Todoroki  might have apologized, but he couldn't get what Shine said about him out of his head. Was it all true?

Momo was acting a little distant too. She was polite as ever but not talking to him beyond that. Todoroki tried telling her he'd apologized, but she just nodded and said, "That's good."

He didn't know what to do. Or why it was bothering him so much.

He thought he should do so0mething to make things right, maybe to show he had no hard feelings... and he could think of nothing to do, so he asked Mr. West... because he thought asking Shine would be weird, and he had literally no one else he would ask.

Wally knew all about it from Shine.

"I think you hurt Shine's feelings," he said, "She might not look it but she can be sensitive when she feels like it's important. She forgave you and all, but, even if you don't feel angry at someone, if you think they're thinking badly about you, it can make it awkward."

Todoroki lacked any of the social skills to figure this out on his own, so he stared at Wally wide-eyed. "Really?"

Wally choked back a laugh at the look on his face. "Uh, yeah... Maybe if you just did something nice to show you're over it, it'd help. Haven't you ever had to make up with anyone before?"

"No," Todoroki said.

"But... you have, what, three siblings?" Wally was dumbfounded.

"Two... and I've barely ever spoken to them," Todoroki said.

"That's... sad," Wally said, "I wish I had siblings... I have Shine's now, but it's not the same as having your own."

"I don't see what's so great about it-- they're just people who have the same parents as you," Todoroki said.

"I'm starting to see the problem here, kid." Wally shook his head. "Well, you're still less annoying than Bakugo..."

"He is annoying," Todoroki agreed, "I don't know why everyone else tolerates him so much."

"Tell me about it," Wally rubbed his head, "He's always yelling and insulting people, and Shine just thinks it's funny. I'll tell you, even if you date someone for a long time, there are things you never understand about them."

"I can't understand how she can laugh at it," Todoroki said.

"She thinks he's not so bad deep down," Wally said, "but I've never seen him do anything nice for anyone."

"Yes, he's selfish," Todoroki agreed, "but I suppose I am not that much better. I don't understand people."

"Who does? At least you're trying," Wally said encouragingly, "Why, I can't even go into how many of my friends won't even put in an effort."

"Why are you friends, then?" Todoroki said.

"Well... they save my life a lot, and they're great people, just... not very good at relationships," Wally said, "What can I say? It's a gift." He smiled smugly.

Todoroki didn't get the joke. "I don't seem to possess it... I think Yaoyurozu is angry at me also. I didn't mean to hurt Shine's feelings-- I just seem to say the wrong thing around her. I guess she makes me uncomfortable, and it feels like she's always finding fault with me... I probably deserve it, but she's not like that with the other two. And... I get Yaoyurozu, but she's not as hard on Bakugo either. And he's not even attempting to improve."

Wally rubbed his head. "Why do you care if Shine looks down on you or not?"

"I... guess I'm just not used to people thinking badly about me." Todoroki had no sense of humble bragging when he said that.

Wally had to smother another laugh since he saw the kid was dead serious. "Ahem. I think that maybe you've had the same kind of people around you too much... but if it helps, Shine doesn't look down on you. She actually likes you a lot. She tells me everything... I do mean everything. The woman cannot keep a thought to herself, trust me." Neither could he, honestly, but he didn't say that part.

"She does?" Todoroki was surprised. "Then why is she always criticizing me?"

"Shine believes in tough love," Wally said, "And trust me, I have been on the receiving end of her lectures, but she's easier on me because I'm cute." He made a goofy face. "But for you, you know, she's trying to cram a lot into a short amount of time, and I think she's stressed out because of the school and the villains. It's not personal, she just... well, both of us feel the pressure to move fast. She's pushing you to help you. And a lot of what you're taking as criticism is her trying to get you to look at things differently by showing you where you make assumptions... I think that's what she called it, anyway... It's kind of cheating for me to tell you this though. Shine handles a lot of the teaching part. I'm more of a fun guy, you know, not the super serious one. And I'm cool with that. She's the smartest person I know when it comes to seeing what people are really like... Believe me, you've got no idea the people she's had to help in the past. A lot of worse people than you. Even me-- I was kind of her student once."

"Did she... talk to you the same way?" Todoroki said.

"Well, she was falling for my charms," Wally bragged, "So not as much, but there were times. She told off my friends too... You know, I would have been mad at her for that, but she has this habit of saying exactly what I already thought deep down and just didn't know how to say. Tell me it hasn't happened to you yet." 

Todoroki thought of the 1-B incident. "No, it has..."

"Right... You aren't going to like this, but if it's bugging you only when she's doing it to you, she may not be the different factor in that... No one likes hearing the truth about themselves. But, kid, she didn't say anything really bad about you."

"I disagree... I find the idea that I could be acting like my father by idolizing All Might to be a very bad thing." Todoroki shuddered. "And that's what she implied."

