Just a head's up, but Wiki states that Curse Skills are a subtype of Dark Skills, and Bless Skills are a subtype of Light Skills. That'll be important to know for this chapter since Shiina will be sparring against Tokoyami.

"You're... not going home?"

Shiina tried not to look down at the ground so guiltily as she attempted to avoid Shouto's disappointed gaze.

"Y-yeah, I, um," she cleared her throat nervously. "I promised to hang out with my friends after school."

"But you're always with your friends," he pointed out hotly. His frown deepened. "Almost every day... right after school or during the weekend... you're always with them..." His voice quieted down to a murmur when he realized how much hurt he was expressing. He didn't want to seem too needy to her.

She gulped, not knowing what to say. A part of her wanted to blurt out the whole truth. About the Phantom Thieves, Personas, Shido, everything, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't want to drag Shouto down this spiraling hole. He was already worrying about her mysterious after-school activities she spent with her friends, if he knew the truth, he'd never let her out of the house.

"Are you mad because I kept All Might's secret?" He asked her, sounding almost desperate.

"What? No!" Bewildered, she shook her head. "No, no, no, Shouto, I'm not mad at you at all! I just... I really need to help my friends out with a situation. We're all," And here comes the guilt trip... she thought. "We're all still struggling with what happened to Akira..."

His face softened and then he actually began to look guilty for hounding her so much (even though he had done nothing wrong!). "Oh, I see. I understand. I'm sorry for pestering you, imouto-san."

She forced herself to smile, knowing that she was the worst person in the planet for lying to her dearest brother. "It's okay, Shouto. I should've just told you in the beginning."

"Are you sure you're okay, though?" He asked as they started taking steps down the subway. "You've been keeping things to yourself. You... if you want, you can always come to me."

"Thanks for offering me your shoulder to cry on, but I'll be okay." Mainly because Akira's not really dead... "Besides, Akira's... done horrible things and I can't ignore that. I'm just... trying to get my feelings in order."

He nodded in understanding.

— ❤ —

Maybe I should've just gone home with Sho-nii... Shiina thought miserably as everyone tried—for literally the millionth fucking time—what Shido saw the Diet Building as.

"Last one..." Haru sighed, sounding dehydrated and exhausted. "'Diamond mine'."

Please work, everyone prayed.

Makoto looked down at her phone screen. "...No good."

"Goddammit..." Shiina dipped her head back and groaned.

Makoto glanced at her phone once more before adding: "And I'm down to 13%."

Just great. So far they had gone through Shiina's phone, Ryuji's phone, and now Makoto's phone. Granted, Shiina and Ryuji had used up a good portion of the battery before coming to the meeting but it took them literally three goddamn phones and they still hadn't found the keyword yet.

"How many'd we miss?" Ryuji asked, running a hand through his face.

"Enough to drain three phones." Shiina mumbled.

"Ugh."

"Perhaps he truly does have a barrier up." Yusuke murmured.

Ryuji brightened up—for the wrong reason. "Right?!"

"That's not something to be excited about!" Ann snapped.

"We know all the way up to 'Diet Building' too..." Morgana frowned, his tail now limply laying over the table. He was too tired to even swish it around now.

"...So you enter keywords into the Metaverse Navigator." Sae noted, moreso to herself.

"Boss, can you turn the TV on? Shido might be on it." Ryuji asked.

Sojiro nodded and grabbed the remote. "Sure thing." The screen lit up, but instead of seeing Shido, they all saw another person who they hated.

"Goro..." Shiina muttered his name, her face contorting into a hurt scowl.

"Him and his stupid, composed face!" Futaba grumbled.

"Has he contacted you lately, Shiina?" Akira asked the red haired girl.

"Nope," Shiina shook her head. "After the operation we pulled in Niijima-san's Palace, he hasn't spoken to me once." And truthfully, Shiina didn't know whether to be relieved or even more hurt by that fact.

"So, Akechi-san," the newscaster began. "Is it true that you withdrew yourself from the media as part of your plan to capture the Phantom Thieves?"

"I truly apologize for causing such a stir." The brunette replied, sounding polite and charming as usual. Shiina wanted to throw up. "Honestly, it required a lot of courage to openly oppose them when their popularity was at its peak. I mean, people often lashed out at me online and whatnot."

"Then, was it also your plan when you said they weren't at fault after their popularity declined?" The newscaster asked.

"That was to catch them off guard. I could say I applied my profiling knowledge. Once they lost public support, someone they thought was their greatest enemy lent a hand... That's the same strategy used in romance, wouldn't you agree?" Akechi chuckled.

"That lying piece of shit...!" Shiina bit out.

So everything he said really was a lie. All the moments they shared in his apartment, when he helped her when she was kicked out by her father while being sick, even when he invited her over. Everything he told her was a lie.

She was brought out of her dark thoughts when Sojiro heaved a heavy sigh. "It's not just on TV or online. Newspapers, magazines... I see his face everywhere."

"On the other hand, no one's hoping for our comeback on the Phan-Site, like at all!" Ryuji vented.

Haru looked down. "The Phantom Thieves are 'evil'. Shido and Akechi are 'just'... It should be the other way around."

"They're manipulating information using the media!" Ann exclaimed in outrage.

"Leaving Akechi aside—we'll get back at him later—our main issue is Shido." Trust Yusuke to bring the group back to focus.

Haru nodded in agreement. "Were there any instances before when you didn't know the Palace keywords?" She asked everyone.

"Well, there was the time with Futaba." Ann began.

"We didn't know anything about her, so all we could do was make conjectures." Makoto explained.

"Then, why don't we just go directly and see Shido?" Futaba suggested.

Cue everyone turning to look at her as if she was crazy.

"That—that's impossible!" Haru spluttered. "He's surrounded by bodyguards and followers all the time...!"

"There's no way high school students can get an appointment with him either." Yusuke added.

"Well..." Ryuji trailed off, looking over at Sae. "We do have an adult with us..."

Now everyone was looking at Sae.

"No, that's still impossible. Besides, that's too dangerous a method." She objected.

"And now we're back to square one..." Shiina rubbed her forehead.

Sojiro turned to the door with a frown. "What's with the ruckus outside?" There were minor noises going on a few minutes ago, but all the commotion started to boom so suddenly.

A somewhat familiar voice echoed throughout the area. "To everyone gathered before Yongen-Jaya Station!"

"Isn't that an election-campaign car?" Sae asked, tilting her head to get an easier look.

