"We're heading off now, see ya Aki!" Shiina exclaimed as she and Ken shoved on their shoes and headed out for the door. It was kinda of hard since Koromaru was dancing around their feet.

"Wait!" Akihiko said quickly. He handed them two umbrellas. "It's raining outside so use these."

"Thank you," Ken smiled, taking them both and giving one to Shiina. "We'll see you later."

"Bye bye, Koro-chan~!" Shiina cooed before joining the brunette out the door. "I hope the heater's on in class."

"Maybe you should've worn tights?" Ken suggested, glancing down at her bare legs. She had on a navy blue peacoat that gave her upper body warmth, but her legs were left vulnerable to the weather.

"Too late now," she shrugged just as they pushed passed the building doors. It was pouring outside and she could see a lot of huge puddles on the ground. "Oh great... We don't have our rain boots on..."

"We'll be fine," Ken assured. "Besides, if we don't hurry now we'll be late to for the train."

She caught the side-eye he was giving her as they hurried forward and huffed indignantly. "Oh come on, Kenny! It's not all my fault!"

He snorted. "Yes it is. You were taking forever to curl your hair."

"Well that's because I usually use Shouto as a hair curler! It's harder without him..." She moped.

"How the heck do you use your brother as a hair curler?" He gave her a bewildered look.

"Easy, I have him heat up his hand and fingers and use them as multiple irons." She chirped.

"He spoils you too much." He deadpanned.

"You're just jealous 'cause Aki doesn't do that for you!"

"Why would I want to curl my hair?"

She snickered at his reddened cheeks and he huffed at her. "So," she said. "What do you think we'll be doing today in class? I just wanna sleep it all away."

"You wouldn't be so sleepy if you'd stop using your phone in bed," she heard him grumble. "And I think Aizawa sensei would like to talk to us about the Sports Festival."

"Speaking of that, where'd you put your third place medal?"

"I hid it," he admitted with an embarrassed blush. "It's just that... Sanada-san really wants to hang it up but I don't want any reminders about my fight with Bakugou-san."

"You didn't do that bad," she said. "You were really whooping his ass up until you accidentally stepped out of bounds."

"Exactly!" He nearly cried out. "I accidentally stepped out of bounds! On live television...! Ugh, I can't believe how stupid I was..."

"It wouldn't have happened if you just summoned your spear," she giggled. "You should've just stabbed that bitch. Screw what the kids think."

"I fear for your future children."

They just had a few minutes left to spare by the time they made it to class. And, as usual, Mina and Hagakure made it their business to know why they came to school together.

"So? So? What is it?" Mina pressed forward.

"Are you guys living together now or something?" Hagakure asked, and they both tensed up.

The invisible girl gasped loudly. "You ARE—!"

"—No, no, no, no, no," Shiina said quickly (Ken was unable to form coherent sentences at the moment). "It's not like that. We just took the same train together."

"Oh," Mina sounded strangely relieved. "You should've just said that! But Shiina-chan, why'd you stop coming to school with Todoroki-kun? Are you guys fighting?"

"Huh?" Shiina blinked. Why did it sound like Mina was mistaking them as a couple or something? "Er, no..."

She made it to her seat just in time to hear Kirishima exclaim, "I had all these people talking to me on the way here!"

Shiina remembered the little girl at the mall and smiled to herself. Being remembered as 'the pretty girl from the Sports Festival' was a helluva lot better than being remembered as the girl who was murdered but miraculously came back alive.

"Same here! So many stares... It was embarrassing!" Mina said as she returned to her seat.

Sero leaned forward with a grimacing face. "All these grade schoolers kept telling me 'nice try'."

"Nice try," Tsuyu joked.

Kaminari leaned back on his chair and sighed dreamily. "One girl even asked me out."

"Did you say yes?" Shiina asked.

"Would you be jealous if I did?" He teased.

"Nah," she responded heartlessly with a smile still plastered on her face. "I'm still mad about the cheerleader thing."

His face fell. "I-I-I said I was so—"

"—So Izu-kun," Kaminari seemed to freeze when he realized she was using the greenette's first name. "What about you? Did you get a taste of fame?"

"Ah, n-not much," he nervously scratched the back of his head, clearly still not used to the whole first name basis. "A few people recognized me just today in the subway... W-what about you, Shiina-chan?"

"A cute little girl," she smiled at the memory. "And a few other guys but they were irrelevant."

Shouto gave her a hard stare. "They were trying to ask you out."

"And you did such a good job getting rid of them for me, Sho-chan~" She crooned.

Mina inwardly squealed at that.

"Man," Kirishima chuckled. "One little event and suddenly the world's got it's eye on us. That's UA for ya..."

The bell rang just then and immediately everyone returned to their desks as Aizawa walked in. Bandage-free.

"Oh so that's what you look like," Shiina commented to herself. "Huh, kinda reminds me of Shinsou for some reason..."

"Morning," he greeted.

"Good morning!" Almost everyone returned.

"Good to see your bandages off, Aizawa sensei." Tsuyu said.

"The old lady's treatment was excessive. But never mind that. Today we've got hero informatics class and a special one at that."

Shiina tensed up. Please don't tell me we're gonna have a test.

Luckily, it wasn't that.

"You'll be coming up with your hero names."

Everyone shot up from their desks to cheer. Aoyama was so excited that he nearly blew a hole through the room with his bellybutton laser. Thankfully, Aizawa activated his Quirk just in time to prevent any damages.

"But first," he continued as the students calmed down. "Concerning the Pro draft picks I mentioned the other day... It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience... So you could say that it's a way for them to show interest in your futures. But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate. And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."

"Stupid adults and their whims!" Mineta seethed.

Hagakure raised her hand. "So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come!"

Aizawa nodded. "Yes. Now here're the complete draft pick numbers." He pressed on a remote and the screen behind him flashed to life. "But our top three stole most of the spotlight."

