The days following the incident, Mirko said nothing about leaving.

The LOV didn't ask her about it either, though they did wonder why she wasn't fed up yet. How many times had she almost died because of this? Though, Silk pointed out, Pros almost died so often, it probably wasn't much of an incentive anymore, especially to an adrenaline junkie like Mirko.

Shigaraki couldn't avoid her permanently...though he was still gun shy of her. But he didn't really show it like other people, just like with any other emotion, and Mirko actually didn't suspect it at all. She figured he just filed the whole thing under weird.

She wasn't even sure what to make of it herself. She told herself she was just appreciative of all the effort to retrieve her after she was that dismissive.

She felt ashamed that she'd just dipped without explaining, as Ren had pointed out... Why hadn't it occurred to her that there could have been a misunderstanding? She should have known Ujiko would twist the truth... Then again, she'd hardly stopped to consider if it was unfair to her anyway. She wasn't the type to think of it.

The League defending her was kind of touching, really. She'd never have told them to do that.

But this made her think...was Hawks right? Was she getting too comfortable here?

They no longer treated her like an outsider. In fact, Compress and Spinner even joked that now that she'd gotten the experience of being chased around by that giant, she'd practically caught up to them.

Mirko was not one to waste too much time regretting her actions, obviously, so after a couple days of thinking about it, she shrugged it off. It was just how it turned out, and she had no reason to be embarrassed about it, right? It was kind of an compliment to be the only Hero the LOV would respect other than All Might.... How had she tumbled into this situation?

But she wanted to talk to Shine more than ever about it, because that was the only woman she knew who would possibly understand her no longer caring about the Villains being Villains...

The DJs were due back at the end of the week, and Shine wrote a note saying that while they'd gotten delayed yet again, it'd make the difference of hours for them.

She also mentioned that she and Wally decided not to put off their wedding any longer once coming back. Their families and friends were so ready for it at home, and they had undergone another 6 months of waiting, and frankly, they just couldn't stand it anymore.

Mirko shook her head.

"Married, huh?" she said. "I guess if you're into that scene." Then again, her whole idea of marriage was her parents. Sometimes she didn't get why her dad had married her mom at all. He seemed to find her mom's antics amusing.

* * *

It was Medea who ended up letting her know they were back.

"Camie texted me," she said excitedly. "She says she has a ton of mad lit stories to tell me, after she sleeps for, like, 20 hours."

"They're back, huh?" Mirko looked up from stretching before training. "Hey, start warming up."

"Right." Medea rolled her eyes, but she'd hardly been sassy about it at all lately. "Yeah, I gotta give them some time to recover, but I'm going over there as soon as they do and hearing all about it. Can you imagine? A whole other world. You should come."

"Not to UA." Mirko made a face.

"Right...maybe we can go out, then," Medea said, "if you don't care about hanging with a bunch of teenagers."

"Makes no difference to me," Mirko said. She was dying to hear about it too.

"Yo, Boss Man." Medea saw Shigaraki coming in--trying not to be heard, which she ruined for him. "The DJs are back."

"Oh, good," Shigaraki said without thinking--then realized he sounded way too relieved about that. "I mean, good that Dabi didn't get himself killed."

"Not for lack of trying, I bet," Medea snorted. "Do you think being somewhere else for so long had an effect on him?"

"Maybe he lost some of his more d---ish habits," Mirko said.

"I doubt it," Medea said. "You know, I thought Monama would be jealous they got to go and he didn't, but we both agree...the idea is just a little too weird. I guess they're right--you have to be the right kind of person to do it. Would you go?"

Mirko pictured it. "Nah...I think it's exciting and all, but I have enough to deal with in this world. I can't imagine putting up with idiots in another one too."

"Yeah, true," Medea said. "What about you, Boss?"

"According to Likstar, every world they go to is just as bad as this one, so what's the difference?" was Shigaraki's cheerful take on it.

"Yeah, I feel like it'd be wasted on someone like you," Medea said sassily. "It's like art--you just have to be able to appreciate it."

Shigaraki didn't care about art, so that was probably a fitting comparison.

He left the room.

"Are you two ever going to talk about whatever it is that went on with you?" Medea asked Mirko.

"No," Mirko said, "because nothing did." She concentrated on flexing.

"Liar," Medea said. "Whatever. Be stupid, then." She bent over. "I still want to go get the deets from them."

