answers you're looking for just by talking about your problems. Is it possible you simply didn't see the people you mentioned because they didn't want you to see them suffer?"

Emeralda's head sank down, as though in thought before it rose again, and she said "I suppose that could be the case. I was…younger at the time. It is possible they were trying to shield me from their worries. Or I just didn't notice. Like I did with Michiru. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense I failed to see, considering what I am."

Hitomi didn't like the dark direction this line of reasoning was taking. Luckily, the greenette had said something she could latch onto as Hitomi asked "Zelgadis said you told Michiru you came out of a tube? I remember seeing you in one but what does that mean? He said you called yourself a thing?"

Hitomi could feel the girl tense up under her hands and she knew she had hit on something. Moving to the table's side, Hitomi bent down, keeping one hand on Emeralda's back as she looked into the other girl's eyes, seeing Emeralda struggle to find the words to answer the question. With determination, Hitomi spoke again "I know it’s hard and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. That being said, I would be able to help you more effectively if I knew more. I…could use my power and see. You wouldn't actually have to tell me anything, if you want. I promise I wouldn't see anything you don't want me to, ok?"

A flash of fear shot across the tan girl's face at the suggestion but after a moment, Emeralda seemed to calm down and with a deep frown set on her face, nodded her ascent. With the green-haired lighter watching on, Hitomi pulled out her pendant she had hidden under her top, cupping the jewel as the chain remained around her neck. "Ok Emeralda, this won't be like last time, I promise. I will only see what you are willing to show me, ok?" the counselor reassured.

Emeralda nodded again and a sudden flash of light filled her vision.

(X)

When the flash dissipated, Hitomi found herself, as she usually did in these visions, floating with a feint glow around her as she took in the scene before her. The room looked to be a lab of some sort, highly advanced to the brunette's eyes, octagonal in shape with flat tan walls. There were a few terminals on the sides, as well as two large tubes running from one structure on the ground up one wall. Only a window into another room, a door into that room and another exit broke up the space. At the center stood a large tube, almost as tall as the room itself, with a lowering mechanism at the base to lower the whole structure down.

Emeralda, for her part, felt like waking up, though she was unable to see anything. It was more like…becoming aware for the first time. This bodiless feeling immediately told the greenette that she was back in her nano machine reactor tube and as the haze fully cleared, she could hear the voice of the man that had created her for the first time. Yes, these were Emeralda's very first memories.

As Emeralda became able to discern the voice, so too could Hitomi as a figure became clear to her, standing in front of the tube. The ponytailed man perhaps in his mid to late twenties in a buttoned-up lab coat had an electronic pad in one hand while his other hand pressed gently against the glass of the tube. The apparent scientist softly but with a hint of restrained excitement said "Nano-machine colony CNS fully active. No abnormalities detected. *sigh* that's the first major hurdle cleared. Hello, little one. Welcome to this broken world of ours. Hopefully…hopefully you can be the light that will bring us out of the darkness. For now, though, you'll need to sleep in there until you're ready."

With that, the scene began to fade to dark and Hitomi felt compelled to ask the darkness "That man said nano machine colony. Is…that what you are Emeralda? I thought you had been experimented on here but this is where you were born, isn't it?"

A disembodied voice came from the darkness, the tone low and ashamed "Yes, you are correct Hitomi, though my 'birth' as you call it wouldn't happen for quite some time. In the meantime, Kim would bring his wife to show her his work…"

The darkness gave way to the lab once more, this time the scientist, Kim, appeared with an auburn-haired woman about his age with him wearing a white dress with powder blue highlights on the arms and chest. The tube also now contained the visible form of a girl floating in the fluid, her light green hair clear for the couple to see.

Kim was in the middle of speaking "…We had to recreate the molecular…no…actually the atomic level, by referring to the structural patterns of you and I. This child…holds our futures and our possibilities…"

Her face a mixture of awe and sadness, the auburn-haired woman starred up at the floating girl as she replied, "Can this child be the angel who can give us more time?"

Kim turned to glance at his wife briefly before looking back up at his creation, responding with a simple "Perhaps…that is my hope, my prayer."

Silence settled on the couple for a few moments before Elly suddenly said, "Does she…have a name?"

A slight smile playing on his lips, Kim answered coyly "I did have one in mind, but I wanted your permission first before I made it official."

Elly turned, a frown betrayed by the playfulness in her eyes said "Come on Kim, you built a daughter for us without even telling me and now you're asking permission? Let’s hear it."

The smile of a man long accustomed to his wife's playful prodding adorned the scientist before he became more serious and looked back at their daughter. "Emeralda. I wanted to call her Emeralda."

Elly returned her gaze to the girl floating before her. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl…"

Darkness claimed the lab once more, Hitomi asking "So then, those two were your parents, Emeralda?"

The girl answered again from the void "I was the closest Kim and Elly could get to a child, yes. Elly was unable to bare a child, which was, among other things, what spurred Kim to create me. As he said, Kim used the two of them as the base to create me. I was…the ultimate work of art that science could create."

The melancholic way Emeralda spoke those last words tugged at Hitomi's heart and she felt compelled to try and uplift her "I'm sure both of them were very proud of you."

"I have always hoped that they would be. I will, however, never truly know." came the answer, much to Hitomi's regret.

"What…what do you mean, Emeralda? What happened?"

The greenette's response was a bitter one "The military found out what Kim was doing."

The darkness faded again, this time the lab was bathed in red warning lights as Kim and Elly rushed into the lab, the ponytailed scientist speaking frantically "We have to lock her down! They'll be here any minute, Elly, can you help me with the suspended animation process?"

Elly appeared noticeably calmer, determined as she looked her husband in the eye and replied "Yes, just give me a second, I want to say good-bye to our daughter."

As Kim moved into the inner control room, Elly instead rushed back into the corridor leading to the lab, locking the door to the lab behind her. Kim screamed her name but kept typing away, tears streaming down his face. Before long, machine gun fire could be heard and Emeralda knew that her mother was gone.

Kim had completed the lock down and the greenette could feel herself fading into darkness. Before she did though, the lab door was forced open, soldiers pouring in. One demanded Kim undo the lock. When he spat in the man's face, they began to beat him. On and on this went until, finally, the last thing Emeralda could remember perceiving was her father's lifeless body lying on the ground as her body broke apart into its component nano machines, running in test mode until she would be awakened, the tube lowering into the ground.

The lab faded to darkness.

"Emeralda…I'm so, so sorry. It must have been horrible to be stuck there, watching such a terrible thing." Hitomi empathetically called into the void.

"Thank you, Hitomi. It took me some time to realize what had truly happened. I was in test mode for a long time and all I had to dream of was those few times I gained awareness when I was being built. So sometimes I would have nightmares. But that wasn't as bad as when-"

In an instant, the darkness was gone and the lab was empty and Hitomi watched as Emeralda suddenly appeared in the tube, struggling against the glass of the reactor, inaudible screams escaping her lips before her body broke down again and everything faded to darkness once more.

"What…what the hell was that, Emeralda!?" Hitomi called out in a panic at the terrifying scene that came and went like a horror film.

"I was in there for a long time. Every once in a while, the OS would reboot or there would be a bug in the cycle and I would be reassembled, left alone in the darkness, desperately alone and afraid."

The counselor was afraid to even ask but felt she had to know as she reluctantly spoke "And…just how long were you in there, Emeralda?"

"Just over three thousand, nine hundred years." Came the calm, matter-of-fact reply.

Hitomi's jaw lay agape at the answer "Wait…you were left there for four thousand years?!" Then, Hitomi remembered the last part of her accidental vision with Emeralda before "Wait a minute. If Kim and Elly died, who were the two that I saw before? Elly had her hand on her belly and you looked shocked."

There was a long pause before Emeralda's voice could finally be heard "They are Kim and Fei's reincarnations. Dr. Uzuki explained to me that the two of them have died, found each other and been killed many times over the last ten thousand years. I was the closest thing to a child they ever got. Until now anyway."

"That explains why they look about your age instead of the older Kim and Elly. Wait, does that mean they found you when they were ten? Were they even the ones who found you?" Hitomi said.

"Elly was present when I was finally 'born', yes." Emeralda said as the darkness lifted one last time on the lab.

This time, everything was hazy and hard to make out, a reflection of Emeralda's mind at having been asleep so long. Still, it was enough to make out Elly, who was now wearing a sleek, primarily white military uniform, accompanied by an a very intelligent looking man with glasses in green with a long black ponytail and a tan, wild looking young man with blonde hair and an eyepatch. The trio spoke but it sounded like nothing more than muffled noises as another group of men, each cloaked in priestly garb entered the lab. Then, the tube rose, fluid from the nano machine reactor spilling all over the floor as Emeralda finally was released into the world, her hair draping over her face, her feet touching a solid surface for the first time.

Yet, before the fog in her mind could lift, before she could do anything, one of the robbed figures grabbed her and made for the exit. As Emeralda looked back over her kidnapper's shoulder, the three figures, blocked by the others, watched on in anger and frustration. What happened after, Hitomi didn't know as all became darkness once again. Several questions rose in Hitomi's mind but she only gave voice to one. "It looked to me like Elly was about the same as in the later scene with you and yet, you appear much younger. Did something happen?"

It was an odd feeling to hear a disembodied voice sigh, but the counselor was sure that's what she heard as Emeralda answered "Yes. Later, after I had been found by Kim's reincarnation, Fei, I joined the fight against those seeking the ruin of the world. But...I was young, immature. I knew I was as much in the way as anything. So, after we found more ruins of the civilization I came from, Fei shared memories from my father and I told him that I knew that I wasn't real, just a thing and forced myself to age to that which you see today. I thought if I did that, I could handle things on my own and not be a burden. Be the salvation Kim and Elly had hoped I would be."

Hitomi was horrified. Emeralda had changed herself to avoid being in the way, and with almost no experience to go by. The counselor began to voice those concerns "But Emeralda, thats not-" before she was cut off.

From the darkness in front of her, Hitomi watched Emeralda seem to assemble herself in front of her, similarly to how she had in her nano machine reactor, though the particles had a dim light to them. The greenette was turned away from her but the brunette could hear her clearly as Emeralda spoke "It wasn't until we had defeated Deus, the demiurge, that I realized what I had done. I had made myself far better equipped to fight but I was in no way prepared for what it meant to be 'grown up.' Just as others began to resent me for what they perceived I represented, I too resented myself for how childish I had been and for my ignorance. So, I shut myself off. Better to avoid embarrassing myself and my friends than to fumble my way through something I was utterly unprepared for."

Hitomi stepped forward and embraced the girl, whose face was now stained with tears. Whispering into the tan girl's ear, Hitomi said "Its ok, it’s all ok. You did what you thought was best and now we can move forward. You've taken an important step today, Emeralda. Thank you so much for letting me see and again, I'm sorry. So, so sorry you've had to go through such pain. We can head back now, if you'd like?"

With a silent nod, the darkness began to lighten, until the endless void became too bright to see and in the moment blindness overtook the two, it was over.

(X)

When Emeralda opened her eyes, Hitomi had her hand over hers, a gentle and warm smile on the counselor's face. Before the amber-eyed girl could speak, Hitomi spoke first, saying "And one more thing, Emeralda. No matter how you came to be, no matter what anyone else tells you. You aren't a thing. You are as real as any of us and before you say anything otherwise, all I need to prove it are the tears in your eyes."

Taken aback slightly, the greenette used her free hand to move up to her eye, gently wiping the water from it. With surprise on her face, Emeralda looked back at Hitomi, unsure what to say. Again, Hitomi spoke. "That. That right there is all the proof I, or anyone else will ever need. You care Emeralda. You suffer, and you try your best. Nothing else matters. You may be behind in the experience department, but you are just as real as me or Michiru or any of the people in this world. Remember that."

"I, I will. Thank you, Hitomi. You've given me much to think about." Emeralda responded, pulling her hand away from the counselor and leaning back in her chair, looking over at the portraits of her friends back home.

Rising, Hitomi said "I'm sure you do. I'll let Jun know you won't be at class this afternoon. I know it will be hard but after I've talked to her, I'll want you to talk to Michiru. You think you'll be up for that?"

Looking back at the brunette, Emeralda replied with a fair amount of unease in her voice "I, I think so. I will try. I know she was only trying to help and I hurt her. I will do anything I can."

"Great, thank you Emeralda." As Hitomi turned and walked toward the door, she turned back and spoke again "If its ok with you, after the exam, would you be ok with talking to me more regularly?"

At that, the amber-eyed nano-machine girl managed a weak smile as she said "Yes, I think I would like that."

"I'm glad to hear it. Also, I do have to tell Jun what we talked about but as for the others, that's up to you to decide for yourself. Take care, Emeralda." With a nod from the other girl, Hitomi turned and shut the door behind her. Checking her phone, a lot more time had passed than she had imagined and she decided she could rest and wait the short while it would take for Zelgadis to return from training before she talked with Michiru. After a session like that, she would need to decompress herself a bit too.

(X)

About an hour passed before Zelgadis returned from training and the usual meal afterwards. The chimera was only slightly surprised to see the counselor typing away on her laptop at the dinning table. As he approached, Hitomi finished up and offered a smile as she closed the machine and asked "How'd it go, Zelgadis?"

The sorcerer-swordsmen offered an annoyed glare as he heavily plopped in a chair across from the brunette older woman. "That bad, huh? Well, I'm sorry you had to deal with it. Anything I should know?" Hitomi asked.

Letting out a long sigh, Zelgadis finally spoke, his voice exacerbated "Well, I can't say there were any surprises. All the girls felt awful and wouldn't stop pestering me about how Michiru and Emeralda were and what had happened after they left. Most of the guys were worried too."

"And? What did you tell them?" Hitomi asked, curious not just because of how it would inform her interactions with Michiru going forward but because of what it might reveal about the rock-encrusted young man in front of her.

Frowning, Zelgadis wouldn't look the counselor in the face when he replied, "At first, I just tried to ignore them, told them I was focusing on training."

Unable to hold make a small chuckle, which earned a glare, Hitomi calmed herself and followed up, asking "And how long did that last?"

Sitting back and rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms, Zelgadis answered "One of them must have complained to Aizawa because he eventually called me over and told me to explain the situation so we could 'get on with it.' It was pretty damned annoying, especially since I'm still pissed at Michiru myself."

Hiding her disappointment at how Zelgadis handled the whole situation, Hitomi mentally filed that away for another time and she offered a sympathetic smile instead. Rising, Hitomi collected her laptop into her bag and said "Well, again, I'm sorry but I appreciate you going to training knowing something like that was likely to happen and eventually explaining things. Now that you're here, I'm going to go talk to Michiru. Don't be surprised if I call on you in case she has anything to say, OK?"

"That's fine." Zelgadis offered, getting up as well before adding "Since Jun cancelled this afternoon's class, I'll be studying in my room anyway. I'll walk with you up there if you don't mind."

Hitomi smiled and nodded as the two made their way upstairs. Hitomi stopped at Michiru's door and waved to Zelgadis who continued on. After a few knocks and no response, after what happened with Emeralda, Hitomi wasn't nearly as nervous. However, when she offered a warning and opened the door with an override keycard she and Jun had, her worst fears appeared to be realized.

After several frantic calls of "Michiru!" from the counselor Zelgadis rushed over and stepped into the tanuki girl's room.

Looking around, Zelgadis only needed a moment to realize what was wrong. The balcony door was open, a soft breeze causing the curtains to gently blow about an otherwise empty room. "She's…gone" was all Hitomi could say to the chimera beside her.

(X)

Chapter Text

"She's…gone" was all Hitomi could say to the chimera beside her.

Zelgadis' eyes widened before he turned and darted back into the hallway, looking about as if the tanuki girl could be around the corner laughing at them. Hitomi, meanwhile, pulled out her phone. The rock-encrusted young man turned his attention back to the counselor when she muttered "That can't be right…"

"What? What can't be right?" Zelgadis questioned, his impatience barely constrained as he stepped back into the room behind the brunette.

"The sensor for the balcony and the door say she entered but hasn't left. She…should still be here!" Hitomi answered, panic creeping into her voice.

"Hold on a second." Zelgadis said, waving a hand in front of him "How could you possibly know that?"

"You remember that night you had to stay in jail?" Hitomi innocently asked. Her only answer was an annoyed frown from the chimera. With a nervous laugh, the counselor continued "Heh, right, sorry. Anyway, while you were there, Power Loader was installing equipment that tracks when each of you enters and exits your room while you’re under evaluation. I can bring it up from my phone any time but according to it, Michiru entered but never actually left. It doesn't make any sense…"

"Well, regardless of what your fancy technology is telling you, clearly she isn't here. I'll check the rest of the house!" Zelgadis declared, giving Hitomi little time to tell him anything otherwise.

The zeal the chimera was displaying came as a bit of a surprise to Hitomi as she stepped into the hallway. There she found Emeralda watching, concern on her face. Just before she dialed Jun to explain what was happening, the counselor waved at the nanomachine girl and spoke "Emeralda, I'm sorry but it looks like Michiru has run away. Before you blame yourself, I know that she has been under a lot of stress because of, well, everything. It'll be ok, this isn't the first time a lighter has run away like this."

Hitomi noticed that when she had first begun speaking, Emeralda seemed like she wasn't paying attention, and only after a few moments did the greenette turn her complete attention to her. When the brunette was done talking, Emeralda replied with a distracted "Yes, I know Michiru has much on her mind. Thank you, Hitomi."

The counselor offered a concerned smile before turning to leave, her phone to her ear as she began informing Jun of what had happened. Emeralda continued to stand there, silent. Only after Hitomi began to descend did she also begin to move forward as well. When Emeralda arrived on the first floor, Hitomi was pacing back and forth talking on the phone with Zelgadis nowhere to be seen.

Before long, Zelgadis came back from the other wing of the house, breathless. Moving the receiver of her phone away from her mouth, Hitomi asked the clearly redundant question "Any sign of her?"

"No…there was…no sign of her in the classroom, the gym…or any of the storage closets" the chimera answered between breaths.

"You hear that, Jun?" Hitomi spoke into the phone while offering Zelgadis a nod of thanks.

"I did. Without knowing how she did it, or any trace of her, we're flying blind. She has an official ID now as a citizen and though we have forbid her from leaving unsupervised, that isn't strictly a crime so the most we can ask the police is to keep a lookout for a tanuki girl of interest." Came the retired hero's response.

"What about heroes?" Hitomi asked, clearly not happy asking the question.

"Don't worry, I don't think it’s wise to get heroes involved that don't already know what's going on. That being said, it might actually be better if it's a friendly face." Jun spoke, his voice subdued as if he was thinking as he spoke.

Zelgadis watched on intently as the conversation progressed, eager to do something, anything to help. He got his wish when Hitomi again slid her phone's received away from her mouth and asked "Zelgadis, can you run over to 1-A's dorm and let them know what's happened? See if any of them are willing to help look for Michiru."

Wasting no time, the sorcerer-swordsmen was already halfway to the door before calling back "On it!"

As the eager chimera threw the door open, Emeralda watched on while Zelgadis left, a curious look on her face. Hitomi noticed the same distant look on the greenette's face from earlie and called out "Emeralda, you sure you’re ok? You look a bit off."

Shaking her head as if to clear it, the tan girl answered "No, I am fine. It’s just…I thought I heard something is all. May I search the campus grounds?"

"Of course, Emeralda. Good luck." came the counselor's quick response before she turned her attention back to her phone.

(X)

Even with her friend having run away, Emeralda didn't seem to show much emotion and that grated Michiru to no end. It made her that much more confident she was doing the right thing in getting out of this prison of a school. By now she had managed to get out onto the grounds undetected, her hunch about sensors on the doors being right on the money. When Hitomi and Zelgadis had seen Michiru's apparently empty room, the tanuki girl had, in fact, been there as well, just as Hitomi's phone had said.

What neither of the room's other occupants knew was that by shifting herself into a chameleon-like form, Michiru could effectively make herself invisible. All she had to do then was slip out just as someone else was leaving so the sensor couldn't tell two people were leaving at the same time. Both times it was poor Zel that had provided Michiru with the cover she needed to escape. She did feel bad leaving the chimera behind but ultimately, the tanuki girl told herself he was better off without her holding him back with her fool-hardy proclamations and poor leadership.

Now that Jun had been made aware, Michiru knew she had to get off the grounds before they really locked things down. As Zelgadis headed toward the dorms, Michiru dashed for the campus entrance, still invisible and wishing she could just fly out of there. As luck would have it, several students were heading in just as she approached, allowing her to bypass any sensors that may have been installed at the threshold.

Waiting to make sure she was out of sight of UA's entrance, Michiru finally made herself visible again. After another moment and some sparks later, the wayward lighter also appeared completely human. The irony wasn't lost on her that not wanting people to see her like this was a part of the reason she was here in the first place. Still, most everyone in this world had only seen her as a beastman and Michiru thought she'd have a better chance to blend in and get away like this.

As to where to go, the only place the shape-shifter could think of was that McDonald's knock-off. That store manager seemed to know what was going on and if she was lucky, he might be willing to help her again. It was worth a shot anyway. Still, without her phone, which she left behind, sure they could track her with it, Michiru was left asking random strangers how to get there. The consensus was that she had some walking to do.

(X)

It had been Izuku's turn to head out into town to get the night's supplies for dinner. It wasn't a chore he minded, he liked being able to help out and do his part for everyone. That being said, the long list gave the freckled boy the distinct impression that his strength was being taken advantage of. Izuku couldn't help but feel like the grocery list was always noticeably longer whenever it was his turn.

The inheritor of One for All was ruminating on his lot in life when his phone buzzed to let him know he got a text message. Lucky for him, he'd only been to one store so far and had a free hand to respond. Unlocking the phone, Izuku saw it was from the class rep, Tenya, though it appeared to be part of a group chat.

*Midoriya, Greywards-san has come to tell us that Kagemori-san has run away. We're going out into town to look for her. You will keep an eye out for her, won't you?*
*Oh, that's terrible! I hope she's ok. Of course I'll help. I'm sharing my location now so no one overlaps me.* the freckled greenette responded.

*That's super smart of you, Deku! Thanks.* Ochako added, eliciting a blush from the boy.

Just then, Izuku noticed a girl near his age that seemed oddly familiar asking an apparent salaryman if he knew where the nearest McGonald's was. What was it? Why did he feel like he knew her? As the older man stumbled to give the girl an answer it hit the freckled boy. The cloths! They looked a lot like the ones Michiru was wearing that night in Yokohama. But…Michiru was part tanuki wasn't she? Right! That's part of what the fight the night before was about…she could look like a normal human, couldn't she?

With all the grace of a teenage boy trying to sneak a photo of a girl, Izuku fumbled with his phone to take a shot of his target without her noticing. It took…more than a few tries but the hero-in-training got it. Ducking away just as the girl shot a glance his way, Izuku sent the photo to the group, asking *Is this her? She's asking about a McGonald's? Sorry the shot is so blurry.*

*Yes! I think that’s her! Great job Midoriya!* Mina immediately replied.

*Try to keep her there, help is on the way.* Tenya instructed.

*I will inform Zelgadis.* Fumikage said as well.

*Izuku-chan, your photography could use some work.* Tsu helpfully added.

Ok, it was up to him to keep Michiru from running further. How, exactly? No idea! After a deep breath to steady himself, All Might's successor glanced about the busy city street. After a few moments, Izuku found the wayward lighter's red jacket and rushed toward her. Dancing through people, having to hold himself back from apologizing to avoid giving himself away, Izuku did the only thing he could think of. He came up behind Michiru and grabbed her shoulder with all the finesse and subtly of a bag of bricks.

When the now black-haired girl turned to see who had grabbed her, Izuku stuttered though his opening line "M-Michiru, is t-that you?"

Unfortunately for the freckled boy, blunt actions get blunt responses as Michiru's eyes went wide, blurting out "Oh shit." and started at a full sprit through the crowd, leaving Izuku, arm still extended, briefly dumbfounded as several bystanders giggled at the scene.

Izuku only stood immobile for a moment though before he, too, started forward after his temporary classmate. At first, Izuku thought he'd have little trouble catching up to Michiru given his training. However, he was surprised to find the morpher was pretty quick on her feet and in great shape meaning it was all he could do to keep pace with her without using his quirk.

Still, that didn't seem to be good enough for the lighter because Izuku could see a brief sparkle and a familiar pair of ears and tail now adorning his furry classmate. A moment later and another brief light show and the tanuki girl was suddenly pulling away from him fast. Clearly Michiru had decided it was worth the risk of using her quirk in public if it meant getting way. Izuku now had a choice of his own to make.

Clearly something was wrong with Michiru but was it worth risking losing his own future as a hero over? After the Stain incident, Izuku had been chewed out by the chief of police who had made it clear he needed to play it on the straight and narrow. And yet, he had risked it all to go looking for Ka-chan, even if, in the end, he had by the letter of the law, pulled off the rescue without attacking anyone, it was still reckless. Was now just as important? Wouldn't the police handle it?

No. A hero helped people. Brought smiles to their faces, consequences be damned. Willing One for All through his body, visible energy arching about him, Izuku charged forward as fast as he felt safe while also closing the gap between himself and Michiru. It wasn't much, but bit by bit, Izuku was catching up.

As the gap was closing, Izuku realized they were running out of real estate since they were approaching the ocean. As they got closer, the crowd was thinning out but the way Michiru was going, the greenette had to wonder if she even knew they were coming up on a beach. The hero-in-training got his answer when he got within six feet when Michiru suddenly called out in panic, trying desperately to put on the breaks as they came to the sand's edge. Izuku saw his chance. While the tanuki girl tumbled forward, tripping on her own feline legs, the greenette leaped at her, throwing himself on the unbalanced and tumbling lighter.

The two tangled together, falling into a mass of limbs rolling about in the sand as momentum carried them closer to the water. It was Izuku that finally managed to use some of the momentum to swing himself on top of Michiru, ending their tumult when he pinned her to sand, a few feet from the breaking waves.

Izuku's body continued to arch energy, signifying he was using his quirk to enhance his strength to hold the girl down while the two breathed heavily from their chase. The freckled boy stared down at her, worry and concern on his sweating face. Michiru was not meeting his gaze as she lay there, making no effort to resist, looking away with a frustrated frown.

Confident that Michiru could no longer offer resistance, Izuku had to know why. Having caught his breath, the apparent victor of the chase asked, his voice laced with concern "Michiru…what's wrong? Why did you run?"

Letting out a bitter snort, the tanuki girl answered with a condition of her own "I'll tell you if you let me up. Don't worry, I'm…I'm not going to run again."

Izuku furrowed his brow briefly while he considered her request. He had proven he was faster than her and with the ocean to one side, her options for escape were limited. Reluctantly, the freckled boy released Michiru before he stood up. Michiru sat up, before she spun around to look out at the water, pulling her knees up to her face. When no words came, Izuku decided to sit himself, his legs straight out, resting to Michiru's left.

The silence continued for several more moments, broken only by the never-ending rolling of the waves to their front. The beach itself was one that Izuku was intimately familiar with, being the very same that he had started his training under All Might so many months ago. He had cleaned this beach single-handedly and there was no small amount of pride that went along with that accomplishment, especially since achieving it meant he gained the power he needed to live his dream.
Izuku was pulled away from his reminiscing when Michiru finally spoke, her voice distant and melancholic "Midoriya, can I tell you a story?"

Not exactly sure where this was going, Izuku could only answer "S-Sure. Go ahead Kagemori-san."

"When I was younger, I always wanted to help, ya know? I would stick my nose where it didn't belong any time I thought something wasn't right. You have to remember. I didn't have my…quirk back then. I was just a normal, everyday girl but I guess, I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to help wherever I could. I even threw myself in front of a car to save my best friend from getting hit. That same friend later criticized me. Told me I was forcing myself onto others. To leave her alone." Michiru explained, continuing to stare out into the ocean, seeming to not care if her companion was listening or not.

"It was a small mountain town. Quirks weren't really a thing. Then…this happened." Michiru said, holding her clawed fur covered hands. Izuku was watching on, his empathy feeding a growing concern for the tanuki girl.

Dropping her hands heavily back to the sand, Michiru continued "I was so scarred, so embarrassed and so worried for my parents that I holed myself up in my room for a whole year. Then I thought, if I left, if I could go where someone like me was more accepted, I wouldn't be a problem for my family."

Michiru took another moment to pause and something wasn't adding up for the nervous young man "Kagemori, are you saying no one had quirks where you’re from? How is that possible?"

Realizing she was dangerously close to giving herself away, the tanuki girl's eyes widened briefly before returning to a more reflective visage "Well…no one like me. No one looked the way I do back home."

"But…couldn't you just make yourself look human?" Izuku ventured, trying hard to suppress his curiosity to remain supportive.

"I didn't know how. I wasn't born with my powers like all of you. I didn't have years to train and learn how to do it or anyone to help me. It’s just like with Zel and Emmy! They're both so good at what they do and now that they know more about Japan…they don't really need me anymore. They're better off without me holding them back. You have any idea what it’s like to be around so many amazing people while you're just trying to stumble along and keep on your feet?"

Michiru's head snapped up from its resting place on her knees and twisted to her left when she heard a firm "I do."

"What?" was all Michiru could muster when her questioning glaze met a determined Izuku "I grew up quirkless too. All I ever wanted my entire life was to be a hero, to be like All Might. I spent years listening to everyone tell me how impossible it was, how…useless I was. How I should just die."

The depressed air that had hung over Michiru had quickly shifted into one of disgusted shock on hearing the freckled boy's words. It was stunning to hear this coming from such a gentle and kind person. It was hard to hear that anyone would say such things to him, especially in a world that seemed so accepting of differences. Izuku continued "But then, it turns out I was lucky enough to have this power, a power I was wholly unprepared for. I don't know if you watched this year's sports festival but anyone who did saw how unprepared I was because even just using my quirk at first would break my body."

Now that he mentioned it, Michiru remembered back to when she and Emmy were watching previous sports festivals in the lead up to their exam against the Big Three. It was true. Izuku hadn't used his quirk at all until the final round where he lost to Shoto after breaking all his fingers and arm. That memory allowed the boy's next words to really sink in when Izuku said firmly "So yes, I know exactly what it’s like to just come into your powers when everyone else is so amazing and you are trying desperately to catch up."

Michiru took a few moments to let that sink in before turning away and replying, ashamed "Well, I guess you do know what it's like. Sorry, I just assumed. Another problem I have I guess."

The two sat in silence again for a few moments, the only sounds coming from Izuku tapping at his phone. When Izuku spoke again, he said "Your wrong, you know."

Her face scrunching up in annoyance, Michiru didn't answer but looked over at the greenette out of the corner of her eye. Seeing he had her attention, Izuku continued "About Greywards-san and Kasim-san. They rely on you, even now. You're the one leading conversation when the three of you arrive for training and you're the one they look to at the end each day, especially Kasim-san."

"Geez, Midoriya, you sound like a stalker, you know. How long have you been watching us?" Michiru suddenly accused the now very nervous looking Izuku.

"W-well, it’s just that I've kind of been obsessed about quirks since I was a kid! And I keep notes on everyone I observe! And, and you three were new and your quirks so cool! And, and…I'm sorry." Izuku stammered out nervously.

Michiru couldn't help but giggle at her companion's discomfort as she returned to the more pressing subject "But seriously, you really think they rely on me?"

"I do." Izuku replied. "And just about everyone in class seems to like you, Michiru. I don't know exactly what happened last night but I know everyone was worried."

At that, Michiru fully turned to face Izuku, who had a gentle smile on his face. Michiru let out a long sigh before picking herself up out of the sand and patting herself clean before she said with a sense of resignation "Ok, fine. You've convinced me you little stalker. I still haven't forgiven Emmy for what she did but…I'll head back."

Izuku's shoulders visibly sank as relief washed over him before he noted the hardened look on the runaway lighter's face and asked "You still look pretty apprehensive. Everything ok?"

Perching her lips, Michiru threw her hands behind her head then began walking back to town and said "Yeah, we'll see. Me, Zel and Emmy aren't supposed to leave campus since the whole mess in Kamino. I'm not looking forward to what that beady-eyed little principal has in store."

Izuku thought while he jogged over to walk beside her. After a moment he asked "Well…how did you leave in the first place?"

"Oh, I can look like a chameleon and blend into my surroundings. No one ever saw me!" Michiru proudly explained.

That surprised the wielder of One for All. Just how many applications did Michiru's quirk have? It almost seemed broken with how versatile her ability seemed to be. And to think she had only come into it in the last few years. Realizing the tanuki girl beside him was staring at him expecting a response, he nervously rubbed the back of his head and said "That's amazing, Kagemori-san! But then, wouldn't that mean you could do the same thing to get back in?"

Michiru raised an eyebrow and titled her head slightly in confusion "Wait, but they already know I ran away, what good would that do?"

"Wellll, if no one but me has actually seen you out here, you could just say you were hiding somewhere on campus, right?" Izuku suggested, his conscious already screaming at him for suggesting something so underhanded.

The light flickering on in her head, Michiru suddenly perked up as she excitedly asked "You'd do that for me Midoriya? I don't know what to say!"

"Heh, a thank you is good enough for me. Now head on back, I need to continue 'looking for you' and get my shopping done since I dropped what I had already bought to catch you."

The freckled boy had just finished that thought when he felt the full weight of Michiru crash into him in the biggest hug the morphing girl could manage. "Thank you Midoriya, you’re really sweet!" A series of sparks later, and a normal looking girl was smiling at Izuku as she let go and started jogging away, turning to wave as she disappeared into the crowd.

A little more confident he had done the right thing after the show of affection, Izuku tried and failed to hold off the blush on his face. He was about to head off himself when he got a text notification. It was Sanada-sensei.

*Midoriya, I got reports of someone matching your description moving at superhuman speed chasing someone through a crowd. Did you, in fact, find Kagemori?*

*No, sir. I was chasing someone but it was just a kid with a speed quirk. Once I caught him, I let him know it was dangerous. Sorry, Sanada-sensei.*

*Ah, I'll let the authorities know then. Still, I would give you the same warning about quirk usage in public. You haven't passed the provisional exam yet. Please don't do it again.*

*Yes, sensei. Sorry sensei.*

On second thought, maybe he'd made a terrible mistake.

(X)

Without running at crazy speed, it took Michiru quite a while to make it back to campus, especially since she was avoiding people whenever possible. However, she did make it and just as before, managed to sneak back in despite the heightened security. To her surprise, she saw that Emeralda was there, at the entrance, just standing there, looking out at nothing in particular. Odd as it was, the temporary chameleon girl kept going, making her way into the main campus building and working her way to an upper floor.

When she thought the coast was clear, Michiru went back to her normal tanuki form, opened a window and brought forth her wings to fly to the top of that part of the building. The sun was starting to set and she resolved to sit and wait until she was found and claim she had been there the whole time just like Izuku suggested.
Michiru was only there a few minutes when her ear twitched at the sound of someone walking toward her. That was far quicker than she imagined it would take them to figure out where she was. Still, she didn't turn to face whoever it was and before long the figure came to stand right beside her. Any question as to who stood there was answered when a deep, annoyed voice said simply "You're an idiot, you know that?"

The words brought a strange sense of comfort to her and Michiru couldn't help but smile a little when she looked up at the stoic visage of Zelgadis standing there, arms crossed, his hooded jacket billowing in the wind. "Yeah, I guess I am, aren't I? How…how'd you know?"

"Where you were? Emeralda. I don't know how but she suddenly said she knew where you were. The search has been called off but you really worried everyone. Don't do that again, you hear me?"

On hearing that, Michiru tried to read her fellow lighter's expression but if he was happy or relieved, she couldn't see it. That left one avenue. "So, does that 'everyone' include you, Zel? Hmm?"

A crack in the façade could be seen as Zelgadis' expression turned into a light frown and his right eye twitched before he shot back, reacting far stronger than he intended to. "Hey, I had to go to training alone this morning. I am not doing that again, you hear me! Either we all go or none of us do, you got it!"

That was enough for Michiru, a smirk creeping onto her face. Without looking at him, the tanuki suddenly, but lightly, jabbed Zelgadis in the side "I'll take that as a yes! Though…I didn't think a powerful sorcerer like you would have so much trouble with a bunch of high schoolers Zel."

The chimera took a moment to glance at his companion and on seeing her playful expression grumbled and looked away before he warned "You say that but you're the one who's really going to have to face them. Jun and Hitomi too. And Emeralda."

On hearing the last name, Michiru's expression became somber once more. Her friend's betrayal of her trust was still fresh in her mind and though she wanted to know why, Michiru wasn't sure she was ready to face the tan girl. Well, she'd cross that bridge when she reached it. For now, the tanuki girl stood up and stretched her arms, Zelgadis looking on as she said "I did lead everyone on a wild goose chase, didn't I? Well, guess I should face the music. Lead the way, Zel."

(X)

Izuku had finished his shopping when word came that Michiru had been found on campus and to return to UA. That relieved the inheritor of One for All as he began the trek back to the 1-A dorms. His talk with Michiru still fresh on his mind, the freckled boy began to think about that conversation again, something about it seeming weird to him. The way Michiru had described it, she made it sound like her hometown had no one with heteromorphic quirks at all. Which seemed all but impossible now-a-days. Plus, Michiru said she had wanted to be a hero, which in today's hero society, just about every kid grew up wanting to be. So then, why were others giving her so much trouble for it? Was it because she had appeared quirkless like him? It almost sounded like she was from some weird, isolated place completely out of step with the rest of Japan.

Come to think of it, back in Kamino Ward she had said something weird too. Hadn't she implied that if they defeated All for One that they wouldn't see him again? Why? What connection could the lighters have to All Might's greatest nemesis?

His mind swirling with questions, Izuku pulled out his phone and started typing into his search engine. So apparently there have been lighters for ten years, starting with…Kanzaki-san? Then once a year after that…Luminaire was always the one to save them…Come to think of it, outside of saving a lighter, when was the last time Sanada-sensei used his quirk? It must have been when he retired? After that incident with his family that…All Might resolved? He wasn't sure what, exactly but Izuku couldn't help but feel like something big was missing here and he resolved to ask his mentor about it the first chance he got!

(X)

Zelgadis had been right, when he and Michiru had flown back down to the ground, Jun had been waiting for her and had not held back in how disappointed he was in her for hiding herself away like that, leaving Hitomi and himself worried sick. That was what Michiru had been expecting. What happened next though made her feel so much worse. Jun had wanted to know what was bothering her so much that she felt like she had to run away to begin with. Hitomi too wanted to know so they could help.

When Michiru told them what she had told Izuku, about feeling like she was just getting in the way of the others, Jun was sympathetic and supportive but Hitomi wanted to hear more, offering to sit down with the tanuki girl and go into more detail. That was the last thing Michiru wanted and she deflected, referencing what had happened to Emeralda. When Hitomi said that she and Emeralda had talked already it took some of the air out of her sails, but she still refused. In the end, the two mentors wouldn't let her go until she promised to at least seek them out before resorting to hiding again. Since she hadn't left campus, Jun also promised not to report the incident to the authorities, much to Michiru's relief.

Now though, Michiru was just glad to be getting back to their dorms, the irony of which hadn't escaped her while she and Zelgadis came across Hina just hanging up her phone, a satisfied smile on her face as she greeted the pair "Ah, glad to see you decided to stick around, racoon. I wouldn't want all my hard work spoiled because our waittle Michiru got her feelings hurt and hid away!"

Rolling her eyes and waving her hand dismissively, Michiru moved to pass the blue-haired telekinetic before she retorted "Whatever. I was an idiot. You happy? I'm tired so whatever your planning can wait till later, ok?"

Zelgadis, though, was curious and for once in a less foul mood than his furry companion. Gently grabbing Michiru to let her know he was stopping, he said "If you're willing to be cordial, I actually want to hear what you have to say Hina."

"Hina-senpai" Hina attempted to correct.

"No" the chimera said flatly.

With a pout and a huff, Hina crossed her arms but then offered a smile to the pair "I've just secured the last hold out for the party! Looks like we'll have it after your exam. You can think of it as a celebration for you getting your licenses!"

When the only response Hina got was a pair of annoyed stares, her face crunched up in frustration "What? You know how hard it is to get everyone together now-a-days? You should be grateful its happening at all!"

Frowning, Zelgadis grumbled "Not everyone, thankfully."

Momentarily confused, when she realized who the chimera meant, the smaller girl slapped Zelgadis across the back, her hand cringing at the contact with his hard skin. Ignoring the pain, Hina replied slyly "Oh? How do you know I didn't get him too, hmm?"

For the briefest of moments, Zelgadis' eyes went wide but just as quickly they narrowed while his expression hardened. Realizing what was going on, Michiru grabbed the perturbed sorcerer's hand and began dragging him away, saying "She's just messing with you Zel. Come on, don't give her the satisfaction."

Zelgadis grumbled but said nothing as he let himself be led up the stairs, Hina's smug smile slipping when the two passed out of sight.

The pair had made it toward their rooms when Emeralda stepped out of hers. Michiru's two-toned blue/pink eyes met Emeralda's amber and the two seemed frozen, neither sure what to say to the other before both turned away. Zelgadis let go of Michiru's hand then whispered to her "Say something, Michiru. She was worried too."
Michiru had half a mind to kick the taller man behind her but knew full well how much that would hurt her own foot. Instead, with her gaze still averted, Michiru asked "So…I hear you're the one who spotted me huh? Looks like that new eye is working really well!"

Michiru inwardly cringed the moment she said that last line while Zelgadis felt no need to hide his thoughts, putting his face in his hand in disgust. Both brought their attention to the third member of their trio when Emeralda responded, seeming to completely ignore Michiru's poor attempt to break the ice, saying "You left…you actually left me, left us behind. Why? Am I…that difficult to be around?"

Realizing what was being said, Michiru's eyes went wide, almost frantically turning back to look at Zelgadis. Finding surprise on his face, Michiru turned back to the nanomachine girl and desperately answered "Wait! No! That's not what I was thinking at all!"

Then came the almost accusatory words from behind her "What is she talking about, Michiru?" came Zelgadis' voice.

Whipping around, the tanuki girl saw the hard look on the stone-encrusted man's face. It made her blood run cold and Michiru almost welcomed the sound of Emeralda speaking again, giving her cause to turn back as the tan girl spoke "She was invisible. She was actually in her room when you and Hitomi went to see her. She snuck past you and made her way off campus. I…could hear her."

Zelgadis was shocked and a sense of betrayal crept into his heart as he took a step back, almost whispering "Michiru…is that true? You, you lied to me! And what's worse, if they find out, they could bring the hammer down on all of us! What were you thinking!?"

Michiru couldn't believe this was happening. She felt trapped, surrounded by the two people she thought she was helping by running out in the first place. Each now clearly hurt by that very action. Trying to bring things back to some sort of calm, Michiru blurted out "It’s like I said to Hina, I was stupid! I made a mistake! I, I just wanted to make things easier for you, that's all!"

Neither of her friends seemed to buy it, Emeralda quick to answer "Its ok Michiru. I know that you hate me. Its ok, this isn't the first time this has happened. I…I'll stay out of your way from now on, just don't leave again, ok?" As she spoke the final sentence, Emeralda's stoic façade broke, tears welling in her eyes and she opened her door and stepped back inside.

Michiru reached her hand out, calling "Emmy, wait! You got it all…you've got it all wrong." The last part escaping her lips as a whisper, the door already shut in front of her. Her arm went limp before the tanuki girl turned to face the blue-skinned sorcerer, who had gone deadly silent.

His eyes obscured by his hair as he hung his head, Zelgadis finally spoke, his voice trembling with barely contained rage "Once the exam is over, we can go work under heroes. I think it would be best if we went our separate ways at that point. Until then, you think you could stay put, Michiru?"

"Zel, I-"

"CAN YOU DO THAT, MICHIRU?" Zelgadis roared, his face seemingly as hard as the rocks that adorned it.

Completely dumbstruck by Zelgadis' behavior, Michiru could only nod her ascent. Satisfied, the chimera heaved a mighty sigh to calm himself before his coolly replied "Good." And proceed to his own room.

Michiru was left there in the hallway, fully aware of what had just happened but still unsure she could believe it. It felt as though her world had collapsed on her all over again and it took everything she had just to drag herself into her own room. The moment the door shut, she fell backwards and slumped down in a heap on the ground, her arms over her head, which rested buried against her knees. The emptiness she felt in that moment was so heavy, so pressing that she couldn't even bring forth tears. Indeed, the pressure was such that even her breathing became heavy while she starred at the darkness of her own making.

(X)

Nothing was the same after that. Sure, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda went to training with 1-A but how they went about it was cold and business like. An oppressive tension hovered around them that was evident to all who cared to glance their way. The three didn't converse and only Emeralda and Zelgadis would acknowledge each other, their own less than social natures keeping them from talking more.

To say the mood had turned sour in the waning days of training would be an understatement. Even with Michiru apologizing to the class to start the day's training was brought down by her unwillingness to discuss why she did it with any of her friends from the class. The comradery that had been built both among the three lighters and the trio with their adaptive class had all but shattered and the last few days of training felt as though a paw had descended upon them.

During lunches Zelgadis continued to sit with Fumikage but both Michiru and Emeralda sat by themselves. Any attempt by their classmates or their teachers or mentors to coax some sort of explanation or solution was met with evasion or stonewalling. When Emeralda trained with Mashirao, barely a word was spoken. Terra could get nothing out of Zelgadis, who was even more sour than normal. Classes with Jun went by faster than they had before with no one speaking or seeking clarification or discussion. The three seemed to be going through the motions as much as anything.

Izuku had found All Might to be too busy to speak to during these days and resolved to speak to him after the licensing exam, all the while probing further for more detail on his own. At the very least, one detail that Michiru had told him, about being the only person with a heteromorphic quirk in her hometown turned out to be false. At least as far as a cursory search of people's profile photos on social media for her hometown could be trusted anyway. His search did, however lead him to discover a local branch of a group called the CRC in Michiru's hometown and once Izuku began to read up on them, the freckled hero-in-training realized both that this world may be darker than he thought it was and that he may have found one of his answers. One more thing to ask All Might.

Then, the day finally came and 1-A got onto a bus along with Shouta and made their way to the National Dagoba Arena, the site for their exam. Michiru stepped off the bus and gathered with the rest of the class, dressed in their simpler, jacketless summer uniforms, white collared button-ups with navy shoulder straps and red ties with pants or skirts that matched the straps. The arena looked absolutely massive, far larger than any she had seen in her home world, the front facade featuring red and white vertical stripes that almost gave it a circus-like quality.

Glancing around, the tanuki girl seemed to be the only one actually impressed by the structure, including her fellow lighters. Actually, everyone seemed pretty quiet and focused. Well, except Minoru, who began wondering out loud what would happen if he failed, earning a pep talk/rebuke from their teacher. Perhaps sensing the unease and tension in the air, Shouta then addressed the rest of the class, his voice carrying an uncommon amount of confidence from him "If you can pass this test, and get your provisional licenses, then you novice eggs will hatch into chicks. You'll be semi-pros. I expect your best."

All three lighters internally thought the pep talk to be at least a little patronizing given their experience but knew the dour man's words weren't really for them. Seeing spirits were starting to rise, Eijiro decided to really get everyone pumped up, stepping up and raising his fist before proclaiming "Let's call out the usual you guys. On my mark."

As the red-head spoke, a tall guy in a plain button-down and a navy-inspired cadet's cap with a golden 'S' on it slipped in behind him, barely contained excitement on his face. This brought the other students to pause so that only Eijiro started the chant with the first part of UA's unofficial motto only to be finished by the new boy with a very loud and energic "ULTRA!"

The interloper stood frozen in place, hand held aloft as several students dressed like him appeared from behind, the shortest one among them speaking in a somewhat condescending tone "You know, its rude to barge into other people's huddles like that, Inasa."

Stricken with embarrassment, the now named Inasa lowered his arm sheepishly and spoke without turning to address his apparent classmate "What? Pardon me." After which the rather imposing interloper suddenly and in the most exaggerated way possible, straightened his posture, brought his arms in and flung his head to the ground and literally yelled "I AM SO…VERY…EXTREMELY…SORRY!" as he actually smashed his head into the ground prostrating himself in apology for his minor transgression.

Just about everyone in 1-A reacted with shock to one degree or another, Denki being first to speak while he pointed at the over-the-top display "Who is this guy? I do not trust his enthusiasm."

Just off to his side, Zelgadis grumbled "Clearly he's an idiot."

"Hey, look at their uniforms." Kyoka said, likely ignoring the chimera's comment.

Michiru, who was standing beside Shouta and noticed the attention he was giving Inasa, picked up on the ear-jacked bluette and asked what everyone but the three lighters probably already knew "What about their uniforms? Where are they from?"

Despite the tension building between the two groups of students, Katsuki felt the need to get a dig in "You idiot racoon, you've never heard of Shiketsu?"
Glaring at the dirty blonde, Momo clarified "Shiketsu Academy is in the western part of Japan and rival's UA in its prestige."

Inasa had risen from his jarring apology, none the worse for wear and still extremely enthusiastic when he declared "I really wanted to say it just once! See, I really love UA High School! I am extremely honored to compete against such incredible students! I'm so looking forward to it!" The passion proved to be too much for the now hatless young man who began bleeding from his head, almost as if to symbolize his hot-blooded passion.

During the exchange, Emeralda, whom had been sticking to the back as much as possible, got the feeling she was being watched. It only took a moment to find that a long-haired blonde girl from Shiketsu had been starring at her with a very predatory look in her eye. When the two locked eyes, the other girl's playful smile widened and narrowed, giving it an almost snake-like quality. When Emeralda didn't react, meeting the other girl with a steely glare of her own, the standoff was only broken by the shorter purple-haired boy calling for the group to leave. At that point, the odd girl seemed to be distracted by the blood on her classmate's head while they left.

After the Shiketsu students left, Shouta explained that Inasa had applied to UA, had scored at the top of the recommended students and was indeed quite strong but at the last minute declined an offer from the school for reasons unexplained. That bit of information caused Izuku to glance at Shoto, who had entered UA as a recommended student too, unease on the freckled boy's face.

Shouta had just finished explaining that despite the contradiction, Inasa was someone to watch out for when a woman's voice caused the usually unflappable man to freeze on the spot. A woman perhaps in her late twenties with hair about the same color as Emeralda's appeared. This new woman covered part of her's with an orange bandana to go with a black tight fitting top, smiley faces on her waist and flared out shorts with vertical orange and green stripes. It was clear this new-comer knew their homeroom teacher and that he clearly didn't want anything to do with her.

Despite this, the woman cheerily waved her hand and happily said "Heeyyy Eraser! I saw you on TV and at the sports festival but it’s been awhile since we were this close in person."

Shouta looked mortified, his students watching on with a mix of fascination and horror at the man's reaction. Izuku, though, seemed to know her but couldn't put his finger on it before the woman got right up in their teacher's personal space and brazenly asked "Let’s get married."

The words had barely left the woman's lips before Shouta flatly replied "No" as disinterested as possible. The refusal didn't deter Mina from gushing at the prospect though.

"Ha ha! You're a real laugh-riot, buddy." Was the woman's own response before she doubled over in laughter.

Shouta continued to look unfazed, muttering "As usual, your impossible, Joke."

And that was the last piece missing to fall into place for Izuku's eyes to glaze over in nerdy excitement as he exclaimed, his hands clenched into fists in front of him "Oh, that's Ms. Joke! The Smile Hero! Her quirk is Outburst and…" on and on the freckled hero worshiper went detailing the green-haired woman's ability.
Most of 1-A was quite used to their classmate's sudden outbursts of enthusiasm for anything related to heroes and their quirks and mostly paid it little mind. Zelgadis, too, having spent more time among the boys of the class had enough exposure to the behavior to just roll his eyes. Michiru, though, hadn't really seen the boy who had captured her a few days prior act so…childish and couldn't help but gawk.

Izuku's rambling was soon replaced by more shameless flirting by the older woman, garnering more attention from the class. Zelgadis, though, kept his attention on the tanuki girl he'd spent so much time with. Michiru returned to a reserved state once the freckled boy had stopped his blathering but for a moment, the chimera noticed she had glanced over at Emeralda, who herself seemed to have a distant look on her face, looking off where those Shiketsu kids and wondered off.

All three noticed, however, when Ms. Joke introduced her own students, who were approaching, from Ketsubutsu Academy. The second year students wore simple grey polo shirts with brown pants while carrying black backpacks and seemed excited to meet the famous class 1-A. One young man with shaggy black hair was very forward in introducing himself, taking Izuku's hands and clasping them in his own as he spoke "Hey, I'm Shindo! Seems like UA's had a lotta trouble this year, musta been tough for you."

The successor of All Might could only muster a feeble "Uh, yeah" in response.

Just as quickly, Shindo moved on, grabbing Denki's hands and laying it on thick while he continued "But even so, you're all still aiming to become pro heroes, despite those hardships. It’s wonderful" he finished before he jumped to holding Kyoka's hands, who had been next to Denki.

Then he stepped back and made a show of making a fist in front of him, radiating charm as he finished by saying "Hearts of fortitude! I believe that's what every hero in the world needs to have!"

The students were stunned by how nice the guy, soon to be their direct competition, was being. 1-A's veteran students found themselves waiting for what else this kid might say. One of the classes newest members, though, had had enough and before Shindo could speak again, a cynical "Hey" could be heard from the back of the gathered first-years.

Several toward the front seemed as though a spell had been broken and turned to face the frowning Zelgadis, who continued, having now also got the attention of the Ketsubutsu student "I've had enough of your little nice guy act. You got something worth saying then say it. Otherwise, stop trying to butter-up my classmates."

"I must say, Greywards-san, that was quite rude of you. Clearly Shindo-kun here was just expressing his sincere appreciation!" Tenya chided while said boy nodded, his expression that of someone wounded by such words.

Sighing, the sorcerer-swordsmen retorted "Pay attention Iida, he's trying to get you to lower your guard since he thinks he has an advantage over you all."
Still looking wounded but now joined by the rest of his class as if to assert their strength, Shindo smiled slyly and then asked "Oh? That's quite the accusation you've leveled there stranger. And just what advantage might that be?"

Several in the class had already picked up on what Zelgadis was implying and shot glares at Shindo, who was looking more menacing by the minute. Zelgadis spoke again, his voice calm, and assured, almost arrogant "Please. We are well aware we're the only ones here who televise a competition and that you've seen this class's quirks in action. Don't think we aren't prepared."

"Yeah!" Ochaco yelled out.

"That's Right!" added Eijiro.

A chorus of agreement rose from the UA students. The smirk on Shindo and his classmates faces began to falter but he had one more string to pull "Not the hardest deduction to make, especially for someone who couldn't even make it out the gate to make it on video for the sports festival! Besides, without knowing our quirks, the advantage is still ours."

That caused the excited UA students to quiet down to a murmur when that perfectly reasonable point settled in. Shindo's arrogant smirk returned along with the spirts of his own classmates. That was until a soft but firm voice spoke up "Yo Shindo. Quirk: Vibrate. Allows him to vibrate anything he touches."

Instantly the smirk vanished from the messy black-haired boy's face and an almost haunted look graced his eyes. The voice continued "Tatami Nakagame. Quirk: Telescopic. Allows the user to retract parts of their body into themselves." A blonde girl with sharp teeth and blue eyes went stiff as the voice spoke again "Itejiro Toteki. Quirk: Boomerang. Allows the user to throw objects extremely accurately and change its direction mid-air." This time a young man with a round face, small eyes and long black hair began to tremble.

Shindo at this point had regained enough of his wits to blurt out in an attempt to get the voice to stop "Who are you? How could you know our quirks?"

When each name had been spoken, UA students had stepped aside, to the point that when Shindo had asked his question, the owner of the voice could step forward and be seen, framed by the line of her classmates. Emeralda stepped forward, stone-faced until she was a few feet in front of the wide-eyed rival student. "Who the hell are you? You weren't at the festival either, were you?"

Entirely ignoring the latest question, Emeralda instead answered the only query she cared to, saying "The registry."

"What?"

"Everyone has to register their quirk, don't they?" was the tan girl's answer.

"But, but that would mean you'd have to memorize everyone who is taking this test to know us? Who the hell are you? Is…is that your quirk? How, how could you do that?!" came Shindo's now panicked response.

Briefly glancing back and noting the mixed expressions on her classmate's faces, from terrified to elated and everything in between, a light smirk slipped onto the greenette's face while she starred right into Shindo's eyes and said simply "Plus. Ultra."

A pin drop could have been heard in the silence that followed as the students before the nanomachine girl remained locked in place with fear. Only Shouta calling out "Hey, get your costumes and head to orientation!" was the moment broken, the Ketsubutsu Academy students breaking into a sprint in the opposite direction.

Emeralda nodded to herself and turned back, hoping to fade back into the group, only to be mobbed by the class who ran forward in cheers. "That was so badass!" Denki proclaimed.

"Perhaps not the most honorable approach, but highly effective." Tenya added.
"Way to show them, Emeralda!" Toru cheered.

"I didn't know you had it in you." Tsu said.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side!" Rikido said, patting Emeralda on the back.

To the side, Ms. Joke was incredulous "Eraser, what the hell!? You training little psychopaths over there? Don't tell me you forced one of them to memorize all the applicants?"

"What's wrong, Joke? I thought it was pretty funny myself. Joking aside, that one isn't even really mine. Just an add-on for the exam. Though thanks to the three of them, the rest are more prepared for this than anyone else here today."

Ms. Joke noted that Shouta had said three, realizing the blue rocky guy being the second. She followed the tired man's line of sight and spotted the only girl not celebrating, a tanuki girl looking unsure what to do but determined to do something who then walked up to the rest of the class. "Well, looks like there's a story there you'll have to tell me over our next date! See ya during the exam, Eraser!" the green-haired hero teacher said before she left to join her own distraught students.

Meanwhile, when Michiru approached, several students cleared the way for her to stand before her friend. The small smile Emeralda wore vanished from her face as the two faced each other and an awkward silence settled on the group. Finally, Michiru said, clearly unsure of herself, "That was…something else Emmy. Your crazy, you know that right?" Not exactly the warm and fuzzy embrace many were hoping but those looking on watched expectedly when Michiru then slammed her fist into her open palm and said "Let’s go kick some ass!"

As a cheer went up among the group, Shouta shouted "HEY! I said get to orientation!"

"YES SIR!"

(X)

Chapter Text

A loud horn rang out across the massive space that was the inside of Dagoba National Stadium.

"Here they come!" Izuku shouted to his teammates, the spires of the city landscape they had run to looming over them as figures appeared all around UA's class 1-A from atop the buildings as well as to either side of them in the street where they now stood.

"Remember the plan, everyone!" Tenya felt the need to implore as a hail of orange spheres came raining down on the group from all sides.
"Yeah, yeah. We got it, no need to yell." Zelgadis calmly retorted. "Michiru, Momo, Emeralda, let’s do it!"

As the orange balls meant to spell their defeat approached, Zelgadis quietly chanted the incantation causing a wall of wind to encase the chimera along with Izuku, Rikido, Mezo, Toru and Yuga. Michiru closed her eyes and focused causing sparks to dance about allowing her to become encased in a massive ball of fur that had been her tail. Along with Michiru, the ball of fur encompassed Denki, Hanta, Minoru, Ochaco and Fumikage. Emeralda shifted her arms into massive, curved shields to block one side and above while Momo produced several more to cover the other sides, protecting Kyoka, Koji, Tsu, Tenya and Mina.

The timing was perfect. The first valley bounced harmlessly off of the air barrier, impenetrable fur and shields allowing the members of 1-A to weather the storm they had known would come for them for almost two weeks. After another valley proved to their attackers that they were just wasting their limited ammo, hesitation set in among those who had set out to overwhelm the most famous students in the exam.

That pause would prove costly, providing the opening the team had been expecting. Michiru reduced her tail, freeing her classmates, most of them capable of area wide attacks. Denki, Hanta, Fumikage and Minoru took aim at those on the high ground of the buildings. Michiru, in the meantime, returned her tail to its enlarged, fluffed state which Ochaco then used her quirk to make the tanuki girl light enough for Hanta to wrap the fluffy sphere to toss her down the street. The massive ball of doom fluff crashed into an entire class of unfortunate students, knocking them every which way like bowling pins. Changing back, Michiru dashed back with cheetah legs to rejoin the group.

With threats from above and to one side dealt with, Zelgadis released his spell and moved to face Momo and Emeralda's side. Before those facing them could attempt another wave of balls, Zelgadis let loose a wind attack spell that blew the last threats to the class clear down the street. Just like that, 1-A stood alone, the hundred plus students that had surrounded them now out of reach or out of commission.

"That…was almost too easy." Fumikage ominously intoned.

"Hey, don't jinx it man." Denki chided.

"It was a plan that we worked on for over a week. We executed well, it shouldn't be too surprising." Tenya pointed out.
"Yeah, but what's that saying about plans and first contact with the enemy?" Minoru nervously asked.

While her classmates began to bicker about the merits of luck versus skill, Michiru looked over at the students she had bowled over and passed by afterward. It would have been so easy to ping them and pass and get it over with but that could have exposed her, and by extension her classmates to attack. And after what Aizawa-sensei had told them before hand, the tanuki girl was quite self-conscious about any unnecessary risks.

It hadn't been that long but Michiru couldn't help but think back to the talk Shouta had with them. It was just before the class headed in to change into their costumes when the dour teacher called out "Hey, lighters. A word."

The three had been spread out amongst the class but each stopped and turned, glancing at one another while other members of the class took a moment to steal glances back at them as they disappeared into the changing rooms. The three other-worlders made their way up to the shaggy older man who had beckoned them, none of them looking especially excited to be pulled away. Zelgadis was the one to speak, annoyingly asking "What do you want? We're finally going to get this started."

The underground hero frowned at the chimera's impatience but choose to ignore it and stick with his original spiel "Listen, I've been opposed to the whole lighters program from the start. I personally think there are way too many risks involved and you three especially seem too volatile to be allowed to shoulder the responsibility of being heroes." This drew furrowed brows and clear displeasure from all three lighters while Shouta continued "But…you three passed my test, showed a willingness to improve and even befriended my class. I will admit that I've been mildly impressed. I might even go so far as to say that if you had been apart of my class from the beginning, I might not have expelled you."

The lighter trio began to look less put off, Michiru even asking, naively "So, does that mean-" before she was cut off.

"However. What's been happening the last few days between you three has been unacceptable. I don't know what high school drama nonsense has been going on between you all but it stops now, you hear me? If whatever issues you're having with each other in any way affects my student's ability to pass this exam, so help me, I'll have your heads." Shouta finished, his stare as menacing as he could muster, a red glint seeming to appear in his eye.

Zelgadis crossed his arms and looked away, as though unaffected by the threat before he dismissively replied "Don't act like we don't have a lot at stake here too, Aizawa."

"Damnit. Being a hero is so much more than hunting down the madman who wronged you. You'll be responsible for the safely of countless innocent people." Shouta pointedly snapped back at the chimera.

"You don't think we know that?" Michiru finally added, determination burning in her eyes. "Yeah, sure, we don't exactly see eye to eye right now and yes, we are looking to get home but I've wanted to help people for a long time and I think all of us would do everything we could to help people in need right this very moment if we were allowed to."

With Shouta quieted by the tanuki girl's proclamation, Emeralda quietly added "We'll do our best for ourselves and for them. You have our word."
"Hmph" The weary teacher answered before he turned away as if to leave before looking back and saying "I'll keep you three to that. Know that I'll be watching. Good luck."

Michiru watched her so-called teacher walk away, his odd scarf billowing behind him when the sound of a sensor on her body pinging brought the tanuki girl out of her distracting remembrance. "Michiru!" Mina called out "What are you doing? Your spacing, girl!"

Indeed, Michiru had let her mind wander and had completely missed that some opposing students had taken to the inside of one of the buildings. To be fair, the ball she had been hit with was invisible, surely the work of the thrower's quirk. In the meantime, Zelgadis, Momo and Emeralda had shifted the groups defenses toward the building Mashirao had seen someone inside of through a window. Michiru frowned at having been hit once already, shaking her head to clear her mind once more before she called out "Sorry everyone, let my guard down, won't happen again!"

However, with everyone's focus on the threat from the building, another challenge approached from behind and below. A boy with an elongated nose, whiskers and long clawed hands in a yellow body suit emerged from the ground and took aim at an unsuspecting Ochaco. Fortunately, Mezo had extra ears out on a couple of his tenacles and heard the student emerge. Quickly, the masked silver-haired hero-in-training called out "Tokoyami!"

That was all the bird-headed young man needed to hear. He called out "Dark Shadow! Crush him!" before the dark apparition surged from his body and deflected the ball the mole man had just in a panic tossed forward. Dark Shadow slammed into the attacker, which was partly blocked by the students claws but still left him open. Several 1-A students tossed their balls at him, Toru managing to hit the sensor on the mole-man's neck before he recovered and darted back underground.

Before that was over, though, another student, sitting atop a cloud he appeared to be riding, flew in from above and was attempting to hit them from on high. "I got this one!" Michiru declared, manifesting her wings, only to be stopped by Izuku, who grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, that's exactly what they want! They couldn't overwhelm us with numbers so now they've turned to hit and run tactics to draw us out. Let one of the long-range attackers handle him."

The balls being thrown were deflected by streams of acid from Mina while Yuga took a shot at the cloud-borne student with his navel laser. The shot grazed the cloud and caused their attacker to fall back. Then, from behind, someone tossed what looked like a water balloon that bounced once before exploding right beside Toru, spattering all over her a bright orange substance. "Eww! What is this stuff! Get it off me!" the invisible girl cried in disgust. The moment provided enough distraction for the defenders that the student holed up in the building was able to take another shot and score a hit on the squirming mostly naked girl.

Minoru, for the first time, got a real good look at his till now unseeable classmate and was wholly distracted when a girl seemed to grow from nothing right in front of him and tap him with a ball before shrinking out of sight again.

"This isn't working!" Kyoka called out, her ear jacks now in the ground listening for that mole man.
"You're quite right. We are sitting ducks like this!" Tenya agreed.

"Man, I totally saw Bakugo bailing on us but Todoroki and Kirishima? This sucks!" Denki added.

"We will lose if we just sit here and let them come to us. We need to attack if we expect to pass." Zelgadis summarized what many of them were thinking.
"Agreed." said Momo while she moved a shield to deflect a cluster of five balls that turned out to be one when it actually made impact. "Shall we rush the building that sniper is in? We can eliminate the threat and gain extra protection at the same time."

"Assuming their plan isn't to funnel us in there, ribbit." Tsu suggested.

"Second guessing won't get us anywhere. We need to head for that building. Wait, what was that sound?" Izuku answered, his words interrupted by a crashing sound. In the distance, a water tower had been felled, crashing into the street well down the road from the class.

At first no one paid the downed tower any mind, possibly the result of other test-takers battling it out. However, the crash of water that came out of the tower didn't just harmlessly dissipate on the ground but instead sat on the earth like a blob that seemed to build larger and larger until Mezo and Kyoka called in unison "RUN!"

The now massive wall of water burst forth, a tsunami of fluid now cascading down the street toward the students of UA. The class had no choice but to scatter, trying to save themselves as best they could. Tenya grabbed the closest person to him, the mute Koji and dashed as fast as he could away from the incoming flood.

Emeralda stood her ground, shifting her feet into heavy metal rods and stabbing them into the asphalt, doing the same with one arm to lower her center of gravity. She held onto Izuku with her free hand when the water crashed down on them but before long lost her grip, the flood taking the freckled boy with it.

Michiru had never tried an aquatic form before so opted for her wings but wasn't able to get high enough and was caught and carried away with the water. The same was true for most of the rest of the class save for Hanta, who had grabbed Ochaco and managed to wrap onto a light pole and was able to hang on for a time before the water became too much and they, too, were carried away.

(X)

In the stands, Shouta watched his class as they had weathered the storm of the exam's opening act, his colleague and perpetual jokester to his straight man, Emi Fukukado or Ms. Joke within talking distance of him. As 1-A defended and then counterattacked, the green-haired hero and teacher was honestly surprised "You must really like your class this year Eraser."

"Not really." Was the dour man's nonchalant answer, trying to shut this conversation down before it went anywhere. He knew he'd fail but he had to try. His tormentor continued.

"Not only have you not expelled anybody but you picked up a few extras! And to top it all off, you actually warned them about what was coming. I'm so proud of you! We'll make a teacher out of you yet!" Emi finished as she lightly punched Shouta in the arm.

Grumbling, the disheveled underground hero mumbled something about never getting peace and quiet before answering Emi properly "I didn't warn them. I didn't feel I should have to. Heroes are faced with villains who know their quirks all the time. It only makes sense that our students should be ready for that eventuality."

The laughing hero quirked an eyebrow "Wait. If you didn't tell them does that mean they figured it out on their own?"

"My students didn't, no." Shouta almost hissed.

Her prospective husband's tone was more than enough to answer how he felt about the extra students he brought with him to the exam but it drove Emi's curiosity "So which one's are the add ons? And are they-"

"Lighters? Yes. Students can lose their seats in the hero course so we normally keep the same forty students in each year. Since lighters are taught separately, this is how it happens when we have one or more enter the hero course." Emi nodded in understanding as Shouta continued "As to which ones are lighters, it'll be clear soon enough."

The bandana-wearing greenette wasn't sure if that answer was praise or an indictment and asked as much "Wait, what does that mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Shouta, more than tired of the exchange, nonetheless answered honestly "It means those three are more experienced than anyone in this test today and left to their own devices will have no trouble in this part of the exam. I had them go up against UA's best third-years and didn't just hold their own, they won."

Emi looked on, wide-eyed at that explanation. Still, while other students switched tactics and began guerilla attacks against UA's seemingly impenetrable defenses, the jokester hero began to wonder if her companion had missed the mark. Then the massive water attack struck the class, sending the various members of 1-A to parts unknown. Emi again looked at the eraser hero. If he was worried, he didn't show it. Instead, he said "There, you happy? Now that they aren't working for the group you'll see what I mean."

A slight chill went down Emi's spine. Shouta had always had a talent for cold, rational analysis and if his calculating mind had come to such a conclusion then she just hoped her own students didn't run into one of these lighters.

(X)

After a few moments that seemed to stretch for minutes, the flood receded and Emeralda was left alone, gasping as her scarf hung limp and heavy to her sides, her limbs still firmly in the asphalt. The tan girl had nary a moments rest before a barrage of balls descended on her, students from on high wasting no time in taking this chance. Emeralda knew she couldn't get her limbs out and forming a shield in time.

Instead, the nanomachine girl whipped her head to the side, causing her hair to flare out and as it did, she shifted clusters of her pale green locks into blades that continued to spin while she twisted her head. The hair blades batted the orange spheres away as effectively as any shield could have, repelling the balls back in all directions and leaving their throwers dodging back behind cover. Emeralda wasted no time, reverting her limbs to normal during the attack. As soon as the assault ended, the greenette bolted for the building the sniper who had hit Michiru earlier was still in.

Crashing through the door and dodging several balls that nearly hit her outside, Emeralda rolled and spun, coming to a stop on one knee facing the door, one arm a mallet and the other a shield. After several moments passed and it appeared no one dared to follow her in directly, the amber-eyed girl shifted her limbs back to normal and ran in search for a staircase.

Proceeding quickly but carefully up several floors, stopping at corners to shift one hand into an angled mirror to peer around, Emeralda was three floors up when she realized no one had followed her at all, to her surprise. When she passed a window, the greenette chanced to glance outside to see what was going on. What she saw across the way, standing atop a building across the street was the extremely eager young man from Shiketsu in a very militant costume with a cape, wind appearing to swirl around his open hand.

Inasa called out something Emeralda couldn't quite make out, the glass muffing the sound, before the wind user's palm-sized twister grew, pulling in balls from all the participants nearby. Sensing what was coming, Emeralda ducked down when Shiketsu's top freshman unleased a gale of hundreds of balls down on the poor students unlucky enough to be in his vicinity. The gale also shattered the windows of buildings on either side of the street, including Emeralda's, several balls blowing in as well. The same must have been true for the sniper, who called out "SHIT!" loud enough for the greenette to hear, alerting her to the fact that her target was on the same floor.

Plucking the balls that had made it through her window, Emeralda darted ahead, leaning forward to present a lower and thus harder target. The shattered glass ensured that any movement she made would be heard which meant any chance at surprise would have to be in a hard and fast strike. Luckily for the morpher, the supervisor of the exam came over the speakers to exclaim his surprise at so many examinees being knocked out at once and his hope for a swift end so he could get his precious sleep.

Supervisor Mera's voice carrying across the massive stadium allowed Emeralda to sight the sniper un-noticed. What she saw was a taller guy with short, spikey brown hair wearing a black sleeveless bodysuit, his arms appearing to be wrapped in tape and his back turned to her. Creeping forward to get close enough to strike with her arm extended into a mallet, the greenette had to dive when she saw the sniper thrust his seemingly empty hand toward her. Sure enough there was a crash when something impacted the wall behind the nanomachine girl.

The boy turned, and Emeralda could see his eyes were covered by a thin mask that hid his pupils. His mouth, though, remained unhidden and it was a thin line, unwilling to give away the boy's state of mind. Coolly, the sniper spoke "You were down below with the rest of the UA blowhards. Looks like you picked up on my little trick. Not bad."

Getting back to her feet, Emeralda formed a pair of shields in front of her, each running from her knees to her chest before she replied "That you can make anything you touch invisible? Yes, not a difficult thing to decern."

The sniper raised an eyebrow "Oh? Have me completely figured out, do you? I imagine you figured if you got me in close quarters, I'd be vulnerable, didn't you?"
"I don't exactly possess long range attacks myself, so regardless of your close combat prowess, I had to find my way to you." Emeralda replied, hoping to get the rival student to give something away while she plotted a counterattack.

Frowning slightly that the mysterious girl in front of him didn't rise to his own bait, he decided to raise the stakes, saying "Regardless, if you thought I was dangerous at long range, you're mistaken. I'm first and foremost a close-range fighter. I was hoping to lure one or more of you arrogant UA kids in with me." As he spoke, the sniper brought his arms up in front of him, each hand grasping straps on the opposite arms wrists "You've failed this exam, girl! Because your facing Phantom!"

With that, the now named Phantom released the straps causing the wrappings to shot off his limbs, revealing that his arms, too, were invisible. Within moments the seemingly armless hero-in-training was in front of Emeralda, her shields sparking as if metal was coming in contact with them. Her eyes wide in surprise, Phantom spoke again "What's wrong! You didn't think it was just things I touched that were invisible, did you?"

With his eyes covered by the mask, Emeralda couldn't get a sense for where he planned to move next and suddenly felt a heavy blow to her side when what felt like a metal rod hit her. Immediately, the tan girl shifted her right arm over to block the blow and when Phantom stepped back, she swung her head, allowing her hair to sweep forward forming into a hammer, swinging straight for her attacker's head.

The hammer missed its mark, however, blocked by the invisible rods. "Nope! I saw that little trick with your hair on the street! I know you can do that with your feet too. I've got you figured out! And in a battle of quirks, there's nothing more dangerous than that!"

Before Phantom could attack again, Emeralda went on the offensive, shifting her arms into spears and striking forward in an attempt to keep her opponent at a distance. Without being able to see where Phantom's arms and apparent weapons were though it meant she was open to being parried and that's exactly what happened when he got past the spears and came in at her, striking her hard in the other side and her head, sending her tumbling to the ground over half a dozen feet way before she hit a wall.

Getting up to one knee, Emeralda formed another shield, blood dripping from her forehead. Phantom took a moment to read his opponent, who despite the blows was still apparently ready to go since she was able to get a shield up so quickly. Still, he'd shown he could get past her guard and was ready to do it again while she was on the back foot. "I've got you now!" he called as he moved to charge in again.

Except, he didn't. Instead, Phantom felt a searing pain in his right arm just past his shoulder. His eyes wide, the sniper turned swordsmen twisted his head to see a thin blade protruding from the ground and impaling his arm. A moment later, Emeralda's shield shifted into another thin blade that she extended forward, stabling his other arm in the same spot. For a moment, the pain didn't seem too bad before all at once it hit him and Phantom screamed, his invisible blood dripping down his suit, not staining it but moistening it uncomfortably.

When the tan girl retracted her arms, Phantom fell to his knees, his rods clanging to the floor when he let go of them. Looking up at the approaching lighter, the seemingly armless boy croaked out "H-how?"

"Your arms may be invisible, but you appeared otherwise to have the average anatomy of a human. That meant those arms still attached to your shoulders. I may have said I didn't have long range attacks. I said, however, nothing of mid-range attacks. Perhaps if you had spent less time talking and just focusing on defeating me, you could have caught me off guard."

While Emeralda tapped each of Phantoms sensors with a ball, he fought back tears as he nodded. The defeated boy’s face was a mix of pain, disappointment and shame, his head held low. Sparing her defeated fellow examinee just one more glance as she stood up and began walking out of the room toward the stairs, Emeralda offered no words of encouragement, simply uttering "One more to go."

(X)

Coughing up water as she lay on the ground, Michiru looked about the wide, open space she found herself. Only a few feet away from her lay Koji Koda and Tenya Iida, both conscious and groaning while they recovered from the deluge that had swept them away. Getting to her feet first, Michiru glanced about, glad the water likely cleared away any would-be attackers before she moved to check on her classmates. Pulling Koji up first, Michiru asked "What the hell was that? That water attack could have killed us!"

The tall boy she'd just helped up nervously nodded in agreement but said nothing as the two of them helped up the class rep. The stern Tenya thanked them before concurring "Quite right, Kagemori-san! That was a reckless move! Whomever did it couldn't possibly have known if we would've been safely deposited here anymore than we could've been smashed on a rock!"

"Well, nothing we can do about it now. What we can do is look for the oooothers!" Michiru replied, her answer interrupted by a sudden violent shaking of the ground beneath their feet. The loud rumbling and cracking of earth drew the trio's attention, where off in the distance large sections of earth appeared to be uplifted and broken randomly.

"I hope none of our classmates were over there…" Tenya commented before steeling himself "We need to make sure no one was hurt!"

Before anyone of the UA students could dash forward though, Michiru's ear twitched causing her to call out "Get behind me!" before she turned around, enlarging her left arm and swinging it broadly across her front in time to deflect several balls that had been hurled at them.

There, in front of the tanuki girl, was a group of examinees that appeared to be entirely heteromorphic, lined up in a semi-circle. At the center of the half circle stood a guy baring a lion's head, his mane full and blowing in the breeze caused by the recent nearby destruction of earth. Raising his large, clawed paws threateningly, the lion-man spoke, his voice gruff "You two, step away from the armored one!"

The timid Koji shrunk behind the much smaller Michiru, who narrowed her eyes while Tenya rose and stepped forward to stand beside the tanuki girl. Seeing the odds, the second Ingenium decided it was worth trying to talk themselves out of the situation and said "What is the meaning of this? What business could you have with me and not my classmates?"

A girl to the lion's left with distinct kangaroo features shot back "Quiet, normie! You're gonna-" before she was cut off by the raised paw of their lion-like leader.
"We're not here to eliminate other heteromorphs, racoon-"

"Tanuki!"

"-tanuki girl. Just leave and we will not attempt to eliminate you!" The maned hero-in-training explained.

Michiru was aghast. Sparing only a moment to look at Tenya's helmeted face, the tanuki girl glared back at the group looming over them and countered with her own question "Are…are you only targeting normal looking humans? Why!?"

A…guy? It was hard to tell given how spider-like they were and hunched over so Michiru wasn't sure, even when the spider person spoke "OOHH, someone's a city girl, aren't you, little tanuki?"

Tenya, by now convinced talking wasn't going to get them out of this and sure that between him and Michiru's speed, they could carry Koda safely away, whispered to Michiru "Kagemori-san, don't let them antagonize you. We need to get out of here!"

Said tanuki girl's blood was up, however and she was not in the mood to be talked down to. Eyes narrowed, Michiru took a challenging step forward as she called back "What did you call me? What does that even mean, huh?"

A very tall girl with swallow-tailed black and red butterfly wings, large compound eyes and antennae to go with her very gaudy make-up answered "He meant just what he said, little girl. You city heteromorphs have no idea how rough we have it in the countryside!"

"That's right." The lion confirmed "The CRC rarely gathers in the cities but where we're from, people with quirks like ours are terrorized almost every day! That's why we heteromorphs from across the backwaters of Japan will prove we can be the best heroes and we'll do it by besting 'normal' people like you!" the leader of the group finished as he pointed to Tenya.

"Iida, what the hell is the CRC?" Michiru almost demanded, her eyes a mix of anger and confusion.

"My sincere apologies, Kagemori-san but I don't know. Now, we need to get out of here before-"

"T-they're an an-anti-mutant group." Michiru heard a soft, meek voice from behind her say.

Turning her head, surprise on her face, Michiru heard for the first time Koji's voice. "You, you can talk?" being the first, less than intelligent thing that came to her mind.
A flicker of a smile appeared on Koji's face before slipping away again when he answered "Jiro-san said the same thing…"

"What?" Michiru replied, not sure she heard her quiet classmate clearly, even with her enhanced hearing.

"The CRC, it's a group that hates people who have quirks that modify the body. The less human, the worse the treatment." The rock-headed young man quickly answered.

Michiru was aghast. How hadn't she heard of this before? Was it because this group stayed out in the countryside? Was that why they thought she grew up in the city, because this group shied away from larger population centers? In an instant, Michiru's image of this world as a utopia for people regardless of appearance shattered and it left her seething. She was angry. Angry at the reminder of her own world, angry at herself for being fooled, angry at…people.

Michiru stood, her head focused downward, baring her fangs, her face twisting in barely contained rage. Her clawed hands clenched and shook while her classmates and opponents watched on. Tenya was just about at the point of grabbing them both and bolting when the lion spoke again, a hint of righteous arrogance to his voice "Your friend confirms it, Tanuki-san. We speak the truth. Come, join us and we'll show that heteromorphic people deserve to stand with everyone else."

The lion-man stood with his paw outstretched, confident the tanuki in front of him saw the truth as they did. He was wrong. Very, very wrong. Instead of answering his call, instead of coming to stand by their side, Michiru let out an ear-piercing scream of rage. The mournful howl brought haunted stares from friend and foe alike causing Tenya and Koji to step away from their temporary classmate. It was for the best because as Michiru screamed, she brought her fist up in front of her, shaking in unrestrained frustration. Then, sparks flashed about the tanuki girl's body before she changed. First her arms massively expanded and enlarged. This wasn't an unfamiliar sight to the two UA students but the change didn't stop there. Michiru's whole body grew and expanded as muscle upon muscle exploded outward to enormous proportions until the once petite girl was now a massive hulking gorilla-like creature. The fact that she retailed her normal head made the sight that much more unsettling, her costume just barely able to adjust to the change. A testament to Power Loader's work.

With a wild snarl, the gargantuan Michiru charged forward, taking a massive swipe at the assembled heteromorphs. Many caught off guard and still in shock were swept away while others had enough presence of mind to tumble backwards. With her opponents wounded or cowed, Michiru angrily declared "You think I don't know what it’s like to be hunted!? To have people wanting me dead for something I had no control over!?"

Seeing an opening, the spider-like examinee shot out a massive web, large enough to encase the enraged morpher. Though Michiru was supremely angry, she wasn't mindless and seeing the attack, she shrunk back down, though now with more cat-like features, including some impressive claws. It only took a couple of slashes to clear enough of a gap in the web for the temporarily feline Michiru to charge forward, her form again changed. This time to a more cheetal-like form that allowed her to close the gap between her and her attacker in mere moments.

The spider heteromorph raised his many arms to hopefully block the slicing attack that was sure to come. Instead, Michiru went back to normal, save for her left arm, which again enlarged before she swung down from above hard. No number of arms would deny the tanuki girl as her punch smashed down into the poor hero-in-training's exoskeleton, sending him hard into the ground and unconscious instantly.

Any and all resistance fell apart at that point, those remaining unscathed fled, leaving their fellow heteromorphs for dead. One of those left behind was their lion leader, who had only just managed to sit back up from Michiru's initial attack when he saw the supposed city girl now looming over him. The poor maned young man began to cower, sure he could feel a wild urge to kill emanating from the figure above. Instead, words assaulted him, cold and steely as Michiru spoke "You can never achieve the equality you long for by stooping to their level. It makes you no better and it sickens me that you asked me to join you. Now, though, you'll have to go back home with nothing to show, and I'm going to send you there." Michiru raised her arm again, signaling her intent to strike her downed opponent again.

Whether Michiru intended to attack the downed lion-man again only she could truly know because at that moment several small songbirds landed on her head and shoulders, causing the righteous tanuki girl to freeze, confusion replacing the cold glare she had leveled at her fellow examinee. Then Tenya was there, his hand on her raised shoulder, his voice gentle but firm when he said "Kagemori-san. Michiru. Its ok, you've defeated him. There is no need to go any further. It would be unbecoming of a hero to assault a defeated foe, after all."

Glancing back, Michiru saw Koji meekly holding his hands in front of him, several more birds on his head and shoulders as he nodded in agreement with his class rep. Roughly pulling her arm from Tenya's grasp, Michiru stepped forward and grabbed one of her balls, tapping the three sensors on the lion before her while he hung his head. Without acknowledging Tenya's words, the now much calmer but still clearly distraught tanuki girl said "Come on, lets tag the others and get out of here. I'm done."

(X)

"Damnitall, what a mess!" Zelgadis spat out as he rose from the rubble that had been the ground moments earlier. The chimera had been washed away with most of the rest of 1-A and when the flood had subsided, the sorcerer-swordsmen found himself in the company of Yuga, Tsu, Mashirao, Mezo and Fumikage. All appeared to be unharmed, if a little worse for wear.

That all changed when the two-faced student from Ketsubutsu appeared with several classmates around him. Scanning the UA students, Shindo called out "I see that demon of a girl isn't with you! It seems lying in wait was the right move! Now that your numbers are fewer, we can pick you off once I've shaken things up some more!"

The chimera barely had enough time to call out to the others to run, let alone cast a spell. But yell he did "He's going to vibrate the ground! Scatter!" But it was too late, the ground below the UA students began to rumble, then shatter beneath them.

Now standing amidst the dust and crumbled earth, the sorcerer-swordsmen wondered how in the hell he had managed to survive that unscathed. Calling out would just invite an attack but waiting here where they know he was when they attacked was risky too. So Zelgadis got moving, climbing over a large piece of displaced Earth and sliding down toward less disturbed ground. He cautiously moved forward where the dust began to thin out a bit where silhouettes became visible in the distance. Unwilling to cast a wind spell to clear out the cloud and reveal himself or attack in case they were one of his classmates, the rock-encrusted lighter was surprised to suddenly get hit in his shoulder with a ball, activating one of his sensors. "You've got to be kidding me…" the chimera muttered, having his choice made for him.

Calling out to his attacker, Zelgadis said "I've had enough playing around, enjoy eating dirt." Then, slamming his hand to the ground, called "Grey Bomb!" After which a line of disturbed earth ran right for the silhouette.

Just as the ground beneath his target exploded, Zelgadis watched his attacker dodge to the side and roll to his feet and reply back "That the best you got?! When I throw something I can't m-" Toteki said before a massive gust of wind slammed into him, knocking him off his feet and smashing him hard into the ground.

Walking up to the disoriented examinee, Zelgadis glared down at him and finished his opponent's comment "Can't miss, right? Yeah, I remember what Emeralda said. Next time make sure the other guy does miss."

Reaching down to tag the witless Toteki, the blonde girl from Ketsubutsu came charging at the chimera's side, intent on bum-rushing him. Zelgadis didn't even turn his head before the girl herself was smashed into by the ghostly vestige of Dark Shadow, the other members of 1-A rushing up behind the sorcerer-swordsmen.

"Zelgadis! It is well you appear unharmed!" Fumikage called out. Then, noticing that while his rock-encrusted friend had been reaching out to tag Toteki with his left, his right hand was held across his body, palm open facing at the girl. The bird-headed young man chuckled "It would appear you weren't need of a save after all."

"Indeed! It would seem you were sparkling brilliantly even without us, Greywards-san!" Yuga declared, dramatically outstretching his hand and appearing to swoon, causing the chimera to roll his eyes.

"Greywards-san." Mezo interrupted "The one who caused that earthquake, he's over there. Doesn't sound like he's doing well." The masked silver-haired boy finished before he pointed beyond some upturned rocks.

Raising an eyebrow, it wasn't lost on Zelgadis that the other students appeared to be following his lead. It made sense in a way. He was older and though he kept to himself, he wasn't lacking for confidence. It wouldn’t be the first time he'd led, after all.

With the others looking to him, Zelgadis sighed inwardly before speaking "Alright, Tsu take the left and Fumikage the right. Mezo, keep listening. Mashirao, protect Yuga, who'll be in support. I'll take the front."

Everyone nodded and the group proceeded as planned, only to find Shindo on one knee, breathing hard, though he appeared to be smiling. "Heh *cough* so much for our ambush. Well played, UA. You all are really as good as your school's reputation. *cough* congrats."

No one was buying the honey-sweet words from their two-faced competitor. Even the very flamboyant Yuga was looking down on Shindo with distaste. "Tag him, he's trying to distract us." Tsu directed calmly.

Several drew out their balls, ready to knock out the black-haired Ketsubutsu srudent plus his classmates when a blast of wind hit them from the left, sending the UA students tumbling hard into the rocks along with their rival school's students they had just defeated. Zelgadis, literally made of sturdier stuff, found himself relatively unhurt and was able to get up in time to see their attacker. Standing some fifteen yards away was a young man with wild unkept hair that seemed to spill out in all directions, with streaks of just about every color you could imagine mixed into what was otherwise black. His face bore bright, intelligent red eyes and a confident smirk. His costume mostly hidden by a large black cloak that concealed the rest of his outfit.

Not wanting to give the newcomer the chance to finish the job, the blue-skinned sorcerer pulled an ice cube from an insulated pouch on his belt before he called out "Ice Arrow!" He held out one arm and pulled back with the other, a frozen arrow forming from the action. Focused more on distraction than landing a blow, Zelgadis took no time to aim before he let his spell loose. To his surprise, the projectile hit its mark, landing square in the other examinee's chest.

Instead of freezing over as normally happened when a target was hit with the spell however, the ice seemed to absorb into the caped figure. The white streaks in the guy's hair seemed to shimmer before his smirk grew larger. Then the newcomer spoke, his voice on the high side and betraying the excitement of something happening exactly as expected "You are too kind to gift me a second time, my rocky friend!" before ice began to from on both his arms. When he clapped his hands together, a stream of ice shot right for the chimera.

Zelgadis only had a moment to draw his sword and smash into the ice beam, breaking up and dispersing it causing icy shrapnel that pelted the recovered and recovering members of 1-A. Fumikage came to stand side by side with Zelgadis, Dark Shadow punching at incoming blasts of ice along with Zelgadis' sword. "What happened? Didn't he use wind a moment ago?" the raven-headed boy asked.

"It looks like he absorbed my ice attack. Couldn't tell you anything beyond that though. Aoyama! You there? Can you hit him with your laser?" Zelgadis called back, his deep voice calm but with a commanding air about it.

Tsu was at the moment helping a bleeding Yuga up, the golden locks he was so proud of besmirched with red. Still, with an eye closed to keep blood out and his teeth clenched in pain, the sparkling hero replied "B, but of course!" With his frog-like classmates help, Yuga steadied himself enough to aim and take a shot.

The bright beam from Yuga's navel, like Zelgadis' Ice Arrow before it, struck true, blasting their assailant in the face. For a moment, the ice barrage stopped, giving the UA students a moment to prepare to counterattack. It quickly became apparent that the only reason their opponent had stopped was because he had been blinded for a moment. He had, however, absorbed that blast as well. Now, beams of light were streaking toward the group, Dark Shadow now completely useless due to the bright light and Zelgadis forced to go on the defensive, putting up a barrier to shield the group.

To make things worse, Mezo arrived to say, "Those students from Ketsubutsu have started to get up as well, if we don't do something, we'll be caught in a pincer."
"Great." Zelgadis dead panned. "Alright, Tsu, Fumikage, you think you can get over there and tag them out? That'll get them off our back."

