#it really was weighing on me. i was so worried about them. and tally especially...

[orcelito]

Never thought I'd be so happy to hear June whining in annoyance again

Tally's feeling good enough to attack her for the first time in... God. Over a month now. They're finally playing again, and it's such a relief.

[bubblegumfanfictions]

Falling in Love again.

Fandom- Bleach

Ships- Kisuke Urahara x Reader

Warnings- Some language, Implied Sexual Assault, Past sexual Assault.

Summary- Imagine a tally mark appearing on your skin every time you fall in love. When your tally mark is Red then it's onesided, Black then the love is returned. If it is scarred then your love ended traumatically.

You have a scarred tally mark and a red tally mark, the red one being for Kisuke Urahara.

Word Count- 3,928

You led in bed staring down at your wrist where a single red tally mark decorated your skin. In this world, a tally mark showed your love. People who fell in love easily were littered with marks, whereas the people who were only in love with one person would have one. If the mark is red it's unrequited, if it was Black then the person you love returns your feelings.

Your singular red mark was for Kisuke Urahara, a friend of your friends. You went to his shop with your friends whenever they needed something from him seeing as that seemed to be your only excuse to see him. You didn't want to come across as weird for visiting on your own. Especially when you have no real powers like the others.

Annoyingly you had one other mark on your arm, a scarred tally mark, one from your ex. In this world a scarred tally would mean that your love for them ended very abruptly and traumatically. No one knew about that tally, you were very good at keeping it hidden, whether it was with a well placed bracelet or a long sleeved shirt.

Rolling onto your side you let out a huff. It hurts, it shouldn't but it does. Knowing that the one man you love doesn't feel the same way. You barely get to see him since your friends don't visit that often. But you'll take whatever time you can with him even if you don't get to talk.

Well, only time will tell.

---

"Y/N!!!" A fist slammed against the door multiple times as Ichigo's voice yelled your name. "C'mon man! We've gotta get to Hat 'n' Clogs!" Sleepily, you raised your head taking a glance out of your open window.

"Wh-what for?" The early morning rasp in your voice made it a note or so deeper than it actually was. You stretched out and hopped out of bed throwing on the nearest clothing you had, which happened to be a (f/c) long knit sweater, a pair of black leggings and some brown boots.

"Y/N! We haven't got all day, move your ass!" You shook your head and ran out of the house not brushing your hair, figuring you could comb it down with your fingers on the way there.

By the time you got there you realised there was no point fixing your hair until you got inside in the first place. It was so windy outside that your hair just kept blowing around which made it worse than before. "Hey, come in guys." You froze for a moment as heat rushed to your face, you brushed a small amount of hair over your face, hoping he didn't notice it.

Quickly yet quietly you walked into the shop following behind Ichigo whilst you brushed down your hair. Kisuke stopped you briefly "You missed a spot." and with nimble hands, he began to flatten down your hair. "There, done." He gave you his signature grin, placing a hand onto the small of your back leading you to the rest.

Once Kisuke leads you to your friends he then gets down to business. “So, I am assuming you guys are here for the training grounds, right?” The ginger he questioned nods his head. You didn’t have any special abilities at all, but your friends knew you were great moral support and a generally good person so they let you in on their secret.

Most of the time you find days like this one quite boring, sure you’d get to see Kisuke but you usually have nothing to do. On some days you would help Tessai, Jinta and Ururu with their work or well, in Jinta and Ururu’s case, you would do their work for them.

When your friends finish training and all head home Kisuke typically gives you something for your time. At first he would give you the equivalent of minimum wage for the amount of work you do but recently (due to finding out your love for (favourite collectable)) he would end up getting you those instead.

The boys and Orihime go down into the training room, leaving you upstairs in the shop with Kisuke. “So, um… Is there anything you need me to do today?” you asked in your typically meek voice. Being with Kisuke made you so nervous you could barely talk, so being able to say that was a blessing.

Kisuke tilted his hat back with his thumb as he thought about things you could do around the shop. “Not that I can think of, for once Jinta and Ururu did the work I assigned for them.” You fake gasped at his comment. They finished their work… Early?

“No way, Jinta and Ururu finished their work? Damn that never happens.” Kisuke laughed at your comment and squeezed your shoulder. Yeah, when you did hang out with Kisuke alone you did have a lot of fun, but you still don’t like to intrude if you don’t have a reason to.

“Tell me about it.”

“Well what am I meant to do then?!” You dramatically waved your arms in the air in exasperation. When you did so Kisuke caught sight of the two tally marks and promptly grabbed your wrist.

“A Scar and a Red tally mark. I’m sure those are both fun stories.” He lightly massaged the scarred tally on your wrist making you flinch. He looked up at you in concern, dropping your arm. “Sorry.”

“It is fine, I’m just- No one has ever seen that before, as you can imagine I’m not particularly keen on anyone seeing that one..” You explain, rubbing the scar to try and ease some of the emotional turmoil.

“Does anyone know? Ichigo? Orihime? Chad?” He listed off some of your friends and to each one you shook your head. No one knew this, and you were planning on keeping it a secret from everyone, not even Kisuke was meant to know. “Would you mind telling me?” You shook your head once more. You didn’t even want to remember the scar, much less the asshole who caused it.

Kisuke rubbed your shoulder, trying to soothe your pain with a small smile on his face. "It's fine, you don't have to talk about it. But if you ever need to, I'll be happy to listen." Tears start to pool in your eyes, you've never spoken about it to anyone outside of your family, maybe it would be good. But not now.

You gave Kisuke a tight hug, the tears in your eyes spilling out. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." You kept repeating over and over into his chest. Kisuke was shocked at first but wrapped his arms around you, rubbing his fingertips up and down your spine to calm you down, his cheek pressed into your hair.

Both of you stayed that way for a while until you finally calmed down, letting go of the tall, green clad man. "I'm sorry about that- I should probably head home." You scrubbed at your eyes with the sleeve of your jumper with an appreciative smile on your face.

"Hey, it is fine." Kisuke messed up your hair with one of his hands. "It is nothing to worry about, just know that I am here if you need to talk. Just because you don't have powers doesn't mean you can't come here whenever you want to." He cups your face in his hands with a grin "YOU are an absolute pleasure to have here, okay?" You nodded your head, still too upset to really speak properly. "Good."

Kisuke walks you to the door once you calmed down enough and saw you out. "Hope to see you here soon, Y/N." You nodded your head.

"That will probably be when they come here again." You smiled at him, waving your hand as you walked home.

------- Timeskip to a week later. -------

You walk home from the shops as you keep looking down at the shopping list, making sure that you have everything. Your mother had asked you to go down because she forgot some ingredients she needed. It was getting a little dark and it was kind of scary being by yourself, but at the same time you did enjoy the peace and quiet.

"Ohhh, Look who it is." Your face paled, you knew that voice anywhere, he was the reason for the scar. "Why do you look so scared, don't you remember the fun we had together?" You bit your lower lip harshly, weighing out your options. Urahara's shop wasn't that far away so you could make a break for it, but you knew he was a fast runner.

With a groan you made your choice and dashed to the shop. "Oi! Get back here you stupid cunt!" Of course, you could hear the sound of heavy footfalls hitting the asphalt behind you, this was inevitable. But if you got close enough to the shop you knew that you'd be able to at least get someone's attention, whether it was Jinta, Ururu, Kisuke or Tessai.

"Oh, Y/n I knew you enjoyed our time together, you remembered how much I enjoyed the struggle. Although you were so much more compliant when you slept." You stopped dead in your tracks, you hated him, you hated thinking about him... About the things he has done and the fact that you loved him once. He laughed at your stop, you were almost right outside of the shop by this point, but that didn't matter.

"Do you finally agree with me Y/n? Do you finally see that it is all you're good for?" You were trembling by this point, not from fear, oh no; from pure hatred. You dropped the bag you were holding in your dominant hand and with a quick turn you put all of your anger into your movements and punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.

Your body, however, was still shaking. You wanted to hurt him, you wanted to hurt him bad. How was it fair that he got out of the relationship with nothing yet you with a heart full of anxiety and fear. You readied yourself to hit him again with the fist that already had blood on it since you broke his nose when you heard a voice call out to you.

"Y/n? Y/n? Are you okay?" Your head turned towards the store, and stood in the doorway was none other than Kisuke Urahara. You didn't even look down at him. You sprinted as fast as you could to Kisuke, pushing him inside of the building before sliding the door shut.

You led your back against the door as you slid down it, landing yourself on the floor. Your eyes were wide, frightened- Kisuke has never seen you with that expression, you looked terrified. Knowing something was up, he locked the store up and left the room, coming back with a warm cup of tea, sitting next to you.

He handed you the cup and spoke with a quiet voice, trying not to scare you. "What was all that about? Are you okay?" You shook your head, keeping your face directed towards the cup in your hands, which were still trembling. "Did you want to talk about it once you're calmed down?" You nodded your head, Kisuke was silent for a few seconds, as if contemplating whether or not he should say anything. "Did you want a hug?" You nodded again.

Kisuke wasted no time wrapping his left arm around you to pull you into his side, he used his thumb to rub little circles into your side as his head rested on top of yours. "It'll be okay, Y/n. You'll be okay, just breathe. Whatever happened won't happen anymore, you're safe here." He kept whispering to you.

Eventually, you finished the drink he made you and hugged him back. His face was now completely in your hair as he kissed the top of your head. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Y-yeah, thank you..." You stuttered out, tired from what had just occurred.

"Good, if you want I can run you a bath and get you some fresh clothes. You can stay the night if you don't feel safe to head back, okay?" You nodded your head, but then you remembered your mother. As if reading your thoughts, Kisuke spoke up again. "I'll phone your mum while you're in the bath and fill her in, how does that sound?"

"That sounds good, thank you Kisuke." He rubbed your head and stood up, offering you his hand.

After your bath you had calmed down considerably, no longer shaking and being able to speak. Kisuke left some of his clothes folded up in the bathroom for you to change into (which you did). You sat on Kisuke's bed cross legged, trying to comprehend what happened today when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

Kisuke walks into the room with your phone in his hand. "So I spoke to your mother, she said you could stay here for the night and that I should walk you home at some point tomorrow, or whenever depending on how long you want to stay." He sits next to you and continues. "She also told me who that guy was. Nothing about what happened, she just said that he is the scum of the earth."

You laughed "Yeah, that sounds about right. Due to what happened I don't ever call him my ex. Whenever anyone mentions him we just call him twat." Of course, Kisuke was very confused as to what happened but he already asked a few times so he didn't want to push it, but the look on his face told you everything. "I'll tell you what happened."

"You don't have to." He protested quickly, not knowing if it would upset you to talk about it.

"It is fine, I just have one condition. This is a very touchy subject for me so I was wondering if you could um--- how do I put this?" Kisuke chuckled, knowing what you meant, sitting back with you on his bed, pulling you into his side, much like when you were against the door.

"Take your time."

You took a deep breath and began. "He was my first boyfriend, if I can call him that. He was controlling, manipulative and abusive in more ways than one. He didn't let me talk about any guys, if I played a game wrong he would stop me from playing it. If he was horny I'd have to do something about it and so on... Well anyway, it got to the point where I-- I didn't want to do anything like that. He said he was fine with it... But-" Your breathing got heavier the further into explaining, tears began to form and fall from your eyes. You hated remembering this, but you were hoping that maybe this would be good in the long run.

"Hey, look at me." You hear Kisuke say gently as he turns your face to him. "I know it may not mean or do much but you're safe here, nothing is going to happen to you, I'll look after you, okay? There is no need to worry while you're here, but I do understand why you are." He rubs your head affectionately, hugging you tighter. "Like I said, take your time."

You relished in that hug and composed yourself before continuing. "He said he was fine with it, but one night I woke up and his hand was somewhere it shouldn't have been and his other hand was--- y-yeah. He was with me for a while after that since I was too scared to break up with him. Then I met someone I really liked who was so nice to me, and I realised that I didn't want to be stuck with someone like him."

Kisuke made a noise of understanding. "So that is the red mark then, it is hard to believe that someone would be so thankful for a red mark."

"Yeah, I know. But I really am, and I'm thankful for the help from him too." You smiled, running your finger delicately along the red tally mark.

"Doesn't the red tally mark hurt though? That the person who saved you from that twat doesn't feel the same?" He asked, and yeah it was painful.

"Yeah, it is really painful. But I always think to myself I would rather have this red tally mark and be friends with him than have none at all and still be with twat. Anything is better than that even if it is not reciprocated love." You shrugged your shoulders trying to come across as nonchalant when all you wanted to do was tell Kisuke that the mark was him, but you decided against it. You let out a yawn that caught Kisuke's attention.

"I should probably let you sleep then." He gets up from his spot and you huddle under the covers. Kisuke grins at the sight, fixing the blankets over you and kissing your forehead. "Today has been a rough day so if you need anything just shout, okay? Even if you think it is dumb." Despite everything that happened you slept well that night.

----Time skip 3 days----

"Y/n! Let's go! Hat n Clogs is waiting!" Ichigo yelled up to your window, pulling you from your sleep. You rush to get dressed, throwing a jumper on with leggings like before and you ran from the house.

You opened the door and outside waiting for you was Ichigo and the gang. "Well? Come on!" With that you all went back to Kisuke's shop. Over the 3 days you and Kisuke got closer, he'd constantly phone your mother to check up on you. (since he phoned your mum before and not you so he knew her number) It bugged her so much that she gave you Kisuke's number so she wouldn't be bothered anymore, which was sweet.

Everyone walked into the shop and greeted Kisuke. "Ah, Y/n!" He wrapped his arm around your shoulder playfully, a smile playing across his lips. "Everything okay?" You could see his eyes from the angle so you knew what he meant and you smiled back at him.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He let go of you and began talking to the others about Gigai upgrades. As you tidied around the shop you heard the bell chime indicating someone had come in, you looked up and that someone was twat. Your eyes went wide as you dropped the broom you were holding, alerting the others.

Kisuke's carefree smile and attitude completely dropped when he saw who was there. He grabbed your shoulders, pushing you towards your friends, they noticed something was up there and they stood in front of you. "Get out." He shakes his head, walking around the store as he was being stared at by everyone. "I said get out."

Twat laughed, "I'm a customer here, you can't tell me to get out, I want to buy something." Kisuke got closer to Twat, who was starting to clearly become intimidated by your friends.

"I have the right to refuse people. Customers are typically human, and sadly you don't qualify for one of those, so get the fuck out of my shop." With each sentence Kisuke got closer to him until eventually he got so intimidated and fled. Kisuke locked the shop door and ran over to you, avoiding the strange looks from the others.

"Are you okay?" You appear to be in a state of shock, you feel like you can barely move or speak, you just stood there, trembling. Kisuke continues to ignore the others as he wraps his arms around you, holding you close. "I am going to tell them if that is alright, just make any sound for a yes, okay?" He heard a small sound come from you so he begins to explain to your friends what happened.

-------

By the end of the explanation you came back to reality, since you weren't paying attention to anything other than Kisuke's arms around you, you were able to pull through pretty quick. Your friends all looked really mad at him for everything he did and thanked Kisuke profusely for helping you out through this. After a while, the others finally leave, giving you a hug and giving you a word of advice, they even offered to teach you how to fight which you decided to take up.

You sat with Kisuke in his room as you usually do after something like that happens. You were talking about nothing in particular when Kisuke stopped you. "Um- Y/n, that person- they return your feelings." You laughed

"No they don't, the proof is in the pu---" You lift your sleeve to show the proof when you noticed that he was right. The telly mark was Black now. You stare at the mark in utter shock. "I- What?" Your eyebrows furrowed together. "That is impossible, why would he like me?" Kisuke smiles at you, messing up your hair like he normally does.

"Probably because you're a fantastic p-" He stops dead in his tracks when he stops a completely new mark on his arm, the arm that was totally clean, in all of his years of living he has never fallen in love. You look up and wonder why he went quiet when you notice him staring at his arm, he must have realised who that tally mark is for. "That-" He gestures towards your mark. "That is for me, isn't it?"

You flush, you never thought you'd end up in a situation like this one. "Y-yeah it is." You bite your lip in worry, you knew he liked you as well, I mean you could literally see it, but that doesn't mean that he would want to be with you. Kisuke smiled softly at you as he ran his fingers through your hair.

"I always thought you were pretty, and I knew that I would absolutely fall for you, I could feel it. So I'm honestly glad it is returned. But um- We don't have to be in a relationship yet if you don't think you're ready for one." Kisuke was the sweetest and that is why, without a doubt in your mind, you knew that you were ready.

"I am ready, I've wanted to be with you for a long time now, I love you Kisuke." You blushed heavily. You think those words often enough but you didn't think you'd ever say them out loud to him.

"Since we have that sorted- can I kiss you?" Kisuke asked, his thumb running across your jaw, your skin tingling from his touch.

"Yeah, you can." His thumb moved, holding on lightly to your chin to pull you close. You were a hair's width away from kissing but he stayed there for a few moments with a look in his eyes that said 'You can still back off if you want to' but you didn't. He took your stillness as an invitation to continue and planted a soft kiss to your lips, his hands moved to cup your cheeks while your own remove his hat so they could rest in his hair. After a few moments of his soft kiss Kisuke pulled back, only to kiss you one more time.

"I love you too, Y/n. I'll make sure nothing bad will ever happen to you again."

[blxetsi]

Hey u! If you write for Erwin could I maybe request like some fluffy headcanons where they just take care of each other after an expedition? Thank you so much <3

hey you ! ty for requesting this was fun to make 🤩🤚

caring for erwin smith after an expedition headcanons (canonverse)

lowercase intended !

warnings: mentions of death, titans, gore maybe idk ???, female reader kinda ??? idk i didnt use gendered pronouns u decide

enjoy friends 😎🙏,

the ride back was hard.

- everyone always says "it was supposed to be an easy mission !" but this time it really was. which makes it so hard to understand why just so many of your comrades had to die

- you rode back near a wagon filled with bodies, the most abled bodied people were going to be tasked with getting their bodies identified and sorted, then ready to be buried.

- after that, whichever squad leader had those soldiers would have to write to the families, to send a formal apology as well as details of the situation.

- you knew that no matter what, even if there was just one death or a thousand, erwin would have a hefty stack of paperwork to go through

- from writing his own report to looking over others, going through soldier files to order out the deceased ones, and signing any letters that come his way from squad leaders.

- you had your own job to do. although it wasn't identifying bodies, you had to go back to the infirmary with the injured, and work with the doctors and nurses there to try and save the injured.

- your head was filled with names and tallies, who got hit where, how long has this person been passed out, when did we set their dislocated shoulder, they suffered a nasty head laceration, did i ever check their pupils ?