Wally completely agreed with Shine on that point-- so wasn't sure what he could say to make that better.

"I just... can't believe it's the same thing. My father was a monster. I just look up to All Might," Todoroki said.

"Uh... well... looking up to hero is fine..." Wally said nervously, "but idolizing them is different than that... I've had a few crazy fan encounters... a month... and I deal with the media putting pressure on me too. Not as much as they do here, but, I mean, I wouldn't want to be All Might."

"You... wouldn't?" Todoroki said.

"No way. I like people, but not that much," Wally said, "And to have every hero compared to me? Yikes, it's like I could never screw up, and I screw up all the time, little dude."

"Please... don't call me that," Todoroki said. Then he thought. "I never considered what it would feel like. Does that make me a bad person? Is it wrong to think that way? All Might is still the greatest hero the world has seen."

"I like the guy, but isn't that a little too... much?" Wally said, "The greatest hero... I don't think there is a greatest hero. I think throughout time, there's just a lot of really good people who did their best, and we can't put down one over the other. I mean, you got your Mother Teresas and your Winston Churchills and your Gandhis and your Joans of Arc. And all the cool heroes of our time too. And who's really more heroic? We're all willing to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"But All Might saved the most people," Todoroki said.

"Well, that's another thing," Wally shrugged, "Maybe on the job he does, but doing hero work is only saving a small amount of the people in the world. It's important not to forget how many people are saved just by ordinary Joes doing stuff like funding orphanages, providing clean water, making better laws, working in the hospital, teaching, and all the other things that are the best of humans. As a hero, I know I have the community backing me, and I'm lucky to have that. I have friends everywhere-- I have enemies everywhere too-- and it's just how it is... I'm saying that we supers are limited more than ordinary people are in some ways. And that's okay."

"Still..." Todoroki didn't know what to make of this. "I think All Might is exceptional."

"No argument here," Wally said, "but... he's not perfect, bud. That's the part people forget. You wanting to be like him is okay, but it won't solve all your problems trying to be Superman... Believe me, I know. Superman has a crap ton of problems of his own."

Wally made things sound inoffensive and easy when he talked about them.

"I guess that's true," Todoroki admitted, "Perhaps I overreacted a little to Shine.... It's just, when I was a kid, All Might was my inspiration. I didn't want to be like my father, and All Might was the kind of hero I wanted to be."

Wally had to wonder how much these kids' lives sucked if they only had one person to look up to in them.

"Wouldn't it be okay to want to be like more than one person, to look at the best in the people you know and want to emulate that?" he said, "I know I do... but also, I can't change who I am. I think my friends and I know that. Sometimes I think they think I'm a joke, but I know they trust me too. And we're different for a reason. So... maybe your dad is kind of the worst, but that doesn't mean All Might is the only person you can imitate just because they're opposites. Branch out a little."

"There are certainly things I admire about other people," Todoroki said, "Midoriya is helpful to others even when he doesn't have to be, and Yaoyurozu is..." He hesitated to find one word that would sum it up. 

"Really sweet?" Wally offered, "I mean, seriously, I've never met anyone so nice all the time. It makes me feel bad sometimes."

"She is sweet, but I was more of thinking... attentive," Todoroki said.

Wally snorted. "I think you're going to have to work on your compliments to girls, there, Sport. Oh, well, you're hopeless anyway."

Todoroki didn't get it.

"If you want to make up with both of them, why don't you try to hang out casually?" Wally said, "That always helps me smoothe things over with my friends. My closest lady friends made up after they went on a super dangerous mission together. And we all made up after we kicked some bad guys' butts... I realize now that I'm saying it, none of this sounds casual.... Do you play Battle Bots?"

"Uh... no..." Todoroki said, "but I guess it's a good idea."

"Really? Because I actually brought a set with me," Wally began.

"No, not that. I mean a causal activity together might be a good idea," Todoroki said, "I'll ask them."

"Okay, good," Wally said. He thought he'd handled this particularly well. Shine would be proud.

                                                                                             ***

"Would you like to come with me today?" Todoroki asked Shine and Momo, who were in the same room but not talking. Momo was only in the sitting area because Jiro was playing music on her floor and it was too loud to study.

"Come with you... where?" Shine asked, setting down her phone.

"I'm visiting my mom again," Todoroki said. It was the weekend. "And I thought... maybe you'd like to come." He felt awkward. They probably wouldn't want to hang out with him. This had sounded like a better idea before-- Wally kind of exuded confidence-- but alone, he didn't see why they wouldn't still be mad at him.

Momo dropped her pencil. "G-Go there?"

"I thought afterward I might get some Soba," Todoroki said with a straight face, "So..."

Shine always acted so natural, but even she was a little surprised. "I thought you were still mad at me?" she said bluntly.