"Oh right! The candidates are currently campaigning!" Haru remembered.

Shiina turned her attention to Akira, who placed a hand over his head. He looked to be stressing over something.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him quietly.

"I..." Before he could finish his sentence, the voice outside returned.

"I apologize for the commotion! I am Shido Masayoshi!"

"Wait, did he just say 'Shido'?!" Ryuji immediately straightened up.

Shiina glanced over at Akira once more, seeing him clutch his head again.

Ryuji jumped up to his feet. "Man, talk about bein' lucky! We can go check him out without an appointment now!"

"Ryuji, don't—" Shiina started to warn, but it was too late. Ryuji had already shot out of the cafe.

"Ryuji!" Shiina groaned, getting up and making chase. As she dashed down the alleyway with Ryuji, Shido's voice seemed to grow louder and louder—much to her annoyance. When she and Ryuji made it into the streets, the first thing she saw was the blinding glint of Shido's bald head.

"I humbly ask that you cast your vote for me, Shido Masayoshi! Let us all sail towards a happy future together! I hope to continue serving you all!" He announced. Shiina noticed that he wasn't using a microphone or any other equipment and concluded that he had some sort of voice amplifying Quirk.

That Quirk kinda suits him since he seems like the type of asshole to enjoy listening to his voice.

Once he was done with his stupid speech, everyone in the audience burst into applause.

"He looks shittier in real life," Ryuji said to Shiina just as Akira and Morgana reached them with Haru fretting about his terrible disguise (a propped up hood). "You guys wait here, I'll go get intel for us."

Haru's eyes popped open. "What?! Wait—!" Too late. Again, he was already gone.

Shiina sighed. "I'll go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Haru, Morgana, you should stay here with Akira and make sure nobody recognizes him..."

When she found Ryuji, he was already doing something stupid.

"Heeeey! Yo, Shido-san!"

Oh my god. Shiina inwardly facepalmed.

"Stand back." One of the bodyguards ordered.

Ryuji glared at him. "I just wanna talk to him for a sec!"

"He's a busy man!" The guard replied.

"The hell?! Ain't he s'posed to hear a citizen's comments?!" Ryuji exploded, getting closer to the man's face.

"That's enough brat!" He spat, harshly shoving the teen away.

"...! You're that asshole we met at the hotel before! At the elevators!" Ryuji growled.

"Ryuji!" Shiina hissed, coming to his side and grabbing his arm. They weren't going to get any information if he continued being hostile. Then again, she had a feeling they were going to end up empty-handed either way.

"What are you talking about?!" The guard exclaimed.

Haru and Akira finally approached, with the latter making sure to stay a safe distance away. "Ryuji... stop..." Haru said quietly.

"But these guys—!"

"—Hey kid." Shido spoke up. "You don't want to know what happens when you cross me..."

Shiina narrowed her eyes at him. "Was that a threat, sir?"

"Take it however you want, it means nothing to me." He responded coldly before glancing at Akira. "What are you looking at?" He sneered. He scoffed when the noirette made no reply. "This country is filled with clueless children... I worry for Japan's future."

So do I. Shiina agreed.

"Let them go. My next appointment is coming up." The teens silently watched as he entered his vehicle and sped off.

"What a piece of shit." Ryuji spat. "So whaddya think after seeing him in person?"

The question was aimed at Akira, who was oddly silent.

"Akira...?" Shiina called out to him nervously. He was like this before? What was in his mind?

Finally he spoke. "...He's why I got arrested."

"Wait... He's the jerk you told us about before?!" Ryuji sputtered. "The same guy?! For real?! Seriously?!"

"The—the one who falsely accused you?! It was Shido?!" Shiina's voice rose an octave higher.

"You're sure... aren't you?" Haru asked knowingly.

"Shido's the one who ruined your life..." Morgana trailed off, looking horrified at the realization.

Ryuji started to pace around, running a hand through his hair in a stressful manner. "Holy shit... I don't believe it..."

Shiina couldn't either. The same guy who got Akira in this mess from the very beginning, was the one behind an even bigger mess for all of them.

"...Let's get going okay?" Haru advised softly.

The walk back to Leblanc was silent, suffocatingly so. It wasn't until they returned to the cafe did their ears burst with noise.

"Well? How did go?" Makoto was the first to speak up.

"...Why do you guys look like that...?" Ann asked warily, taking notice of their pale, dumbstruck appearances.

"Shido..." Akira swallowed thickly. "I couldn't recognize him from before, but he's..."

"He's...?" Sojiro trailed off.

"He's the guy who falsely accused me and got me arrested." Akira finished, and the whole cafe exploded.

"What?!" Sae's eyes popped open and she nearly fell off the stool she was sitting on.

"Shido's the guy who set you up?!" Ann shouted.

Akira nodded numbly.

"What kind of fate brought you two back together...?" Yusuke murmured.

"I want to know myself." Akira muttered, collapsing on the seat beside Shiina.

"Talk about a destined connection..." Makoto said, purely astonished.

Morgana jumped onto the table. "Shido was involved in cognitive research too, right? This can't be dismissed as just a coincidence..."

"God... What the hell's going on here?" Sojiro had to take a seat, too shocked by the discovery to even stand.

"Shido was already a politician then, yet he sued a student and ruined his future?" Sae wondered aloud. "He must've pulled some strings so that his name wouldn't be mentioned... Furthermore, he also would've had to force that woman into making a false statement."

Shiina was about to ask 'what woman?', but then remembered that Akira had gotten arrested for saving a woman from a drunken Shido. And in return, she testified against him.

She must have been terrified, she thought, feeling bad for the lady.

Yusuke frowned in contempt. "He would do anything. We're talking about a man that who ordered a hit inside the police station."

"He can't sit still until he crushes whoever opposes him, no matter how trivial. He's always been that way." Sojiro stated.

"What a piece of shit!" Ryuji yelled. "'Children are the future' my ass! What he's sayin' and doin' are completely different!"

"But now that we found out who did it, can't something be done about Akira's record?" Ann asked.

"It's Shido's word against Akira," Shiina said glumly. "Shido's a powerful figure in society and all of Japan loves him... People won't hesitate to go over to Shido's side." She knew how society worked. It would be no different if it was with Endeavor.

"But what if he admits?" Ann said.

"Once the courts have made a judgement, overturning that decision will be difficult." Sae explained. "It'd barely be possible even if proof of innocence is presented and Shido admits to his crimes."