"You're not going to take that cloaked guy on alone are you, Zelgadis-chan?" Tsu wondered even as she and Fumikage began moving away.

Narrowing his eyes, Zelgadis answered "No, I have other plans."

(X)

Izuku, like most of the rest of his class, had been carried away by the sudden flood that crashed down the street they were fighting on despite Emeralda's best efforts to hold on to him. Unlike most of the rest of his class, the freckled greenette had found himself alone and still within the confines of the cityscape, if at the outskirts. Still soaked as he looked around and assessed his situation, spending some time trying to find anyone he knew, Izuku's mind began to race. That was some powerful quirk to control that much water and wash them away like that. Between that and the top ranked Shiketsu guy, these were the best students from across the country afterall. That realization sparked a excitement in Izuku he hadn’t expected.

So lost in his thoughts, a nervous smile on his face, the barer of One for All suddenly found himself with someone leaping at him from his front, grabbing his shoulders and using him to catapult herself over him, hitting one of his sensors with a ball in the process. Turning to face his attacker as she landed, the girl playfully said "Tag, your it!"

Now Izuku could get a first look at the person who had surprised him and it was a good look that he got. Crouching down to allow for a clear view of the substantial amount of cleavage the girl's black jumpsuit left open would allow was the dirty blonde girl from Shiketsu. The girl's costume was rounded out by the same "S" adorned hat they wore as part of their class uniforms. Still concealing her face by the rim of her hat by keeping her head down, the girl continued "Not smart…starring off into space like that. But…What’s really weird is that you're in trouble and still smiling." she finished, finally revealed her face to look Izuku in the eye.

Laughing, an almost obsessive glee in her eye, the girl continued "You couldn't be cooler." The odd words setting off all sorts of alarms in the green-clad hero as his muscle's tightened and he settled into a stance, ready to react to whatever this girl had in mind next.

Instead of following up her attack though, the blonde Shiketsu student relaxed herself and began to explain she knew in situations like this people tended to go after people they had intel on, which meant UA students would get ganged up on. So she followed Izuku because she not only didn't want to miss the chance to interact with UA students, but, as she put it, "I've taken quite an interest in you." Her voice dropping an octave, giving her last words a hint of allure and danger to them.

Refusing to lower his guard, already sure something wasn't right, possibly trying to distract him for an ambush, Izuku shot back "Huh, you sure like to talk." Before he finished speaking, the greenette began pumping One for All through his body, arcs of green energy dancing across him.

His caution was rewarded when the Shiketsu girl suddenly flung a rock at him, which he dodged, but was followed up by a ball aimed for where he was headed. His quirk already activated, the green-clad boy was quick enough to dodge that attack as well, leaping backward. When he landed though, one hand on the ground as he slid, he saw his opponent no longer in front of him and he had no idea where she was.

"All I have to do is tag you and that makes two!" the girl said, rushing in at Izuku's side, almost able to hit another sensor if not for his nimble dodge which prompted her to shoot away in the opposite direction.

Sliding to a stop, Izuku knew he had to counterattack, quickly raising his arm to threw back where he just was, only to find the blonde was again out of his sight. "What? She's gone again?" The greenette wondered aloud, looking around.

Only to hear the girl say from behind him, almost taunting him "Oh. You think my quirk lets me disappear?" as she pressed her weight into the young hero-in-training's back, pinning him face first into the ground, causing him to grunt in shock. With his arm pinned behind his back, ball tightly clasped in it, the Shiketsu student added in a soft, sweet voice "That's not it. I was just hiding."

Remaining calm, despite an arm pining him down by his neck, his arm held tight behind his back and the girl's ample breasts slowly pressing into him, Izuku replied "It wasn't your power at work?"

"No. That's just a technique" the dirty blonde replied, her lips now inches away from Izuku's ear "I make my opponents eyes and ears blind and deaf to my presence. To do that, I hold my breath, clear my mind and disappear. It’s simple."

"Like this?" a new voice replied, from behind the two grounded examinees. The dirty blonde's eyes went wide as she tried to quickly twist her body around to face the new threat, only to find her midsection being clamped by metal all the way around her torso.

With his opponent no longer restraining him, Izuku slipped away immediately, allowing his savor to press the weird blonde girl hard into the asphalt. The blonde girl had twisted enough to see who had gotten the jump on her once the pain subsided enough to open her eyes "You!" she cried, as though in recognition.

"Kasim-san!" Izuku called out when he, too saw who had saved him. Then, having picked up on his attacker's address of the tan girl, added "Do…you know this girl?"

"I do not, Midoriya. I only met her this morning. I'm surprised to have found you in such a position." Emeralda calmly answered.

"You bitch! You ruined my alone time with Midoriya!" The blonde bitterly snapped, her calm and seductive veneer shattered into a snaring wild mess. Then, just as quickly, the dirty blonde calmed while she starred at Emeralda's amber orbs and spoke as if the outburst a moment ago never happened "I heard a girl with tan skin and green hair had fought at Yokohama. One that lost an eye…Is one of yours fake, I wonder?"

Izuku's eyes went wide before he looked over at his classmate, flashes of that night where his mentor made his final stand flashing in his mind. He knew one of the lighters, the purple-haired one, had died but this was the first he'd heard of Emeralda injured. Before he could question her though, Emeralda said, her calm voice tinged with what sounded like barely contained anger "Midoriya. You need to tag her, now."

"Uh…right! I'll do that!" the nervous freckled boy said before he moved toward the pinned girl, only to stop short when a most unexpected and unnerving sight drew him up short.

The Shiketsu student appeared to be…melting?!

"Wha…whats happening? Is it her quirk?" Izuku questioned, unconsciously taking a step back.

Emeralda was feeling her grip on her captive slip due to the goo finding it way between her clamps and the girl. As the goo began to drip off the top of the blonde girl's head, and new brunette color poking out, the melting girl spoke again "You should take more pride, Izuku Midoriya! We didn't even get to have half the fun I had planned and I'm turning to putty in your hands!"

With that, the goo-covered girl managed to wiggle her way out of Emeralda's metal clamping grasp, leaping way and landing on a street light pole. That last act was enough to fling the remaining goo off the girl, bits of it spattering everywhere, including the two examinees below. What was left was the very naked form of one Ochaco Uraraka. Izuku's face immediately flushed red before he turned away in embarrassment.

Emeralda, on the other hand, stood fast. She knew this girl, Camie Utsushimi, one of many students she had looked up preparing for the exam and this was not her quirk. The fact that she now looked like their classmate meant she could be anybody and the way she reacted to her presence and made a comment about Emeralda's eye…was she that girl from before?

The green-haired morpher's thoughts were interrupted, however, when the doppelganger, seeing Izuku's reaction, took the chance to leap down straight at Emeralda. Distracted by her own thoughts, the tan girl was caught off guard by the attacker, now brandishing a knife that had come from…somewhere.

At first, the Ochaco look-alike seemed to have Emeralda on the back foot, getting a quick swipe in and scoring a grazing cut in on Emeralda's cheek. As the tan girl back peddled, her attacker took a moment to lick the blood off her weapon, causing the false Ochaco's eyes to widen when her head reflexed back and she appeared to gag. The pause was brief though and the girl was attacking again, with a series of slashes that Emeralda was now able to deftly avoid.

Izuku stood by, the power of One for All now coursing through him but finding himself unable to act. The two girls appeared closely locked in combat and he didn't feel confident enough in his own skills to jump in. Instead, he watched on, looking for an opening while also trying to not look too hard at the doppelganger.

Meanwhile, after dodging for abit, Emeralda felt she had a good feel for her opponent and was ready to go on the offensive. As the copycat took another swipe at the amber-eyed girl, Emeralda stepped into the attack, her left foot under the arc of the other girls swing. When the blade-barring hand came down, a blade shot up from Emeralda's foot, ruining her boot but able to knock away the blade and causing flesh wounds to several of her opponents fingers.

The Ochaco-like girl wasn't fazed by the damage to her hand though, switching immediately to hand-to-hand combat, charging with a series of quick kicks and low punches, her form wild and acrobatic. Emeralda, though, had little trouble blocking the blows, unpredictable as they appeared. When the clone leaned back and threw herself forward in a wheeling kick from above though, the student of Ranma Satome caught the other girl's foot. Sidestepping, Emeralda threw her attacker's foot down, the added and unexpected momentum sending the doppelganger spinning off her feet and crashing in a heap on the ground.

Emeralda and Izuku both saw their chance to take out their clothes-less opponent but the sudden crashing sound from a building to their side drew their attention, if briefly. A nearby battle likely spilled over near them and the two examines took a moment to make sure an attack from another direction wasn't coming. That, however, was enough for the naked clone of their classmate to be gone from their sight when the two of them turned their attention back to her.

Not a moment later, the familiar sight of a yellow and black clade classmate came swinging in on tape from his elbows, another Ochaco in his arms. This one, much to Izuku's relief, was in her hero costume. "Hey you guys! Glad we could find you!" Hanta warmly greeted the two, having lifted his dark face guard after setting Ochaco down. "Hey Midoriya, why is your face all red?"

Raising an eyebrow in concern, the pink and black clad brunette looked at her friend with concern "Deku? He's right, your face is beat red. Are you alright?"

Izuku let out a nervous whimper and looked away when Ochaco met his eyes, unable to bring himself to say what had just happened, his face turning redder. "We fought a shape-shifter who took the form of Ochaco. Likely as a result of the change, our opponent lacked cloths when I engaged her." Emeralda helpfully supplied while Izuku wordlessly pleaded for her to stop talking.

Ochaco, for her part, buried her face in her hands, her face also taking on a crimson hue, muffled words of shock and embarrassment not quite able to be understood as she hid herself. Hanta on the other hand, was less restrained by inhibitions, running up to his ashamed classmate and yelling "You mean you've got to fight alongside Kasim here and…." Dropping his voice to a whisper "…got to see Uraraka naked!? You lucky dog!"

"Sero, it’s not like that!" Izuku blurted out, not helping his case at all while Ochaco turned away, unable to even face her classmates. Trying to bring focus back to the group and distract from the proceedings, Izuku spoke again, far calmer this time "Guys, we're still in the middle of an exam. We need to focus!"

Emeralda, who had stood by while the drama played out and couldn't help but think back to how the brunette had acted during their girl's night, said nothing until now, backing up her fellow greenette "Yes. We have been lucky to not have been attacked by anyone else. We need to be more aggressive if we wish to pass."

As if to reiterate the urgency, the director spoke over the intercom "Come on people, there are less than half the spots left. Surely you can wrap them up quicker? God I'm tired…"

All four classmates managed to bring themselves back to the moment, determination on their faces with Izuku urging them on. "Lets go!" he declared.

(X)

"So what's the plan, Zelgadis?" Mashirao asked, Fumikage and Tsu leaving behind them.

Holding his barrier steady, the chimera replied "First, we need to test the limits of this guy's quirk. If we find a weakness, great. If not, we go hand to hand. Sound good Ojiro?" The tailed blonde put his fist into his open palm in front of him, nodding. "Shoji, keep an eye and ear out for anyone else approaching. I don't want to be surprised by opportunists." The multi-limbed student nodded as well, extending multiple ears and eyes out around him.

"What about moi?" Yuga asked, distraught someone else would try to outshine him with his own lasers.

"Hit him again, Aoyama." Zelgadis ordered.

"But, but! He has already absorbed my shining beam! What else could I do?" the ostentatious blonde worriedly countered.

"To blind him. I need to switch from defense to offense and that's the opening I need, now hit him again!" Zelgadis answered, tired of holding the barrier and worried their opponent would move to try something else.

"Oh, but of course! Brilliant, my rocky friend!" Yuga answered, his mood turning on a dime as he aimed his navel laser and fired once more, not quite hitting the mark but close enough for the barrage to stop for a moment.

With the opening, Zelgadis pulled a lighter out from another pouch on his belt and snapped it to life, his ‘trigger’ to conjure the magic for his next spell "Flare Arrow!" he cried creating a projectile of pure flame much like the ice one before it. Wasting no time, he let his fiery spell loose, again hitting his target, who made no effort to dodge and causing him to be briefly enveloped in flame. As before, the flames, too, were absorbed, the red streaks in the boy's hair shining bright. After a moment, his arms exploded in red flame. "Hit him again, Aoyama!" Zelgadis cried.

Before their opponent could attempt to return the fiery attack, he was hit again with Yuga's laser, cancelling the flames. The shot was a glancing one however and it didn't blind the rainbow-haired examinee. This left the 1-A students open despite the flames disappearing, only to be replaced by the glowing bright white of another luminescent barrage about to be unleased. "You think you can find an opening if you keep forcing me to change?" their opponent called out. "Think again!"

"We'd take one if we found one!" Zelgadis shot back "Grey Bomb!" The earth spell shot forward, disturbing the ground as it went toward his target. The thought occurred to Zelgadis that their opponent had been able to absorb attacks that were energy based. The meant trying something physical. Just as the spell burst below the rainbow-haired boy, a sphere appeared around him, shielding him from the displaced exploding under him. "Shit. It’s like he's copying me! Or maybe…" Zelgadis wondered out loud.

"My turn?" Mashirao asked, fists clinched and ready to charge in.

"We'll have to give it a shot. Yuga, I'm going to hit him with an ice attack and you follow up. Ojiro, move in once I start. We won't give him a chance to counter you." The chimera instructed. "Shoji, can you tell if that guy's alone?"

"It’s hard to hear with everything going on but I think I can hear at least one other person hiding among the rocks that guy is standing around." Mezo answered.

Zelgadis frowned before bringing his hands up again. "Figures. Let’s go! Ice Arrow!"

The sphere around the now laughing rainbow-haired examinee disappeared allowing the icy projectile to hit its mark while Mashirao darted forward. Yuga followed up as instructed, though he was starting to look a bit queasy, his latest shot was closer to the mark than his last. The tailed martial artist had just enough time to close the gap, jumping forward with a kick, hoping to hit their opponent as hard and fast as possible.

Instead, he hit the same sphere and the moment he did, someone else popped out from below, spikes protruding from his arms and taking a swing at Mashirao. The blonde warrior was able to dodge while he fell, rolling away just as Zelgadis himself caught the spiky boy's arm with his sword, pushing the new player back. Then, when the rainbow-haired guy moved to attack them with lasers, Zelgadis caught sight of a meek looking girl hiding at the other's feet, surely the source of the barrier. Made sense, their main attacker could take and dish out long-distance attacks with protection from physical and short-range attacks. Still, now that he knew, it made everything much easier prompting Zelgadis to smirk. "Ojiro, back off, I got this!"

The tailed blonde looked apprehensive but leaped back just when the spiked boy charged forward at Zelgadis and their original opponent about to blast him with Yuga's lasers. "Raywing!" The sorcerer-swordsmen called before he shot up in the air, the spike-armed examinee missing him by mere inches. The caped rainbow-head though turned, pointing his arms at Zelgadis and let loose beams of light that kept missing just behind the chimera who arced up and behind the group.

Being shot at didn't lend itself to concentration but Zelgadis didn't need much to conjure one of the most common fire spells as he aimed and yelled "Fireball!" A simple ball of fire sailed from his hand down toward the short-range fighter. The spike armed examinee dodged the attack, getting closer to the other two. More so with Zelgadis' next fireball attack. Then another until the three were on top of each other and the nervous looking girl put her hands on both of her classmates, a protective sphere forming around them again.

Knowing he couldn't shot through the barrier, the Rainbow-haired leader yelled "Sheru! What're you doing!?"

"S, sorry, Niji-kun! He was going to hit all of us!" the now trembling white-haired girl explained.

"Just take it down, I can't hit him like this!" Niji ordered, almost frantic.

"Too late!" Zelgadis called from above "Dill Brand!" Instantly, upon snapping his fingers, the ground beneath the sphere exploded, sending the ball and its three inhabitants skyward. The three examinees tumbled about, unable to get their bearings as they bounced into each other before being pressed against the top of the sphere when it began descending back to earth.

Zelgadis had other plans. "Ojiro, smack that ball of theirs as hard as you can before it hits the ground!"

Charging forward, the tailed martial artist answered "Got it! Heading your way, Greywards-san!" When the sphere neared the earth, Mashirao leapt forward, swinging his body and using his momentum to give his tail extra power when he slammed the quirk powered ball, sending it shooting away and under the still floating chimera.

Zelgadis descended to about the same height as the sphere and called “Bomb Di Wind!" causing a powerful gale to add to the sphere's speed and sending it like a bullet away until finally it impacted with the wall of a building at the outskirts of the cityscape the UA students had once occupied way off in the distance. Smashing hard into the sphere's side was enough to knock all of its unfortunate riders unconscious, dissipating the sphere that had sealed their fate.

When Zelgadis landed, Mashirao, Yuga and Mezo were waiting for him, relief clear on their faces. Yuga was first to speak, still holding his tummy "That was magnifique, Zelgadis! Truly a sparkling display!"

"Though now we have quite a bit of walking if we want to tag them." Mezo pointed out.

"We need to meet back up with Asui and Tokoyami first." Zelgadis pointed out "And don't worry, if we work together like that, we'll get all of us passed in no time.
The group turned and cautiously made their way back toward where their two classmates had went, when Mashirao spoke "You wouldn't know it by the way you were in training but you make a pretty good leader, Greywards-san."

Looking at the tailed blonde, a distant look on his face, the chimera grunted a "Hmph" remembering back to the time before he had joined Lina, Gourry and Amelia. To a time when he had led his two friends, Zolf and Rodimus while they worked under Rezo to help others and to further their benefactors’ goals. Both of them had died fighting against the Red Priest, leaving Zelgadis with, he felt at the time, nothing but revenge.

Zelgadis only snapped out of his remembrance at the sound of Tsu greeting the group "You guys look ok, everything go alright, ribbit?"

"We managed, thanks to Greywards-san" Mezo answered earnestly, pointing a thumb in the chimera's direction.

Frowning at the praise, Zelgadis instead addressed the two returning classmates "What about you, how'd it go? I don't see any of your sensors tagged."

"Indeed." Fumikage responded. "It wasn't as easy as we hoped but we managed to get two of them. The girl got away I am afraid."

"Now we just need to find enough opponents for us all to pass." Zelgadis mused.

"I can help with that." Mezo said, several ears out. "A group is headed our way from the south."

"Well." Smiled Zelgadis "We'll just have to greet them, won't we?"

(X)

After the incident with the doppelganger had passed, Izuku had a chance to talk abit with his savior and was surprised to find that Emeralda had already defeated someone. The rest of them hadn't so much as hit anyone else. Still, working together, they had made short work of it and had passed before long, making their way to the reception area for those moving to the second stage of the exam. As they walked, the thought had occurred to him that Emeralda was probably capable of having passed by herself and yet choose to come looking for them and stay by the class, even when she had no idea where they were or even if they were still in competition. The answer had confused the freckled boy as much as anything, Emeralda responding "It's the least I can do."

Izuku was going to inquire just what that meant but running into a large group of their classmates upon entering the reception area threw that off. "Hey Tsu, Ojiro! I see you guys passed along with Greywards, Tokoyami, Aoyama and Shoji. That's great!"

While the groups greeted each other, Dark Shadow added, pointing a misty thumb over to a bench "Yeah! And we aren't the only ones!" There, seating in a group was Mina, Koji, Kyoka, Toru and Momo, with Tenya, Denki, Rikido and Minoru standing off to the side. Eijiro could be seen talking to Katsuki against a wall and even Shoto was close enough to be seen, even if he was just standing there by himself. Everyone moved toward the bench and began exchanging exciting stories, happy everyone had passed.

Only one of class 1-A seemed to be missing, Izuku realized while he was listening to Mina talk about her troubles with Momo and Kyoka. Zelgadis noticed as well, coming up beside Izuku and asking "What about Michiru? I don't see her."

Koji looked up at the two on hearing the tanuki girl's name but just as quickly looked away, worry on his rock-like face. Tenya also noticed the question, stepping closer to avoid talking over his pink classmate, answering, "Kagemori-san did indeed pass. Know that we encountered a group of heteromorphs bent of defeating only normal looking people and she…hasn't been the same since. She is over there." Tenya pointed around a desk and there sat, with her head down, the unmistakable form of Michiru Kagemori.

The two young men moved to check on her, Emeralda choosing to stay behind though she kept an eye on them. Before he could even open his mouth and with her head still down, Michiru spoke, her voice mirthless and empty "Izuku. Have you heard of the CRC?"

Izuku froze, his eyes wide, no words able to escape his mouth. After discovering the group himself, the freckled inheritor of One for All had seen some…pretty horrible things on those message boards and hearing the name froze him, those awful memories he had pushed aside flooding back. Zelgadis raised an eyebrow as he looked at the now paralyzed youth, asking "CRC? What is she talking about Midoriya?"

"So, you do know of them, huh? I had my hopes up that you didn't since Iida didn't seem to know anything but your silence speaks volumes." Michiru spoke again, her voice now dripping with bitter resentment.

"Damnit, what the hell is the CRC?" Zelgadis demanded again but was ignored.

Finally able to bring himself to speak, the tanuki girl's words edging dangerously close to an accusation Izuku stuttered a response "I-I only found out about them a couple of days ago. I…I was going to ask the teachers after the exam. M-Michiru, I didn't know any group like that existed, I'm sorry."

"Will someone please just tell me-"

Cut off when Michiru raised her head, Zelgadis saw the blood-shot eyes, the hallow look on her face, like nothing mattered anymore and it stopped him cold. Michiru's words did nothing to assuage the pit in his stomach when she said "They're a hate group, Zel. People who hate us, you and me, for the way we look."

The chimera's eyes widened but his lips remained neutral, as though he was surprised but not shocked. The chimera had been used to being seen as something evil but it was really bothering Michiru. This was, thought the chimera, a part of life and the sooner Michiru realized that the better. So his logical mind went anyway. After a long pause, Zelgadis finally replied "And? People are stupid, Michiru. Does it really surprise you a group like this exists?"

Michiru reared her head back, as if injured by those words and she hissed out "How can you say that? Things weren't supposed to be this way. Not here. Everything was so nice!"

Crossing his arms, a look of sympathy on his face, Zelgadis replied back "I'm sorry, Michiru. I don't know what to tell you. People have never liked the way I look. The truth is, as long as there are people, you'll find someone who doesn't like you, for whatever reason."

"Oh please!" Michiru bit back, suddenly standing up "You really don't notice all the girls that ogle you? Mister tall dark and mysterious? You really don't get it, do you? You know what, you're right. Once this exam is over, we really do need to go our separate ways. Just…just leave me alone, ok?" With that, Michiru pushed her way past the two boys and melted into the crowd, waiting for the second and final stage of the exam.

(X)

Chapter Text

"Oh please!" Michiru bit back, suddenly standing up "You really don't notice all the girls that ogle you? Mister tall dark and mysterious? You really don't get it, do you? You know what, you're right. Once this exam is over, we really do need to go our separate ways. Just…just leave me alone, ok?"

Stunned by the entirely unexpected retort, Zelgadis stood dumbly while his fellow lighter pushed past him and Izuku. Izuku, though, only took a moment to glance at the chimera before he determined to follow after his classmate. The freckled greenette was only able to take a single step forward before a tan hand firmly grasped his shoulder. "Leave her be, Midoriya. She needs to calm down and focus if she is to pass." Emeralda explained when Izuku turned to look at who had grabbed him.

"B-but she looked so upset! We can't just leave her like that." The green clade hero-in-training tried to insist.

Emeralda let go, looking in the direction Michiru had went, her eyes narrowing "Perhaps you are right. I'll follow her and assist if I can."

"You're not exactly on the best of terms with her either." Zelgadis pointed out, having recovered from the tanuki girl's earlier comment.

"I know." Emeralda replied, hanging her head slightly before looking back at her two classmates "But everyone else needs to focus on passing, not worry about others."

"But!" Izuku interrupted "That's not fair to you! Shouldn't you focus as well?"

"What isn't fair is the three of us being here and being a detriment to you. You've all…been so kind to me. To us. Please do your best Midoriya and I will do mine to help my…my friend." Emeralda answered, her normally stoic expression softening before she offered a warm and reassuring smile. The sight left both young men speechless as the greenette stepped away to follow after Michiru.

Unbeknownst to either of them, one Ochaco Uraraka had been watching the exchange as well and when Zelgadis turned and saw the conflicted look on her face, the chimera frowned and pulled the hood of his cloak up before walking away. With her grumpy rock-encrusted classmate gone, the brunette was left a clear view of Izuku, who watched on with worry while Emeralda approached the sulking tanuki girl.

"Michiru." Emeralda began, coming up behind her fur-covered friend, who was in a corner, leaning against one wall while facing the adjoining one.

"Leave me alone Emmy." Was all Michiru had the energy to say, her voice exhausted.

"Michiru, I-"

The tan girl was cut off when the massive TV mounted on the wall of the large room flickered to life and the distinctively exhausted voice of Supervisor Mera came over the speakers "Oh, right. For the hundred of you who passed the first test, please turn your attention to the screen."

Emeralda resisted looking up at first but when she saw Michiru's lifeless orbs turn up to the screen, the nanomachine girl did the same. The screen showed the various locales the examines had just been fighting in, when massive explosions caused those same places to begin collapsing in dramatic fashion. Despite her mood, Michiru also comically dropped her mouth open, a mirror of most other students in the room, so shocking was the wanton destruction on display. Emeralda, too, looked distressed but was decidedly calmer than those around her.

With the testing grounds in ruins, Mera spoke again "There's only one more round to the exam. Your goal is simple: undertake rescue exercises and save the bystanders who are trapped in these disaster sites. Use this time to show us how you will carry out successful rescue procedures once you receive your provisional licenses. Treat this as if it were real the real thing."

When the seemingly disinterested Mera paused, Emeralda's attention was drawn back to Michiru at the sound of a heavy impact. The tanuki girl had apparently enlarged her fist and smashed hard into the ground, leaving an impact crater. It took the taciturn morpher a moment to realize what the issue was. Rescuing. Jun-sensei, a former hero who specialized in rescue, had impressed upon them the importance of this aspect of being a hero. What such situations often lacked was someone to punch and clearly Michiru still had frustrations to let loose on someone.

Naturally, there would need to be someone to rescue and to the dismay of many of the other examinees, what looked like children and elderly could be seen rising from the destruction. Mera went on to explain the people they were seeing belonged to a company called the Help Us Company or HUC, a troupe of professional rescue victims for such trainings as this. The examinees would be judged on how well they kept these actors safe during the mission based on a point system and as long as someone had enough points left by the end, they would pass.

With ten minutes given before the start of operations, groups began speaking amongst themselves, leaving Emeralda another chance to speak to Michiru. However, with the explanation over, the two pulled their attention back from the screen and the pair's eyes meet but Michiru quickly looked away. Emeralda could have left it at that. It would have been far easier to let her furry friend work out whatever was bothering her herself and it wasn't like the two hadn't been avoiding each other for days now anyway.

Emeralda was hurt. Hurt that her friend had left her. Michiru had been so angry at her for something Emeralda herself hadn't even known she had done. Yet Emeralda still wanted to make amends, but at the same time had been held back by the fear that, in her inexperience, she would just make things worse. Now, though. Now not only was there clearly something else wrong but Emeralda knew that if she left her friend alone now there may be no coming back at all.

Increasingly isolated now that students were planning for the rescue amongst themselves, Emeralda still felt the need to keep her voice down while she stepped around to get in Michiru's line of sight again, refusing to be ignored. "Michiru. I…can tell something is wrong. Is there anything I can do to help you? We need to keep a clear head for this last part of the exam."

The tanuki girl scoffed, as she turned her head again, returning to staring at the wall to avoid her fellow lighter and replied sarcastically "Oh, noticed something off, did you? Very observant of you. No, I think you've helped me enough already, Emmy."

This was a side of the tanuki girl Emeralda had yet to see and it stung. Hard. A burning in her chest caused the tan girl to look away, her face bunching up as if holding back on saying something. But then she remembered. Michiru had called her Emmy. Not Emeralda or some of the other choice words people in her world had used. No, in there somewhere, Michiru still thought of her as a friend.

Steeling herself, Emeralda put her hand on Michiru's shoulder. When the tanuki girl only stiffened but didn't recoil, the tan girl spoke "Michiru. I-I am sorry. I don't know what happened out there today but the other night, I was stupid. I didn't know and couldn't see that you didn't want to be seen as human."

As Emeralda spoke, Michiru's teeth began to grind and her other arm balled into a fist until, when Emeralda finished her apology, the tanuki girl spun, throwing the other girl's arms off her. Barring her fangs, tears just starting to bead in her eyes, Michiru snapped "Your sorry? Now? Are you fucking serious! You have no idea what it's like, do you?"

"Michiru, I-"

"No, you're worse than Zel! At least he thinks he knows what it’s like to look like a freak! You, your perfect! No one would want to hunt you down and kill you! And just like Zel, you seem to have no idea how good you have it or how much people like you." Michiru continued, moving to stand face to face with her fellow other-worlder.

However, instead of backing down, looking away or even being angry, as Michiru expected, instead in the tan girl's amber eyes was something akin to realization. When Emeralda spoke again, it was soft, measured. As though what she was about to say was itself something very fragile and could break at any moment. Some of Michiru's fire left her as she stepped back and listened. "Michiru, you will recall what I said that night? You suggested that I had come out of a box, and I corrected you that it was a tube?"

Michiru stood there, shocked that now, of all times, Emeralda would finally tell her about her past. Part of her wanted to be angry for it having to come to this but part of her was transfixed by whatever secret that was about to be revealed to her. "Michiru. I have such a hard time with picking up on things and being more…outgoing because it’s still very new to me."

"I…I don't understand, Emmy, what does that mean?" the tanuki girl almost pleaded, her attention completely drawn to the girl in front of her.

"It means…It means, Michiru, that I was not born. I was built. I am…a thing. I'm not like you, or anyone else. I'm not really a person at all."

"You're a….robot? but I've seen you bleed. You lost an eye!" Michiru pointed out.

"I'm a nanomachine colony. All the way until you get to the cellular level, I look as human as anyone else, but I am not. I've been conscious for only a few years, so I don't have much experience with people. Back home, whenever I used my power, it marked me as a remnant of those that had ruined our home and I was treated accordingly. Outside of those who fought side-by-side with me and know the whole truth, many have come to hate and fear me. So, I do have at least some idea of what it feels like, Michiru." Emeralda finished, leaving the tanuki girl in front of her in utter shock.

As stunned as Michiru was though, it was nothing compared to the pale face on one Izuku Midoriya, standing only a few feet off to the side of the two lighters. Both girls only realized at that moment that they weren't alone and both slowly turned their heads in unison to look at the freckled boy.

"Oh shit." Michiru blurted out.

Embarrassed, Izuku yelped and began waving his hands in front of himself, backing away and stuttering out "I,I,I, I'm so sorry! I was trying to get away from Mineta and Kaminari and saw you two talking…loudly and I wanted to see if I could help and, and, I'm so sorry!"

Quickly walking up to the eavesdropper, an embarrassed blush on her face, Emeralda grabbed Izuku's arm and asked in hushed tones "How much did you hear?"

"Pretty much everything about you being artificially created…Is that true? How is that even possible? Were you made on I-Island? Are there more of you? Is your power a quirk or directly because of your nanomachines? Oh! Is this why you were able to memorize all the examinee's quirks?" Izuku answered, nervously rambling off questions as if it were a coping mechanism.

Coming up to join the other two, Michiru also leaned in close, the two girl's close proximity doing nothing to calm Izuku's nerves, the tanuki girl added "Damn it Midoriya, you need to keep quiet! This isn't the time or place for this, we have a-"

*HHHHHOOOOOONNNNKKKK*

"-exam to finish…" Michiru said weakly as the walls of the building they were in began moving down, just like happened at the building of the first part of the exam. When the buildings walls finished settling on the ground, the destroyed training grounds lay before the examinees.

Many examinees were just as surprised by the reveal as they had been the first time. Zelgadis, though, couldn't help but ask "How did we not hear or feel all these buildings being destroyed just on the other side of these walls?"

"Now isn't the time to speculate, it’s time to move!" Momo hastily answered while the remaining one hundred examinees began rushing out in all directions on the lookout for the "injured" bystanders of the simulated terrorist attack.

1-A, making up a whole fifth of those still taking the exam, headed forward toward some rubble. It wasn't long before Bakugo started to peel off from the group, followed by Eijiro and Denki against his wishes. Only moments later, Izuku, Michiru and Emeralda took their place among the class.

"Everything ok guys?" Ochaco asked the trio, mild concern on her rounded face.

"Oh, um, yeah, we're fine!" the freckled boy croaked, not in the least bit convincing, taking the lead among his classmates.

Looking around the destroyed cityscape, Tsu commented while she hopped forward "Even though this is a test, it feels pretty real!"

"Stay alert!" Mashirao warned from beside the frog-like girl "Be careful of falling debris and explosions!"

The tailed boy's words were lost on Izuku, however while he charged forward, his mind flooded with thoughts threatening to completely consume his focus on the task at hand. The secret he had just stumbled into, if true, raised so many questions and he felt like he'd need days to sort them all out. So, it was when the green-clad hero-in-training heard the cries of someone in distress he stopped short, almost causing those behind him to barrel into him.

"What is it, Midoriya?" came Tenya's voice from behind.

"I hear someone!" Izuku quickly answered, turning and darting toward the sound of the cries.

"Midoriya, wait! This isn't a race, we need to keep a cool head in situations like this!" Zelgadis called forward.

The chimera's words were left unheeded, and the rest of 1-A had to play catch up with Izuku the first to reach what at least appeared to be a small child calling out "Help me, please!"

"I found him!" Izuku called back, the rest of his classmates arriving behind him.

"My grandpa! He's been crushed. I think he's hurt." Said the apparent child when the group finally reached him.

Though more focused now that there was someone to actually save, Izuku was still not completely clear-headed and blurted out the first thing that came to his head in response "Oh, no. This looks bad. Where is he?"

Immediately, the boy raised his head, revealing a face that was dirty, covered in 'blood' and definitely not a young boy. "This looks bad?' That's points off your score!" the 'boy' angrily declared.

Izuku stood shocked at the admonishment, several of his classmates behind him just as surprised. Others stood by embarrassed by the behavior of possibly the most passionate member of their class while the freckled greenette was lectured to by the victim and apparent proctor.

When the diminutive "victim" was done putting Izuku and anyone who would listen through the ringer, the inheritor of One for All slapped his face with both hands then clenched his fists for a moment to regain his focus, his purpose. Then, remembering the eternal smile on his mentor's face, put on the best one he himself could and told the child 'Hey! It’s fine!"

The false child stared at Izuku for a long moment, likely letting the poor boy sweat it out before the 'boy' returned to character and in a panicked voice, shouted "Over there! My grandpa!"

Off to the side, Zelgadis held his face in his hand and mumbled "How embarrassing…"

"It is odd" Fumikage, beside the chimera, questioned. "Midoriya is usually one of the most eager and well prepared of all of us. I wonder what has gotten him so flustered?"

Within earshot, Michiru fidgeted while she looked around nervously at the observation of her raven-headed classmate. Emeralda, beside her, was much calmer. It was true that Izuku had also heard her great secret, but he appeared to her to be a kind and reasonable person who clearly had other things to worry about at the moment. No, what mattered most right now was the tanuki girl beside her. Though clearly worried about the reveal, it was clear to Emeralda that her fur-covered friend was already in a better mood and if Emeralda had managed at least that, then she could live with the mistake.

By now, Izuku had declared he would take the "child" to the first aid station and leave the rest to his classmates. With a chorus of affirmatives, 1-A headed onward to seek others to rescue, save for Ochaco, who as much as anyone else, had noted her friend's distracted state and his quick turn around to focus on what mattered most to him. Before long, however, the gravity defying brunette turned and sprinted to catch up with her classmates, new resolve burning in her eyes.

That passion and enthusiasm came back to bite Ochaco though when she caught up to her classmates and saw they had come upon an old man caught under some rubble. Ochaco sprinted ahead, her hands held out ready to deploy her quirk, calling out "He's trapped by debris. I'll float it away!"

The pink and black clad girl didn't get very far though because when she was about to pass Momo, the taller raven-haired girl called out with authority "Please wait a moment." Instead of getting the chance to stop herself, Ochaco was plucked up by her collar by Zelgadis. The brunette swung back and forth for a moment from her own momentum while she was lifted off the ground.

"She's right." The chimera affirmed "Rushing in could cause a collapse, we need to ensure everything is stable before we move anything. Emeralda!"

Stepping forward, the greenette asked simply "Support?"

"Just until Yaoyorozu has produced enough beams to take your place." Zelgadis confirmed.

Nodding, the scarfed greenette moved forward, climbing into the precarious cavern of collapsed slabs. When she came upon the trapped "victim", he snapped at her "What took you so long! I could be crushed any second!"

Entirely unfazed by the old man's words, Emeralda got to work, standing up where she had enough space and shifting her two arms into steel beams that shot into the ground and conformed to the odd angles of the ceiling above them. Looking down at the old man, without breaking a smile, she replied evenly "Do not worry, sir. We are here and you are safe. That, I can assure you."

The old man had been completely ready to hit this youngster with a loss of points for being so cold in his hour of need but the way she spoke seemed to carry a certain confidence that was itself comforting, even if there wasn't a spec of warmth to it. Instead of deducting points, the victim/proctor just offered a little critique "Not the warmest rescue I've ever had but I do feel safe. Work on it and you'll be perfect."

"I will. Thank you, sir." Was the tan girl's efficient reply.

Before long, Momo had produced several steel beams herself, and with the help of Hanta and Rikido, they were able to re-enforce the rubble and allow Ochaco to step in and start moving debris.

Before long, the old man was free and being carried away back to the first aid station by Tenya. The rest of the class, though, was finding themselves with nothing to do while the others worked, several complaining about that fact. "We may need to split up for this one, guys." The multi-armed Mezo pointed out.

While the class started forming smaller groups, Zelgadis stepped forward "Wait. I think I have a better idea."

Michiru, who was feeling a certain weight off her since Emeralda's revelation, had nonetheless been worried about Izuku also hearing it. The tanuki girl was much more eager to help but her usual outgoing nature was still dampened with everything going on. Watching Zelgadis take charge with Momo, she was left to wonder why he had been insistent she be their leader during Aizawa's test. The rock-encrusted sorcerer seemed so competent and knowledgeable when he spoke, she found herself feeling like an idiot leading them around before.

The chimera continued, "We have several people here skilled in search. I say Shoji, Koda, Jiro, and Michiru make up a centralized search team. I will float above and direct others to locations to help as needed. Sound like a plan?"

There was of chorus of "Yeah!" before the UA students went to work. A veritable web or ears and eyes surged out of Mezo's limbs while Kyoka pressed her ear jacks into the ground and Koji was able to get the attention of a handful of passing birds to aide in the search. Michiru morphed her face into a wolf's snout and extended her sense of smell around her, just as her partner from back home had done so many times.

It didn't take long for all four to start finding distressed "victims" and quickly began relaying the information to Zelgadis. The chimera then in turn with a good look at a given location was able to direct the best people for the job and a rough idea of what they were in for. This way, Tsu and Shoto could help in the mock water area, Yuga could help in darker areas and those with strength or more physical quirks could be spread out evenly where needed.

In the distance, up on the exposed flat of a large mound, Zelgadis could see Katsuki, Eijiro and Denki come upon a couple. He couldn't hear what, if anything was being said by most of them but even at his evaluation, the floating sorcerer swordsmen could hear the angry snarls from the explosion wielding blonde. Zelgadis hardly considered himself a hero but watching the aggressive boy, he couldn't help but wonder how in the hell that kid could think acting like that was even remotely ok by this world's standards. All he could do was shake his head.

That was, until an explosion rocked one of the stadiums interior walls.

All the activity, all the hustle and bustle of the on-going rescue mission came to a dead stop as the echo of the blast gave way to a rising plume of smoke not far off from the first aid station.

For a moment, no one was sure if the explosion was part of the test or another attack by the league of villains after that group had invaded UA's summer training. Everyone's fears were put to rest though when the worn voice of Supervisor Mera came over the speakers and said "The terrorists have appeared and begun to sweep the area. Hero candidates at the scene should continue their rescue efforts while also suppressing the newly arrived villains."

Zelgadis, still up in the sky, could see a veritable army of mock villains pouring out of the massive hole in the wall they had just blow into it. "Zel, what's going on over there?" Michiru called, standing beside the other members of the search team.

"They're going for the victims! Michiru, follow after me! The rest of you help get the remaining victims to safety!" the chimera ordered before he shot forward with his Raywing spell as fast as possible to intercept the wave of attackers.

Michiru sprouted a pair of wings and began flying after Zelgadis but was far behind already, the chimera darting away like a bullet. The rock-encrusted sorcerer made it in time to land in front of Izuku, who was in the middle of trying to help get the victims away from the incoming horde. "Get them out of here, Midoriya! I got this." Facing the charging uniformly dressed villains in black bodysuits and skull-like masks, Zelgadis called "Mega Brand!" and a far larger version of his previous Dill Brand spell caused the ground before the incoming henchmen to explode, sending the front ranks into the sky and out of commission when they landed.

The massive spell had left a great deal of dust in the air, leaving Zelgadis with low visibility in front of him. This was something he intended to correct with a wind spell, but he never got the chance. Out of the cloud, a mountain of a man with an orca's head and fins trailing down the back of his head like hair burst out of the dust and grabbed the surprised chimera. "You left one to be the rear guard?! Pathetic!" The whale-headed fake villain bellowed before he let lose a pulse from his head that struck Zelgadis point-blank.

The metal-haired young man may have had rocky skin but it was no match to the vibrations rocking his brain and internal organs. Zelgadis called out in pain before the head "villain” dropped him, letting the chimera land in a heap.

"That's Gang Orca, the Tenth ranked hero!" Izuku called out when he looked back, carrying a victim as he witnessed his classmate's fate. With his hands full, the freckled boy couldn't just turn and face the new threat but with Zelgadis down, nothing could stop the second wave of henchmen making their way past their leader and overwhelming the first aid station.

Izuku was put at ease though when a wall of ice surged forward and cut its way between himself and the incoming fake enemies. "Todoroki!" Izuku cried.

"I have this Midoriya. You help get the civilians to safety!" the half ice, half fire hero-in-training declared before he sent more ice forward to replace the one being shattered by Gang Orca's pulse.

Izuku nodded and turned to continue running just as the bombastic voice of the wind-wielding Inasa from Shiketsu High arrived to assist. The rival freshmen sent gusts of wind that picked up on Shoto's shattered ice and began pelting the villainous leader and his minions. Unfortunately, at this point, seeing his ice getting shattered, Shoto had decided to switch to using his fire, which got entangled in Inasa's wind as well, causing it to go wild. The chimera was just coming to whan a wall of flame approached him, still in no condition to get himself out of the way. "Greywards-san! Get out of the way!" Shoto feebly cried.

With no time to spare, Michiru swooped in and plucked her fellow lighter out of harms way with her now bird-clawed feet before she yelled back "What the hell, you two! Watch what you're doing!"

Instead of getting their act together though, the two recommendation students openly began to bicker in front of the enemy. Before it got very far though, Zelgadis, now on the ground and supported by Michiru, shouted over the two younger men "Hey! Less arguing, more protecting, we don't have time for your personal issues! Flare Arrow!"

Gang Orca was wholly impressed that the blue-skinned guy in front of him was still functioning despite one of his pulses at close range, and equally as disappointed by the showing the other two examinees were displaying. Even more impressive, despite his weakened state, the rocky one snaped the other two out of their bickering and got off an attack. An attack Gang Orca was obliged to dodge.

The wind user, after offering a glare to the fire/ice user, had switched to focusing his attacks on Gang Orca's minions. The tenth ranked hero was now left to face Endeavor's son, ice protruding from the boy's right while flames billowed from his left. The boy was strong but inexperienced, not paying attention to his injured classmate behind him, the perfect target for Gang Orca to aim for to put Shoto on the back foot.

The half white, half red-haired teen sent another wall of ice toward the suit-wearing orca man, who shattered it with another pulse. Pieces of ice flew in all directions and Gang Orca was able to punch several of the larger shards forward. Some went straight back at the dual ice/fire boy but others had more of an arc to them and sailed over Shoto, forcing him to use his fire to melt it before Zelgadis or Michiru were hit.

That gave the whale-like "villain" the opening he was looking for and he burst forward toward Endeavor's son. Ready to deliver a pulse point blank just like he did with the blue rocky guy, Gang Orca instead found himself genuinely shocked to find the tanuki girl place herself between himself and Shoto. That, itself wasn't too surprising, classmates looking out for each other happened all the time. No, the shock came with the fact that the girl now looked like a smaller version of himself, with all his orca-like features and that likely meant-

"Lets see if you can take everything you can dish out!" the now orca girl cried as she sent a pulse from her head, hitting the larger fake villain with his own attack at close range.

The tenth ranked hero grunted and stumbled backward before falling to one knee. Gang Orca took a moment to appreciate getting to experience his own attack. Still, it didn't feel as strong as his own, surely because the girl had never done it before. Still, it was very impressive. Not enough though.

His body still tingling from the effect of Michiru's attack, Gang Orca stood up as if nothing had happened at all and clenched his fist, narrowing his already beady eyes and bellowed "You think that's enough to stop me, heroes!? It’s going to take so much more than that to put an end to this rampage!"

Michiru had been rather proud of herself for managing to pull off the transformation and attack in the heat of the moment. She thought she had at least stunned the hulking whale man in front of her and her classmates. When he rose again though and made his declaration, the once again tanuki girl breathed out "No way…this guy’s a monster."

From behind though, Shoto calmly reassured her "We can take him together. Don't worry, Kagemori."

"Right!" Michiru replied, sprouting a pair of wings. Let's pass this thing!"

Michiru took to the sky, intending to shot up high and fast before shooting back down in a shallow arc to smash into the false villain while Shoto attacked from the front. Neither examinee knew though that they had managed to buy enough time for re-enforcements and just before Shoto let loose another attack, multiple people shot past him, charging at Gang Orca.

All at once, the false villain was assaulted seemingly from all directions and with just two arms to defend himself, he had no choice but to defend from the heaviest hitters. Izuku came in low, swinging hard at Gang Orca's mid-section, which he blocked with his gauntleted forearm. At the same time, Emeralda came in from the other side, swinging hard with her right arm, now a heavy metal hammer, which was also blocked by the whale man.

Luckily for the fake Villain, with the same deflecting motion that blocked Emeralda, he was able to deflect a stream of acid from Mina. Unluckily, a massive amount of hair had also surged forward and wrapped itself around Gang Orca's midsection and upper arms just as Michiru came flying in from above, her fist massive, smashed hard into the tenth ranked hero's head.

Gang Orca lost his footing, only held up by the tendrils of hair that held him in place, his gauntlets cracked and burned from the attacks they had absorbed. Like a cruel joke, the horn sounded at that moment, causing the students surrounding the whale-like man to pause from any follow-ups to their attacks.

"And that's it. The last victims have been rescued. This concludes the final stage of the exam. *yawn* finally, I can get some rest. Anyway, head on back, get changed. Anyone needing medical attention head to the medic's tent. We'll post who passed in front of the stadium." Supervisor Mera explained over the intercom.

"That's…it? Izuku questioned, One for All still arching energy across his body while the hair covered second year from Shiketsu released Gang Orca. The tenth ranked hero stumbled while he regained his footing, his foot-soldiers swarming to assist him.

The three lighters, together again, locked eyes with each other when they came together walking with the rest of the examinees. All the animosity and angst of the preceding days were gone, at least in this moment, as the worn out trio walked back, their heads held high. Before long though, Zelgadis, still walking gingerly from the lingering affects of Gang Orca's attack, noted something odd. "Michiru, you don't happen to know why Midoriya is stealing glances over at us, do you?"

Frowning, the physically and emotionally exhausted tanuki girl quickly looked over to where the freckled boy was walking by himself and sure enough, she caught Izuku looking over at them. Having been caught, the green clad student tried to look elsewhere in response. Sighing, Michiru looked over at Emeralda, who looked away in embarrassment. Returning her attention to the grumpy chimera, Michiru answered "Well, Zel, he's probably looking over at us because he caught Emmy telling me what she is, which maaay have completely blown our cover. That, or he's crushing on Emmy!"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…"

(X)

Whatever confrontation the lighters were bound to have with Izuku would have to wait. Heading back to the changing rooms and back out to see if they passed, the classmates didn't have a chance to have the privacy such a conversation would require. So instead, Zelgadis was left not only to worry about the fact that the mumbler to his right knew about them but also the stress of whether the three of them had passed. Oh, and the curiosity of whatever the hell Emeralda had actually told the other two because whatever the greenette was, he had been left out of the loop.

While the examinees stood waiting for their fates to be revealed, the chimera looked over at Michiru, to his left. He wouldn't admit it, but Zelgadis was relieved to see whatever weight that had been pressing on the tanuki girl's soul seemed to have been lifted. The three of them still needed to talk, to be sure but compared to the days leading up to the exam and certainly during the break between rounds, Michiru seemed much closer to her normal self.

At that exact moment, the tanuki girl was nervously staring up at the board, ribbing Emeralda to look up as well, even though nothing was on the board yet. "Hey" Zelgadis called to get the fur-covered morpher's attention "Have some patience. Not that you have to worry, there is no doubt you two passed."

Emeralda nodded as though she had been trying to convince Michiru of that the whole time. The tanuki girl, though, was less sure. "You think so, Zel? I didn't even save a single victim during the second phase! All I did was a little sniffing around."

"You saved me. That will likely count for something. Plus, you landed the last blow on the villain. You did fine, Michiru." Zelgadis explained, sounding much more like a teacher himself than a classmate.

That caught Michiru off guard, and she furrowed her brow before titling her head. "Wow, that's surprisingly positive coming from you. You're usually such a sourpuss, Zel. You weren't bad yourself, taking the lead like that! Tsu said you did the same thing when we got separated. Sounds like you're a pretty damn good leader yourself."

That elicited a frown from the sorcerer "I only did what I had to. I hate taking the lead. Besides, a good leader needs to be able to do something more than just bark orders."

"What's that?" Michiru replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Inspire. I am, as you so kindly put it, a sourpuss. When the battle is joined, sure I can direct people but outside of combat I want nothing to do with people. Too many stupid ones for my taste." Zelgadis answered, crossing his arms, annoyed he was back in his UA uniform with no cloak to hide behind.

"Aw, you're not that bad, Zel." Michiru said, a sly smile on her face.

"See, right there, Michiru." Zelgadis cut in, as he pointed with his right hand still at rest across his chest "That's the kind of thing that I'm talking about. You're outgoing and positive. People want to follow you. That's the kind of person you are. A true leader, a hero. Not that mopey, angry person we've been around lately."

Michiru just stared at the rock-encrusted swordsmen. Sure, she was feeling better than she had in a while and it was good to be smiling around her friends again, but it wasn't like she had been angry for no reason. She wanted to be absolutely furious at Zelgadis for suggesting she needed to be happier. She wasn't though. No, what caused the tanuki girl to lock her gaze on her friend was the fact that he was saying it at all. Zelgadis was serious, often sarcastic and brooding. So very much like Shirou. But Shirou never did this. Even when he was showing he cared, the immortal silver wolf only ever expressed it begrudgingly. Shirou would never be so open as Zelgadis was being. It almost sounded like…

"I missed you too, Zel." Michiru finally said, flashing the blue-skinned grump a giant, warm smile.

Zelgadis fought the urge to smile back, such was the warmth emanating from the girl beside him. Before he cracked though, Zelgadis turned away, grumbling "We'll still need to talk later. Glad you get it." An embarrassed blush coloring his cheeks.

While the screen came to life and Mera came over the speakers one last time to explain how the scoring had worked, Michiru enthusiastically grabbed Emeralda in a one-armed hug and exclaimed "I missed you too, Emmy! Thanks for sharing with me, even if we messed it up a bit."

Being thanked and reminded of what could be a very serious blunder on her part, Emeralda was paralyzed with indecision about how to feel in the moment. Much like Zelgadis, though, the tan nanomachine girl found her furry friend's positivity infectious and Emeralda, too, cracked a tiny smile as the results finally appeared on the screen, listed alphabetically.

Cheers began to go up among the hundred examinees as those who passed saw their names on the large electronic board towering over them. Despite her expressed reservations, Michiru saw her name on the board. Pumping her fist, Michiru jumped up when she saw Emeralda's name right beside hers since their family names were so close to each other.

When she landed, Michiru hugged Emeralda in earnest before she exclaimed "We did it, Emmy! Thank you so much!"

The greenette's smile slid away, her eyes widening at the unexpected contact. After a moment though, the smile returned, and Emeralda's eyes softened and she allowed herself to bask in the earnest happiness from her friend.

Looking over at the chimera while still holding Emeralda, Michiru saw Zelgadis give her a thumbs up and a smirk, confirming he, too, had passed. The celebration was on as other UA students found their names as well and began celebrating. Looking back up and scanning the names, Michiru couldn't help but take a small amount of satisfaction upon realizing just two of her temporary classmates hadn't passed: The hotheaded Katsuki and the perverted and cowardly Minoru.

Everyone kept their distance from the seething dirty blonde, even Eijiro, the only one in the class who Katsuki seemed to respect. Minoru was inconsolable, openly weeping at his failure, something that caused anyone who may have had even the slightest shred of sympathy for him to give him distance as well.

Mera came over the speakers again to explain that a breakdown of everyone's scores were being handed out along with their licenses if they earned one. Those few that failed would be granted the chance to pass if they took additional classes after school over the course of three months, which meant Minoru was stuck with his explosive classmate for three months if he wanted to join the rest of 1-A as licensed heroes, a thought that terrified him.

When Zelgadis got his, he noted that as far along as his Japanese had come, a fair amount of the more complicated sentences were lost on him. What wasn't was the number, ninety-four, atop the page to show his overall score. Michiru, still waiting on hers, peered over at the paper in his hand and let out a chuckle, a smirk playing on her lips. "What's so funny?" The chimera annoyedly asked.

Michiru covered her mouth to hide her snickers before she replied "Oh, nothing! I just think it’s hilarious that the one of us who hated the idea of being a hero the most got a near perfect score, that's all!"

The sorcerer-swordsmen rolled his eyes, trying his best to act like Michiru's observation didn't annoy the hell out of him and decided to try and deflect, asking "And what about you? You're the most gung-ho out of all of us, and how'd you do?"

As Zelgadis spoke, right on cue, an employee approached Michiru and handed her papers as well. The rock-encrusted lighter waited, arms crossed while he watched his furry companion's reaction and he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at what he saw. Michiru's expression immediately turned sour when she saw her score first and the annoyance only grew while she read what lost her points. Finally, Zelgadis asked "Well?"

Michiru slumped her shoulders, and gave up, holding the sheet out for Zelgadis to see. Based on the tanuki girl's reaction, Zelgadis expected to see a substantially lower score. Instead, an eighty adorned the top of the page. Having already seen Michiru's reaction, the chimera felt no need to dig the dagger any deeper and instead said "That's not so bad Michiru. What'd you lose points for?"

Grumbling, Michiru brought her scoresheet back in front of her and said "I lost points for not directly interacting with victims, just like you did. But unlike you, I didn't take a leadership role like you did to make up for it. I needed to show more initiative which is funny since I'm usually the one jumping in headfirst to a situation."

With an affirmative nod, Zelgadis turned to Emeralda, who finally got her score as well. No one was surprised when the girl looked over her sheet with no reaction at all. Looking up and seeing the expectant glint in her fellow lighters' eyes, Emeralda put her sheet behind her back and simply said "I scored well enough."

Michiru wasn't buying it, stretching out her arm to comical proportions and catching the normally quick nanomachine girl completely off guard. Michiru's triumphant smirk swung upside down when she saw the paper, however. "Aw, come on! An eighty-eight! I got the worst score out of the three of us!"

Defeated, the tanuki girl let Zelgadis pat her on the shoulder while she pouted. It didn't take Michiru long to perk back up though and she started talking to her other friends in the class to hear how they did.

Before long the students of 1-A made their way to their bus outside the stadium where Shouta was waiting for them, arms crossed and a look of disinterest on his face. As perturbed as the erasure hero looked, he was actually in a pretty good mood. Not only had almost the entire class passed but thanks to some poor luck, all of Ms. Joke's students had been knocked off in the first round and he had been freed from her incessant inane jokes for the rest of the exam. On top of that, when the lighter trio came up in line to get on the bus, Shouta could easily see the change in them. It was plain to see the three had put their differences aside and had come together once again.

The trio was about to pass the homeroom teacher when Zelgadis turned and spoke quietly but firmly "There, I hope you're happy. We did the best we could, can't account for idiots."

Frowning slightly, the shaggy-haired teacher caught the smug smirk on the tanuki girl and thought, just for a moment, he saw a smile on the stoic tan girl's face. "Your performance was...acceptable. Get on the bus." Was all Shouta would say in response.

A smirk played on the chimera's lips too as he passed up the steps followed by his companions. The bus ride back to UA was relaxed, filled with quiet yet excited chatter. Zelgadis was happy to sit with Fumikage so the two of them could sit silently while the others talked amongst themselves. Emeralda sat with Michiru but mostly remained quiet, as was her way. That was, until Mina, who was seated behind the two female lighters leaned over her seat and cheerily asked "So Emeralda, I've wanted to ask since before the exam, but did you really memorize the quirks of everyone taking the test?"

Michiru, who had been talking to Momo across from her, turned back and added "Oh, yeah, that was such a bad ass moment! I wondered that myself. So, is that what you did Emmy?"

Emeralda felt more eyes on her, noting via the reflection of his face off the glass window that even Zelgadis was looking back at her. Shifting to look up over her shoulder at the inquiring pink girl, Emeralda's placid expression didn't change but her voice carried a hint of self-satisfaction as she replied "I did not. Such a feat would have been very difficult, even with my photographic memory." Michiru and Mina's expression looked askance but said nothing, leaving the tan girl to continue. "I did, however, take note of the more well known and respected schools sending students. It made sense the strongest and most dangerous students would come from them. It just so happened that someone from one such school choose to antagonize us, that's all."

Mina let out a hardy laugh before she slapped the greenette on the shoulder and said, her smile even wider "Even so, that was a hell of a moment! I know it got me ready to take the test on. Thanks for that." Emeralda offered a nod before she turned back to looking out the window. Michiru was about to second Mina's sentiment when the acid wielder spoke again, this time her voice more somber "I also wanted to say…again, I'm sorry about, ya know, what happened at the girl's night. Since the exam's over, I guess you won't be part of the class anymore so I just wanted to say it one more time before we go our separate ways."

On hearing Mina's words, Emeralda closed her eyes and her shoulders sagged. Although Emeralda had enjoyed getting to know the students of 1-A and appreciated their attempt to welcome her into the group, she had known they would go their separate ways at the end of this. No, it was the reminder of that night that caused her to react that way and after a moment, her head still facing the window, Emeralda replied firmly "No. I was at fault. I didn't see what was right in front of me and I hurt my friend. My…best friend. You were just trying to help."

Emeralda chanced a glance at the tanuki girl, shame burning in her heart, though she hoped not on her face. The greenette was stunned to see Michiru smiling back at her, just barely able to hold back tears as the fur-covered girl reached out and grabbed Emeralda's opposite shoulder and brought her close. Their heads touched when Michiru leaned her head into Emeralda's flowing pale green locks and said "I was being pretty stupid that night too, Emmy. What matters is that we're here now and we can move forward together. And Mina, we're still neighbors, even if we won't be classmates anymore. We can hang out any time!"

"Hey, you’re right!" Mina exclaimed, her brief foray into dourness wiped away as she motioned excitedly toward others within earshot to reminded them of that fact.

The pinkette's exaltations were cut short though when Shouta called out "Pipe down back there! I expect more from provisional heroes!"

"Yes, sir!" Mina responded, now looking a bit dejected, slumping down in her seat. The rest of the ride back to campus went smoothly, much to Shouta's relief.

(X)

It had been a long and eventful day for the students of 1-A, even more so for the lighter trio and the bus ride back to UA wasn't a short one. What had started as a relaxed trip back soon gave way to mostly silence with many on the bus napping. By the time they got back to campus, Michiru, Zelgadis and even Emeralda were pretty worn down. Only the barest of pleasantries were exchanged with the rest of 1-A when the two groups parted for their respective dorms with only the promise to hang out and maybe celebrate sometime soon.

"I'm not even hungry, I'm so tired!" Michiru complained as she trudged forward slumped forward, barely able to hold her bag.

Zelgadis wasn't far off, he too slouching as he walked, though not nearly as pronounced as Michiru. Emeralda walked straight but had a wariness in her eyes, trailing behind.

All shot to attention though when, from behind, Izuku came up waving his hand and called "Guys! I…wanted to talk before we went our separate ways."

The freckled boy stopped speaking when he saw that he had clearly startled the three lighters. Blushing, the dark green-haired boy spoke again, meeker "Oh…uh, sorry about that. We just, you know, didn't get to talk about…what I heard earlier."

The two girl's eyes went wide as it dawned on them that they had completely forgotten that little slip-up with the excitement and exhaustion hitting them on the way back. However, it was Zelgadis who spoke first, his voice weary "That's right, we still haven't addressed that, now have we? I want to hear this too, since I appear to be the odd man out."

That surprised the inheritor of One for All "Really, Zelgadis? You didn't know even though you live with Emeralda? But then, Emeralda, you were just telling Michiru weren't you when I overheard, huh?"

Her expression icy, Emeralda finally spoke, her voice low "Not out here. I will not make the same mistake twice. We will speak in the house."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Emmy." Michiru cut in. "UA has that place loaded with sensors, I'm willing to bet its bugged too. We should speak outside, later. When no one is around. Midoriya, would you meet us out at one of the training zones at, say, ten?"

Looking even more unsure of himself, Izuku nodded despite his unease and replied "Yeah, sure, how about Training Ground Beta?"

"That works. We'll see you then." Zelgadis confirmed. Izuku nodded and waved again before he turned and jogged back toward the 1-A dorm. Now suddenly even more exhausted, the three lighters dragged themselves toward their own home.

"You two are going to let me in on the secret before we go and meet him, right?" Zelgadis asked as they neared the door.

Rolling her head in annoyance, Michiru didn't turn to look at her grumpy and exhausted friend before she responded "Yeah, sure, as long as Emmy is fine with it but not before we eat something and I get a shower. No more drama, no more excitement until I've freakin' got something in my belly, you hear me?"

"Fair enough." Zelgadis replied simply.

When Michiru didn't hear anything from behind, she slowly turned her head to look back and said, "That cool, Emmy?"

Seeing a thumbs up from the tan nanomachine girl, Michiru returned to looking forward. Now at the door, a feeling of longing for a warm meal, a cool shower and a soft bed nearly drove her to rip the door open.

Instead, the tanuki girl fumbled around for her keycard when her ear twitched. Michiru stood up straight, a sinking feeling completely replacing all that longing as she pressed the card against the door pad and reached for the door. Sure enough, when she turned the knob and stepped into the darkened main hall, the lights suddenly flashed to life as cries of "SURPRISE!" rung out all around the now fully alert lighters.

The whole room was decorated with streamers and banners. Some said "WELCOME!" while others said "CONGRATS!"

Looking around, it only took Michiru a moment to realize all the other people in the room were lighters as well and while she looked around dumbfounded, Hina bounded up to the trio and said "I told you there would be party!"

Michiru tried to summon a smile but what came across on her face was forced at best while she wavered between laughing and crying at the timing of it all. Zelgadis, though, was more blunt, staring right at the blue-haired telekinetic and spat "I hate parties."

(X)

Chapter Text

"I hate parties." Zelgadis spat while Hina stood before the three exhausted lighters, smiling with pride and self-satisfaction.

There were several gasps followed by silence as Hina continued to stand there, her smile still plastered on her face, though it was now clearly strained, her eye begining to twitch. "What…did you just say?" Hina eked out, her mouth struggling to retain even a hint of positivity.

Zelgadis, annoyed and tired, either choose not to see or somehow was completely unaware of just how thin the ice he was standing on really was. Crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, he repeated himself defiantly "I hate parties, and this one, especially, is poorly timed. This is almost literally the last thing I could have wanted."

The zombified idol singer Sakura dropped her cup from shock and everyone else in the room aside from the blue-skinned chimera knew he had just made a terrible, terrible mistake.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Hina screamed, a wave of unseen telekinetic energy exploding forward as Mob stepped forward to physically retrain Hina too late. Emeralda had already leapt forward to tackle Zelgadis out of the way while Michiru threw herself to the side to avoid what she, too, knew was coming. The psychic attack missed its target, blowing open the front door, knocking it off one of its hinges and utterly destroying the pot of a poor Philodendron plant sitting on a table just to the side.

Terra joined Mob in restraining the enraged party planner, freeing Mob to hold back any further telekinetic outbursts with his own power. Hitomi, who had been setting up snacks in the kitchen, came forward as well to calm Hina down.

Off to the side, Ranma, in her female form, cringed at the exchange, and leaned over to Sadou and said "That…brings back some painful memories."

Side-eyeing the sex-changing martial artist, the sometimes demon frowned and quipped back "So, you were an idiot is what your telling me."

"Yeah, pretty much." The pig-tailed master replied without missing a beat, crossing her arms.

"Not surprising." Sadou answered back, taking a sip of his punch while Ranma glared at him.

Shinra noted that the plume of dark mist emanating from Celty's neck had briefly formed into an explanation point when Hina blasted the door open and grinned despite himself. "Aren't you supposed to be the super cool underground hero? How did that startle you?"

The plume briefly shot out a larger puff of mist, like an exploding volcano before Celty angrily shot back "Hey, I can't be on the clock all the time! I can get startled just like anyone else, ok!"

Back on the ground, Zelgadis had managed to sit back up, his eyes wide as he looked over at the hard breathing Hina. Terra and Hitomi were saying something to her too softly for him to hear so he turned to look up at Emeralda, who had already risen and said, still shell-shocked "Thanks, Emeralda. That…was close."

The tan girl nodded before she turned to see Michiru had gotten back to her feet as well though the tanuki girl was looking less than pleased and glared down at the chimera. "Thanks, Zel." She deadpanned.

His face burning with embarrassment, Zelgadis started to object "Look, I was just-"

"About to tell Hina thank you for all the work she did, right Zelgadis?" Hitomi finished, her tone carrying a hint of warning in her voice while she patted the upset blue-haired girl in her arms.

"Y-yes, that's exactly what I was about to say." Zelgadis agreed before the insulted telekinetic's eyes settled on him expectedly. "I…I mean..." the chimera started as he struggled to summon the words. Every eye in the room seemed to bore into him when he finally managed to say "This is a wonderful thing to do for us, and it must have been exhausting. Thank you Hina." even sounding fairly sincere. He added under his breath "though not as exhausting as today has been…"

Mercifully for the sorcerer-swordsmen, that added comment seemed to go unheard by most, though Michiru had to stifle a smirk. Hina seemed to accept the apology, visibly relaxing which signaled for Mob and Hitomi to loosen their hold on her as well. "Hmph! You should be grateful! I know you just had a hard day but it was the only time I could get all these jerks here on the same day, so shut up and have fun!" With that, the bluette stalked off to stuff her face with snacks.

After he watched Hina walk off, Zelgadis finally got a chance to really take it all in. Indeed every other person they had met since coming here who was also displaced appeared to be in the room, except for two. When Hitomi, Ranma, Celty and Sadou came up to properly congratulate the trio, the rock-encrusted young man felt the need to ask "I can't help but notice a couple of faces missing. Where is that winged guy who got us out of Yokohama? And What about Sanada? I thought for sure he, of all people would be here."

It was the headless underground hero Celty who spoke first. Looking at her while a voice emanated from a device on her neck was a bit disconcerting to all three of the newest lighters, despite all they had seen in their lives. Still, all listened when Celty said, "Oh, Brooklyn's still asleep. He'll be around as soon as the sun sets."

Michiru raised an eyebrow at that "Wait, is he that much of a night owl?"

Chucking while the plume of mist from her neck seemed to bubble playfully, Celty answered "No, no. He's very excited actually! It’s just that, he's a gargoyle and in the world Brooklyn is from, gargoyles literally turn to stone when the sun raises. He's actually in the gym if you want to see him, he flew in last night."

"Fascinating…" Emeralda muttered.

"Uh, no, that's ok. I kinda feel like we'd be intruding on something private." Michiru replied, waving her hands, Emeralda and Zelgadis nodding in agreement.

Celty's shoulders relaxed a bit and her mist seemed to thin out and get wavy. Michiru couldn't help but think the dullahan would be smiling if she had a head. That suspicion was more or less confirmed when the headless hero spoke again "He would appreciate that sentiment. Jun was right about you three. I think we'll work well together."

That last sentence caught the attention of the trio, Zelgadis being first to respond "Wait, what do you mean, work together?"

"She's referring to your internships." Hitomi answered, bringing everyone's attention to her "Jun told you about it, I'm sure. Usually, students have already had work studies and competed in the sports festival to get offers and make connections. Aside from meeting the few heroes that have served as your escorts, you three don't really have that."

"That's right." Celty continued. "Me and Brooklyn don't normally take on students but not only do I owe you for saving me from being taken by All for One but now that he's behind bars, it’s up to us to find the one who brought us here all here."

"And just what are we looking for?" Emeralda inquired.

"A Nomu." Celty answered, the slight electric edge of her voice box adding a slightly sinister edge to the word.

"What the hell is a Nomu?" Michiru asked, missing the tone, clearly confused.

"Ah, sorry. Jun would be better at answering that question." Hitomi said apologetically. "They're a kind of artificial human, made to withstand holding more than one quirk in their body, since usually a person only has one in this world. All for One made one that could pull people from other worlds using Jun's quirk."

"Yes, I do recall him saying something like that the first day. Though honestly, so much happened then, it was easy to forget that detail." Zelgadis replied, mildly annoyed at himself for the oversight.

Michiru smirked. Going out into the city to find some weirdo, that was the kind of thing she was used to back home with Shirou. After everything they'd been through, being stuck on this campus, now she could finally get out there and do something. "When do we start?" Michiru asked, sounding very eager.

"Hey, hey. I'm as eager to get back home as the next demon, but tonight, we're here to welcome you and celebrate passing that test!" Sadou said, stepping into the circle the group had formed.

"How did you even know we'd pass?" Zelgadis asked, incredulous.

"And how did Terra get back before we did? She took the test too." Michiru added.

"Oh, 1-B's test site was much closer to UA than yours was." Hitomi answered matter-of-factly.

"Figures." Zelgadis deadpanned. "Probably Aizawa's doing, that we'd take the one further away."

"As for you passing, well, let’s just say all signs pointed to you three making it." Hitomi said, smiling.

Rolling his eyes before throwing his hands up in defeat, Zelgadis said "Fine! Whatever, let’s just have this damn party and get it over with." Not a moment later a chill went down his spine and he looked over to see Hina glaring at him. Zelgadis had the good grace to sheepishly look away.

"So, we doing anything special or are we just hangin' out?" Michiru asked, ignoring her friend being cowed beside her.

"Well, normally there's a big welcome speech from Sanada-sensei, we all introduce ourselves and give some friendly advice based on our own experiences and the like and help to give you options." Ranma explained, glad to finally have something to add to the conversation.

"But since you three have been around the block a few times already and set a path for yourselves, we'll skip most of that and go to my new favorite tradition of these parties!" Sadou added, pointing to a karaoke machine and light set-up.

Michiru cringed at the sight, causing Emeralda to worriedly inquire "What is it? It just looks like a sound system."

"Oh, don't worry!" Ranma jovially reassured. "We're not forcing anyone to sing, though I do have a pretty nice signing voice like this. No, it’s our very own idol, Sakura, who'll put on a little show us, that's all. Then we'll do a little introduction for each of us."

Michiru immediately looked relieved at hearing that. By now, Zelgadis had recovered enough composure to ask something else that hadn't been answered. "You still haven't told us where Sanada is. Sounds like he's usually here. What was so important that he'd miss this, since lighters are oh so important to him."

Hitomi frowned at the sarcastic tone the last part of Zelgadis' question took but answered anyway, though not without hesitation. "He and Toshinori, that is All Might, they had a special trip to take."

"Special trip?" Emeralda intoned quietly.

"We…didn't want to distract you before the exam but yes, Jun and All Might went to see him today." Hitomi finished, having a hard time making eye contact with the three new provisional heroes.

"Wait." Michiru began, her eyes wide as she and the other two realized just who Hitomi was referring to. "Jun went to see All for One!? And you didn't tell us!"

"See, that's exactly why she didn't tell you." Celty cut in, calm but firm. "The odds that bastard will give up anything are slim to none, so you knowing would have just caused you to worry. Sanada-sensei will do his best. Just try to remember, it’s personal for him, too."

"I do get the impression that quirks are very important in this world. Losing it was probably pretty hard for him." Zelgadis reasoned, trying to keep his calm after Michiru got shut down so quickly.

The four veteran lighters looked at each other for a long moment.

"What? What is it?" Michiru asked worriedly.

"He…he hasn't told you yet?" Hitomi asked, a hushed concern in her voice.

"About what?" Emeralda answered back, her stoic demeanor beginning to show concern as well.

"About what All for One took from him." Hitomi said, a hurt and worried look on her face. "Jun doesn't care that he lost his quirk, he didn't need it to teach. No, what he lost was so much more precious to him than his quirk…"

(X)

Earlier that afternoon, The Special Prison for Villain Criminals: Tartarus

After a long and…thorough inspection of their persons, the skeletal form of the once mighty hero of peace, All Might, adorned in the oversized "Golden Age" costume that used to strain to contain his heroic physique made his way to his nemesis' cell. The once great hero was joined by his old friend, much more plainly clothed, just a simple blue long-shelved shirt and pants to go along with the crisp white scarf that flowed behind him. "Jun, I know we've talked about this before but this is our last chance before we see him. It is imperative you keep your cool with him. If you want to keep even a sliver of hope that we might get anything out of him, then you can't let him provoke you.
"
Stone-faced as he walked, the former rescue hero didn't look over at his companion while he replied "No one is more aware of what we have to lose than I do, Toshinori. I will do my part and wait for the right time. I swear."

Not as reassured as he would've liked by the younger silver-haired man's assurance, Toshinori nodded all the same as the two of them came to the last door. The voice of a prison guard came over the intercom "This is it gentlemen. Once I release the last lock, the door will open. All Might, like we discussed, you will enter first. Proceed around the corner and sit in the chair provided before we raise the cell barrier."

"We understand." Toshinori answered firmly.

With that, the audible sounds of pressure releasing filled the corridor before the heavily reinforced door rose above them, revealing a room that went from the gunmetal of the hallway they had transversed to the stark white walls of the great villain All for One's cell. Toshinori gave Jun one last long look before he stepped forward, walking the ten feet it took before the corridor opened to reveal the rest of the cell. Turning, Toshinori kept walking until he came to the single metal chair set in front of what appeared to be another thick metal wall.

Once he was seated, the metal wall lifted slowly to reveal the most dangerous man alive, the symbol of fear, All for One. Anyone laying eyes on the great villain in that moment though could be forgiven for thinking they were in fact viewing the broken remains of an experiment gone horribly wrong, however. All for One was wrapped in what appeared to a straight jacket, itself locked securely by retraining straps keeping the villain pressed firmly to his chair. A breathing apparatus was strapped to his mouth and nose to keep him alive along with IVs pumping fluid to keep him alive. Beyond that was the discerning featureless remains of the man's face. Flesh covered where All for One's eyes used to be and without hair, only the bare nubs of what used to be his ears remained on the master of evil's head beyond his mouth.

At first, neither of the old nemesis said a thing and Toshinori began to wonder if All for One had lost his ability to detect his presence. That hope was dispelled when the monster that had destroyed countless lives spoke, his sickeningly smooth, charismatic voice dripping with glee to have his guest as he said "The second semester must be starting soon. Or has it already begun? I assumed you would devote yourself to teaching now. And yet you've come to visit me."

Toshinori's beaty eyes narrowed, a frown creeping onto his thin face. He knew that his nemesis was at least in part acting so pleased because the bastard was trying to get under his skin. As much as he wanted to reach through that glass and smash the other man's face in, Toshinori refused to be baited. Keeping his tone even, he replied "I'm here so we can get a few things straight, All For One."

The caged villain seemed to ignore Toshinori's answer when he spoke again "Do you know how stifling this place is All Might? If I so much as try to scratch an itch by rubbing my body against this chair then every gun muzzle in my cell block suddenly points at me. My brain waves are constantly being monitored along with my vital signs. One thought about activating my quirk, and I'll likely be put down like a rabid dog. Imprisoned deep underground, smothered by layers of hi-tech security. Not even a bit of stimulation for my mind."

Toshinori couldn't tell if the monster cloaked as a man was bragging or begging for sympathy. What was clear was that the madman was relishing this chance to talk and have someone listen.

All for One continued, "The World likens this place to something out of a Greek myth, calling it Tartarus, the name of the underworld prison where kings and titans are punished. Escaping would be a struggle, even for me."

And, there it was, the backhanded aggrandizement of a narcissistic madman. Still, as much for his own benefit as anything, Toshinori replied "You're trapped here. You'll never go free."

Much to the former number one hero's unexpressed horror, All for One laughed as if a child had said something delightfully ignorant "I'll let you believe that. So, what now? Let's hear what you have to say. Where's Gran Torino? I see you came in costume. Please don't tell me you're still trying to be a hero with that feeble body."

Toshinori's suspicions were right. This bastard was bored and lonely and the skeletal blonde was almost compelled to say nothing at all, not wanting to give this man any satisfaction at all. But then, even being here was doing that. So instead Toshinori said simply "Your chatty."

Almost as if he were reading Toshinori's mind, All for One answered "Don't feel flattered. I just haven't had anyone to talk to in awhile."

That was it, Toshinori was done, saying "I want answers." he demanded, his voice raising ever so slightly, something he regretted immediately. Evening his tone again, he continued "Tell me where Tomura Shigaraki is hiding right now."

All for One clearly picked up on the change, answering with a hint of glee in his voice "Haven't the slightest. Unlike your bird, mine left the nest and makes his own decisions."

Less than pleased by the implication, Toshinori leaned forward slightly, again centering himself to stay focused on the task at hand before saying, "What were you trying to achieve? What are you hoping for now? Your body should of died a long time ago, yet you preserved it. You devote your time to exploiting and controlling people, toying with innocent lives for no reason. Why?"

For once, All for One seemed annoyed, perhaps even disappointed before he replied "Of course you came here with a tired topic. Even if I told you the truth, you wouldn't be satisfied. There are some people who'll never understand each other. We are the same. Though you'd never admit it. Just as you longed to become the hero of justice, I longed to be an all-powerful devil. It's that simple. I had an ideal, and the power to see it enacted."

A voice cut in before the form or Jun appeared the around the corner, saying calmly "He's stringing you along, All Might. Speak in broad enough terms and any two can be alike. You two are night and day." The statement broke All for One's long discourse, which briefly put a frown on the caged villain's face.

"You're right, of course, Sanada-san. My apologies." Toshinori said, finally able to tear his eyes away from the monster on the other side of the glass.

Jun came to stand to Toshinori's left; arms held behind his back. After all these years, the silver-haired former hero now stood face to face with the man that had ruined his life once, along with too many others to count. So many emotions were swirling around inside him they practically cancelled each other out, allowing Jun to find a kind of chaotic calm. Staring down the incarcerated master of evil, Jun continued, "Back to All Might's question. You may have answered as to your motivations, but I couldn't help but notice you didn't answer the special goal you have in mind. Now did you?"

"Come now, Luminaire. We haven't seen each other in a decade and you try to ruin my fun with semantics? How droll. Tell me, how are your little surrogates doing? The latest batch impressed me with their brazenness if not their choice to play hero despite the gift I granted them." All for One started, disappointed his conversation with his nemesis had been interrupted but still glad to be talking.

Barely a few sentences out of the bastard's mouth and already Jun was finding himself pressed to keep his cool. Still, he refused to raise to this man's provocations. "By now, they should just be finishing up getting their provisional hero licenses, actually. It’s curious, your interest in them. For someone who claims to be doing all in his power to become the greatest of villains, randomly pulling people from other worlds doesn't really seem to fall within reaching that goal, now does it?"

"Ever the caring father, aren't you Luminaire?" All for One started, his smile widening as he spoke "But let’s face it, they will never replace your dear wife and darling son, now will they? All the lectures and kind words in the world can never bring them back, after all."

Now it was Toshinori's turn to run distraction, whipping his arm out in front of his silver-haired junior just when Jun, his face bristling in anger, tried to take a step forward. "Sanada! Remain calm!"

Jun took a deep breath and steadied himself while All for One smirked at him from across the glass. The symbol of fear spoke again, triumph in his voice "Oh? Was it something I said? Then let’s move on. I'm curious how those four are handling the changes going on in the world around them. How are things going out there, by the way?"

The voice of the prison guard came over the speaker "We're keeping knowledge of the outside world away from him. Please don't tell him anything."

Wordlessly nodding, Jun decided to focus on a detail in the villain's question. "You said four. Don't you mean three?"

"You insult me, Luminaire. You didn't think I bought that purple-haired one's little death scene, did you? I kept my eye on that one since that little dust up at Police headquarters the morning after their arrival."

"That was you? You let all those villains go?" Toshinori breathlessly asked.

"Ah, but that's the beautiful part, isn't it? I'm flattered you would think I orchestrated that little stunt but I had other plans worthy of my time in that moment." All for One elaborated.

"Your time is almost up, All Might, Luminaire." Came the guard once more over the intercom.

"Oh, but I have so much more to say." All for One playfully whined.

"But then, if it wasn't you…" Toshinori openly wondered.

"It was Xellos." Jun realized, stunning the former number one hero.

"But, why?" The skeletal blonde couldn't help but ask.

Hindsight was twenty-twenty, as they say. "When we realized Xellos was still alive, it was something Zelgadis told me. Xellos is basically a personification of chaos. He revels in it. He may have had a plan or he could of done it just for fun."

"Ah, now you're getting it, Luminaire. I always thought you were a bit more clever than the average hero scum." All for One cut in, his smirk never leaving his face. He continued, unprompted "You want to know why I started bringing people here? Alright, I think you've earned a little piece, my dear Luminaire. I had a question, simple as that. Was there anything else out there? Once I had a proof of concept, I kept hoping to find others out there who see the universe as I do. Kindred spirits you might call them. Little did I know it would take ten years to finally get one."

"You sick son of a bitch" Jun spat, glaring at the clearly gleeful All for One.

"Sick you say? Out to attack what you don't understand, good hero? Please. The truth is, I hardly need you to tell me what is going on out there. Your little wayward lighter finds himself in a vacuum left by the loss of the world's great hero and he will be drawn to my Tomura. My legacy will continue to lay low while others test the waters, probing at the weakness left by the rot you've endeavored to keep hidden for so long, All Might."

Toshinori clenched his fist before he stood up, fully aware his nemesis was right. It was Jun, however, who spoke first. "Please." He drawled, "All Might isn't immortal. One way, or another, he was always going to have to stop protecting the world. Which meant there was always going to be transition and transitions are often painful. What matters is you'll have no hand in that change. Enjoy the rest of your miserable life in this void, All for One."

Toshinori realized his friend was right. All for One was just trying to play on his empathy, again. While Jun turned and started walking away, the blonde former symbol of peace lingered on his nemesis. All for One tried one last time to goad him, saying, "Luminaire is just bitter I ended his worthless families' life, that's all. We still have so much more to discuss, you and I, All Might."

"No, I don't think we do, All for One. You may think me weak, broken. That you've won by pitting my mentor's grandson against me. But here I stand, alive and surrounded by my friends and a world of people striving to keep the peace I fought for, for so long. What do you have? Nothing but yourself for company for the rest of your days. How very sad. Goodbye, All for One."

Turning and walking away, the master of evil took the last few moments before the doors to his cell closed again to heave one last parting shot, "Yes, keep believing in that little fantasy, All Might. It will be that much sweeter when you see it all crumble before your eyes."

(X)

"His family was murdered?!" Michiru repeated, shock and dismay clear in her voice.

Hitomi nodded "All for One had kidnapped them to bring Jun to him."

"That's…deplorable…" Michiru replied, head down.

"I assume he wanted Sanada-sensei's quirk?" Emeralda asked, her usual cool demeanor replaced with a pained expression.

"Yep. And you can imagine someone who can instantly teleport away can be tricky to pin down." Celty added.

Even Zelgadis, the most skeptical of Jun, looked angry when he finally spoke "Then how did his family die if they had been kidnapped to lure Sanada?"

"After Jun had willingly submitted to giving up his quirk, All for One killed them anyway. It…broke him." Hitomi solemnly explained. "The man I met in my cell was a much different man than the one you know today."

"Wait, your cell?" Michiru asked, picking up on that little detail after recovering from the gut punch that was hearing of Jun's family.

"Geez, you really have been kept in the dark! Sorry about that." Ranma piped in, earning a glare from the counselor.

"It's a long story" Hitomi continued, returning her attention to the three newest lighters, "Let's just say it took some convincing at first to get the government to believe people from other worlds were actually being brought here. I'd rather not dwell on those early days, honestly. For now, let's celebrate!"

After such heartbreaking news, the trio had a hard time getting into a celebrating mood but after sitting down to some cake and drinks, they were able to relax before Sakura took to the stage and sang for the group.

The red-headed zombie was halfway through her fourth song when it was interrupted by a shattering sound followed by a loud, animalistic roar. Without missing a beat while the song continued to play in the background, Sakura beamed and called out "It sounds like Brooklyn-kun is finally up! We can finally do introductions!"

Everyone turned when the door from the education wing swung open just as Sakura turned the karaoke machine off. In came the leather clad, white-haired and orange skinned gargoyle, still looking abit groggy before he called out "Geez, Sakura, would it kill you to play something less poppy? I know you can do heavy metal!"

The former member of Franchouchou stuck out her tongue in a pout and countered, "Just because I can, doesn't mean I like it! It's a karaoke machine, you want heavy metal, you can come up and sing it yourself, hmph!" the idol finished, crossing her arms and looking away.

Unfazed by Sakura's refusal, the gargoyle waved his hand when he approached "Pass. Sorry I'm late, I realize not everyone is as tied to nightfall as I am. How you kids been holding up since Kamino?"

"Peachy." Zelgadis sarcastically drawled, earning a smirk from the beaked underground hero but another glare from Hina.

"We're provisional heroes now, so that's something!" Michiru added, trying to counter her dour friend with as much energy as her exhausted body could muster.

"Things have been…complicated." Emeralda added, which was putting it mildly.

"All right!" Sakura cut in, drawing attention back to her. "Same as always, everyone, each lighter will step up and introduce themselves, though Hina-chan, Terra-san, Mob-kun and Shinra-kun don't have to since you all live together already. I'll go first!"

Mob looked markedly relieved for the exemption but Shinra looked determined to speak while Sakura danced about before striking a pose. Brooklyn audibly groaned and several other lighters smiles grew strained before Hitomi gentled called out "Sakura, sweetie, it’s already been a long day for our guests of honor. It might be best to be more…succinct?"

Slightly hurt by the soft rebuke, Sakura's briefly dampened features lit back up after a moment, forcing a smile back on like the professional idol she was. "Right! Sorry! My name is Sakura Minamoto and back home I was careless and ran in front of a truck and got killed!" Those that had heard the story before just shook their heads at the incredulity of it while Michiru, Zelgadis and even Emeralda stared on slake-jawed.

Sakura cheerfully continued, "But it’s ok! Because some years later I was brought back to save Saga prefecture with my bandmates! We were doing a great job too before I got dropped here three years ago! Now I get to be a solo idol and thanks to quirks, I don't even have to hide that I'm undead! I, um, had a bit of trouble coming to terms with the idea I'd never see my family and maybe my bandmates again, but I got through it! Trust Jun and Hitomi, you guys, they'll take care of you, I promise!" Sakura finished, striking one last pose as she winked in a small act of defiance.

Brooklyn shot up to the karaoke machine and almost yanked the microphone from the still posing idol, who offered a cheeky smile while she stepped away. "Yeah, let me just get this out of the way. Name's Brooklyn. In my world, I was frozen asleep for a thousand years by a dumbass human wizard apprentice and awoken by a rich jackass human whose too smart for his own good. I was second in command of my clan, protecting New York City before this happened five years ago, thanks to another asshole human. It's the gargoyle way to protect their home and all who dwell in it and that meant becoming a hero, so I did. That being said, I wouldn't have gotten there without another human. Thanks Hitomi. Now that All for One is rotting in prison, I'll make sure we all get home!"

Several in the group cheered the orange gargoyle's promise, especially the more recent arrivals. The ones who had been here longest showed notably less enthusiasm, having heard a similar declaration for years now.

Ranma was next to take the mic, her somber expression dampening the other lighters mood from the excitement a moment earlier. "Hiya. The name's Ranma Saotome of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts." Then, a very self-assured grin forced its way onto the red-head’s face before she continued, "I was the best martial artist of my generation back home! There was no challenge I couldn't rise to! I was going to be a man amongst men!"

Several in the crowd rolled their eyes at the bravado where others smirked at the silliness of the confidence. Everyone's expression grew more serious though when the pig-tailed sex-changer next uttered a much softer "But…then I got this curse." She said, motioning with her free hand to her body "I found out my pops engaged me to countless women. It was a crazy time in my life, and that was before I got yanked over here, nine years ago."

"I…had a hard time accepting things." Ranma said as he looked right at Hitomi and smiled. "Not as hard a time as Hitomi had but still I had a lot to get through before I could move on living. You may be wondering why I've been a girl this whole party." The master martial artist continued, his attention now squaring on the three newest lighters. "It's because I learned that this is a part of who I am. There is nothing wrong with being like this. I'm not weird or a freak because I'm a girl sometimes. I guess what I'm saying, and what any of the rest of us will say is that it’s important to open up to someone about how you're feeling because whether you want to admit it or not, you're feeling a lot. Hitomi can help you, you just have to let her."

It was a heartfelt piece of advice/confession that surprised veteran and new lighter alike. Hitomi looked absolutely moved, as did Terra. Celty held her hands tight to her chest in admiration, her mist taking on a light and fluttery quality. Mob and even Hina were smiling proudly at their teacher. Sadou looked impressed though Brooklyn looked annoyed his thunder had been stolen. Ranma looked ready to step down when she stopped herself and spoke again "I will say, I wish we had thought to say that this was the result of someone else's quirk instead of it being mine. That way I wouldn't have to hide my flashier techniques. Still very happy having my own dojo, though! Thanks everyone."

Michiru and Zelgadis sat in silence during the martial artist's impromptu advice turned confession. Both had resisted talking to the counselor to this point for various reasons and both were starting to feel pressure since the third lighter in a row had told them to seek her help. Leaning in close, Michiru whispered to the chimera "This is starting to feel more like a support group or intervention, you know?"

"I have no idea what either of those things are." Zelgadis deadpanned, whispering as well. "Regardless, I think I get what you're saying. They really want us to talk to her. I don't even know what I would say. They already know we want to get home. What else is there to even talk about?"

"It is much more than just talking." Emeralda cut in, seeming to appear behind the two softy speaking friends and causing them to start at the interruption.

"Damnit Emmy! What have I told you about doing that?" Michiru quietly admonished, her fur briefly standing on end.

"But Michiru, I was already beside you when you started talking to each other. I would hardly call that sneaking up." Emeralda reasonably explained.

Before things could escalate, Zelgadis waved the two off as he said "Let’s stay on track here you two. Emeralda, you make it sound like you've actually done it…"

For a moment, the stoic nanomachine girl looked pensive before she answered "I have. After our…exchange that night, she came to me and we spoke for a bit before she used her power to allow me to show her what I couldn't bring myself to say. It was an unusual experience, but it gave me the courage to tell you about me, Michiru."

A flash of guilt played across the tanuki girl's face before settling on a more empathic expression before Michiru said "I…I see. I'll have to thank Hitomi for that."