Mirko was glad she dropped the subject.

* * *

The DJS and their crew were more than willing to meet and talk though. Shine said that Dabi wanted to tell the LOV about it, but it would be better to wait till he was up with his probation.

All the others were anxious to talk about it though.

Miss Joke wanted to hear all about it too, and a lot of the UA kids did too.

They were all meeting at a park.

Bakugo was telling Kirishima and Kaminari all about the fights he'd had while there. Kirishima was a little jealous.

Momo was telling Jiro and Mina about the friends she'd made and all the things she'd learned.

Camie had the more colorful take though, to Medea.

"It was lit," she said. "I mean, the people there were cray cray, but they were cool too. I mean, some of them started off as real pills, but they got used to us. And I made some really great friends. I got a bestie, Ino, there now. Totes kindred spirit. And her BF, Sai, he's so cute. I mean like a little puppy dog, you know?"

Medea smirked. "Better not let your Bakubae hear you say that."

"Oh, he knows." Camie waved her hand. "Sai is just baby though. Like, I wouldn't want to be with him. That'd be awkies. But I'd so adopt him, you know what I mean? I kind of did, actually. But hey, I won Sasuke over, too."

"I still can't get over that a world from a TV show is real," Medea said.

"Turns out a lot of them are," Camie said.

[Wink wink]

"But did you kick anyone's a--?" Medea asked.

"Oh, a bunch," Camie said. "I had them all scared of me." She smiled lopsidedly. "More scared of Baku, probably."

[Btw, Baku in Japanese can actually mean two things. One is basically the equivalent to LOL, which makes sense, as it's like an explosion of laughter type thing. And the other meaning is a sort of spirit that eats bad dreams. I find both of those hilarious reasons for Camie to call Bakugo Baku for short, so the name stuck.]

Medea noted Camie had changed though... While she still joked a lot, she waxed serious more often. She mentioned how helping people figure out how to change their lives and make friends had been super rewarding. And she'd realized she had a lot more talents than she knew about.

It was odd. Camie was the same person, but...she was different too.

Iida noticed it with Shoto also. He was the same in a way, still quiet, solemn, and often clueless...but also he caught a lot more subtlety than he used to. He also seemed much more attuned to the social cues of the people in the group, as well as in general. He'd gotten a lot of practice with upset people, apparently.

Momo struck Jiro and Mina as just...more...her? She'd lost pretty much all of her shyness, to their surprise. She talked to them with confidence and even pride at how well it had turned out, and even the new friends she'd made, without her old habit of putting herself down when comparing herself to them.

She was still sweet, kind, and observant Momo, just with less of her self doubt about it.

Jiro knew she'd been losing that anyway before going, but all the field experience seemed to have sped up the process so much, they were left far behind.

Even Kaminari noticed.

"Yaomomo sure seems more confident now," he said. "And Bakugo...I don't think he said anything insulting to me since getting back. He's...he's not...I don't know? He's not trying to one up me."

Wally heard them talking.

"I'll tell you what it is," he said. "The same thing happened to me after a few years of being a superhero. Once you fight enough serious battles, you don't feel like you need to prove something anymore. You just handle it. Bakugo, Momo, Todoroki, Camie, all of them got to play the teachers while we were there. They were kind of ahead of our new batch, and they were great at it. Once you start showing other people the ropes, ego goes out the window, and you don't have a lot of room for doubt either. And after a while, you forget about it. That's how it was for me when I started teaching, and it'll be that way for you guys too once you have mentees. Just wait."

"I just feel like they're so far ahead of us now," Jiro said.

"If it helps, it won't all amount to the same as training here," Wally said. "It's not exactly like that. Abilities don't change much after these trips. I don't think you're going to find they're much better fighters. We didn't spend that much time fighting, and besides, your battle prowess tends to adjust to whatever world you're in. It's funny like that. The difference is just going to be in experience. You guys can't measure yourselves by that, because you could have experiences on your own. We can't really compete there. I'm super proud of them all, myself. We got to know each other really well. They're great."

"Don't you already know us well?" Kaminari said.

"Well, when you're stuck together on the road for weeks on end and no school to give you a break from each other, let's just say that goes to a whole new level," Wally said. "We're like family now almost."

Shine told Mirko and Miss Joke pretty much the same thing.

"I've never spent so much time just living life with my students like that," she said. "I have to admit...it took things to a new level. I'll never look at this job the same again...and I've been at this since I was 14."