- you and erwin both had a lot on your plates, and you knew you wouldn't be able to see him until hours later, maybe not even until the next day

- and as much as you wanted to go see your fiance, who would be silently beating himself up over this, you couldn't, your responsabilities always came first, just as his did

- so after hours upon hours in the medical hallway, with nurses and doctors flowing from one room from the next, soldiers coming in with gurneys to transport soldiers that had passed, their names already being added to a list of fallen soldiers.

- it was about one in the morning when things finally started to die down. nurses that were tasked with the night shift had been helping greatly, as others were ready to pass out. you'd been employed by the scouts for years, first as a medic, then after almost dying from an abnormal on a mission, retired from the field to become one of the on call doctors at the base, before coming out of your haitus to rejoin your squad. since you had so much experience on and off the field, you could keep going. you were tired, but your body just couldn't stop moving.

- you decides itd be good for a shower, and saw lots of soldiers there with you.

- it was quiet, which wasnt normal but not surprising considering the circumstances. most times in the showers girls would be helping each other braid their hair, or sharing soaps and lotions, chatting about whatever happened that day on base. the boys' showers were usually even more rowdy, youd almost be able to hear them next door.

- you were surprised by just how much blood and dirt came off of you. you didnt feel like you treated or assisted a lot of people today, but maybe thats just because this whole days been a blur. because the showers had been used so frequently you had ice cold water streaming down your body, after soaping down your body, getting into every nook and cranny and line you could, you shut off the water, before wrappy your body in a towel and going to one of the sinks there

- you brushed your hair (which took some time) and brushed your teeth before making your way back to the dorms, where you found some pajamas to change into.

- your roommates were all asleep, two snoring, one not. you knew they were absolutely exhausted, and silently hoped that theyd get to sleep in the next day

- you made your way to the lounge room, finding some stragglers stationed around. two sitting on a couch, one sitting on the ground in front of them, someone at a near by table with a chess board in front of them, and another had come out of the kitchen with some tea.

- you knew walking around was useless, youd just disturb others and could possibly get yourself in trouble. but you couldnt help it. it was just past two in the morning now, and you knew even if you only got an hour of sleep, you were sure to wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare.

- so where do you go ? erwins.

- getting there was easy, you knew this route like the back of your hand. from coming in tk hand him reports from the medical hallway, to sneaking in after curfew for goodnight kisses, making your way to his office was like second nature to you.

- you didnt bother knocking, and he didnt bother looking up at you. he knew only you would dare to interrupt the commander after curfew without identifying yourself, and although he had asked you to knock you absolutely could not.

- you slowly stepped in, your bare feet padding against the squeaking floorboards. you sat in a chair in front of his desk, and simply watched him while he wrote.

- he wasnt in his uniform now, but in pajamas like yourself, you were glad he found the time to shower and change, his hair drying and frizzing up the tiniest bit.

- it was quiet, the only noises you could hear were the scribbling of his pen against paper, and the soft whistling of his nose as he breathed, time blended together until finally he stopped, and simply looked at you.

"my dear, why don't you sleep ?" he asked.

you gave him a soft smile, not noticing until now just how droopy your eyes had become. "because then i wouldn't be able to stare at you, my love." your voice was nothing but a whisper, and with the way the wind howled erratically outside, like it was mourning the fallen with you and everyone else, erwin wouldve missed it.

"you flatter me too much." he replied, his deep voice breaking off at the end.

you two stared like that for a while, just remembering every detail of the other person. the candle light was getting dimmer as the wax kept melting, but the soft glow it gave made all your beauty stand out to erwin. although it was a depressing moment, he still found time to admire just how perfect you looked. he could've lost you today, and he knows that. he stopped vocalizing things like that long ago, as your answer would always be "well you didnt, and you never will !" he didn't need you jinxing yourself like that.

you observed the bags under his eyes while he observed your own. erwin felt worried that youd be all sore and achy, from running around performing medical miracles on his soldiers from afternoon into night. you however, were worried if his shoulders and back were sore, from sitting in the same position, hunched over for hours on end. you knew how easily his muscles tightened, you didn't want him to be in any discomfort, especially after today.

you were the first to look away, staring at one of the candles on his table, watching a race between two wax droplets, trying to see which one would hit the metal candle holder first.

"-my dear ?"

you turned your head back towards your man, giving him a hum of acknowledgment.

"i asked if you were ready to go to sleep, y/n." he repeated. his thick brows furrowed a bit, showcasing some wrinkles he had on his forehead. his eyes showed visible worry in them for you, and you couldn't help but return them.

"will you sleep with me please ?" you whispered. the day had caught up with you, and now the only thing you wanted was for erwin to be safe in your arms as he finally let go of this awful day.

erwin looked down at his work, weighing the actions of his possible decision. you were so sure he would decline, while sending you off back to your dorm to ensure you didn't bother him. you could feel your eyes fill with tears, erwins being becoming blurry. you couldnt conceal the whimper that left your mouth, clamping your hand against it to muffle anything else. your head turned down into your lap, while you felt hot tears hit your pajama bottoms.

erwin wordlessy got up, before moving to your side. you tried to protest but you couldn't take your hand away from your lips, afraid youd let out a sob.

the blond put one arm under your knees, while the other took your right hand and slung it around his shoulders. he let out a quiet grunt as he picked you up, before nuzzling your head into his neck as he made his way into his bedroom, which was connected to his office.

it was a small room, but there was a big bed that could probably fit quite a few people. he slowly sat you down on the edge, which was his side of the bed. pulling away he got on his knees in front of you, rubbing up and down your arms.

you gripped his shoulders as you gasped for breath. "you- you can't leave me. please erwin i- you have to stay." you sobbed, trying to pull him closer by his shirt.

he shushed you quietly, urging you to lay back as he pulled the covers away, he tucked you in silently, wiping your cheeks and forehead before joining you on the other side.

his pillow smelled like him, and you turned your head to breathe it in better, needing erwin and his comfort.

pulling the covers up around his waist, he leaned into your touch, your arms coming out to wrap around his shoulders. you pulled him into your chest, and you rubbed his back with one hand while the other cradled his head to your beating heart.

he didn't offer you any words of comfort, erwin knew that it wasnt what you needed right now. you didn't need reassurance, or promises that could be broken, you just needed him. and he would fully give himself over to you if he could.

your cries had died down until all you did was sniffle and let out the occasional shaky breath, and erwin found it a bit odd that instead of needing to be nurtured, youd need to nuture to feel better. instead of feeling protected, you needed to feel like you could protect to calm yourself.

slowly but surely you recovered, until all that was left were puffy eyes and soft sighs.

erwin tried to push himself up, to face you, but you pushed him back into your chest, making him chuckle slightly. you continued to rub his back, feeling his shoulder blades and muscle, and around his neck too. you kept your nose in his hair, no doubt getting snot in it but you knew right now erwin didnt care. you breathed in his shampoo while carding your hand through the short strands.

the commander would be lying if he said this didn't help him too. just a bit of alone time with the one he loved, being held the way a parent would cradle their child. he truly felt at peace in these moments with you, he felt warm and safe in your embrace. he wasn't a leader anymore, he wasn't a soldier. right now he was just a man, being held in the arms of the person he absolutely adored. and that was enough for him. because you would always be enough for him.

he whispered out your name, only hearing a soft hum in reply. he glanced up at you to see your head against the pillow, your eyes closed. he smiled before kissing your collarbone.

"i love you, my dear."

thats it !!! i hope you enjoyed !! love u all, requests r open ❤️❤️❤️

[whyhellosims]

     “So, you want to talk about it?” Griffin asked, casting a sideways glance at his son’s pensive, drawn expression.      “Talk about what, pop?” Aerie asked, an automatic response, his thoughts still occupied elsewhere.      “Come, come, I taught you better than that!” Griffin chided, chuckling. “You can’t lie to me, Aerie. Although I suppose if anyone could now, it would be you, you’ve learned so well. Normally I would leave you to your business, but I’m worried about you. Vladislaus is worried about you. If you share what it is, perhaps it won’t weigh on you quite so much, hm?”      Aerie frowned, idly testing his line. After a comfortable silence, he asked, “What do you do when you have to do something, but you know it’s going to hurt people close to you? But you also know if you don’t do it, you’ll spend forever regretting it?”      Griffin gave up the pretense of fishing and turned to Aerendyl, telling him, “One thing I’ve learned, my son, is that people will always try to influence you, even the ones you love... especially the ones you love. Not from malice or cruelty, but from a desire to keep you near to them. The only advice I can give is to make decisions you can live with, hm? Looking back in time—and trust me, you will have time aplenty—do so knowing you’ve stayed true to your heart. Weigh any regrets you might have against the good that will come of your actions."       “Even if it doesn’t feel fair?” Aerie asked. “Even if it’s a really cruel way to repay years of care and kindness?”       “Who says you must repay it, hm?” Griffin asked, patting Aerie's cheek. “Parents love their children, Aerendyl. It’s given freely, happily, not tallied against an expected return. And parents always brace themselves for the day their children will spread their wings. Doing justice to the love you’ve been given means doing well in life, being happy, and then doing the same for your own children when it’s time, yes?”      “Thanks, pop, that’s good advice,” Aerie said, smiling. “Now can we talk about your bathing suit?”      “Ha! Not a chance!” Griffin told him, delighted. “Come, come! Your father is gone for the day, and we should use our time wisely! The local bar seems just the ticket!”   ��  “Oh gods, pop! Dad’ll kill us!” Aerie protested, laughing.      “Only if he finds out!”

From the Beginning

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Aerendyl Echo by @dynastiasimss​

Winter Echo

[jaskiersvalley]

Hello. Your writing is very capturing. I spent last night on reading all your stuff and here I am, in your ask box. Especially the illiterate!Geralt is a good read. I saw a few hc about the witchers being unsettled by Jaskier being well... Jaskier and with no fear approach them and talk to them. After a while they started wondering if Jaskier is a human, but they can't smell magic on him. What he really is? How he managed to fool a witcher?

Welcome to my ask box Nonnie, it is a delight to have you here! Even better, you bring a prompt that has my little heart singing because writing about Jaskier and all the witchers is something I am rapidly falling in love with. So thank you, you have truly made my day.

While the continent was big, it was still rather limited in terms of numbers of contracts. So it was only natural that from time to time Geralt bumped into a fellow witcher. Sometimes he got there first, other times there was only a drink at a tavern to be had and maybe some quiet company if it was a fellow wolf he encountered. The perk of having Jaskier alongside him was that even if he missed out on a contract, Jaskier could earn their keep and food if coin was short. So there was no longer a vicious competition between him and other witchers which was such a nice change of pace. There was no worry that if he got to a contract late, he would have to spend the next however many nights in the woods and hunting for food because he couldn’t afford a meal at a tavern.

Sometimes Geralt would still be in the stable with Roach while Jaskier went ahead to get them a room and some food. Which was how Geralt walked into the inn and frowned when Jaskier wasn’t visible at the bar. Looking around, he wasn’t too difficult to spot, sitting opposite...Eskel?! Pleasant surprise flooded Geralt at the sight of a fellow wolf and he walked over. Already, Jaskier seemed to have made a new friend in the form of the other witcher and was chattering away, demanding details from a fight. He even looked horrified when he spotted the bloody bandage peeking out from under Eskel’s sleeve.

“Oh you poor thing,” Jaskier was reaching for Eskel’s arm without any hesitation and Geralt saw the surprise from the other witcher. Hell, he could even smell the suspicion and confusion coming off him.

“Maybe this would be better done in a room than where people might be trying to enjoy some food,” Geralt suggested. “Not everyone can eat after seeing a bloody arm.”

“Yes! Have a bath called up for us, would you?” Jaskier looked at Geralt with a smile before turning back to Eskel and guiding him up atairs. “And don’t forget to have dinner brought up too!”

By the time Geralt got to the room, Jaskier had gently bullied Eskel into showing the wyvern bite to him and was fussing over it. Above Jaskier’s head, Eskel sought out Geralt’s gaze with confusion.

Later that night, Geralt had a rather interesting conversation with Eskel, mostly consisting of “he doesn’t even smell of fear” to which the only reply was “he never did”.

They parted ways and Jaskier made sure Eskel had plenty of supplies and coin, sharing what he could of his own despite protestations.

Funnily enough, Lambert was next. Once again, Geralt had been preoccupied, this time he was sharpening his swords when the music died down sooner than expected. However, there was no sound of fighting or arguing so obviously Jaskier hadn’t gotten himself into trouble. Yet. When he didn’t go upstairs to their room, Geralt decided to venture down to make sure nothing untoward was happening. Like that time Jaskier had convinced the whole tavern to play some kind of strip card game that Geralt still didn’t understand and, quite frankly, didn’t really want to either.

The sight that greeted Geralt was both better and worse than anything he could have anticipated. Jaskier was in the corner, sitting at a table and opposite him was Lambert. Who was pressed up against the wall like a cornered cat and staring at Jaskier in horror and disgust while the bard talked his ear off. He seemed to be utterly oblivious to the fact Lambert looked ready to bolt.

“Lambert,” Geralt greeted and there was a visible drop in anxieties.

“Geralt. This is-”

“Jaskier, I know. He’s with me.” Turning to Jaskier, Geralt pulled his coin pouch out. “Charm the barkeep into three strong ales, would you?”

As soon as Jaskier was away from the table, Lambert was leaning closer.

“What the hell is wrong with him? He just walked up to the table, sat down and started talking! He does realise we’re witchers, right?” He gestured towards Jaskier’s back. Geralt’s sigh of “yes” didn’t seem to help. Lambert ranted on. “I can do monsters, creatures and spirits. But whatever that is, it’s not human and it scares the shit out of me. Not even an whiff of fear or hesitation.”

“It’s just Jaskier. He’s friendly.” Geralt shrugged. He’d been there, the confusion and distrust at the absolute lack of any negative reaction from Jaskier. But he’d grown used to it.

“You keep the contract, I’m skipping out.” Lambert made to move and got almost to the door when Jaskier got back to the table and called his name. Like a dog caught stealing a sausage, Lambert slunk back sheepishly. At least he got ale out of it even if he had to sit through the most terrifying conversation of his life. Jaskier could talk, he’d give him that.

By morning, Lambert was gone and Jaskier pouted at the fact he couldn’t bid farewell to his newest friend properly.

Last but not least was Vesemir who they encountered on a dusty road between nameless towns.

“I’ve heard of you,” he told Jaskier who had been prancing around as he played his newest song. It had been stuck in his head for days, taking shape and now he couldn’t get enough of it.

“Alas I have not been granted similar privileges. Please forgive me, darling grey wolf. I am ignorant not through lack of interest but rather lack of sources.” Jaskier cast Geralt a side glance.

He was treated to a long, hard look by Vesemir who also took a subtle sniff of the air as he took a step closer to Jaskier. “They were right.”

Who the mysterious “they” were and what they were right about was a mystery to Jaskier but he wasn’t going to get answers because Vesemir nodded at them. “See you for the winter.”

As he turned to continue his path, Jaskier shouted after him. “Just a small token for our brief yet passionate meeting!” With that, he presented Vesemir a handkerchief in a flourish. Once again, the old witcher’s eyes drifted to Geralt before taking the offering, tucking it into his armour and turning with a nod.

“So, where are we going for winter?” Jaskier asked, hopping a lttle to catch back up with Geralt.

Kaer Morhen. That was the answer and Jaskier excitedly bustled through the doors. He and Geralt got set up in a room before making their way down to the others.

“Friends!” Jaskier yelled, arms in the air as he took in the three familiar witchers. “It is so good to see you again.”

He went around to hug all the witchers to varying degrees of success. While Eskel returned the hug with a small, entertained smile, Lambert was doing his best impression of a terrified statue. For his part, Vesemir accepted the hug but wasn’t too enthused by it.

Witchers didn’t need to sleep a lot so it wasn’t all that unusual for them to gather around a fire and talk late into the night. At first, Jaskier had tried to keep up but he needed sleep and often ended up fast asleep in Geralt’s lap while the others talked.

“I’ve never met anyone like him.” Eskel nodded towards Jaskier’s sleeping form.

“Not natural,” Lambert added. He had been doing his best to keep out the way as much as possible.

Even Vesemir weighed in, “He’s certainly a rarity. There’s no magic around him. No stench of enchantment or even the scent of a beast.”

“He’s plain old human,” Geralt said. “And just seems to have no concept of self-preservation around others. But trust me, he does feel fear.”

Which was how they ended up trying to find out what did elicit a response from Jaskier. Lambert’s idea of drinking a potion and wandering around with black eyes and veins backfired somewhat when Jaskier got ready to trek out with him to the fight he was no doubt preparing for.

Inviting Jaskier to train and spar hadn’t worked out either. No matter how much Eskel threw him around, disarmed him in more and more brutal ways and held swords to his throat, not once did Jaskier ever smell anything but tired.

Nobody was prepared for the ear splitting shriek one morning. It was definitely Jaskier but he hit a pitch even Geralt was stunned by. They all went rushing to the bathroom  to see what had happened. Bursting in, Jaskier was standing in the tub, suds sliding off his head and clutching a cloth to himself while Vesemir looked just as stunned, holding a basket of laundry.

“What happened?” Eskel asked.

“I was merely here to hang up some clean clothes,” Vesemir replied.

“There I was,” Jaskier’s voice was still breathy with fright, “taking a nice bath and washing. Only to turn around and he was there. I’m putting a bell on you!”

The air was sour with his calming fear and, oddly, it seemed to settle the witchers. No longer was Jaskier some ethereal being without a single thing in the world that could scare him. From then on, both Lambert and Eskel seemed to take great delight in sneaking up on Jaskier and trying to scare him. There was something so soothing about knowing Jaskier could still be frightened to the point of outraged screeching. Especially when he cottoned on to the game and, once he was over the initial panic, he chased after the culprit until he could jump on their backs, smacking them playfully over the head until Geralt prised him off.

Even Lambert seemed a little more comfortable now that he knew Jaskier wasn’t infallible. By the end of winter, he was unofficially crowned winner of scaring Jaskier the most. Not that it was ever a race between him and Eskel. They absolutely didn’t have a tally hidden in the library with bonus points awarded for exceptionally memorable screams.

[jbbarnesnnoble]

Another Lie

Summary:  You struggle with your self-esteem and body image. Bucky and Wanda know something is wrong, but have no idea how to help you. 