"Well, that's nice." Zelgadis added sarcastically, "But once again, I still don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm still pretty annoyed you two spilled that info to that mumbling 1-A kid, honestly."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?!" Sadou said, his voice carrying though the karaoke's speakers, startling the trio before the former demonic king continued "Did you just say that you told a UA student about yourself?"

When the three looked around they realized pretty much everyone in the room had been listening in. "What?" Celty said, standing over the three behind the couch they were sharing "You're in a room surrounded by people. You didn't think you were actually being discreet, did you?"

Zelgadis and Michiru each looked pretty annoyed at being spied on as well as being so careless but Emeralda was blushing heavily. It didn't make matters any better when Brooklyn leaned in close to the greenette and asked "What, exactly, did you tell this student?"

"Hey, back off!" Michiru barked, pulling her flustered friend back. "She didn't say anything about being from another world, if that's what your worried about!"

A look of relief came over most of the people in the room before Hitomi stepped forward and gently said "That's good to hear Michiru. I shouldn't have to remind you how dangerous that information is. That being said, it seems like now is as good a time as any for Emeralda to share that information with the rest of you so they can have a better sense of who you are and so we know what you shared with this…"

"Boy." Emeralda answered for the brunette, the word cracking on her throat as the shame of her mistake threatened to overwhelm her. The tan girl managed to compose herself quickly though before she further added "It was Izuku Midoriya. He overheard me as I talked to Michiru during the provisional license exam."

Hitomi nodded, remembering the freckled young man that had already built a reputation for helping others at great personal cost to himself, seemingly reflected in his quirk that often left his body broken. Izuku seemed nice enough to her but how well he could keep a secret she didn't know. Offering a reassuring smile, Hitomi walked up to the karaoke, took the mic from Ranma and offered it to the tan girl and said, "Its ok, sweetie. I know it’s hard but of all the people in this world or any other, the people in this room will understand, I promise."

With a slight nudge and a smile from Michiru, Emeralda crept up and took the offered microphone. Turning back to look at all those eyes waiting patiently, a sinking feeling made itself known in her chest. It felt as though a hand was creeping up from deep inside to grab her throat. The greenette's mouth moved but nothing came out. She realized she was afraid again. Why? She had had no trouble with that two-faced student at the exam. But now? With people she knew and about to talk about herself, the cold and calculating warrior she projected herself as was wilting. Why was this so damn hard?

The others must have realized she was having trouble because when Emeralda looked back out at the other lighters she could see concern creeping onto their faces. And that only made her feel worse. Closing her eyes, Emeralda started to breathe hard as she remembered all the times she shied away from this sort of thing with her unit back home. How she let them down even though she was sure they hated her. How she could never be the perfect- "EMMY!"

When her eyes shot open, Emeralda's amber orbs locked on her tanuki friend, who had her clawed hands bawled into fists, determination on her face as she called again "You've got this Emmy! Just look at me, like you were telling me all over again!"

That wouldn't work. Emeralda couldn't bring herself to put the others in the room out of her mind. But…but having a friend like that call out to her, to encourage her, that mattered. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller and realizing two of the people here had already heard this made her feel more reassured when Emeralda locked eyes with the tanuki girl and nodded. What would Emeralda have done without her, she didn't know. What she did know was now she could share with everyone what she was, and so she began to speak.

(X)

The celebration had been on in the 1-A dorms for a while now, as the newly licensed provisional heroes shared the good news with their family and friends. Everyone was too tired to cook but they all pitched in what snacks they each hand horded in their rooms for an impromptu low-key party.

Not everyone was up for revelry though. In addition to the two that hadn't passed, Izuku didn't really have the heart for it like the rest of his classmates. Sure, he was there in body but the freckled boy was clearly not there in spirit. He had spent most of the time in a corner, by himself and when most any other classmate approached him, he'd be caught spacing out and only gave the most basic of responses when he did engage them.

Except Tenya. When the bi-speckled uptight class rep had come to inquire if anything was wrong, Izuku had asked him to go into detail about what had happened with Michiru during the first part of the exam. What he had heard did not ease his mood at all. Not only was he burdened with the implications of the knowledge he had stumbled into with Emeralda but now he was back to thinking about something he had never even fathomed before a few days ago: heteromorphic discrimination.

Izuku had always wanted to be a hero. To save everyone with a smile on his face, just like All Might. He had thought he knew what that meant. Defeating villains, rescuing victims. Being a symbol to rally the spirits of people. Now, though, Izuku was coming to realize the world was much more complicated than he had grown up believing.

Glancing over at Mina and Fumikage, he had to wonder how they had been treated. Sure, Izuku had grown up quirkless but in a world where quirks were everything, the green-haired young man had believed what others said about him because it was true. He had been useless. Besides, anyone could be quirkless, no matter where you were born and most people didn't use their quirks once they grew up and got regular jobs anyway, right? So really, it didn't matter what your quirk was if you were a computer engineer or store clerk, right? That was, unless it was heteromorphic. That was something you could never escape.

Izuku was so absorbed in thought, he entirely missed that Katsuki had came up beside him and tried several times to get his attention. Finally, the fiery dirty blonde grabbed Izuku by the front of his shirt and pulled him up to his face and snarled "I'm talking to you, Deku! What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Kachan? What are you doing here? I thought you hated parties?" Izuku replied, full of confusion while Katsuki bore into him with murderous eyes.

Scoffing as he let Izuku go, the explosive student answered with a growl "Come with me. I got something I want to talk about."

Remembering his promised meeting with the trio of lighters, Izuku was hesitant to agree and it showed on his face while he struggled to decide. "But…Kachan, I'm supposed to be somewhere soon. I don't want to be late!"

Narrowing his already beady eyes, Katsuki spat out "What did you say, nerd? Come on, you're coming with me!" With that, whether he wanted to or not, Izuku was dragged away from the party and the dorms altogether.

(X)

"…and that's why my eye has healed." Emeralda finished answering Brooklyn's question after she had explained for the second time that day what exactly she was.

Despite the reassurance she had received from Hitomi, Emeralda was still surprised by the response she got from her audience. At worst were those whom the idea went over their heads, like Zelgadis, Sakura and Shinra to outright support, like Terra, Celty and Ranma. Though in Ranma's case Emeralda suspected her master didn't really understand either but was trying to be supportive of her shy student.

With Brooklyn's question answered, Sadou sought to return things to the point of the confession. "So, Emeralda, all this Izuku Midoriya knows is that you were made, right?"

Stepping away from the karaoke machine and, in her mind the center of attention, the tan girl nodded before she added "And we agreed to speak to him again this evening, actually, in the hopes of getting him to promise to keep it quiet."

"Really?" The former demon king replied, his expression shiftinmg to one of deep thought.

"Hitomi, you know anything about the kid that would help?" Celty asked the counselor.

"I've met him, of course, and he seems like a well-meaning student. I'm told he idolizes All Might, like so many his age do but he's had a tendency to go against orders if it meant helping someone." The brunette original lighter answered.

"I like him already." Brooklyn commented.

"Well, we did spend a lot of time with him and his classmates the last few weeks." Michiru offered, "And he's definitely a hero worshipper. He takes tons of notes and mumbles to himself but…." Brief flashes of her talk on the beach with the young provisional hero came through her mind before Michiru continued "I'm sure he's a good guy and will keep Emmy's secret."

"Still," Sadou replied "It'll probably be best if you give him a cover story." Then, looking briefly over at Ranma, who gave him a confused look, Sadou continued "You can just tell him you were made using someone's quirk. If he wants details, just dodge. Gotta love these quirks, you can pretty much just wave your hands and say a quirk did it, I love it!" The last comment drew an annoyed glare from the red-headed martial artist, which Sadou seemed to completely ignore.

Michiru looked over at Emeralda to see her friend's reaction to the demon lord of McGonld's suggestion. The tan girl's shrug was less than encouraging. When Michiru's shoulders sagged, Emeralda quickly added "I don't feel I know enough about quirks to say if the idea is a good one but it couldn't hurt to try."

Zelgadis nodded as well before everyone's attention was brought back to the karaoke machine where Shinra had grabbed the mic and called out "If we got that squared away, can I go next? It’s my first time and I'm not missing it!"

The other lighters looked to the trio, expecting the guests of honor to make the call. Zelgadis rolled his eyes and Emeralda looked to Michiru with a confused look. With a strained smile, the tanuki girl waved the black-haired pyro-kinetic on before they sat back down.

So it was that the introductions continued with Shinra, former member of Fire Force Company Eight and his fierce determination to get home and save his brother. Hearing about a world where people could just catch fire and die randomly didn't sound like a fun time to Michiru but then again, it wasn't home to her either.

Hina and Mobb both declined to speak, one out of shyness and the other didn't feel like she had anything to add.

Terra talked about being the only one in her world who was half human, half esper and about the devastation wrought there. She talked about her friends and how much she hoped they were getting by and about just how very different this world was to her own.

Celty, the other professional hero among the group, was too old to remember how old she actually was. Her world apparently had a wide assortment of supernatural elements but otherwise didn't seem to terribly different from this one to her. She had a head, apparently, but was still in search of it when she was taken. All of that seemed fine to Michiru but it got cringy once the subject of her beloved Shinra (absolutely not to be confused with the fire-wielder in the room). The dullahan went on and on about how great her boyfriend was and how much she couldn't wait to get back to him.

Brooklyn must have seen Michiru's face (or he was just use to people reacting a certain way when his partner got like this) because the orange gargoyle came over to reassure her. Brooklyn made it clear she wasn't always like this, and in fact only really got so emotional about her lost love at these get-togethers. Most of the time the headless underground hero was professional and efficient, news that made Zelgadis and Emeralda far less worried as well.

Sadou was an…interesting one. On the surface, he was an outgoing and nice guy but he apparently had been born a demon, who had been gifted knowledge that he leveraged to form and lead a demon army that came close to conquering the human realm of his world. Then he had been defeated and retreated to another world entirely, where the lack of magic forced him into a human form and a human life. He had been well on his way to recovering his former glory when he had been taken, leaving two subordinates, a far too interested human girl and the hero who had defeated him behind.

Then it was the last two new lighters turn to go, with Zelgadis up first. Michiru wasn't surprised when the prickly chimera was curt and to the point. An orphan betrayed by the only family he had left, Zelgadis described his body as if it was as a curse, and he had spent a great deal of time afterward looking for a way to reverse it. Barely any mention was made of the people he had traveled with though only mentioning a princess, a supremely talented but painfully stupid swordmen and a selfish and brazen sorceress. At the end, though, Michiru was surprised when the sorcerer-swordsmen finished by thanking her and Emeralda for making this whole experience "tolerable."

Then it was her turn. Going last and having sat through everyone else, Michiru was sure she knew what she wanted to say all the way up until it was time to say it. Suddenly she felt like an idiot and instead of starting with where Zelgadis had left off, by thanking the other two in turn, she just blurted out "HI! I'm Michiru Kagemori and I'm a beastman!" Michiru cursed her own nerves internally and decided to hell with it, whatever came out of her mouth would just have to be it. She continued, "Well…that's not entirely true. I wasn't born like this." With a brief flash of lights Michiru appeared to be a normal human before she continued, "For most of my life, this is how I was. Like Ranma and Zelgadis and Sakura, I was born a normal human. But…" then, just as quickly, Michiru was back to her tanuki self, "After an accident I looked like this."

"In my world, there is a second species, we call beastmen, who can shift into an animal-like form and they are often treated just the same…as animals. Hunted, even killed for no reason at all." There were several gasps from her audience before Michiru continued "What happened to me shouldn't even be possible but it did, so I ran to the only place safe for me, Anima City. I found friends there and helped save them all, though I found out that I could shift into all sorts of animals, something only me and my friend Nezuna could do. Before I was taken, I helped a sourpuss of a wolf protect the city. I even had a cure if I wanted it, but I kept putting it off, and now, when I was so close to seeing my parents again, I'm impossibly far away. But like Zelgadis said, I've made friends here too and as hard as it's been, I'm glad Emmy and Zel were here to be there with me. For me. Even if I haven't always shown how much I appreciate them. Thanks guys."

As she finished speaking, Michiru made sure to be looking at her two friends, a warm smile on her face and the hint of tears glistening in her eyes. Her speech brought the others to their feet in supportive applause and Michiru bowed slightly in acknowledgement before she handed the mic off to Hitomi, who had come up.

"Thank you Michiru, I hope you will consider talking to me at some point. It sounds like you've been through a lot." Hitomi offered, speaking low when the two passed one another.

"We'll see. Seems like you helped Emmy out. Thanks for that." Michiru replied as she stepped away to re-join Zelgadis and Emeralda.

Looking more serious, Hitomi spoke into the mic, "I know I say it every year but remember, we don't belong in this world. We're here and enjoying these comforts at the pleasure of the people of this world. Anything we do reflects on all of us. The Hero Safety Commission can have us kicked out of here and our lives ruined with little effort so keep that in mind. That means no more sneaking off you three." Hitomi finished, looking at the three newest lighters.

The trio nodded, each with a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights look to them with all the others staring at them. Zelgadis inwardly couldn't help but wonder if that applied to Xellos as well, out there doing who knows what. Still, the point was made and the party moved to the last thing planned, a martial arts display by Ranma and his students, namely Mobb and Hina. Emeralda gladly accepted when the pig-tailed red-head offered for her to join. So it was that the rest of the lighters were treated to another, notably even spar between master and student.

Still, in the end, Ranma came out on top and time was drawing near for the meeting with Izuku. So the three headed out, leaving the rest of the lighters to clean and crash there for the night except Brooklyn, who chose to go out on patrol. As the trio left, Sadou called out "Remember, a quirk did it!"

Grabbing Emmy, Zelgadis cast his Raywing spell and took off, Michiru flying right beside for their rendezvous with the bearer of One for All.

(X)

As the trio made their way to Training Area Beta, Zelgadis couldn't help but think that Michiru had been right. Emeralda was heavier than she looked. Knowing now she was some sort of artificial human probably helped explain it but the idea of cell theory was still pretty new to him so he hadn't yet truly grasped what the tan girl had explained to them earlier.

At first the three discussed and agreed that Michiru and Emeralda would handle the talking and had settled on their story, a slightly more detailed version of what Sadou had suggested. With that decided, they grew silent and the rock-encrusted sorcerer was left to think. The day had been…eventful and he knew that although Michiru had come out of her depressive state, the root cause was still very much out there, whatever it was, and needed to be addressed. At the moment though, something specific the tanuki girl had said in between rounds of the exam was on his mind. Glancing at the smiling tanuki girl briefly, Zelgadis whispered to the tan girl clinging to him as softly as flight would allow "Hey."

"Yes, Zelgadis?" Emeralda answered, her amber eyes alert but calm, as usual.

"Do…other girls ogle me?" the chimera asked just barely loud enough to hear. If Emeralda could see his face, she'd note how red it was, but he had turned it away when he asked to avoid any further embarrassment.

A single light green eyebrow raised on the otherwise neutral face of the nanomachine girl while she stared at Zelgadis. The lack of response began to eat at the suddenly insecure swordsmen who blurted out, annoyance in his voice "Forget it! Just imagine I didn't say anything."

"No, I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause you discomfort, Zelgadis. It's just that…I am unsure I am best suited to answer your question." Emeralda answered, her expression turning to confusion.

Recovering some of his composure at his passenger's response, Zelgadis countered with much more confidence "Actually, I regard you as very rational and would trust your opinion over just about anyone else in this crazy world."

Emeralda's eyes widened. As much time as the three of them had spent with each other, Michiru was the one the tan girl interacted with the most, by virtue of the tanuki girl's far more outgoing nature, if nothing else. Her and Zelgadis rarely talked alone and she often wondered if he had any positive opinion of her at all, sure his words during the introductions earlier were meant more for Michiru than herself. It was absolutely shocking to hear such praise come out of the man's mouth and Emeralda couldn't help but look away while she considered them. Finally, she turned back and managed to say "Thank you Zelgadis. That means a great deal."

That being said, Emeralda knew he likely wouldn't like the answer. Not being one to lie however, the greenette foraged ahead and said, "As you wish. It is as you suspect. I have observed in our various trips outside the school and even here at UA, many women take a moment to look at you." Zelgadis' face seemed to scrunch up at her words but she was asked a question and she felt she should answer it fully. She continued "In addition, I have overheard several in 1-A express that they have found you attractive. I can repeat some of the comments they have made if you'd like?"

"NO, NO! That's fine! I got an answer and even if I don't like it, I appreciate you giving me an honest response, Emeralda." After he spoke, Zelgadis again looked over at the winged tanuki clearly enjoying her flight beside them, his expression contemplative. Emeralda couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking but didn't feel she had any right to ask.

The conversation hadn't gone unnoticed by Michiru though and when she realized the two were done talking, bearing a mischievous smirk, called out "What are you two talking about? Zel, you didn't just realize how cute Emmy is did you?"

Much to the tanuki girl's disappointment, Zelgadis scowled at her, though she thought she saw the hint of a blush on his face when he replied, "If talking to a girl was all it took to assume we were romantically involved, than I can only imagine what 1-A thinks of the three of us."

Though the chimera's retort was dripping with sarcasm, it went right over Emeralda's head, looking confused as she did. When Michiru laughed and made a comment about Zelgadis being a player, the tan girl looked between the two of them and asked "What would he be playing? I wasn't aware Zelgadis played any sports."

Waving her hand playfully after she and Zelgadis briefly stared at each other, Michiru nervously laughed and she answered "Oh poor innocent Emmy. I'll explain later, ok?"

The nanomachine girl's face squinched while she tried to piece together what she was missing, a sight that Michiru found utterly adorable. The winged tanuki girl was about to say as much when her ears picked up what sounded like explosions when they approached the training ground. "Guys! Something's happening up ahead, it sounds like a fight down there!"

As they got closer, Emeralda and Zelgadis could hear it too. After weeks of training, the sound of the explosions had became a familiar one to the trio and when they landed on a rooftop to observe what was going on, their unspoken suspicions were confirmed. Down below, Katsuki was trying to assault Izuku, who was doing his best to avoid the attacks.

As loud as the blonde bomber's explosions were, the roar of Katsuki's rage filled taunts were easy enough for the lighter trio to hear from on the roof. "DAMNIT NERD! I SAID FIGHT ME!"

"No, Kachan!" Izuku pleaded, his voice not really as rancorous but still audible "There's no reason for me to fight you! Calm down!"

Ignoring Izuku, Katsuki kept on the freckled boy, charging at him again through the air to try and catch Izuku flat-footed while the pathic loser finished his begging. "Oh, I get it! You just think you’re better than me now that you have All Might's quirk, don't you? DIE!"

Having mastered even just a fraction of All for One's power, Izuku was still fast enough to evade the attack, though it meant he fell backward. Katsuki seemed to predict that move, however and exploded forward, appearing just above Izuku, who appeared to be flailing as he fell on his back.

Just as Katsuki raised his hand to deliver a fiery blow to Izuku's chest, he felt the wind getting knocked out of him when he felt Izuku's foot smash into him. Izuku had also predicted his childhood friend's follow up and while he fell backwards, flung his leg upward, the limb crackling with One for All's power.

The blow sent Katsuki flying up and back in a long arc while Izuku hit the ground. As the dark green-haired boy shot up, Katsuki landed hard on the ground twenty feet away. As much as Izuku hoped his friend would stay down, the fiery blonde got to his feet immediately, his eyes bloodshot, adding to their intensity while he glared at his rival. "See, Deku, you can fight after all! Now, FIGHT ME! SHOW ME YOUR WORTHY OF THAT POWER!"

Izuku clenched his fists, green lightning dancing about them and running up his arms as he tensed for another attack before he called back "No, Kachan! I-I don't have anything to prove to you! I know I need to get stronger, I don't need you to show me that. But there's so much more to being a hero than just strength! Your failure today is proof enough of that!"

Holding his side where he'd been kicked, Katsuki fumed as he readied to attack again. "Those idiots don't know what a REAL hero is, behind their stupid desks all day. Don't you dare think you're anything but a loser just because you got that little card, Deku!"

Up on the rooftop, Michiru was just about done with this. "This is insane. We need to break this up, you two with me?"

Zelgadis, who had no love loss for the arrogant explosion wielder, smirked before he said "Do you really need to ask? I'm going to enjoy taking that asshole down another peg."

"Agreed," was all Emeralda said while she glared down at the insecure blonde.

Back on the ground, Katsuki snarled as he braced for another attack. Propelling himself forward as fast as his quirk would allow, he was sure he could at least match the nerd's speed. Izuku stood, deep in thought about the various ways his friend was about to come at him. The freckled boy was surprised to see Katsuki had opted for a straight forward charge but was ready to dodge away at the last moment once again with another counter ready.

When Katsuki closed the gap to within a few feet, he shifted his right hand forward for a blast to the face as an opening salvo of a furry of attacks he had planned. Only, it never got any further. Just as he was unleashing his attack, a blur of light green landed in front of him, his explosion landing on solid metal.

"DAMNIT! WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE!" Katsuki raged with Emeralda standing between Izuku and him, her two arms shifted and fused into a massive shield that easily tanked the blast.

The raging teen never got an answer since he was suddenly bum rushed by Michiru, her enlarged arms providing an extra boast, smashing Katsuki into the shield. "What the fu-AHHH!" Katsuki screamed as he was then struck by a magical bolt of lightning delivered by Zelgadis who then floated down to the ground.

Katsuki crumpled to the ground, unconscious, leaving Izuku standing there dumbly while his childhood friend lay prone on the ground. "Umm…thanks, I guess?" Izuku muttered having realized quickly who had broken up the fight.

"You ok?" Michiru asked, having returned to normal, as had Emeralda. The trio turned to face their now former classmate.

"Yeah…sorry about that. I tried to tell him I was going to meet you guys but he insisted he wanted to talk. I should have known he'd want to fight me." Izuku explained nervously.

"Don't mention it, it was our pleasure, trust me." Zelgadis answered before he turned and faced the downed bomber. With the others watching on, the sorcerer-swordsmen put his hands out and a moment later, Katsuki appeared to be encased in a sphere of wind.

"Wow, I love your quirk, Zelgadis! You'll have to tell me more about it sometime!" Izuku beamed, now entirely enraptured by the sight.

Zelgadis merely rolled his eyes as he cast another spell, causing a blast of wind to send the sphere barreling away and out of sight. The chimera turned back to face the freckled kid before Michiru said "Yeah, about quirks. What's this he said about you having All Might's quirk?"

At first Izuku wore a horrified expression when his childhood friend was blown away, his compliment all but forgotten. Then on hearing Michiru's question, Izuku looked down and laughed nervously while he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, you, uh, heard that did you? I guess that's only fair that it happened to me after I eavesdropped on you, huh?"

"The irony isn't lost on us." The chimera dryly answered.

"Does this mean there are others who can give and take quirks besides All for One?" Emeralda asked, causing Izuku to wave his hands frantically.

"No, no! It’s nothing like that! Well, this quirk is tied to him but no! All Might's quirk, it gets passed down from one user to the next, adding the previous users’ powers to it as it goes, though neither I nor All Might added anything." Izuku quickly explained.

Michiru furrowed her brow at that, then it hit her. "Wait a minute! You told me you were quirkless growing up and were a late bloomer. But what really happened was…"

"I inherited it from All Might, yeah." Izuku finished before adding "Actually, after our talk on the beach, I looked up your hometown since what you said about quirks was so odd to me. You said no one else had heteromorphic quirks in your hometown but I saw plenty of evidence on social media that there was. Why did you lie? Was it because of the CRC?"

At the mention of the hate group, Michiru stiffened, her fur standing on end again while she fought to control her suddenly raising anger. Quickly, the tanuki girl shot back "Everything I told you was true! I had people out hunting me, trying to kill me…"

Sounding apologetic, Izuku replied "I don't doubt that Kagemori-san. It just seemed weird to me, you know? Plus, what I overheard today, I feel like I'm missing something and I was hoping you'd tell me what it is."

The three lighters looked at each other. Clearly this boy had been connecting more dots than they could have known and the silence that followed spoke to their apprehension about following through with their plan. Finally, Zelgadis rolled his eyes and looked away, saying nothing. Michiru and Emeralda took that as the go ahead so the two nodded to each other and Emeralda started, sticking with the more truthful part, being the worse liar of the two "What you heard this morning is true. I was built in a tube, as artificial as you are real, Midoriya."

Michiru spoke next, not giving Izuku the chance to interject or think further, though not without shooting Emeralda a glare for putting herself down "Apparently, she's the result of a researcher's quirk that lets him animate objects he touches. He decided he wanted to see if he could do this with enough individual nanomachines to make a whole person."

Izuku's face looked like a mix of fascination and horror while he let that sink in. After a moment he said "You’re telling me someone out there has made a whole person and that somehow didn't get out to the public? That sounds almost…impossible to believe."

Michiru motioned to retort when another voice cut in from the shadows. A nasally, annoying voice that none of them expected to hear any time soon "That's because it is impossible, Midoriya-san, was it?"

Zelgadis' eyes flared open before he let out a low, disbelieving "Noooo…it can't be."

Stepping out of the shadow of an alleyway and wearing the sharp purple suit Jun had bought him weeks ago, Xellos waved to the assembled UA students as if meeting them on a stroll before he spoke again "Sorry I missed the party, but I thought it would be so much more fun to swing by like this!"

Izuku knew the face of the purple-haired lighter from Kamino but last he heard, this man had died and he watched on with surprise and more than a little worry when he saw the other's reactions. Emeralda, the stoic and cool member of the trio looked positively ashen, as if she'd seen a ghost. Michiru looked much more angry, her arms beginning to swell out to massive proportions. Zelgadis, though, was absolutely livid, shaking with rage.

"XELLOS! You son-of-a-"

"Now, now, Mr. Zelgadis. No need to raise your blood-pressure. So what if I faked my own death? It’s not like I harmed anyone, now did I?"

"You put a fucking hit out on Terra, you mazuku piece of shit! Are you that afraid of her that you had to send some hired idiots to do it for you?" Zelgadis raged.

Entirely unfazed by the vitriol directed at him, the purple-haired lighter smiled before he said "Oh? Figured that out already? Well, she woke up, didn't she?"

"Wait, are you saying you sent those goons to cause her to wake up from her coma?" Michiru guessed, disgust clear in her voice.

"Or her magic really does pose the only real threat to me. Who’s to say?" the mazuku replied, shrugging his shoulders.

That seemed to confuse the tanuki girl, leaving her dumbstruck by how easily her former comrade would turn on a dime. Finally, Emeralda spoke, her composure seemingly returned "You faked your death for a reason. What have you been doing?"

"I want to say something about how little you've changed Kasim-san but the fact that you told this fine young man half the truth means you've changed at least a little bit. Good for you!" Xellos replied, offering a light capping to punctuate his condescending tone while he completely ignored her question.

When Emeralda didn't rise to the bait, he feigned a pout before saying "Oh your no fun, Miss Emeralda. Ok, fine. I've shackled up with a group of people I believe are referred to as yakuza, the Shie Hassaikai. Lovely people."

"The yakuza? Are you kidding me?" said Michiru.

"What the hell are the yakuza?" Zelgadis angrily asked.

"Organized criminals! Responsible for black market sales and drugs. Racketeering. Stuff like that." Michiru quickly answered, fully aware Zelgadis' anger was directed at Xellos and not her.

Izuku finally reasserted his presence when he nervously added "But…the yakuza are all but extinct, aren't they? With quirks and All Might, they were mostly wiped out!"

"Why yes, that's right young man!" Xellos beamed, "I think that's why I get along with them so well. We have so much in common, once great members of a proud organization driven to the shadows, a shell of what they once were. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Zelgadis?"

Gritting out a reply through his clenched teeth, Zelgadis said "Damnit Xellos, if you have something to say, just say it!"

The purple-suited mazuku frowned, disappointment clear on his face. Izuku kept wondering if this Xellos had tried to kill Branford-san, then why hadn't the other three tried to take him down? After all, they had taken down Kachan so easily. The freckled boy was brought back to the moment when Xellos spoke again, "Always straight to the point, Mr. Zelgadis. Fine, I suppose I should get on with it."

"All this time you have been trying to find a way home. To try and get All for One to reveal where he is hiding his means of bringing us here as if it could be reversed to send us back." Xellos began.

The more he talked, the more confused Izuku got. The weirdly menacing man in front of them seemed to be making less and less sense as he spoke. And yet, Izuku felt like he was at the tip of understanding. Emeralda broke in with "It sounds like that is a goal you do not share, Xellos."

"Indeed!" Xellos beamed, "You are a sharp one, Kasim-san! Very good!" When Emeralda only narrowed her eyes in response, Xellos' smile grew larger when he spoke again "I like it here. So much order, so much peace. A mazuku is meant to bring chaos, after all and without shinzuku, or little girls wielding the Lord of Nightmare's power running around, I am untouchable here."

If Michiru could pale, she would have in that moment. On realizing what the purple-eyed monster in front of her was saying, her eyes widened before she spoke "You…you're going to try and destroy the Nomu…"

"Michiru! Quiet!" Zelgadis snapped.

"Oh? Is that what they're calling it then?" Xellos said, his nearly closed eyes widening, revealing his purple irises, a sight that shouldn't of but definitely put a chill down everyone's spine. "That is…excellent information, Kagemori-san, thank you! For that, I will confirm that yes, where you are trying to get home, I very much wish to stay! I know if you find this Nomu first, you'll try and send me back and that just won't do!"

"You wouldn't!" Michiru almost pleaded.

"He would, the piece of shit…" Zelgadis confirmed grimly.

"No…" Emeralda whispered, her eyes burning and her lips quivering with barely contained rage before she took a meaningful step toward the mazuku and screamed "NOO!"

But as the tan nanomachine girl moved to lunge forward on what was undoubtedly a pointless act of anger, Xellos simply wagged his finger with one hand and stepped aside before he said in a singsong voice "Oh, no, no, you mustn't, not in front of the children!" and there, in the space just vacated by the mazuku was a young girl of perhaps six with pale blue hair that ran to her lower back, red eyes and a small spiral horn protruding from the crown of the right side of her forehead.

Whatever Emeralda had been planning was brought up short at the sight of the young girl, who was wearing a simple two-piece set of ragged pajamas with bandages on her arms and legs and looked pretty sleepy. Horror rested on the provisional hero's faces while the girl looked around confused before she meekly said "Is it time already, Xell-chan?"

Bending down and patting the cute girl on the head, Xellos sweetly replied "It is. Sorry to ask you to stay up so late."

The girl beamed a smile "No! It was fun, me and Lina-chan stayed up talking while we waited! Are these the friends you wanted me to meet?"

"They are! Good girl!" Xellos replied before he stood back up. "This cute little girl is Eri. She's the granddaughter of the head of the group I've joined. She's very important to the current leader of the Shie Hassaikai, you see and he has seen fit to have me watch over her. We've become fast friends, haven't we Eri-chan?"

The three lighters and one hero-in-training could only watch on as the girl nodded enthusiastically and said "Yeah…everyone else they've had watch me always treated me like a burden, but not Xell-chan! He's been so nice!"

"You're the absolute worst…" Zelgadis growled.

"On the contrary, Mr. Zelgadis, if you knew what was being done to this poor sweet girl, you may reconsider your opinion. I have, in fact, promised to save Eri. Isn't that right, sweety?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Eri nodded happily.

"Before I send you back home, Eri, let me introduce you. The grumpy guy with the rocky face, that's Zelgadis. You remember me telling you about him?"

"The guy that never smiles!" Eri answered sweetly.

While Zelgadis proved the point by frowning deeply, Xellos replied "Good girl! Now the furry one is Michiru and the tan serious one is Emeralda. I don't really know the last one aside his name, Izuku, though."

Eri waved at each in turn before she said "You two are so pretty, just like Xell-chan said! I can't wait to see you again! Good night."

And with that, she was gone, as though she had never been there at all. With the girl no longer around, the others felt much more free to speak, Zelgadis saying "You, one of the mightiest of the mazuku would hide behind a little girl. You sick bastard."

"Oh? Is that what I'm doing? I just wanted to demonstrate that there is someone out there in this world who depends on me, that's all. I wonder if you could say the same, Mr. Zelgadis?"

"Her arms were bandaged" Emeralda keenly pointed out, "If you are protecting her, it would appear you are doing a poor job."

Xellos shrugged "I'm mostly lending her moral support at the moment, it’s true. My current employer still has a use for her I'm afraid and I'm not in a position to do anything about that part just yet."

"Then…you should have left her here for us to save her!" Izuku demanded, his voice full of righteous indignation.

Xellos offered a patronizing smile to the freckled boy before he turned to the lighter trio "He doesn't know, does he? He has no idea what is at stake here for us. Not very hero-like to keep lying to your little classmate, now is it?"

Izuku's determined expression turned to confusion as he, too, looked over at his now former classmates, all the pieces of what the others had been saying to each other now coming back to the fore of his mind. "Wha…what does he mean?" Izuku stumbled out.

Nearly doubled over with laughter, Xellos squeezed out "Oh, oh my! This, this is priceless! I get to be the one to tell him, not one of his trusted 'friends’?"

"No, don't do it, Xellos!" Michiru called.

Zelgadis moved to cast a spell, not on Xellos but on Izuku. He had just started the incantation when Xellos turned dead serious and said "You try to put him to sleep, Mr. Zelgadis and I will kill him. Can't have you deprive me of this moment!"

"What? Tell me what? What's so important that he'd threaten to kill me? Guys?" Izuku pleaded, getting nothing but guilty expressions from the three lighters.

"Has it never occurred to you, Midoriya-san, that something has been off with the whole lighter program? Ever get the impression something wasn't quite right with, say, these three?"

Izuku again looked at the trio, their conversation earlier again coming to his mind, among other little details. Zelgadis feebly called to him "Don't listen to him, Midoriya! He is nothing but a liar and a schemer, always out to entertain himself!"

Feigning injury over the chimera's insults, Xellos cut in "That is harsh, Mr. Zelgadis! I can entertain myself with the truth too! Especially with something as juicy as this. The reason these three seem off, and why your school has been housing lighters at all is because otherwise they would have nowhere else to go, being in a world not their own, after all."

Izuku's eyes widened, and his lips tightened as those words sunk in. That couldn't be true, could it? Looking for anything in the eyes of the trio to his side, Izuku found nothing but regret, resignation and shame. Finally, Michiru spoke, her voice a reflection of everything Izuku saw in their faces "Its…true, Izuku. Me, Emmy, Zel. All us lighters, we weren't rescued from whatever smuggling ring they tell the media. We…we're each from different worlds entirely."

"Well, except Mr. Zelgadis and me! We've been buds for a lot longer back home!" Xellos cheerily added, causing the chimera to glare at him with all the hate and malice he could muster, knowing full well the monster was literally eating it up.

Izuku seemed to completely ignore the flippant comment from the purple-suited instigator, his face a mix of shock and betrayal. He felt dizzy, as an oppressive weight seemed to press on him and he fell backwards, landing hard on his butt. Michiru rushed over to him and asked if he was ok but he just stared off, unresponsive to the urgent cries from the tanuki girl.

"Oh, it seems I broke his little mind. It can be easy to forget how simple you humans can really be." Xellos commented dismissively.

Emeralda desperately wanted to charge the 'man' who she had at one time agonized over for allowing him to die protecting her. With the little girl gone again, she was sure she could take off his head, even if she knew it wouldn't kill him. It'd make her feel a lot better though. Zelgadis, however, had his arm out in front of the nanomachine girl to signal for her to remain calm and not risk throwing her life away.

Impotent to do anything meaningful in the face of a being far stronger than him, Zelgadis gritted his teeth and did all he was able, as he called out "Why even bother with the yakuza? With no one to oppose you realistically in this world, you could do almost anything, right?"

Though Xellos had very often been tight-lipped about anything he was up to in the past, given how much he had revealed to them now, Zelgadis had at least some reasonable hope that the mazuku would actually answer his question. He should have known better. The question had barely left his mouth when he watched the purple-haired monster lean forward in his most annoying pose, his hand up to his face and a finger up as he coyly replied, "Now that, is a secret!"

Zelgadis almost comically frowned, somehow surprised and yet resigned all at the same time.

"Please let me kill him." Emeralda whispered and Zelgadis had to wonder if she was even really asking him, such was the vitriol with which she asked it.

When Xellos spoke again, the three lighters brought their attention to their tormentor once more "Before I go, I thought I'd gift you one more interesting piece of information. You know, in celebration of you three getting your hero licenses."

The three watched on wearily, without saying a word, Izuku finally regaining his bearings as he watched on as well. "The reason my current master keeps the sweet little girl is because she has a most interesting quirk. It seems she has the ability to rewind anything biological to a previous state of being. A most useful skill, wouldn't you say Mr. Zelgadis, Kagemori-san?"

Zelgadis' eyes exploded open, immediately aware what Xellos was implying and as the mazuku smiled and bowed, the chimera boiled over with rage. When Xellos disappeared, Zelgadis let out a blood curling scream before he fell to his knees and pounded his fists into the ground.

Michiru watched on still knelt beside Izuku, who was looking at the tanuki girl, unsure of what to make of what was going on. Michiru had a weird expression on her face, like she wasn't sure if she was sympathizing with Zelgadis or holding back her own scream.

This left Emeralda to lean down, unsure of what to make of her friend's outburst and with trepidation in her voice, asked "Zelgadis…I don't understand. Why are you so angry?"

"He knew…he knew that girl could cure me and he dangled her in front of us like the bastard he is!" Zelgadis snarled. "So help me, I will find her. And I will get my body back!"

(X)

Chapter Text

It took a lot of convincing but eventually, Zelgadis agreed not to immediately fly back to the lighter dorms, wake everyone up and charge out into the night. Instead, the foursome made their way on foot to find Katsuki, to make sure he was alright and see to it they all made it back to the dorms without any more trouble.

The group slowly made their way down the empty streets of Testing Ground Beta. Michiru had deliberately set their pace at a crawl in the hopes that the extra time would allow her blue-skinned friend time to cool off. The fact that he had his hood up as he stiffly but purposely marched ahead likely meant it wasn't really working.

Izuku, meantime, had had a lot dumped in his lap in the last twenty minutes. At first, he continued to stay quiet, a mix of shellshock and processing what had just transpired. As a result, the freckled boy missed the heavy air that hung over the other three he was with when he asked, innocently "So…does being from different worlds make you aliens?"

Zelgadis didn't react at all while Michiru and Emeralda stared at each other. Emeralda's expression seemed to say "Yeah, no, I'm not touching this one" to which Michiru finally rolled her eyes with a put-upon frown on her furry features. "I don't really know, Midoriya. I come from Earth, just like you do, but Emmy and Zel don't. Plus, neither Zel nor I are strictly human either…"

For what felt like the thousandth time that night, Izuku looked totally shocked as he breathlessly replied "Re, really? Then what are you, Kagemori?"

Michiru then launched into what, at this point, was becoming a practiced explanation of what beastmen were and their place in her own world. Izuku's expression looked pained as she talked about her own experiences and when she was finished, the boy said "I guess that explains your reaction during the exam to those heteromorphic students and the CRC, huh?" But then Izuku remembered when they had spoken at the beach, about not appearing human when she could and that raised more questions.

Izuku was about to ask when he caught Emeralda looking at him with a knowing expression. As he opened his mouth, the other green-haired provisional hero shook her head and the freckled boy got the message.

Michiru, entirely unaware of the exchange, replied regretfully "Yeah, I was pretty angry with those guys…well let’s just say they pushed the wrong buttons when I was in a pretty dark place and leave it at that, ok?"

Izuku nodded. Then, having avoided one land mine, proceeded to step on another "And what about you, Zelgadis?"

When no answer came from the chimera, Izuku tried one more time while the two female lighters watched on, hopeful their friend would say something, anything. "Uh…Zelgadis?"

When Izuku was met with silence again, Michiru glanced at the sorcerer, who had taken to the front of the group so no one could see his face. His hands were tightly clenched and that was all the tanuki girl needed to see to change the subject, saying instead, "So…Midoriya, um, how long have you had All Might's quirk?"

Izuku picked up on what the tanuki girl was doing and let his gaze linger on the taciturn chimera a moment longer as well before answering "Oh, um, it’s like I said at the beach…not long. Basically, since the school year started. I…still have a long way to go to master it."

"You can say that again. Seems like it nearly breaks you!" Michiru rather tactlessly replied before she added "Hey…shouldn't we have come across Bakugo by now?"

"You are right Michiru. We should have seen him by now if he were still unconscious" agreed Emeralda.

"You think he went back to the dorms?" Izuku offered.

"Oh shit! Everyone dodge! Zel!" Michiru called as she dove for the chimera, who had been stalking forward, trying to ignore the conversation.

Michiru was able to push Zelgadis down and out of the way just before a blonde ball of fiery rage smashed into the ground behind them and snarled "You extras think you're the only ones who can sneak attack! And Deku, what the hell are you doing revealing your secret to these losers!"

Emeralda and Izuku had each managed to fall back and maintain defensive postures while Katsuki rose up from his landing, his eyes alight with the rush of battle and his hands crackling. Izuku called out in response "They overheard you when you attacked me earlier, Kachan! You need to calm down, I already told you, I'm not going to fight you!"

"Like hell, I will!" Katsuki spat, "You lighter trash can stand by and watch while I settle things with All Might's favorite, since you all know now!"

"You need to shut the hell up."

Spinning to the source of the offending voice, Katsuki brought a hand up, letting loose a small explosion as he barked "What was that?!"

Zelgadis stood there coolly, arms crossed with Michiru watching on worriedly. The chimera glared down at the shorter boy, his face affixed with an icy calm. It was, however, very obvious to everyone else that the sorcerer-swordsmen was holding back a damn of rage when he spoke again, "You're nothing but a little puppy, yapping his mouth off trying to act tougher than he is."

Katsuki took a challenging step forward and said "Oh yeah! You want to see if this dog can bite! I'll show you, rocks!"

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes and replied in a deathly low voice "No. I'm done dealing with children. Diem Wind." A sudden gust of air fell up the group, making it hard to move. Katsuki tried to move his legs, then tried to propel himself with his explosions to no avail when Zelgadis spoke another spell "Dug Haut." Before slamming his hand into the ground. Large spikes began shooting out of the earth in a straight line heading right for the blonde bomber. Katsuki found he was unable to evade the attack and moments later felt burning pain in his legs when each one was impaled with spikes.

"FUCK! I'll goddamn kill you, blue man!" Katsuki wailed, locked in place as blood ran down his legs from the wounds that kept him from even kneeling.

In response, Zelgadis slowly walked toward his captive. Michiru watched on, stunned while Zelgadis spoke again, "You will do no such thing. You couldn't even pass that exam today. Why? Because you're so damn caught up in your own legend and in being strong that you couldn't even be bothered to save a single person. Your pathetic."

Those last words were delivered before he reared back to punch the pinned aspiring hero. Katsuki set an explosion off in Zelgadis' face but found it did nothing at all, the chimera connecting with a rock-hardened fist that knocked the blonde out cold.

Zelgadis dispelled the spikes when Katsuki collapsed, Izuku rushing over to catch him. "That was too far! What if he can't walk again?" Izuku chided, Michiru and Emeralda glaring at their friend as well.
Unfazed by the others’ disapproval, Zelgadis calmly replied "Then he shouldn't have attacked us, now don't you think? He assaulted us for no reason. I defended myself and you."

Emeralda was caught by the chimera's logic and relaxed her expression. Michiru, though, wasn't letting it go and countered "But look at him, he's bleeding pretty bad from those wounds, he needs medical attention!"

"And we will get it to him. You can call for help with your phone, can't you? In the meantime, Terra has some healing magic that will help until he is treated." Zelgadis countered.

"W-wait, did you say magic?!" Izuku blurted out just after he ripped the arm of his t-shirt to make a bandage.

Before any of the lighters could answer, a familiar voice spoke from beyond the cone of illumination the street light above them provided. "Yes, was that magic you just said Greywards-san? I don't believe that was something we agreed could be discussed outside of class."

Everyone conscious turned to see their silver-haired mentor and the former symbol of peace step into the light, neither looking particularly pleased. "Young Midoriya, care to tell me what has happened here?" Toshinori asked.

"It's…kind of a long story" Izuku answered, looking between his mentor and his wounded friend.

"Humor us." Jun said, noting how Zelgadis was refusing to make eye contact.

The sorcerer crossed his arms and looked away before he muttered "Self-defense."

When the former rescue hero cocked an eyebrow, Emeralda spoke up, explaining "First Izuku and later all of us were attacked by Katsuki Bakugo. The three of us fended him off while he attacked Midoriya but this time Zelgadis…defended us, resulting in what you see before you."

Toshinori frowned. He knew Young Bakugo was aggressive and highly competitive but to attack classmates at night? Something was missing here. At the moment though, it was Jun who drove the questioning, asking "And what of referencing magic in front of Midoriya-san here? Is there something I should know?"

"You could say that." Michiru offered meekly.

"Well, you can fill us in while we wait for the medical bots I've just summoned." Jun said, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Michiru sighed and after getting nods from Izuku and Emeralda, told the two teachers what had happened with Xellos just a short while ago.

To say the two of them were shocked was an understatement but it gave Jun the chance to tell them it was very likely Xellos who had caused the prison break their first night in this world. When Zelgadis tried to get either of them to share what had happened when they talked with All for One, Jun only answered that it had been trying and nothing new was gained from the talk.

The medical bots arrived and took Katsuki away with Toshinori leaving to accompany him. Katsuki would be treated by Recovery Girl whom Jun had also alerted and had come in to see to the blonde bomber’s wounds. That left Jun to take the lighters and Izuku back to their dorms.

The walk back had been mostly silent, each one of them heavy with everything that had happened that evening. Izuku, though, was desperate for answers. He had had his whole world view shattered and he had no one to really talk to about it since the others already knew most of what he had just learned and were clearly dealing with things he only barely understood. Still, in the hopes of lightening the mood and satiate his curiosity at the same time, the freckled boy thought he could at least ask something he thought was innocent enough. Coming to walk beside Michiru, Izuku tentatively asked "So, um, Kagemori…is it true that magic is…real?"

Despite herself, Michiru smiled before she turned to her teacher "Sanada-sensei?"

Jun sighed, taking a moment to consider the request then sagged his shoulders a bit and replied "I suppose he already knows and given he has kept One for All mostly secret, I suppose you can share some details. Unless you'd like to do it, Greywards-san?"

A low grunt from the brooding chimera ahead of them was all the confirmation Michiru needed to know it was her question to answer. "I can't use it myself Midoriya but from what I understand, there are worlds where it does exist and those of us from such worlds can use magic."

"That's crazy…" Izuku whispered before he glanced at Zelgadis before asking "Who can use it then?"

"Well, Zel over there is a sorcerer in his world. Uses something he calls shamanistic magic."

Izuku couldn't contain himself, blurting out like an excited fanboy "Really Greywards?! You're a sorcerer! That's so cool!"

When he got no response once again, Izuku calmed a bit, allowing Michiru to continue, "Then there's Sadou, he's supposed to be able to cast magic though I've never seen it. Celty is an actual dullahan so I think her powers are magic? Might be a grey area but Terra, she can too."

"Branford-san, huh? Then that crazy thing she did at the shopping mall I saw on the news was…" Izuku couldn't help but ask.

"She says that's her esper form, which awakened when…Xellos arrived in this world." Michiru answered, reluctant to bring up the mazuku again in Zelgadis' presence.

"Why would that matter? I mean, wouldn't he be a sorcerer like Greywards is?" Izuku said, looking a bit confused.

Looking over one more time to her hooded friend for any reaction at all, Michiru replied when nothing was forthcoming "I don't completely understand it myself but apparently Xellos is different, he's some sort of magical demon that kind of…produces magic?"

"O, oh. I see. I guess that's why you all held back on attacking him then, if he's that strong…" Izuku said.

"I, too, could use magic." Emeralda stated rather matter-of-factly.

Now it was Michiru who looked surprised, twisting her head comically fast to stare at her friend "What?! When? Why didn't you tell me Emmy? That's so cool!"

Izuku cringed slightly, for once on the other side of watching someone else geek out while he wondered if this was what everyone else felt like when he did it. Jun couldn't help but smirk himself at the sudden reversal.

Despite having been around Michiru just about every day for a month now, Emeralda was still taken aback by her furry friend's enthusiasm. Fighting back the flustered look on her face, the greenette quickly replied "Ba, back home. From the time I awoke until we defeated Deus, I could cast various elemental spells, like Zelgadis. After that though, everyone lost their ability to use such powers so it wasn't really worth mentioning." Then Emeralda added under her breath "or so I thought, anyway…"

Michiru's enhanced hearing picked up on it though and she felt the need to poke some more "Huh? That so? Makes me wonder what else you've been holding out on me, Emmy. What about all those pictures of your friends back home? Some of them were real lookers, is there something else you're not telling me? Hmmm?"

The tan girl's face grew redder but instead of embarrassment to accompany it, Emeralda's face set into a deep frown. With Zelgadis firmly disengaged from the conversation, it was left to either Izuku or Jun to keep Michiru in check and neither choose to take up the mantle. Instead, Emeralda, very much aware that they had only reconciled earlier in the day, caught herself and answered as calmly as she could "Michiru, please. It’s still hard to talk about them."

With Emeralda's plea, Jun felt he could step in, "Michiru, you know how hard it is to be away from loved ones just as much as Kasim-san does. Best leave it be if you could."

"Ok, fair enough. Sorry Emmy. I didn't hear a no though!" Michiru finished with a mischievous grin.

By then, the group had made it back to the dorms, Izuku going back to the 1-A building with a reminder that tomorrow was the opening ceremony and to get to bed quickly. Jun said the same to Michiru and Emeralda. Zelgadis, though, was barred from attending and under confinement for what Jun deemed excessive force on Katsuki, which didn't seem to bother the chimera too much even if Michiru protested.

When they entered the dorm, only Celty was still up, being used to working at night as an underground hero. She had been going over various reports, looking for connections to All for One's organization when the group arrived. The headless hero stood up to greet them "How'd it…go" The dullahan trailed off seeing Zelgadis' scowl.

Michiru moved to answer but Jun held his hand up to stop her, saying instead "It seems the evening wasn't without incident. These three should be off to bed. I'll fill you in. There is much to discuss."

Without a head to nod, Celty said simply "Gotcha. Well then, good night you three."

Zelgadis just turned and walked away but Michiru and Emeralda waved and offered thanks as they, too left for their rooms.

It would be quite some time before Jun was able to leave that night while the two talked.

(X)

Already exhausted before their meeting with Izuku and later Xellos, Michiru had felt a new level of tiredness when she had finally collapsed on her bed. Unfortunately, the morning came all too soon and it was extremely difficult to drag herself out of bed for a quick shower before getting into UA's female uniform and it's annoying skirt.

The tanuki girl felt partly vindicated when she got downstairs to see the rare sight of a blurry-eyed Emeralda sitting at the table slouched forward with a cup of coffee. The girl's pale green hair, naturally full, was a mess, partly covering the tan girl's eyes as she stared into her cup. All of the lighters currently enrolled at UA were there but others like Ranma, Sadou and Celty were all missing.

"You guys look like hell." Shinra tactlessly pointed out between bites of toast.

"Yeah, fighting off a bully and running into a demon will do that." Michiru dryly answered as she, too, sought a cup of coffee.

"A…a bully?" Mobb nervously asked.

"Wait, a demon?" Terra asked immediately after Mob.

After a long pause for her to get some of that bitter, yet wonderful warm liquid down her throat, Michiru replied "Yeah, Bakugo was attacking Izuku when we got there."

"Bakugo? That arrogant first year prick? Damn, I wish I'd been there, I'd love to take that guy down a peg!" Shinra replied before he dusted the breadcrumbs off his uniform.

"I think you're missing the bigger point here, fire-feet." Hina drawled.

"Yes, don't tell me it was…"

"Xellos." Emeralda finished, finally sitting upright, the light returning to her eyes.

There was a silence in the room while that sank in before Terra offered "Perhaps that's why the others left so early. Hitomi had arrived well before sunrise, just as I woke up and was talking to Brooklyn, Ranma and Sadou along with Celty."

"Sounds like something's going on." Hina suggested. "By the way, where is that rock-covered jackass? Shouldn't he be here with us?"

"He is being punished for impaling Bakugo's legs last evening and won't be joining us." Emeralda plainly stated as she got out of her chair, unaware of the stares she was getting from most of the other lighters.

"He's…been in a bad place because of something Xellos said. Here, I'll tell you on the way to the opening ceremony." Michiru offered, tryin to quickly finish off her cup. With nods from the others, the group was soon off to join the rest of the UA student body for opening remarks from Principal Nezu.

(X)

It wasn't a long trek to the large open field between the dorms and the main UA building where a stage had been set up and the various classes gathered in organized blocks to stand and listen to remarks from the faculty. The lighters were given the option to stand with the classes they had trained with, that is Michiru and Emeralda with 1-A, Terra with 1-B, Mob with 3-G but with the party last night and with the whole experience with Xellos, they opted to stand together as a group. The six of them represented the largest number of lighters at UA at one time and the administration felt it was fine.

Nezu opened his speech talking about how his coat had lost some of its luster, likely a result of lack of sleep. As much of a non sequitur as that seemed, the indeterminate mammal soon dovetailed into the events of the summer, culminating in the retirement of All Might. This meant students, especially hero course students, would need to be extra diligent now that the world was likely to change greatly soon.

Michiru had mixed feelings about all of this. She had been so relieved to be in a world she had perceived as understanding of differences such as hers. Now though, knowing more about it, she wasn't sure the change that Nezu was warning about was necessarily all bad. Then again, if she were lucky, she wouldn't be around long enough to see them.

After Nezu finished with comments about how they would all inherit this world, Hound Dog, who was apparently the extra-curricular guidance teacher, spoke. At least, that's what Michiru supposed he was trying to do because after only a couple of words, the muzzle-wearing hero broke down into a snarling mess of incoherent growls and barks. Michiru assumed he was talking about their fights last night based on the few words she could comprehend but she wasn't sure. When she glanced over at Emeralda, the tan girl looked just about as confused. Further inspection told the tanuki girl that most everyone in attendance seemed to feel the same way.

Vlad King, who was serving as MC for the ceremony, came up once Hound Dog was finished and spoke as if his fellow teacher had just spoken entirely normally, un-nerving many in the crowd. Michiru's suspicions were confirmed when Vlad re-stated that students had been fighting the previous night and that everyone needed to remember to be more respectful going forward.

After that, the students were dismissed to head back to their classes. Hina and Mob joined their general studies and business classes while Terra and Shinra were to report to 2-A to talk about their work studies. Michiru and Emeralda were told the night before to join 1-A for the day since Shouta had something to tell them. Plus, it would give them a chance to see what it was like in a regular class.

That's exactly where the two of them were headed when an all too familiar six-armed girl with ant-like features came bounding toward the two of them. Michiru groaned and tried to shield her face with her hand to hide, as if her fur and tail wouldn't give her away. "Hey, little racoon! Heard ya passed the licensing exam! Welcome to being a real hero, like me! You're welcome for all the help I gave you in Aizawa-sensei's little test. I think you owe me!"

Not afraid to show just how over she was with the day already, Michiru sagged her shoulders before she tiredly replied "Hello, Yoshimura-san. It’s, uh, nice to see you again." Then the other girl's words sank in, her eye's widening, "Wait, what? We owe you? Didn't Aizawa order you to do it since your work study was suspended?"

"Aww, you can call me Sakon! We're buds, aren't we?" Michiru cocked an eyebrow. "Ok, ok, sorry, I won't call you animal names anymore, ok?" The tanuki continued to look unconvinced. "…and I never should have in the first place…"

"There, that's better." Michiru said, letting her guard down and offering a smile to the brash ant-girl. "So, what did you have in mind for this favor of yours?"

Sakon beamed, her compound irises lighting up with excitement "Thank you Michiru! I actually had a couple things I wanted to ask you. If you know any heroes looking for a work study sidekick, could you…put in a good word for me? I've kinda…burned some bridges if ya know what I mean…"

Michiru looked contemplative for a moment. She was going to be working with Celty looking for clues to that Nomu from what she understood so she wasn't really sure she'd even get the chance. Still, it couldn't hurt, right? "Yeah, sure, I can do that Sakon. No promises anyone will say yes though. And the other thing?"

"And the other thing is, I challenge you to a one-on-one in basketball!" Sakon declared, pointing her two right arms at the tanuki girl dramatically.

Michiru's smile grew into a confident smirk "Oh? You think you can take me, huh? Sure, you're on!" The two heteromorphic girls bumped fists to make it official before Michiru turned to call over her shoulder "You hear that Emmy? You want to watch me wipe the floor with this ant?"

"She's not paying attention." Sakon offered.

"What?" Michiru said, whirling around.

"Yeah, I think she's being hit on by, ugh, one of my classmates." The ant girl responded, a hint of disgust in her voice.

Sure enough, Michiru saw a tall, solidly built familiar blonde guy talking to Emeralda. The tan nanomachine girl definitely looked uncomfortable to Michiru but once she focused on what the boy was saying, it became clear to the tanuki girl that if LeMillion was flirting, he was doing a terrible job of it.

"…So I heard a rumor you were one of the students fighting last night! Is that true?" Mirio jovially asked.

Emeralda nodded in the affirmative, her expression that of one wondering why she was being forced to endure such torture.

Mirio beamed, "Wow! I knew you were strong but to be so bold as to fight on school grounds, you lighters are something else, huh?"

Emeralda looked away before she replied nervously "We didn't intend to fight anyone. We only did what needed to be done."

"Like true heroes! Gotta say, I'm impressed! If you weren't new to the school, you three would probably take our spots as the Big Three!" the scarred blonde said as he laughed.

Michiru was about to step forward and rescue her friend from the overbearing, if well-meaning top student when Mirio said something that brought her up short "But enough about that! My bud here has something to say to you!"

Taking a half step back revealed a very nervous and awkward-looking indigo-haired guy that Mirio then slapped in the back to push him forward and closer to Emeralda "You got this, Tamaki!"

Michiru instantly realized what was going on and part of her wanted to save her friend but the part of her that won out wanted to see it play out. This would be good for the shy greenette Michiru reasoned.

With one arm hanging down while the other crossed his body to hold the limp one's bicep, Tamaki looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there while he stuttered out "Uh, h, h, hi, Kasim-san."

Emeralda at first looked confused but when she saw the red on the boy's face and his inability to look her straight in the eye, a look of recognition washed over her features and she seemed to brace herself.

The nervous boy continued, "E, ever since we, uh, fought in that exam I, uh, I've been thinking about you a lot and…" Tamaki cringed and looked over to Mirio, who offered a sparkling smile and thumbs up before the nervous wreck of a boy finished "…and I was wondering if-if you'd, you know…go on a d, d, date with me?"

Emeralda did not answer, instead she seemed to shrink, an almost haunted look on her face. Not the reaction that Michiru had been expecting. Finally, just when Tamaki looked like he was about to break down and run away, the tan girl spoke, softly and with a hint of shame "I…am sorry, Amajiki-san. I…I don't think I-I'm ready for such things, nor…nor am I worthy. I am sorry."

Tamaki clenched his eyes shut as he turned away, choking out "O, oh. I…see. I'm sorry to have bothered you Kasim-san."

Mirio threw his arm around his friend and tried to cheer him up "Hey! I'm proud of you for finally asking! At least now you know, right? Now we can move on." Then the blonde turned his head to address Emeralda, saying "Sorry to bother you miss! I still look forward to a rematch sometime! See you!"

The tan girl didn't respond, instead she just stood there, staring after the two boys as if she had just escaped from some terrible monster. "Ya see that! Think they're so great they can just hit up anybody!" Sakon exclaimed, glaring after her classmates.

Michiru, though had a worried expression on her face, coming to stand in front of her amber-eyed friend. "Emmy…you ok? You look more than a little spooked." she asked.

Taking a deep breath, Emeralda's composure quickly returned, her more familiar stoic expression returning to her face. Michiru knew her friend was shy and far less experienced with people than she ever thought possible but this…

"I…I'm fine Michiru. That just brought back some unpleasant memories is all. No need to worry." Emeralda tried to reassure her friend.

Michiru wasn't buying it, but she was learning it wasn't always best to press these things, especially since she didn't like it when others pressed her about things she didn't want to talk about. Slapping on a big smile, Michiru turned to Sakon and chided "Quit it, will you! Those two didn't do anything wrong! Take care Sakon, we're headed to class."

"Wait, give me your number, I'm not chasing you down again if I want to get a hold of you!" the ant girl excitedly said while she fumbled to get her phone out.

The two exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes before going to their respective classes. As Michiru and Emeralda made their way, watching Emeralda get asked out made the tanuki girl wonder. Having seen all the lighters together and having listened to them talk about themselves, it occurred to her that not one of them seemed to have formed a romantic relationship with anyone in this world. Even the ones who had been here for years. Michiru had no intention of staying here any longer than she had to, but she had to wonder how she would feel if she had to be here for so long. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

(X)

"Zelgadis, you there? It’s Hitomi."

Hitomi had been talking with Jun while the UA lighters went off to opening ceremonies about what had happened the night before. Beyond the disturbing revelation that Xellos intended to strand them all here forever was the behavior not just of Katsuki Bakugo but the change in attitude of Zelgadis. The two agreed that she needed to address them sooner rather than later given how important becoming human again appeared to be to the young man.

Now, Hitomi stood outside the sorcerer's door, having knocked once and announced herself, she heard nothing. Memories of when she had tried to see Michiru and found her missing flooded her mind when the counselor got no response. Again, she knocked and said, a hint of concern in her voice "Zelgadis, could you at least let me know you're in there?"

Finally, a very annoyed but deep voice replied "I'm not going to pull a Michiru if that's what you're worried about. Now I'm trying to study, could you please leave me alone."

"Zelgadis…I really think we should talk. You think you'd be up for that?" Hitomi gently ventured.

The brunette cringed alittle when a suddenly enraged voice boomed through the door "I HAVE NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT! Could you please leave!"

There was a long period of silence where Hitomi could only imagine the chimera was berating himself for the uncontrolled outburst. After giving Zelgadis a bit more time to consider his clear demonstration of a need for the very thing he had just denied, Hitomi tried again, "I know how important returning to normal is to you, Zelgadis but…this isn't like you. You won't get anywhere with so much pent-up anger. Could we please talk?"

"No." came the blunt and harsh reply.

Hitomi sighed. She hated having to resort to this but given how rational the sorcerer typically was, this was likely the only option left to her. With a touch of forced confidence in her voice, the counselor said "Zelgadis. You'll get your chance to look for the girl. Celty is already in contact with a hero who was already investigating the Shie Hassaikai. But…unless you talk to me, unless you go through an evaluation with me, you won't be allowed out in the field."

The sound of a chair sliding back could be heard and Hitomi celebrated internally the sound footsteps approaching. The sense of accomplishment melted away however when the rock-encrusted swordsmen opened the door. Zelgadis seemed to loom over her, an icy glare bearing down on her as he stood there, clearly displeased. Not wasting any time, Zelgadis snapped "I didn't see you force Michiru to talk to you when she had her little fit."

It had been spoken as a statement, but Hitomi quickly noted the implied question and answered "Michiru's problem was an interpersonal one. I felt once Emeralda was able to open up to her then things could start to mend and from what I'm told, I was right. Besides, taking an exam and going into the field are different things entirely. Michiru will be given the same ultimatum if she refuses as well."

"Hmph" Zelgadis huffed, crossing his arms. "So, you believe there's something wrong with me then? Pretty arrogant of you to think that. Tell me, counselor, what's keeping me from flying through that window right now and tracking down that little girl myself?"

"You tell me, Zelgadis." Hitomi answered back immediately, rising to the challenge and surprising the chimera. "If you were going to do that, you would have already. You're a rational person Zelgadis. I think you know you've already tried striking it out and it didn't go very well. You need us and you know it."

Zelgadis looked away, his frown deepening. It was true. Much as he desperately wanted to just rush out and shake down every lowlife he could find to get answers, he knew that in this world, taking things into your own hands invited …complications.

Zelgadis was pulled from his thoughts when Hitomi spoke again "And by the way, each and every one of us has problems. It’s how we deal with those problems that can affect yourself and others. I never said there was anything wrong with you. What I am saying is that your problem is with yourself. What I'm doing is offering to help you with it."

"Tch, offering isn't exactly the word I'd use." Zelgadis dryly replied, "More like coercing me into letting you help me…"

Hitomi offered a saccharine smile before she sweetly said "Some people need a little push sometimes, that's all. It's not my fault some are more stubborn than others."

"Your unbelievable. Fine, if it'll satisfy you, ask your damn questions as long as you promise you won't bother me again." Zelgadis finally relented, shifting to the side to let the older brunette into his room.

(X)

The students of 1-A, minus Katsuki, sat in their seats, at once glad to have returned to the familiar and safe environs of their classroom and yet burdened with the overbearing presence that was their homeroom teacher. Shouta had at first taken the time to remind them that even though most of them now had their licenses, classes were only going to get more intense from there. Things dragged on a bit for the dower underground hero when many in the class wanted to know about the work studies Nezu had mentioned during the opening ceremonies.

While it annoyed him to keep others waiting, Shouta still felt it was worth explaining and it signaled to him he should get his students involved if possible. With that out of the way, Tenya, ever one to notice something out of the natural order, asked "Teacher! If I may ask, why are there two empty seats at the back of the class! As class representative, was there a change I failed to notice?"

Shouta waved the overly enthusiastic young man off "I was just getting to that Iida. Sanada-sensei asked if I could allow a few of his students to observe classes today to see if they are interested in joining instead of being taught by him exclusively. This isn't out of the ordinary since the other four lighters on campus did the same thing. Come on in."

With the go ahead given, Michiru and Emeralda slid the notably large door open and walked in to stand beside the messy-haired eraser hero. "I'm sure Kagemori and Kasim need no introduction."

A hand raised from one of the more soft-spoken members of the class, drawing everyone's attention "Is Greywards not going to be joining us then?" Fumikage asked.

Shouta's eyes narrowed slightly, the barest hint of a frown briefly passing his features before he replied "As with Bakugo, Greywards is under house arrest for events stemming from last night's incident. That's all I have to say on the matter. Treat Kagemori and Kasim as you have been and there won't be any problems. Take your seats you two. That is all. Mic, they're all yours."

The boisterous blonde hero announced his arrival to teach English while Michiru and Emeralda went to their seats in the back of the class, greeted by their friends along the way. Izuku, though, was notably subdued as he watched them take their seats. Michiru looked a bit awkward without a desk to sit in front of while Emeralda looked completely content to sit ramrod straight looking forward. It was going to be an interesting day indeed.

(X)

"Alright, so how is this happening?" Zelgadis asked incredulously.

Outwardly unfazed by the sorcerer's sour attitude, Hitomi smiled patiently as she pointed to the bed "You go ahead and take a seat on the bed, I'll pull up the chair beside you and we can talk."

"Fine" Zelgadis drawled, before he sat down heavily, his arms crossed.

Pulling up the desk chair, Hitomi sat, continuing to smile but inwardly wishing she could have brought her notepad. She suspected, however, that her patient would view any notes with suspicion. Instead, she'd just have to do her best to remember once it was over.

"Alright, Zelgadis. I want to start at the beginning, if that's alright? Tell me alittle about yourself?" Hitomi began.

Zelgadis' frown deepened "Is that really necessary? I've already told you all about myself before, including…" pausing to listen for footsteps from a certain telekinetic. He continued when he heard nothing, "…at that stupid party last night."

"I suppose that's fair, though what you said last night could hardly be more than a summary, which makes me wonder, is there a reason you don't want to talk about yourself?" Hitomi probed gently.

"No, it’s just a waste of time to repeat myself is all. If this is all we're doing, we can just end right now." Zelgadis, annoyed, answered back.

"Well, you've talked about your world, that you traveled across it, that you were changed into your current form and that you're an accomplished sorcerer and swordsmen. I even recall you saying you've saved your world a time or two, that right?" Hitomi inquired, impressing Zelgadis with having remembered all of that.

One detail needed correcting though "I helped save the world. It would be grossly inaccurate to say I saved anything." Zelgadis said, the edge in his voice softening slightly.

"I'm glad you said that, Zelgadis. You've mentioned your traveling companions before but you've never really gone into any great detail about them. Would you…mind sharing a bit more? I'm curious."

"If you insist, I guess I don't see the harm in it." Zelgadis replied, wondering if he'd just been led by the counselor exactly where she wanted to go.

"If it's easier, I can use my power to allow you to share with me directly about your friends." Hitomi ventured, inwardly hoping the chimera had softened enough to let her in.

"You mean like what happened with Emeralda when you touched her pendant? Yeah, no, that's not happening." Zelgadis quickly declared.

Hitomi wasn't ready to quit yet though "It's true I involuntarily used my power that time. Emeralda herself has moved past it though. She allowed me to use my power when we talked after her fight with Michiru and…I think it helped a lot. I will only see what you let me. I promise. Just guide me to whatever you want me to see, ok?"

Zelgadis' lips twitched slightly as he looked into the brunette's green eyes, looking for any hint of malice, considering his options. The pause was starting to become uncomfortable and Hitomi was dreading that she hadn't convinced him when he broke eye contact and looked away, quietly answering "…fine. But! It ends the second I say so! Got it, counselor?"

If Hitomi was excited about getting permission to use her power, she didn't show it. Years of listening to others express their concerns had allowed Hitomi to hone her self-control about such things. She was, however, very relieved.

Pulling her necklace up from underneath the collar of her shirt to reveal the jewel dangling from the base of it, Hitomi said "Thank you Zelgadis. I'm going to put my hand on your shoulder, and you'll feel a brief sense of disorientation. After that, we'll go and see whatever comes to your mind. Ready?"

Even though he had agreed to it, the chimera couldn't help but frown as he sighed. "No, but let's go anyway. Not sure I'll ever be ready. Just do it."

"Ok then, here was go." said the counselor as she reached out. The moment her hand touched the chimera, there was a flash of light that emanated from the pendant that seemed to envelope Zelgadis' senses and just as he had been warned, he lost all sense of where he was.

As the light faded into darkness, Zelgadis looked about and saw nothing. He seemed to be floating in a void of nothingness. After a moment, Hitomi's voice seemed to come from all around. Instead of being overwhelming, the counselor's voice was comforting, like being wrapped in a blanket "Well done Zelgadis. Now, just like we talked about, think about your friends."

The sorcerer did just that while he closed his eyes, thoughts of his companions filling his mind. Then, the sound of loud eating began to penetrate his senses, causing Zelgadis to open his eyes again. There he was, sitting at a table as his three friends gorged themselves on literally everything on the menu the inn they were staying in had to offer.

Instantly, he knew where he was, and the memory began to play out with Zelgadis saying "I thought I told you that I am on a journey to find the Claire Bible. I made it clear this is my own personal problem." As he spoke, Zelgadis grew more irritated, his frustration building until he finished with "But even so, would you please stop following and criticizing me?" before he shot up, hands slammed on the table "Are you even listening to me!?"

The two girls at the table, mouths filled to the brim, each tried to retort, only muffled sounds coming out. Zelgadis' voice grew icy as he replied, "Either eat or talk."

The other three occupants of the table paused for a moment to consider the ultimatum. It only took them each a moment to jump right back into stuffing their faces, though with renewed gusto.

Defeated, Zelgadis plopped back down in his seat, head resting on his hand, muttering "My fault. Would you please stop eating and talk?"

Finally, the leader of their group, a petite girl with long red hair, pink top with yellow across the chest, pink pants and large black shoulder guards that held her black cape stopped eating and took a long gulp of water. Slamming the container down on the table hard before she shot up from her seat, Lina Inverse, Magical Genius, grabbed command of the conversation with her dominating tone as she leaned in hard, causing the chimera to shrink back before she said "What I said was, just because you say 'don't follow us' doesn't mean we're just going to say 'sure, whatever' like we're strangers!"

The other girl, her hair raven and shorter that flared out to either side in the back like her father and wearing a white outfit with pink highlights and white cape added "You're being so distant, Mr. Zelgadis. And after we're finally all reunited like this too!" Then standing up as well, her shining blue eyes alight with passion, added "We'll do whatever we can to help!" as she leaned forward, pointing empathically at the chimera, such was the way of Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, princess of the kingdom of Seyrunn.

Zelgadis wasn't buying it, who at this point was spun in his seat to face to the side, his legs crossed while he replied, a bit bitterly "You all just consider me your personal sideshow freak."

Lina waved the gloomy chimera off as she said "Aww, it’s not like that Zel…" then, side-eying the black-haired princess, added coyly "…right Amelia?"

Completely missing the hint, Amelia clasped her hands together, trying to re-enforce the point "Uh, yeah! Right, of course not!"

Convinced, if barely while he rested his hand in front of his mouth, Zelgadis said "Very well. I just ask that you stay out of my way. Please understand that I'm risking everything to find the Claire Bible, a mysterious book said to contain the deepest secrets of sorcery and mazuku."

Enthralled if confused, Amelia asked "Oh…and just what exactly do you want to do with this book?"

That caused both Zelgadis and Lina to almost comically plant their faces on the table, confusing the young princess even more. After pulling himself up, the chimera muttered "Oh brother…"

Lina didn't even bother to lift up her head, opting to just look over at Amelia while she began to explain, more than a little condescension in her voice "Now listen, Zel wants to use the spells in the Claire Bible to turn himself from a chimera back to a normal human!"

Absolutely surprised, Amelia stood up again "HUH? You still want to do that? But you look so cool now!"

Zelgadis leaned forward to hide abit as he almost growled "Well, I don't like it!"

Finally standing again, Lina held her finger up as if explaining to a class "Look, if he says he hates it, then he hates it."

Amelia still wasn't convinced, insisting on asking again "But why, Mr. Zelgadis?" Then launching into a dramatic display with her hands, something that was almost compulsive with the princess, Amelia added "Even if you do look like a freak, our friendship is eternal!" Then meekly adding as she pulled her hands in held tight in front of her "I think…"

Zelgadis slumped his shoulders before he deadpanned "With friends like these…"

Lina chimed in with an admonishing tone "Amelia! Saying right to his face that he has skin like rock and hair like wire is not exactly the height of subtlety."

Zelgadis couldn't believe what he was hearing, and again faceplanted into the table, though this time, as if to illustrate Lina's point, his hair embedded itself into the wooden table.

Amelia immediately defended herself "I never said that much! Besides, you should never judge a book by its cover!" conveniently forgetting her own reaction the first time the two met.

Finally freeing himself from the table, a number of hairs left behind in the wood, Zelgadis had had enough, declaring, "Enough!...I'm going to bed." Then getting up, the now thoroughly humiliated sorcerer-swordsmen stumbled on his way up the stairs.

Finally, the tall other guy of the group, with long blonde hair, blue shirt and pants with black chest and shoulder armor finally spoke up "…nice going guys."

As the three of them watched Zelgadis stumble up the stairs, Lina looked at her shorter royal friend and asked, "You think we teased him a little too much?"

"Huh? I didn't know we were teasing him!" Amelia innocently replied before she turned and looked back at the hair left behind.

Zelgadis made his way to his room and sat on his bed, just like he was in the waking world when an ethereal visage of Hitomi appeared floating before him and spoke "They seem like a lively bunch."

A smile spread across the chimera's face along with a wistful look on his rocky features. "They are. I remember how annoyed I was after that but deep down, I was so happy to see them again."

"Yes, I could tell they really care for you. Lina even calls you Zel, just like Michiru does. And don't think I didn't notice how they didn't care how you looked." Hitomi noted with a sly smile.

"Yeah, well, they are all pretty weird themselves. I hope you're not implying that either of them liked me. Lina definitely had eyes for Gourry and Amelia…I think she misplaced her pity for affection, honestly. She always felt sorry for me and that may have grown to something more but the last thing I would ever want is pity." Zelgadis replied.

"I can guess based on the fact that you're still a chimera but…did you ever find the Claire Bible?" Hitomi ventured, both to add context and because she was now very curious.

A light frown made its way on the Zelgadis' face as he answered "In a manner of speaking, yes, we did. It turned out the Claire Bible was the remaining knowledge of the Water Dragon King, safe guarded by the last bits of the shinzuku's essence. It was…destroyed before I could study it fully."

The inn room suddenly shifted to a vast desert-like valley, seemingly countless massive tablets lining the landscape. Hitomi and Zelgadis now floated over the site while Zelgadis explained "Looking back on it, even if I have been granted complete access to the bible, it may have taken me years to find what I was looking for. I…may have died trying, if I'm being honest."

That thought was left to linger for a moment before Hitomi decided to seize on something the princess had said "Zelgadis, Amelia seemed pretty surprised you were still looking for a cure. Why would she think that?"

"Probably because we'd smashed 'evil' together as I am and the thought of changing that confused her." Zelgadis speculated, refusing to consider any other possibility.

"Does…being like this convey any advantages? Besides the extra durability of being made of rock, I mean? Hitomi probed.

"My magic. As a human I was very poor at it. A real embarrassment to the family, honestly." Zelgadis answered, anger creeping into his voice.

"Your family…you've said before that you're an orphan, right?" Hitomi asked, sure she was getting closer to the heart of what drove this man's obsession.

"My family has been known as sorcerers and sorceresses for generations." Zelgadis explained as the space around them began to change again. Instead of seeing his parents as Hitomi hoped, a statue began to appear, in a town square, looming over them.

Hitomi had barely gotten the chance to wonder who it was when Zelgadis continued "But really, our claim to fame was our relation to Rezo, the Red Priest." The name was spoken with deep resentment as the chimera continued, "One of the three great sages, he was renowned across the land for his healing miracles. Everyone loved and revered him. Even me, for a time."

"Until he transformed you, right?" Hitomi gentled ventured.

The brunette counselor was surprised to hear Zelgadis say "No. For a time after he did it, I continued to look up to him. He had, after all, done what I said I wanted." Zelgadis finished, bitter regret dripping off his every last word.

Suddenly, the stone visage of the great sage seemed to come to life while the scene changed. Rezo's soft, round features and hair, similar in shape to Zelgadis’ except purple really sold the family resemblance. The great sage walked forward, cloaked in a massive red cloak and double layered shoulder guards that hid his form save for his arm, which was held out as he carried a simple metal staff the tip of which was in the shape of a hexagon, rings dangling from either side. As he walked, the rings clanged, giving the figure a sense of foreboding while he approached. It was also of note that his eyes were completely closed as well.

Hitomi turned to see a younger and very human Zelgadis, his hair shorter in back, his ears rounded and his skin pale while he practiced swinging a sword. His eyes carried an innocence to them, reflected in the light grey tunic and pants he wore. Hitomi had been around swordsmen before and knew the sight of one training well. It would be nostalgic if not for the approaching figure adding to a sense of dread she felt.

"Stronger! I want to be stronger! It's the only way to get results in this world!" Zelgadis repeated like a mantra while he hacked away at the tree trunk he stood by.

From behind, Rezo spoke before Zelgadis could even become aware of his presence, "Then I shall grant your wish!" Black tendrils shot forth from behind the sagely man, wrapping Zelgadis' body tight and rising him off the ground.

Zelgadis' face twisted in agony, his eyes wide as he screamed. Hitomi wanted to turn away from the terrible sight but knew that this moment, more than any other, defined Zelgadis and she felt obligated to watch. Within moments, the rocks that was his signature forced their way above his now blue skin while his hair hardened. Like that, it was over, the tendrils releasing him, Zelgadis collapsed to the soft grass in a heap.

As he lay there, once again a chimera, Zelgadis looked up to see the ghostly visage of Hitomi, who had a look of great pity on her face. That angered and embarrassed the chimera and he put his face in the dirt again to avoid it.

"Thank you…for showing me Zelgadis. I know it was very difficult to go through that again. I know it's still hard but this pain, I think you'll find it better if its shared." Hitomi offered before she got on her knees to try and speak closer to his level.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. It happened. That's clear anytime someone looks at me. Showing you how doesn't change anything." Zelgadis muttered, still not willing to look the counselor in the eye.

Hitomi wholeheartedly disagreed with that point of view but knew better than to argue now. No, the best path forward was to keep Zelgadis focused on facts, that would be the best way to what lay beneath. "Maybe so. Maybe not. For now, though, ff this Rezo was seen as such a great man, why would he even do this to you?"

Glancing back up and seeing the curiosity in her eyes, Zelgadis sat up and asked "You saw his eyes, didn't you?

"Well, no, they were closed, actually." Hitomi answered.

"Exactly. Rezo was born blind. It turned out all the miracles, all the healing he did to help people, it was all in service of trying to cure that blindness. It seems one of the many ways he sought to cure himself was to see if a chimera body would allow him that gift. And since I was so closely related to him…"

"You were the perfect guinea pig." Hitomi finished, horrified.

Eventually, I found out what he was doing, that what he had me and my comrades doing, was all in service of his goal. Me and two others left when we discovered he was willing to resurrect the dark lord to get his eyesight."

"What…happened?" Hitomi hesitantly asked.

The wooded training area shifted to the inside of a castle, Rezo, his eyes now open, cackled madly as his body began to twist and transform into a massive, horrifying form. "It turned out the whole reason Rezo couldn't see was because a part of the demon lord had been sealed in them. When he managed to open his eyes, he broke the seal, and Shabranigdo was reborn into the world.

The scene shifted again to an open field, Zelgadis, Lina and Gourry alone standing against the great demon lord. "The three of us threw everything we had against him but it was only when Lina used her trump card, a spell that drew on the power from the god of chaos herself were we able to win. I had had my revenge. With the man who had done this to me dead, I could only channel my rage into undoing what he had cursed me with."

Zelgadis all of the sudden looked very tired, his shoulders slumped, fatigue clear on his face as the surroundings shifted several times to scenes of Zelgadis and his friends' fighting threats to the world before fading to darkness once more. "There have been so many distractions along the way and some near misses but as you can see, I'm still at it. I will make it right."

That had been the most important thing Hitomi wanted to see. That Zelgadis' drive to find a cure wouldn't cause him to stray from doing what's right. For now, anyway. Just like with Emeralda, there was still much work to do with this tortured soul but that would come in time. Zelgadis was clearly exhausted. With his head down, Zelgadis missed Hitomi placing a gentle hand on his cheek. The gesture caused light to again flash in the chimera's vision and when he blinked again, he was back in his room, Hitomi still sitting beside him.

"How are you feeling, Zelgadis?" Hitomi ventured.

"Drained." Zelgadis mumbled. "Is it like that every time you use that power of yours?"

"No, usually only when you relive trauma. I hope it helped you at least a little?" Hitomi replied.

Inwardly, Zelgadis was actually very happy to get to see his friends again, even if the memory was a bit embarrassing. And reliving his transformation again wasn't the best but he reasoned if Hitomi could see it, she'd at least not ask him about it later. After another moment's pause, the chimera answered, "It could have been worse."

"You'd be willing to talk again?" Hitomi dared to ask, her eyes hopeful.

"Hey, don't press your luck, lady. Am I back on for field work or not?" Zelgadis shot back.

"Yes, we did talk and I have deemed you fit for the field. But like with Emeralda, I think it would do you a lot of good to spend so more time with me." Hitomi said as she stood up and moved the chair back.

"Maybe" was all the chimera said, though his softer tone gave Hitomi the impression that there was a good chance that could be a yes next time she asked. Not ideal but much better than it could have gone.

"Thank you again for letting me speak to you Zelgadis. I feel like I know you a bit better now." Hitomi said before she bowed.

Waving her off, Zelgadis stood and offered her a bow as well. "I only did what needed to be done is all."

Hitomi smirked, knowing better as she turned to leave. Before she could step through the door, however, Zelgadis called after her "I think…she may say she's better but if you get the chance, see if Michiru will do this, will you?"

The smirk on the counselor's face spread to a wide, warm smile when she looked over her shoulder and said with a wink, "Maybe." With a smirk of his own, Zelgadis watched the older brunette shut the door behind her.

As well as that had went, Hitomi knew her next patient would be far less cooperative. Yes, Katsuki Bakugo would likely prove to be one of the, if not the hardest person to help of any that she has attempted in all her years.

(X)

A day in classes was surprising therapeutic for Michiru. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed the sheer normalcy of simply being in class. Sure, she had a tail and was covered in fur, stuck sitting in the back with no desk but the point stood. Each teacher had encouraged but not required the two guest students to participate which was appreciated, especially since her and Emeralda each had their own strengths.

For Michiru, having been going into her senior year before her transformation and subsequent year of hiding, it was almost like cheating in English and literature. It was earie just how similar the curriculum was across time and space. On the other hand, Emeralda excelled in math, a subject that Michiru was always only just passing.

Lunch had also been interesting. All the girls took turns trying out pitches to convince the two lighters to stay on as permanent members of the class. Everyone also wanted to know just what had happened the night before since Izuku was being so tight-lipped about it. Michiru was willing to indulge her audience some, leaving out everything with Xellos. Emeralda even added a detail or two, the whole story delighting everyone. It seemed that just about everyone enjoyed hearing about the fiery blonde getting taken down a peg.

Everyone except Izuku. The inheritor of One-for-All had chosen to sit by himself, largely ignoring all the attention his otherworldly temporary classmates were garnering. There was just…so much weighing on him that it had been very difficult to focus on class and the reprieve granted by lunch had freed him to be left to his thoughts. Several classmates had noticed, of course, Ochaco and Tenya being first to try and see what was bothering him. He'd waved them off, saying he was just tired from last night's excitement. Luckily, when he had texted All Might, his idol had replied back that he was free to talk after classes and Izuku just hoped he'd get some answers. The thought that he might have even more questions was entirely unacceptable and he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Izuku was brought out of his deep thoughts by the sound of someone sitting down at his table. Several feet away sat Emeralda, who didn't react when he nervously looked over to observe her. The tan girl had a cup she was drinking from, that looked to be a smoothie of some sort. After a few minutes past in silence, the freckled boy felt compelled to say something, the quiet and his curiosity getting the better of his high nerves, "Is… is there something I can help you with, Kasim-san?"

Without looking over, the soft-spoken, mysterious girl said matter-of-factly "It looked quiet over here so I decided to move. I am sorry if I am bothering you."

Slightly flustered, Izuku waved his hands as he stuttered out "N, n, no! I was thinking is all, and if you want quiet then this is the place to be!"

"Hm" was all the response the nanomachine girl offered before she returned to her smoothie.

It was easy enough to say but not only was the girl sitting with him very attractive but as a lighter, was very much one of the subjects of his musings. It quickly became very difficult to bring himself to focus on his thoughts like he had before. After a few minutes of trying, and failing to refocus himself, Izuku gave up. Unable to bring himself to ask the girl to leave, he decided to try and strike up a conversation. "So…you just wanted to get a break from your friends, Kasim-san?"

The question surprised Emeralda. Her friends? Michiru was definitely her friend but the others? Emeralda had always kind of considered herself the tag-along. In her mind, if Michiru wasn't there, she assumed that the rest wouldn't really care that she was there. But hearing Izuku ask the question, she remembered back to the girl's night they had had together. She had kind of pushed it to the back of her mind because of how it ended but thinking on it now, they had set it up for her. They were having fun with her. An almost imperceivable smile graced the girl's lips before she turned her head to answer the boy "I have found that I am not very good at interacting with others."

Izuku kind of expected the tan girl to say something more harmless, a polite affirmation or the like. He hadn't been prepared for something so calmly self-deprecating. This lead the provisional hero to ask "O-oh? Even if that's true, I'm not sure I see why that would cause you to join me."

"I…don't like doing anything I'm not good at. My father would tell me how I was going to be the light that led humanity forward. I feel so…ashamed when I can't do what is expected of me. I could fight, I could paint or draw but talking to people…that has been…beyond my grasp." Emeralda answered before turning away again.

This was definitely not what Izuku had bargained for when he started this conversation but he was in it now and he felt he needed to say…something. He had no idea what, of course, so he looked around and when he saw the raven-headed Fumikage sitting quietly amongst several of the other 1-A boys, Izuku took a stab in the dark "I-I'm sorry to hear that, Kasim-san. Plenty of people are shy. I'm not exactly the best communicator myself with my mumbling but you're not alone! Tokoyami over there is usually pretty quiet and he's going to be a great hero!"

Emeralda glanced over at Fumikage, who, at that very moment began speaking in response something neither she nor Izuku could hear. "There is a difference. Tokoyami does not speak often but he is confident when he does. I am never sure what I am going to say is the right thing. I think…over time I will be better but at the moment, I know I am lacking. You know I haven't been…" then she paused to look around to see if anyone was listening. Satisfied, Emeralda continued "…active for very long. Is it not like with your quirk, having not had it very long?"

Smiling despite himself, Izuku thought he was starting to understand what she was trying to say. She just needed practice, just like he needed with his quirk. It was just harder for her to practice because she didn't like being bad at it and it embarrassed her. Made sense. "I guess it kind of is, though it doesn't look like you break anything when you practice talking! Heh, heh!" Izuku awkwardly answered, which earned a scowl from the girl, for reasons Izuku didn't understand.

Then another thought occurred to the freckled boy that caused him to debate whether he should even ask. In the end, courage won out over any fear it wasn't appropriate. "Kasim-san…why tell me all this? This kind of feels like this is something you would talk with Kagemori about."

Emeralda signed, looking over at Michiru, laughing about something Mina had just said. "Michiru and Zelgadis have much that plagues them. I…don't want to bother them with my own problems. I may be doing that to you and if I am, I am sorry. It's just that you…know. You know what I am so you could understand a bit better than most anyone else I may wish to talk to."

"But what about Sanada-sensei or Kanzaki-san?" Izuku asked.

"With all the time spent with 1-A lately, I've been around you more than them. I guess…I've gotten the impression you would listen is all." The nanomachine girl explained, still looking away.

Izuku was stunned. Someone as distant and calm as Emeralda seemed, someone who hadn't even been alive for very long, had decided he was worth sharing her thoughts and fears with. He wasn't sure if that was flattering or evidence of woefully ignorant judgement. Regardless of which it was, Izuku silently pledged he would help wherever he could.

Before the freckled boy could open his mouth to thank her though, Emeralda spoke again as she again turned her amber orbs upon him. "I also hope I have succeeded in getting your mind off of what is troubling you."

There was a playfulness in those eyes that Izuku had never seen before from the girl and for a moment he couldn't bring himself to speak. She had…been trying to distract him? Cheer him up? Well, Izuku was definitely not thinking about all that had weighed on him a few minutes ago, that was for sure. Finally, blushing, Izuku turned away before he said softly "Ye, yeah, you did. Thank you, Kasim-san. You're…better at talking than you think you are, by the way."

"I disagree, but thank you as well, Midoriya-san. I will see you back in class." Emeralda replied as she got up. If Izuku's compliment made her feel any better about her communication skills, she didn't show it, her face neutral as always.

(X)

Toshinori had been a hero for a very long time and in his many years of saving civilians, fighting villains and recovering survivors, many days had been hard, exhausting experiences. Now that One for All was truly gone, leaving him an almost literal husk of a man, the blonde former number one hero lamented at how watching over even two teenagers could be so exhausting. One, highly ambitious and competitive, had through his arrogance failed the licensing exam and that same night attacked several other students, earning him a trip to the infirmary.

Katsuki had been treated right away and he had been left to sleep and recover his stamina with the understanding he was barred from leaving until further notice. That is where he sat now, on a cot, his head down, brooding as Toshinori watched him from a window in Recovery Girl's office. After talking with Principal Nezu earlier, it had been decided Katsuki would be under house arrest for five days and he was to speak to a counselor. That was who Toshinori was waiting on since he and Kanzaki would be trying to get to the bottom of whatever caused the boy to act this way.

In the meantime, though, the other problem child was due any minute. Izuku was caring and intelligent but also reckless and self-sacrificing. Traits in the right balance could make for an amazing hero. Getting him there could be a handful, however. Even so, Izuku was making great strides. After Torhinori had begged Izuku's mother to allow him to come back to school, the former symbol of peace swore he would be the best mentor he could be to the lad. To that end, when Izuku called wanting to talk, Toshinori made time for his successor.

When there was a knock on the office door, Toshinori pulled the curtain over the office window before he moved to greet his protégé. "Hello Young Midoriya, please, have a seat. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Izuku stepped in the room, a serious expression on his face. After thanking his idol for seeing him and taking the offered seat, the freckled boy glanced at the window, fully aware his childhood friend was in the room beyond.

