☤

May cleared the automatic doors with one goal in mind: she had to hunt down gifts for Sara's kids. She was meeting them for dinner later at a patio restaurant, a new trend that was sweeping Japan, and if she had nothing to show for it, there'd be hell to pay.

She scooted past the other shop-goers, making a mad dash for the toy aisle. They were lined with rows upon rows of brightly colored action figures. The smoldering red flames of Endeavor lit up the advertisements, contrasted with the cool blue and sunshine yellow imprints of All Might scattered throughout the shelves.

Squatting down, May flipped through toy cars and shiny construction vehicles. Some of them had a thin layer of dust coating white racing stripes and exposed engines.

Are kids even into this kind of stuff anymore? I don't know. Maybe something with heroes would be better? Have they hit their hero phase?

>> <<

SARA

Me

Have the boys decided which hero they'll immortalize? |... |...

(1) Attachment. (Sent)

>> <<

With her phone in her back pocket, she explored the aisle more. There were tons of heroes stuck in miniature plastic form, with poses and actions. May's eyes landed on a guide that had ranked heroes listed on the smooth placard. Some of them were people she knew. A small smile tugged at her lips as she read through their 'bios' and their 'special abilities.'

When she was younger, and she'd join her mother at the store, she never went into the action figure aisle. She had always gone straight for the puzzles. Maybe once or twice she'd enter the hero aisle and set off the noisy toys to quell her curiosity.

Come to think of it, her father did have a dusty male pro-hero figurine shoved in the broom closet by her bedroom. Some sort of lasso hero? Lariat?

May couldn't remember, but it was something along those lines. Her parents weren't super involved with hero culture. They appreciated it, but they went along with their lives and their relatively mundane quirks as most people did.

She continued to look through the large variety of figurines and noticed a dark swirling vortex toward the end of the aisle. May's brows furrowed.

They even had villains.

It made sense. Kids wanted to live through their favorite heroes, fight villains, and save the day. You couldn't have heroes without villains.

May's stomach dropped as she studied the comically dark backgrounds of the villain cases.

Luckily her phone buzzed before she could think more about it.

>> <<

Sara

➞ Oh yeah. They love Endeavor. Explains a lot. But you don't have to buy anything! That's ridiculous.

✓ read

>> <<

Okay, sure. And let them eat me alive? I don't think so.

May plucked two rather ambitious, and expensive, Endeavor action figures.

Is this too much for four-year-olds? No! Even the box says—four and up. Wow! Perfect.

Even in his toy form, the man was just as scary with his harsh expression and flaming mustache, which lit up, frozen in transparent orange plastic.

Leaving the aisle, May made her way toward the front of the store. She was almost going to make it too until she heard the sound of high heels clicking on the white tile.

"Doctor! Is that you?" Midnight's voice screeched across the store.

Just keep walking. Pretend like you didn't hear anything.

"Hey! Dr. Kataoka! I'm talking to you!" Midnight's voice shuffled closer, trailing close behind her.

May exhaled through her nose and turned around to face her coworker, acting as if she hadn't heard the first time. "Oh! Midnight, funny seeing you here!"

Midnight stood in casual clothes, low-rise jeans, and a rather revealing strappy top. Her bright lips glinted and matched her gold-accented sunglasses, which sat atop her head. A giant purse rested in the crook of Midnight's elbow as she closed the gap between the two.

"This is the general store, don't know what's so funny about it," Midnight said through a smile.

"I just, you know, don't expect to see my coworkers out and about shopping," May explained, using her hands to elaborate her point. Her voice was breathless, rambling as embarrassment colored her cheeks pink. "And, looking so... um... casual and not like heroes! Did you... um... know there was such an expansive hero aisle? You're a kid's toy somehow, I mean I don't know how that happened, and I didn't I—"

Midnight's eyes widened as she listened to May's hopeless speech. She nodded once while speaking and then pointed toward May's occupied hands. "Uh-huh. Anyways, what's that?"

"What's what?" May asked, catching her breath and then looked down at her hands. Two Endeavor action toys stared back at her. "Oh! This, um, hah! Funny story, I—"

"Don't tell me you have kids, really?" Midnight's shoulders fell, and then she perked up, holding out both hands. "No, worse— you're a secret fangirl."

May's face exploded into even more color than before.

"What! No, no, I'm not—I don't—" Her stammering wasn't convincing Midnight, who was biting back a laugh. May stopped talking and drew in another deep breath.

"My best friend has two sons and—and they've hit their hero phase," she said and then met Midnight's gaze. "I have proof, I promise! Their names are Daichi and Riku. They' re—They're something!"

