Dragonspawn (My Hero Academia SI)

[Blackout]

Katsuke Fujiwara awoke to the sound of hissing pneumatics, as the heavy-duty blast door of his high-security cell began to open. It was a spartan room, completely unadorned save for the large chair he was strapped to with thick metal restraints. The overhead flood light cast the room in clinical white light as the door clicked open, admitting a single visitor.

Fujiwara's mouth curled into a sneer as he watched the huge white-scaled dragon duck through the entrance and into the small cell, her horns almost scraping the ceiling.

"Oh, it's you."

"Not happy to see me?" Ryuuzaki Tatsuma hissed, pulling her tail through the door followed by another click as it shut behind her.

"I was hoping Shigaraki had killed you, when I overheard the League had taken you."

"Sorry to disappoint you." She said as she sat down, her tail curling around her feet. "You usually come to see me, so I thought I'd return the favor. You know, one last time."

"The hell are you talking about now?" He demanded. "If you think-"

"They're moving you to Tartarus tomorrow." She interrupted him, and suddenly Fujiwara felt a cold chill run through her spine. "The judge's order came this morning. After escaping twice already, they're putting you in with the worst of the worst. And this time, you have nobody left who'd care enough to even try to bail you out. Tonight is the last time you and I will ever meet."

"So why are you here, then? Come to gloat?" He gestured with the stubs of his arms, ending in bandaged stumps mid-bicep.

"No. But I'm not going to feel bad either. Let's not pretend you weren't trying to do worse to me. To my friends."

"And I'd try again given the chance." He admitted glibly. "In a heartbeat."

Tatsuma sighed deeply. "Don't you ever get tired of it? This… whole revenge thing? Dedicating your life to ruining mine?"

"I am only fulfilling Stain's vision. To overturn a corrupt system requires dedication."

"You can't possibly claim it isn't personal." The dragon tilted her massive head slowly. "Not at this point. For three years, you've done nothing but go after literal children."

"What can I say? A weed must be pulled out by the stem. Same with any manner of rot."

The massive dragon exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "I looked up your history. You were a student at UA. Expelled for poor academic performance and abrasive attitude. Engendering a lifelong resentment towards the Hero system."

"I never had a chance." He laughed. "Hero Society is rotten to the core, an exclusive club where talent doesn't matter, only who you know. Those with the right connections and born to the right families are showered in special opportunities and treatment."

"Is that so?" She tilted her head again. "Setsuna Tokage. The only person in her immediate family to not have at least three arrests in her record. And two months ago she placed at the top of the class for the semester finals. Explain that."

"An exception does not disprove a rule." Fujiwara bit out.

"Itsuka Kendo. Her father is a martial arts instructor and her mother was a server. Pony Tsunotori. A transfer student from America, from a family of farmers and ranchers. Yui Kodai. Her parents are business owners. And that's just my closest friends. Out of twenty people in my class, do you know how many have Pro-Hero family members? Two. But hey, maybe that's just eighteen exceptions." She shrugged her massive shoulders. "Or maybe it's just you."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand what it's like." He glared across the room. "You, who have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth."

"Uh-huh. Anything to make sure there's somebody to blame." She shook her head in disgust, ears drooping. "Do you know what the worst part is? You might have even had a point. Maybe Hero Society does have issues. Maybe it is unfair that Recommended Students get special treatment. Maybe schools should have better outreach programs to help people from all walks of life become Heroes. But you know who aren't responsible for that? Children." She spat out, moving animatedly as she kept going. "You could have made a good Hero. You have a strong Quirk, better than most. I looked up the Quirk Registry, I know you can shoot rubber bullets. You could have advocated for change. Or maybe you weren't suited for becoming a Hero. There's no shame in that either. But you chose to pin it all on anybody but yourself. Of course you were just being held back from your true potential. Of course it makes it okay to lash out at innocent people. You are pathetic."

Silence reigned in the cell room, broken only by the sound of Tatsuma's breathing and the clicking of the wall-mounted clock.

"Are you finished?" Fujiwara finally broke the silence. "Because if that's all you came here to say, I would rather stay in solitude."

"I told you already." She told him with a disapproving shake of her head. "I came here to see you one last time. I wanted to find a bit of closure, if I could. To look at you with my own two eyes and see if I felt anything."

"And do you?" He sneered. "Because if that rant was anything to go by..."

She sighed. "For the longest time, I feared you. Hated, too, and many other emotions of similar nature, but mainly fear. You hurt me… worse than anyone ever had. I had thought myself safe, and you shattered that illusion. You didn't just hurt me, you made me afraid. Afraid of being hurt again. And so, even if it wasn't an entirely conscious decision, I made it so that I couldn't be. I wrapped myself in an invulnerable barrier, unable to bear facing the world."

"So all this time, the whole dragon thing, it was your own doing? Oh, that's too good." He chuckled. "You've probably been blaming me for all these years, only for it to turn out to have been you all along." He shook his head. "So, I suppose this visit is a part of some kind of healing journey for you, isn't it? Conquering your fears and all that? Because I can tell you-"

"No." Tatsuma stated, her draconic features impassive. "Because I already did it. Three nights ago, when All-Might saved me from the League's captivity, I did it. I transformed back."

"You're lying." He replied without pause. "You're lying to rile me up before they send me away, to make yourself feel better.

"The universe doesn't revolve around you, Fujiwara." She shook her head. "All For One- The League's boss, in case Shigaraki didn't feel like filling you in on all the details -very nearly killed me, just to hurt All-Might. He toyed with me. I had as much of a chance- no, less of a chance against him as a dragon than I did against you on that night. Anything I could do, he could effortlessly overpower. He broke through even these impenetrable scales."

"Not so invulnerable after all." Fujiwara jabbed. "But do go on. I want to hear all about how you got beaten to pulp."

Tatsuma sighed again. "As you say, the barrier wasn't so invulnerable in the end. The dragon was as helpless as the human. I had to face the reality that I would never truly be safe. And… I was forced to accept that I was going to die. But then. I heard somebody calling out for help. Someone caught in the middle of the battle. And do you know what the only thing I could think of was? That I could keep that person, even just one, from having to go through what I did. Do you understand what I'm saying? I turned my experiences into motivation, into a strength to draw upon."

"Don't bullshit me." Fujiwara growled. "You can pretend you've conquered your past or whatever, but it doesn't just go away like that."

"No. Trauma doesn't disappear, that's not how it works. But… I've learned to cope with it, just that little bit better. You're not wrong about me being on a journey of healing, and the end isn't even in sight. Maybe… it never will be. But your part in this is coming to a close."

She was pacing now, claws clicking against the metal floor

"I'm not that scared girl you shot on one cold autumn night anymore. I've seen the Symbol of Peace and the Symbol of Terror clash in mortal combat. I've seen Heroes conquer their fears and go beyond their limits to save innocents, regardless of their own powerlessness. I've seen and fought some of the true monsters of this world. I've saved lives. There are people out there who wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me." She looked down at her claws, opening and closing them slowly. "A Hero… is someone who saves lives. And even if I don't feel like it… I am a Hero."

"Is there supposed to be a point to this?"

"I look at everything I've become, everything I've gone through. All the ways I've grown. And then there's you. You haven't changed a bit. Clinging to ideology you pay lip service to as an excuse to dedicate your life to petty revenge. Because if you took that out… what would there be left of you? Because if you gave up, if you allowed yourself to consider that you were wrong, you would have to confront that the person who threw away your life… was you." She leaned closer, red eyes glowing as she looked Fujiwara up and down. "You're just a spiteful, angry little man. What is there to be afraid of in that? The only power you have over me is what I give you. And I choose to give you… nothing. You don't matter."

"And yet… here you are. Still a dragon." Fujiwara retorted with a sneer. "You know what I think? I think this little confessional of yours was to convince yourself, not me. I think you're scared. Scared that you won't be able to repeat it. That maybe it was a fluke, or a daydream. I think you're afraid to try and fail. Have you even told anyone? Because if you had, I don't think they'd let you run around as a dragon."

"..."

"I thought so." He smiled. "So let's put all that big talk to the test. Prove it, here and now. Prove that you've put me behind you, like you claim."

"Why?" The massive dragon tilted her head slowly. "It's like you said, this is for me, not for you. Why would I need to prove anything to you? I told you already, you… don't matter."

With slow and deliberate movements she turned around, her tail swishing behind her as she stepped up to the door.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!"

She did not deign him with a response as she walked out of the cell, and out of his life.

-----

"I don't care." Ryuko Tatsuma growled into the phone. "Just give me five more minutes. Yes, I know I said it five minutes ago. I don't care. Just do what you need to get it done."

She slammed the red "End Call" button and sighed. The jail waiting room was empty except for her and the coffee machine, which had already seen heavy usage.

Arranging for a high-school student to have a one-on-one visit with a high-security prisoner, regardless of if he was restrained and completely harmless, had required a lot of strings to be pulled, even for the Number Ten Hero. But Ryuuzaki had begged her to do it, and she couldn't find it in her to deny her.

Before more than a few seconds had passed her phone started buzzing again, this time with angry text messages. She shook head and got to work on a reply just as the door behind her opened with a hiss of pneumatics.

"Oh, you're done already?" She said off-handedly, not taking her eyes off the phone.

"Yeah, I'm done with him." Ryuuzaki said as she walked into the waiting area, sitting beside Ryuko.

"Oh, that's good. I'll just finish this and-" Ryuko began, and then stopped abruptly.

…

...

…

Then she felt her brain short-circuit as it caught up to the sensory input. That voice. Ryuuzaki sitting beside her on the bench.

Ryuuzaki.

Sitting.

Beside her.

On the bench.

A phone clattered on the concrete floor from nerveless fingers.

"...'Zaki?" Her voice was fragile, afraid to even hope.

"...Yeah." Came the reply again. Not a deep reptilian hiss, but-

For a moment, Ryuko almost didn't want to look, as though the illusion would be dispelled if she did, until finally she couldn't take it anymore and turned her head.

And there she was. She was older now, her features more worn and tired than she remembered, but Ryuko would recognize them even if she was blind.

"'Zaki!" She yelled as she sprung to her feet and scooped her little sister up off the bench and into a hug, no matter that she was tall enough to tower over her.

"I'm here."

Ryuko held her sister properly for the first time in two and a half years. Nothing else mattered. She held her sister and cried.

TRAINING CAMP ARC END

WYRMLING SAGA END

Spoiler: A/N

There we go.

I will be taking a short break after this, due to unavoidable IRL reasons (University entrance exams, being called up for reservist training by the FDF, that sort of stuff) and also because I did just squeeze out about 50k words over a course of a month and a half.

But Dragonspawn will be returning in June.

 

[Blackout]

Well the exams are finally over but alas, the mighty finnish defence forces have need of me still, so sadly no update yet. It is being worked upon, but I don't exactly have a lot of free time to use until next week, especially as I got transferred to a considerably more shitty role than what I was supposed to be doing.

That having been said however, I do come bearing a different manner of gifts, since I've been working on getting some commissions done to celebrate finishing another Arc, and more importantly Dragonspawn's first Saga. Here is the first one:

Spoiler

Art by tort9.

 

[Blackout]

I am happy to announce that I am done with my exams and training, and hiatus is at long last officially over.

I'm nearly finished writing Chapter 53 and it should be going up in the coming days, but in the meanwhile, well, you know how I said that the previous art update was the first of the commissions I had done as a milestone celebration?

Well, here's the other one:

Spoiler

Art by u/Miconomicon on reddit. Seriously check them out, they draw some genuinely incredible and varied MHA OC art that could be straight out of the anime at very reasonable prices, although the waiting time matches the quality.

 

[Blackout]

Since there's been a lot of talk of relative heights (well, more over on SB), I decided to make this more-or-less official height chart for easy reference. It's not perfect since it's kinda hard to perfectly measure and line up various characters all with slightly different poses, hair, headwear, etc. But it should be mostly accurate.

Spoiler

 

[Blackout]

"We have arrived at your destination, meatbag. Be done with your business, I have more important places to be."

Sekijiro Kan grunted in affirmation to the driver-bot, stepping out of the car into the warm August evening. The Tatsuma family residence was a reasonably large house out in the suburbs of Musutafu, surrounded by a sizable yard leading to the forest behind it. An automated camera tracked his movements as he walked up to the front door, a part of the security measures implemented after the USJ attack. Now it almost seemed like a bad joke.

There was a metal plate stamped with the image of a bell next to the door, and Kan pressed his palm against it, a green light running over it. It gave off a chime and began blinking slowly, and after a moment of waiting the large metal door clicked open to reveal a massive figure standing in the doorway.

Kenshin Tatsuma was a towering behemoth of a man, taller than Kan by head and shoulders and wide enough that he'd probably outmass him by half again even if they were of equal height. The effect was only furthered by the thick, gray skin covering his body like leathery plates, and the massive rhinoceros head on top of his broad shoulders, two curved horns rising skywards.

"Vlad King?" He could see the slight widening of the man's eyes as he saw him.

"Mr. Tatsuma." Kan nodded, offering a hand.

Tatuma shook his head slowly before nodding gruffly, taking the proffered hand for a tight shake. "Welcome. We got the message, but we weren't expecting..."

"I understand. But I thought that I should be the one to talk to you."

Tatsuma nodded with something Kan guessed to be respect as he turned aside, gesturing for him to follow. "Please, come in."

The Tatsuma family home might have given off an odd feeling, of something not quite right, if one didn't know the full story. The raised ceilings and wide doorways, the thick, scratched-up mat covering the floor corner to corner, and the odd placement of furniture, leaving a wide space through the middle of each room. The two of them emerged into a living room, the television playing quietly.

"Vlad King?"

Ryutsuki Tatsuma was by normal standards a tall woman, maybe fifteen centimeters shorter than Kan, but anyone would have been made to look small standing next to her husband as she walked into the living room from the adjacent kitchen. Her long, straight white hair came to the middle of her back, shock clear in her red, slit-pupiled eyes as she saw Kan.

"Ah, are you sure you should be-"

"Please, pay it no mind Ms. Tatsuma." He raised a hand. "I was cleared by the hospital."

Well. The hospital might have discharged him, but Shuzenji would likely throw a fit if she knew he was out and about instead of on bed rest.

"I see." She nodded. "I wish that we could have met again under better circumstances."

"So do we all." Kan nodded seriously, before looking around. "Is your- ah."

He could feel the ground vibrating beneath his feet before he heard her, and heard her massive footfalls before she saw her round the corner, a huge horned dragon armored in brilliant white scales, her glowing eyes lighting up as she saw him.

"Vlad King! You're out of the hospital! You're- oh. Oh."

She trailed off as she took in his appearance, her ears slumping miserably.

"You're… hurt."

It was, on an empirical level, a truthful statement.

Much of Kan's exposed skin was covered in angry red scarring from third and fourth-degree burns that not even all the medical expertise modern society could bring to bear could fully heal. His hair was gone as well, even the stems burnt away by Dabi's flames. It had taken heroic effort on the part of the surgical doctors and Recovery Girl to save his right eye, but his left, well, there had been nothing left to save by the time they had gotten to him. Now, only a patch covered the empty socket.

But he was a Hero, and even more so, a teacher. He had a duty to fulfill.

"It is nothing." He smiled up at her reassuringly. "I would endure this and a thousand times more to protect my students."

"...Does it hurt?" She finally asked.

"No." He shook his head. "It doesn't."

It was true. There couldn't be pain if the nerve endings were gone.

"But I'm not here to talk about me. You should have been sent a letter, outlining our proposal...?"

Mr. Tatsuma harrumphed.

"Indeed, we received Principal Nedzu's letter. We'll talk about that soon. But before that-" He turned aside slightly to look at his daughter. "Isn't there something you wanted to show to Vlad King?"

"...Yeah. Alright." Her shoulders slumped, her tail curling around her feet as she shifted her feet around nervously, the floor vibrating beneath her steps. "Yeah."