Toshinori caught where Izuku was looking and offered "Young Bakugo is fully recovered. He and I…will be having a chat of our own later. Is he why you wanted to talk to me?"

Izuku took a long deep breath while he gathered his thoughts. In truth, he had so many questions that he wasn't even sure where to start. Flashing back to his conversation with Emeralda earlier, he decided to start at the beginning. "All Might…how long have you known about the lighters?"

Toshinori's beady eyes widened as he slumped back in his chair, somehow looking even more tired and feeble than he was. Part of him had been expecting this but with everything going on with Bakugo, he hadn't really had the time to think on it as much as he wanted to. Now, the skeletal blonde was left to be blunt. Resting his elbows on his knees when he again sat forward, Toshinori spoke, his words heavy with responsibility "Yes, Young Midoriya. I didn't just know, it’s my fault that they are even here in the first place."

That shocked the young man, his own wide eyes growing larger before he blurted out a stunned "What do you mean?! How is that even possible?"

Toshinori waved his hand to let Izuku know to keep his voice down and then replied "I knew Sanada-san, no, Luminaire was walking into a trap all those years ago. I think he did too but when he insisted he go alone, I respected his wishes because he thought if he did as All for One told him, he'd get his family back. By the time I came to my senses and moved to help, it was too late. His quirk was gone and his family murdered." Toshinori paused, overcome with emotion as his fragile hands clenched into shaking fists, "If I had acted sooner, I could have defeated my greatest nemesis years earlier, saved Luminaire and his family and all of the lighters would still be in their home worlds, among their friends and family!"

Izuku sat there, speechless while his mentor and hero sat there, doing all he could to hold back tears of shame at what the old man considered to be his greatest failure. But still, it meant that the great symbol of peace had been an active party to a massive coverup. Once Toshinori had calmed down and recovered his composure, even apologizing for having lost it, Izuku voiced his concerns "But…All Might, doesn't this mean that you, this school and the Hero Commission have been lying to the public for a decade? I just, I never thought you were capable of that All Might."

Seeing his crestfallen successor, Toshinori pursed his thin lips while he thought how he was going to explain this. Finally, slowly, he started "Midoriya…Izuku." The seriousness of Toshinori's tone caused Izuku to look back up as the blonde continued "You're no longer a child. You know the world isn't just black and white. Sometimes, its ok to lie. You've been keeping the secret of your power from your classmates since you met them, have you not? Why?"

His attention fixed on the boney man sitting across from him, Izuku answered with no small among of trepidation "B, because…if word got out that quirks could be passed on, and One for All specifically, people would…come after it."

"Exactly, Young Midoriya. At first, we didn't even know poor Kanzaki-san was from another world. You know what happened to her when she first got here?" Izuku shook his head, his attention rapped, "She was arrested. She didn't have ID, there was no record of her. They thought she was working with All for One."

"What? Counselor Kanzaki is a lighter? And they thought she was a villain?!" Izuku nearly cried, catching himself as he spoke, lowering his voice.

"Once I found out the truth, from Luminaire, I lobbied with every bit of sway I had to do something for her, them by that point, to allow lighters to live here because of my mistake. So you see, Young Midoriya, not only is the truth kept hidden to keep the public from losing themselves if they learned of other worlds but because we wanted those kidnapped from their homes to have the chance to live the best way they could, unburdened from public scrutiny."

Looking down, his features scrunched as he considered All Might's words, Izuku managed to mutter "That…makes sense." And yet, the newest holder of One for All couldn't now help but wonder what else his idol was keeping pent up and away from the world. All of a sudden, Izuku saw Toshinori in a whole new light. The shrunken blonde looked a whole lot more human than he did just minutes earlier. A bitter pit was forming in the freckled boy's stomach, one that emboldened him to ask another question that he had hoped for answers on.

"I have another question, All Might." Izuku asked.

"Shoot, Young Midoriya." Toshinori replied, very aware of the sullen tone his protégé had taken.

"Back when I thought Kagemori was from our world, she talked about being hunted and attacked for looking the way she does. At the time, that meant having a heteromorphic quirk to me so when I was looking up the town she said she was from, I made some…discoveries." Izuku explained, hints of anger seeping into his speech at the end.

Toshinori frowned, knowing exactly where this was going and said so "You discovered the CRC, didn't you Young Midoriya."

Izuku nodded before replying, his voice raised as high as he thought he could "But that wasn't all, All Might. Online, there are plenty of people who agree with them! I can't believe there are people like this out there! How is this possible?"

Again, Toshinori took on an apologetic tone "It was a long time ago now, Young Midoriya. The group use to be much larger, and all over Japan. After I had made a name for myself here, it was something I was dead set on rooting out. Groups like the yakuza and the CRC are easily manipulated by those trying to maintain power by dividing us. All for One relished in cultivating such underground organizations and I did all I could to destroy them."

"But, they're still out there All Might! Can…can you really say anything has changed if people like that are still spreading such hate?" Izuku argued as much as he pleaded.

"You could say the same about crime itself, Young Midoriya. Despite all I've done, people still rob and murder. In the same vein, there are still those who hate others simply for how they look. I am just one man, I can't be everywhere all the time. That's why being a symbol is so important. I stopped as much as I could but the real change has to come from society. Society can only be sustained if the people who make it up support it. That's why the CRC hides in the far reaches of the country and the yakuza are on the brink of extinction. As long as people stand up, both by becoming heroes themselves and by making their will known, then in time, these groups will die."

"In other words, in place of being everywhere all the time, you make up for it by being your best to inspire others and cause others to think twice…" Izuku spoke as though he were the only person in the room. He'd known what Toshinori was saying intelligently, All Might was called the Symbol of Peace after all but the true depth of what that meant was only now sinking in. Izuku supposed that it only really made sense when you began to realize what the problem truly was.

"That's right, Young Midoriya. You and Young Bakugo are living proof of what I'm saying. You two were inspired by me, were you not? Now I've given that torch to you and everyone who is coming after me. I just ask you do the same when your time comes to pass that torch." Toshinori said, his voice heavy.

Looking back at Toshinori, his eyes ablaze with passion and his previous concerns burned away, Izuku answered "I will! I won't let you or anyone else down All Might!"

Toshinori offered a contented smile, once again feeling both his age and his fragility as he replied "I know you will. Thank you…Izuku."

The freckled boy blushed heavily as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head "No, thank you All Might. You entrusted me with this power, this responsibility and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to really realize what that actually meant. Thanks for letting me talk, good luck with Kachan!"

"Take care, Young Midoriya." Toshinori said with a wave.

Just as Izuku was opening the door, he nearly bumped into Hitomi. When their eyes met, Izuku froze, and stared at the brunette as if he'd see a ghost "Oh, um, hello Kanzaki-san. So-sorry to keep you waiting!"

Oblivious to the talk that had just transpired but noticing the odd look, Hitomi nonetheless offered a kind smile abefore she waved Izuku off "Oh, I just got here Midoriya, nothing to apologize for."

"R-right! Well, g-good luck with Kachan!" Izuku nervously answered back before he darted off.

"What was that about? Hitomi asked, entering the room.

"Young Midoriya was just made aware you're a lighter. Knowing what that truly means, I think he wasn't ready to face you yet, that's all." Toshinori explained.

"Ah." Hitomi replied, sitting down in the chair Izuku had just vacated. "Makes sense, it's a lot to take in. How did the talk go?"

"Very well. Though I fear I may have just burdened Young Midoriya with even more responsibility." The blonde former hero replied.

"I see. Something to keep an eye on going forward then. Can't have the next symbol of peace get crushed under the weight of expectations, now, can we?" Hitomi said, trying to inject some mirth.

Toshinori didn't bite, his response serious "That's why we need as many new heroes as possible to understand what Midoriya now does. Especially Young Bakugo…"

(X)

When Michiru and Emeralda returned to the lighter dorm, they were greeted with a fuller house than they had been expecting. Waiting for them were Jun, Celty, Zelgadis, Terra and a very annoyed looking Shinra. Michiru didn't waste time wondering why, asking straight away "Is everything ok? Why is everyone here?"

Though the group looked serious, Jun offered a reassuring smile when he replied "Yes, Michiru, everything is fine. It's just that after what happened last night, some things have changed, and I think we're going to modify our plans a bit."

"In what way?" Emeralda inquired, unperturbed.

"I originally planned to have you three continue to spend time with 1-A so you could decide where you wanted to study, but after talking things over, Celty and I want you three to start your work study early." Jun said, gesturing to the headless hero.

"Wait, does that mean?" Michiru eagerly began to ask.

"It means I need your help, kid." Celty said.

"Why do they get to help, they just got here!" Shinra blurted out in a pout.

"We need to honor our commitments, Shinra." Jun offered as he spoke firmly. "You caught the eye of the new number one hero and I have no doubt he and his agency will have a role to play sooner or later. You'll get your chance."

"Chance to do what? I still don't understand." Michiru cut in; her excitement turned to confusion.

"Something needs to be done about Xellos." Jun answered.

Michiru noted how quiet Zelgadis was being, a sign that he was still very much upset but instead of asking how he was she focused on more clarification "What can we do? He's kinda unstoppable, isn't he?"

"From what Zelgadis has told us, he is extremely powerful but he isn't omniscient. There has to be a reason he has teamed up with the Shie Hassaikai." Celty explained.

"Information." Emeralda said simply.

"Exactly!" Celty said, impressed, her mist briefly and vaguely looking like a thumbs up, earning a light chuckle from the tanuki girl.

"If Xellos means to trap us all here, he must be using the yakuza to try and find out where the Nomu is." Jun reasoned.

"And so, I reached out to an agency that was already keeping tabs on the Shie Hassaikai." said Celty.

"So, what are we going to be doing?" Michiru asked, finally understanding the broad goal of their job.

"For the time being, it's a stake-out. We're going to be gathering intel for a possible raid." The dullahan answered before gesturing to Terra and adding "Terra will be working with the dragon hero Ryuko who has been contacted as well to be ready for just such a raid so she'll be apart of this as well." Terra offered a determined nod that Michiru and Emeralda returned.

Jun then stepped forward and reached his hand out, a small rectangular object in his hand "All of this is to say, since I didn't say it yesterday, congratulations on passing. You are now provisional heroes and with it, you're no longer confined to UA. This phone is for you, Emeralda. It’s both a gift and a reward for coming so far with learning written Japanese. You will likely need it in the coming days."

"Hey! What about Zel! Doesn't he get one?" Michiru immediately called out while Emeralda took the phone with a nod.

Said chimera, whom had been standing with his arms crossed, raised his eyebrows slightly at having been addressed before pulling one of his arms out to reveal a cell phone of his own.

"Oh…" Michiru weakly muttered before quickly changing the subject "And what about me? I already have a cell phone, so what do I get?"

"An appointment." Jun dryly replied.

"An appointment?! For what?" Michiru replied, incensed.

"Michiru." Celty started, her artificial voice carrying a comforting inflection, "I know it can be hard but every one of us needs to be at least evaluated before going out into the field. And at this point, you're the only one who hasn't."

Her cheeks puffed in anger and her arms crossed, Michiru's eyes suddenly went wide "Wait… that means…" Michiru's eyes again landed on Zelgadis.

When their eyes met, the chimera frowned and looked away. It wasn't confirmation but it wasn't a denial either. What Celty had just said, Michiru had all she needed to know that it was true. She didn't like this, not one bit. It was like she was being cornered into doing something she didn't want to do. Yet the two quieter members of their trio had now spoken with the counselor. Talking to Hitomi had even seemed to help Emmy, though Zel appeared as grumpy and cantankerous as ever. Looking at it like that, Michiru supposed at worst she'd break even. "Alright, I'll do it if I have to. Where is she?"

Jun visibly cringed, a rare sight indeed "She is…seeing another patient at the moment. I will talk to her and get you two together tomorrow."

"Geez, Sanada-sensei, who is she seeing, anyway?" Michiru couldn't help but ask with a reaction like that.

"That arrogant asshole, Bakugo." Shinra sneered.

At that, everyone present, even the kind-hearted Terra and stoic Emeralda cringed. Jun then added "Working with Celty and Brooklyn means you three won't get to take classes with 1-A though, just remember that."

"What, why? Don't other students at UA have work studies?" the tanuki girl inquired.

"We'll be working at night so you three better get used to sleeping during the day." Came Celty's response.

Michiru slumped forward, her face sagging at the thought "Ah, damnit."

(X)

Deep in the underground of the Shie Hassaikai mansion, one displaced mazuku considered by many in his home world to be one of the most powerful and dangerous beings to live had just finished tucking a young girl into bed. The poor girl had stayed up far too late the night before so she was more than ready to go to bed tonight, which suited Xellos just fine. There was always more work to do for the tireless demon.

The very fact that he was in charge of the sweet and innocent child had come as a surprise to the purple-haired mazuku. Xellos had quickly become popular with the rank-and-file in the group and it wasn't long before stories of the former leader reached his ears. Apparently the former boss, Kai Chisaki's adapted father and Eri's grandfather, had done all he could to keep the family together while yakuza families all around them fell to All Might and his ilk. The former boss was still alive apparently but incapacitated, and more than a few of the old-timers in the group suspected foul play in Kai's ascension. The mask-wearing leader's right turn in the group's direction from survival to a gambit aiming to bring the family back to glory through the downfall of society was proof enough for many.

Xellos thought he was going to have to spend much more time gaining Kai's trust before he's be allowed to the lower sanctum of the compound to see this former chivalrous leader and the granddaughter that was apparently tortured often, a result of Kai researching her quirk. Then, one day Kai had come to him and ordered him to become the girl's new caretaker. Apparently Eri had grown more and more despondent and the previous man in charge of her had been…disposed of.

Xellos strongly suspected that either Kai or one of his inner circle had taken notice of how popular he had become among the rank-and-file. Kai was benefiting far too much from his information network and uncanny ability to raise money to just dispose of Xellos so shuffling him off on a difficult and mostly out of the way task likely looked very enticing to the Shie Hassaikai boss.

The germophobic madman couldn't know that this was exactly the kind of in that Xellos had been waiting for. Oh, interacting with the little peach was fun and seeing the life come back into her eyes was rewarding but taking care of Eri also opened many more doors to him.

Now Xellos knew where everything and everyone was. He knew exactly what Kai was doing and why. The last thing you ever wanted was for an agent of chaos to know all your plans.

The smile perpetually plastered on Xellos' face had a much more sinister aspect to it when he turned from Eri's door to find Kai himself coming down the corridor with his assistant, Chronostasis. "Xellos, how is Eri? Isn't it a little early for her to be going to bed?"

"Yes, Chisaki-sama. Eri was saying she felt especially tired after today's…treatments and I didn't see the harm in letting her get some extra rest. I hope you don't mind." Xellos explained with a bow.

"As long as she is healthy and able to continue with the extractions, I don't care. I will say, Metallium, that Eri has been more willing since you took over. Don't think I haven't noticed." Kai said coolly as he motioned for Xellos to walk with him and his assistant.

"You are too kind, Chisaki-sama. Though if I might be so bold, I think she would be even more willing if she spent more time with you? She was saying how embarrassed she feels when people see her bandages. May I suggest some time in the coming days you take her shopping?" Xellos said deferentially.

"You forget your place, thief!" Chronostasis snapped before Kai waved his lieutenant off.

Kai then said, "I think Metallium's results speak for themselves. I will take it under advisement. Still, Eri isn't what I want to talk to you about now."

Xellos continued to demure, keeping his head down slightly as he walked behind and to the side of his master. "Oh? And how else can I be of service?"

Kai's tone went from his usual neutral inflection to a more serious one when he replied "Someone from the league finally made contact today, just like you said they would."

At that bit of news, Xellos' eyes opened slightly, revealing his purple irises as his smile grew, both facts going un-noticed by the other two men. Xellos' reply also didn't give away this shift when he said, "I see…and what did he or she want?"

"He wanted a meeting with his boss. Wore a black body suit and a mask that was bisected black below and grey above." Kai described in the hopes that his newest subordinate would know more. His hopes were rewarded.

"Ah, yes, that would be Twice. He can make copies of anyone, including himself from what I understand. His quirk has left him…of two minds though. He is harmless from what I understand. I stand by my suggestion that we accept any offer to meet if we want to capitalize on their notoriety." said the purple-suited mazuku.

"And you, Chrono?" Kai asked his right-hand man.

"There…is some merit to what Metallium says. I still think it’s too risky, though." Came the cloaked and beak-masked lieutenant.

"I'm honesty curious to see what this little league has to offer. Twice left the address of a safe house for us to contact him, I think we should pay One for All's little follower a visit." Kai decided, allowing himself a smirk from behind his long ornate beak mask.

(X)

Chapter Text

"Are you comfortable, Michiru?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Just go ahead and ask your questions Hitomi." An impatient Michiru confirmed as she sat across the from the brunette counselor in the common area of the lighter house, fidgeting about with her hands.

Emeralda sat in the loveseat off to the side, quietly watching on but otherwise, the room appeared to be empty on the late afternoon the day after Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis had been offered the chance to gather intel on where Xellos was hiding. Per Celty's suggestion, the trio had stayed up very late that night in an effort to get use to sleeping deep into the day for their night recon missions with the dullahan and gargoyle.

Jun was left passing on to Shouta that the three wouldn't be joining 1-A as regular students, something Michiru felt terrible about but knew she, more than her two friends, would be very useful in the coming nights. She'd also been told if she wanted to go, she'd need to be evaluated by Hitomi, as all lighters are supposed to be before being allowed to act in the field or even go out into society. Hitomi was glad Michiru was getting a late start in the day herself because after the previous day of talking with Zelgadis and later Katsuki, she needed some time to decompress and gather her thoughts.

Unlike Emeralda and Zelgadis, Michiru had opted not only for a more public setting for the evaluation but she had also asked Emeralda and Zelgadis to be present. Zelgadis, still being even more antisocial than normal, opted out, leaving Emeralda to watch on while Hitomi replied "Rushing won't make this go any faster or slower Michiru. How long this takes will depend on you and the flow of our conversation."

"Yes, I get it. I'm ready." Michiru said again in a tone that made it clear she hadn't listened to a word the older woman had just said.

Hitomi sighed but kept her smile before moving on, saying, "Alright then. I usually like to start with talking a bit about your past. You've said before that you have family back home. Is that right?"

At the mention of her family, Michiru's fidgeting stopped before she answered, her voice taking on a forelorn quality to it. "Yeah, it is. My mom and dad. They…must be worried sick. That is…if they even know I'm missing."

Hitomi raised an eyebrow, "Oh, why wouldn't they?"

"Well, not long before I turned eighteen, I ran away from home for Anima City. One of the reasons I left was to protect them, ya know? So, I didn't reach out to them at first, then my phone got smashed and one thing led to another. It was months before I talked to them again. I guess they got used to not hearing from me, so unless Shirou, Nezuna or the mayor contacted them somehow, they might not know I'm gone." Michiru explained, guilt building in her voice the more she spoke.

Hitomi picked up on the tanuki girl's tone quickly, interjecting "Michiru…you don't blame yourself for your parents worry, do you?"

The question seemed to hit Michiru like a truck, her eyes widening. She sat back in her chair, already wishing she'd never agreed to this. Hitomi pressed gently "Michiru? You know it's not your fault, right?"

That seemed to trigger something because Michiru bolted forward again and quickly said "What's not my fault? Leaving? Not reaching out sooner? …Not taking the cure and going home when I could of? I know being here isn't my fault, just like I know getting turned into a beastman wasn't my fault! But…they're my parents! They love me and they supported me, even when I hid myself and what did I give them in return? Nothing but silence and the worry to comes with not knowing if I was alright or dead in a ditch somewhere!" As she finished, Michiru buried her face in her hands.

"It…sounds like they trusted you, Michiru." Hitomi said, leaning forward to make sure she was heard by the distraught tanuki girl. "I'm not a parent myself but I've talked to many and I can tell you, no matter what you do or don't do, your parents are going to worry. It…kind of comes with the job."

The talk had only just started, and Michiru had already lost her composure, something neither Emeralda nor Zelgadis did. Emeralda had turned to watch on, her face riddled with concern when she saw movement by the stairwell behind Michiru. Indeed, Zelgadis was hiding there, his arms crossed while he leaned against the stairwell's wall where Emeralda could just see him because of the angle at which she sat. The nanomachine girl couldn't see all of him but enough to see that he, too, looked worried when the proceedings had quickly soured.

After a few very long moments of silence, Michiru finally spoke, though she kept her head in her hands, which muffled her voice when she said "You…think so? You think they…trusted me?"

Though she knew Michiru couldn't see it, Hitomi still offered a warm and reassuring smile before she replied "I know so, Michiru. And they were right. You made it through, didn't you?"

The tanuki girl took a long, deep breath as if she were fighting off the urge to cry. Once she was done, she sat back up, a sad smile on her face, clearly fighting back tears when she said "Yeah…Yeah, you're right, Hitomi. It wasn't easy and I had a lot of help but I did save the whole city, after all!"

"See, that's the spirit, Michiru. Your parents raised an amazing young woman. So, can you tell me a bit about these parents of yours?" Hitomi proudly replied, putting her hands on Michiru's for support.

Much to Emeralda and Zelgadis' relief, Michiru brightened up more as she answered "Yeah, sure! My mom, Izumi, she's always been outgoing and to the point. She never takes anyone's nonsense, but she has another side to her, very kind and considerate, at least to me and dad! And dad, well, he's the quieter of the two but he always works hard and no matter what he does, I always feel like he loves me…"

"That's so great Michiru, they sound wonderful! So, tell me, which one was the athlete in the family?" Hitomi asked, sitting back once Michiru started flailing her arms out when she had talked about her parents.

The counselor's question caught the tanuki girl off guard "Huh? How'd you know I wasn't the only one?"

Hitomi chuckled "Just a hunch. If you look up to your parents so much, I just guessed you picked up sports from one of them."

Michiru offered an impressed smirk "Not bad. Kinda feels like you've done this before. Well, the answer is, both! In high school both my parents played sports but by college, where they met, only my mom still played."

"So, it was your mom who played basketball?" Hitomi ventured.

"Right again! You are good at this, Hitomi! It’s like you're reading my mind." Michiru excitedly responded.

Hitomi smiled as she laughed to herself. Then, the brunette counselor leaned forward, resting her head on her hands while her arms rested on her elbows "Michiru, would you…like to see your parents again?"

Over in the stairwell, Zelgadis silently grinned, glad the counselor had made her move to offer his furry friend the same experience he and Emeralda had had. Emeralda, though, watched on with an unreadable expression, hiding her uncertainty that Michiru would agree to the vision. She need not have worried.

Michiru nearly fell forward onto the table before she responded, quite surprised "You can do that! How?"

Hitomi recoiled slightly in response to the tanuki girl's overabundance of enthusiasm before she replied, "It would just be memories but…yes, you could see them again, if you let me. I'd be using my power, just as I've done with Emeralda and Zelgadis. We can look at anything else you want too as well. Wherever and whatever you want to see."

For the first time, Michiru looked over at Emeralda, her eyes searching the other girl for reassurance. When Emeralda offered the slightest of smiles and a nod, it was all the support Michiru needed. Furrowing her brow in determination, she said "OK! If…if it means I can see them again…then I'll trust you, Hitomi."

While she pulled her pendant up from under her shirt, Hitomi spoke again, "We'll only see what you want to see Michiru, I promise. Now, all you need to do is hold my hand. There will be some disorientation at first."

Michiru cocked an eyebrow as she reached out "Really, just like this?" Entirely unprepared, Michiru's clawed hand touched Hitomi's and before she knew it, light filled her vision, and she was lost in a sea of nothingness.

To the two outsiders, everything remined still. Emeralda watched on while the two women appeared frozen in place with their hands touching. There was no flash of light, no anything to indicate anything had happened. And yet, Emeralda knew exactly what was going on in her friend's mind. Still, it was odd, if a little funny, to see her friend so still and quiet, effectively in a trance.

Then, confident neither Hitomi nor Michiru could hear, the tan girl called out "Why did you not join us when Michiru asked, Zelgadis?"

Emeralda could see the chimera twitch in response to her call and a moment later, Zelgadis emerged from the stairs trying to look as casual as possible before he said "I don't know what you're talking about. I only came down for some tea before I get back to studying, that's all."

If she hadn't of known better, Emeralda may have believed the sorcerer-swordsmen while he began brewing his drink. As it was though, the tan girl ignored his bluff and replied "Do not worry, it is as Hitomi said, Michiru is strong."

Still waiting for his water to warm, Zelgadis turned to look Emeralda in the face, his expression grim "Of course she is, but Hitomi will only see what Michiru wants her to see."

Emeralda crunched her eyes in confusion "I do not understand."

Zelgadis frowned, his fears confirmed "You're still young, as you've said, so you might not realize that that strength of hers can be a trap. You remember how she reacted to hearing she may have a way to be a human again when Xellos told us about Eri?"

"She…didn't react at all." Emeralda recalled.

"Exactly. Michiru puts on a strong face and buries her feelings. That's not unusual. I do it, I suspect you do it too but for her…I think she buries it so deep she forgets she's even done it."

"So, you are saying if Michiru is guiding things, she may not…"

"Confront what's really bothering her, yes." Zelgadis finished.

Looking back at the still pair, Emeralda starred at the tanuki girl's two-toned eyes and all but whispered "I…hope you're wrong, Zelgadis."

"Me, too." Zelgadis added before he whispered to low for Emeralda to hear "But then, I'm no better."

(X)

"Hitomi? Hitomi, where are you?" Michiru called into the void of darkness, her voice carrying a hint of panic.

The counselor's voice came all at once and from nowhere "Its ok, Michiru, I'm here. Now all you need do is think of your parents. Anything at all and you will be there in that moment."

"Anything at all, huh?" Michiru spoke to herself before closing her eyes. Hundreds of memories seemed to swirl in her mind, so many wonderful and mundane moments through her life she could choose from. Then, without actually thinking or stating when she wanted to go, a moment just seemed to feel right. When Michiru opened her eyes, her young, brown eyes were alight with the reflection of the birthday candles in front of them.

An eight-year-old Michiru beamed a huge smile as she looked to either side of her birthday cake to see her two parents to either side of her while she sat at the head of a picnic table at the park she loved to go to so much. They weren't alone either, with a dozen kids about Michiru's age also sitting at the table eagerly awaiting her to blow out the candles.

"Make a wish, honey!" Michiru's mom said while she held the camera at the ready.

"Anything you want, just don't say it out loud or it won't come true." Michiru's father advised with a knowing smile.

"I've got it!" Michiru excitedly proclaimed before she blew out the candles, much to the joy of everyone at the table.

The two doting parents swarmed their adorable daughter, embracing her in an embarrassing show of family affection. With both parents nuzzling the poor girl, everything seemed to freeze. After a few moments, the omnipresent voice of Hitomi chimed in "Are…you ok, Michiru?"

The brunette former fortune-teller already knew the answer but got further confirmation from the tears streaming down the very much human girl's face. After a few more moments, Michiru finally choked out in her child's voice "Please, just let me have this moment…for a little longer?"

"Of course, take all the time you need Michiru." Hitomi gently responded.

When Michiru finally calmed down, Hitomi decided to ask before the memory resumed "What makes this memory so special if you don't mind me asking?"

Still in her parents embrace, Michiru looked up, a far away look on her young features "I don't know…I guess, we were never a well-off family so all my previous parties were smaller since we could only afford to host a few of my friends doing one thing or another. This was the first time we had it here, so everyone could come, and it made me so happy."

"Makes sense." The disembodied voice of Hitomi said. A moment later the memory resumed, and the party continued with everyone enjoying the cake and the games that followed, Michiru always in the thick of anything that was going on, a ball of energy and sunshine that seemed to light up everyone around her.

Hitomi watched on, seeing Michiru's parents also watching their child with love and pride evident in their expressions. The park was a large one so the party could go on without disturbing others playing elsewhere. Hitomi couldn’t help but notice that while Michiru and her friends played tag, another girl the same age seemed to be watching on from a set of monkey bars not far off. The girl had long orange hair with a red bang hanging down her forehead and red eyes. The girl sat watching the other kids forlornly, clearly wanting to join but held back for some unknown reason.

"Michiru, whose that girl over there, watching you all?" Hitomi asked while said girl was dodging a young boy trying to catch her.

The other kids continued to play as though Michiru wasn't there while she stepped forward to look at what Hitomi could be talking about. The future beastman's eyes widened as she realized "That's right…this was the day I met Nezuna!"

"Nezuna…she's your best friend, right?" Hitomi asked while her ghostly visage appeared beside the young-looking Michiru, startling her slightly.

After staring for a moment at the ethereal counselor, Michiru confirmed "Yeah, she is. I remember now, she was always kind of shy when she was young, just like you're seeing."

Hitomi disappeared and Michiru walked up to the nervous looking orange-haired girl. Nezuna seemed to shrink in on herself when Michiru smiled broadly and held out her hand "You…want to play?"

The shy girl blushed before she looked back at her mother, who frowned back at her. When Nezuna looked back at her she replied softly "Momma says I shouldn't go where I'm not invited. It’s not...appropriate to go wherever I want."

Before she knew what was happening, Michiru had grabbed the other girl's hand and somewhat roughly extracted her from the toy structure, declaring "Well guess what? You're now officially invited! Come play!"

Nezuna stumbled forward, desperately trying to regain her footing while she was practically dragged toward the other children. Despite that, she too had a big smile on her face.

All of a sudden, the whole scene was enveloped in light only to be replaced by a steady stream of moments shared by the two girls as they grew up. The two of them among friends in school, Nezuna introducing Michiru to music, Michiru playing basketball while Nezuna watched on, hanging out at lunch, more birthday parties, Nezuna telling Michiru she wanted to be an idol, it went on and on. Though the friends around them would change, what was always consistent were the two of them. Finally came the fateful day when Nezuna was nearly hit by a car and Michiru threw herself at her, saving them both but not without injury.

As the two sat in hospital beds side by side, they were both laughing, both hooked up to an IV. Hitomi reappeared between the two laughing teens and said "Was that it, Michiru? Is that the IV that turned you both into beastmen?"

Michiru suddenly stopped laughing, her expression much more somber, the rest of the memory freezing in place. "Yes," she said as she looked over at the counselor. "Something so small, so simple would change our lives forever. But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing! Nezuna could have died that day but…it worked out in the end."

Hitomi nodded but looked contemplative for a moment before she asked "Michiru. I've seen a lot of memories now with you and…I have to ask, where are all the beastmen?"

Michiru titled her head slightly in confusion, furrowing her brow before replying "Wha, what do you mean, Hitomi?"

"Well, you've said there is a whole separate species of people and I know you've said they are generally discriminated against, hated and even hunted but I kind of thought I would see at least one in passing while I watched all these memories, you know?" the counselor answered.

Michiru's brow tightened as she appeared to be thinking about the question. Finally, the bed-ridden girl said simply "Actually, aside from learning about them in school and seeing them on TV here and there, I never really met a beastman before, you know until I…"

Hitomi looked taken aback by that admission, saying quickly "Michiru, that's…almost unbelievable. You mean to tell me-"

"Oh!" Michiru suddenly exclaimed. Cut off, Hitomi saw that Michiru was now staring at her best friend, frozen mid-laugh.

Not one to let her patient's rudeness get in the way of a possible breakthrough, Hitomi inquired "What is it, Michiru, did you realize something?"

"Its…something Nezuna said to me later, in Anima City…" Michiru replied. While she spoke, the surroundings again changed and the once again tanuki girl was standing in front of a much shorter young man who was talking about how great the bread he was eating was.

While the boy was joined by his friends in gathering around Michiru, a pink-furred wolf girl in a white cloak adorned with a four-pointed star at the base approached and spoke, her voice somewhat accusatory "I see you can still make friends wherever you go, Michiru."

Michiru turned to face the newcomer, her expression turning from one of strained kindness to joy as she called out "Nezuna!" But then, instead of responding, the wolf girl stood motionless while Michiru's excitement melted away.

"What is it, Michiru? What did you need to see here?" came Hitomi's voice.

Michiru looked absolutely stunned, her head slightly downcast as she spoke again "I can't believe it took me till just now to realize…Nezuna resented me. She was always shier than me, I always had friends around me, but I was her only real friend. That's why she wanted to be an idol, why she went along with Alan's scheme to make her a religious symbol for beastmen. She wanted to be surrounded by friends like I always seemed to be…"

Hitomi appeared in front of the tanuki girl, not as some ghostly apparition but as real as anyone else in the memory before she lent a supportive hand on the other girl's shoulder. "That may be true, but how do you feel, knowing that, Michiru?"

Michiru looked almost haunted when she replied "I feel, I feel so stupid. She was right, all along! This is what she meant when she said I forced myself on others! Back when I first invited her to join me…you know what I had wished for when I blew the candles out?"

Hitomi simply shook her head in the negative.

"That I wanted to be a hero!" Michiru almost yelled. "I thought I was saving her that day! Isn't that the most arrogant thing in the world? And now…Oh no! Hitomi, we need to leave! I have something I need to do!"

Although Hitomi was happy that Michiru had come to some sort of realization, she was very disappointed they hadn't gotten to explore what she felt was a much larger issue. However, given how urgent Michiru sounded, clearly it would have to wait. Smiling gently, Hitomi stepped forward and embraced the tanuki girl and whispered "Its ok, we can talk again another time, if you want. Let's go back."

At first, Michiru went stiff when the other woman held her. The moment she began to relax and close her eyes and return the hug however, everything went white once more.

Michiru opened her eyes with a start, standing bolt upright, quickly realizing she had awoken from the visions she had seen with Hitomi. The counselor herself looked a bit surprised at the tanuki girl's sudden movement too. Michiru quickly looked around and found her target. Emeralda had moved to the couch in front of the TV and had gone to get a pad and pencils, no doubt unsure how long the session would last and had begun drawing.

Seeing how unrefined the portrait was, Michiru guessed the tan girl hadn't been at it long. Regardless, Emeralda had stopped and looked back over at the table when Michiru got up. When their eyes locked, Michiru flung herself forward, catching the normally nimble and still seated nanomachine girl completely off guard. The tanuki girl had leapt at an angle toward the couch and was able to grab around Emeralda's neck with the rest of her body sprayed over the back rest, looking highly uncomfortable.

"Mi, Michiru? I do not understand, what’s wrong?" Emeralda managed.

"I'm so, so sorry Emmy! I didn't realize until just now how I must have made you feel! I can't help but make friends with people, I forget it's not as easy for other people. I'm sorry if you felt left behind or lacking because of me." Michiru rambled apologetically.

Emeralda shifted to allow for Michiru to slide down on the couch's cushions while trying and failing to get her fur-covered friend to let go. Emeralda glanced over at Hitomi, who wore an empathic smile but otherwise only offered a slight nod to indicate everything was ok. Though reassuring, Hitomi didn't give the confused greenette any more information, which left her to ask again "I am still confused...what happened in there Michiru?"

Michiru finally let go, shifting to sit on her knees beside her friend before she replied "My best friend back home, she's was shy, like you, and I realized living through those memories again that a lot of the choices she made that drove a wedge between us likely stemmed from me always surrounded by friends. Especially since we joined 1-A, I feel like I've been doing that same to you and I'm sorry, Emmy."

Emeralda listened on intently, reasonably sure she understood what Michiru was saying. When the tanuki girl was done, Emeralda's expression remained serious when she answered "Michiru, I've told you before that I didn't have friends back home. Some people feared or hated me and others…had more important things going on. I do not resent you, Michiru. You have gifted me with something I hardly deserve. You're my first friend that I feel like I have made. I could never ask for nor do I think I would want many, just a few good ones." Then placing her hands on Michiru shoulders for emphasis, she continued "I'm a thing, Michiru. Things don't have friends, and yet, here I am, thanking you for trying so hard to make me feel like a real person. I-"

"Stop right there."

Michiru had pulled away, her apologetic frown replaced with a much harder one when she then grabbed Emeralda's hands in her own clawed ones, saying "I am so tired of hearing you put yourself down like that! You did it earlier too when that Tomaki asked you out!" At that news, Hitomi raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"But…Michiru, its true. I have told you what I am. How can you think anything else?" came Emeralda's cold and logical response.

Michiru's eyes shone with passion as she retorted "What do you mean? It doesn't matter how you were made or what you are! You feel pain, don't you? You bleed when you're cut, don't you? You feel lonely, angry, sad and happy, don't you? How could I think of you as anything but a person just like me or anyone else? You're amazing Emmy! Sure, you're not the most outgoing but plenty of 'normal' humans aren't too! If you want to be more outgoing, you just need to practice, if you don't, that's fine too!"

Emeralda wanted to protest, wanted to repeat all the things her squad mates back home had told her, what she had told herself to justify the way she was because, ultimately, she had hated herself. Hated herself for what she was and for who she was. Just a failure who couldn't live up to her potential or her parents' hopes. It was enough to stay out of everyone's way, or so she told herself.

Now, though, with Michiru beside her, and in the face of everything that they had been through, Emeralda's stoic façade began to crumble, her neutral expression sliding into a frown and tears threatening to build up in her eyes. Michiru saw this as Emeralda tried to form a response, only able to choke out "I…but I…I…" before the tanuki girl pulled her into an embrace.

"Emmy, we can only be who we are. There is nothing wrong with that. No matter what you tell yourself, you're as human as anyone I've ever met and I couldn't of asked for a better person to be stuck in another world with. So please, stop putting yourself down, ok?" Michiru pleaded while she continued to hold her friend tight.

Michiru smiled when she felt the nanomachine girl nod her head in response. After a few more long moments, Michiru pulled back, which allowed Emeralda to wipe the tears from her face. While the tan girl tried to regain her composure, Michiru spoke again "Now, you ready to go take down some yakuza?"

Her face still a bit of a mess, Emeralda looked no less determined when she nodded and said, "Lead the way."

(X)

Chisaki stood in a run down warehouse, the filth of the place seeming to cover every fiber of his being just by standing in the cavernous room. He scratched at the non-existent film of dirt and grime he had already convinced himself was there while he stood alone in front of the League of Villains. He had come at the behest of one of its members, Twice, to talk with the group's leader about joining forces. Said leader, one Tomura Shigraki stood casually against a wall flanked by the members of his group.

Tomura wore a black coat, not an unusual choice. What was odd, even to a man who brandished a stylize plague mask, was the fact that Tomura was adorned in dismembered hands. The appendages covered his face, back of his head, one on either shoulder and three on each arm. At this moment, said leader of the League of Villains was more than alittle displeased. Chisaki had just indirectly challenged him for leadership of the underworld and called him out for not even having a plan while wasting top tier villain talent like Muscular and Moonfish followed by calling for Tomura and the League to follow him and his plan since he knew how to play the game and use tools properly.

Tomura's curt reply was simply "Leave."

Magna, though, wasn't taking the offer for subjection lightly, unwrapping her giant magnet and charging the upstart yakuza leader. It didn't go well. Using her quirk, Magne drew herself to Chisaki, planning to smash him in the face. Instead, when the two made contact, the attacking league member found her entire torso exploded into a rain of blood.

"Just remember that it was your side that made the first move." Chisaki coldly stated as he looked over his rapidly staining cloths.

The top-hat and mask wearing Mr. Compress wasn't about to take his comrade's murder lying down, however, lashing out toward the yakuza boss intent on capturing Chisaki.

Tomura for once displayed a sense of rational restraint, calling out for the faux entertainer to fall back. His protests were too little, too late as Mr. Compress charged forward, heedless of his leader's command to wait.

It looked like he would succeed too, since his right hand got within inches of Chisaki's arm, which the yakuza had raised in front of himself to defend against the attack. At the last moment though, a bullet-sized syringe buried itself in the attacking villain's outstretched arm so that when Mr. Compress did manage to touch Chisaki's arm, all he managed to do was cause the other man to break out in hives from his own distaste at being contacted.

In his rage, Chisaki grabbed his attacker's arm and caused it, too to simply explode into nothing more than blood splatter. As Mr. Compress fell backward in pain and confusion as to why his quirk had suddenly stopped working, Tomura took the opportunity to move forward himself, intent on ending this mess himself.

As he got closer, the psychotic head of the League of Villains noted a ping sound from something metal impacting the ground to his right. That momentary distraction was enough for him to miss when Chisaki called out for help and for a figure to appear in front of him. Wasting no time, Tomura pressed his hands in front of him, one on the interloper's chest and the other on his masked face. Instead of the person turning to dust however, the hand-wearing murderer heard instead "Nope! Sorry, you only get to turn me to dust once, Shigaraki-san!" while the mask he had touched began turning to dust but the face underneath remained unfazed.

Tomura immediately looked up and saw a person he thought he had killed weeks ago. When the purple haired man pulled Tomura's hand from his face and leaned in closer, Tomura leap backward, his lone exposed eye wide in shock.

A moment later the wall behind Chisaki and Xellos seemed to explode and what seemed like a small army of men wearing some variation of Chisaki's plague mask appeared amongst the smoke and debris.

However, Tomura didn't seem the least bit concerned with the sudden reversal in numbers. None of the league seemed to be, in fact. No, what held their attention was the purple pin-stripe suited man that stood before them, a man they were sure had been turned to dust among the smoldering remains of Kamino.

Xellos seemed to be revealing in the attention, standing nonchalantly while he fixed his tie. Chisaki called out to his rival leader "What's wrong Shigaraki? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"What is this?" Tomura sneared, "I know I killed you. I felt you crumble way. How…"

"Oh, Metallum-san here is excellent with illusions, I assure you." Chisaki explained, several of his subordinates surrounding him.

Before any of the League could respond, Xellos added, appreciation in his voice "I really do need to thank you, Shigaraki-san. Without you, my 'death' would never have looked so convincing. You freed me to find my home. Truly, I owe you!"

Tomura looked about, his hideout ruined, one of his underlings dead and another bleeding out on the floor, a limb completely gone. If this was thanks, he shuttered to think what retribution looked like. Still, he couldn't just let this go. "It seems to me you owe me more than thanks for this whole mess!"

Xellos looked ready to say something but when Chisaki stepped forward, the mazuku bowed and stepped aside. "I suppose it's only fair. I do want you to seriously consider my offer, after all."

Then, Chiaki stepped in front of the bleeding Mr. Compress, Twice propping him up and trying to stop the bleeding. The replication villain at once looked terrified and burning with bloodlust while the yakuza leader reached down and grabbed the wounded shoulder of Mr. Compress. Within moments, the destroyed arm reassembled as if it had always been there.

Turning to leave, Chisaki calmly said "There. Consider that an olive branch. I'm not bringing back the other one, that was on them for attacking unprovoked. Let’s cool our heads and try again later."

As the Shi Hassaikai made their exit, Tomura gritted his teeth while Himiko brandished a knife and begged "Let me cut'em, real quick."

Tomura's response was low and definite as he drawled out "Nooo".

Twice, still holding his mask wearing comrade, declared "It's my responsibility! I brought this on us!"

Any further discussion was cut off by the retreating form of the yakuza leader "I don't want to rush you but the sooner we talk, the better." Then, flipping a business card over his shoulder, added "Think things over carefully. Consider how your organization should be run. Then, when you've calmed down, call me."

Twice tried again "They've got to pay for what they did! Why can't I go after them?"

Mr. Compress kept opening and closing his right hand, as if to make sure it was actually there before he said, to himself as much as anyone else "Why wouldn't my quirk work?"

Himiko turned and looked out at the massive hole in their hideout and remarked "Maybe there's still time. I could still make them bleed…"

"Another time." Tomura said, his voice trembling with barely controlled rage.

"But Tomura!" Himiko insisted.

"No! You saw him, didn't you? That smarmy-looking lighter was somehow able to avoid my quirk not once, but twice! And do you know what he whispered to me?"

The remaining league members looked at each other before looking back at their leader expectantly. "He asked me…if I wanted my master back…"

That was unexpected…almost as much as the fact that they had seen the supposedly dead man again. The three other members of the league of villains turned to look in the direction the yakuza had taken, sure things were about to get much more complicated.

(X)

"This is so boring!" Michiru whined into her headset, sitting atop a building not far from the Shie Hassaikai hideout.

"You heard what Shadow Rider said." Zelgadis replied, his voice carrying more then a little condescension over the headset from his position on another rooftop some distance away, "Sir Nighteye and his team watch during the day and we get the night shift."

"Yeah, knowing our mission doesn't make it any less boring, Zel but thanks for repeating the obvious." came the tanuki girl's retort.

"With the fight between the Shie Hassaikai and the League of Villains earlier today, Shadow Rider and Gargoyle thought things would likely be quiet while the yakuza would like to keep a low profile." Emeralda added, herself on a third rooftop, the three forming a rough triangle around the Shie Hassaikai compound.

"Not you too, Emmy! Come on, I was there, you don't have to talk like I wasn't listening!" Michiru pouted.

"Are we not supposed to be using our hero names?" Emeralda answered, the question serving to prove the tanuki girl wrong.

"Oh! Uh…yeah, sorry Crescens. Sorry to you, too Magus." Michiru said in an apologetic tone before muttering to herself "Can't blame me for forgetting names they just started using…"

Indeed, after getting approval from Hitomi, Celty arrived later to brief the three new heroes on what they would be doing. Before that though, the trio were told they would need hero names going forward. Michiru had already given her own weeks ago when they first started training with 1-A but Zelgadis and Emeralda had been silent on the subject till now.

The nanomachine girl had clearly been thinking about it because she had an answer ready as soon as the subject came up. Crescens as a name didn't really say much about Emeralda and when Michiru asked, Emeralda explained that if a hero name is a sort of alter ego, then for her it could be no other name. It was, after all, the name of the massive mecha she had piloted and felt very connected to in her home world. If Emeralda was going to save people under any other name, it was going to be that one.

Zelgadis, however, didn't have an answer and put on the spot he was struggling to come up with a name. When Celty had suggested something related to rocks, it had set the chimera off, mading it very clear he didn't want his hero name to have anything to do with his appearance. It was then that Emeralda had suggested Magus, referencing his magic use while still being short and carrying a hint of menace to it. The man once referred to as the heartless sorcerer-swordsmen liked it immediately.

With that settled, Celty made it clear her expectations were high and she was trusting in her fellow lighters pre-arrival experience. She planned to leave each of them alone to serve as scouts while she patrolled from the ground on her motorcycle and Brooklyn from the sky. Based on their scores from the exam, Zelgadis was put in charge of the three of them and they were to report any unusual activity and not engage until support arrived.

That had been hours ago and Michiru, at least, was reaching the limit of odd and/or unpleasant sounds she was picking up with her ears, changed into those of a bunny as they were. She, like the other two, had been issued night-vision goggles but even from a rooftop, one could only see so much. Desperate to do anything else, Michiru had called Celty to ask if she, too, could watch from the skies but had been denied. Being their first night out, Celty had wanted to keep it simple for the three of them, which annoyed the tanuki girl greatly.

Finally, sometime after three in the morning, Zelgadis came over the intercom "Hey, I think I see something."

Michiru, who had taken to trying to count the number of rats she could hear scurrying about in the alley below, shot to attention. "What? Really? What do you see, Zel?"

"Two figures in an alleyway, one is showing off something he pulled from his coat to the other guy. Drugs would be my guess." The chimera answered.

"Likely not the Shie Hassaikai then." Suggested Emeralda, "Still, we should report it to Shadow Rider."

"She said they serve as middlemen in drug trafficking didn't she?" Zelgadis challenged.

Michiru didn't like his tone and quickly explained, "Yeah, but that means they won't be the ones in the-"

"They could know something. I'm going in." the chimera curtly cut in before he stood and cast Ray Wing, lifting himself into the air to shoot down into the alley.

"Damnit it Zel! Celty, I mean Shadow Rider told us not to engage!" When there was silence from Zelgadis, Michiru sprouted a pair of wings and spoke to her green-haired friend "Emmy, call Shadow Rider and let her know what's happening!"

"Shall I move to intercept after I've made the call?" Emeralda replied.

"No, someone's got to stay at their post!" Michiru answered as she took off, glad the cloudy night would help to hide her since she would be flying near the yakuza base.

(X)

"What do you mean the price has gone up?" a young man dressed in far more cloths than a warm summer night would require angrily barked at the other man dressed in a tacky blue suit and slicked back hair with a thin mustache.

"Kid, I don't make this stuff. I pay more, you pay more, that's how it works. Difference is, I don't need it to keep up the act at my little hero school. So what's it going to be, hmmm?" The dealer pressed; sure he already had the kid exactly where he wanted him.

The teenager frowned deeply as he cursed under his breath and started fishing for his wallet. His hand froze when a cold and deep voice made itself known from the entrance to the alleyway "Sounds like you have a supplier. Maybe you'd like to tell me more about that?"

When the pair turned their attention to see who had spoken, most of the interloper's form was obscured by darkness, his head covered by a hood. The sword he had pointed at them though stuck out into a ray of moonlight, giving the blade a menacing sheen to it. The dealer tried to calm his nerves and bluff his way past whoever this new guy was. "Hey buddy, this is my beat and I paid for it square, you got me? You want in on this action you're going to have to go through the family! Messing with me is the same as crossing them, ya hear!"

When a ball of fire seemed to ignite in the newcomer's hand, it at once brought sweat to the dealer's features but also illuminated the figure bearing the sword when he said "Oh? Do tell me more, and be quick about it, I've had a long night."

Getting a good look at the threatening figure, the boy nervously called out "Wait, he's a hero! Shit, we need to get outta here!" trying to pull at the collar of his jacket to try and hide his face.

At hearing the word hero, Zelgadis visibly cringed but said nothing. The dealer, on the other hand, stepped forward, hands out to show he was unarmed, a smirk on his face "You must be new in town kid. Listen, just let us walk away and no pots get stirred, ya got me? No transaction took place. Nothing happened here, we go home, and you can finish your patrol on a nice, quiet note. What do ya say?"

With each word spoken, Zelgadis began to feel dizzy and disoriented, struggling to maintain his balance. His grip on his sword began to weaken and he found that he was struggling to hold on to his Fireball spell, one of the simplest in his arsenal. As the small ball of fire began to sputter and flicker, the dealer moved his left hand into his jacket pocket and pulled a rather large handgun before he spoke again "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you. You know, getting a closer look at you, I could guess you wouldn't normally be worried about bullets. But at this close range and this baby's stopping power, I'm willing to bet…."

"No! Don't kill him!" the boy shouted as the dealer cocked the hammer, sure the interloper in front of him was too disoriented to retaliate.

The dealer pulled the trigger, a shot ringing out in the night, the flash briefly filling the alleyway. Instead of hitting its intended target though, the bullet flew into the night's sky, Zelgadis allowing the disorientation to swallow him, falling forward. Letting go gave him just enough focus to toss the spell forward and up, catching the dealer's hand and throwing off his aim and causing him to yelp in pain at the burn to his hand.

"You diluted asshole! You fucking burned my hand!" the dealer screamed before he stepped forward, standing over Zelgadis' prone form, passing the gun to his other hand and leveling it at the crippled chimera's head.

The wayward hero student had had enough, charging forward, calling out "NO! You can't!"

For the first time in the exchange, the dealer actually looked truly angry when he turned to address his, until recent, buyer. "YOU WILL SIT." he said with a finality that would give most people pause. Though the boy was not most people, he was, however, stopped in his tracks by the dealer's quirk, as the boy's ears began to bleed, his eardrums shattered.

"Whelp, looks like I'll need to scout another customer. Now, where was I? Oh yes…" the dealer said, returning to lording over Zelgadis. Again, he raised his gun, aiming for the downed lighter's head once more.

Again, a shot rang out into the night. Again, the bullet missed its intended target. This time because as the dealer was firing, a pair of talons dung into his shoulders, yanking him up and backward, along with his arms. "Just in time!" Michiru exclaimed while she shifted her taloned bird legs into massive gorilla ones, instantly and greatly increasing her weight just as her victim's body had begun to arc backward, causing him to be smashed hard into the ground when the tanuki girl pushed downward. Hard.

The gun fell harmlessly to the ground, its owner now prone and unconscious, his body lightly indented into the ground. Kicking the gun away when she stepped off the drug-dealing villain, Michiru rushed over to Zelgadis, still laying face first on the ground "Zel! Zel, you alright? "

"Do I look alright?" the chimera angrily replied, while he struggled to lift himself up.

Michiru frowned before she offered her hand, "You look like you just got your ass handed to you by some two-bit drug-dealer. See why you should have waited?"

Hesitating briefly before taking the offered assistance, the embarrassed sorcerer finally got to his feet and grumbled "Rub it in…at least we have someone to interrogate now."

"Is that what you think is going to happen?" came a voice from above.

The two rookie provisional heroes looked up to find Brooklyn perched on the edge of one of the buildings that made up the alleyway, looking none too pleased. "You have no idea what you've just done, do you?"

"Caught a villain engaged in dealing drugs…which is what the Shie Hassaikai is engaged in." Zelgadis answered, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Brooklyn shook his head, embarrassed he even had to explain this. "You have no idea how the Yakuza work, do you? You just took out, or rather, Animalia here took out saving your ass, a dealer on the Hassaikai's home turf. No matter what we do now, their alarm's going to raised and our job just got a lot harder. Nice going."

Zelgadis at least had the good grace to not say anything as he looked away, frustration clear on his face. As if to pile on to the sorcerer-swordsmen's embarrassment, Celty rolled up a moment later, her other-worldly motorcycle revving like a menacing beast before she got off. "What is the meaning of this? I thought I ordered you to call for us if you saw something, not engage yourselves!" the dullahan demanded.

"Its…my fault." Zelgadis volunteered, finding it difficult to meet the blackened visor of Celty's motorcycle helmet.

"You're damn right it is!" the headless hero snapped, "I don't think you understand how sensitive this situation is and clearly you don't appreciate the position you are in! You're lucky Animalia here can act calmly when her teammate decides to be a selfish fool!"

Zelgadis held his head low, his hands clenched tight before Brooklyn leapt down and said, "Well the night's a bust. Come on, I've called the cops, once we get these two into custody, we're done for the night."

"What? We're leaving? What if something happens at the mansion?" Michiru tried to reason, desperate not to waste the rest of the night.

"At this point, we're in damage control mode. We need to hide this ever happened, and us sticking around will look more suspicious if we're seen. We're done." Celty explained, her tone leaving no room for debate.

"And now we're going to need his help." Brooklyn added with clear distaste in his voice.

The two newer lighters looked over at the gargoyle, before Michiru asked hesitantly "W-whose help, exactly?"

Celty's helmet tilted a bit as she shoulders sagged and she responded "Yep…and that means you three are coming with us. This guy…has odd tastes."

Zelgadis and Michiru just looked at each other, a mix of confusion and fear playing on their features.

(X)

It turned out that whoever this person was that both Celty and Brooklyn seemed so apprehensive about wasn't a night owl like they were so the rookie trio of lighters were sent home to rest up while the dealer and buyer were taken in for questioning. The same cloud that had hung over the three of them from when Zelgadis had knocked out Bakugo had returned. When Michiru had tried to reach out and see if Zelgadis was alright, he had quickly shot her down, telling her he was fine.

Though she was clearly hurt, the tanuki girl bit her tongue and backed off, leaving the brooding chimera to his thoughts. As they got back to campus, Emeralda tried to make her fur covered friend feel better saying "Zelgadis has much on his mind. One of my group from back in my world also had much that troubled him. He too would seek solitude, even when we tried to cheer him up. In the end, we stuck with him despite everything and it worked out."

Emeralda wasn't usually one to volunteer much about her past so Michiru was immediately curious about which of the portraits Emeralda had on her wall the girl was talking about and asked as much. "The man with the ponytail, Ki-I mean, Fei." was Emeralda’s answer.

The slip didn't go un-noticed but instead, Michiru asked "And what weighed this Fei down? Anything like grumpy Zel over there?"

"He was the latest in a long line of re-incarnations and was fated to be the slayer of god…among other burdens that weighed on him." Emeralda answered, clearly unaware just how crazy that sounded.

Michiru nearly stopped walking, her eyes bugging out of her head and her shoulders slumped at such a ridiculous sentence. Emeralda raised an eyebrow, now herself confused by her friend's reaction. Finally recovering her composure, Michiru replied "You know Emmy, the more I hear about your world, the more I feel like my problems are pretty small."

"That…was not my intent, Michiru. I was just trying to say-"

"It's OK, Emmy, I get it. And I didn't mean what I said in a bad way, I just meant it helps to give me perspective is all." Michiru cut in before a mischievous twinkle flashed in her eye and she added "Speaking of burdens, were you one of them to this Fei, Emmy?"

Completely missing the faux accusatory tone, Emeralda answered seriously "I…tried not to be." she answered, looking away.

Seeing that the nanomachine girl had taken her gentle poking the wrong way, Michiru leaned forward to catch the tan girl's attention and said "Hey, sorry, bad joke. It's just I can't remember you ever telling me about your home and it be a happy memory. I guess I was just trying to make you smile is all."

Emeralda looked off in the distance for a moment, as though considering the tanuki girl's statement, her eyes widening. "I suppose you are right. I do have much I miss about home. I'm sorry Michiru. Remind me to tell you about the Captain someday."

Michiru raised a questioning eyebrow, glad the mood had lightened despite the perpetual cloud that was Zelgadis walking some distance ahead of them. "The Captain? What, that's his name? What's he even a captain of?"

Emeralda laughed to herself just thinking about the man before she said "He is a walrus demi-human who was the captain of the Thames, a massive salvaging ship and no one actually knew his real name, he was just the Captain. He always had a story for me or anyone who would listen. I may not be the best at retelling his stories but I think you will enjoy them. Just be prepared for his catch phrase a lot."

"Catch-phrase?" Michiru couldn't help but ask.

"For him, everything was about being…A Man. Of the Sea!" As she finished, Emeralda flung her arm out for emphasis. A gesture that made Michiru think of a sentai hero, over the top, and way out of character for the stoic greenette. Michiru couldn't help but laugh as they got to the house. A glare from Zelgadis was enough for the two girls to calm down while they entered, remembering everyone else was still very much asleep so late at night.

(X)

The trio found themselves with Celty in front of what looked like an abandoned warehouse, having arrived in an unmarked van that also had the two they had captured the previous night and several officers still inside. When Zelgadis had questioned whether he should be allowed to join them given his failure the previous night, Celty had replied that it was because of that mistake that they were even going so he, more than any of them, would be a part of the trip. Still, without any idea where they were going or even why, the trio had spent the trip anxious about what, exactly, they were stepping into.

Stepping up to a door around the side of the building, Celty turned to face the three and addressed them. "I've left you in suspense long enough. We're here to see a guy that a few of us underground heroes turn to when we need specific help."

The less than specific explanation did nothing to assuage the rookie lighters apprehension with Michiru asking what was on all their minds "Help with what? I still don't understand why the three of us are here."

"Zenchuu is his name, though he goes by The Wiper because his quirk lets him cause people to temporarily forget periods of time. Thanks to our rocky friend here, we have two people who, if we let go, will blow our investigation. If the dealer especially goes missing for too long, the Shie Hassaikai will know something is up."

"So, releasing them with their memory erased is the only other option." Emeralda finished, which earned her a nod from the dullahan.

"So then, what's the catch?" Zelgadis questioned, clearly aware there was one.

Celty sighed. "What he does is off the books, in part because of what he demands in payment." The trio stared at her expectantly before she continued, her voice a bit lower, "He has certain…proclivities. He has a thing for heteromorphs and those with quirks that change one's form. All three of you check that box and so…"

"So what? What the hell does this guy expect of us? I'm not a performer for some weirdo's kinks!" Michiru immediately shot back.

"No no, he'll likely just want to take some pictures of you, that's all." Celty pleaded.

"I'm leaving." Zelgadis declared, turning to head back to the van.

"You leave and we're done, you hear me, Magus?" Celty declared threateningly, making sure to use the chimera's new hero name.

"Zel, I know you hate making a spectacle of yourself but we need to fix this. Come on, we're going in, how bad could it be?" Michiru said, putting on the most reassuring smile she could muster despite her own misgivings.

They would find out soon enough, Zelgadis rolling his eyes before making an about face and headeing in with the rest of them.

Zenchuu turned out to at least look like any other person you may see on the street. Of average height and build, with short-cropped slightly unkept black hair and basic white collared shirt and navy pants, he sat in a lone chair in the middle of the poorly lit warehouse slumped forward, arms resting on his knees. A camera bag sat on the ground beside him as he watched the four figures get closer.

"It's been a long time, Shadow Rider. I was beginning to think I'd never see those shadows of yours you again. I see your partner sill hates the day." Zenchuu called out, sitting back and crossing his arms. "You sounded urgent on the phone, I have to assume you've brought me something of equal value to such a last minute request?"

Stepping into the small space around Zenchuu illuminated by a single light overhead, Celty calmly addressed the man "I'm well aware. Wiper. I've brought my three trainees."

With that, Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis stepped forward as well. Instantly, the serious mood changed when Zenchuu's brown eyes went wide with excitement and he shot bolt up onto his feet. "What's this! A racoon girl-"

"Tanuki"

"-And a blue-skinned young man with what looks like rocks embedded in his skin! How absolutely fascinating! The other one, her features are fairly exotic but still Shadow Rider, not really my lane." Zenchuu finished while he circled the trio and waved his hand dismissively when looking at Emeralda.

"Crescens?" Celty simply said. Emeralda nodded and instantly, her right arm shifted into a ball and chain, the heavy spiked sphere smashing into the ground while her left became a katana.

Zenchuu's mouth twisted into a smirk as he asked "I take it those limbs can take other forms?" Emeralda emotionlessly nodded and the memory eraser's smirk broadened before he snapped his fingers and declared "Then let’s get this thing started!"

A moment later the whole warehouse lit up when a number or large overhead lights flashed to life. The once empty-looking and unwelcoming space revealed itself to have a whole photo studio in it, with lights, diffusers, reflectors and backgrounds in every corner.

Michiru inwardly groaned, a sinking feeling that this wasn't just going to be just a few snapshots filling her. If this guy wanted cosplay, he was getting a punch in the face. She was just glad she hadn't revealed her own morphing ability, otherwise she was afraid she'd never leave.

So it was that the three of them were paraded about, asked to pose for Zenchuu to take what seemed like an endless stream of photos. When the man had asked Zelgadis if he could do anything besides brooding loner the answer had been a curt "No". Instead of getting upset and refusing to the deal, Zenchuu was so excited he just waved it off and kept going. The man went about his work with the excited glee of a first-time convention goer seeing his first cosplayer.

Poor Emeralda went through just about every weapon or tool she could think of before Zenchuu was ready to move on. Michiru watched on with a distinctly dirty taste in her mouth. Sure, the guy hadn't asked anything untoward or perverted of any of them but somehow this just felt wrong to her. Still, a deal was a deal and they had gone through with it so that when Celty brought up their request, Zenchuu was more than happy to oblige.

Celty called for the dealer and buyer to be brought and in short order the two were seated in two folding chairs, cuffed, blind-folded and mouths covered when Zenchuu turned and asked Celty "Ok, so how far back are we going to go?"

"Just the last twenty-four hours." came the answer while the two struggled about, still able to hear what was going on.

"Just the last day? And here I thought it might be something complicated! If it wasn't for the rush job I would have been happy just to see you again Shadow Rider! An easy job and three new wonders for me to admire! Man, what a great day!" Zenchuu explained before he spun about and placed each hand on the forehead of the two offenders.

A pulse emanated from Zenchuu's head before his eyes shown bright blue and two beams of light shot down from his eyes, down his arms and into the two men's heads. When Zenchuu let go, the offender’s heads shot back before going limp and went unconscious.

"Are…they alright?" Michiru couldn't help but ask.

Cracking his knuckles, Zenchuu replied "Oh yes, they'll only be out for a few minutes, just a side-effect of my quirk." The officers carried the two men out, after which Celty explained they were also given sedatives to keep them out long enough to be returned to their homes safely.

With the job done, the lighters moved to leave, but before they could, Zenchuu called out "You three can call on me any time, it was a pleasure!" before offering a wink.

Michiru managed to hold back a gag but did shiver, which distance was able to hide from the man. Celty called back while she held the door for her three charges "I'm sure they would be more than happy to call on your services in the future. You could even offer Animalia here a discount since you've only seen one of her forms!" as she shut the door.

A muffled "WHAT!" could be heard before Michiru shot the dulahan the dirtiest look she could.

Pretending not to see the death glare, Celty spoke again "We're lucky that's all it cost us to clean up this little mess. Michiru, you'll be in charge going forward any time I or Brooklyn are indisposed."

Michiru found herself unsure if she was happy to again be the leader of their little trio or weighed by its burden. Instead of settling on one or the other, the tanuki girl shifted focus, replying "So Zel, I mean, Magus can still go out with us?"

"Yes." Celty said a bit apprehensively before continuing with more confidence "I understand what it’s like to desperately want something that it causes poor decisions so I will forgive him just this once. DO. NOT. DO. IT. AGAIN. If you betray my trust one more time, Magus then you'll be forced to watch from the sidelines while we continue to look for a way home, you got me? No cure, no nothing. Got it?"

Zelgadis said nothing but nodded. While they got back in the van, Michiru couldn't help but wonder why Zelgadis was so driven to go off like that and if he wouldn't listen to Celty, would he listen to her when the moment came?

(X)

Several days later Izuku found himself walking the streets not far from where Zelgadis had his encounter in the alleyway. He was joined by Mirio, his new senpai at the agency of Sir Nighteye or Mirai Sasaki, former sidekick to All Might himself. Izuku had managed to earn a work study with the stern-looking hero after Shouta had allowed those in 1-A who could get them from a select group of agencies to seek them. After almost the entire class got soundly defeated by the phasing hero-in-training, Izuku went about trying to get that work study.

After the lighters had all but disappeared from their class to have their own work study, all anyone could talk about was either the work studies themselves or the disappointment at having new classmates seemingly ripped from them. Several in the class had seen Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis returning from or going to their work study in the last few days but aside from letting their former classmates know that 1-A would get the chance too, not much else was said.

Izuku's own path had been far less straight forward than he would have liked. First Gran Torino had turned him down, saying he was working on something and couldn't take him back on. On the old man's suggestion, Izuku then went to All Might himself in hopes that the former number one hero's own extensive connections might help. When All Might refused to directly assist him with Mirai, Izuku then met once again with the third year that had been in the running to succeed All Might instead of him, Mirio.

Mirio, ever willing to help, did connect Izuku with All Might's estranged former side-kick and after an…unconventional test, Izuku had been allowed to join his agency as a student side-kick along with Mirio and two other full time sidekicks, Bubble Girl and Centipeder. The stern head of the agency had then explained to the freckled boy the case they were working on, the Shie Hassaikai.

Mirai had been at once impressed and annoyed when Izuku had shared that he was already partially aware of what was going on, having met Xellos and Eri already. A fact that Mirai had not been privy to.

So it was that Izuku was now part of the day shift patrolling where his three lighter friends ran the night shift, watching for any activity with the Shie Hassaikai.

Mirio was just starting to explain the day to day of actual patrolling, something Izuku had missed in his internship thanks to Stain, when, as the two passed by an alleyway, a small girl ran smack into Izuku, latching onto him and catching him wholly off guard. "What the?" he said when he looked down to see who was holding on to him so tightly. When Izuku saw long white hair, a small horn poking out of the forehead of a girl with pleading red eyes looking up at him, trembling, the successor of All Might knew instantly who it was. "Eri?! What happened? Are you ok?" Izuku asked, realizing this was the same girl that Xellos had used as a shield only a few nights prior.

Mirio stepped closer to see what was happening but stopped short of speaking as he tensed up, when he saw a taller man in an elaborate plague mask step from the shadows and speak, his tone polite but barely concealing the menace underneath "Now did I hear that right? Did you just call this girl Eri? Tell me, young hero, how is it that you're acquainted with my daughter?"

(X)

Chapter Text

"Now did I hear that right? Did you just call this girl Eri? Tell me, young hero, how is it that you're acquainted with my daughter?" Kai said as he raised his gloved hands from his pockets and held them out open to show he meant no harm.

While her adopted father spoke, Eri tensed even more and tightened her grip on Izuku. The freckled boy tried to keep a calm expression, but he immediately began to sweat, understanding that the man in front of him already suspected something was wrong and that the girl holding him was terrified. Izuku glanced down just as the girl looked back up at him, eyes pleading for rescue from some unspoken horror. The newly minted intern's heart felt like it had stopped when he looked into those frightened eyes. Steeling himself, Izuku looked back up at the man before him and opened him mouth to speak.

Only to have Mirio beat him to it.

"Oh sir, you must be mistaken! My new teammate here didn't say Eri, he was just grunting in confusion at having a random child run into him, right Deku?" the older blonde teen exclaimed cheerfully, clearly trying to defuse the tense situation.

Izuku's eyes went wide as he quickly looked over at his senior, who was the perfect face of calm. If Mirio was worried or scared, there was no hint in the kind smile he was offering the masked man in front of them.

It took a moment for Izuku to realize that Mirio and Kai were waiting for him to confirm Mirio's assertion and when he spoke, it was a mumbling mess "Er, um, YES! I, um, was just surprised is all! I'm sorry if you thought I said her name sir!"

Luckily for the young hero-in-training, his bumbling answer actually helped sell his story, making sounds that could be heard as the girl's name. Still, there was a long pause while the three stared each other down and Eri, herself, turned to look back at her "father", desperately hanging on his response.

Izuku tensed, ready to jump away if Kai did act to take the poor girl. Mirio, too, continued to smile but was ready if things turned south. Instead, the game continued, Kai lowering his hands and appearing to relax before he said "Is that so…well, my mistake then. If that's all it was, I'm sure you won't mind if I take Eri and we can go about our business?"

On hearing that, Eri again buried her face in Izuku's stomach while Mirio replied "Oh! Of course sir! Though I gotta say, your daughter seems pretty scared of something. Is everything ok?"

Izuku couldn't believe Mirio was even entertaining the idea of giving Eri back. Something was clearly wrong, and given what Xellos had said the other night, this man in front of him was the source of her trauma. Still, despite every instinct telling him to run away at this very moment, Izuku was trusting his more experienced senpai.

Kai, meanwhile, took Mirio's probing question in stride, calmly answering "Children can have very active imaginations, you know. We were just out shopping for some new clothes. It's a game she likes to play, pretending monsters are after her. Nothing more, nothing less."

Rubbing the back of his head, Mirio cheerily replied with a laugh "Yeah, kids can do the silliest things, that's for sure! If that's all it is then of course we won't bother you two, right Deku?"

Izuku looked down, perching his lips and fighting the urge to scream in the negative. He wanted to punch the man in front of him let alone actually let Eri go back into this man’s care. Kai may have sensed this because what he said next could have been seen as a threat when he said "You heard the hero Eri…you need to stop playing this game. You wouldn't want to…bother…these two nice heroes, now, would you?"

As Kai spoke, he used one hand to tighten the glove of the other. That gesture, along with his words was enough to draw the frightened girl away from her would-be protector. When Izuku reached out to her to stop her though, he found that as she pulled away, she thrust a crumpled piece of paper in his hands. The act brought Izuku up short while Eri ran back to Kai, who quickly took hold of the platinum-haired girl.

"Now, we'll be returning to our business young heroes. I appreciate your concern over my daughter, have a good day." Kai offered before he and Eri turned and began walking back down the ally from which they had originally come.

Once the pair had turned a corner and were out of sight, Izuku nearly collapsed from the stress of the situation, letting go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. While the freckled boy panted, Mirio spoke solemnly "That…was a close one."

Once he regained his composure, Izuku almost yelled back "Why? Why did you let her go? You saw her, she clearly didn't want to have anything to do with that man!"

"Yeah…that was clear…but you sensed it, didn't you? Overhaul meant business. If we had persisted, he would have killed us both. That's why she went back, to save us. We have to tell Sir Nighteye immediately." Mirio explained, sounding more rational than Izuku had heard his senior ever speak.

Only then did Izuku remember the piece of paper he had tightly held in his hand "Wait! Eri…she handed me something as she left!"

Without waiting further, he opened his hand and quickly flattened out the sheet, Mirio looking over the shorter boy's shoulder. What the two read was enough to make even the ever-cheerful Mirio's face set in a deep frown before he said "We need to save her as soon as possible."

Izuku agreed one hundred percent. In fact, having read what was contained in the note just made him regret even more that he hadn't just run with the poor girl when he had the chance.

(X)

"…and that was the extent of it, Jun. Zelgadis had shown an ability to move past his desire to be human again and focus on the greater good. I'm so sorry he went out and made such a poor decision on his first night." Hitomi apologized while she bowed her head low standing before Jun's desk in the U.A. faculty lounge.

The silver-haired former hero waved Hitomi off "We are pushing those three hard. It just means there is more work to do with them is all. It looks like you're going to be as busy as you've ever been, Hitomi. I'm sorry to ask so much of you but I hope to have your best."

Standing straight once more, the brunette nodded before she replied "Of course. It's the least I can do for them, after all."

At that, Jun frowned, adding "But our newest lighters aren't your only concern, now are they? How did it go with the Bakugo child?"

At the mention of the dirty blonde bomber, Hitomi flinched, a clear indication of just how rough the experience had been. The tick had been hard to miss, and Jun sighed before he sat back in his chair and said "That bad, huh?"

Hitomi was a professional and bound not to speak ill of her patients so the most she felt she could say was "Katsuki Bakugo…will have much work ahead of him if he intends to remain in the hero course."

That caused Jun to raise a silver eyebrow while he watched his friend take a seat heavily on the other side of his desk. Noting they were currently alone in the room, Jun leaned forward to ask "Would it be too much of an invasion of privacy to ask for more detail?"

Hitomi's mouth formed a thin line while she considered the question. Jun, as a substitute teacher, could always find himself teaching 1-A if the need arose and she desperately wanted to share what she had experienced. Ultimately, though, the counselor settled on "For the most part, no. I must protect my patient's privacy, of course. But I can tell you some past behavior involving bullying came to light."

"I…see" was all Jun could say. Hitomi watched her friend's face and saw the disappointment but not a hint of surprise made its way onto his features. Really, anyone who spent even a few minutes with Katsuki Bakugo wouldn't be surprised to hear he had been a bully in the past. If only they knew what she did, they'd wonder, as she did, how the boy ever made it to the top hero school in the country.

The conversation triggered the memory of the session for the brunette causing her to think back to her talk with the explosion wielder. Only a few hours removed from her time with Zelgadis, Hitomi had made her way to the nurse's office where Toshinori was waiting. Hitomi had briefly spoken with the meek Izuku Midoriya before he had left and then she proceeded into the main medical area with the former number one hero.

Katsuki sat on his cot, a scowl on his face while he looked down, seeming to stare at nothing. When Toshinori came to stand at the foot of the bed, the normally fiery student looked up, his mouth neutral but his eyes burning with resentment, the boy silent. The two were said as they locked eyes, with Hitomi coming to stand beside Katsuki, unsure what to do.

Finally, UA's newest teacher spoke, his voice grave "Young Bakugo…are you fully recovered?"

The angry teen let out a "Tch" before looking away from the two adults then adding "I'm fine."

"That is...a relief to hear." Toshinori said earnestly. There was another silence while the former symbol of peace struggled to find the right words to continue. Realizing that no matter how he said it, his next words would not be received well he decided to just go for it. "Young Bakugo…you've been suspended."

Toshinori watched as Katsuki's hands clenched on his blanket, still refusing meet either adult in the eye. Finally, Katsuki managed to hoarsely whisper "How long?"

At least the boy was responding, that was good. "That's up to you, young man. You attacked another student unprovoked before attacking three more students. It could be as long as the rest of the year, or, if you seek counseling, a few weeks. That's why Kanzaki-san is here with me. She wants to help, if you'll let her."

"I don't need no stinkin' shrink." Katsuki bit out on instinct, words he seemed to immediately regret when he saw the disappointed look in his idol's face.

Seeing the vulnerability in the teen's face, Hitomi took the chance to speak "Bakugo-kun, we want to help you but none of that matters if you don't want that help. As All Might has just said…if you really want to be a hero, that means confronting whatever it is that drove you to act that way last night."

"Of course I want to be hero!" Katsuki all but screamed, finally looking at the counselor, desperation now coloring his features. "Not just a hero! The best, like you, All Might!"

"Does that mean you'll talk to Kanzaki-san then?" Toshinori asked hopefully.

Katsuki sat, his mouth agape, frozen, caught before he could respond. Slowly, his mouth closed before he looked down, staring at his hands. "Fine!" he spat, "Whatever I have to do to get back out there!"

The two adults showed clear relief before Hitomi pulled up a chair and Toshinori spoke again "That's good Young Bakugo. I'm proud you could admit you need help. That's an excellent first step. Now, just answer the counselor's questions, ok?"

"What, right now!?" Katsuki demanded, sure he was at least going to get to go back to his dorm before having to do this.

"Things are still fresh in your mind, Bakugo-kun. Its best to start now." Hitomi answered calmly as she pulled out her tablet and brought up her notes.

With a frown, the blonde bomber grew silent before Hitomi began, "All Might has noted that you and Midoriya-kun seem to have a prior relationship, is that true?"

Katsuki scoffed at the nerd's name before he said "Please, I wouldn't call it a 'relationship' or whatever."

Hitomi frowned just sightly before she continued "Records show the two of you have been attending the same schools your entire lives. Midoriya-kun even has a nickname for you, one that All Might has referred to as a term of endearment. And what is it you call him?"

Already, Katsuki didn't like where this was going. Of course, it came back to that damn nerd. Everything lately seemed to revolve around that lying loser. Just because he had gone a little overboard in getting the spineless wimp to admit the truth and own up to it, he was the one in trouble.

As the seconds passed and Katsuki appeared to be gritting his teeth, Hitomi pressed "Bakugo-kun, what was it you refer to Midoriya as?"

"Deku, OK! Are you happy? Damn…" Katsuki answered, a hint of shame in his voice.

"Right, his hero name. Yet, I get the feeling his meaning and yours don't exactly match, do they?" Hitomi probed, already aware of the answer.

His voice growing defensive, Katsuki answered back "It's what he was, ok? Just some quirkless wanna-be who kept following me around like a lost puppy!"

Hitomi raised an eyebrow, "So you called him useless because he was quirkless?"

Hitomi's question was met with silence, neither confirmation nor a denial, but the angry look on the dirty blonde's face was all the confirmation the counselor needed. "Bakugo-kun, do you know what my quirk is?"

"Why the hell would I know that?!" came the response, Katsuki again answering on instinct and again remorseful moments later.

At this point Hitomi was getting used to the outburst's and managed to keep a serene smile on her face despite the rage sent her way. "When I touch someone, I can allow people to relive memories in their head that I can also see. I'd like to do that with you, Bakugo-kun. It seems to me that something happened that has caused you to direct a great deal of resentment toward your childhood…acquaintance."

Katsuki looked absolutely horrified at the prospect of having this woman literally in his head and seeing this, Hitomi sought to reassure him "I won't just be poking around your mind, Bakugo-kun. I'm going to ask you questions and you will guide me to what we need to see. I promise."

The blonde teen looked slightly relived before he looked over at his idol. When Toshinori gave a reassuring nod, Katsuki looked back over at the older brunette and said "Fine, whatever. Do whatever you need to."

"Ok then. Thank you Bakugo-kun. Brace yourself, once we start, you'll find yourself in a void of sorts, we'll go from there. All Might, feel free to step out while we are at it, since we'll just be sitting here." Hitomi instructed.

"I don't plan to leave until we are done, but thank you, Kanzaki-san." Toshinori answered, getting a chair himself.

Hitomi reached out to touch Katsuki's shoulder "Alright, here we go."

A moment later, just as the brunette had said, Katsuki found himself floating in a void, wearing his preferred black tanktop and pants instead of the medical gown he had been wearing just moments earlier. Looking around, the impatient blonde barked out "Hey, you out there lady?"

An omnipresent voice answered him, which caused him no small discomfort, something he refused to show while Hitomi replied "I am. Let's cut right to the chase. How long have you known Midoriya?"

Unable to suppress a frown, Katsuki replied bitterly "I can't really remember a time when he wasn't around, nipping at my ankles."

"Then let's see it." The counselor's voice rang out from all sides. A moment later, Katsuki was a young child running around playing tag with three other boys, proclaiming that he was the fastest among them. Two women clearly Katsuki and Izuku's mothers watched on before the blonde woman barked at Katsuki about being more humble.

Several more scenes played out where the kids were chasing bugs, opening presents at a party and then sitting around talking about what quirks they'd love to have. All of them agreed they'd love to be like All Might though Katsuki felt the need to point out he'd make the best hero of all of them.

To Hitomi, the blonde seemed a bit arrogant but nothing she saw looked out of the ordinary for young boys. It was clear Katsuki was the leader of their little band but otherwise there was little she could point to as a cause for later behavior. The talk about quirks though pointed to an obvious change right around the corner, which prompted Hitomi to ask "What about after you got your quirks, Katsuki? Did anything change after that?"

The young boy stopped laughing with his friends while the scene froze and the child suddenly looked very frustrated. "Yeah, that nerd wouldn't leave me alone is what!"

"What does that mean, Katsuki?"

The scene changed to a place in the woods, Katsuki was a bit older, as were the other kids. Now, though the blonde was flanked by the other two kids and Izuku was separate, facing them, his face slightly downcast. Katsuki had a hand out, small explosions popping while he spoke "You see this! I have an amazing quirk and I'm going to use it to be the best hero ever!

"Th-that's great Ka-chan! You'll be a great hero, I know it!" young Izuku agreed.

"What about you? Where's your quirk?" Katsuki questioned, a knowing smirk on his face.

Izuku looked downcast while he shrank in on himself and almost whispered "Th-the doctor s-says that I'm, I'm…quirkless."

"Huh? What was that? I didn't hear you?" the dirty blonde sneered, the other two boys snickering.

Tears began to trickle down the green-haired boy's face, before he looked up and whimpered "I, I'm quirkless, Ka-chan!"

Instead of something supportive, kind words from the friend he'd known his whole life, Katsuki looked on coldly and replied "So, your useless then?"

Izuku froze in that moment, even his tears stopped, so shocking were the words he'd just heard from his best friend. After a moment, Izuku croaked out "W-what?"

Katsuki wasted no time to spare the other boy's feelings, saying "You heard me! I thought so for a while now, since you hadn't shown it to us. Why do you think we've been hanging out without you lately?"

The other two boys were outright laughing at this point, and a smug sense of satisfaction spread across Katsuki's face. When Izuku still didn't take the hint and leave, he added "So from now on, we don't want you hanging around us, Deku!"

By now, Izuku was crying again but when Katsuki said that, the freckled boy's quivering lower lip hardened and he said, wiping his tears "But I still want to play with you, Ka-chan!"

That took the blonde by surprise, sure he had pushed his worthless friend away. When their eyes met and Katsuki saw the determination in Izuku's eyes, he looked away and almost whispered "Do what you want…"

Again, the scene froze and the disembodied voice of Hitomi asked "And did he? Continue to play with you, I mean?"

"Yeah, even though I never invited him, if he saw us playing, he'd run over and tried to join us." Then, Katsuki remembered a particular incident and he began to grind his teeth. Unfortunately for him, that was all it took for the scene to shift again, and the blonde found himself on a log that acted as a bridge over a drop.

Losing his footing, Katsuki slipped and fell down into the creek below. His two followers stood there, dumbfounded but Izuku, who had been following some distance behind, rushed to his aid.

Katsuki was, ultimately, ok. Just some bruises but the fact that he had made a mistake and of all people, Deku was the one to come to help, filled him with shame induced rage. But before the memory could play out further, it froze and Hitomi's voice spoke again "Why are we here, Bakugo-kun?"

Still lying in the water, young Izuku leaning over him, Katsuki barked "What do you mean? Because of your stupid quirk!"

"My quirk has made this possible, yes but I had no say in us being here. This was an important moment for you, that's why we're here and I was hoping you might explain why." Came the calm response from everywhere and yet nowhere.

When no reply came, Hitomi spoke again "If I may, you look embarrassed in this moment. Is that true, Bakugo?"

"Of course I was! Getting help from some weakling, how could I not be embarrassed!" Katsuki quickly shot back.

"Ah, so you looked down on Midoriya, would that be right?" Hitomi deduced.

"I wasn't looking down on him, he was clearly weaker than me! Why should I need his help?" came the bitter reply.

"Ah, I see…" Hitomi answered before the world around Katsuki shifted again. Next thing he knew, the blonde bomber was in his hero costume, staring at the two civilians he had attempted to save at the provisional exams, the two of them terrified while he loomed over them.

Hitomi spoke again "So that's it. Heroes are strong and therefore only the weak are to be saved. Is that why you wanted to be a hero, because you are strong? Did you have it in your head that when Midoriya helped you that day that maybe you were weak too?"

Still looking at the two faux civilians, Katsuki yelled back, as much at Hitomi as the two actors who helped to fail him "What do you know! I am strong! I'll be the strongest, just like All Might!"

At this point, Katsuki was standing straight, looking down, his shoulders trembling. Hitomi materialized behind him and stepped up right behind the hero-in-training and said "All Might was the strongest but he wasn't that way just because of his muscles. He saved people in trouble, with a smile on his face, he didn't just defeat villains. You had to know that and yet you didn't save anyone and failed the exam."

"I…I had to catch up." Katsuki said weakly, his back still turned.

Hitomi walked around and bent down to see the boy's face. Katsuki was trying to hold back tears and only partly succeeding. Gently, Hitomi asked "Catch up to who, Katsuki?"

"To…to All Might…to Deku!" Katsuki screamed. As he did so, the world around them seemed to explode in flames. When Hitomi looked up, she realized they were standing in the ruins of Yokohama. Katsuki was surrounded by the League of Villains, All Might and All for One facing off with each other a short distance away.

When Hitomi looked back at Katsuki, he was looking past her at the two titans of good and evil. Without prompting, the blonde answered Hitomi's unspoken question "Its…my fault. My fault All Might lost his power. I need to get stronger so I can take his place, to fill the gap I caused."

"And…Midoriya?" Hitomi pressed.

"Deku…has All Might's power. He's his successor, that's how he went from a useless loser to where he is today." Katsuki answered.

Hitomi's eyes widened at that news. Could All Might pass his power just as All for One could take it? How did Katsuki even know that? As if to answer the question, the fiery ruins of Kamino shifted to outside UA, Izuku standing in front of the two of them, as he revealed his secret to the blonde.

Looking between the two, Hitomi connected the dots of the boys’ early days. The scene froze again, and she asked the now sullen Katsuki "So Midoriya went from someone you looked down on to someone stronger than you and you resented him for that?"

Looking down, Katsuki replied, all his anger, all his bluster seemingly left him "He was a crybaby. A nerd who obsessed over others quirk's as if to make up for what he didn't have. He was pathetic. And yet…and yet...he still…"

"Saved you?" Hitomi finished.

"He tried." Katsuki bitterly laughed, "I got caught by this damn sludge villain and he rushed forward when no one else would and tried to save me." Katsuki said while he looked up at the sky.

"I remember hearing about that, actually. All Might made the save, didn't he?" Hitomi asked.

"Yeah, that's right. If I were to guess, that's when All Might picked him. Because…because he's so stupidly, recklessly…selfless. And I…and even after what I said to him…" Katsuki spoke, his words coming out between choked back sobs.

"What? What did you tell him, Bakugo?" Hitomi asked gently.

One last time, the world around them shifted. Izuku was looking out the open window of their junior high classroom window while Katsuki and his two friends walked away. Izuku's left shoulder still smoldering from the blonde's touch. Hitomi had no idea what was going on but whatever had just happened, Katsuki clearly meant to finish it when he turned from the doorway and said back at the green-haired boy "If you really want to be a hero that badly, there might actually be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building!"

When Izuku turned to yell back, Katsuki raised his hand threateningly and set off several small explosions in his hand and said, "Something wrong?" which caused Izuku to clam up and whimper in place while Katsuki and his friends left.

As the blonde rounded the corner into the hallway, he stopped, confronted by Hitomi, who looked on him with a mix a rage and astonishment. Quietly at first, she spoke "You…you actually told him to kill himself. You, who wants to be the greatest hero ever, told your childhood friend to commit suicide. That's…absolutely deplorable. You, you know I have to report this, don't you?"

Katsuki, to his credit, stood resolute and nodded. "I realize Deku…Izuku is on track to be a great hero, that I…have a lot to answer for. So yes, I know. Tell the stupid bear-mouse, expel me if you have to, but I will become the greatest hero this world has ever seen!" Katsuki finished as he clenched his fist.

Completely unconvinced by the declaration, Hitomi shook her head in shame. "What happens to you is out of my hands Bakugo. I will lend an ear though should you wish to speak with me again. In my professional opinion, you still have much to work on."

"I know" Katsuki acknowledged, "Now, can we get outta here?"

Hitomi nodded and a moment later, the two were back in the nurse's office, a worried Toshinori staring at them.

Returning to the present, Hitomi saw that Jun was staring at her, an eyebrow raised before he said, "You still with me? Seemed like I lost you there for a moment."

Blushing in embarrassment, Hitomi laughed it off "Just a lot on my mind is all."

Just then, Jun's phone rang. When he answered it, his expression turned serious while he listened.

When he hung up, Hitomi inquired "Is everything ok?"

"Two UA students ran into that child that had been with Xellos the other night and she was with the yakuza boss that he works for. It looks like the timetable just got moved up." Jun answered, his good mood ruined.

(X)

"Ah, damnit! Impressive as always, Kasim-san." Mashirao complimented from the ground, having lost yet another sparring match with the tan-skinned lighter beauty.

Emeralda relaxed her stance with the match won and nodded her acknowledgment of her opponent's words. Several days after the lighter trio had to demonstrate their powers to elicit the use of a guy's memory wiping quirk, they had been abruptly told to switch back to normal sleeping patterns for an operation the next day.

Having spent the last few nights doing little more than waiting and watching, Emeralda had felt the need to practice her martial arts and with the change in schedule, decided to wait outside 1-A's dorm for the class to return in the afternoon to ask if the blonde tailed martial artist wanted to spar.

It had not taken much convincing.

As Mashirao picked himself up for another round, Emeralda took the moment to ask something she had noticed earlier "Ojiro-san, earlier when you and your classmates returned, I couldn't help but notice how…upset Midoriya-san looked. Is everything ok?"

Stopping short of getting into his stance, Mashirao's eyebrows raised at the question, a bit surprised the stoic girl would ask after someone like that. "Uh, yeah, now that you mention it, a lot of us in the class have talked about how distant Midoriya's been since yesterday. We think something happened during his internship, but he won't talk about it."

Settling back into her favored loose stance, bobbing lightly on her feet, Emeralda replied "That certainly seems possible. Who is he interning with, if I may ask?"

Before launching forward with a series of punches to be followed by a tail sweep, Mashirao answered "Sir Nighteye, I think."

Emeralda parried the arm strikes but when the tail sweep came, she shifted her legs into metal beams that caused the blonde boy to yelp in pain and surprise when his tail landed. That distraction was all Emeralda needed to shift her arms into metal wires she used to get several lashing blows to Mashirao's mid-section.

The tailed teen doubled over in pain. As he stumbled backward, he rose one hand to signal his ending the spar. Emeralda pulled back and returned her limbs to normal. Having spent many evenings sparring with Mashirao at this point, Emeralda knew not to ask if he was ok since he was still standing and choose to remain silent while he recovered.

After a few moments, the blonde stood upright again, though still clearly in pain when he commented "You…really didn't hold back on that last one, did you?"

"I apologize, Ojiro-san. I haven't had the chance to practice much of late and master always says to use all that is at your disposal, so I thought this time I would do so. I should have told you." Emeralda explained rationally, though her features did soften enough to give a sense of sympathy for the act.

Mashirao waved his sparring partner off "No no, what kind of training would it be if it was predicable? You always keep me on my toes, Kasim-san!" When Emeralda nodded, the tailed blonde added "Everything ok? You looked a bit concerned when I said Midoriya was going to work for Sir Nighteye."