Todoroki: 4,123

Bakugou: 3,456

Amada: 2,921

Tokoyami: 360

Kiberi: 339

Iida: 301

Kaminari: 272

Yaoyorozu: 108

Kirishima: 68

Uraraka: 20

Sero: 14

"W-whoa, I got that many?!" Ken blurted out.

"I told you not to worry." Shiina chuckled.

"But why? I... I lost in such an anti-climatic way!"

"Dude," Sero gave him a flat look. "You destroyed the whole arena in one move."

He blushed. "R-right..."

"Gaaaah!" Kaminari dipped his head back and groaned. "They're in a whole other league!"

"Didn't they get the first and second backwards though?" Kirishima wondered aloud.

"Guess they were just scared of the guy who was literally chained to the winners' stand." Sero shrugged.

Bakugou raged at him. "WHAT THE HECK ARE THE PROS GETTING INTIMIDATED?!"

"Well done as always, Todoroki-kun," Momo told the stoic boy.

"It's mostly just my father's influence." He said monotonously.

"With that settled..." Aizawa sighed heavily. "Whether you were picked or not... You will all have a chance to work alongside the Pros. It's true that you all—well, most of you—have already experienced more than most, but seeing the Pros in action and taking part yourselves will still be worthwhile training."

"That's where our hero names come in!" Sato realized.

"This is getting really fun!" Uraraka said giddily.

"They're only tentative but you still want to pick something more appropriate—"

Midnight came strolling in, cutting him off. "—Or else you'll know true hell!" She shouted with a crack of her whip. "The name you pick now... may be what the world ends up calling you. That's happened to plenty of Pros out there!"

"Midnight sensei...!" Mineta started melting in his seat. He was ignored.

Aizawa refrained the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Yes. True enough. And Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick. What future do you see for yourself? The name you choose will bring you even closer to cementing a certain image because names are capable of reflecting one's true character. Like with 'All Might'..."

Midnight went around class passing out placards and gave them fifteen minutes to think of a good enough name. Shiina simply decided to go with her code name 'Diablo'.

Right after she finished writing it down, she heard a short buzz from her cellphone and was surprised to see who was texting her.

[Kenny: I need help.]

[oooooooo, ur texting during claaaassss]

[haha, jk, welcome to the dark side bro. Whatchu need?]

[Kenny: I can't think of a hero name.]

[Ummmm The Pretty Hero: Pretty Boy?]

[Kenny: NO]

[Errrrr Spear Man?]

[Kenny: That's terrible]

[Kenny: You're so bad at this. What's your hero name?]

[Diablo]

[Kenny: That's unfair, you're using your code name]

[A name's a name 🤷‍♀️]

[Kenny: This is so stressful.]

[Kenny bb, we're just picking out a NAME]

[Kenny: Yes and it's stressful]

[How about Mr. Handsome?]

[Kenny: That's worse than 'Pretty Boy'!!]

[Spearhead?]

[Kenny: Too ridiculous]

[Then just go by your name???]

[Kenny: But what if villains start calling me 'Ken Doll' to be mean?]

[Kenny: Also u BETTER not change that as my contact name!!]

[I totally won't, don't worry]

[Ken Doll: Ok good now HELP ME.]

[Kenny?]

[OH WAIT HOW ABOUT AVENGER!!!!]

[Ken Doll: No and no.]

[OH I GOT ONE!!!!]

[Ken Doll: ???]

[FEATHERMAN K!!!!!!!]

[😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂]

[Ken Doll: 🖕]

[Just use a name that has meaning to u???]

"Kiberi, Amada, stop texting each other and put your phones away," Aizawa droned as the whole class began to giggle and gossip.

"S-sorry, sensei..." Ken apologized.

"Let's finish up, everyone!" Midnight announced. "We can start with whoever's ready!"

As expected, Aoyama swaggered forward. "Here I go..." He said, slowly flipping his board over for dramatic effect. "Shining Hero: 'I cannot stop twinkling'!"

"It's a whole sentence!" Kaminari exclaimed.

Midnight, however, was unfazed. "It'll be easier to say if you take out the 'I' and contract 'cannot' into 'can't'." She advised.

"I see, mademoiselle!"

Mina confidently strode forward. "Okay I'm next! Call me Alien Queen!"

"From the sequel?!" Midnight gasped. "Is it because her blood was super acidic?! That's terrible!"

Mina returned to her desk disappointed.

Tsuyu raised her hand. "Can I go next please?"

"Of course!"

Tsuyu stood at the podium and showed everyone her board.

Rainy Season Hero: Froppy

"I've had this thought out since elementary school. Call me Froppy."

Midnight squealed. "So cute! It makes you sound like you'd be easy to get to know! The rest of you, take note. This is a perfectly lovable name!"

Several more students came up with their chosen names. Kirishima was Red Riot (an homage to his favorite hero, Crimson Riot). Jiro was Earphone Jack. Shoji was Tentacole (though Shiina would've preferred Kakashi). Sero was Cellophane. Ojiro picked Tailman. Sato was Sugarman. Mina just decided on Pinky. Kaminari was Chargebolt. Hagakure was—no surprise—Invisible Girl. Momo was Creati.

And then Shouto came up.

"Shouto," he said, holding up his board that said the same thing.

"Just your name? Really?" Midnight questioned.

"Yeah."

"Hey Icyhot," Bakugou smirked. "How about Siscon?"

Shiina choked on her spit.

Shouto frowned at him. "Siscon?" He repeated. "What does that even—"

"—Moving on now!" Midnight interrupted, saving the twins from further embarrassment (or Shiina at least since Shouto had no clue what was going on).

Tokoyami proudly showed his choice name of Tsukuyomi, god of the night. Mineta was 'Grape Juice' (she could never look at grape juice the same now). Kouda quietly showed his, which was Anima.

"King Explosion Murder." It was no surprise who that was.

"No good. Try again."

"Okay, my turn..." Uraraka nervously presented her board. "This is what I came up with."

Uravity

"How punny!" Midnight complimented.