Kan watched as she leaned back, horns nearly piercing the ceiling, and closed her eyes. Kan could feel the wind on his skin as she drew a deep breath, and then-

His remaining eye widened in alarm as he saw the tell-tale glow that said she was about to breathe fire, his mind running through a hundred and one scenarios ranging from mind control Quirks to Himiko Toga. But none of them quite accounted for what he was seeing.

It was the same warm orange glow as her flames, like the last rays of sunlight left behind by the twilight. But instead of coming from within her chest like a lamp shone through a sheet, the light was suffusing her entire form, armored scales turning into motes of light that swirled around her like embers from a campfire. It grew into a blinding flash, and Kan could feel the breeze of hot wind on his remaining skin, the taste of smoke filling his mouth as his sight slowly returned.

Tall, was the first thing that came to Kan's mind when she saw her.

At a height of one hundred and ninety-four centimeters, it wasn't often that he had to deal with people taller than himself outside of All-Might and Gang Orca, but for the second time in as many minutes he found himself having to crane his neck back, although only slightly this time.

He'd seen pictures from before the incident in her files, of course. Red eyes, pale skin dotted with the occasional freckle around her nose and cheeks, sharp triangular teeth set in a nervous smile, snow-white hair in a messy pixie cut and two small horns poking out the top.

Lanky, caught in that moment of teenage awkwardness where they spurt up half a foot seemingly overnight, leaving them stretched out like stick figures.

Not so much anymore. Like her draconic aspect, Ryuuzaki's human form was broadly built and absolutely packed with muscle mass, nearly a match for Kan himself. A feat and a half for anyone, let alone a teenage girl. The paternal familial resemblance was quite apparent.

"So. Um. Yeah." She replied nervously, a hand scratching the back of her head. "Hi."

"You… figured out how to turn back." Kan replied dumbly, his mind racing with the possibilities and implications of what he'd just witnessed.

"Yeah." Ryuuzaki swallowed slowly, fidgeting in place. Her attire was ill-fitting for her frame, a hoodie with Ryukyu's face plastered on it and a pair of pants probably liberated from her father's wardrobe. "I did."

"How did this happen?"

"I, um-" She fidgeted again, shuffling her feet before starting to sway on unsteady legs, her hands windmilling as she nearly toppled over before Ms. Tatsuma rushed to her daughter's side.

"Careful, Ryuuzaki." She said gently, offering her a steadying hand despite probably being outmassed more than twice over, before turning towards Kan. "This sort of thing tends to happen with our Quirk when you stay transformed for too long." She bit her lip. "Of course, nobody in our family has ever been stuck for quite so long."

"Sorry." Ryuuzaki apologized awkwardly, her face flush with embarrassment. "So, um, at the beginning of summer, Yui and I visited I-Island. You, uh, know what happened there." She explained haltingly, as if still trying to get used to moving her mouth. Which she probably was. "But… what I didn't mention before was… Doctor Shield examined me. He found out that the reason I couldn't transform was that, subconsciously, um, I didn't want to. I was too afraid of being hurt again. And- and my Quirk responded to that."

"...Why didn't you tell anyone?" Kan asked.

"I was… I didn't want to-" Ryuuzaki folded and unfolded her arms, clearly struggling for words. "I was ashamed. Because I felt like… all of the trouble everyone had to go through, the accommodations, the inconvenience. I felt like it was… all my fault."

Wordlessly, Mr. Tatsuma put a massive hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I see." Kan shook his head, before smiling up at his student. "But even if you shouldn't have had to face your trials alone, I am happy for you. It is good to finally meet you properly."

He stepped forward to offer his hand- only for Ryuuzaki to shy away like a spooked deer, stumbling backwards behind her mother, holding on to her shoulders for dear life.

The scene would have been made comical by their size difference, were it not for the incredibly small and vulnerable look in Ryuuzaki's eyes.

Right. No sudden hands movements towards her.

"My apologies." Kan cleared his throat. "I should not have done that."

Ryuuzaki's face went red enough to start a brushfire as embarrassed realization dawned on her face, and after an instant of hesitation, she darted forward to grab Kan's hand, shaking it tightly.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." He shook his head. "Have you told your classmates about this yet?"

"No." She looked down at her feet. "I met them, at the hospital, but I didn't want to- I wanted to take things… one at a time."

"I understand." Kan rubbed his chin, feeling the scarred tissue beneath his fingertips. "It is going to change a great deal of things in the future."

"Let's talk about it then, the future." Mr. Tatsuma offered, gesturing towards the living room couches. "Why don't we all sit down, it's got to be more comfortable for everyone."

There were three couches arranged in a rough u-shape around the television and a small table in the middle, with Mr. Tatsuma's hulking frame taking up the whole of the middle one as he indicated for Kan to sit on the seat to the left. Ryuuzaki managed to not stumble again as she walked over to sit opposite to Kan, though it clearly took a lot of her concentration to accomplish.

"So." Ms. Tatsuma said as she sat down beside her daughter. "Your letter mentioned moving the students to dormitories when the semester begins again?"

"Indeed, yes. The attack on the Training Camp proved our previous security measures to be inadequate to the task of protecting our students, so we are overhauling our entire approach."

"I agree. UA failed to keep the children in its care safe." Mr. Tatsuma rumbled, leaning forward while Ryuuzaki fidgeted uncomfortably. "What I fail to see is why we should now be giving you more of our trust."

"I understand your concerns." Kan replied with a conciliatory tone. "We have come up short before, but we've learned from our mistakes.

"Like you did after the previous incidents?"

Kan suppressed a sigh. This was going to be difficult.

"Could you…" Ryuuzaki interrupted with a raise of her hand before he could say anything more. "What would... moving to the dorms actually entail?" She questioned, her eyes darting between the three adults. "I mean, before, um, anyone makes any decisions."

"By all means." Mr. Tatsuma exhaled slowly, a bit of tension bleeding away from his shoulders as he leaned backwards in his seat accompanied by a slight creak. "Let's hear it out in full, then."

"Of course." Kan nodded. "Cementoss and a team of construction drones are working hard to build accommodations for UA's student base within the campus premises, where our state of the art surveillance can catch any intrusion, and security units and heroes can rapidly respond to any incidents. Each Class will have its own dormitory, so you would only be living with people you're already familiar with." He nodded towards Ryuuzaki.

"I see." Ms. Tatsuma said as she leaned forward, studying the projection. "How do you intend to handle travel arrangements? Guests, visiting home, going out to the city?"

"Families and friends will, of course, be welcome to visit outside of class hours, as would the students to leave the premises. All we ask for is to be kept notified, especially if we are talking about overnight stays."

"What about… sleeping arrangements?" Ryuuzaki questioned nervously, fingers tapping against her side, eyes darting from side to side. "I, um, I like my classmates, but- but… spending every hour of the day with them…"

Ah. The introvert's nightmare.

"Naturally, you will each have your own room, where you can decompress and have some privacy. With such strong personalities as the Hero Department tends to attract, forcing everyone together around the clock would be counterproductive." Kan leaned forward, retrieving a disc-shaped projector from his pocket and placing it on the living room table. With a flick of the power button it whirred to life, casting a three-dimensional holographic image of a room, various measurements displayed alongside it. "Speaking of your room-"

"What's that?" Ryuuzaki blinked.

"This is an interactive hologram that you can use to make requests to the construction crew regarding your room." Kan demonstrated it's functionality by swiping a hand though the image, stretching it out before returning it to its original proportions. He then pinched his fingers together, bringing up a menu, and added in a bookcase, pushing it to stand by the far wall.

"You won't need it as much as we anticipated, since you can now use a normal-sized room, but you can still use it to make requests on lighting, windows, electrical sockets or any furniture you'd like UA to provide, although you are of course free to bring your own along."

Kan turned the projector off and reached over to hand it to Ryuuzaki, dropping it into her hands.

"You probably shouldn't-" Ms. Tatsuma began, but it was already too late.

It slipped from Ryuuzaki's fingers like a bar of soap, bouncing off the corner of the table and landing on the floor, a large crack running across the lense. Ryuuzaki blushed, darting forward to grab it from the floor-

Crack.

The projector splintered in Ryuuzaki's grip, the lense popping out and the thin metal frame crumpling inwards like a tin can.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry-" She cringed back, throwing the ruined electronic on the table and hiding her hands behind her back, looking everywhere but at Kan.

"Calm down. It's only electronics." Kan reassured her, even as he tried to process "What happened?"

"As I was about to say." Ms. Tatsuma cleared her throat. "Ryuuzaki is still not quite used to being human again."

"It, um, it turns out I'm still really strong." She was muttering now, steadfastly looking at her feet as her ears burned red. "Even as a human."

It made sense. Her father was a Rhinoceros-Mutant and her grandfather a Draconid-Mutant. Then, if all of the training she did as a dragon reflected on her other form...

"Leaving our little drake here with the strength of an average grizzly bear and coordination of a week-old kitten." Mr. Tatsuma noted jovially, clapping a hand to his daughter's shoulder. "The repairmen are about to offer us a regular customer discount if this keeps up."

Kan followed his line of sight towards the remote sitting by the television screen, similarly crushed by some great force- and then towards the kitchen, where several of the metal cabinet door handles displayed prominent finger-shaped dents, or were noticeably bent out of shape.

"I'm trying!" Ryuuzaki squeaked, her face red. "I've been practicing since the last time it happened!"

"Mmm-hmm, and that was how many days ago?"

"Yesterday." She squirmed in embarrassment. "It's hard, okay?! You'd think that it would be easy, since I'm used to being even stronger, but no, not really. I don't have any reference for how much things weigh or how much force I need to use, so I usually first underdo and then overdo it." She pouted. "And then things break."

"I see." Kan nodded. "Well, it is no big matter, we make these things in bulk. However, as a matter of priority, you should look into physical therapy as soon as possible."

"We've been trying." Ms. Tatsuma said, a little pointedly. "But it has been only a few days, and finding the right specialist isn't easy. And we need to talk to a lawyer first, about her situation."

"Ah. That is a good plan." Kan agreed. "Ryuuzaki was granted a special exemption from Quirk usage laws due to her special circumstances, but if she can transform again it's likely to be revoked. UA can provide lawyers and therapists if needed, but you should proceed as you best see fit."

"We will." Ms. Tatsuma said. "Now, to return to the topic at hand. You mentioned something about a surveillance system?"

"Yes. It will allow us to detect any intrusion to UA grounds, with multiple redundancies alongside live patrols. Once a threat has been detected, we have multiple layers of quick-response units. You've no doubt seen the training robots we use, at the Sports Festival? They were originally designed for use by the military. We can have a squadron of armed security drones anywhere on the campus in less than twenty seconds, and teachers within a minute. We have also contracted several Musutafu-based Hero Agencies for a rotating standby schedule, meaning we can have Pro-Heroes on the scene within five minutes."

"That all sounds well and good." Mr Tatsuma said. "But a security system is worthless if it has been compromised from within."

"There has yet to be any evidence of a leak within UA, but we are nonetheless working tirelessly to investigate."

"So you don't even know for sure if you have one or not." He huffed, unimpressed. "You say that you are doing everything you can, but you also said that last time. I remain unconvinced."

Kan bowed his head in acquiescence. "While we would prefer all students to reside in UA dormitories, if you are adamantly against the idea we can arrange-"

"You misunderstand me." Mr. Tatsuma interrupted him. "I am not talking about Ryuuzaki moving to the dormitories. I am talking about Ryuuzaki returning to UA at all."

He might as well have dropped a live bomb on the living room table.

Ryuuzaki sprung to her feet in outrage.

"You- you can't do that!"

"I'm sorry, Ryuuzaki. I know it's not what you want." He shook his massive head. "But as your father, it is my responsibility to look after your safety. And UA has demonstrated they cannot be trusted with it."

"You trusted them with Ryuko for three years!" Ryuuzaki retorted, folding her arms angrily.

"Ryuko's class was never attacked by villains, not just once, nor twice, but three different times." He replied calmly. "Ryuko wasn't kidnapped and nearly murdered while on the school's watch."

"And it was dealt with." Ryuuzaki threw back. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"And what about next time?!" He snapped back, the wooden table groaning beneath his hands as he stood up. "Because there will be a next time. Twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. You were kidnapped, taken to an unknown location and beaten to the brink of death. What if next time you don't manage to transform in time?" He questioned, his voice climbing in volume. "What if next time the Heroes don't get lucky? What if you die?!" He thundered and then sighed, taking a step back and pinching his snout before turning to his wife. "Ryutsuki, can't you talk sense to her?"

"Kenshin… I know you only have our daughter's best interests at heart. But she will be sixteen in less than a month. Ryuuzaki… she's always been mature for her age." Her voice hitched slightly. "This is her future we're talking about. She deserves a say in it." She shook her head. "I had some misgivings, but they've been answered. As parents, we have a duty to protect our children, but also to support them. We… have no right to decide their lives for them."

Mr. Tatsuma seemed taken aback, blinking a few times, before turning away.

"I am giving her a say and hearing her out. But the ultimate decision rests with us, her parents."

"Listening to me and then throwing my opinion to the trash pile is not 'giving me a say'." Ryuuzaki scowled. "How is any of this fair?!"

"It isn't." He agreed. "It is not fair. It is not your fault. It is not even UA's fault that they are being targeted by villains. But the fact remains that they are, and that they have demonstrated they can't protect you."

"Mr. Tatsuma." Kan said, raising to his full height, and then executing a perfect ninety-degree angle bow. "We have failed before. But I assure you, I will do everything in my power to protect Ryuuzaki. Even if that means giving my life."

"Please, get up." Mr Tatsuma said, looking bothered. "You do not need to bow to me, Vlad King. You have earned that much, at least. But at the same time, I must ask to speak to you freely."

"Always."

"It is not your dedication to protect your students that I doubt. It is your ability."

"Dad!" Ryuuzaki shouted, outrage written across her face. "You know how hard he fought to protect us!"

"And for that, he has my gratitude and respect." He said as he turned back towards Vlad King. "You have already proven beyond doubt that you would give your life for my daughter. But what comfort would your death bring to me, if the villains simply step over your body to get to her? As they have already done?"

Every word was like a hammer blow to his guts. All the worse because it was the truth. The truth that he'd had to face every waking moment since that night, five days ago.

He'd failed in his duty. He'd given the villains every bit of fight he had in him, and it hadn't been enough. His students had been hurt.

"I do not want to hear how much you are willing to sacrifice for my daughter's sake. I want to hear that she will be protected, no matter what."

But he bore it without complaint, only hanging his head in acknowledgement of Mr. Tatsuma's words.

"Can you tell me that?"

He could.

But it would be a lie.

"No teacher could tell you that and speak the truth. I can tell you that I and everyone in UA will do everything in our power to keep your daughter safe. I can tell you of the measures we've prepared, the resources we've committed. But I cannot give you a guarantee of absolute safety."

"Then I am sorry." Mr. Tatsuma said, shaking his head. "But my decision stands. I will not give my consent for Ryuuzaki to move to the dormitories, or to remain at UA."

"Then what the hell do you expect me to do?!" Ryuuzaki all but shouted, a small crack appearing on the wooden table as she slammed her hands down on it. "Do you think other Hero Schools without UA's resources would be any safer?"

"Language, Ryuuzaki." He replied in a stern tone, staring down his daughter. "Take your hands off the table."

She scowled but complied, sitting down forcefully, her arms folded.

"Good. To answer your question, if other Hero Schools aren't any safer… then maybe you don't need to become a Hero."

"What- what are you talking about?!" Ryuuzaki replied, anger written large across her face. "Of course I need to become a Hero!"

"But why? Why do you need to put yourself through such danger?"