I totally didn’t forget to swap out the summary from my last fic

Features:  Plus size!Reader with PCOS

Warnings:  Disordered eating; self-esteem issues; anxiety

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Wanda Maximoff/Reader

Background Paring(s): Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanoff

Notes: This is based on my own experiences with my self-esteem and weight as a plus size woman with PCOS. I will likely write another fic in this universe that is much more positive. This fic deals with the struggle of self image while struggling with PCOS. So please, please, please keep that in mind. The reader in this fic has a very unhealthy relationship with food, which is based on my own struggles with it. This can be triggering for some, so please take care of yourself and avoid this fic if you know it will be triggering to you.

Word Count:  2923

You sat by the window, pretending to pick at the salad you had brought. Lunch had turned into an early dinner at the end of the day, taking your break in the last half hour of the work day. You didn’t live at the Avengers compound. Tony had been on your case about at least moving into one of the homes on the grounds, but you stood firm in wanting your work and your personal life to remain separate. You were fairly certain the only person who knew where you lived aside from Tony, was Natasha and that was because it was Natasha. You weren’t an Avenger. You were a desk worker. You helped decrypt intelligence and create mission briefs. You had a critical role with the team, even if you didn’t feel like what you did was all that important most days. You weren’t the one risking your life.

The nature of your job was another reason Tony and some of the others wanted you living at the compound. While putting the team in one place did paint a target, the compound had impressive security measures. Everyone had a place outside of the compound, sure, but a lot of time was spent there, together. Their homes away from the compound were more like a retreat to recharge. Clint weaved in and out with practiced ease, spending as much time as he could with his family when he could. 

But you insisted on staying on your own. The only compromise you made was having FRIDAY, though the AI was barebones at your instruction in your home. You had bought the house a year into working with the team. Tony had gotten you set up. You knew he worried. He would never admit to it, but he did. You could handle basic self-defense, but push comes to shove, if HYDRA or some other enemy of the team came knocking, your chances against them weren’t great. 

You had always struggled with your self-esteem and self-image. It worsened when you started working alongside Nat and Wanda. You had kept yourself in check, but things had been weighing on you lately. It was easy to start skipping a meal here and there. Easy to pretend you ate something. You knew it was a slippery slope. You were on a collision course with trouble. But when you stepped on the scale that morning, the number staring back at you had you convinced it was okay, that you were fine. It wasn’t like you skipped every meal. You ate. It wasn’t much, but you ate. It didn’t help that your anxiety was interfering with your appetite. 

You were pulled from your thoughts when Bucky and Wanda sat down across from you. You hadn’t noticed them come in with Steve and Natasha, who found themselves sitting on the couch, Sharon Carter stretched between them with her head on Natasha’s shoulder and her legs flung across Steve’s lap. Bucky and Wanda were somehow the two you were closest to.It wasn’t something people expected.  

“Sticking around for movies tonight?” Bucky asked you.

“And pizza...we can get your favorite,” Wanda said. You frowned. If it was just movies, sure. But pizza...pizza would put you over for the day. You kept a tally of the calories, painfully aware of how many a single slice had. Pizza was one of your favorites, especially from the place the team ordered from.

“Get you an order of garlic knots, know you like them. You’ve been on a health food kick lately. You can have a bit of a cheat day, especially with us,” Bucky teased. You sighed, closing the container that held your salad. 

“I can’t tonight. I have plans,” you said. You missed the look the two shared and the staring from the trio on the couch.

“Like a date?” Wanda asked, her voice going up an octave. You snorted.

“Right. Me on a date. No, I just have plans with friends. I do have a life outside work you know. You guys are great but, I do have other friends,” you explained. It was a white lie. Your friends were miles away, scattered about the country and the world. The only plans you had were a bubble bath and a salacious novel before you inevitably lost the ability to distract yourself and forced yourself to go to bed. 

“You could invite them here,” Bucky offered. You raised an eyebrow. Wanda tried to hide her laugh before Bucky realized what he’d said.

“Right. Background checks,” he said.

“Security is the way it is for a reason. Maybe some other time,” you said. You finished your lunch before heading to your office to gather your things. You opened your fitness app, inputting your lunch. You sighed as you saw the number for the day. Next time, you’d skip the dressing. 

When you got home you threw the container your salad had been in into the sink. You filled your water bottle and went to start the bath. You’d kill for a glass of wine, but shook your head at the thought. 

It hadn’t always been this bad. For a while, you’d been fine. But anxiety crept in and twisted things around. You knew, on some level, that you weren’t okay. That you should talk to someone. But then your anxiety kicked in, whispering that your problems weren’t important, that saying anything would be a bother. You and food had a complicated, unhealthy relationship. 

You had been on the heavier side of things since middle school. A diagnosis of PCOS once you were out of high school made things make sense. Why you had gained so much weight. Why you had so much trouble losing weight. It also contributed to your anxiety. It was a perfect cocktail for the issues you had with your self-esteem. There were so many ‘diets’ aimed at those with PCOS. Keto. Gluten free. Don’t eat this. Eat that. Cut the sugar. Carbs are bad. You were almost down a size since you’d started down this path again. 

You stripped down and turned on the water, adding bubbles as you let it fill. Once the water was high enough, grabbing the latest book you had picked up. You put on a playlist you’d made and slipped into the bathtub. You tried to relax. But you couldn’t. Too many thoughts swirled around in your head. When you got out of the bath, you stared at yourself in the mirror after drying off. You poked and pulled at yourself before sighing. You traced the stretch marks that lined your stomach. You watched the jiggle of your arms and your thighs as you finished drying off. You could almost hear the criticizing tone of your grandmother on the days you felt confident enough to wear a shirt that showed more of your arms. ‘Why don’t you put on a sweater?’ ‘Do you really want to go out in that?’ ‘You should cover up.��� Her words echoed in your head.

Your stomach growled but you ignored it. You had maxed out for the day. You told yourself you would be better off ignoring it. You got dressed for bed and went to lay down for a while. You needed a distraction from the hunger you were feeling. 

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Bucky and Wanda were worried. They had retreated to his room after you left. Neither spoke for a while. 

“She never turns down pizza night,” Bucky said, giving Wanda a look. He was hoping she heard something. Wanda shook her head.

“You know I make a point not to listen. I tune everyone out unless something is too loud. We can’t violate her trust,” she said, sitting down beside him on the couch in his suite. 

“She’s lost too much weight too fast, tell me you see it too,” Bucky said. He always noticed things when it came to you. The jeans you wore that once fit perfectly were starting to look baggy on you. The more fitted shirts you wore were also looser, in a way they were clearly never intended to be. Wanda nodded.

“I have. Tony has too. He can’t use FRIDAY to check on her either,” Wanda said before Bucky could even suggest it. Bucky frowned.

“Why not?” he asked. 

“Because he promised her. FRIDAY only has the most basic functionalities in her home. Checking for a heartbeat is the extent of it. She wasn’t comfortable having FRIDAY in her home,” Wanda said.

“But when she’s here,” Bucky said. Wanda shook her head. 

“FRIDAY doesn’t conduct health assessments on regular employees, not unless someone asks or they’re in medical for something,” Wanda reminded him. 

“Couldn’t we ask?” he asked.

“No. Either she has to or Dr. Cho does. And you know Helen won’t do that without her consent. If there were something truly alarming, we have to trust that FRIDAY would alert someone,” Wanda told him. Bucky sighed. 

“I don’t like this. Something isn’t right here. You’ve seen it yourself, Wanda,” he said. She placed a hand on his cheek gently, her eyes meeting his.

“I know. But all we can do right now is make sure she knows we’re here,” she said. He pulled her close, hoping you would come to them before whatever it was you were dealing with got too far out of control.

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You had decided to take advantage of the gym at work. Tony had offered the use of the Avengers gym, but you had decided to use the regular employee one. 

You found the stationary bike after stretching, deciding to use it. You had one earbud in while working out. It was a habit you had gotten into so you could pay more attention to what was going on around you. Which was why you heard when Aisling from accounting came in with several other women. 

“Don’t know why she bothers. She likes Sergeant Barnes and Agent Maximoff. She hasn’t said it outright but it’s pretty obvious. It’s sad. As if either of them would be interested in her,” you heard her say. You knew she had no idea you could hear her. Aisling was always nice to you when you had to bring something by accounting for Tony. You’d even had lunch together a couple times a week, usually. 

“Aisling, come on. You’re friends with her, aren’t you? Would it kill you not to be such a bitch?” another woman said. She sighed.

“She’s nice, don’t get me wrong. But life isn’t a movie. People like Barnes and Maximoff don’t end up with people who look like her. And clearly the gym isn’t helping her,” you heard her say. You ended your workout and gathered your things. You didn’t want to hear anymore. You tore out of the gym, willing yourself not to cry. You were hurt. You thought you were friends. You decided to use the showers in the Avengers gym. It was more private. You didn’t notice Bucky and Wanda were in the gym with Natasha and Clint as you rushed past. 

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Wanda and Bucky shared a look as you ran past. You were clearly upset. Natasha had a frown on her face.

“Wanda, come on, let’s go check on her,” Natasha said. Wanda nodded as she followed Natasha into the locker room. A shower was on. Through the door of the cubicle, they could both hear loud sobs. They decided to wait until you came out. When you did, you almost screamed. You were fully dressed, but you hadn’t expected to see anyone. It was clear you had been crying.

“What happened?” Natasha asked, jumping right to the point. You refused to look at either of them.

“Nothing,” you said. 

“Want to try that again? You ran in here and you were crying. What happened?” she asked softly. 

“Sometimes the truth hurts. That’s all. Look, I need to get back to work,” you said. You brushed past them and headed for your office, locking the door behind you. 

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Wanda and Natasha shared a look. Wanda wasn’t keen on breaking your trust, but she had to know what happened to upset you.

“FRIDAY what happened before she came up to the gym?” Wanda asked.

“She was in the employee gym. I can play the audio from that time if you would like, Miss Maximoff,” FRIDAY said.

“Please,” Wanda said. FRIDAY played back the audio, isolated from your immediate vicinity. She and Natasha both heard what Aisling said. Things clicked into place for Wanda.

“FRIDAY, contact Dr. Cho. Tell her Bucky and I will be coming by,” Wanda said. Natasha gave her a questioning look, but Wanda shook her head. 

She went to talk to Bucky and the two of them headed for the medical wing of the compound. They hoped that Helen would be able to shed light on what was going on with you. If anyone could, it was her. 

“Is there anything you can do?” Wanda questioned once they told Helen their worries. Helen looked between the two.

“I can’t. Unless FRIDAY detects that Ghost is in danger, I can’t. She’s not an agent or an Avenger. There’s no reason to monitor beyond basic life functions ,” Helen explained. Ghost was a nickname that had stuck to you. You were good at weaving in and out of networks undetected and that translated to how you moved around the compound at times. You had a habit of appearing out of nowhere. Tony swore up and down you must be enhanced with a teleportation power. 

“We just want to know she’s okay,” Bucky told her. Helen nodded. It was no secret that Bucky and Wanda cared deeply about you. The only person who seemed to be oblivious to it was you. 

“I understand, Sergeant Barnes. I really do. But for now, be there for her. It might not be something medical,” Helen advised. Bucky and Wanda left the medical wing, still at a loss of what they should do. 

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Another week passed. Most of the team was away on various missions. You were holed up in your office, working on decrypting something from the last mission Natasha had gone on, a solo run with Clint as backup. You hadn’t eaten all day. It wasn’t a conscious thing, and FRIDAY had reminded you to eat several times. You could feel yourself starting to shake and sighed. You were in the zone on your work and told yourself you’d grab a snack and a glass of orange juice in a few minutes.

By the time you moved to stand up, the shaking was worse and you were feeling lightheaded. You silently cursed yourself. 

“Doll? Everything alright?” you heard Bucky ask. You jumped. You hadn’t been aware he was back from his mission.

“Yeah, yeah, just need to eat. Haven’t had anything today,” you said. 

“Since breakfast you mean?” he asked. You didn’t look at him.

“Ghost, it’s four in the afternoon. You haven’t had anything yet?” he asked, alarmed. You sighed.

“It’s not a big deal,” you argued. 

“Ghost, how much do you eat in a day?” he asked. 

“Enough,” you replied, avoiding the question. You didn’t need anyone judging you for your habits. 

“How much is enough?” he questioned, his tone gentle. You knew you weren’t getting out of this conversation. It would be easy to lie. But you couldn’t bring yourself to lie to him. You knew, on some level, that what you were doing wasn’t healthy, nor was it sustainable. You unlocked your phone and handed it to him. 

“Ghost,” he whispered as he looked at your meticulously kept log. You hadn’t noticed Wanda enter the room. 

“Why?” Wanda asked, as she took the phone from Bucky. You didn’t know where to start or how to answer. 

“Look at me. I’ve tried every diet and none of them worked. I’m not pretty. I want to feel beautiful, you know? I want to be able to go out without thinking people are laughing behind my back. I want to go shopping and know if I find something I like, it’ll be in my size,” you rambled. You jolted when she brought her hand up to caress your face.

“You are beautiful. Don’t give me that look. You are beautiful in my eyes. In James’ eyes. Isn’t the saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder? You may not see yourself like that, but we do. And that’s okay. Things don’t change overnight, especially how we see ourselves,” she said. 

“I think you should talk to Helen. This isn’t sustainable. It’s not healthy,” Bucky murmured. You were confused. You didn’t think they liked you, not like that. 

“I don’t...why do you care so much?” you asked, eyes welling with tears.

“Because we care about you. We can talk about this more after you see Helen. We’ll be with you, every step of the way,” Wanda explained. You nodded. 

“Okay,” you whispered. They walked with you, arm in arm to the medical wing. Helen had been expecting you. 

“Everything will be okay. We’re here. And we’re not going anywhere,” Bucky said, taking your hand in his. You nodded. You weren’t sure what was going to happen next, but you knew, they’d be with you, whether it was as your friends or as your partners. Wanda sat on your other side, humming some calming song you didn’t know the name of. 

You knew then. Things were going to start looking up. You were going to be okay. And they would be without, every step of the way. 

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia - Chapter 83: Of Sound and Wings

Continuing my nextgen MHA fic!

Earlier chapters can be found here

To say Toshi was worried was an understatement.  While no one had said anything bad would happen if they lost the relay, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his all. Which meant he had to make sure he wasn’t going to let anyone else down either.  And he was more than certain that, however the relay worked out, Aizawa and Uncle Kacchan would be using whatever he saw to help format their lessons going forward.  Their teacher would just use any failings to push them all the harder.

He couldn’t allow his differences with Tatsuma to be the reason they failed.  While there hadn’t been any more violence or any scuffles between the U.A. and Shiketsu students (Not even from Katsumi, which seemed to be a minor miracle in and of itself), there was still a strained feeling when some members of the two groups interacted.  And Tatsuma had made a point of avoiding him.

He needed to be able to clear the air with the Shiketsu girl.  Even if there was still bad blood afterwards, he needed to apologize and he needed to make sure that they’d be able to work together.  Plenty of Heroes didn’t get along off the field but could put their differences aside enough to fight alongside each other.  He would have liked to at least get to that point.

They had a few minutes before they had to start getting ready, so he sought her out, finding her standing alone.  The other Shiketsu students looked to have already peeled off to find their respective U.A. partners.

“Ah, hey, Tatsuma,” he began.  “Do you have a minute to talk?”

Tatsuma didn’t budge an inch. When she spoke she didn’t even turn around. “Later than I expected this to happen. The instructors have forced your hand.”

Toshi frowned and swallowed nervously.  “You’re right,” he said.  “I have been putting this off.”  Not very heroic of him, really.  “And the timing makes it look even less great than it already is.”

Best to just get it out there.

“I owe you an apology.”

She turned to look at him now. With her arms crossed and her stoic stance, it made her already tall figure even more imposing.

“For what?” The question is not one of confusion or lack of knowledge, but rather did he understand what he should be sorry about. 

Toshi was of average height for his age, with maybe a few more inches to go, but the way Tatsuma simply towered over most people did nothing to ease the situation.  “I was pretty insensitive when we talked near the beginning of the camp,” he began.  “And didn’t do a good job of listening to what you were actually saying.  It’s been pointed out that I don’t always see the privileged position my family gives me and I trivialized something very important to you.”

He looked up.  “And for that, I’m sorry.”

Tatsuma listened, looking at him carefully before speaking. “Well I can’t find a realistic problem with your apology. So..thank you.” Her eyes narrowed a bit. “I’d argue it’s something many Heroes should see as important, but now is a pointless time to argue it.”

Toshi nodded.  It was about as good a reaction as he could have hoped for.  Tatsuma didn’t seem like the type to lash out violently, the way Katsumi might (Though in truth, Katsumi was always more bark than bite), but he’d been deeply afraid of making things worse.  He was a Class Representative.  He was supposed to be a leader, someone others looked to and who helped make things right, not someone who caused trouble with other schools.  

“You’re not wrong,” he agreed.  “I’ve grown up around enough Heroes, not just my family…”   He winced slightly.  A reminder of all that probably wasn’t the best choice of words.  “But a lot of them question if they’re not good enough, if they’re not doing enough.  And their failures stay with them too.”

Dad didn’t talk about it much.  He wanted to keep a smiling face, especially for this family.  But as Toshi had gotten older, he’d been more willing to talk about the lives he couldn’t save, the times he was too slow or too late.  He’d wanted to impress upon Toshi that being a Hero could bring great joy, but that it would weigh you down too.

“I don’t know why the press or the public treated your mother differently.  But she didn’t deserve that.”

For a time, he had had her attention. Maybe he’d gotten this right. Tatsuma was also a Class Rep. and as such she represented her school. As much as she may have wanted to show up UA, she had to know holding grudges like that weren’t good for anybody.  And it was true that in the past, the rankings had led to a lot of damaging and toxic behavior.  You just had to look at Izzy’s grandfather for that.  But things were different now, right?  But when he mentioned her mother, he suddenly felt the situation change, the hairs on the back of his next standing up.

Human life had started long after the dinosaurs had died out, despite what a lot of science fiction would have people believe.  But if a man had been threatened by a t-rex, he was certain it would felt like what he was feeling now.

Toshi would later swear that he saw Tatsuma’s eyes go red. “Because of the damn rankings!” Smoke started to unfurl from her nostrils. “She fell from the all-mighty Top Ten! The heroes of all heroes! You think anyone says anything if someone drops a rank in the 20’s or 30’s? No, no one cares about their efforts. But if someone can’t cut being in the Top Ten-!” Her skin looked like a very thin layer of scales was forming. 

“That's all my mother ever heard! ‘You couldn’t cut it.’ ‘Leave it to the men!’ ‘You weren’t meant to be among the elite!” All because of how the rankings portray what Heroes are supposed to be!” 

She was now towering over Toshi now. “I won’t dismiss what your father has done for this country, or any of the others in the Ten, but if you can’t see how it has also harmed those who have done nothing but sacrificed-!” Her hands clenched. She was very, VERY close, then snarled and turned away. 