"I'll go next," Shiina grinned, excitedly walking up to the front. Before she could do anything, Bakugou 'discreetly' coughed.

"Brocon." He said.

"Shut up," she hissed venomously before putting on her dazzling smile. "Here it is!"

The Infernal Hero: Diablo

"Perfect! It suits your hero costume, which, by the way, I think looks amazing." Midnight winked.

Shouto made a noise of disagreement.

"Doesn't it?!" She squealed. Once her name was approved of, she walked back to her desk but not before shooting Ken a look and mouthing 'go up there!'.

He sighed and finally stood up.

"Ah, Amada! Okay, come on up and show us your hero name!"

"It's nothing special," he mumbled, presenting the board.

Castor

"Castor? Ohhh, is it because your Quirk has to do with casting spells?" Kaminari asked.

"Sure." Ken mumbled.

"Accepted!" Midnight announced.

As he returned to his seat, Shiina asked him, "So why did you pick Castor?"

Because it's the Persona of the man who I killed. The words were on the tip of his mouth, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. "It was just a random thing." He lied.

"This went smoother than expected!" Midnight said as he made it to his desk. "All that's left is Bakugou's revision... And Iida... and then Midoriya."

Wordlessly, Iida stood up. He went to the front and showed his choice name to the class. His expression looked oddly strained. There wasn't a smile on his face and usually he'd be going on and on about the hundred reasons as to why he picked it but... He did nothing.

Tenya

"You too, huh? Just your name..."

Iida didn't explain himself. He just nodded and returned to his desk once his name was approved of.

Midoriya was the very last and the name he chose rose some eyebrows.

Deku

"Huh? You sure about that, Midoriya?!" Ojiro asked.

He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. I always hated it. But then someone... helped me see it in a new light... It took me by surprise, but... It made me happy. This will be my hero name."

Uraraka positively beamed at him whereas Bakugou gave him a deadly glare.

"I see," Midnight smiled at him. "Okay, I'll accept it! Now Bakugou, have you picked a new name yet?"

Bakugou stormed up and shouted, "Lord Explosion Murder!"

"No. Still no good."

After what felt likes hours, the class was finally ready to move on. Midnight stepped to the side to let Aizawa take charge.

"Your internships start in a week," he stated. "For this all-important decision... I'll be handing out personalized lists to those who were drafted. You may choose from among those who scouted you. For those who were not drafted... The list I just passed out contains forty agencies from all over the country willing to accept interns. You will choose one from that list. Each has a different specialty and region. Give your choice some real thought."

Shiina looked through all 339 names on her list with confusion. It was as if the letters were floating around the paper. She barely knew who most of the people here were. And they all had different specialties? What did he mean by that?

She rubbed her temples, going through the list again and still came up blank. How was she going to pick through all of them? Did it even matter? What super important thing was she going to learn from them? Was it how to fight? She already knew that, so could it be something else?

Or am I just gonna be serving some dude coffee? She wondered.

— ❤ —

"Hello class!" All Might greeted them with his usual booming voice.

"All Might!" Midoriya gasped excitedly as if this was their first ever meeting.

"What'll we be doing today, All Might?" Mina asked giddily.

He laughed grandly. "So glad you asked! Today we'll be killing two birds with one stone in our Hostage Situation Scenario! One hero will be placed in an unfair advantage where they'll be put against three villains. Bind them or knock them out! But that won't be the end of it! The hero still needs to rescue the hostage and bring them out of the building in under fifteen minutes. Failure to do so means the villains win."

"So you want us to learn how to battle against multiple opponents while also put under a time crunch," Momo clarified. "I see. It sounds like a worthwhile learning experience!"

"That's the spirit Young Yaoyorozu!" All Might gave her a thumbs up. "But there will be another problem the hero will have to face: before they can attack the villains, they must find them first."

"That makes things even harder..." Kaminari whined.

"Fret not, Young Kaminari, I believe in you!" All Might stated, making the blonde straighten up confidently. "Now, for the first group... Young Kiberi will act as the hero. Young Midoriya, Young Bakugou, and Young Todoroki will be the villains she'll have to go up against."

"EHHHHHH?!" Uraraka paled. "T-those three?!"

"Er, are you sure about that All Might...?" Mina asked nervously.

"Yeah, those three are hella strong!" Kaminari said with wide, panicked eyes.

Shiina was a bit touched that they felt genuine concern over her, but she was more insulted that they doubted her skills. Then again, they've barely seen her in true action. "I can handle them," she said, smirking deviously as a sudden idea came to her. "In fact... How about we make a bet, hmm, Kaminari-chan? If I beat them in under five minutes you gotta act as my slave once the internships are over."

Kaminari's yellow eyes bulged out of their sockets. "S-slave...?" He repeated, unsure whether he felt scared or turned on. Maybe both? Was that even possible?

"Yep," she purred. "Well? How about it? If I lose then I get to be your slave."

Mineta gasped out loud. "ACCEPT THE BET, KAMINARI!" He shrieked, and was kicked away by a silently furious Shouto.

"Shiina," he seethed. "Don't—"

"—You're on!" Kaminari exclaimed, looking extremely determined. "The second the activity starts, you get five minutes!"

"Heh," Bakugou smirked. "Be prepared to be a slave, Milk Jugs. Can't wait to see what crazy shit they make you do."

"Why, Bakagou, you sound really eager there," she teased.

His face turned as red as a pepper. "I WAS NOT—"

"—Anyways," she turned away from him and faced a lost All Might. "Please make sure to announce my time once I'm done."

"Er, are you sure about this Young Kiberi?" The large hero asked feebly. "Not that I think Kaminari is, um, improper but... um..."

Shiina's smirk only widened. "Oh don't worry All Might. I'm gonna win this bet."

"Bakugou, Todoroki, Midoriya," Kaminari began seriously. "I'm counting on you."

Shouto was glaring icily at him. It was so terrifying that he had to hide behind All Might for protection.