"Because... I want to save people! Because- because I want to help people who are helpless, like I was!" She scowled in frustration, forcing out each word. "So that they don't ever have to feel like I did! Do you- do you even- fucking-"

She snarled in exasperation, throwing up her hands in anger as she sprung up and stomped off. A moment later there was a flash of light and a ripple of warm air, much faster than before, and then there was a huge dragon standing in the middle of the living room again.

"Do you want to know why I was able to transform back to human?" She asked, launching into a rapid-fire barrage of words. "I was afraid of being hurt again, trying to make myself invulnerable to harm. But when I was lying there, beaten by All For One, I realized that it's pointless. There is no true, absolute safety. And you know what else I realized? There was something else I was more afraid of than being hurt. The idea that my fear would allow someone else to be hurt. That if I allowed fear to control me, I would let others go through what I did. I didn't take down one set of walls around me just so you could build another one in its place."

"I… I'm sorry you ever had to feel that way." He spoke, eyes downcast. "But not allowing fear to control you doesn't mean you have to dive head-first into danger. Why does it need to be you? Why do you need to take all of this responsibility on yourself?"

"Because I owe it. Because I want to do something with my life. Because I lived. Because I took someone else's place."

"What do you mean?" Ms. Tatsuma asked, suddenly alarmed.

"I mean… I lived where others would have died. It was… like a miracle." Ryuuzaki replied, wrangling her clawed forelimbs. "When I was shot, I mean. Shouldn't I use the opportunity that I was given, to do good? To help people?"

"There are other ways to help. There are others- others who could become Heroes." Mr. Tatsuma sounded almost like he was pleading. "You're smart, you're motivated, you're capable- you could become anything you set your mind to! You could become a doctor, a teacher, a therapist, a scientist. You don't need to put yourself in harm's way to save people. Why do you need to become a Hero?"

"Because I want to. Because I enjoy it. Because it's what I'm good at." Ryuuzaki shook her head angrily. "I've been blessed with the Quirk, the talent and the opportunity to become a Hero. A Hero who can do good. And I want to take it."

She was pacing restlessly, claws tapping softly against the matted floor.

"The system is flawed. There's people out there who have been screwed over by it, overlooked and passed over, who are rightfully angry at it. How can I tell them that they shouldn't tear the whole thing down and instead work to improve it, if I'm not willing to put in any effort myself? How can I ask them to put aside their grievances, if I'm just sitting on the sidelines doing nothing to help?"

Ryuuzaki stopped her circling, turning around to bring her glowing eyes to look at her father.

"What if everyone thought like that? 'Surely someone else will fix things'? Isn't that what got us here, with everyone thinking All-Might would just make things better, so they didn't need to even try? Maybe I can't fix the whole system all by myself. But I can do what I can. And maybe, if there's others like me, together we can make the world better to live in, for everyone. That's what I want to do. And you want to take that away from me."

Mr. Tatsuma was silent for a long while, closing his eyes, his fingers curling into fists and then opening again. He took a deep breath, before finally nodding his head.

"I… I- fine. Fine. I will allow it. You- this is what you want, isn't it? More than anything. You want to help. You want to change the world. I- I know how- I know that feeling." He turned his head away, unable to meet Ryuuzaki's gaze. "Ryutsuki is right. I can't- I have no right to take that away from you."

There was a moment of silence, and then, a buildup of light and warmth, as Ryuuzaki transformed into human again, staggering on her feet and blinking a few times, before shaking her head and walking over to her father and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Thank you, dad." She said, leaning into the embrace with all of her body. "Love you."

"I love you too." Mr. Tatsuma said, patting her on the back as they separated. "My little drake."

"I should… leave." Kan coughed into his hand, rising from his seat. "You can send the papers by mail-"

"No!" Ryuuzaki interrupted him, putting her mother down from a quick hug and wheeling towards him. "I haven't even thanked you yet! For everything you've done. At the camp, and before. For me, and for all of us."

"It was my duty as your tea- urk."

Kan was once again interrupted, this time by the unusual sensation of his feet leaving the ground as he was swept into a bone-crushing hug.

Spoiler: A/N

And finally we return to regular schedule!

Next chapter, it's time for a class reunion.

 

[Blackout]

The new UA dormitories were arranged in a row along a curving avenue, U-shaped brown and white buildings embodying the grandiose architecture UA was known for. Huge white stone columns, enormous oak doors and arched, wall-spanning windows were easily visible even beyond the brick fence surrounding each building, topped off with overhanging bushes. By all accounts, UA seemed to have once again gone Plus Ultra in providing for its students.

And there, on the other side of the fence, just around the corner, were my classmates. I could hear them talking animatedly, but it was like a low, muffled murmur at the edge of my hearing. Instinctively, I reached over to unplug my ears, only to realize there was nothing there.

Humans just can't hear conversations at a distance behind an obstacle.

I huffed in annoyance, crossing my arms. Vlad King raised his remaining eyebrow, turning to look at me.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no." I couldn't help the blush of embarrassment. "Just, um, trying to get used to the little things."

He nodded, closing the car door behind him. "That's the only way to do it. One thing at a time."

The lawyer my parents had retained had advised us that it was best I not go out in public as a dragon, just to avoid any legal difficulties stemming from the fact that I now had other options. But equally, it didn't seem like a great idea to have me try to make my way across the city on my own, so it had been agreed upon that Vlad King would pick me up on the moving-in day.

"Are you ready?" He asked, looking towards the entrance.

Then, there was of course the other reason I had arrived with Vlad King.

"Y-yeah. Like we talked about."

I could hear the muffled gasps of horror, as the others saw Vlad King's new appearance. Exclamations of shock, sorrow, even gladness that he was at least alive. I took the time to prepare myself, leaning against the fence, waiting until I heard Vlad King raise his voice.

"-But there is someone you need to meet first."

That was my cue.

I started walking, keeping a hand on the fence for balance.

It was funny. I could do push-ups until I got bored of counting but I couldn't walk twenty meters unsupported without tripping over my own two feet.

All right Ryuuzaki, you can do this. It's fine, they're your friends.

I took a deep breath and rounded the corner.

The others were gathered in a loose semicircle around Vlad King, standing on the steps leading up the house.

All at once, nineteen heads turned around to look at me. My skin felt like it was tingling.

"Uh… Hi, guys." I swallowed, fighting my hardest not to wilt under their stares. "I-"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

My train of thought came to a screeching halt as I saw the confused lack of recognition in Itsuka's eyes. I had planned it all out. What I was going to say. What I was going to do. I'd even rehearsed it in front of a mirror once. But for all that, put on the spot, they fled me like water leaking through a sieve.

Leaving me there standing dumbly as the others stared at me, the moment stretching on until it started to become unbearable, but nothing came out of my mind..

"Hold on." I saw Yui shoulder her way past Tetsutetesu and Yoarashi. "I'd recognize that voice anywhere."

She was… really short. I remembered always being a head taller than her when we were younger, but she didn't even come up to my shoulder now.

"Huh." She tilted her head to the side, looking me up and down. "I don't know what I expected."

"..." I hesitated, still unsure of what to say.

"Let me guess, it didn't occur to you that they wouldn't recognize you?"

"Uh…"

I wasn't really sure what I was about to say, but whatever it was was interrupted by her throwing her arms around my midsection, pressing her head into my chest as she hugged me close.

"You big dumb idiot."

"Wait…" Itsuka blinked slowly, realization dawning on her face. "...Ryuuzaki? Is that you?"

"Um. Yeah."

As soon as the words left my mouth, the world erupted in an explosion of noise, exclamations of shock and questions.

"Holy shit."

"Wait, but I thought-"

"Is that why-"

"Oh, wow."

"Why didn't-"

"So that's what-"

"-Eeeeeeeeeeeee-"

All of that, however, flew by me as a pair of yelling orange and blonde missiles slammed into me and Yui, enveloping us in a flying tackle-group hug.

It lasted for only a fraction of a second before my already-fragile balance was sent careening over the tipping point, stumbling and then falling backwards like a tree trunk, landing on my back with a hefty thud, the group hug transitioning into more like a group pile.

Tokage, a few steps behind Itsuka and Pony, hesitated for a few moments- and that was when an errant, floating horn gave her a push between the shoulder blades, sending her stumbling into the heap as well.

I allowed myself to relax into the embrace, tension slowly bleeding off of my shoulders.

My friends piled on top of me, laughing, squirming, hugging me- it was...

It was nice. It felt genuinely good.

I swept the four of them into my arms and then struggled to my feet, lifting them in the air. Pony was still babbling a semi-incoherent but happy stream of english while Itsuka was beaming broadly and even Yui returned the embrace with a slight but content smile. For her part Tokage seemed a mix of glad and confused, as if her brain was struggling to catch up with what was happening.

"Is that really you?"

"Yep!" I smiled, squeezing them tight, followed by a lot of protesting and flailing limbs.

"Ribs ribs ribs ribs!"

"Sorry." I relaxed my arms, letting them fall out of my hold to the ground- a drop of about a foot or so.

Pony stumbled on her hooves, disorientated, blinking up at me a few times, before smiling and throwing her arms around my midsection with a loud squee, rubbing her cheek against me.

"You're really here!"

"Yeah," I said, gently patting her in the back. "I am."

"But how?" Tokage questioned, still looking as if she was in a daze. "I thought you couldn't turn back?"

"Well. Um. It's a long story." I stuttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "But during the battle… there was somebody I couldn't save as a dragon."

An awkward pause followed, everyone just kind of looking at each other, unsure of what to say to that.

"Well, that's our Vice-President for you!" Monoma exclaimed, breaking the silence. "As expected of her."

"And yet you guys didn't even recognize your own VP." I crossed my arms and shook my head in mock indignation.

"I did!" Itsuka exclaimed, puffing a little. "It just… took a bit. I remember the old pictures when we were over at your house, but you look… different."

"Yeah!" Tetsutetsu agreed enthusiastically, looking up at me. "What the heck have they been feeding you- nothing but raw meat for the last three years?"

"The meat wasn't… raw," I replied lamely, but the others nonetheless apparently found it hilarious, erupting into laughter.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. This was fine.

My classmates crowded around me, offering congratulations, well-wishes and pats on the back.

"Tatsuma! I knew you would pull through!"

Yoarashi tried to offer me a hand to clasp but I used it to pull him into an embrace as well. Out of my classmates, besides Bondo he was the only one to even approach me in height, but that didn't stop me from lifting him clean off the ground.

"Nope, you're getting hugged too." I told him as he let out a pained wheeze, but still reciprocated the hug with his customary enthusiasm. "Don't think I've forgotten about that fire cyclone."

"A-ah!" He rasped breathlessly, before I let go of him. "A real Hero… will always find a way to help their friends!"

"Even if it means working with Shoto Todoroki?"

"It seems that I may have underestimated him!" Yarashi exclaimed with a laugh, throwing back his head. "He has some spark in him, if nothing else." He shook his head, adopting a more serious expression. "You were right. A Hero's role is to save others, not judge them. If it meant getting you back, I would have worked with Endeavour if I had to."

"I'm… glad to be back." I said, rubbing my arm. "It's just a lot to take in."

"I can't even imagine." Kuroiro said. "Coma patients often have to spend months if not years in rehabilitation."

"Yeah. Well, not quite that bad. They have to deal with physical degr- degradation." I felt the flush of embarrassment on my face as I stuttered the word. "Thanks to my Quirk, I'm still in perfect shape."

"Yeah, we noticed." Tsubaraba noted.

"So, um, I just need to get used to being human again. I mean, that's still a lot to deal with. It's… hard. Like talking. Dragons don't have lips, so the sounds are formed in the throat." I fidgeted in place, feeling everyone's eyes on me. "But, um, I think Vlad King wanted to say a few things? Before we got started with moving in?"

"Indeed." Vlad King took the cue, clapping his hands together and drawing all eyes on him. It had been his idea- he'd told me in the car that if things got too much, if I felt like I was being overwhelmed, I could nudge the conversation forward and he'd take over to give me a little bit of breathing room.

"I am glad to see all of you were able to acquire parental permission to attend." He began, standing on the steps leading up to the house. "In a moment, I'll give you a brief overview of your future dorms, and then you can get started on moving in. But before that, I wanted to say a few words."

He clasped his hands behind his back, glancing across the crowd of students.

"All-Might has retired."

It was such an obvious statement. Of course he had. Everyone had seen the broadcast- even I, as I had been loaded onto a special ambulance truck to be evacuated.

"It's your turn now."

But to hear it spoken so clearly, so matter-of-factly…

"We placed all of our hopes, all of our burdens, upon one man. And now he can no longer bear them. So it falls to us to step up. Now, more than ever, your education is of the highest priority. On the night of the attack upon the Training Camp, I was proud to see you conduct yourselves in a manner befitting Heroes. I wish, however, that I could say the same about the events of the night after. Kendo. Tokage. Tsunotori. Yoarashi." Each name fell from his lips like a writ of execution, the mood of the gathering instantly turning into nervous foreboding.

Nobody dared to say a word.

"On the night of the Kamino battle, instead of returning home as ordered, you decided to go out and search for Tatsuma yourselves. You lied to UA that you had arranged to be picked up by your parents, while simultaneously telling them you were being held in the hospital overnight. You took the law into your own hands by running head-first into the middle of the largest Pro-Hero operation in the last ten years. You abused the trust placed upon you and went against both explicit instructions and everything you have been taught at this academy. I expected better of you. Especially you, Kendo. As Class President, you are entrusted to look after the Class in my absence. I am disappointed."

"But- but the pros didn't know about the second hideout." Pony argued, crossing her arms. "If we hadn't done that- nobody would have found them!"

"Did you?" Vlad King asked simply. "Did you know about the second hideout?"

"Well, no-"

"Then how did you find it?"

Silence reigned.

"Tokage?"

"We, um, we lost the location of the first hideout. So we… started searching."

"You stumbled upon the second hideout by accident, while making illegal searches with unauthorized use of your Quirks." Vlad King stated flatly. "Then, instead of calling it in or warning anyone about the Nomu, you decided to break into the hideout of the most dangerous villain in Japan, narrowly missing him again through sheer random chance."

"We knew what we were getting into." Yoarashi replied defiantly, as Pony nodded. "We accepted the consequences."

"Did you now? What do you think All For One would have done with you, had you decided to enter only a few minutes earlier?"

"He… would have taken our Quirks," Pony said. "Or killed us."

Vlad King sighed in disappointment. "Think, Tsunotori. I know you are smarter than this."

"All For One… would have had eight hostages, instead of two," Itsuka mumbled, her eyes downcast.

"And more importantly, he would have known the Heroes were coming. Armed with these factors, he would have turned the raid into a slaughter." He turned away slightly. "It was a near enough thing already. Would we be standing here, mourning All-Might's retirement? Or would we be attending his funeral?"

Pony made a choking noise.

"You are in training to become Heroes, so you need to understand this: the consequences of your actions do not stop at you. When you take risks, it's not just yourselves you're putting in danger, but your fellow Heroes and, inevitably, innocent civilians. Did they know the risks as well? Did they accept them?"

"We-well, it didn't happen."

"Does a drunk driver need to hit anyone to deserve punishment?" Vlad King asked pointedly, stepping closer. "Or does success vindicate any amount of risks taken to reach the end result? Is that how you believe a Hero should think?"

Pony bowed her head, her gaze squarely at her feet.

"By all rights, I should expel you four, and then all the rest of you save Tatsuma, for not stopping this." Vlad King shook his head slowly. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off before I could even say anything. "But, I have been persuaded otherwise. You did eventually call in the proper authorities, and in the end you avoided engaging the villains directly. So, in this new world we live in, without All-Might, it has been decided that you should be afforded leniency."

I saw the others glance around at each other with a mixture of relief and nervousness.

"However, even if the school will not take disciplinary action, that still leaves the four of you to answer for unlawful Quirk usage and interfering with a law enforcement operation. A detective will be by to talk to you tomorrow, but I've been told that you shouldn't expect more than a warning and a permanent mark on your records."