“Seung’s worked too hard to keep her emotions in control. I can’t disgrace that effort.” Tatsuma let out a breath, a steaming hot one. “You’ll never get it. You’re too ingrained. I should probably just accept that.” She was quiet for a moment, before finally speaking up again. “What else did you want?”

To his credit, Toshi had managed to stand his ground during Tatsuma’s tirade, only taking a slight step backwards once. As it was, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.  “I’m sorry,” he began.  “This is important to you, I can tell.   And I’m sorry for the pain it’s caused you and your mom.  What happened to her wasn’t right and wasn’t fair.”

He straightened up a little.  Maybe this was too much meddling.  But wasn’t meddling the job of a Hero?  Tatsuma had so much anger in her, it was going to consume if she didn’t find a way to break it.

“And maybe I am too close to see some things.  But I’m also close enough to a lot of things to see some of the details.  When your mother started dropping in rankings, it was a different time.  The world was still hurting from the loss of All Might and wanted its Heroes to be more perfect than they were, than they could actually be.  I don’t know, can’t know, if that was the cause, but I’d be surprised if that didn’t have something to do with it. And none of that would make it right or fair if it did.  

“But while I can’t quote you chapter and verse like Shota could, I can tell you that plenty of people have risen and fallen out of the Top Ten in the last decade or more, and only the trashiest and least reputable ‘news’ sources and commentators are bad mouthing them.  Creati dropped down to Number Eleven a while back.  And you know what she did?  She congratulated Rodeo, who jumped up to Seven and knocked her ranking down.”

He frowned.  “What happened to Ryukyu wasn’t right.  I agree with you on that.  And you’ve every right to be angry about it.  But I don’t think it’s like that anymore.”

He shook his head.  Maybe there was still something he was missing.  But he had to try and bridge that gap.  “But maybe you’re right.  Maybe this is something we can’t agree on.  But can we work together?”

She looked back at him. “If Ground Zero and Deku could learn to work together, it would be embarrassing and shameful if we couldn’t.” There is the vaguest hint of a smile. Maybe he’d said some of the right things.  At least, he hadn’t made it any worse.

Toshi gave her a small smile of his own.  “Oh, the stories I could tell you about that…”

***

The Rookies’ relay course was set up in the woodlands around their compound, virtually invisible from the treetops, but complicated once you got to it.  There were bridges and swings, with complex structures built into the trees.  The tree line itself was thick with trees and other vegetation, making it difficult to see where any attack might be coming from.  Fortunately, their path was pretty straightforward.  

“You got Tomodachi okay?” Inuzaki asked.  He was ahead of Shota, in dog form, pausing every so often to sniff the air.

“Good enough,” Shota told him. The “civilian” they were rescuing was a training dummy, like the kind they used at U.A.  It was about the size of an adult man and loaded with sensors that would tally up injuries and damage.  They had immediately decided that he’d needed a name. Shota had him over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.  He didn’t need his arms free to use his Quirk, after all.  

“He’s pretty heavy though!” Shota said.  “Maybe he should run the course too!”  He was in good shape—you couldn’t be in the Hero course and not be—but he wasn’t anywhere near as fit as Toshi, Kirishima-Bakugo, or Shoji.  Even Inuzaki was in better shape than him when he was in human form.  Still, his joke did get a laugh out of Inuzaki, so it was worth it.

Dad always said you had to take care of your body as much as your Quirk.  Maybe he needed to start working out more.  Toshi was always working out.  But he got up so early to do it!

 “Smell anything?” Shota asked.

Inuzaki stopped and shook his head.  “Maybe.  Lots of smells.  I can smell people.  Mostly the Rookies.  They’ve been through here a lot.  Might be trying to make it confusing.”

“Let me try,” Shota said.  He took in a breath then started to unleash one of his sonar-screams, but stopped when Inuzaki started whining.

He cut the scream immediately.  “What, what is it?” Shota asked.

Inuzaki winced.  “Your scream hurt my ears,” he said, quietly.  “It was like a knife through my skull!”

Crap!  His Quirk and Inuzaki’s weren’t compatible?  How were they going to do this?  He had to scream to use his Quirk!  When they got attacked, he’d have to use it!  But if it hurt his friend, then what could he do?  Maybe it was only certain frequencies?

“That’s only when you’re a dog, right?” Shota asked.  “Change back for a second.  I’ll get a quick look and then we can keep going.”

“Okay,” Inuzaki agreed.  He stopped though, his back leg scratching at his ear.  “Hang on, gotta scratch first.”

“Oh!  How cute!”

The girlish voice seemed to come from nowhere.  It could only be Ojiro!  But where was she?!

Inuzaki sniffed.  “Ah ha!  Got you!”  He jumped up and seemed to collide with something in mid-air.  Ojiro reappeared as they hit the ground.  

“Oh, dang it!” Ojiro cried out.  She tried to get up, but Inuzaki’s weight was keeping her down.  “I got distracted!

“Hold her still!” Shota said.  They’d been given ‘capture cuffs’ so that they could harmlessly take their classmates out of the fight, though there was a good chance they’d have to do at least a little damage.  He had some in his pocket, but he also had the dummy!  Crap!  What were they going to…  Inuzaki changed back to his human form in a puff of smoke.  He had capture cuffs too!  Right.  Why was he worried?

Ojiro was quick though, using that moment of transition to act.  She brought her legs up, flipping Inuzaki over her, then sprang up to her feet.  “So close!” she said.  “But not quick enough!”  Meanwhile, Inuzaki changed back to dog form in midair, landing easily.  He and Ojiro circled each other warily.

Before he could help, the ground started shaking.  Shota swallowed hard.  He remembered now, one of Class 1-B had a vibration-based Quirk, didn’t she?  Mio Yamaguchi, a dark haired girl.

The vibrations picked up intensely, knocking Shota off his feet.  He hit the ground, twisting to minimize the damage to Tomodachi, but he knew he took at least a small hit.  “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Shota told the dummy.  Carefully getting back to his feet, he looked around for any sign of Yamaguchi or anyone else.  Behind him, he could hear the sounds of Ojiro and Inuzaki fighting.

He wanted to help.  He really did.  But if there was more trouble coming, somebody had to watch.

Doing the right thing sucked sometimes.   But he had to trust that Inuzaki was going to be able to handle it.   “Better hold your ears, Tomodachi,” he told the dummy.  “It might get loud!”  If he kept his powers really focused, hopefully he’d wouldn’t hurt Inuzaki either.

There.  Yamaguchi stepped into view, looking beyond Shota.  “Can’t you catch one dog, Ojiro?” she asked, sounding annoyed.

From behind him, Ojiro called out.  “It’s really hard!  He’s really fast!”

Yamaguchi rolled her eyes.  “Okay, let me just take care of the kid and I’ll help.”  She brought up both of her hands, unleashing vibrational waves that seemed to blur the air in front of her.

Dang it!  Just because he was short and a few months younger, it didn’t mean he was a baby!  Why did everybody treat him like he was a little kid!

“YOU’RE NOT GONNA STOP ME!” he shouted, clenching his fists.  He unleashed his Quirk, turning a shout into a broad sonic wave.  His wave met Yamaguchi’s vibrational blast in mid-air, where there was a small explosion of air as the two different waves hit each other, before his own caused hers to dispense. Somewhere behind him, he heard Inuzaki yelp.  He just prayed his new friend could hold on.

“What?” Yamaguchi said.  “How’d you do that?”

Shota grinned.  “I canceled out your vibrations with my own!”  Maybe not as good as Uncle Shota’s Erasure, but his sonic vibrations could stop hers well enough.

Again and again, Yamaguchi threw her vibrational blasts at him, but Shota kept canceling them out. Her vibrations were at least as strong as his sonics.  Keepings up that kind of pace, matching vibration with vibration, was making his skull rattle. Even without the blasts hitting him, he could practically feel the vibrations in his bones.  Even though he wasn’t used to fighting someone with powers even a little bit like his own, he was holding his ground, but if he didn’t do something, he was sure to lose!

“Okay, that’s it…” Yamaguchi said. A look of annoyance crossed her face. “Guess it’s time to bring down the house!”  Her eyes narrowed and she brought both hands together and pointed them down, ready to unleash another vibrational blast.  The air was practically humming as she charged up her power.  He had to do something… now!

Shota took in another breath and screamed, hitting the ground under Yamaguchi with a carefully modulated sonic pulse.  While he mostly used his Quirk for purely destructive sonic screams, he could do so much more than that depending on the frequencies he hit.  Everything from sonar to force fields to all kinds of other effects.  In this case, he could hyper-agitate molecules causing…

An explosion!  It wasn’t a big one, but the ground underneath Yamaguchi exploded, knocking her off her feet and several feet back.  As she landed, Shota rushed over, unclipping one of the capture cuffs from his belt.  Yamaguchi was still trying to get her bearings when he slapped one end on her wrist and then the other.

“All right!” he cheered.  “Got you!”  

Yamaguchi just stared at him, then rolled her eyes.  “Monoma’s never going to let me hear the end of this.”

Shota wondered why Monoma would give her a hard time.  She tried her best!  

“Oh, dang it!  This is so unfair!  How you can you be this cute and this tough?!  IF YOU WERE CLOSER, I’D GIVE YOU SUCH A SMACK!”

Shota’s attention was instantly drawn to where Inuzaki had managed to corner Ojiro.  She’d climbed up into a tree, and Inuzaki was back in dog form, circling the bottom of it.  

Inuzaki transformed back to his human shape.  “Can you get her down?  I’m not so good with climbing.”

Shota nodded.  “Let me try this one…”   He let lose another scream, shifting the pitch a bit.   This time, when his sonic attack hit the tree, it began to shake and vibrate violently, but it didn’t explode.

“Nnnnnnnoooo  fffffaaaaiiiirrrrr,” Ojiro wailed.  She was struggling to hang on and ultimately lost the fight.  She fell, landing flat on the ground.  “Ouch…”   She held her up arms.  “Just cuff me already.”

***

They’d probably gone another two kilometers, easy.  Shota wasn’t really good with eyeballing distances.  Every now and then, they’d trade off, with Inuzaki resuming his human form so he could carry Tomodachi and so Shota could scan the area with sonar.  But the forest was so thick with trees and everything else, it was hard to see anything that way.  Buildings were a lot easier.  

“How much further?” he asked.  He was pretty sure they’d been told how far they had to travel for the hand-off, but he may not have been paying the best attention.

“About another couple kilometers,” Inuzaki said.  “I think.  Everything looks bigger from down here.”

Not too much farther then.  But there were definitely more of his classmates or schoolmates out there, waiting for them.  Unless they were really dogpiling the other teams, there had to be at least one, maybe two more coming after them.  Even Shota could do that kind of math.

“Do you smell anything?” Shota asked.  It hadn’t worked so well last time, not with all the other smells in the forest, but maybe they’d get lucky.

Inuzaki made a weird face, one which looked even stranger on a dog.  “I smell something,” he said.  “Like ink, maybe?”

“Oh!” Shota said.  He knew who that was!  “Fukidashi!”

“The cartoon girl?” Inuzaki asked.  He sounded a little annoyed, which was surprising, given how well he got on with everyone.  “I tried talking to her a few times, but every time I did, she just kept going on about how cute I was. Just like the invisible girl. It got old really fast.”

Shota frowned, looking around.  Where could she be?  His eyes fell on a strange looking patch of ground.  “Do you see that?” he asked, pointing.

“Is that patch of ground a different color?” Inuzaki asked, curiously.  

Shota bent down and grabbed a stick from the ground.  Getting back up with Tomodachi on his shoulders was tricky, but he managed it.  He gave the stick a toss towards the patch of ground.

The stick hit something, making a small thunk sound.  Instantly, Anime Fukidashi sprang from the patch on the ground, partially covered in leaves and dirt.  “Aw,” Fukidashi said as she landed.  “How did you know?!”

“The ground was a different color,” Inuzaki said.  He bent down low, ready to pounce.  

“Dammit!” Fukidashi yelled.  Her head somehow got larger as she yelled, becoming larger than the rest of her body.  “Betrayed by the drawing on the animation cell!”

Inuzaki looked over at Shota.  “Is she all right?” he asked.  Shota just shrugged.  Even he and Toshi had no real idea how her Quirk worked or how it affected her.  

Before any of them could act, suddenly, something snaked around Tomodachi, yanking him off Shota’s shoulders!  There was Kaminari, coming out of the bushes behind Fukidashi, her Cords wrapped around the dummy and dragging it towards her.  He could even see a few sparks dancing across her Cords and areas of the dummy lighting up as it registered damage.

“Nice job being the distraction, Fukidashi,” Kaminari said.  Her expression turned slightly apologetic.  “Sorry Shinso, but you’re not winning this one.”

He couldn’t get in a good sonic blast with her holding Tomodachi like that.  He was in the way and she could still shock him either way.  “Aw, c’mon, Kaminari,” he said sadly.  “We gotta win this one!  Everybody’s counting on us!  I don’t want to disappoint everybody!  I just…  I just gotta…”

Her face fell as he talked.  There.  There was his moment.  “Aaaaah!” Shota let out a shout, a regular one, and charged, tackling Kaminari about the middle and knocking her to the ground. He hated tricking her like that, but if everybody was going treat him like a little kid, then maybe he should take advantage of that. He landed on top of her, with his head on her…  He jerked his head up quickly!

Kaminari’s Cords reflexively reeled in when he tackled her, but as she soon as she was able, her Cords poked into his back and unleashed a jolt of electricity.  It wasn’t a strong shock, just enough to make him release his grip, but it still hurt.  Shota let out a cry of pain and let go, as Kaminari shoved him off her.  As he hit the ground, he could see Fukidashi trying to hit Inuzaki with a comically oversized hammer.

“Dang it!” Fukidashi yelled when her latest hammer strike failed to hit Inuzaki.  “Why won’t the music change?  Isn’t he a comedy character?!”

Kaminari, meanwhile, was back on her feet, heading for Tomodachi again.  She was too close!  If he missed with a sonic blast, he’d hit the dummy.  But he’d been working hard on his Quirk all through the camp.  And Bioshock helped him figure out some other pitches he could use.  If he could go high, Bioshock had said, he could go low.

Infrasound.

He opened his mouth and pitched his sonic power low, buffeting Kaminari with waves of low-frequency sound.  She stopped in her tracks, suddenly clutching her stomach.  She wobbled on her feet, before falling to her knees, throwing up.   Shota was already on his feet, running past her.  “Sorry!” he called out.  “It won’t last long, I promise!  Sorry!  Sorry!  Sorry!”

As quick as he could, he hoisted Tomodachi over his shoulders again.

Inuzaki had Fukidashi cornered now, growling.   She let the hammer fall from her hands and it vanished as soon as it let her fingers.  “Sure, now the dramatic music plays.”

Inzuki reared up and hit Fukidashi hard with both front paws, knocking her to the ground.  She hit her head on the ground and laid there, stunned, with little cartoon birds floating around her head.

Shota definitely didn’t understand how her Quirk worked.

“C’mon,” he said, moving as fast as he could.  “They won’t be down for long!”

He and Inuzaki ran.  Soon enough, he could see Kocho and Shida waiting up ahead, standing next to a small sign that clearly marked the second leg of the relay.

They’d done it!

***

Shinso and Inuzaki had definitely looked worse for wear by the time they’d arrived and handed off the training dummy (Which they’d named, for some reason.) to Koharu and Shida.  The two had spun a tale of being ambushed twice, but had managed to successfully fight their way through.  It gave her a good idea of what to expect.  There would probably be at least four attackers then, though there might be more.  She’d done the math. There weren’t quite enough students for a totally even split.

At least for now, Shida was carrying the dummy.  With her spider-legs carrying her in a way that reminded Koharu a lot of how Shoji traveled with his own Quirk, she was able to hold the dummy in her arms and remain mobile.  Koharu herself was flapping her wings, floating just a bit above ground level.  That way, if they needed to engage, she wouldn’t waste any time on a takeoff.  The forest canopy, for now, meant moments to fly really high were going to be few and far between, but there was enough space between the trees that someone could still fly under it. 

And flying above the canopy had been strictly prohibited.  Even if it wasn’t against the rules, there were several other students with flight Quirks and it was likely at least one of them would be playing the Villain for their leg of the relay.  And she’d be leaving Shida behind if she did that, which seemed like it would defeat the purpose of the exercise. 

None of which did anything to quell her body’s primary panic at the spider-like aspects of the Shiketsu girl.  Given there were spiders that ate moths, it was a natural reaction for animal-type Quirks like theirs. She was getting better at it than when the camp had started, though.  It helped that the other girl was incredibly nice (and, she admitted with a blush, rather cute), but her instinctive reaction was still just below the surface.

On the plus side, the two of them were going to be incredibly hard to sneak up on.  Between Shida’s multiple-eyes and her own antenna, they had a range of extra-sensory perception.  

“See anything?” Koharu asked quietly.  Her antennae weren’t giving her any good information, unless you counted knowing where several squirrels and more than a few birds were.

“Not yet.” Shida said. If she’d noticed that Koharu tended to keep her distance from her, she didn’t let on but she seemed happy enough to be working with her. Her six eyes glanced about in multiple directions. “I doubt that will be the case much longer.” It didn’t help that she wasn’t sure where exactly to look. Knowing who the “Villains” were would have helped, but Heroes seldom had a heads-up. 

“Me neither,” she replied.  But Shida was right.  Sooner than later was to be expected.

It didn’t take long for that sooner to become now.  There was a great cracking sound and one of the trees fell, blocking the way forward for a moment.  Someone strong then, or maybe Kaniyashiki from 1-B with her scissor Quirk?  But even then, between her ability to fly and Shida’s legs, it would only slow them down for a minute.  So what was their enemy’s plan?

A sound like jet engines told her what it was: a distraction!

Faster than a bullet, one of the Iida twins--Sora, she realized--blasted through the air right towards them.  She was fast enough that Koharu couldn’t react in time to stop her, only to get out of the way.  Iida stuck an arm out as she flew past, grabbing the arm of the dummy Shida was carrying as she tried to rocket away.

Like Koharu, Shida hadn’t seen Sora coming. She’d told Koharu before they’d set out that, while spiders had six eyes, their sense of sight actually wasn’t all that strong. She could see more than most people, but only by volume, not by magnification. There was no way either of them should have been able to see her coming in time. But somehow, Akira’s second-from-the back left spider-leg to shot out in a reflexive strike. 

