"Sensei? " Teenager approached a man reading a book.

"Hm? " He glanced at her.

"May I go to Kirishima today? " She asked quite uncertainly. "He invited me, he wanted to talk. " Explained. "But of course I'll understand if I'm not allowed. " Added quickly.

"It's okay. " He replied after a long while. "You can go. " Nodded. "Just come back before it gets dark, otherwise you and I will have a problem. "

"Okay. " She said. "Thank you very much. " Bowed satisfied and then went to prepare.

It was maybe an hour later when teenager was at her friend's house.

Eijiro's room wasn't too big, but it was very cozy. There were several posters hanging on the walls, some of which featured a hero called Crimson Riot, a retro hero from whom teenager draws inspiration. Kirishima also had several figurines depicting his idol on the shelves.

"Welcome. " Boy said with a smile and then put the drink and glasses on the table.

"You have a very nice room. " Takao said, looking at the hero figures.

"Really? " Glanced at her. "You like it?" Blushed gently.

"Mm! Sure! " She smiled at teenager. "It has a very nice atmosphere and is cozy. " Looked around. "I like it. " Smiled again at her blushed comrade.

"Hehe, thank you, Ray-chan. " He said smiling.

"I'm the one who thanks you for inviting me. " She said. "Thanks to you, I can at least occupy my thoughts with something. " Woman was a bit sad and then smiled at red-haired man again.

"How are you? " Eijiro asked worried and then sat down next to Rachel. "You look pretty pale..." He looked at her. "Maybe you're hungry?" Asked right away. "I can prepare something for you. "

"Thank you, Kiri, you don't have to. " She replied smiling. "It's nice that you care so much about m..." Blushed gently. "And you and Katsuki... Aizawa-sensei is also very nice. I owe you a lot, and yet... " Lowered her head sadly. " I still feel a strange thing about myself... "Kirishima listened carefully to what she was saying. "I also don't know what to think of Hiroto's death... He's a vile bastard, I find it hard to believe that he died so easily... " She said. "He did a lot of harm to people, and now he's just gone... I feel strange with the thought that he's no longer here... You know, sometimes I even have the impression that I feel some strange sadness, which surprises me, because after what he did, I should rather be happy with the fact that he's no longer here... However... "

"You know, Ray-chan..." Eijiro interjected. "It's not a bad thing that you can feel a sudden surge of sadness after he's gone. " He said what caught Takao's attention. "He was what he was, but that's your father after all. " Glanced at his companion. "He wasn't good parent, I know that. Maybe you rather feel a feeling of something like... "What if...?" Said. "What if he was a different father? What if he were a good man? What if he were here now? " He mentioned. "Ray-chan, longing for something we wanted to be, that's not a bad thing. " Smiled at his friend.

"You may be right..." Takao said after a long while. "I really don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it. "Lowered her head sadly. "All I have is all this sadness and anger and... "

"And me. " He interjected, which caught Rachel's attention. "You still have me. We're friends, aren't we? Friends stick together and support each other. " He said proudly. "Ray-chan, you're like a sister to me. " Said honestly. "Whatever happens, you can count on me. " He grinned his teeth. "You have my full support. " Assured her.

"You're amazing, you know? "Girl smiled and hugged her friend. "Thank you. I think I still have another brother..." She said, touched, and tears appeared in Kirishima's eyes, which kept him from sailing.

"You won't make me cry." He laughed and wiped away his tears. "I'm not crying at all, you're crying. " Said and constantly wiped his face with tears.

"Yeah, yeah... " Takao replied amused and also wiped her face. "Is it paint?" She glanced behind her companion.

"Oh, yes. " Took the said object. "I've been painting my hair lately, I think I bought a little too much of it, and now I'm left with it. " Explained.

"You paint your hair? " She was curious. "What normal hair color do you have?"

"Black. " Replied. "I repainted them shortly after I entered the U.A. "

Takao smiled.

"So you don't have anything to do about it now? " Asked curiously what he nodded to. "Kiri, why don't you paint my hair?"Asked, smiling. "I came out with even more white strand of hair, even though I was already painting half of them to black... " She took a lock of her hair in her hand.

"Sure, if you want to. " He smiled and then began to prepare the paint. "Why did you leave those few white highlights?" Asked, glancing at his friend.

"Because Dara... " She began with a smile but after a while she broke off and became sad, which caught Eijiro's attention. "Well..." She lowered her head and took a white strand in her hand. "After Hiroto's experiments, we were left with white highlights..." She said. "All four of us... Shin-chan, Connie, Yui and... Dara... " She smiled sadly at the memory of her friends. "Dara said that these strands are something like a red thread of destiny. Each of us had several highlights and each of us had a certain bond... We didn't hide it, because it was something in common... Something that united us... " Tears appeared in her eyes again at the mere memory of the loss of loved ones.