"But-" Pony began, but Vlad King didn't allow her to finish.

"You told me just now that you accepted the consequences of your actions from that night. Are you now refusing to accept what amounts to a comparative slap on the wrist?"

She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she shook her head.

Vlad King swept his gaze across the class and nodded. "Now. Onto the reason we're here. These are the Heights Alliance." He explained, turning around to gesture towards the row of huge buildings. "One dormitory per class, in alphabetical order. 1-A is to our left, 1-C and onwards to our right. Follow me."

He led us up the stone steps leading up to the front door, a metal guard rail running alongside the path. I drew a lot of weird looks as I walked with one hand on it for support.

"Is that- ohhh I get it." Tsubaraba wondered aloud. "You're probably more used to walking on four legs."

"And with a tail for a counterweight" I mumbled. "Frankly, I want to go back in time and give whichever of our ancestors decided it was a good idea a piece of my mind, because this is ridiculous."

I pushed myself off of the rail to walk the last five or so meters to the front door, managing to only wobble on my legs once along the way until I caught a hold of the doorframe.

The inside of the dormitories was as grandiose as the outside, as we entered into a vast ring-shaped room encircling the entire building, lined with couches, televisions, tables and more. At the center of the building was an enclosed outdoors courtyard with bushes and grass visible through the ceiling-height windows.

"This is your common area. Kitchens, laundry rooms, dining areas, showers and baths can be found here," He said, gesturing at the doors lining the outside of the ring-shaped room. "And yes, those last two are separated by gender."

"Damn, the first floor alone is bigger than our entire house." Kuroiro whistled. "And this is just the common areas?"

Slowly, the sullen atmosphere that had dominated the group began to fade, as people started to take in our new living space.

"The upper floors are separated into two wings. Left for boys, right for girls. Eight rooms per floor, up to the fifth. Your room assignments are on the wall." He gestured towards a pair of placards mounted above each elevator, displaying the layout of the building. I peered closer, looking for my own name.

Second floor, fourth room on the right.

"One student per room, you've got refrigerators, air conditioning, closets and a private bathroom. The luggage you sent out ahead has already been delivered to your rooms." Vlad King continued, turning on his heel to regard us. "Today is for moving in and getting your rooms in order. Owing to everything that has happened, it has been decided that you should be allocated some time to acclimatize yourselves with your new living conditions, and as such classes will only resume next week. There will be some official activities as well, but you should take this time to establish a routine and get used to living together. You've been classmates for nearly half a year now, but as housemates you will be seeing each other a lot more. Curfew times and other basic rules are on the common room table, and a copy has been delivered to each of your rooms, but for the rest you should work with your Class Presidents to establish things like laundry rotations and sharing use of the kitchens."

-----

A few minutes later I stepped off of the elevator on the second floor, into a well-lit hallway, one side covered in a wall-spanning glass window showing the inner courtyard and the common areas and the other lined with four large doors, evenly spaced.

Belatedly, I realized Tokage had gotten off the elevator, as she stepped past me.

"You're on the second floor as well?"

"Yeah…" She trailed off, still looking downcast. "There's eight of us girls and four rooms each across four floors, so that's two per floor."

I hesitated as she walked towards her door on the other end of the row, trying to figure out what to say. When she turned the handle I finally just forced myself to blurt it out.

"Tokage?"

"What is it?"

"I wanted to say, um... thank you."

"I don't think Vlad King thinks we did anything worth being thankful for." She replied sullenly.

"Vlad King… he means well. I think he's just looking at the big picture." I sighed. "I'm not going to say he doesn't have a point… about what could have happened. But all the same, you guys came back for me. And I can't not- I appreciate what you did for me, is what I'm trying to say. So... thank you."

I paused for a moment, drumming my fingers against the drywall. I glanced at her face, at the too-pale patches of skin, the white streaks amidst her green hair.

"But not just that. Even before it… when Shigaraki was about to kill me." I looked away, the image of fingers reaching out for my face rising unbidden to the fore of my mind, the smell of preserved, dead flesh filling my nostrils.

"Even though it meant being disintegrated over and over. You saved my life."

"Well. You're welcome." She turned away, but I could see her smile, red creeping up the tips of her ears. "I just did what I thought was right."

I nodded, turning towards my own room, but just before her door closed I heard her pause.

"Tatsuma?"

"Yes?"

"After everything... you should call me Setsuna."

"Then call me Ryuuzaki."

-----

Several minutes later, I found myself still in the hallway, staring at a wooden mahogany door, the letters "Ryuuzaki Tatsuma" stamped onto a metal nameplate.

Come on. It's just a room.

After a few more heartbeats of indecision I turned the handle, opening the door.

It was a room.

A normal-sized room.

I swallowed.

Slipping inside, I saw the extra-length bed Ryuko had ordered, placed in the far corner of the room, A row of cabinets along the inner wall, and a basic desk opposite to them below a window. Several plastic storage boxes were piled in the middle of the room, and a small door led to a balcony.

I tried not to look at the ceiling, but that didn't make it go away. It stayed there, a presence I was constantly aware of at the back of my mind.

Trying my best to ignore it I walked up to the stack of boxes, carefully picking the topmost one up into my hands. The trick was, I'd learned, to just take it slowly. That way you can compensate if the weight isn't what you expect it to be.

I popped the lid open and started pulling out the clothes packed inside, before folding them and tossing them into one of the cabinets. Same kind goes on the same shelf, not that I had many kinds of clothing.

Rinse and repeat.

...

Eventually I couldn't take it anymore. I glanced upwards.

Immediately, I felt my throat tighten, my breaths becoming shallow. The ceiling felt both at once oppressively, claustrophobically close, and far, far too distant, as though I was an insect scuttling at the floor of some vast cavern.

I shook my head slowly, trying to make it stop spinning.

It's just a room.

I returned to putting my clothes away, but my hands didn't feel real. It was like I was watching a recording from behind someone else's eyes.

Slowly, methodically I picked up each piece and folded them up, focusing on the repetitive mechanical task. It helped. It felt real.

The feeling of the fabric beneath my fingers was real. It was solid, tangible. It didn't break when I squeezed it. I felt my eyes moisten as I ran my fingers over the cloth while I folded it, feeling the soft fabric, the seams, the hard metal of the zippers, the glossy, smooth surface of the letters and images...

It was a wealth of sensations I'd half-forgotten, to the point that I hadn't even known what I was missing.

Eventually I was startled out of my fugue by a sharp knock of knuckles on wood from the door.

"Uh, come in," I said, quickly wiping my eyes on my sleeve. How long had I spent there, crying over a few pieces of cloth?

The door creaked open, Pony peering inside, quickly followed by Itsuka, Yui, and To- Setsuna.

"Hi!" Pony exclaimed, bouncing on her hooves as she looked around the room. "We wanted to come in and check how you were doing, since we were mostly finished with our rooms."

Had it really been that long?

"Oh, you know, just taking my time," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Wouldn't want to break anything."

"You know all you need is to ask," Yui stated evenly. "We'd be happy to help."

"Oh, no, thank you, but if I don't do it I'm never going to get used to it. And besides, I'm almost finished."

"Really? Because it sure looks like you've only unpacked some clothes."

"I don't… exactly have a lot of things besides clothing. And, um, there's not really any point in unpacking my computer or miniature kits, I, ah, wouldn't be able to use them right now anyway..." I trailed off.

"Ah," Itsuka said, with a bit of worry in her expression. "That… sucks. Have you been to physical therapy yet?"

"Well, um, I attended one session," I said, looking away. "They had these… plastic puzzle box things. Meant to help with fine motor skills. I, ah, I broke all of them and they kicked me out. So I've mostly been practicing on my own, and I'm starting PT with Hound Dog tomorrow. A-anyway, if you guys really want to help, I guess you could put up Ryuko's posters." I said, nodding towards one of the boxes still lying on the floor. "I'm going to hang them on every wall and door, and put the plushies and figures on my desk."

"You have an entire box of Ryukyu merchandise?" Itsuka questioned as she peered inside it, picking up a fully articulated action figure of Ryuko's dragon form. "Some of this is limited edition stuff, not easy to come by. Or cheap."

"Yeah, well, sibling privilege," I replied, crossing my arms. "Ryuko's contract stipulates she gets preview samples so that she can approve what's being made under her name and brand, but she's embarrassed by her own merchandise so she gives it to me once she's checked it out. Joke's on her though, now she's too embarrassed to come into my room."

"Why would you want to stop your sister from coming to your room?" Itsuka asked.

"Spoken like an only child," Setsuna said, elbowing her as she moved to pick up one of the posters. "Do you have pins somewhere?"

"There's a pack of blu-tack somewhere in the box," I replied. "I'm not a barbarian."

She rolled her eyes, but she was grinning as she went to hang the posters up.

"Is this… really all of your wardrobe?" Pony asked, glancing at my half-unpacked clothes. "It's just hoodies, t-shirts and cargo pants."

"Well, none of my old clothes exactly fit me. I have some of Dad's old things, and Ryuko got me some of her merchandise that she had lying around. But, um, it's hard to get stuff that fits me without going to a tailor."

"You haven't been clothes shopping since you came back?" Setsuna asked with a mixture of curiosity and slight horror.

"Well… I wasn't quite sure if I was…"

"We could make it into a group thing!" Pony exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. "A shopping trip!"

"Um…"

Before I could say anything, I heard the distinct pitter-patter of feet running down the hallway outside, accompanied by Komori's excited voice.

"1-A came to visit! Come to the common room!"

"Oh! We should go see them." Itsuka said. "They probably heard about, well, you."

"I can finish unpacking later." I said, pushing away the box containing my clothes, and getting to my feet. "There's something I need to do first."

-----

"Urrrk!"

"Come on, Kirishima, aren't you disgracing your manly spirit there?" Tetsutetsu ribbed his friend, looking up at us.

"True manliness… is not something so easily compromised!"

I gave the red-haired boy one last squeeze before setting him down on the floor again.

"Thank you." I smiled. "For what you guys did. I mean it."

"Anytime." Kirishima grinned up at me. "That's what heroes are for."

As Tetsutetsu dragged him off, hand over his shoulders and giving him a noogie, I took a look around. The common room was bustling with activity, people from both classes mingling together.

"It is wonderful to see you in good health!" Iida exclaimed as he and Uraraka approached us, offering me an enthusiastic if stiff handshake. "I only regret not being able to do more at the Camp."

"Ah, well, it's all in the past now." I replied, rubbing the back of my head nervously. "It's nothing to worry about."

"We were all worried about you and Bakugo." Uraraka said quietly. "It was good to hear you made it out okay. We just weren't, um, expecting this. What happened?"

"It's… a long story." I said slowly, trying to find the right words. "I-"

"Ah, sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Uraraka smiled, shaking her head. "You've probably been asked about it a million times already."

"It's alright." I smiled slightly, trying to seem upbeat. "I just… I'd rather not go back to that place… over and over."

"We understand!" Iida said, making a chopping motion with his hand. "We won't bother you about it! Come on Uraraka, let's go talk to the others."

Over the next few minutes, several others from 1-A approached me to offer their congratulations or express their happiness at seeing that I was alright. Tokoyami, Yayorozu, Ojiro, and others- it was more than I had ever expected.

But it wasn't a bad kind of unexpected. It made me feel… warm.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kaminari making his way towards us through the crowd, his eyes widening a little as I turned around and he got a good look at me.

"Whoa there." He tilted his head back with a suave grin and a wink, finger-gunning up at me. "You got a license to carry those kinds of guns?"

"But I don't… have any firearms?" I tilted my head in genuine confusion.

Kaminari blinked, momentarily stupefied by my response. Itsuka took advantage of the opening to step between us, shooing him away while taking me by the arm. She dragged me off towards a quieter part of the room while I tried to make sense of what just happened.

Wait.

'Guns'.

Did I… just get flirted at?

…

…

Ryuuzaki.exe has experienced a crash. Please reboot.

"Ryuuzaki?" Yui asked, waving a hand in front of me. "Ground control to Ryuuzaki, please respond."

I felt my face heat up like an oven, falling on my butt with a thump and burying my head in my hands.

"Oh god." I mumbled, the scene playing out in my head over and over. "Oh god."

"Ah." She noted drily. "So you're not totally oblivious, just running on a delay timer."

"Ssh. It's okay." Itsuka said, patting me in the back while giving Yui a death glare.

I just groaned in pure embarrassment.

"It's not like you've never dealt with romantic prospects before." Yui reminded me glibly. "You were quite the heartbreaker in middle school, if I recall."

"That was different!" I squeaked, trying to burrow my head deeper into my arms. "That was just… schoolyard crushes. Because my sister was famous. Nobody's ever been interested in me before."

"Well, if you ask certain corners of the internet-"

"Shut up, Setsuna." Itsuka snapped before crouching to my level, smiling sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Ryuuzaki. I know… this must be weird and upsetting to you. But you are a tall, athletic and yes, attractive young woman, you will be dealing with that sort of attention wherever you go, whether or not you want to."

"The muscles make you look older than you are."

"Thank you for that insight, Yui. Very helpful." She sighed.

"It's embarrassing." I whined.

"Why?" Setsuna asked. "You're buff as heck, nothing embarrassing about that. It's your body that you've worked for, you gotta own it."

"I'm not embarrassed about my body." I said, crossing my hands. "I'm embarrassed about people f-flirting at me."

"Well, don't be."

"Gee, thanks. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Let me finish, you big lug." She shushed me, giving me a flick on the nose before leaning back, hands on her hips and giving me a sharp-toothed grin. "What I was going to say is, take pride in who you are. How people react to it reflects on them, not you."

"I guess." I evaded, looking away. It wasn't… as easy as that. But I wasn't about to bring that up aloud.

"I'm… going to go to the toilet." I mumbled, getting up. "I'll be back."

Just need a moment to gather myself.

The others glanced at each other, but a sharp head movement from Itsuka dissuaded them from following me.

"Tatsuma?" As I rounded the corner, I heard a small, subdued voice come from behind my back. I turned on my heel to see Izuku Midoriya. "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

I paused. Now was really not the time… but then, when would it?

"Let's… go talk somewhere else."

Using one hand on the wall as a support I took us to one of the side rooms, which turned out to be a laundry room when I flicked the lights on. There was a row of washing machines on one side, cabinets presumably containing supplies on the other, and laundry bins and racks in the middle.

I shut the door behind us, and when I turned around I found Midoriya performing a stiff, full-body bow, hands clasped to his sides and gaze lowered to the floor.

"I wish to apologize for everything that you went through during your captivity. I accept full responsibility."

"Hey. No. It wasn't your fault." I stuttered, raising my hands, palms open towards the smaller boy. "None of it was your fault."

"I fell to the villains' trap." He mumbled, and even with his head lowered I could see hot tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

"They went after your childhood friend." I said quietly. "I can't… claim to understand your bond with Bakugo, but clearly, he is important to you. The League knew that, too. They used that against you." As gently as I could, I put a hand on Midoriya's shoulder and pushed him to stand. "If it had been Yui… I can't say that I would have acted any different."

"But I am the carrier of One For All." He sniffed, wiping away tears. "All-Might's chosen successor, like you said, back on I-Island. I have to be better. I-if I screw up… it's others who pay the price."

I said nothing for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"Do you think that All-Might never made any mistakes?"

"Of course he didn't! He's All-Might! He- he…" He trailed off, hesitating.

"What about the secret of One For All?" I asked quietly. "Would you say that All-Might made a mistake in failing to keep your identity as his successor secret?"

"W-well you can't expect him to- He had no way to know-"

"Huh." I said, twiddling my fingers. "So if you can't expect somebody to be able to avoid something… they're not at fault for it. Imagine that."