"At any rate, we need to trigger a change of heart in him." Yusuke advised.

Makoto nodded in agreement. "Be that as it may, Shido's outer appearance and his true face are wholly different. It's beyond hypocritical. It's as if he's an entirely different person."

"He speaks about the good of the country... It makes me wonder what really is on his mind." Haru said.

"That man's full of ambition to rise in the world." Sojiro shook his head. "He only thinks of the weak as stepping stools for his success."

"He treats himself as an elite man while looking down on others... That's the worst." Ann frowned.

"I assume the keyword for what he believes the Diet Building is will be despicable too." Yusuke theorized.

"It must be something self-centered and completely different from politics." Ann said.

"Someone like him needs to be punished as soon as possible!" Haru exclaimed firmly.

"Let's head to the Diet Building again right after school tomorrow. I feel we'll get it this time!" Ryuji said with determination.

"Stewing over it won't get anywhere. We have to do this..." Makoto said, looking over at everyone. They all nodded in agreement and Shiina had the feeling the topic was now done with.

"Okay, um..." She nervously spoke up. "Now that we've got that over with... I met the other Persona user Shouto told Yusuke and I about."

"Wait what?" Ryuji blinked, looking between the mentioned two. "Hold on, when was this?"

"A few weeks ago." Yusuke replied.

"Another Persona user?" Futaba squeaked. "Why didn't you guys tell us about this?!"

"Oh, I told Akira and he had me keep hush-hush about it. Initially, I was worried he was the 'black mask' guy Akechi told us about, but Akira knew that wasn't it. But he still had me gather some info about him when I entered UA."

"And what'd you find out?" Akira asked, ignoring the look of pure shock the other teenagers were giving them.

"His name's Amada Ken," she began. "We share homeroom together and he's Quirkless like the rest of us. His Persona's name is Kala-Nemi, and he summons him by shooting himself in the head with some sort of special gun."

"He shoots himself in the head?" Sojiro echoed, clearly disturbed.

"There's no blood or anything if that's what you're worried about." Shiina assured. "Anyways, he knows other Persona users too and even mentioned someone named Narukami Yu. He also said that I looked like another Persona user but never mentioned him by name. Oh, and uh, we exchanged numbers and he wants to ask me about the Persona users I met, i.e. you guys."

"I have to admit, ever since I found out that his summoning includes having to be shot in the head, I've been curious about him..." Yusuke mused. "But to think there are potentially other people like us, but with different summoning methods..."

"Do you think him and those other Persona users are like us?" Ryuji suddenly asked. He clarified when he saw all the confused stares. "I mean, you know how Akira's like our leader and he's got that special wild card ability? Do you think that Amada guy has someone like that in his team?"

"Or maybe the wild card's him...!" Haru added.

"I don't know," Shiina shrugged. "But I'm more concerned on what you guys want me to tell him when he starts asking questions. I can't very well tell him that we're the Phantom Thieves..."

"That's true," Makoto murmured, turning to Akira. "You got any idea?"

"You shouldn't mention my name, or the Phantom Thieves," Akira said. "You can explain the Metaverse and Mementos, but leave out the bit where we change people's hearts."

"So I'll just say we're a group of friends that travel to a different realm via cellphone app to battle dangerous Shadows for fun and recreation?" Shiina asked, wanting to make sure she got it all down.

Akira paused before nodding shortly. It sounded ridiculous but that was the best they had so far. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"Okay," Shiina sighed in relief. "I feel bad for lying though..."

"You'll have to get used to it," he said sympathetically, shrugging.

That was the problem though.

She felt like she was getting used to it.

— ❤ —

Her second day of UA was more normal compared to the previous one. It was—according to Mina—another tyical sparring day where Aizawa had them battle against each other with their Quirks. Since Shiina's arrival made the class have an even number of students, nobody had to sit out. Unfortunately, it meant Aizawa had one more person to watch over for.

"Kiberi, stop fixing your hair and get started already." Aizawa glared at her and she was glad he had bandages wrapped around his face, else she was sure she'd piss her pants...

Since Aizawa already had a pretty good idea on how the other students fought, Shiina was still unknown to him. All he knew was that she had Quirk that summoned an entity that could render people to sleep. It reminded him of Midnight, hell they even shared a similar personality, but he had a feeling there was more to her Quirk. And so, he decided to pay extra attention to her fight.

Now if only she could stop fixing her goddamn hair...

"It would be easier if I had a mirror!" Shiina huffed. "Does this look good?"

"Just great," he answered dryly. "Now start the fight."

Beaming, she turned towards her beaked opponent, Tokoyami and nodded to indicate that she was ready. At her nod, he quickly summoned Dark Shadow who wasted no time to dive at her.

She dodged it, her gauntlets appearing over her arms in a flash of blue. She knew that Dark Shadow was, well, a shadow (not the kind she killed), but did it have a physical body that she could pierce? She did witness him slam into All Might the day before, so surely physical attacks could hurt him, right?

Fuck it, she already had her gauntlets out anyways. She'd look stupid if she got rid of them five seconds after summoning them. She made a jab at Dark Shadow's side, his yelp confirming her suspicions. He had a solid body!

Dark Shadow returned to Tokoyami's side after her attack, huffing in annoyance.

"Cool bird thing!" Shiina complimented.

"She said I was cool!" Dark Shadow whispered to Tokoyami.

"Dark Shadow..." He sighed.

"I think my shadowy entity thingy is much cooler though." Shiina smirked, and Tokoyami tensed up in preparation. With a brutal rip of her mask, she called forth Tullia who rose from the darkness like a demon ascending from hell. She even made sure to add a glass-shattering shriek for a more dramatic effect.

Beat up Dark Shadow, and I'll handle Tokoyami. Shiina ordered in her head. Tullia soared through the air, her mouth open for a curse attack while Shiina started battling it out with Tokoyami.

"No maiming." Aizawa warned, eyeing the sharpness of her weapons.

Not wanting to piss anyone off on her second day, Shiina's gauntlets de-materialized before she delivered a swift punch to his beak, which he blocked with a raise of his hands. She did, however, manage to give him some serious bruising on his forearms.

There was a loud caw in the distance as Dark Shadow failed to strike Tullia. Or at least, it looked like he failed. He was sure his claws struck the she-demon's skin, but it didn't even leave a mark! He swiped at her relentlessly, growing more and more frustrated when none of his attacks did anything. Tullia then raised her hands, a glowing red and black ball of energy forming between them.