It was a solid strike, enough to send the Iida girl flying off course, slamming head first into a tree trunk.  She still had the dummy though, which made things complicated.  Already, she was scrambling back to her feet, although quite unsteadily.  Koharu spat a blob of String Shot at her, pinning her to the tree with a mass of sticky strands stronger than steel.

“How did you do that?” Koharu asked, unable to keep the amazement out of her voice.

Shida bowed her head slightly and smiled.  “My leg hairs.  They’re very sensitive to vibrations.  It’s a bit of an instinctive reaction to danger like that.”

“This is excellent tensile strength,” Iida said, as she struggled to break free.  She sounded impressed. Koharu could hear the other girl’s Jetpack engines firing, but for the moment, her String Shot held.  “I would love an opportunity to examine this at a later date! The uses are practically unlimited!”

“Sister!” a voice called out.  It had to be Tensei Iida.  “As much as I am in agreement with you, now is hardly the time for scientific curiosity!”

“It is always the time for curiosity, little brother!”

“I have asked you to stop calling me that!”

“Maybe you two could have this discussion another time?” Another voice asked.   It was Shoji. He sounded very, very tired. Koharu didn’t blame him. The Iidas were very nice, but they could also be exhausting.

Shoji dropped down from between two trees, using his extra arms like spider-legs, free-falling the last few feet to land with a slight thud.  Tensei Iida, meanwhile, dropped down with a series of shot Jetpack bursts to slow his fall.  Both of them were between Koharu and Shida and the dummy.

She shot Shida a quick glance.  “How long can you hold your breath?” she whispered.  Iida and Shoji were playing defense for the moment, watching them.  

“That’s a complicated answer with my mixed body. But I can “hold it” long enough. What are you planning?” Koharu remembered, vaguely, that spiders didn’t breathe in the same way as some animals, but she didn’t know how that applied to the spider-girl.

“I can drop a sleeping powder from my wing scales,” Koharu said quickly and quietly.  Shoji was eying them warily, all six of his arms up in a fighting stance, while Tensei Iida attempted to free his sister and the dummy without success.  “If I can cover a wide enough area, I can knock them out.  Iida’s crazy fast and Shoji’s crazy strong.  Probably the best chance we’ve got.”

“Hmm, I could use my legs to lift my body above the powder. Plus I should be able to use my leg hairs to feel the vibrations of where they might move even if I can’t see them,” Shida suggested. 

Koharu nodded.  These were all Hero students with months of training that she simply didn’t have.  And many of them had even more than that, coming from Hero families.  Neither side here had a full understanding of what the other could do, so evening out to neutral was the closest they had to an advantage. “Let’s do it.”

She flapped hard, gaining height and propelling herself forward towards the boys, already releasing her Sleep Powder from her wings.   Down below, Tensei Iida looked up and let out a cry of alarm, while Shoji moved towards Shida, his top pair of extra arms stretching out to grab at her.

Shida saw Shoji heading for her, scanning above herself with her uppermost eyes. Staying on the ground was a bad idea as she had no idea how strong Shoji really was. She bent her legs, took a moment to look Shoji in the eyes, and gave the six-armed boy a wink that Koharu would have called flirtatious, before her legs suddenly unbent and sent her flying up into the air. Shooting well up past the smaller trees, Shida extended several of her legs to pierce and grab onto the nearest larger specimen.  Others of her legs lashed out at Shoji.

Shoji dodged out of the way of the initial strike, pushing himself to the side with his lower set of arms.  “Good reflexes,” he said, his voice smooth, like silk. He craned his neck to follow Shida, top arms extending out at her, but his maximum extension wasn’t enough to get him close.

Meanwhile, having recovered from his initial shock, Tensei Iida was rocketing into the air.  He was a major threat, though without the armor and support equipment Koharu had seen him use during the final exam, possibly slightly less of one.   And she had the advantage in maneuverability.

She flapped hard as she flew, releasing her Sleep Powder from her wings until the air was filled with the orange powder.   Iida got the worst of it, flying directly into the cloud of it.  He coughed and sputtered and was out almost immediately.  Which meant that his Jetpack cut out and he started falling like a stone.  Koharu cursed and went into into a dive, catching him in midair by grabbing his wrists. She let loose a cry of pain as her jerked to a stop. It felt like her arms were being torn from their sockets!

“Dammit,” she hissed.  Iida was heavy, muscular and compact.  She could just about manage to carry her own bodyweight when flying, but he was definitely heavier than she was.  She dropped down low and released him, letting him hit the ground.  He’d gotten more than enough powder that he didn’t wake up.

Shoji, meanwhile, was still standing. She’d had to stop spreading her powder to keep Tensei from dropping and he hadn’t gotten nearly as big a dose.  His arms lashed out again, grabbing her wrists!

It had been a gamble that she’d be able to drop Shoji, especially as big as he was and as little powder as she’d been able to release.  She was glad Shida had her back. As soon as she’d seen Koharu drop down to save Iida, the spider-girl had already been making her way down the tree when Shoji extended his arms to grab Koharu.

She watched as Shida did her best to land from an angle that she hoped was in Shoji’s blind spot. Her legs made surprisingly little noise when they were in motion, and she sped toward the big, six-armed boy. When close enough she extended her two front legs and brought them in a scything motion toward the back of Shoji’s knees. 

Shoji was a big guy, which made him a pretty big target.  The blow from Shida knocked him down, bringing him to his knees and making him release Koharu.  Looking over his shoulder, he tried to swat at Shida with his Extendo-Arms, but the move was awkward and uncoordinated.  Koharu used the moment to escape, taking to the air again. She swung out with her legs, striking Shoji upside the head.  The blow wasn’t enough to put him down, but it did spin his head around.  He looked back and forth rapidly, now caught between her and Shida.

Shida dodged Shoji’s clumsy blows easily, her eyes and leg hairs giving her incredibly reaction time to his attack. She used her four back legs as a brace as she used them to hold herself in an almost standing position. She launched her remaining arms at Shoji, each attempting to strike at the arm joints of his extended arms. 

When it came to extra-appendages, Shoji was definitely unarmed by comparison to Shida.  Even as he’d been able to turn to face her, her spider-legs struck home, nailing him in each of his Extendo-Arms.  The silver-haired boy let out a cry of pain as his arms retracted, snapping back with a strange, stretching sound that was more than a little nauseating.  

He’d done a remarkable job of staying upright, but between the pain from Shida’s attack, the blow to the head, and the whiff of sleep powder he’d gotten earlier finally making its way through his system, Shoji went down, slowly sliding to his knees and then to the ground.

They’d done it!  Three hero students, and they’d managed to beat all of them!  She’d even managed to take out two!  Of course, Shida was also a Hero student, so that evened the playing field a little, but still!

“Let’s get the dummy,” Koharu said.  It should still be where they left it, next to Sora Iida.  She quickly glanced in that direction.  The other girl was asleep.  She must have gotten enough Sleep Powder too. Koharu stopped, her antennae moving rapidly.  There was something stirring up a lot of air. 

Anything Shida might have said was cut off as something swooped down and slammed into her.  Rough, clawed feet grabbed her shoulders and she felt herself being carried into the air.  It had to be Hizashi Koumori, the bat-like member of Class 1-B.

“Sorry, Kocho,” he said.  “Totally most heinous to do the sneak attack, I know, but we gotta win this one!”

Just before Koumori had grabbed her, Koharu had seen Shida briefly give herself a smile of triumph. That had abruptly ended when Koumori struck. Koharu could see Shida move on instinct to try and help, but she stopped, as though remembering what Koharu had told her. They needed to get the dummy. Shida cursed quietly before heading over to Sora to grab it. With any luck she’d be able to secure it and get back quick enough to help.

But Koharu couldn’t count on that.  She needed to do whatever she could to try and free herself.

It was the element of surprise that had let Koumori grab her.  He was bigger and stronger than her, to be sure, but all he had was his feet around her shoulders. Her wings were still free. And he wasn’t rocket-powered like the Iidas.  He was as dependent on muscle power and flapping for flight as she was, which meant his flight was a lot easier to disrupt.  She flared her own wings out, spreading them wide.  It attacked like an immediate drag chute, jerking Koumori back.

“Whoa!” he cried out.  Reflexively, he released his grip on her as he sailed back.  That was all she needed.  For just a moment Koharu let gravity grab hold, then flapped her own wings, diving back toward the ground.

Just as suddenly, however, she was hit by what felt like a solid wall of force that set her bones rattling and seemed to echo through her skull.  Flailing, she started falling again.  It was hard to think clearly, everything was spinning…

Clawed feet grabbed her again, this time grabbing her legs.  “Sorry about the sonar, dudette,” Koumori said.  He did sound genuinely apologetic.  She knew he was pretty mellow guy most of the time, though how mellow tended to change with how awake he was.  “I’ll have you down in a second.”

No!  She had to prove herself!  She couldn’t lose now!  “No,” she said, “I’m sorry… for this!” With his grip on her legs, she flapped her wings just once, giving herself just enough ot a push to swing upward, slamming both of her fists into his snout!  Koumori let out a cry of pain and released her again.  This time, she flapped and kept herself into the air, but hit him with a blast of String-Shot, pinning his arms--and more importantly, his wings--to his sides.  A pang of regret shot through her as he dropped like a stone.  Koumori was even bigger and heavier then Iida. There was no way she could keep him from falling…

Koumori, at least, was awake. He twisted in the air, trying to break free from her String-Shot, but hit the ground hard, letting out a soft moan, his eyes fluttering.  That looked like it had hurt.  Maybe she’d make it up to him back at U.A. with a fruit smoothie from her stash of exotic fruits.

Koharu landed next to him, bending down to make sure he was okay.  Kuomori was still breathing and it didn’t look like he had any major injuries.  Didn’t look like that had felt good, but it looked like he’d be fine.

It wasn’t the first time she’d had to hurt someone.  She’d sparred with friends and fought in the Sports Festival and trained against others here at the camp.

It didn’t mean it felt good.   Maybe Park had been onto something about children fighting like this…

Shida skittered to a stop next to her, the dummy safely in her hands. “That was amazing, Koharu! I came as quickly as I could, but it turns out you didn’t need it.” Skida smiled, but frowned slightly; she must have noticed the disturbed look on Koharu’s face. She frowned, all her eyes narrowing in concern. “Are you okay?” She didn’t specify if what troubled her was physical or mental, but there was something in her voice that suggested this wasn’t the first time she’d seen someone react like this. 

Koharu shook her head.   She had plenty of options that didn’t involve hurting people when it came to takedowns.  Maybe she could learn to focus on that.  But she’d have to fight anyway if she followed her dream and became a Hero.  But what did that mean for now?

Maybe those were questions for another day.

“Just thinking about something your friend said,” she told Shida.  “But c’mon.  We can talk about that later.  Let’s get this thing to the next marker.”

These were definitely questions that needed answers.  But for now, she’d faced one of the first major challenges of her Hero training and she’d come out on top.

For now, that was good enough.

[kalynnternet]

How I became Agnostic

This post is a sort of silent play/series of movie screen captures that detail the how, why, and when of my becoming an agnostic. I’m sharing in hopes of expanding the amount of personal experiences told by the agnostic community, since there are many ways one can be agnostic and believing only one narrative is limiting.

ACT I : Childhood Existentialism

My name is Kalynn and through the next 20-ish photos of my poorly-cropped self, I hope to provide an interesting take on my agnostic origin story. 

I was raised by a conservative Christian mother and my very-opposite-of-that father:

I grew up hearing about Jesus and God and was very sheltered from any religion outside of Christianity. As a kid, it was just basic knowledge that God created the Universe. I didn’t know anything outside of Christianity, and I remember being confused when I found out people did things against God’s rules or when someone casually stated that they didn’t believe in God.

But my pure relationship with Jesus would soon be tainted by my family’s and church community’s stories about Hell... The idea of eternal punishment suffered by non-believers was and sometimes still is one of my greatest fears.

Thinking back on it, this was a pretty intense conversation topic to be discussing with a 7-year-old. My experience with religion then on was weighed down by worries of not doing enough or not believing enough. 

I was sort of just going through the motions of religion, getting saved and baptized because I thought that would protect me from infinite torture. Passion for the faith and love for a celestial being took a back seat, my fear overriding any actual feelings of belief in the religion. Looking back, I can see that I didn’t truly have faith in the way my family wanted me to even before I was exposed to the “secular world.”

I had a nice childhood, but the threat of going to Hell always loomed in the distance. I thought about death more than a child probably should, keeping tallies of sins and figuring out ways I could possibly rectify them. It was my main source of anxiety for most of my young life and I struggled for a long time...

ACT II : The Influenced Middle Schooler

Among the bustling chaos of middle school life was where I really began to “stray from God’s light,” one might say.

I think one of my biggest influences came from the music I started listening to. I look back fondly on my days of sneaking into my mom’s computer room and listening to “Slut Like You” by P!nk and, as pictured below, “Va Va Voom” by Nicki Minaj (a song about seducing a taken man).

Songs like these helped to desensitize me to “immoral” lyrics, cuss words, and using God’s name in vain. After a while these things became casual parts of conversation around friends. Once my rhetoric evolved to include these sayings, my relationship with Christianity as I was raised to believe it started to weaken. 

And then, I developed my first crush on a girl.

WOO did this put a dent in my standing with Christianity. This crush was on one of my friends “Kasey,” and it ended up causing problems in our relationship because I started acting weird around her and tried to avoid her (I was told all my life that homosexuality was an instant ticket to Hell, no way was I going to willingly explore my feelings).

I think one of my aunts started to suspect I was “going down the wrong path,” so she gifted me Christian “help” books such as the one above (Lies Young Women Believe). I remember skipping to sections dealing with homosexuality and reading the advice given there, but it only managed to make me feel guilty instead of curing any gayness (surprise surprise). As I feel is the case with many ex-Christians, conservative Christian views on homosexuality is one of the biggest reasons I dropped out of the faith. Its views about women was also a big “yikes” moment for me, even when I was still figuring out what “feminism” meant.

Middle school was also when I heard the term “agnostic” for the first time.

My friend Drake and I were having one of our scheduled existential school bus talks when he mentioned that I might be “agnostic” since I knew I wasn’t an atheist but I also didn’t feel like “religious” or even “spiritual” applied to me anymore. 

After talking more in depth about what the term meant and researching a little on it, I decided I would adopt the term for myself.

ACT III : Optimistically Agnostic

As I move along my academic journey, I have solidified my position as an agnostic even more in present time.

Education has been probably the biggest factor in my becoming an agnostic. Learning about how much our society has been dampened by patriarchy and white supremacy and whatever else really opens your eyes and makes you view structures you thought you knew differently. 

Going to college has presented me with all kinds of new experiences as well, and I’ve learned that “White Christian America” isn’t all there is. There are so many ways of understanding, especially when it comes to religiosity, that I find it impossible to say one is better than another. Who am I to tell you that your religion is false?

However...

Although I have just described my reasons for falling out of religion, I want to clarify that I don’t think faith is stupid, pointless, or bad. 

There are plenty of upsides to it that recently I have been more open to experiencing. I realize now that the problems I had/have with religion come from others’ interpretations of it.

There’s a quote from the legendary Carrie Fisher that goes as such:

“I love the idea of God, but it’s not stylistically in keeping with the way I function. I would describe myself as an enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God. I can see that people who believe in God are happier... But I doubt.”

As usual, Carrie Fisher has elegantly put into words what I feel. 

I’ve grown to be comfortable in the “agnostic” label and now I feel like re-exploring feelings of spirituality. I’m still valid as an agnostic when I do this. In fact, you can be agnostic and also part of a religion if you feel like it; agnosticism is defined as admitting you don’t/can’t know what happens in the afterlife, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hope for something or feel like there is something after death. Likewise, you could also be an agnostic atheist if that fits you better.

There is a lot of discourse surrounding agnosticism, including people arguing if it’s even an actual thing, what constitutes a person being agnostic, whether it’s just a placeholder, etc. Some people consider it to be an intellectual endeavor; by stating the fact that no one can actually say what happens after death, no one can prove or disprove any religion. Others see it as a humanist approach-by saying simply that you aren’t sure, you aren’t disrespecting or endorsing any religion over another. If there’s anything that studying rhetoric has taught me, it’s that using confining language to talk about an identity isn’t something that goes well. 

I am agnostic because sometimes I find myself believing there is something in the afterlife, but I don’t know what it is and there isn’t a way for me to know for sure. I’m comfortable with this identification, it has helped me leave my depressive existential crisis state. 

Thank you for reading my experience with agnosticism!

End

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies

Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan, to give birth to their second child. It had been a routine pregnancy, but she told her doctor she’d recently developed a sore throat, aches, coughing and shortness of breath — symptoms her provider knew could indicate COVID-19.

So, when she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to an isolation area, tested for the coronavirus and given oxygen. She took shallow, panting breaths as she delivered her daughter on March 23 in about five hours.

But she could hold little Alivia for only five minutes before the newborn was whisked off to a nursery. Pease, 27, was transferred to a COVID-19 floor, where she was told her test came back positive. By the next morning, she was so ill that her doctors discussed putting her on a ventilator.

As she struggled to breathe and worried for her life, her heart ached to hold her newborn. Instead, she held tight to the memory of that brief glimpse.

(From left) Mallory, baby Alivia, daughter Emma Jean and husband Mitchell.(Courtesy of the Pease family)

When she finally got to cradle Alivia in her arms four days later, she said, “it was kind of like meeting her all over again.”

Across the U.S., COVID-19 is radically altering medical care, not only for vulnerable elders but also for pregnant women and their babies entering the world. “In the last six weeks, our entire world that was known as being normal has completely turned around,” said Dr. Edith Cheng, division chief for maternal fetal medicine at the University of Washington.

Hospitals from Seattle to St. Louis are recommending separating infected mothers from their newborns for days, and asking the women to forgo the intimacy of skin-to-skin contact, and sometimes breastfeeding, to help prevent their infants from contracting the disease.

The actions are based on guidance from medical associations. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised separation across the board until updating their guidance on April 4 to consider it case by case.

Separation runs counter to most any parent’s birth plan — and to the best research on family-centered care. But experts say it’s important to put protections in place, given the still-evolving understanding of the effects of COVID-19 during pregnancy and childbirth.

“Can babies be infected if the mother is infected at birth? The answer is yes, not commonly, but yes,” said Dr. Karen Puopolo, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on COVID-19 and newborns.

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It’s not clear how many pregnant women have been infected with COVID-19 across the U.S. They accounted for just 2% of cases tallied in one early report. With more than 830,000 confirmed infections in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon, that’s still many thousands of expectant women potentially affected by the deadly respiratory virus.

Many pregnant women may be infected and not know it. Of 215 women admitted for delivery at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City from March 22 to April 4, about 15% tested positive for the coronavirus, but the vast majority showed no symptoms upon admission.