The four of them were driven off to one of the many cityscapes. Shiina had to wait outside a building as the three boys and their dummy entered and scoured around for the perfect hiding place.

"Okay, Young Kiberi. The villains are set. You may go starting... Now!"

Shiina jogged inside, smirking victoriously. Her heart was pounding but she knew she would win this bet. She already knew how to take them down, the only problem was finding them, but that wasn't so hard either thanks to Bakugou's uncontrollable volume.

"YOU BETTER NOT FUCK THIS UP FOR ME ICYHOT," she heard him scream. "IF I LOSE BECAUSE OF YOUR GODDAMN COMPLEX I'M GONNA—"

"—K-Kacchan, please lower your voice—"

"—DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, DEKU YOU PIECE OF—"

"—Shut up, Bakugou."

"YOU SHUT IT, HALF AND HALF!"

"Found you~" Shiina sang as she entered the room. The three boys whirled around to face her but it was already too late. She had summoned Tullia.

"Marin Karin," she purred, pointing straight at Bakugou. He was immediately struck, his eyes turning a bright pink with noticeable hearts in them. He aimed his palms out at Shouto and Midoriya and blasted them back with his Quirk.

Shouto, who knew exactly what Marin Karin was, dodged it just in time but Midoriya wasn't so lucky and ended up getting slammed into a wall.

Shiina dashed forward for the dummy hostage, which was just sprawled over the floor. She grabbed it and hauled it over her shoulder. Shouto tried to stop her with his ice but Bakugou exploded the path before it could get anywhere near her.

"No!" Midoriya shouted, running towards her. He was stopped by Bakugou who used his explosions to fly towards him. The green haired boy raised his arms to block a vicious kick aimed at his head and jumped back to create more distance.

"I don't understand, why is Kacchan attacking us all of a sudden?! And his eyes...? Are those hearts?!" He couldn't believe how lovestruck Bakugou looked. It was absolutely horrifying to see.

"Marin Karin," Shouto huffed. "Shiina made him fall in love with her."

"WHAT?!" He squawked. Kacchan in love?! Can that really happen?!

"Now he's completely brainwashed," Shouto continued as if he never interrupted. "From what I've been told, Marin Karin makes the target fight their allies or heal Shiina."

While the two were busy trying to deal with a lovestruck Bakugou, Shiina had already made it outside the building with the hostage in tow.

"And finished!" All Might shouted into her earpiece. "That was amazing, Young Kiberi! Good work!"

"Thank you," she said sweetly. "And what was my time?"

"Four minutes and fifty-three seconds!" He answered.

Shiina smiled evilly as she released Bakugou from her control. A few seconds later, she heard an ear-piercing roar.

"MILK JUUUUUUGS!" He screamed as he broke through the window and blasted his way down to get her.

"Dormina," she said casually.

The second Bakugou landed, he was fast asleep on the ground.

When the three of them (and a sleeping Bakugou) returned to the control room, Shiina was immediately met with stunned and disbelieving faces, but she ignored them and zeroed in on a dumbfounded Kaminari.

"I won the bet," she chimed. "Know what that means, sweetie? You're mine now."

Turned on, Kaminari decided. I'm definitely turned on right now.

— ❤ —

She was quickly approached by a fuming Bakugou in the middle of the hallway once lunch started.

She opened her mouth to greet him but stopped as he aggressively jammed a finger against her chest.

"Tomorrow during sparring. You vs me. You better not pull that brainwashing and sleeping shit with me again. And don't half ass it like your shitty brother. Honestly what the fuck is up with you two half assing your fights? Is that a fucking twin thing or some shit? You Todorokis are fuckin' weird."

"Please don't call me a Todoroki out loud," she sighed.

He waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, you and your crappy secrets. I got it."

"Good. Now stop poking my boobs, Bakagou, I know they feel nice, but we're in school." She gave him a sly grin.

He wrenched his finger away from her and backed away, his face red with anger and embarrassment. "They felt like shit! Like—like plastic!" He shouted.

She rose a brow. "Oh~? You think they're fake? How about you try feeling them again and I'll show you how real they are." She purred, stepping forward.

Steam was rapidly shooting out from his ears. "SHUT UP, YOU DAMN PERVERT! I'M LEAVING and—and you better not follow me!"

"You gonna go jack off in the bathroom?" She called out to him as he stormed away.

"FUCK NO!"

"No need to be so shy, Suki, I know all about men and their urges." She teased.

"FUCK YOU!"

She burst out cackling once he finally disappeared, hunching over and struggling to breath. Who knew Bakugou was so easy to tease?

She returned to the cafeteria, still wiping tears of amusement from her eyes. Ken was talking to Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka, while Shouto sat off to the side slurping on his usual cold soba noodles.

"What took you so long?" Shouto asked as she sat beside him.

"Ran into someone," she replied, unable to control her smile.

"What did you do to them...?" Ken asked suspiciously.

She smiled sweetly in return. "Nothing, Kenny. Now what were you guys talking about while I was gone?" She asked, stuffing a biscuit in her mouth.

"Our internships." Uraraka chirped. "I'm thinking of interning with Gunhead's agency!"

"Who's that?" Shiina asked, immediately turning to Midoriya for the answer.

"He's the Battle Hero," he answered. "But Uraraka, are you sure about him? That's a hardened battle group!"

She nodded. "Yep! They nominated me!"

"I thought you said you wanted to be like Thirteen sensei..."

"That's my end goal," she said. "But it hit me during my match with Bakugou-kun the other day—How many more possibilities would open up to me if I were stronger! If all I do is stay in my comfort zone, my options will be far more limited!"

"I see..." Midoriya nodded. "How about you, Iida-kun?"

Iida, who was uncharacteristically quiet, looked up from his lunch. "Ah, I haven't decided yet."

"Oh okay, Amada-kun?"

"The Shadow Operatives," he answered automatically.

Midoriya racked through his mental files of all things hero related and came up blank (for once). "The Shadow Operatives...? I never heard of them..."