Surprised she had been read so easily, the nanomachine girl was left to do what she hated more than most anything, outright lie. "No, everything is fine. I've just heard stories of that agency is all."

Mashirao wasn't convinced but when Emeralda walked over to her bag and pulled out her phone, his focus went elsewhere "I didn't know you had a phone. Is it new?"

"It is. I have only had it for a few days, so I am still learning about all of the…apps?" the tan girl said, showing her sparring partner the smart phone.

Mashirao wondered why she had said it like that. It was almost like she didn't know what apps were. Chopping it up to something lost in translation from her native tongue, the tailed boy started to feel a budding sense of anticipation at what he hoped was about to come next.

When Maishirao leaned forward to look the phone over, Emeralda asked exactly what the teenage martial artist had hoped she would "Ojiro-san, may I ask your phone number? It would be much more efficient than to wait for you outside your dorm."

Mashirao did his very best to conceal his excitement. Despite all his denials when his classmates teased him about training with Emeralda, the serious-minded young man had, in fact, developed a crush on the tan beauty in front of him. The tailed boy had to tell himself to play it cool before he replied "Yeah, sure, makes sense, Kasim-san. Here, I'll put it in for you." With the deed done, Mashirao was ecstatic, though he did his best to hide it. He couldn’t believe she had actually just asked her number! He’d never texted a girl before and began to wonder what he would even say.

"Ojiro-san?"

The thought occurred to the tailed boy that they could always talk about the art and Saotome-sensei and how her internship was going. Did she use more feminine language in text? Emeralda didn’t seem like she had ever been one for cutey things, so probably not…

"Ojiro-san?"

Then the thought occurred to Mashirao that he could invite her out for lunch, just to chat of course! He could ask about her friends and her home country. Maybe her family. Did she have family? She had to, right?

"Ojiro-san, please, are you ok?" Emeralda asked again, this time her voice carrying a hint of concern.

"What? Yes, Kasim-san?" Mashirao finally replied, snaping out of his hormone fueled mental ramblings.

"I was asking if you know the numbers of the other members of 1-A or whether you thought I should ask them directly for their numbers as well?" Emeralda answered, completely missing the deflated look of her sparring partner when she asked about the others.

Shoulders sagging and tail now limp on the ground, Mashirao tried and failed miserably to hide his disappointment "O-Oh, r, right, of course! I don't think it's my place to give other's numbers out. I think it would be best if you asked everyone yourself, Kasim-san."

Looking away as if thinking on the blonde teen's words, Emeralda said "Yes…that makes sense. I should have considered there would be etiquette for such things. Thank you, Ojiro-san. I appreciate you being so helpful. You are a reliable friend."

Crestfallen, Mashirao offered a weak thumbs up "Yeah…no problem. Glad to be of help…"

Afterward, Emeralda explained she would seek the other's numbers later since it was her turn to help with diner, leaving the tailed martial artist to wallow in self-pity.

(X)

The next morning Michiru, Emeralda and Zelgadis got texts instructing them to meet with Izuku, who'd take them to a meeting near his agency. Terra, who was also traveling for her internship, offered to go with them until they went their separate ways, which was gladly accepted. Emeralda had shared with the other two what she had learned the night before from Mashirao so none of the trio was surprised to see the normally positive freckled boy in a dower mood.

What they weren't prepared for was to be joined by Ochaco, Eijiro and Tsu, which ruined any chance for anyone to broach how much Izuku knew about what was going on. The other three were on their way to their own internships, just like Terra and joined the group.

Zelgadis, never a morning person and suffering from switching to night shifts before going back to day ones had to suffer the bombastic red head while they walked to the train station. Only the presence of his fellow bibliophile kept him from losing his temper.

Michiru, on the other hand, was overjoyed to get to spend some travel time with the frog girl and rosy-cheeked brunette. It was an overall pleasant trip that only seemed to get weirder as they went along. Everyone thought they would be going their separate ways at some point but after transferring to the same trains and buses, it was becoming clear something was up.

As the large group of UA students again got off at the same bus stop, Michiru finally asked what was on everyone's mind at this point "Where, exactly, is everyone headed?"

"Yeah, I thought it was weird we were all headed in the same direction!" Eijiro agreed, looking around before explaining "Fat Gum said I should be at a meeting for some big mission so I'm heading to a police station here. You guys?"

"Ryukyo also told us we'd be meeting somewhere different today and sent us the address." Terra added, Ochaco and Tsu nodding in agreement.

Izuku was about the say something similar when the group rounded a corner and nearly bumped into the Big Three. Mirio waved and apologized for hearing the conversation as the group approached and said the same was true for them. There was a brief moment of awkwardness between Emeralda and Tamaki, who blushed when he made eye contact with the nanomachine girl. Whether to dispel the tension or out of complete lack of awareness, nobody knew but Emeralda simply asked Taki how he was doing. That seemed to be enough for the terminally shy top student to break the tension and they moved on.

When the now sizeable contingent from UA did arrive, it became clear this mission was indeed going to be big. The lobby of the building was brimming with heroes of all stripes. From top ten to obscure local ones. Even Shouta Aizawa, in all his dower glory was among those assembled.

Mirai, never one for formalities, wasted no time on introductions and ushered everyone into the spacious but bare meeting room. The walls were simple and white save for space to display on one wall and a series of tables set up to form a rectangle was in the middle. Once everyone was seated, the various UA students with their agencies, the formalities began.

"I appreciate you all making the journey here on such short notice." The bi-speckled hero began. "I trust you have all read the briefing I had sent to each of you? I hope so because we are moving right past the basic facts. I had originally planned to call you all here to compare notes and discuss what the Shie Hassaikai may be up to and what to do about it."

Then, Mirai's cadence changed from rational and serious to foreboding when he added "That has all changed in the last twenty-four hours."

Murmurs and whispers spread across the adjoined tables until Mirai spoke again, waving to his two interns seated to his left "LeMillion and Deku ran into a young girl while on patrol yesterday that matched the description of a child first described to us by Shadow Rider's interns. This child is the granddaughter of the until recent head of the yakuza group."

"Get to the point, Sir Nighteye. I didn't run up here for a lesson on yakuza family trees and to hang out with a bunch of kids." Ken Takagi or Rock Lock, a serious looking man with dark skin and thick black hair said, clearly irritated.

"Please be patient, Rock Lock. We until recently had no record of such a child. Eri never came up in our research once we began digging into the group a few weeks ago. When my interns encountered her, she had bandages on her arms and she appeared to fear for her life."

The room again erupted in chatter, several asking how it was that Mirio and Izuku didn't take the child but again, Mirai brought the meeting to order "LeMillion prudently avoided a confrontation with Overhaul, the current leader of the Shie Hassaikai and a very dangerous man. However, Eri left behind a note for us that explicitly lays out just what is going on."

Bubble Girl tapped on her tablet and a projector came alive, showing an image of the note on the wall for all to see. "Hello! If you're reading this, it means poor Eri here ran into some trouble trying to get away from Chisaki-sama. I am trusting you to come and rescue this sweet little girl, not just because it's the right thing to do but because you might be interested to know my master has been using this girl's quirk to produce these nice little bullets that take away people's quirks! The process is rather painful and cruel to the poor girl so please hurry, if you can. Fair warning though, there is a very good chance that Chisaki-sama will react to Eri's escape attempt by laying low so if you don't want to miss saving her, please act soon!

Sincerely,
The Mysterious Caretaker, Xellos!"

"What…what the hell is this?" Eijiro said, horrified.

The red-haired intern's sentiment was shared by just about everyone gathered, save for perhaps Izuku and Mirio, who were wrapped up in the shame of failing Eri along with determination to save her and Zelgadis, who fumed at the letter's author, sure it was another sick joke from the mazuku.

Ken stood up angrily and almost yelled "This can't be serious! Bullet's that can erase your quirk? Phantom daughters? Come on, man, we're here to bust a drug ring and snuff the yakuza for good, not this fantasy shit!"

"It's definitely real!" Taishiro Toyomitsu or Fat Gum immediately declared, "Suneater here was hit with just such a bullet! And we were just up against some street thugs, not the Shie Hassaikai. You know what that means!"

Ken glanced over at Tamaki, who had a bandage on his arm. Their eyes met and the cripplingly shy teen nodded gravely. Ken sat back down heavily and crossed his arms before breathing out "Fine. Keep going."

Mirai cleared his throat and spoke again "Shadow Rider and her team has been working with me to keep tabs on the Shie Hassaikai for the last week and had reported nothing of note. That is, until last night. It seems they're gearing up to leave in the next day or two. If we are to crush this organization and rescue that little girl, we are going to have to act swiftly."

"Is that why so many kids are here? Not enough time to get all the pros you're going to need for this raid?" Ken asked half seriously, half mockingly.

"It’s much more complicated than that." Celty spoke up, her electronic voice drawing attention to her. "We haven't even mentioned the author of that note."

"Xellos? What about him?" Ryuko asked, honest confusion on her face.

"As dangerous as Overhaul is, Xellos is infinitely more so. His…quirk leaves him immune to physical damage, he can teleport and produce powerful energy blasts." Celty explained, having had Zelgadis describe some of the mazuku's powers during one of their stake-outs.

"What's someone with a powerful quirk like that serving as a baby-sitter for the yakuza? Also, that name sounds familiar…" Fat Gum rationally asked.

"Xellos is a lighter. You served as escort to him along with these three from the Musutafu police station to UA." Shouta interjected, sounding annoyed he even had to remind the rotund hero.

"As to the first part of your question…we're not sure. Magus here tells me that Xellos often has a long game he is playing. His experience with Xellos, along with his quirk is why he and his two fellow lighters are here today." Celty finished, motioning for her three interns to speak.

"My skin is basically rock and effectively bullet proof. Plus, as Shadow Rider said, I've had a lot of experience dealing with Xellos so I'll help however I can." Zelgadis explained, having stood up to speak.

When the chimera sat back down, Emeralda rose and said "I, too, believe with the control over my cells that my quirk grants me I should also be immune to the bullets. I may not know Xellos well but before coming to this country, I had much combat experience and believe I will be helpful. Thank you."

Michiru managed a weak smile at her green-haired friend despite the cold, and almost disquieting way the other girl had delivered her words. Emeralda, of course, missed the stares several of the heroes had given her as she, too sat down.

Then it was Michiru's turn. She rose and tried to look positive while sounding serious and professional. However, she ended up sounding like she was trying too hard "Right! I don't know if those bullets will work on me but we're going to need a way to find Eri and since we want to conserve Sir Nighteye's quirk, I'll serve as tracker. As long as I have her scent, I can find Eri, no problem!"

"That's all well and good." Taishiro cut in, his jovial demeanor at least temporarily replaced by grave concern, "But we still haven't addressed Xellos. How are we accounting for him?"

The BMI Hero got his answer when all of the lighters, Ryuko and Mirai turned to look at the other green-haired lighter in the room. Terra frowned slightly as she stood up and said, "We have reason to believe that my quirk can harm Xellos."

"Reason to believe?" Ken questioned skeptically.

"Ye…yes. While I was recovering from my loss of control of my quirk, Xellos tried to have me killed." Terra replied.

"We believe he fears that she can harm him. At the very least, we are confident that Xellos will feel compelled to finish the job if he knows she's there." Mirai explained.

"So she's bait?" Izuku blurted out, his frustration at his failure to save Eri boiling over when he realized what was being proposed.

"To put it bluntly, yes." Mirai cooly replied, glaring down at his newest intern.

"It's alright, Deku." Terra called out reassuringly, "It was my idea. I'm relying on all of you to get Eri out of there safely, ok?"

Izuku wanted to protest further. It wasn't right that Terra should have to do that, even if he knew the truth about her using magic. At the same time, she was a hero, just like he was and speaking out would be disrespectful to her. Reluctantly, Izuku nodded and spoke no more.

Michiru was having similar thoughts to the inheritor of One-for-All. The difference was her worries were buoyed by Zelgadis' concern that in his world, even the most powerful of magics generally didn't harm Xellos and he doubted that Terra had what it took to defeat the cunning mazuku.

From there, a start time for the raid and team assignments were made as the details were hashed out. If all went well, they would be in and out with Eri and the last vestiges of the yakuza snuffed out. At worst, there would be a long drawn-out siege with a deeply entrenched enemy that had an powerful wildcard among their ranks. Michiru also took the opportunity to fulfil a promise and asked if they needed extra manpower for the job.

(X)

Himiko, against her better judgment, entered the Shie Hassaikai compound along with Twice. Tomoura had just that morning decided to, at the very least, see what the young yakuza leader had in mind and if they were lucky, contact Xellos to see what he meant with his cryptic message.

What the two league members found, however, was far more chaotic than either had anticipated. The mansion was in full crisis mode with underlings running about trying to get supplies and material ready for an apparent move. When the pair finally came across one of Kai's weird masked lieutenants, they were informed they were about to be raided and were preparing to relocate. The two league members were to report to Kai immediately.

The two were taken underground and when they arrived Kai was there, surrounded by the other members of his Eight Bullets, except Xellos, going over details.

"Hey, Chisaki!" Himiko called out, "We're here, just like you and Shigaraki talked about. What's this about you bolting?"

The discussion stopped as Kai narrowed his eyes and looked between his men and the petite vampire girl. Still, despite the apparent dire situation, the yakuza leader spoke calmly "You're timing couldn't be worse. You're free to observe or even fight if that is your wish, but we are leaving."

When Himiko said nothing more, simply smiling while she backed off to talk with her companion, Kai paid her no further mind before he continued speaking "The plan hasn't changed. I want the rank and file on the ground level to stall those bastards as long as possible to buy us enough time to make sure all of our equipment, data and Eri are out of here. You all know where you are stationed in the lower levels, don't disappoint me."

Before anyone could move away, however, a deep voice called out to the group that none gathered save for one recognized. The Bullet's stared at their leader as Kai's face went white and his eyes widened before the approaching old man spoke again "What's this I hear about abandoning the home I and my ancestors spent so many years building?

The shock on Kai's face was something none of the men gathered around him had ever seen and they stood by dumbly, several moving out of the way while the old man approached to allow their leader a clear view. An older man with combed back grey hair, walking with a cane and still wearing a hospital gown and a black coat over that stopped several feet in front of Kai, an expectant look of disappoint on his face.

Finally, a single word escaped the masked yakuza's lips "Father…"

(X)

Chapter Text

"Father…"

"What's wrong son? That look on your face almost makes me think you never expected to see me up again." The old yakuza leader questioned, a hint of parental condescension in his voice while he took another challenging step forward with a loud clack of his cane.

The Bullets remained silent, waiting on bated breath for how their leader would react. Most of Kai's loyal squad had joined after he had taken leadership of the group but those who had been with him longest knew this changed everything.

Kai remained in a state of shock for several more moments after his father had spoken again. Then, though, as if struck by realization, the calm returned to his eyes and his shoulders relaxed before he said "Ah…of course. I wondered in the back of my mind if you were going to make some sort of move and I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this."

The old man raised a grey, bushy eyebrow "I'm not sure I follow your meaning, son. Are you saying you were expecting me to lay in a coma for so long just to wake up to this madness, hmm?"

"No" Kai replied, a hint of menace in his voice before he began to walk forward, "I don't suppose you wouldn't, since your nothing more than an illusion conjured by that thief, Xellos."

With the gasps of several members of the Bullets, Kai reached out to prove his point and dispel the illusion when his hand passed through it. Instead, dumb shock again gripped the masked villain when his hand instead grabbed the cloth of his father's draped jacket. Slowly, Kai rose his head to meet his father's eyes. The disapproving glare that met him was so heavy that Kai immediately let go and threw himself on the ground before his father.

Shocked disbelieve took hold of the gathered Bullets at the sight of their leader prostrated before this man who seemed barely able to walk. With an audible grunt that bordered on a growl, the old boss spoke in a commanding tone that belied his frail state "I thought I raised you to be strong, Kai-kun. To protect the Family. But what do I find? Our boys running around, terrified heroes will descend upon them any second and their leader planning to use them as shields so his cowardly ass can run away with my granddaughter? No, this will not stand."

"Yes, your right Father. I...I was trying to bring the yakuza back to their rightful place…for you! For the family that had taken me in!" Kai pleaded, his voice muffled while he remained face down.

Chronostasis tried to defend his master, hoping his prior history with the boss, having been by Kai's side the longest, by saying "But sir! Those men won't change the world! We need them to buy us time for the plan to move forward! Otherwise, everything will have been for nothing!"

The old boss's eyes suddenly burned with righteous indignation as he rose up to his full height, managing to make even a hospital gown intimating before he snapped "If you aren't doing it for those boys up there then what's the damn point, fool!"

Chronostasis cowered backwards under the, until recently, bedridden yakuza boss. With no one else moving to challenge him, the old man spoke again, this time calmer but still commanding. "No, what's going to happen is you lot are going to be the ones to stand guard outside to by time for the boys to escape, ya hear me?"

Kai couldn't help but look up, wide-eyed at his father's declaration. The old man couldn't sacrifice his unit like that! But then, at this point, what option did he have? They weren't ready to move yet if they wanted to retain everything they needed to build an empire in a new world on the back of his new quirk-cancelling bullet. Someone needed to be a shield and with his father up and about, the grunts wouldn't listen to an adopted son who had ruled though fear.

Even though Kai had touched the man before him with his own hands, this whole situation still felt far to contrived to be coincidence. Something was up and he had to find out what before everything was destroyed. Kai had got his old man out of the picture once, and it seemed he'd have to do it again.

His composure regained and with his reeling subordinates watching on, Kai cooly answered from the ground "Yes, father. My Bullets are yours to use. We'll do what has to be done to save the family…"

(X)

With the plan agreed upon and logistics being seen to by Mirai and the police, most of the heroes were left to wait in several staging rooms in and around the police station that they had been briefed in. Terra sat alone at the makeshift conference table they had all been gathered at before. She was already dressed in her hero costume, a mostly faithful reproduction of her cloths from her home world, a mostly red outfit with pink highlights and a sheer pink cape trailing behind and pink sash wrapped around her waist. One hand was held open in front of her, a small ball of fire dancing just above it while the half-esper stared at it absent-mindedly.

"Hey"

Startled, Terra dispelled the ember in her hand and turned to see who had spoken. Surprise turned to comfortable familiarity when the green-haired girl saw Zelgadis approaching. "Hello Zelgadis. Is everything alright?"

Though Terra looked pleased to see the chimera, the same could not be said for the rock-encrusted swordsmen as he came to stand beside her and answered "That's what I was going to ask you. Are you really ok with your role in all of this?"

The smile on Terra's face shrank after she turned away to look at the wall, as if considering Zelgadis' words. "Zelgadis, have I ever told you what my life was like back in my own world?"

Zelgadis frowned, thinking of everything the girl beside him had said on the subject and coming up short. "You've talked about your world generally and described your friends in great detail but honestly, no, not that I can recall."

When Terra turned to meet to the chimera again, Zelgadis was struck by how sad her smile was when she began to speak, "I was…the only half-esper in the world and that led me to be used most of my life. I was raised by the very empire that had murdered my mother and imprisoned and slowly drained away the life of my father. Ultimately, I was made a thoughtless slave, meant to destroy on command. When I broke free of their control, I spent the next two years doing little more than reacting to situations when they came. Desperate to help and do right, all while discovering my true nature, something that scared myself and many around me."

Zelgadis listened on silently, pained to hear of his friend's suffering but struggling to see where she was going with all of it. He got his answer when Terra continued, "I tell you this because I wanted you to understand how much I value my own ability to make my choices in life. Zelgadis, we're not just here to save a little girl and crush a criminal organization. Xellos means to take our only means of getting home away from us. I refuse to let him rob us of that choice and I will do anything in my power to get you home."

Zelgadis stood by his friend, held by the conviction in her eyes, feeling the weight of her words and almost let himself be swept away by them. Then, the cold, rational part of his mind wrestled back control. Terra may be willing to do everything she could to stop the mischievous mazuku but the truth of Xellos' strength could lead Zelgadis to only one realistic conclusion. "Even if that means you'll die?" the sorcerer coldly responded, a scowl on his face.

Terra's expression tightened before she stood up and faced the chimera. Without preamble, Terra was bathed in pink light, her form enveloped with pink fur and her hair matching as it flowed wildly down her back. With an aura of energy emanating from her, it was hard for Zelgadis to not be intimidated by both the sight and the power that stood in front of him. Now, as only someone with an ability to sense magic could, Zelgadis felt Terra's presence as much as he could see her and that logical part of his mind began to have its doubts.

"If it means I'll die, then it means I die the way I want to, Zelgadis. I didn't have a choice, being made this way but this is how I choose to be." Terra answered firmly.

Zelgadis' eye's widened at the half-esper's words. She may have been born the way she was but him? Zelgadis had asked for this. He was the way he was because he had wanted power. Even if this wasn't what he had expected when he wished for it. No. He was the way he was because of a mistake. One he aimed to correct. And if that meant getting home, then so be it. If it meant using some child's power, he'd do that to.

Still, even if he disagreed with what Terra was trying to tell him without actually say it, Zelgadis at least felt more confidence in their chances against Xellos. Nodding, the rock-encrusted swordsmen replied "You're stronger than I gave you credit for. I'm sorry for thinking otherwise. I'll see you out there, Terra."

When Zelgadis turned and left the way he came, Terra reverted to human form, a worried frown on her face. Zelgadis was often as rough underneath as his rocky skin but the green-haired half-esper knew beneath it all was a person of deep caring and deep passion. People like that, Terra knew, would bottle those passions up, blaming themselves for past trauma. Many of her friends back home were like that. Terra just hoped that she could help her friend before something terrible happened.

(X)

"…You hear me boys? This may be our home but nothing matters more than this family, so get your asses down into the tunnels and head for the compound! Kobe will lead you there!" the now returned head of the Shie Hassaikai boomed in front of the stunned and awestruck rank and file of the yakuza group.

The speech was met by raucous cheering with men throwing their arms in the air, some openly weeping at the return of their seemly lost leader. The old man grinned before shouting once more, a hint of pride in his voice "I didn't say cheer, you punks! I said get moving!"

With a renewed cheer, the men began gathering material belongings and started the process of leaving their headquarters. Confident he had made his point, the old leader moved into the house, followed by the aforementioned Kobe, who, once he was sure they were alone confidently said "That was perfect! With you here, we can save the boys instead of sacrificing ourselves for that madman of a son!"

The old man let slip a sly smile while the young man beside him heaped on the praise. Then the boss replied "Oh no, without you, Kobe-san, it never would have gone so smoothly."

Both men's smiles vanished when the sound of a slow clap filled the room. Both turned to look in a dimly lit corner to find what looked like a blonde-haired schoolgirl with predatory eyes and a hungry grin flanked by a taller man in a black full-body suit. Both men turned and were on their guard when Himiko slowly began to step forward before she stopped clapping and petitely placed her hands behind her back. As she got closer she spoke in a sing-song voice "Now THAT was a pre-t-good performance there! If I wasn't so good at pretending to be others myself, I might have been fooled too…Xellos."

"I know you fooled me! I didn't buy it for a second." Twice added as he followed behind his friend.

When Kobe brandished a knife and tried to step forward, the old "leader" threw his hand in front of the younger man and replied "Why, whatever do you mean? I am clearly the head of this family. If you plan to renege on the deal your boss made with my son, I give you permission to do so, no questions asked."

Glancing over at the underling, Himiko realized what was at play and changed tactics "Oh? How generous of you, boss-san! Tell you what, why not we make a deal with you then, since you're now the man in charge again. Fair?"

"Toga! What are you doing? That's not what the boss wanted! Yeah! Let’s do some back-stabbing!" Twice frantically whispered into the blood thirsty blonde's ear.

Himiko paid her friend's concerns no mind, her smile disappearing to show how serious she was as the old man answered "Interesting. And brave. I like it! What did you have in mind, girl?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm not talking deals with lackeys around. We'll talk in private." Himiko answered.

The old man's eyebrow raised, a hint of a smile on his lips when he turned to his compatriot "Kobe, I'd like a word with this young lady, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I ain’t going unless this weirdo in the suit comes too!" the young yakuza snapped.

Himiko and Twice exchanged glances, followed by Twice shrugging before he began walking and then said "I'll be right outside. I'm not going anywhere!"

With the other two gone, Himiko spoke again "Ok, let's try that again. The boss felt you when he killed you back in Kamino so clearly whatever your quirk is, it isn't illusions so cut the crap, Xellos! You told Shigaraki about getting All For One back and we're here to collect, so cut the bullshit."

The old man stood, looming over the far smaller girl, his arms crossed, unmoving. For a moment, Himiko considered having to gut the bastard to get him to drop the façade but finally, the act began to crumble as a massive, almost unnatural smile spread across the man's face.

"Very good, Toga-san! I am pleased to know Shigaraki has someone with even a hint of discretion among his ranks!" Then, when Himiko blinked, the old man was replaced by the purple-haired, purple suited enigma.

If Himiko was impressed, she didn't show it because she cooly regarded the man with the disarming smile in front of her. "Had that fool outside coach you on how to act like the old man, not bad at all. But why? Planning to take the group over from that asshole, Overhaul?" Himiko questioned.

The vampiric murderer nearly lunged instinctively when the man in front of her leaned in a bit and waved a gloved finger in front of her and said "Now that…is a secret! Well, at least some of my plan is. I can indeed get you in contact with All for One but in exchange, there are some things I would ask of you and your boss."

This guy was starting to piss Himiko off. Most anyone else would have reacted at least a little to her threatening to attack them but not this Xellos. He acted as though there was literally nothing she could do to him. Maybe that was true, but he was coming off very condescendingly and it made her want to kill him all the more. Still, she had sought him out and having got what she came for, she wasn't about to back out now. Not when there was the chance to gut some fish. That playfully predatory smile spread across her face once more before she replied "Sounds fun. What've ya got in mind?"

"Wonderful!" Xellos beamed, "Feel free to share all of this with your two-sided friend out there. So here's the plan…"

(X)

With only an hour left before the raid began, all of the rookie heroes-in-training were gathered so Shouta and Celty could speak with them one last time. It started straightforward enough, going over the plan of attack and responsibilities. Since they only had the base layout of the house from when it was built, and the quirks of some of groups members, they were playing it safe. The heavy hitters like Fatgum, Shadow Rider, Eraserhead and Ryukyu would lead, followed by the search team, with Michiru at its core, whose job it was to find Eri. She would be protected by Zelgadis, Emeralda, Izuku and Mirio. Terra would be in the rear guard with other heroes and police to be called up if needed and when Xellos showed up along with the other 1-A students.

"Wait a minute" Eijiro interjected while Shouta was finishing, "Why are we the ones in back and all the lighters up front?"

Sounding even more put off than normal, Shouta sighed and answered "Weren't you listening? We need Animalia's tracking to get us to the girl. Besides, the three lighters have proven they are just as capable as the Big Three. All of them can handle themselves out there."

"As long as everyone sticks to the plan." Celty felt the need to add, her visor reflecting the image of a frowning Zelgadis.

Several looks were exchanged between the students before Shouta spoke again, this time his tone notably less harsh, almost bordering on caring "This is a major operation, your first and you lack experience. Help when asked but otherwise, I want you to learn out there. You're my students but tonight I'm a hero. We have a job to do and that can't include protecting you. This goes double for you Midoriya. I know it’s been hard living without being able to save that girl before but know that by staying your hand then, we were able to prepare for today. We will save her. You've already had a big part in that so please don't push yourself, you hear me?"

Though Izuku was the one being addressed at the end, the whole group nodded. Having said their peace, the two veteran heroes departed, leaving mixed feelings, especially among the 1-A students. His pride still wounded by his placement in the rear guard, Eijiro turned toward his now former classmates "What did Aisawa-sensei mean you were just as capable as the Big Three, huh? I feel like I'm missing something because not too long ago you were right there with us taking the exam, right?

Standing against the back wall of the room, arms crossed and hood up, Zelgadis answered with a grumble "We beat your precious Big Three, that's why."

Eijiro, Tsu and Ochaco looked completely shocked as they stared at the brooding chimera. When no further explanation was forthcoming, they turned to Michiru, with the frog-like Tsu asking, "What does Magus mean by that?"

"Yeah!" Ochaco added breathlessly, "Just one of them totally wiped the floor with our entire class!"

Michiru leaned back, feeling the pressure of the heroes-in-training bearing down on her "Uhh…" was all she could manage before she looked to Emeralda for some help.

The tan girl saw the look in her friend's eyes and instead of taking it as a plea for, she took it to mean she needed help with the explanation itself and cut in saying "Magus is correct. As a condition of being allowed to join your class for the exam, we were required to go up against several other students, three of which were the Big Three."

"Wow, that's totally manly! I guess it shouldn't be a surprise you three scored so high on the exam!" Eijiro exclaimed, pumping his fist.

Michiru groaned, drawing the opposite reaction than she wanted causing Emeralda's expression to go from modestly proud of herself to confused. The gravity defying brunette in the meantime was seeing stars when she eagerly asked "How'd you do it? Get so strong I mean? You're all about our age, right? You were only with us a couple of weeks. Were you all in hero classes before you got taken?"

At that last question, Ochaco covered her mouth, her eyes widening while Tsu said with a hint of reproach "Uraraka…"

The students of 1-A had been warned when the lighters first joined the class that it was considered very rude to even ask about a lighter's time before their 'rescue' and Ochaco, in her enthusiasm had bulled right passed that. At first, none of the three displaced souls had an answer to the questions they'd been bombarded with. Finally, Michiru looked the rosey-cheeked girl in the eye, almost remorsefully and said simply "Life. Life made us this way…"

It wasn't a wrong answer and it was vague enough to let the others fill in their own gaps while also shutting down follow-ups. With the atmosphere growing heavy, Izuku decided to do nothing to ease the mood when he spoke up for the first time since Shouta left, his voice grave "None of that matters right now. All that matters is we'll finally get the chance to save Eri!"

No one argued that point, the group falling into silence again. Then, in an attempt to lighten things up, Tsu spoke up, curious about something else earlier in the day. "Crescens, back when we were still getting here, I couldn't help but notice how you and Suneater acted when we ran into them, ribbit."

Seizing on anything to bring everyone's spirits up, Michiru answered before her friend could "Oh yeah! He asked her out at the opening ceremony."

"Wow, didn't know he had it in him. He seems so, you know, completely afraid to talk to anyone." Eijiro astutely observed.

The two female 1-A students on the other hand almost looked scandalized, Ochaco looking even redder in the face than normal when she almost whispered "…did, did you say yes?"

Emeralda, despite herself, blushed as she withered under the other's gaze. Looking away she said "No…I didn't. I'm sorry."

That caused Ochaco to look confused "Why are you sorry?"

"You…seemed so invested in an affirmative response I thought I had disappointed you." Came the embarrassed response.

"No, I'm sorry!" Ochaco shot back, her face suddenly set in determination, "I just got excited is all! You do whatever you think is best, don't let what I, or anyone else thinks, influence your decisions or how you feel!" Ochaco quickly and emphatically replied.

"She's right, Emmy" Michiru added, "You said you weren't ready and that's that! No shame in saying what you thought, ok!"

Emeralda seemed to contemplate what the two young women had said before bringing her attention back to them and offered her own question "If I may ask…have any of you been on a date before? I am familiar with the concept but…maybe if I could talk to someone about actual experience I may change my perspective."

At this point Izuku had moved to be by Zelgadis and was entirely disengaged with the conversation, focused on the battle at hand. Eijiro, though, groaned, mumbling something about wishing they were still talking about fighting the Big Three. The three girls, though, suddenly found literally anything else in the room more interesting to look at. This was especially convenient for Ochaco, who almost instinctively glanced toward Izuku before pulling her eyes away to avoid someone else noticing.

Michiru spoke first, sounding apologetic as she did so "Sorry, Emmy, but back at my…old school I was more focused on sports. Most of the guys were pigs or assholes and the only guy I spent time with after that…well he's distant, grumpy and patronizing and a whole lot older than me. I guess I never really got to think about it since my, umm, quirk came in, ya know?"

That had been a rather…unusual answer that gave Tsu another reason to raise an eyebrow but decided to leave it be for her own rather straight forward answer "Ribbit, I've been focused on becoming a hero for a long time now. I guess if the right person came along I'd think about it but dating just isn't something I'm interested in. Sorry, Crescens."

"Yeah, it’s mostly been the same for me, too! I've been so focused on getting to be a hero to support my parents as soon as possible that getting into UA and being the best I can has pretty much been my focus for a while too. Sorry I couldn't be more help either!" Ochaco answered as well, looking rather sheepish while she spoke.

Emeralda, for her part, felt a bit better knowing she wasn't the only one with no experience in what had, up till now, seemed like such an important part of life that had been at best confusing and at worse painful for the nanomachine girl. Still, there was a common thread in the other girl's answers. They had all been focused on other things in their lives. They had had the chance to live lives long before such things even became an option. It was something she desperately wished she had gotten the chance to have before circumstances and her own foolish choice had taken it away from her.

Her inner doubt notwithstanding, Emeralda's and Tsu's questions had at least succeeded in bringing down the tension as they awaited the call to load up and head out. Soon enough that call came and the young heroes made their way to the police transports where they saw the Big Three, Terra and to Michiru's surprise, a very excited ant girl. The tanuki girl wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried that she had succeeded in fulfilling her promise to the overly eager third year as they all headed for what was likely a hard battle.

(X)

With the sound of her door creaking open, Eri sat up in her bed, having spent the last hour huddled under the covers as she heard far more activity outside her room than she could ever remember. She knew something was happening, but she had no idea what and the fact that no one had come to tell her scared her greatly. Eri's fear began to subside however when the familiar and kind face of her caretaker came through the door, his ever-present smile exactly what she needed to see.

"Xellos? Is everything ok out there? It sounds like a lot is going on." The young horned girl ventured, still cloaked in her sheets.

If her purple-haired friend was worried, it didn't show on his face while he approached the foot of Eri's bed and leaned forward, offering his hand before gently responding "It seems we're going to have to move to a new home, Eri-chan. Do you remember what that means?"

The platinum-haired girl wrapped the sheets tighter around herself, her eyes pleading before she answered with a whimper "B-but Xellos…I don't want to make grandpa disappear too!"

Xellos moved his hand to gently pat the girl's sheet covered head reassuringly while he said "Eri-chan, sweety, we've talked about this. Your grandpa may be breathing but as he is, he'll never wake up. Right now, you're the only one who can save him. If you fail, he is no worse off than before. You're a big girl, I know you can do this!"

Eri looked up at the man who had been so kind and supportive of her, her eyes awash in the all too familiar fear of her own power. She was terrified. Even if Xellos could protect her from her father, she wasn't sure she could live with herself if she made her grandpa disappear just like her real daddy. But…maybe Xellos was right…maybe she could save someone and maybe even be saved herself. Sniffling, the frightened girl tried to steel herself while she offered a firm nod, taking Xellos' hand and getting out of her shabby bed for what she hoped would be the last time.

(X)

If the Shie Hassaikai didn't know something was about to descend upon them, they surely knew now because what seemed like a small army of police flowed out of transport vehicles and readied in formation while heroes gathered in smaller groups in front of them like a wedge. The atmosphere among those gathered was tense while everyone found their place and did their best to not look as nervous as they actually were. Some because they had never done something like this before and wanted to do their best, others worried about those same inexperienced compatriots while others still simply worried if they'd even be going home to their families by night's end.

Walking past the officers and groups of heroes in turn, Mirai had the look of a general sizing up his troops before coming to stand at the head of the column, with the ranking police officer. When the officer nodded, Mirai called out "This is it! You've all been briefed on the quirks we know we'll be facing but that only goes so far. Be vigilant! We're serving a warrant to search for illegal drugs, and that includes the girl Eri, whom we know is the origin of those drugs. That is our number one priority! Understand?"

When the assembled raid team shouted in the affirmative, Mirai added "Animalia! Are you ready? Our plan hinges on you!"

Michiru stiffened noticeably at the call out when the eyes of her teammates fell on her. With the note Eri had left Izuku in her hand, Michiru's body briefly had sparks dance about her before her tail grew longer, fuzzier and her snout longer, very much wolf-like. With a strong whiff of the note, Michiru focused on the scent that wasn't Xellos or Izuku and immediately picked up on Eri. A trail seemed to become visible in Michiru's mind. After a brief pause, Michiru's eyes shot open and she called out "I have her, Sir Nighteye! Let's do this!"

Armed with the warrant, the head officer called out "The operation begins now!" before he turned and charged forward, the mass of law enforcement and heroes following right behind. Fatgum, with his ability to absorb damage, lead the way, overtaking the two leaders of the mission. He was followed right behind by Shadow Rider, who pierced the gate ahead of them with her shadow blades, weakening it for Ryukyo, who enlarged her arm to its dragon-like proportions and smashed it entirely. That allowed Fatgum to bowl through, bracing himself for an onslaught of punishment.

Behind them, Shouta already had his quirk active, ready to cancel quirks as he entered along with Rock Lock, who was also ready to react at a moment's notice. Michiru ran forward, still in wolf form, Emeralda to her front, Izuku to her right, Mirio to her left and Zelgadis behind. So focused on Eri's scent, the wolf girl didn't even notice that everyone in front of her had slowed to a walk. "Wha?" she reflectively said aloud as she looked about her. Instead of the chaos of a battlefield, it appeared the raiders had walked into an empty estate. There didn't seem to be anyone around at all. No guards, no one caught off guard in the middle of a smoke. Nothing.

"What the hell is going on? Did they already evacuate?" Rock Lock questioned while he kept looking about for any sign of movement.

"Animalia!" Celty called.

"Right! I was focusing on Eri and it seems she's below us. There's an underground compound below the house. Give me a minute and I'll see what else I can detect!" the wolf girl responded. Closing her eyes again, she let go of the scent she had been focusing on and let her nose take in what was around them. With so many other people around her, it was hard to tell who was apart of the raid and what was a shadow left behind. As she expanded her senses outward, Michiru began to pick up on a half dozen or more in the direction of the building itself and she realized what was about to happen, calling out "Watch out! They're about to come through that wall!"

The front-line fighters had just about enough time to turn to face where Michiru was pointing, Ryukyu commanding "Brace yourselves!" just before the wall exploded outward and a massive man, Rikiya Katsukame, with gauntleted gloves, a black tank-top and a black, pointed mask covering the whole of his head came crashing forward, throwing himself into the mass of people before him. On his massive left shoulder sat Toya Setsuno, a lanky blonde in black pants, deep green dress shirt with a pink necktie along with a long, narrow black mask on his face.

Following close behind was another blonde, Hekiji Tengai, though this one kept his hair short cropped compared to the other and he wore a black yukata over his tall and slender frame. He too wore a long mask though his was brown, long and simple. He was accompanied by Deidoro Sakaki, a shirt-less man with long black hair and a white mask that covered his whole face and was notable for being flat. This second man seemed to be struggling to stay upright, but then so too were those members of the raid team around him starting to show signs of disorientation.

Four more men came spilling out of the burst wall, one was Soramitsu Tabe, with a scarecrow like sack over his head while another, Yu Hojo, was a bald man who wore a simple white medical mask and appeared to be adorned with crystals dove forward. Behind him was another, Hari Kurono or Chronostasis, in a white cloak and gas mask with a long extended front appeared to be throwing thin projectiles. Chronostasis was being guarded by Kendo Rappa, another large man in a white shirt, but aside from his wild, long red hair, had his head covered by a bird-like black mask as well.

Even with Michiru's warning, the surprise was near total and the formation came apart immediately, many scattering to take cover. At least among the heroes that was true. The poor massed police officers were sitting ducks for the largest of the attackers, many simply swatted away like flies by the massive boulder of a man leading the charge into their ranks.

The veteran heroes remained calm but with everyone scattered it was impossible to organize a counter to the surprise assault. That meant, for the time being, everyone would more or less have to fend for themselves. Ryukyu was first to act, fully aware she was best suited to counter the behemoth laying waste to the officers behind her. With enough space to transform, her form shifted and expanded to that of a flesh-colored dragon before she charged forward. However, as she did so, she realized something felt off. She was moving slower than she should have. It only took her a moment to remember one of the scouting reports mentioned Chronostasis, who could do just this with his hair. What was done, was done however, and she had to stop the assault of the officers even if she had been slowed.

Looking ahead, Ryukyu could see the few police who were able to avoid being swept away were having their guns, batons and shields stolen away by the blonde man riding on the monster's shoulders. As Ryuuku approached, she caught sight of an orange blur shooting down from the sky, something the blonde failed to notice as he gleefully kept stealing weapons wherever possible. Thus, Toya was caught completely unaware when Brooklyn crashed into him, talons first, smashing the thieving yakuza to the ground. The growling gargoyle's eyes shown white as he raised his arm to strike a knockout blow, only to be suddenly struck with an overwhelming feeling of disorientation. It was just enough to give him pause before he was hit hard with a flurry of crushing blows to the head by the red-headed Rappa, sending him down, unconscious and bloody.

Seeing her mentor up and charging Rikiya, Ochaco, who had been hunkered down in the bushes she had thrown herself into to avoid being hit, rose to engage as well. Tsu was nearby too and seeing her, called out "Froppy! I need you to throw me at that giant!"

The green-haired frog-girl seemed horrified by this before she answered "What? Are you sure!"

"There's no time, if I can get him off his feet, Ryukyu can hit him hard!" Ochaco yelled back without looking at her friend. Pressing her fingertips together, she activated her quirk and began floating to get her there that much faster.

Her doubt replaced by trust in her friend and classmate, Tsu shot her tongue out and wrapped it around Ochaco's waist and swung around twice to build momentum before yelling "Ok Uravity! Here. We. GO!"

It was a risky move since the gravity defying girl was entirely defenseless if she was seen by her target. Luckily for her, the big man had become aware of the threat that Ryukyu posed and had turned to meet her, which left him entirely unaware when a pink and black bullet zoomed past him, lightly touching his leg as she went. Ochaco was caught by Eijiro, who had found himself on the opposite side of the piercing assault with Nejire.

The brunette activated her quirk once more and Rikiya, fully braced for the slow moving dragon woman heading toward him suddenly found himself weightless, floating above the ground and completely lacking the ability to leverage his strength. Ryukyu slammed into him hard, just like Ochaco had hoped, but instead of sending the massive yakuza flying, he latched on and took in a long breath, at once draining Ryukyu of her strength and taking it for himself, his form beginning to grow larger.

"Shit!" Ryukyu screamed in frustration before she kicked away, trying to break off from Rikiya. Instead, as the space between them grew, Rikiya reached out and pushed off of the dragon hero, causing himself to spin. While he twisted away, he came to a large tree, which he caught to stop his momentum. Fully stopped, the giant proceeded to rip the poor tree out of the ground like any common weed, so immense was his strength by this point. He may have been weightless but Rikiya didn't need to be standing on firm ground to summon enough power to throw the tree like a javelin back at the slow moving dragon hero.

At that moment, Shouta, who had been disoriented by Deidoro's quirk, had recovered enough to see what was going on and turned his gaze on Chronostasis. Her body returned to moving normally, Ryukyu was able to catch the massive tree, reducing the blow considerably, but it still knocked her backward and on to several of the lesser known heroes among their ranks.

Shouta had his goggles stolen by Toya, who was trying to steal just about anything he could while he dashed back to the protection of his gargantuan partner.

When Rikiya had first exploded onto the scene, Michiru had instinctively reverted back to tanuki form and her tail expanded into a massive ball of fur, encasing her entire protection detail. The good news was everyone would be protected from harm. The bad news was the giant fluff ball got kicked away like a soccer ball and got caught in the corner of the estate's perimeter wall, causing it to ping pong several times before coming to a stop. Michiru and her teammates were completely disoriented before she returned her tail to normal, dropping all those encased to the ground with a thud.

Getting her bearings, Michiru got to her feet and looked on as the chaos unfolded. Everywhere she looked ahead of her, the tanuki girl saw people were fighting desperately. Many of the people she had just been with were laying on the ground incapacitated while others struggled to fend off the yakuza ambush. "This…this is much worse than I thought it would be…" she spoke aloud while the others rose to their feet too.

"It is pretty bad." Zelgadis acknowledged.

"But we're still here" Izuku added.

"We've still got a job to do, Animalia. You still have that scent?" Mirio spoke, his normally cheery demeanor much harder and focused.

"No, when I shifted back, I lost the ability to continue tracking. But I remember that she was underground and that there's a passage in the house that leads there." Michiru responded.

"Then that's where we're headed." Zelgadis declared, a sentiment acknowledged by Mirio with a nod.

"We're with you, Animalia. We'll get you through and you'll get us to the girl." Emeralda added, her calm attitude serving to instill confidence in her friend in the mist of such a terrible sight before them.

Shifting once more into her wolf form, Michiru narrowed her eyes as a snarl graced her canine features "Then let's get in there. Deku! LeMillion! Take point and clear the way! Magus, Crescens, you two handle defense, on the sides!"

"Right!" came the chorus of her teammates before they got in position and moved forward.

As the group charged for the main building, they first passed near the giant Rikiya and caught his attention while he loomed over the grounded Ryukyu. He never got the chance to act though because from near the entrance to the grounds, Terra rose into the air, now in her esper form and cloaked in a veil of pink energy before she let loose a battle cry and began sending blasts of magic powered fire down on the massive yakuza.

The sack-wearing Soramitsu seemed to fly in from nowhere, mouth open wide, ready to eat whatever it came into contact with. Unluckily for him, he choose to try and nibble on Mirio, and the forever hungry yakuza passed right through him and got a jaw full of Izuku's fist, which sent him flying away and out of action at least for the moment.

Chronostasis tried to let loose his hairs on the group making their way forward but Zelgadis' wind barrier easily deflected the movement slowing projectiles.

Rappa charged at the group as well, aiming his rapid fire fists at the wolf girl at the center of the formation. The red head only managed to punch the steel wall that had a moment before been Emeralda's arms. His attack foiled, Rappa fell back when he sensed the counter attack come when Emeralda's hair extended forward as a mace that nearly took his mask off.

Michiru could see they were almost to the threshold of the building and a sense of relief was building inside her when a nauseous feeling began to wash over her and she suddenly struggled to keep her balance. As the world spun around her, she looked about to see her teammates were also feeling the same effects. Without knowing whose quirk it was they were feeling or how it worked, none of them could even begin to act to counter it.

Just as Michiru felt like she was going to lose her footing, Fatgum stepped in, having already been a victim of the quirk and realizing who was behind it, used a mighty thrust of his belly to send the offending Deidoro off his feet and several meters away, releasing the group from his quirk. "Get in there! We'll be right behind you!" Fatgum called before he turned to follow up his attack.

"Don't fall behind, Fatgum!" Mirio replied while the group began forward once again, finally crossing the threshold and entering the compound proper.

Everyone remained on guard, but Michiru wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and focused her sense of smell once more to pick up as much as she could instead of just the singular scent of Eri. "Around the corner, blocking access to the underground, there are three more!"

Almost as soon as those words left her mouth, the trio of yakuza appeared. One, Shin Nemoto, a slim man who wore a black cloak, black bowler hat and black beaked mask with a pair of goggles stepped forward with a hand gun out and pointed at the group. Another was new to the bullets, Gai Sumitsu was larger, better built and oddly, kept his hands up in front of himself, palms open though he didn't have a mask. The third was the most unusual-looking, a tiny man in an all black body suit plus a white, skull-like mask stitched down the middle known as Mimic or Joi Irinaka.

"It was only a matter of time before some of you self-righteous vermin made it past the vanguard." Shin spoke calmly, as though his base wasn't being raided and his comrades not engaged in a desperate struggle just outside.

"You're stalling. Don't think that little gun of yours scares us." Zelgadis scoffed, then raised his palm before adding "Now move out of the way! Fireball!"

A singular blast of fire flew from the sorcerer's hand and shot straight at the armed yakuza. However, instead of disarming the man as intended, the flaming spell collided with what looked like thin air and dissipated in front of the hat-wearing Shin, who chuckled for a moment afterward.

"Oh, I think we have some time for questions." Shin replied with mirth in his voice.

This time Emeralda stepped forward, throwing her arm forward while it shifted into a whip, also intent on disarming the man. Her whip, too, smashed harmlessly against what seemed like air. This time though, Emeralda could feel that something was, in fact, there.

"Do you know what's in this gun?" Shin asked, ignoring the attack just moments earlier.

"Quirk cancelers, right?" Mirio answered, venom lacing his words, fully aware where those bullets would have come from.

"That's right! My, only the best from UA, I must say. I trust then that you can understand the gravity of what getting shot carries, yes?" Several among the heroes looked just a bit more nervous, the hint of hesitation visible to the former con-artist. Shin continued, confident he could milk these kids for at least some information. "Now, my quirk doesn't lend itself to combat, but it does come in very useful if given the right circumstances. It lets me get information most anyone else would struggle to retrieve. For instance, you, with the freckles, tell me, why are you here?"

Several eyes darted to Izuku, who suddenly felt an overwhelming compulsion to answer and did so "Eri! We're here to rescue Eri!"

"Deku, what're you doing?!" Michiru called from behind him.

"I-I can't help it! It must be his quirk!" Izuku answered defensively.

"Eri you say? Now that's interesting. You're the boy that Overhaul and the brat ran into aren't you? What makes Eri so special? Surely there are countless other children out there that 'need rescue', hmm? What say you scarf girl?"

This time it was Emeralda who was forced to answer and she looked absolutely surprised when she began speaking despite her best efforts not to. "We have learned that she is being used to make the bullets you have threatened us with and given Overhaul's quirk, we assume it is being done in a most painful fashion."

Shin was one to have absolute faith in his leader and as such, shared Kai’s suspensions. Now with the chance to confirm them, Shin quickly pressed "How? How did you learn about Eri?"

"It was Xellos." Izuku blurted out before he even realized he'd said it, covering his mouth immediately thereafter.

"I'm done playing games! We're getting down there one way or the other! Freeze Arrow!" Zelgadis yelled, holding one arm out and pulling back with the other, forming a magical frozen projectile.

The three yakuza smirked, expecting the same outcome as before and indeed the ice arrow did break upon the unseen barrier just like the fire spell and whip had before it. This time though, once the spell hit, ice began to spread in all directions, encasing the wall to its edges, clearly defining it and revealing they had been behind a wall.

All at once, multiple things happened. Mimic had pulled out a syringe and jabbed it into his neck, an act unseen by the heroes thanks to the ice covering the wall between them. Gai crossed his arms across his chest, putting both hands on his shoulders and disappeared while Shin fell to the side, gun out, intent on firing at the heroes and depowering as many as he could.

On the other side, Mirio charged forward, intent on phasing through the ice wall, while Emeralda dashed for the same edge that Shin had, shifting her arm into a shield as she moved. Zelgadis drew his sword and moved for the opposite side while Michiru and Izuku started to dash toward the hallway that led downstairs.

Shin fired as soon as he cleared the ice wall, intent on laying down cover fire, only to be met with Emeralda's shield, which caused the small syringe-like projectile to ricochet back and up. Just then, Mirio made it through the wall while Zelgadis rounded the other side and instead of finding two men there, watched as just one began to build an enormous amount of body mass, growing to be much taller and wider than either hero.

Zelgadis still charged forward with his sword but the newly enlarged Mimic fell backward and seemed to disappear into the back wall just when the bullet Shin had fired bounced back and by per luck, hit Gai. The needle had become too damaged to inject him with anything but it did give the former grunt's position away.

Mirio wasted no time taking a swing at Gai, managing a glancing blow because the invisible yakuza had already begun to dodge when he realized what had happened. Shin had hit the ground and now aware the hero to his front couldn't be shot, rolled backward. When Shin slammed into the back wall, Emeralda followed behind, her other arm now a mean looking mallet. Shin pulled out a second gun and fired one at Mirio and the other toward Michiru and Izuku. That would be shin's last act because Emeralda caught up to him and hit him hard across his head, knocking him out cold, his bowler hat knocked off and crumpled on the ground.

Mirio simply used his quirk to allow the bullet to pass right through him but the other two didn't have such a luxury. Luckily, Zelgadis threw himself in the way, his rocky skin proving to be just as sturdy as he boasted, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off. "You two get down there, we'll be right behind!" the chimera called.

"Oh no, that won't do at all." Came a disembodied voice "None of you are going anywhere as long as I'm here!"

When Mimic finished speaking, the very walls and floor began to warp and undulate, knocking the conscious occupants of the room off balance. "What's going on? I thought that report they gave us said he could only do this to smaller objects, not whole rooms!" Michiru complained while she struggled to keep enough focus to track Eri.

"Must have used a quirk enhancer!" Mirio answered, before adding "If you point me in the right direction, I should be able to phase past this and keep looking!"

"We may not have much of a choice." Izuku agreed, "We can't stop this if we can't hit him, right?"

"He has to be in the walls to manipulate the room, yes?" Zelgadis asked, an evil glint in his eye.

"That's what the report said." Emeralda confirmed while she shifted her legs into metal girders and attempted to ram them into the ground to regain her footing, to no avail.

"Animalia! Can you tell what the underground portion of the compound is made of?" Zelgadis then asked, confusing the tanuki girl.

"Not really. I guess I can tell you what it's not. It doesn't smell like it’s made of wood or earthen materials at least, why?" Michiru replied.

"I'd avoided using stronger spells since we're inside a mostly wooden building, but I think it’s time to turn up the heat!" Zelgadis answered, as he prepared another spell.

While the sorcerer-swordsmen conjured several flaming arrows, one of Shin's discarded guns began to rise and as it did, Gai reappeared, gun in hand. Pointing at Izuku and Michiru, the recently promoted grunt spoke, his voice betraying his frustration at letting things fall so quickly "Don't you dare! You burn the Family's house down and I waste these two heroes, you hear me?" While the young man spoke, the part of the room where he stood stopped moving.

Gai was sure none of the three other heroes could rush him before he fired, even if he couldn't hit any of them and he could tell if the rocky one was about to use a long-range attack. He wasn't however, prepared when Emeralda's arm shot into the ground at an angle in front of her. The yakuza barely had time to register what the hell was even happening when the now blade-like limb shot out of the ground and pierced his hand, causing him to discharge it wildly before dropping the gun.

Mirio rushed forward and laid into Gai, punching him to the ground, where Emeralda joined, kicking him hard in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. Zelgadis wasted no more time and let his Flare Arrows loose on the roof and far walls of the room. Immediately, the house caught fire and Mimic began screaming in agony before he phased out of the ceiling and fell to the ground, his body aflame while he flailed and screamed for help.

Zelgadis quickly fired another ice arrow that, when it hit Mimic, caused him to entirely freeze over, and encase him in ice.

"Magus, what are you doing!?" Mirio called aghast.

"Relax, he isn't dead. He'll be fine once the ice melts." The chimera answered dismissively.

"And the house? You're going to bring the whole place down!" Izuku added in a panic.

A couple more Ice Arrows caused the interior of the house to become encased in ice as well, putting out the flames. While Zelgadis moved to join Michiru down the hallway, Mirio grabbed his shoulder and barked "You could have hurt any one of us, or worse, the smoke could have gone down in the area below and caused people to die of asphyxiation! Are you insane?"

Zelgadis threw the senior hero's hand off, glaring at the blonde before replying "I knew what I was doing. We weren't getting anywhere fighting them. Now we are. What more do you want?"

"How about some consideration for others for a start! If we weren't in a hurry, I'd leave you behind in a heartbeat!" Mirio countered before he rushed forward and put himself in front of the rock-encrusted sorcerer.

With Mirio in front of him, Zelgadis at least outwardly kept him cool when he snapped back "I don't answer to you and there is nothing you can do to stop me from completing this mission. Out of my way."

"Boys! We don't have time for this! The entrance is behind this wall, we need to get past it and get moving, there's a lot of movement down there!" Michiru chastised before adding "Deku, if you could?"

Glancing at the other two young men, who continued to stare each other down, Izuku turned and stepped up to the wall with a bookshelf in front of it. "SMASH!" he yelled as One for All rushed through him and he delivered a mighty punch that destroyed the wall, debris raining down the stairwell beyond.

Emeralda walked past the two heroes at odds and spoke, her voice deadly calm "This is hardly an efficient use of our time. We need to proceed. Let's go."

Mirio was the first to relent, frowning in disappointment when he turned to follow the rest. Michiru looked down the stairs, which was dark at first but light emanated from further down, almost inviting them to the lion's den. "Ok, everyone, from what I can tell, it’s pretty complex down here. Keep close and we'll get to her. Let's finish this!"

Despite the confidence she was trying to project, Michiru had a sense of foreboding forming in the pit of her stomach and part of her was screaming at her to not go but she knew Eri was down there looking for help. She also knew Xellos was too and how that would turn out, the temporary wolf girl had no idea.

(X)

Chapter Text

Eri wasn't sure how long it had been since she had seen another human being while she sat in the darkened oversized closet that was her room. She had tried to escape again and the adult who had been taking care of her was very upset when he found her. After being dragged back to her room, he had screamed at her about how everything was over and that it was her fault before he punched her out of bed.

Some other adults had come in after a few agonizing minutes of the enraged man beating on her cowering form. They had dragged Eri's tormentor out of the room while he broke down crying for anyone to kill him. Anything besides having to go before the boss. The door had slammed shut followed by sound of the heavy deadbolt locking. It was only that final, loud sound that told the poor girl that the pain was finally over. Well, the beating and mental scarring anyway. After that she had cried until she had finally fallen asleep, the lingering ache of the punches and kicks finally fading with the slumber.

After that, nothing. No one had come to check on her, give her food or water. She was so thirsty…so hungry, so painfully alone. And yet, she knew she had been bad so it was her fault she was here suffering like this. Her fault the bad man had hit her. Her fault she was here, with no one to talk to, to comfort her.

Finally, the sound of the deadbolt let the one-horned girl know someone was finally here to see her. Whether that was a new handler or her "father' to take her to another one of his terrible sessions, she had no idea. Eri's fears were partially realized when the first thing she saw cross the threshold from the blinding light beyond was Kai's unmistakable beak-like mask.

As much to hide from her tormentor as from the sudden light entering her room, Eri dove under the covers and buried her head under her pillow. Kai's cold, calculating voice came muffled thanks to the pillow "You can expect this kind of behavior regularly. However, how you handle it is up to you. Just remember you cannot damage her, she is much too valuable for that."

Then a new voice could be heard, notably higher in pitch and nasally but carrying respect for the head of the family "You need not worry, Chisaki-sama. I will handle her with the utmost care."

As footsteps grew closer, Eri knew what was coming next and began to whimper as indeed a hand came down and pulled the pillow away, throwing it against the opposite wall. Before she could move completely under the covers, Kai grabbed them as well the threw them off the bed in a mess on the floor. The two men got their first look at the girl since the assault with her face swollen and bruised along with marks on her legs and hands. If there hadn't been bandages already covering her arms, bruises would have been prominent on them as well to go along with whatever else was hiding under her clothes.

"Come here, child." Kai said as he reached out with those horrible hands of his. Eri had nowhere else to run so aside from flinching at the sight of the hand, all she could do was silently begin weeping in anticipation of the new pain about to come. Instead, Eri could feel her wounds healing when Kai grabbed her arm. After a moment, the silver-haired girl opened her eyes when Kai let go, a questioning look on her face.

The yakuza leader didn't acknowledge her at all, however, instead speaking to the new man "There, back to how she was yesterday. I expect her to stay that way."

Now Eri got her first good look at the man who was apparently her newest in a long line of caretakers. His purple suit matched his bowl-cut purple hair and Eri realized that he was looking at her while Kai spoke, a warm smile on his face. His eyes, though she could barely see through his smile. Still, there was clearly something different about this man. He had a thinner frame than the thugs who had come before and seemed much more welcoming. The purple-haired man replied to Kai "Of course. From today on, Eri will no longer be someone for you to worry about!"

Kai nodded and spoke again when he turned to leave "She hasn't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday. You may want to take care of that first. We will speak later."

With that, Kai left, shutting the door behind him, leaving the two alone for the first time. Eri remained sitting on her bed, curled up and watching the man wearily, waiting for an order to be barked or yelling or grumbling about taking care of a kid. All things she had heard before once her "father" had left. Instead, the man leaned down and held out an open palm before he said "Hello little Eri, my name is Xellos! And from today on, I'll be taking care of you! I brought a present for you."

If this Xellos was putting on a show, it was a good one. Eri felt her guard going down, her worried expression replaced by that of curiosity "A…a present? For me?"

Just as Eri finished speaking, there was a puff of smoke and a flower appeared in Xellos' hand. It was yellow, with many small yellow petals radiating out from the center and the girl was instantly enamored with the flora that had been presented to her. Indeed, Eri's eyes grew wide in amazement, as though she'd never even seen a flower before "It’s so beautiful, Xellos-san! What's it called?"

Patting the young girl on the head now that she had rushed up to see the flower close, Xellos lightly chided "You can just call me Xellos, little Eri, if you could. Also, it's a Chrysanthemum. I'm told they mean celebration or happiness."

"Your told?" Eri asked, titling her head in a most adorable fashion.

"Oh yes, well, I'm not exactly from around these parts so I'm still learning" Xellos explained after he handed the girl the flower. Eri was in complete awe as she held it with great care before Xellos added with a sense of satisfaction "It would seem you like my little gift? Good, then what do you say we go get something to eat cute little one?"

"You mean I can go with you to get food?" Eri asked, a forlorn hope in her voice.

"Of course, silly! From now on, we'll do all sorts of things, I promise! Why, one day, you'll never have to come back to this place again if you want!"

That last part brought Eri up short as she was just starting to walk with the purple-haired caretaker. The thought that she might one day be free had kept her going for a long time now, but this was the first time someone else, an adult no less, had said it. Just when Xellos looked back to see what was holding his new charge up, Eri smiled wide and ran back up to him, taking his hand.

From there the two became fast friends. Xellos would continue to bring small gifts as well as read her stories, using funny voices that always put a smile on her face. Whenever Kai came for her to do his 'treatments', Xellos would go with her to be by her side and reassure her. When each session was over, he would carry her back and tell her that he would get her out someday soon, she just had to endure a little bit longer. Even as the days and weeks stretched on, Eri's belief that she would get away grew that much stronger every time Xellos said it.

Now…now she wasn't so sure. Standing over the prone form of her grandfather, laying in a hospital bed, IVs and various monitors attached to him, Eri seriously doubted she could do anything to save him. With that doubt came the fear that maybe she wouldn't escape either. Her father could be just on the other side of that door, killing the underlings that had come with them to the old boss' room.

Sensing her hesitation, Xellos put his hand out to Eri's side and in a puff of smoke, another Chrysanthemum appeared before he said gently "Remember when I first gave this to you Eri-chan? You remember what it meant?"

The nervous girl nodded.

"Good girl, I'm glad. Don't you think it would be a wonderful thing to share with your grandfather?"

Eri looked down at the flower and for a long moment, she stared at the cluster of tiny flowers that made up the center of the plant before looking over at the unconscious face of her last remaining blood relative.

Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Eri resolutely answered "I do!"

"Good" Xellos said while he used his other hand to gently place Eri's right hand on her grandfather's shoulder "Now, I want you to think about that flower. Think about how happy he would be to see it and I want you to think about how your grandfather was when he wasn't sick like this."

"I…I think I can do that Xellos" Eri replied, trying her best to sound brave and hide her obvious worry.

Closing her eyes, the one-horned girl did as her caretaker said and thought back to her grandfather dotting on her, playing with her, giving her sweets when she begged him. She imagined being able to show him this beautiful little flower and the big smile on his face when he received it from her. He'd laugh while he took it and say how sweet it was that she gave it to him. As her chest filled with the warmth of such thoughts, she could feel a tingle in her horn and when she opened her eyes again, Eri saw a flash of light eliminate from her hand that caused her to look away.

She'd done it. Eri had used her quirk. She was at once filled with pride that she had more or less done it on command but terrified to look back to see if she had gone too far. Then the sweet little girl heard the voice of her friend say "Eri-chan, you can open your eyes, sweetie. I think it worked." said Xellos.

Gasping, Eri's eyes shot open before she whipped her head back. Sure enough, her grandfather, Kenichi's, eyes were blinking open and all at once a profound and overwhelming sense of joy overtook the little girl before she threw herself on top of her grandfather, tears of unfettered joy flowing from her eyes.

Still just waking up and suddenly with the weight of a little girl on him, Kenichi let out a grunt before he slowly reached over and placed his hand on Eri's head and groggily said "E, Eri? Is that you? You…you're so big. How long have I been here?" Then, noticing the man in the purple suit standing beside him, added "I take it you're not a nurse. What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"

Bowing, Xellos answered, an air of reverence in his voice "Good evening, sir. My name is Xellos and I've become a member of your esteemed family in your absence. I have been taking care of your granddaughter of late. You'll forgive me if I cut to the chase. Your son has taken your family on a crusade to remove quirks from the world. That crusade has brought heroes into your home at this very moment. I've seen to it that most of the group is heading for safety and we've come to get you as well."

Sitting up slowly, letting Eri slide down to his lap, the old man put his other hand on his head before he said "My foolish son…he actually did it. Now he's destroyed everything."

"If I may, sir." Xellos interrupted "You are about to lose your home but if we act quickly, you and your family will be safe in Deika City. I've made connections there so that, for a time, you can lay low there."

"I have no idea what's going on but it sounds like I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Kenichi said while he picked up Eri and handed her to Xellos before he slide out of bed, his feet wobbly beneath him as he went to stand.

"An excellent choice, sir. Here, allow me to help you." Xellos replied before he lent the old man a shoulder to help the larger man walk, Eri all but skipping ahead of them with a bright smile on her face.

Looking down at his granddaughter, the revived head of the Shie Hassaikai couldn't help but think he had that little girl to thank for the fact that he was awake again. Then he noticed the bandages on her arms "Eri, sweetie, what happened to your arms?"

The one-horned little girl's smile faded considerably when she looked back at her grandfather and only managed to squeak out a 'ummm' before Xellos cut in, "Your son's doing. We'll talk about the details later."

His features hardening when his fears were all but confirmed, Kenichi nodded while they made their way out of the room he'd been hidden away in for who knows how long. Several men who had been standing guard turned to see their old leader walking again. Joy overtook them before they crowded the trio.

The group was about to turn and begin making their way down the maze of corridors to escape when a calm, muffled voice came from around the corner "As I suspected, it was an act. This was your grand plan, Xellos? To revive a foolish old man and run a bunch of cannon fodder around tunnels like rats in a maze?" Kai said when he rounded the corner, gloved hands coming out of his pockets.

"Kai, I told you if you persisted in this madness then you would be expelled from this family. This Xellos has done us a great service and you…you are no son of mine, not after what you've done to Eri!" the old man growled, anger building which each word.

"Xellos is nothing more than a petty thief, out to stop me from taking over this country, father! You recovering doesn't change that. We can always rebuild, as long as we have Eri. And I will have her, even if I have to go through you a second time."

The guards, all too familiar with Kai's quirk, took a step back but to their credit, did not back down, brandishing iron knuckles, chains and other simple weapons while one of them shouted "We'll hold them off, you go!"

Xellos nodded and the three turned to go when seemingly out of nowhere, a blonde flash darted in and swept up Eri. Before anyone knew it Himiko stood at the far end of the hall, a knife to Eri's throat and Jin right behind her before she said "So this little thing is the secret to those bullets of yours? Thanks, I think we'll be taking her!"

For a moment, there was silence, the three sides regarding each other. Then, all hell broke loose.

(X)

"Which way now!" Mirio called back toward Michiru while the group of young heroes reached another crossroads in the labyrinth-like hallways underneath the Shie Hassaikai headquarters.

"Left!" Michiru answered from behind, flanked by her fellow lighters Zelgadis and Emeralda, the morphing beastman still in her wolf form.

As the group made the turn, Emeralda shifted her arm into a blade and quickly slashed an arrow into the wall, grating the ears of the entire group. No one, however, complained since they all knew she was leaving a trail for their fellow heroes they left fighting up above to follow behind them.

Instead, Izuku brought up another subject that was bothering him "Was it really the best idea to leave those yakuza behind like that?"

"It was a gamble, to be sure." Mirio explained, still very much focused on the task at hand, his normal jovial attitude gone entirely.

"We just have to trust that our side will come out on top and collect them for us." Michiru agreed.

"It’s clear they already knew we were coming, which means we must act as quickly as possible. The only other option would have been to kill them." Emeralda said calmly, disturbing most of the others in the group.

"None of that will matter if we don't get her." Zelgadis reminded the group before asking the tanuki turned wolf girl "How much further, Animalia?"

Michiru had kept a firm focus on Eri's scent but from time to time would widen her perception to see if anymore nasty surprises were lying in wait. This time when she did it however, something else was revealed "Guys, we're getting closer. Just one more level down, but…"

"Spit it out!" Zelgadis irritably growled.

A brief flash of anger, quickly replaced by worry played across Michiru's lupine face before she continued "There's a fight down there, I think. Xellos is there, that Overhaul guy is there, and a bunch of people I don't know, with more on the way. We may have to fight our way to Eri!"

"We may have to scout the situation once we get there." Mirio said, which drew an angry glare from the chimera behind him.

"I'm not wasting any more time than I have to, blondie." Zelgadis said, annoyance and impatience in his voice.

"Magus, if we go in without knowing the situation or without a plan, we could waste a lot more than time. Anyone's quirk useful for scouting?"

Zelgadis wanted to retort but realized it was useless with Mr. Perfect and decided to keep his mouth shut. Izuku, aware of the awkwardness that had settled in between the two older heroes, spoke up "I…if I went fast enough, maybe I could get close enough to see what’s going on and be back without being seen?"

"Not my first choice but let's keep that option open" was the blonde upperclassmen's response.

"Turn left here! Also, my chameleon form can become invisible so I can handle that too." Michiru volunteered before the screeching of Emeralda's blade invaded her sensitive ears.

"That'll work, thanks Animalia, your quirk is amazing!" replied Mirio, his normal, cheerful self briefly making an appearance.

That praise caught Michiru off guard. Despite everything going on and the serious situation they found themselves charging into, the displaced girl couldn't help but think back to when she first became a beastman. Back when she thought being this way was a curse, some sort of illness to be cured. Before long, once it became clear what she could do, Michiru had come to see herself as a tanuki girl much more than a human. Now she was even being praised for her abilities, something she had to more or less kept hidden back home. It would have been funny if lives weren't hanging in the balance at this very moment.

Michiru's thoughts were interrupted by a massive crashing sound that rocked the very halls they were charging through. Everyone came to a stop while Michiru tried to get a sense of what had just happened. "Guys…I don't know what’s going on but everyone fighting below is now…even lower, in a much larger room another level down. I think someone blew a hole in the floor."

"As long as the stairs are still intact, then our plan hasn't changed in principle. Let’s go!" Mirio commanded and the small band of young heroes and lighters continued their descent into chaos.

(X)

Up above, things had improved somewhat for the heroes. Terra had been able to keep Rikiya at bay long enough for Ryukyu to regain her bearings and stand up against the massive yakuza once more. Knowing the role the half-esper still had to play in the plan, the dragon hero commanded Terra to disengage and head toward the house with Formidable taking her place against the tower of a man facing them.

Said building had briefly caught on fire but almost as quickly been put out. It was just as well because the remaining Bullets were being pushed back, with Chronostasis ordering them into a fighting retreat back into the compound. Rikiya was left behind the hold off as many heroes as possible. Thanks to Hekiji's barrier quirk, Chronostasis, Toya, Yu, Soramitsu, Kendo and Deidoro made their way into the building, some worse off than others.

There they came across Mimic, Shin and Gai, beaten, unconscious and in Mimic's case, burned. Gathering them up, the Bullets kept behind their barrier as they filed down the now revealed door down to the tunnels below.

With Shouta's eraser quirk being kept at bay by Deidoro's, it was left to Celty, a supernatural being unaffected by the seemingly drunken man to try and stop the remaining Bullets escape. However, the constant barrage of shadow blades that she battered Hekiji's barrier with just wasn't enough to break it and the headless lighter was left to watch while their targets escaped underground.

Mirai wasted little time gathering the remaining heroes to follow their targets down into the yakuza's home turf. Now, Sir Nighteye was joined by Eraserhead, Fatgum, Red Riot, Suneater, Rock Lock, Esper and Shadow Rider charging forward, with no idea where the Bullets had gone, where the search team had gotten off to or if they were ok. Worst of all, they absolutely had no idea where Eri was.

Mirai could hide his concerns easily enough thanks to his stern barring but while he led the group forward blindly, he was consumed with worry. Relying on a rookie student's quirk had been a mistake, he should have used his own at some point to at least get the layout of the underground tunnels himself. Instead, the former sidekick to All Might had wanted to conserve his quirk until he absolutely had to. Now, Mirio and All Might's chosen, if flawed, successor were out there with three people he knew very little about left to face an extremely dangerous pair of men. Mirai knew operations could go array but to have things fall apart like this so quickly, he was ashamed to have let it get this bad.

If Mirai could see Celty's face, that is, if she had one, he'd know that the dullahan was just as worried as he was. As much as she wanted to go home to her beloved, as much of a threat Overhaul and Xellos posed, it was the fear of what could happen to those kids that was eating at Celty the most. She knew that this trio was important to Jun, even if he didn't show it. The dullahan had been around this world long enough that she could read the silver-haired former hero quite well. The thought of having to tell him that one or more of them had been lost, and under her watch no less, ate at her soul. They had to find them, and soon.

Luckily, Shouta had noticed the arrows etched into the wall before long. The heroes just had to hope that the retreating yakuza hadn't noticed them as well.

(X)

Once the search team got to the next level of the underground compound, they no longer needed Michiru's sense of smell to guide them. Indeed, the sounds of fighting alone was enough to lead the group toward the massive hole in the floor that was now an arena for multiple factions vying for control of a single little girl.

"You got this, Animalia?" Mirio asked more out of courtesy than actual concern for the tanuki girl's readiness.

"Be back in a minute." Michiru responded, sparks signaling the beginning of her form changing once again. Now with scaled, green skin, a plate on her head and a long tail, the polymorphic beastman a moment later became invisible to her teammates. Izuku again marveled at just how versatile Michiru's quirk really was while he heard footsteps charge around the corner and toward the hole.

Once Michiru got close, she slowed down and got to her knees to poke her head over the edge. Though she was invisible, there was no telling what quirks would be at play so the chameleon girl wisely kept to as little exposure as possible. Michiru wasn't sure what she was going to see when she peered over the edge of the chasm but she definitely wasn't expecting what lay before her.

Overhaul, or at least that's what Michiru guessed based on the mask, otherwise looked little like the photos they had been shown in the briefing. Pieces of metal and concrete appeared to be fused to his limbs and body like armor and he appeared to be bulker than the photos suggested as well. More than that, he appeared to attacking a horde of men in black body suits with a ferocity that did not become the cool and calculating man that he had been described as in the reports.

In the opposite corner was Xellos, standing protectively in front of what appeared to be an old man who was on the ground unconscious and bleeding. In front of them were a handful of men who looked to be in pretty bad shape as they, too fended off more of the black suited people.

The horde of attackers looked familiar to Michiru and when she got a look at the other corner, she knew why right away. There, holding Eri at knife point was the crazed blonde that had been at Kaimno. The same girl who had taken Emeralda's eye, which meant the other guy with her had also been there, keeping Zelgadis busy while Xellos 'died'.

That had been all Michiru needed to see and just a few moments later, she was back reporting the scene to the team.

"The league is here?!" Izuku all but yelled, immediately remembering the directive his homeroom teacher had given all of the 1-A students about what to do if just this thing happened. The freckled boy knew that Mr. Aizawa would be furious at him if he engaged knowing the league was here but how could he turn away now? There was already a fight and holding back now could mean Eri being left in the hands of any of those horrible people down there.

Izuku's struggles were plain on his face and Mirio addressed them first "Deku, no one will think less of you if you stay behind but I think I speak for all of us when I say we got your back if you want to stick with us."

Looking around and seeing the steadfast looks of determination on everyone else's faces was all Izuku needed to see before he furrowed his brow and nodded "I'm in, I will save Eri!"

"Alright then, so what's the gameplan?" Mirio asked, now that that issue was settled.

Zelgadis was first to speak "We don't have Terra to draw Xellos' attention, but we're lucky he doesn't have the girl at the moment."

"You mean to strike quickly before he can react?" Emeralda suggested.

"What are we distracting him with then?" Izuku asked.

"I can produce a hazy mist that'll block everyone's view but he'll know something is up as soon as I use it." Zelgadis answered.

"And it'll mean we can't see anything either." Mirio pointed out.

"My nose will lead the way, don't worry about that." Michiru added confidently.

"Just in case, Animalia, did you see any other exits down there?" Mirio asked as the plan settled into place.

"Yeah, there was a door on the back wall, behind Overhaul." Michiru answered.

"Peachy." Zelgadis snarked, earning glares from Michiru and Izuku.

After settling on everyone's roles, the group made their way to the edge of the hole before Mirio spoke "Alright, everyone, get a good look at where everyone is cause we're going in!"

"Dark Mist" Zelgadis said, casting his spell. Within moments, a thick black fog descended on the large room. Calls of confusion, especially from Jin's clones, filled the air before the search team leapt down into the fray.

Izuku and Emeralda were tasked with clearing the clones closest to Himiko and Eri and it didn't take long for either of them to land and find their first targets roughly right where they had seen them. Izuku had no trouble smashing several clones into goo while Emeralda slashed hers in half almost instantly upon hitting the ground.

Kai wasted no time in realizing something was up and redoubled his attempt to make it through that damn cloner's horde. He finally felt like he was making progress through the endless bodies in the mist until his bladed arm smashed into a barrier. Through the mist he could just make out someone he hadn't seen before, with blue skin and what looked like rocks on his face. "Who the hell are you to get in the way of what is mine!" Kai roared.

Zelgadis, however, said nothing, well aware that Xellos was within earshot and instead just smirked back while he maintained his barrier with both hands outstretched.

Himiko was no fool either, immediately aware that either the heroes had arrived or someone from the Shie Hassaikai she didn't know had joined the fight. Trouble was, she didn't have many options. Though she held the quivering girl at knifepoint, actually going through with killing Eri would mean losing her shield as well. With Overhaul between her and the exit, this mist only made things worse. All she could do was prepare to counter whatever was about to come her way.

What Himiko wasn't ready for was for some buff blonde to rise out of the ground to her side and pluck her knife right out of her hands while getting a good shot with his fist to her side all at once. With that gaudy caped outfit, it had to be damned heroes! Regardless, the vampiric shapeshifter was doubled over from Mirio's punch and could only watch helplessly while her blonde attacker caught Eri and handed her off to…that racoon girl from Kamino and the exam! If she was here, then maybe her Izuku was too?

No sooner had Mirio secured Eri, he was whispering to her everything would be alright while she stared up at her savior with a look of shocked bewilderment. As much as he didn't want to let the little girl go, however, Mirio couldn't fly, so he handed Eri off to Michiru, now in her winged tanuki form, and prepared to make sure the rest of the team fell back.

However, like any good plan, this one did not survive to its final stages. Just as Michiru was about to push off and fly up and out of the hole in the ceiling, Xellos appeared from mist, his normal jovial demeanor gone as he caught Michiru across the side of her face with his fist. The Tanuki girl was caught completely off guard and lost her grip on Eri, who fell at an angle away from her.

Izuku saw Eri tumbling away and desperate to achieve what he had failed to do before on the street, turned toward the girl intent on reaching her while he called desperately "ERI! Hold on!"

The inheritor of One for All was cut short when a beam shot right in front of him and impacted a couple of feet away, leaving a crater in the ground. Eyes wide, Izuku turned to see a glow in the mist approaching. Within moments he could see it was Xellos, his hand out and finger outstretched and glowing. The mazuku got closer, a smirk on his face when he playfully said "Oh? Did I miss? You really do have great reflexes for a human, don't you?"

In the moments after the shot, Izuku had been trying to keep track of where Eri had gotten to but hearing Xellos' words, especially the last ones, brought his constantly moving mind to a standstill and he froze. Left a sitting duck, Xellos wasted no more time taking aim to fire another magical blast at the young hero.

Mirio, however, had other plans, having appeared from behind Xellos to take a swing at the purple-suited lighter only to get the shock of his life as he phased right through the mazuku. "What? I hadn't activated my quirk?!" the blonde hero spoke in surprise before he crashed forward and into Emeralda, who had continued to fend off Twice clones with Izuku distracted.

"Oh, your reaction is priceless!" Xellos cheerfully explained only for a pair of lion's fangs to drive themselves in his shoulder along with two pairs of claws that slashed at his side and chest.

Instead of blood and viscera, however, nothing seemed to happen save for the tearing of his suit. On seeing this, Xellos frowned before he glanced at the head of his attacker, still attached to him "Really, Michiru, I had managed to keep this suit in perfect shape till now and its completely ruined. You should be ashamed." Then, with what appeared to be no effort, the purple-haired yakuza grabbed Michiru by the scruff of her neck and pulled her off of him and just tossed her aside like she was trash.

"Now, Eri-chan, where did you get off to, hmm?" Xellos called out in a sing-song voice, as though the fighting around him were of no consequence at all.

"She's here." A deep, cynical and all too familiar voice replied.

The mist began to clear and indeed Eri was now being held by Zelgadis, wrapped in one arm and his dulled blade to her throat. The chimera's other hand was held out to maintain his barrier against Kai, who had, up till now continued to pound away at the magically induced wind shield.

Things hadn't exactly gone to plan but Eri was in the heroes hands, which was at least something as Izuku called "Magus, go! We'll hold them off!"

"Yeah!" Michiru added, "don't worry about us, we'll buy you the time you need!"

Mirio and Emeralda shared the sentiment, with the four beginning to form a semicircle between them, Xellos as well as both Himiko and the Twice clones. However, what they heard next shocked them all.

"No…"

Despite the risk to herself, Michiru turned, missing the smirk forming on Xellos' face. In their time together, Michiru had seen a wide range of grumpy and sour looks on Zelgadis' face, often to her bemusement. Most of the time she knew he didn't really mean it, it was just how he was. Lately though, the light had gone from his eyes when he bore the scowl seemingly locked on his rocky face. All of that paled to the desperate anger on his face now. Michiru's blood ran cold when she looked at her chimera friend and saw the look of fear in the eyes of the panicked girl held tight to Zelgadis' chest.

Michiru didn't get the chance to protest, her horrified expression was enough for Zelgadis to know what she would have said if he hadn't of spoken again "I said NO!" Eri began to cry now, the stress and panic finally getting to her as it became clear to her that she wasn't going to be safe no matter where she went.

"Eri is MINE!" Kai roared in response both to her crying and Zelgadis' defiance.

Zelgadis ignored the yakuza leader and instead he again addressed his friends, a look of betrayal on their faces "This is it…this little girl can do what I've longed for so long now and she will do it right now. I WILL NOT GIVE HER UP BEFORE I'M HUMAN AGAIN!"

(X)

Chapter Text

"This is it…this little girl can do what I've longed for so long now and she will do it right now, I WILL NOT GIVE HER UP BEFORE I'M HUMAN AGAIN!"

"What do you mean, human again? Whatever you're talking about, now isn't the time Magus, just get her out of here!" Mirio implored.

"Shut up pretty boy, when people look at you and see a monster, then we'll talk! Now, back off!" Zel-gadis commanded as he glared at the blonde upperclassmen.

Michiru, who stared at her chimera friend in near disbelief while he had made his declaration and re-buff to Mirio, now called out, shock and hurt in her voice "Zel, what are you doing!? I know you want to look normal but not like this! Look at her! Look at Eri!"

Sure enough, Eri continued to sob while she was constrained by the sorcerer-swordsmen. Now, though, the single horn protruding from the right side of her forehead had grown larger and appeared to be glowing. The other members of the search team saw it, the other Yakuza saw it just like the members of the League of Villains noticed.

Only Zelgadis refused to look down at the pained and stressed little girl, his obsession on the verge of consuming him as he glared at the tanuki girl and spat "NO! I'm tired! Tired of looking at this face, this…MISTAKE! How could you know what it’s like, huh? You LIKE what you are and you didn't have a CHOICE! This…this was my fault!"

Michiru's features contorted in pain at her friend’s harsh words, not just for how dismissive of her own suffering Zelgadis was being but she also felt the pain he was clearly in while he spoke. Before she could answer though, another beat her to it.

"Magus…what are you doing?"

The various combatants looked up to find the voice of who had spoken. There was Terra, in her esper form, cloaked in pink magical energy. Yet, even through that veil and her feral appearance, the look of disappoint was clear on her face.

Still, the appearance of another hero did nothing to lessen Eri's state of mind and Xellos called out "Oh my, Mr. Zelgadis, you do know that little Eri-chan has no control over that quirk of hers, don't you? They say she unwittingly caused her father to rewind to non-existence you know. I'm not one to stop someone from doing what they want but you really should consider that fact."

At that, all of the heroes shot the mazuku looks of horrified surprise. Michiru, now very worried, turned back and tried to convince her friend again "You hear that Zel! It’s not worth it! You could liter-ally die! Let's just get Eri out of here and we can figure this out later!"

Zelgadis scoffed "I can't trust anything Xellos says! You really think once we get her out of here that I'll get to see her again? Especially if she's as dangerous as he says? No, I've given up so much already, she's doing this now!"

"Funny, that's not the choice you made when we found the Claire Bible, now was it, hmm, Mr. Zelga-dis?" Xellos taunted, glad to see his words immediately get a rise out of the already very unbalanced chimera.

"You shut up! URGAH!" Zelgadis snarled as Kai re-doubled his assault, catching the sorcerer off guard, nearly losing his hold of his barrier spell protecting him and Eri.

That was enough for Terra to act, charging down and forward, past her teammates and smashing into the silver-tongued Xellos. "That's enough out of you!" she roared as they crashed into a wall.

Pressed into the crater created by the impact, Xellos looked as unbothered as if he were on a walk through the park as he replied, "Come now, Ms. Bradford, you didn't think such a silly attack would do anything to me, did you?"

"Maybe not." Terra conceded, baring her fangs at him, her body still pressing into the mazuku. "But maybe this will! Firaga!" The massive blast of fire magic exploded from the half-esper's hands, throw-ing her backward from the spell going off at point-blank range. The other combatants didn't fare much better, the other heroes and villains being knocked off their feet and thrown every which way from the shockwave.

As the smoke cleared and people began to get back on their feet, a cheery voice could be heard from what was now a flaming hole in the wall, "Well, it seems there is some potential in you after all."

"No…" Terra whispered as Xellos became visible again. He looked unharmed for the most part, aside from his left shoulder, which appeared to have a tear in it. The tear was deeper than the cloths he wore and could be seen through, yet no blood or flesh could be seen. It was as though his very being had been torn.

Zelgadis, now against the adjoining wall but still holding Eri, saw the two magical beings facing off and in a moment of clarity called out "Don't Terra, he'll kill you!"

Terra didn't spare the chimera even a glance while she raised her clawed hands and responded "May-be! Just worry about yourself, seems that’s what your good at!" With that, Terra charged forward again, only to have Xellos shoot up and into the air, a taunting smile on his face. With a snarl, Terra fol-lowed after, her claws charged with magical energy as the two began trading blows above.

Back on the ground, Michiru, Izuku and Emeralda had gotten to their feet but Mirio had taken a piece of debris from Terra's attack in the head and was much slower to recover. They had also been sepa-rated, much to Izuku's dismay when a knife-wielding blonde appeared before him "Oh! I didn't think I'd get the chance to see you again so soon Deku! And this time it’s even my own face you get to see!"

Izuku immediately flustered with Himiko pressed against him, running the flat side of her knife up his back in what she thought was a flirtatious gesture. "O…Oh…um…and just wh, where was that, miss?" the nervous hero-in-training squeaked out.

"I'm not surprised you didn't know it was me, I am a woman of many talents, Izuku. Let's just say I got a front row seat to you earning that license you're so proud of!" Himiko all but cooed in Izuku's ear.

Izuku's eyes widened in realization as he pushed the blonde off him just in time for Jin to catch him from behind. Struggling to get loose, the freckled boy said "It was you! You were the doppelganger at the exam!? Why?"

Instead of Himiko answering though, it was Jin who asked a question "Toga, what about the girl? For-get the girl, when are we leaving?!"

"We can let the heroes work out their issues while we have a little fun." Himiko answered, causing Izu-ku's squirming to increase.

Meanwhile, Emeralda had found herself among the yakuza who remained loyal to their old leader, Kenichi himself remaining unconscious. Unfortunately, Kai was also close to them and was up on his feet just when Emeralda was getting up. Looking out among the bodies around him Kai reached out and grabbed the nearest. "If I wasn't strong enough to break that barrier, I just need a boost is all." He said to himself.

Emeralda watched in horror as the yakuza underling was ripped apart down to the cells and his mass added to Kai's own muscles, increasing his bulk. Before the augmented masked madman could move to claim another victim, Emeralda charged forward, her arms long blades that swept forward while Kai reached for his next victim. In one swift motion, that outstretched arm was sliced clean off, falling to the ground in a bloody mess, quickly followed by Kai's left leg, which had also been held out as he bent forward to reach.

Kai screamed in surprise and pain, falling to his left at the loss of balance with his leg. Meanwhile, Em-eralda dashed back around to get the underling she had just saved out of harms reach. The tan girl had managed to get the man to his feet and help him only a few feet away when the sudden lack of screaming caught her attention.

Pausing to look back, Emeralda watched as Kai, now again standing on both legs, picked up his dis-membered right arm, placed it in its rightful place and applying his quirk, returned it to the rest of body as if nothing had happened to it at all. "I hope you enjoyed the show, girl. It will be your last. I think I'll find your quirk quite useful as well!" Kai spoke before he rushed forward, his eyes laser focused on the burdened hero in front of him.

Emeralda did the only thing she could with another person in her care, she grabbed the back of his shirt and shoved him forward as hard as she could while trying to shift around to face Kai before he came upon her. The tan girl had managed to get her right arm into a shield but a touch was all Kai needed to activate his quirk and a touch was what he got. "It’s over, you belong to me, hero." Kai said calmly, his quirk activating, pulling the girl into himself.

Except, that didn't happen. Kai looked down at the girl he now towered over and saw the struggle on her face. Was she…resisting him? Was that even possible? He could feel his quirk activated. It was working, he was deconstructing her cells…but it was like they were reverting back as soon as he changed them. As Kai tried even harder, he could feel equal push back and he was beginning to strain himself. Finally, he had to ask "How? How is…this possible?"

"I…I have complete control of…my cells. As long-as long as I will it, I will hold this form." Emeralda an-swered between strained breaths. How long she could resist and how hard Kai could push were ques-tions they seemed determined to answer while they remained locked in place, struggling for domi-nance.

Michiru's struggle was much more personal. She found herself closest to Zelgadis and she didn't have the luck to get up before he did. After he had exchanged words with Terra, Michiru tried to approach the chimera again only for him to cast his barrier in front of her. Undeterred, the tanuki girl got right up to the wind magics edge and implored "Zel! Please, let’s just get Eri out of here and we can sort every-thing out later, ok?"

"We've already been over this Michiru! I have her, now, all she has to do is use her quirk and I can be human again. That's all I want! That's all I've ever wanted! I don't even have to go home, if I can just be human again!" Zelgadis answered, a mix of frustration and panic starting to set in, Terra's words begin-ning to weigh on him.

"I…I don't understand, Zel! You're awesome the way you are, how could this be a mistake? Its…its who you are!" Michiru answered, her own frustration, confusion and hurt boiling over.

"Damnit, Michiru! Before this happened to me, I was average physically at best, and I couldn't use magic worth a damn! I wanted power, I needed it! And this is what happened! It my fault I'm this god-damned monster!"

Michiru was about to shout back something about being yourself isn't your fault when a couple of things he had just said began to sink in. "Wait…did you actually ask Rezo to do this to you?"

"You're not listening to m-" Zelgadis started, as though he didn't actually care what Michiru had planned to say until he actually focused on the words she had indeed spoken. "What? NO, I didn't!"

"Did you even ask him for all this power you wanted?" Michiru quickly followed up, almost sure of the answer.

"No, but that's not the point!" Zelgadis insisted.

