Chapter 71: The Guests

With the Culture Festival coming up, Togata has a chance to visit Eri in the hospital, while All Might brings someone new to U.A. to see things.

It was a bright, sunny morning, the sort that inspired the idea of exploring the local words, playing ball in the park, or even hitting the pool with friends. It might have been late summer, but the fall chill was still far away, even with classes starting back up.

For Eri, such things were foreign concepts for her, things that wouldn't even pop into her head. Though she could say a lot of weird things were happening, as the people in white didn't act like Overhaul did, they didn't hurt her like he did. When she didn't want something or to do something, they didn't pull her arm to punish her for being selfish.

The old man, she didn't know his name, but he called himself her grandfather, the papa to her momma, but she didn't remember having a mom. She recalled a woman's voice, but it was all fuzzy, and that was it. When she brought it up, he seemed sad, but he didn't punish her for making her feel sad; he just talked to her, though she didn't like talking, and when she did, she didn't know what to say. But he stayed, as long as he could before someone would say he needed to leave for the day.

"Hey, Eri!" Eri, sitting on her hospital bed, looked up to the door where Togata stood, not in his hero costume but in casual clothing. “Happy to see you up and about!”

Eri’s brow creased a little as she tried to recall his name before it came to her. “Lemillion…”

Togata let out a soft chuckle from his belly as he held up a small picnic basket. "That's me. I brought you some yummy snacks. I hope you're feeling hungry."

Walking in, Togata made sure to be as visible and friendly as possible with her. Gently taking the seat at her bedside, he handed her the gift.

"What's your favourite fruit? Oh, wait, don't tell me, it's peaches, right? Cause you're a peach." He joked, though, as he expected, but it didn't land as much as Eri seemed confused about the joke.

“Apples.” She answered.

“That’s what I meant.” Togata was quick to recover. "Let's get this sucker peeled for you; it'll be delicious." As he talked with her, he couldn't help but recall the meeting that had brought him here.

Line break

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Togata.” As he often was, Nezu was seated at his well-organised desk, clean as a whistle, and the quirked mammal smiled.

“No problem, principal. What does our adorable overlord need of me?” Togata asked as he entered the principal's office, having been called away to help with his class's prep for the culture festival.

Nezu chuckled at the joke, though it wasn't one without reason, as he enjoyed toying with people. "Hmm, I like the sound of that. Perhaps I should have it become my official moniker." His chuckle faded, his smile growing a tab more businesslike, which alerted Togata before his principal could speak. “But alas, it’s not for something so benign that I called you. It’s about the young girl you helped to rescue not too long ago.”

“Is Eri all right?” He asked, his smile vanishing as it had been a while since he last got word about her condition. Even with U.A. taking on quirk training for Eri, she had remained in the hospital since.

“She’s doing quite well, her health is good, and no incidents relating to her quirk. However, as you can imagine, she's been rather withdrawn, and the doctors worry about her mental health." Nezu didn’t mince his words, not when he addressed a 3rd year who had heard all the gory bits about Eri’s formally abusive situation.

Togata nodded, his face hardening as he recalled their classes on such things back in the second year. He explained that when it came to rescuing people in a disaster or villain attack, it was as easy as getting them out of danger.

But when that danger was happening somewhere, they should be safe and committed to someone they could be safe with; it took on an entirely new level of care, and Midnight made it clear in those classes. It only added to his worry for Eri as Chisaki, the way he talked about it, what Nighteye of the rest suspect was happening, and what he had seen with his own eyes.

He knew saving that little girl had only just begun.

Nezu continued, " That is why it was a surprise when she made a request, one which we can only half oblige."

“What was it?” Togata asked, as Eri didn't seem like the type who asked for…well, anything. Her horrible upbringing made it easy for her, better for her mental health, to believe she didn't deserve to ask, as if she had believed that, then she would have to realize she was in an even worse situation than it was.