The brunette smiled somewhat slyly. "Ah, don't worry about it. They're not that well-known. What about you, Midoriya-san?"

"Er..." He looked down at the list of forty agencies on his paper. "Nobody really offered me... I haven't decided yet either."

"Me neither," Shiina lamented, looking down at her sheet. "I'm new to this whole hero thing so I don't recognize anyone here. I don't even know what Aizawa meant by 'different specialties'... Don't all heroes do the same thing?"

Midoriya, who was one of the few people in the school who knew of her initial unwillingness to be at UA, decided to try his best to help her. "Some heroes specialize in rescue only, like Thirteen. The others just focus on defeating villains."

"Ahhhh," she made a sound of understanding. "Well, I just wanna beat up villains I guess."

"I think it's more beneficial for you to get outside your comfort zone like me!" Uraraka encouraged.

"Just being here is outside of my comfort zone." She said bluntly.

Uraraka didn't know what she was talking about and just laughed it off. "Ooh! I got it! You weren't with us during the USJ attack so you probably don't have much experience fighting bad guys—"

Ken couldn't help but laugh into his soup.

"—and we haven't done many rescuing exercises so how about you look for someone who can do both rescue and defeat villains?" She suggested.

"Yeah!" Midoriya agreed as he slid Shiina's list of offers over to his side. "There's tons of heroes who do that. Let me help you find—Ehhhh?! Y-you got an offer from Hawks!"

They all perked up, even Shouto.

"Who?" Shiina asked blankly.

"He's the Number Three Hero!" Uraraka exclaimed in an excited whisper. "You have to intern with him! He's amazing!"

Midoriya nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yeah, he does rescue and villains too! I remember hearing about him... When he was a child, he used his Quirk to save a bunch of civilians! He's also the youngest hero to have his own agency! Shiina-chan, I suggest you work with him! You'll learn so many things under his tutelage!"

"You sure?" She asked with uncertainty as she scrutinized the hero's name.

He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. He'll be able to help you."

"Okay," she sighed, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. "I'll pick him. Thanks for the help guys, really... I got so lost just from reading all these names..."

"It's no problem, Kiberi-chan!" Uraraka beamed. "Hey, Todoroki-kun, how about you? I bet your dad gave you an offer!"

The twins tensed up.

Shouto shot his sister a worried glance before saying, "He did... And I'm choosing him."

"What?" Shiina shot him a betrayed look. Even Ken and Midoriya looked shocked.

"It's because of my Quirk," he quickly explained. "I haven't used it in a long time... I just think it's best for me to learn how to use it from him."

The chopsticks in Shiina's hand snapped in half. Uraraka and Iida blinked at her, not understanding what was going on.

Shouto looked guilty and immediately grasped his sister's hand, hoping that it would calm her down enough from piercing her own palms with her (sharp) nails. Uraraka blushed and turned away from what she thought was a public display of affection.

"Sorry," he murmured to her. "But I'm not choosing his path. I'm making my own, I swear it."

"That's... great, Shouto." She said weakly, slowly relaxing her hand. "Really. I'm glad."

"Is something the matter, Kiberi-san? Todoroki-san?" Iida asked them, looking genuinely concerned.

"Nope," Shiina chuckled, recovering immediately. "Speaking of Endeavor, how did shopping for his merch with Akira go?"

Shouto frowned at her, growing worried at how impressive her lying skills became. She swiftly managed to turn everyone's attention off of her and towards him. It was concerning and impressive at the same time. He then schooled his expression and replied, "It was fine. I especially liked it when Kurusu allowed me to use his gun to shoot the poster of Endeavor's stupid face full of bullets."

"Er, but Todoroki-kun, isn't he your dad...?" Uraraka asked.

He shrugged. "Who cares."

— ❤ —

"I'm sorry."

"For the millionth time, Shouto, it's fine." Shiina stressed as they pushed through the doors of the school building.

"Shiina, you snapped your chopsticks in half..." Ken pointed out warily.

"Well yeah, but I understand Sho-chan's reasoning now! As long as he's not gonna follow after Endeavor's stupid war path, then I'll support him!" She turned to her brother and grabbed him by the shoulders firmly. "So stop—worrying. I told you I'm okay with you choosing him and I mean it. Just... be careful, okay?"

She could feel him relax under her touch. "I will," he promised, nodding.

She gave him a genuine smile and released his shoulders. "Good. Now let's get going already. Ooh do you guys wanna go somewhere? What about you, Sho-chan? Don't worry, I'll bring Akira along."

"Please don't."

She snickered. "Yusuke?"

"Not him either."

Ken laughed along the youngest Todoroki before something caught his attention. He looked over at the gates and furrowed his brows when he heard a bunch of squealing girls and saw a large crowd of them. He recognized it immediately. Fangirls, but what were they fangirling about?

"Uh, what's going on over there?" He wondered aloud.

Shouto just shrugged while Shiina scanned the crowd and found a familiar face. "Who knows, but I see Mina. Let's go ask her."

They approached the hyperactive pink girl.

"Hey Mina," Shiina had to raise her voice so she could be heard amongst all the squealing. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you guys'll never believe it!" She exclaimed exuberantly. "Akechi Goro's here!"

The three of them immediately stiffened.

"What?" Shiina said faintly.

"Akechi Goro!" She squealed. "I don't even know what he's here for but who cares! I hope I get his autograph!"

Just then, a horribly familiar voice could be heard from the crowd. "Excuse me please, I need to come through."

She slowly turned to the side and saw the crowd parting like the red sea. Akechi appeared, wearing his charming facade, but the smile turned genuine when he saw her.

"Shiina," he said, making everyone gasp in shock. "I was looking for you."

Don't you dare, she thought as he approached her. Don't you dare, don't you dare, don't you fucking—

He dared.

In front of his own fangirls, he brought Shiina in for a tight hug and pressed his lips against the corner of hers as he pulled away. She could see the smugness in his eyes.