"B-but-"

"But you're going to hold yourself to a higher standard than All-Might?" I asked, my eyes narrowing, unable to keep a slight grin off my face. "Isn't that… kinda arrogant? Like you're thinking you're better than him?"

Midoriya deflated like a balloon, acknowledging his defeat.

"Even if I could be forgiven for what happened... when Kirishima and Todoroki offered the chance, I didn't come on the mission to save you and Bakugo." He admitted, guilt filling his voice. "I refused, when offered the chance."

I sighed as I sat down on one of the laundry bins, the metal creaking slightly under my weight. Idly, I noted that sitting down, I was about eye-level with Midoriya standing up.

"Do you remember what they taught us in Rescue Training? About the first thing you need to do when saving someone who's drowning?"

"We, um, we kind of missed that one. With the whole USJ attack." Midoriya mumbled quietly, shaking his head. "Aizawa has been meaning to schedule a remedial lesson, but…"

"Ah. Well." I floundered for a moment, gathering my thoughts. "The first thing you do is make sure you aren't going to drown yourself. The worst thing you can do is become the second victim, so that others need to rescue two people. You were still injured, and under guard. What if you were seen sneaking out of the hospital, and the others were caught and stopped because of that."

"That's what All-Might said." Midoriya said, averting his gaze. "Well, not in those words. But he came to talk to me in the hospital. He forbade me from going out to search for you." He mumbled, tears threatening to return. "He made me swear not to. He told me… that the best way that I could help… was to do nothing."

"Well, he is All-Might." I said. "I think he knows what he's talking about. Sometimes… even a Hero needs to know when not to do something."

We sat in silence for a long while, digesting those words.

"I still wish I could have done more."

"Me too."

"But.. you were the one who was captured?" He said, turning to look at me.

"Yeah. And sometimes, I let myself wonder… what if I was a little bit faster? If I'd caught on a little bit sooner… maybe I could have avoided capture. Maybe All-Might… would still be active."

"But-but-" Midoriya began, sounding horrified. "You couldn't have-"

"Yeah. I did what I could. It's not my fault, and all that." I trailed off, shaking my head. "I don't know. But if I'm not allowed to feel bad about that, then you're not allowed to, either."

I meant to poke him in the chest, but I ended up pushing him over, sending him sprawling on the floor.

"Uh… sorry."

"It's fine. I know what it's like, believe me." He smiled a little as he took my proffered hand and I pulled him to his feet. "But I think I understand what you're saying." He looked around. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I smiled down at him, pulling him into a one handed half-hug. "If you ever want to talk… well, I'm here."

-----

"There you are, Ryuuzaki!" Pony waved over to me as I returned to the common room. "Where did you disappear off to? Come on, we're getting something to eat."

The crowds seemed to have dispersed a little as people returned to their rooms and 1-A to their own dormitory, but those who remained seemed to have decided to grab dinner together. A large dining table had been dragged to the middle of the room, laden with food and surrounded with people from both classes, talking to each other, seemingly just having fun together.

"We saved you a plate!" Pony exclaimed brightly, patting an empty seat next to her. I sat down hesitantly, trying not to bang my knees against the underside of the table.

What I found in front of me was a cup of rice and chicken sauce, and a pair of chopsticks.

This… was going to be an issue.

I glanced up to find the rest of the table looking at me or trying not to make it look like they were looking at me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that we were talking…" Uraraka trained off.

"We've all seen you eat as a dragon, so we were curious about your reaction to normal food." Yanagi finished for her.

Well, no pressure or anything.

Carefully, I took up the chopsticks, trying my hardest not to just snap them in half as I picked up a piece of chicken.

Slowly. Slooowly. Like you practiced.

And now-

My fingers slipped, and a piece of chicken smacked wetly against my cheek, leaving behind a trail of sauce as it fell onto my lap.

I wanted to cry.

Slowly and methodically, with the weight of everyone's eyes on me, I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, picked up the piece of chicken, dropped it back on the cup and then pushed it away.

"I don't think this is going to work."

"Is something wrong?" Uraraka asked, her expression worried.

"I've been a giant quadrupedal reptile with negligible tactile senses and massive claws for fingers for the better part of three years." I explained, trying not to let my frustration color my speech, but I was pretty sure it was written large across my face anyway. "Fine motor skills are not my strongest suit."

"Oh." She replied quietly. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's like… imagine your left hand was swapped out for your right hand, and vice versa. And you just woke up after falling asleep with your arms held over your head. It feels like that. Except all the time. And five times worse."

"Ahaha… maybe chopsticks aren't the best idea." Pony laughed nervously, moving to stand up. "I'll get you a spoon?"

"It's fine. I ate before Vlad King picked me up."

"Well…" She drummed her fingers on the table, before her eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh! I saw some ice cream in the back of the freezer!"

I paused. A part of me wanted to just head upstairs and try to forget this whole incident never happened. But...

"...Ice cream, you say?" I let out, despite myself. "I haven't had any since..."

"I'll go get some!" Pony said, springing up. "You like ice cream sandwiches, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's been a week now and you haven't tried out ice cream yet?" Kaibara asked. "Man, that'd be the first thing I'd do, try all the foods."

"It's been a busy week." I said, crossing my arms defensively. "I've had to talk to doctors, police, lawyers, physical therapists, nutritionists, teachers, and seemingly everyone under the sun. I've had to get used to having a human body again, process the fact that I nearly died and oh also All-Might is gone, relearn how to walk on two legs, move out of the only home I've known for nearly sixteen years... It's a lot."

A moment later Pony returned from the kitchen, skipping over to me.

"Here you go!" She exclaimed as she handed me the sandwich.

"Um, thank you, Pony." I said slowly, looking down at it. The cold felt tingly against my skin.

"It's rude to drool, you know." Yui noted drily.

Despite myself I glanced down, before shooting her a dirty look.

"Well, you looked like you were about to."

I just shook my head and bit into the sandwich, before closing my eyes, sighing, and leaning back as my mouth filled up with the taste of vanilla and cookie dough goodness. I could- I could actually taste it properly, feel the texture of the sandwich as it melted in my mouth.

I was jolted back into awareness by a flash of light, and as I blinked away the brightness I saw Pony holding up a phone camera, smiling broadly.

"Okay, that was adorable."

"Are you seriously filming me right now?" I asked, feeling the tips of my ears heat up.

"I just wanted to capture the moment!" Pony replied happily, dancing away as I reached to grab her phone.

"It was pretty dang cute." Setsuna grinned, accompanied by varied noises of approval.

"Stop objectifying me!"

"I am objectifying your objective cuteness!" Pony laughed, dodging another attempt to take the phone whilst I nearly tripped on my feet, before bringing up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll delete it if you really want me to, but at least check it out first."

She stepped closer, holding up the phone screen towards me. It still felt surreal to see my own body, as if it didn't quite feel real, like I was looking at an illustration or something. My eyes were closed in contentment, my features displaying almost childlike glee as I devoured the ice cream. I looked, in that captured instant, happy.

"...Okay." I eventually admitted. "It is a cute picture.'

-----

While the others cleaned up the plates I ended up with nothing to contribute to the collective effort, not wanting to risk our brand-new dinnerware. So, as to avoid getting in the way, I found myself wandering around the common area, trying to decide if I should head upstairs when I caught sight of a familiar figure.

"Shoto!"

"Ah, Ryuuzaki." The split-haired boy smiled slightly as he turned his head and saw me approaching. "I heard about Kirishima. I suppose it is my turn, then?"

"Yep!" I exclaimed brightly, pushing off of the high-backed chair I'd been using as a support and sweeping him up into a hug as well.

He felt a bit stiff, and for a moment I began to worry that I'd overstepped, pressured him into something he wasn't comfortable with, but then he loosened up ever so slightly, awkwardly patting me in the back.

"Thank you." I said as I put him down.

"It was nothing."

"Don't say it was nothing." I shook my head down at him. "All For One… was about to kill me. I thought- I thought I was going to die." My voice hitched and I turned away, feeling something burning in the corners of my eyes. "All-Might would never have found me in time if it wasn't for you guys. So please don't say it was nothing. It was something… to me."

"I see." He nodded quietly. "Then I will say… you're welcome. I'm just glad to see you are alright."

I wiped my eyes, feeling a flush of embarrassment rise up on my face. What was it with all the waterworks today?

"I noticed you talking to Midoriya." Shoto said it casually, almost deliberately so. "You know, there's something I've been thinking about since that night."

I felt my heart suddenly sink.

"You and I were the only ones there, who saw that Midoriya was the real target of the kidnapping. Even Bakugo was just a way for them to draw him in. The authorities know it too- they had an entire squad of Heroes on standby outside his room when we saw him in the hospital." He wrung out his hands. "And I just haven't been able to get it out of my head. Why? Why him? But then it all clicked together. You've figured it out as well, haven't you?"

Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

What do I say?

"Midoriya… is All-Might's son."

…wait, what?

"It's the only explanation, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. At first I thought it was just normal hero worship. Everyone looks up to All-Might. I di- I do, too. But Midoriya takes it a step beyond. And I've noticed during training that All-Might seems to pay extra attention to him as well. It's as if they have some sort of a special connection."

I couldn't help but stare at him as he carried on through his explanation, feeling an intense sense of deja vu.

"Then today, I saw a picture of Midoriya's mother when he was moving his stuff in. He inherited his eyes and hair from her, not his father. I asked him about it, and he said he's a businessman, working overseas. Wouldn't that be the perfect cover story? And then there's his Quirk. It's nearly- no, it is identical to All-Might's. It all lines together. All-Might is Midoriya's father."

What do I even say to that?

"W-well, um, the thing is…" I stammered hesitantly, trying to figure out how to even begin to respond.

I can't tell him. It's not my secret.

But I can't pretend like I don't know what he's talking about, either. Not after the way I already reacted.

I felt a well of anger rising in my chest, mostly directed at myself. If I'd just stayed composed I could have pretended I had no idea.

God, what is it with me today? Any little thing and I just lose it.

Shoto merely raised a quizzical eyebrow at my antics, before his eyes widened in realization. "Ah. I understand. You've been sworn to secrecy." He nodded gravely. "I understand. I won't share this with anyone."

I just blinked dumbly as he turned to walk away, towards the main doors.

"I won't bother you any longer; I am sure you have a lot to do with your own dorm room."

"Yeah… see you." I mumbled quietly.

...what the fuck was that.

-----

Shoto wasn't wrong in that I had things to do, and several hours later I had finally managed to finish unpacking the majority of my boxes, leaving just the miniature stuff and my computer, which I'd pushed beneath my bed.

It still didn't feel right, but it had gotten easier to ignore, with Ryuko's posters on every door and wall. Setsuna had even taken my instructions to heart and tacked them onto the ceiling- an addition that I whole-heartedly approved of.

So, after a long day, I laid down on my bed to sleep.

And laid there.

And kept laying there.

It didn't feel right. I felt disorientated, like I was lying on top of a rickety tower about to tip over at any moment. The way the bed frame creaked and shifted with my movements did nothing to help the feeling that I was about to fall.

I threw my mattress on the floor, but it still didn't feel right. I felt like I was sinking into the thing, so I threw it away, wrapping myself in my blanket instead.

That felt better.

Better was not the same as good, though.

I tossed and turned, but no position seemed comfortable. I tried sleeping on my stomach, but yeah we're not doing that. Instinctively, I tried to curl up, but human spines proved to be frustratingly stiff and inflexible.

Eventually, I ended up just laying there on my back, looking up at Ryuko's poster.

Wide awake.

 

[Blackout]

So.

First of all, I wanted to say that I'm really sorry about the extended absence. Haven't really been in a good headspace to focus on writing. As you might remember, I went on hiatus in April-June to prepare for entrance exams, law school to be specific. And... I didn't get in. I was two points short. A sentence or two of text shy of a life-changing event. So... yeah. But anyway, I'm back, and hopefully next update will come by a lot quicker.

-----

Left, right, left, right, left, right. One in front of the other. Left, right...

The treadmill buzzed softly beneath me, the rubber material flexing softly under my feet with each step, the empty gym echoing with my footsteps.

Left, right, left, right...

It felt like I was in a continuous falling motion forward, each step staving off collapse.

"Tatsuma." Hound Dog's scratchy voice cut through my thoughts. "Your hands."

I blinked, focusing my eyes on my hands.

My hands, which were clutching the handles of the treadmill like my life depended on it, powerful forearm muscles bulging as my knuckles slowly turned white.

"Oh."

I relaxed my deathgrip and stepped off the treadmill, wincing as I saw the small impressions on the metal left behind by my fingers.

"Sorry."

"You have nothin' to be sorry about."

Hound Dog was a large, broad-shouldered man only a few centimeters shorter than myself, with a canine muzzle and skin covered in short brown fur, a wild blonde mane that spiked in all directions reaching down to his shoulders. Beady black eyes stared back at me intensely, his sharp teeth flashing as he spoke with a deep, growling voice that seemed at odds with his words.

"But I damaged the treadmill." I mumbled, averting my gaze.

"The treadmill is here for you, not the other way around." He grunted, slapping the side of the machine. "Are you up to keep going?"

"I guess…"

"Alright. Now, you need to widen your gait. You're not walkin' on a tightrope, so spread your stance a little, it'll give you some stability."

"But… when I lift one foot, won't that…?"

"It might seem a little backwards, but that's how the human hips are made. Try it, and it might surprise you."

A little wary, I returned to the treadmill and took up position. Hound Dog flicked it on again and I started walking.

Left, right, left, right…

"See, you're doing great." He gave me a thumbs up after a few minutes. "Bend your knees a little more. Yes, like that. Good."

Slowly, I was starting to settle into the rhythm. Walking on two legs still felt unnatural, like trying to balance a bucket of water on top of a broomhandle, but… it was getting easier. Running was a distant pipe dream, but I was getting the hang of slow, measured steps.

I focused on the rhythm. Left, right, left, right. Rise and fall. Thump and swish. Over and over.

…

Suddenly, my eyes flew open- when had I closed them? -and I realized I was falling. I nearly ripped off the treadmill handles as I caught myself, recovering from the stumble. Heat crept up my cheeks as I realized I'd nodded off right in the middle of therapy, but if he'd noticed Hound Dog didn't comment on it.

"Stumbles happen. To everyone."

After that, while I tried to keep going my focus was all over the place, my mind circling back to that moment of embarrassment. Distracted, I kept making more and more mistakes and small stumbles, which in turn made me more embarrassed and flustered, until finally it happened.

Left, right, lef-

I tripped on my legs with all the grace of a newborn giraffe, the treadmill sweeping my feet under me as I lost my grip on the handles. I went down like a log, landing on my back with a hefty thump and a crack, followed by a screeching sound as something in the treadmill's machinery broke apart.

I sighed deeply as Hound Dog reached over to turn the treadmill off, pulling myself to a sitting position, feeling like utter shit.

"I think we should call the treadmill practice here for now." He said, glancing at the wrecked machine.

"Probably for the best." I mumbled. "Just wasting your time here."

"You're not wastin' my time, Tatsuma." Hound Dog growled. "This is my job. This is what I do. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here, helping you. We made plenty of progress already."

I looked down at my hands, saying nothing.

"I talked with the clinic you did your initial physical therapy session at." He went on. "They told me you didn't schedule any follow-ups after the first."

"They kicked me out." I mumbled.

"They ended the session early because you were too worked up to keep going. 'S a nasty feedback loop. You get flustered by a mistake, which makes more mistakes, which makes you more flustered. So you stop and let things cool off. That doesn't mean I'm kickin' you out."

"..."

"Do you want to end it here?" Despite his naturally harsh tone, there was no judgement in his voice.

"What else is there to do?" I said, not meeting his eyes. "I broke the treadmill."

"This is UA, you really think we've only got the one?" He shook his head. "But there's plenty of other stuff we could go over. For example, we could talk about what you're doing right now."

"...I'm doing what now?"