Scattered reports of infants possibly being sickened by the coronavirus are surfacing nationwide. A 9-month-old baby in Chicago who tested positive for COVID-19 died in March, though further investigation has raised questions about whether the virus was to blame. This month, a 6-week-old girl who tested positive for the virus died in Connecticut; investigation also continues into her cause of death. Kentucky’s governor recently announced that the state’s new cases included a 10-day-old boy.

Very young babies may be at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 than other children. Although those 18 and younger make up fewer than 2% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S., infants accounted for most of the hospitalizations in pediatric cases, according to the CDC. Of 95 children younger than 1 hospitalized between Feb. 12 and April 2, at least 59 were hospitalized, and five were admitted to the ICU.

That information — plus limited data on infections in babies in China — has shifted the thinking of many obstetrics specialists, said Cheng.

In recent weeks, several pregnant women infected with COVID-19 have delivered babies at Cheng’s hospital, the UW Medical Center in Seattle. Their newborns were sent to a special section in the neonatal intensive care unit. At other facilities, separation might involve taking the newborn to another room, or letting the mother and baby stay in the same room, but 6 feet apart and often separated by a curtain.

They’re kept apart from moms — and sometimes dads, who also may be sick — until the parents have had no symptoms for three days or for a week after their first symptoms, whichever is greater.

Given the still-scant data about the effects of COVID-19, some experts question whether separating mothers and newborns is wise or warranted. Disrupting the bonding that occurs in the first days of life could have far-reaching consequences, said Dr. Yalda Afshar, an OB-GYN at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

“Being completely data-blind but counseling women on their outcomes and their babies’ outcomes is just wrong,” she said.

To fill the data void, Afshar and colleagues at the University of California-San Francisco have created a nationwide pregnancy registry to track the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their newborns. Already, more than 1,000 people have signed up for the study.

Silvana Vergara Tobin, 33, who runs an online art gallery in New York City, is among them. Tobin fell ill with COVID-19 in mid-March and is worried about the potential effects on the baby boy she expects to deliver in August.

“What really scares me is that I might get it again,” said Tobin, whose symptoms included sinus headaches, body aches and a persistent cough. “Or that the baby didn’t get immunity and he might get it once he’s born.”

The registry will track women and their babies from early pregnancy through a year postpartum, trying to answer basic questions. “Do pregnant women with COVID have more severe, less severe or different disease?” Afshar said. “Does it transmit in utero? Does it cause birth defects?”

Doctors and patients said it’s frustrating that so much remains unknown.

Alaine Gilpin, who lives near Louisville, Kentucky, tested positive for COVID-19 in early April after coughing for a month but showing no other symptoms. She gave birth at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital on April 11 at 5½ months’ gestation. The baby boy weighed just 1 pound, 9 ounces and needed the aid of a ventilation machine. She now wonders: “Could this be a result of COVID?”

To protect moms and babies, many hospitals with enough test kits are starting to test all women who show up to give birth. Dr. Chemen Neal, an OB-GYN with Indiana University Health, said her colleagues bathe the babies of COVID-positive moms just after birth. And like medical professionals elsewhere, they talk to each mom about pumping breast milk for her baby or breastfeeding only after washing her torso and hands and wearing a surgical mask.

At some hospitals, COVID-19 births can be especially challenging. At Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, for example, women with symptoms can’t give birth in the normal labor and delivery area because it’s in a building that also houses severely immunocompromised patients. A triage tent has been set up outside, and moms with known or suspected COVID-19 are routed through the emergency room into a special delivery area.

Another challenge is keeping babies safe after they are discharged from the hospital. Ideally, experts recommend infected moms stay 6 feet from their babies while another caretaker provides daily care, but often this is difficult, particularly for women who lack family support.

Pease worried about passing the virus to her baby after getting home. Before embracing Alivia at her aunt’s house, and for the next few days, she said, she wore a mask and “washed my hands like crazy.”

But over time, Pease’s symptoms have eased and she’s gotten stronger. Though she still gets tired in the evenings, she’s now able to feed, change and care for her newborn. And she said her bond with the baby is strong.

“Alivia is good. She’s happy,” Pease said. “She never skipped a beat.”

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies

Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan, to give birth to their second child. It had been a routine pregnancy, but she told her doctor she’d recently developed a sore throat, aches, coughing and shortness of breath — symptoms her provider knew could indicate COVID-19.

So, when she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to an isolation area, tested for the coronavirus and given oxygen. She took shallow, panting breaths as she delivered her daughter on March 23 in about five hours.

But she could hold little Alivia for only five minutes before the newborn was whisked off to a nursery. Pease, 27, was transferred to a COVID-19 floor, where she was told her test came back positive. By the next morning, she was so ill that her doctors discussed putting her on a ventilator.

As she struggled to breathe and worried for her life, her heart ached to hold her newborn. Instead, she held tight to the memory of that brief glimpse.

(From left) Mallory, baby Alivia, daughter Emma Jean and husband Mitchell.(Courtesy of the Pease family)

When she finally got to cradle Alivia in her arms four days later, she said, “it was kind of like meeting her all over again.”

Across the U.S., COVID-19 is radically altering medical care, not only for vulnerable elders but also for pregnant women and their babies entering the world. “In the last six weeks, our entire world that was known as being normal has completely turned around,” said Dr. Edith Cheng, division chief for maternal fetal medicine at the University of Washington.

Hospitals from Seattle to St. Louis are recommending separating infected mothers from their newborns for days, and asking the women to forgo the intimacy of skin-to-skin contact, and sometimes breastfeeding, to help prevent their infants from contracting the disease.

The actions are based on guidance from medical associations. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised separation across the board until updating their guidance on April 4 to consider it case by case.

Separation runs counter to most any parent’s birth plan — and to the best research on family-centered care. But experts say it’s important to put protections in place, given the still-evolving understanding of the effects of COVID-19 during pregnancy and childbirth.

“Can babies be infected if the mother is infected at birth? The answer is yes, not commonly, but yes,” said Dr. Karen Puopolo, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on COVID-19 and newborns.

Don't Miss A Story

Subscribe to KHN’s free Weekly Edition newsletter.

Sign Up

Please confirm your email address below:

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It’s not clear how many pregnant women have been infected with COVID-19 across the U.S. They accounted for just 2% of cases tallied in one early report. With more than 830,000 confirmed infections in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon, that’s still many thousands of expectant women potentially affected by the deadly respiratory virus.

Many pregnant women may be infected and not know it. Of 215 women admitted for delivery at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City from March 22 to April 4, about 15% tested positive for the coronavirus, but the vast majority showed no symptoms upon admission.

Scattered reports of infants possibly being sickened by the coronavirus are surfacing nationwide. A 9-month-old baby in Chicago who tested positive for COVID-19 died in March, though further investigation has raised questions about whether the virus was to blame. This month, a 6-week-old girl who tested positive for the virus died in Connecticut; investigation also continues into her cause of death. Kentucky’s governor recently announced that the state’s new cases included a 10-day-old boy.

Very young babies may be at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 than other children. Although those 18 and younger make up fewer than 2% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S., infants accounted for most of the hospitalizations in pediatric cases, according to the CDC. Of 95 children younger than 1 hospitalized between Feb. 12 and April 2, at least 59 were hospitalized, and five were admitted to the ICU.

That information — plus limited data on infections in babies in China — has shifted the thinking of many obstetrics specialists, said Cheng.

In recent weeks, several pregnant women infected with COVID-19 have delivered babies at Cheng’s hospital, the UW Medical Center in Seattle. Their newborns were sent to a special section in the neonatal intensive care unit. At other facilities, separation might involve taking the newborn to another room, or letting the mother and baby stay in the same room, but 6 feet apart and often separated by a curtain.

They’re kept apart from moms — and sometimes dads, who also may be sick — until the parents have had no symptoms for three days or for a week after their first symptoms, whichever is greater.

Given the still-scant data about the effects of COVID-19, some experts question whether separating mothers and newborns is wise or warranted. Disrupting the bonding that occurs in the first days of life could have far-reaching consequences, said Dr. Yalda Afshar, an OB-GYN at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

“Being completely data-blind but counseling women on their outcomes and their babies’ outcomes is just wrong,” she said.

To fill the data void, Afshar and colleagues at the University of California-San Francisco have created a nationwide pregnancy registry to track the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their newborns. Already, more than 1,000 people have signed up for the study.

Silvana Vergara Tobin, 33, who runs an online art gallery in New York City, is among them. Tobin fell ill with COVID-19 in mid-March and is worried about the potential effects on the baby boy she expects to deliver in August.

“What really scares me is that I might get it again,” said Tobin, whose symptoms included sinus headaches, body aches and a persistent cough. “Or that the baby didn’t get immunity and he might get it once he’s born.”

The registry will track women and their babies from early pregnancy through a year postpartum, trying to answer basic questions. “Do pregnant women with COVID have more severe, less severe or different disease?” Afshar said. “Does it transmit in utero? Does it cause birth defects?”

Doctors and patients said it’s frustrating that so much remains unknown.

Alaine Gilpin, who lives near Louisville, Kentucky, tested positive for COVID-19 in early April after coughing for a month but showing no other symptoms. She gave birth at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital on April 11 at 5½ months’ gestation. The baby boy weighed just 1 pound, 9 ounces and needed the aid of a ventilation machine. She now wonders: “Could this be a result of COVID?”

To protect moms and babies, many hospitals with enough test kits are starting to test all women who show up to give birth. Dr. Chemen Neal, an OB-GYN with Indiana University Health, said her colleagues bathe the babies of COVID-positive moms just after birth. And like medical professionals elsewhere, they talk to each mom about pumping breast milk for her baby or breastfeeding only after washing her torso and hands and wearing a surgical mask.

At some hospitals, COVID-19 births can be especially challenging. At Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, for example, women with symptoms can’t give birth in the normal labor and delivery area because it’s in a building that also houses severely immunocompromised patients. A triage tent has been set up outside, and moms with known or suspected COVID-19 are routed through the emergency room into a special delivery area.

Another challenge is keeping babies safe after they are discharged from the hospital. Ideally, experts recommend infected moms stay 6 feet from their babies while another caretaker provides daily care, but often this is difficult, particularly for women who lack family support.

Pease worried about passing the virus to her baby after getting home. Before embracing Alivia at her aunt’s house, and for the next few days, she said, she wore a mask and “washed my hands like crazy.”

But over time, Pease’s symptoms have eased and she’s gotten stronger. Though she still gets tired in the evenings, she’s now able to feed, change and care for her newborn. And she said her bond with the baby is strong.

“Alivia is good. She’s happy,” Pease said. “She never skipped a beat.”

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

Born Into A Pandemic: Virus Complicates Births For Moms And Babies

Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Michigan, to give birth to their second child. It had been a routine pregnancy, but she told her doctor she’d recently developed a sore throat, aches, coughing and shortness of breath — symptoms her provider knew could indicate COVID-19.

So, when she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to an isolation area, tested for the coronavirus and given oxygen. She took shallow, panting breaths as she delivered her daughter on March 23 in about five hours.

But she could hold little Alivia for only five minutes before the newborn was whisked off to a nursery. Pease, 27, was transferred to a COVID-19 floor, where she was told her test came back positive. By the next morning, she was so ill that her doctors discussed putting her on a ventilator.

As she struggled to breathe and worried for her life, her heart ached to hold her newborn. Instead, she held tight to the memory of that brief glimpse.

(From left) Mallory, baby Alivia, daughter Emma Jean and husband Mitchell.(Courtesy of the Pease family)

When she finally got to cradle Alivia in her arms four days later, she said, “it was kind of like meeting her all over again.”

Across the U.S., COVID-19 is radically altering medical care, not only for vulnerable elders but also for pregnant women and their babies entering the world. “In the last six weeks, our entire world that was known as being normal has completely turned around,” said Dr. Edith Cheng, division chief for maternal fetal medicine at the University of Washington.

Hospitals from Seattle to St. Louis are recommending separating infected mothers from their newborns for days, and asking the women to forgo the intimacy of skin-to-skin contact, and sometimes breastfeeding, to help prevent their infants from contracting the disease.

The actions are based on guidance from medical associations. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised separation across the board until updating their guidance on April 4 to consider it case by case.

Separation runs counter to most any parent’s birth plan — and to the best research on family-centered care. But experts say it’s important to put protections in place, given the still-evolving understanding of the effects of COVID-19 during pregnancy and childbirth.

“Can babies be infected if the mother is infected at birth? The answer is yes, not commonly, but yes,” said Dr. Karen Puopolo, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on COVID-19 and newborns.

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It’s not clear how many pregnant women have been infected with COVID-19 across the U.S. They accounted for just 2% of cases tallied in one early report. With more than 830,000 confirmed infections in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon, that’s still many thousands of expectant women potentially affected by the deadly respiratory virus.

Many pregnant women may be infected and not know it. Of 215 women admitted for delivery at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City from March 22 to April 4, about 15% tested positive for the coronavirus, but the vast majority showed no symptoms upon admission.

Scattered reports of infants possibly being sickened by the coronavirus are surfacing nationwide. A 9-month-old baby in Chicago who tested positive for COVID-19 died in March, though further investigation has raised questions about whether the virus was to blame. This month, a 6-week-old girl who tested positive for the virus died in Connecticut; investigation also continues into her cause of death. Kentucky’s governor recently announced that the state’s new cases included a 10-day-old boy.

Very young babies may be at higher risk for serious complications from COVID-19 than other children. Although those 18 and younger make up fewer than 2% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S., infants accounted for most of the hospitalizations in pediatric cases, according to the CDC. Of 95 children younger than 1 hospitalized between Feb. 12 and April 2, at least 59 were hospitalized, and five were admitted to the ICU.

That information — plus limited data on infections in babies in China — has shifted the thinking of many obstetrics specialists, said Cheng.

In recent weeks, several pregnant women infected with COVID-19 have delivered babies at Cheng’s hospital, the UW Medical Center in Seattle. Their newborns were sent to a special section in the neonatal intensive care unit. At other facilities, separation might involve taking the newborn to another room, or letting the mother and baby stay in the same room, but 6 feet apart and often separated by a curtain.

They’re kept apart from moms — and sometimes dads, who also may be sick — until the parents have had no symptoms for three days or for a week after their first symptoms, whichever is greater.

Given the still-scant data about the effects of COVID-19, some experts question whether separating mothers and newborns is wise or warranted. Disrupting the bonding that occurs in the first days of life could have far-reaching consequences, said Dr. Yalda Afshar, an OB-GYN at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

“Being completely data-blind but counseling women on their outcomes and their babies’ outcomes is just wrong,” she said.

To fill the data void, Afshar and colleagues at the University of California-San Francisco have created a nationwide pregnancy registry to track the effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their newborns. Already, more than 1,000 people have signed up for the study.

Silvana Vergara Tobin, 33, who runs an online art gallery in New York City, is among them. Tobin fell ill with COVID-19 in mid-March and is worried about the potential effects on the baby boy she expects to deliver in August.

“What really scares me is that I might get it again,” said Tobin, whose symptoms included sinus headaches, body aches and a persistent cough. “Or that the baby didn’t get immunity and he might get it once he’s born.”

The registry will track women and their babies from early pregnancy through a year postpartum, trying to answer basic questions. “Do pregnant women with COVID have more severe, less severe or different disease?” Afshar said. “Does it transmit in utero? Does it cause birth defects?”

Doctors and patients said it’s frustrating that so much remains unknown.

Alaine Gilpin, who lives near Louisville, Kentucky, tested positive for COVID-19 in early April after coughing for a month but showing no other symptoms. She gave birth at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital on April 11 at 5½ months’ gestation. The baby boy weighed just 1 pound, 9 ounces and needed the aid of a ventilation machine. She now wonders: “Could this be a result of COVID?”

To protect moms and babies, many hospitals with enough test kits are starting to test all women who show up to give birth. Dr. Chemen Neal, an OB-GYN with Indiana University Health, said her colleagues bathe the babies of COVID-positive moms just after birth. And like medical professionals elsewhere, they talk to each mom about pumping breast milk for her baby or breastfeeding only after washing her torso and hands and wearing a surgical mask.

At some hospitals, COVID-19 births can be especially challenging. At Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, for example, women with symptoms can’t give birth in the normal labor and delivery area because it’s in a building that also houses severely immunocompromised patients. A triage tent has been set up outside, and moms with known or suspected COVID-19 are routed through the emergency room into a special delivery area.

Another challenge is keeping babies safe after they are discharged from the hospital. Ideally, experts recommend infected moms stay 6 feet from their babies while another caretaker provides daily care, but often this is difficult, particularly for women who lack family support.

Pease worried about passing the virus to her baby after getting home. Before embracing Alivia at her aunt’s house, and for the next few days, she said, she wore a mask and “washed my hands like crazy.”

But over time, Pease’s symptoms have eased and she’s gotten stronger. Though she still gets tired in the evenings, she’s now able to feed, change and care for her newborn. And she said her bond with the baby is strong.

“Alivia is good. She’s happy,” Pease said. “She never skipped a beat.”

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/born-into-a-pandemic-virus-complicates-births-for-moms-and-babies/

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Their Hero Academia – Chapter 64: Final Exam part 6: Making the Grade

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!   Please note, this chapter may undergo more extensive editing before it gets posted to AO3/FF.net, as this one ended up a bit on the long side.

Earlier chapters can be found here

“Kocho!  Were you watching the whole thing?  I didn’t know you were going to be here!  Does this mean you’re going to be in our class?” Ojiro wrapped her arms around Koharu and pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned.  “What’d you think?”

“Maybe let her breathe, Kimmie?” Sato asked, but he was smiling.  Even Koharu would admit the invisible girl’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“I was,” she told them, as she took a seat in the small auditorium she and Class 1-A had been brought to after the exam had ended, injuries had been tended to, and the Hero Course students had had a chance to shower and change.  “You guys did good.  I was worried for a while, but wow, you really pulled it off!  Your teacher was quizzing me just about the entire time on what I’d do if I was out there with you. So, yeah, I think that’s pretty official.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” Sero added.  He had one of those flick-combs and was trying to fix his hair. One strand was stubbornly sticking up no matter what he did.  “Do you think he’s that scary naturally or does he have to work at it?”

“Bro, really?” Sato asked.

“I’m pretty sure it’s natural,” Koharu told him.    “He can make you feel like he’s glaring at you even if he’s not looking at you.”

She gave a wave to Midoriya and Haimawari, who were in the front row with Tokoyami and Shinso. Twenty chairs filled the back of the room, meaning it could have fit a Hero class with room to spare or any class from any of the other courses.  There was a podium at the front, and a large projection screen behind it.