Nezu brought his hands together, his little paws covering his mouth. "She wishes to see you and Pyre. She's seemed concerned about the two of you, who she visibly saw fighting against Overhaul on her behalf."

Togata’s surprised reaction at such an odd request was what Nezu expected.

"But, Sir, Eraser and Uraraka also helped with the fight. Because of them, we managed to take Chisaki down for good." Togata reminded him, but Nezu shook his head.

"Perhaps, but by then, you and Pyre had already done most of the set-up. There is also the fact that you carried Eri away before then. As far as she saw, and her young impressionable mind believes, you two saved her, protected her, and then carried her to safety."

Togata had nothing to counter that, as it made sense. So much so that he was surprised he hadn't thought about it till now, but to Eri, Pyre was not a villain, at least, not the type you weren't meant to root for. She had no clue about his list of crimes long before they ever met, and he didn't want to be the one who told her, not now when she was far too young and hurt to understand it. Besides, as much of a villain as Pyre was, Togata and he did work well together, and his outrage at Chisaki's bullshit was genuine; that much, Togata was certain about.

"Don't suppose we could contact the Thunder and set up a video call or something?" he asked, to which Nezu cracked a smile.

“I considered it,” Togata didn’t know if Nezu was joking, but assumed not. “But the logistics and likelihood we could even get through to them are too complicated and risky.” They would leave out the media storm that would happen if they had invited him, as no matter the time, ‘Villain meets children in hospital to make them feel better’ was just not something you wanted out there.

“When do I leave?” He focused on what they could do and what he could do.

"Tomorrow morning, don't worry. I'll clear things with your first two periods so you can have plenty of time to chat with young Eri." Nezu informed him, to which Togata nodded and thanked the principal before leaving. He had to speak with his friends and classmates about this.

Line Break

“Are you sure this is okay?” Back in the present, the adults stood outside the room, watching Togata speak with Eri. The nurse looked towards the doctor with concern. "You said it would be better for her to be kept quarantined and away from anyone involved in the incident."

The doctor's face didn't shift; he didn't express any real emotion. “It’s not as if my worries about her powers have faded, and she’s yet to receive any training about then but,” But then he sighed, his shoulders slumped as he looked at Eri with pity, having been the one who handled her treatment, they had seen the state of her small body and felt nothing but fury at the monster who would have done such horrible things.

"She's still just a child. If we treat her like a dangerous, unstable object, it will only negatively impact her. I might be a medical doctor, but I know enough about psychology to comprehend that much." He finished, to which Eraser, who had accompanied Togata, nodded.

"It's a rational worry and act, but with me here, Eri's quirk is a non-factor, as it will be during her training." He reminded them that he would be taking time off his patrol route to help Eri with her quirk and some other teachers at U.A.

“If I may, could I inquire about this training?” Hassaikai asked, the old man leaning on his cane a little, but his eyes as strong as steel. “You can understand that while I understand I can’t provide her what she needs, I’m not so eager to hand her off to another, even if you’re heroes.”

Eraser would be honest. He didn't trust this man or his story that he had no idea what had happened with Eri. "Let's discuss then; you are her legal guardian." But the courts didn't see it like that and ruled in the Yakuza boss's favour, so he would need to comply. Besides, it wasn't as if he was giving up secret information. So he led the man away from the door so they could speak with some privacy.

Line Break

Despite Togata's best efforts inside the room, Eri still looked down. Nibbling on some sliced apples, she expressed why. "This whole time, even when I was alone, all I could think about was how much you did for me…saved me, but I don't get it."

“Get what, Eri?” Togata asked, leading Eri to look up at him, her large red eyes growing wet.

“Why’d you do it? Overhaul is really scary, and I…I hurt people, and I was being selfish. Chisaki had to always clean up because I made a mess, and others got hurt, so many, and I…I'm so sorry.” Togata's heart pained at how she apologised for that, this little girl taking on so much…no, she didn't choose anything. This was forced on her by Chisaki.