"Your hands."

I looked down at my hands, idly rubbing against the side of my cargo pants, running across the fabric and occasionally bunching it up between my fingers.

"Stimming, also known as self-stimulating behavior. It covers a wide range, but often takes the form of feeling familiar or enjoyable textures."

"Oh." So that's what it was called. "It just… feels good. I miss… being able to touch things. Having fingers instead of claws. Skin instead of scales."

"I noticed you doin' it a lot." He nodded. "Why'd you stop, just now?"

"I…" I trailed off, looking at my hands, which I'd shoved into my pockets. "Should I… not have?"

"You tell me. Is it helpful to you?"

"It's… nice." I admitted, turning my head aside. "I don't even really think about it."

"And are you doing it so much that your skin is blistering from chafing?"

"...No?"

"So it's calming and stress-relieving behaviour that helps you cope with your situation, and isn't hurting you." He summarized. "Why shouldn' you keep going?"

"..." I continued to avoid his gaze.

"Look, I get it." He said, squatting down to my level. "You're self-conscious. It's embarrassing. Even if you consciously know the people you're with won't judge, in your head you feel like a weirdo. So when you notice other people notice it, you stop. Tell me if I'm on the wrong track here."

A silence hung in the air for a long moment.

"...You're not." I said quietly. "It's just… hard. Being human again. Dealing with everyone's expectations."

"I understand." He nodded slowly. He rose to his feet and walked up to a nearby desk, retrieving a bag of some description before returning. "I have something that could help with that. Here."

He took out a cube of some sort, and handed it to me. It was made of plastic, with various buttons, switches, spinners, gears and other little devices.

"This is what is known as a fidget cube. It's designed for relieving stress and anxiety. Or in other words, a tool for stimming. It has a bare side with clippers so you can attach whatever texture you like to it."

"Oh." I said, perking my head a little. "That sounds nice. But how does that…?"

"If people ask, you can say it's physical therapy exercises to rebuild finger dexterity. Which is not a lie, it can also be used for that purpose." Hound Dog explained. "Or, if you'd like, you can keep it in your pocket. That way you can stim without anyone having to even notice, if that makes you more comfortable."

"But…" I glanced back at the ruined treadmill. "What if I break it?" I looked down at the small plastic cube in my hands. "I get… excited. About new sensations. Or space out. And that's usually when I… break stuff."

"That's why I ordered fifty of 'em." He said, rustling the bag in his hand before laying it on the floor beside me. "All slightly different, so there's something new every time. These are for you, and you alone. You won't be hurting or taking anything away from anyone by using and breaking them."

Carefully, I rolled the cube in my hands. It was made of soft, malleable plastic, but the buttons and switches were stainless steel, slightly cold to the touch.

I flicked the switch forward. Click.

I flicked it back. Click.

It was... nice.

-----

"I'm not taking it."

"Come on, you-"

"I'm not taking your stupid credit card, Ryuko." I huffed, crossing my arms indignantly.

"How are you going to pay for the shopping trip, then?"

"I have my own money, you know." I rolled my eyes, leaning against the wall of the dormitory's common area. The large room was mostly empty at this time of the day, aside from Tsuburaba wandering over from the dining hall with a half-empty plate of mashed potatoes, giving Ryuko a wide-eyed look. I gave him a glare over her shoulder and he scurried off.

"Which came from saved gifts and allowance." She tried to argue the point. "This is not really anything different."

"It's still my money." I replied. "I already agreed to you giving us a ride to the mall. I don't want you paying my way through life. I want- I need to be able to be- to learn to be responsible for myself. I can't do that if you just take care of everything for me."

"But this isn't just anything. You're going on a shopping trip with your best friends to acquire a new wardrobe for your human form. I just don't want you to have to worry about money of all things. Get the best and do what you want. This isn't about me- this is about your comfort and happiness."

The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open to reveal Itsuka, Yui, Pony and Setsuna. I practically saw the idea form by the sly grin emerging on Ryuko's face as she glanced towards them.

"Well, if you won't take it…"

"Ryuko, no."

"What? It's my money, I can use it as I wish~"

"Ugh, fine." I acceded with a long-suffering sigh. "Give it here."

Triumphantly, Ryuko dropped the credit card into my waiting hand, and I shoved it into my pocket, turning to greet the others.

Setsuna had interned under Ryuko and so greeted her with an enthusiastic wave, while Itsuka and Yui were more subdued in their greetings. I saw the light of wonderment sparkle in Itsuka's eyes, but she kept a lid on it, if only just. Pony, on the other hand...

There was a high-pitched meep as Pony realized exactly who was standing besides me, followed by the sound of hooves sliding on the floor as Setsuna pushed Pony forward with a shit-eating grin.

"Ah, you guys haven't met yet." I said, unable to keep myself from smiling. "Ryuko, this Pony Tsunotori, my classmate and friend. Pony, this is Ryuko Tatsuma, better known as Ryukyu. My big sister."

"Ah, it's, um-" Pony stammered for words, her eyes wide. "Oh gosh-"

I felt bad for laughing, but I couldn't help doubling over in a fit of giggles.

"I've heard a lot about you- good, I assure you."

"Will you- will you be joining us?" Itsuka asked, having finally found her voice.

"Oh, no, I'll just be giving you girls a ride." Ryuko smiled, and even without turning my head I could tell it was directed at me.

-----

It was a limousine. A goddamned limousine.

I wanted to plant my face in my hands, but I didn't find it in me to ruin the moment for the others as they fawned over the luxury car. I settled for shooting the most withering glare I could muster towards Ryuko but she just waggled her eyebrows, the bastard.

"You have a personal driver?" Pony asked, starry-eyed.

"I'm not Endeavour." Ryuko laughed. "But I do have a standing retainer contract with a limousine company."

"Indeed." The uniformed chauffeur standing by said as he popped open the side door. "Let's get you girls seated."

As we piled into the limousine, I was begrudgingly forced to acknowledge that there was a certain logic to getting a car with the kind of passenger space a limousine provided.

"Move your legs!"

"There's literally nowhere else for me to put them!"

Because if we were having this much trouble with a limousine we were never going to fit into an SUV or something.

"Setsuna, just move over and let Ryuuzaki have two seats." Itsuka sighed.

"But I want the back seat."

It also put into stark contrast just how much taller and bigger I was than my friends. Or, well, most people. As roomy as the limousine was, my horns were nearly scraping the ceiling sitting down, and between my broad shoulders and my muscular legs I probably accounted for well over twice the space as any of the others.

"Fiiine." Setsuna relented, squeezing past my bulk to sit down by Itsuka, whilst I clicked my seat belt in place after some struggle.

The inside of the limousine was L-shaped, with what looked like a fully stocked snack bar taking up the rest of the space across from the seats.

"I took the liberty of removing the alcohol from the selection." The chauffeur called out to us over the divider, once we had finally managed to get ourselves all seated down and ready to go. "Otherwise, the bar is at your disposal."

Pony and Setsuna immediately tore in, pulling out popcorn, chips, soft drinks and the like.

"Want some cashews?" Setsuna asked, offering me a bag.

"S-sure." I responded, popping the first one into my mouth and nearly swallowing the nut whole before remembering that humans are supposed to chew their food.

"So, have you girls been settling into the dorms well?" Ryuko asked as the limousine started moving, quickly leaving UA behind while I watched out the window. "I mean I liked my classmates and all, but I would have gone insane with Rumi as my housemate. I had enough of her trying to drag me to the gym every day after class, let alone in the mornings too."

"I expect we'll be hearing the same soon enough." Setsuna said, elbowing me lightly.

"I would never try to pressure people into things." I huffed, crossing my arms. "Even if working out is good for you."

"It's, um, it's actually been pretty great!" Pony exclaimed, still looking a little nervous, casting aside glances towards Ryuko. "M-maybe it's different because I wasn't living at home anyway, but being close to all of my friends has been wonderful. But of course giving people space is important too!"

"We're still figuring that part out." Itsuka added.

"Some more so than others." Yui noted dryly. "Not all of us are used to the idea of waking up at six in the morning to hear someone belting out the United States national anthem, every day."

"I-it reminds me of home, okay?!" Pony buried her face in her hands, red creeping up her ears. "I already agreed to keep the noise down so you can sleep."

"It's alright, Pony." Itsuka said, ruffling the shorter girl's blonde hair. "We know you don't mean anything by it."

"Easy for you to say, you don't live next door from her." Yui grumbled.

-----

Dantooine Mall was not as large as Nevarra, but that was exactly why it had been chosen for the shopping trip. It was still an imposing structure of steel and glass, a wide variety of signs and advertisements lighting up the exterior.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us?" Setsuna Tokage asked Ryukyu as they were getting out of the car.

"I'd love to, but tonight's just for you girls." She shook her head. "Unfortunately when the Number Ten Hero goes shopping, it tends to draw a lot of attention."

"You just don't want people to compare us side by side and question who's the big sibling." Ryuuzaki smiled wryly, resting her elbow on her sister's head.

"With your baby face, there's no need to doubt." She shrugged Ryuuzaki off with a laugh, gently elbowing her in the ribs. "But really, it's fine. You girls deserve an afternoon to yourselves without being mobbed for autographs or something. I'll pick you up at the end of the day."

It was still fundamentally weird seeing the two of them interacting like sisters, tussling and teasing each other. Logically Setsuna knew they were siblings, but she'd only ever known Ryukyu as the stern, cool-headed Pro-Hero. Not as the slightly goofy older sister of one of her classmates- friends.

The two sisters hugged their goodbyes, Ryuuzaki lifting her older sibling into the air, before she departed, waving to them as the limousine disappeared into the traffic.

"Right!" Pony said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get going!"

The mall itself consisted of a long, winding boulevard with several smaller offshoots that spanned the length of the building, stores, boutiques, bars and restaurants lining it on both sides. Saturday afternoon crowds were in full force, streams of people going to and fro.

"People are… looking at me." Ryuuzaki mumbled, glancing around nervously as they walked.

"You're literally standing head and shoulders above the crowd, it'd be hard not to get stares." Setsuna said. "Don't pay them any mind."

"So, um, you said you guys had planned out where we'd go ahead of time?" Ryuuzaki asked, very clearly trying to take her mind off the bystanders, even as she cast nervous glances around herself every few seconds.

"Yep!" Pony exclaimed.

"I compiled and compared reviews and customer service reports on twenty-three tailoring businesses within an hour's travel time from Musutafu." Yui added. "This wasn't quite the highest rated, but it had all the rest of our destinations in the same building. I- we thought you'd appreciate only having to do one trip."

"Ah, well, um, I don't mind spending time with you guys but…" Ryuuzaki smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Thanks."

They proceeded through the mall at a slow pace, Ryuuzaki measuring every step, though her long strides made up for it a little. Itsuka and Pony walked next to her, ready to catch her if she stumbled, but thankfully there were no incidents along the way, only a few wobbles.

The store was out of the way of the main boulevard, tucked away in an ancillary pathway. An illuminated sign lay over the door, "Konishi's Apparel" written on it accompanied by the image of a small, cutesy spider.

The inside wasn't any more grandiose, as Itsuka pushed open the door, a small, dimly-lit store lined with mirrors and racks of clothing. There was only a single employee to be found inside, a slightly portly woman with the upper half of a spider standing behind the counter. Going by the logo, Setsuna guessed she was probably also the owner.

"Ah! Customers!" She chittered as she turned around. "I'm Hatsuna Konishi, welcome to my little store! How can I help you girls?"

Setsuna glanced up at Ryuuzaki, but the much larger girl seemed still a little overwhelmed by the whole experience.

"Our friend here needs some new clothing, since none of her old stuff fits her anymore." She said, taking the initiative.

"...Yeah."

"I see." Konishi stalked closer, clicking her mandibles as she circled around Ryuuzaki, observing the tightness of her sleeves and around her shoulders. "Put on some muscle recently, have we? Well, I can help with that."

She pulled out a notebook with one of her six arms, using another to scribble on it as she walked.

"It will have to be a custom order, at your size. It will cost you, but I offer a full satisfaction guarantee."

"That's… alright." Ryuuzaki said nervously, rubbing the back of her head again while she watched Konishi circle around her. "Better to get it right the first time."

"That's the spirit." She said, pulling out several measuring tapes. "Now, stand still and straighten your back, please. Good, keep still…"

For a few moments Konishi bustled around Ryuuzaki, measuring her height, the span of her shoulders, the inseam of her legs, around her chest, waist and hips, writing the results down as she went.

"Next, flex those arms for me, would you?"

"Is this… really necessary?" Ryuuzaki said as Konishi ran the tape around her bicep.

"Of course! Good clothing must be able to accommodate the full range of motion. Otherwise the sleeves are going to rip apart the moment you move your arm. And I only deliver quality product."

The other four waited a little ways off, watching as Konishi methodically took measure every part of Ryuuzaki's body, occasionally stopping to ask her to shift around or tense a muscle for measurement.

"Enjoying the gun show, are we?" Yui whispered to Setsuna with a raised eyebrow.

"S-shut up!" Setsuna hissed, but thankfully the others didn't appear to have noticed, too focused on the procedure.

"That will be enough." Konishi nodded with satisfaction as she stepped away, rolling up the measuring tape. "I'll need to do some calculations on the fabric I'll need and the working hours it'll take, but I'll get you the price estimates. In the meantime, while I don't have anything at your size at the ready, if you'd like to peruse the show items, you can figure out how many and which items you'd like?"

"S-sure." Ryuuzaki mumbled quietly, still looking a little embarrassed, but Pony and Itsuka were instantly at her side, distracting her and dragging her off to the clothing racks.

"So, what colours would you like?" Pony asked, pulling out a grey t-shirt and holding it up.

"Um, orange." Ryuuzaki said, shuffling her feet. "I like orange."

"Huh, I would have thought it'd be white." Setsuna mused as she followed them, looking up at Ryuuzaki's hair.

"...Is your favorite color green, then?" Yui asked, tilting her head.

"It is, in fact." She replied back pointedly. "Thank you for asking."

"Any other colours?" Itsuka asked, holding up a piece of paper and a pen. "Even if you prefer one color it'd be good to have a few others, just for variety."

"Black, white, green, blue, red, grey…" Ryuuzaki listed off. "Anything goes, really. Except yellow." Her nose scrunched up ever so slightly, in a manner that Setsuna had to hold back laughter. "I don't like yellow."

"Alright, let's say… five orange and one each of the other colours?" Pony asked, looking up to Ryuuzaki, who nodded in confirmation.

Like that they worked their way through the store, figuring out what Ryuuzaki needed and wanted, mostly practical clothing

"Cargo pants, definitely." Ryuuzaki said firmly. "I have missed pockets so, so much."

"Alright!" Pony exclaimed happily, putting the sample piece back on the rack. "I think that's everything!"

They made their way back to the counter, and Itsuna handed the list to Konishi.

"Hmm. I see. Very good." She clicked her mandibles, tapping several of her hands together. "It will be a big order, and I have others on the waitlist, so it will take some time. Would you like it delivered in installments? That way you won't have to wait for the whole batch to be finished to use them."

"That… would be good, yes." Ryuuzaki said. "Thank you."

"Oh, it is no problem." She said, before turning back to her desk. "Now, if you'll sit tight for a moment, I'll just calculate the total for you."

She pulled out a calculator and started scribbling numbers on a sheet, filling it out a rapid pace.

"Umm… could I ask something?" Setsuna ventured after a while. "Miss Konishi?"

"Hm?"

"I just wanted to ask, do you… make clothing out of silk?" She paused for a moment. "I mean, your silk."

"Ah. No, not for sale." She clicked. "I made a shirt for my husband because he thought it was romantic, but personally I find the idea a little gross. Sort of like making clothing out of your hair, don't you think?"

"Finally, somebody who understands." Ryuuzaki mumbled under her breath.

"Oh?"