As Aizawa, All Might, and Vice-Principal Midnight entered the room, Class 1-A grew silent and took their seats.  Koharu folded her wings and took a seat in the second row from the back, with Ojiro, Sero, and Sato.

Behind the teachers followed the Villains from the exam.  She recognized the bug-like Nauseous and the winged Raptor right off the bat, and it wasn’t hard to identify Kamuy and Shadow-Thief.  Even utterly depleted of power, Kamuy still towered over most of them.   The last one, a beefy man built like a sumo wrestler,  with a shovel-like jaw, had to be Jawbreaker, even if he was now made of flesh instead of a conglomeration of metal, concrete, wood, and rock.  All of them had changed from their costumes to comfortable clothes.  Most of them looked amazingly relaxed for people who had just been fighting a bunch of students less than an hour ago.  Only Shadow-Thief kept stealing furtive glances at the door.

Aizawa took the podium and held their gaze for what seemed like an uncomfortably long time.  She was certain he was doing it on purpose, trying to put them on edge.  She’d already gathered from his exam behavior and the discussion about the “Villains” that he liked to play mind games.  “So, let’s discuss the results of your exam.”

He clicked a button on a small remote control, and the screen behind him divided into three vertical segments.  The right portion contained a picture of Recovery Girl and a note that her final distance from the civilian defense shelter was two meters.  Koharu had to admit, her heart had been in her chest the entire time Haimawari had been racing after her, especially as Shadow-Thief had gotten closer and closer to the end.  But given that the numbers were green, she guessed they were still good.

“You were able to complete your primary objective and keep Doctor McGuffin from being moved past the 100 meter,” Aizawa went on.  “Barely.  Not guarding the defense shelter after you engaged with the Villains’ final assault was foolish and under other circumstances, could have been deadly not just to Doctor McGuffin, but to the others inside as well.”

Ojiro’s arm shot into the air.  “No fair!”  she whined. “You didn’t tell us she could just sneak inside like that!”

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. “The results would have been the same if one of the more powerful Villains had brute forced their way in. You all practically left the door open and did not only did not account for the full range of her teleportation abilities, but seemed to forget her existence entirely once you were engaged with the others.  I shouldn’t have had to explain what all the Villains could and could not do to get in.”

Even Koharu had forgotten about Shadow-Thief, getting much more caught up in watching the other fights. But Aizawa was right too.  

“Would have gotten away with it too,” Kamuy said to Shadow-Thief, “if you hadn’t stopped to gloat.”

“Don’t blame me,” Shadow-Thief hissed.  She jerked a thumb in Aizawa’s direction.  “He was the one who said we had to give them a fighting chance.”

“Still,” he went on, “you met the objective.  Barely.”

The middle portion of the screen showed a tally of civilians rescued and a separate tally of failed rescues. The top number was bigger by a long shot, in the three digits, but there were numbers on the bottom too.

“In terms of civilian rescues,” Aizawa went on, “you more than surpassed the bar we set.  The number of failed rescues includes a portion of the those injured in Doctor McGuffin’s abduction, but also those missed during the course of your other fights.”

He looked down. “Fortunately, no real lives were lost, as this was just an exam.  But in the real world, there will come times when you’re unable to save everyone. When you have to make a split second decision between confronting the Villain or saving the civilian.  When you’re too slow or not attentive enough or simply unaware there’s anyone there.  It will happen and it’s more than likely at some point, you will make the wrong choice.

“So learn while you can.”

None of the others said anything at that, though many of class 1-A exchanged glances with each other. Koharu guessed that they were trying to figure out what they’d missed, what they hadn’t seen.  Second guessing could make you crazy like that. Hopefully, it wouldn’t weigh on them too much.

The final screen displayed pictures of the Villains, all of them but Shadow-Thief with a red x slashed through them.  “And for your third objective, you managed to defeat four of the five Villains.  As valiant as your rescue of Doctor McGuffin was, Haimawari, I’m afraid it did not count as a complete take down of Shadow-Thief.”

“Still,” Shadow-Thief piped up.  “Nice try, kid.”

“I’m going to be sore for days,” Jawbreaker said, speaking less gruffly now than he had during the exam. “I wasn’t expecting children to go all out like that.”   He rubbed the back of his neck.  “I haven’t been hit like that in a while.”

“At least you got to put up a fight,” Nauseous said.  “I got taken out early.”

“Wimp,” Kamuy taunted.

“Can you all not…?” Raptor said.

“Settle,” Aizawa growled.   He looked over the class again. “As we told you originally, in addition to the three-tiered priorities for passing the exam, we were also scoring you individually.  You’ll all receive more detailed feedback after All Might, Midnight, and I have had a chance to compile it, but for now, we’ll be providing a basic evaluation of your exam performances.”

There was a collective gulp from the class.  Even Koharu felt a chill go down her spine.  

***

Worried looks passed through 1-A, dreading the criticism that was surely going to come from Aizawa. Koharu had only known him a short amount of time, but already she could tell that he did not suffer fools gladly and was quick to point out any flaws he found.  Judging by how fearful 1-A looked… she was going to assume it did not get any better with time.

“Aoayama,” Aizawa began.   The glowing boy stiffened in his seat. “Nothing exceptional in your performance, but no glaring weaknesses either.  You made decent use of your Quirk to try and counter your foes.”

“Merci,” Aoyama said, looking relieved.

It was short lived. “However,” Aizawa went on, “check the arrogance.  When you were out the search and rescue teams, you lost valuable seconds arguing with your teammates.  If you have something to contribute, offer it.  But don’t automatically assume you know better.”

Aoyama looked down, but nodded in response.

“Funny, that’s not how I remember it when we used to team up, Eraser,” Vice-Principle Midnight said, giving him a teasing nudge with her elbow.  

“I seem to recall some choice words as well,” All Might said, wearing a grin that might have best been described as “shit-eating.”

“That’s not the topic of discussion,” Aziawa said.  “Moving on.”

He made a show of shuffling his papers.  “Since we have two Iidas in the class,” Aizawa went on, giving Vice-Principle Midnight a significant look, “we’ll begin with Sora.

“Overall, impressive tactical thinking in the early stages and excellent teamwork throughout.  When the shooting started, you did a good job taking command of the situation and put yourself at risk for your teammates. Commendable.

“But you twice allowed yourself to become distracted and vulnerable because you were worried about your boyfriend.”

“That’s when I got you,” Jawbreaker said.  “And I’m not exactly easy to miss.”

Sitting next to Sora Iida, Midoriya turned a bright shade and sunk low in his seat.  

“They’re dating?” All Might gasped.  “Young Grandson, why did you not tell me about this?!” Koharu wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Midoriya turned even redder.

“Sorry, Grandpa Might,” he squeaked.  

“Heroes in relationships are more common these days,” Midnight said.  “But with a handful of exceptions like Suneater and Nejire-Chan, they typically don’t work together, for just such a reason.  I’m all for young love, but do keep it in mind, children.”

At this point, Koharu was wondering how Midoriya’s chair hadn’t caught on fire.  Sora Iida looked nonplussed by the whole thing, occasionally shooting curious glances Midoriya’s way.

Still, Koharu understood the flying girl’s worry.  Midoriya had been knocked under a collapsing building and no one had been able to raise him. He could have been hurt or worse. That he’d just been pinned down with his patched together communicator unable to get a signal out was nothing short of a minor miracle.

“As you say,” Sora Iida said.  “Thank you.”

“As for you, Tensei,” Aizawa continued, “you demonstrated overall good sense and teamwork, and a willingness to sacrifice yourself for your teammates.  You kept your head about you.”

“He still went down when I got ahold of him,” Jawbreaker added.  “All that speed doesn’t do anybody any good once somebody grabs you.”

Tensei nodded.  “I shall endeavor to improve.   Perhaps some sort of shock field through certain points on my armor…”

“It would be difficult to properly calibrate the strength of it though,” his sister said.  “Especially since you could not anticipate enemy resistance in advance and under such circumstances, it would be difficult to manipulate precise controls.”

Both twins made a “Hmmm” sound and looked like they were about to burst into more discussion.   Aizawa cut them off. “Moving on,” he said.  “Ojiro.”

Next to her, the invisible girl stiffened and shook.  On her other side, Sato took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“You did well,” Aizawa said. “Good use of your Quirk, good support of your classmates, and good, if unorthodox, thinking when fighting Kamuy.”

“You’re creepy, kid,” Kamuy growled.  

“Continue focusing on your skills and teamwork,” Aizawa finished.  “And know when to back off.  Your stunt against Kamuy ultimately worked, but it also severely hampered Todoroki and Kaminari’s ability to support you.  If Aoyama and Tokoyami hadn’t arrived when they had, you could have had trouble.”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa,” Ojiro replied, actually sounding serious.  Koharu hadn’t known her long, but she hadn’t really expected that of her.

“See, Kimmie” Sero said, leaning forward and looking her way.  “Nothing to worry about.”

“As for you, Kaminari,” Aizawa said, and Koharu looked to the back row, where the blonde was sitting next to Mineta, “while you proved effective during the majority of the fighting, with good use of your Quirk and Support gear…

He sighed wearily. “Victory dancing?  Really?   Never let your guard down like that.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kaminari replied, her Cords drooping.  “In my defense, I really thought she was down.”

“That kind of overconfidence will get you killed, Sweetie,” Vice-Principal Midnight said.  “As it was, it nearly cost your class their win.”

That got a gasp.  And there was a lot of hurried talk and in the case of Kirishima-Bakugo, a lot of swearing.  It wasn’t until Aizawa activated his Quirk that they silenced again.

“Had any of the objectives not been met,” All Might said, gravely, “we’d be having very different conversations right now.  As it stands… we decided the two things canceled each other out well enough.”

“Understood,” Kaminari said, very quietly.  Mineta gave her a small hug, but Kaminari pushed her away.

“It wasn’t even good dancing,” Kamuy added, which earned her a glare from a couple of the others.

It wasn’t fair, in Koharu’s opinion.  But in the real world, that kind of slip up would have absolutely been fatal.  And even she was boggled by Kaminari’s early declaration of victory.

“Kirishima-Bakugo,” Aizawa began, clearly eager to move on.  

The muscular blonde girl sat up a little straighter in her seat.  “Bring it, teach.”

“You acquitted yourself well in straight-up combat scenarios and demonstrated a measure of tactical thinking,” Aizawa went on.  “But your first instincts continue to remain all out, full-frontal assaults.  Those aren’t always going to work.”

“Worked well enough on this guy,” Kamuy said,   giving Jawbreaker a nudge.

“Shut up,” Jawbreaker snapped back.

“Worked so far,” Kirishima-Bakugo said, flipply.  “But got it. More thinky, less blasty.”

“I could have told you that,” Todoroki, who was sitting on her left, said.

“…Maybe tell me those things earlier, Iz.”

Aizawa’s attention focused next on the rock-skinned girl sitting next to Aoyama.  “Koda, you made good use of your Quirk and demonstrated excellent teamwork with your classmates.”

“Thank you,” Koda said.

“Unfortunately, your combat skills are often not as aggressive as fits the situation.  While I respect your desire to cause as little harm as is necessary… there are times where that’s simply not possible. Restraining your opponents won’t always work.”

“Sometimes,” Jawbreaker added, “you just have to hit someone.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Koda replied.  

“I thought you performed admirably, Mademoiselle Koda,” Aoyama said, making a dramatic flourish with his hands.  

“Now, Sato,” Aizawa said, obviously determined not to get derailed.  

Next to Ojiro, Sato just buried his head in his hands.  “Oh no, here it comes.”

“You were one of the few to be able to properly approximate how Kamuy’s Quirk worked, and you were able to use that you your advantage, so good job there.  And you had creative application of your Quirk when you faced her the second time, as well as good teamwork with Ojiro.  In the future, however, you may want to put more work into combat options that don’t require the use of your Quirk.”

It took a minute for Sato to realize he wasn’t being yelled at.  “He said you did good, Kenta!” Ojiro squealed.  “Get your head up!”

“Th—thank you,” Sato said, nodding rapidly.  “Thank you, sir.”

“Shinso,” Aizawa said, and Koharu could have sworn that there was something just a little warmer in his voice when he said the same compared to the rest.  She remembered how he’d cheered for the purple-haired boy when they were watching the exam.  Just what was the relationship between the two of them?  

“Excellent teamwork and good use of your Quirk,” Aizawa said.  “We did have some concerns you weren’t giving it your all, but you eventually corrected.”

A small smile pulled its way across Aizawa’s face.  “And your… unique insights proved invaluable in supporting your team’s efforts.  Good job.  Work on bringing your A-Game right out of the gate though.  Don’t just build up to it.”

“Got it!” Shinso bubbled, punching the air.  “Give them the Smash right from the start!”

“As for you, Shoji,” Aizawa continued, looking at the tall, six-armed boy.  Koharu was one hundred percent of a lesbian, but even she had to admit, Shoji was ridiculously good looking.  No wonder Ojiro’s webshow—After becoming friends with her, she’d dug up a few old episodes—called him Class 1-A’s most eligible bachelor.   Of course, she’d suddenly stopped doing that for some reason, but hadn’t mentioned why.

“You did well.  Good fighting skills, good teamwork.  Work on showing some greater initiative in planning and remember that you have options for long range attacks that don’t put you at as much risk in a physical confrontation.”

“Understood,” Shoji said with a small nod.

“Sero,” Aizawa began.   The name had barely left his lips when the pink-skinned boy let out a terrified whimper and turned several shades paler.  “Overall, good teamwork and good rescue work.  You were especially effective against Raptor.”

“Damn tape,” the winged man growled.  “Swinging me into that building hurt.”

“But watch your grandstanding.  The correct response to finding out you’re fighting real Villains is not worrying about your hit count.”

Sero still hadn’t moved or reacted.  It took Sato giving him a nudge.  “Bro. You’re not dead.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re not.  I’d tell you if you were.”

“Good.”

Once again, Aizawa looked as though he’d rather be anywhere else.  He closed his eyes and appeared to be counting, judging by the slight movement of his lips.    “Tokoyami.”

The glowing frog-thing, Frog-Shadow Koharu thought it was called, was sitting on Tokoyami’s shoulder. She perked up at Tokoyami’s name. “And me!” the thing declared.

Aizawa gaze briefly went to a corner of the room, where a yellow sleeping back, of all things, was sitting.  He instead returned his attention to the bird-headed girl.  “The first true victory went to you, so congratulations on that.”

“She got you good, bug man!” Kamuy yelled, slapping Nauseous on the back.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nauseous growled.  “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

“I was planning on it.”

“As seems to be the common theme here, good use of team work and collaboration with your classmates. However… as difficult as it is to draw the line where you and Frog-Shadow end and begin, let’s focus on your own physicality and active participation in these battles.  Being saved by your living Quirk is fine, but you cannot rely on that.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Tokoyami said, giving a slight nod.  “Or rather,” she added before Frog-Shadow could interrupt, “we shall.”

“Todoroki,” Aizawa went on, addressing the pale girl with the multi-colored hair.  Koharu wasn’t quite sure how her ombré hair worked exactly, starting white but turning red the further out it got, but given that her own hair matched the pattern of her wings, she wasn’t sure she was in any position to question it.  “Your overall performance was excellent.”

“Indeed,” All Might bellowed, interrupted him.  “Young Todoroki was very much the MVP of the exam!  You proved invaluable in multiple Villain confrontations!”

“I merely did what I could,” Todoroki said demurely.  “I only regret that I was unable to better protect my classmates…”

“That is unfortutnate,” Aizawa said.  “But sometimes inevitable.  In the meantime, you demonstrated excellent use of your Quirk and good overall thinking and teamwork.  Continue to work on your endurance and you’ve a bright future ahead of you.”

“Would it be possible to have that in writing?” Todoroki asked.  “I would like to make sure my mother is aware of these facts.”

“Geeze, more jokes, Iz?” Kirishima-Bakugo asked.  “You’re on a roll today.”

“Yes,” Todoroki said, her voice carefully neutral.  “A joke.”

“You’ll receive your written evaluation later,” Aizawa reminded her.  His voice turned protective.  “But by all means, do invite your mother to visit if she has any… concerns.”

In the front row, Haimawari squirmed uncomfortably as Aizawa focused his attention on him. “Haimawari, your overall performance was positive.  If not for your efforts, the class would have failed the primary objective.  You also proved your strategic worth against Jawbreaker and your combat powers against Raptor.”

“That was your plan?” Jawbreaker asked.  “Good job, kid.”

“I was supposed to give you a chance,” Shadow-Thief added, “but I didn’t expect you to catch up. You could be faster than Inegnium someday.”

Aizawa stared the lanky boy down.  “You’ve raised my expectations of you, Haimawari.  I’ll be looking to see you step up to leadership positions again.”

In spite of the praise, Haimawari looked a little pale.  “Ah, okay, got it.  Thank you, sir.”

“As for you, Midoriya,” Aizawa continued, “if you keep hitting up against a wall and keep bouncing off, what do you do?”

“If you’re this kid, you keep on doing it,” Jawbreaker said with a laugh.

“Maybe… not that?” Midoriya tried.  “It’s kind of my go to move, but it really wasn’t working so well. And there wasn’t a lot of room to do some of my bouncing tricks like Gran Torino.”

“At least,” Aizawa said. “You recognize it.  You’ve got a lot of power and a lot of techniques, work on developing them.  We can focus on some options for when your usual strategies don’t cut it. Additionally…”

“Yes, Mister Aizawa?” Midoriya said, in response to Aizawa’s trailing off.

“In the next team exercises in class, you’re not allowed to take charge or formulate plans unless your teammates have also come up with plans.  I think we’re all very aware how much of a leadership role you’ve taken.  And while those skills are desirable for a Hero, we can’t have your classmates becoming complacent.”

“He is right, Young Grandson,” All Might added.

Midoriya nodded. “You’re right,” he said.  “I’ll… do my best to stick to that.”

“See that you do.” Aizawa looked down at his notes on the podium, then up at the class.  He looked back down again, as though he was making sure of something and made a pained expression.  Finally, he looked back up.

“And Mineta,” he said. “As is becoming a pattern for you against live opponents, you demonstrated solid tactical thinking when provoking your opponents into a trap or otherwise keeping their focus on your mouth instead of what you’re doing.  I would tell you to be less…”  He gestured vaguely.

“Ah, you just gestured at all of me,” Mineta said.

“Exactly.  I’d like you to be less you.  Except that it seems to be working.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose.  “It would be illogical not to encourage you to continue using those skills, not matter how distasteful.”