"No, no, I believe you," Midnight said, a mischievous smile crawling across her face. "What's your friend's name?"

The oddly personal question caught May off guard. "Sara. Sara Kajiyama."

"Hm, that's not anyone I know," Midnight said to herself.

I wouldn't think you'd know her?

"Um, yeah, she lives north of here," May said. "Her husband works for an electrical engineering company. I couldn't tell you which one, though."

Midnight glanced at her nails, a long pause entering their sort-of conversation before she spoke. "Well, this is terribly boring. What're you doing tonight?"

I have no idea what to even say to this woman, let alone what she wants from me.

"Meeting with my friend and her kids," May said and held up the two toys in her hands. "Why?"

"No reason, I was just curious. I think we should do something about those nails though. Honestly, I can't even look at them," Midnight said. "Oh, also, why'd you turn down Nezu's offer?"

May blinked, garnering whiplash from the conversation. The other shoppers appeared to be walking in slow motion as May's heart hammered in her chest. The typical words she always said poured out of her mouth.

"I'm not here to be a hero."

"That's right! How could I forget." Midnight put her hands to her knees, letting out a breathy laugh.

Then, she straightened out, and her tone of voice dropped, leaving out any flirtatious girly-ness. Instead, a small smile and a relaxed expression crossed her features.

"Being a hero isn't for everyone, and I'd argue there's plenty of people I know that haven't fared well in this industry," she said, and they started to walk again, slowly. "If only some people understood that."

"Industry?" May asked out loud, mostly as a thought to herself.

"You're holding two toys made after a real person, Dr. Kataoka. I don't know what screams more industry than that," Midnight said.

Midnight wasn't the same woman on the purple poster hanging in May's old dorm room. It was as if May was speaking to another person, the same one that was outspoken about the press. The woman carried herself with the same poise, the same glamour, but her words were wrapped in seriousness.

May turned her head to watch Midnight's expression. "I remember reading about the whole costume fiasco. I admired you for that."

Midnight threw back her head and laughed, then tilted her chin, shining white teeth glinting through her smile.

"So, you are a fangirl."

"No!" May's tomato face was back. "I—"

A heavy sigh from Midnight interrupted May's train of words.

"Well, Doc, I've got places to be and people to see! I'd love to hang around and chat but, that'll have to wait for another time," Midnight said, walking further ahead. "Bye-bye! Talk to you later."

She didn't wait for May to say anything in return, and she sauntered out of sight. May stood with her mouth hanging slightly open.

Did she buy anything? Why was she there? That conversation... What did she want to gain from that? I mean, at least it's over now.

May rushed through self-checkout, running through what just occurred over and over again in her brain. She was, in fact, so distracted, she scanned one Endeavor doll at least four times. Calling over the sales associate for assistance wasn't exactly confidence-boosting.

Leaving the store, May shoveled the two action figures into her purse and headed back to her apartment. She had a couple of hours to kill before their early dinner. Her little return to normalcy was just what she needed.

—

May had a spring in her step. The fresh air of late afternoon stirred her long ponytail and kissed at her bare arms. A calm feeling washed over her, one that she hadn't felt in several days. The crosswalk sign became green, and May hurried across the street, the swaying lanterns above her chosen destination beckoning her forward.

Since it was early, the crowds were low, and the sun gave ample light. As the restaurant drew nearer, May could see the scarlet red hair of her friend. She was hard to miss. Their blurry faces were becoming clearer, and the pink-head of Sara was accompanied by a hand, waving erratically in the air.

May lifted her own hand, breaking into a bright smile. Then, two small whirlwinds in the shape of little boys burst out from the patio.

"Mimi!" Daichi said, his hair spiked up with gel.

Riku was close behind, but his hair was down and flat. May hid her small grimace.

This is Sara's genius plan to tell them apart?

"Daichi, Riku!" May exclaimed, kneeling down to their level.

Large brown eyes returned her gaze. The two boys were absolutely identical. If it were up to May, she'd at least have them wear different outfits. The same outfit combination on the two boys didn't help either.

"Did you know I'm five now?" Daichi said. "I'm five, and that's it, and sometimes I forget to brush my teeth, and I remember that you used to tell me to brush my teeth or—or my tooth would be sad."

Daichi was definitely not five. May's eyes squinted and she put a finger to her chin.

"I don't think that's true, um—"

Daichi continued babbling, taking deep breaths between his words and spreading his arms out wide. "Mimi, I really like turtles. Do you like turtles? I like the green ones."