"A-ah, well, you see-" She instantly went red, trying to stammer out an explanation. "My Quirk is the ability to transform into a dragon. And these guys… made clothing out of my shed scales."

"Armor." Setsuna corrected immediately. "We made armor."

Konishi blinked all eight of her eyes, before slowly glancing at the shirt Ryuuzaki was wearing, Ryukyu's face plastered on her chest.

"...You're Ryuju, aren't you?"

If Ryuuzaki had been beet-red before she was positively glowing with embarrassment now, shuffling her feet and staring at the floor, spluttering nonsense for a good twenty seconds before managing to squeeze out a quiet "Yes".

"Hum." Konishi tilted her head. "I thought you were supposed to be stuck as a dragon?"

Ryuuzaki made a noise like a dying goat.

"She recently regained her ability to assume human form." Yui explained for Ryuuzaki, while she struggled to formulate words. "That's why she needs so much new clothing, because none of her old things fit her anymore."

"I see." She turned to grab the list of price estimates- and then proceeded to rip in half. "You won't be buying a single thing from me."

"I…"

"Because you'll be getting it for free." She said, leaning forward. "My niece was at Kashyyyk Mall some four months ago getting a haircut, when the Nomu attacked. She told me quite a story, about a white-scaled dragon carrying her to safety, even while being attacked by those horrible creatures."

Ryuuzaki seemed struck speechless, mouth left hanging halfway open.

"I don't… know what to say." She finally seemed to force herself to speak. "Thank you so much. But- but I can't possibly just take this all-"

"Nonsense. I insist."

"But-"

"It will be my pleasure and honour as a craftsman to help someone who helped me and mine."

"A-at least let me pay for the materials." Ryuuzaki shook her head in a daze. "I can't accept anything less."

"Very well." Konishi relented with a nod. "I'll count up the total for you."

-----

Ryuuzaki seemed shell-shocked as Pony dragged her out the door, a vacant look in her eyes, allowing herself to be led by the arm to a small alcove by what looked like an old maintenance door. They were still some ways off the main boulevard, with barely anybody around to see as Ryuuzaki leaned heavily against the tiled wall, looking exhausted and a little pale.

"Deep breaths." Itsuka advised her. "Just calm down. You handled that well."

"A penny for your thoughts?" Setsuna asked, after a few minutes of silence had passed. At Ryuuzaki's quizzical look, she went on. "Sometimes explaining how you feel can help process your emotions."

"I feel… grateful, of course, and happy that I could help her through helping her niece… it's just… I feel bad for accepting so much charity from her. She's running a business and… Ryuko gave me money for this trip, it's not like it's even an issue."

"Well… maybe it was an opportunity to help her." Itsuka suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"How does helping people make you feel?"

"...Good. I suppose." Ryuuzaki blinked, confused.

"Then, doesn't it make sense that by helping you, she gets to feel good too? So try to think of it like this: by allowing her to help you, you're helping her. You're letting her feel good about herself, because she helped someone who helped her niece. Isn't that a good thing?"

"I guess." Ryuuzaki shook her head. "What a ridiculous coincidence."

Setsuna gave Yui a look, but the smaller girl shook her head.

Not now.

"Well, why don't we grab something to eat?" Setsuna suggested aloud, drawing the attention of the others. "Come on, there's some good restaurants up the boulevard. Ryuuzaki's pick, since we're here for you."

"Something simple." She mumbled, but pushed herself off the wall.

"I thought you said your sister gave you money?"

"Yeah. But after that, I could use simple."

-----

Simple turned out to be a generic-seeming noodle bar, with a number of circular tables filling the space. There was a counter for making orders, and a kitchen beyond that.

"Noodles with chicken and egg, please." Ryuuzaki ordered last, before swiping a card through the machine.

"Not even ice cream? Come on, you need to live a little." Setsuna elbowed her playfully as they walked to a table near the windows, opening up to the main boulevard. "Don't you want to try something new?"

"Hound Dog has me on a specific diet." She shook her head. "I need to get used to having a human metabolism again."

"Aww, you're no fun."

"I'm sorry my comfort and health is boring to you." Ryuuzaki snapped back as she sat down.

"I didn't mean it like that." Setsuna raised her hands, taken aback by the taller girl's response. "I'm sorry. It's just, what's the point if you can't even enjoy being human again?"

"It can also be… overwhelming. I'm not used to bei- eating like a human." She sank into her seat, shoulders slumping. "It's not like Hound Dog put a gun against my head, I agreed to it. It's about… structure. Building up good habits."

"Still, seems a bit harsh." Pony said. "Surely the diet is not going to fall apart if you try out one new thing?"

"I already did. The salted cashews in the limousine."

"Oh yeah."

"I just have a specific schedule on how often I can do that. At least until I've learned how to judge for myself. Because apparently staying fit and healthy is a lot of work."

"Well, it seems like you're ahead of the curve there." Itsuka commented. "Have you been to a gym yet?"

"Not until I can be trusted not to drop the weights." She mumbled in reply, looking tired. "Anyway, enough about me. Can we… talk about something else?"

"Haru's been missing me." Itsuka mentioned. "I've never been away from home for this long and, well, he's an old, old dog. We're not sure how well he's going to be able to adjust."

"Aww, that's rough." Pony shook her head. "Poor thing."

"Yeah, we're still thinking about what we're going to do."

"Hm. It really is taking a while." Yui grumbled.

"Well, it is a busy day." Itsuka replied.

"I think the kitchen started working on our order just now." Setsuna commented. "Either that, or another table of five ordered the same exact thing as we did."

"How do you know?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"I spy with my little eye." She winked back.

"That's illegal." Yui noted.

"Oh come off it, it's harmless." Setsuna waved her off. "I bet you wait for the light to turn green when there's no traffic, too."

Yui said nothing.

"But… your eye is still… there." Ryuuzaki pointed out.

"Yeah-" Setsuna started, before pausing in realization. "Shit, I never got around to telling you. Okay, uh, you know about the Quirk Awakening theory?"

"Vaguely, yes?"

"Well, after the whole thing with Shigaraki, I found out that I could regenerate body parts that haven't been destroyed. Like this." She detached her index finger, watching as it floated into the air and started wiggling around. From the stump, bones started pushing out, followed by muscle and skin.

"...Huh." Ryuuzaki said, tilting her head. "That's… neat?"

"It is. I can do some pretty cool stuff now." Setsuna shrugged. "I can show it later."

"Anyway, I'll just head to the toilets quickly, before the food gets here." Yui said, pushing herself up.

"Actually, I'll go as well." Setsuna added, rising from her seat as well. "Come on, I think the bathroom is this way."

She could see Yui's shoulders tense, but she followed her to the female bathroom. Setsuna took a look around to make sure it was empty, before turning around to look at the smaller girl.

"Did you plan that?"

"I knew about Konishi, yes. Her niece did an interview at a talk show." Yui said quietly. "I didn't plan for… that."

"You should know Ryuuzaki doesn't deal well with being put on the spot." Setsuna replied, unable to keep the accusing tone out of her voice. "You more than any of us."

"She's been feeling down. I can tell. She's… stressed. Tired. Not sleeping well. Don't tell me you haven't noticed that as well. She likes to blame herself. So I thought… meeting someone she'd helped would help her in turn. Remind her of the good she's done, what she's accomplished. I didn't think it would be… that bad.."

"Well, next time, maybe don't try to set her up?" Setsuna suggested. "At least tell her ahead of time."

"She would not have agreed to come."

"Uh-huh. Maybe that should tell you something."

"Perhaps." Yui conceded with a sigh. "I am sorry."

"It's not me you should be saying that to."

"It would be better that she not know. She will feel even worse about it."

Setsuna bit her lip. Ryuuzaki would, that was just how she was, but keeping secrets didn't feel right either.

"Fine. But no more of that sort, or I'm telling her."

"Agreed." Yui nodded. "Now, let's get going before the others start to wonder."

 

[Dark as Silver]

I don't know when Blackout updated their profile picture but that one looks much harder to eat than the dragon hamburger.

"The treadmill is here for you, not the other way around." He grunted, slapping the side of the machine. "Are you up to keep going?"

Click to shrink...

I am here for the alternate universe where Treadmills have taken over and force humans to run on them.

"I talked with the clinic you did your initial physical therapy session at." He went on. "They told me you didn't schedule any follow-ups after the first."

"They kicked me out." I mumbled.

"They ended the session early because you were too worked up to keep going. 'S a nasty feedback loop. You get flustered by a mistake, which makes more mistakes, which makes you more flustered. So you stop and let things cool off. That doesn't mean I'm kickin' you out."

Click to shrink...

Oh that makes a lot more sense.

Setsuna bit her lip. Ryuuzaki would, that was just how she was, but keeping secrets didn't feel right either.

Click to shrink...

Classic Zaki

 

[Blackout]

"So, what next?" Ryuuzaki asked as they left the noodle bar, emerging to the main boulevard.

"That depends." Setsuna asked. "Do you have underwear and all that sort of stuff?"

"Um, y-yeah." Ryuuzaki stuttered out a reply.

"Then we just need to find all the clothing that tailors don't make." Pony explained along the way. "Shoes, socks, gloves, hats… that sort of thing."

"Hmm, I guess that makes sense." Ryuuzaki shrugged her broad shoulders. "Lead the way? I assume you guys have a place in mind."

"We do." Itsuka explained as they walked. "Nothing special but, well, we figured shoes and such are not as important, since you won't need it custom-made."

"Mmm-hm."

It was, indeed, just a very normal clothing store that they ended up in, the kind that you could find just about anywhere. It sold all manner of clothes, but given that they had already acquired most of what Ryuuzaki needed from Konishi, Itsuka guided them straight to the shoe aisle, all manner of footwear lining the racks.

"So, any preferences?" Itsuka asked, clapping her hands together.

"...Not really?" Ryuuzaki said, scratching her head. "I don't… shoes are still kind of weird to me. Just… something warm, if possible?"

Finding the right shoes for Ryuuzaki turned out to be harder than expected, as the five of them worked their way back and forth across the section, over and over. Not for a lack of fitting clothing, but for another reason entirely.

"No, not these ones either." Ryuuzaki said, sitting back down on the changing room bench to take off the pair of sneakers she'd been trying.

"That's the nineteenth pair you've tried." Setsuna shook her head, earning an angry glare from Yui.

"We'll try as many as we need to."

"It's just… the sole is too thin." Ryuuzaki mumbled. "It feels funny under my foot. Not right."

"You said the last ones were too thick." Setsuna pointed out.

"They were." Ryuuzaki shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "It was too rigid. Like I was walking on stilts."

"So we'll just have to try at random to find just the right thickness?"

"Um, well..."

"Maybe Pony and I should go look for gloves for you, and bring them here for testing?" Setsuna suggested. "That way we can work towards two things at once."

"I- alright." Ryuuzaki said. "Could you… find me some fingerless gloves? Just simple ones will do, black if they have it."

"Of course, but why fingerless?" Pony asked. "I thought you said you wanted warm clothing."

Ryuuzaki hesitated, looking away while her fingers ran against the fabric of her shirt, bunching it up into a fist.

"Are you kidding me? Fingerless gloves are cool as hell." Setsuna interjected, holding out a hand for a fist bump. A decision that she soon regretted, as Ryuuzaki's response nearly dislocated her shoulder.

"Right. I'll get these changed and we'll try the next pair-" Ryuuzaki said as she got up- and then proceeded to hit her head on the doorframe, her forehead and horns leaving a noticeable dent in the wood with several splinters sticking out.

-----

After what felt like an eternity, and a lot of panicking and apologies, they emerged from the clothing store, with several pairs of passable shoes and fingerless gloves for Ryuuzaki.

"So, uh, you said it was headwear next?" Ryuuzaki asked, glancing upwards at her horns. "Because, uh…"

"There's specialty stores for people like us!" Pony announced cheerfully. "Come on!"

It was another shop along the boulevard, sunk into the wall with massive glass windows, bright lights and displays, a name written in bold, shiny letters above the entrance.

"Detnerat?" Ryuuzaki asked.

"Yep!" Setsuna said, popping the p. "They specialize in custom-order items for people with unusual biology. Like horns!"

"Isn't that…?" Yui trailed off.

"Yeah." Ryuuzaki muttered.

As the five of them approached, Setsuna heard a sharp intake of air from Ryuuzaki's direction. Following the taller girl's gaze, she found a display screen near the entrance, with a small crowd of people gathered around it.

An advertisement was running on the screen, featuring a sharp-nosed man with a receding hairline of orange-brown showing off a… robotic limb?

"-many among us whose unique bodies make it difficult for them to live a normal life, in this world of ours built for the standard, the ordinary. This gentleman with magnificent talons, just trying to make himself an honest living in an office-"

Setsuna was about to hurry the group along, just when she saw the expression on Ryuuzaki's face. The expression of astonishment, wonder and- joy?

"But no more! Detnerat is proud to announce this new product line! This proprietary technology allows those among us with non-standard anatomies to finally access aspects of life long denied to them! A compact cybernetic limb with a modular mount that can be fitted over an existing appendage, and a revolutionary neural interface that allows for fine manipulation and tactile sensation without a need for surgery, all in a compact, easy to use and remove package!"

But then she noticed her eyes were not on the commercial. They were on the people watching it. A young boy with a crustacean Quirk, clicking his claws excitedly.at his parents, tugging at the hem of their clothing. A family with mechanical features, parts of their anatomy consisting of steely machinery, talking amongst each other animatedly.

Ryuuzaki seemed taken aback by all of it, and yet… happy.

----

The shop itself was bustling with people, crowds lulling around with queue numbers in hand waiting for their turn at the service stations.

"Don't worry, I booked us an appointment online, ahead of time." Setsuna explained, pulling up her phone."Come on, it's this way. Number fifteen."

She lead them along the long row of stations until reaching the clothing department,

"Ah, you were the party with the appointment? Welcome to Detnerat! How can I help you girls?"

"We're looking for hats for the big lug here." Setsuna pointed her thumb up at Ryuuzaki, who gave an awkward wave.

"Ah, I can see the problem! Well, you came to the right place. What sort of headwear are you looking for?"

"Well… caps, probably…?" Ryuuzaki muttered, looking at her feet. "I like caps…"

"Well we can certainly help you with that!" The man clapped his hands together, and Setsuna noticed Ryuuzaki wince from the loud noise. He reached behind the counter and lifted up a large contraption. It looked like a helmet stapled together from bar code readers, with a thick cable running from the top to a machine behind the man.

"First, we'll get some measurements. Do you have a photoreactive Quirk or any other issues with light?"

"No?"

"Good. Now, please close your eyes, this will only take a moment.

Ryuuzaki had to lean down a little to let him hold the helmet over her head, the machine whirring to life as red lines ran over her face. After a moment it let out a little bleep and the employee pulled it away with a satisfied nod.

"Right, now we've got a 3-D model of your skull." He turned his computer screen halfway around to show a scan of Ryuuzaki's head in some sort of designing program. Then, we just layer a hat on top of that, size XL…"

He clicked a few buttons and a representation of a hat appeared, which he dragged over to the head with the cursor, settling it on it.

"Then we just delete the overlapping material and voila!" He dragged the 3-D hat away, with two holes neatly cut into the forehead. "We've got the specifications we can send to the production department, and they'll get the gears rolling. They'll make any necessary adjustments and then ship the finished product."

"Is it really that easy?"

"This is the proprietary technology and techniques that have made Detnerat a market leader in its field!" The man declared with enthusiasm, but Setsuna was pretty sure he'd been trained on the script. "Customized items delivered to your doorsteps in three days or less, guaranteed!"

"Sounds great." Ryuuzaki said, mustering up a shaky smile. "What next?"

"Well, I'll set you up with a Detnerat customer account so we can process the order, and any future ones you might have." He explained cheerfully, turning the monitor back. "Let me just pull up the info from the reservation…"

"Actually, I made the reservation so it won't have her info." Setsuna interjected.