Tokoyami's eyes widened when he realized Dark Shadow wasn't moving away, too busy trying o land desperate hits on her. "Dark Shad—Argh!" He keeled over, his arms wrapping around his stomach where Shiina kneed him. At the same time, Tullia released her Eiha on Dark Shadow.

Shiina glanced at the scene, panicking when the attack didn't have it's desired effect. Was it just her or did Dark Shadow seem bigger?!

No, wait a second... She blinked rapidly. When the Eiha disappeared, Dark Shadow's body shrunk back to it's normal size.

"Alright that's enough," Aizawa said before the fight could continue on.

Shiina turned to Tokoyami with a frown. "What the hell was that? Dark Shadow was supposed to be screaming, not growing!"

"That attack was one of darkness, was it not?" He asked her in his usual, deep, and serious voice.

"Mmhmm."

He sighed. "Well that explains it. Dark Shadow thrives in the darkness."

"You actually gave me a boost!" Said shadow exclaimed, returning to Tokoyami's side. "Didn't last long though. How boring."

Shiina gaped in utter horror. That meant none of her curse attacks would work on him! Before she could fall to her knees and weep like the dramatic queen she was, Aizawa trudged over to them and spoke in his usual tired voice that sounded like he just swallowed a bunch of coal.

"Your Quirks cancel each other's out," he stated. "Dark Shadows attacks did nothing to Tullia while Tullia's attack, though it helped him, was only temporary."

"Oh?" Shiina perked up. "Dark Shadow couldn't do anything either? Hah, take that!"

Dark Shadow scoffed, crossing his arms at her.

"You didn't notice?" Tokoyami asked.

"Nope," she said bluntly.

"Learn to pay attention," Aizawa instructed. "Don't rely entirely on your instincts. You need to learn to think and strategize rather then busy yourself with attacking the enemy."

"K."

Aizawa had no idea if that meant she understood his words and would take his advice, or if she didn't give a shit. Either way, he rolled her eyes even nobody could see them. "It was a satisfactory fight. Go take a short break and get some water."

"You got it, sensei!" Shiina chirped.

"Shut up."

"Haha!"

Aizawa left to go check out the next fight—Kaminari vs Bakugou. The poor pikachu was running all over the place rather than really fighting while Bakugou chased after him with the help of his explosions, screaming words of encouragement like "FIGHT ME OR DIE, YOU STUPID FUCK!" and "STOP RUNNING AWAY OR I'LL BREAK YOUR DAMN LEGS!".

"So," Shiina skipped beside her bird-partner. "Why Dark Shadow?"

"Hm?"

"You could've named him whatever you wanted, but you picked Dark Shadow. Why not, like... Joe or something?"

"I wanted to be named L!" Dark Shadow lamented.

"I told you I wasn't going to name you after an anime character!" Tokoyami scolded. He turned his attention back to Shiina. "I named him Dark Shadow because it suited him the most—"

"—And it sounded the edgiest—" Dark Shadow slipped in.

"—Did you pick the name Tullia?"

"Oh no, that's her actual name," she chuckled. "She told me what her name was when I first... awakened her. Tullia's name actually comes from Tullia Minor, the last Roman Queen who worked together with her husband to kill her father, thus giving her the throne. Whether my Tullia is actually that Tullia, I don't know."

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow shared a look that could only be translated to 'what the fuck'.

"Is Dark Shadow a part of you?" She asked.

He nodded his head. "Yes. He is a sentient being that protects the host, which is me. I believe Tullia is similar in those regards?"

"Tullia's not exactly sentient," Shiina tried to explain. "She's basically another me, a, uh, counterpart you could say? She's a manifestation of my personality."

He stopped walking to stare at her. "...Your personality is a deranged ex-Roman Queen that murdered her father in order to obtain the throne?"

"Yeah sounds about right."

"Damn, she's edgier than me..." Dark Shadow moped.

After training was done and over with (and Kaminari and Deku were sent to the infirmary), the kids went off to the cafeteria since it was lunch time. As usual, Shiina sat with a lonesome Shouto, who was slurping on another bowl of cold soba.

"Do you eat that every day?" She asked, scrunching her nose up a little.

He stopped slurping to give her a confused look. "Is something wrong with that?"

"I just don't think that's healthy."

"You're on your fifth cupcake."

Her face grew red. "Y-you were counting?!"

"Yes."

She huffed in defeat, trying in vain to control the redness on her cheeks. "Fine, you can continue eating your soba, just leave me and my cupcakes alone."

"Deal."

Just when he was about to begin slurping, he was interrupted when a student intruded at their table.

"Can I sit here?" Ken asked, with a friendly smile on his face.

"No." Shouto rejected.

The smile was wiped away. "O-oh, um, er..." He looked at Shiina, who smiled sweetly.

"Of course you can sit here, Amada-kun." She discreetly kicked Shouto's shin.

"Thanks," he said in relief, plopping down beside her since Shouto's side was cold. "You can just call me Ken, you don't need to be formal with me. We're friends now, right?"

The atmosphere grew colder.

"In that case you can call me Shiina then."

A light layer of frost started to cover Shouto's side of the table.

"This is Shouto, Sho-chan's a little shy." Shiina introduced the two.

"Are you guys related or something?" Ken asked, looking between them but unable to notice how tense they became. "You guys look alike. Sort of."

"No, just... childhood friends." She lied.

"You guys sure are lucky to be together then," he said, his tone less friendly and more... sad. Shiina decided not to pry. "It's hard for anyone to get into UA. Let alone two childhood friends."

Shiina had a feeling he was talking about something else. Something completely unrelated to UA.

Time passed by and they were finally at their last class of the day: Modern Hero Art History with Midnight. Shiina quickly became Midnight's favorite student, not because of how knowledgeable she was on the subject (she sucked at ass at it, actually) but because of how similar the two were. Both ladies were equally as fabulous so it was no surprise that they get along well.

"You all have a project due at the end of the week! Pick a Pro hero and do some research on his or her debut and the effect they had in society! Did their debut put them in a positive light in society's eyes or a negative one? Group up in twos or threes and come to me to tell me what hero you chose and your group members!" Midnight announced with a lash of her whip (on the desk, of course).