“What Eraser is saying,” Vice-Principal Midnight added, “is continue to own it, girl!  If I was still active in the field, I’d snare you for a sidekick in a heartbeat.”

At that, Mineta actually blushed, something Koharu hadn’t been sure was actually possible.  “Y-yes, Vice-Principal.  T-thank you.”   Koharu was extremely sympathetic though.  The Vice-Principal’s expression was enough to set her own heart aflutter.

“Continue to work on battlefield discipline, however,” Aizawa corrected.  “As useful as your… talents are, there is a time and a place.”

“Got it,” Mineta said. “Time.  Place.”

“And Kocho.”   It took Koharu a moment to realize Aizawa had said her name.  The others of 1-A turned to look at her.   “Overall, good analysis of how you’d participate against the exam Villains. Though you did forget about Shadow-Thief, just like the rest of the class, so I can’t fault you for that entirely.   But good analysis overall, especially for someone not currently in the Hero Course.  I’ll be expecting good things of you when you join the class for the training camp and for the next term.”

“I knew it!” Midoriya shouted.

“Way to go!” Sero said.

“Good job!” Sato added.

“You did it!  You did it!” Ojiro said, practically bouncing in her seat.   Cheers went up from some of the others, like Haimawari, and even those of she didn’t really know, like Shinso.

The celebratory moment was short lived.  One of the Villains, Jawbreaker, spoke up.  “So… that’s it then?”

Aizawa nodded.  “The exam is over and the students will be returning to their dorms after this.”

“Then,” Raptor said, “I suppose we just wait for the police, then?”

All Might gave Aizawa a surprised look.  “Just what did you tell them, Aizawa?”

“He said we had to beat the kids if we wanted early parole,” Shadow-Thief snapped.   “I knew it.  I knew I should have run when I had the chance… just taken my chances and run…”

“I can’t speak for these idiots,” Kamuy said, “but I’ll go quietly.  I gave my word and I keep it.”

“What’s a few more years?” Nauseous said, shrugging.

“It was a logical ruse to get the most competitive edge out of you,” Aizawa said.  “Once you’ve returned to your respective detention centers, your effects will be returned to you and your releases will be processed.

Koharu wished she could say she was surprised.  Even already knowing that Aizawa had misinformed the Villains somehow, she hadn’t expected that.  But given what she was learning about the man, along with the dirt that the Voice and Deku had spilled on him, she really, really wasn’t surprised.  

“You bastard!” Shadow-Thief snarled, and had to be restrained by Kamuy and Jawbreaker.  She probably could have escaped easily if she’d wanted to, but it seemed her heart wasn’t in it, as she let the other two push her back down.  “I thought I’d lost my chance…!”

“Guess I’m going home,” Raptor said, leaning back in his chair and smiling.

“You’re definitely a bastard, Aizawa,” Jawbreaker said.  “But I have to say… it worked.”

All Might just shook his head.  “Dirty pool, Aizawa, dirty pool.   Let me apologize on his behalf.”

Jawbreaker waved a hand in the air.  “Honestly, I figured he was bullshitting us.  It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.  But I figured it was a worth a shot.”

All Might just shook his head.  “One of these days, Aizawa, these “logical ruses” of yours are going to backfire…”

“Haven’t yet.”

Being in Class 1-A, Koharu thought, was definitely going to be an experience.

***

“Okay, everybody,” Midoriya began, “if I could just have your attention for a minute?”

Unfortunately, Class 1-A (and Kocho, who’d been invited to celebrate with them) were too busy celebrating their exam victory to notice.  After the exam, they’d pooled their money—Izumi had offered to pay for the whole thing, but they’d insisted it come from all of them—and ordered pizzas (and shakes for Kocho), gotten the stereo going, and turned the dining area into a party spread with other snacks and sodas.

It had been close out there more than a few times, but Isamu was glad he’d been able to be a part of it. Of course, now Aizawa was expecting bigger and better things from him, on top of having already raised his profile at the Sports Festival, so that was a lot to live up to. And there was still the training camp on the horizon.  They had a departure date for it, but no other details. But those were worries for another day.  

He did wonder how the other Hero Courses were doing.  1-B was supposed to be taking theirs this afternoon, and 1-C in the evening.  Kana had promised she’d let him know when they were done though, so he was anxiously awaiting that text.  1-B didn’t have as many “heavy hitters” in it as his class did, but they had a lot of variety and a lot of potential for teamwork if they really tried at it.

“Guys?” Midoriya tried again.

“If everyone could give us their attention for just a moment?” Tokoyami tried, with no success either.

“HEY!  LISTEN!” Frog-Shadow shouted, from her perch on Tokoyami’s shoulder.   And that did get everyone to shut up.

“…Thank you,” Midoriya told Frog-Shadow, before looking around at the class.

“Anytime!” Frog-Shadow said, giving him a thumbs’ up.

“As I was saying,” Midoriya continued, “everybody did great out there.  There’s not a one of you I’m not proud of.  Not that I was worried for a minute, but we really showed how we could come together when it really matters.  So absolutely, let’s celebrate!  We earned it!”

Isamu joined with his classmates in cheering, though he thought Kaminari looked like her heart wasn’t in it, despite everyone having told her that they didn’t blame her for almost causing them to fail the exam.  He could see the electric girl had taken the criticism to heart and he doubted she’d do anything like that again.

He’d talk to her later if he had the opportunity.  They weren’t exactly friends, but they’d gotten to be friendlier over the term, especially when he’d burned a few copies of some of his mom’s lesser known CDs for her. And they both agreed that Double Pop was a cheap rip off and not an homage, no matter how hot Mineta insisted they were.

As the cheers died down, Izumi spoke up.  “I have already told my parents about our passing the exam,” she said. She sounded pretty happy, as far as he could tell.  Izumi was a fairly reserved person, but even he could see the pride in her victories today.  She deserved it, completely.  “They send their congratulations to all of us.  They have also extended an offer to the whole class—and you, Kocho—to join us at our island vacation home before the training camp.”

He knew Izumi’s family was rich.   But all the same, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “You have an island vacation home?”

Kirishima-Bakugo smirked at his surprise.  “They have their own island.”

That did not do anything to take down his surprise.  “Of course,” he said.  Visions of the costs of plane tickets and island prices and everything else immediately tampered down any enthusiasm he would have had for going.  Not all Pro-Heroes were rich, of course, but with the right endorsements and even a modest amount of success, they could be very well off.  That was not his family.  They did well enough, of course, but he wasn’t anywhere near the same ballpark.

Really, between the Iida twins, Izumi, and Mirdoiya alone, the amount of yen in the room was staggering. It did very little to quell his feelings of inadequacy.  But he could see Kocho doing a very good job of concentrating on her drink and a pang of sympathy overrode anything else.

“Of course, since it is the Yaoyorozu private jet and hotel, it is all expenses paid,” Izumi went on.

“As long as we’re back in time for the I-Island Expo,” Midoriya said.  “Dad’s going to be busy, but the Aunt Meslissa and the Togata kids are all going, and I’m going with them.”

“We’re going too!” Sora Iida piped in.  “Mother is presenting several new inventions and Father will be there as well, representing the family.”

Tensei Iida looked over at his boyfriend.  “I will insist upon you being allowed to come,” he told Sero. “It is only fair, since my sister’s boyfriend will be there.”

“Double-date vacation with our Iida squeezes, Midoriya?” Sero said.  “It’s all moving so fast!  We’ll be in-laws before you know it!”

Midoriya turned red at that. “Maybe… maybe not that fast!”

“Toshi,” Sora told him, leaning in, “I think he is joking.”

“Or am I?” Sero laughed, giving himself a double thumbs’ up.  Ojiro reached over and gave him a smack on the shoulder.  “Ow!  Go easy, Kimiko!”

“Stop making Midoriya a nervous wreck!  You’ll ruin my ships!”

“You can’t call it a ship when it’s real people, Kimmie,” Sato said, looking faintly embarrassed at his friends.

“You’re going too, right, Haimawari?” Midoriya asked.

“I, ah, yeah,” Isamu said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He still needed to find a suit before that happened.   As the first year winner of the U.A. Sports Festival, he’d gotten an all- expenses paid invitation to the Expo.  It would be the furthest he’d ever been from his home in his life.  Still seemed like way too much attention on him, but Hero-Society really did like to have people it could celebrate, it seemed.  “Hadn’t had too much time to think about it, with the exams and everything.”

“You get a plus one, you know!” Mineta yelled.  “You should totally take Kana!”

Isamu let out a squeak. “We’re really not ready for that!” he said quickly.  “Really!”

“Take me then?” she asked, pouting.  “Shinji’s still grounded and I’ll be so lonely…”

Nope, nope, nope, get away bad thoughts!

“We should be able to return in plenty of time,” Izumi said, answering the question and thankfully ending any conversation with Mineta.  

“Are you sure it’s okay if I come?” Kocho asked.  The tips of her wings flicked about as she talked.  “I mean, I’ll have to ask my parents to begin with, but you all barely know me.”

Boy, did he know that feeling.   It definitely summed up how he’d felt at the start of the term.  But now he had good friends here, and even got along with pretty much everyone else.  He still sometimes felt like an outsider, but with people who’d literally grown up together, that wasn’t completely surprising.  But he definitely no longer felt like an outsider.

“You’re going to be in 1-A,” Midoriya said, smiling.  “That makes you family.”

“Welcome to the crazy house,” Kirishima-Bakugo said.  She made a sweeping gestured.  “I’d say you get used to some of them, but, well…”

***

It’s the next morning, Saturday, and most of the class was out and about, some of the couples spending time with each other, some enjoying a day of much deserved rest after the exams. A few had even gone home already in preparation for the upcoming trip.  They’d had one of the biggest tests of their lives and they’d passed.

So why couldn’t Chihiro bring herself to celebrate?

Maybe because she’d nearly ruined the whole thing.  Not just for herself, but for everyone.  She’d barely passed her other exams.  As much as her mom often told her to “dig down deep and find the genes I gave you,” Chihiro sometimes had to admit… she just wasn’t that smart.  Book learning did not come easily to her.  So she’d poured everything she had into being a Hero.  And with her new costume, she’d actually started finally getting good at that, overcome the limitations of her Quirk and started thinking a little bit smarter there.

And in one fleeting taste of victory, she’d done something stupid and started celebrating.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. One of the first basic rules of Heroing. Never, ever celebrate until the Villain was either unconscious or in a police car.  She’d been so damn sure their combined power had been enough to put Kamuy down.

She’d been wrong.

And everyone had nearly paid for her mistake.  Sure, they said they didn’t blame her.  And she even believed them.  Well, she believed everyone but Kirishima-Bakugo.  She’d never actually said it, just grimaced and nodded along when the others said it.

It didn’t mean she didn’t blame herself.

In retrospect, being alone in the common room with her thoughts probably wasn’t the best thing right now, no matter how much she didn’t want to be around other people.   Of course, if she really didn’t want to be around other people, she would have just stayed in her room. Instead, she was sitting on the couch, strumming on her ukulele.  Maybe, just maybe, a little music would take her mind off of everything.  She hadn’t had as much time to play as she’d like this term, but maybe she could get back to it.

She was definitely bringing it on the trip to Izumi’s island.  Islands practically called for ukuleles.  Also, she just liked the word ukulele.  This one in particular had been a gift from her dad.   It even had a small inscription.  “Just write “I love you, Chihiro.’”

The doors to the outside flew open and in walked someone she really didn’t want to deal with right now:  Shiro Monoma.  If he said one word about anything—never mind how he’d have found out in the first place—she knew she’d throw hands and Cords.  And then she’d probably get in actual trouble.

He had bolted through the doors like he’s gathered up all his courage for an important mission, but now that he was inside, he just looked a little confused.  He even pulled his phone out and checked something on it—probably his text messages.

“Mika’s not here,” she told Monoma flatly.  Mika had said something about how he was having a rough time lately, but honestly, he got on her last nerve often enough that she wasn’t sure she cared.  “Pretty sure Koda’s upstairs though.”

How someone as nice as Koda was put up with the likes of him and Aoyama, she had no idea.

“I, ah, yes, good,” Monoma said, looking both awkward and uncomfortable under her gaze.  She must have stepped up her intimidation game. Maybe she’d actually see how this played out.  “I… heard you all passed the exam?”

Of course.  Why did she think it was anything else?   “Come to gloat?” she snapped, pointing her Cords at him.  Sparks danced along their tips.

He put a hand to his chest, offended.  “Gloat about what?”

“You don’t know?”  She carefully set her ukulele down in its case on the table in front of her and stood up.  She waved her arms through the air as she ranted, her Cords mimicking the gestures.  “You’re not just bullshitting me, so you can insult me?  Mock me?  Mock poor stupid Kaminari who nearly danced her way into failing the exam?”

Crap.  She said too much.

Monoma’s expression softened, though she could also see some kind of comprehension dawning too.  “I assure you,” he said, crossing the room so he was standing across from her, “that I meant to do no such offenses.   It’s not my place to do so anymore anyway.  At least you’re still here.  It sounds like you still deserve your spot.”

Wait, what?    “The hell does that mean?” she demanded.  Dammit, he needed to stop looking like a kicked puppy. It was making it incredibly hard to be mad at him!

“I’m leaving U.A.,” he told her.  Chihiro’s Cords jerked up in surprise.  “I’m… I’m not cut out for this.  My Quirk’s not good enough.  I’m not good enough.  I only stayed long enough to help my class pass the exam.  Which they did.”

Okay, seriously, what the hell.  

“I, ah…” she began, uncertainly.  “They throw real Villains at you too?”

Now it was his turn to be surprised.  “…Your teacher really is insane.”  She didn’t disagree.  “Super-Ball got some of his Pro-Hero friends to play the part.   Dirtbreaker, She-Panther, Silver Stalker, the Human Rocket, and Microwaveabelle.  They’re all fairly minor and low ranked… but they gave us all a pretty good fight.”

“Betcha Shinso could have told you all about them.”   She did genuinely like the little guy.  Their dads were friends, so while they weren’t close, she was certainly more than used to his quirks.

“Yeah,” Monoma agreed. “He probably could have.”   Chihiro recalled that his dad was friends were Shinso’s dad too.  She seemed to remember the two of them had even been closer, once upon a time.

“But you’re quitting?” she asked.  As much as he tried to brag or claim his class was better than theirs, she couldn’t believe it.

“My mind’s made up,” he said, quietly.  “Please don’t try to talk me out of it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she said.  “But like I said, Koda’s upstairs if that’s who you’re looking for.”

He hesitated, then looked down at her ukulele.  “I didn’t know you could play,” he said.

She shrugged.  “I’m not nearly as good as mom.  But I do all right.”   She realized he was looking at her expectantly.   The curse of the musician.  As soon as you admitted you could play, people wanted to hear it.

With a sigh, she picked it up and sat down, using her Cords to indicate that he could sit too if he wanted. He took up a spot on the couch opposite her.   She took a moment, then launched into the cords of a positively ancient song and couldn’t help but launch into song, in English.

“I see trees of green and red roses too

I'll watch then bloom just for me and you

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, clouds of white

The brightness of day, the dark, say goodnight

And I think to myself

Oh, what a wonderful world…”

She stopped when she realized he wasn’t just watching her, he was staring.  Hard.

“What?” she asked.  

“I’ve never actually seen anyone play music up close like that,” Monoma said, actually sounding impressed.  “At least, not live.  Video is one thing, but up close and personal… it’s actually rather breathtaking.”

Okay, Monoma was dishing out compliments instead of insulting her intelligence.  This was obviously a Monoma from an alternate universe where he was nice.  “Think you could copy it?” she asked.  “You’d probably make a good musician that way.”

He shook his head.  “I could copy the motions, but I wouldn’t have the heart for it you do.  Or the kind of conditioning in my fingers you have.  I’m honestly really impressed.  You’ve got real talent.”  There was an undercurrent of “and I’m jealous” to it, so she took some pity on him.

“It take some work,” she said.  “But anybody really can learn.  You learn the chords, you put them together, one after the other, they turn into music. Same for every song, just broken apart and put together in different ways and speeds.”

Monoma’s lips were moving, but no sound was coming out, as he seemed to be processing what she’d said. He suddenly bolted from his seat. “That’s it!  Like music! Not like shots from a quiver!”   His eyes were wild and Chihiro slowly and deliberately put her ukulele in its case so she could stand up.

“I’m going to tase you if you don’t start making sense!”

His expression still maniac, Monoma continued. “I could string moves together into a symphony of fighting!  I’ve been treating moves like separate weapons, to be used and discarded!  I can combine them!”

“Uh… good for you?” she tried.  Should she be calling someone here?  Was he having an aneurysm?  She could probably always defibrillate him, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t the right medical procedure.  

His eyes were shining and maniac still, when he focused them on her.  “You’re brilliant, Kaminari!  Thank you!”

In a burst of speed, he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her and holding her tightly against him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” His lips pressed against her cheek for a moment, a long moment, separating with a wet, smacking sound.

Reality seemed to settle back in.  He stared at her, then bolted towards the door.  “Thankyouagain,Ihavetowithdrawmywithdrawl,Ineedtogonow!”

Chihiro stood there for a moment longer, before she flopped back onto the couch, her legs suddenly weak.   Her fingers touched her cheek where Monoma had kissed her.  “What… what just happened?”

***

Mika had made herself scarce from the 1-A dorms and was hanging out with Anime in hers.  As was expected, her friends’ dorm walls were completely covered in posters from various manga and anime, most of which even the biggest otaku would find obscure.  

Her phone buzzed.   Earlier, she’d sent a message to Shiro, telling him a “mutual acquaintance” was feeling depressed and maybe he could go by and cheer her up.  He was depressed, she was depressed, it was the perfect plan.

She checked her phone.

Cute Ex: So I’m not quitting.   Got a really good idea when I was at your dorm building.  Had a really good conversation.  …I may have kissed her.  Things got happened and I got passionate.

Mika smiled.  That was fast.  Really fast, actually, given the parties involved.  Good for Shiro and good for Akaya.  Her friend needed it.  And Shiro would be way better for her than Aoyama, if he ever figured out that he was clearly crushing on Akaya.

“It worked!” she told Anime.

The animated girl squeed happily.  “I knew it! Just like I Set Up My Best Friends (Because I Could)!”

Cute Ex: I hope this doesn’t make things awkward.

Mika was about to respond that of course it didn’t, this was her plan all along, when she saw more dots indicating Shiro was still typing.

Cute Ex: Because now I might actually ask Kaminari out.  Not just because of the kiss.  But because I discovered she’s actually fascinating.  I know it sounds crazy, but…

She didn’t see the rest of the text, as the phone dropped from her hands.  “Anime, we’ve made a terrible mistake.”