"I really missed you," he said, the smile never leaving his face. It seemed to grow as she continued to glower at him. "Care to come home with me? We have a lot to talk about."

Immediately, everyone began whispering.

"W-who's that?!" A girl wailed.

"That's Kiberi Shiina! That super hot first year in the hero course!"

"Of course he picks her, she gets all of the cute guys..." Another moped to herself.

You're not the only good actor here, you asshole. Shiina thought as she plastered on an equally as charming smile that blinded everyone.

"Of course, Goro-chan," she said in a happy tone. "I have a lot to say to you."

The threat in her voice didn't escape him, but he didn't let it show. Arm wrapped around her waist, he walked her to his car and—like a gentleman—opened the door for her before sliding into the drivers seat and driving away.

Meanwhile, Ken and Shouto could do nothing but stare.

"...Call Kurusu-san."

Shouto whipped his phone out. "Already on it."

Back to Shiina and Akechi:

"—CAN'T BELIEVE YOU PULLED THAT SHIT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE—"

"—I—"

"—YOU'RE LUCKY YOU WERE SURROUNDED BY YOUR FANS, I WOULD'VE SHOT THAT STUPID SMILE OFF YOUR FACE—"

"—Shii—"

"—Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"

"Oh my," he chuckled in pure amusement. "Shouldn't we wait until we hit the bed?"

She smacked his shoulder.

"Ouch! I'm driving, Shiina!"

"Go fuck yourself!" She cried out. "And whatever happened to 'going in hiding'?! I saw you on broadcast yesterday!"

"Then you clearly didn't watch all of it. I told the interviewer that I gave myself a break from all the stress my job was giving me." He said.

"You suck," she huffed. "Why did you decide to show yourself now? Aren't you worried about Shido?"

A devious smile stretched across his face. "I'll explain that once we get home."

The urge to throw him out the window didn't fade away even as they reached his apartment. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything since his windows were so goddamn huge and anyone could see her committing the act.

"Well?" She said impatiently. "Why'd you decide to stop hiding?"

"Because I've secured my innocence," he answered simply. "With Shido."

She gave him a bewildered look. "You what?"

"I visited him a few days after we changed his heart. He was emotionally vulnerable so it was easy for me to convince him to hide my involvement in the crimes." He explained.

She narrowed her eyes. "You didn't 'convince' him, you manipulated him."

"That I did," he chirped. "It was pitifully easy too. I just had to call him 'dad' and he was more than ready to do my bidding."

"Ew," she scrunched her nose up. "You had to pretend to like him? I feel bad for you."

He shuddered. "I admit, I did felt like shooting myself in the head a few times, but I endured it and was successful. Now I can do whatever I want. For the first time in my life... I'm free of him. Of everything."

"I'm glad," she said truthfully, before her smile faded and her voice went silent. She wondered how the rest of her friends would react to this. No doubt Haru, Futaba, and Akira wouldn't be happy. Akira already expressed his wishes for Akechi to be imprisoned for all of his crimes... "But the others... They might not..."

His face fell. "I'm aware of that. They... probably wished that I died in Shido's Palace."

"Don't say that!" She scolded. "None of them want you dead! They don't even hate you—"

He scoffed bitterly.

"I mean it," she said sternly. "Trust me on this, okay? They're my friends so I know them better. They don't hate you, but that doesn't mean they forgive you for what you did, especially Futaba, Haru, and Akira. And I know Akira may seem resentful towards you, but he doesn't hate you either. He's hurt like I was and he's channeling it through anger and, er, violent gestures."

"Gestures? He pointed a gun at me."

"Well to be fair, you did shoot him." She said bluntly.

"It was his cognitive!"

"But you didn't know it was his cognitive form." She pointed out.

He sighed in defeat. "Okay fine, you're right."

"Aren't I always?" She flipped her hair back.

He snorted but didn't say anything.

"Anyways," she continued. "You better get ready to pour your heart out and beg for forgiveness. I'm serious. Like, get out a pen and paper and prepare your apology speech right now."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "What's the rush? It's not like they're going to come barreling in here—"

BAM!

"Ryuji, I was still picking the lock..." They heard Akira sigh.

"You were takin' forever!"

"Both of you quiet down!" Yusuke scolded.

Shiina sent Akechi a look that basically screamed 'I told you so' before casually strolling up to the mess of a group and greeting them.

"Yo." She said before she was tackled by Ryuji.

"What'd he do to you?!" He barked protectively. "And where is he?! I'm gonna beat that bastard to a friggin' bloody pulp!"

Akechi grimaced and decided to make himself known. "Bastard? Really?"

"You," Akira said lowly, glaring icily at him. "Shouto told us you abducted Shiina after school. What did you do to her?"

Shiina blinked at him. "Abducted me? The hell? No, he just visited and said he wanted to talk to me at his place in front of all of his fangirls. What exactly did Shouto tell you?"

Akira's tense posture relaxed slightly "Well..."

Akira felt the familiar vibration of his phone and pulled it out from his pocket. To his pleasant surprise, Shouto was calling him. Did he want to hang out again? Akira almost couldn't believe how well their first bonding day went. He wondered if he wanted to play target practice with Endeavor posters like they did yesterday...

He pressed answer and placed the phone over his ear. Just as he opened his mouth to say 'hello', Shouto's steely and blunt voice interrupted him.

"Akechi came to UA just now and abducted my sister in front of the entire female student body. Nobody was able to stop him. He said he was going to take her to his place, so hurry up and find her before he kills her."

His eyes nearly popped out. "Wait, what—"

He hung up.

Shiina groaned after Akira finished recounting the scene. "He's so over dramatic."

Ann rolled her eyes. "Wonder where he gets that from..."

"So..." Ryuji trailed off, looking hopelessly lost. "Akechi didn't throw you in the trunk of his car and drove off with you?"

Akechi looked affronted. Shiina just facepalmed. "Of course not," she sighed heavily. "What are you all doing here anyways? I get why Akira's here, he got the call after all..."