"Ah, that's fine." He said, turning to Ryuuzaki. "I'll just need your name and birthday."

"Um. Ryuuzaki Tatsuma. Twenty-ninth of September, two thousand one hundred and fifty-seven."

"Huh, that's odd. There's already a profile under that name. And birthday." He stroked his chin for a moment, before pausing. Then he looked up at Ryuuzaki, then down at the screen.

Up and down.

Then he went a little pale, clearing his throat.

"Sorry, just a moment. I need to call this in real quick."

He all but fled into the back room, leaving the five of them to stare after him with confusion.

"What was that all about?" Pony wondered aloud.

Ryuuzaki shuffled her feet nervously.

"It's probably because of the-"

The store employee chose that moment to return with what looked like a manager of some sort, a portly, balding man probably in his fifties.

"Oh-ho! If my ears didn't deceive me just now, I heard that Ryuju herself was visiting our store!" He spoke in a booming voice, causing more than a few heads to turn in their direction.

"Y-yes that's me." Ryuuzaki mumbled awkwardly, and the man guffawed a hearty laugh, grabbing her hand.

"I'm Kenta Fushiro, Regional Manager here at Detnerat." He tried to give her hand a vigorous shake- emphasis on try, because her hand seemed locked in place out of sheer nervousness, and he proved wholly unable to move it, not that it dampened his enthusiasm. "Why, if we'd known you were coming we would have prepared a more proper welcome!"

"Excuse me, can you explain what's going on?" Setsuna interjected.

"Ah! You must be her friends, then." He smiled broadly. "You see, we here at Detnerat are committed to bringing specialized products to suit the needs of customers with altered bodies due to their Met- Quirks. It's not just a business to us, it's a calling."

Yeah, never heard that one before.

"Ryuju here helped bring awareness to an issue many among us have been quietly struggling with, those whose Quirks have left them unable to accomplish many everyday tasks requiring fine manipulation." He went on, clapping a hand up to Ryuuzaki's shoulder, causing her to wince. "Why, if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have these wonderful products coming out soon to help rectify the situation!"

He gestured broadly towards the advertisements for the robotic hands. More and more people were starting to pay attention to what was happening, and Setsuna noticed muttered whispers at the periphery of her hearing.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why there's an account for her when she's never been to a Detnerat store before." Pony questioned, while Ryuuzaki was looking ever more embarrassed and nervous, glancing around herself.

"Mr. Yotsubashi, our CEO himself, was impressed with her presentation at I-Expo, and her dedication to our company values. He decided to gift her with a VIP customer account at Detnerat, after helping us in our mission so. All of your purchases will be comped, of course, and I'll personally supervise their completion."

"That's, um, that's great…" Ryuuzaki said with a painfully fake smile, but the manager seemed to either not notice or not care, prattling on.

Setsuna started to tune out the conversation, and focus on the people around them. The store was packed with people, long queues at most of the service desks, and more browsing through the aisles.

And a lot of those people were now watching them, following the Manager's booming voice and. With how famous Ryuuzaki had gotten from the combination of being Ryukyu's sister, the Sports Festival, Kashyyyk, I-Island and now Kamino… yes, Setsuna could see the sparks of recognition in people's eyes. And with recognition came confusion.

"-but she's human-"

"-thought she was supposed to be stuck a dragon-"

"-so was that just a scam then-"

"-typical-"

"-wonder what that's all about-"

And not all of them were friendly. And if Setsuna could hear them, so could Ryuuzaki. She was looking increasingly panicked, her skin even paler than normal. She wasn't even responding to the Detnerat manager, just frozen in place.

Setsuna had to do something.

She glanced at the other three. They seemed to have caught on too- Pony looked horrified, Yui was angry, and Itsuka determined. She gave Setsuna a sharp nod.

"I'm really sorry sir, but we really do need to get going." Itsuka explained politely yet firmly, while Pony and Yui grabbed Ryuuzaki. "You've got everything you need, right?"

Setsuna couldn't quite hear his reply as she stepped away, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contact list for Ryukyu's phone number from her internship.

"Tatsuma here." The older Dragon Hero responded on the first ring. "Did something happen?"

"Ryuuzaki was recognized, and she's… not taking it well." Setsuna glanced over her shoulder, where Yui and Pony were leading Ryuuzaki away, a glazed look in her eyes. "Can you pick us up a little earlier than planned?"

"Understood." Her voice had immediately hardened from a casual tone to what Setsuna had identified as her Job Voice. Curt, serious and matter-of-fact. "I'll be there in twenty… no, fifteen minutes. Can't get there faster than that without breaking too many traffic laws. Meet me where I dropped you off if you can, or call me if you can't make it there."

"Sounds good. We'll see you then."

She shoved the phone back in her pocket and caught up to the others, nodding to Itsuka. "She's on her way."

Ryuuzaki was still out of it, her face pale and sweaty, her breathing rapid and shallow, but at least she had the presence of mind to allow herself to be guided by Yui and Pony. Steadfastly ignoring the stares and the mutters, Setsuna and Itsuka led the way out of the Detnerat store and out into the main boulevard.

Once more, Ryuuzaki's sheer height and size drew stares, magnified by her current state. Her eyes were wild and distressed, darting back and forth.

At the edge of her hearing, Setsuna heard footsteps behind them, coming from the direction of the store.

It all happened in a flash. As she was turning her head, out of the corner of her eye Setsuna saw the hand reach over to tap Ryuuzaki on the shoulder. The next thing she knew, Ryuuzaki had spun around with an audible snarl and had grabbed a young man by the front of his shirt, lifting him into the air with one hand, his feet dangling a good forty centimeters from the floor.

"I just-" He swallowed, eyes flickering back forth. "-just wanted to ask for an autograph!"

Immediately, Ryuuzaki's fury fled from her face like a receding tide, replaced with an expression of horrified realization. The man dropped to the floor, and she bolted away.

Setsuna hesitated.

"I'll handle this." Itsuka said. "Go."

Setsuna didn't wait a moment longer, sprinting after Ryuuzaki. Despite her clumsy, stumbling gait, her panic and long, powerful legs had carried her far in those few seconds of hesitation. Setsuna, Pony and Yui found her by one of the ancillary pathways, slumped down against the wall.

She was doubled over, dry-heaving into her hand and breathing quickly and erratically, tears streaming down her face. A part of Setsuna's brain that had paid attention during Rescue training supplied her with the clinical definition: panic attack.

Setsuna hesitated but Pony and Yui didn't, rushing by her side and hugging her. She followed them, reaching over to rub her back in what she hoped was a comforting fashion. They spent several minutes like that, until Ryuuzaki's breathing slowly evened out a little.

Itsuka followed them soon after, joining the others.

"It's alright. He was a little spooked, but I explained as best as I could. He seemed to understand." She said, putting a comforting hand on Ryuuzaki's shoulder. "Nobody is mad at you, or disappointed. We just want to understand."

Ryuuzaki said nothing,

"Come on." Setsuna said. "Talk to us."

"It's…" She choked out. "That was… that was Fujiwara".

"That's… I don't understand. Fujiwara?"

"That's what Fujiwara did." Ryuuzaki clarified. "He came up behind me… tapped me on the shoulder and… and…"

She couldn't finish the sentence, descending back into incoherent sobbing. Setsuna just continued rubbing her back. Ryuuzaki had never elaborated upon the details of the incident that had led to her being stuck as a dragon, other than that Fujiwara had ambushed her.

"I hate this." Ryuuzaki mumbled. "I hate how I shut down or have a freakout every time something goes even slightly wrong. I hate barely being able to see or hear. I hate having to explain why I'm a human now. I hate feeling uncomfortable in my own body and unable to sleep. I hate barely being able to move without tripping. I hate feeling vulnerable, like anyone I meet could be a shapeshifting serial killer, or villains could appear out of thin air, and kill me on the spot."

Setsuna winced.

"As a dragon I feel strong. I feel safe. I feel… graceful. I feel confident. But all of that goes out the window as a human. I feel pathetic. I feel like a big, dumb baby. I hate that." She drew in a shuddering breath. "I hate being human."

The four of them exchanged glances. This was… bad.

"Ryuuzaki…" Itsuka started. "How long has it been since you were last a dragon?"

"I don't know." She muttered sullenly. "Last week. Before the move."

Itsuka blinked.

"Wait, what? I thought- You haven't even-" She spluttered, before catching herself, taking a deep breath.

"You were stuck as a dragon for three years." She started slowly, measuring her words. "It's only been two weeks, and you already went cold turkey for a week straight? Of course it's going to- I mean- I don't- If it was this bad for you, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you just turn back into a dragon?"

"Everyone was… so happy. About me being human again." She mumbled into her hands. "Excited for all the things we could do now. Expecting me to be human. Expecting me to want to be human. I couldn't just… it felt easier. After everything…"

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry if I contributed to that expectation." Pony said, looking around herself, the others nodding along with her. "We all are. I guess… we got kind of excited about the shopping trip. But that's just because we wanted to spend time with you. We don't care what form you're in. Human, dragon, or if you just want to spend some time in either form."

"But-"

"We know… you have a hard time asking other people to make accommodations for you." Yui picked up. "And that you feel guilty about everything others had to do to make sure you could be included as a dragon. But here's the thing. We don't mind because you're our friend and we love you. If you're happy, that makes us happy. If you can't be comfortable, we can't be comfortable either. That's what being friends means."

Ryuuzaki said nothing, just looking at her feet.

"Wait-wait-wait." Setsuna interjected. "You said you can't sleep as a human. Then how have you been doing that this whole week?"

"I haven't. Beyond a couple of hours every few nights."

Setsuna's eyes widened, an action mirrored by Itsuka opposite to her. Pony let out a small gasp, while Yui said nothing, her eyebrows furrowing.

"...Ryuuzaki, that's horrible." Setsuna finally said. "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"I… my room can't fit a dragon."

"Did you ask for a dragon-sized room?"

"...No."

"...Why not?"

Ryuuzaki looked at the floor, seeming miserable.

"Alright. I'm sorry." Setsuna said. "I just… want to help you."

"You're tired." Itsuka said, rubbing Ryuuzaki's shoulder. "You're overwhelmed and you're tired. And maybe… you'll still hate being human when you're not. And that's okay. But… maybe you'll hate it less. Maybe, if you're rested, and give yourself more time to adjust… it'll be more bearable. Does that sound good to you?"

Ryuuzaki still didn't say anything, but there was a wordless noise of assent.

"Alright." Itsuka offered her a hand to pull her to her feet., using her Quirk to enlarge it slightly. "Let's… get going."

-----

The car ride was quiet. Ryuuzaki mostly looked at her feet, eyes still red and puffy. Ryukyu sat beside her sister, letting her lean against her.

"It's unfortunate that the truth got out so quickly, but sometimes it just works out that way." She explained, shaking her head. "Now it's just a matter of dealing with the fallout."

"But… what am I going to say when people ask about it?" Ryuuzaki mumbled morosely. "I don't want to…"

"Tell them 'I was unable to transform back to human due to being injured by a villain attack when I was younger. But thankfully we were able to finally figure out the cause, and now I can again.'. That's it. If they ask for more details, decline. Tell them it's personal. The public is not entitled to know anything more than that."

The car fell into a silence soon after that, save for the sound of the engine and nearby traffic whistling by.

But even then, Setsuna could hear the rustling as Ryuuzaki shifted in her seat, to face the four of them, her friends, and the quiet words passing from her lips.

"Thank you."

-----

"Of course, we'd be happy to renovate your room to accommodate your dragon form." Nedzu explained, clasping his paws together behind his desk, beady black eyes sweeping over the group clustered into his office. "We'll have to combine it with the room below and shift that somewhere else, but if that means expanding the building then so be it."

Setsuna watched Ryuuzaki out of the corner of her eye, a nakedly disbelieving look on her face. As if she couldn't believe it had been that simple. That easy.

"Cementoss will start work immediately, but it will still take him a few days. In the meanwhile, you will, of course, have your pick of our facilities. I may not be able to change the law, but UA is not a public setting. You have my express permission to remain in your other form as much as you like. We can and we will continue to make any accommodations necessary for you to attend, in whatever form you desire."

"I… thank you, principal." Ryuuzaki said, unable to meet his gaze. "Really."

"Please, it is my failing that this was not addressed when you first moved in." Nedzu shook his head. "Plus Ultra, that is the motto of our school. Most attribute it to mean that we expect our students to go beyond. But it also reflects that, in turn, the school must go beyond, for our students." He sighed. "Even so, I wish that you had brought it to my attention before it boiled over so. Sometimes, simply asking for help can go a long way."

Then, Nedzu turned his attention to the other four, smiling broadly.

"Kendo, Kodai, Tsunotori, Tokage, you have my sincere thanks and commendations for your handling of the situation, and the unwavering support you have shown your friend." He steepled his paws together. "But now, it has been a long day for you, so I won't keep you any longer. And please, try to get some sleep."

"I… might have an idea for that." Pony ventured as they left the principal's office, poking a finger to her cheek. "Follow me."

She dragged the group through the hallways of UA's main building on a path that was growing increasingly familiar as they went, until Setsuna realized they were going towards 1-B's classroom. But instead of stopping there she took them past the long row of classrooms, left unused for the long months of summer, and instead took them to the changing rooms beyond.

"In here," she said, pulling the large door open, an assisting motor whirring. The girls' changing room was dominated by rows of lockers and benches, but Pony marched past them all to the far corner, to the doorway leading to the showers beyond.

The wide, expansive showers big enough for a dragon to fit under.

"Ohh… that's a great idea." Setsuna said.

"I noticed you enjoyed it the last time, so…" Pony explained said as she walked along the row of faucets, turning the heat up to max. "You can just transform and sleep here!"

"The water bill alone-" Ryuuzaki protested, but Setsuna simply reached up to clap a hand to her shoulder.

"UA's budget is not a number, it is a word. And that word is 'yes'. Now get in there."

Reluctantly, she made her way forward, closing her eyes. Her hands trembled. Then, it began.

It occurred to Setsuna that she had never actually seen her friend activate her Quirk, just as Ryuuzaki disappeared in a flash of light and flame, the smell of smoke filling the air. Her admittedly towering human form had been replaced by an enormous white dragon that dwarfed it utterly, her horns nearly scraping against the ceiling, as high as it was.

She lowered her head and let out a shuddering breath of palpable relief, the warm air washing over Setsuna's face.

"Alright! Here we go!"

Pony dashed along the row of showerheads, opening each valve in turn before skidding to a halt behind Ryuuzaki's tail, as warm water began to cascade on her white scales.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyelids drooped shut and she quite literally fell asleep where she stood. Her hulking form collapsed nervelessly to the floor with an almighty thump that sent Setsuna stumbling for balance.

"Whoops." Pony smiled nervously, looking down at the floor tiles that had been cracked by the sheer weight of scale and muscle falling on them. "I'm… sure that will be fine."

The four of them watched the scene in silence for a long moment, the only sound that of running water as well as content rumbles and snuffles emanating from Ryuuzaki as she shifted in her sleep. Torrents of warm water ran down her flanks, pooling around her before falling away into the drains, while vapour wafted off of her, gathering around the ceiling.

Claw and scale scraped against tile and metal grate as she slowly twisted and turned in search of the right position, flopping over to her back for a moment before rolling back over and seemingly settling on curling around herself, her limbs held tight against her body and the tip of her tail having somehow ended up in her mouth.

"We need to make sure nobody disturbs her." Yui spoke up. "And that she doesn't try to leave before she's fully rested. Come on, I'll take the first watch."

 

[Blackout]

It's been a while since we had some art of Ryuuzaki's dragon form, so I thought it was high time for an update.

She's a growing dragon, after all.

Spoiler

Art by Chris Rogers.