“Eri,” he softly spoke her name, waiting for her to look him in the eye, seeing nothing but gentle care in him. He would bury his anger at Chisaki. Eri was a perceptive little apple, and he didn't want her to get the wrong idea. You're not selfish, and whatever lies Chisaki told you don't mean a thing. He was a bad one, one of the worst, really."

He touched her head warmly, rubbing at her now-cleaned and brushed locks. "We saved you because you needed a hero. If anything, I'm the one who's sorry. I had the chance to fight for you once, and I didn't take it."

He hated how he didn't hate that he made that choice. His mind and training told him it was the right move, that trying to nab Eri then, when they knew so little, when innocents could get dragged into the fight, wasn't the smart play. But his heart, the part of him who strived to save a million people at least, raged at the idea, yelled he should have done the heroic thing, and saved her from that hell sooner.

So he used that feeling to only harden his resolve and to push himself even harder than before in his final months of training. To grow strong enough that the next time he had such a problem, he could choose the heroic decision. "So I'll do all I can to make it up to you, so you can smile, laugh, and have all the fun you want." He vowed, Eri leaning her head to the side, her gaze going from Togata's sincere promise to the empty seat to his side.

"But where is the green one? Was he not able to come?" Togata nearly flinched at the question, but luckily for him, he had time to work on an answer that wouldn't require him to explain that her second saviour was a pyromaniac with a rap sheet longer than he was tall.

"Well, Eri. Pyre is super busy, but I know he would have wanted to come see you; the gift was from both of us. He thought you liked peaches, though." He wasn't technically lying because Pyre was busy, as a hired gun like himself always seemed to be on a job or another, or plotting some big move.

He was lying about the peaches, but after all that had happened, he thought he had some leeway to just imply Pyre was wrong about Eri’s preferred fruits.

She seemed unhappy with his response, her bands bunching at the blankets. “He got hurt real bad because of me…” She could still see it in her nightmares, Pyre losing his limbs, only then they didn't grow back, and he kept getting hurt, and then he would look at her.

Togata's hand never left her hand, and served as an anchor, keeping her from spiralling. "Hey now, don't get sad, Eri. Sure, Chisaki got a few hits, but you say Pyre was as good as new. You know why?"  He asked, Eri shaking her head in a way that seemed so adorable if it wasn't so sad. “Because he has an amazing quirk like yours, one which can fix things."

Her face twisted as she tried and failed to understand such a concept. “Fix?”

Togata nodded. "Yup, you have a super duper cool quirk, which matches how much of a sweet apple you are. Sure, you don't know how to control it, but that happens to everyone. When I first got my quirk, I was always getting into accidents, or losing my clothes cause they'll slip right off." He laughed, showing how his quirk worked again when he picked up an apple, only for it to slip through his fingers, and then he moved his hand through the plate and table, pulling out like nothing happened.

"Pyre and I then worked super hard, with some amazing people, and we managed to control our quirks, and because of you, we could help make sure you were taken far away from Chisaki and that horrible place, and you'll get a chance to train your quirk too!" Togata couldn't really speak about Pyre, but what he knew about the kid, he didn't train his power, at least openly, till he went off the deep end, so he had less than a year before his debut.

Yes, he was a villain, but that was impressive. And yes, he was praising a villain, but he was praising his efforts at his power, not his actions. An act he would happily do for Eri. And it seemed to be having an effect, as she must have recalled their fight pretty well, and how great the two had been at keeping Chisaki on the back foot.

“Really?” She asked, looking at her hands, wondering for a moment if she could be like that. If her quirk wouldn't just break things.

Togata’s optimism was electric. The third year, he was as sure of this as he was of the idea that the sun was hot. "Yup, you'll be spending time at U.A.,, which means we can get to see each other more often, and in time, they'll see what I see now, an adorable, wonderful little girl who no doubt has the best smile ever."