Futaba chuckled sheepishly. "Akira didn't know where Akechi lived so he accidentally asked me for help through the group chat. Naturally, everyone wanted to join in on saving you."

Shiina almost teared up. "Awwww that's so sweet of you guys!"

"Why thank you," Yusuke preened.

"What did you want from Shiina-chan, Akechi-kun?" Haru asked sharply, cutting through the somewhat lighthearted atmosphere and turning it tense again. All eyes turned to the young man in question with varying degrees of caution while Shiina nervously shifted on her feet.

"I thought you were in hiding, Goro," Akira said. "But then I was informed of your appearance at some talk show the other day saying that you were just on 'break'. So what are you playing at?"

Akechi swallowed thickly, forcing himself to look Akira in the eyes. "I spoke to Shido a few days ago."

Just the mention of his name made everyone alert.

"...And?" Akira drawled, sounding calm though his eyes had hardened.

"And I managed to persuade him into destroying any evidence than I was a part of his schemes." He finished.

"So you threatened him."

"I manipulated him, actually," the brunette corrected. "But let's not go into that. I want to apologize to all of you."

"You've already done that." Akira said.

Akechi smiled in return. "Yes, but you weren't exactly in the right state of mind to listen."

They all remembered how Akira pulled a knife on him right in front of the Diet Building and couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Akira forced himself not to flush and said through gritted teeth, "Fine then. I'm listening—we're all listening, so spit it out."

For a long time, Akechi couldn't say anything. His mind was racing as he tried to think of what to say, but for once the silver-tongued detective was speechless.

It was never an easy thing to spill one's heart and soul to a group of people who clearly hated you. As Akechi looked at each and every angry face and hardened stare, he felt whatever was left of his resolve chip away.

Images of their time in Shido's Palace flashed in his head. The aftermath of their fight... When the cognitive copy of him showed up. He knew his wrongs were too great to right. That was why he wanted to finish things with his cognitive copy—he was more than willing to die for his sins than pay for them. He chose the wrong path of revenge and he knew that if he didn't die then, he'd spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.

He just wanted the easy way out and at that time there wasn't one. But now he had the chance to be free from it all. Shido promised to keep him a secret but the Phantom Thieves—the spectacular group of people who showed him that the world wasn't always cruel—understandably didn't want that for him.

Ryuji sighed impatiently. "If you're not gonna—"

"—I can make Shido change his mind." Akechi finally said.

"Huh?"

He swallowed thickly. "I convinced Shido to hide my involvement, but I can easily convince him to do the opposite, i-if that's what you want. If... if you want me to go to prison, then I'll abide to your wishes and confess to all my crimes."

Shiina could only stare at him in pure shock. What he wanted more than anything—other than to be loved an accepted—was to be free. For years he had been obsessing over taking his father down and as he grew older, he committed himself to working under him in order to gain his trust. He was basically shackled down his entire life. And he was willing to tighten those shackles even more?

This is genuine, she thought. Goro truly wants our forgiveness.

"I'm sorry," his voice started to shake and it was apparent that he was trying his best to hold his composure. "I truly am sorry for all the horrible things I've done to you all. And Futaba, Haru... You don't have to forgive me—I know you probably won't—but I am sorry for taking away your loved ones. Neither of you deserve the pain of losing a parent, and I'm sorry for putting you through that agony."

There was a heavy silence that fell afterwards, but it was soon broken as Futaba broke out into quiet sobs. Akechi guiltily looked away from her only to lock eyes with Haru. Her eyes were brimming with tears, but they were firm.

"You were right, I definitely don't forgive you for killing my father and I don't think I ever will." She said, and Akechi could only nod in acceptance. "But... but if you truly feel remorse, than I'll accept your change of heart. If you want to go to prison, then do it. But if you don't... then I won't care either. I trust you now... so whatever you want is up to you."

"I thi-think you're telling the truth too," Futaba hiccuped after she wiped the tears off her face. "S-so you better not hurt us again...!"

Akechi gave her a worried and confused look. He could barely understand her since she was choking on her sobs, but was he hearing correctly? "Are you saying—?"

"—You don't have to turn yourself in," Akira interrupted, sighing. "I just... you... ugh..." He ran a hand through his hair. "For the longest time I resented you for what you did, but that faded away quickly. In the end, your betrayal left me miserable and all I wanted to hear was a genuine apology from you... That's more than enough for me to forgive you."

Akechi's eyes noticeably lit up with surprise and hope. "Y-you—Really?...All of you...?"

"You already know my answer," Shiina said, grinning with relief.

"I still think you're a piece of shit, but whatever." Ryuji shrugged.

Makoto just sighed. "If those three," she motioned to Akira, Futaba, and Haru. "Are fine with it, then I guess I am too."

Yusuke nodded in agreement. "Me as well."

Ann sighed in relief, glad that the animosity was finally gone. "Me too." She said.

Morgana popped out from Akira's bag and narrowed his eyes at Akechi. "You still seem shady to me, but that's probably just your personality. If Joker trusts you, then fine. But make one mistake and I'll use your entire apartment as kitty litter."

Akechi laughed breathlessly. "I stand by what I say... You all are truly beyond my comprehension."

"Don't you two wanna hug it out now?" Shiina asked Akechi and Akira eagerly.

"No." They said right away.

She deflated in disappointed. "Oh fine."

Akechi furiously wiped his eyes, hoping nobody would point out that he was crying. Much to his relief, Shiina's phone buzzed and turned everyone's attention away from him.

"Who is it?" Ann asked.

"Eh, probably just Akihiko wondering why Ken and I aren't back yet." Shiina said dismissively, not bothering to really check it.

The blonde's brows furrowed in confusion. "Huh? You're still staying with them? Shouldn't you go back before Endeavor gets... well, madder?"

She winced.

Morgana swished his tail curiously. "You didn't tell them yet?"

"Tell us what?" Yusuke inquired.