"Then what IS the point, Zelgadis? Hmm? Because that girl your holding hostage deserves to know! All of us here risking our lives to save her deserve to know! What was so important that you needed that power for that caused this supposed mistake!" Michiru pressed.

"I WANTED TO BE A HERO!"

"…what?" Michiru all but whispered, she was so stricken with the answer.

"My friends and I…we served Rezo but what we were doing was helping people in need. Working for Rezo was really just a means to that end…I wanted to be a hero to people more than anything! After I was changed...at first, I didn't mind it but…when the kids saw me…they were afraid…of ME! The very people I was working to save! How could I save them if they hated me? How could I be what I wanted like this? TELL ME MICHIRU!"

"Oh Zel…" Michiru replied, her heart feeling every bit of the rejection, pain and self-loathing in her friend's words. Yet, Zelgadis kept the barrier up, soul barred to the world or not. Now, though, he looked like maybe, just maybe if someone reached out, he might just take their hand.

Hands at just that moment came in short supply however for Mirio choose that moment to fully regain himself and what he saw wasn't good. "Animalia! Crescens and Deku need help! You help Deku and we'll circle back here to get Eri!"

Looking like she was about to say something to Zelgadis but holding back, Michiru spared the tortured chimera one final look of sympathy before turning toward Izuku and the league members, darting off.

(X)

"A bit of trouble in paradise?" mocked Xellos as he blocked another volley of purple blades of magic Terra had sent his way high above the rest of the action.

"You'd call this paradise?" Terra asked, glancing about the battlefield below.

"It certainly isn't boring, that's for sure! Besides, there is such delicious fear in the air, I'm surprised you don't sense it yourself." Xellos replied, readying his own magical black cone to shoot at Terra.

"Why would I be able to sense fear? I'm not like you, you monster!" Terra bit back, while she prepared her own spell to counter Xellos'.

"Oh my, you silly girl, of course you're not a mazuku but you have shown yourself perfectly capable of wielding the magic born from one. Wouldn't it be accurate to say you only have that form because of me?" Xellos answered before he flickered out of existence.

Terra's eyes widened while her opponent disappeared. For a moment she let her guard slip, lowering her hands slightly, spell still formed in her hands. It was then that Xellos reappeared right in front of the pink fur-covered girl, face to face, noses literally touching before Xellos continued "Wouldn't it be easier for you to make your own magic?" before casting his own attack point blank in Terra's abdomen, causing a massive explosion and sending Terra downward in a heap, crashing into the ground on the upper level and reverting back to her human form.

As Terra began to lose consciousness, Xellos appeared before her again, kneeling down so only she could hear and said "I could make you one, you know. A mazuku. Just a thought! Bye-bye!" Then, he was gone again and Terra fell to darkness, unable to truly weigh the gravity of that statement or even react.

(X)

Emeralda continued her deadlock with Kai, the few surviving underlings who protected Kenichi watch-ing on, hovering around their master. Though Emeralda was confident she could hold this stalemate for quite a while longer, she found she was unable to modify any other part of her body while locked in the struggle. Otherwise, it would have been a simple thing to impale this man, or if she really had to, decapitate him. He would likely not get up from that. As it was though, she was stuck buying time for everyone else.

Michiru appeared to be talking to Zelgadis, which was hopefully getting somewhere and Izuku was…occupied with the woman who had taken her eye. Actually, Emeralda had no idea what was go-ing on over in the corner of the battlefield.

Before long though, she saw Mirio get back up, say something to Michiru and then turn to dash in her direction. She knew what was coming and sure enough, she saw the blonde intern disappear into the ground. Moments later, Mirio appeared through the floor between the two stalemated combatants, sending a mighty uppercut straight to Kai's jaw, yelling "POOOWEERRR!"

Without missing a beat, free of Kai's hold, Emeralda locked her arms, shifting them into one massive mallet above her head and smashed down just as Kai was sailing upward from Mirio's punch. The re-sulting hit was massive, heard by everyone still conscious and sent Kai barreling back down to the ground at an angle. The resulting impact left a new crater in the ground and a cloud of dust thick enough to obscure even the keenest of beastman eye.

Said beastman had made her way in the meantime to Izuku's aid, which at this point may have been as much psychological help as much as anything. Jin still had the flustered green-haired hero-in-training restrained but Himiko appeared to be doing little more than talking to the poor boy. Still, regardless of what Michiru was rescuing her teammate from, it was still a rescue and she came in fast on cheetah legs.

Fast as she was, it wasn't fast enough to not be noticed and Jin managed to spilt off a clone that got in the tanuki girl's way just long enough for Michiru to leap forward, shifting her arm to massive size and letting her forward momentum add weight to her crushing swing. The huge fist came down hard on the clone, which smashed into goo just after it whimpered "Mama.” Michiru barely had a moment to be entirely disturbed by what had just transpired before charging again, this time calling out "Deku! Get your act together! Don't forget about Eri!"

Himiko was just in the middle of asking Izuku what his favorite blood type was when Michiru's words rung out. They landed true for Izuku, whose eyes lost their indecisiveness. His muscles tensed and power began to surge in his body when the green-haired boy said "Your right! I’m sorry Toga-san, but I came here to save a little girl!" With his strength surging, Izuku flung Jin over his shoulders, the body-suit wearing schizophrenic flailing his arms comically as he sailed over Himiko's head.

Michiru arrived to attack Himiko while this was happening, but the blonde blood-drinker nimbly evad-ed the tanuki girl's crushing blow, a pout on her face. "It’s not the date I dreamed of, but it’s been fun, Deku!" she called as she danced back to where Jin landed.

"We need to take the guy out before he can clone anymore!" Izuku said when he came to stand be-side Michiru.

"Yeah, I get that, but…what was she doing to you?" Michiru couldn't help but ask.

"That's…not really important right now. You think you can come in from above?" Izuku quickly deflect-ed the question.

"As long as I don't get high enough to get caught up in the magic fight up there, sure. What you got in mind?" Michiru replied, disappointed but given the situation, understood the avoidance.

"You don't have to; I really just need a distraction. Just try to keep the girl's attention for a few sec-onds." Izuku asked as Himiko helped Jin up to his feet.

"Yeah, you got it!" Michiru replied confidently before wings sprung from her back. The winged tanuki girl shot up into the air about ten feet before angling her body down right at the blood-thirsty blonde and shot herself forward, calling "Hey blondie! I won't forgive you for taking my friend's eye!"

As hard and fast as Michiru was moving, the attack was straight forward and Himiko saw it coming a mile away. Though she was quick, one thing Himiko Toga wasn't was physically strong, so carrying Jin around with her as she dodged wasn't an option. Thus, Himiko was left to push her friend out of the way as she brandished her knife, ready to strike the rapidly approaching furry morpher.

Instead of getting to cut into some nice, soft and bloody flesh, though, Himiko's knife clanged against a much harder surface. Indeed, it was all the blonde murderer could do to avoid the suddenly increased size and mass of the now turtle-shelled Michiru, who smashed into the ground just behind the space that the two league members had just occupied.

Taking a few flips backward to regain space while Michiru reverted back to normal, Himiko smirked and said "Oh yeah, I totally wanted to ask about that! She get someone with some amazing healing quirk to get that eye back because that is not a fake she's got there now! Or does it have something to do with that blood of hers? It tasted sooo artificial, ya know?"

Michiru's eyes narrowed but knew not to raise to the bait, instead shifting her head into that of a cha-meleon, she launched her tongue at Himiko's knife.

The shot missed, the blonde doppelganger having already anticipated what was coming when she saw the change to Michiru's head. Now, Himiko moved to counter-attack. The blonde schoolgirl darted in at Michiru, a deranged glee in her eyes as she brandished her knife and swung for the tanuki girl's throat.

However, Himiko wasn't the only one capable of looking ahead and as the blonde's knife inched closer to ending her life, Michiru fell backward and as she did so, her legs shifted to those of a rabbit and she was able to catch Himiko in the gut while the blonde’s body was extended in mid-swing. With a mighty heave, Michiru sent the League of Villains resident schoolgirl sailing in the opposite direction until the girl impacted hard against the wall.

Michiru was about to follow up with another attack to make sure her opponent was knocked out but what she saw instead gave her pause; Himiko was melting. "Oh? You thought I was the real thing? Please, as if I'd hang out with losers like you!" the quickly puddling clone taunted.

"Damnit! Deku!" Michiru called as she turned to look at her teammate. She saw a similar scene as the Twice they thought was the original was also turning to goo, alternating between laughing and crying the whole time.

The tanuki girl came rushed over and asked, "What happened?"

Izuku answered with an annoyed scowl "With the blonde girl separated, I just used my increased speed to rush in and punch the guy…but they were never really even here, were they?"

"Why do it yourself when these clones will do it for you? The real question is what were they really here to do? And we don't have time to find out. Come on, lets go get Eri!" Michiru answered, glad to get back to her friend and the subject of this whole crazy endeavor.

"Right!" Izuku replied, ready to put this little episode out of his mind.

(X)

Just as Michiru and Izuku were able to turn their attention back toward Zelgadis and Eri, Kai had been sent on his unceremonious flight into the ground. With the remaining yakuza keeping to protecting their elderly master, the league gone and Kai on the back foot, close to being surrounded, things were finally turning in the hero’s favor.

Until the remaining Bullets emerged from the lone door out of the large room they had been fighting in. Hari entered with Kendo, Toya and Deidoro in tow and they immediately charged in and covered for their beaten leader. "Where…where are the rest of the Bullets?" Kai managed to ask as Kendo helped him to his feet.

"Mimic and the rest stayed behind to stall the rest of the heroes, boss." Hari answered, clear concern for his master in his voice.

"Damn" Mirio cursed at overhearing that little detail. "Sounds like we're on our own for a while long-er."

"Speaking of sounds, I don't hear any more fighting up above." Izuku pointed out.

"Indeed! You shouldn't count on your little esper friend for awhile, I'm afraid." Xellos answered, ap-pearing between the two groups.

Following Xellos' eyes upward, the heroes saw Terra's beaten form, her arm hanging limp over the edge of the hole that led down to them. If those gathered hadn't been naturally unnerved by the rare sight of the mazuku's irises before, they would be from now on. As disheartening as it was to see her friend and their trump card defeated, Michiru saw it as another chance to knock sense into her con-flicted chimera friend, shouting "Zel, you have to go now! Don't let Esper's suffering be in vain!"

Zelgadis looked up at Terra's prone form then back at Michiru. While the tanuki girl implored him to leave and complete the mission, there was something in the girl's eyes that he hadn't expected to see. Hope. Not hope that they'd escape, not hope she would survive. No, he could tell that it was the hope that he would do it. She believed in him. Despite everything he had just done. Despite how distant and cross he had been with her, Michiru still believed in him.

Looking down at the girl he still clung to, Eri had stopped crying but seemed to be struggling to breath, having worn herself out crying. What hadn't abided was her horn, which was easily double in size now and glowing brightly. For a moment, just a moment, Zelgadis waivered. The impulse to do right and cast Raywing taking this girl away from this madness took root in his mind, his own wants beginning to recede into the back of his mind as they had so many times before.

All of that shattered when Kai seemed to appear from nowhere, again attempting to take Eri, his frame now bulked up to inhuman proportions. It was only by the barest of margins that the sorcerer was able to cast his barrier in time. Distracted by Xellos, the heroes had missed that Kai had absorbed Kendo and his quirk, greatly increasing the yakuza leader's strength and his ability to deliver blows.

Zelgadis, as before, kept one arm to hold Eri, blade in hand, while the other kept the spell going. That had worked just fine before. Now, Kai's blows came stronger and much, much faster. It was rapidly becoming clear the sorcerer-swordsmen would have to either keep holding Eri or let go to strengthen the barrier.

The remaining Bullets stood between the heroes and Zelgadis, with Xellos teleporting away when Hari shot at him with his time slowing bullets. With the mazuku gone, Hari turned his attention to the other heroes, along with Toya, who was brandishing a gun he had plucked from an officer earlier. Mirio charged forward, intending to use his impermeability to easily close the distance and strike both vil-lains down. Deidoro's presence, though, was making it very difficult for the blonde senior intern to fo-cus and he was forced to dodge instead.

Izuku and Michiru also found themselves struggling to avoid being under the influence of the seeming-ly drunk yakuza. Only Emeralda seemed to be unaffected by the quirk, and she charged forward, una-bated by the hail of projectiles leveled at her now that she alone stood to challenge the trio. With a shield to stop the bullets and a whirling chain to deflect Hari's to avoid slow down, the green-haired nanomachine colony went straight for the shirtless yakuza.

Whether by the influence of his own quirk or actually under the influence of alcohol, one thing was certain, Deidoro was not equipped to evade a seasoned warrior. The flat-masked yakuza lost his bal-ance trying to get away from the charging girl, falling in a heap as he stumbled to the side, leaving him-self completely open. Keeping her defenses up while she attacked, Emeralda used her hair, shifting it into a hammer, and caught Deidoro hard in the head despite his feeble attempt to protect himself with his hands.

With Deidoro knocked out, Mirio and Michiru were free of his quirk's influence, their heads clearly and allowing them to join. Mirio went right for the two brandishing weapons and Michiru went toward Zel-gadis. It was, however, very clear something was going to give before she could get there and as des-peration set in, she cried "Zelgadis! You need to let her go! You need to let yourself go! You are a hero! Save that girl!"

It was hard to hear Michiru with the constant pounding against his barrier, at least at first. But before long, the tanuki girl's words were clear as day. His face twisted and contorted with frustration and ex-treme effort while Zelgadis struggled to hold the barrier and wrestle with what needed to be done. As cracks began to form in the barrier, Eri's whole body began to glow and Zelgadis knew something was about to happen, one way or the other and now, NOW was the time to decide.

"Magus!"

"Zelgadis!"

"Zel!"

"ARRAAHHH! GO! Take her! I'll hold him off!" Zelgadis commanded, dropping his sword, and letting Eri free, thowing his other hand into the spell, reinforcing it and healing the cracks.

It was all too much for Eri at this point though and she huddled in a ball right at Zelgadis' feet, her quirk about to go out of control and the chimera stuck unable to move while he focused on keeping Kai at bay.

Michiru could stretch her arms out and at least push the girl away but she also knew what might hap-pen if she did and in that moment she hesitated. Emeralda, however, did not. Already closer to Eri and Zelgadis having taken out Deidoro, Emeralda came in at a slide and scooped up the little girl, cradling her as they moved away from Zelgadis, who released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

That relief was short-lived, however, for his fears as well as everyone else's were realized when there was a flash of light that enveloped Emeralda and Eri.

"Emmy!" Michiru cried as she ran past Zelgadis and came upon where she had last seen her friend. With the light gone, Eri remained, having begun crying again. The silver-haired girl was wrapping her-self in Emeralda's scarf, covering her face with it to hide her shame at what she had just done. Michiru's heart stopped, reality beginning to rear its ugly head since she couldn't see Emeralda at all.

The tanuki girl fell to her knees, completely devastated that something Xellos had said had actually come to pass. Emeralda had been whipped from existence.

Michiru had begun to sob herself when she caught movement that couldn't have been from Eri in the pile of cloths that lay before her. "E, Emmy?" she managed to croak out.

After a bit more movement, that unmistakable mop of pale green hair popped out from the folds of clothing. Between her worry of what may have happened and the way Eri was holding the scarf, it was easy to miss there was a small frame hiding among the cloths. "Emmy…are you ok?" Michiru asked again as more of the tan girl became visible.

Pulling herself further out from the folds of her hero costume, Emeralda looked at her hands before taking a part of her own hair in her hand and taking note of its length before saying, as calm as ever "It…would appear my appearance is younger, like I was when I first awoke."

Grabbing the now pre-pubescent girl's hand, Michiru asked again, her voice at once more desperate and more relived at the same time "But you're ok, right?"

"I can still fight" came the nanomachine girl's quick response while Eri pulled her head out from Emer-alda's scarf, having paused her sobbing to see for herself.

"Your…your, ok?" the single-horned girl managed to say as she sniffled.

Emeralda began tearing at her cloths to make them fit her much more petite frame as well as pulling her scarf from Eri before she said "I am. Now let us do what we came here to." When she finished, the white scarf that had once lay loose around her collarbone now needed to be wrapped multiple times such that all of Emeralda's face up to her nose was now hidden by the fabric.

Eri looked absolutely relived by how calm Emeralda seemed to be taking this turn in fortune while Michiru, though happy her friend was alive, was still very much unnerved by the tan girl's de-aging. Looking at Emeralda now covered in the tattered remains of her costume, boots far too big for her and a scarf that bordered on the ridiculous, Michiru couldn't help but ask "Emmy…you sure you can do this? You're not…bothered by what just happened?"

Then, much to Michiru's surprise, Emeralda smiled. It was an expression she'd never seen on the greenette before, an almost cheeky grin as Emeralda replied "I promise that I am quite capable in this form, Michiru. Thanks for worrying about me!"

The reassurance couldn't have come fast enough because Kai finally overwhelmed Zelgadis, smashing his barrier, the force of which sending the chimera flying back and crashing into the ground. "Run!" he cried.

Izuku and Mirio moved in to counter the now massive obsessed yakuza leader. The freckled hero used as much of One for All that he dared without breaking himself, letting loose a flurry of kicks, all of which seemed to do little to bother Kai. When the hulking man reached for Izuku, he darted away to avoid being destroyed or absorbed.

Mirio tried as well, but though his quirk granted him the element of surprise, what he lacked was power, and if Izuku, who had the greatest quirk of all pulsing through him could do nothing, LeMillion's poultry punches had even less effect. What Mirio's punches did do, however, was leave him vulnera-ble to being grabbed and in the moment he made contact with his latest uppercut to the face, Kai grabbed the blonde's arm, ready to dismantle him.

He never got the chance. Almost instantly, even before Mirio could make himself impermeable in or-der to escape, Kai lost his arm a second time. Emeralda had sliced Kai's arm off once again while Michiru attacked low, enlarging her arm and swinging hard for the man's knee, which buckled on im-pact.

Kai tumbled to the ground, again in terrible agony before he screamed "All of you! I will make all of you feel everything you've done to me ten times over!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep! Deku!" Michiru called.

"Got it. SMASH!" Izuku cried as again he summoned all he felt he could from his quirk, this time chan-neling it into a mighty punch that caught Kai clean in the face, sending him backward and on his back. There he lay, stunned and unmoving.

"He's down, we need to get Eri out of here, now. Animalia, you carry Eri." Mirio ordered before the room finally fell silent.

"You need my sense of smell to get us back to the surface, I can't fly and sniff at the same time." The tanuki girl reminded the blonde senior hero intern.

"Deku can do it. I'm sure she wants nothing to do with me." Zelgadis offered while he limped over to the group. As if to confirm it, Eri rushed behind Izuku when she realized the chimera was present. The act was understandable but brought back bad memories for the sorcerer and he looked away with a deep frown on his face.

"That works. The rest of us will stay here and try to secure these villains until the heroes get here." Mirio agreed just glad things appeared to be over and they could get Eri to safety mostly unscathed despite Zelgadis' lapse in judgement.

"Oh this is no fun at all, you're done already? Maybe things were alittle titled to your side?" came a voice from seemingly nowhere.

"Of course…" Zelgadis grumbled.

"Xellos!" Eri cried, raising her hands up, a smile finally gracing her face.

"Where the hell were you during this whole mess?" Michiru couldn't help but ask when Xellos ap-peared floating above them.

The mazuku's smile grew as he pointed a finger and said "Now that is a…"

"The other yakuza! He got them out of here!" Izuku cut in, realizing Kenichi and his followers were gone.

Xellos visibly slumped, the wind taken out of his favorite phrase. When he rose to his normal height once more, he seemed undeterred when he spoke again "Ok, yes, I did get them out and on their way. I have other plans for that group and I'll not have you ruin them. As for here, well, I think every-one could go another round, wouldn't you say?"

"We are not here to entertain you." Emeralda answered, her younger sounding voice providing an al-most comical juxtaposition, sounding so serious despite looking so young.

"Oh my, is that you Ms. Emeralda? And here I thought you looked young for your age before! I won't deny a certain degree of entertainment here but you should know by now if you listen to Mr. Zelgadis that its more than that." Xellos answered playfully. "Time to even things up abit!"

Then the smile the mazuku always wore seemed to slip into a thin line, the most serious expression many of them had seen on the man. Then Xellos simply pointed up and without any fanfare or visible expressions of energy or power, the ceiling above exploded.

On the surface, the battle with Rikiya had all but concluded. The combined forces of Ryukyu, Uravity, Formidable, Froppy and Nejire had managed to finally subdue the massive Bullet member. Those of the police force injured in the surprise attack were getting first aid and regrouping, getting ready to back the heroes who had journeyed below.

All of that changed when a huge gapping hole exploded upward, showering debris everywhere upon officer and hero alike while they ducked for cover. Rikiya, who lay defeated and unable to move, could only watch as the little man with purple hair floated above him. The next thing the giant man knew, he was laying beside his boss way down in what had been the tunnels.

Michiru and the rest could only watch on as this happened, entirely powerless to stop it. When Xellos reappeared with Rikiya, Zelgadis knew exactly what was going on and could only yell feebly "Xellos, you bastard!"

Mirio clenched his fist, declaring "I won't let you, this is wrong!"

"Take a step forward and I kill each and every one of you where you stand." Xellos snapped, as deadly serious as was possible, which was enough to give the blonde pause.

"Listen to him LeMillion! He could easily do it!" Zelgadis cried.

"Thank you, Mr. Zelgadis! Now, would you be so kind, 'master'?" Xellos replied more jovially before he picked up Kai's remaining hand and moved it toward Rikiya.

"Wha…what's stopping…me from absorbing your traitorous ass." Kai forced out as he regained his senses.

"Hmm, I wonder?" came Xellos' cryptic answer. He'd barely gotten the words out when Kai's hand pulled from Xellos' grasp and clamped hard onto the mazuku's head.

Several of the heroes gasped, their minds rushing through what they would have to do if Kai did ab-sorb the seemingly unstoppable mazuku. They need not have worried. After a few moments of noth-ing happening, Kai's eyes widened in shock "How? How can this happen a second time?"

Xellos pulled the massive hand from his face, Kai having weakened his hold when it became clear his quirk was having no affect. Then Xellos leaned in close and said "Your quirk can't work on what's not really there. I offer you this as your only chance at escape. Take it or lay here and be locked up or worse. Your choice!"

Kai took a deep breath but said nothing, moving his arm over to his subordinate of his own accord. When he touched Rikiya, he could feel his quirk working as normal, meaning whatever was happening with Xellos was in fact something to do with the traitor. With the heroes watching on, Kai was re-stored, improved on, his already greatly enhanced frame growing larger still, to insane proportions.

Rikiya was already a huge man and that combined with the size Kai had achieved absorbing several other men meant that whatever strength the heroes could bring to bare had now been wholly eclipsed. With Kai now looming over them all, a blast of fire magic exploded just above where Xellos was standing, signally that Terra had awakened and tried to take down Xellos by surprise.
It hadn't worked fore he was able to block it, but it did prompt Xellos to turn to the heroes and say "Well, it looks like it’s time for me to go. I have bigger fish to fry and a promise to keep. Eri, come here, sweetie."

Eri, who had been standing in front of Izuku, rushed forward before the freckled boy could catch her "I'm here, Xellos! Where are we going?"

Xellos bent down, arms outstretched to receive the young girl, who threw herself into her purple-haired caretaker. Xellos put one arm around the girl and the other softly on her head before he said "Eri. Sweetie, you remember that flower I always brought you?"

The single-horned girl smiled warmly after she pulled back to look Xellos in the face "Yep! You said it meant celebration and happiness!"

Xellos put both arms on the little girl's shoulders and smiled warmly before he replied "Very good, I'm so proud of you! Now this is important. Chrysanthemum has another meaning."

Despite everything that had just happened to her, Eri was wrapped up in the moment, happy as pos-sible to be with the person she had grown to trust the most and she hung on his every word, her eyes alight with excitement and curiosity "What? What else does it mean?"

"Betrayal." Xellos all but whispered, his smile taking on a much more sinister edge as he pushed the little girl way, before she tumbled back into Izuku.

Eri fell to her butt, Izuku just able to catch her arms as she lay stricken through her heart, her eyes wide with shock, tears again welling up in her eyes.

The heroes, too, couldn't believe what they had just seen and looked on as if expecting an explana-tion, which they more or less got when Xellos said "No hard feelings now, Eri-chan. You'll understand some day. Can't hardly take you where I'm going! Besides, you really shouldn't rely so much on others, you know? Bye-bye!"

With that, Xellos disappeared, leaving a restored and now very pissed Kai free to do as he wished with the tiny heroes and heart-broken girl that lay before him, little more than bugs to be crushed.

(X)

Chapter Text

It had been a long and drawn-out fight but several of the veteran members of the raid team, that is Sir Nighteye, Shadow Rider, Eraserhead and Suneater had finally arrived to join the battle. The members of Kai's Eight Bullets that had stayed behind to stall them had taken their toll on the group however with Fat Gum and Rock Lock having been injured or worn out in the process. Indeed, it had taken great effort just to allow Esper to get free and move ahead of them, given how important she was to drawing Xellos away so Eri could be rescued.

What greeted the heroes, however, was far, far worse than anything they could have imagined. Even the shaking and crashing they heard as they reached the last level couldn't have prepared them. "What…what the hell?" Mirai breathed out as the destruction lay bare before them.

The four stood looking out at a massive hole blasted into the ground, revealing another level below where most of the rest of the team stood. Several members of the Eight Bullets lay incapacitated and the ceiling above them had been com-pletely blasted away, revealing the open sky. Standing tall amongst it all, howev-er, was one Kai Chisaki, Overhaul himself, or at least, that's who Mirai thought he was looking at.

Looming over his and Shadow Rider's protégés, the bi-speckled hero could be forgiven for thinking he was looking at some horrid monster instead of a man. Easily twenty feet tall, Kai was now heavily muscular, and he slumped forward to accommodate the second torso that now emerged from his back in the vestige of the massive man that had ambushed them at the start of all of this. It was as though the second upper body hovered over Kai protectively, the second set of arms menacingly clenching their fists as Rikiya's head bowed down toward his master as though in reverence.

The heroes had arrived just in time to hear Kai speak, his voice booming "I admit that having been covered with filth that I lost my cool before, far worse than I ever did in the past. Fusing with the scum of the earth to give myself the strength to take what is rightfully mine was very disturbing and I can say I was-n't in my right mind." Then, noticing the new arrivals, Kai wasted no more time in acting, throwing one of his 'normal' hands down and on touching the earth, caused the ground below everyone's feet in front of him to explode in a chaotic mass of spikes. "Now, though, it’s time to take back what's mine!"

Few, if any of the heroes heard that last part though while they did their best to avoid being hit by the very earth rising to impale them. This assault wasn't just limited to Michiru's group but was directed at Mirai's as well, the spikes exploding outward up the walls of the vast room and up onto the ledge of the floor above. Shouta noticed almost too late that Terra was on the edge of the hole, barely standing and clearly in pretty bad shape. "Esper, look out!" he called before he threw himself at the greenette as the stream of spikes approached them.

Shouta's larger frame was enough to push Terra out of the way of the attack though in her weakened state she went tumbling to the ground once more. Her body screaming at her, the half esper pushed past the pain and lifted herself up enough to look back at her savior. What she saw horrified her. Shouta was there, held aloft by several spikes piercing his body, blood dripping onto and down the spike that kept him there.

Panic in her eyes, Terra looked frantically to see if the underground hero was still breathing. To her great relief and by some miracle, Shouta was indeed still alive, none of his vital spots having been hit. Meanwhile, Tamaki had shot out octopus tentacles that he used to raise himself up along with Mirai, whom he had grabbed. Those tentacles he stood on got impaled as well and it hurt like hell but on the whole neither were injured. Celty had done much the same with her shad-ows, using them to keep her above the attack.

The three unharmed heroes watched as Shouta, through sheer force of will, man-aged to keep himself conscious through the pain and address Terra. "Esper…you need…to finish what *cough* what we started. Save…save Eri!"

Her own pain forgotten, Terra's face tightened into a determined scowl. As Celty used her shadow blades to break the spikes holding him, Shouta cringed in pain while she gently set him on the ground. The perpetually tired hero remained awake just long enough to see Terra stand, her body suddenly awash in pink en-ergy once more, her form changing before she snarled "I WILL! I will save her!"

Things were at least as messy down below, where Kai had primarily directed his attack. Zelgadis had no time to cast Raywing to fly or a barrier to protect himself from the spikes. His rocky skin protected him from impalement but he was sent flying followed by a hard landing amongst the upheaval and was slow to get up. Michiru similarly shifted to produce a turtleshell which she was able to hide in but she, too, was sent flying by the repeated impacts from the spikes, leaving the tanuki girl unharmed but very dizzy in the aftermath.

Emeralda, now a smaller target to hit, was still grazed by several spikes, though she had shifted all her limbs into shields. Her smaller frame, combined with the suddenness of the attack meant the metal shields were thin, however and once one was pieced, the poor girl lost control of herself when she was picked up into the air by the raising spike that pierced her shield. Several more spikes ran through her barriers, stabbing her several times, though not deeply. Once the spikes stopped, Emeralda found herself bent at several odd angles as she dan-gled above the ground. Reverting her limbs freed her, but she plummeted to the ground and landed hard.

Izuku, through a combination of luck and speed, was able to avoid being hit by the spikes all together and was overall in the best shape of the group but it meant he was the first to see what had happened to his fellow intern.

Izuku's attention was drawn to Eri's crying, not far from where he had landed. There he saw the girl cradling Mirio's head as he lay, cringing in pain. The phas-ing hero's blonde hair was soiled by his own blood, sprayed from the wounds in-flicted on him by multiple spikes. "No…it’s too much! Why, why is this happen-ing!?" Eri sobbed.

Mirio, despite the grave injuries, gritted his teeth and reached out a gloved hand to pat the young girl on the head "Hey…its ok. As long…as long as you're safe, it’s all worth it. You, ugh, you need to get away Eri. Go…go with Deku, please."

Izuku knew immediately what must have happened. Mirio had shielded Eri from the attack and since he can't make anything else impermeable, the only way to do that was to get her out of the way with his own body. All Might's successor clenched his teeth, readying himself to do exactly as Mirio was asking when Kai spoke again, his voice taunting "You see that, Eri? Doesn't that boy look familiar? He was there the day you escaped from me! He came for you and look where it got him! Like so many others, he has been brought to pain and ruin because of you, Eri, cursed child that you are!"

Izuku was livid at Kai's horrible words but he knew he couldn't let his anger get the best of him. He could try and get Eri away right then and there, as Mirio wanted but, Overhaul could well have more tricks to unleash Izuku didn't know about. Taking the mad yakuza on directly was the other option. Overhaul was at this point the only threat remaining and if Izuku could at least distract him and maybe even neutralize him, another hero could get Eri and Mirio to safety.

The choice was made for the freckled hero however, when Eri, emotionally beaten almost beyond recovery, let out another flash of light, her quirk running wild once again. Now, at least, she was no longer touching anyone since Mirio lost the strength to hold his hand up and Eri had backed away reacting to Kai’s taunts.

Now unable to touch Eri for fear of being de-aged or worse, Izuku charged at the towering abomination. Izuku had already gone to his limits when he attacked Overhaul before and knew if he wanted to do any damage, he was going to have to push past those limits. Relying on his enhanced speed to get within Kai's four arms reach, the freckled boy put twice as much as he felt safe of One for All into his legs as he leapt forward, leg out for a mighty kick to Kai's midsection.

Kai still had Kendo's quirk but even with the enhanced speed of his arms, his at-tacker was faster. The green clad boy that had avoided his massive spike attack was on him, and Kai was unable to dodge. With green electricity arching across his body, Izuku screamed "I'll save Eri! SMASH!"

The kick connected with a massive boom that crashed into Kai's ribcage, breaking multiple bones on contact and causing the masked behemoth to cry in pain, caus-ing him to double over, covering his midsection with his hands.

Izuku was much worse off. After the hit, his body fell backward from the recoil, the pain screaming at him, his leg shattered. Hitting the ground, Izuku could only lay there groaning, fully aware that if his pant leg were missing, he'd see a limb twisted and broken, encased in swollen, purple skin. His gamble had failed and now he, too, was left unable to move while Kai used his original quirk to heal the damage he'd just been dealt.

"Not bad kid, you've got some raw power there but its unrefined and the recoil looks to be crippling. Too bad for you. See Eri, another hero laid to ruin because of you!" Kai mockingly explained before he raised two of his fists, intent on smashing Izuku into a bloody paste. "Burn this into your eyes! AHHH!"

As Kai began to smash downward, he was engulfed in flame that burned the flesh and hair off his chest. Even his mask caught fire. Terra came swooping in, a trail of pink energy following behind her while she flew in wild patterns, peppering Kai with more magical fire blasts.

With four arms, Kai was able to heal himself and still take somewhat wild swings at Terra, at least keeping her from having the time to cast a larger spell like the one she had started with.

While Terra was locked in battle with Kai, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda were able to get their bearings and moved to gather their downed comrades. Zelgadis was closest to Mirio and when he came within earshot of the very seriously in-jured hero intern and the weeping girl near him, the chimera couldn't help but feel deep, burning regret for allowing this to happen while he clung to his selfish wants and said as much. "LeMillion…this is my fault. This is all my fault."

With blood dripping from his head and mouth, Mirio did his best to force a smile before he weakly replied "You idiot, there's…there's no time…for…for that. Eri. Take Eri and go, please."

"No…"

Both heroes looked over in shock at the little girl who refused them. "You're hurt because of me! If I wasn't here…if I had just gone quietly, you'd all be ok. It’s my fault!" Eri cried, her body aglow.

"A child's answer." Emeralda quietly said as she walked up, her body cut and bleeding all over. Combined with her ragged and oversized clothing, the na-nomachine girl presented a rather pathic appearance.

Michiru, supporting Izuku on her shoulder, seconded her de-aged friend "What Emmy means is it doesn't matter if that is true or not. It’s not by the way. What matters is what you do now! We're here for you. All this has been for you so if you really feel bad about all this, turn off your quirk and we'll get out of here!"

"Well said Animalia!" Celty called as she, and Mirai arrived from up above, Tamaki having stayed behind to look after Shouta.

Mirai, upon seeing his intern so gravely wounded, rushed to his side "Don't talk Mirio! We'll…we'll get you help!"

The stoic future prognosticator suddenly sensed danger and dodged what ap-peared to be a blade rushed at him. He was just slightly nicked but that was all that was needed for him to feel the effects of Chronostatis' quirk "Oh no, you fools are staying right here, right along with the girl!" Kai's lieutenant declared while he shot more hair blades from his head at the other heroes.

Celty leapt into action, at once pulling the younger heroes out of harms way with her shadows while sending several to attack Chronostatis. Shadows crossed blade-like hair and though the shadows succeeded in cutting the time slowing hair, that contact was enough to affect the dullahan. "Shit!" Celty yelled as Chronostatis laughed, jumping back as he sent out more of his hair.

The helmet-wearing shadow-wielder immediately felt the effects of her oppo-nent's quirk, moving at a crawl to try and counter him. Much to her surprise though, her shadows seemed unaffected, and shot forward with as much speed as ever, this time able to counter the yakuza lieutenant completely.

"How the hell did he get back up?" Zelgadis wondered aloud.

"It was after he attacked us." Mirai answered, "Overhaul took that opening to reach over and heal that man."

With Chronostatis kept in check by Celty, the chimera took a moment to survey the situation. Mirio was down and likely bleeding out, Michiru was fine but se-verely hampered while she held Izuku and Emeralda had mostly superficial inju-ries beyond her de-aging. How much her abilities were affected though, Zelgadis couldn't be sure. Not far off, Terra continued her assault on Overhaul, but despite how much damage the half-esper was dealing, Shie Hassaikai's leader didn't seem hurt at all.

The heroes could still fight, if barely and seeing the state everyone was in drove a nail into the cynical chimera's heart. Despite what the child said, this mess was his. All he had to do was cast Raywing before and carry the child out of the com-pound and none of this would have happened. Unlike Eri and unlike his own self just a short while ago, Zelgadis wasn't going to let the responsibility of events keep him from doing what he could to right it.

"TO ME!" Zelgadis called.

Michiru moved as fast as her freckled burden would allow and Emeralda did her best to drag the tall the lanky Mirai with her tiny frame now that he was moving so much slower. Eri wasn't leaving the injured blonde, so Zelgadis had go to her, luckily Mirio was only a few feet from her at this point. At first, it looked like Eri would run from the man that had kept her restrained just a few minutes prior. However, the presence of the other heroes reassured her enough to stay put as Zelgadis approached.

"Windy Shield!" Zelgadis called, wrapping the group in a barrier of air.

"What are you doing?!" Mirai demanded, "Locking us in place is foolish at best, you need to focus on getting Eri and the injured out of here!"

"It’s not that simple!" Michiru answered. "Look at Emeralda, she got that way touching the little girl! It’s her quirk, she rewinds things she touches and right now she can't control it so if any of us touch her they could end up like her or worse!"

The bespeckled leader of the raid looked at Eri, then at Emeralda as if seeing the nanomachine girl for the first time. Emeralda though wouldn't meet the man's gaze, as though in shame but it was quite obvious the tan girl was younger than she had been an hour before.

"As long as she is upset and her quirk is running wild, we can't move her! The least I can do is protect you all in the meantime!" Zelgadis answered now that the situation was made clear for their leader.

Just then, Terra's luck ran out. She'd managed to keep out of Overhaul's reach till now, while hitting him with enough magic to level a small army but with his re-generative ability, she had to keep dodging and weaving out of his four arms reach. This time, though once such swipe found its mark, Terra was sent crashing into a layer of spikes that left her heavily injured, causing her to once again re-vert back to human form.

With Terra out of the way, Kai looked down at the dome-like barrier protecting his prize before he scoffed "Please, you really think that protection of yours can still hold me?" Then, the fused giant leader of the Shie Hassaikai locked each pair of hands and sent them down, smashing into Zelgadis' barrier.

With both hands up and fully ready for the blow, the sorcerer was able to absorb the massive pair of strikes, but only barely. "You ok Zel?" Michiru worriedly asked, seeing the strain on Zelgadis' face. Kai was sent backward, such was the force he had brought to bare only to have it bounce off of the protective spell.

Instead of answering his friend though, the chimera looked at the boy she was supporting "Deku…your injury, that was from your quirk, right? Overhaul didn't do that to you?"

Embarrassed and ashamed, Izuku could barely make eye contact with the others in the group before he answered "No, he didn't. I harnessed too much of my quirk and wrecked my leg. I'm so sorry!"

"Damnit it, Deku, don't apologize, think!" Zelgadis snapped, fully aware they only had moments before another attack came.

"What are you getting at, Magus?" Mirai asked, himself annoyed by Zelgadis at this point.

"How much are you holding back to avoid hurting yourself, Deku? Quickly!" Zel-gadis pressed.

"Oh! Umm…quite a lot, actually. I don't think I'm using even half as much power as I could." The freckled boy just as quickly replied.

"Then this whole battle may come down to you…and Eri." came the chimera's re-sponse as his gaze settled on the little girl.

"HA! All that girl is good for is cursing anyone foolish enough to get close to her!" Kai interjected, having gotten his bearings with his new much enlarged body and recovered from the recoil of his previous attack.

"What about Xellos!" Michiru countered, "He watched over Eri and all that's hap-pened to him is getting the better of you!"

At the mazuku's name being mentioned, Eri's face scrunched up as if she had just been stabbed, a reaction not lost of the girl's foster father before he an-swered "And just where is Xellos now, hmm? He abandoned her, now didn't he? The traitor may not have been around long enough to be afflicted by the curse but in the end, he too left the girl behind, didn't he?"

Michiru didn't have a good answer for that and was left with nothing else to say while Kai continued "I'm willing to bet I could crack that egg of yours with one more good hit but then I'd have to go to the trouble of putting Eri's smashed re-mains back together again. No, I think there is an easier way."

As he spoke, Kai's eyes landed on Terra's prone form and Zelgadis knew immedi-ately what the yakuza had in mind. "NO!" he screamed just as Kai touched the ground and sent another wave of spikes to kill the half esper that had stalled him.

Without a second thought, Zelgadis dropped the barrier and flew as fast as his magic would carry him. Flinging himself in front of his friend's prone form, the sorcerer had enough time to cast a quick earth spell of his own to try to counter the oncoming spikes.

Michiru watched her friend throw himself in front of the attack and momentarily forgot she was keeping Izuku upright when she reached out for the chimera, yell-ing "ZEL!"

Just as her arm began to stretch out in an attempt to pull Zelgadis back, Izuku brought her back to reality "Wait, Animalia! Trust Magus, if you get caught up too, Crescens will be left to defend everyone if you get hurt too!"

As for Zelgadis, his plan only worked partially, his own wave of displaced earth only stopping the spikes toward the edges. What was left, smashed right into the chimera, and this time, his rocky skin wasn't able to protect him from impalement.

With a spike through his stomach and arm, Zelgadis was still able to look over and see that he had at least managed to keep Terra from being hit. With the last of his strength, the rock-encrusted sorcerer called "ERI! Remember exactly what Xellos told you! Now's the time! Stand up! With…Deku!" Michiru could only look on in resigned horror as her friend lost consciousness as well.

Kai wasn't about to waste time now that nothing stood between him and Eri and he moved to attack again after he spat "Please! Eri is MINE!"

While Kai moved to grab Eri though, another girl stood in his way. Now Emeralda stood tall, placing herself between the behemoth and the others. Kai noticed to late, a pair of his fists already barreling toward the small tan girl. Before they could make contact as intended though, each was caught by massive metal bands that had a moment earlier been Emeralda's hair and arms.

Kai hadn't planned to use his quirk against the girl, fully aware of what had hap-pened last time. Emeralda, though, intended to force the issue when she began pushing her nanomachine cells into Kai's body. This forced him to effectively do what Emeralda had before, that is, use his quirk to force her cells back, recreating the deadlock they had been engaged in before. "Damn you, girl! Why must every fool get in my way!"

"He is much stronger than he was before…I can only hold him off for so long." Emeralda explained while she stood there locked with Kai.

Their protection gone, Emeralda had managed to buy the group a few precious moments to act. On hearing Zelgadis' words, it clicked for Izuku what the blue-skinned lighter was getting at. "Animalia! Set me down by Eri, now!"

Michiru didn't have time to question her teammate and complied, setting Izuku down by Eri as instructed. Without a word, the freckled boy embraced the girl as Michiru and Mirai said in unison "Deku, no!"

As he held her, Izuku whispered to the girl "Its ok, Eri, It's ok. Greywards-san is right, you know. Xellos said you needed to stand up on your own. We…we're here because we wanted to be, Eri. We wanted to save you and we knew we could get hurt. That's not your fault. Being yourself…being alive is never your fault."

Mirai and Michiru watched on, terrified of what would happen, but instead of a second Emeralda-like event on their hands, the two heroes found that Izuku's leg had healed. When Izuku let go, Eri stood, her head down, her silver bangs ob-scuring her face. The girl trembled with what the others could only guess could have been fear, frustration or the pain of so much loss and depredation.

Finally, almost too soft for anyone to hear, Eri whispered "I want to fight…"

Michiru, with her enhanced hearing, began to crack a smile, despite all that was going on. Mirai and Izuku, though, didn't have such advantages and the freckled boy rose to his feet as well before leaning in to ask, "What did you say, Eri?"

"I WANT TO FIGHT! All I've ever been able to do is what grown-ups have told me and it caused me so much pain! I lost daddy…mommy left and then I lost grand-daddy too. But Xellos, he told me I was more, he was the first one who tried! And…and he was the first that helped me to use my quirk! Whether he left me behind or not, I don't care anymore! All I want is for people to stop being hurt and I'll do everything I can to do it!" Eri declared, defiant eyes now glaring up at the man that was the source of so much of her suffering.

"Fight, or run, whatever you do, do it soon! I cannot hold him much longer!" Em-eralda called, her younger voice now carrying a hint of desperation.

Just then, several tendrils of shadow shot up and wrapped around two of Over-hauls arms, still frozen in place. Celty slowly approached and said "I got you, Cre-scens. If you lose your grip, I can buy you some time!"

"Me too." Emeralda heard a familiar morose voice say as a number of squid tenta-cles shot forward and grabbed hold of the other arms. "Crescens…you look, um, different then the last time I saw you." Tamaki said nervously when he too ap-peared.

Emeralda frowned but said nothing while she tried to hold her focus and keep Kai contained for as long as she could. However, whether due to his own increased strength or her current state, she found she couldn't keep it up any longer lest she lose hold of the stalemate. Instead of risking getting absorbed herself, Emer-alda was forced to break her hold, calling out "I'm sorry, I'm at my limit!"

Celty and Tamaki's timing had been perfect since they were able to keep Over-haul held in place when Emeralda lost her hold just long enough for their heavy hitter to enter the fray. "You ready to help me take this guy down, Eri?" Izuku said, kneeling down and offering his back for her to climb onto.

Eri eagerly nodded and climbed onto the freckled boy's back, prompting Mirai to say "Here, let me help at least a little" as he ripped the sleeves off his jacket and handed them to Michiru to wrap the little girl tightly to All Might's successor.

While Kai fought to break free of his confides he saw what was happening and spat "Come on boy! You broke against me before, what makes you think you'll do any better this time! As soon as I am free, I will make sure Eri watches you all DIE!"

The moment Eri was pressed against him, Izuku began channeling One for All at one hundred percent through his body. He had to admit, the difference was in-credible. The power he could feel coursing through him was indescribable and he knew exactly where to direct it all. "Ready Eri?" he said, briefly looking over his shoulder.

"Yes!" The girl declared.

That was all Izuku needed to hear and he pushed with all his might up into the air before he yelled "SSSMMMAAASSSHHH!"

The battle cry was all Celty and Tamaki needed as a signal to let go just before Izuku's fist smashed hard into Kai's jaw, the green-haired boy using an uppercut to deliver a mighty blow.

The yakuza leader had begun to get a sinking feeling even before the green clad boy had hit him. These heroes knew the boy had tried already, with his leg no less, and yet, they held him so the child could try again. So, Kai was less than shocked when the upward punch actually hurt. What he wasn't ready for was to be sent skyward with the blow. Despite his increased strength and mass, Kai could only watch wide-eyed and in immense pain while Izuku and the other he-roes grew smaller while he flew skyward.

As Kai emerged from the great hole in the ground that Xellos had created, the Shie Hassaikai head at least consoled himself, knowing the distance would give him a chance to heal his dislocated jaw. While Kai put a hand on his face, he took a moment to take in the view below. As much as he now hated the traitor, Kai could at least admire the destruction Xellos had wrought. Emergency services vehicles were everywhere with bits of earthen debris dotting the area around his home.

That moment, it turned out, was the only moment Kai had. Before he knew it, Izuku had shot past Kai, having overestimated just how high and fast he could jump with his quirk at full power. Kai turned to face the freckled daughter-thief, this time bracing for a hit by blocking with all four of his arms. It didn't matter. With green electricity arching all across his body, his hair raised and eyes glowing with unrestrained power, Izuku punched hard toward the sky to give himself in-credible momentum going back downward, turning to face his opponent. Izuku saw Kai was blocking and put everything he had into his next swing while he bar-reled into the fused villain.

The results were devastating. Kai's body almost completely smashed to pieces, arms and legs not just breaking but shattering in a grotesque shower of blood and bone raining in all directions. His iconic mask blown off his face from the im-pact rippling through his body.

The punch sent Izuku backward from the recoil while what was left of Kai shot toward the ground. By some miracle, the maskless madman was still conscious and had enough presence of mind to use his quirk to reform his massive body. With Izuku still up in the sky, Kai thought at the very least he'd have the chance to take out the remaining heroes back on the ground and braced himself for im-pact with his extra arms and torso, which leaned in and over Kai's own forming a ball of sorts.

This unfortunately meant the fused yakuza missed the fact that it wasn't just the ground waiting for him but a large spike that had not been there before. Kai again felt indescribable pain when he landed on and was impaled by the spike and was instantly wrapped in shadows from Celty. The yakuza struggled, writhing in pain and desperate to get off the horrible protrusion but Celty held firm with her shadow biding.

While Kai screamed in rage and suffering, he struggled with every ounce of strength he had but after a moment found himself being lifted up. Michiru had grown into a hulking gorilla, much larger than any found in nature and used that new strength to lift the contained yakuza off the spike, which quickly reformed back into Emeralda. "You ok, Emmy?" the tanuki turned prime ape asked.

As if reflecting her new younger appearance, the tan nanomachine girl made a disgusted face and answered "That was pretty icky but I'm fine! Send him flying Michiru!"

The morphing tanuki complied, winding up as if to pitch a baseball before she yelled "Glady! Shadow Rider!" At the prompt, Celty released her shadows and be-fore Kai could react, Michiru thrust the balled-up monstrosity as hard as she could. Kai unfurled himself to slow his momentum and to regain the ability to see what was going on. What was going on, however, was that he was barreling right for Izuku again! The difference this time though was that Kai was now bleeding from a horrible wound and he knew he couldn't just block the incoming blow, such was Izuku's strength.

No, this time he would have to try and attack. Kai had twice as many arms, so he reasoned there shouldn't be a way for this damn kid to attack and block all at once. Kai had to get Eri away. Not only was getting her back the whole point of this most painful battle but somehow, the girl was making this child stronger. All he had to do was endure another hit long enough to snatch his daughter and Kai could get the hell out of this nightmare.

As he flew closer to the pair that had so completely overpowered him, Kai got a good look at not just Izuku's but Eri's eyes. The girl was clinging to the green clade boy tightly even though she was strapped to him. Still, despite that, there was defiance as well as determination in her eyes and that reality galled Kai to no end. This girl was HIS! She was his to do as he pleased, and he was going to de-stroy this horrible, dirty world using that child. To see her look at him in such a way…how dare she. HOW DARE SHE!

Activating Kendo's quirk to increase the speed of his arms, Kai swung at the duo with one pair or arms and reached for Eri with the other as he screamed "GIVE THAT GIRL BACK YOU FILTH!"

Two things Kai wasn't expecting happened in that moment. Izuku, instead of try-ing to dodge or get within Kai's superior reach, instead met the yakuza's fist with his own. At the same moment, the second set of arms reached for Eri and as they came within inches of grabbing her, Eri looked up and reached with her own arm, her dainty finger just touching the hand reaching for her.

All at once the bloody mist of the arm Izuku shattered mingled with the flash of Eri's quirk, creating a burst of pink light that enveloped the three combatants. Moments later the three were now eight as Eri managed to undo Kai's fusion of Kendo and Rikiyo as well as the rebellious underlings who had been protecting Kenichi. Now all fell toward the ground and those heroes who could act moved to catch anyone they could.

Celty and Tamaki caught the lackeys while Ryukyu flew up and got both Kendo and Rikiyu. Michiru caught Kai with her talons, making sure to have him by his shoulders so if he tried he wouldn't be able to reach her. She didn't need to wor-ry, the yakuza leader was too drained to move, hanging limply and his head down.

Izuku could have landed with little trouble but when Ochako came to get him, he let her use her quirk on him. The three of them returned to the ground safely, though slower than the others, which gave Eri a chance to really take in the view while they descended.

It was over. Kai had been defeated and Eri was safe. The cost, however, had been heavy. Many heroes lay severely wounded or worse. Instantly the yakuza were taken into custody and those heroes still on their feet and able began help-ing first responders down the hole to the wounded.

Michiru carried an EMT down and as soon as they touched ground, the tanuki girl rushed to her friend, worry evident in her eyes "Emmy, how…how is he?"

Zelgadis remailed impaled where he had been attacked, and the medic who came up behind Michiru began checking his vitals. Emeralda looked at the unconscious chimera before saying softly "He is still breathing but I don't know for how much longer."

Michiru let out an involuntary whimper before she covered her mouth with her hands. The tanuki girl had been in multiple life and death situations both back home and since coming to this world but this was the first time she was truly fac-ing the possibility of losing someone. As she watched the medic continue with her work, all Michiru could bare to say was "Nooo…nooo…"

Shaken but more composed, Emeralda asked the EMT "Is it as bad as it looks?"

The young woman had just finished her preliminary check and couldn't help but notice how mature and collected this young girl was being but offered a reassur-ing pat on the tan girl's shoulder before she said "I was going to sugar-coat it, but I get the impression you can handle it young lady. Unless someone shows up with a rapid healing quirk, I don't see how we can save him. I'm sorry."

Michiru turned away at those words, choaking back a sob, no longer able to look at her friend's prone form, his hand still outstretched toward where the group had been during the fight. Emeralda moved to comfort her furry friend, a task made a bit more challenging now that she was shorter.

Thanks to Ryukyu, Ochaco and Tamaki, more medical personnel were arriving to check on Terra and Shouta as well as Mirio, who was at least as bad off as Zelga-dis. While Michiru began to openly sob, Emeralda looked around at the devasta-tion. The ground and walls around them were a spikey mess with teams of EMT's now seeing to the wounded. The nanomachine girl couldn't help but think back to her days fighting to save her world, especially after most of the world had been laid to waste by Deus. Kamino Ward had been in similar shape as well after the great battle of titans that was All Might and All for One.

Emeralda was about to start musing on the destructive nature of the human race when a meek voice broke her and Michiru out of their respective train of thought "U, um, excuse me? I…I think I can help."

The two lighters looked over to see Eri and Izuku, the former had a look that was a mix of eagerness and worry. Michiru whipped a tear from her eye and asked "Wha…what do you mean? How could making him younger help Zelgadis?"

Izuku and Emeralda cringed a bit at the question but given the tanuki girl's ag-grieved state, it could be forgiven. "No, Kagemori, Eri's quirk can set someone back to a previous state. De-aging would only happen if it goes too far."

Realization dawned on her and Michiru suddenly shot forward, intending to hug the single-horned girl. Izuku put a hand out however, bringing the morpher up short "Save it for later. Eri's quirk is still unstable and we don't want to risk any-thing else happening. Let's just focus on saving Greywards-san, ok?"

"Ri-right! Please hurry then!" Michiru said, stepping out of the way.

The medic added "We'll need to get him off those spikes before you do it, and that's going to cause him to lose a lot of blood. You'll only have a small window to try."

"We'll do it then. If he's dying anyway, we don't have anything else to lose." Michiru said, motioning for Emeralda to help. The nanomachine girl nodded and the two displaced girls readied to pull their friend off the spikes. "You ready, Eri?"

For a moment, Eri regarded the man that had held her against her will when all she wanted to do was run and hide. She remembered how angry and desperate he seemed, almost panicked. She remembered the blade he held to her neck, now having fallen out of its scabbard, its blunt edges clear as day. Looking back, Eri was sure that this man had meant her no actual harm. With Izuku there to of-fer her reassurance, Eri thought back to when she had healed her grandfather. What Xellos had told her and what it felt like to focus and direct this wild power that ran through her. With a determined nod, the single-horned girl said "Yes!"

"You may want to look away little girl, this part won't be pleasant" the medic ad-vised.

Eri refused "I've…seen worse"

Momentarily frozen from the horrible implications of that statement, the medic fi-nally nodded and said "Alright then, if you say so. On three, you two." Michiru and Emeralda nodded as well. "One…two….three!"

At once, Michiru and Emeralda heaved. At first, movement was slow but once the spikes got narrower, Zelgadis came lose. The chimera suddenly jerked awake, groaning in agony as blood began to spill from the gapping wound. The two light-ers were able to pull faster now and quickly got Zelgadis pulled off the spikes and placed him on the ground as gently as urgency would allow. The clock had begun ticking and Michiru was now left to watch as she stepped back and allowed Eri to lean over her friend.

Emeralda came to stand beside the tanuki girl and much to her surprise, a tan hand took her furry one. Michiru glanced briefly down at her de-aged friend and couldn't tell if Emeralda was offering her comfort or seeking it herself. Michiru decided it didn't matter because one way or the other, she felt better holding her friend's hand.

Zelgadis began to convulse, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Eri took a deep breath and placed her hands on the sorcerer's bloodied chest. There was a brief flash and everyone there waited on baited breath.

When her vision cleared, Michiru's heart felt like it stopped while she waited for something, anything to indicate that it had worked. At the very least Zelgadis was still there and appeared to be the same age and very much still a chimera but whether he was alive or not, that was still in question.

Long, agonizing moments passed before finally, Eri leaned back, a satisfied smile on her face. Right after, Zelgadis sat up, his wounds now gone entirely, the holes in his costume the only sign anything had happened. The chimera looked utterly shocked as he looked over at the little girl that had just saved him. His face very much told the tale of a man who couldn't believe someone he had so wronged had done such a wonderful thing for him.

Such considerations were lost however, when a big ball of fur lunged onto Zelga-dis, wrapping him tight in an embrace he couldn't hope to escape from. Michiru was at once crying and calling out "You idiot! Dummy! Asshole! We came here together and we're leaving together, you hear me! Don't ever do that again!"

At first Zelgadis just sat there, shocked, a blush spreading across his rocky face. After a moment and several insults, the chimera returned the hug, saying "Sorry Michiru. I guess I'm pretty selfish, huh?"

Michiru let go and shifted over to sit beside her friend before punching a bit harder than one might consider a friendly jab and said "Yeah, that's one way of putting it! If you ever pull anything like that again, I'll kill you!"

"Language!" the medic chided, "There are two young ladies present!"

Izuku took that moment to help Eri back up and said "Well, we'll pardon our-selves. We need to go heal LeMillion now that Magus is ok."

A thought occurred to Zelgadis and, with an eyebrow raised, asked "Wait, was I just the guinea pig? Hey, Deku!"

But the green clad hero intern was already out of earshot and the chimera's question was left hanging in the air. Instead, Emeralda approached Zelgadis and, as if flipping a switch, went from her normal stoic demeanor to a happy, excited child that threw herself at the poor sorcerer much the same way Michiru had just a few moments before. This time though, Zelgadis collapsed and fell on his back while the greenette nuzzled him. "I'm so happy you're ok Zelgadis! You had me and Michiru worried sick! You were so mean to Eri-chan but you did the right thing in the end! You big dummy!" she exclaimed.

Zelgadis lay there, completely at a loss for words at his friend's complete change in personality. Michiru, too, sat by unmoving, actually scared that something worse than de-aging had happened to the nanomachine girl. Finally, after Zelga-dis appeared to be getting very uncomfortable with the situation, the tanuki girl spoke up, worry clear in her voice "Emmy…you're ok, right?"

Sitting up, the tan girl seemed to look confused at the question "Of course I am? Why wouldn't I be Michiru?"

Finished gathering her tools, the medic got her first good look at the tan girl in ragged cloths and rushed over to say "Young lady, look at all the cuts and bruis-es you have! Here, let me look at you!"

Emeralda backed off from the chimera, a pout on her face before she replied "No, I'm ok! My…my quirk lets me heal quickly, I'll be fine! Promise miss!"

The medic wasn't buying it and demanded the amber-eyed girl let her examine her. Emeralda stood up, stuck out her tongue and turned to run. The medic, now furious, gave chase, leaving the other two lighters to themselves, utterly unsure how to process the sudden change in their friend.

As Michiru and Zelgadis watched the medic try to capture Emeralda, who seemed to retain much of her speed despite her shorter legs, Zelgadis finally broke the silence when he said "Thank you…for before." When Michiru turned and offered a confused look, he continued, "When I was at my lowest. When I was sure I could do anything I had to get my body back, you never gave up on me. You believed in me. That means a lot. It's been hard for me to open up to anyone over the years, even my closest traveling companions back home."

Michiru offered the rock-encrusted swordsmen a soft smile before bumping his shoulder lightly with her fist and said "Hey, that's what friends are for, right? I know you've had it hard and I know how important it is for you to be human again. I'm sorry when Eri healed you that she didn't change you back. I…was kind of hopping that would happen!"

Zelgadis chuckled "I'd rather be like this and alive than human and dead. You know, you're the first person to tell me there was nothing wrong with being like this and it not be a joke or come off as patronizing. I guess…having it come from someone else that had a change forced on them, it meant more, you know?"

Standing up, turning and offering her hand, Michiru said "I only said it because it's true. But then, it's only what I think. It's your body and if you want to be hu-man again, I'll do all I can to help. You know, beyond trying to get home and eve-rything!"

An odd smile played across Zelgadis' face, as though something had just oc-curred to him that was quite pleasant as he took Michiru's hand. What that thought was, he did not share and Michiru didn't seem to pick up on it, remaining silent before Zelgadis said "I'll take you up on that offer, if the situation presents itself. For now, I think maybe I need to take a step back and take it easy for a bit. Given I'll likely be punished for my actions, I don't think that will be hard."

"I don't mean to interrupt." came a familiar feminine voice. Zelgadis and Michiru turned to face the source and saw Terra was up on her feet again as well and had come to see them over the objections of the medics attending her.

Seeing she had her fellow lighter's attention, Terra continued "Zelgadis, you were so very foolish today, I can't tell you how disappointed I am in what I saw out there on the battlefield." When Zelgadis' face crunched up and he looked away in remorse, Terra added "But! But…I'm told if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now. More than that, Sir Nighteye told me you were dying until a few minutes ago because of what you did. You truly are foolish but much more than that…you're a hero."

When Terra said those last words it was like Zelgadis had been impaled all over again. Suddenly all those memories of fighting bandits and delivering supplies to orphans, all with his now long dead friends rushed into him. That drive to make the world a better place that led him to want the power he felt he needed washed over him like he was experiencing it anew all over again. For the first time in a very long time, Zelgadis felt like maybe he could be a hero. Not just a profes-sional hero as this world saw them but the kind he imagined himself being when he was younger and far more innocent. One that fought to defend the weak and help those who couldn't defend themselves.

Before he even realized it, tears began flowing from his eyes before a wide smile spread across Zelgadis' face. Michiru watched on memorized by the sight. Zelga-dis looked as though the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders such was his smile. With that look of contentment, Zelgadis went from looking at Terra to staring up at the sky, still clouded by the dust and debris kicked up from their battle.

Still focused on the sky, the chimera spoke, his voice choked with emotion he was only barely containing "Thank you…truly. I've searched a long time for something I thought I wanted and here, so far from home I found something else I forgot I had even lost. Terra, Michiru, Emeralda, even Jun and Hitomi too…thank you for saving me."

(X)

Once everyone, Emeralda included, was seen to by medical staff, everyone who didn't need further care was released to go home, with the promise of a debrief for later. Mirio had been healed much as Zelgadis had but after that, Eri had be-gun to feel exhausted, both mentally and physically. The poor girl was taken un-der guard to a hospital for what was likely her first proper check up since her quirk first manifested.

Mirio insisted on staying with her and even though Izuku wanted to be there too, both Mirai and his fellow intern felt he had done more than enough today and should rest.

Zelgadis would face punishment for his actions during the mission, that much was made clear by Celty and Mirai both. That, however, was for another day. Now the lighters could head back to UA knowing they had saved a little girl and wiped out a group plotting the undermining of the very fountain of society on the back of one innocent child.

Yet that victory was bittersweet. Xellos was still at large, his threat to remove the lighters only way home looming heavily over the four who had been apart of the raid. Now all of them knew just how much more powerful the purpled-haired ma-zuku truly was. Beyond that, one lighter was left with a very disturbing offer that, for now, she couldn't even bear to speak to the others about. Worst of all? Now they had no idea where Xellos even was, which meant that from here on out, it was a race to see who could find the so-called Nomu that had brought them all here in the first place.

(X)

Kai lay on a stretcher, securely strapped down to restrict his movements as he was carried in an ambulance to a hospital. His vehicle was under escort and he himself was under guard by a hero. He was sure he would be sent to Tartarus, home to all the worst villains society had to offer. If he played his cards right and bide his time, Kai was sure he could rebuild what he had lost and seek revenge on the children that had brought him so low.

Such thoughts were interrupted, however, when the sound of an explosion could be heard outside. The hero with him began to look very concerned and called out to the driver to get answers. The EMT's panicked response confirmed that they were under attack. Kai began to wonder if some of his men had escaped and had staged a rescue. Those thoughts continued when the ambulance was knocked off balance and tipped on its side, as it slid to a stop against a guard rail.

The hero was bruised but otherwise unharmed from the crash and ready for the fight he was sure was coming. Kai silently looked forward to this fool's death at his men's hands while he now rested awkwardly now that the stretcher he was on had been thrown about from the crash. Kai's confidence completely shattered, however, when the door to the emergency vehicle was ripped open and instead of Mimic or Chronostatis, it was the immature hand wearing leader of the League of Villains himself, Tomura Shigaraki and…that traitorous bastard Xellos!

Tomura made short work of the hero, turning him to dust with little effort. With no one else to overhear him, Kai finally spoke "What the hell are you doing here? Do you really think I'll work with a child and a traitor? I'm better off in prison!"

Tomura chuckled behind the dismembered hand on his face "Seems he already has you figured out, Xellos!"

"It would seem he does, Shigaraki-sama!" Xellos cheerfully agreed as the two men came to stand over the fallen yakuza leader.

"And just what is that supposed to mean? Don't tell me you did all this just to gloat." Kai spat.

"No no, you misunderstand, master." Xellos answered, making sure to emphasize that last word. "You have something we want and intend to take."

Kai narrowed his eyes, now genuinely unsure as to what they were getting at. "What else could you possibly take from me?"

"We want your ticket." Tomura answered, a hint of sadistic menace in his voice.

"What?" was all Kai could think to say.

"To Tartarus is what Shigaraki-sama means, master." Xellos replied, a grin spreading across his own face.

Confusion spread across Kai's features which quickly turned to fear as Tomura reached out his hand. "Its simple, really. You're going to pay for killing Magne and Xellos here is going to take your place." The leader of the League of Villains answered.

At that, Xellos' appearance changed to match Kai's own and the yakuza's eyes widened in shock. In fact, he completely missed when Tomura grabbed his arm. Instantly, that arm began to lose color and harden before crumbling. "NO! Wait! I, I can be of help to you! What about the bullets? They'd be a potent tool in your plans!"

"Nope! Sorry, you had your chance." Tomura taunted. "What? You don't like my plan? I thought you wanted to see me have a plan, hmm Overhaul? Time to pay the piper!"

Kai wanted to protest more, to beg, plea, anything to save his own life. It was, however, too late. His body was already far beyond saving as more and more of his being crumbled away and he found himself unable to speak. His last thoughts turned to hate and rage at the utter unfairness of it all, that for all the good he was trying to do for the world that these two assholes would be the ones to take it all from him.

Xellos and Tomura watched as those hate filled eyes succumb to the decay as well, before falling to nothing.

"Well, it seems I'll be in a cell again. Wish me luck!" Xellos said as he slid himself into the spot his former master had just occupied.

"Talk is cheap, Xellos. You promised me my master back. Deliver and whatever Nomu you want is yours. Just get the job done." Tomura answered.

"You need not worry, Shigaraki-sama. For my master, I never fail."

(X)

Chapter Text

The ride back to UA was a quiet one. Several didn’t make the trip, Izuku opting to go to the hospital along with Mirio and Shouta. The freckled successor of All Might was overall fine just like his fellow intern but Eri had been taken to the hospital to rest as well as be observed and both boys wanted to be near her when she woke.

Michiru continued to have an aversion to hospitals and with only minor injuries, declined to go. Zelgadis had been healed entirely and didn’t see the need to go at all. Being from a world where magic could heal you, his recovery seemed less a big deal than it did to the EMT’s. Emeralda steadfastly refused to be looked at or go to the hospital despite her younger state, going so far as to have a tantrum on the subject when medics pressed the issue. Her fellow lighters knew the real reason she didn’t want them looking too closely at her but it didn’t help their hopes of finding a solution if no one could even look at the nanomachine girl.

Then there was Terra. Easily the most injured of the returning students, she too had refused to go to the hospital on the promise that she would go see Recovery Girl in the morning. So it was that, after saying good night to Ochaco, Tsu, Eijiro, Tamaki and Nejire the four lighters trudged into their dorm ready to collapse.

What they got were the looks of relief, surprise and disapproval from their fellow roommates and mentor who were waiting for them. “Its true…Emeralda you look like a kid!” Hina exclaimed as she jumped up and rushed over.

Michiru stepped in front of her friend, paws out defensively “Back off Yoshifumi!”

Crossing her arms indignantly, the bluette huffed “I’m just concerned, you damn trash panada! And here I was going to loan her some of my old cloths too!”

The tanuki girl deflated at that and lowered her arms and said weakly “Oh…right. Well just remember that just because she’s younger, she’s still Emmy! So just…take it easy, ok?”

Rolling her eyes before she side-stepped the fur-covered lighter, Hina leaned forward to look the tan girl in the eye and said “Oh come on! Unlike you, Kasim and I get along fine. Here, come with me, you’re a bit taller than I was but I think the uniform I arrived here in will fit you well enough until we can get you more to wear tomorrow.”

As Hina took the nanomachine girl’s hand and led her upstairs, Shinra addressed Terra with unrestrained concern “You ok, Terra? That Xellos bastard hurt you bad? Damn Endeavor keeping me from going, if I’d been there, I would have kicked his smug face in!”

Terra was cut and bruised all over and walked with a limp but offered a reassuring smile which appeared more strained when Xellos was mentioned before replying “I appreciate it Kusukabe-kun but now that I’m here I can use my magic to heal myself. Plus, I’ll get healing tomorrow. I…just need to rest.”

Having had his concern gently rebuffed, Shinra backed off, replying with a stutter “R-right. I knew that! Still though, if I see that Xellos again, I’m giving him a good thrashing! Or I’m not Righteous Flame-footed Man!” the former fireforce member finished, puffing out his chest and pointing to himself with his thumb bombastically.

The routine was enough to get a giggle from the half-esper, exactly what Shinra was hoping for as his smile widened from a practiced grin to a genuine one.

“Is that your newest hero name, Kusukabe-kun? How many is that? Your twentieth?” Mobb blandly, if earnestly asked, now only being noticed by anyone in the room.

Shinra’s confidence wavered slightly when he answered “Twenty first! What, you think Midnight-sensei won’t like it?”

As she passed by him to take her leave, Terra patted the sharp-toothed fire soldier on the shoulder and said with a hint of exacerbation “I don’t think that’s the problem she has with your names, Kusukabe-kun.”

“Yeah? Then why does she always look so frustrated every time I give her a new one then?” Shinra asked innocently.

Terra glanced over at Jun, who smiled and shook his head to let the greenette let it go. Raising her hand and waving it, she replied “Don’t worry about it, you’ll figure it out eventually. As for me, I have a date with a warm bath and my healing magic. Good night, everyone.” With that, Terra took her leave as well.

That just left Jun, Zelgadis, Michiru and Mobb. The mild-mannered telekinetic quickly excused himself as well, pointing out there were leftovers for them in the refrigerator. With just the three of them, Jun finally spoke, him voice even but laced with an undercurrent of restrained frustration “Michiru…I have some words I wish to share with Zelgadis. You are free to go if you want to avoid what will likely be an…uncomfortable conversation.”

To the surprise of both men, Michiru quickly and steadfastly said “No. I know what’s about to go down here and I refuse to let it happen!”

Zelgadis couldn’t help but smile, hiding it behind his hand while he briefly looked away. Jun’s reaction was more restrained, a simple raised eyebrow. After a moment, the head of the lighters program nodded and said “I see. Suit yourself. I don’t plan to modify what I say just because you are here.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Michiru replied, crossing her arms.

“Right.” Jun started as he raised himself to his full height, his already serious demeanor suddenly edging into foreboding, his eyes narrowing before he continued, his voice low and deliberate “Is it true, Zelgadis? Are Celty’s reports of you restraining the very girl you were sent to rescue solely so you could cure yourself true? Is it true that by doing that, you allowed for far more bodily harm and property damage then would have otherwise been avoided if you had just retreated as instructed?”

“Sanada-sensei, I am well aware what I did-”

“I’m not done!” Jun nearly roared before bringing his voice back down and continued “Then…then when you finally realized your error, Emeralda suffered age reversal trying to save you from the same fate after which you decided to atone for it all by trying to throw your life away to save Terra. Is. This. True?”

Michiru, stunned by the fairly accurate accusation, wheeled on her rock-encrusted friend and impulsively cried “That’s not true, is it Zel?”

Zelgadis didn’t even seem to register Michiru’s question, instead staring back at the older former hero as though Jun had grown a third head. After a pause too long for Michiru’s liking, Zelgadis finally replied, his voice low and soft, as though he was ashamed of what he was saying “How? How could you possibly know that?”

A loud smacking sound was heard just a second later when Michiru, fueled by righteous indignation, socked the chimera hard in the face with an enlarged fist, sending him sprawling to the floor. Michiru’s fist was screaming in pain but at that moment she didn’t register any of it as she loomed over Zelgadis, bellowing “YOU IDIOT! You planned to die there? What the hell is wrong with you? You…you were going to leave us here? After everything we’ve been through? You damned asshole!”

Zelgadis laid there, stunned while he held his chin where Michiru had struck him. There was nothing he could say at this point to excuse himself or make what he did right. In truth, he didn’t want to. Jun was right, he HAD thought he was atoning, redeeming himself in Terra’s eyes for being so completely foolish. It would be better if he was saving someone who was committed to saving others and getting the other lighters home after all.

When Michiru paused to take a breath between insults, Jun stepped up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn while she breathed hard. “I know how you feel Michiru. I know I don’t show it very well but I care for all of you and I can’t tell you how deeply upset I am right now. But we won’t get to hear it from Zelgadis if you kill him, now will we?”

That last part was delivered with a wry smile and the rare sight was enough to defuse Michiru’s anger enough for her to return her fist to normal and relax, if only slightly before she answered “I guess…”

“Now then, as to how I knew, Zelgadis. Well, its simple. I’ve been there. In my career as a hero I wasn’t able to save everyone and I always took it very hard and when I lost my family…I was ready to throw my life away any way I could. You’re serious and responsible and when you came around to your mistake, you felt bound to right it. Given how bad you felt, in that moment, the only way to do that was to give yourself up. We’re a lot alike, honestly. It wasn’t too hard to piece it together with what I knew.” Jun explained gently, as though to comfort the chimera.

Zelgadis and Michiru both stood impressed and at a loss for words while Jun continued “We can make mistakes, Zelgadis. Even selfish ones, as long as you recognize them as such there is the opportunity to learn and grow.” Then, the silver-haired former hero’s face hardened as his eyes bore into the sorcerer before him “But not if you’re dead! I can’t abide or let pass you thinking that atonement with your life is anything less than giving up. I’ll have you stripped of your license and you can stay here in this house watching from the sidelines if you ever think that way again.”

Zelgadis’ eyebrows raised at that last declaration, daring to ask “Wait. Does that mean I still do have my license even after what I did?”

“Yes.” Jun simply stated, allowing the two lighters to look briefly hopeful before Jun quickly added “But not without consequence. I have commissioned you for remedial training. You’ll be taking the same classes those who failed the second part of the license exam are taking.”

It only took a moment for the chimera to realize what that meant, his shoulders sagging and a groan escaping his lips. Michiru instantly looked worried and asked “What? What’s wrong with that Zel?”

“It means I’ll be stuck with that bomb-throwing blow-hard and purple-haired pervert.” Zelgadis answered despondently.

“Ooohhhh. Yeah, that absolutely sucks.” Michiru confirmed before trying to defend her friend, “Sanada-sensei, I don’t know everything Shadow Rider told you but if it wasn’t for Zel figuring out that Deku could use Eri’s quirk to fully utilize his own power, we’d all be dead!”

Jun quirked an eyebrow before answering as he crossed his arms “That detail was missing from the report, likely not something she witnessed herself, if I were to guess.”

Michiru’s eyes gleamed with hopeful excitement when she said “Really!? So does that mean-”

“The decision still stands, Michiru. The fact still remains he failed to follow orders and actively impeded a mission for personal gain. Frankly, he is getting off easy. But I will pass on that detail when I next talk to the commission.” Jun answered sternly.

Turning to the sorcerer-swordsmen, Michiru apologized “Sorry, Zel. Try not to knock out Bakugo if you can, ok?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Zelgadis drawled before adding “And what about Mineta?”

“Oh, beat the shit out of that little creep.” Came the tanuki girl’s instant reply.

That was enough to get Zelgadis to crack a smile with Jun even struggling to keep a straight face despite himself. Having said his piece, Jun moved to leave before he said “That’s all for today, you two. I’m glad your safe and the raid was a success. Get some rest.”

Before their mentor could leave, though, Zelgadis called after the older man “Sanada! Jun, I…I wanted to say…to say I’m sorry. For the way I’ve acted till now toward you and this whole hero world of yours. The truth is, when I was younger, I wanted to be a hero more than anything. To help people as much as I could…but I was weak. Or at least I thought I was. That’s how I ended up this way, because my grandfather saw that as an opening to change me. At first, I was fine with it, but then the very people I wished to save grew afraid of me. I even had self-proclaimed heroes hunt me, based in part on the way I look. I grew to loathe the term and more than that, myself. I told myself that even though this body wasn’t my choice, it was still because of something I wanted…a mistake that I wanted and needed to fix. I…I was wrong and I took it out on you as much as anyone. I’m sorry.”

By the time Zelgadis had finished speaking he had his head downcast, no longer able to look the former hero in the face. That meant the chimera was caught completely off guard when he suddenly found himself in an embrace. Jun had closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms over Zelgadis’ shoulders, the sorcerer at first too stunned to react.

After a moment, Jun spoke softly “You’re a good man, Zelgadis. I know you hate being here but…I am glad we met. My…my son would be about your age if he were still alive and…and if he had grown to be anything like you, I’d be proud to be his father.”

Zelgadis, someone who had lost his parents at a relatively young age, was awed by Jun’s words. Despite himself, tears began to well up in his eyes. The way Jun had spoken left no doubt they were deeply sincere and hearing them was as painful as they were cathartic. Struggling to speak, Zelgadis was able to get out “You…you stupid old man. Don…don’t try to replace my parents. Just, just keep teaching and I’ll keep listening. Got it?”

Still holding on, Jun nodded and offered a sly smile before he said “Fair enough. As long as you don’t go looking to get killed. Deal?”

His composure regained, Zelgadis replied “Yeah, I think I can manage that…Michiru, what are you doing?”

The two men glanced down to see what they already felt. The furry tanuki girl had joined in their embrace, wrapping her arms around them both, a feat made possible by her ability to stretch her arms beyond normal around both men. With Zelgadis and Jun eyeing her in mild annoyance, Michiru answered without looking up “What? This was a moment to be shared, so I did! Besides, this hasn’t exactly been a stress free day for me either. I did almost watch you die today Zel. So shut up and let me share this.”

From up on the stairwell, Hina whispered to the now shorter greenette beside her in a middle school uniform “You sure you don’t want to join in?”

“No” Emeralda replied, any hint of her new childish mannerisms gone, “Angels are meant to have two wings, not three.”

Raising an eyebrow, the telekinetic asked, confused “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Almost too quickly, Emeralda answered “Nothing. Never mind. Just a fleeting memory is all.”

(X)

The next day Terra, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda were called to the hospital where all the heroes from the raid had been taken for a debrief. Before that though, Hitomi took the de-aged nanomachine girl in town to get her some new cloths to fit her smaller frame. When the two returned to campus to pick up the other three, Michiru couldn’t help but notice the concern on the consoler’s face. The tanuki girl didn’t have time to say anything because Emeralda, who upon entering looked like her normal stoic self, seemed to flip a switch when she saw Michiru and flung herself at the girl.

“Michi! I missed you!” Emeralda exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Michiru’s waist.

Michiru almost recoiled at the contact. How could this be the same girl who only a day before had been so calm and collected about pretty much everything? And Michi? No one had ever called her that! “Uh…hi Emmy…did you, um, have a good time?”

The tan girl didn’t seem to notice her furry friend’s discomfort when she looked up at her and excitedly replied “Yes! Aunty Hitomi let me pick out whatever I wanted!”

“Oh, that’s…that’s great, Emmy!” Michiru replied as she briefly looked up at Hitomi, her eyes betraying her growing concern. Hitomi responded with a frown and a slight tip of her head to indicate she was as confused as Michiru was. With no help coming from the older brunette, Michiru smiled back down at her afflicted friend and said, “Are you ready to go to the hospital and see how everyone is doing?”

Emeralda’s smile slipped briefly before she let go and hopped backwards, her new outfit a cute light pink blouse and red skirt in full view to Michiru for the first time. Her smile returned, Emeralda cheerily answered “As long as I’m with you, Michi!”

Terra, who now looked much better, had been quiet since the group gathered and remained so even in the face of the new, younger Emeralda. Then, Hitomi signaled it was time and the group moved to head to the hospital. With Emeralda’s back turned, Michiru saw Zelgadis mouth “Michi?”

Michiru shrugged and shook her head, a confused look on her face as they left to head to the hospital. Things just seemed to be getting weirder and weirder and it worried the tanuki girl the whole trip.

(X)

The lighters were greeted by Izuku at the hospital entrance, having just been discharged himself, the freckled hero-in-training had decided to greet them. Mirio had likewise been released from care but had declined to wait knowing that Zelgadis would be among those arriving. The inheritor of One for All had a hard time not starring at the now pre-teen nanomachine girl. The once composed girl seemed to fidget and dance about them while she looked at all the people they passed, drawing more attention to the group than any of them wanted. At least she calmed down once they got into the elevator.

At the request of the patients, all of the heroes that required anything beyond basic care or monitoring were placed in the same room together. It was there that the five lighters and one hero intern found Shouta, Taishiro, Ken Takagi or Rock Lock and Sakon, who had taken a nasty hit from Rikiya after he had weakened her with his quirk and she had taken a hit for Ochaco. Mirai, Ryuko, Celty and Mirio were also in the room but it was the ant girl that spoke first to the new arrivals “Well if it isn’t the crazy assholes who pulled it off yesterday! Bout time you got here, its so boring just sitting here!”

Michiru sighed but smiled still, glad her newest friend had come out of the raid without any permanent injuries, replying “Good to see you too, Sakon.”

It took the confident third year a moment to get a good luck at Emeralda before she blurted out in response “Woah! I didn’t believe it when Sir Nighteye explained earlier but its true! The serious one got younger!”

Clearly exasperated, Mirai cut Sakon off “Yes, thank you, Yoshimura-san. That is one of the subjects we need to touch on today but for now could you please restrain yourself?”

The ant girl had enough sense to look ashamed before she replied “Yes, sir.” doing everything she could not to pout.

“Right” Mirai spoke again as he pressed his glasses up the ridge of his nose “I’ll repeat this one more time for the newcomers before we move on but I thought you should know that Overhaul’s transport was attacked on his way to the hospital last night.”

“You can’t be serious!” Zelgadis exclaimed

“What happened?” Michiru added right after.

“That’s horrible!” said Terra.

Emeralda remained silent, her aloof demeanor returning, her eyes hardening at the news.

“Several officers and a hero were killed in the attack but Kai Chisaki himself neither escaped nor was he harmed. He was found thrown from his ambulance but still restrained. He claims it was the League of Villains, there to lord his defeat over him. I have my doubts but without any other evidence, his word is all we have to go by for now.”

Knowing the bastard they had struggled so hard to catch hadn’t gotten away was a relief but none of the lighters really knew how to take the news and remained silent because of it. That gave Mirai the chance to continue, saying “With that out of the way, I suppose you’ll want to hear about the girl?”

“I’ll take it from here, Sir Nighteye.” Shouta said from his bed, several parts of his body wrapped in bandages. “Eri exhausted herself yesterday and remains asleep but is otherwise ok. Her quirk…is very dangerous. However, she showed the capacity to control it yesterday, so the doctors feel she isn’t far off.”

“Far off from what, Aizawa-sensei?” Izuku asked breathlessly, having been hanging on his dower teacher’s every word.

“Far off from being allowed to interact with other people, Midoriya.” Shouta finished, slightly annoyed at having been interrupted.

“When will we be able to see her, Aizawa-sensei?” Mirio inquired with his trademark enthusiasm.

“That’s something that’ll be determined once she wakes up. What is already clear is she will need more training to safely interact with other people. That will be tricky if her quirk only works on organic life as reports would seem to indicate.” The underground hero explained.

“For now, we’d like to hear in your own words what happened, especially before Sir Nighteye and the rest of the veteran heroes arrived to battle Overhaul.” said a tall thin man with dirty blonde hair.

“Of course, Fatgum!” Mirio answered, causing Zelgadis to raise an eyebrow and Michiru to outright do a double take.

It was only after Michiru reacted with confusion did Emeralda go from calm to exclaiming excitedly “You’re the big fat one?!”

That got a chuckle out of Sakon but Ryuko, Mirai nor Shouta looked amused at all. Celty, still wearing her helmet, managed to look displeased regardless just by the way she stood, arms crossed.

Taishiro though, took it in stride, long since used to the reaction whenever he really went all out with his quirk. Letting out a jolly laugh to help dispel the tension, the BMI hero followed up by saying “Yep! That was me! Don’t worry, its just part of my quirk, I’ll be back to my egg-shaped self before long!”

“We’re getting side-tracked. Could we please get back to the matter at hand?” Ryuko chimed in, apparently not in the mood for such silliness if her tone was anything to go by.

Without further distraction, the group explained their fight when they first entered the yakuza stronghold all the way to when Overhaul absorbed Rikiya, each member of the team taking their turn explaining what they were doing as things happened. Izuku grew much more nervous when it came time to recount his encounter with the League members, for several reasons. As he spoke, he noted that Shouta’s face looked even more sour than normal.

As awkward as that part of the account was, it paled compared to when Zelgadis had his turn explaining his holding of Eri captive. When he was done, Mirai cut in before anyone else could take up the tale and move on. “I could hardly believe it when Mirio told me earlier but to hear it from a licensed hero-in-training themselves. I’m appalled to know one of our own would jeopardize a mission for something so…vain. I have half a mind to march to the commission right now and demand you be barred from serving as a hero for the rest of your life.”

Zelgadis didn’t shy away from that assessment, remaining calm and standing tall, regret in his eyes when he replied “That…would be understandable. I…I thought at the time that if I didn’t act then, when we took her to the proper authorities, I would never see her again and I would see yet another chance to look normal slip away. It was selfish. It was foolish. I could have gotten her killed along with so many others here. I would rather atone for my mistake as Sanada-sensei wishes but I understand if you want to push for my explosion.”

“Don’t forget what Zel did after that, Sir Nighteye!” Michiru pleaded as she had with Jun the night before, “His quick thinking not only protected us but it was his idea to have Deku and Eri pair up to defeat Overhaul!”

Mirai perched his lips as he seemed to be considering the tanuki girl’s words. With no response from the raid leader, Michiru added, “He was even willing to sacrifice his life to save another hero! If that’s not a sign of his commitment, I don’t know what is!”

At that last part, Terra glanced over at the chimera, a frown set on her features that went un-noticed by all but the other green-haired girl in the room.

A silence fell on the room while Michiru’s words hung in the air. After a pause that felt far longer than it actually was, the bright-eyed intern Mirio, of all people, spoke “I believe him! Magus and I disagreed quite a bit on this mission and he ignored my orders but you know what? I look into his eyes and I think he earnestly wants to do better. I know he’ll do better!”

That seemed to strike a chord in the stern-looking former sidekick. Walking over to stand directly in front of Zelgadis, Mirai regarded the sorcerer for a long moment. Zelgadis didn’t waver under the older man’s scrutiny, the chimera’s eyes filled with grim determination. Finally, Mirai turned away and said, “I am still speaking to the commission…but I suppose I may reconsider what exactly I have to report to them.” his voice subdued.

It wasn’t much but it was a win that Zelgadis would take. He then bowed and replied “Any consideration of me when you speak to the commission is much appreciated and more than I deserve. Thank you.”

“With All Might retired, we’re going to need as many heroes as we can get, that’s all. Now, work on yourself, Magus and maybe learn a joke or two.” Was all that Mirai said on the subject before turning everyone’s attention to the one that got away. “So it would seem this Xellos may be working with the League now, having conspired to betray Overhaul, is that right?”

“That was definitely our impression, sir!” Izuku answered before the rest of the rescue team nodded their heads.

“The League went into hiding after All for One was captured and I’ve had a hell of a time keeping tabs on them. After this mess with the Shie Hassaikai it could be that they may try to build their reach in the underworld, especially if they’ve added someone as conniving as Xellos to their ranks.” Celty outlined.

“They are at the very least trying to make up for what they lost.” Mirai replied, “I got word from Gran Torino that he and Detective Naomasa followed the League’s teleporter to some remote mountains. They captured their target but discovered a villain far larger and stronger than they could have ever imagined.”

“So, what are our next steps?” Ryuko asked

Mirai frowned as he glanced out the window and said “Hard to tell at this point. Gran Torino plans to follow up on that giant.”

“I can help with that.” Celty volunteered, “I don’t have any other cases I’m following and this sounds serious.”

“Can I help?” Michiru blurted out as soon as the dulahan finished speaking.

“I’m against it.” Shouta answered quickly. Before adding “I’m not even sure if work studies will continue after this. Besides, you’ve been through a lot lately.”

Celty, though, caught the sharp look in the tanuki girl’s eye and asked, “There’s something else, isn’t there Michiru?”

Embarrassed at having been seen through so easily, Michiru’s face was a bit red when she explained “During the licensing exam, I ran into a group of people with heteromorphic quirks from the countryside of Japan and they talked about the discrimination and threats they’ve had to endure. I was thinking…if you’re going out to the mountains, I’d like to see this CRC up close if I can.”

The request seemed to come out of left field for the veterans in the room, even the ever-cynical Shouta looked surprised. When no one responded right away, Michiru grew concerned as she looked about the room and said with concern on her face “What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s...just not what we were expecting to hear.” Celty said, her tone betraying a hint of shame at the admission.

“It would be a distraction, honestly. You should really focus on looking for this monster.” Mirai answered rationally.

“At the very least.” said Shouta while he eyed All Might’s former sidekick “It would make for a good cover story while they look around. Truth is, this country has been willing to let such activity go on as long as it’s out of sight and away from too many people out of convenience. Something should be done.”

“I don’t know. We’re talking about people aiming to destroy our whole society here. Shouldn’t we stay focused on that?” Taishiro countered.

“Girl’s gotta point” Ken said, speaking up for the first time the entire conversation. In truth, Ken was content to be happy they had succeeded and that he had come out alive and able embrace his family again. Until he was healed though, the hero Rock Lock was content to let others continue the fight. This, though, was a different matter and he felt that he could contribute at least a little bit, continuing, “Whose to say those racist assholes couldn’t be co-opted to join the fight, huh? Seems like hiding out in the countryside is a perfect place to lick your wounds and rebuild. Don’t give them or the League that chance.”

The added weight from another respected pro seemed to sway Celty, who crossed her arms and grudgingly said “Ok, Animalia. We’ll keep an eye out while we’re searching but know our priority is the League.”

Michiru pumped her fist in front of her and turned to her friends and exclaimed “You guys ready? I know neither one of you have left the city since, well, you know….”

All at once the pro heroes responded with a jumble of negative responses that Michiru couldn’t sort as her eyes went wide and she frantically looked back at them. Mirai was the first to speak again once everyone realized they had spoken over each other, his tone stern “Magus and Crescens going with you is completely out of the question.”

A bit louder than was acceptable in a hospital, Michiru protested “What? Why not! We’re a team!”

“Michiru,” Celty started, her use of the tanuki girl’s name underscoring that she felt she was talking down to an upset child “We were just talking about what Magus did yesterday. He’s lucky he wasn’t stripped of his license entirely, he isn’t going anywhere.”

Zelgadis offered Michiru a apologetic look but didn’t protest, fully aware and accepting that he was at their mercy. Michiru frowned, looking past the chimera and over at Emeralda, who seemed to be as neutral as ever until she noted her furry friend was looking at her. Once she realized the attention being placed on her, a pout sprang to Emeralda’s lips, appearing about to cry and whined “I can still fight, even if I am smaller!”

“There is much more to being a hero than simply combat, Kasim-san.” Shouta admonished before adding “Clearly your mental state has been affected and until we know more about what has happened to you, you aren’t going anywhere either. Do you understand?”