"Yeah, I do, I think? So—"

"And... And... The train was fast," Daichi concluded, then opened his mouth to say one more thing. "Why do so many people wear hats?"

May had no answers to that question.

"Do you have presents?" Riku asked, rubbing his face with his whole hand.

Ah, but she had an answer for that one.

"Cutting right to the chase, huh?" May said, laughing as she dug around her purse. "I got these special just for you, and you won't believe—"

"Woah!" They said in unison, grappling at the action figures May had bought. They raced back toward the table with the toys in hand, leaving May behind.

"—who I work with," May finished by herself and sighed.

She hadn't been around kids that young in a long time. It was easy to forget that they weren't avid conversation carriers. May approached the table, moving into an empty chair.

"—Look, Koko!" Daichi said, shoving the still-boxed toy into Eiko's face.

"That's great, sweetie," Eiko said, holding up her hand and forcing the plastic toy further away from her face. She caught May's eye, widening them for a second, and then relaxing.

"May! I'm so happy to see you!" Sara's voice overpowered her son's, crayons littering the table as Riku balanced in her lap. He already lost interest in the caged toy, completely fixated on a coloring page of All Might.

"Me too. It's been chaotic, to say the least," May started, letting her purse down into the empty seat beside her. Daichi wasn't sitting anytime soon.

"Eiko talked a little bit to me about it," Sara said, a blue crayon now in her hands as she made small squiggles on the paper. "How did your presentation go?"

"You talked a big game. You have to tell me it was a complete disaster, or I'm going to be severely disappointed," Eiko said, taking a sip of her water.

"Unfortunately, it was actually good. Rocky, of course. But—those kids care. Which, I didn't expect," May said. "Is that bad?"

"No," Eiko said, squeezing her face together and spitting out the single word she said. "Usually, kids don't care. You're also teaching kids that have a weird sense of drive. They're not your average high schoolers."

"I should've accounted for that, but I didn't," May said, shaking her head.

"Speaking of your school, how's it been? Any crazy injuries?" Sara asked, tucking a short pink strand behind her ear. "I'd hope not since they're so young."

"Um." May wasn't sure how to word her next statement, and decided to switch the subject quickly. "It definitely hasn't been quiet. How's work been for both of you?"

Eiko let out a loud groan, slumping back in her chair. "My intern is a wreck. I can't get anything done without her asking a stupid question for a simple task. I ask her to check the shoe inventory, and five minutes later, she'll ask, which inventory? I might lose my mind, but it's fine! It's fine. Haru is taking off a couple of weeks, and we're going on vacation."

"Vacation? You didn't tell me this, Eiko," Sara said, leaning to the side of her chair.

Daichi slid May a piece of paper and pointed toward the orange crayon. It was her turn to be artistic, she guessed. The child's eyes glittered, and he had a hopeful smile. May nodded once and lifted the crayon, indicating she would draw. Daichi, with a gleeful grin, went back to his messy scribbles.

"Yeah, we're going to some private island off the coast of Okinawa. You know what's the worst part?"

Sara pursed her lips. "I don't know how there's a worse part of that, but alright."

"I'm stressed about leaving work! What if the whole place fuc—"

Daichi and Riku lifted their heads. Eiko paused mid-statement. May put a hand up to her mouth, hiding her laugh with an expertly timed cough. Which she usually missed by a longshot.

"—freaking implodes while I'm gone. None of them can do anything. At all. I'm even stressed about packing. I have so many swimsuits and not enough room in my luggage," Eiko finished, clasping her hands together.

"Your workplace isn't going to implode," May said. "You might lose some sales, but that's nothing in the grand scheme of things."

Both of them stared at her. And they weren't precisely saying thank you. Eiko's top lip lifted in a look of both confusion and simmering rage.

"What? It's true," May said, her cheeks burning.

I should've just bit my tongue. I—

"What May is trying to say is that you need a break. And the benefits outweigh the costs," Sara said, her tone lighter.

"Yeah, that," May said, holding up her orange crayon from her masterpiece. She shifted her eyes from the drawing to her friends, taking quick glances at both.

"I know." Eiko shook her head, declining an invitation from the kids to doodle with a small wave of her hand. "I never feel like I deserve a vacation. There can always be more done, new ideas, new ways to handle operations. It's like it never ends."

May stopped coloring in her smiling sun. Eiko's words hit closer to home than she realized. May pushed up her glasses and let the crayon rest on the table. Even though she wanted to tell her to relax, she knew it wouldn't be right coming from her. Her job never ended.