"No, I think I'm over it," Todoroki said, just as bluntly, "But... uh... Mr. West suggested this."

"I find that hard to picture," Shine said, "I'm going to ask him about it later... but okay, I'd love to accompany you. Anything to get off this campus. I'm dying of boredom."

"So we'll just wait outside again," Momo said.

"I thought you might like to meet her this time," Todoroki said.

Momo looked ready to faint. "Oh..."

"Oh, really? That sounds lovely." Shine got up. "I'll get my stuff... Does she like flowers?"

"She does... Why?" Todoroki said.

"Because it's polite to bring a gift, silly." Shine walked out of the room.

Momo started to pick her books up. "I suppose I can finish this later... Are you sure you want me to go? I don't want to make anything awkward for your mother."

"I don't think she'd mind," Todoroki said, "She'll like you, I'm sure." He didn't see any reason to doubt this. Actually, he'd like to know what his mom thought of his friends.

"Oh...?" Momo looked down. "Okay."

A short time later, after letting Aizawa know they were going, they were on their way.

"Let's just hope we can avoid any unpleasant encounters today," Shine said, "I seem to get in trouble every time I leave the school. It's like it's planned."

"I don't see how it could be," Todoroki said.

"Why stop at soba later?" Shine said, "We should do something else fun. I barely have seen anything around here except a few restaurants and movies on date night. Do either of you know any fun places to go?"

"I don't do fun," Todoroki said.

"I haven't been able to go out much since starting Hero School," Momo said, "but before that, my parents and I would attend a lot of events-- charity balls, that sort of thing. I was going to tour Venice with them last year."

"Girl, get out-- Wally and I went to Venice on like our 4th date," Shine said. 

"It's lovely, isn't it" Momo said.

"Very," Shine said, "But my Italian was not very good. My French is better. We hit up Paris on a different date... I also went there with a girlfriend of mine, only that was in a different world. It was pretty much the same though. France is never any different no matter what world I'm on."

They weren't sure what to make of that statement.

"Did you ever go to Japan anywhere else...?" Momo asked.

"No, oddly enough, and we never went there on a date either," Shine said, "I guess because we don't speak Japanese, and Wally's friends with more people in China. He gets limited edition toys for his orphanage from there. It's the sweetest thing. But I must say, it is beautiful. Especially the cherry trees... and you all have fireworks for everything. And festivals all the time... Of course I can't go to one because the school won't let me, but screw that, I'm going to the next one. I don't care anymore."

"Oh, the Ennichi festival is lovely," Momo said, "Todoroki and I went to it together... oh..." She forgot that was a secret.

"You did? I thought you never hung out outside of school," Shine said.

"Oh, it was more of an accident," Momo said hastily, "A coincidence."

"It just seemed stupid not to go together after we ran into each other," Todoroki said calmly, "It would be odd to just walk away from someone you knew in public."

"I agree-- and very hurtful," Shine said, "I commend you for knowing that, Todoroki."

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked.

"A little, yes, but I'm also serious," Shine said, " I can be both. I'm older than you." 

Whatever that meant.

They took the train again but ran into no trouble. Shine kept looking around. 

"Is your dad's agency around here?" she asked.

"It's not too far from the hospital's city, but why does it matter?" Shoto said.

"I don't know. I'm just curious about it," Shine said, "Agencies are still a bit of a mystery to me."

"You could start with a nicer one. I always thought it looked like a prison," Todoroki grumbled. 

Shine was privately worried about running into Hawks. She didn't know where he lived, but she thought he was fast enough to get around a lot, regardless-- and could spot her before she spotted him.

Momo thought she was acting nervous, but she didn't think the prospect of visiting the hospital was the cause... Momo herself was nervous about that. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to come. It just seemed too hurtful not to, but would it be wise? Could she handle this situation?

When they were walking up the front entrance, Shine put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine," she said.

How did she always know?

Momo tried to smile. "I'm not worried," she lied, "I just wonder if it will be too surprising, all three of us."

"I was going to go in first and let her know," Todoroki said, "Then it should be fine."

"Institutes are draining," Shine muttered.

"Do you know that from experience?" Todoroki said.

"I was kept in one for a while, not for the... unstable. It was a science experiment-- not one I volunteered for." Shine frowned like the memory was unpleasant. "But it was awful: blank rooms, cells... Real nut job was in charge of the whole thing... On the plus side, I did meet a World Walking friend of mine there. He's a Texan."

None of that made any sense at all.

"That's sounds dreadful," Momo said, "Why would such a terrible thing happen to you?"

"Terrible?" Shine got an odd look. "I suppose most people would have thought so... but I never saw it that way. Things like that happen to us so we can stop them. I shudder to think what he would have done to my friends had I not been there. All in all, I walked out without much of a scar... only, I hate jails... and scientific labs... I guess it's a side effect."