The tan girl’s shoulders slumped, causing her now oversized scarf to slide, which forced her to grab it with her hand and distract her from reacting any more than the sour face she offered. When Shouta remained starring at the girl still waiting for a verbal response, Emeralda sighed and looked away before forcing a low “Yes…I understand.” before adding too soft for anyone but Michiru to hear “…meanie.”

With a gentle smile the only acknowledgement of her friends whispered insult, Michiru then asked “So, what, just the two of us? Seems like a lot of real estate to cover for two people. What about Gargoyle?”

Celty shook her head “His quirk is much better suited to places with taller buildings and it would be much harder to guarantee his safety during the day. I’ll reach out to some colleagues to see if I can expand our net.”

“I’ll do it!” Sakon blurted out, her right arms raised and waving excitedly. When the room’s attention fell upon her, she added unfazed by the attention “If there’s a chance to knock some hater skulls, you can count me in!”

“Eraserhead? She’s another one of yours, right?” Celty asked, a hint of skepticism in her artificial voice.

“Yes.” Shouta drawled, turning back to look at the ant girl and adding, “Sakon Yoshimura, third year. Middling test scores, high combat aptitude but she has had problems working with others due in no small part to a highly competitive attitude that has kept her from reaching her full potential.”

U.A. doesn’t coddle its students so similar words were not foreign to Sakon but it did still hurt to have one of her teachers be so blunt in front of so many respected pros. The ant girl at least was gracious enough not to protest, instead looking to the headless hero that would make the call, her eyes pleading.

“For what its worth.” Ryuko said, “She performed well against the giant yakuza yesterday.”

An appreciative smile spread across Sakon’s face hearing a top ten hero praise her and instantly wiped away the gloom of hearing the same critiques she’d gotten so used to in her time at U.A. With a raised eyebrow, Shouta replied “Is that so? Interesting. As I recall, you were a last-minute addition to the team. How did you even become aware of the raid?”

Rasing her hand meekly, Michiru said “That…was me, Aizawa-sensei. I promised her if any chances came up, I would recommend her and Sir Nighteye had said he could use more manpower, sooo…”

“So I did my best! I didn’t want to let my friend down, after all!” Sakon finished, giving Michiru four thumbs up. The tanuki girl responded with a crooked smile and a less enthusiastic single raised thumb, not entirely sure what she was about to get herself into.

That seemed to surprise the dower underground hero who replied with what may have been a smirk “A friend you say? Well, isn’t that interesting.” Then closing his eyes and crossing his arms, Shouta added “I don’t see a problem with her tagging along if you’ll have her, Shadow Rider.”

“Ok then, you’re on the team, Yoshimura-san. I’ll reach out to you and Animalia in a day or two with the details. Take it easy until then, got it?” Celty instructed.

“YES! Oh! I mean…yes, ma’am. I won’t let you down!” Sakon celebrated nearly bouncing out of her bed as she pumped her arms. Michiru though was much less excited about the mission now. The tanuki girl had never been afraid to go it alone in the past but not having Zel or Emmy there with her just didn’t feel right. And now the nutty ant girl was along for the ride? A creeping feeling of dread began to settle in Michiru’s stomach as the pros decided there wasn’t anything else to talk about and let them head back to U.A.

(X)

Once again, the ride back was a quiet one. This time, however, was accompanied by a cloud of tension hanging over it the whole way back. It was only after the group returned and Hitomi had taken her leave that Michiru groaned and lamented “I can’t believe it! We’re being separated and you two seem to be fine with it? Come on! We’re a team! We-we shouldn’t be broken up!”

Zelgadis, who had gone to make some tea, came back into the common area aware that Terra had taken a seat on the couch and was just sitting there. He starred at the back of her head for a moment before turning his attention back to the aggrieved tanuki girl “You were there Michiru. The pros raised good points. The way we are right now, I don’t know how good a team we would make. I know that Sakon girl annoys you but the two of you do seem to have a report. Maybe it won’t be so bad?”

“When did you become such an optimist, hmm?” Michiru huffed, crossing her arms.

Zelgadis frowned before he retorted “I’m just pointing out the facts and a possible, even likely outcome. For what it’s worth, I do wish I was going. All I can do is make sure I can be there next time. Just try not to mess it up while you’re out there, ok?”

“Ah, there’s the grump I know! Also, I don’t mess everything up! I seem to recall you’re the one that blew it the last couple of times” Michiru shot back playfully.

“What about me? Will you miss me, Michi?” Emeralda asked, her eyes glistening with all the pitiable charm of a sad puppy.

Michiru reached out and ruffled the now shorter girl’s pale green hair. However, there was no joy in the act, the tanuki girl instead looking down at her friend with concern. Emeralda picked up on it immediately. Her hands now fidgeting with her scarf, Emeralda looked down and said “You…don’t like Emeralda…I mean, me this way?”

Michiru’s heart sank at the nanomachine girl’s words, especially the return of her nervous verbal tick. Bending down and placing her hands on Emeralda’s shoulders, Michiru looked her friend in the eye and said gently “Emmy, I could never not like you. I never want you to think that way, your wonderful no matter what. You do have to understand though…this is a pretty big change and it’ll take time to get use to you like this, that’s all. Hopefully Eri can reverse what she did to you soon though.”

Emeralda listened intently to her furry friend and at first looked comforted, only to cringe a little at that last line, which confused Michiru. That confusion was lost though when Emeralda closed the space between them and hugged the now older girl as she exclaimed “Thank you, Michi! You’re, you’re my bestest friend! Please, please be careful!”

“We’ve still got a day or two together, Emmy. Let’s make them count, ok?” Michiru said ,returning her friend’s embrace. Then, having seen that Zelgadis had moved closer to Terra, whispered “Come on, lets go to our rooms and rest for a bit. I think those two could use some time.”

Emeralda pulled back, and glanced at the other two lighters before nodding silently. The two both watched Zelgadis and Terra but said nothing before turning and heading up stairs to retire.

With Michiru and Emeralda gone, Terra finally spoke, though she kept starring at the wall beyond the TV, refusing to look at the chimera beside her “Michiru said you attempted to sacrifice yourself to save me. Did you forget what I told you before the raid?”

Zelgadis wasn’t moved by the icy tone the half-esper had taken asking her question, instead countering “You can’t bring everyone home if you’re dead, now can you? If it was one life to allow eleven others to go home, that seemed logical.”

Terra’s eyes narrowed before she shot up and faced the rock-encrusted man, snapping “I don’t think logic had anything to do with it! As much as you like to learn Zelgadis, its clear to me you’re a man of deep passions. You want to be human again so bad that it drove you to do a horrible thing. You want me to believe that having seen your error that you didn’t feel in equal measure regret for having done it?”

Zelgadis opened his mouth for a rebuttal but nothing came out, allowing Terra to continue “You’re a hero, Zelgadis. We can all see you want to help others. You just need to be as rational as you project yourself to be. You can’t make rash, selfish decisions and you can’t throw your life away just to end the shame. I…I’m glad you’re alright but the way you acted, its going to be hard to let that go.”

Each word Terra spoke seemed to cut into Zelgadis deeper and deeper. If he knew a spell that would open a hole in the earth and swallow him whole, he’d have cast it right then and there. Terra had been someone he could go to when he wanted to share some quiet time and she’d been so helpful in his learning to read Japanese. Having her dress him down like this produced an ache in his heart he had scarcely felt in his life. Clenching his fists, Zelgadis looked down and away, ready to just turn around and walk out the door and never come back.

Before he could act on that impulsive attempt to deal with such a flood of emotions, Terra spoke once more, this time her tone much more unsure, “That being said, I have something I need to ask you.”

The sudden change in tone and subject seemed to snap the chimera out of the spiral he was quickly spinning down when he looked back up, his expression betraying how her words had affected him. The torn look on Zelgadis’ face caused Terra to herself look away when she asked her question “It’s about...Xellos, or I guess mazuku in general. Is-is it possible for someone to be turned into a mazuku?”

Instantly, Zelgadis’ expression went from shame induced agony to shock, his eyes wide as he managed to get out a soft “…What did you say?”

It was Terra’ turn to look pained for she seemed to shrink under the sorcerer’s glaze, a mix of curiosity and horror on her features. Despite herself, Terra answered “When the two of us were fighting yesterday, it was the last thing he said to me before I passed out. He wanted to know if I wanted to be like him. Is that even possible? Or was he just trying to mess with me?”

“Well…” Zelgadis started, pushing everything they had just talked about as far to the side in his mind as he could, “Mazuku usually create other mazuku by forming them out of parts of themselves. That’s why Xellos is as strong as he is, his creator made just one subordinate instead of two, unlike the other four demon generals, making him twice as strong as the others at his level.”

That explanation seemed to put Terra at ease, but Zelgadis wasn’t done and when he added “but…” dread filled Terra once more before Zelgadis continued, “One of Demon Dragon Gaav’s two subordinates, Valgaav, had once been a dragon in the service of the shinzuku. The way it was explained to me, I got the impression that Valgaav had been a willing participant. It does, however, mean that there has been at least one instance of a being becoming a mazuku. I doubt it would work on humans though, they can make pacts with mazuku but that’s it. You’d need to have some sort of…magical…oh, right. You’re not entirely human.”

“No…I’m not” Terra answered, her voice breaking as she spoke the words. Then, her voice carrying a hint of panic, added, “And I only regained my esper form when he arrived here. I’m literally absorbing the magic he generates!”

“Which means you’re compatible.” Zelgadis spoke softly, almost to himself. Straightening up to try and project confidence and reassure his friend, the chimera said “All that being said, I’ve known Xellos a long time, for better and worse. I’ve never known him to ever want to create another mazuku. If I were betting, he was likely trying to prey on any insecurities you may have about yourself.”

Terra did start to look less overwhelmed, but concern still riddled her face when she replied “Maybe, but why? He already had me beat.”

“He’s a schemer, pure and simple. Chances are, we won’t know what he was thinking until its almost too late to stop him.” Zelgadis answered, doing little to assuage Terra’s worries.

To Zelgadis’ surprise, Terra lightly slapped her cheeks and stood tall, forcing a smile on her face before she declared “Well, nothing we can do about it now! All we can do is try and find that Nomu before he does. As for the other thing we talked about, please think on it, Zelgadis and hopefully one day I can see you as I did just a day ago. See you later.”

With that, Terra left for her room, leaving the chimera to his thoughts. There was much to think on but the text he got from Jun while he was talking with Terra reminded him that he would be attending remedial classes with easily the two most unsavory members of 1-A the next day. Self-reflective peace and quiet would have to wait.

(X)

The night had not been restful for Zelgadis. Without the exhaustion of the previous day to force the issue, the rock-encrusted sorcerer found it much harder to get to sleep while his mind bounced from guilt for his actions, to shame for how he had made his friends feel and then to dread at the afternoon training he would be attending before trying to wrap his mind around Xellos’ offer to Terra.

Daybreak came all too soon and just when the chimera thought he could get away with holing up in his room for the morning, Hina’s voice rang through the corridor “Hey you lazy bums! Jun and Sakura are downstairs, and we have something important to discuss! So get your asses downstairs before I drag you down!”

Zelgadis groaned, then froze briefly, terrified that the telekinetic heard him. After a few seconds without being smashed by a piece of his wall crashing into him, the chimera took it to mean he was safe and began to wonder what the zombie girl could possibly be here for.

Not expecting classes from Jun or joining 1-A, Zelgadis quickly changed into a pair of dark pants, grey shirt and the hooded jacket he had become fond of and went downstairs. It turned out he had been the most considerate of his fellow new arrivals because Michiru and Emeralda were still very much in their pajamas. The tanuki girl, thanks to the darker fur around her eyes, could usually hide when she hadn’t gotten much sleep, which was often. By this point though, Zelgadis could see the bags under her eyes while Michiru stood weakly in her shorts and tank-top.

Emeralda was sporting her new pj’s she had just got the day before to accommodate her smaller form and the outfit definitely…played to her now younger perspective. The nanomachine girl was wearing a matching set of red top and pants with what looked like giant robots printed all over them. If Zelgadis had been better acquitted with the culture of his new world, he’d have immediately thought she was wearing boys pajamas. As it was, the chimera could only continue to think that his follow lighter was now but a child, far less concerned with her situation than she had been a day earlier.

Mobb and Shinra were there as well but neither of them seemed particularly concerned about what Jun or Sakura had to say. If anything, Shinra looked more resigned than anything, something that put Zelgadis’ mind at ease even if he was still curious as to what this was all about. To that end, he was the first to speak “So, what’s so important that required the threat of violence, hmm?”

Now Zelgadis hadn’t thought his question was out of line. It was a perfectly logical question to ask why they were just standing there, forced out of bed so early in the morning. The way that Shinra and Mobb cringed though was, however, setting off red flags in the chimera’s head and his eyes darted back to the blue-haired telekinetic.

Sure enough, the sight that greeted him shook him to his core and he took an unconscious step back. If the sorcerer didn’t know better, he’d swear that Hina’s eyes were burning as she bore into him with a death stare that made Lina Inverse look like a lost puppy. Her arms set firmly on her hips, Hina leaned forward and spoke, her voice dripping with venom, “For someone who nearly died yesterday, you sure sound eager to be murdered, Zelgadis.”

Emeralda began chuckling, clearly trying not to lose her composure entirely and Michiru just looked like she wanted to get on with whatever stupid thing they were here for while Zelgadis let out an unmanly squeak before he took another step back.

Satisfied she had the rude rock man cowed, Hina straightened up confidently and spoke again triumphantly “Now then, if there aren’t any other interruptions, I wanted to bring to your attention that the UA Fall Festival is just around the corner!”

Zelgadis’ fear turned to confusion. A festival? What was so special about a festival? Unfortunately, after that last exchange, he’d be damned if he asked another question. Luckily, at the mention of a festival, Michiru seemed to snap out of her morning haze and asked with a hint of excitement “Oh, so you have festivals in this world too? Heh, I guess this is still Japan, after all!”

“Is a festival like a party or something?” Emeralda followed up, her confusion mirroring Zelgadis’ own.

“Kind of.” Michiru began to explain as a sense of nostalgia washed over her, “Different classes could put on various forms of entertainment or business for other students and the community coming to visit. There could be stalls selling delicious food, haunted houses for a good scare or maid cafes to cater to you! I remember one year-”

“Yes, they get the point, badger!” Hina snapped, clearly annoyed Michiru had stolen her thunder.

Trying her luck, the tanuki girl choose to ignore her senior’s growing ire and instead asked “So why is Sakura here then? If she’s not a student anymore, what would she have to do with the festival?”

That perfectly logical question brought Hina up short, defusing her building anger before she sputtered “Oh, um, well that’s because…”

“I was the lighters big attraction when I was a student!” Sakura cheerfully answered, stepping forward and raising her hand above her head, beaming a smile.

“That’s right.” Jun said calmly, stepping forward and gently bringing Sakura’s hand down to let her know to tone it down a bit. The zombie red head blushed in embarrassment before Jun continued “Usually there are only a handful of lighters here any given year so they would usually tag along with other classes for the festival.”

“But when Sakura was here, we had the talent and would recruit a class to handle the logistics of holding a concert that featured one of us! It was great!” Hina added with no small amount of pride.

“Even last year we got special depensation from the principal to do it one more time even after Sakura graduated as a coming out concert to jumpstart her career.” said Jun before adding “But that won’t be the case this year, so Sakura is here to help with ideas for you all, especially since it means so much to Hina-chan here.”

“Hina-san thought that since there is six of us this year that we might have enough to do something on our own this year.” Mobb added helpfully, only to get Hina’s evil eye for his efforts.

“Oh.” Michiru started as her shoulders slumped and a guilty look came across her face, “I just became apart of a search mission with Shadow Rider to look in the countryside for the League. I’m supposed to leave in a couple days. I…don’t think I can be of any help. I’m so sorry!”

“Yeah, and what’s up with Emeralda? Wasn’t she, you know, older last time I saw her?” Sakura asked, as if just noticing for the first time.

“But you can still pitch in before you leave, right Michiru?” Hina asked, now suddenly desperate. “And Emeralda may have had an accident on the raid but she can still contribute, right? And…and she could be fixed, right Sanada-sensei?” The blue-haired telekinetic finished, her tone now pleading.

Jun looked down at the child that had been in his care longest with pity, an expression that Hina noticed immediately causing a frown to creep onto her face. “Hina-chan, I’m sorry but it looks like you may have to go back to helping a class this year. I’m not sure four and a half of you is enough to pull anything off for the festival that you could be proud of.” Jun explained, trying his best to sound comforting while he spoke.

It didn’t help. Hina all but crumbled, tears streaming down her face as she turned away and declared between sobs “I…I didn’t want to do anything anyway! The festival is stupid! Just a way for all these brats to show off how great they are!” With that, the poor girl ran off and out the door, leaving the new lighters shocked to see the confident and often overbearing young woman brought to tears.

“I’ll see to her. Mobb and Shinra, I suggest you go to your classes and see if you want to join them. Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda, you can sit in with 1-A if you want and Aizawa agrees but you can sit the whole thing out if you want.” Jun offered before he turned and headed out the door after Hina.

“I feel sorry for Hina but I’m kind of excited to do something different.” Shinra said as he moved to go get ready for the day.

“Wait!” Michiru called before she rushed over to her two senior lighters, “What was all that about, anyway? Why was Hina so broken up over the festival?”

Mobb and Shinra looked at each other and an unspoken decision was made between them. Shinra continued back to his room and Mobb stayed to answer the tanuki girl’s question. “Hina-san has been here for seven years now. When she first got here, she was just ten and the U.A. festival was one of the things that really reminded her of home. At least that’s what Sanada-sensei told me. As soon as she was old enough and got permission, she’s participated in the festival. Its one of the things that has kept her going all these years, just like planning the welcome party for each new lighter.”

For once, Michiru actually felt a pang of sympathy for the blue-haired thorn in her side. “I…see. I kind of feel like I ruined it for her then, not being here and all.”

Mobb offered a gentle smile and replied “That’s kind of you to think that but it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Besides, you’re going off to help Celty-san try and find our ticket home, right? I think…I think that’s what Hina needs more than anything so try to think of it as a good thing!”

“Wow, that’s a great way to look at it! Thanks Mobb, you’re a great guy, you know that!” Michiru exclaimed, patting the plain-looking boy on the back, harder than he was expecting.

As he tumbled forward, a blush creeped onto Mobb’s face while he nervously rubbed the back of his head “No, it was nothing, just trying to help. You…you take care Michiru-san.” With that, the bowl-haired young man quickly retreated to his room as well.

Michiru and Emeralda decided to head up and change and think about what they wanted to do. Zelgadis, meanwhile, stepped outside to wait and to think himself, since he’d been interrupted earlier. Much to his surprise, though, after just a few minutes, the zombie idol Sakura stepped through the door and came to stand beside him.

“Can we talk, Zelgadis?” the undead redhead asked, her tone serious.

(X)

Chapter Text

Michiru and Emeralda decided to head up and change and think about what they wanted to do for the festival. Zelgadis, meanwhile, stepped outside to wait and to think himself, since he’d been interrupted earlier. Much to his surprise, though, after just a few minutes, the zombie idol Sakura stepped through the door and came to stand beside him.

“Can we talk, Zelgadis?” the undead redhead asked, her tone serious.

The chimera had hoped to be alone and even though he realized it was his own fault for not choosing to go to his room for that, he was still annoyed. It must have showed on his face because Sakura spoke again, this time sounding more contrite “I know I’m probably butting in but to be honest, I didn’t just come to help Hina-chan out with the festival. I wanted to talk to you.”

That admission was enough to drive off the sour cloud that hung over Zelgadis before he turned his head, a look of surprise on his face when he replied “You wanted to talk to me? What for? I don’t think we’ve exchanged more than a few words together before now. No offense but I’m not sure what we could even talk about.”

Sakura’s face puffed out in cute annoyance at the rocky grump, annoyed he was making this harder than it had to be. On seeing the display, Zelgadis lightly remarked “You’re not going to try and bite me or anything, are you? Trust me, it wouldn’t work.”

Sakura quickly turned and started comically punching the sour sorcerer “I’m not that kind of zombie, you jerk!”

“Right. Sorry, just…stop the tantum, it’s embarrassing.” Zelgadis quipped, unmoved by the zombie idol’s assault.

“Not as embarrassing as the way you acted yesterday.” Sakura shot back as she stopped her fists, able to land a blow much harder than anything her undead hands could muster.

That got Zelgadis’ attention causing him to turn and glare down at the redhead. For her part, Sakura had a rather uncharacteristic smug smirk on her face whilr Zelgadis said, his voice laced with anger “So Jun told you, did he? Doesn’t seem very professional to share that with someone who isn’t a pro hero.”

“You’re not just a hero, Zelgadis, you’re a lighter! And I know you haven’t been around enough yet to realize it but that makes you a part of a family! Thats why…that’s why I wanted to tell you how I died.”

“How you died?” the sorcerer-swordsmen repeated. Thinking back on it, Zelgadis realized that although Sakura had mentioned she had died and been brought back as a zombie, she hadn’t given any more detail than that. Was there some horrible secret to the tale? Or was it so traumatic that it hurt to even remember it? Whatever it was, it seemed that Zelgadis was about to find out.

“Yeah…” Saura answered, now much more apprehensive and nervous-looking while she tried to meet the taller blue-skinned man’s eyes. “The truth is, I didn’t die saving a child or in a plane crash or at the hands of some madman. No, I had just gotten an acceptance letter to try out to be an idol and after getting ready, I was so excited, I just rushed out the door and into the street…”

Zelgadis’ eyes widened in realization at the sad truth being revealed to him before he said “No…don’t tell me…”

“Yeah, I was hit by a truck. That was it. Nothing special, no greater meaning to my life or my death. I made a stupid, careless mistake and paid the highest price anyone can.” Sakura answered as she starred into the chimera’s disbelieving eyes.

“When I was brought back like this, I couldn’t really remember who I was, but when I did…and remembered how I died…it was very hard coming to terms with that. With having thrown my life away so...pointlessly.” Sakura concluded.

When she finished, Sakura saw she had her companion’s rap attention and suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, pressing his hand against her ample chest. The unexpected action along with the compromising location caused the chimera to blush while he tried to pull away. The zombie girl was, surprisingly, strong enough to hold his hand there long enough to speak again, her tone forceful, “Can you feel that, Zelgadis! Of course not, because I’m still dead. My heart will never beat again!”

While Sakura spoke, Zelgadis stopped struggling and took the time to do as she said. It was true, there was no heartbeat, and the sorcerer was struck by just how cold Sakura’s skin felt as his hand continued to press between her breasts. The red-haired zombie watched Zelgadis while he struggled with what she had said. Finally, the rock-encrusted chimera again gently tried to pull his hand away and Sakura did not fight him. As he pulled his hand back, Zelgadis spoke again, quietly “How…how did you do it? How even could you? You…your right. All the mistakes I’ve made. They’ve paled in comparison to that.”

Sakura sighed in exacerbation before shaking her head and said “Your missing the point, Zelgadis. I didn’t tell you that story to trivialize your mistakes. I’m saying you can always come back from them. How you do that, that’s up to you. Find something you love to do. Be with people you enjoy, whatever can make you happy! Because if you’re happy, you can move forward. Looking back, chaining yourself to your mistakes, it’s impossible to move forward and make yourself and the world around you better when you’re stuck, unmoving. That’s how you atone. And how you heal”

When Sakura finished speaking, Zelgadis didn’t react for a long moment. Sakura began to think something was wrong and the steely facade she had adopted to drive home her point was beginning to break when finally, the chimera suddenly turned away and slammed his fist into the handrail he had been leaning against. The zombie idol did the best she could not to finch at the violent act and held herself still despite wanting to ask if he was ok, waiting for him to say something. The thought that Hitomi made this look easy may have crossed the red-head’s mind in those silent moments as she waited.

“I don’t deserve it.” Zelgadis finally said, his voice trembling with self-loathing anger.

“You do.” came the zombie’s swift and firm reply. However, Zelgadis said nothing, his only reaction to lower his head. “I know saying it alone won’t convince you. You have to accept it yourself. You’re the only one who can save you, Zelgadis.” Sakura finished.

When no reaction came and an awkward silence settled between the two of them, Sakura broke it with a pout “You’re such a meanie! Sanada-sensei told me all these stories of how you always had a mean thing to say in class, ready to argue with him on anything! I came prepared and everything for you to be all combative and instead you’re moping instead. How am I supposed to deploy my best weapon if you don’t give me a chance to use it?”

The chimera rolled his eyes, annoyed at the zombie girl’s prattling on when he was trying to let her words sink in. Hoping to get her to stop, Zelgadis lifted himself off the railing and turned to face Sakura, an annoyed look on his face when he spoke “Look, I appreciate everyth…what the hell are you doing?”

Sakura stood there, looking up at the taller rock-encrusted lighter, hands tucked cutely below her chin, her legs pressed together and bent slightly at the knees as the zombie girl flashed the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes she could muster. The undead girl seemed to radiate pathetic cuteness like a blinding light, her pleading face causing the grumpy sorcerer to turn away from the overbearing sight.

When her target flinched, the red-headed zombie broke her pose and triumphantly declared “Victory! There, I feel satisfied now. Thank you Zelgadis!”

Turning back to face the now beaming Sakura, Zelgadis met the girl with a scowl before he bitterly complained “That’s a dangerous weapon! You can’t just brandish that just because you didn’t get to use it!”

The zombie girl’s smile grew more smug before she answered “That’s the guy I expected to see. Glad to see you’re feeling a little better, Zelgadis.”

“Whatever. Get out of here. I’m sure you’ve got groupies or whatever waiting for you to do one of your little shows anyway.’ Zelgadis scoffed as he made a dismissive gesture with his hands.

Offering a knowing smile in return, Sakura skipped forward until she was right in front of the surprised chimera before she gently bopped him on the nose and said cheerily “You’ve been so focused on getting home, you’ve missed what this world has to offer! Find something you enjoy, have fun with friends and before long, you’ll see what I mean. I promise!”

With that, Sakura turned, and confidently walked down the steps and away from the lighter house. Zelgadis at first was left frozen by the zombie girl’s absurd words and gestures but once he regained his composure and thought on what had been said he realized that the one thing he had enjoyed doing, reading with Terra, was lost to him now. More confused now than depressed, Zelgadis slumped forward once more, left unsure just what to do with himself.

(X)

“You think you’d like to help them, Emmy?”

“Sure! But…it won’t be as much fun without you Michi.”

Michiru and Emeralda walked the halls of UA, on their way to 1-A’s room to wait for school to let out. Thinking it over, Michiru thought doing something with their brief classmates would be fun and something both Emeralda and Zelgadis needed, even if the grumpy chimera didn’t know it yet. Zelgadis had stayed brooding in his room, prepping to head to the supplemental training with Katsuki and Minoru as punishment for his behavior during the raid.

With Shouta recovering from his own injury and keeping a watchful eye over Eri, Jun had stepped in as homeroom teacher for 1-A. The retired rescue hero directed the class to discuss what they would do for the school festival and mentioned the class may have some help.

Michiru thought that even though she wouldn’t get to help for the event itself, she could at least get her friends working with the class and help however else she could before her own mission in the countryside of Japan.

Patting the now young-looking girl’s pale green hair, Michiru smiled ruefully before she said “That’s sweet Emmy and I’ll miss you too but they’re your friends too, so help them out the best you can, ok?”

Any sadness on the tan girl’s face melted away as she beamed her own smile and nodded enthusiastically and replied “You bet!”

The two lighters got to the oversized door that was their goal just as the end bell rang. After hearing Tenya give the directive to bow, the two girls could hear the hustle and bustle of the various heroes-in-training gathering their belongings and making their way to the door.

It was little surprise that Mina, followed closely behind by Kyoka, was the first to the door, sliding it open before Michiru stood to the side, a suddenly shy Emeralda now hiding behind her. “Hey, Michiru! Sanada-sensei said you might be dropping by! Didn’t expect you to be stalking the classroom though.” Then the pink girl noticed Emeralda poking out from behind her tanuki friend and blurted out “OMG! Its true! You really have gotten younger, haven’t you Emeralda? You’re totally adorable!”

Kyoka quickly stepped out from behind her pink classmate and after getting a good look at the greenette now trying and failing to hide behind Michiru, said to Mina reproachfully “Mina, lay off, you’re scaring her, which I gotta say, is pretty weird to see. No offense.”

The tanuki girl waved Kyoka off, dancing about to avoid being used as a shield while she spoke “Yeah, no, Emmy hasn’t exactly been herself since it happened but she still wanted to help with whatever you guys decided to do for the festival.”

“You won’t be joining us, Kagemori?” Tenya asked as he exited the classroom too.

“No, sorry Iida. I’ll be out of town for awhile. So, what did you guys settle on?” Michiru answered, finally giving up and letting Emeralda hide behind her, the tan girl’s face sunken into her own scarf.

“That’s the thing…” Eijiro said, embarrassment on his face as he joined the conversation, which caused several others to look the same.

“We were unable to come to a consensus.” Momo explained when she, too, joined the gathering in the hallway.

We’ll talk about it more this evening at our dorm. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like you two.” Tenya added.

It was kind of them to offer and Michiru found that even though she wouldn’t be around for whatever they decided to do, she wanted to spend time with her friends. With the expectant eyes of so many from 1-A watching on, Michiru smiled wide and replied “That sounds like a great idea! What do you think, Emmy?”

As she finished speaking, the tanuki girl quickly stepped aside to reveal the cowering greenette girl. With all eyes now on her, Emeralda shrank in on herself even more. Mina, cheerful as ever, stepped forward and offered a pink hand, a cheeky grin on her face when she said “Come on, girl! You’re still our friend, no matter how young you look. We’d love to have you!”

Izuku, fresh off trying to convince Minoru that being stuck with Katsuki and Zelgadis for training wasn’t the end of the world, stepped out into the hallway with Ochaco and Mashirao in tow just as Emeralda summoned her courage and reached out to take Mina’s hand, causing cheers to go up among the students.

Michiru looked quite satisfied with herself while she stood by, arms crossed. Even if she hadn’t really done much, knowing Emeralda was still able and willing to be with their friends relieved the tanuki girl greatly. Some of that self-satisfaction disappeared though when Michiru saw the tailed hero-in-training behind Izuku and the decidedly mixed emotions on his face when the boy saw the now younger Emeralda.

Whether Mashirao looked conflicted due purely to his possible loss of a sparing partner or something more, Michiru wasn’t sure and she wouldn’t get the chance to ask because it was then that her phone rang. A quick glance at the device told her it was from 1-A’s usual homeroom teacher and even though Michiru didn’t look forward to it, she knew she had to take the call. “Yes, Aizawa-sensei?”

Any conversations going on in the hall involving 1-A students died down immediately. After a long pause while the morphing lighter listened on she finally got the chance to reply “Yes, Aizawa-sensei, I have her here with me, Midoriya too. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Thank you.”

When she hung up, only the more distant sounds of other UA students on their way out of the building for the day could be heard by the beastman. Realizing the class knew who she had talked to and that they were waiting for her, Michiru sighed and said “Sorry guys, I didn’t ask how Aizawa was doing but he sounded like his usual peppy self. He says that Eri has woken up and asked for us. That is, Midoriya, Emmy and I. Sorry to get your hopes up about the festival planning and bolting!”

No one seemed to begrudge the fur-covered girl though when Ochaco spoke, a supportive smile on her face “No worries! We’re worried about little Eri-chan too! You guys go check on her, ok? We’ll think of something, right guys?”

There was a chorus of agreement from the class that echoed down the now mostly empty hallway. Michiru couldn’t help but feel her heart warm at how welcoming these kids had been and continued to be toward her, Emeralda and Zelgadis, Katsuki notwithstanding. Briefly, the tanuki girl wondered just how messy things were going to get between the fiery blonde and her rocky friend. Then, Michiru remembered that Minoru was also apart of the extra training and the tiny grape-haired pervert was just then slowly making his way down the hall looking very much like someone walking to their own execution.

The tanuki girl didn’t spare any pity for the girl-obsessed gnome however and turned to her fellow lighter “You ready to go talk to Eri, Emmy?”

Just a moment earlier, Emeralda’s and Mashirao’s eyes had met and though there was concern in the tailed boy’s eyes, Mashirao couldn’t help but think he saw shame in his sparring partner’s eyes. The moment was broken when Michiru asked her question and the nanomachine girl turned quickly away and answered with an emphatic yes.

Despite how shy she had been acting, Emeralda waved, while offering a big smile before Michiru grabbed the greenette’s arm. Michiru shifted her legs into a cheetah’s and charged away, pulling the deceptively heavy Emeralda behind her like a doll. As the two passed Minoru, the tanuki girl called back playfully “Get the lead out, you don’t want to miss your first remedial class, do you?”

The scene was enough to snap 1-A’s resident pervert out of his funk enough for him to yell after the two girls “Leave me alone! Why couldn’t one of the girls have failed too! This sucks!”

By the time he finished whining though, the two lighters were gone and all the grape boy was left with was the overwhelming pressure he felt from the glares leveled at him from every girl in the class. With a pathetic whimper, Minoru took off running as fast as his little legs could carry him.

With the grape-haired gnome gone, attention turned to Izuku and Denki asked “Midoriya, aren’t you going too?”

The electricity-wielder need not of wasted his breath, Izuku was already at a full sprint to catch up to Michiru and Emeralda, slowing down only briefly to apologize to Minoru.

(X)

“What the hell are you doing here Rocky?”

Zelgadis rolled his eyes at the vitriol Katsuki had asked his question, having expected nothing less from the blonde bomber. It was as if the kid had one setting and couldn’t act like anything other than an angry, pompous ass even if he wanted to. Still, the question likely meant that no one had informed Katsuki of the fact that Zelgadis would be joining him, let alone why.

The two of them waited for the bus to take them to the train station, the seething blonde glaring at Zelgadis as he awaited an answer. After several long moments, the short, grape-haired Minoru appeared from around the corner covered in sweat from a mix of exertion and panic. As he came up, the perverted boy exclaimed in relief “I can’t believe I made it! I totally would have been here sooner if those two lighter chicks hadn’t of…”

Minoru trailed off, having picked up on the tension between the other two and then let out a terrified “eepp” when the two taller boys turned and leveled their judging gazes on him.

Properly cowed, Minoru ran and hid behind the bus station’s bench where he cowered. With the distraction out of the way, Katsuki repeated his question “So, why are you here of all people, huh? Come to rub it in my face? Or did you want a rematch?”

Almost from the moment he had been told he was going to be taking the same remedial classes with Katsuki, Zelgadis had known he was going to have to explain why to the explosion-wielder. It just would have been nice to have at least made it to the classroom first. Instead, Zelgadis braced himself, closed his eyes briefly to center himself and spoke “I will be joining you in the same class as you two.”

Katsuki looked offended, turning and facing Zelgadis with a jeering snarl “Huh? Are you trying to make fun of me? I know for a fact you scored near the top of the exam, so try again, blue man!”

Zelgadis refused to meet the blonde’s gaze and vindicate his behavior, instead pointedly looking away as if anything else was more interesting when he said “I had a lapse in judgement while on my internship and I was told to join you two because of it.”

“Oh…that’s rich. The asshole who used some cheap trick on me because he felt sorry for pathetic De…Midoriya now has to come down from on high to get dirty huh? Well don’t get in my way. You’ve weighted me down enough as it is, got it!” Katsuki answered, at first smirking before descending into simmering bravado once again.

Silence settled between them once more as the bus finally became visible in the distance. Then, still behind the bench, Minoru couldn’t help but stand up and ask “So, you really fucked up so bad they stuck you with us, Zelgadis?”

In unison, both taller student’s snapped “Shut the hell up Mineta!” before glaring at each other and turning away. Said grape-haired boy went back to cowering until the bus finally arrived. All three sat as far away from each other as they could the rest of the trip.

(X)

“Before you go in, a few ground rules. You are not, under any circumstances, to touch Eri. Please do not discuss what happened to Overhaul or mention her grandfather. We believe stress is a trigger for her quirk so we don’t want to unduly worry her. That being said, we think seeing you three will do her a lot of good. Togata should be arriving soon as well but we didn’t want to keep her waiting any longer.” Shouta explained to Michiru, Emeralda and Izuku outside of Eri’s hospital room door.

Michiru and Emeralda nodded before Izuku asked worriedly “But Eri’s ok, right Aizawa-sensei?”

“She’s on the way to recovery but still weak from using her power so much during the battle before healing Greywards and Togata but you’ll see for yourself.” Shouta answered before he moved to open the door.

Immediately, voices escaped the room as Michiru noticed the sound of someone talking. A moment later the door swung completely open to reveal that Sir Nighteye himself was at Eri’s bedside reading from what looked like a child’s storybook. A doctor stood off to the side of the bed closer to the door taking notes from Eri’s vitals in her tablet.

Eri took no time noticing the new arrivals as the three UA residents stepped forward, prompting Mirai to stop reading, his features shifting from almost gentle to his usual stern visage. The mono-horned girl’s face lit up with joy before she said “You came! I’m so happy to see you!”

Izuku was at least as pleased to see the young girl looking so happy. Thus, the smile he returned was warm and gentle while he came to stand as near to the girl that the doctor would allow before he said “Of course we came Eri. I…we just want to see you happy.”

Michiru stepped up next, her own smile more of a cocky grin “Yeah…you’re a tough little kid, Eri but we were still worried about you.”

Eri giggled at the tanuki girl’s words “I’m not tough! I was sleeping for so long after all. Besides…” she began as she saw Emeralda standing behind Michiru and Izuku “…I wanted to thank you all and to know how you were doing. You worked so hard to save me after all! And…and I was worried about…her.”

As she finished speaking, Eri pointed at the green-haired girl who was trying and failing to avoid being noticed with her face mostly hidden under her scarf. The spotlight now on her, Emeralda pulled her scarf down and said, “You mean me?”

Eri nodded, some of her positive energy appearing to fade “Yeah…since my quirk made you like that I…was afraid you were hurt or sad.”

Izuku and Michiru stepped aside to allow Emeralda to address Eri directly, Michiru eying her friend very carefully. Emeralda knew the attention of the room was on her at this point and she idly fidgeted with part of her scarf while she replied “Well, I’m not in pain or anything. To be honest, Eri…the last time I looked like this I didn’t exactly get the chance to have a normal childhood. So, I guess…this could be a good thing!”

That caused the adults in the room to react with various degrees of surprise, including Michiru. Sure, Michiru knew what Emeralda was but aside from that, the nanomachine girl had been pretty tight-lipped about pretty much anything else about herself. So to hear her friend say that made Michiru not just sad for the greenette but also drove her to want to ask why.

Eri, though, seemed to latch much more onto the positive portion of what Emeralda had said, asking cautiously “Really? Your glad I did this to you?”

When Emeralda nodded in affirmation, Eri’s face crunched up, tears forming and then quickly streaming down the pale-haired girl’s face. Mirai began to look concerned, as did Shouta and the doctor before the bi-speckled hero spoke, worry clear in his voice “Eri? What’s wrong? Are you ok?”

Slowly, Eri nodded while she struggled to wipe the tears from her face, oblivious to the box of tissues Izuku had grabbed and placed on her bed. After another moment, the mono-horned girl regained enough composure to answer, sniffing as she did so “It’s just that…just that before yesterday…my quirk had only ever been a bad thing. Everyone I loved went away because of it. Now *sniff* now I’m here. Granddaddy is awake because…because I helped…I actually did something right! I never thought…Daddy always said I was dangerous and cursed. So, thank you! It makes me *sniff* so happy to know I didn’t hurt you Emeralda-san!”

Everyone in the room was moved by Eri’s words, even if the more stoic among them didn’t show it. Michiru was on the brink of tears herself. The little girl’s words were so sweet and tragic that the tanuki girl was struggling to keep her composure. When she looked at Emeralda though, Michiru found herself surprised, however. Instead of seeing a similar reaction or perhaps something a bit more childish, Michiru was sure what she saw on her tan friend’s face was…guilt?

Indeed, Emeralda almost looked pained to hear Eri speak. And yet, before Michiru could say anything, the nanomachine girl seemed to twist on a dime, her whole mood switching to a much more positive one before she spoke “No, of course you didn’t hurt me! I’m having so much fun already and I even got some new clothes!” Emeralda finished by twisting around to show off her red blouse, partly hidden by her large scarf.

The bed-ridden girl giggled at the display, a smile brightening her face. After a moment, Eri responded “I hope I get to do that some time soon too! When I escaped Daddy last time, when I ran into Midoriya, there were so many stores I saw that I’d love to visit!”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually.” The low voice of Shouta cut in, drawing attention to him. “Once the doctors and I are satisfied, Eri would be allowed to go out, supervised, of course. It might not be a bad idea to have someone you know who at least appears close in age to spend time with.”

“I’d like to help out too!” Izuku eagerly volunteered. “I don’t know how much fun I’ll be compared to Kasim-san but I’d love to show you around town, Eri!”

As he was speaking, the door opened and the blonde well-built form of Mirio stepped into the room, hand raised in greeting and not missing a beat, added “Don’t forget about the UA festival! I think she’d have a blast!”

“Oh yeah! Why didn’t I think of that!” Izuku replied as he turned back to Eri, who looked confused.

“What’s a festival?” the sheltered girl asked innocently.

Michiru at once felt a pang of guilt and a sense of déjà vu when she added “Yeah, you and Emmy already have something in common…”

Eri continued to look confused while Izuku asked “Oh? And what would that be Michiru?”

Gently jabbing the shorter greenette, Michiru answered “I just had to explain the concept to Emmy here. She’s never been to one either!”

Emeralda gave her friend a dirty look but turned her attention back to Eri when the mono-horned girl spoke again “Yeah but…I still don’t know what a festival is.”

“Think of it like a big street party where people and groups set up little shops to sell food, run games or have performances! Trust me, you’ll have a blast!” Mirio answered, offering a thumbs-up for effect.

Eri’s eyes lit up at the description and she immediately began begging to go “Can I? That sounds like so much fun!”

“The festival isn’t too far off. But if you show improvement and the doctor’s are comfortable with it, I’ll allow it.” Shouta answered, arms crossed and head down, doing his best to hide how pleased he was to see the Eri in such high spirits.

“It’s settled then! I don’t know what my class is doing yet but I’m sure it’ll be great! What about you, Midoriya?” Mirio asked.

“Oh, um, we haven’t decided yet. We had a lot of ideas but nothing solid. Sorry.” The freckled boy answered nervously.

“We’re going to help with 1-A too, no matter what they come up with.” Michiru added, Emeralda nodding in confirmation.

From there, the doctor said it was time for some tests and the students would have to leave for the time being. Everyone bid their good-byes to Eri and stepped outside to leave the adults to the recovering little girl.

While they walked out of the building, Mirio asked “So I take it if you two are helping 1-A, it means the lighters won’t be doing their own thing? No more Sakura concerts?”

“No, Sanada-sensei said the last one was a courtesy by the principal. Since she’s not a student anymore, we have to do something else. And since I’ll be away and Zel is off training as punishment, we don’t have enough people to do anything really.” Michiru answered.

Mirio took the tanuki girl’s words in stride, saying “Fair enough. Still, it’s a shame you guys didn’t get to see one! They were always the highlight of the festival!”

Izuku, meantime, had remained quiet. The idea of doing something with music had been floated earlier in the day in his class and after hearing about those concerts, the freckled boy thought he should suggest it when he got back to the dorm.

(X)

Zelgadis stood, paralyzed in surprise at the challenge that lay before him as he uttered “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me….”

Zelgadis, Minoru and Katsuki had arrived at the training site without further incident without so much as a word passing between them. The grape-haired boy thought he was going to die from the tension in the air alone sucking all the air out of the space between the other two boys. Now joined by the curvaceous light blonde Camie Utsushimi, who had been knocked out and replaced by Himiko during the exam from Shiketsu High as well as others who had failed the second stage, all of the students were now being confronted by the worst that humanity had to offer: A class of entitled, uppity elementary school children.

“I’d almost prefer to still be impaled on a spike” Zelgadis added as much to himself as anyone.

“I can arrange that, Rocky!” Katsuki snapped.

Minoru just curled in a ball on the ground and whimpered.

Yeah, this was going to go great…

(X)

Chapter Text

It had been an…informative day for one Xellos Metallium. Under the guise of the notorious yakuza leader Kai Chisaki or Overhaul as he was known, Xellos had been treated with the utmost care while he was processed into the most secure prison in Japan for super villains, Tartarus. The disguised mazuku was technically still awaiting trial and according to the threat assessment of the civil authorities, “Overhaul” was considered a lesser threat than many of the prisons higher profile inhabitants.

As such, Xellos was treated with less concern than, say, All for One. Sure, his hands were bound to keep from using the quirk they thought he had but what the guards had failed to do was limit Xellos’ ability to see. And see he did. People’s faces, infrastructure, layouts, the subtitle interactions between co-workers. Xellos saw it all and he would use it to his advantage when the time was right. For now though, as he sat bound in a chair in the middle of his cell, the purple-haired agent of chaos bide his time. He hadn’t lived for over a thousand years without learning to pass long stretches of silence after all.

Xellos knew cameras watched his every move so he was forced to hold back the smile he so desperately wanted to plaster over his features at this moment. Now, he was in the same building as the man who knew where his target was. Now, he could work his charms. Now he just needed to watch…and wait.

(X)

The supplemental classes for those who failed the second stage of the licensing exam was being held in what was just a gloried school gym. Hardly the massive, modified sports dome of the test itself. Yagi Toshinori or the once mighty All Might didn’t mind the small venue though. Having spent the better part of his life under the brightest of spotlights, Yagi was more than happy to be one of only a handful of observers spread across the bleachers that served as the gym’s audience seating.

The former number one hero had come to watch how Katsuki would handle the classes after his assault of Izuku plus the lighters and subsequent follow up counseling session with Hitomi. What little the retired hero had seen so far had done nothing to indicate that the explosion wielder had done much in the way of soul searching. Katsuki had managed to bicker with Zelgadis at every opportunity. Now that the trainees were being introduced to their first real challenge, a horde of elementary school children, Yagi would be hard pressed to rate the student’s reaction as anything approaching positive.

Katsuki was, of course, screaming at a couple of kids that were grabbing at his grenade-shaped gauntlets, Minoru was literally crying as several children stood over him pointing and laughing. Camie, the girl from Shiketsu was faring a bit better but was clearly overwhelmed with how many kids were flooding her with questions. Zelgadis…was frozen, with a weird look on his face that looked somewhere between extremely frustrated and haunted. Or maybe he was just constipated…it was hard to tell.

Still, as much as Yagi felt for these heroes-to-be, connecting with children was just as important as any other aspect of being a hero and Kugo Sakamata or Gang Orca was wise to choose this as their first test. Watching this particular group of children though, even after all his years, the former number one hero had to admit that this were an especially…challenging group.

“So this is where you escaped to.”

Yagi knew the voice well but turned his head to see the approaching form of Jun all the same, an embarrassed smile on his face. “Yeah, you caught me, I’m sorry to have caused you any extra work, Sanada-san.”

“Nothing to apologize for, All Might. Everyone’s all worked up about the festival anyway. Besides, I’m here too so I’m hardly in a position to criticize.” Jun answered, sitting down next to the gaunt retired hero.

“You were already subbing for Aizawa, though, weren’t you? With your own kids to watch over it was selfish of me to step out.” Yagi continued, his attention now entirely away from the students below.

Jun waved the other man’s concerns off, his attention very much focused on the action unfolding in front of them while he replied “Like you said, I was already there doing homeroom so it made sense for me to stick around. Besides, the lighters are also focused on the festival and will be joining their classes so there isn’t a whole lot for me to do this year. I…see things are off to a rough start.”

Yagi jerked his head forward once more to see what Jun meant, though not much had changed aside from Minoru now up and actively running away from some kids trying to grab at his hair.

As loud and distracting as that display was though, Jun instead zeroed in on the one he considered his most troubled and yet promising student. Zelgadis was no longer in a daze since the children around him was trying to take his sword, which made it impossible to stay in wherever state of mind the chimera was in.

Yagi noticed where Jun was looking and chuckled. It wasn’t a surprise that the head of the lighter program would be focused on one of his own but the look on Jun’s face brought a smile to the blonde-haired skeleton of a man. “It warms my heart to see that look, Sanada-san.”

Jun briefly glanced over at Yagi before returning his focus to Zelgadis, though with a questioning eyebrow raised “What look? I’m not sure I follow you, All Might.”

Yagi’s smile twisted slightly into a smirk “Fatherly concern, Sanada-san! Your passion for your lighters is well known, it just doesn’t always show on your face. Its times like these when I don’t worry about you quite so much, Jun.”

A frown found it’s way onto the former rescue hero’s features as well as a hint of embarrassed red to his cheeks before he shot back “Please, All Might! I’m not here to be made fun of, I’m here for my student.”

Having had his fun, Yagi’s expression turned more serious when he asked “Young Greywards…is it true what he did on the raid?”

Jun perched his lips slightly before he answered in a low voice “…yes.”

Yagi briefly shook his head in disapproval before replying “I see…I have to be honest, Sanada-san, I think Young Greywards has gotten off pretty easy, given the circumstances. You must have used every favor you have left to keep him from losing his license, or worse.”

Jun kept his focus on Zelgadis, a long pause hanging between the two teachers before his response came “It’s fair to say that I don’t have any more levers to pull going forward. I may also now owe more than a few favors myself. Still, it was worth it.”

“That’s not surprising to hear you say that. Still, without you, the lighter program doesn’t exist. Don’t let it all come crumbling down for just one. You’ve put too much into this and helped some many others. You deserve better.” Yagi said, concern heavy in his voice.

“You don’t have to worry, All Might. I doubt I’ll have anything like this happen again. At least not with the new three.” Jun said confidently.

“You sure?” Yagi quickly asked earnestly.

“I am. You’re new to teaching, All Might and you’ve never been a parent. You learn to pick up on changes, especially when you spend so much time with the same people. Before, Zelgadis only tolerated being here. To a degree that’s true for all the lighters when they first arrive, and the reality of the situation hasn’t settled in yet. But Zelgadis was different. He didn’t just want to get home; it was like anything and everything was an obstacle to getting to his goal of being human again.”

Yagi was now raptly listening to Jun, when he asked, “And now?”

“And now I think he’s come to realize what he was doing. I can see a weight has been taken off his shoulders and that single-minded obsession has been replaced by remorse and shame.” Jun replied.

Yagi didn’t look fully convinced as he said, “Not exactly the most positive of emotions, Sanada-san.”

Jun nodded, replying “It’s a first step, to be sure but a necessary one. I eagerly await where he goes from here. No matter what though, I’ll be there to help.”

(X)

“Yeah, I see why you couldn’t come to any consensus! Everyone suggested something that appealed to themselves, and you just had too many ideas. Makes me wonder how you picked your class reps.”

Michiru stood, having just looked over the suggestions that 1-A had written down and brought with them from class. The rest of the class minus Minoru and Katsuki plus Emeralda were spread out across the commons of their dorm now left to look ashamed of the very election the tanuki girl speculated over.

“We actually had started to gel around the idea of doing a concert, but Kyoka shot it down!” Mina said, breaking the heavy silence that had settled in the room.

“Oh? Funny you should say that! Sanada-sensei said previous lighters use to have them!” Michiru cheerily responded.

“Really? So, there is precedent for such a performance at this school? Interesting…” Tenya offered.

“Man, I don’t want to do it if it’s already been done…” Kyoka muttered, sitting back on the couch heavily.

“Besides, what would the rest of us even do? Sure Jiro can write and sing but not everybody can play, sing or dance.” Mashirao said.

“It is a fair point. This is a class project, is it fair for some of us to linger in the darkness?” the raven-headed Fumikage added from his usual place in the corner.

“I don’t know, it kind of seems like some of us like to linger in the shadows.” Denki countered, getting a grumble from Fumikage in response.

“I really think whatever we do, it needs to be something that makes people smile. We’ve caused so much trouble for the school, I think we owe it to our classmates.” Izuku firmly stated, getting nods from several around him.

“We won’t be making anyone smile or anything else if we can’t even settle on what we are doing.” Momo said, trying to keep everyone focused.

‘Wait, why would you guys be trouble for the rest of the school?” Michiru asked, clearly confused.

“Between the USJ attack and the summer camp incident, a lot of the other students feel like we’ve brought too much attention to the school as a whole. Not a very manly way to see it but its out there.” Eijiro answered, clearly annoyed.

Michiru looked incredulous “That’s so stupid. It’s not like you did anything to get attacked, right? How could the other students hold that against you?”

“Its more like…because we’ve gone through so much as freshmen, there is a feeling that maybe we see ourselves as better than everyone else.” Tsu offered.

“Yeah, a lot of the other students think we see ourselves as big shots with all this experience.” said Hanta with a frown.

“Having Bakugo as a classmate doesn’t exactly help that!” Toru pointed out, crossing her arms indignantly.

“We’re getting off topic again.” Momo once more chided.

“Quite right! So…does anyone have any other ideas?” Tenya asked, glancing among the class.

As the students looked about at one another, hoping to find one among them that had a spark of an idea, the most unlikely of the group spoke up. “If there is nothing you can all do together, can you not each do a little something?”

All eyes settled on little Emeralda, who had sat herself away from the group and had appeared, up till now, to be ignoring the proceedings while she sketched away. The tan girl hadn’t looked up when she spoke, which made it all the weirder as the group starred at her, only the sound of her pencil heard in the silence that followed.

Finally, Michiru spoke up “What…what do you mean by that Emmy?”

The nanomachine girl sighed and put her pencil down, and when she looked up, a big smile had been plastered on her face “I mean, Michi, that instead of one big show, why can’t your show be broken into smaller parts that show off your talents? Jiro-san could still sing, and maybe Ojiro-san could do a martial arts demonstration and Sato-san could do something with baking?”

“That’s…not a terrible idea, ribbit” Tsu replied.

“Yeah! I could totally do a dance routine!” Mina cheered.

“I don’t know…if we each did our own thing, that would make for a long and disjoined performance, don’t you think?” Momo pointed out, worry on her face.

“I’m cool playing any song that Jiro cooks up” Denki suggested, glancing at the dark-haired singer with excitement.

Kyoka nodded, returning the smile before Ochako suggested with no small measure of excitement herself “Oh, and Kasim-chan can spar with Ojiro, that would be great!”

Emeralda looked like she was about to object when Shoto beat her to it, speaking up in his usual monotone “But not all of us have skills or interests that would translate to the stage. I doubt anyone would want to see Midoriya geek out over heroes for five minutes straight.”

Izuku looked hurt at the bicolored-haired boy using him as an example but it was Hanta that offered a solution “Actually, guys, I have an idea about that. How would some of you feel about being in a sketch?”

“A what?” Shoji asked, confused.

“A comedy act!” Hanta clarified. “We were talking about how the rest of the school sees us. What if we made fun of ourselves abit? I think that might entertain and let everyone know we’re not a bunch of stuck-up assholes, ya know?”

There was a chorus of murmurs among the students before Tenya spoke up again “Alright, lets take a vote! How many of you want to go with Kasim-san’s idea?”

With no better ideas and the creative juices already starting to flow, everyone rose they’re hands, aside from the girl would had made the suggestion herself. “Alright, its decided! Please start brainstorming and grouping up if you wish, lets have an outline by the end of the evening!”

After a round of cheers, everyone began planning in earnest, Michiru going from group to group to offer input and passing suggestions to Tenya. After awhile, the tanuki girl noticed Emeralda had finished speaking with Mashirao and wandered over. “Hey…you ok, Emmy? You didn’t seem thrilled with your own idea.”

The moment Emeralda noticed Michiru was there, her whole barring went from her old quiet self to cheerful as she replied, “Hey Michi! Its not that I hate the idea. I guess…when I made it, I didn’t really think I would be apart of it is all.”

“Why not? I didn’t just drag you along Emmy, you’re apart of this too. Besides, Uraraka had a great idea for you!” Michiru countered as she sat down beside her friend.

Emeralda didn’t meet Michiru’s eyes while she spoke, the cheer leaving her face “I don’t know about that. With this appearance, I’m afraid of the way it may look.”

Michiru cocked a furry eyebrow “The way it may look? I don’t understand.”

The tan girl frowned as she looked down “I could tell Ojio was thinking something similar. I’m younger now…it may look like he is beating up on a kid.”

“Oh” was all the tanuki girl could muster.

“I still want to help but this may not be the best way. I was going to suggest I stick to being behind the scenes since I’m not really part of the class anyway.” Emeralda continued.

“NO WAY!” Michiru countered, her eyes suddenly full of passion, catching Emeralda off guard. “You deserve to be up there as much as anyone else Emmy! You have so many talents, you should get to show at least one of them off!”

The now young nanomachine girl couldn’t help but smile in the face of such relentless optimism. The smile was short-lived however when Emeralda considered something else and said, her voice questioning “Then what about Zelgadis? He wasn’t here to be part of these discussions and I don’t know what talent he would be able add to the show. Do you?”

Having been caught up in all the enthusiasm, Michiru had to admit that she hadn’t really given the grumpy chimera a whole lot of thought. That omission dampened her excitement, causing her to look away before she replied “I…guess I don’t know either since being a sourpuss isn’t usually too entertaining. We’re going to find out though!”

(X)

Kugo watched on, arms crossed, his imposing figure and naturally intimating features made all the more terrifying by the scowl on his face. The villain-like hero watched the students in his care struggle to handle the literal children that had been unleased on them. In truth, the responses to the children invading the training area varied widely. Katsuki was, perhaps unsurprisingly, reacting with aggression to the sassy children nipping at his heels. It was getting to the point that the whale-like hero was considering stepping in before something bad happened.

The Shiketsu girl, Camie, was at least trying. She was trying to use her illusion quirk to entertain those around her, but the children around her looked bored or outright annoyed at the blonde’s attempts to make them happy. The tiny boy with the grape-like hair had given up entirely, having built as impromptu fort out of his own hair under which he cowered while children made fun of him from outside.

Then Kugo turned his attention back to the last-minute addition to the training, Zelgadis Greywards. When he had last looked, the top ten hero had seen the rock-encrusted lighter fighting to get his sword back from one little boy who had used his quirk to pull it out with his mind. Now, though, it appeared the tide had turned. Zelgadis had his sword back, held in his hands while he knelt in front of that same boy and two other children. Zelgadis appeared to be talking to them and they actually appeared to be listening.

Kugo had had his reservations about adding the blue-skinned young man to the training, especially since Zelgadis had scored so well in the licensing exam. However, he had owed a favor to Principal Nezu and didn’t think one more could hurt. Watching the boy now, the dress-suited whale-man had to wonder what Zelgadis was doing here at all. Unfortunately, someone else noticed the success the chimera was having when an enraged Katsuki called out “What the hell! You get the only kids that aren’t complete assholes?”

After he spoke, Katsuki darted away from the kids accosting him, firing off several explosions to keep them at bay before he stomped over to Zelgadis. The swordsmen didn’t rise but he did look up to address the perturbed blonde when he said “What are you talking about, Bakugo?”

“Yeah, you jerk! Back off!” one of the children yelled before raising their foot, which then grew to triple its size and slammed down hard on Katsuki’s own foot.

Katsuki screamed in anger and pain before he raised his hand and pointed it at the offending child “What the hell kid, you trying to pick a fight, huh?”

“Oh, the big bad hero’s going to beat up on a kid! Real noble of you! Loser!” another yelled, clearly unaware that Katsuki was in no way bluffing.

Before things could escalate further, Zelgadis stood up, put his sword back in its scabbard and said matter-of-factly “I was just talking to them, Bakugo. You’d be surprised how far you can get with someone, children included, if you talk to them with respect.”

“Oh yeah? And what makes you such a fuckin’ expert on kids anyway, Rocky?” Katsuki spat as he glared between the children and the chimera before him.

Zelgadis struggled not to roll his eyes, aware that doing so would kill any impact his words may have. Zelgadis wasn’t even sure he wanted to answer at all. Given what Katsuki had done and had carried himself the whole time Zelgadis had known him, there was a strong chance he was about to waste his breath. Deciding to press on anyway, Zelgadis finally answered “I used to help out at an orphanage back home if you must know. It turns out, the more you talk down to someone, the less likely they are to listen to you. After I agreed to tell these kids about my blade, they calmed down and let me show it off. That’s all there is to it.”

While Zelgadis spoke, the three kids that he had with him wandered off, as had most of the other children, who seemed to be gathering around a single child. This gave the other heroes-in-training a chance to gather, coming over to Zelgadis and Katsuki. Camie and Minoru arrived just as Katsuki shot back “What a load of bull! If just talkin’ to these little monsters was all it took, you think that wimp of a teacher would be having so much trouble, huh?”

“He’s like, got a point.” The leather clade blonde said, adding “I’m usually pretty good with kids but these…I don’t know, it’s like they were looking to pick a fight with us or something.”

“Yeah, I didn’t do nothin’ and those little freaks just came at me and just wanted to wail on me!” Minoru whined.

Zelgadis sympathized but wasn’t sure what he could say to counter the other trainees. Instead, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know what to tell you guys that I haven’t already said. Children may not have as much experience or knowledge as we do but they are still people and can tell when you’re looking down on them. I got on their level and told them something they wanted to hear about. You guys think you can manage that?”

“What am I supposed to tell them, ‘please don’t stomp me to death?’ Come on Greywards, you think I liked hiding like that? Chicks don’t want to see men hiding from children!” Minoru countered indignantly.

“Attention losers!” came a young but commanding voice from the group of children. “Heroes are in it for themselves! You adults don’t get to call yourselves heroes. That’s why we’re going to show the world just how selfish and weak you really are!”

As he spoke, several children parted to reveal the ringleader of the class who had spoken, his arms crossed and a defiantly smug smile on his face. The heroes-in-training watched on in dumbfounded shock at the ridiculousness of this group of second or third graders being led by a kid that sounded like the leader of some anti-hero revolutionary group.

As the ringleader gave the direction to charge at them again, including the three Zelgadis had been so amiably talking to just minutes before, Minoru turned and looked up at the chimera and asked dryly “You were saying?”

Zelgadis moved his hand to cover his face and muttered “This is just…so stupid.”

Meanwhile, Katsuki leaned forward, his arms back as sparks began to pop in his hands with a wild, excited look in his eyes. Focused on the incoming children, the explosive blonde declared “If these brats want a demonstration of how strong we are, they’ve got it!”

Instantly, Zelgadis’ blade was drawn and held directly in front of Katsuki, the metal suddenly aflame. With a snarl, Katsuki glared over at the sorcerer and the two locked eyes, neither backing down. After a moment, Zelgadis spoke, his voice low and dripping with contempt “You hurt one of those children and you answer to me. Now stand aside. I’m handling this.”

Before Katsuki could protest, Zelgadis had charged forward, his hands out. As he approached the stampeding kids, he called out “Lah Freeze!” which conjured a massive thin and wall-like block of ice that stopped the kids dead in their tracks.

Several of the children went to work with their quirks to try and break the barrier as soon as they reached it. Zelgadis, though, didn’t give them any more time to try, digging deep to cast the largest levitation spell he had in his life, causing all twenty kids to lift off the ground and float harmlessly about fifteen feet in the air.

Amongst the cries and protests to be let down, Zelgadis cast one more spell to enhance his voice. Without the ice wall between them, the chimera’s voice would be loud enough to shake the poor kids bodies. As it was, the enhancement was enough for the helpless hellions to hear the sorcerer’s words clearly. Zelgadis then spoke, his voice calm with a hint of authority “Hello class. My name is Zelgadis Greywards but you can call me Magus if you want. It sounds like you don’t think much of us heroes. I’m sorry to hear that. Having never met, I don’t know how it is you could judge us worthy or not. If you think you can do better, last time I checked, charging forward and attacking someone for no reason isn’t what heroes do. Villains do that. Is that what you all want to be?”

A number of the kids called out no’s while others protested that’s not what they were doing, and a couple complained that they were doing what the boss told them to do. The ringleader himself remained silent however, a sour look on his face as he looked about. It seemed clear to Zelgadis that the boy was looking for a way out of their situation and he silently had to hand it to the child for being so aware at such an age. Regardless, Zelgadis had to act quickly to avoid the chance the ringleader did, in fact, find a solution.

“It sounds to me like you don’t want to be villains but I’m not convinced. I can keep you all up there the rest of the day if I have to, but the choice is yours. If you want to come down and stay down, all you have to do is treat us with as much respect as we give you. Fair?” Zelgadis explained his voice taking a softer tone.

Finally, the ringleader spoke again “You’ll really keep us up here?”

Zelgadis inwardly smiled, sure that he was now just one step away from calming these kids. “That’s the plan. It could be worse, the blonde guy over there with the grenade gauntlets wanted to be meaner but I thought you were good kids that deserved the chance to choose for yourselves. Was I right class?”

The children all looked to their leader, waiting to hear what he decided. Indeed, all the heroes-in-training and teachers a like were now transfixed on the decision that a single small child would make. During that stretch while the decision was being made, Zelgadis motioned Katsuki, Minoru and Camie over and whispered, “When I cancel my quirk, I want you three to be ready just in case they back out.”

Katsuki scoffed but said nothing otherwise while Camie nodded excitedly. Minoru wasn’t as sure and said with some confusion “Wait, whataya mean when you cancel your quirk? He hasn’t said anything yet!”

“Fine. You have a deal.” The ringleader said just then, causing Minoru’s mouth to drop open in disbelief.

Zelgadis turned his attention back to the suspended children and replied evenly so as not to betray a sense of victory and embarrass the kids “I’m glad to hear it. Now, I’m going to release you all and you’ll all be free to show us your quirks or ask us to demonstrate ours but I don’t want to see anyone being rude or attacking and we’ll do the same, ok?”

Zelgadis made sure to note that every child nodded in agreement. With that done, the sorcerer-swordsmen released his spell, allowing the class of children to gently descend back to the ground. Katsuki made quick work of the ice wall and the two sides were left with no barrier between them. Much to Zelgadis’ relief, the class didn’t go back on their word. Some were eager to talk to and show off in front of the heroes-in-training while a few wondered off to do their own thing.

The ringleader though, went over to a wall by himself and sat against it. Zelgadis watched him go and quickly went over to him. “Your pretty impressive. For a kid, I mean.” He said, coming to lean against the same wall looking down at the ringleader.

The kid chuckled at that, a mix of mirth and bitterness. After a moment though he rose his head and looked up at Zelgadis and said “You’re not so bad yourself…for an adult. Thanks for that, by the way. Our teacher is always either talking down to us or a complete pushover. You…talked to us like adults, even if you had us under control when you did. Still, if there are heroes like you out there, maybe things won’t be so bad.”

Zelgadis chuckled at that, prompting the child to ask with annoyance “What’s so funny?”

The chimera waved the kid off, responding “It’s nothing, really kid. Its just…you’ll find out eventually that things are always worse and always better than you think it is.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Magus.”

Watching Katsuki and even Minoru now interacting with the kids on something approaching equal terms and no one looking particularly stressed, Zelgadis smiled and said wistfully “No, no it doesn’t.”

(X)

The Next Day

“I have a gift for you Eri-san.” Emeralda offered with a smile, a medium-sized white box wrapped with a red ribbon tied in a bow up top held in her hands.

Michiru stood behind her friend, a gentle smile on her own face as the mono-horned girl’s eyes lit up at the offered present. The two of them had gone out to a toy store earlier on the tanuki girl’s insistence and with some gentle suggestions from Michiru, Emeralda had chosen a gift to offer Eri.

Said little girl excitedly accepted the box and wasted no time taking the ribbon off and opening the gift. Out came a stuffed animal, a bunny, that was mint green with big eyes and a happy smile. Eri’s smile was almost too much for Michiru to bare as the young girl hugged the toy tightly and offered a happy “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I always wanted a bunny but…I wasn’t allowed to have anything like that before.”

Emeralda shuffled uncomfortably, an embarrassed blush on her facewhile she struggled to respond. After a moment, Michiru gently nudged the greenette who finally, nervously, replied “Your…your welcome. W…I thought you would like something cute and when I saw him, I thought you would like it. He’ll…need a name.”

Eri tossed the green bunny up in the air and when she caught it again, hugged it tightly once more, her red eyes shining with joy. It only took her a moment to think of a name for her new companion “Deku! This is definitely Deku!”

Michiru’s smile slid to one side at the idea of Izuku having a stuffed bunny named after him. Eri had never seen the freckled boy with his full costume on, with its top that looked a bit like bunny ears since it had been ruined by the time they had showed up at the battle below the yakuza mansion. That fact just made Eri’s almost instant association between the warm-hearted boy and this bunny that much funnier for the tanuki girl.

If Emeralda picked up on the same thing, she didn’t show it as Eri asked her if she wanted to watch cartoons with her. At first, the nanomachine girl looked reluctant but relented and agreed before sitting down at a chair beside Eri’s bed.

With that, Michiru took that as her sign to head out, saying “Ok Emmy, have fun! I’ll be back in a few hours, I’m going to go and pack for my mission and talk to Zel about the festival, ok?”

Emeralda turned and offered a nod while Eri called out “OK!”

“Have fun you two, and don’t forget to mention what you’ll be doing at the festival Emmy!”

Without waiting for a response, Michiru left, fully aware Emeralda was shooting daggers at her back.

As the door shut behind her, Michiru heard a curt “Hey” to her side. The voice was unmistakable, the low disinterested draw of Shouta Aizawa was hard to miss, even with just a word. Michiru really did need to get moving and was more than a little annoyed when the dower underground hero pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on beside Eri’s door and stepped over to her.

“Yeah, what is it Aizawa-sensei?” Michiru answered, letting her own impatience seep into her voice.

“Has Yoshimura spoken to you today?” Shouta asked, seemingly unperturbed by the otherworlder’s tone.

Michiru was surprised by the question, and her response betrayed that fact when she answered “Sakon? No, not yet. Why? Is everything ok?”

“That is yet to be seen.” Was all the disheveled older man said.

Michiru’s annoyance returned to her voice when she finally turned to the teacher and replied “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

The tanuki girl’s raised voice brought the attention of passing nurses and Michiru immediately looked apologetic before Shouta motioned for the two of them to start walking toward the elevator.

As the two walked, Shouta spoke again “Kagemori, I’ve had Yoshimura as a student for almost two and a half years now. In all that time, you know how many people I’ve seen her be able to call her friend?”

Michiru was now very confused, raiseing an eyebrow, having just pressed the down button for the elevator. “Is this a trick question, Aizawa-sensei? I don’t know, Five, Ten?”

As the door opened and several doctors and nurses stepped out, the two got in the lift. Shouta pressed the button for the bottom floor and as the door shut, he said simply “Zero.”

Michiru turned to look at Shouta, who remained staring forward before she said, confusion again in her voice “Zero? What do you mean, zero? How is that even possible?”

Shouta sighed before finally looking down at the shorter beastman “I’m sure you’ve noticed how…competitive she is. Combative even. That girl has spent her time here pushing to be the best fighter of her class. UA is a competitive school, its part of what makes it the best in Japan but she took it to another level. To the point that it was very hard for her to work with others and in the process, she pushed her classmates away. Got her booted from high profile internships and work studies as well. It’s a big reason she slid from top of the class and then surpassed by the Big Three her senior year.”

Michiru listened without comment, as much struck by the story being told as who was telling it. Shouta Aizawa came off as aloof at best and outright disinterested at worst. Yet these were not the words of someone who hadn’t been paying attention to their students. These were the words of someone who cared. It quickly dawned on the tanuki girl that this man was, despite all appearances, a good teacher.

That assessment continued to reinforce itself as the man in question continued to speak, “And now along comes this young woman from…very far away and manages to do what seemed impossible. When I saw Yoshimura yesterday, it was the most engaged and willing to help I had ever seen her and I believe that was in no small part because of you, Michiru.”

Michiru was taken aback not just by the praise but the use of her given name by the underground hero. Still, the tanuki girl felt like Shouta was way overselling any influence she was having, saying “Aizawa-sensei, don’t you think you’re laying it on a little thick? Honestly, Sakon can be pretty annoying.”

The gruff hero let out a soft chuckle before he countered “Oh I don’t think so. It’s impossible to miss your influence on your fellow lighters and don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve made fast friends with many in my class. What I’m saying, Kagemori, is that for someone not from around here, you have a lot of the intangibles that make a great hero. You do something so few others seem to even grasp. You raise those around you up to be better. Just thought I would mention it since I likely won’t see you again for a while. Take care out there and listen to Shadow Rider, got it?”

Michiru was so stunned, she nearly let the elevator door shut on her again after Shouta had stepped out and began walking for the exit. After throwing her hand forward to cause the doors to open again, the tanuki girl dashed forward and came beside Shouta again and offered him a wide, toothy grin before she lightly elbowed him, saying “You got it, Aizawa-sensei!”

When the teacher frowned and made a disapproving grunt, Michiru’s smile turned more genuine and she added “And…thank you. I don’t know how long I’ll be here or whether I’ll make as good a hero as you suggest I could be but…it means a lot that you said that.”

Shouta offered Michiru a side eye as he said “Just telling you how I see things kid. Don’t disappoint me, got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

(X)

“What do you mean ‘hobby or special skill’, huh?” Zelgadis asked, clearly annoyed as he helped Michiru carry the clothes and supplies she had just returned with.

“Just what I mean, Zel. Don’t tell me all you every did was practice your magic and sword skills while you wandered the countryside looking for a cure. Wasn’t there anything you did for fun?” Michiru asked, earnestly curious.

“I learned many things in my time serving under Rezo. I researched gunpowder, taught myself astral navigation, mastered the sword, got stronger and I read. A lot.” The chimera offered, his annoyance giving way as he began to take the question seriously.

Michiru offered a checky grin and said, “So what I’m hearing is you don’t know how to have fun, am I right?” well aware what the chimera’s response would likely be. She wasn’t disappointed.

A frown graced the rock-encrusted sorcerer’s face before he stopped and argued “Reading can be plenty fun, Michiru! I had other things on my mind, thank you very much. Not everyone has time in their life to pick up playing sportsball or whatever it’s called.”

A small, satisfied smirk played on the tanuki girl’s lips, having gotten basically the exact response she wanted, insult to one of her favorite past-times notwithstanding. When Zelgadis came to walk beside her again and saw the look on Michiru’s face, he nearly threw his burden in her face “Oh screw you.”

“Sorry Zel, I couldn’t help it. You looked to be in a better mood today so I thought it might be safe to poke you a bit. I’m not going to get my fix of your sunny personality for a while so I got a shot in.” Michiru offered, a smile still on her face.

That smile was infectious, leading the swordsmen to smile himself, despite the ribbing at his expense and for a moment the two walked in silence. Eventually, Zelgadis spoke again, this time his voice even “So, what are the other students doing? Can’t see myself doing anything with them but it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

The tanuki girl took a moment to remember everything that had been discussed so far before answering “Well, Sato will be doing a baking demonstration with Koda using animals to assist, Ojiro and Emmy will be sparring, Mina will be the MC, doing dances between each performance, Sero is writing a comedy skit for a bunch of them and Jiro will be performing a song along with Kaminari though…I’m not sure they can pull it off with just the two of them.”

That last one caught Zelgadis’ interest and he asked, “Will they just be singing, or will they be playing instruments as well?”

Michiru briefly looked away while she thought then answered “I think they were planning to play as well. Jiro was going to write the song herself. Why?”

For a moment, the blue-skinned swordsmen looked embarrassed but seemed to overcome it and said, “I failed to mention before that I have dabbled in playing the guitar in the past.”

For a moment Michiru starred at the chimera with a questioning glare and just when Zelgadis was about to drop the subject, she let loose another smile as she said, surprised “Your serious aren’t you? That’s actually really cool and feels completely out of left field for you Zel.”

“Why? Because I come from a backwards medieval world?” the sorcerer shot back quickly, annoyance creeping into his voice again.

“No, Zel. You just went over all the other things you’ve picked up and now you’re telling me you’re a musician too. You’re not that much older than me and it feels like you’ve lived a lifetime more than I have!” Michiru answered, impressed.

Zelgadis’ anger subsided, replaced with a sort of airy feeling he had rarely felt. Though it was rare for anyone in his own world to be excellent at swordplay and sorcery, Zelgadis hadn’t done it for the admiration. However, to have someone praise him for his many interests and his talent in them was rare and to hear it now felt gratifying. Inwardly, the chimera was in fact very happy to hear it but couldn’t bring himself to show it, scoffing at Michiru as they entered the stairwell upstairs. “I don’t know what to tell you. I stopped having a formal education after my parents died so I was free to learn what I wanted, when I wanted to. Don’t sell yourself short though, Michiru, there is much more that you know and are better at than me, especially in a world so similar to your own.”

When they got to the landing on the second floor, Michiru’s reply was less confident than Zelgadis was expecting “We’ll see about that. Where I’m going, I’ll be the newcomer. I’ll be the one with the least experience between the three of us. Between Celty, whose been here for years and Sakon, who was born here, I’m the one out of place.”

Zelgadis thought on that for a moment while Michiru stopped in front of her door and shifted the weight of her burden to one hand so she could open her door. Once done, the two stepped inside and Zelgadis said “That may be true on paper, but the gulf between my world and this one seems quite a bit wider than the one between yours and here. Besides, in the end, people are people, for better or worse. All you really need to navigate a situation is a good knowledge of people. Just pay attention, listen to the other two, and you’ll be fine.”

Michiru put her supplies on her bed, Zelgadis following suit before the tanuki girl turned to face her friend “Your right, Zel. I’m probably worried over nothing, you know, aside from the building-sized monster of a man we’re actually trying to find. Should probably worry about him a little.”

That got a chuckle out of the chimera, who offered a nod before he turned to leave. As he got to the doorway, Michiru asked, a bit of hesitation in her voice “Zel…you going to be ok?”

The chimera stopped but didn’t turn to face the tanuki girl. Instead, he twisted his head to look back over his shoulder and said “I think…I’m better than I have been since we first got dropped in this crazy place. You, though…take care of yourself. Don’t make me come out after you if you get in trouble, I’m pretty sure they’d hunt me down like a dog if I did.”

Michiru laughed at Zelgadis’ exaggeration before she noticed he was still looking back at her, her laughter dying down and she realized something “You say that but…you would, wouldn’t you? Throw it all away to save me, if you had to, wouldn’t you.”

On hearing the statement, Zelgadis’ pensive expression widened into a warm smile, the first Michiru could remember seeing on the rock-encrusted swordsmen. All of a sudden, Zelgadis looked much younger in Michiru’s eyes. Seeing him smile at her that way caused her to do the same before Zelgadis said simply “Yes, I would.”

With that, Zelgadis left, shutting the door behind him, leaving Michiru with a feeling she wasn’t quite sure how to put into words. It was like something was pulling at her heart and she wasn’t quite sure if it was a pleasant feeling or a terrible one, like someone was letting all the air out of her.

Whatever it was, Michiru was at the very least sure that more than anything, she suddenly wanted to be done with this mission as soon as possible.

(X)

Much like Michiru and Emeralda the day before, Zelgadis found himself waiting outside of 1-A’s classroom waiting for the school day to end. The chimera reasoned that he already had to wait for Minoru anyway for training so he wouldn’t be put behind if he was there to meet the grape-haired creep. What Zelgadis really wanted was to talk to Kyoka and see if playing in front of other people was something he actually wanted to do.

After his talk to Michiru earlier, the chimera kept going back in his head to the zombie idol’s words the day before about finding something that he enjoyed. It was obviously too early to do but Zelgadis was never one to sit on his hands want wait for the answer to come to him.

Luckily for the rock-encrusted sorcerer, Kyoka was one of the first out of the room, along with Mina and Toru. It was the ever-energetic pink girl who reacted to the broody chimera first when she said “Weird! Two days in a row we’ve had lighters waiting for us. Here to see Tokoyami Greywards?”

The three girls were quite surprised, along with their classmates behind them to hear Zelgadis almost grumble “I…came to see Jiro.”

Mina, never one to let a chance slip by to tease a friend, immediately wheeled on the dark-haired rocker and leaned forward, saying “OOHHHH REEAALLY! You hear that Kyoka, mister tall dark and handsome is here to see you? What about, I wonder?”

Though Kyoka blushed, it was as much out of anger from her friend’s antics as anything and she quickly brushed the pink girl away before she cooly answered Zelgadis “Oh yeah? What about? Mina better not be right or I’ll slap you both.”

The group had moved out into the hall to let their classmates pass by, not that many of them did. The lighter trio had, albeit briefly, been apart of their class so it was noteworthy when any of them showed up so most of 1-A stuck around while Zelgadis squirmed during the girl’s spat. Hoping to defuse the situation, Zelgadis answered Kyoka, trying to muster confidence in his voice “I’m here for Mineta too. Got training after all. That being said, I…wanted to talk about the festival.”

The chimera’s answer seemed to satisfy Kyoka that nothing stupid or embarrassing was about to happen, appearing to let her guard down and said evenly “Yeah, what about it?”

Even though there was no aggression or malice in her words, the bluntness combined with his own nervousness drove Zelgadis to cross his arms and look away before he answered “It was something Michiru said. Something about playing a song for the festival. She said it was just you and Kaminari. So…I thought if I was going to be apart of this festival, then I’d let you know I have some experience playing myself.”

Kyoka hadn’t really had any expectations when this conversation started but she found herself surprised and curious, a smile playing on her face and excitement dancing in her eyes. “Really now? That is a surprise. What do you play?”

The rocker hero-in-training’s enthusiasm was enough to dispel a great deal of Zelgadis’ trepidation and he visibly relaxed. “I’ve dabbled in several string instruments but mostly guitar. Electric was…unobtainable where I grew up though, so I’ve only played acoustic. I am a pretty quick learner though so if you needed an extra hand, I could help if you need it.”

“Yeah, totally! We still need someone on drums but having another up front would free me up to focus more on the vocals since I noticed you didn’t mention you sang.” Kyoka answered, her creative blood clearly up as her usually even cadence grew more excited.

“Yeah, don’t count on me to sing” came the chimera’s quick response.

Kyoka laughed and said “No, its cool, I get it. Glad to have you aboard Greywards. We’ll rock’em for sure!”

Zelgadis looked decidedly unsure about that declaration but nodded anyway. “Thanks for having me, I’ll do the best I can.”

“Its cool. Swing by after training and I’ll hook you up with one of my instruments so you can practice. We’ll get together on the weekend when you’re not training, ok?” Kyoka suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” Zelgadis replied before quickly searching around the thinning hall of students. When he found his target, he commanded “Hey, Mineta, lets get moving. Not going to get anywhere whimpering like that.”

Having been found by the much taller chimera, the little pervert resided himself to his fate and followed as ordered, grumbling the whole way.

(X)

While Emeralda spent some time working with Mashirao over with 1-A for the festival, Michiru was meeting with Celty and Sakon to go over the details of the mission at the lighter dorm in the building’s built-in classroom. Several photos of Gigantomachia were displayed on the screen as well as the location he had been found by Gran Torino and the police plus the direction he went after the fight.

Celty stood at the front of the room, her helmet off, finishing the basics. “…and that’s everything we know about him. Our job is to locate only, not to engage. Once found, we relay that info to the police who will send a permanent team to watch and eventually subdue him. Understood?”

Sakon, who was still getting over the fact that Celty was headless since it was her first time seeing the dulahan without her yellow cat-eared headwear, rose her hand “And remind me where the CRC comes into all of this, Shadow Rider?”

Michiru rolled her eyes at her new teammate. The tanuki girl was pretty sure her ant-like friend knew the answer to her own question but was so excited to be here and working with the underground hero that she just wanted to hear the headless woman talk.

If Celty herself was annoyed, she didn’t show it, answering Sakon’s question like any other “Looking for the CRC is our cover. We don’t want the League of Villains to know what we’re actually out there doing. That being said, if we do stumble on the hate group, we are to report that as well.”

Sakon pounded two of her fists into their opposite hands, smirking when she asked “And what if they resist? Can we crack some skulls?”

The plume of mist emanating from Celty’s neck seemed to flicker a bit while she considered the question. After a moment, she replied “If the situation calls for it, yes, but not if it comprises the true mission, you hear me?”

Sakon nodded empathically, followed by a “Yes, Ma’am!”

“Good” Celty said before continuing, “Now since we will be making a show of hunting the CRC it will be tricker for Yoshimura and myself since we don’t appear fully human. That means you’ll be taking point when questioning locals, Kagemori.”

Michiru, who had been watching Sakon air punch in her excitement to beat up racists turned her head in surprise “Wait, what? Does…that that mean what I think it means?”

Celty’s plume seemed to briefly form a question mark when she replied “Um…yes? I’m sorry, I thought you knew this mission would require you to look human. No one in the CRC or those harboring them is going to answer our questions if the one asking doesn’t look like them.”

Sakon suddenly stopped what she was doing and looking at Michiru, confusion on her face as well “Wait, does that mean you can look like a normal human, Michiru?”

Michiru slowly sank in her chair, her two teammates starring down at her and all she could think to say was “Son-of-a-”

(X)

Chapter Text

“Oh, son-of-a-”

“Bitch! What’s your deal! You know how many of us would kill to be able to look normal?” Sakon finished, now suddenly in the tanuki girl’s face.

Michiru wasn’t in the mood to be cowed, however and though she moved her head back a few inches to get some space, she had a sour look on her face as she bit back “Excuse me? This is how I prefer to look so what does it matter anyway?”

Sakon reared back, a look of shocked indignation on her face as she breathlessly replied “What…what does it matter? Come on, Michiru, if you aren’t from the city, like you claim, then you know exactly why it matters!”

Michiru did very much know. The encounter with the heteromorphic examinees during the first stage of the license exam bursting into her head. The memory of being hunted as she made her way to Anima City what seemed like a lifetime ago also flashed in the tanuki girl’s mind. Still, this was who she was, and Michiru would be damned if she let anyone else, even a friend, bully her into being anything else otherwise. “Hey! I haven’t really had it easy since I started to look like this so yeah, I get it, Sakon, but I’m me, damnit!” the tanuki girl countered.

Sakon appeared to calm down, crossing her upper arms across her chest and resting her lower pair on her hips before she replied “Hey, I can respect that. Really, I can. It’s honestly pretty badass that you’re willing to take all the bullshit people throw at us, ya know? But at the same time, it still feels pretty insulting knowing you could just switch it off but choose not to, you know?”

“I…guess I hadn’t really thought of it like that. I’m sorry Sakon. I take it that means you grew up out in the boonies too, huh?” Michiru answered, visibly relaxing, a small smile creeping onto her face.

“Damn right, I did!” came the defiant response from the ant girl, pointing at herself with one of her lower arm’s reduced insect-like digit. “And I’m going to show all those assholes what a girl and a hetromorph can do! I’m going to get into the top ten, just like Mirko and Ryukyo! Don’t you forget it!”

Michiru couldn’t help but chuckle at the bravado, especially from someone who had begged her for help just a few days ago. Still, even if Sakon was right, it didn’t mean Michiru liked the idea any more as a result and sighed in resignation before saying to herself as much as Sakon “Well, guess this means I need to rethink everything I packed…everything I have accommodates this form.”

“A wise decision.” came the artificial voice of the only actual professional in the room.

With passions flared, both Michiru and Sakon had forgot Celty was even in the room. The dulahan’s words managed to startle the two girls, Michiru going so far as to ask “Were…you going to just sit there the whole time?”

Celty shrugged, her mist widening toward the top into a sort of cone shape as she replied, “I’ve found it best for teammates to work out their differences before the mission. Trust me, things go a lot smoother that way. That being said, either of you have anything else to get off your chests?”

“Nah, I think we’re all good! Right Michiru!” Sakon said, offering her fist along with a big grin.

“Yeah, I think we’re all right. Thanks for letting us hash that out, Celty!” Michiru confirmed, meeting the other girl’s fist with her own.

Then, Sakon pulled back her arm, confusion on her face while she said, “Wait? Celty? Since when are you so familiar with Shadow Rider?”

“Oh come on…”

(X)

The next day was Michiru’s last at UA before departing. Part of it was begrudgingly spent getting some more cloths for a normal, tail-less human. Given the nature of the mission, Michiru choose simpler, more practical clothing to help appear more like the country folk they were going to be out seeking information from. As for the two she would be leaving behind…

Zelgadis was already settling into a routine, with a schedule that included practicing with the guitar loaned to him by Kyoka in the morning before training in the afternoon and some light group practice afterward with the band. After the first day of training with the demon school children, the chimera had established himself as the bar to reach for the heroes-in-training. Despite having the others look to him and the teachers expressing how impressed they were, Zelgadis refused to let it go to his head. He was helpful whenever possible, took credit when it was offered and accepted blame when he made a mistake. All the while, Katsuki watched on with a bubbling resentment that he no longer felt he could express if he wanted to move forward once again.

Like Zelgadis, Emeralda was beginning to settle into spending time with Eri the first part of the day then spending time practicing for the festival with Mashirao. Since their contribution was straight forward and literally doing what they had been for weeks before the tan girl’s de-aging, the two had more time than the rest of 1-A. Thus, they had taken to helping the others members of the class wherever needed.

Before either lighter could head over to the 1-A dorm though, Michiru would depart. Celty had come earlier to get Sakon and make sure the two young women had all the supplies they needed. So it was that by the time the trio was all together again, Michiru was all packed and ready to go. Celty and Sakon waited by their car as the tanuki girl, chimera and nanomachine girl faced each other.

Michiru was uncharacteristically sheepish, looking away while she rubbed one arm nervously. The other two lighters also felt the significance of the moment and didn’t begrudge their friend her awkwardness, as they too were unsure how to start.

“Come on! Just fuckin’ hug and let’s get moving! You’ve been standing there for like, five minutes!” Sakon rudely demanded from across the field, an act that earned a slap across the head from her dulahan superior.

Michiru cringed, briefly looking over at her two new teammates before returning her focus to her old ones and said weakly “You see what I’m going to have to put up with? I really wish it were you two with me out there.”

“But we’re not.” Zelgadis gently reminded her, making sure to sound as supportive as possible before he continued “Michiru, you have this. You didn’t need us before we got ripped here and I refuse to believe you need us now. If you’re worried about us, don’t. I appreciate it. I’m sure Emeralda does too but all we’ve got is this festival to handle. Nothing else so don’t worry. No world-ending villain to confront. Yet. Ok?”

Michiru was starting to let go of her apprehensions, helped along when Emeralda added, “Michi…I’m ok. Spending time with Eri-chan is fun. The doctors were even talking about letting us go to a park. And…I’ll be talking to Kanzaki-san tomorrow as well. I…I want you to not worry about me…about either of us. But…you need to come back, ok?”

With her friends encouraging her, Michiru couldn’t help but smile, her expression warm as she replied, barely holding back tears “Of course I’m coming back guys! We’re going home, remember? I can’t very well do that if I don’t come back! We don’t do that if we don’t get that nomu or whatever it’s called and I will help find it with you.”

Then, unexpectedly, at least for the two more introverted of the trio, Michiru pulled them both into a hug. Holding them close, despite how much taller and shorter the others were, Michiru added “It’s just…I know it may not seem like it, but I don’t know if I would have made it this far without you two, even if you think otherwise. I’m going to miss you guys, but…but I’ll be back. Promise!”

The contact lasted for a few more moments before Zelgadis wrestled free and looked away, half-heartedly grumbling “Just don’t do anything stupid, ok?”

Michiru, Emeralda still holding on to her, beamed a confident smile “You know me! I got this!”

At that, Zelgadis frowned and even Emeralda looked up at her furry companion skeptically. “Oh, come on! You too Emmy? Fine, see if I bring back any souvenirs…” Michiru lamented in false protest.

After patting Emeralda on the head, the nanomachine girl let go and stepped back. With a final wave, Michiru turned and dashed off to her team, slapped Sakon across the head as she passed and claimed shotgun before the ant girl could recover.

The remaining lighters watched on as their friend and leader rode off and into this weird and frustrating world. As the two stood long past being able to see where Michiru’s vehicle had gone, Zelgadis spoke, his voice melancholic “She’s wrong. We’re the one’s that wouldn’t have made it this far without her.”