The classroom burst to life, the students getting up on their seats to meet with their friends. Some decided not to leave their seats and instead shout at their friends from across the room. Shiina turned around in her chair and tilted her head so she would be looking at Shouto and not Tokoyami (who was seated behind her).

"Sho-chan, Sho-chan, let's be partners!"

He nodded silently.

"Yes!" Shiina fist-pumped. She hopped out of her seat and tugged on his arm so they could get to Midnight as fast as possible. She already had a pretty good idea on which hero she wanted. While dragging Shouto to the front of the room, Ken called out to her.

"Ah, Shiina, can I be in your group?" He asked. Meanwhile, Mina wailed in the distance.

"Sure. Come on, come on, I already know what hero to pick!" In the corner of her eye, she could see Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka heading towards Midnight. Without sparing another second, she grabbed Ken by the tie and proceeded to drag both him and Shouto to the front desk. She body-slammed Bakugou to the side, stepped on Mineta, and clotheslined an unfortunate Kaminari.

"MIDNIGHT SENSEI, WE CHOOSE ALL MIGHT!" She and Midoriya shouted amongst the chaos.

Midnight blinked, not expecting them to be so passionate about the assignment. She looked at Midoriya, who was rendered speechless while his two partners glanced at each other uncertainly before looking over at Shiina, who may or may not have dislocated Shouto's elbow and strangled Amada while also leaving a trail of bodies behind her.

"You can't both have All Might..." She began, before smirking deviously. "SO I'LL HAVE TO GIVE IT TO SHIINA AND HER GROUP!"

"HAHA!" She laughed victoriously as Midoriya's face crumbled. "Sorry dude, I can't help being Midnight sensei's favorite."

After their group was officially assembled and Midnight gave them the green light to work on All Might, the three gathered around Shiina's desk while the other students argued about which hero to pick.

"According to this, it says we have to make a poster." Ken said, eyes glued on the paper Midnight gave them. "We also have to make a five to ten minute presentation."

Shiina snorted, "Look, it even mentions Midoriya-kun in here."

Presentation should only take five to ten minutes and nothing longer (Midoriya, I'm looking at you).

"If he had ended up with All Might, there's no knowing how long their presentation would be." Ken joked. "Hey, Shiina, why'd you pick All Might anyways? I didn't think you were a big fan."

"I just wanted to piss a certain someone off." She smirked, exchanging looks with Shouto. He didn't show it, but he was feeling equally as devious as her.

Ken watched them and couldn't help but shudder. "Okay... So when should we start getting our info and making the poster? Today after school?"

"No," she replied automatically, causing both boys to look at her. She couldn't find the courage to look at Shouto's eyes. "I, um, I'm busy after school. And Sunday..." Since it was a free day, she was sure it'd be spent doing more Phantom Thief work. "Maybe... tomorrow after school?"

He nodded. "That's fine with me, how about you Todoroki-san?"

He grunted.

"Okay, so should we do it at your house—"

"—No." The twins said in unison. There were two things that could go wrong with that. One, Ken could possibly find out that they lived together, thus her relation to Endeavor. And Two, Endeavor may still be hospitalized, but he wasn't the type to inform his family of his return. He could come home tomorrow and he'd be pissed if he found that they were doing a project about All Might of all people—which was fine with them, but they didn't want Ken to be around for his All Might-induced temper tantrums.

"Is your place okay, Ken?" Shiina asked.

He seemed a little hesitant to answer, but nodded anyways. "Y-yeah... I think my place would be fine."

So it was settled. Tomorrow after school they'd be going to Ken's house to work on their All Might project.

Shiina hoped she would be available that day.

— ❤ —

"The security guards became suspicious of us last time, so we can't stay here for long," Makoto warned, looking around the perimeters of the Diet Building. As expected, there were several guards stationed at the gate, but nobody knew if they were the same ones from two days ago.

"But we still have no hit..." Futaba sighed.

"Think it's a barrier after all?" Ryuji asked. He was really stuck on the barrier idea and Shiina for the life of her couldn't understand why.

"How is such a thing even possible?" She wondered aloud.

"Lets focus on the keyword, guys." Ann called out to them.

Haru went straight to work. "The citizens are secondary. He only cares about his own well-being and that of his lackeys..."

"He wants to become prime minister even if it means trampling on others..." Makoto trailed off.

"Fortune... rich people..." Futaba mumbled to herself.

"Hey, Akira, can you think of anything based on what you've heard from him?" Morgana asked. "Just try saying anything. It doesn't matter if you guess."

He bit his lip and started to think. "I remember on the night I got arrested... He said something about 'steering' Japan."

Morgana narrowed his eyes in thought. "Steer...?"

"Is it a ship...?" Akira guessed.

Right after saying those words the entire world shifted for a brief second while the Meta-Nav announced: "Navigation found."

"What? The Diet Building's a ship?!" Ann blinked. "What kind of scenery will that be?! The actual building's on land!"

Makoto frowned worryingly. "I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like..."

Futaba grinned. "Well, whatever it is, looks like there are no barriers!" She sent a smug look to Ryuji.

"Oh sh-shuddup! Let's just hurry up and go in!" He stammered.

"Are we clear of the guard's sight?" Yusuke asked.

"Get closer to the wall, just in case." Morgana advised. They all shuffled behind the wall where they were completely hidden from everyone else's prying eyes.

"Alright Akira, do it." Shiina said.

With a nod, the leader pressed on the screen and the world melted away. A few seconds later they found themselves... in the same place?

"Did anything change...?" Shiina wondered aloud.

Makoto looked around. "The security guards seem to be gone, but it's difficult to tell for certain... This seems to be similar to what happened with Sis's Palace."

"But this time, the Diet Building remains unchanged." Yusuke stated.

"Ah... The gate wasn't open earlier though." Haru pointed out.

Ann turned around. "Wait, look! Mona's appearance is different."

"That means we're definitely in a Palace." Futaba confirmed.

"I thought the Palace was supposed to take the shape of a ship, though." Shiina frowned. "I don't see any ships anywhere."

"We should go take a look then," Ryuji suggested. They all separated into pairs. Ryuji and Shiina went to check out the east side of the building, Ann and Yusuke checked out whatever was behind the columns, Haru and Makoto went farther to the edge of the area, while Akira, Futaba, and Mona looked around the pillars scattered in front of the building.

"The place is completely empty," Shiina muttered to Ryuji. "I don't see anyone, and I don't hear anything."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'm pretty sure we should've been attacked by Shadows right about now."