"That's really cool." Miss Joke was loving this. "I'm almost jealous."

"I wouldn't be, Emi. The amount of times they almost died and were in serious danger and I had to hug people who were crying miserably..." Shine looked a little overwhelmed. "I can't even believe I got through it... It was like here dialed to 90, and that was almost every day for a while...especially with Sasuke."

"He was a hard one, huh?" Miss Joke summed it up.

"Well...considering what he's been through," Shine said, "I don't blame him. That world is very cruel. I think we had about the best people in it helping us, and even they just didn't get it a lot of the time. But they're going to change it--I believe that. They're already inspiring others. I'm so proud of Gaara in particular. He's the leader we all could dream of being. But even the ones who are leaders made huge strides... It was the most rewarding time I've had DJ-ing, because I've never seen people so far gone before."

"Is that complimentary to us?" Miss Joke said.

"Yeah, it means you're less messed up." Shine laughed.

"Well, thanks. How often do I hear flattery like that?" Miss Joke was laughing too.

Mirko wasn't laughing... It was too weird.

"I'm sure I'll tell you all more stories by and by," Shine said, "but, of course, when we have the wedding, you can meet some of them." She meant Emi.

"By the way, Rumi, do you want an invite? We have to be selective, or we'd have a thousand people there, but--"

"No," Mirko said. The wedding was taking place in another world. "Nothing personal, but I don't think that's for me."

"That's fine." Shine wasn't offended. "It's not for everyone."

"I'm nervous about it, but I think I could handle it, for once," Miss Joke said. "Nothing will eat me, right?"

"Uh, no, our man-eating friends weren't going to come," Shine said sardonically.

"Right, good." Miss Joke gave her a thumbs up.

"But I want to hear what's been going on with you two also," Shine said. "I mean, I have a lot to tell, but I'll never sort it out if I try, so we should trade stories. How's it with Aizawa?"

"Oh...well...it's going okay," Miss Joke said. "I still don't know if we're dating or just reconnected... He won't really say."

"If I were you, I'd make him say," Shine said.

"I'm sure you would, Shine, but I couldn't bear to ruin it," Miss Joke said. "Turns out he's even more charming when he's not trying to get rid of me. I think I might be falling for real here." She turned red. "I kind of want to keep it going."

"I get it," Shine said, "but I'm still going to bug him about it myself. If I have the chance, that is."

"But Mirko has some interesting things to tell," Miss Joke said meaningfully.

Mirko reddened. "What? What do you mean?"

"Uh...you got kidnapped and almost died." Miss Joke looked at her weird. "What else would I mean?"

"You what?" Shine said.

The whole story came out then.

"I leave for 6 weeks!" Shine turned full teacher mode. "And this is what happens! But who am I kidding? This would happen if I was here too! Just tell me no one got critically injured or traumatized over it?!"

"I don't think they did," Mirko said.

"Well, that's something," Shine said. "But...wow, I'm surprised the League acted so fast. Good for them."

"It took a while for it to get through the vine," Miss Joke said. "The whole thing was over by the time Hawks told us about it, but at least it worked out. I hope we'll all be safer without that giant thing just loose in the woods."

"Not really sorry I missed that," Shine said, "though I think Wally would have hit him with a pebble."

Whatever that meant.

Mirko did want to tell Shine more, but not in front of Joke, not a chance.

Shine seemed to notice this. "Well, Emi, I want to hear about the LOV. Do you mind if we chat for a bit?"

"You don't want me here for that?" Miss Joke said.

"I don't care, but..." Shine inclined her head.

"I get it," Miss Joke said. "I'll let you talk. I want to go see how your students have improved anyway. Though I'm going to be a little jealous if they've grown more than mine."

"I'd count on that." Shine was smug. "But who knows? I missed plenty."

Miss Joke walked off.

"You can just say these things, you know," Shine said. "As long as you're polite, Emi won't be offended. She knows that some things are confidential... So what's going on?"

Mirko wasn't sure how to get to the point exactly now.

"I...well, honestly it was just that, but I think the LOV might be...changing a little," she said.

Shine looked about as eager as a kid on Christmas to hear that. "Oh, I want to hear this. Tell me everything."

Mirko told her about them sticking up for her, deciding not to let the whole transfer thing pass, and being glad she was back, as well as begging her to return.