Late nights filling out reports, creating treatment plans, and even drawing blood. A tapestry of medicine, the red threads of hero work weaving themselves into her delicate work. But when she'd finish one section, the previous one would unravel.

"Leave it be for a little while." Sara extended her hand to Eiko, smiling. "You've worked so hard, let yourself enjoy your wealth at least a tiny bit. This is the first time I've seen you not answer an email in a long time."

"That's just the thing— I am. In my head. You see, I got this chip thing so I can fully live out my robot fantasy," Eiko said, her words laced with sarcasm.

"Oh, stop it," Sara said, rolling her eyes. The rest of her expression was hidden by Riku holding up his drawing so everyone could look at it. A violet tornado, mixed with aggressive splotches of green and yellow. The squiggles from Sara were designated to one corner of the paper.

"When are you planning on going back to work, Sara?" May asked, sliding the picture back to Daichi. She turned her attention toward him for a moment and whispered to him. "Won't you finish it for me?"

Daichi's eyes widened, and he broke into a giddy smile, his shoulders giving a little shimmy. His red crayon marks created a similar red cyclone over her happy orange scenery.

"I don't know," Sara said, adjusting the four-year-old on her lap. "With Rei being so little, and with the boys, I don't think I'll go back to work. Kaito secured a promotion with his job. That's not the wrong choice, is it?"

"Wrong? Why would it be wrong?" Eiko asked, giving into Daichi's continuous coloring demands and lazily running a purple crayon over a blank sheet of paper.

"I feel like I should be working. I got this big degree, and I have a great job waiting for me back at the old lab. But... I want to be there for the kids. My mom wasn't around all the time, and I wished she was. I just hope I'm not... giving up on such a wonderful opportunity," Sara said.

"There's no shame in that, Sara," May said, trying to recover from her last attempt to comfort Eiko. "Things change, and just because you don't want to be in a lab all day, doesn't mean you're giving up anything. You've found a new job. One that means more to you."

She watched her friend's expressions with intent, waiting for the inevitable bite. May didn't feel that way, she would never give up her job, but she knew it was what Sara wanted to hear. And it worked. Sara relaxed into a warm smile.

"Thanks, May. That's what Kaito said. Especially with his promotion, he said I didn't need to work, and he wants to look for a house! Isn't that great?" Sara adjusted Riku, peeking out behind his smooth brown hair.

"A house? You mean, a house. Like a real one," Eiko said, slamming her hand down on the table.

"Yeah!" Sara nodded, her voice lifting.

"That's great! Why didn't you start with that?" May asked, letting her palms face toward the sky.

"I don't know. I wanted to hear what you two said first," Sara said, her cheeks tinged pink with excitement. They almost matched her hair. "As for May, anything interesting with your coworkers?"

May shrugged, lifting a finger to her chin. "I don't think they're huge fans. I did run into one at the store this morning. She's very cryptic. I don't know what she thinks of me or what she wants."

"Not everyone wants something from you, May," Sara said. "And what makes you say that? I thought Ken was your friend. Didn't you tell me he said that?"

"He did. I guess you're right," May said, straightening out a little. "Remember that guy I accidentally texted that one night when we went to the club?"

"Go on," Eiko said, raising her eyebrows.

"He slammed the door in my face after I presented to his class," May said, gritting her teeth and rubbing her neck. "I didn't even really do anything except take up his class time."

"He what?" Eiko squinted her eyes.

"That's not very nice," Sara concurred. "Boys, would you ever slam a door in Mimi's face? Think carefully before you answer."

Both shook their heads, still coloring.

"See, even they know not to do that," Sara said. "Did you say something that might've set him off?"

"I don't think so. He's a complete enigma to me, Aizawa, I mean. The few times we've spoken have just been... awkward."

Eiko gave a sputtering laugh. "That's like every conversation with you, and I say that in the nicest way possible."

"Listen, I know, but it's even worse. One time we were walking to a staff meeting, and he told me to stop talking!" May said, her volume rising.

There was a pause, and Eiko pulled her lips tightly together before speaking.

"Were you doing the thing?"

"What thing?"

"Where you do the technical-ramble-thing, and no one knows what you're talking about?"

"Not this time," May said, pointing toward Eiko. "We were debating something. I guess he didn't like my opinion."

"That's just how some people are," Eiko said, and the lines on her face deepened. "Have you thought about bringing this up to him? His attitude, I mean."

"Why would I do that? I don't have a death wish," May said, sighing. "I did tell him to go easy on his quirk. Who knows?"