"Um... well..." Shiina struggled to say.

"Shiina..." Ryuji said cautiously. "What happened?"

She glanced around in a panic and locked eyes with Akira, who gave her a comforting smile. She let out a long sigh. "Endeavor kicked me out for good... and he disowned me."

"What?!" Everyone but Akira, Morgana, and Futaba screamed.

"W-w-wait, when the hell did this happen?! You were disowned?! What the fuck?!" Ryuji blurted out.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Makoto asked worriedly.

"Why would he do that?" Akechi asked with wide eyes.

"Did he do anything to your siblings?!" Haru fretted.

"My siblings are fine," I think. "But um, he wasn't exactly happy with me with the Sports Festival. He got pissed so he disowned me. Akihiko was there when it happened so after beating him up, he and Ken allowed me to live with them. They called Shouto and Akira, who brought Futaba, to comfort me and that was when Futaba taught us how to hack into Endeavor's bank account to steal his money."

"We gave you some too," Futaba added.

Yusuke's eyes lit up. "So that's where all that money came from...!"

"I don't think that's the point, Yusuke..." Makoto sighed before turning back to Shiina. "Has he officially disowned you yet? If you want, I can get Sis to—"

Shiina shook her head. "Oh no, it's fine. I had this coming a long time ago. I'm... Well I'm not really over it, but I think being disowned is probably good for me. Ever since I had a change of heart, I knew I didn't want to be a Todoroki anymore. I hated just being related to that man and now... Now he's completely out of my life."

"You're really okay with it?" Akechi asked carefully.

She nodded in confirmation.

"If you're really certain..." Ann trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"Forget about Endeavor you guys," Shiina sighed, trying to smile. "Really. That guy was so yesterday."

"As long as you're not too upset over this," Yusuke began. "Then I guess we're fine with it too. But I'm a bit lost. Should we celebrate you being disowned or...?"

"What? No," she laughed. "No celebrations necessary. Not now at least. I still gotta check up on nii-chan and Kenny. Anyone know where they are?"

"Honestly, I expected your brother to be the first person on the scene." Akechi admitted, then glanced around as if the dual-haired teen was hiding somewhere in his apartment.

"Same here," she muttered in agreement, pulling out her phone to call him only to see the notification on the screen. It was from Ken:

[Ken Doll: Are you okay?]

[Yep. Akechi and the team just finished having a heart to heart]

[Ken Doll: That's a relief. Your brother was certain that Akechi tried to kill you or something. It was a good thing there was a soba place nearby or else I never would've been able to calm him down. He's currently on his second serving.]

[Ken Doll: Please come here soon.]

"Urgh, I gotta go. The only thing keeping Sho-nii from suffering a heart attack is soba and even that's losing it's effects. I'll see you guys later!" Shiina bolted out from the apartment, carefully stepping over the broken down door.

"Right, is anyone going to pay for that?" Akechi pointed at it.

Everyone turned to Ryuji.

— ❤ —

Shouto, contrary to what Ken believed, was most certainly not having a panic attack in the middle of the dingy soba restaurant when she stepped in. In fact, he looked as cool as cucumber as he slurped on his cold soba noodles.

"How many bowls have you slurped through, Sho-chan?" She asked with a sigh as she plopped down on the stool next to him.

He didn't answer. He was too busy slurping.

"This is his fourth." Ken answered for him, rubbing his temples.

"Oh Sho-chan..." She feigned a sigh of disappointment. "That's so unhealthy of you."

"Don't worry, I'm done now." He said, pushing back his now empty bowl. "What did Akechi want from you?"

"Well..." She looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping before leaning in to whisper, "He manipulated Shido into hiding his involvement in all of the crimes."

Both of their eyes widened.

"What?" Shouto said harshly.

"How—how did he—?" Ken spluttered.

"Shido's emotionally vulnerable now. So it wasn't that hard for Goro to convince him." She explained. Shouto looked absolutely enraged while Ken was just shocked. She grimaced, "Look, I know you guys don't like it, but... we decided to let him go."

"'We'?" Ken asked. "As in you and...?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"Shiina," Shouto hissed. "He's a serial killer, you can't—"

"—I-I know...!" She said weakly. "Please, Sho-chan, I know where you're coming from—"

"—What about Haru and Futaba?" Ken cut in. "They just—just forgave him?"

"No," she answered. "They definitely don't forgive him for what he did, but they know he's changed and they accept that. So please, please don't tell anyone about this." She begged.

It took a while for anyone to say anything. After what felt like a whole hour, one of them finally spoke up.

"Fine." Ken agreed and Shouto snapped his head towards him. He winced at the icy glower he received but stayed strong. "I won't say anything. But Shiina... you better be careful. You and the other Thieves."

She nodded. "We will, trust me." She slowly turned to Shouto, eyes pleading. "Shouto...? Please?"

He glared at her. "I'll keep my mouth shut, but in return you have to promise me to never associate with him ever again."

Her eyes widened. "Wha—"

"—I mean it Shiina," he said firmly. "I won't let you get close with a murderer. I don't care if he's changed his ways. Getting involved with him is too dangerous. Shido could try to hide him, but what if the police find out anyways? I don't want you to get dragged down whatever hole he dug for himself."

Her face fell at his words. It made so much sense but at the same time she didn't care about the risks of being near Akechi. She was a Phantom Thief for fucks sake, who cared about the police? But adhering to her brother's terms was the only way he wouldn't spill the beans, so she nodded in acceptance while making a mental apology to Akechi.

"Fine..." She sighed in defeat. "I'll stop talking to Goro."

"No more texting, no more calling, no more meet-ups, nothing." Shouto listed.

She nodded.

"Then you've got my silence." H said.

— author's note —

Looool, yeah that promise ain't gonna last that long, trust me.

A BIG THANKS TO GHOST OF THE MOON FOR GIVING ME THE BRILLIANT SUGGESTION FOR KEN'S HERO NAME!!!