Shine was more excited that she was. It was sort of adorable, really.

"That's so great!" She was beaming. "I think they've lost their prejudice, then."

"I know you're plotting things like this," Mirko said. "Though I still don't know why you do it. I mean, what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things if they're a little less biased than before?"

"A change like that can save the world, Rumi." Shine was dead serious. "Things like forgiveness, fairness, kindness, it's what keeps us going despite all the darkness out there. Don't discount it. I think you've done great on your own. Not that you don't usually do things on your own anyway...but, I admit, I was worried about being gone for so long. The League can be kind of unpredictable about how nice they are...but I see things took root more than I thought...but you've hardly said anything about how my most interesting case is going. Shigaraki must have been involved in all this, right?"

The last person Mirko wanted her to ask about.

"Uh..." She had a feeling she was turning red again. "Well, it was kind of the same as everyone else...weirdly nice."

"Nice?" Shine might like Shigaraki, but even she didn't think he was nice.

"I mean...uh...fair," Mirko chose a different word, "trying to figure out what was true, and I guess he was pissed at Ujiko for lying... I mean, I was too--just thought I'd be alone in that."

"I'm sure...but Shigaraki would take it very seriously, I imagine," Shine said knowingly. "He's kind of childish about things like that and so much the better. Getting used to being lied to is one of the hardest things about becoming an adult, and I'm still not quite used to it myself."

"Sure..." Mirko both found her sage tone annoying and reassuring, after all this time without it. Shine would be sure to moralize about anything...but that also meant she'd speak her mind about it without being really biased, and Mirko needed that right about now.

"Look, to be honest," she lowered her voice, "there're some things I can't explain, and you read people well, so if you could...I don't know, given your take on it, I'd like some honesty about it."

"Sure." Shine was ready. "What's going on?"

Mirko described some of the more unusual aspects of what happened, vaguely, in some ways. Mostly that Shigaraki seemed to be noticing things he hadn't before, like Ujiko's inconsistencies, and being more active about it. And...that she herself was attempting and failing to act better than before.

"I mean...I screwed up again," she said. "I'm not sorry I destroyed the lab, but I was reckless, impatient, and I didn't explain myself. I don't think I'm learning from my mistakes."

Shine didn't even argue. She was just nodding.

"I'm not surprised," she said, and it wasn't even mean, just matter of fact.

"Why...not?" Mirko said.

In answer, Shine just began quoting (you could tell when she quoted because the way she spoke would become smoother, but not less sincere):

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me... for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good... But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!" [Romans 7: 15-27]

Mirko would have been more off put by that being obviously a Bible quote, but it kind of summed up her experience of the last several weeks too well.

"That's in the Bible?" she said.

"What, did you think all it's about was us being good all the time?" Shine sounded amused. "No one should be more aware than us of how hopeless it is to try be good. I think you guys have the far more optimistic religion around here. You think that it all works by karma and just not harming others is enough. That's nothing at all. The Lord doesn't expect us to be a block of wood. In fact, he'd rather have a misguided person who really cares about what they're doing to work with, than one who cares about nothing at all. I find your report of the League encouraging for that reason, actually. I just wasn't sure what would happen."

"Are you saying that you knew I wouldn't be able to do it?" Mirko said, annoyed. "And you didn't tell me that?"

"Didn't I tell you Jesus was the only way I ever changed?" Shine smiled. "What? That chapter was true for me too. When I first read it, I felt someone had summed up my whole life. I was bound up by fears when I was younger, and I'd do whatever they told me, too scared not to. So the lines about sin being my master sounded just right to me...but when I met Jesus, I was finally able to stand up to fear. And it wasn't because I was braver, it was because I felt I had Someone stronger on my side, and I knew He was helping me. I'm strong enough now, only because I still believe that. I don't always need a special boost from God to conquer my fear anymore." She tugged her hair thoughtfully. "Because I've won enough times to know it's there, even if I don't feel it. At first it wasn't that tough. God always sends us the right amount of help for the time we need it. But if you're not gonna ask, he's not gonna help you just for having good intentions. You know that saying, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'? That is true in more ways than one. Usually that means that you help other people to hell by misguided intentions, but it also means that your intentions to do good only entrap you more in doing wrong. When you're not aware of your mistakes, you're less guilty than when you are, and you still can't stop. The whole chapter of Romans I was quoting talks about that in some detail. The good law showed Paul, a student of law, just how little he could keep it. The law is good, but we are not. Even trying our hardest, one mistake makes us a hypocrite."