May felt her mind drift away from the conversation. She was tired of talking about him and his dumb attitude. As Sara and Eiko deliberated about what it could mean, May nodded absently. Aizawa was an extension of work. Just another obstacle in the way of her real career. A very dark, abyssal obstacle.

She'd figure it out.

"—you could try baking. That always works!" Sara exclaimed, shuffling through a small backpack for a new coloring page.

"I'm sure it was nothing. I'll take care of it if it's a problem." May used her most convincing tone.

Truthfully, she didn't care. May had a job, and she didn't need his approval or support to do it.

Hearing her friends discuss work gave May a new lightness to her soul. She didn't need to speak; all of her thoughts were being argued between a pink-haired angel and a fiery red devil. The weight of work now rested on her shoulder as a feather.

The rest of the time at dinner, the three had a multitude of conversations. Most of them surrounded the two boys. Daichi and Riku showed off their skills, especially their not-so-accurate counting, and Sara rushed to get her phone out to play videos.

They managed to get a hold of Niko, who was able to talk for a short time on speakerphone. She was traveling for work and couldn't make it, which gave May a small lump in her throat.

For the first time in days, May slowed down.

Her movements were less deliberate. She took deeper breaths and watched the sun glaze the sky with golden light. Sharing a meal with two four-year-olds wasn't a chore; it was an exercise in letting go. A taste of life that she didn't have.

Sara appeared stressed, but not in the way that May knew. Her crow's feet had deepened, and she even had laughter lines. When they went out several weeks ago, May didn't take it in. But her friend gained knowing eyes that shone with the warmth of a fireplace. It was inviting as if Sara knew all possible emotions, but only held on to the ones that evoked happiness. It chipped at the hole in May's heart.

When she'd drift over to Eiko, she'd seen the same. A similar happiness, like the one Sara held, painted itself all over her face too. Not even the stress from work could mar it, for when Eiko talked about Haru, all of that stress just melted away and left behind soft green eyes that sparkled with emotion. Instead of rolling emerald seas, there was a peaceful breeze stirring fields of tall grass.

What did May have?

Well, she had...

A dead plant and some degrees nailed to the wall.

Was that really it?

No, she had her friends. And her parents. But she didn't have what they had. She had her job. Which she would never give up. Well, if she did, May wouldn't have her next dream job. Wait, was it just going to be that over and over again?

The thought caused her to stop eating, pushing some of the remaining food toward Sara's hungry boys.

Envy was so ugly. Yet, it kept crawling back. That stupid black hole in her chest grew larger and larger with each story May's friends told. It didn't matter if it was a good story or a bad one. Eiko detailed a fight, but explained how Haru gave her flowers the next day. Sara launched into a story about all of the kids having stomach flu but laughed through the whole thing.

They were all met with smiles and fondness.

May swallowed and tried to plug up the hole envy had dug.

"Okay, May! Get together and smile!" Sara held up her phone camera.

"You mean, the boys and I?" May asked, pointing to Eiko. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not camera ready," Eiko muttered.

The boys clambered into May's lap, smiling next to her ears. She looked down at the two and wrapped her arms around them. Envy vanished, and May giggled through a genuine smile.

"Okay! A silly one! Ready, go!"

Riku snatched May's glasses. The rational side of her almost screamed that he would break them, but everything else overpowered that. The picture was going to be her new lock screen.

May decided to walk with them to their station, holding hands with Daichi and carrying some of the bags Sara lugged to the restaurant. The lights of the city flipped on, night air filling her lungs.

"Promise you'll visit sometime again soon," May said after pulling her friends into tight hugs. The boys gave quick hugs but were too occupied with a snail that, unfortunately, happened to be on the sidewalk.

"You're lucky you don't have space for us to invade," Sara said, reaching May's gaze again. "You'd be begging us to leave."

"Oh, so not true," May said, fighting every emotional fiber of her being.

"I'm practically on my knees here," Eiko said with a wink.

As they scanned their cards and passed into the station, the boys waved to May. May clutched her purse and waved back. Her smile was falling.

The hole deep inside her chest cracked again.

May kept her attention on her phone as she walked home. She observed her reflection on the blank screen of her phone. Instead of the early marks of laughter lines and crow's feet, two lines were forming at her brows. She ran her fingers over them. Not exactly a sign of happiness.

She turned a corner, the street darkening. All that she had lighting her path was a flickering lamp at the end of the road. When she was about to put away her phone, it buzzed. The blue glow drowned out every drop of lamplight left.

Wait, why would he—

A hand gripped her ponytail, and May was engulfed into the mouth of an alley.