Eri looked at his face and saw him smile, but not like how Chisaki seemed to smile or what she thought he smiled like under the mask. So she pulled at her face and tried to make her muscles do what Togata was doing, but she ended up with little more than a silly face.

Sighing, she had to surrender. “This is so silly, I think I’ve forgotten how smiling works.” Togata frowned, and for a moment, he thought that Chisaki losing his arm to Pyre wasn’t so bad, but he kicked that dark thought to the curb.

"Then we'll work to remind you of it, actually," he stated, but he got an idea as to how they could do that, and as he thought about it, it gained traction. “Eraserhead.” He turned to the door, having spoken loud enough that Eraser could hear, and walked in.

"How's the paperwork for Eri to be cleared from the hospital?" Togata asked him, which was a little confusing, but Eraser went along with it.

"It should be going along smoothly. In a few days, and she's out. Why?" he asked, as he had no clue what the two had been discussing while he was in the hallway.

Togata seemed to take his response like it was the best news he'd heard all day. "Well, since she'll be living at U.A. while she trains, why don't we let her have a taste of it with one of its best things: the culture festival?"

“You want-well, that’s not a bad idea, probably one of the best ones right now.” Eraser stopped and thought about it himself, and like Togata, he could see some merits to that. Also, it would be a good chance for his students, those involved in the raid at least, to see how Eri was doing.

“What’s a culture festival?” Eri asked, to which Togata turned back so fast that her hair was blown a little.

Togata explained it with the excitement of a kid who was told they were going to the candy store: "It's this amazing event at our school. All the different classes plan really exciting things for the rest of the classes to have fun with. There'll be games, shows, and lots of yummy foods, including candy apples, which are like apples but sweeter!"

For the first time he’s seen her, Eri’s eyes took on the child-like wonder they should have always had as she tried and tried again to figure out how something as yummy as apples could taste even better. “Sweeter how?”

Her grandfather smiled, happy to see such a positive reaction from the little girl, but he had his doubts. “I assume that she’ll be safe?” he asked Eraser, keeping his voice low so as not to spoil the mood.

"Yes, with how things have been, we were limiting this year's event to students, staff, and a select few guests. It would be an ideal place for Eri to relax without worry of crowds or other accidents.” Eraser replied in similar low tones before speaking louder, already reaching for his pocket, where his phone was. “I’ll speak with the principal.”

"Will Pyre be there, or will he be busy again?" That…wasn’t something Eraser or the rest could answer. But Eri seemed so eager, she wanted this chance to no doubt thank the villain, how could they-

Togata didn't give them time to think or time for Eri to act. He just did what he wished he had done earlier and chose the heroic option. “I’ll make sure he shows up, Eri. He can’t keep sending you peaches after all.”

‘Just like All Might, he acts without thinking,’ Eraser silenced his groan with his hand. 'Nezu isn't going to like this…oh, who am I kidding? He's going to enjoy this challenge.'

Well, he'll leave the storm that this would bring to his boss to handle. He'll just report what is happening, make the request, and add how Togata had gone and unknowingly threatened the entire festival with a single promise that would make a certain top hero proud.

"Well, Eri? What 'ya say? You want to have some fun?" Togata asked, giving Eri time to think and decide for herself.

“You know, a minute ago, I was sad and I didn’t know what to do,” Eri noted, but she seemed to gain just a sliver of confidence. “Because I knew then anything, I just wanted to be friends with the people who rescued me.”

Togata promised he'd see her gain a mountain's worth of confidence when this was over. “That’s what we want to, and I know you’ll make tons of friends there.”

Line break

“Well, Mellissa, here we are.” Mellissa's eyes remained on the school, where she and Uncle Might were standing at the entrance. U.A. High."

“It’s…the pictures don’t do it justice.” She uttered in awe, as she had been used to fancy and big, but even though I-island was so much larger, there was just…something about standing so close to the school that taught Uncle Might so much about being a hero and helped shape him into the man he was today.