"Beautifully said. " Kirishima said smiling. "So why don't we leave a few white highlights? Your bond would never have disappeared anyway, but without hiding, Dara still has those few highlights. " He said looking at his friend. "What do you say?"

"Yes..." She nodded.

Rachel still couldn't come to terms with the fact that Dara had stayed with the villains. Teenager was very worried about him, she didn't even know if boy was still alive. She would love to meet him again, she missed him.

" I also invited Bakugou. " Eijiro said, which caught the attention of his friend. "He yelled at me, but I'm sure he'll come anyway. " He laughed.

"He won't refuse you." Girl smiled. "He's a crazy guy, but he's not as bad as some people say... You just have to get to know him better. "Said slightly blushed.

"True, true. " Kirishima nodded.

"Katsuki intrigues me, I can't always figure him out... He can be quite puzzling, and that makes me like him even more. " Admitted thoughtfully. "To be honest... At first I was afraid that after all this... Katsuki won't want to know me anymore.... " She said sadly. "But he forgave me... And he gave me the support I needed...He has an explosive character and sometimes screams for no reason, but you can see that he cares... Although he won't t admit it. It's cute in its own way. " Said thoughtfully.

"You're also cute, as you blush so much. " Kirishima laughed, to which teenager immediately recovered and looked at her friend.

"I'm just saying... " She laughed nervously. "You know what I mean. " Girl looked away trying to hide her blush.

"Mm..." Boy nodded. "Yes, I know. "He smiled. "You like him. " Pointed out to her, and teenager didn't dare to look at him again. "He likes you too. "Laughed.

"He likes you too. " She said. "Let's change the subject, please..." She hid her face in her hands.

"Okay, okay... " Boy laughed. "But Ray-chan, I don't know if you realize it yourself, but..." Glanced at teenager hiding her face. "You really like him very much. " Said with a smile. "You know what I'm talking about. Do you realize that, Ray-chan?"

Takao didn't dare to say anything at that moment. Is she aware of this herself or not? Or is she just afraid to admit it?

"I don't know the answer to that question." She replied quieter after a long while.

"Let it be. "Boy replied amused.

"Hey, Kiri...? " She asked uncertainly, she also wanted to change the subject.

"Hm? " He glanced at her again.

"Can I call you by your name...? " She asked timidly. "I started talking to Bakugou as well, and you both call me by name too...I don't want it to look like I'm excluding you or anything... Although I really like to call you "Kiri" too... " Rxplained shyly. "Won't it bother you?"

"No, it won't bother me. "He replied overjoyed. "You can speak as you please. Grinned his teeth. "I'm glad, Ray-chan!"

"Good. " She nodded smilingly. "Me too, Eijiro. "

After a while, Kirishima sat down next to his friend, combed her hair and began to paint a few highlights, when suddenly a thud rang out and an angry blond man entered the room.

"Ah, Bakugou! " Eijiro called. "Hi, man, what's up?" He smiled at his surprised friend and continued to paint Rachel's hair.

"Hey, Katsuki! " Girl waved at him.

"What the fuck are you two doing? " He continued surprised.

"We paint hair. " They replied, as if nothing had happened.

"I see it, but what so suddenly?! And what are you so happy about?! " He shouted at his friends.

"We just glad to see you! Don't scream anymore, just come and help. "

"Forget about it! " He shouted, but after a few moments Kirishima dragged him to help. "Ehh..." Snorted and began to comb another strand of Rachel's hair. "Now all highlights will be red? "

"No, we leave a few whites. " Eijiro replied and exchanged meaningful glances with Takao.

"Why red? " Bakugou asked.

"Because Eijiro has that kind of hair. " Rachel replied, smiling. "We'll have something in common, something that unites us even more. " She smiled at her friend. "Ah, do you have any blonde paint? If these few highlights will be in honor of Kiri, then on the other side, this part, will be in honor of Katsuki. " She announced.

"Ohoho, good idea! " Kirishima called. "I'm going to get the paint!"

"Where do you suddenly get these stupid ideas from?! " Katsuki wondered. "Idiots..." He shook his head.

"We know! " They said at the same time, to which Bakugou snorted.

"You'll look like a clown. " Blond man said.

"Spooky fairy and clown in one, why not. " She smiled at boy who was combing her, and when she remembered her conversation with Kirishima, she turned her head again to hide the blushes appearing on her cheeks.

Rachel ended up with red highlights painted on the right side of her face, while the left ones were painted blonde. As Kirishima said, they also left a few white belts that were important to Takao and her loved ones.