"Maybe the party's inside the building." She said. "But that still doesn't explain the whole 'ship' part."

"Hey," Akira's voice buzzed through their ears through the power of Futaba's ability. "Anything on your end?"

"Nothing." She replied. "You guys?"

"Same here—Futaba?"

Shiina stopped walking. "Don't tell me you guys lost her."

Ryuji turned to her. "What? They lost someone? Ugh, I'm joining in." He buzzed in and immediately asked: "Yo, what's going on?"

There was a gasp followed by Futaba's surprised exclamation. "What the heck?!"

"What is it?"

"Futaba?"

Shiina and Ryuji looked at each other. "Let's go." They ran back to the front of the building and spotted Futaba's head of orange hair far far away from the building. They, along with the rest of the team, jogged towards her.

"What's wrong—Ohhhhh..." Shiina's eyes slowly widened. "...Holy shit... We're actually on the ship...!"

The Diet Building was the ship. Not only that, there were buildings sinking in the water. Some of them looked startlingly familiar to her.

"Even though all of the country may sink, he alone will survive." Haru breathed out. "...That's what this cognition is about, huh?"

Shiina looked around as dread struck her. She felt like she was in one of those science-fiction disaster films that showed what the world would look like if humans didn't being little shits.

This was a lot more terrifying than the movies.

"This is bullshit...!" Ryuji cried out. "A country that children can be proud of my ass! It's completely sunken in his head! If a guy like this stands above everyone, we're seriously done for!"

Ann glared at nobody in particular. "This is beyond ridiculous!"

"The same goes for Akechi." Yusuke stated. "He should've seen this scenery as well... yet he still aided Shido."

"...Do you think we'll see him in here?" Shiina asked in a tiny voice. "Akechi? Or his cognition at least? He and Shido know each other so..."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Akira said gravely. "We need to be ready if we see him here. Cognitive or not."

Shiina gulped, feeling fearful and apprehensive at the prospect of potentially seeing Akechi—the real Akechi or the cognitive one.

Makoto was still looking at the sinking buildings, horrified. "What in the world is he thinking...?"

"Whether it be for glory or for simply a reward... My father died because of someone like this...!" Haru said with clear disgust.

"We gotta sink Shido instead of this country!" Futaba said firmly.

"A Palace with not just the center of the distortion, but the entire country sunken... I can't believe there's someone with this tremendous of a desire..." Morgana shook his head before steeling his expression. "Be careful! This will be completely different from the past Palaces!"

"We're definitely gonna take his Treasure!" Ryuji growled.

"Let's go, everyone." Akira ordered.

"Alright!" Ryuji fist pumped.

"We must put an end to this the day before the elections! We only have two weeks." Makoto stated.

"Let's get some payback for putting us into a trap!" Shiina smirked.

Shido clearly didn't see any of them as a threat since their thief suits weren't automatically on but that all changed once they stepped inside the Diet Building. Shiina could hardly pay attention to her change of clothes, however, and was more entranced by the room.

A velvety red carpet laid underneath them, leading up to a grand staircase that was flanked with two tall statues of Shido. Above them was a glittering chandelier that shined light upon the fancily dressed people chatting below. They all wore masks so Shiina wasn't able to recognize them.

"Why are the passengers wearing masks?" Shiina asked.

"You think they're tryin' to be Phantom Thieves, like Haru was with that Beauty Thief stuff?" Ryuji snorted.

"Beauty Thief?" The red haired girl turned to the shorter senpai.

Haru flushed under everyone's gazes. "Th—that's quite enough!"

"Whatever the reason, it reflects Shido's mentality. Surely he doesn't view others normally." Yusuke concluded.

"Given the insane nature of his distortion, I'm surprised they even appear as people..." Makoto trailed off. "I guess we'll find out the answer to Shiina's question soon enough. For now, let's look around."

"It's very likely we'll end up in battles from here forward. Be on your guard, everyone!" Morgana warned.

Shiina was quick to find out that the other passengers were jerks. They all made snide comments about her suit and showed a great disdain for teenagers. It wasn't her fault they were old and wrinkly! No wonder Shido let them in his ship. Jerks stick with other jerks. She briefly wondered if Endeavor would be here too.

They all headed up the stairs where they were met with a Shadow.

"Wait, he's gonna attack us with all these people around?!" Ryuji blurted out, just as the Shadow turned into Cerberus.

It wasn't that hard to defeat him. All it took were several hits from Yusuke's ice type Persona and it was down in an instant.

"Ah, is this a show of sorts? Shido-sama never fails to keep his guests entertained!" Someone exclaimed.

"Indeed! Those privileged enough to be on this ship are all on the winning team!" Another giggled.

"What the hell, those idiots didn't go running?" Shiina exasperated.

"What is with these people...?" Yusuke said, feeling the same amount of exasperation as her. "Why do they not feel any danger after what they just witnessed?"

Makoto sighed. "It seems they think no harm will come to them because they're here on Shido's ship."

"They're not even sensin' the danger... C'mon, let's make 'em see what this ship really is!" Ryuji bit out.

They explored the next few floors, the Shadows getting noticeably stronger the further up they went. They managed to find the ship's central passage where Morgana suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall.

"What is it?" Akira asked.

"Hmmm... I can sense the Treasure's presence! It's that way. Let's go, guys!"

"Seems a little too easy, don't you think?" Shiina asked.

"Who knows? Shido's probably got shit security." Ryuji shrugged before jogging after the rest of the team towards the golden doors with the label REPRESENTATIVES CHAMBER above them.

"These huge doors are obviously suspicious. I wonder what's through here." Ryuji mused, tapping on one of the golden lion heads as if there was a secret doorway behind it.

"There are slots to stick in something like a keycard... Whoa, there's like five of them!" Futaba realized.

Shiina's shoulders slumped. "I think I just jinxed us when I mentioned how easy this was..."

Just then, Shido's hideous voice echoed from the intercom. "...Four hundred seventy five people in favor, zero against. Since there is no one against the plan, the bill will be unanimously passed as drafted."

"Passed?" Ryuji repeated. "What's goin' on? Was that Shido's voice?"

Makoto crossed her arms, her thinking look plastered onto her face. "If this truly is the Representatives Chamber as written, beyond here must be the main assembly hall."

"The what?" Shiina scratched her head.

"It's that large conference room that's usually seen on the news." She answered.

"Ohhhh."

"So... what're they doin' inside?" Ryuji asked bluntly.