"I'm sorry to hear that happened." Todoroki didn't know what else to say.

"It wasn't the last time I was held in a cell, though. I was a prisoner on a warship too," Shine reflected, "Come to think of it, I was locked in dungeon the first mission I went on, and I was 14 when that happened... It was cold, but not so bad compared to the other ones. I couldn't portal at will then, or it would have been nothing... In another world I got locked up but my friend broke me out. That time it was for portaling into a dark zone... Wow, I just realized I've been in jail an awful lot for not breaking the law."

"How could you possibly be in jail for not breaking the law?" Todoroki was suspicious.

A visitor who was leaving gave them a strange look.

Shine laughed. "As if people always go to jail for doing the wrong thing, Todoroki. That only shows how black and white your view of the legal system is. I was put in for trying to help people other people wanted dead... not because they were criminals, but because they weren't. Aren't you glad I don't think in those terms? I daresay I wouldn't be comfortable coming here if I just assumed things always played out the most just and fair way."

No argument in that. Momo was not sure what to make of it either.

They got inside, and Momo and Shine took a seat in the lobby after signing in. "I'll text you when to come up," Todoroki told them.

Shine pulled out a book and started reading.

Momo wished she'd thought to bring one.

While they were waiting, a commotion started down the hall. Someone was having some kind of freak out. Momo clenched the edges of her chair.

"It's not bad, you know," Shine said, glancing at her, "being a little nervous. Things that aren't natural should make us nervous."

"I... just feel I should have  a calmer nerve about it," Momo said.

"You're calm enough in an emergency," Shine said, "When one doesn't have time to think, it's different. The worst is having time to imagine stuff... Even I get cowed when I do that. But I think I pity these people more than anything now."

Momo nodded.

Some more people rushed down the hall.

"You two can wait outside if you want," The desk clerk said, sympathetically.

Shine shrugged. Momo would have liked to go outside, but she didn't want to if Shine didn't.

The sounds of agonized yelling got worse, and finally, Shine got up. Momo got up too, thinking she'd be going out, but Shine just went down the hall.

"Ma'am? You shouldn't go that way!" the clerk called. She stood up. "Ma'am, it's not safe."

Momo saw Shine's eyes glowing gold for a brief moment as she went own the hall.

The man the staff was struggling with seemed to be having some kind of drug-induced attack. He was yelling about things attacking him. Perhaps he meant the staff.

Shine ignored their surprised looks and warnings and came closer. They couldn't stop her. They were too busy holding him down. She leaned forward and said something in a low voice that Momo couldn't hear over the yelling, but her eyes flickered briefly.

There was few moments of yelling, then suddenly, it stopped. The man blinked and looked up and looked at Shine like he actually saw her. "What...? Who are you?"

"I think you know," Shine straightened, "You all can let go of him now. He's fine."

They staff stared at her.... Then they let go and stood up.

"Don't use those drugs again," Shine said to the man in a candid tone like this was normal, "It's not worth it. Get help. Pray. Or this will get worse, not better."

The man looked at her in amazement.

"Uh... ma'am... I don't think you can..." one staff member said.

"Shut up. It's working," another grabbed his arm, "Do you want him to become unstable again?"

Momo was staring in amazement.

"I guess calming people down can be the most important step..." muttered a different member.

"Can I talk to him alone for a second?" Shine said. 

"We're not supposed to let you do that," the first man said.

"Does that really matter?" Shine asked.

They exchanged look. "I guess... I don't know..." But they backed up anyway.

Momo did too. Shine spoke to the man for only a few minutes, but he was nodding and looking sober while she did. Then she walked away. "Thank you, gentlemen, ladies. I think he'll be better now."

"How did you do that?" one woman asked.

"The right words," Shine said vaguely. 

They stared after her as she went back down the hall.

Momo was startled too. "What did you tell him?"

"I don't think I care to explain it here," Shine said, "I don't want to attract too much attention. I just couldn't listen to that torment any longer... Oh, I guess I never mentioned we can heal, huh? It's a bit sporadic with me, but if the situation arises, I can usually do it."

"So... you can heal... and you healed him?" Momo said.

"In a word, yes," Shine said.

Momo felt certain there was more to it, but Shine just went back to her seat and resumed reading, and there wasn't much she could do about it. The clerk stared at her in astonishment but then went back to her job. There was silence for a while, until Todoroki finally texted them.

Momo couldn't tell him what happened, but he noticed she was startled. "Are you nervous?"

"No... I think it's beyond that now," Momo said.

"About my mom?" Todoroki sounded hurt. 

"No, no, something happened downstairs... I'll tell you later." Momo had no wish to go into it in the hallway.

Shine was irrationally calm. "I hope she's okay with us."

"She said she's love to meet you," Todoroki said, "So it should be all right."

So they went in.