She shook her head. "I was raised in church. Let me tell you, however bad it is for Heroes, it's worse for us. We're supposed to not just be good examples, but to study the will of God. People are merciless when you screw that up. My family who are not in the church will be very condescending to us if they ever see us mess up, sometimes even if we don't actually mess up, but it's just not how they think of things. I've been mocked for it." She shook her head. "And the amount of times my family and I have been asked if we hate certain groups of people just because of our faith's stigmatization, it's just sad."

Mirko tilted her ears.

"Oh, I know Heroes have it too," Shine said, "but you get a bit of leeway. People like Endeavor. Some people like him just because he's disagreeable. They find it cool. A Christian won't get that kind of grace. We get our grace from God, because the world will show us none of it. Or even here, don't tell me people aren't killed for their faith."

Mirko had never given the issue any thought at all.

"I guess it happens..." she said.

"I'm not stupid, Rumi... In fact, in that other world, we got some of the same treatment. I was surprised at how shocked my students from here were that it happened. Those there expected it. Ideological differences are the least of the reasons they kill each other there. They kill for far less. I think they were almost flattered it was at least something important. But the Heroes just couldn't believe it. Stain would have done well in that world. In fact, he's more civil than most of their ordinary citizens are."

Mirko blinked at her. "It's that bad."

"They don't think of it as bad," Shine said. "It's a cutthroat world, and there are many others like it. There are places like it here and in my world--cities, areas, we enjoy more civility in places like this than many people grow up with." She laughed wryly. "I was reminded of that by them. But it's not really a surprise, is it?"

"But...killing each other just over that?" Mirko said.

"I'm sorry, but is there something more important in life than faith and ideology?" Shine said. "The thing we view all of life through? There isn't much that's more worth fighting over than that. If I'm not allowed to believe what I choose, then I'll be willing to die for it. If you aren't, then you don't really get what all this is about." She shook her head. "You, my friend, had better decide what your beliefs are."

"But I don't know anymore," Mirko admitted, a little scared finally. "I mean, in some ways, nothing really changed. I never fit the mold, but...then I never cared, either. It's different now. I don't know what I'm afraid of here, but something is making me uneasy."

"I know what it is," Shine said.

Mirko was silent.

"I know, because I feel it all the time," Shine said. "Once you've begun to see people everyone labels as evil as just other people, you fear what will happen to them when the rest of the world catches up to them. You know you can't stop it, and that is terrible." She bit her lip. "But unavoidable."

Not what Mirko wanted to hear.

"And you'll try to deny that's what you're feeling for a bit," Shine said dryly. "We all do. But you can't pretend forever. And then you'll stop being ashamed of it and start wondering why everyone else just can't see it--if you aren't already. Usually those two things happen at the same time. And then you'll be determined to fight for them to have a chance to get a better deal. And you'll be where I am now."

She tilted her head. "Welcome aboard, sister. This will be interesting."

Mirko didn't like how she was so sure. "Look, I don't think I'm like you."

"No," Shine said. "I have a feeling you're worse than I am, deep down. It's too new to you...but it's okay. You're tough. I think you'll pull through anyway."

"Uh...what do you mean 'pull through'?" Mirko said.

"It always comes sooner or later." Shine was being vague now. "The hard part...I can't stop it, but I'll do my best to help. Okay?"

"It hasn't been hard enough?" Mirko said.

"If you thought the learning stage was the hardest part, Sweetie, you've got a big storm coming." Shine stood up, needing to move now. "That's the simplest stage. The Testing stage is much harder, but if you get through that, the Rest stage is wonderful. All worth it, there. But it can take a long time to get there. I'm going to keep praying for you though. After the 6 months I've had, I have every reason to think there's a good chance here. It can't be worse than that."

[Not sure she's right about that.]

Mirko didn't find that a very comforting thought...

Shine was not always the easier person to talk to about this after all... She was too honest. She would tell you if she thought something hard was coming, and that wasn't what anyone wanted to hear.

But Mirko wasn't ready to back down just for that. She was just irritated that Shine was so vague.

Shine sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you want more details, but I really don't know them. I just know it will happen. I've been through it too many times. Wally has too. But at least you're not alone--it's worse then."

True. That would be worse.