"Most likely a meaningless vote... one in which whatever Shido proposes will always go unopposed." Makoto replied.

Haru frowned. "So he's doing whatever he wants by keeping only his supporters in there."

"What do we do to get in though?" Yusuke frowned. "Should we find these keycards?"

"Maybe we need some kind of qualification, one that vows to be his follower or swear loyalty." Morgana theorized.

"So basically, we need to prove that we're on his side." Ann clarified.

"We'll have to pretend." Akira stated.

"You sure move on quick." Makoto commented.

"But what's this qualification thing about?" Ryuji asked.

"Why don't we ask the guests on the ship?" Haru chimed.

Akira nodded in acceptance. "Great idea."

"The thought never crossed my mind." Futaba admitted.

"Asking the guests isn't a bad idea," Morgana commended. "The guests here are the cognitive versions of them in Shido's mind. They'll know any secrets he shared."

"True. You have a point." Makoto nodded.

"I'm all for asking the guests, but you all saw how they spoke to us down there. If we agitate them even a little bit, they might attack us. Or... have a Shadow attack us for them." Shiina pointed our.

Ann frowned. "You're right..."

"We should prepare for the worst, of course, but I think we'll at least be able to talk to them." Morgana assured. "This ship is most likely an ark loaded with those that Shido believes are worth keeping alive. It'd explain the luxury cruise ship. I doubt idiots who can't even hold a conversation would be here."

"We can at least gather information." Makoto said. "It helps that everyone's wearing masks. We'll blend in even with our attire."

"He must believe that no one shows their true face to anyone else... Just like him." Morgana scoffed.

"Well then, let's split up and ask around." Haru decided.

As usual, Shiina stuck to Ryuji's side which was a terrible idea since both were hot-headed and abrasive. Neither of them could hold a conversation full of stupid 'fancy talk' and Shiina could indulge in those sort of chats for a full minute before blurting out something sarcastic or offensive (or both), so the two weren't having the grandest time trying to collect information.

"We're both shitty conversationalists—formal wise—so it's best we keep our mouths shut and just eavesdrop. What do you think?" Shiina asked her blonde partner in crime.

"Dude," he stared at her like she was crazy. "We can't keep our mouths shut either."

She rolled her eyes. "Well maybe you can't, but I certainly can."

"You're talking right now!"

"Lower your voice!" She hissed. "And we're not eavesdropping on anyone yet."

"Stop saying the 'e' word, you're gonna sell us out before we can even do anything!" He hissed back.

"Oh my god, can you keep your voice down?!" She groaned. "Good lord, the others are probably done by now."

"It's literally been, like, two minutes since we split up." He snorted. "Hey, how about we check out this hallway?"

She shrugged. "Fine by me."

The hallway didn't have many guests in there, only around four of them and they were gathered around the very center. Shiina approached a man and woman and cleared her throat.

Nothing.

"Ahem," she tried again. "Excuse me?"

Nothing.

"—oh you have the elegance and refinement so sorely lacking in the ordinary citizenry!" The man beamed at the woman, shooting Shiina a dirty look when he said 'ordinary citizenry'.

As expected, Shiina blew up.

"Ordinary citizenry?!" She cocked her head back, gawking at him as if he was the most insane person on the ship. "Sir, I'm worth a hundred of you! And I'm a helluva catch compared to your lady friend over there!"

"Alright, let's get outta here," Ryuji grabbed her forearm and began tugging her away from the couple.

"Keep away from them darling," the woman 'whispered' to the man. "Especially that wild looking peasant boy."

Ryuji whipped his head back. "I go to an elite school, you pretentious bitch!"

"Yeah, we're probably richer than you assholes combined!" Shiina added.

"'Pretentious'? I didn't realize you even knew about that word, Skull." A deep voice chuckled and they turned around to see Yusuke approaching them, looking very amused.

"Oh shut up," the blonde scowled. "Let's just get outta here already before I bash someone's face in."

"I take it your intel-gathering didn't go well?" Yusuke asked knowingly.

"Nope," Shiina grumbled as they made it back to the grand room. "How about you?"

"I managed to catch some information on one of the VIPs." He said.

"No way, you actually got something?!" Ryuji shouted, earning himself a smack on the arm.

"Well of course," he chuckled. "I'm not cantankerous like the both of you."

"Fox, that sounds like a disease." Shiina said bluntly.

"It means—"

"—Ah, screw that, I didn't come here for a vocab lesson," Ryuji waved him off. "How long has it been?"

"Around ten minutes. I belief everyone's coming together now."

"Before we go join back with them, do you know if there's any way I can get myself a drink?" Shiina said randomly. "I'm parched as fuck."

Ryuji gave her a weird look. "Since when the hell do you use the word 'parched'? Who even are you?"

"Hypocrite. You used the word 'pretentious'."

"Ah, here's some water for you, Diablo." Yusuke said, nabbing a cold bottle of water from an ice bucket nearby.

Shiina stared at the unfamiliar object in wonder. "Wow, even the water is fancy..."

"Taste it," Ryuji said eagerly. "I bet it's just lemon water."

Yusuke frowned, placing a hand under his chin. "I never really understood why there are so many different brands for water. It's just water. It all tastes the same."

"Maybe this one's different." Shiina said, uncapping it. Then, she took a sip. She lowered the bottle away from her lips and frowned in disappointment. "What the hell? I tasted nothing! Like, literally nothing!"

"What do you mean?" Ryuji asked.

"I could feel the water go down my throat, but I couldn't really... taste it? It's like drinking liquefied air!"

He looked at her like she was stupid. "That doesn't make any sense."

She shoved the bottle to his chest. "You try it then."

And he did.

"Oh, what the fuck?!"

"I know right?!"

Yusuke put his hand out. "May I?"

Ryuji handed the bottle over and watched as a surprised expression crossed over the bluenette's face as he drank from it. "...I see what you're talking about."

"See?!"

"What are you guys doing?"

All three jumped at the sound of Akira's voice. They all whirled around to see him staring at them expectantly, arms crossed. Beside him was Morgana, whose arms were also crossed.

"What's taking you guys so long? You were supposed to meet back minutes ago!" Morgana scolded.

"Sorry we got distracted by this water," Ryuji blurted out, only realizing too late how dumb that sounded.

"Water." Akira said dryly. "You guys got distracted by a bottle of water."