All Might, now retired and in his weakened form, couldn’t help but snicker. “Well, they rarely do with places like this, so why don’t we head inside and not just stare like a bunch of tourists?”

“R-right!” Melissa nodded as they walked through the gates. Her visitor passed, preventing the system from activating. This allowed them to just walk through the campus, seeing students rushing back and forth, some helping to prep, others already setting up stalls, and other surprises.

"Everyone seems so busy. Anything important coming up?" Mellissa asked.

“I didn’t tell you?” She rolled her eyes at her uncle's faux forgetfulness. She could see the smile across his tired, skinny-looking face—one so similar to the one she'd seen her entire time that she could hardly tell the difference. "It's the culture festival. It's not as media-crazy as the sports festival, but it's an important thing for the non-hero students and helps everyone just have a fun time."

"But haven't things been…?" she asked, as while she hadn't gotten out much since arriving in Japan, she had been plugged into the news, and things weren't good at all. Besides, U.A. itself had been made a target twice. This seemed a bit risky, as if they were daring the League to take another swing at them.

All Might, Yagi could see where the concerns came from. He might have been somewhat blasé about his own health and well-being, but he liked to think he was the opposite when it came to his students.

“Yeah, this year hasn’t been normal, and there were some concerns raised by the staff, myself included. But it was decided that it was a necessary risk. Things have been tense for them all, all this villain activity, being moved into the dorms. Even the coming festival, while still going, won’t be open to the public.” He explained.

Mellissa looked at him, a little lost. “Then wouldn’t that mean I won’t be able to attend?”

"There can be exceptions made, and I just so happened to request you receive such, and the principal already approved it." Yagi gave a cheeky smile. Nezu had been more than happy to help with this. He often spoke with the man about how things had been with Mellissa since she arrived in Japan, all but exiled from I-island, and how she might have put up a strong front, but she was far from okay.

Nezu played coy about where he believed she picked that particular habit up from, and Yagi hadn't pushed him, if only to avoid another lecture. Honestly, sometimes he wondered if Nezu was his father with how much he enjoyed lecturing him.

“Do you know what class A’s working on?” Mellissa asked, Yagi having a bit of a smile as that was part of why he brought her.

"I do, but why don't we let them tell you? It's been a while since you last spoke with them, right?" He laughed as she pouted at his evasion, but she didn’t fight it as he led her towards class A’s dorms.

"Not since I-island, really, things have been really hectic," Melissa replied, as she hadn't really known what she could say to Uraraka. She spoke to Uncle Might and asked him to give her somewhere to live. She had been too wrecked at the time to do so herself. Still, things had been so busy and eventful, from the move, the paperwork, Bakugo getting kidnapped, Uncle Might's massive battle, and following retirement…she just didn't know how she could start a conversation with all that happening.

Yagi hummed but smiled as he saw they had reached their destination and that his successor was out front with some others practising. "Well, it's time to correct that!" he called out, pointing at them.

“Guys!”

Uraraka paused mid-motion, nearly tripping as she turned around, as she had sworn she had heard-“Wai, is that-Mellissa?" She asked, seeing Melissa and All Might approaching.

"Isn't she from I-island? What is she doing here?" Mineta asked. He wasn't against the idea of the hottie being here; it meant she would see him dance, and maybe he could impress her. But when he stood next to All Might, he perhaps thought he would have better chances of life with other girls.

"Are you visiting Japan and wish to see the culture festival? I'm afraid you're a little early, " Iida told her, to which Asui tapped her chin in thought.

"Look at her. She has to be All Might's daughter, though I didn't know he had one, " the frog heteromorph bluntly stated, which caused Melissa to look away with a little blush, one made worse by how Uraraka looked close to bursting out in laughter.