Emeralda could only nod.

(X)

“You know we’re never going to get anywhere if you just sit there. You need to actually talk, Bakugo-kun.” Hitomi said as she sat across from the disgraced blonde in what had become her unofficial office on the UA campus.

Sitting rigid, arms crossed and his head down to avoid eye contact, Katsuki replied bitterly, his first words since sitting down more than twenty minutes prior “Why not just use that creepy mind quirk of yours if you really want to know what I’m thinking then?”

A bit of frustration slipped into Hitomi’s expression, something she had tried very hard to keep suppressed during the whole of this session before she answered more calmly “My quirk is best served to find what troubles you; it can’t solve it. You have to do that. That means talking, Bakugo-kun. And if you say nothing, I have to report no progress, which leaves you at best stuck with me until you do or at worse, expulsion. The choice is yours.”

Katsuki was unconvinced, instead cursing under his breath, “Tch. Fuckin bureaucrats…Hey! What are you writing down!”

Without looking up, Hitomi answered with a saccharine tone “Oh nothing…just that you continue to show no acceptance of responsibility or any value in the process. Not looking good for you, Bakugo…”

Katsuki nearly exploded, literally, off the couch before he yelled “GODDAMNIT! FINE! Ask your stupid questions, ya damn quack…” only able to just barely contain his quirk enough to avoid scorching the upholstery. On seeing the disappointed look on the brunette counselor’s face across from his, he meekly plopped back down, arms resting limply to his sides.

Hitomi had to suppress a chuckle as she observed “I’m sorry you find this so exhausting, Bakugo-kun. This would go by faster and be easier on you if you could just let go a little and share with me some of what you bottle up in that head of yours.”

Raising his head to glare at the older woman, Katsuki replied acidly, “I already said yes, now shut up and ask already.”

Hitomi’s smile slipped into a more serious expression while she met the fiery teen’s glare, saying “Very good. Though since you’ve wasted most of today’s session, we’ll talk about something simple. How has your licensing training been going? I heard the first day was quite the challenge.”

Katsuki crossed his arms again and scoffed “Please, they were just children. Anyone worth their salt could take those ankle-bitters on.”

Katsuki observed Hitomi writing something down as he had spoken and that grated him even more than it had the first time. Almost as much as the tone he saw as smug that Hitomi used when she spoke again “Interesting. The way you phrased that, one would think you saw them as opponents, not people to be saved. Would that not be a fair interpretation Bakugo-kun?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant, don’t put words in my mouth!” Katsuki insisted.

“Bakugo-kun, I don’t have to put words in your mouth, I have your own actions through which I can see the meaning. All Might reported that you were ready to really fight those kids, just because they wanted to prove you too weak for the job. Is that correct?” Hitomi asked pointedly, her expression even and her eyes cold, almost harsh.

“They…they thought they were better! They thought I wasn’t good enough to be a hero and I was going to discipline them like the unruly kids they were. Nothing wrong with that.” Katsuki answered defensively.

Hitomi leaned back and rested her hands in her lap, giving Katsuki the impression she was judging him before she followed up with another question “And is that what happened?”

Katsuki frowned. He knew this was a trap and he didn’t want to respond and instead looked away. Hitomi was done with silence, however and snapped “Bakugo!”

The sudden change in tone, one Katsuki had not heard from the otherwise mild-mannered counselor, caught him off guard and caused him to flinch. Feeling the glare on him, Katsuki relented as he wondered just when the hell this shrink had turned into his mom. “No, ok! That arrogant rocky asshole took care of the damn kids. But you knew that already so why make me say it?”

Hitomi ignored the explosion wielder’s question and pressed on herself “How? How did Greywards-san ‘take care’ of the kids?”

Katsuki rolled his eyes but compiled “He trapped them and talked to them, ok? Geez…impatient old hag.”

Hitomi pretended to not hear that last part. She’d been called worse after all but finally answered Katsuki’s earlier question “Thank you Bakugo-kun. By using your own words I can get a sense of your perspective of the event and that’s important because it tells me your state of mind. So, given that Greywards-san found another, less violent way, would it not be safe to say that the kids did, in fact, show that you were weak?”

Katsuki crunched his face in confusion, quite the feat considered the scowl permanently stuck on his face. “What do you mean? Of course I’m strong!”

Hitomi sighed as she sat back up and looked right at Katsuki’s challenging eyes “And there is the heart of it. It is often much harder to not show your physical strength. You immediately resorted to that which you know so well. Fighting. Tell me, Bakugo-kun. Would All Might have attacked those kids?”

This hadn’t been the first time a comparison to All Might had been thrown in Katsuki’s face but it stung just as hard because it was absolutely true. The angry blonde was left silent as he sat back, stunned.

A moment later a buzzing proceeded Hitomi standing up and saying “And with that, our session is over, Bakugo-kun. I need to take this. Think hard about what we talked about and good luck at training.”

Hitomi took her phone, turned and walked around her chair and began talking. Katsuki, however, continued to sit there in a daze. He was aware that Hitomi was speaking but her words were distant and hazy, mere background to his own confused thoughts. Thoughts that were nowhere near sorting themselves out when, what felt like only a few moments later, Hitomi spoke loud enough to snap him out of his confusion “Are you ok? You need to get going, Bakugo-kun.”

When Katsuki looked back up at Hitomi, he could see she was worried but the concern on her face was much more pronounced than anything she might have expressed for his well-being. As such he said “Yeah...yeah, I’m fine but you’re not. What was that call about?”

Impressed by the outward expression of empathy, Hitomi briefly looked at her phone, still in her hand and replied with some concern “I suppose it can’t hurt to tell you. The commission just asked if I could come in to see what I can learn from the teleporter villain Gran Torino captured the other day.”

Katsuki could hardly forget that suit-wearing misty prick and said as much “That misty son-of-a-bitch? Yeah, good luck with that.”

Hitomi knew the history her patient had with the villain and let the comment side and instead replied “Thanks, I think. I’m going to need it.”

(X)

Michiru, Celty and Sakon had been on the road for a few hours at this point, well and truly out of the city and nearby towns, the sun having just set. Now deep in the mountainous interior of Japan, civilization would be sparse and getting anywhere would take twice as long though winding, dangerous roads. With nothing else left to talk about and finally within an hour of the small lodge they would be staying the night at, Celty pulled out a folder and handed it to Michiru, saying “I compiled some attentional information you’re going to have to memorize if you’re going to sell the idea that you’re looking to join the CRC.”

Annoyed that the dulahan hadn’t thought to mention this earlier when it would have been better to be studying instead of arguing with Sakon over what position on a basketball team was most important, the tanuki girl shrugged before she started looking things over. After a moment of reading over the information though, the tanuki girl started to become confused. “Wait a minute…’Have I treated for fleas?’ ‘Sure is nice to have cleaned all the pet’s fur off the carpet?’ ‘No Pets Allowed?’ Celty, are these what I think they are?”

Celty shifted in her seat while Sakon went visibly stiff, even if neither woman in the front seats noticed. After a longer than comfortable moment, the headless lighter answered gravely “Yes, its exactly as you think Michiru. In the years since groups like the CRC were driven to the fringes of society, one of the ways they’ve kept a low profile is to hide their disgusting views in veiled words and phrases. Brooklyn and I spent the last night reading up on such language. Some of them…may be hard to read.”

After skimming a few more pages and the accompanying notes, Michiru covered her mouth as she read aloud in shock “…’I had to put the neighbor’s dog down last night’…Please, Celty, tell me this doesn’t mean what your notes says it does.”

The underground hero was beaten to the answer by the snarling words of Sakon, who spoke with so much distain, it was almost suffocating “That’s what they do…to heteromorphs that aren’t at least…useful.” the last word spat with disgust.

Michiru turned, stunned, finally realizing what should have been obvious from the start “Sakon…you…you went through all this, didn’t you?”

Through gritted teeth, the ant girl struggled to keep her cool while she unbuckled herself to lean forward and grip the back of Michiru’s chair hard. “Ants are strong…those bumkin assholes had a use for me…put me to work out in the fields. Others…weren’t so lucky.”

“Sakon…I’m so sorry. That’s absolutely awful.” Michiru replied, pain and empathy heavy in her voice.

The kind words were enough to draw Sakon down a bit but caused the ant girl to privet as a question took hold of her “Michiru, if you didn’t grow up in a city, how come all of this seems new to you?”

The question didn’t completely surprise Michiru, this kind of thing was considered when she and Jun had come up with her identity for this world. It just felt especially bad to have to use it on Sakon having just learned what kind of childhood the ant girl had gone through. Still, blowing the lighters secret was not worth removing the pit of guilt forming in Michiru’s stomach. So, the tanuki girl went with the story she had told Izuku “Well…I was a late bloomer. My quirk didn’t come in until a couple of years ago.”

Sakon’s response was one of shock, almost disbelief “Whoa, wait a minute, you’re telling me you have a heteromorphic quirk that didn’t come in until you were freakin’ sixteen!?” Michiru meekly nodded, after which Sakon flung herself back against her seat and grumbled “And you can still look normal but choose not to. See now it makes me mad all over again…you didn’t have to deal with all that terrible shit…hell it apparently went right over your head! You…you just don’t get how lucky you really are…”

That touched a nerve with Michiru, who quickly shot back “Hey, I can’t help when it happened to me any more than you can! When it did, I hid for a whole year and when I ran away, I was hunted, then I got kidnapped and next thing I know, I’m about as far away from home as I could ever get. I may not have had it as hard as you but I wasn’t exactly just hanging out and having a party either, ok?”

“Girls, let’s not rehash this discussion now. What matters is what we do with our gifts, like this mission. I need you to focus.” Celty calmly but firmly interjected.

Sakon took that as an opening to get the last word in, saying “Damn right! Big reason I’m trying to be a hero is to show those racist bastards just how awesome a heteromorph can be! A woman too! There are only two in the top ten right now and I’ll be damned if I’m not up on the stage too, rubbing it in everyone’s faces!”

“Not quite the sentiment I was going for but I suppose if the destination is the same…” Celty replied with a belabored sigh.

Just then, coming from around the bend in the road ahead of them, headlights appeared and rapidly approached their car. A moment later, a second set of lights appeared. Both were coming toward them very fast and in just a few moments, the first car blow past them. As the second one approached, all three heroes watched in horror as the driver stuck his arm out, a gun in his hand and began firing at the car that had already passed them.

Celty immediately slammed the breaks and twisted the steering wheel, causing the car to spin and come to a stop now facing the same side of the road as the rapidly moving cars. “Any objections, girls?” Celty asked.

“Nope!”

“Let’s kick some ass!”

(X)

“Kasim-san, are you ok? That’s the third time you’ve mis-judged that kick tonight.” said Mashirao, holding his stinging shoulder.

The two had been practicing their routine for the festival but it had been clear to the tailed martial artist that his partner was quite distracted. Even more standoffish than normal, with her younger appearance, the tan girl seemed to lack the confidence that came whenever the two sparred. This had been true when they practiced the previous day as well but was even worse now. Whether it was the fact that she didn’t seem excited to do it, was still reeling from her loss of age or of her friend leaving earlier in the day, Mashirao had no idea. What he did know was this wasn’t working and he knew he’d have to take the lead, something he had rarely done before Emeralda’s accident.

“Maybe we should take a break?” the blonde asked tentatively.

Emeralda, who had resumed her stance after messing up and hitting Mashirao hard, pulled back, her expression hurt and protested “No! We’re never going to be ready if we don’t practice. I…I’m just not use to my limbs being shorter, that’s all, and I won’t get use to them again if I don’t practice.”

Mashirao wanted to believe that. It made sense and was perfectly logical. But as impressive as Emeralda had been before her change, it was hard to believe what she said was true. Still, the serious blonde couldn’t bring himself to call Emeralda out on it, instead saying “At least give me a moment to recover…that was a pretty mean hit. That spot’s getting pretty tender with the repeated blows.”

“O…oh. Again, I am sorry.” Came the embarrassed response. After a long moment of silence as the two stood, relaxed, facing each other Emeralda spoke again. “Ojiro-san…do you…hate me now?”

It was such a sincere, vulnerable question that came completely out of the blue that Mashirao’s response, to reel back in surprise as if caught stealing a cookie, did nothing to assuage the apparent insecurity of the person who asked. “Emeralda sees…I will tell Iida-san that I am withdrawing. I am sorry to have bothered you, Ojiro-san.”

Emeralda quickly turned to leave and instantly, Mashirao regained his composure and reached out to the shorter girl, grabbing her shoulder “Wait! No, no, no! You are completely wrong! I don’t hate you at all!”

Emeralda remained with her back turned but twisted her head to glance back at the blonde boy, her eyes trying and failing to hide her shame when she asked “Then…then why do you look at me like that?”

The tailed blonde let go of Emeralda’s shoulder reflectively, responding with confusion “Like what?”

Now Emeralda turned around completely, though she looked unsure exactly how to answer “It looks like…disgust? Or shame? I have seen it before, Ojiro-san and it has usually been followed by…unpleasant words I have had to endure. Am I wrong?”

“Yes, you’re wrong! I don’t hate you, Kasim-san, I deeply respect you...” Mashirao insisted, now flustered. When he saw that the tan girl before him looked unconvinced, the martial artist stumbled “I…I do…its just, the way you look now…its weird, ok! I’m not even sure I know what I’m saying, or why I feel this way but I know its deeply offensive to you and I’m sorry, Kasim-san.”

“Come on, kid, you liked her. Just admit it!” came a cock sure voice from a nearby tree that Emeralda knew instantly.

The two fighters turned to the offending tree, Mashirao looking wholly flustered while Emeralda, unnoticing of the blonde, asked “Master? Is that you?”

Leaping down, flaring his arms for effect, a grin on his face, one Ranma Saotome appeared before them. Mashirao immediately became a stuttering mess, his idol now before him like he’d dreamed while Ranma crossed his arms and answered his student “Yeah, its me, Emeralda. I hadn’t heard or seen ya in awhile. Then Hina-chan happened to mention what happened to you and I just had to see for myself.”

Emeralda hung her head low, aware she had erred in not so much as checking in with her master after the raid. Meanwhile, Ranma approached her. When he got close, the pig-tailed master circled around the tan girl, evaluating her. As he finished his circle his hand swiftly flew out and slapped the greenette hard across the back of her head. “Next time don’t be a stranger! You’re the best student I’ve had in years. Maybe the best I’ve had since I started the dojo. Don’t just act like you fell off the face of the earth just because of a little quirk accident, got it!”

“Yes master” came the meek reply as the nanomachine girl gripped her aching head.

“And you!” Ranma declared, pointing at the entirely unsettled tailed blonde “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you feel weird that you had a crush on someone who now looks like you’d get arrested if you said it now. It’s just that Emeralda-chan here is a little too naive to figure it out. You too it looks like.”

At this point, Mashirao absolutely wanted to die. Ranma was right…it was just that it didn’t seem proper, or very heroic to have feelings for someone who you were training with. The serious-minded blonde had been aware of what virtually everyone in class thought and said behind his back and sometimes to his face but he couldn’t bring himself to admit his feelings to himself because he didn’t think it was right he felt the way he did.

Like a child being scolded by his parents, Mashirao stood with his head down, stealing glances at the greenette to try and gauge her feelings at the revelation he was crushing on her as he nervously twirled his fingers. The tailed martial artist was surprised to hear the girl beside him say, matter-of-factly “I was aware of Ojiro-san’s feelings but I appreciated that he didn’t express them. I was hoping this appearance would keep it that way. I didn’t think it would cause him to such…discomfort.”

Hearing those words all but confirmed what Mashirao had suspected in his heart of hearts all along, that Emeralda didn’t feel a thing for him and that fact stung. Hard. The tailed boy couldn’t even bring himself to face the girl when she spoke again directly to him “Ojiro-san, I’m sorry…I can be, as Eri says, silly sometimes. I’m not the best with people and I wanted to keep training with you. I was afraid your feelings would get in the way of that is all.”

Just when Mashirao felt like he was about to break, Ranma re-inserted himself into the conversation, asking jovially “So, Ojiro, my student tells me you’re a pretty big fan of mine! Says you wanted the chance to spare with me, that right?”

Slowly, it dawned on Mashirao just what it was that Ranma had said to him, and the light that completely drained from his eyes seemed to return in an instant. Standing tall, his tail wagging like that of an excited puppy, the blonde responded with a glittering smile “Of course I would! It would be a dream come true!”

With a wink at Emeralda, Ranma stepped toward the excited tailed boy and cracked his knuckles, saying “Alright, kid, you got your wish. Who knows? Maybe if I like what I see, I’ll let you swing by the dojo from time to time.”

“That would be amazing, sensei!” Mashirao exclaimed, taking a stance.

Emeralda moved to the side, her master asking, “Would you do the honors, Emeralda-chan?”

The nanomachine girl nodded, inwardly glad Ranma had been there to see what she could not and draw attention away from it. After a long moment, Emeralda dropped her raised hand, declaring, “Begin!”

(X)

“Hang on!” Celty commanded as she floored the accelerator and their car shot forward, gaining speed quickly in an effort to catch up to the vehicle with the armed suspect in it.

“Hell YEAH!” Sakon cheered while the red car they were chasing slowly began to look closer and closer. At a certain point though, it became obvious they weren’t gaining anymore and in fact, may even be losing ground.

“They’re on to us. Michiru, you think you could slow them down at all?” Celty asked, a hint of urgency in her voice.

“I can fly pretty fast but to get up enough speed to catch up to a speeding car, I’d need to get some altitude. I don’t know if there’s enough time, but I can try!” came the tanuki girl’s answer, as she moved to open her door.

Celty reached out and grabbed the tanuki girl’s arm, saying “Wait, there is another option. Can either of you drive?”

Michiru shook her head in the negative but Sakon leaned forward with an excited grin, all but screaming “I can! I’ll take the wheel!”

Without missing a beat, Celty pushed her door open and said “Great, take the wheel, I’ll slow this guy down. When I do, Michiru, take the car down. Yoshimura, once we’ve stopped this mad man, go after the other car.”

Sakon just managed to unbuckle herself and squeeze herself between the seats quickly, taking the wheel from Celty as the dulahan began sliding out her own door. There was a moment where no one’s foot was on the pedal, thus the car began to slow down but that made it a bit easier for the dulahan to materialize her black motorcycle without toppling over. Once Celty was fully away on her own ride, she blazed forward while Sakon fully got into the driver’s seat and began speeding up again.

Noting the almost crazed look in the ant girl’s eyes, Michiru felt compelled to ask, “You do have your license, right?”

“Nope! Failed the test three times because those idiot proctors couldn’t see my greatness! Besides, Shadow Rider didn’t ask if we had a license, she asked if we could drive! And baby, I can drive!” came the confident and way too excited answer from the ant girl hero-in-training.

Michiru just stared at the girl for a long second before deciding “Nope, you have fun with that.” before opening her own door again, standing up enough to get her wings out of her back and shooting off into the air.

Luckily for Michiru, the road the way they came had wound back on itself so she’d have a chance to catch up once Celty got involved. Sure enough, through the trees, Michiru could see Celty’s motorcycle catch up to the red car, which itself had gained on the black car it had been chasing thanks to its own acceleration.

That all ended when Celty got up alongside the red car and motioned for the driver to slow down. When the car speed up in response, Celty threw her hand out and a shadow shot forward and destroyed the driver’s side window. The driver, a middle-aged man with a thin mustache and thinning hair, looked shocked. He quickly recovered, determination on his face as he began to move his car to squeeze Celty, which would either force her to slow down or be pushed off the road and down the side of the mountain.

The veteran underground hero was not intimidated, and instead met the maneuver by smashing into the side of the car, which caused the vehicle to waver and slow down while the driver panicked, having briefly lost control of the vehicle. What the collision with the motorcycle didn’t do was dent the vehicle at all, which is what Celty expected to happen. Still, the overall effect was the same and that gave Celty the chance to get in front of the scarlet coupe.

The driver began to desperately try to get back in front by serving left or right but Celty cut the offending vehicle off every time. The driver’s frustration became evident when he again tried to brandish his gun at Celty and that was the moment Michiru choose to strike, having caught up, she switched her wings for heavy elephant legs just before she landed on the roof on the passenger side of the car, but instead of the heavy impact she expected, Michiru was surprised to find her landing did nothing to the car’s roof at all.

With the vehicle still moving at high speeds, the tanuki girl found herself with no footing and fell on her stomach, desperately gripping at where the roof met the windshield. Managing to get a firm enough hold, Michiru continued to hang on as she looked forward to see Celty still trying to hold the armed and crazed driver behind her. Michiru began to wonder what the hell was going on. Was this guy’s quirk involved somehow or was this just some super sturdy car?

Michiru looked back and saw that Sakon had caught up to them. Looking forward again, Michiru began to wonder why Celty didn’t just use her shadows to blow the tires or something. Then it hit her, the dulahan hadn’t been trying to hurt this guy and now, with a teammate on the roof, distraction was all she could do. That meant it was up to Michiru to act. The question was what?

Gambling that the car was at least nearly indestructible for some reason, the tanuki girl willed her arms much larger, big enough and strong enough to propel herself forward. Even with all the strength, it wouldn’t get her too far ahead of the car, she would just have to time this just right. Michiru took one more moment to hope this asshole was wearing his seatbelt.

Taking just another moment to steel herself, Michiru pulled hard, flinging herself forward ahead of the car. As she zoomed past Celty, the morphing lighter called out to her temporary boss “To the side! NOW!”

The dulahan compiled, moving to the left as Michiru swung herself in a cartwheel midair. As she spun, her whole body sparked and began gaining an immense amount of mass, her fur replaced by tough, grey hide. By the time she landed, it was with a massive thud and the tanuki had become a huge rhino girl, leaning forward to get her horns pointing forward just as the red car barreled toward her.

With no time to react, the driver was left screaming as the car made contact with the monster in front of it. Just as the car hit, Michiru’s lower horn got under the front of the vehicle and she throw her head up violently, tossing the scarlet automobile skyward. The car spun twice while it came back down to earth. When it landed, the car was flipped upside down and incapable of movement, it’s wheels still spinning.

Sakon had managed to avoid the other car and sped past, hooping and hollering out the window as she passed, now chasing after the other vehicle. Celty skidded to a stop several yards down the road before spinning around and riding back to stop beside Michiru.

Her body returned to normal, her clothes all but shredded, the tanuki girl stood there panting from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Celty put her arm over her young teammate, a flood of shadows steaming from it to form a cloak that covered Michiru’s modesty as the headless hero said “That was impressive. Good call on the car, I thought there was something strange about it.”

Sure enough, as Michiru hopped, though it was upside down, the car was entirely unharmed from its impact and subsequent trip into the sky. The driver, too, had been prudent enough to wear his seatbelt but looked pretty green in the face from the experience while he hung from his seat upside down and dazed.

“Thanks. I figured you were waiting for me to get clear or do something. If we couldn’t damage the car, why not use it against the guy, right?” Michiru explained while Celty made her way over to the now windowless driver’s side window.

Celty wasted no more time on praise, instead extending her shadows to unbuckle the man and pull him from his car, making sure to take his gun, which lay on the roof of the upended car. Dangling the man from his arms with her shadows, Celty proceeded to slap the man to bring him back out of his daze before she shouted “HEY! Wake the hell up!”

That seemed to be enough to jolt the man back to awareness as he snorted and blinked rapidly before responding in a panic “Huh? Wha…what the hell was that? Who the hell are you people? You trying to rob me?”

“Calm down sir.” Celty commanded, her voice even but firm “I’m asking the questions here but I do want to make clear that we are heroes.”

The older man briefly looked relieved at hearing they were heroes but that quickly gave way to anger when he snapped “Then put me down! I’m an officer of the law and I was pursuing a suspect! You outsiders just let a criminal escape!”

That…was surprising to hear for the two lighters. With a wrinkled old pull-over, plain grey pants with what looked like coffee stains on them and a complete lack of anything identifying the middle-aged man as a police officer, Celty was less than convinced and let it show in her artificial voice when she replied “Is that so? You certainly had me fooled. At a glance you look more like a washed-out drunkard on a gun-fueled power trip.”

Despite his appearance, the older man didn’t raise to the insult and instead countered “Say what you want. What I look like on my off time is my business.”

Michiru had remained off to the side, holding her shadow cloak close, staying to the shadows while Celty interrogated the ‘officer.’ Whether friend or foe, they were now out in the countryside and the tanuki girl didn’t want to reveal herself without having to look human if she could avoid it.

The ‘officer’ continued “I get it. I know how it looks but I was on my way home after my shift when I caught a speeder passing me. We don’t have armies of police force officers out here so even if I’m not on the clock, I’m still on duty, you catch me?”

“I’m going to need more than just your word.” Celty answered skeptically.
The older man offered a knowing smirk and offered, “Fair enough, I wouldn’t either. Listen, I got my ID in my wallet if you want to check.”

That made sense. Still, Celty wanted to be ready in case this ‘officer’ tried something, and that left “Hey, sidekick, can you check his pockets?”

Michiru perked up at the request, at first confused that the veteran underground hero didn’t use her hero name or a name at all. Then it dawned on her. Michiru was the one going undercover and it was clear even if this man turned out to be an officer, Celty didn’t trust him. The last thing they wanted to do was give the tanuki girl’s identity away. So it was when Michiru stepped forward into the light produced by the car’s headlights, she had put the hood up on her shadowy cloak to hide herself.

Celty watched on as her new teammate stepped forward and faced the strung-up ‘officer.’ For a moment, if she had been capable, Celty would have held her breath, worried that her new rookie teammate hadn’t figured out the risk they were taking. She need not have worried though for when a hand shot out to begin riffling through the man’s pockets, it appeared to be a normal, furless limb.

After another moment of checking, Michiru came up with a worn leather wallet that she took and stepped back to examine. After a moment the morphing lighter handed it to Celty before she said, “Looks legit to me, what do you think?”

Sure enough, there was what looked to be his driver’s license as well as a police ID listing him as a sergeant. As if he could see the surprised look on Celty’s face through her helmet, the sergeant spoke again, notably more smug this time “See? Just as I said. Now, would you be kind enough to put me down and tell me who you are so I can report you to the commission?”

Slowly, reluctantly, Celty set the man down and released his arms from her shadows. The sergeant rubbed his wrists and motioned for his wallet back. Celty complied before she answered his question as to her identity “Shadow Rider is my name. Speaking of the commission, you seem to have quite the quirk there.”

The older man laughed as he glanced over at Michiru, who had retreated to the shadows once more. “Hah, you caught me! Yeah, I can harden and reinforce anything I’m touching. Comes in pretty handy in my line of work. And before you start yammering on about unlicensed quirk usage, like I said before, we’re out on an island out here. Few heroes and few resources. We gotta use what we got, ya know?”

“Maybe. Still, doesn’t deadly force seem a little excessive for a speeder?” Celty pressed.

The old man again looked over at Michiru before he returned his attention to the dulahan “Your sidekick. Doesn’t say a lot. I like that. You seem to keep her on a tight lease. I respect that.”

Celty crossed her arms and leaned a bit to the side to show her annoyance when she snapped “Sergeant, please.”

The balding officer waved his hands defensively before he replied “Right, right, sorry. The stop only started as a speeding one, sure. Once I confronted the driver, she was very agitated and the smell coming from the vehicle…well, let’s just say I didn’t need a police dog with me to know what was going on in that car.”

As the man continued his story, Michiru felt her phone vibrate. Pulling it out, she saw she had a text from Sakon. “…and that’s when she became belligerent, threatening! And then she pushed me back and speed away. I had no choice but to pursue her and stop her by any means I could.” The sergeant finished.

Celty continued to ask follow-up questions while Michiru checked the message. Michiru, I caught up to the other vehicle and managed to stop it. I tried to get ahold of Shadow Rider but no response. The suspect is a heteromorph and when she saw I was too she threw herself at me. Said that officer was harassing her, trying to get her to go back home. She’s terrified.

Michiru’s eyes widened in shock. Flashes to her days on the run, trying to get to Anima City flooded though her mind. Cops like this asshole were exactly why she had to avoid authorities just much as the beastman hunters that were on her tail the whole way there. Not wasting any time, the now human-looking girl walked over to Celty and whispered into the dulahan’s ‘ear.’ Celty took Michiru’s phone and quickly said to the officer “Pardon me, I need to take a quick call. My sidekick will stay with you until I get back.”

Michiru was caught off guard by that, unprepared to have to spend time alone with a man she was now highly suspicious of. Still, this guy clearly couldn’t be left alone. Nodding, Michiru answered with a simple “Got it” and moved to stand guard by the officer.

Once Celty was out of ear shot, an awkward silence hung over the two for a time before the older man finally said in a casual, friendly tone “I take it you were the one that upended my car?” When Michiru didn’t respond, leery of the man thanks to Sakon’s text, he continued with a smirk on his face “I didn’t get a good look at you before it happened but you were definitely bigger. We could use someone strong like you out here. Pay would be a lot more than you get for hero work. Safer too. Whatcha say? You don’t want to stay a lapdog to that woman forever, do you?”

Michiru narrowed her eyes under her cloak, unable to shake the feeling there was as much an insult in his offer as anything else. Again, Michiru said nothing. Again, the sergeant spoke, this time trying to sound more convincing “Come on! Its beautiful out here and I can promise you all the great food you can eat! You gotta know the life expectancy for heroes is way below the average, right? Its not flashy but it’s a good living out here. Trust me.”

Michiru was tiring of this guy. He seemed to like the sound of his own voice and her patience had grown thin. Finally, she answered, her voice crisp and harsh “You ever consider there is more to being a hero than how risky it is? You really think I do this for the money? Just save your breath, there is nothing you could say that would convince me to work anywhere near you.”

Firmly rejected, the officer’s face soured, settling on a scowl as he looked down on the morphing girl and muttered “Typical beast…as usual, your kind doesn’t even know what’s best for you. The only thing worse than your smell is how stupid you all are.”

When Celty was done taking to Sakon, she walked back over to the upturned car to tell Michiru what was going on. When she got there though, she found the sergeant sprawled out on the pavement, unconscious. Michiru stood over the man, her hood down and her characteristic tanuki features again present.

It seemed obvious what was going on but Celty asked anyway, “Michiru…what happened?”

The once again tanuki girl turned and addressed her leader with the most innocent smile she could muster and said sweetly “Oh, our poor officer friend was telling me the tale of how he was chasing down a criminal when he got so excited he lost his footing and fell. Banged his head good I’m afraid. He could be out for awhile.”

Celty didn’t have an eyebrow to raise but her slumped shoulders did enough to communicate that the dulahan didn’t believe a word of it before she drawled “Did he now…whatever. You’re responsible for getting him in the car when Sakon gets back.”

Michiru offered a cheeky salute and said “Yes, ma’am!”

Celty waved her hands dismissively, suddenly feeling very tired, now no longer sure which of her two young charges was really the wild card on this mission.

(X)

Sakon didn’t just bring their car, but the girl the officer had been chasing too once it was made clear the girl’s tormentor was out cold. Just as Sakon had said, the girl had boar-like traits and just as reported, was quite skittish. According to her, the boar girl had been forced to work on a farm against her will for years after her family effectively sold her. That officer was trying to take her back when she escaped and was making her way to Musutafu.

Celty implored the victim to go with them to testify what was going on. When it was explained that would mean going back to her hometown, the poor girl flatly refused and Michiru couldn’t blame her. With few other options and a mission to get on with, the headless underground hero made some phone calls, gave the poor girl some money and told her where she could go to land on her feet when she got into town.

After that, the three heroes took their unconscious officer with them to the nearest police station. The two younger members of the team felt a sense of unease the whole trip from their leader while they tried and failed to engage the dulahan in conversation. When the trio arrived and explained the situation to the officer on duty, Michiru got the distinct feeling that despite promising to look into the matter, the piece of trash they had just delivered wouldn’t be getting the justice he deserved.

Another awkward trip and the three heroes finally got to the cottage they would be staying in for the night. It was only after they were settled that Sakon confronted the underground hero with indignation “What gives! That officer at the station didn’t exactly seem to be concerned when we told him what that asshole had done. And why have you been so quiet, Shadow Rider?”

Sprawled out on a love seat, her helmet finally off and her usual leather jumpsuit replaced by a far more casual black two-piece black top and shorts, Celty looked exhausted, her plume emitting at a much slower rate. Once Sakon confronted her, Celty slowly sat back up and said with no small degree of resignation “I’m sorry you two, I was just keeping myself in check.”

The ant girl was not at all satisfied by the explanation, following up with a frustrated “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

It was Michiru who answered however, herself happy to be in her tanuki form again after Celty had insisted she remain human while they had their guest and during the drop off. The tanuki girl also looked exhausted in her floral print white pj’s when she said, “You think he’s getting off, don’t you?”

“The moment that girl refused to testify, I knew what would happen. If we were taking that guy back into town, we’d see him behind bars, stripped of his authority…but we have a mission, so we gave him to the locals and it pisses me off. I’m sorry, you two.”

Sakon looked like she was about to punch a wall but Michiru spoke up to lighten the mood “At least we were able to save one person tonight, right?”

“Yeah…yeah we did.” Celty agreed.

“Yeah, and you totally sucker punched that prick, didn’t you Michiru. Total respect, girl! Wish I could have seen it.” Sakon added, her anger clearly abated.

Michiru playfully looked away, trying to play innocent “Nope! I have no idea what you’re talking about, guy totally slipped! I promise!”

“Whatever happened to that man, what matters now is our investigation begins in earnest tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep because we’re off to the last known location of Gigantomachia.” Celty reminded the two girls before she got up and headed to her room for the night.

With a pair of determined nods, Michiru and Sakon headed to bed as well, ready to move on from a night that left a bitter taste in their mouths.

(X)

Chapter Text

It was going to be a long day, Hitomi knew. Over the years, once Jun had gotten her out of an undisclosed detention center, the authorities of this version of Japan had come to find the brunette’s powers quite useful. Though she mostly used her gifts to help heroes usually, Hitomi sometimes was brought in to crack hard cases, missing people or to see what caused a murderer to have taken another’s life.

It was that last one that often caused the counselor the most mental anguish. Every time Hitomi came in on such cases, her dreams the next few nights would be filled with the memories of an especially traumatic moment from her first time being spirited away over a decade ago.

Back then, Hitomi and her friends had found themselves accused of attempting to overthrow the government of the country they had traveled to, hoping to save it. The young crown prince had been convinced the possibility at least existed and so they found themselves being interrogated by an esteemed monk able to draw out secrets through hypnotic suggestion. Hitomi had been chosen first to question and it had not gone well.

Once under his spell, the monk attempted to take Hitomi’s pendent, which caused her to awake in her mind to the fact that the monk before her was in fact a doppelganger that had murdered the monk and taken his form. Their mind’s connected and Hitomi could see the tortured soul of the shape-stealer and his impending death.

The doppelganger took the news with panic and denial, and in his attempts to end the vision of his death, dragged Hitomi into it as well, causing her to experience the fate that would soon befall the false monk. The panic and strain from that experience caused her own heart to stop. It was only through the quick thinking of her friends that Hitomi was brought back that day. With so much happening that followed in her time on Gaea, the brunette never took the time to process the fact that she had actually, briefly, died.

In fact, even upon her return home and her life returning to something akin to normal, Hitomi never really faced that experience. This likely contributed to why the nightmares followed such cases now that she was in this world. This time, however, that horrible reminder had come not after, but before seeing a patient, a thought that caused Hitomi a great deal of stress while she prepared to meet with the captured villain, Kurogiri.

Hitomi had learned many years ago that when it came to her visions, dreams and nightmares, something would soon happen. It was often difficult to know to whom or to what degree but such premonitions always heralded something.

As the woman once known as the girl from the mystic moon stepped outside her apartment, she looked up and stared at the moon, low on the horizon, about to pass out of sight. It was times like these that Hitomi wandered if this Earth had its own Gaea hidden from sight and what fate befell it without her presence. Mostly though, she just felt homesick, either for her own Earth or for the war-torn world of dragons and fateful encounters that had so changed her life all those years ago.

(X)

Michiru stood at the edge of a vast clearing in the forest, flanked by Celty and Sakon as she took in the panorama of downed flora. It looked as though a bomb had gone off that had caused trees for a kilometer or more to be flattened or at least blown down. At once confused and impressed, Michiru dryly asked “Explain to me how no one has seen this guy?”

Celty replied calmly, choosing not to be annoyed with the tanuki girl’s tone “This area is very sparsely populated. If this Gigantomachia laid low, it wouldn’t be too hard to go unnoticed. Until recently, we didn’t even know he existed, so he had to have been doing something right.”

“Looks like it was a hellova fight.” Sakon added before she stepped out into the open, leaping onto the trunk of a large oak. “These aren’t exactly young saplings we’re looking at. This guy is the real deal. Could probably have given All Might a run for his money in his prime!”

“I don’t know about that.” Celty answered while she moved to follow the impatient ant girl.

“Why do you say that?” Michiru asked curiously as she followed her teammates.

“It just seems to me if that had been the case, then All for One would have used this giant at some point to take down All Might, would he not?” Celty reasoned.

It made sense but didn’t sit right with Michiru, who suggested “I don’t know. I kinda got the impression that mask-wearing freak was bidding his time. Didn’t it seem like he hadn’t planned to show himself when he did at Kamino?”

“I…try not to think about that night much, to be honest.” Celty responded, a hint of shame in her artificial voice.

Sakon glanced back after she hopped from one tree trunk to another and interjected excitedly “I knew Shadow Rider was at Kamino but didn’t know you were Michiru! And you saw the big bad? So you got to see All Might’s last fight up close! I’m so jealous!” Then something clicked in the ant girl and she exclaimed "Wait a minute! THAT"S what you did after I fell asleep in Saotome's dojo?!"

Celty wanted to chide Sakon for using Michiru’s name while out on a mission but given that the tanuki girl was going to be undercover whenever they were around people, the dulahan figured it was probably best to say nothing to avoid any slip-ups. As to how to answer the ant girl’s question, Celty decided to leave that up to the furry girl behind her.

Said tanuki girl was staring at the back of her leader’s cat-eared helmet, waiting for some sign as to how to respond. When it became clear none was forthcoming, Michiru resided herself to having to answer and replied with some reluctance “No, I mean, yes, I was there but I didn’t really get to see the fight. Not most of it anyway. See me, Emmy and Zel had it in our heads that we could take All for One down since he was the one responsible for us getting kidnapped in the first place. It…didn’t end well and we were recovering while most of the fight happened.”

“What!? HA! That’s crazy Michiru, I love it! Going right for the throat, exactly what I would do!” Sakon said excitedly, just barely managing to avoid missing the next tree trunk and tumbling into the tangle of downed forest.

“You sell yourself short, Animalia. From what I was told, you only went in to save me, isn’t that right? That played no small part in why you are even here today after all.” Celty was quick to add.

The situation in Kamino had been more complicated than that but what the dulahan said was basically true and Michiru felt no need to clarify for the headless hero. Instead, the morphing lighter brought the discussion to the reason they were in the clearing in the first place, pointing out “This looks to be about the center. I think this is the best place to start.”

“Alright then Formidible take out the specimen please.” Celty instructed.

Sakon slipped off the backpack she had been tasked with carrying with them and took out a large glass jar that had a big chunk of brown hair that filled the whole of the gallon sized container. Sakon set it on one of the few spots of ground without downed vegetation on it and said “You’re up Michiru! Let’s see if you’re as good as you say!”

Michiru balked at the ant girl’s challenge, saying “Damnit Formidible, I never said I was good at it, just that I could get us in the right direction. My old teammate is far, far better at this than I am.”

Sensing another spat coming on, Celty quickly interjected, a hand on her helmet in exasperation “Please get on with it, Animalia.”

The two younger girl’s eyes met for a moment before Michiru rolled her eyes and said firmly “Got it, Ghost Rider.” Then, as sparks briefly flashed about her, Michiru’s modest snout stretched out several inches, her nose more prominent and her teeth grew larger and more canine-like. Even her short, fluffy tail grew longer and thinner, becoming a uniform shade of blue, losing the black tip. Now finished, Michiru briefly recalled she hadn’t taken her wolf form since that stupid test that Aizawa had put the three of them through.

That got the wolf girl wondering how Zel and Emmy were doing while she was out in the middle of nowhere having dragged herself out of bed before dawn to stand in what looked like a bomb impact site.

“Well?” an impatient Sakon asked, tapping her foot.

“Hold on!” Michiru snapped before calming herself and adding, “It takes a lot of focus. Take the cap off, please.”

Sakon frowned but did as she was told and unscrewed the cap on the jar. Michiru knelled down and took a long whiff of the hair. Then, the wolf girl stood back up, raised her snout up in the air and closed her eyes. With the infusion of Gigantomachia’s scent, Michiru was able to pick up on the faint remnants of the villain’s presence. Those traces became images in Michiru’s mind before the whole battle between their giant target and the Gran Torino led police played out. Even with far superior numbers, Michiru saw the police were quickly overwhelmed and forced to retreat as the towering monster of a man proceeded to rampage and destroy the very clearing in which the wolf girl now stood.

The elderly hero held off Gigantomachia while the rest retreated, the small speedster darting about the giant like a mosquito. Once the officers were gone in their cars, Gran Torino fell back as well and the massive man was left alone again. Gigantomachia stood around for a while, appearing to look about and sniff the air, which Michiru supposed was the giant’s attempt to find the escaped officers. Finally, Gigantomachia seemed to give up and began to wander away, somehow able to navigate through the forest without disturbing the trees.

“Got him!” Michiru finally exclaimed, causing Sakon to shoot up from the sitting position she had taken while waiting for the morphing lighter.

“Which way did he go, Animalia?” Celty asked.

“Northwest, that way!” Michiru pointed.

“Alright! Time to shine!” Sakon exclaimed, spreading her thin ant wings and making them buzz with excitement before she added, “You ready for the ride of your life, Michiru?”

The wolf girl looked over at her overly excited friend incredulously and replied, “You know I can fly, right?” as sense of déjà vu washed over her that she couldn’t quite place while she spoke.

“Course I know you can, but you’ve never flown formid style!” Sakon replied, moving her flattened hand about in a waving fashion that did nothing to reassure Michiru.

While Celty ran back to their car, Sakon picked the wolf girl up and the two began to ascend above the tree line, the ant girl’s four limbs keeping Michiru held tightly to her chest as the two flew forward. For Michiru’s part, it was at least a little embarrassing to have to be carried like this but since she could only hold one form at a time, she was stuck as a wolf if they wanted to keep track of the scent. That meant no flying for her and instead Michiru was left to the tender mercy of Sakon’s caviler flying style.

It was going to be a long day.

(X)

“Can you show me how to draw, Emmy-chan?”

“Huh? What did you say, Eri?” Emeralda, who had been absentmindedly watching a cartoon along with the silver-haired girl, replied in confusion.

Looking down with curious fascination at Emeralda’s sketch pad, both girls found themselves eyeing the piece of paper in the grennette’s hands. It was only then that Emeralda realized she had been sketching the main character of the show without even realizing it.

The tan girl grabbed the pad and pressed it against her chest in embarrassment while Eri giggled and said “You’re so silly, Emmy-chan! Why are you hiding it, you’re so good! You think you could show me how?”

Emeralda gently pulled the pad away from her and looked down at the unintentional work before glancing at the eager and earnest red eyes staring back at her. The question had caught the nanomachine girl off guard and combined with her embarrassment, hesitated to answer. After a moment and realizing her lack of response had caused some of the sparkle to draw out of the other girl’s eyes, Emeralda responded softly “I…I’ve never taught anyone how to draw before. I’m not sure I could.”

That took a lot of the wind out of the single horned girl’s sails as she seemed to deflate and slide back to the middle of her bed and said “O-oh. Ok…how…how did you learn then Emmy?”

Without hesitation, Emeralda answered wistfully “I watched Ki…Fei do it. He likes painting more but those supplies were harder to come by so I stuck to drawing.”

Clearly starstruck, Eri bounced in place as her excitement swung right back up to high “You learned how to do that just by watching someone else!? Emmy-chan, you’re super cool!”

Eri’s cheer was infectious and seeing how impressed the other girl was, Emeralda couldn’t help but smile warmly. Turning the page on her sketchbook, Emeralda moved the pad to face Eri and said “Ok Eri! I’ll show you what I do and try to explain it the best I can and then you can try, ok?”

Eri eagerly nodded and shifted in her bed so she was completely facing her amber-eyed friend. Just as Emeralda was getting started sketching out the face of the TV show’s heroine, the door to the room opened and the doctor in charge of Eri’s case, a one Kenzo Tenma, a rather plain looking man in his late fourties with grey just beginning to color his hair. The doctor’s arrival wasn’t in and of itself unusual but when the two girls turned to look at the man, the grave look in his eyes told them he was there for something more serious.

“Eri, I’m sorry to bother you sweetie but there is something I need to tell you. Would you like me to escort your friend out first?” the doctor asked, motioning to Emeralda.

Eri’s good spirits sunk immediately but she had enough awareness to ask, though with a fair degree of reluctance, “I…I want Emmy to stay. What…what is this about? Did something happen to granddaddy?”

The kind doctor shook his head as he kneeled down to look the long-suffering girl in the eye “No, sweetie, it’s…it’s about Kai Chisaki.”

“Eri’s eyes widened and the urge to reach out and grab Emeralda’s hand overtook her. Reaching out, Emeralda did not move nor did she try to stop the attempt at contact. Dr. Tenma however, gently admonished “Eri…I know it’s hard but it’s important you not make contact with anyone. But…I know this girl was there when you were rescued, would you feel better if she stayed?”

Eri, denied comfort from human touch, had to make do with the stuffed bunny Emeralda had gifted her, pressing it tight to her chest as she vigorously nodded her head.

Dr. Tenma sighed heavily, glancing at the nanomachine girl before settling on the nervous Eri in her hospital bed. “Eri, this morning, Kai Chisaki was found dead in his cell. He had somehow gotten a hold of some rope and hung himself. I…I know he made you suffer for a long time and that you were instrumental in defeating him so I don’t want you to feel like you’re some how responsible. He was a terrible man who deserved to be locked away so he could never hurt you again.”

Eri seemed to contemplate the news for a long moment, looking away as she squeezed the poor rabbit even tighter. The kindly doctor spoke again, trying to reassure the girl “Look on the bright side, he can’t ever hurt you or your grandfather ever again. We’ll talk about this again later, ok? For now, I wanted to let you know that, if you’re feeling up to it, you and your friend can go to the park tomorrow. I even arranged for that UA student you always talk about to go with you.”

“Midoriya!?” Eri all but shouted, prompting the doctor to cringe and to motion with his hands to keep the volume down before he answered “Yes, I contacted the school and he was given permission to leave classes early to take you. If it goes well, we can start planning more outside trips. Sound good?”

Eri again nodded vigorously. Dr. Tenma then stood up, a relieved smile on his face before he said “Great. You girls take care. Nurse Saki will be in with your lunch soon. I’ll see you later when Aizawa-san comes by for your training.”

With that, the doctor left. Eri gently bounced up and down in anticipation of her outing, with little sign that the news just delivered had bothered her at all. Emeralda was happy as well for her friend but noticed that any interest in drawing had disappeared from her friend’s mind. As Eri settled down and they began focusing on the TV once more, Emeralda quietly put her sketchbook away, at once glad she didn’t have to try and teach something she had just picked up and yet sorely disappointed she hadn’t gotten to share something so close to her heart.

(X)

Tartarus. Japan’s maximum security prison for villains, a fortress meant to keep the country’s worst and most dangerous people buried and forgotten. Over the course of her decade long stay in this world, Hitomi had the misfortune of having been asked to the facility more than once. She hated it every time. Not only was the screening rigorous and time consuming to even enter the building but by its very nature, Tartarus was a sterile, heartless place full of the miserable and broken souls of Japan’s worst offenders.

This time was no different for the counselor from another world, at least everything leading up to meeting her ‘patient’ was. To add to her unease, the staff was on high alert because an inmate awaiting trial had apparently managed to kill himself just hours earlier. The very same man that her fellow lighters had assisted in defeating only a couple of days ago. Even when Hitomi was met by Detective Tsukauchi outside of Kurogiri’s cell, her unease did not abate.

“Prison staff will not be within earshot of your conversation and I will be in the control room monitoring, ok?” the detective said, going over the last details before the brunette lighter entered the cell.

“I’ve got it. If there is anything to be learned from the prisoner, I’ll be sure to find it detective.” Hitomi answered with firm determination. Not just to aid in keeping her adopted home safe but this man she was about to talk to was the first to be captured who was actually apart of All for One’s group. The misty teleporter could be the key that finally opened the door to getting everyone back home, herself included.

“Alright then. Let me get up to the control room and I’ll let you in. Stand by for a minute Kanzaki-san.” Naomasa told her before he briskly walked off.

As she waited for the steel door to open in front of her, Hitomi pulled her pendant out from under her dress shirt and clasped the small red jewel in one hand pressed to her chest. The previous night’s nightmare had put the fortuneteller in a state of unease and Hitomi knew all too well that such a state of mind could have terrible consequences from past experience. She had to work hard to bring herself back to a state of calm before using her powers lest Hitomi risk looking into the future and calling a terrible event into being because of her unsettled heart.

Just as she managed to calm herself, the door opened with a hiss in front of Hitomi. As the mist from the pressure locked door cleared, Hitomi could see the villain Kurogiri shitting in a chair, his misty body confined by some sort of binding straitjacket with another chair placed beside him. When Hitomi stepped across the threshold, the glowing yellow eyes of the mist villain moved up slightly as if in acknowledgment of the counselor’s presence. “Well now, this is a surprise. I hardly thought my visitor would be one of master’s little experiments.” The mist in human form said with no small amount of derision.

Hitomi continued to move forward, undaunted by Kurogiri’s taunt. That failure, however, did not deter the teleporter from trying again when he said “If I remember correctly, you are Hitomi Kanzaki. Master’s very first success bringing someone from another world. Tell me, do you miss your home? Was it as…colorful as this one? Or maybe a war torn hellscape that the master saved you from?”

When Hitomi continued to ignore the misty man’s attempts at torment, Kurogiri’s shinning eyes appeared to sag in disappointment before he spoke again “Ah, so you took precautions to make sure your little secret didn’t get out. A shame. It would have been great fun to see you squirm as I revealed one of the commissions greatest secrets.”

Now seated, Hitomi glared at the man in front of her before she finally spoke, entirely ignoring Kurogiri’s line of conversation, “Inmate Kurogiri, I have been summoned here to extract any information you may have in aiding in our investigation. You have waived your right to a lawyer but legally, a quirk cannot be used to obtain information and used in a court of law without your consent. Luckily for me, and as you are aware, what I have is no quirk. Any knowledge I am about to obtain from you we can simply work backwards to come up with a legal way to explain how we got it. I just wanted you to know before we started that the law will not save you from telling me everything I want to know, you understand?”

“I understand that you are bluffing, little one. I understand that you wish to see your fellow lighters returned to their homes, like the good little conformist you are. Well, I will not help you and any attempt to force me will simply cause me to explo-” in mid-sentence, Kurogiri went limp when Hitomi held out her pendent and touched the mist villains straightjacket.

Kurogiri suddenly found himself no longer constrained, his limbs now free but he was also floating in a void of nothingness. After he attempted to use his quirk, the misty man looked at his limbs and uttered “How…how is this possible?”

His answer came in the form of a feminine voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. “I told you Kurogiri, that my power isn’t a quirk. It’s not invasive on a physical level, so whatever All for One did to you to cause you to be destroyed if someone did try to read your mind will not work here, nor will your quirk since we are inside of you.”

“Inside of me? Come now, you really expect me to believe that?” came the mist villains dismissive reply despite the circumstances he found himself in.

“Why is that so hard to believe? You already know I am from another world entirely. You know demons and magic are real and yet…I see, it was how you were made.” said Hitomi’s voice.

“Made you say? How could you possibly know anything about me, girl?” Kurogiri spoke again, his anger rising.

Then, in front of him, Hitomi appeared from thin air, a look of confusion on her face. Kurogiri immediately reached out to touch her but his hands simply phased right through the girl. His helplessness finally starting to dawn on him, Kurogiri turned to pleading, saying “Whatever this is, release me. You have no right to keep me here.”

Hitomi had a distant look on her face now, as though looking right through the man in front of her. After a moment of silence, the counselor spoke, sounding almost like she was speaking to herself, “It’s almost like there are two different people in you. There is the current one, here and now. And then there is this other one.” When Hitomi’s eyes focused back on the teleporter in front of her, she spoke again, her tone questioning “Tell me Kurogiri, do you know who this is?”

Kurogiri’s eyes went wide as he stared back at the brunette. “What do you mean? Who are you talking about?”

Hitomi raised her hand and pointed right at the other occupant of the void and said firmly “You. Who are you?”

Fear gripping him, Kurogiri suddenly felt compelled to look down. Instead of his normal dress shirt and vest, he was wearing a dark blue gi and black undershirt with an aviator’s jacket over top of the gi. Kurogiri reached up to feel the white fur lining of the collar of the jacket. That’s when he noticed his hand. A normal hand, no mist, just a hand with a fingerless black glove on it.

“What the hell is the meaning of this! What have you done!?” Kurogiri raged as he buried his face in his hands, an act that caused him to start feeling around his head and hair.

“All I have done is reveal what was already here. This is you and yet not you. We can see who this was and what happened to him if you wish?” Hitomi responded, her voice taking on an echoey, ethereal quality to it.

Panic setting on the now very human face he wore, Kurogiri looked up at the girl now seeming to loom over him. After a moment of searching Hitomi’s eyes and seeing the sympathy in them, he slowly reached out to her. “Yes…show me.” he said.

Hitomi reached out as well and their hands met. Much to his surprise, Kurogiri could feel her warmth just as the two were enveloped in light.

(X)

“These have got to be the worst rice balls I’ve ever eaten”

“They’re amazing, I’ll eat them if you won’t!”

“Twice, though normally I find your antics rather charming, I don’t think this is the time for such frivolities.”

“Yeah, what Compress said! Spinner did his best, even if they could be alittle bloodier!”

“Look, I know they suck but these were the only ones they’d sell me. I think someone else should be in charge of buying food from now on.”

“My, how the mighty have fallen.”

“Can you all just eat in silence for once...”

Indeed what remained of the League of Villains had fallen from grace very quickly. With All for One now locked up, their hideout destroyed and their teleporter arrested, Tomura Shigaraki and his band were in dire straights indeed. The villain with the decaying touch had hoped joining forces with Kai Chisaki and his yakuza group so he could utilize the funds and manpower of the group. Combined with the League’s brand recognition, it would have been a simple thing to start to rebuild.

Instead, Kai had chosen to look down on them, killed one of their own plus he maimed another and that required retribution even if Kai had repaired the limb he had destroyed. That had taken form, in part, by allying with one of Overhaul’s underlings, Xellos. In exchange for helping to further the weird purple-haired man’s plan to take down Kai, the League would gain access to his resources and a way to get their leader back. Or so Xellos had claimed.

In reality, this meant killing Overhaul and taking his place so that Xellos could get into Tartarus undetected and get All for One out. Xellos had failed to mention that his resources had been diverted to the Shie Hassaikai and thus had been broken up or frozen once the organization had been driven into hiding.

With those resources lost and their involvement with the Shie Hassaikai public knowledge, Tomura and his remaining followers were left to flee Musutafu with barely a penny to their names.

The group had taken up residence in a run-down shack deep in the mountains near some village none of them had heard of. One thing they did still have was cell service and it was while the group complained about another simple meal that Mr. Compress saw the news pop up on his feed. “Oh my. It seems we’ve been had.”

Tomura looked up from his rice ball, notably holding the object with just two fingers to avoid turning his meal to dust and asked with barely concealed hostility “What is it now, Compress?”

The masked and top-hatted villain seemed to hesitate answering. Only after a few long moments of intense glaring from his leader did the theatrical thief reply “There is news about ‘Overhaul.’ It would appear that he has committed suicide. I suspect we have lost another cast member before the show ever got started.”

Himiko shoot up, a feral anger in her eyes as she brought her knives to bear and she indignantly declared “I’ll gut that double-crossing son-of-a-bitch!”

Twice looked more worried than anything, weakly trying to calm his blonde friend “He’s already dead Toga, stabbing won’t really do any good. I’ll hold the body; I love beating a dead horse!”

Spinner, already in a sour mood for having failed his compatriots in bringing back a descent meal, turned to look at their leader and asked with a hint of resignation “What are we going to do now?”

The question prompted the others to look at Tomura, who had an uncharacteristic calm about him. Normally such a set back would send him into a petulant rage. Not this time. Instead, a tight smile could be seen under the hand adorning his face. The lankly leader of the league of Villains finally answered, his voice calm, almost nonchalant “I wouldn’t worry. I’ve killed Xellos before, remember? That bastard can’t die so easily and I’m damn sure whatever they found rotting in that cell wasn’t him.”

“Ah, a grand show for the camera then? You think it a ploy to further our ends, Shigaraki?” Mr. Compress speculated.

“Ohh, you think he’s impersonating a guard? That’s totally what I would do!” Himiko chimed in, her murderous lust all but forgotten.

“Still doesn’t help us.” Spinner added.

“Xellos has his part and whether he frees master or not doesn’t change our situation so stop worrying about that smiling bastard.” Tomura answered bitterly.

“But Shigaraki, he promised us all that money he was hording, and I don’t know abut you but I can’t live on rice and rat blood!” Himiko complained.

“Now now, Himiko, if we are to be the leads in this tale, we can hardly be in debt to some outsider with sweet promises now, can we?” the top-hatted thief cautioned.

“Exactly.” Tomura echoed as he stood up and began pacing about the room, scratching his arms. “All that creep wants is to get his hands on master’s nomu so he can go home which means we have the advantage. We start taking whatever he’s offering and next thing we know that bastard is playing us instead of the other way around. No. We need to do things our way, got it?”

The room went quiet after that as their leader’s words sank in. After a moment, Himiko piped up one more time “Food still sucks.”

(X)

A hallway bustling with teenagers all wearing the same uniform. Some rushing about, dancing through the crowd, while others causally talked with their friends. Others still stood by, watching as the throng passed along. All seemed to pass by Kurogiri as he stood in the middle of the long corridor taking in the sights around him. The sight was so tantalizingly familiar and yet he either couldn’t or wouldn’t give voice to the school’s name.

The uniform alone should have been a giveaway, the most well-known and respected in Japan. Still, the misty villain given human form said nothing. After a few moments Hitomi appeared beside him, looking forward and watching on, her visage translucent. “In another life, this was an all too familiar sight for you, wasn’t it, Kurogiri?” the man’s name said with an edge to it.

“UA is quite famous, should it really be any surprise I would have memories of it? Besides, you work at UA. How do I know this isn’t something you are making me see?” Kurogiri replied, trying to convince himself as much as the woman beside him.

Hitomi simply shook her head as a young man with blonde hair styled up above his head like a plume in defiance of gravity and wearing shades ran toward them wildly waving his hand above him. Another boy, far more dour in appearance trailed behind with a mess of black hair and his hands in his pockets. As Kurogiri’s eyes widened in recognition, Hitomi whispered “The most powerful illusions are the ones we create for ourselves. My power lets me see, and by extension you, the unseen. All that is before us is nothing more than what you have lost.”

Kurogiri turned his head to stare at the spectral woman only to find her gone. Before he could recover, the blonde boy reached him and he loudly proclaimed “Hey man, where were you! We’re going to be late for homeroom! You know Sanada-sensei will be pissed if your late again. Not great vibes man.”

Almost as though a fog was clearing in his mind, the name of this boy in front of him came to Kurogiri as he replied with embarrassment “Y-Yamada? Wha, what do you mean? Late for homeroom?”

Yamada dramatically leaned back and covered his face with one hand and asked bombastically “Are you really ok? I know you had a tough fight yesterday in training but you’re acting like a totally different person? You ok man?”

“Maybe your obnoxious voice knocked him into a state of confusion. Back off and give Shirakumo some space.” The dreary looking second boy said as he finally caught up, giving the loud blonde an annoyed look.

Shirakumo….Shirakumo? Was that his name? It, it was, Kurogiri realized. Oboro Shirakumo, second year student at UA and best buds with Hizashi Yamada and Shouta Aizawa and the hero up in the clouds, Loud Cloud. Oboro couldn’t believe he had forgotten his friends as a big, toothy smile spread across the wavy pale blue-haired teen. Swiftly moving forward and twisting around to shove his arm around the slumping Shouta, Oboro exclaimed “Ah, I just had a busy night is all! Between all the action and the ladies, I barely got a wink of sleep!”

Hizashi grinned widely as well, and he leaned back and pointed his fingers at Oboro “Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Hitting all the greatest hits already, that’s my man!”

Shouta looked less than impressed, his expression unchanging despite the near headlock he found himself in. “You just got stuck getting yelled at after screwing up again, didn’t you, Shirakumo?” he dryly suggested knowingly.

The big smile never left the grinning blue-haired boy while he answered sheepishly “Ha, ha, you got me! Still, a lesson learned is just another step on the path to being a hero, am I right?”

Grumbling, Shouta pulled himself out from under his friend’s grasp and said “We need to get to class. Come on, you idiots.”

“Right on! I dig what Aizawa’s putting down! Let’s go Shirakumo!” Hizashi said as he turned, waving for Oboro to follow.

“Right behind ya!” came the blue-haired boy’s answer before the scene froze.

A chuckle filled the space around Oboro as Hitomi reappeared, a smirk on her face. “Those two never change, do they?”

Oboro donned a wistful smile while he stared at the back of his two best friends as he said “I hope not. You sound like you know them, miss?”

The playfulness in Hitomi’s eye became more serious when she answered “they’re both teachers at UA so yes, I am quite familiar with both of them.”

“Whoa! They both became teachers?!” Oboro said in shocked surprise. “I pity any student that got stuck with grumpy ol’ Aizawa!”

“You’ve…met him as a teacher, you know.” Hitomi said, concern creeping into her voice. “You came face to face with him when you attacked the USJ, remember?”

At this point, the wavy-haired boy began to look very confused. “What are you talking about? The last time I was at the USJ, I totally got soaked when Yamada blasted our boat with his voice on accident!”

Hitomi closed her eyes, a pained look flashing across her face as she realized this was going to be harder than she thought. “Ok, why don’t we see that then? I’d like to see how school went for the three of you, Shirakumo.”

“Awesome! That was a great day!” Oboro responded before the scene around them changed.

As promised, Hitomi got to see younger versions of the accomplished heroes turned teachers fumble around a lesson on trying to save people at sea to disastrous results. After that, the counselor from another world was treated to a half dozen more memories of the three that Oboro was more than excited to share with her from combat training he was proud of to the time he and Hizashi tried to set Shouta up on a date.

As Oboro stood laughing in the bushes with Hizashi during that last memory, Hitomi appeared again, her face serious though not stern. “Oboro, these have all been fun but why aren’t there any past your second year at UA? Your friends are teachers at the school now, remember? What did you do afterwards?” Hitomi asked, fully aware of the answer and of what she was forcing him to face.

The laughing of the two friends stopped when the boy turned and looked at the woman standing over him, pained empathy on her face. “Wha…what do you mean? I…I became a hero…right? I was working with…with His Purple Highness on work studies…then after that I…I…”

The scene around them flashed white as Oboro gripped his head, falling to his knees in pain. A hundred moments flashed around them, as though the boy was searching for the answer to the counselor’s question. “Oboro…you did become a hero. You saved those kids from Garvey. But…it was at the ultimate cost.”

Then, everything stopped. Rain began to fall on the pair as they found themselves standing among the rubble of a collapsed building. Shouta and Hizashi where there now too, looking on over the broken body of their friend as doctors lifted his remains onto a gurney. Hitomi looked over at the blue-haired boy beside her while he stared on, his jaw set in stone, his bright eyes darkened with the reality of his last moments.

“I…I died. I actually died, didn’t I? I can’t believe it…then, then why am I still here?” As he spoke, Oboro’s voice deepened and his body began to be enveloped in mist. All that remained of the hero-in-training was his costume while he continued to speak, “That’s right…I…I was remade by…by the doctor. For the master.”

The ruined building faded into darkness and a moment later, a pale, sickly green light began to illuminate the two. As the light grew brighter, tubes became visible, many clearly containing humanoid forms. Before one particular tube, a short, bald man with a messy and wild mustache and large, rounded glasses gently touched the glass surface. “I would have preferred the boy with the erasure quirk but it never hurts to have another toy to play with…” the man spoke softly to himself before adding with satisfaction, “You’ll still make a wonderful tool for the master.”

“That is the man that made you into this, Kurogiri?” Hitomi asked gently.

“Please, call me Shirakumo, or better yet, Oboro. I may look like this now; they may have made me into this, but I did not choose it. Please call me by my original name.” Hitomi nodded as the mist man in the hero costume continued, “This is Kyudai Garaki and he has served All for One for many years, creating all of the monstrosities you have all faced of late.”

Hitomi hesitated to ask but now seemed like as good a time as any. This session had been taxing for them both and the counselor had no idea what effect this breakthrough would have on the man once they left his mind. “What…what about the nomu that brings people from other worlds? Do you remember anything about it?”

If it was possible for mist to smile, Hitomi saw it when Oboro looked at her. He chuckled and said “Looking for clues to go home, I see. Well, I believe I owe you at least that much for what you have allowed me to see today. Even if it has been…taxing.”

The laboratory briefly faded away only to reappear again, this time the doctor gone. Instead, all the other tubes seemed less luminous except for one. Oboro spoke “I was still new when the body was first brought in, but yes, I was present when the doctor completed his work and All for One’s little diversion was complete. It has no name, just a serial number and they usually just refer to it as their prized nomu or the experiment. Please, have a look.”

Hitomi stepped forward, hesitantly at first. Then, the brunette gradually walked faster as she grew closer, a welling of intense anticipation threatening to overtake her. Hitomi stopped dead in her tracks when she got within a few feet of the tube, and its contents became clear to see. The…man’s body was reduced, emaciated even and seemed to lack much in the way of defined features. The head was a different story. The face, if you could call it that, only had the vague suggestion of a nose. That was it. No mouth, no eyes. Just the feint suggestion that those features ever existed.

Almost to make up for it, the top of the creature’s head was enlarged significantly. Tubes of all sorts were attached to that enlarged head as though they were apart of the nomu itself.

Hitomi stood, staring wordlessly at the poor soul that was, undoubtedly against its will, responsible for her being stuck in this world. Even though this was Oboro’s memory and not the nomu itself, Hitomi couldn’t help but feel an intense sadness, a longing from the pitiable creature suspended before her. Slowly, surely, Hitomi reached her hand out to touch the glass, as though drawn to the container.

The counselor’s hand stopped with a start just before she touched the glass when Oboro spoke again, his voice clearly weary, “I am sorry, Kanzaki-san. I have provided you with what you wished but I feel myself growing tired. May I trouble you to ask for a release from this place so that I may sleep?”

Embarrassed, Hitomi turned around to face the misty man, her hands held tight behind her back as though she had just been caught stealing a cookie. “Yes, of course Oboro, I’m so sorry! We can talk again later when you are feeling up to it!” she finished, her face flustered.

The lab began to fade away into darkness again. This time though, Oboro began to do so as well. Before he disappeared completely, he spoke again, his voice calm, relieved even, “I…I have much to think on, Hitomi Kanzaki. You have given me myself back and again, you have my deepest gratitude. Please tell Shouta and Hizashi how…how sorry I am. And…and that I miss them…”

With the last hint of Oboro disappearing into the void, Hitomi was left in the darkness alone. She lingered for a moment longer before closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she was in the cell once more, her hand still outstretched but feeling very sore from being held out so long. Oboro’s ‘head’ leaned forward and his yellow eyes were closed. A soft smile spread on Hitomi’s face, glad she could help this tortured soul. It was only after a moment that she realized that a tear had welled up and began rolling down her cheek. As she wiped it away with her hand, Detective Tsukauchi came over the com “You ok, Kanzaki-san? How did it go?”

“I’m ok, Detective, thank you. It was just…an experience is all. I need to talk to Sanada-sensei, excuse me.”

(X)

Misa, a kindly middle-aged woman with rounded features, green eyes and long black hair held up in a pony-tail sat at her shop counter watching TV as she sat fiddling with her son’s toy that he had managed to break for what felt like the millionth time. Her husband would be home from the fields soon now that the sun was down and it would be time to eat once her mother-in-law finished cooking dinner. Just another night in her little town like any other.

That was, until there was a knock at the door to her store/inn. Her husband didn’t usually knock when he got home, he just came in, greeted her and went straight to the shower. Instead, a young woman with short black hair styled in an uneven bob stepped inside, looking a bit nervous. When the girl caught notice of Misa she perked up, a bright smile appearing on her face before she said “Hello! I’m looking for a room for tonight? Maybe a few nights. Would…that be ok?”

The older woman glanced at the girl in front of her for a long moment before nodding with a smile “Certainly dear! You look like a good upstanding young lady! Though…you are out pretty late. What are you doing in a sleepy farm village like this at such a late hour?”

The girl seemed to hesitate while she went for her wallet from the inside pocket of her red jacket. Putting her credit card and ID on the counter in front of Misa, the girl replied “Oh, uh, I was originally from a town like this before my folks moved me to the city. I lost them recently and I thought that maybe it would be best to move back out into the country.”

The innkeeper’s heart went out to the poor girl in front of her, just trying to make her way in the world. Sliding some paperwork in front of the girl, Misa looked down at the ID and card to start putting information into her computer before she spoke “That’s just terrible...Hiwatashi-san was it? I hope you haven’t had to face such a terrible loss alone deary.”

“Oh, you can, uh, just call me Nazuna miss. Never been one for the formalities, you know? And yeah, I did have some great people doing their best to make sure I was taken care of so thank you. I’ll probably be in town a few days looking around. You know of anyone selling land around these parts?”

Misa liked this Nazuna already. In the short time she had known her, this girl seemed to have perseverance and none of the arrogance of the city folk who sometimes stop by for a vacation. As she finished running the girl’s card and copying her ID, Misa answered “Not off the top of my head but don’t let that lead you to think there aren’t any. I just haven’t heard anything lately, that’s all. You’re welcome to stick around as long as you like Nazuna. I’m here most of the time, just holler if you need anything.”

Taking the key offered her, Nazuna nodded and gratefully said “That’s very kind of you miss…”

“Oh, you can just call me Misa. Like you, we’re not ones for formalities around these parts. Your room 202 around back. Try to be quiet after nine if you can, it’s the youngins bedtime.”

With a smile, Nazuna bowed before waving and turning to leave again. As she was shutting the door behind her, the girl said “Thanks a lot Misa, I might just take you up on that. Have a great night!”

When the door shut behind her, Misa couldn’t help but hope the young woman she’d just met found a home in their little village. It was so rare for someone so young and cute as her to show up nowadays.

After getting the key to her room, Michiru went back to the car where Celty and Sakon were waiting, parked off to the side and under a tree to avoid being seen. When she got back in the car and brandished the key, Celty nodded and said “Good work, now we’ll just wait a bit longer to make sure no one else is around before we get to bed. Where is the room?”

“Around back. Direct access to the car. I don’t know if there are any other guests staying but since its starting to get cooler, I’m betting not now that it’s harvest season.” Michiru explained.

Leaning forward from the back, Sakon asked “Hey, let me see that ID of yours.”

When Michiru compiled, the ant girl looked it over before letting out a snort, saying “Nazuna? What made you pick such a silly alias?”

With an incredulous glare, Michiru swiftly snatched the card back from her rude teammate and snapped “It’s not a silly name, you damn bug! That’s the name of my best friend from back home, thank you very much.”

If Sakon was sorry for the insult, she didn’t show it, instead moving on to her own concern, saying “Wait, you used a real person’s name for your alias? Wouldn’t they, I don’t know, be able to check that?”

Michiru’s features darkened as she turned her head to look out the window, taking a moment before responding “You…don’t have to worry about that. Nazuna, she, she isn’t around, you know?”

Finally, the ant girl looked contrite as the implication of Michiru’s words sank in. “Oh, I’m so sorry Michiru. I guess that makes sense. I was just worried about the mission is all.”

“We checked to make sure everything was above board before we had the ID made.” Celty cut in. “It wouldn’t do to have a trackable fake ID that would cause the real person to be contacted. Have some faith, Formidable.”

“Yes ma’am. Sorry ma’am.” came Sakon’s response, looking properly chastised.

“Ok, here’s the deal.” Celty spoke again, her tone indicating she was back to business. “Once we get all set up in the room, it’s straight to bed. We’ll need to pack up first thing, can’t let housekeeping think more than one person is staying in the room.”

The two girls nodded before Sakon interjected “But what about tomorrow? Gigantomachia’s scent went cold once we hit that lake outside of town. What’s our gameplan now?”

Pulling out an earpiece and receiver from the glove compartment, Celty replied “Intel.” The dullahan’s attention then turned to Michiru, who already knew where this was going and had the disgusted look on her face to prove it. “Animalia here is going to have to fish for intel under the guise of house hunting. We’re going to have to stay behind here and listen in and be on standby unless absolutely necessary.”

Sakon groaned before she sat back in a huff “Stake-out work is so boring though!”

“Suck it up, kid. I’m an underground hero, this is my bread and butter. Even a front-line hero should learn the value to intelligence gathering. It often means the difference between life and death.” Celty lectured.

“So, I get to be Nazuna for a while longer then…” Michiru said as much to herself as the other two, adding wistfully under her breath “What I wouldn’t give for you to be here with me right now Nazuna.”

The tanuki girl wasn’t quiet enough it seemed because Celty leaned over and said “I know it hurts Michiru but I believe firmly one day, we’ll see our friends and loved ones again.”

The faintest hint of a smile graced Michiru face as she looked into the mist where Celty’s head should be and replied, “Next time we get the chance, tell me about Shinra, ok?”

Celty’s mist appeared to lighten a bit at her lover’s name and Michiru swore she saw within the miasma a heart shape. “Only if you tell me about this Nazuna friend of yours. Deal?”

“Deal!” Michiru answered with a smile.

“I’m still here, ya know!’ the ant girl petulantly whined.

(X)

Chapter Text

The next morning went as planned for Michiru. Celty and Sakon were up along with her before dawn and they left their room spotless save for a purposely left bag of the undercover girl’s personal effects. The town, Shivmachi, made the one Michiru grew up in seem like a metropolis. Homes and farms dotted the mountains and handful of valleys and flat stretches that made up the community. The town center had a gas station, the inn/convince store the three had stayed in, a dozen shops and the like plus a small police station, city hall and school. All were within a few blocks of each other, the town only having three intersections that required stoplights. A small hot spring was the town’s biggest draw if it could be said to have anything interesting at all and that was up the road from the town, further up the closest mountain.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to drive around to get a feel for the town before they picked what looked like an out of the way spot to park their car where Celty and Sakon would remain. Michiru, mean time, would go on foot, talking to townsfolk to see what she could find out while the other two listened in. It was still very early in the morning though so there wasn’t much to see or do.

While she waited, Michiru made her way back to the inn. Being at the edge of town, there were few obstructions to the view down to a valley below. The sun had just risen not long before, affording the normal looking girl an amazing view. As she stood there in the quiet, a wave of nostalgia washed over Michiru and her mind was flooded with thoughts of just how much simpler and quieter her life had been only a few short years ago. She had had her family…her friends and the most she had had to worry about was what embarrassing clothes her dad was going to wear to her next basketball game.

No other worlds, no quirks, no stubborn grumpy chimeras, no hiding for her life, no beastmen at all…

“Nazuna honey, is that you?” came a concerned voice from behind the introspective girl.

With a start, Michiru was suddenly aware that the innkeeper and her two children were behind her. When she turned around, Michiru could see Misa flanked on either side by two annoyed elementary school kids, a boy and girl. Embarrassed, the now normal looking black-haired girl reached up to rub her head. Her hand paused briefly when the fluffy ear she had expected wasn’t there before she touched her head and said “Oh…um, Misa, right? Yeah, its Nazuna. Sorry if I worried you. I was just…thinking. Sorry to scare you like that.”

Misa smiled reassuredly before she replied “No, its ok dear, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate. If your still around once I see these two little gremlins off, I’d love to talk if that’s ok?”

The innkeeper’s two children began to protest her loving insult and pull her in different directions. The sight made Michiru think about just how demanding being a parent really was, her heart welling with sympathy. “Sure, that would be great.” She answered.

Finally able to get her kids moving in the same direction and literally being pulled away, Misa called back “Great! Oh, and say hi to my husband if you see him, he’s a bit late getting out to work and don’t mind him, he’s kind at heart!”

Michiru was left to wonder what Misa had meant by that last part because before she could follow up, the poor mother was well out of earshot. Without anyone else to talk to, Michiru began to notice vehicles passing by. Mostly older model trucks, all of them with at least a few people riding in back, no doubt on their way out to the fields.

Being a new face, and a young woman at that, Michiru attracted more than a little attention. Some of the glances were questioning, or suspicious. Most though were…less becoming. No one said anything but the looks were unmistakable and it took everything Michiru had not to shout at them to stop leering at her. She had just about had it and was about to duck into the inn when the front door to the building slammed open.

Caught off guard due to her senses being dulled by her lack of animal features, Michiru almost reverted back to a beastman from the intimidating aura the man in front of her exuded alone. The man, presumably Misa’s husband, was six and a half feet of pure, tanned muscle on a wide, stout frame. His short, squared off black hair combined with a strong jaw and nearly shut eyes made for an imposing figure in his simple black pants and white tank-top. “You her?” The man asked in a low, deep voice as he loomed over Michiru.

Defiant, despite her moment of unease, Michiru took a challenging step forward “What if I am?”

Misa’s assumed husband took another long moment as if assessing his wife’s new guest. With an approving grunt, the man stepped forward and aside to pass the much smaller girl in front of him. When Michiru turned to face the retreating form of the man, he spoke again, almost too soft for her human ears to hear “You were all Mi-chan would talk about last night…Welcome to town.”

“Th…thanks.” was all Michiru could get out before the taciturn apparent farmer continued walking away, clearly with nothing else to say.

“Real smooth there Michiru” Sakon taunted over the receiver in her ear.

Once she was sure Misa’s husband was out of earshot, the undercover lighter shot back quietly “Shut the hell up! I’d like to see you do this!”

“You’re doing just fine, Nazuna.” came Celty’s much calmer voice in response, though the alias was empathized, no doubt to remind Sakon to use it.

That brought a smile to Michiru’s face as she imagined the dulahan slapping the oft-annoying ant girl. That little distraction had been enough, however, for Michiru to miss until just that moment a man that made Misa’s husband look like a child. He was at least ten feet tall and had a squared off lower jaw that almost looked like it was made of rock. That sight wasn’t noteworthy in itself though in a world of quirks though. The man’s similarity to Gigantomachia, however, was. The four men armed with clubs walking behind the giant was also at least as alarming.

The procession reminded Michiru of a prisoner walking to their execution and instantly, Michiru knew exactly where she would be focusing her attention.

(X)

As much as Izuku hated to miss class with his friends and to fall behind even marginally, to be able to spend time with and help the adorable Eri the young hero-in-training would move heaven and earth. When the hospital had reached out the Aizawa, Izuku had been elated when his teacher had asked him to be the one to escort Eri on her first trip outside of the hospital since her rescue. The fact that Emeralda would also be there did nothing to dampen his excitement for this assignment since he was sure the green-haired lighter wasn’t there in her capacity as a fellow licensed provisional hero.

Since he and Emeralda were effectively neighbors though, the two of them had agreed to travel together to the hospital to pick Eri up for her day at the park. Izuku found the de-aged girl quietly sketching away while she sat in front of the lighters dorm, dressed not in a UA uniform or her hero costume but in cute red top with little green wings printed across it and a red pair of long pants. As always, her white scarf wrapped around her neck and hid part of her face as well as her shoulders while she looked down at her work.

As he got closer, Izuku hesitated to call out to his traveling companion. The freckled boy was unsure what to make of the other-worldly girl, especially after the Shie Hassaikai raid. The girl had always been quiet but after her accident with Eri, Izuku had an even harder time getting a read on the greenette in front of him. Sometimes she would be reserved and withdrawn, much like she had before her de-aging. Other times, she would be bubbly and excitable, almost like an entirely different person and Izuku couldn’t be sure if that was a result of her change or not. It left the poor boy with the anxiety of not being sure which of the two versions of Emeralda he would get when he finally did speak up.

Izuku pushed past those worries though, and finally waved his hand and said “Hello Kasim-san, are you ready to go?”

Izuku was able to watch as the displaced girl in front of him quickly looked up at him, her eyes seeming to light up while a bright smile spread across her face, like a switch had been flipped. “Hi Midoriya-san! I was waiting for you! I’m ready to go!” Emeralda said cheerily as she pulled open her satchel to put her sketch pad away.

The tan girl had left the pad open to the page she was working on though, close enough for Izuku to get a good look at what she had been working on. Very impressed by the detail but surprised by the subject, Izuku’s curiosity compelled him to ask “What is that you’re working on? It looks like some sort of mecha! I didn’t think that would be something you’d be interested in, Kasim-san.”

For a moment, the smile disappeared, and Emeralda appeared entirely unsure how to respond. Just as quickly though, the smile returned and the greennette replied “Please just call me Emeralda and you’re kinda right. I don’t care too much about giant robots, not like some of my friends back home do anyway. But this one was special. You know where I’m from so I can tell you. This robot was my first real friend and my hero namesake. I used to pilot this robot and I miss her terribly.”

“Seriously? You have mecha in your world, Kasim-s…sorry, Emeralda?” Izuku answered with uncontrolled amazement.

Standing up, her pad now safely in her satchel, Emeralda began walking before she replied “We did, yes. Crescens was special though. I was the only one who could pilot her because I would use my…abilities to connect with it directly. She was apart of me, in a way. That’s why she was my friend! I could tell her anything!”

Izuku fell in beside the shorter girl as she lightly skipped, belying what the freckled boy thought was actually a pretty sad thing to hear since if what she was saying was true, it meant Emeralda had spent a lot of time talking to a robot. Instead of tackling that subject though, Izuku decided to focus on something he much preferred to talk about: quirks. Or at least, whatever Emeralda’s unique ability was called in her home world. “So…um…mind if I ask you a bit about your, um, quirk?”

Again, the happy, almost carefree girl seemed to deflate. Her old, more stoic baring overtook her young features for just long enough for Izuku to take notice and begin to worry. Then, Emeralda seemed to recover and answered “Sure! What do you want to know?”

Guilt immediately grabbed hold of All Might’s successor, waving his hands nervously in front of himself while he frantically said “S-sorry! You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! It’s hard to remember sometimes that you aren’t from this world, and I get excited about quirksandwhenIgetexcitedItalktomuchandseeI’mdoingitagain.” Izuku paused a moment to take a breath and start over again “I guess I just thought your powers were cool and I wanted to know more about them. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Emeralda, for her part, giggled at Izuku’s unease and for the first time in the conversation, Izuku thought he saw a genuine smile on his companion’s face. “Sorry, Midoriya-san. It’s just…back home when someone learned of my abilities…most didn’t take it very well.”

Izuku looked affronted by the very idea before he said indignantly “What? But why? What you can do is so cool!”

Her smile straining, the tan girl answered “I…don’t want to talk about that right now, I want to look forward to having fun with Eri! But I’ll still answer your questions about my, um, quirk, Midoriya-san.”

Now notably more self-conscious, Izuku rubbed the back of his head and replied
“R-right. Well then, since you don’t have a quirk, how can you change your body like you do?”

Emeralda raised her free hand to look at it as she walked before answering, her tone muted, “Its because I am a colony of nanomachines…I am built out of, and am maintained by, an uncountable number of cell-sized robots.” As she spoke, Emeralda’s fingers began reshaping into various tools: a fork, a hook, a hammer, a key and the like.

Izuku watched on with newfound appreciation at the marvel that walked beside him. “That’s amazing…” he breathed.

Emeralda smiled bitterly before she spoke again “These abilities…I’m pretty sure my father hadn’t meant for me to have them. I was supposed to be a perfect human to rectify all the damage done to the human genome over the years in his time. The morphing…that was something forced on me by an evil, evil man.”

Izuku recognized quickly that the conversation had treaded somewhere that he hadn’t really intended and spoke up, empathy clear in his voice “Emeralda…its ok, you don’t have to tell me anymore.”

Emeralda looked up for a long moment before answering the freckled boy beside her “Thank you Midoriya, I appreciate the thought. I think…I think I am glad that if anyone found out about us that it was you. Eri-chan is right, you are a good person.”

At that, Izuku blushed and moved to rebut the compliment but was beaten to it by Emeralda who continued talking “The clamps on my shoulders…they are what facilitated my morphing. It was an experiment. I was forced to do it to defend myself. Generally, I don’t need the clamps anymore, but they help, especially if its something new or complicated. Now, I can morph any part of my body or the whole of it. I can even infuse my clothing with my nanomachines to allow them to briefly morph with me. That way I don’t ruin my clothes every time I do it. It’s hard though. I have complete control over every cell in my body. It even allowed me to resist Overhaul’s quirk and it’s how I was able to replace my lost eye.”

Hearing all that, Izuku couldn’t help but be impressed and said so, “I just don’t see how anyone could see you as anything but amazing, Emeralda.”

The same bitter smile appeared on the girl’s face as she said “Here, yes, doing all these things would seem great. But in my world…no one else can do anything like I can. To them, it’s terrifying. Even though I was made long before everything that would cause the downfall of our world, I still stand as a reminder to so many of those that caused it. So no, I’m not amazing…I’m a relic…a monster that should have been left in my tube.”

A silence fell between the two as Izuku considered Emeralda’s harsh description of herself. Emeralda was content to let the conversation end there, having said her piece and explained her powers to her own satisfaction. Izuku, though, spoke up after a time “I…don’t know anything about your world. So I can’t truly judge what happened.”

Emeralda considered that and nodded blankly, deciding that made sense. But then, Izuku continued “But what I do know is that here, now, there is a little girl who thinks the world of you. I know you have a whole class of people who think you’re great not to mention Zelgadis and Michiru.”

When he finished, Izuku turned to look at his pseudo-classmate. He wasn’t sure what he expected to see but at the bottom of the list of reactions Izuku anticipated was the guilt that he saw on Emeralda’s face. The poor de-aged girl’s face seemed twisted in pain to the point that Izuku was sure he had somehow said the wrong thing. Before he could inquire further though, just as she had so often since her change, Emeralda’s face went back to a big smile before she said, “Just about everyone in 1-A has been great and I am glad I met them, you’re right about that, Midoriya!”

Izuku almost stopped then and there. Before he had been worried about what effect being made younger again may have had on the tan girl beside him. Now Izuku was sure something much more complicated was going on with the greenette. He just wasn’t sure what and it troubled him greatly.

(X)

Ochaco had just grabbed her lunch in UA’s cafeteria and was looking for a place to sit. Scanning about the bustling room, the brunette caught sight of Kyoka sitting by herself at the end of a table and hunched over looking at something. With no one else she knew well to sit with just then, the gravity defying girl headed over and sat down across from her classmate. “Hiya Jiro! What’re you up to?”

The question was partly rhetorical, Ochaco realized as she sat. Kyoka was clearly looking over the composition of a song and given she was writing one for the festival, it was likely that very piece. Still, the rosy-checked girl expected more than the bare acknowledgement she ended up getting when Kyoka just slightly lifted her head to say “Oh, hey Uraraka.” before returning to her work.

Ochaco briefly considered getting up and leaving to give her friend some space. That was dashed when Mina and Momo came up, food in hand, to join them. “Hey guys, how’s it going?” Mina asked as she sat. Momo following, sitting opposite the pink girl and beside Ochaco.

The addition of more people was enough to get Kyoka to actually engage because she fully looked up and glanced about in confusion. After a moment, the rocker girl asked “Uraraka…where is Midoriya? Don’t you usually sit with him and Iida?”

It was the other three girls’ turn to look confused. After Mina, Momo and Ochaco exchanged glances, the brunette replied, a hint of concern in her voice “Jiro…Midoriya left to take the girl we saved in the yakuza raid on a field trip, remember?”

“Hey girl, you alright?” Mina followed up, as she leaned over to get close and look her friend in the eye.

Kyoka leaned away and tried to wave the acid-wielder away, replying “I’m fine! I’m fine! I just forgot, that’s all. Sorry for worrying you, jeez. You don’t have to get in my face…”

“Mina’s forwardness aside Jiro, she has a point. You have seemed distant lately. Have you been getting enough sleep? You seem to be quite focused on that new song of yours.” Momo pointed out.

A sly smile slid across Mina’s face as she again got in Kyoka’s personal space and said conspiratorially “I bet I know what it is…you’re working extra hard because you-know-who is coming over tonight, am I right?”

Instantly, Kyoka’s face flushed deep red before she angrily twisted to face the pink girl and quickly said “It’s not like that Ashido! Come on! Don’t just make stuff up like that!”

Momo looked on as though lost but Ochaco knew what the gossipy Mina was getting at, and her own face began to take on a pink hue of it’s own. Sounding scandalous, the brunette said “No, Greywards-san? Is…something going on Jiro?”

“YES! I mean, no! Damnit it Uraraka, not you too!” Kyoka moaned before she planted her face on the table to hide her embarrassment.

The light finally clicking for the creationist, Momo’s eyes went wide at the realization of what was being alluded to. Unlike the other two girls though, Momo was at least kind enough to ask the petite rocker “What is going on tonight, Jiro if not what Ashido and Uraraka seem to think it is?”

Refusing to lift her head, Kyoka’s response was muffled while she said “Zelgadis IS coming over tonight but to practice, OK? Nothing more than that, you weridos!”

Mina continued to have a knowing smirk but said nothing while Momo seemed to accept the answer. Ochaco, though, wanted to know more. “I don’t understand. Is that why you’re pouring over the song then? Because Greywards is practicing with you?”

Sitting back up, her face mostly returned to its normal paler complexion, Kyoka answered “I don’t know…yes? I just want it to be right, ya know? The last time we did it, the song felt like it was missing something and I want to make sure it’s worth all the time we’re putting into it. I want everyone at the school to love it.”

“How much time he’s putting into it? What do you mean Jiro?” Momo answered seriously.

“Well, Zelgadis said he’d never used an electric guitar before and the first time I heard him use it, it showed. Now though, he sounds pretty good. He’d have to had practiced almost non-stop to show such improvement. It’s pretty impressive.” Kyoka answered, a hint of admiration in her eye.

“Uh huh. That’s what’s impressive about him, I’m sure.” Mina teased.

“Stop it!” Kyoka demanded while Mina stuck out her tongue in response. “I mean...it’s just that he’s so much more mature than the boys in our class, you know? He seems so focused on the task at hand and he’s been respectful and interested. But!” Kyoka quickly added as Mina again crept closer with a cheshire grin “That doesn’t mean I like him! He’s just a great musical partner, that’s all!”

“Sure, sure, Jiro. Deny it all you want but-” Mina began before being cut off by Ochaco.

“Guys, guys, look over there!” the gravity defyer said quickly.

Over in line to get food was their homeroom teacher. Shouta Aizawa had been patiently waiting for his chance to get a warm meal, a rare for him. That was uncommon in and over itself. But what drew the student’s attention was Counselor Kanzaki was by his side, whispering something in his ear. Whatever it was, Shouta’s face showed clear shock and after a moment, the two of them made for the exit in a rush.

“What was that about?” Ochaco asked.

“Yes, that was very concerning.” Momo echoed.

“We’ll have to ask later. Now, what were we talking about?” Mina asked, seemingly having forgotten their previous topic.

“You guys do the math homework?” Kyoka quickly asked.

The smile on Mina’s face told Kyoka that homework was the last thing on her pink friend’s mind.

(X)

As much as Michiru had wanted to just follow the farm hands to see what was up with the large man that had more than a passing resemblance to Gigantomachia only smaller, Celty advised her that would have been very suspicious. Instead, the undercover girl headed over to the real-estate office which also doubled as a barber shop. The plan was to have Michiru shown around town and surrounding area to see if she liked it and what properties were available. Now though, there was a specific target to find while touring about.