"It tastes weird, I swear!" Shiina exclaimed. Yusuke nodded his head wildly in agreement.

The Leader cocked a brow up. "Seriously?"

"Try it yourself." Yusuke tossed the bottle to him. Without hesitation, Akira popped the lid off and took a gulp.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh..."

"You idiots," Morgana slapped his forehead. "Food and drinks don't taste the same here because we're in a cognition! Our bodies don't really work the same way in here." He explained.

"Huh," Ryuji blinked, amazed. "Is that why I never need to go piss while infiltrating a Palace?"

"...You're so gross, dude." Shiina said, backing away from him.

"You're all hopeless..." Morgana shook his head. "Anyways, I found a map that can take us to the nearest safe room. Let's head over there to discuss what we discovered."

— ❤ —

"Still, this is a surprise... All the cognitive guests in this Palace seem like real humans." Morgana said. "The casino earlier looked pretty real too, but talking with these guests was a whole 'nother story."

"Amen to that," Shiina mumbled, remember her and Ryuji's 'encounter' with the two guests from before.

"This ruler's observational skills and insight are off the charts. Shido's a formidable foe..." Morgana said seriously.

"C'mon, no need to freak out!" Ryuji snorted.

"I'm not freaking out! I was just thinking it'll be easier to make a plan since they can talk normally." He reasoned. "Alright, let's put together the information we gathered."

A few minutes later...

"...So, we gotta get a 'letter of introduction' from the five VIPs?" Ryuji asked.

"And those letters become the keycards?" Ann added.

"Exactly. Now let's go over what all of us have learned." Makoto said. "First, according to my intel... One of the VIPs is an influential politician by the name of Ooe. He's supposedly seen at the restaurant at night and sits at a table near the window."

"Um, I'll go next," Ann said. "I heard about a prominent VIP who used to be... nobility? It sounds like he's usually by the pool."

"Next is my intelligence." Yusuke began. "It seems the president of a television station is also a VIP. He always plays slots at night. It would seem he spends his money quite lavishly."

"Crap, I'm startin' to forget people already..." Ryuji mumbled.

Shiina tried listing off the five VIPs in her head.

Ooe.

Noble pool dude.

TV guy.

So far, so good.

"Next is my turn!" Futaba exclaimed.

"For real?! Even you got info?" Ryuji spluttered.

"Of course, I eavesdropped." She said as if it was the most easiest thing in the world.

Shiina sank a little lower in her seat, exchanging a look with Ryuji.

"Supposedly one of the VIPs is the president of an IT company. He's always in his room and reportedly enters from an exclusive hallway."

"Well then, I'll close us out!" Morgana said.

Ryuji's jaw dropped. "How the hell'd you get info with your looks...?"

Morgana promptly ignored him. "It seems like some guy they call the 'cleaner' is another VIP. I've heard that he's cautious, so it's probably best if we check the other VIPs first."

"Cleaner? I wonder what they mean by that..." Haru pondered.

"Wait a minute." Ann called out. "After all the VIPs we listed, this one's a cleaner? Is he really a VIP?"

Morgana shrugged. "Supposedly."

Haru frowned. "I'm sorry... I couldn't get any information."

"Neither did Ryuji and I..." Shiina trailed off, catching Akira and Yusuke's amused smirks. She instantly looked away, flushed. "Let's just, uh, work harder during the battles."

She nodded, a small smile forming on her face. "You're right... I'll do my best!"

"Uh, but there's a bigger problem you know..." Ryuji said nervously. "My memory's, uh... not so great. Who was who...?"

They tried rehashing the information to him but it was all for naught since Ryuji could only memorize sports teams and not important information that their lives actually depended on.

"Ugh, it's no use! I can't keep the profiles of five people straight in my head...!" He cried out. To Shiina, his head looked like it was about to explode. It was kind of funny.

"I can only remember about two of them... What about you, Joker?" Ann asked.

"I forgot all of them." He shamelessly admitted.

"Oh dear lord..."

"It's not that hard," Shiina chimed. "Just remember this: Ooe. Noble pool dude. TV guy. IT president. And cleaner."

"Exactly," Futaba nodded her head. "We get certification from them and obtain letters of introduction that'll serve as keycards. But only go for the cleaner after the other four have been dealt with. Right?"

"Right." Makoto confirmed. "If we can't remember the details on the VIPs, let's reconvene inside a safe room. Anyways... We know how to get into the main assembly hall now... Should we head home?"

"Huh?" Ryuji gaped at her. "You wanna go back already?"

"There are people in here with special letters. That means Shido trusts them to a certain extent." Morgana stated.

"It would be best to consider them as powerful individuals." Yusuke informed. "We do not want to get too hasty. Let us take our time here."

"I guess we do have a little time to spare. Well then, let's head back for today. We can spend the next few days preparing." Morgana said.

Shiina sighed in relief. "Oh thank god. I have a project to do tomorrow after school."

"Lame." Ryuji drawled.

"You're lame." She shot.

"That comeback was lame."

Ann rolled her eyes. "Alright, let's get out before they start a Yo Mamma competition."

— ❤ —

Shiina made it home just in time for dinner. Was she passed her curfew? Oh yes, definitely, but Fuyumi wasn't that mad. Mainly because she was on the phone with Endeavor.

"Oh Shiina, you're finally back," Fuyumi sighed in relief, the phone pressed to her chest. "I'm talking to dad right now."

"Is that so?"

A smile crawled over her face, making Fuyumi regret ever saying such an innocent statement.

Shiina held her hand out. "Lemme talk to him nee-chan! I wanna see how he's doing too!"

"Er," Fuyumi swallowed thickly. "Okay..."

Shiina pressed the phone against her ear. "Hey daddy! How are the injuries? Still not healed yet?" She cooed with false care.

"Shiina..." He acknowledged. "Give the phone back to your sister."

"Oh, but don't you want to hear about my day like a decent dad would? My day was great! Midnight sensei had us partner up in groups. She wants us to make a poster and present a hero of our choosing and describe how their debut went."

"Oh?" He said, his voice less gruff and more pleased. "And who did you pick?"

Shiina inwardly snorted. Did he seriously think she'd pick him?

"My most favorite hero," she started to gush, and she could practically see his chest puff out with pride. "The greatest, bestest hero and father figure I know: All Might."

There was a roar of flames and then the landline was abruptly cut off.

Smiling pleasantly, Shiina handed Fuyumi back the phone. "He's doing well." She told her.