Yagi coughed into his fist, as this was not the first time someone had assumed such, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t be the last. "I can assure you, young Asui, that Mellissa is not my daughter; she's my niece." He introduced her, leading to Mellissa speaking to each, including those she knew and those she didn't.

"As for why I'm here…well, I'm kind of living with Uncle Might at the moment, and he wanted to surprise me," she eyed her uncle, who looked unashamed of his ruse. "With this behind-the-scenes look at things," she said.

"You seem to be in good health, that's good." Iida nodded.

"I'm getting there. Some days, I forget I'm not back on I-island, or with…my dad…" Mellissa paused, as she didn't like to talk about or think about it, even if she kept up on her father's case stateside.

Yagi coughed again, to draw them as far from that topic as possible. "Young Uraraka, I wanted to ask if you could join her on the tour. I would do so myself, but I've had other duties and Vlad is already cross with me skipping out on some." Uraraka was quick to read the hidden intent.

“No problem, you can count on me!” She confirmed, offering Mellissa a smile.

“Hey there, I didn’t know we had more guests.” Another voice spoke up, leading the group to turn to see Togata approaching, at his side a familiar figure to a couple of them.

“Eri!” Uraraka cheered, rushing over with the rest to get a closer look.

Eri hid behind Togata's leg. She didn't know any of them and didn't want trouble. “Who are you?”

Uraraka hid her hurt feelings, as of course, Eri wouldn't recognise her. She had only seen her a couple of times, and the first was probably not a memory she liked to think about. "Oh, I'm Uraraka. Tsu and I were part of the rescue team, though we probably didn't see much of us."

"You fought Overhaul," Eri stated, as she did recall seeing her before. The first time she got out was when she got out that one time, and the second was when Lemillion and the Green One were fighting Overhaul. She showed up with the guy in black and the tall one with the suit.

“Yup, and I’ll do it again.” Uraraka flexed her arm, patting at her bicep.

"You're looking well. Are you here for a tour as well?" Asui asked, as this was turning into a day of surprises.

"Yup, I thought it would be fun if she got to attend the festival, but we couldn't just throw her in the deep end, so she's getting a bit of a dip of things around campus so she can get used to how crazy we can be," Togata explained, as Nezu had been right to point out Eri would most likely have a bad time otherwise, and if she got scared and activated her quirk…

Well, when the day came, Eraser would be stationed close to her for the entire day, but it was best to have this trial run, right?

"Well, I can assure you that class A will be nothing but a calm and soothing environment for her, " Iida said, knowing he would need to speak with the rest to make them understand the situation.

"Will it, though? We do have some colourful and expressive personalities," Ojiro asked, though he had to work to find words that didn't sound too mean when Eri was present. One of those people he was referring to was going to say something, but Uraraka's hand clamped on his shoulder like a vice.

“Mineta, you won’t say a thing.” She whispered, just loud enough for Mineta to hear. She maintained a happy face while Eri was distracted by the others.

"I didn't say anything to her," Mineta whispered, not knowing why, but he guessed it was best for his health that he did.

Uraraka's grip didn't lessen; if anything, it tightened almost to the point of pain. “I’m not taking chances, unless you want to see how high you can float before you pass out from the air being too thin.” She warned him, as the last thing they needed was one careless comment leading to Eri feeling uncomfortable or asking questions about things she shouldn't even think about for the next decade at least.

"Dance team! New idea!" Kirishima called out from the doorway. A moment later, he spotted that the dance team wasn't alone. “Wait, isn’t that Mellissa and Eri? What are you girls doing here?”

"Okay, crew, why don't we grab a little break? It's tea time!" Ashido clapped her hands, as if she could tell their guests wanted some time to themselves. Besides, she could grill Tsu and Iida for details about Mellissa and Eri inside.

Line Break

Having left the dorms, they entered U.A.'s main building. Mellissa stood to Uraraka's side, letting Eri remain in the middle, holding Togata's coat. “How does U.A. hold up to I-Academy?” Togata asked Mellissa, as he had been surprised to meet up, and saw her as a chance for Eri to make a friend.

“It’s pretty similar, but the students here seem a lot livelier and more different," Mellissa replied, as the halls were just as busy as things had been outside, if not more so, as it looked like classrooms were being used as studios for planning and building other stuff.

“Different how?” Uraraka asked. As they hadn't had time to explore the Academy back during her visit, they had just gone straight to Mellissa's lab.

Mellissa took a moment to think about how she wanted to respond. “Well, I-Academy really focuses on science and support courses, so we only attract students. U.A. is broader, so more types of people can attend.” It wasn't as if the school didn't have other courses. Still, when you came from a scientist family surrounded by geniuses, it tended to impact what you wanted to do.

It didn't mean you would have good grades, as she would know, having followed her…. The point was, she wasn't anything like a stat student, as people expected until recently.

"Oh, and the island only houses the scientists and their families, so many people would know each other," Uraraka added, recalling that part of Mellissa’s tour.

"Up through elementary, here you guys get to meet new people each time you move up to the next level of schooling," Mellissa confirmed, the group needing to stop as someone rushed by, carrying something while being chased by 2 others, one of whom just flying through the halls without anyone doing anything more than glancing in the direction, and getting back to their duties. “It is busier than I expected.”

“Well, since the students all live on campus, even with it being a weekend, everyone can help around campus for the festival.” Togata chuckled, even if he was hyper vigilant for anything that could hurt Eri, who seemed content to remain silent as they talked.

"Oh, hey, it's Togata? Finally arrived to help?" 2 people he recognised emerged from a classroom. Still, where the first seemed happy to see him, the second looked down and spotted Eri, and then, to the side, he saw Mellissa.

"Wow, wait. Who's the babe and the kid? Wait, don't tell me you two are a thing and she's yours. Was that why you missed classes the other day?" he asked, leading to Uraraka letting out a fusion of a gag and laugh, Mellissa's face going red, and Eri looking confused.

“A kid?!” Mellissa asked, looking at Mirio before hurriedly looking away. Yes, he was tall, handsome, kind, and great with kids, but no, bad Mellisa, don't think like that!

“Well….” Mirio didn't help things as he didn't immediately deny it, which only freaked out the horned third-year business student even more.

“Togata-sempai!” Uraraka looked scandalized, but she barely kept the giggles in as Mellissa smacked on Uraraka's arm, trying to get her to clear things before people started thinking she was dating one of U.A.'s golden boys.

"Dude, you gotta say more than that, as now I'm getting mad implications." Mirio finally decided to speak, as funny as it would be, it would come back to bite him.

"She's not my kid, she's my friend. She got permission to spend time around campus, and I'm showing her around." Though he still moved, he explained that Eri could stand behind his leg if she needed to.

“And the tall blonde?” The first asked.

“She’s my friend-” Mellissa beat him to it.

"My name is Mellissa, All Might-Yagi is my uncle, and I've been staying with him for a while. He thought I should stop studying so hard and leave the house, so he brought me over."

“Wait, for real? You’re his niece? Didn’t even know he had siblings.” The horned one asked, as that sounded like something that would make the news, only for the first student to nudge their side.

“Dude, people know next to nothing about All Might’s private life, because you know-he keeps it private.” He reminded him, and the horned one nodded as his friend handed the group 3 of their fliers. “Well, anyway, class 3J is putting on an awesome lecture, so much to check out."

Togata smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Line Break

After a week's delay, we're back with another chapter! It was one that I was eager to get to, as there was something of a plot point that I raised earlier, but it seemed to drop. Honestly, it did slip my mind: It was my "DBZ, I forgot Launch was a character."

However, now is a great time to reintroduce that plot point and experiment with how it will impact things moving forward. This does mean taking time away from the villain's Thunder tryouts, which we will get back to. I have a few ideas there, and I want to have fun with the OCs I made for it.